Newatt

I just booked my first suite ever on the Edge. I have no idea if it's worth the extra money or not - I guess I'll find out! I was motivated to splurge this time because of the 4 perks for the price of 1 special. That definitely helps take the sting out of my wallet - a tiny bit.

I'm torn between the Sunset Veranda and the Concierge veranda. The SV stateroom is much larger (314 sq. ft.) and aft. The Concierge veranda comes with lots of extra services, but is smaller (243 sq. ft.) and is the same price as the SV. I've never sailed on Celebrity before. Is Concierge worth the sacrifice of space?

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

We still have yet to be formally notified that Dynamic dining has been elimited and that there will be formal nights on our Anthem of the Seas cruise. We booked through Royal Caribbean. Awful communication on their part. I have a feeling there are going to be many less informed passengers unaware of the dining change or addition of formal night, many of whom may unintentionally not pack formal clothes, thinking formal nights are not mandatory for dining rooms on the Anthem.

 

Given the lack of communication and that many may not have fomal clothes, will Royal Caribbean be flexible about not letting people into the dining rooms on formal night?

 

Do you think we'll be able to enter the dining room with jeans and a sports jacket?

I called RCCL to ask if formal wear is mandatory on formal nights and the rep said "no". I don't like packing or dressing for formal nights and plan to wear nice resort wear on formal nights.

Excellent review! I am definitely going to upgrade to one of the Star Class Suites for my next cruise. Seems like it is worth every penny.

Thanks for the info!!! I'm on a 12 day cruise on the Anthem in January. I planned to eat in a specialty restaurant on the first night anyway, so this is a great deal for me.

What OBC are you referring to. The current offer is 30% off first and second guest, there is no OBC offered, at least not by Royal.

The paperwork I received with the new lower price outlines the rules for my OBC. It's under "Important information regarding your onboard booking Terms and Conditions".

I'm getting OBC because I booked onboard during my last cruise.

If the current offer is $200 OBC, then they shouldn't have penalized you (and say it was a courtesy giving it back to you). I suspect someone at RCCL was a little clueless.

 

Next time (if there is one) you'll have better luck.

My TA said the same thing. She said the rep is making things up! She'll fight for it, if they try to do this again. She's a tiger.

My problem TickledBlue is that when the price goes down again (it has for the last two months), RCCL will penalize me by reducing my OBC. The current offer IS $200 for 12 days in a balcony cabin.

No. Nothing changed from the TA's perspective.

I booked my cruise 12 months in advance and recently discovered that the price has gone down by over $1,000. I had my travel agent get me the reduced price. RCCL gave me the new price but reduced my OBC from $200 to $150. When the TA questioned it, they said it was because of the price reduction. She argued that she should have been told that up front (and wasn't) so they gave the $50 OBC back as a "one time courtesy".

Has anyone ever heard of this before? It's 140 days until my cruise. I'm going on a 12 day cruise in a balcony cabin. According to the paperwork, that gets me $200 OBC - no matter what i pay for the cruise.:mad:

It always amazes me that in the WJ, the only sanitizer is at the entrance. Think about it, even if EVERYONE washed their hands (and we know they don't), merely by touching your lips or messy eating, you could re-infect your hands. Then when they touch the serving spoon again, the spoon is infected.

 

We always bring our own sanitzer to the buffet and clean our hands (not only when entering) but also again after touching the serving utensils. But, RCL doesn't make this easy as the only sanitizer they provide is near the entrance.

 

If you want to avoid Noro and eat in WJ, I suggest you religiously clean your hands AGAIN after touching serving utensils.

I agree. I also suggest that you grab an extra napkin and use it as a mini table cloth. They don't sterilize the tables.

I am sure that it has been said (I did not read the whole post). RCCL will continue to leave from winter ports as long as their are people who will book on their ships. Most of the ships are full all the time. The New York and DC area have people with money but maybe they don't want to fly. Warm areas can have weather problems too like hurricanes, etc.

I love winter cruising, live in NY and hate the hassle and expense of flying to and booking a pre-cruise hotel in Florida. I am thrilled that I can cruise out of NJ. I book 9 - 12 day cruises, so losing 2 days sailing from and back into the cold weather doesn't bother me.

