Fabulous97

oh no! It comes up on my planner but says book on board. That's a bit annoying.

I am sure we will have a lovely time anyway.

Keith, Many thanks for your kind and concise!

I have used the search feature however I cannot really find answers to my questions. So if anyone can help it would be most welcome.

We are off on the 28 October for a 10 day cruise on the Viva departing from "Athens" and returning to "Rome". We only booked two weeks ago and are excited to be on a new ship. Has anyone taken the train to the Greek port? good/bad/indifferent?

Does anyone know what days and times Beetlejuice and the Icons shows are on? I appreciate days may well change as this ship is doing a selection of itineries at the moment. Times would be useful to know to schedule dinner.

On our last cruise we qualified as platinum I have looked at the benefits we will receive. My specific question is about the two dinners we receive, are they for any restaurant? Can you book in advance? or on board? how do the restaurants know these are platinum ones? We have two Free at Sea meals and are buying another two.

Also if anyone has any tips, tricks or information on the Viva please feel free to pitch in!

Looks like you are in the UK?? If you have booked through the UK or Europe you don't pay gratuities on the drinks package if $15 or under which covers most drinks. In the EU you can't give something away for free and then make a charge for it.

The US is different.

Dukes onboard they were ok. Kettles yes, there was a shortage of tea bags. People were getting them from the WJ.

The band onboard last July was much better. I felt they used the Music Hall too much for competitions and quizzes rather than concentrating on music. 

33 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Thank you.....I've occasionally gone pescatarian on a cruise, or in France where vegetarian options are limited.

 

Did they give you the tumbler with the drink package? Might be more convenient for water than carrying around  open cans but I guess I could bring my own. 

They did have vegetarian and vegan options. No they didn't provide the tumbler however I saw people with them but I think that is for the soft drinks package. The water cans are not huge I think 33cl.

13 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Thank you both, Fabulous and chmusar, for your reviews. I'll be on Anthem for the TA in October from Southampton to Bayonne.

 

A few questions if you don't mind....Is Anthem one of the ships that has breakfast at Johnny Rockets?  Also, was the bottled water actually in bottles or have they already switched to cans? As a vegetarian what did they provide you in Chops as a substitute? How was the food at the Solarium Bistro and did you notice if they were open for dinner?

I didn't notice breakfast at Johnny Rockets it didn't seem to have many customers when I went past.

Water is in cans, we always picked up a couple on the way back to the cabin for night time.

Sorry I eat fish so I didn't have the vegetarian option.

Solarium Bistro was same as WJ but much quieter, they were open some nights for dinner but closed at 8pm I think!

The sandwich place near 270 was lacking some items and I couldn't get a tuna sandwich. They also hide the crisps (potato chips)  and you have to ask for them 🙂

9 minutes ago, skyking said:

Outstanding post, can't wait to board Anthem on June 17th. 

 

How many passengers on your sailing? 

 

Thanks again!

 

Just lovely to be on holiday and have a break.

I don't know the exact numbers, I think I heard just under 4K. Some children who must have been taken out of school as it is term time but didn't see huge amounts. Bit chilly in the main area as we had some mixed weather. The other family pool has a glass ceiling so busier in there.

Always nice and toasty in the solarium, I really like the stepped pools in there.

22 minutes ago, sgmn said:

 

Love also that at Southampton you can park right outside the ship and get your bags picked up from your car , so convenient 

That makes it so easy! Straight down the M3 for us, bags out and cross the road!

11 minutes ago, chmusar said:

I was also on that cruise , some of my observations

 

 

• Check In super fast just have relevant documentation ready
• we booked all dining on the cruise planner at home
• bar service I found generally quite slow and not as many staff walking round offering drinks
• They need to stock the same drinks in every bar i.e. bottle Peroni only in casino , sierra Nevada pale ale only in the britsh pub
• cocktails normally have tom Collins, planters punch, mojito every one tasted different different in every bar especially the mojito
• only on one day did I see items been removed form sun loungers , in solarium there where towels already on loungers at 7.30am !!!!
• MDR was great enjoyed the food we always ate late 8.30pm so never seemed rushed
• room was great had junior suite very clean and room attendant was amazing
• only delay in lifts was disembarkation where people waited over 20 minutes 
• Windjammer only had breakfast usual standard
• shows great and as said did not get The Gift , The Beatles tribute band was well worth watching
• Looking at Facebook posts a lot of passengers have tested positive for Covid now at home
• The ifly and northstar you can only go on once in your trip anymore you have to pay for
• Bumper cars where a good laugh 

 

we normally go on radiance or vision class ships and I found the Anthem to big for me and every where was noisy , even the library all the sounds come up from The 270 .

