linny11

13 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

We are on Ovation in July as well...still waiting.  From what I have read there is only one show that can be booked.  For our upcoming Anthem cruise reservations for IFly and Northstar opened after the entertainment. 

Thank you. Do you recall how far out they opened the iFly and Northstar? I booked a last minute Anthem cruise last year and was surprised to be upgraded to a suite so the concierge took care of it for us. I am bringing my kids this year and really want them to be able to experience 

13 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

There is no set time for the various items to show up in your Cruise Planner.  All you can do is check periodically.

Thank you

I am booked on Ovation to Alaska in July 2020. I know the onboard activities should be booked in advance but does anyone know how far In advance they open the bookings? I haven’t found anything concrete and seems there is no set time so was wondering if anyone can share there personal experience.

thanks in advance!

Tip is up to you we have tipped everything from nothing to 100 all depends on how much they do for you , we also tip server a dollar a drink in lounge

Thank you for your advice 😊

I was just on the Anthem. Maria, the concierge is awesome.

I would email her right away about any reservations you couldn't get.

I give around $10 per request. Usually max out at $50 for 5 night cruise. $70 for 7 night cruise.

I travel solo.

I don't travel in a GS or higher.

I also give $1 pp per drink to the bar servers with a $5 or $10 final tip.

 

 

 

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Thank you for your advice. I just emailed Maria and asked her to book us the Northstar and IFly. I also requested assistance with a shore excursion. I don’t know if she can help with the shore excursion but no harm in asking.

So excited to travel in a suite. I was just clueless about concierge tip. Want to make sure we do the right thing.

Thanks again!

Thank you Marci22

You are right...it depends on what you ask of them. I would think making reservations for the few things you're wanting would merit about $15-$20. But, that's up to you!

Thank you. Would that be per person? Per reservation? I am sorry so many questions. Like I said, I am clueless about concierge. I want to make sure I do the right thing

I am sailing on the Anthem 9 nights cruise in a grand suite. It is a Sky Class suite. There are 3 adults in the room. I have never sailed concierge before. I am wondering how much we should tip our concierge. I am assuming the tip would vary depending on services provided. Since we booked the trip last minute, the Northstar and Ripcord by iFly weren’t available so I know we will request a time for those activities. We might ask her for assistance with an excursion. Other than that I don’t know what we will request. What would be an acceptable tip? I am completely clueless! Thanks

Can’t see the pics.

I got visited by the free upgrade fairy this morning.

 

Booked an inside Z1 garauntee right after final payment. Today, two days before sailing got assigned into a 1D balcony midship.

Nice upgrade. Enjoy your balcony!

I wasn't going to post anything, but then decided to post some overall and random thoughts, as I did search for a lot of stuff as well, so hopefully some of these things are useful! Please also don't hesitate to ask questions. I saved the compasses and then forgot them in the room on debarkation morning, but I'll do my best to remember some of the things.

 

Embarkation: We got an email saying it would be delayed until noon due to the customs inspection. However, I didn't really alter my anticipated arrival time and got to the parking garage about 10:45. We were checked in by 11:00 (no lines for that) and waiting in "section 10" (had first time cruisers, so I opted out of the D/D+ area) and onboard by 11:30. No complaints!

 

2-Night Bogo: Went straight to Wonderland to see what they had preplanned for us and to change Jamie's to Wonderland. Wasn't an issue and got what I wanted, Chops for the first night and Wonderland the second. However, we decided to add 2 more people to our reservation for Wonderland. Good thing because I went back to the desk to do this and it turns out the reservation agent made both reservations for the first night. I understand people make mistakes but I asked her to repeat it twice to me and I would hope that the dates are apparent on their screen. Luckily we were able to still dine at our original time the second night. Both restaurants were wonderful and this is definitely worth it. We also tried Izumi ala carte which was definitely worth it as well!

 

MDR: We had various MTD reservations for our group of 7 ranging from 8 to 9pm. We got the same wait staff all but the first time we dined there (3rd night). All of the wait staff were great and the food was actually better than I remember, so no complaints there. We only waited during lobster night on night 8 about 10-15 minutes. I read no so good things about wait times and service and glad to experience none of that during my trip!

