jsswish

We had no issues with drinks in the solarium pool as long as they were in plastic containers, no glass was allowed. Not sure if we ventured into the indoor or outdoor pools with drinks, but if we did nothing was ever said. I know I sat on the edge with my feet with a drink in hand and that was not an issue.

We will be 12586. We had the same thought, close to all the upper level activities and a nice high vantage point to see things from. Hopefully not too cold!

Should be a good spot, you'll have an overhang above I believe so probably a little more shade time for the balcony, but a good spot in relation to the elevators and getting up to the pools.

How do you like the balcony rooms on deck 12? We'll be on deck 12 in Nov.

I was in room 12150, port side forward, about 3 or 4 doors down the hall from the forward elevator. Can't speak to all the rooms, but we loved ours and the location, plenty of room on the balcony. We were on the forward part of the ship where it's at it's widest, no overhang overhead.

Location was great for getting the day started, very short walk to solarium/bistro, fitness center, pools etc. And great location for nice weather days when you're hanging out by the pools but want a quick break back to the room.

:confused: Wondering if there is a steam room/sauna on this ship? What deck is it on and is there a charge to use it? Not looking for massage or treatments just to sit in steam for 10 minutes .and do not want to pay much or anything for that one time!

Sauna I believe is deck 15 or 16, same as the spa, but is not free. Not sure what the charge is but I believe there's a couple options such as per day, or for the whole cruise.

In Saint John for this cruise, Bolero, Vintages and Michael's were closed. We headed to the Schooner bar and it was open. Not sure about the top deck bars since we didn't check as it wasn't fabulous weather. We saw Customs guys boarding but didn't know why, but later found out from someone when we asked why Bolero wasn't hosting its 2 for 1 margaritas as posted in the Compass.

Thanks for the info, we'll know better for next time. We went to Michael's and then our room to put swim suits on when we saw it wasn't open, that's when I noticed the indoor pool bar was open but Solarium bar was not. It would be nice if they could somehow provide that information (what is open while in port) after the ship clears customs and gangway opens.

On the note of finding an open bar when in St. John or Halifax, I think in both cases it was the bar at the indoor pool, between the Solarium and outdoor pool. Not sure if that was coincidence or the usual spot. Good to know for next time, I didn't know customs actually boards and says what can remain open.

Will be following along..... on-board with you! Can't wait, first vacation in almost 18 months.

Same for the 7/20 sailing. Just purchased it with my OBC!!!

Curious about this - if you earn points and purchase OBC through the Visa rewards card, can that OBC be used for purchases prior to sailing? We've always had some amount of OBC going in, but I never saw how I could use it towards pre-cruise purchases.

oh interesting. I didn't realize the AC shut off if you took your key card out of the slot. I would wonder if being gone most of the day if the room was warm coming back.

We knew about this trick going in but tried it a couple times leaving the card out. The room was noticeably warmer and stuffier, not hot or uncomfortable, but it was noticeable. It never took long to cool down though.

Michael's Genuine Pub Cheeseburger!

Totally agree and the wings were very good there too.

Second these, the food at Michael's was very good. I would say Chops dinner as a whole, Michael's, the Dog House, and Cafe Two70 stand out most for us. That's not to say the MDR(s), Wind Jammer or other locations aren't good, it's just these handful of places were most memorable.

We enjoyed our dinner at Wonderland, but our overall favorite dinner was Chops. Jamie's was either not memorable enough, or I had to much to drink, but it didn't stand out for me. On our upcoming trip we will likely eat at Chops again, and Michael's, but no other upcharge dining.

Yeah, I think that's still going on as well. I don't connect to ANYTHING whilst on vacation, though, except the Schooner Bar. :D

I hear ya, I made the mistake of getting it last time and ended up enjoying spamming Facebook with vacation pictures. I will NOT, however, be looking at anything remotely close to work related.

I myself enjoyed my connection to Michael's Pub, love the beer and whiskey selection there.

Just an FYI, the ultimate package discount is now 30% on the August 31 AOTS sailing. I've been watching it like a hawk for the last couple of months where it's been stuck at 20%. Logged into cruise planner this morning and saw 30%. $414 total for 8 nights. Still cheeses me off that they dropped the select package, because I generally only drink beer, but it's better than ala carte pricing in my case, LOL.

 

You better believe I'll be having my fair share of mojitos this time around, too:cool:

They had a good deal a week or two ago as well that combined the deluxe plus single device internet for 30% if purchased as a bundle. I ended up canceling my 20% reservation, separate internet package and going for that bundle. Ended up saving right around $50.

Don't think I've seen this mentioned, if you have an old Seapass card or any card you won't miss of that size bring it. Unless things have changed, you put your Seapass card in a slot just inside your cabin door to bring the climate control to life. And maybe some power outlets or lights, I don't remember.

