Live blog From Anthem of the Seas Transatlantic

[Happy Bee]

Thanks for your comments

 

We actually took pictures of all the casino tables the other morning with the signs showing game type, minimum bets etc. although we've taken that many pictures and got that much info I can't upload quick enough.

 

There is 3 card poker

 

 

Big raise stud poker

 

 

Ultimate Texas Hold'Em

 

 

There was also something called Let it Ride. I've not heard of this before so unsure if this is Poker too.

 

 

In regards to the IQ app, it has probably worked about 75% of the time. When it's not working we have have either received an error message when trying to access our calendar, the cruise compass etc or just doesn't load up content when you click on it. The luggage tracking never worked for us either.

 

When the app works it is good, as you can add things to your calendar from the cruise compass so it's easy to keep track of what you have planned.

 

Yes, Let it Ride its combination of 5 cards and 3 cards poker (as two saparate games same time) plus 1$ bonus bet --- my favorite game.

[sharktums]

Thanks for checking on the Trapeze/Lyra for me.

 

Wonderful review, loved following along. Have a safe trip home!

[BourkeBlogs]

Our final day

 

This morning I managed to go on iFly again after a wait of about 40 minutes which I didn't think was too bad at all.

 

This was great again and was definitely worth the wait.

 

I'm not very good at this but here is the video:

 

 

We also picked up our photos from yesterday

 

 

 

After iFly we went for breakfast in the WJ around 11am. We were surprised at how many people were having breakfast at this time so maybe we weren't the only people to have a late night!

 

Body Boarding was on at the Flow Rider from 11 - 2. It was busier today though as the weather was much better than yesterday so the queue time was around 25 minutes.

 

Compared to my first attempts yesterday it went really well today. It's relatively easy to pick up so I managed to stay on around 4 minutes, which was on knees and being able to go back to the top, surf down the wave and across from side to side. I think the more relaxed you are the easier it is as you are more balanced on the board.

 

My second attempt was not so good and I probably did less than 2 minutes as I was trying to be a bit more adventurous with it which led to the inevitable of being wiped out quickly.

 

I only did the 2 goes today due to the wait time. Although the water in the the Flow Rider is heated, it gets very cold standing in line. I also have a surfing related injury, on my first go, when hitting the padding at the back I have bent my finger or something, but fortunately it's not my typing one!

 

There's no videos from today though as my OH didn't film it.

 

We had a couple of drinks at the pool bar, which was great after being in the cold as the roof is still over this pool which I would assume they will retract when on the Caribbean.

 

We went and watched Name That Tune Live in the theatre this afternoon. Apparently Royal Caribbean own the rights to the show so I would assume this will be on the other boats as well. It was a really great show with a live band and the singers and dancers from the main shows. It was much better than we had expected so glad we went.

 

Christopher Caress, the hypnotist was performing in 270 after this and just like last nights show, this was very good. The only thing was it was very hard to find a seat as 270 was so full.

 

Tonight, we are eating in Chops and I will put the details on the next post.

[BourkeBlogs]

Just a quick update, the planned arrival into New York involves us picking up a pilot at Sandy Hook at around 2am.

 

We will going under a bridge around 3am but didn't catch which one it is then we will pass our dock and sail up to the Statue of Liberty around 4am. At this point the ship will turn round sail back down Hudson then reverse into the dock for around 5am

 

The captain has advised they are expecting press and helicopters to film the arrival so has requested that stateroom curtains are left open and lights left on as we sail in to light up the ship in the darkness.

 

There is also a sail in party happening on the upper decks from 3am. I think it's quite a big occasion as they have said it's rare for a Royal Caribbean ship to sail from Southampton to New York and when Quantum did it last year, they had to divert en route due to a medical emergency so it's the first time the cruise director thinks this has happened for a number of years.

 

We should have had a clock change last night, although the Captain decided to postpone until 01:30 in the morning to allow an extra hour sleep to help with getting up at 3am.

 

We are hoping to get about 6 hours sleep tonight as we definitely want to be up for the sail in.

[AndyT3]

Sounds awesome! Can't wait to see the press photos from the sail in. Maybe get a new wallpaper for the computer! Also, looking forward to the photos you take from the sail in as well. Should be a bunch of great photos, between the passengers and the press!

