jasper15

We fly to the US on Cathay Pacific, so Melbourne - Hong Kong - New York. It's slightly longer but you bypass LAX and are straight to the East Coast. We have cruised out of New Jersey (awesome cruise to Eastern Caribbean on Anthem Of the Seas) and out of Fort Lauderdale (Western Caribbean on Allure Of The Seas). We would definitely cruise out of NJ again, it's easy to get to and from the terminal and boarding/disembarkation was extremely quick and easy.

Fort Lauderdale is a whole other story. For Non-US residents, disembarkation off the Allure last month took us 2 1/4 hours, and we had friends who got off the boat after us and it took them more than 3 hours. Not enough customs agents and very disorganised.

Other friends who live in Miami told us they avoid Fort Lauderdale at all costs as it's always the same.

We were on Allure last month. Stayed in a JS because that was the best cabin available when we booked.

Loved the ship, she was magnificent.

The only thing we didn't enjoy was CK. Now I know a lot of people love it, but we didn't enjoy our meal there at all so cancelled the second dinner we had booked (I ordered chicken, DH had fish. both were dry and overcooked).

I'm sure it's great for Breakfast and Lunch when you are in a GS or higher but I won't be rushing back for dinner again.

150 Central Park was magnificent, we dined there twice. We also ate at Chops twice which was very good but not as good as Central Park. We went to Giovanni's once but that was so-so. Sabor was good and Samba Grill was delicious.

Sounds like you had a great mini-break. Thanks for your review :)

You can buy the dining package upfront and you will be assigned a restaurant for the first night. There will be a letter in your stateroom telling you which restaurant has been reserved for you. You are able to change it to something else once on-board if you wish.

Only book through the cruise planner for the adults.

Previously, it was $10 per head for children and you can't book for them until on the ship. Perhaps that has changed?

What ship are you booked on? You shouldn't have any problem getting into Chops. It's mine & DH favourite, apart from 150 Central Park (which is only on Oasis class ships).

You will love the room. I'll post more pictures for you. Big Mac is moving to the Ovation on September 22. I briefly met the other two Genies but didn't get their names. I'm sure you will enjoy either one of them.

That's great news about Big Mac moving onto Ovation. We might get him as our genie in January :)

Awesome. Following along as we are doing Star Class for the first time in January and I can't wait!

We were on Allure last month and we had bought the ultimate dining package pre-cruise.

I never got the chance to ask if we could use the package in Hibachi - we couldn't even get a reservation in Hibachi. They were booked out every night. We were really disappointed as we've been to Izumi on other ships and really enjoyed it.

Next time I will pay for it separately through the cruise planner and book for the night that we want to go.

Thanks for your response!

 

So essentially, was the experience the same as the main part of Labadee (lounging on the beach / swimming), albeit a smaller group with a more intimate setting?

Yes however they don't do lunch on Amiga Island (or at least they didn't when we went). You booked to go over there in either the morning or the afternoon and you have lunch in Labadee.

We took the morning excursion and it was fabulous. We were back in Labadee about 1pm from memory.

I appreciate that you are after a recent review of either of these excursions but as there is only one reply, I thought I would answer.

We visited Amiga Island in June 2016 and it was fantastic. They only took about 20-25 of us over there and there were plenty of chairs, lounges and lots of shade for everyone. We went over in the morning and were back around 1pm in time for lunch.

DH and I absolutely loved it and if we go back to Labadee, would have no hesitation in returning. The island itself looks like a castaway island out of the movies.

Done it 4 times at full price. Loved it and felt it was worth every penny.

I agree with you. We've done it three times and always booked through the cruise planner to get the night that we want to go. I much prefer to do it on a sea day, as it's a rush after having been in a port. You have to meet for the dinner at 5.30 - 6.00pm and it goes to 11pm or in some cases, later.

I can't comment on the ship as I haven't sailed on her. However I can comment on some of the ports as I did a similar itinerary in January.