 

Live Entertainment: Out of this world! We had such great live entertainers this cruise and I really appreciate Royal for doing this. They include: Matt Yee at the Schooner Bar 7 out of the 9 nights (off the first night and Wednesday). The Royal Swedes Pop and Rock Band played in Boleros and the Music Hall. Wanted the Bon Jovi Tribute band played in the Music Hall and two70. 2 Late Night comedians, the first name slipped my mind but the second was fantastic, Jim David. He preformed a late night and the farewell show.

 

Shows: Since I sailed two years ago, I opted only to see Spectra's Caberet because I love it. I don't need to see the Gift or WWRY ever again!

 

Special Events: 70s night in the Music Hall was the second or third night I believe. There was an Anthem Rocks party in the Music Hall mid cruise, but skipped that. The Silent Disco was night 6. The "Island Night Deck Party" was night 5, St. Maarten. Very disappointed in this. It was held in two70 from 9-10:30 and ended very quickly and the venue immediately closed. There were no deck parties on deck and you can't even get a drink at any outside bar at night, which I think is absolutely ridiculous. You're saying to the Caribbean; people go to be outside and yet nothing is offered at night out there. NCL wins hands down in this area.

 

If you like dancing to the same songs every single night, the DJ spins starting between 11 and 12, depending on other events in the Music Hall. While it's a great venue, the DJ literally did play the same songs every single night, sometimes repeating them the same night. I was also confused by the drink on the dance floor rules. Sometimes they yelled at people for having glasses on the dance floor, sometimes they yelled at everyone including those with aluminum bottles, so the rules were very unclear (I also think they tended to target a certain demographic more than others.) If the objective is no liquid, I get it, but that's absurd in that type of atmosphere. If the objective is no glass, again I get it, so why not give drinks out in plastic cups??

 

I was also very confused by the specialty coffee places. You can get one in La Patisserie, Cafe two70 or at the specialty coffee bar in the beginning of the Windjammer (the only one I didn't try because it was always very busy). I ordered a few iced lattes and every time, they automatically gave me almond milk. I'm not sure why this is the default, but this is a huge safety concern. What if I was allergic to nuts? Not to mention I don't like it at all.

 

In addition, of course you all know about the new straw policy. I get it, I love environmental initiatives. But many of the drinks require mixing or stirring, which they don't do on your behalf. They would give them for frozen drinks of course, but that's it. Not even iced lattes...which they put the lid on but didn't give a straw. Very bizarre. It's like they do without thinking.

 

Drink service: Amazing! During sea days and after ports, we stayed in the solarium and they had multiple roving bartenders (shout-out to Prince Charles!) who made sure you always had a drink in your hand if you wanted. They also had 2 guys with the drink cart roving the pool and upper deck. They usually served those in a free, Malibu sponsored small bucket type-thing. Bartenders in the rest of the bars were also amazing, with the exception of the indoor pool bar. I'm not sure what was wrong with that crew, but I only went twice as I was walking by and made an effort not to go back because they were sour. Although, I might be too if I had to listen to kids scream inside all day.

 

Ports:

Bermuda we did the Devil's Isle Snorkel...great tour but the snorkel area was a little rough this time and less sea life than a different area two years ago.

St. Maarten we did the Beach Rendezvous. Apparently, they usually take you to Orient Bay, but since the hurricane, they don't because there's no restaurant. So they took us to Kim Sha near Simpson's Bay. It was alright. The water wasn't as clear and full of seaweed. The complimentary lunch though, was actually decent. And a bucket of 6 beers was $12. Side note: they were doing construction outside of the port and we were stuck on the bus for almost an hour from the time we got on in the port area to the time we made it out of construction a mile or so down the road. They did extend our time though, giving us our promised 3.5 hours at the beach.

San Juan: we did a segway tour on our own and did a little mojito crawl ending at a rooftop bar, Punto de Vista on top of Hotel Milano. I highly recommend this place for views of the ship and the city as well as drinks and food!