We couldn't book speciality dining at home only the MDR.

I agree that the drinks varied, we spent our time in the solarium as we don't have children and spent it reading and podcasts. It was mainly the last sea day they were removing items, I nipped to get a coffee downstairs and nearly lost my stuff which was a bit overzealous as I was gone 10 minutes.

Missed The Beatles, the comedian was good (can't remember his name) not my usual choice. I don't think the Americans understood what he was talking about as we had some very confused ones behind us.

We must have been lucky with bar service.

Interesting that people are testing positive, I tested myself earlier and all clear. 

I would agree the bars were noisy in the evening, difficult to hold a conversation.

11 minutes ago, chmusar said:

 

Just back off Anthem of the Seas 22-29 May from Southampton to La Rochelle, Bilbao, La Corona and Le Harve and back to Southampton. I can’t answer and questions regarding ports as we didn’t get off the ship, It’s been a very busy work time and we needed a break!

Here are some of our observations.

We used the app to check in etc had our tests done two days before and arrived at Southampton at 10.40, we are lucky it’s about an hours drive for us. We had a boarding time at 12 but our plan was to sit outside and get on the ships Wi-Fi to book our dining. We were told no problem please come on in, check in staff were happy and welcoming. Checked our passports and covid test paperwork and waved on board. So from parking the car to being onboard took less than 20 minutes, no queues at all.

We got a drink (they scan the seapass on your phone until you get your card), went for a wander and some lunch. Watched the safety video on the phone and checked into our muster station. Cabins were ready at one o’clock and our bags were already there. So unpacked got our cossies on and off to a peaceful solarium.

Plenty of bar staff all week and no problem getting service.

We had the UBP and had got it on sale at £39 each per day (approx $48), we made good use of it both with alcohol, fresh juice and coffees.

Spirits were a bit haphazard for example you could get Gentlemens Jack and Buffalo Trace in the solarium bar but only No7 (yeuk) in the Schooner bar.

Windjammer bit uninspiring and often running out of items.

Very little waiting for lifts.

MDR ok, they did have lobster tail on one night and I got given two even though I didn’t ask for two.

Speciality we attended:

Wonderland – excellent and had lots of starters (my favourite bit of dinner)
Chops x 2 – I don’t eat meat however my dining companions said the steak (bone in rib eye) was absolutely excellent
Chefs Table – they were only doing a 17.30 sitting, there were only 11 of us and we finished gone 21.00. We had fun and met some interesting people.

Entertainment

We Will Rock You – must see
Spectra – must see
Frankie Valley – excellent really lively
The Gift – bit odd, who makes a story about a dead wife and mother!
Lots of other music around the ship

Sun Loungers

They were enforcing the 30 minute rule and removing peoples belongings and towels on a number of days especially in the Solarium.

Formal nights

Everything from shorts to black tie, lots of Scotsmen in kilts. Ladies in sparkly numbers, some families had all dressed up to get family photos. There were some very smart little boys in dress shorts, shirt, bowtie and jackets!

We had an inside virtual balcony cabin, roomy and comfortable. We only use our cabin to sleep, shower and get dressed in.

The guests were mostly British, lots of Scots and Northerners who had travelled miles to get to Southampton. Some other Europeans and quite a few Americans. The ship was not 100% full.

We put our bags out the evening before with their tags on, duty free delivered earlier and put in our luggage. Out of the cabin at 7.45 bit of breakfast in the WJ which was open until 8.30. Off the ship nice and easy seapass blipped out. Picked up our bags walked across the carpark and loaded the car. No passport checks, no customs. From leaving the WJ to driving out of the carpark just over 10 minutes! Home by 9:30, bags unpacked and washing on!

Hope this is of some use. Some people were wearing masks, 90% were not, it did not feel covid unsafe. Lots of hand washing and sanitiser plus people seemed to respect personal space. All staff had KN95 masks on.

If you have any questions, I will try to answer them.

We are RC and NCL cruisers and like the big ships.

