cruisedancemom

If you are sailing from the U.S. And ending in the U.S. (Closed loop) then you are allowed to meet the ship or leave the ship if it's a port outside the U.S.

My family did this last month so one of my family members could get home for something (non-emergency).

We sailed anthem from Bayonne to port canaverel and the Bahamas ending in Bayonne.

We were told we could do this from an international port such as the Bahamas but not from port canaveral.

We got written permission from Royal Caribbean a few weeks in advance and 2 members of my family flew home early from the Bahamas.

I didn't have a reservation though when she called. I had just inquired about pricing a day or so before. She was probably just following up to try and make a sale

I've sailed before with them and am registered on the site but never got a call. Maybe I just slipped through the cracks until now - lol

Thanks!

I got a call a couple days ago from a woman at Celebrity saying she would be my personal vacation planner. I hadn't booked a cruise yet but was about to through a TA.

I told her to call back in a couple days because I was on the phone.

She called back in 2 minutes and this time I didn't answer so she left me a long message saying she would be my contact for booking, questions etc.

I had called Celebrity recently because I had a question on a promotion I had received.

I'm assuming that is why this "planner" called me.

Just wondering if this is something new Celebrity is doing or have others had this call before. I know other cruise lines use personal planners but I didn't think Celebrity did.

Thanks!

Yes I know that unfortunately people die on cruise ships. Thanks for your "newsflash" Thetrail.

roll eyes at you for your rudeness. I brought it up because channel 2 doesn't usually report on it and I was wondering if anyone knew anything else.

I saw the same report on cbs at 11 and posted on the main board.

Just saw on 11 pm news here in Nj that a 70 year old man died while on the ship and that even though investigators said it wasn't suspicious passengers reported other people were sick too.

Don't shoot the messenger.....that's what the reporter said.

Anyone else hear about this?

How horrible! I was on that exact excursion from summit this past October.

Omg how awful. I was on that exact excursion in late October this year.

As the OP I am jumping in here again because I am surprised at how many people love to bash the people with valid complaints.

I said WE HAD A GREAT TRIP and I started off the thread with the positives (and there are plenty)

But I had watched the boards since the beginning of this class and I expected more from Royal Caribbean.

I really thought the kinks would be worked out by now. And they weren't.

If a few things go wrong on a vacation it can be excused but when MANY things go wrong then the cruise line needs to pay attention.

As I mentioned, I did go to higher ups and there was a level of not caring on their part that I found concerning.

I don't need great food all the time to make me happy, but I do need nice and caring crew to serve it!

My main beef is that the staff doesn't seem happy and it shows.

Many of them seemed annoyed . The wonderful ship is meaningless to me to me if I don't feel the staff cares about my (our experience)

As an example, the celebrity summit is an older ship and the main dining room food was not good this past October on my cruise!

But I didn't complain about it on cruise critic because the staff is so warm and wonderful they go out of their way to make you happy.

I know it's a much smaller ship but I know I wouldn't have cared nearly as much about lines and waiting for things on Anthem if the crew had just smiled and acted like they cared more!

It was my first Royal cruise and I had heard great things about the cruise line so I was just very surprised by the lack of crew happiness.

Merion mom - without getting into too much detail - 2 members of my family were to be disembarking from the ship while we were in the Bahamas.

This had been set up months in advance and permission had been granted by Royal Caribbean.

Suffice to say all the issues related to the incident I mentioned had to do with one hand not knowing what the other one was doing. It had nothing to do with corporate red tape it was all ship specific.

There were problems when we tried to get off the ship on the 26th in the Bahamas (we docked a day early since we missed coco cay) and then again the next day when they were actually getting off for good.

It was so frustrating I could have cried. It seemed as though there were so many issues related to ineptitude it was getting very hard to believe!

The closest bathrooms to the grande and chic are as hw stated - through the smoky casino

I spoke to so many directors of different operations I spent hours on line or on hold.

I spoke to the head of the grande where the waiter rolled his eyes at me and my daughter as well as the head of all dining.

They sent up 2 platters of desserts as way of apologizing (the first time they tried to send the platter room service messed up and it never arrived lol)

I heard one woman on line waiting for a shore excursion who was upset she couldn't bring food off the ship but she and her son were hungry because their room service breakfast never arrived!

I spoke to the head of passports/immigration when staff messed up so badly about something my family missed an excursion because we were unnecessarily detained at the gangway by security.

To try and make up for that they promised to send a car for us to take to our next day's excursion but that never showed up.

They kept trying to do good by Us. But it became a comedy of errors.