Labadee: I've been there so many times and haven't done the zipline, so I finally tried it. It was great, but I probably wouldn't spend the money on that particular one again. We posted up at the beach just under the beginning part of the zipline and the beach was smooth and the water warm and crystal clear. Lunch was served until 1:30ish, but they did run out of utensils for a long time, so I ended up eating with my hands as much as I could. They also did a great job of keeping the water and beverage station filled.

 

Debarkation: We did self-carry and walked off as soon as they made the announcement at 7:30. No lines to get off the ship and just a small line for customs. People, sign your passports! Almost every single person in my particular customs line had to stop at the request of the agent to sign their passports. Was on the road right before 8.

 

All in all, this was a great cruise and the ship even beat my expectations from before. It's turning into one of my favorite ships. Service was great, food was decent, entertainment was amazing and the special events were okay.

Thanks for the great review. Lots of useful info especially the construction by port in St Maarten and the recommendation of Punto de Vista. I will be on the ship at the end of the month.

I heard DCL is also doing away with plastic straws and supposedly replacing with paper straws

:'):'):')

Thanks everyone!

Congrats!!!!

Thanks 😊

Congratulations! That is a real coup!

 

Enjoy the suite, and be sure to take advantage of the perks. You can eat any or all of your meals in Coastal Kitchen. Free drinks for 3 1/2 hours every evening in the Concierge Lounge. And more!

Thanks! We are so excited. Going with friends and we have a first time cruiser. She will be spoiled. I never had a suite so I am not sure about all the perks but excited to find out. Thanks for the heads up in Coastal Kitchen and happy hour. Any other info is greatly appreciated.

😁

I booked Anthem of the seas for June 28 about a month ago. Booked a suite guarantee. I expected a Jr. suite and a few weeks ago we were assigned a Jr suite. I was very happy with the cabin. Today I went in to check my reservation and my room was changed to a Grand Suite!!!!

I called to make sure it wasn’t a mistake and was assured that it was no mistake and that is our cabin. Not sure if this is truly considered an upgrade but it’s certainly a better cabin than I thought we would have.

YAY!

I just sent an email today and received an email acknowledging the receipt of my email very quickly. I didn’t email the CEO, I emailed the general email address given on the RCCL website.

Since you haven’t received an acknowledgment and you Cruise is soon, I would email again. Good luck.

The Deluxe Beverage package is currently at $48 pp/per day for my 6/28 Anthem sailing. When I purchased, it was at $45 or $46. I opted for the deluxe beverage package and VOOM for $57 pp per day.

Ive only been on 7 cruises but I have never seen any dog of any kind whether its a service dog or someones pet on any cruise ship. From reading here, it looks like I may get my chance on Harmony.

I have only encountered one true service dog, no fake service dogs on a Cruise Ship. I will let you know if I see any on my incoming Anthem Cruise.

Happy Sailing everyone!

Are there really a lot of “service” dogs on RCCL or is it just a few isolated incidents. Let me be clear, I have no objection to real service dogs. It’s the fake service dogs I am referring to. I really don’t want to cruise with Fido barking all day and night.

Congrats!

I got engaged on a cruise ship. I had no idea he was going to propose. He did it on formal night while we were getting pictures taken. The photographer got a million pictures. We were both dressed nicely and there was really nice background. We incorporated one of the pictures into our wedding invite.

Wherever you decide to do it, ask the ship photographer to be there. You will probably get some great photos.

Good luck and best wishes!!!!

Yay! So sorry you had to go through all that but at least it’s done.

Enjoy your cruise!!!!! I will be watching you sail under the Verrazano Bridge!

You needed the letter because of no passports, correct? Otherwise no letter?

The cruise was to Canada and Canada is very strict about children traveling with one parent. I don’t know if it was that or because they didn’t have passports.

Don’t panic yet. Call RCCL and check with them. I have cruised DCL with my children several times and never brought a birth certificate. We also have different last names and their passports were fine. On their first cruise they didn’t have a passport and I used their birth certificates. I did need a notarized letter or form (I can’t remember which) from their father giving me permission to take them out of the country. Maybe you can use that.

Good luck and please keep us posted