SET TO SAIL

We’ve always had good food in the main dining room. Might do a special restaurant once during the cruise.  The shows can be booked in advance on line, so you should do that to get what you want. The ice shows and diving shows are always worth your time.  Have a drink in the Rising Tide Bar. 
 

We love Oasis class ships. Please come back and tell us how you liked it. 

We would love to see longer itineraries on Oasis class. Maybe someday...

Enjoying your review, as always, Andrew. We’re on this same itinerary next week on Allure. We’ve never been to Roatan before. Do you or any of your readers have any recommendations on where to spend the day?

This has been great fun as usual. Six more weeks until it’s our turn. Since you seem to like Starbucks, do you know whether or not the Starbucks on board accept their gift cards?

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. 

Your trip reports are always such fun. Thanks so much for taking the time. Sounds like you’ll be on Allure before us. Our turn doesn’t come until St Patrick’s Day, 2019.  I can’t wait. 

Another good way to get from dining room to theater for someone with mobility issues is through the casino. All the seats at the slot machines give them places to sit and rest if necessary. That’s what my mon used to do.

As usual, this has been great fun. Can’t wait for the next one.

We always put Allure first because we like the Samba Grill restaurant. We were disappointed that Harmony didn’t have at least a small pool in the Solarium, but I do like the cabins on Harmony. They have a design like the Quantum class ships that I think works a little better than the older ships. But, as many have said, you really can’t go wrong with any of the three.

Why can’t I have a husband that tries to convince me to do that!!!

This will probably end up being one of your most memorable adventures. Even if things are less than perfect, those tend to be the vacations that we talk about, and laugh about, the most. Have a wonderful time. We’re on this itinerary next March. We have a long 200 days to go. We’ve never been to Roatan, so I’ll be interested in anything you can tell us about that port.

Some pools or hot tubs will be open.

When we leave from Ft Lauderdale, we stay at the Bahia Mar. it’s closer to the beach than those hotels on 17th St, and it’s closer to some pretty decent nightlife. There’s plenty of bars and restaurants along the street at the beach and many have live music. And it only takes 10 to 15 minutes to get to the pier on cruise day. Just another option.

Wow. I feel like such a slacker! We only have one. :)

Our favorite ship!! My advice would be to book the diving show at the Aqua Theatre early in your cruise. This show is susceptible to weather. If your show should get cancelled due to weather or rough seas, you want to be sure you have plenty of opportunities to reschedule.

I’ve loved following along with your pictures and videos. I’m not usually an early riser, but I really have to try it at least once so I can enjoy a quiet sunrise with the ship to myself. Unfortunately, I have to wait until next March to try it.

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

These ships are very different. Allure is my favorite ship, but there were some nice features on Anthem. The layouts of the cabins are similar to Harmony which I liked. The 270 Lounge is a nice spot and has some interesting entertainment. There are fewer entertainment options than you’ll find on Allure. No Aqua Theater, no Boardwalk, no Central Park, no Rising Tide Bar.

I presume Anthem will still be leaving out of Bayonne. Leaving out of New York was a different experience also. We’re from upstate New York so it was nice not to have to fly. But we were on a 10-night cruise. The first 2 and last 2 nights were too cold to enjoy our balcony. That’s a big deal for us. We use it a lot. Because it’s a cold weather ship, the Solarium is totally enclosed. It was great while we were north, bit it was hot once we got to the Caribbean. The Atlantic can be a different sailing experience also. It was a bit rougher than we were used to. Didn’t bother me; I like a little rocking. Some members of our group weren’t doing so well with it.

Have a wonderful time on whichever you choose.

The shows are all free, but you do need to reserve them in advance. It takes a bit of planning to decide when to see each show. If you don’t reserve, you can still get in; but you have to wait in line, and you get whatever seats are left from the “no-shows.”

I haven’t been on Celebrity, but I can speak to the Oasis class ships. I can honestly say that I have never felt crowded with the exception of right after muster drill when everyone is trying to get up to the pool deck at sail away. Most other times there is so much going on in different parts of the ship, everyone is spread out. The Windjammer buffet can be crowded on sea days depending on what time you go, but there other dining options. Give her a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Deck 7 is nice because it’s an easy trip to Central Park for something to eat or drink if you like to take them back to your balcony.

This has been great so far. It’s always fun to re-live the excitement of travel and cruise day, and it’s easy to do with your pictures and videos. Since I won’t do it again myself until next March, I’ll be following along on your adventures. Have a wonderful time and thanks for doing this.

We’ve used MTD with 10 and 12. There aren’t many tables that can accommodate that many, so we make reservations ahead of time. Our reservation numbers are linked, so we usually have one or two people make them for everyone. We don’t always get optimal times. Sometimes we end up earlier than we would like. Then, when we get on board, we’ll go to the MTD section of the dining room to see if we can change to a better time. We’ve always been able to work it out.

Although Harmony doesn’t have a pool in the Solarium, they have designated one of the other pools “adults only.” You may like the cabin design on Harmony a little better also. Give her a try.

We did this cruise this past March 16th. We had a great time. Excellent cabin attendant. Excellent bartenders. Excellent waiters in the dining room. Entertainment options can’t compare to Oasis class, but we still had a great time. There were not a lot of kids on this particular sailing.

We’ve been on Allure twice and probably still haven’t seen it all or done it all. Have fun exploring. I hope you let us know your thoughts when you get back. She’s our favorite ship, and we’ll be boarding her next March. I’m not sure if it’s already been mentioned, but I would suggest you have a drink on the Rising Tide Bar.

We were on the ABC cruise that ended on March 25. I honestly didn’t think the food in the MDR was that bad; but I’m a lousy cook, so anything would be a treat for me. I just wanted to point out that you can get self serve water in the Cafe Prominade. I was in there every afternoon getting a couple glasses of water. There was also a dispenser on the pool bar, at least there was on embarkation day. I know because I was sitting on the stool in front of it. Had to keep moving every time someone wanted water.