Smileonboard

So glad you had an awesome cruise. The food definitely looked a step up from other cruise lines. Thanks so much for the review - I loved following along. Miss cruising and your review had me feeling like I was right there - We are going on a Norwegian cruise in December- last cruise we took was Nov 2019 so I am

counting the days. We travel with my 12 year old so no VV for me - yet ! 
So I am also a margarita lover - I saw your favorite on the cruise was one without the agave syrup/ sweetener  - I typically order mine with patron , fresh lime and triple sec . What is truly your favorite margarita of all time?

Thanks for the responses - they are very helpful ! 

We have been on several cruises with our son but he has always been in the kids club and really enjoyed it. We are looking to cruise next summer and he will be 13. I know that puts him in the teen club. I am worried he will be a little lost as he is used

to the structure of the younger group and it helps him be comfortable when Counselors break the ice. For those who have cruises with a young teen did they like the teen club ? What types of activities did they do ? Is there any structured time or is to on then to figure it out - thanks 

He likes to hang with other kids - likes video games - enjoys wandering the ships and loves music and shows. Swimming will keep him happy for a short time but definitely not hours - he does a lot of swimming at home - It would be the summer when kids are out of school - 

Hi - 

I haven’t been on a celebrity cruise in 20 years we have been on Norwegian and Royal Caribbean the last few years - we cruise with our son and he will be 13 on our next cruise so first time in the teen category. How is Celebrity with a teen ? I know the ships don’t have the rope courses - slides - cars etc that the other lines do but is there enough to keep the kids happy ? 
 

Hi All- 

I have been lurking around here for quite some time. I wanted to post to say that it is very refreshing to see posts that are so honest - today with all the social media and everyone’s ’ “perfect”  picturesque lives posted for everyone to see ,I applaud those who are brave enough to speak their truth - 

so I just want to wish everyone Happy New Year! 
 

4 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

Thanks to all of you, this "review" is on a trajectory to be my biggest ever... I really appreciate all of you who chimed in along the way, and to all of you "lurkers"... I will thank each and every one of you by username when I return to reality...

- I am one of those “ lurkers” but  I felt the need to post to say I really enjoyed your review. I had a really stressful few days and your review gave me something to look forward to and distract me so thanks for that! 

We stayed in an aft facing on the getaway deck 9 - loved it! You will love the peace and view ! Enjoy ! 

We cruised the Getaway last November and enjoyed the cruise and the ship- I think that everyone looks at different things when cruising. We had sailed the Escape 5 months prior so we compared the 2 and felt the escape was an overall better experience but again we still enjoyed the Getaway we just had several evenings with staff that wasn’t very attentive. Also, their seemed to be many more chair hogs on the Getaway - I think those issues were cruise related and not ship related - Enjoy! 

We stayed in a forward facing on the Escape and it was nice - we also stayed on the Getaway in Aft facing on deck 9 and it was incredible ! 

They had a few on our August cruise can’t remember which ones except I know they had New Castle brown ale because my husband had it - 

4 hours ago, andrea3eleven said:

 

Do you remember how much it cost to play bingo? I am going on a cruise in 2 months and would like to play on one of our sea days.

It was around $60/70 for the 3 of us to play but there were much more expensive packages where you can get numerous cards ( we had 3 for each game - they did 3 games) they even had packages with iPads for electronic bingo- 

14 minutes ago, Croozin Soozin said:

Happening in 11 days!  Doing the 9 night to Canada/NE, followed by 5 night to Bermuda, followed by another 9 night to Canada/NE.   Still trying to figure out how to pack!  LOL 

Wow that is awesome ! Yes I can see how packing would be a challenge ! Good luck and have a great trip - we wanted to do Canada / NE but wasn’t sure if my 10 yr old would enjoy it - 

8 hours ago, Croozin Soozin said:

Thanks for your review!  Can’t wait to get back on the Anthem!

Is it happening soon? I am trying to decide what cruise to take next - 

8 hours ago, MadamG2U said:

Thanks for the review just 20 days to go!

I’m jealous ! 😉Have a great cruise! 

8 hours ago, Networker said:

Love the pic of your son hugging you.  So sweet 

Thanks - it was on of my favorites- 

For the first time we went for a bridge tour which was really impressive - we all enjoyed this and the first officer was so informative and interesting to listen to- 

we went to dinner at Coastal Kitchen - I had a Caesar salad - French onion soup - cauliflower rice and chocolate cake - I enjoyed the meal and the staff is really wonderful there - we have tips every time we went to CK but they really make the experience great.

After dinner we went to pack - worse thing about a cruise 😢-

after packing I needed a drink so I went Boleros and got a coconut mojito- it was delicious- took the drink to the pub to listen to Cat for the last time - my son went to the kids club to say goodbye to his cruise friends - lights out 11:30- 

Day 5 - Sea day

last day I always wake up the last day ready to do a lot and get as much vacationing as I can but so bittersweet- 

went to sorrentino’s for a parfait- my stomach was feeling a bit bloated from cruise eating 😬 

I then went to the spa to get a facial. Of course upsell was done before my treatment but I shut that down quickly - it was a good treatment- 

i then met my hubby and son at bingo - the same woman won the first two games and yes there were some nasty looks at her - I congratulated her - she was going home happy - 

the last game the winner received $ 658- 

we went to the cafe 270 for sandwiches but my son would not eat the ham it did look fatty and thick so we went to the windjammer for the first time. I had a big salad with some Ben stew and chicken gyro- it was all really good - and a yummy coconut cookie - throughout the cruise I had a few cookies - they are delicious when they are fresh but so many times they were stale - 

we went to the day showing of we will rock you - we brought our son as he loves music - he really enjoyed it. It did have some adult content but we felt it was fine for him as he is pretty mature and we discuss many of these subjects with him- I enjoyed the show I thought the singers had lots of talent. 

