Calico Mary

On 2/7/2024 at 10:14 PM, Merion_Mom said:

 

Lobster will be on the menu on Night 6.

Thank you so much for your response. I appreciate it.

Calico Mary

On 2/7/2024 at 10:14 PM, Merion_Mom said:

 

Lobster will be on the menu on Night 6.

Thank you so much! 

I'm sailing on Anthem from March 3rd through 10th. I didn't see lobster on the menu, either. It will be a disappointment if it isn't served, but there are other choices to be had, especially desserts. 

On 1/1/2024 at 3:09 AM, abbydancer said:

Very interesting thread.  I've got no set plans for Alaska at this time, but I've done it 7 or 8 times (we live in California so not too bad - closer than the Caribbean).  I also did the land portion of the cruise tour in 2021, when they opened their lodges because they thought there wouldn't be an Alaska season.  (There wasn't for the interior, just RT Seattle that year).

 

And like many of you I'm a hyper-planner.  DH says that if I think something is worth planning, it's worth over planning.  He doesn't want to hear anything until a month before because he's sure I'll change it.  So this is fun.

 

 

Some notes for you all.

 

First, Taku Lodge is an amazing experience.  It's great for Glacier viewing.  If it appeals, there's absolutely no reason to pay the ships price.  The office is right next to the pier, and the folks on your excursion will be a mix of how people bought it.  In other words, exactly the same.  They're great people.  We were supposed to go in 2020, and they honored that price through 2 rescheduled (2022 was the charm).  

 

And by the way, if you see an excursion that's easy to get to on your own, and it's the same price on the ship, book direct.  These are usually local operators, and if you book direct they get all the money, whereas through the ship, I'm pretty sure they take a cut.

 

In Ketchikan, I think you can buy lumberjack show tickets when you get there.  And something no one has mentioned - there's a Duck tour.  It leaves right from the pier.  I've never done it, but it's on my list.  There's also a salmon ladder that's interesting at the right time of year (when they're running).

 

Feel free to ask questions.

Thanks so much for the notes! Will look into Taku Lodge for glacier viewing. So happy I reached out to AAA for suggestion about where to park near Newark Liberty airport where DH and I will be departing. They arranged a deal that includes a night at a Doubletree Hotel, shuttle to and from Air Train AND all 10 nights parking for our car for LESS THAN I could find for 10 nights parking alone!

This is great because our flight LEAVES at 7 am.  We live in southern NJ, so driving in the middle of the night was not at all appealing. I tried looking into a stay/park and fly deal and couldn't find anything under $300.00. YAY triple A and their discount!

On 11/29/2023 at 3:50 PM, SirTomster said:

Now I am not sure if this is a deal or not.  I thought the prices were higher but they are cheaper now.

 

For me, the price to fly home from Vancouver is 1K over the price of flying from Seattle.  So I will be taking the QuickShuttle from the Canada Place pier to the Seattle Airport.  

 

Right now the prices seem to be 1/2 off.  I had a price of $130 for the bus but I booked it for $70.98.  I do not see them advertising any sale, but still it was nearly half of what I expected to pay.  That includes 2 bags for each of us.

 

So for those who end up in Vancouver at the end of the cruise, it might be an option to consider.  Or for someone that leaves from Vancouver.  Flying to Seattle and taking the bus to Vancouver to get on the ship. 

 

 I ended up deciding to stay a night in Seattle and not trying to catch a flight that evening since you never know if traffic will delay the bus.   

Wow. didn't know there was a QuickShuttle between Seattle Airport and the Canada Place pier. I really need to find a good travel agent.

On 11/28/2023 at 7:06 AM, no1racefan1 said:

There were issues with not enough permits to visit the glacier or something like that... for this reason, I think the best bet might be to book the ship excursion to go to Mendenhall. I didn't hear of any ship excursions getting cancelled this summer (I could be wrong though).

 

 

Thank you so much. I'll book through HAL.

A blogger mentioned the blue bus to Mendenhall Glacier was discontinued. I'm disappointed. Not sure what other options exist.