We are doing it on the Anthem next week, we have never done a Chefs table on RCI previously.

Can you ask for any menu replacements? I eat fish and seafood but not any meat.

How was the ship? What shows/entertainment were on? We board her on 22 May for 7 nights.

We have been in the Haven on the Epic and in a one bed suite on Anthem. (Not rich but excellent deals both times!) My observation is there is no comparison between the two, The Haven restaurant for all meals was far better than CK, plus you have the entire private area, pool, bar etc.

I was very underwhelmed with CK.

Just my 2 pence.

Enjoy your cruise and the make excellent use of freebies 🙂  

13 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

True, in non-COVID times, but under CWC (ends in a few months) you can get price drops, even inside final payment.

Ah interesting to know! We go from Southampton on 22 May our original price has nearly doubled so very happy here.

Also you saying that I rang to book a three night dining package and had already booked and paid for the drinks package for both of us previously.The drinks package was on a special and the rep said I can save you money on that and cancelled and refunded the original one and charged us the new price.

Saved us £350 (0ver $400) I was very pleasantly surprised and happy. Never had that before

I thought we had different rules in the U.K.? I.e the price you book at originally is the price you pay.

My understanding was we don’t get the price drop like the Americans.

I may be wrong?!?

We did a four day cruise to nowhere from Southampton last year with only 1k passengers on Anthem.Managed to move to a one bed suite for £100:each, bargain that will never be seen again!

On 5/4/2022 at 10:39 PM, Cigar King said:

Today's free tip.  Do not google BBC.

British Broadcasting Corporation

From Southampton where we are going from they are literally saying you have to download the app and use that. I am sure there are some exceptions.

We used it last year on a four day cruise to nowhere. Works really well and makes boarding speedy and a breeze.

We didn’t have paid Wi-Fi ( needed a tech free break) however as others have said the app works on the ships free Wi-Fi.

No, we have tests booked 1.5 days before at Lloyds in Sainsburys. We go on the 22 May if it does change we will cancel them.

We have plenty of lateral flow tests to self monitor.

1 hour ago, Bestbubba said:

There seem to be a lot of problems reported with Lloyds. From personal experience I'd recommend visiting or phoning the branch the day before to confirm your appointment. We have also used DAM health, we read some scary reviews but they were excellent and we'll be using them again. 

That’s not good I will take that into account and check the day before! 😱

2 hours ago, Reina del Mar said:

Spoke to the cruise specialist in our TA today. Still as clear as mud. She is suggesting waiting to book tests as she thinks they may be discontinued shortly.

 

So sorry to hear of Covid in the house..hope it soon disappears.  Think we will go with Lloyd’s pharmacy too…LHR testing not open when we fly ( 6 am)

 

I agree with the stress about this holiday. We have just returned from a Princess Caribbean cruise, booked with a different TA and had very clear instructions for testing here and in Fort Lauderdale..not half as stressful, but we didn’t have a minor travelling with us.

It seems as well all cruise lines have different rules which doesn’t help plus everything changes regularly. I have booked the Lloyds ones for 1.5 days before but didn’t need to pay. If they remove the tests I am cancelling those buggers at £29.99 each!

2 hours ago, nelblu said:

So you don't talk to anyone at check in, therefore you board directly from street to the ship.  No uploading  of  passport and your photo?

You go into the terminal they take your bags from you at the car park. You have to put all your passport details and upload a photo to the app, your phone gets blipped and then the room key is in your cabin. You take a photo of your passport with your phone and upload. Register a credit card and good to go.

incredibly quick last cruise from Southampton. We did have to go to the “naughty” queue as I am married to a Swede who has lived in the U.K. for 30 years but still has a Swedish passport. If you held a British passport no issue.

From the car park to boarding was literally 10 minutes!

Bit like fast bag drop at the airport.

RCI app and paper (belt and braces!)

From the U.K. now they want you to upload everything to the app and not speak to a check in person.

We have booked Lloyds Pharmacy ones online, we have one in our Sainsbury’s. Result and certificates in 15 minutes.

We are all over 18 so apologies no advice for children.

It’s as clear as mud!

We currently have covid in our house so isolating separately OH positive for 5 days and quite ill I am still negative. We go on the 22 May I am literally isolating myself and mask wearing until then!

I have never felt so paranoid about going on holiday.

LHR still have onsite testing.