CruiseZog

I've stopped at all of these ports multiple times. All I will say is that Maya Chan in Costa Maya is my favorite excursion at any port. If you want a wonderful beach day, there is no better option. My family and I all love it!

Safe travels back home @Ozark_Kid and thank you for the great live review!

The good news about it being your money is you can tip whatever you want, whether nothing or $1,000. 

To answer the original question, I think $350 to $700 covers most cabins, although I'm sure some tip less and others more. 

Is the fitness center open? Mask or no mask? Thanks!

To me, the headline is that they do not face a short term cash crunch. 

18 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

I really didn't want to come across as overly bitchy

I wouldn't worry about that... it's not unreasonable to ask them to do what was agreed to.

I don't think they should offer in room dining at a set time, though, because they always seem to have a hard time pulling it off. Of the two times I cruised Star, everything always delivered early.

I think the only way it works is if you order it and ask that it be delivered as soon as it's ready. Even then, there seem to be problems with the plates, utensils, etc... going to the restaurant was best.

Thanks for the great review!

Wonderful review! I'm looking forward to being on Symphony next week.

The 17th floor is fantastic. It's definitely worth upgrading to a CLS. We've done a CLS on Allure and will be in Symphony in a CLS in just over a week!

Thanks for the great posts and safe travels!

FYI, tart cherry juice has been shown to treat the symptoms of gout... it works!

Charlie is the best! He was our Genie last month. You will have a great cruise.

Two of us rode ifly on Anthem and we both wore our glasses.

Thank you! That is exactly what I was hoping for. We've always wanted to do the bumper cars, but the lines were always ridiculous. May I ask the name of your Genie?

I was on Anthem in April with a genie. Overall, I thought having a genie on Anthem was great and very helpful.

There are many activities on Anthem that require a reservation or waiting in a line... the genie helped with all of that.

We did all of the activities, some multiple times. Near the end, our genie asked if there was anything we wanted to do. My kids said let's go on the bumper cars again (we probably ended up doing the bumper cars 4x overall). Out genie said let's go and we walked right on, despite a very long line.

It was great!

Great review! I bet I can guess which neighbor left their balcony door open. [emoji848][emoji263]

I found the exact same thing on pricing. Traveling Star Class on Allure in October, but Sky Class on Symphony in October 2019 for the same price.

Star on Symphony next year was double the price of Star on Allure this year.

Here's a classic one, bring a fun size Tootsie roll. Form it into a turd shape.

Plant it in a friend's room when they are not looking, then "find" it and say there must be rats. Pick it up, smell it and take a bite.

Hat tip, Caddyshack.

Cost of fuel has increased almost 30%. Drive up their cost.

It's hard! I did it with my teen age kids. I'm 45 and they are 16 and 13.

Not too many adults were successful at doing the tricks. The rate for kids was higher. Flexibility and arm / shoulder strength are key.

Also, I would pass if you are over 180 pounds. If you have any problem, the guy on the rope has to take the weight. When I dismounted, he went flying into the air! [emoji43]

I forgot one on my original list... in the middle of the cruise, it's a beautiful day, and this 11 year old boy in the elevator says to his family "I just want to get home and play Fortnite on my computer".

His family looked a little exasperated. The rest of us on the elevator tried to stifle laughs.

WOW! I've witnessed lots of different behaviors on ships elevators, but this one is among the rudest and most arrogant. Good for you for taking appropriate and dignified action.

I totally agree... surprisingly bold and rude. Good for you to be nice!

Well, we’ve been back for a few days and I wanted to post aquick summary of the week.

Anthem: beautiful ship with many great amenities. I wish itwould have had more elevators, but we got around pretty easily. The shows wereentertaining, if a bit weird.

Room 10324: the best part of the trip for me! I lovedthe aft view and space of this room. The balcony was fantastic. Only complaint is that we did get a fair amount of ash from the stacks. While the room attendant washed the balcony daily, it was still a mess.

Star Class / Genie: what’s not to like here! We werewell taken care of. I thought having a Genie was especially valuable onAnthem (even more so during Spring Break) given the number of activities thatneed an appointment and the difficulty in getting them. Our Genie, Yen,was helpful and very nice and made sure we did all of the activities we wanted to do. Side note, we met a really nice couple from one of our Genie's other cabins. We shared some activities and shows and really enjoyed meeting them!

Food: this was the first cruise where we didn’t eat in theMDR. The food was good, although a little bit inconsistent. Thefirst meal at Chops was not good, but the second one was excellent. Jamie’s was great both times and Coastal Kitchens is always a favorite!

Ports

Port Canaveral: we didn’t get off the ship given the crowds,which ended up being a great decision. Even more, the ship was a greatlocation to watch the rocket launch.

Coco Cay: beautiful beach day. We’re very excited tosee the island after the construction is complete.

Nassau: dolphins at Blue Lagoon was one of the highlights ofthe trip! Highly recommended!

I hope you enjoyed my live review… we enjoyed the trip!

We had an easy Uber ride to the ship and are now onboard.

 

The vacation had started! [emoji924]️[emoji847]

[ATTACH][/quote

 

 

What was the cost of the Uber please?

 

The Uber from the hotel to the pier was $19.55.

We just got off the Anthem yesterday and had some funny times on the elevators.

Here are some observations:

1. It took forever to get an elevator... definitely not enough elevators.

2. The elevator is never too full for some people. We saw this several times, but one woman literally backed into the full elevator crushing everyone behind her backside. The only thing missing was the backing up beep from a truck!

3. Kids were mostly well behaved, but there was one group of teens who dropped 5 F-bombs in 3 floors.

4. Twice, the elevator mysteriously lost all pressed buttons. Both times, multiple floors were pressed, then (while at one of the stops) all of the pressed floor lights went off and the elevator changed directions (going up when it had been going down, with additional stops still to go). Weird!

5. Like the kids, most of the elderly passengers were friendly, but we did have one group of 4 that blocked the entrance. My teen daughter politely said "excuse me" (loud enough to be heard), but none of them moved. I then very loudly (not yelling) said "EXCUSE ME" and one of them moved a little after glaring at me.

6. The elevator stopped at deck 14 and some people got off. Then, after the 14 light went off and as the doors were closing, a passenger pressed 14 and made a second stop! ;p

I'm sure there were more, but the elevators were a good source of entertainment. :D

What have you seen that made you laugh / cry?

We arranged with our Genie to arrive at 1030. We were onboard by 1045 and dropped our bags in our room before 11am.

Our Genie said it was busiest between 1130 and 1230.

It was Yen Lee. She was very nice!