Interestingly, a lot of the people I've spoken to on board are using their 50% off "coupon" to book the Feb. 7-19 (2017) cruise on the Anthem out of NJ!!! I'm trying to book too, but the cabin class I want is sold out.

Hurricanes, Noro - nobody seems to care.

5 minutes ago in from the the guest services desk someone lost control of the bowels and it went EVERYWHERE. Ugh the poor crew that has to deal with cleaning that.

 

Dining staff and cabin stewards are hit hard. I'd guess 30% reduction in staff.

 

My room is getting picked up but not cleaned in a normal way. Our steward has been I incapacitated for 4 going on 5 days.

 

The ship is deserted at night. The majority of infected people that won't show up on the official records because the medical facility was was swamped and can't handle any more and others don't want to be quarantined.

Wow! I am on the Anthem right now and you and I are having totally different experiences. My room is being scrubbed down twice a day - balcony too. The ship doesn't seem deserted to me at all - in fact many couldn't get seats for the Bond movie last night. My impression is everyone is having a Good time and making the best of the sea days we have left.

Omg this makes sense, you are right. The noro virus has broken out even more, today there was a OPP level three which they say is the worst it gets, and now this.

What is an "OPP level three"?

Nope, they are refunding our money for the 2 days and giving us 50% off of our next cruise so I'm happy with that, it's fair

WOW!! I'm happy to hear that. More than fair.

What's funny is I'm seeing some posts on twitter now about people complaining about the decision. However if they would have continued and they got caught in a storm again, they would have been ripped to pieces about them not learning their lesson.

 

They're damned if they do, and damed if they don't.

I am on the Anthem right now and would prefer it if they sailed somewhere safe and gave us a few extra days at sea. It is very inconvenient for me for the cruise to be cut short. I'm having work done at my house and can't go home until 3/4/16. I'm not complaining though. This has been an AMAZING cruise. I hope they offer a discount on the next one.

For the most part all the major damage has been fixed. The giraffe still has a scarf around his neck to hide the damage. Some ceiling panels missing on upper deck, plywood near the dog house. But all the other damage seems fixed. Every now and then we will see small pieces glass on the pool deck, not sure if that was from the storm or someone broke glass recently.

 

The ship is absolutely beautiful. Everything is clean and brand new. Even the public bathrooms are great. You just press a button and the door opens. :D

The giraffe is being repaired right now!

the xx48 balconies are HUGE. I had one on the Quantum last year. I have a non studio balcony on my upcoming cruise and I really do wonder if I will miss the larger balcony rather than a larger cabin

I just booked that cabin for the 2/19/17 sailing. Looking forward to the experience!!! Did you hear noise from deck 5 in the cabin?

Hotel Director started doing that on January 26, on the Disgruntled New Itinerary Cruise. ;)

 

 

 

That's your Crown & Anchor amenity. ("welcome aboard gift")

Thanks for the info!

We were given complimentary water and cookies in the cabin too.

Hi all - I am on the Anthem right now!!! No signs of storm damage so far. It seems like RCCL is trying harder - we were given free champagne when we boarded. I've never had that before. The only bad thing that has happen so far is my extension cord was confiscated. I need it for my CPAP machine (and other things). The cabin steward gave me a big ugly orange extension cord to use during the cruse, so I guess I shouldn't complain. So far so good though. I'll keep you all posted.

Thanks 138east!

I can only personally comment on St. Maartin. In St. Maartin right where you get off the ships are vans that charge by the person and head to many beaches. Normally 7/8 per van so you'r safe and they pick you up as well.

Thanks! I would be comfortable with that kind of arrangement.

I will be cruising solo on the Anthem of the Seas on 2/21. I want to go to the beach in every port, but I don't really want to do the RCCL shore excursions. Is there a safe way for a solo female to get to the beach (and back)?

I'm going to San Juan, St. Maartin, Barbados, Martinique and St. Kitts

Thanks in advance!

Do you feel it's rude for someone to openly (but silently) pray before eating their meal when seated at a table with strangers?