So if you want your room nice and cool for when you get back, have a card you can keep in that slot. We didn't have much of a problem on our trip since I had read about this before, but we did check it out a couple times, and the room did warm up and get a tad stuffy when we were out for a few hours without having that card inserted.

Loved the attitude of this review, many people seem to focus on the negative or things that aren't absolutely perfect and it brings everything down with it, not here. Thanks for sharing.

Also we felt the same about Johnny Rockets, the burger was decent (and made correctly in our case) but not good enough to have more than once. The burger we really enjoyed on our trip, and will have again next time, came from Michael's Pub.

Here is a pic of the wake- all looks fine to me. Someone with more mechanical experience may see a problem, but seems like we are cruising along fine.

 

 

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Could just be me, but the left half (right pod) does seem to be putting out a decent bit more thrust than the right, it just looks more solid. And if you look into the distance the right side of the wake almost disappears as the left continues on.

Awesome lauren! Glad you are along with us! Hope you are enjoying Denver!

 

The NS is a 9 min ride so stays up once up there for about 5-6 mins with a min or so for up and down. It was very stable while up there with little sway. Not sure how it is on a sea day though.

 

Hope you enjoy it if you give it a go!

 

 

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NorthStar on a sea day is a little more interesting, especially if they swing you out over the side, if they still do that. Once you peak and hit the wind it starts to shake and bounce just a bit, unlike when in port, so it's good to have something to keep a hand on for stability.

We did the 9 night Canada/NE cruise on the Anthem last Sept, and really enjoyed it. With 2 days at sea, you have time to see more stuff on the ship, but the rest of the ports are so different than the Caribbean, it's really cool.

 

That was the second time we did that itinerary (first time out of Boston on the Brilliance) and the second time we did the Anthem (first time to Florida and Bahamas).

My wife and I did the NE/Canada cruise on Liberty a couple years ago and loved it so much we're going again on Anthem this year. We picked the end of August/beginning of September date to get the warmer weather.

The only slight headache was and probably will still be the tendering in Bar Harbor, such a rush to get off. Not bad getting back if you do it at the mid way point for your day there.

I LOVED being parked right at the end of the runway in Boston.

Either way all of the stops were great, beautiful scenery, and we just hoofed it, didn't really have a plan at any point. Ended up at lots of different breweries, got plenty of lobster.

We also enjoyed that you don't have to worry about phone usage so much, there's wifi aplenty off the ship, and no real cash/credit card worries.

Agree about Michael's Pub - burgers are awesome ($12.50 up charge). Wings excellent there too. We enjoyed Wonderland but were not too impressed with Jamie's. For breakfast there is an omelette station all the way back in the Windjammer. Other than that we avoided it because we could never find a seat. Breakfast in 270 or Solarium Bistro is the way to go. Don't miss the Dog House on Deck 15 if you like hot dogs and sausages (no up charge). The ice cream (Ben & Jerry's) at Starbucks is just a pre-frozen small cup (for $4.50) - not worth it. The Johnny Rockets is not like the ones on other ships - it is really just a take-out stand. Of course the Robotic Bar is interesting to try at least once for a drink.

Forgot about the Dog House, we loved stopping there for our lunch every couple of days, very good dogs and brats/sausages.

Won't have a problem finding something I like with those menus. How many days was your cruise?

And what is the typical logic of figuring out which night(s) will be your lobster night(s) if you're trying to not book any specialty dinners over that night(s).

 

Anthem in 76 days...

 

dp

Snagged a screenshot of a menu someone else put online, a little small but...

Also if your a beer fan Michael's has by far the best selection. I'm an IPA lover myself and was pleasantly surprised to see a list of 4 or 5 quality IPA's on the list.

Best burger on board, in our opinion, is Michael's. It's an extra charge but worth it, more so than Johnny Rockets.

Also Two70 is a good location for breakfast. Not as many options as the Windjammer but much less crowded and still good stuff.

It's easy when you only have two!

Wash your hands, heard that song every day for 12 days straight earlier this year.

We've done this quite a few times, mainly for leftovers or snacks for the room though, not normally taking a full meal back.

We typically do this for a late night snack in the room and grab some slices from Sorrento's. On one occasion we had some leftovers in Chops that we wanted to take for later, and they actually made us a whole new round of sides to go with it, plastic wrapped all the plates, and gave us a tray to use! Very nice of them. Another time we ordered food from Michael's (Anthem) and took it all back to the room using bags that they grabbed for us from a nearby shop.

The only time we've taken food from the Windjammer was during the day when we wanted a pool side snack.

Nice photos! Especially the night time shot of the ships, nice exposure.