Newbcruiser1

Can't really picture what the finished solarium pool will look like but I'm really glad to see it.

It almost looks like the solarium pool on the Anthem - only without the tiers. The front edge of it may end up being glass walled since it looks too low as it is now to hold more than a few inches of water.

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Why not stay at a hotel that’s more central to where you want to be?

I had a pre-cruise day in Miami last year and stayed at the National Hotel. It had a gorgeous pool area (with bar/restaurant), beach area, and was right on Miami Beach. Also tons of stores and restaurants right outside the front door! Loved it and would definitely stay there again!

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I once had my flight home cancelled due to bad weather at home and had to spend a couple of extra days at Disney. There is quite a lot to see and do without buying park tickets. You can ride the boats and monorail and go resort hopping and dream of future trips. There is a nice walk between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness, once there you can go in the barns and see the horses, or lounge on the (no-swimming) beach. The Boardwalk resorts are also a great place to explore and have some ice cream. Character meals at a resort are another option, not free, but less than park tickets. Disney Springs is nice but I think the resorts are more interesting if you have 4-6 hours to spend. There are also plenty of cheap ubers within Disney to make things more efficient between point A to point B.

Thanks for the ideas! I’ve seen the resorts, etc on my land trips in the past. A character meal could be fun though (again, I’ve done several but always in the parks). Alternatively I’d be just as happy at Disney springs as they’ve changed quite a bit since I was there last (5 years ago) and would be just as happy wandering around the stores, having a nice lunch, etc.

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Thanks for the info! The tour was listed as 10 hours and I believe includes the almost 3 hours round trip with waiting for bus to load and potential traffic. Also clearing bag check and purchasing tickets at the park took some time as did the tram to the park. All in all I would say a good 6-6.5 hours at the park.

 

I did not think to look at fast pass. Back in 2010 the fast pass was go to a kiosk machine in the park and select your ride and time and was what I thought it still was like. Thanks for sharing the info for us and others.

 

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Oh gosh! So if it gets posted as an 8 hour day, I could expect maaaayybe 4 hours in the park?

Perhaps my day would be better spent going to Disney Springs (downtown Disney) using the ship’s transfer. Still a nice little taste of Disney without the insane cost for 4 hours in the park! :)

Thanks for the details!

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Great pictures! It’s amazing how quickly things come together towards the end!

When they released the details of the ship, they said the Symphony’s Abyss slides would have a “new twist” - I was hoping they’d maybe make them watersides but since that’s not the case.... what did they change?

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Fast Passes for Disney are no extra cost and can be booked online at 30 days pre-visit if you purchase your ticket in advance. IMHO, it’s totally worth it to do so! You can also get fast passes on the day off via the My Disney Experience mobile app. They open up all the time so it’s worth having the app and refreshing it often throughout the day.

Unfortunately it seems you missed a bit of an opportunity not utilizing the free fast passes! :(

Can I ask how long the Disney transfer “tour” was listed as? 8 hours?

Considering doing it on the Symphony TA cruise this fall. We’re only in port from 7am-5pm. I was supposed to do it on that Anthem hurricane cruise but since we didn’t make it to any ports, needless to say that didn’t happen! Haha! I did subsequently do a few days there post-cruise last year but would love to go back for a little taste of Disney.

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As it turned out, I just read your entire thread recently from start to finish and thought you did a terrific job [emoji122][emoji122][emoji122] I’m a solo female Canadian cruiser as well and am considering Anthem for my next ship after my cruises on Adventure and Harmony :) So both yours and seadog’s reviews/trip reports have been truly beneficial, thank you both!

 

Have a great day at Port Canaveral tomorrow, seadog!

 

 

 

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Thanks for reading! The Anthem was fantastic - or at least would have been if we hadn’t gotten caught up in that storm! Haha!

