Irene7

My two sisters and I are cruising on Anthem next year and will share a balcony cabin and rotate the sofa bed. With not sure what to expect and know how uncomfortably hard the sofa bed was on other RCCL ships, I purchased a travel mattress topper from amazon. It was on sale for $94., and has great reviews by people that use them on the floor, so I decided to go for it. It is 4 inches thick and folds tri-fold and comes with a travel bag which I will bring as another suite case. I think it is worth it and will bring it every time we have more that two people in a cabin on future cruises, unless there are enough pull downs of course. The ship has egg shell toppers and even with two of them, they did not make the sofa bed anymore comfortable.

I have not posted in a few days. I promised DH I wold stay off devices and pay more attention to him. I will try and post after we return and will have some pictures by them. Not sure my memory will be as good as real time. I made an error with the jogging track. It is on deck 15 above the pool. Now that the weather has been warm and sunny the wet track is less of an issue. Some wetness from those who have gotten out of the pool and went the chairs, but dries quickly with the sun. The placement still sucks tho. The ends of the loungers is where the track starts. Anyone chatting with friends or just trying to stand up gets in the way of the track and people are just walking all over with no regard to direction.

 

So far my family has agreed ( and we had a dicussion with a couple in the elevator) that although we are enjoying this cruise, this should is all about the technology which is cool , but the oasis class ships are more our style.

 

Lisa.

Have you tried the bumper cars, and if so: How often it is open, do you need to reserve it or just stand in line. Also do they advertise when the car are operating?

Does anyone else think that this is outrageous? If you pick DD and don't prebook, you risk eating in WJ unless you want to eat at 9PM?

 

I would go to guest services about this; surely they can get you in earlier than 9pm at a free venue on each night. They can't be totally booked! Otherwise, I would remove the auto grats. They may help you more if you do that. Or you can use the auto grats to help pay for specialty dining!

Guest services can not do anything about it. It is the same way on the Norwegian Breakaway. Unless you reserve dinner for the week, you are on your way to the buffet.

I have slept on the pull out multiple times. Their comfort varies

Well that's good to know. We have never had a comfortable one. I hope the sofa on Anthem is good because we will have three in our cabin and will flip a coin for who gets the sofa the first night and then rotate the rest of the week so it is fair for each of us.

Howdy all!

 

I have gone on a few cruises with family but this fall/winter I am looking to cruise with some friends. Specifically it is a husband and wife and their three year old child.

 

So all together it would be three adults and one 3 year old. Would we all be allowed in one room? Is there a different room type that we would need? We don't have to have the cheapest rooms on the cruise but we are budget minded so the cheeper the better.

 

Thoughts as to how this would all play out? Thanks!

 

PS: If it helps we are looking to go out of Galveston, so if we stick to RCI it would be either Liberty of the Seas or Vision of the Seas.

We have cruised 4 in a cabin many times and no problems. None of us need a big buffer zone so we are good to go.

No bashing? You've just advised everyone to break the law by lying on the customs form!

Where did you get that from? They said to buy on the island and not on board ship.

Feel blessed you have a family that you want to spend time with and enjoy being with. I don't have a family, just a bunch of relatives that don't know anything about cruising and think we are wasting our money.

 

But, we have met many great people though here on the boards and have enjoyed cruising with them again and again.

 

Enjoy your trip, its only money and you cannot take it when your gone anyway.

 

JoeRum

I always tell anti cruisers that they do not know what they are missing and even converted a few :D

You probably had cabins that had only two berths. When you wanted to add a passenger to your cabin, you had to change categories. That means entirely new pricing.

 

If you had been in a cabin that HAS an extra berth, and just added someone, your pricing would not have changed.

I agree with this because it happened to my family that way and our price did not change. We were just charged for the 4th person in the room.

If it's a balcony cabin.........put him out there. Your cabin steward will be happy to put his pillow and blanket on the lounger.

 

:D :D :D :D

I will be sailing on Anthem next year with my sister (our first sisters cruise) and she snores like a freight train. If the ear plugs do not work, I am putting her butt on the balcony.:D

They will do it just ask. I do it when sailing with my bff.

 

Why not everyone likes sleeping in a twin. He is tall and I do not mind the couch

You will once you try to sleep on it. They are as hard as a rock, even with an egg shell pad that they give you. You might was to ask for two of them.

