sixbirches

Everyone is different, and we all enjoy different experiences when we vacation. I thoroughly enjoyed the Beach Club when we went there on our last Anthem  cruise, and I really hope to go back there on our cruise in October.  The setting was extremely nice, service was perfect and the lunch was delicious. When we are on the ship, we usually grab a light lunch/salad from Windjammer, since we have breakfast in Coastal Kitchen and aren’t that hungry.p at lunch. 
So,  I’ve eaten at Chops at dinner a few times, and it’s always good but, I will take a lunch on the beach anytime. 😎.

We usually got 2 unopened bottles of water each evening. Took them to our room, refrigerated them and then had them to drink the next day at the pool or for an excursion. 

Just now, livingonthebeach said:

 

It's free beer and wine (not spirits) at the CK on Oasis class ships.  Grand Suite and up. 

Thanks for this info — its great news!  I didn’t know this.
We are in an Owners Suite-1 bedroom.  Now all I need is for October cruise to actually sail 😎

2 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Those daytime free suite drinks are somewhat limited and exclusively Oasis Class

What type of Suite on Oasis qualifies for free drinks during the day? We usually sail on anthem, so this is something I was aware of. Thanks.

3 hours ago, sellwingri said:

Did you take both trams (one from the ship and one from island)?  I don’t remember how far it is from island entrance. 

We only took the one around the island at the coco cay entrance. I don’t remember how far it was to walk from the ship, but I don’t remember it being a long walk. 

1 hour ago, happy cruiser1234 said:

Is it a long walk from the ship to get to the Beach Club?  I hear there is a tram that takes you there, is it best to take the tram or walk in order to get there quickly? 

We took the tram. It got us there quickly. It was also a good way to see other parts of the island, and It would have been a hot walk from the pier.

14 hours ago, Bailey & Sophie said:

 

What is included in the upscale lunch that would be different from the buffet offered?

I don’t remember everything on the menu, but we had a filet that was good as what they serve in Chops. I think I remember shrimp cocktail in the buffet. Everything was excellent.
I’m sure things could be different now. Who knows if there will be a buffet at all? Everything is so up in the air at this point. 
I would assume the meal will still be better than average food. But I don’t really know — just basing my guess on our past experience there.

33 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

Yeah that's what I'm thinking I'll likely do too.

Enjoy!

32 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

Were you the only ship in port that day?

 

We're on Adventure soon, sailing with reduced capacity and the only ship there.   I am trying to find an excuse NOT to get there early, and sleep in like I love to do on vacation. 

Yes, we were the only ship in port, but Anthem is a big ship, so got there early. I like to sleep too, but it was worth it to get a great front row  spot on the beach. 😎

12 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

The whole idea of L&S is you pay the same price with the same benefit you had on the cancelled cruise. Royal will gladly let you bypass the L&S so they can get the higher price for the next cruise.

I realize all this. I am just sick and tired of wondering if, or when my husband and I can actually use this awesome deal of L&S. It’s not looking too good for my cruise this year. 

I enjoy cruising, but there are also other ways to travel, so, if someone else decides to pay an exorbitant amount  money for the cruise we cancel, which was a very good deal doe us at the time, I guess that’s their decision.

Its pretty disgusting how RC has no problem trying to convince everyone it’s ok to pay rip off prices for cruising next year. 
If my October cruise is canceled, I am not going to play the L&S game anymore. Hopefully I will get my refund before the next catastrophe hits.

We didn’t pay anywhere close to this. I don’t remember exactly, but it was somewhere around $60-70 a person when we went.
This unfortunately is another money grabbing price from RC. Too bad, because it is a very nice spot to spend the day.

8 hours ago, LorraineP said:

Glad to hear you enjoyed. We have the Beach Club booked for both legs of our B2B on the Oasis October 2021. Just hoping the cruises will sail to take advantage of it. Did you use the pool, was hoping it would be warmer then the main pool which every time we were there it was quite cold. 

We only used the beach/sand area, so I’m not sure about the temperature of the pool. I do remember that it was a nice spot and wasn’t overly crowded. 
Comparing the Beach Club to other excursions in the Bahamas, I would definitely say it was very nice and worth the extra cost. It was a really nice beach day and certainly better than anything we’ve done in the Nassau area .

Here’s my 2 cents....we were Brand new to Coco Key, so we tried it out back in March, 2020 — the last Anthem of the Seas cruise before shut down.  
I always need shade— not a sun lover, but I love the beach. 