My only issue was with dining (and this was back in the days of dynamic dining). I had anytime and ended up eating alone every night. I’ve had much better luck with traditional dining on other ships, particularly when I arrange a large table with others from CC or Facebook in advance. I recently did a live review from the Freedom transatlantic should you be interested in reading it. Much more successful dining experience! Haha! :)

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Loved your review, particularly as someone from the same age group! The Baltic’s were never really on my bucket list, but you’ve made me a little more interested!

Also - enjoy cruising with your mom and your sister! My mom was my cruising buddy on occasion and she recently passed away. I’m sad I won’t get to cruise with her again (in fact, all she wanted was one last cruise) but I can live vicariously through the girls’ trips of others! [emoji846]

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I just got off the Epic. Had a family room on deck 13 near the elevator and it was super quiet - no issues with elevator noise, noise from people, etc.

Also had a mini suite on deck 10 on the Epic right by the elevator - no issues there either.

Definitely a wise choice for your parents to be near the elevator as the ships are huge and it will be much easier for them!

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As others have said, yes to stairs and no to being covered. Having said that though, the solarium is a lot more sheltered than the main pool area so if it’s very windy, a little cool, or a bit rainy, you can stay reasonably warm and dry at your chair!

There are also these areas forward of the solarium with regular chairs and benches (cushioned) which can be accessed both from the gym and the solarium through doors. They’re very quiet and a lovely place to watch the sunset!

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Hot chocolate is also free in the MDR and Windjammer!

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Loving your pictures and videos so far! I was on the infamous “hurricane cruise” on the Anthem exactly 2 years ago! It’s nice to see all of the activities that I didn’t get to do! Haha!

Seriously though - the bumper car video had me laughing along with everyone there!

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Just another update after visiting GSC 8 days ago. Those sand fleas that made me move off one of the further beaches definitely bite! I didn’t feel anything for several days but since getting home, I’ve noticed some red bites on my legs - they still seem to be multiplying and are quite itchy a whopping 8 days later.

The sad thing is, I had taken bug repellent wipes but forgot to use them and forgot to throw them in my beach bag for the day! :(

So a big lesson learned and to share with others: USE INSECT REPELLANT and if you see the bugs, move elsewhere even if it doesn’t feel like they’re biting you!

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Just wanted to report back after the helpful information provided here - the Epic made it there on Friday as scheduled! It was a beautiful day even though the remainder of the cruise was extremely windy!

Anyway, I took the first tender at 8am, and upon getting off, I walked down to the left as suggested by some fellow CCers above. I found a nice quiet spot on the third beach over (where there were clamshells and umbrellas which I was advised were $39 each...) under some palm trees. Unfortunately it quickly became evident that this area had a LOT of tiny bugs which seemed to be biting people. So I ended up moving and trekking back to the first large beach. I settled in under some palm trees near the second lifeguard and the small bar. Unfortunately I miscalculated where the shade would be once the sun rose so I ended up in the sun all day.

The beach and the water was gorgeous but I definitely suggest water shoes! There were some large rocks in the water which were often difficult to see. A fellow guest also found a piece of sharp glass in the sand near where I was sitting which nearly cut her foot.

Drinks were good and the ship’s beverage plan was included on the island. I visited the large buffet for lunch which had some excellent salads, a variety of grilled foods (burgers, ribs, hot dogs), fruit, cake, etc. I also stopped in at the taco bar on my way back to the ship and the chicken taco I had was excellent!

All in all, it was a lovely day!!! Just remember - sunscreen and water shoes!!! :)

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How would you incur ship charges without consenting to anything? Your cell provider will have network sharing agreements in place and will automatically link up to whatever network they have a partnership with assuming the network is in range off shore. Just call your cell provider and find out.

Yes I’m aware of that! But in order to see whether it’s still on the ship’s provider (which I do NOT want to use) or the land provider (which I DO want to use), I would have to turn off airplane mode and turn on my cell service! I don’t want to incur charges via the ship’s provider in doing that...

It was straightforward in Jamaica today since we’re docked so I have FLOW (the land signal). Might not be so straightforward in Grand Cayman tomorrow if I’m staying onboard the anchored ship.