With 2.5 days in Bermuda, whether you are coming to the islands on the Dawn or Breakaway, there is no reason to book via the ship unless you are rich and don't care about paying overpriced shorex via NCL, even for beach transfers & chair/shared umbrella rental nearby at Dockyard or Horseshoe Bay, etc. (or, got loads of non-refundable OBC & not sure how to spend them ... hint: use it for duty-free shopping on the ship, cosmetics are usually good buys)

 

Taxis and mini-shuttles privately runned and Bermuda government regulated are right off the wharf's next to the pier at Dockyard, big signs with all the rates & charges, etc. and U.S. dollars/currency cheerfully accepted.

 

Checkout the Destination Forum under Bermuda for all the best & latest.

 

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Thank you!

Colin's email is colinjenningstaxi at yahoo.

Colin was have having some health issues so hopefully he's fully recovered. He was very funny and laid back. We had a great time, so much so, that we did a tour with him the last 2 years. :D

 

Linda

Thank you much!

We've used Colin Jennings for private tours and he's was great! If I remember correctly the rate was $50/hr for 1-4 people. We went all over the island and he made sure that we saw all the sights but timed it so there weren't a lot of tours there at the same time. I got his email from the Port board. I know I still have it somewhere. If you're interested let me know and I'll dig it out for you.

 

Linda

I would greatly appreciate that, thank you. And also thank you to everyone that responded.

Has anyone booked an excursion for Bermuda but not through the cruise line? I know there is also public transportation including the ferries, but we would rather book an excursion on our own but do not know who to contact to make the booking. I see different sites that advertise excursion but I would rather use a site that other cruises have used. Thanks.

I don't think we'll see anything bigger in the near future and maybe never. This might be it on size as far as cruise ships go. We all know one thing, RCCL will come up with something awesome, they always do. I haven't tried the Quantum class yet, we are going on Anthem next Sept., that is 2017. I'm betting and I'm almost 100% on this that its not nearly as bad as the reviews are on here. Remember people who complain are louder, people satisfied are just that, and move on.

So true. Complainers almost always write a review, but happy passengers only sometimes write a review. I spoke to a couple on our cruise to Bermuda on a NCL ship and they told me they really liked Anthem and loved Two270. My sisters and I are booked for a cruise on Anthem for August of 2017 and we are looking forward to it. I just wish it did longer than a 5 night cruise to Bermuda. I like spending the extra night which you get on a 7 night cruise which is why my husband and I are going back on the breakaway again next May of 2017 with our daughters.

I'd like to see ships more outwardly focused again. That is my main gripe with Oasis-class. The ships are incredible but they disconnect the guest from the sea.

 

I think a design like MSC Seaside is the next sea-change in the industry creating more outdoor space and centralizing hotel spaces.

I agree with you on this. One of my favorite things about cruising is the feeling of cruising and just relaxing or strolling on an outdoor pomenade and just watching the ocean. I wish they would include something like the waterfront which is on NCL Breakaway. Overall I am not crazy about the breakaway but I do love the waterfront. The top pool decks can get pretty hot on any ship so a shaded area is much better for those of us that do not like to sit in the sun every time we want to see the sea. If RCCL would incorporate this type of space on the Oasis class ships, it would be the perfect ship.

Road trip, bus, or train to Florida as a jumping off point for the smaller ships, and even then they aren't that small - just no reservations needed. :)

It's is funny how we all call them smaller ships, when actually they are large - LOL.

I would rather make a reservation then stand in line for 1+ hours for dinner or a show where there is a limited amount of seats. I know it's a pain to pre-plan, but my time is too valuable to waste standing in a line.

That's the great thing about the smaller ships, there is no line even without a reservation. Ok, there might be a line, but it about 10 to 15 minutes at most, at least on my cruises. But normally, no line.

I understand, and one solution is to stay with smaller ships.

Exactly! I do cruise on the large ships but love the smaller ships the most and this is one of the reasons why. Much more stress free, do what you want when you want. :)

A few observations

 

- every inland body of water in Florida now needs a sign every 3 feet warning of 'gators ... and btw folks, there are croc's in Florida too so b4 the lawyers gang up on this loophole I guess the signs need to mention both .....

 

- surf side, Gulf and Atlantic we need similar signs which warn of sharks, rays, croc's (yep they swim in saltwater) ... and lion fish which can sting ... and and

 

- would one BIG sign at the state line on the highways and at the airports suffice????

 

- I see a bunch of folks who say FL is too dangerous to visit ..... darn ..... gonna miss you ....