[Pickooie]

Thank you for the info and pictures of the track. I will be by my computer in the morning at 4 hoping to see the party.

 

One last question. Your pictures were "outstanding" can you please share what camera you used.

 

Thank you

[Mom.to.2]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this comprehensive review!

 

RCCL.....if you are following (and I hope you are)....please find Jamie & Diane, and thank them with a free future cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[conandrob240]

Just a quick update, the planned arrival into New York involves us picking up a pilot at Sandy Hook at around 2am.

 

We will going under a bridge around 3am but didn't catch which one it is then we will pass our dock and sail up to the Statue of Liberty around 4am. At this point the ship will turn round sail back down Hudson then reverse into the dock for around 5am

 

The captain has advised they are expecting press and helicopters to film the arrival so has requested that stateroom curtains are left open and lights left on as we sail in to light up the ship in the darkness.

 

There is also a sail in party happening on the upper decks from 3am. I think it's quite a big occasion as they have said it's rare for a Royal Caribbean ship to sail from Southampton to New York and when Quantum did it last year, they had to divert en route due to a medical emergency so it's the first time the cruise director thinks this has happened for a number of years.

 

We should have had a clock change last night, although the Captain decided to postpone until 01:30 in the morning to allow an extra hour sleep to help with getting up at 3am.

 

We are hoping to get about 6 hours sleep tonight as we definitely want to be up for the sail in.

 

This sounds fun but I'm surprised they didn't delay arrival a few hours and sail in at sunrise.

Edited November 4, 2015 by conandrob240

[Setting sail for fun]

Thanks so much for this excellent blog. I feel as if I have tagged along with you and it is much appreciated.

 

Safe travels home. I know you will be glad to see your furry friends.

 

 

 

Debbie

[BourkeBlogs]

Thank you for the info and pictures of the track. I will be by my computer in the morning at 4 hoping to see the party.

 

 

 

One last question. Your pictures were "outstanding" can you please share what camera you used.

 

 

 

Thank you

 

 

Thanks, I think you will find this a surprise but all photos, video and in fact the full blog has been done from an iPhone 6 and an iPhone 6 Plus.

 

I tend to do the writing but my Mrs takes quite a few of the photos as well and reminds me what to get shots of. If you have noticed edits on a lot of the posts this is due to Diane reading them then spotting typos and me correcting them.

 

We used to take a SLR camera and a bridge camera everywhere with us but we find we can normally get reasonable photos from our iPhones and they are obviously much more convenient.

 

To get the shots of the menus and cruise compass I have used an app called iScanner which allows you take the shot at any angle then in the app you can manipulate back to the original format and convert to PDF, JPEG etc. However, we have kept copies of all cruise compasses so will scan these in properly at home so they are clearer.

 

All content will be uploaded to my website. Bit of a shameless plug for BourkeBlogs.com which I had set up before the cruise and had planned to update whilst on the cruise, but due to the time on this forum the site is not updated. However, this will be done when I'm back as I can host more photos, video etc and also all the PDFs.

 

We had ordered a new video camera before we came as had planned to do more video, but it's brand new and not started shipping in the UK yet. We will have it for our next 4 night cruise on Harmony in May which we will probably blog again. We should be able to film some great stuff with it, it's a DJI Osmo which can film in 4K and you can walk with it and have zero camera shake (well that's the claim anyway, so we will have to see when it eventually comes)

 

Sorry that was quite a lengthy answer to your question, but it prompted me to explain some of the other bits as well.

[BourkeBlogs]

Tonight we ate in Chops.

 

Unfortunately the poor level of service continued even in this chargeable speciality restaurant.

 

We were seated promptly but after being given a menu the waiter did not return for approximately 15 minutes to take our drinks order.

 

Here is the drinks menu

 

 

 

 

We didn't actually go for a cocktail this evening and just opted for wine. On this point I would like to say all the wines we have had whilst on board have been great. The ultimate package has allowed us to drink wines up to $14 a glass and at this point you can get some pretty good glasses of wine onboard.

 

Here is the food menu. I managed to get this from the Royal IQ app so the quality is better but unfortunately not every menu is available on the app, hence the photos of most of them.

