TangoCruz

😒 Our November 26 Serenade of the Seas cruise was great once we departed Tampa. It was getting on the ship that was the major problem. Saturday boarding day began with serious fog and the closing of the port. Both Serenade and Brilliance were positioned offshore until the port was opened for traffic around 2:00 PM. We were informed via email at 3:00 PM  that our ship was finally headed in and that we would board at 7:30 PM. A lot of passengers were stuck waiting outside the port security fence all day with their luggage. I had secured our hotel room for another day so at least we had somewhere to relax before heading to the ship. Little did I know it would be our last relaxing time for a while. After our driver made it through a massive traffic jam at Terminal 6 entrance, we were stopped by a security officer and told to exit our transportation and join the line waiting to pass through the port security fence. We ended up at the end of a very LONG line on Channelside Drive. TWO hours later we would reach the security gate where a mall cop type was letting about 20 passengers in at a time to drop off their luggage. Then, we joined another line that ended at the security/x-ray room (another 1 hour wait). Finally cleared for actual check-in and we boarded our ship at 11:15 PM. 38 cruises and this was by far my worst embarkation experience, ever!! My wife and I are both 75 and THREE hours standing in a line proved very exhausting. And there were people around us who appeared a lot older who were struggling with their luggage. To add insult to injury, as we approached the security gate, someone made the decision to start allowing vehicles with passengers to enter the luggage drop-off zone. Standing on the wrong side of the fence, we watched as a number of buses, cars and vans dropped off several hundred passengers that were now positioned for check-in ahead of those of us who had waited in a line for 2 hours. I realize this was a rare occurrence but I believe the cruise line could have been better prepared to handle a difficult situation. P.S. The ship is beautiful, the staff is excellent and we will cruise again. Just not out of the Port of Tampa.   

Currently on Oasis as we are coming in hot to Miami 12 hours early. Medical emergency in early hours this morning caused Captain to significantly speed us up today for benefit of affected passenger. We’ve maintain average speed of 23 knots most of the day so it’s been a little breezy by the pool. Bad news for everyone else is that shops & casino will have to close at 6:30 PM. This will save me a few $$ as wife will have to retire early from the slot machines. Prayers for the sick passenger.

Radio traffic from pilot boat reported return for medevac. Ambulance was standing by on pier as Allure prepared to dock.

You're not imagining things. I was watching also and it did appear that the Sensation had lost power. The rear end started drifting in towards the NCL ship. When the camera zoomed in it was obvious that the operator thought something was amiss also. Then the propellers started up and she straightened back up. It will be interesting to hear exactly what was happening.  

We have always enjoyed our day at Labadee. The beaches to the right (Columbus Cove) offer the most shade. There are also plenty of hammocks for great naps. Enjoy!

We did a private taxi tour last year that lasted about 5 hours. You can customize your tour to match your interest. We used Millard Lightbourne of Mills Taxi Service. "Mills" has over 50 years of experience showing tourist around his beautiful island. https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_0002a7.htm

"Best excursion ever". Quote from a member of our group of 14 when we toured the island via golf carts. Travel at your own pace and stop whenever you want. Reserve early as they almost always sell out. See www.bonairecruisers.com for all the details.

There's 14 of us from North Carolina headed to the airport this morning for our flight to Miami and our 8-day cruise on Equinox. We'll pass you tomorrow morning at the pier. Thanks so much for sharing your week with everyone. Your experiences have helped to heighten the excitement for our group.

Thanks for your excellent summary. We sail on the Equinox April 7 with a group of 16. I'll be sharing your review with everyone to get them even more excited. Is Captain Kate on board yet?

No points earned but you can get some onboard credits if you're M life Gold and above. See: https://www.mgmresorts.com/en/mlife-rewards-program/preferred-partners/royal-caribbean-and-celebrity-cruises.html

Thanks so much for the info...We also have a 12:30pm flight and have TSA PreCheck...so it looks like we should also try to be in the 8:00am departure group...and hopefully everything goes as well for us as it did for you.

 

Any reason you opted for a taxi...were you concerned about timing and did you know about or see the shared shuttle option at the taxi stand?

 

Also did you have access to the CL...if so how was it?

With a 12;30 flight, there is no rush to get to the airport. Taxis for us are by personal preference. Pay a little more for convenience and privacy. A couple of bad experiences over the years with shared rides send us to the taxi stand now.

We're Diamond+ so we had access to Concierge Club on Deck #12. The room and the view are spectacular but we only visited one time because of the LONG walk. I stopped by the Diamond Club (Deck #4) several times in the afternoon for drinks. With Diamond, you also get the 3 complimentary drinks preloaded on your SeaPass card to use during the ship's cocktail hours (5:30 pm to 8:30 pm).

I would love to hear more specifics about your cabin #9644 (like where is the bed, on which wall when you enter the cabin, I know this is a large balcony...how was it...etc. etc.) we have this cabin booked for October 12th.

 

Also how long did it take you to get off the ship and arrive at EWR...what time was your flight and what transportation did you use? Our flight is scheduled at 12:30pm.

 

Thanks so much.

The bed in our cabin was on the right wall, just past the bathroom door. The couch is between bed and sliding door. Love the larger balconies. More room to enjoy breakfast from room service. Mid-ship elevators are just outside the cabin door. There was some concern that we might hear conversations but noise was never a problem. As mentioned in my post, it took approximately an hour to depart the ship and clear customs. We were at the taxi stand at 9:10 and arrived at EWR at 9:50 AM. We cleared security (love TSA PreCheck) and were at the gate for our 12:30 PM flight at 10:20. The ship sells airport transfer to Newark if you have an afternoon flight. The cost is $28.50 per person. The two of us took a taxi for $65.00.

