MaiseyM

I really really wish I had them with us this trip. They are just too close to midterms and it would be such a problem for them to miss at this time. I'm so thankful my parents are able to help so that we could attend my cousin's wedding. I don't like traveling without then though!

I get it. I wouldn't let my HS kids go either. I work in a High School and would strongly advise parents not to do this, unless their child is totally self directed and on top of grades w/out any pushing from the parents (not my teens ;))

Stop at Starbucks; The carpet will be better and it will be easier. It’s so nice that you have parents will watch your other two at home. That makes traveling so much easier. I think my teenage boys would revolt if I ever left them behind. That said they’re lucky that the only time I’m able to travel is during their same school vacations, due to work. Enjoy!

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I’m not sure how some itineraries don’t count. That doesn’t make sense. I ended up calling and getting the deluxe package. This is for our December 2018 Harmony sail.. I wanted to take advantage of other promotions but I’m trying to space out my purchases since I still have time. I’m hoping the Internet will be on sale in the future like it has been in previous years.

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So far.....

 

“Up to 30% off everything on cruiseplanner”

 

30% Refreshment Package

Up to 60% Ultimate Dining Package*

 

Up to 30% Voom mult. Internet device packages*

 

Up to 20% off select shore excursions*

 

BOGO 50% Deluxe Drink Package*

 

20% Dinner at Chops Grille

 

Over 25% Deluxe Beverage + 1 device Voom Bundle*

 

 

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Thanks. So if I booked through a travel agent, do I just call RCI to buy the internet and drink package?

If a better price comes up later, can I get a credit?

I’m not cruising until next Christmas (13months) so I have time to wait for good deals of better ones come out.

Cr using may not be for you, if this ^ is really an issue.

Thanks. I do love cruising, but if I can knowingly prevent a reasonably high chance of the big waves that really rock the boat or come up splashing super high, I'll avoid it. I understand this can happen on any cruise, but I am wondering if the chances are higher on the Anthem in the winter, based on some of the reviews. I'm not backing out of the whole cruising world though, just avoiding the ones I know I may have a rougher ride in. ;)

Wow. Thank you all for the feedback. It's good to know how long the cold weather lasts. Since the ship looks amazing, being inside for 2 days wouldn't be horrible. That said I didn't think about the big waves. I know I would panic like crazy if they start, even if it's normal and happens often. I may need to look at this for a summer trip. I don't know if the pricing is better/worse when comparing summer to Xmas, so I'll have to figure that out. Flying to NJ is probably less expensive than flying my crew down to Florida, but that's not too much of an issue. Thank you for your feedback!

I am looking for a family cruise for Christmas, 2018. We have done Oasis and Harmony. I am considering something different this time and want to do Anthem. That said, I am trying to escape the cold (live in midwest) and worry about how long it will take to warm up on the ship. I am steering away from Anthem, but thought I would ask for those that have done it. If you have taken a winter Anthem cruise, can you tell me about it? Thank you.

How many days until it was warm and you could wear shorts/tees and lay by the pool?

Was packing extra special because you had to pack clothes for warm and cold weather?

Overall, approximately, how many days were nice and warm vs. typical dreary winter cold?

Good rundown. Thank you. This helps b/c I just booked Liberty for next year. I have recently taken my family on two Oasis class ships and was going to try something different. Happy the rooms are great and you like all the updates, new sun chairs... but the food and internet worries me. I know some may say to not worry about internet (you're on vacation!), but my kids/teens are snap chatting and we use our FaceTime audio to stay in touch. Good internet makes our cruising easier. I'm curious if the food is any different from Harmony/Oasis. I know it's so subjective, but that foamy gelatinous desert you showed made me wonder. My boys were fans of ordering a few deserts on Harmony. I thought the food on Oasis ships were good/not great. Good enough though.

Huge bummer about the fog and the stress it brought on everyone. Marcella should have calmed down though. What's up with that?! Thanks for the review. I'll keep reading more liberty reviews to keep me informed if I want to stay on Liberty or go to another Oasis ship.

Oh~ and congrats on a Noro Free cruise. We celebrated this recently, as our previous one had a Noro in the family. We were a little more paranoid this time and washing nonstop.

I think she was looking for pictures, say, from her daughter/spouse in the room next door. Just the two of them. But then it wasn't associated with her cabin, despite them all being booked together.

While I don't recall all the prices, the previous poster is right in that there are different options. I was on Harmony last week. Rather than buying 10 of the photos (set package price), I bought 3 digital. If I wanted them on a flash drive, I had to purchase the flash drive at the desk. Since I didn't need a flash drive (and to spend more), I had them downloaded on my phone (iPhoto) instead. They were $20 per photo download. I now 'own' the photo and can do what er I want with them, including making larger portraits at a local photo shop.

I'm not sure how many people you have in your party, but I spoke to someone on Harmony who was upset. She had 3 rooms in her group. She and her husband, her daughter/spouse, and someone else in the 3rd room. She wanted the 'full' package of all the photos associated with her group. Due to her having 3 rooms, she had to order 3 full packages rather than one package. Triple the cost. They associate everyone's room number separately and told her they cannot put the other two rooms on her photo package. She had to buy the full package for each room (or just buy the ones she really wanted from her other rooms) and they weren't included in on her room number. Seemed a little ridiculous when you have a group of people that you have to buy the full package 3 times to get your family's photos.