And we booked at a nice price.
We got there early and got two awesome loungers with an umbrella, with premium towels,  right on the water. I was thrilled. Lunch was amazing! Clean bathrooms, excellent service. I would go back in a minute, and hope to as long as my next cruise actually sails...

I wonder where they got their data. Statistics can be interpreted and shared in order to make things look they way they want it to. And I would expect nothing less at this point. 
We are booked in October on Oasis from Bayonne. Lift and shift, so we’re obviously ready to sail safely. 
We have not received  any emails asking about our vaccine status.  All we get are promo emails trying get sucker us into spending more money now...

Of course, I am expecting to be canceled, so I’m sure that’s why we were not asked anything.

We are booked and fully paid on a L&S from last year to the Oct 3 Oasis sailing now.  We booked a fabulous suite at a great price, otherwise we would have just asked for a refund.
I’m not getting my hopes up now. If September sailings get canceled, then I really don’t believe the ship will come to Bayonne for only a few weeks. The ship will probably get rescheduled to a Florida port to get sailings going again there. Whatever is easier and cheaper for RC ....
I’m feeling very skeptical and I’m also getting tired of all of this. We enjoyed cruising but after everything that’s happened, I’m not going to keep playing this wait and see reschedule game.

I can’t comment on other ships, but there are 2 types of Junior Suites on Anthem. We have sailed in both types. The J1 Junior Suite is wonderful.  The room is also large -276 sq ft but the balcony is exceptional- 161sq ft in a corner location, with 2 full size lounge chairs. The Spa Junior Suite is nice too, but not as large. It has a split bath area - one side with a rain shower. The room is a little larger than a regular balcony cabin. It is 267 sq ft and the balcony is 81 sq ft. Both of these suites have the upgraded bath soaps, shampoos and the evening access to Coastal Kitchen. We have never had trouble booking Coastal and we are only Diamond. 
The  J1 is absolutely worth the money - one of my favorite cabins. They book up quickly. We love Coastal Kitchen, so I would also recommend the Spa Jr Suite too, if you can’t get a J1.
The Grand  Suite is also a really nice room, but it’s a full suite, so more expensive. but the perks are definitely nice and worth it. But the balcony In the J1 Junior is really great if you can get one. 

Explorer was THE ship out of Bayonne for many years. We loved sailing on her. Not as fancy as the newer ships, but a comfortable ship with lots of room around the pool area to relax. 

We are booked on the Oasis for the Oct 3 sailing. We have a L&S from last October that was cancelled. I’ve been pretty skeptical about whether this cruise would actually sail, but this is very good news so far. I am also wondering how full this cruise is at this point since there are plenty of rooms available to book on the RC website.
We are fully paid, vaccinated and ready to go. 
Who knows how they would select the 50% that could sail?  
I totally agree that communication from RC will take until the last possible minute...

We are booked on Oasis Oct 3. This is a lift and shift from last Oct. We drive to the port and have been sailing Anthem and previously Explorer, for years. We were on Anthem’s final sailing before shut down last March...The mood was pretty sad on that cruise. 

We are fully vaccinated now and would love to try out Oasis, but are realistic about our chances this year. Trying to stay optimistic though.

We have sailed on Anthem multiple times, different itineraries, different times of the year and different room categories. We love the ship and would recommend it to anyone, anytime. We’ve eaten at most restaurants, seen the shows, etc... We were on the last sailing before the shutdown and there were no problems at all. I miss all the fun trips now.

We are booked on the Oct.4 sailing. I am expecting it to be cancelled. We were on the last Anthem cruise before the shutdown. It was a great cruise, even though somewhat worrisome due to the uncertainty at that time. We were looking forward to trying out Oasis -- but it will probably have to wait. We feel like RCI could be more forthcoming with their plans, especially if they want to maintain good relationships with loyal cruisers. 

We went to Coco Key on Anthem just before the shutdown. We booked the Beach Club and paid about $70 each. We really enjoyed our day there and the lunch there was extremely good. Loungers were nicer than the usual ones and included towels. The pool, beach and service were all great. We rode the tram around and looked at everything. Quite a change from before. If you had kids, the water park area looked like fun. 

With only one ship, it wasn't crowded at all.

The program is new to us since we haven't cruised since last December. We cruise usually once a year and are Diamond. Does C&A rank make any difference? We got an email today for our March 8 Anthem cruise. We are in a large balcony but have enjoyed suites previously for longer cruises. So we put in a couple of bids. Not sure about how this works really, but I don't want to read the entire thread.  The website shows suites are not available, so why do they offer the opportunity  to bid? Its a little confusing.

Looks larger than a standard balcony. Just wondering...