After the show I got some coffee at Starbucks and 2 macaroons- the cookies and cream and the raspberry are delicious- they are extra but very worth it - I think they were 1.75 each - brought my snack to my balcony to read - 

My son wanted a Shirley temple so we got one at the bionic bar -

Second day in Bermuda - 

We decided to stay around port today- 

we went to the museum - went mini golfing and did some shopping- I bought myself a glass necklace - we headed back at 12 to a very quiet ship. We went to the pub for lunch and enjoyed the pretzels, poutine and burgers - we spent a lot of time here and the staff was great and music by Cat was fun at night - I had the drink of the day Woo Woo - 

We then went to the theater to see LEGO movie 2 in 3D - we all laughed out loud and enjoyed some popcorn- 

Headed back to the cabin and relaxed on the balcony - 

Bermuda - 

Had breakfast in the dining room - actually only time we went to the dining  room. It was good we had French toast , eggs Benedict and pancakes and shared. 

We had a day pass at Elbow beach. The beach was beautiful - the water crystal clear and warm. We ate lunch at Mickeys on the water - again beautiful but I have to say  VERY expensive but we kinda knew that going in - we got off the ship at 9:30 - caught a cab and was settled on the beach by 10:30- stayed until 3:00

we decided to go shopping at Hamilton and have dinner at Marcus Samuelsson’s restaurant in the Princess hotel so we made a stop back at the ship to shower and change. 

The hotel is walking distance from the shops but it was hot and we were sweaty. The google is beautiful - it is actually on the marina and they have a beach club 20 minutes away- the restaurant overlooks the water and has urban art so the atmosphere is great. The drinks and food was fabulous as well as the service- wouldn’t mind taking a land trip there - we headed back so my son could make the Gaga ball competition- 

we went and changed into our bathing suits and went to the adult only hot tubs to relax - 

it was an incredible day! 

After the massage we did some trivia Beetle and queen music - fun and the crowd was great.  we went to chops - 

the service was great and food was pretty good - not the best steak but overall a good experience. After dinner did some bar hopping and reading. Early day tomorrow in Bermuda so lights out by 11- 

After dinner we went to the pub to listen to music and have a drink. My son went to the kids club. I went to the ca in to read before bed - I always have a goal to finish a book before the cruise is over ( I missed my goal by 50 pages 😩) 

Sea day - 

the weather was rainy but we are ok with that. We enjoy the activities on the ship. We first had breakfast at coastal kitchen- unfortunately my scrambled eggs were dry and cold and the bacon too crispy I like myself some well done bacon but this was too much - but hey I didn’t have to cook them so it’s ok with me ! 

We then booked to the bumper cars - it was about a 20 minute wait - the we went to the arcade ( very small arcade ) again in comparison to Norwegian the arcade was 1/2 the size and the selection wasn’t great. We then went to play fuzz ball - we wanted to play some ping pong but never got a table the whole cruise - again there were ALOT of kids on this cruise - 

We took a walk to the concierge club had cappuccino and read a bit - the three times we went there there was two or three people there. We never went during open bar time so not sure about that. 

We played bingo and did not win. The prizes were $140 400, 600 ( can’t remember the exact amount but something in that range ) 

We decided to hit the pizza place for lunch. I heard some people like it and some hate it we thought it was pretty good - my son probably ate a total of 20 slices during the cruise so he enjoyed it- 

we did a little shopping and picked Up a few sparkling waters and headed to our balcony to read - 

after a little relaxing I went to the gym and then got a massage. If was a good massage and I was happy that therapist was too pushy about products but I think I am a pro in letting them know I am not interested- 

here are some random pictures 

We went to wonderland the first night - it was empty. I am not the most adventurous eater but I did enjoy the experience and tasted everything - I was shocked I was actually full my the end of the meal- 

3 hours ago, billslowsky said:

Make sure you pre-register for activities like Ifly and NorthStar.  There aren't going to be many spots once you board, you may have to split up to do them.  Expect 15 minutes or more wait for bumper cars.  Just the way it is.

Yes we actually had ifly and north star prebooked but cancelled them and they were happy we cancelled because they were overbooked - you just can’t do everything in 5 days. We did do the bumper cars and my son was stuck for most of the time he had so that wasn’t great. Roller skating was first come first serve and filled up in minutes. 

We had suite 8636 midship - we have stayed forward and Aft so we definitely did less walking on this ship not sure that’s a good thing with all the extra dessert I had - 😋

The cabin was great had lots of storage and really comfortable for the three of us - our cabin steward - Rico- was like a secret ninja sneaking in our room at the perfect time and cleaning it so we never had a timing issue. On Norwegian we seemed to always go to the cabin when it was being cleaned and waited around. We walked up to deck 15 ( a recurring theme as elevators were packed most of time ) the cruise was at full capacity and there were 1150 kids on board 😲

We went to a good spot to check out the ship going under the bridge and then we registered our son at the kids club. I have to compare at this point - the kids club was terrible the counselors were not the friendliest and the room was tiny and claustrophobic . The whole cruise they did the same games but luckily my son met some kids he liked and went to the club 4 nights and stayed for Late night so he can play GAGA ball - he was very excited to win medals and apparently he was the kid to beat !