The only private island I know is Coco Cay. It's been upgraded with all sorts of activities. Maybe I would go for a two-day visit then sail home, but I doubt I'd do it more than once.

If you visit Wonderland as soon as you board you should be able to get reservation for either night 1 or 2. Just be little flexible with the time.

 

At Jamie's we went with the server's reccomendation. First one was Veggie plank, their infamous garlic bread, plate of different marinated olives. Myself and DD had chicken. Sorry forgot specific name of that dish. It was grilled chicken with sauce on the side. DW is vegetarian so they brought pasta for her in some veggie sauce which was very savory. And finally finished with Tiramisu. They have Italian beer their which none of the bars have. The beer was good.

 

We have been on Adventurer, Allure and now Anthem. Our best experience with WJ was with Anthem. Their entire menu has changed. We had chocolate fondue on two nights in WJ which we never saw in adventurer and allure. Each night in WJ is different theme night and you will know which theme is that night from a playcard placed on table during breakfast or lunch.

 

We also did MDR few nights. It was excellent as well.

Sounds great! Thanks for replying.

I have dined in all three and had excellent meals.

 

 

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Thanks for your post.

I looked in a travel brochure for RCCI. It listed which activities were available on which ship. Anthem has other Quantum class sister ships. Anthem doesn't have a zip line like some do. Some have ice skating, not roller skating. Different shows. Some different restaurants. I've been trying to figure everything out. Thank heavens for Cruise Critic's many members who know a LOT of stuff about RCCI.

We purchased the BOGO package before we cruised on August 17th. After we boarded, we purchased an additional three night dining package.

 

We ate at Wonderland the first night and it was just o.k. The best part was the chocolate dessert. The second night we ate at Chops and weren't really impressed with it at all.

 

The third night we tried Jamie's and it was awful! So bad in fact that the manager did not count the meal against the first night of our three night dining package. I went directly from Jamie's to Guest Services to cancel the three night dining package since I had no desire to try out any of the restaurants again.

 

While I was at Guest Services, my husband ran into a manager from Silk (My Time Dining). He told my husband to show up at 6 PM the next night for dinner and he would make sure it was great. He was a man of his word. Our dinners for the rest of the cruise were fantastic thanks to Artika and Karette who went above and beyond in providing a great experience.

Thanks so much for your post. I will keep my expectations low.

Wonderful tips! I was wondering if I'd be able to request Wonderland for the BOGO nights 1 and 2. I have reserved lunch at Chops early in the process, and when I saw the BOGO offer, I took that as well. What did you order in Jamie's? So glad you had good stuff to say about Windjammer. Wasn't sure I wanted to try it at all, but the Mango crepes sound delicious.

So awesome! Thank you so much!

Thanks so much for sharing your trip experiences!

As long as Cuba harbors Joanne Chesimard, who killed a State Trooper in New Jersey, I would not even consider a cruise to there.

So spouse and I are preparing to get passports. Thank heavens postal clerk told him to check his birth certificate to see if his parents' names are on it. WHAT?? It's true. In the "old days" the names of the father and mother aren't listed!! So now spouse has to go through an extra hoop to get a passport. Luckily my parents' names ARE listed on my birth certificate. Cruise is in November, so there is time to fix this little glitch.

Room service can deliver a pot of coffee (and breakfast) every day to your cabin if you wish at no charge.

Royal Caribbean charges $7.95 room service fee for anything other than continental breakfast.

Thank you so much for sharing your Starbucks coffee singles hint. I wonder if anyone who has used a French Press coffee maker onboard can tell me how to make coffee in the cabin so spouse can enjoy a hot cup on the balcony.

So, on RC Anthem of the Seas, some cabins CAN have a coffee maker without shorting out the entire ship's electric system, resulting in a fire, but other (smaller) cabins can't? Moot point now, because I bought my spouse a French Press coffee maker (no electricity required.) What I haven't seen is how to get hot water so he can make it in the cabin. Maybe he has to go to Windjammer and make it there? OR, ask for it as part of (free for now) Continental breakfast room service?