You mention taking a 5-hr. private taxi tour of Bermuda. Was the cost per person, per hour?

 

Thanks.

 

MARAPRINCE

Fixed price for all private tours is $50.00 per hour. You can always share the ride with 1 or 2 more couples to bring down the cost.

Thank you so much for sharing your vacation with us!

 

I do have 1 question - how did you travel from EWR to the port?

 

Thank you again!//Maria

By Taxi - $47.00

Ship Review: Wow! Anthem is beautiful. The staff was excellent. We'll be back.

Observations and Recommendations:

Embarkation: Good. We arrived at pier direct from Newark International at 10:20 AM. Checked-in and waited in seated queue. Boarded the ship at 11:00 AM. Enjoyed nice lunch in Solarium Bistro. Entered cabin (#9644) at 1:00 PM. Luggage was waiting for us.

Departure from the ship: Bad. I think the majority of our shipmates chose self-carry as the line that greeted us when we exited the elevators midship snaked all the way to rear and back again. The gangway was closed twice due to congestion on the pier. Took nearly one hour for us to clear the ship. Once in the terminal, it was obvious that most of our problem was due to the fact that only five of the 20 Customs stations were manned.

One of the first things you should do after boarding is to install the Royal IQ app on your smart device. You can then use the app to make your reservations for shows, specialty restaurants, RipCord and North Star. The lines for show reservations can be extremely long on the first afternoon and the slots for RipCord are limited.

Cafe@Two70 is a great alternative for breakfast as the Windjammer becomes overcrowded starting around 8:00 AM. They have pastries, cereal, bagels and breakfast sandwiches.

The Two70 Lounge has to be one of the most beautiful areas on any ship. The daytime view is spectacular and at night the room is transformed into a sound and light showcase. Do not miss the Spectra's Cabaret performance.

Best dinner: Jamie's Italian. We ate there twice. Ask for Marco.

Best burger: Michael's Genuine Pub

Best Milkshake: Johnny Rockets

Bionic Bar is a great photo opportunity but you can get much better drinks at a regular bar for $14.16.

While dockside in Bermuda: Be sure to visit the Dockyard Glasswork and Bermuda Rum Cakes (great tasting bar). Recommend the Bone Fish Bar & Grill for a nice dinner off the ship. Great salads and pasta dishes.

We took a 5-hour private taxi tour of Bermuda. Our "Trip Advisor" recommended tour guide was Millard of Mills Tours. We saw everything there is to see on the island and enjoyed a great lunch in St. George.

Our group of 12 arrived pier side last week at 11:50 AM and we all were enjoying lunch in the Windjammer at 12:20. Very efficient embarkation. :D

How did the weather end up for the week? Better, I hope!

It was still windy with some rain in San Juan. Sun was out for St. Maarten but still breezy. St Kitts was beautiful and final two days at sea were perfect (calm seas with warm temps and a little breeze). This was cruise #31 for me and was the first time I had experienced 2 consecutive days of bad weather. We're back home and ready to book another cruise.

Due to high winds (40+ knots) Captain announced this morning that we would be skipping our stop today at Labadee and cruise on to San Juan. Weather has been cloudy and very windy since we left Port Everglades on Saturday with forecast poor conditions for next 2 days. Not a great week to be cruising the Caribbean. A lot of empty chairs at formal dinner last night.

Thanks for your excellent review (short but very informative). We depart Seward on June 3 for a southbound Millennium cruise (along with 17 friends). We're all looking forward to a great Alaska adventure. Thanks again for sharing your experience.

My wife and daughter are onboard currently.

They switched the decks for dining in the MDR after the dry dock.

Assigned dining is now upstairs (Deck 5) and Select is now downstairs (Deck 4).

Thanks for the confirmation. I was hoping someone would ask/answer this question. I'll be with a group of 19 on the June 3 southbound cruise and there has been some concern for the tight seating arrangements for the any-time dining on the balcony level. Here's hoping we'll have more space for sitting together on Deck 4. Thanks!

I just logged on to ask the same question. Was watching the port webcam and noticed immediately that there were no passengers lining the rails. There was no one for the camera to zoom in on. Guess some billionaire reserved the entire ship for his personal cruise.

Ottawa Mom - I've been browsing reviews on Cruise Critic for years and yours is one of the best I've ever seen. Very entertaining and fun to follow, especially with the great photos that you used to illustrate your topics. We were on the Reflection in October, 2013 for an 11-day Med. Cruise. Had such a great time we return and sail March 7 with 20 of our best friends. AND, my wife and I are in cabin 9141. Glad to see that the bed is positioned next to the balcony. We sleep with the door open, too. Thanks again for posting.

:) http://travel.travelocity.com/ecruise/ShipFinder.do?Service=TRAVELOCITY

We visited Santorini last fall on Celebrity Reflection. I still enjoy looking at photos we took of this beautiful island. It's hard to take a bad photo. Do not miss a stop at Oia for even more excellent views. Word of caution for shoppers: Avoid "Jupiter", a store in Fira that specializes in ceramics and jewelry :( (unless you carry your purchases with you back to the ship). We paid for 2 ceramic pieces that were to be "shipped free" back to our home in US. 10 months later and still no delivery. Based on comments and reviews on internet this is a recurring problem with this merchant. Numerous emails and phone messages have received no response, Buyer beware!

We're moving (finally)! Captain announced about 40 minutes ago that we had been waiting on "parts". Sure hope the problem has been fixed.