Ironic? :confused:

Typo. It cut out words. I meant to say that it was ironic that the fast pass line was the longest line there was today. Like the other poster mentioned, there was only one agent working that line today. They'll eventually figure it out.

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It's still good to have it it was ironic today.

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The vacation is over. [emoji53]. We had a fabulous time and enjoyed taking a different ship. I just booked an Easter cruise and liberty of the seas for its itinerary next spring. I want to do some more research to learn more about the ship but I at least have it on my calendar.

Those were boarding today, it looks like New Year's eve will be a blast. They had all of the balloons pinned up on the ceiling and the promenade this morning. It looks like there will be a big balloon drop at midnight. Have fun. I know CNN will be filming there tonight as well.

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Yes. One cruise port, Per their website

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The link listed above should work. I also noticed on the App Store, people rated and reviewed the app. And you may find which cities they use this in.

I took this picture on the ship. It's no different than the directions you will find on the link above. I did have trouble scanning our passports though. When I opened the app one of the first things I had to do was scan the passport. I could not get the scan to work. As a result, I had to enter the information for each person in my family. It didn't take long though. It probably took me about 10 minutes to set it up.

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We just disembarked from harmony of the seas this morning. Per the suggestion of crewmembers, I downloaded the app for the passport. They told me it would be quicker. I was pleasantly surprised how quick and efficient everything was moving this morning when we left Harmony. When we left away since last spring, it took us about two hours to get off the ship. The TSA had only arranged for three staff members to empty a whole ship the passengers at Easter break.

As a result of my last experience, I planned for a lot of extra time before I flew out today. We ended up making our way through the lines within 15 minutes approximately. We downloaded the mobile app, stood in line for the mobile app users, and realized that those without the app for moving a lot faster than those in line at the mobile app.

Instead of standing there and waiting with our mobile app, we used the old school paper passports. May be at a different time the app will make things easier, but today The old school method of paper passports was a lot faster than the mobile app. We saved enough time going through the other lines today.

As a result of getting off so quickly today, we'

re back in our hotel we used last week, Embassy suites, and hanging out by the pool while we wait for our flight to later today.

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We are at sea today. I feel like as the week went on, some of the lines went down and the ship felt less crowded. I think it was the first few days when everybody was at sea and everybody wanted to be on the slides and the activity lines, it's felt more crowded. Things tended to even out as the week went on

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The line moved pretty fast. As for the question about the bars, I haven't gotten any pictures of the menu. That's said though, I didn't have to pay anything extra for drinks. We ordered a lot of different drinks minus l wine. I don't like their wine that is within the cost limit so I don't order their wine. Throughout the week we ordered numerous different coffee drinks, champagne drinks, slushy drinks, shots, cocktails, and beer. I didn't have to pay anything above and beyond. So I don't think there is any truth to the cost going up with the intention of charging people more.

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Standing at guest services to check out and review bill. It's 7:30 AM. Only 10 people ahead of me so far

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Flags handed out at pool yesterday while band was playing.

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15 espresso drinks for $31. Posted in Cafe Promenade.

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Hi MaiseyM,

 

 

 

Do you think you could post some of the bar menus? There is a rumor/menu floating around that shows a majority of drinks being more expensive than the deluxe drink plan allows thus incurring an upcharge.

 

 

 

Thanks!

Yikes. I hope not. I'll try to take some pics tomorrow. I guess I'll find out bc I've been ordering whatever drinks I've wanted to all week minus the wine upgrade

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Oh. Another small thing I noticed. I'm not sure if your family enjoys french fries, but they definitely changed the type they ordered from oasis. The ones in oasis for high-quality. These and harmony, I definitely mediocre at best. My husband used to work in the food industry and knows these things well. They no longer order them fro i'm not sure if your family enjoys french fries, but they definitely changed the type the Quality of fries they're ordering.. The ones on Oasis were high-quality and tasted good.. These on harmony, are definitely mediocre at best. My husband used to work in the food industry (Sysco) and knows these things well. You can tell just by looking at the fry that it's not a high-quality one. They just aren't as good this time around. Again, not the end of the world or anything major, but it was something we used to look forward to when we ate at some of the restaurants.

On another note, my children love using the waterslides. They have used them several times. We have all tried their best. It's fun, but my kids prefer the waterslides since it's easier to get back in line quickly.

We attempted to see the headliner show last night, Abba influenced. We left after a few songs. My kids were definitely not entertained, due to their generational difference. The sound was also super loud. They had to adjusted or something, because it was blowing my hair so. I'm sure it was a fun act for those who enjoy Abba.

Haiti today. I'm happy for a day with limited excursions so that my family could sleep in and rest. The past two days were fun, but three days of excursions in a row is a little much for us.

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There was a long line to get back on the ship, however, it moved pretty fast. Given that this is their first day in Puerto Rico, it went pretty well.

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Today we visited San Juan, Puerto Rico. Apparently it was the first time they've had Harmony visit the island so there were news cameras when we got off the ship. The traffic was totally nuts. We were a little late getting off, I assumed complications outside. Once we got off, there were a lot of people, news cameras, and numerous tour buses are lined up. It was definitely a production.

We did the bus tour of the rain forest, however, on the way back we had to cut our tour short. Royal Caribbean called the tour company and asked for us to come back sooner than expected. They said there was so much traffic on the road from all of the people coming to see the ship. It definitely took a little bit more time to get back to the ship and I didn't mind missing our last stop at some little place to purchase things. Another fun day off the ship, but I'm happy to be back on board to catch up on my naps.

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