Rachelmle

You must try Wonderland. The concept can be a little disconcerting to some by throw caution to the wind and give it a go! Remember you’re on vacation. Do not, repeat, do not pass up dessert! It is incredible!

 

 

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Awesome. Will do! We didn’t try it on Anthem but we will def try it this time!!

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Then you are limited to upcharge restaurants and the main dining room, essentially. But watch out, they sometimes sneak a buffet into the MDR, too. You won't eat at all the other places. Have fun.

ALL other food options are serve-yourself?

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Solarium will usually have healthier food options, though it is also a buffet.

Yea... no buffets for us.

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Hi! I’m traveling with my husband and two kids (ages 6 and 8) on HOTS next Saturday. Give me your must-dos and must-eats!!! Also, we aren’t buffet people so we won’t be frequenting the windjammer. Which spots should we hit for healthier lunch options? We’ve only sailed on the Anthem and really enjoyed the Cafe 270 option.

Thanks!

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Meh. We just did this excursion a few weeks ago and thought it was “eh”. My 8 year old and 5 year old loved it, but my husband and I were not impressed.

First of all, once we got off the Anthem the process to get to Blue Lagoon was painful. Lots of waiting for your excursion to be called and zero communication regarding where to go or which staff member to follow.

Once at Blue Lagoon your “encounter”with the stingrays was about 30 seconds per person - just enough time for the photo op. You pet the sting ray and kiss the sting ray (yes, kiss the sting ray) and that’s it. Then you have time to snorkel in the corral where the sting rays and some fish are held.

The best part of the day was that we wandered to the other side of the area and ended up hanging out on a beautiful and quiet beach for the rest of our time there. It was secluded and gorgeous, but the surf was too rough to get fully into the ocean.

The process to get back to the pier was not ideal. They had us waiting in a non shaded area for about 20 minutes before letting us board the tender. None of us had any idea why they wouldn’t let us just sit on the shaded boat instead of making us stand like cattle in line.

I would not recommend this unless you have kids that are dying to pet a sting ray.

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Thanks for your reply. I am taking it to my packing heart.

Total wide range on the Anthem. I wore a maxi dress with wedge sandals and just dressed it up with nice jewelry, hair and makeup and totally blended in. Nothing uber fancy needed unless you want to totally glam it up! Have fun.

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I just sailed on Anthem a couple of weeks ago and there were two formal nights regardless of what dining room you’re in. I think it was day 2 and day 5 or 6, if I remember correctly.

I think that info about formal dress only in the Grande is antiquated info. I’m pretty sure this was the case when each dining room had its own menu and vibe when the ship was first introduced. (That dining set up wasn’t very popular, so it was eventually scrapped.)

I hope this helps!

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Great tips everyone already gave! I have a few to add:

- Wetwipes brand wipes (they have a better chance of killing norovirus than standard alcohol Purell)

- Children’s Dramamine just in case they get sea sick

- garbage bags! These come in super handy for all kind of reasons. (I use the garbage bags as hampers in the cabin. Makes it easy to keep dirty clothes out of the way and super easy to pack for going home!)

- small electronic for when it’s needed (my kids love the basic vtech watches - the $35 version on Amazon)

- Clorox wipes for the room

- sunglasses/hat

- a couple of sand toys for beach time

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The ship seems to have had the holidays in mind (decoration-wise).

 

 

 

What was on the "Christmas" menu in the MDR ' S and what was added to Chops menu to warrant the higher charge?

I really don’t know what the premium menu in Chops was to explain the price. We went to make a reservation and were told it would be $75 for their holiday menu and we turned right around. We just couldn’t justify that price no matter what they were serving - especially because the food and service in the MDR was very good. 🤷🏻*♀️

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That’s the stretch of beach right in front of the bungalows. This pic was taken on 12/26/17.

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Happy to hear of your recent good experience! We rented a bungalow at CoCo Cay last year and had a great experience also but I have read two very recent reviews warning people off renting bungalows stating that the the shoreline where the bungalows sit was basically mud and that the water was weed-filled. I have a bungalow booked for next week and was trying to decide whether to cancel it in favor of a cabana.

I certainly didn’t have that experience. The beach was lovely and quiet. Not muddy or seaweedy at all. Lots of wildlife early in the morning too - we saw two large stingrays and even a baby nurse shark!

I get pretty grossed out by buffets, so I was also really happy to have the direct-served lunches to the bungalow. I know this is a non-issue for most people, but I loved it.

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We were also on the Anthem and it was beautifully and tastefully decorated for the holidays. Santa comes to give the kids gifts on Christmas morning too. Also, the dining room has a special Christmas menu with holiday offerings. (Chops offered an “enhanced” holiday menu for Xmas eve and Xmas day dinner - but at a whopping $75 per person.)

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If you’re splitting the cost with so many people I would say to def get 2 bungalows. We rented a bungalow during our trip last week and it was awesome. You’re on a quiet stretch of the beach, have your own quiet bar, and your lunch gets delivered directly to your hut. Clean and non-busy bathrooms in that spot too. Well worth the $$ in my opinion.

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I recently stayed in 12660 and loved the proximity to the stairs and elevators with absolutely no noise issues.

Awesome!!! Thx so much for the input

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Right now we are assigned in cabin 12662 on the Harmony. When I look on the deck plan it looks like it's very close to some stairs and not too far from Wonderland. Do you think this cabin location will be loud or is it a good spot? I've never been on this class of ship before - any suggestions or comments are welcome!

I have the “Royal Refreshment” package and Lattes are indeed included. It seems like anything that is non-alcoholic is included in that package, including all coffee upgrades (double shots of espresso, flavorings, large size coffee specialty drinks, blended coffee drinks, etc.).

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I’m sad to report that the rumor is true about no smoothies on Anthem anymore [emoji20][emoji20][emoji20]. I’m on the ship right now and the staff at Sunshine Bar said they no longer do smoothies on the entire ship. She said they don’t have proper refrigeration and the fruit spoils too quickly (???)

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I’m heading on Anthem this Friday and was banking on those delicious Solarium Sunshine bar smoothies!!!

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[emoji33][emoji33][emoji33][emoji33][emoji33][emoji33]

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Yep! You can get them at the bar in the Solarium.

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are the prices this good every year?

 

 

 

i realize half the ship will have to pass by my room to get to theirs but i hope no one makes noise :)

No clue what price you're getting, but trust me --- you'll be so happy with a cabin near the elevator [emoji846]

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im glad I found this thread. I was worried about being near the elevators in regards to the obvious increase of traffic you have by the nature of being near an elevator.

 

 

 

but from all accounts above, even being across from the lobby door to the elevators, you don't have any issues

Hi there. We ended up in cabin 9570 - which is right outside of the elevator bank. It was wonderful!!!! We already rebooked for next year's holiday sailing and took a similar cabin based on our experience in 9570!

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So, I just called RCCL and asked to be emailed a copy of my final folio from my cruise from Dec 23-Jan2 on Anthem.

On the statement there was indeed an erroneous Mini Bar charge for a total of $12.37.

This charge did NOT show on my final printout I was given the morning of disembarkation. It was added on the day of departure.

The only reason I called RCCL to get a print out was because I remember reading on a thread that others had the same erroneous charge. Then - another member of our party in a separate cabin found the errored charge on his statement. So, I decided to check my own.

This is obviously some sort of flaw that's happening on Anthem. I just hope it's not being done maliciously. Is there an email address of someone at RCCL corporate that I can share this info with??

Thanks -- I'll post there too