At Noumea, we took the ship excursion to Amedee Island. It was a fantastic day trip. The island is small but the trip was great value for money. Everyone on the tour who I spoke to enjoyed it. The locals put on a fabulous lunch and the glass bottom boat tour (free for everyone, ran about 1/2 hour) was interesting as well.

In Vila, we did a private tour. We visited the turtle sanctuary which I personally couldn't recommend. None of our group of 4 was impressed. The place is really small and behind the times, turtle prison would be a better way to describe it as the turtles are kept in small rock enclosures and fed only fruit. We did some shopping in Vila after visiting the sanctuary and the shopping is great value if you are looking to buy duty free items, especially alcohol and tobacco.

We all loved Mystery Island. We got the first tender over and returned to the ship around 1pm. It does get very hot over there and there isn't a lot of shade so it's best to go early. The water was beautiful and warm and crystal clear. Good snorkeling on one side of the island, great swimming on the other.

Yes Jaime's Bluereef. I booked it through shorefox :)

DaisyL who is currently doing a "live" review from Grandeur mentioned that it was available on day 2 of her cruise.

I can't say for sure sorry but I do know that it includes drinks with Red Bull, eg.vodka and Red Bull so I'd be surprised if you can't get red bull on it's own

Nice review. Thanks.

The ONLY time that I've encountered chair hogs was on the Anthem in the Solarium as well. It would be nice if everyone could use some manners.

Thank you. I will be reading with interest. We are booked in Star Class on Ovation January 3rd 2019. We have a couple of cruises beforehand but this will be the first time Star Class and I'm really looking forward to it :)

The drink packages go on sale but sales are unpredictable. You have to check your cruise planner regularly for the prices. When you see a price you are happy with buy. If you see it cheaper at a later date, you can cancel and re-book.

Be aware that if you cancel, the money will take a few days to be returned to your credit card. If you use OBC to purchase then cancel, the OBC will show up instantly.

On the ships I've been on, they have had "Early" tenders. Check your cruise compass. If these are on offer, you can get off the ship without a ticket if you leave as soon as the ship is cleared. On our most recent cruise, we were first in line. We just followed the instructions on the compass the previous night.

I don't like mushrooms either but I love the food in both Jamie's and Chops. We ate at Chops 4 times on our recent 10 night cruise on Voyager and the food was great (all 4 of us loved it) on each occasion. Plenty of variety, and couldn't fault the food or service.

Haven't been to Jamie's since we were on Anthem 18 months ago but it was brilliant. Much better than Giovanni's IMHO, plenty to choose from. If you tell your waiter your likes and dislikes they will recommend things and also bring several dishes for your table to share.

Oh yes sorry. The Voyager price definitely included gratuities! Anything we can buy through RCL Australian website has gratuities included and I'm pretty sure it's the same deal with prices shown on the UK website.

Following along. Love Anthem, it's our favourite ship (so far) :)

The prices vary by ship and sail date. I have paid as little as $42 USD per day for deluxe package. At the moment, it's in my cruise planner at $55 USD per day. To buy on-board on Voyager two weeks ago, it was $71 USD.

The price of $55 USD per day is for our Allure sailing in June.

Passionfruit Sombrero...yum!

In San Juan, we did the food and culture walking tour through RCL. It was a great tour, one of the best we have done. Only a small group, an easy walk and a very informative guide.

Amiga Island in Labadee was breath taking. Beach was beautiful and the service was great. Once again, only a small group. It was like an island you would see in the movies.

In St Maarten, we only wandered around near where the ship docked. Big mistake! Next time we will take a tour to the French side of the Island. Everyone who went over there said how nice it was.

We are yet to visit St Kitts.

Just off Voyager of the Seas cruise in South Pacific. All of the Islands will take Australian dollars. In New Caledonia, they will give you change in their local currency though so you would need notes of small denominations. In Vanuatu, they were quite happy to give you back your change in Australian dollars and most places could cash a $50 note. The majority of the tourist shops in Vanuatu will display their prices in AUD rather than their local currency.