So in answer to the question did we speak to any higher ups? We most certainly did.

I am not a complainer by nature. Im someone who believes they should get what they paid for.

Just want to reiterate as we wait to disembark - The ship is beautiful and my family had a great time.

I just don't think this ship is for everyone. I'm sure service will improve as time goes on and sure service will be better on a non-holiday cruise.

I think the system still has a ton of bugs to be worked out and hopefully that will happen.

I feel people with kids will have an entirely different take on the ship vs. people without.

Having been on Celebrity, this feels like a true celebrity ship (minus the excellent service I've had on the summit)

I was really looking for my families first true "Royal Caribbean" experience and I don't think we got it.

But that's ok.....,.i guess I'll have to keep cruising!!

The outside pool itself is a good size. But the loungers are so tightly packed next to each other that they are impossible to move around. You couldn't squeeze in between 2 loungers if you tried.

It's great there are so many loungers but horrible in reality in terms of actual usage.

I forgot to mention initially that there is a redundancy at the buffet.

It's pretty much the same food for lunch and dinner every day!

Lots of people with kids rely on the buffet to eat and it is boring!

I want to reiterate that we are having a great time because we are cruising and on vacation.

But I think there is something missing from this ship - I can't totally put my finger on it. It seems to be lacking in warmth.

That sounds like a weird thing to say - I know - but that is what comes to mind.

The ship rocks forward to back a lot - I am more used to a side to side motion. It is very strange the way it rolls in calm looking water.

Conandrob- our bedding is encased in plastic under the bed

I am sure on a non holiday sailing service will be much better.

I don't care if a server or crew member is new and making mistakes. I'm not that picky about service - I just want them to be pleasant!! This sailing seems to be lacking that IMO

I wasn't going to start a thread but I feel compelled. This will be short and sweet.

I realize it's a Thanksgiving sailing so no flames please about how I should have expected lines during a holiday sailing.

I am sailing with three children under age 11 and my DH. We live in nj and didn't have to travel far.

Positives

Ship is stunning, rooms are beautiful and have a ton of storage. We have connecting insides with virtual balcony and I love the room and space!

Stateroom attendant is lovely and personable and works very hard.

Pools are beautiful

270 is beautiful

We will rock you is fantastic

Negatives:

Service is atrocious in the restaurants pretty much across the board. Many servers and crew seem miserable. Don't say hello and even when you say it first they don't seem interested.

Our waiter in the grande rolled his eyes at my 8 year old when she wanted to change her dessert.

Our waitress in American icon just told us the crew is unhappy because there is no system.

We can feel it! She is right, this sailing feels as though there is no system.

The food is average in all complementary restaurants (just my opinion obviously)

Adventure ocean isn't set up well - the rooms are tiny and the kids are on top of each other.

The lines for bumper cars, roller skating (everything in the seaplex are ridiculous.)

They could have planned better - they knew there would be a lot of kids.

We have had rough seas and the ship creaks very loudly! In the halls and in the rooms.

We have had personal issues related to shore excursions as have others/ don't need to get into details. Suffice to say one hand doesn't know what the other is doing often enough.

We had a great time as a family but even though I live about 35 minutes from port I wouldn't choose Anthem again.

Even though there is so much to do for the kids- it definitely doesn't feel like a kid oriented ship at all.

Could it have been an accident of some sort?

I just did it through Royal Caribbean for a trip on the Anthem next week.

You must get written permission from the cruise line. It can take several weeks to get the permission so I suggest doing it well in advance of your cruise.

We were also on that cruise and thought the staff was fantastic.

We found the crew to be a wonderfully happy and accommodating group of people. Always smiling and saying hello! Being around a great crew is the difference between a good cruise and a great cruise.

I am so happy to hear that your father-in-law was so well cared for on this wonderful ship!

Love this review - sailing on nov. 22 so finding it very informative and well written. Thank you!

Thanks

Anyone know what month Royal Caribbean will release dates for summer 2017 sailings in the Caribbean??

I'm ready now!

I'm sorry the seas are spoiling things for you[emoji33] hope you are having a good time despite Mother Nature.

Your posts are fantastic and much appreciated. We are sailing on Anthem on Nov. 22 and really looking forward to it.

Thanks again for your posts and have a wonderful voyage!!

Loved Qsine- had a lot of fun and enjoyed the food. While you can experience more food choices with a large group of people, I've enjoyed it with just my DH and I and with a group of 4 as well.

Didn't try Normandie so can't speak about it.

DH and I wanted to like bistro on 5 because of the mostly great reviews but we were underwhelmed.

Enjoy whatever you choose!