 

- p.s these signs need to up on the beaches in Cayman ... Cozumel ... Key West .... San Diego .... San Fran ..... WARNING DANGEROUS WILDLIFE ... STAY 20 FEET FROM WATER ... and overhead plants

 

In Orlando people find bears in their back yard

 

ugh .... I'm done

Yes, there are American Crocks in Florida and also the Caribbean so for those of us cruising or flying direct, it is good to know. Signage is very important where a lot of people gather like a resort etc. But it is mainly common sense. Research an area that you will travel including the resident wildlife and take precautions. Like I said in an early post, I would never go in any body of water in Florida because I assume there are gators. With that said, I will continue to go to Florida and DW, I just won't go in the ponds, lakes etc.

You are definitely more aware of the gator conditions in Florida than the average non-resident. As I previously stated, I too feel that proper signage and fencing should have been present for all or the reasons that you stated. The fact that Disney took zero precautions to warn guests is what makes them liable in my opinion. It's just a sad shame that a little boy had to lose his life of something so easily preventable.

I agree. Disney was well aware of the gators and for them to assume that they would not be a danger is shear stupidity and greed combined. In the meantime, anyone visiting DW or just the state of Florida must stay away from all bodies of water.

How many gators qualify as infested. It's been reported that at least five gators were removed immediately after the boy was killed. What was reported, if accurate and not an intentionally lower number than reality, doesn't tell us how many gators were not caught and how many more they know are in the water. What you catch is a totally different number than what is actually there. There's no way the public is going to be told the actual state of affairs for fear of public perception hurting business and the possible pending litigation from the family. As for the size of the gators being "managed" to prevent harm or injury, that obviously was a huge failure now wasn't it. I find your comments to be pretty ignorant. I believe that most people are aware that gators exist and live in Florida. But, we are talking about a very expensive Disney Resort, that although exists in Florida, would be considered "different" by most people because it's a resort owned by Disney. The body of water at the resort is a man made body of water. This would lead the average person to believe that it was made by Disney, is part of the resort so it must be safe. Most people believe that Disney, being one of the most respected brands in existence, would never put their family at risk. Remember, most people that visit Disney each year DON'T live in Florida. This little boy wasn't killed in the Everglades, he was killed in inches of water at a Disney resort. Let's remember that the beach the family was on is used to promote the property. There are lounge chairs on the beach, children's play equipment just feet from the water, and events hosted by Disney right there in the sand. I don't believe any parent at THIS resort could be called ignorant for not knowing that the lake was a death risk. How could Disney, knowing that there was a risk, not have a barrier to keep kids away from the water and a barrier to keep gators away from the beach where Disney promotes that families enjoy themselves. At the very least have signs to warn people. In my opinion, Disney is 100 percent liable in this situation. Never put profit before people. And yes, we all are ultimately responsible for our own safety and the safety of our children. Just remember, there are always situations where your safety or the safety of your family is in the hands of other people. Ever fly on a plane? Ever drive in a car? We all have a responsibility, not just to ourselves, but also to others. And isn't that what was missing here?

 

 

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It doesn't matter whether it is a resort or what company owns it. In Florida there will always be gators and quite a lot of them. They end up in residents pools, crossing streets and are most likely in every lake, pond or any body of water. They are impossible to keep out and when removed they WILL come back. I do feel that proper signage and fencing off the water areas should have been done, but never in a million years would I go in any body of water in Florida because I always assume there are gators in the water. I am from the NE and know this much.

I for one miss the old days of cruising with RCI when there was no need to schedule anything ;)

I agree. That is one reason why I like the smaller ships, because you just decide at the moment that you want to see a show or do an activity, and just go.

We sail Saturday on the Anthem. We are a family of 8 and I planned all activities & shows. I checked the Calendar of Events for our trip and WITHOUT ANY NOTIFICATION, several of the shows and Character Breakfast were changed. I am so glad I looked. The 'breakfast' went from Day 5 to Day 2. We would have missed this and the 3 kids (5,7,10) would have been very disappointed. With the craziness on Day 1, I would have never rechecked on-board.

Please check your activities a few days before sailing; things get changed.

Did they at least keep your reservations for the new days and times, or did you have to reserve them again?

I'll let you know in two weeks. We leave on Friday. I did end up moving to a balcony guarantee. We figured at least the balcony would give us some extra space.

Did you have a good time and how was the sofa bed?