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Onboard the Epic right now. The cabanas are insane - $549 for a small and $599 for large! Looks like some still available for onboard booking.

The clamshells are $39.

Both seem to be bookable via the iconcierge app onboard.

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Thanks! Problem is I don’t want to turn on roaming if I don’t know which company is going to show up... I don’t want to incur ship charges just from turning off airplane mode...

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Hi everyone,

Need urgent answers as I’m leaving tomorrow morning. If I stay on the ship in Grand Cayman when it’s anchored there, will I have cell phone service (not through the ship but through my own provider’s roaming plan)?

I will need to check in with family as we have a new baby set to arrive around that time! Happy to use the island’s roaming but not that of the ship.

Also - how would I know the difference based on what is showing on my phone? (Cruising NCL if that makes a difference).

Thanks in advance!

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At the far end of the cabanas, there is a lagoon with buffet and bar available. Much quieter than the main eating areas, and nice loungers. You can see it in my video, which focuses on the Cabanas.

 

 

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Thanks for sharing your video! It looks beautiful there! Can you tell me how far the walk is to that beach? I assume it’s past a few smaller beaches based on the information provided?

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Thanks so much everyone!

Does anyone recall how much the clamshells cost? And where do I go to rent one? Is there just a staff member on the beach with them and they bring them to your chairs accordingly? My struggle is that I’ll be solo and I don’t want it getting taken over by anyone if I go for lunch or to the washroom.

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I’ll be visiting Great Stirrup Cay next week for the first time. Any tips of best beaches and food?

I’d prefer to get a chair in the shade, preferably on non-crowded beach but within reasonable reach of restrooms and maybe a bar. Perhaps that’s too much to ask for! Haha! ;)

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

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I recall after Anthem sailed into the storm, people carrying on about 'serious damage' because a planter had fallen over.

 

Simply, a broken fixture is not damage.

Check your facts! I was on that sailing on the Anthem and there was a lot more damage than the planter that you saw. There was broken glass all over the upper decks, broken railings on the promenade deck, fiberglass from the satellites had been shredded and some satellite equipment fell causing damaged windows, and most importantly, the ship had an azipod issue due to the storm which caused it to slow to a crawl on its way back to Bayonne (the storm was less than 24 hours out of Bayonne and it took 3 days to return) and required tugboats to help push it alongside the pier.

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Following along! Looking forward to your abundant pictures!

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Ahhh this was just about the greatest review I’ve read in a long time (although it would be greater if you finished it! Lol!)! Your pictures are incredible (like I’m struggling to pick my jaw up off the floor!) and you seem like a genuinely fun guy to hang out with (coming from a solo cruiser who looks for the cool kids on her cruises! 🤣). Hoping to maybe meet you on a future cruise!

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Loving your trip report so far! I have been on 6 solo cruises thus far, with my very first being on the Allure (while in my mid-20’s). I learned a very important lesson after I requested a large table and was seated at a table for 4 with a group of 3 Norwegian friends who hardly spoke any English and didn’t show up after the first night (and subsequently stayed at the table feeling sorry for myself and thinking the wait staff would notice me and move me...)...

If you want to dine at a table with 10 awesome people (as I do), get on your CC Roll Call and coordinate said table amongst your fellow roll call members. I have done this twice now and those tables have been THE best ones I’ve ever had. The first, we had 2 10-tops with ALL solo travelers. The second, we had a group of 9 including 3 couples and 3 solos. Both really made the cruises that much more enjoyable. Having said that, both were transatlantics which typically draw more hard-core cruises and a larger roll call group (think hundreds at the meet and mingle...). Seriously - try it next time! [emoji3] All it takes is rounding up those interested in joining, perhaps stalking them online to ensure they meet your “cool criteria”, exchanging reservation numbers, and each person calling royal

Caribbean to have the reservations linked. I’d also suggest emailing the dining reservation email to ensure all is linked and request a specific location if you prefer a window, railing, etc.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your report!

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