 

 

 

[Sanz]

Outstanding blog! Thank you for sharing your experiences.

[BourkeBlogs]

For starters I had scallops and my OH had the shrimp

 

The scallops weren't that good. They were very watery and the last one I had tasted quite bad. Although it was too late at this point, I hope it wasn't off. They were also fairly small, the ones we buy at Costco are much better.

 

The shrimp starter was pretty good

 

For mains we ordered 3 again so we could have surf and turf by sharing some shrimp. We were advised that there was a $10 additional fee for the additional main which we were comfortable with. Although that does seem odd when there is no charge to do this in the complementary restaurants yet for a restaurant you pay extra for there is a charge.

 

The fillet mignon was good. Not the best I've ever eaten and wasn't as tender as you'd expect. In contrast to last night where I ordered beef medium and it came undercooked this was slightly overcooked. However, overall it was good.

 

This was the slow cooked short rib. This was extremely good and very tender

 

The shrimp were very good. However, they didn't come until we had virtually finished our mains.

 

 

Sides are ordered separately and are big enough to share

[BourkeBlogs]

Both desserts were good and we had the cheesecake and chocolate banana cake.

 

 

This was on the menu as a liquid centre chocolate banana cake, although it wasn't a liquid centre and the banana was not in the cake but on the side. Although it was still a good dessert.

 

Overall the meal was good. Not sure it's worth paying the extra for and again it was let down by a poor level of service throughout the meal, such as delays in the order taking, mains not arriving at the same time then 15 - 20 minutes after finishing for plates to be cleared.

[michigal]

Hi, quick question, hope someone can help me.

 

How much should you tip your stateroom attendant? We prepaid tips but he has done a great job so we would like to acknowledge this additionally but are not sure of the etiquette on this.

 

Thank you again for this excellent blog! It has been such a pleasure to follow along, and also to meet you both on this cruise.

 

Regarding tipping, it is a very subjective topic, which usually results in a wide range of answers. We were very happy with our cabin steward for two reasons: 1) our room was one of the very first he cleaned each morning/evening, and 2) we requested extra ice, which he provided every day. We've given him $25 in addition to our prepaid gratuities.

[BourkeBlogs]

Thank you so much for your review. I am sailing in Feb. so it has been very helpful.

 

 

 

What restaurant did you like the best?

 

 

 

By the way, Shrimp Scampi in the U.S. is not breaded.

 

 

Thanks for your comments and confirming about scampi.

 

Our favourite restaurant was Jamie's. We hadn't even planned on going here and only did so because the 3 restaurant package on board was cheaper than what we had paid for just Chops and Wonderland. It saved us $10 each by going to Jamie's.

 

We hadn't expected it to be that good as we have been to Jamie's in the UK and it wasn't brilliant. However, on the ship the food was fantastic and the service was the best we have had all cruise.

 

The best included restaurant was the Grande.

 

Wonderland was good for the experience, the starters were different but the beef main was the best beef we have had on the cruise, but again service wasn't great.

 

Our least favourite restaurant was Silk.

 

Although those our are preferences, some people may totally disagree. I think a lot of it could be the night you go on and the service from your waiter.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[denatravels]

In my last three cruises and my two upcoming, chops seems to be the restaurant that I have the least desire to try. Your experience must be why.

It will be interesting to see what happens to service when anthem arrives in NJ/NY. I don't think New Yorkers would sit for 15 minutes and wait for a drink order. Pretty sure I wouldn't!! It seems as though your repeated experience warranted a discussion with the head waiter or guest services or someone-- perhaps in the future, if you didn't.

[SherriZ366]

Enjoyed your live blog. We have been able to pick up the ship on Marinetraffic.com -- she is off Long Island now.

[mstuba]

Here is a quick selfie of who we are:

 

 

If you are onboard, come and say Hello, our names are Jamie & Diane

 

Nice to see you both. Thanks again for posting. We sail on November 22 and enjoy this preview. Enjoy your cruise.

[Rclplatnm]

Loved your blog. Thanks for sharing your vacation live. I'm excited to get on the Anthem in 19 days and I already have a good idea about the activities and food I will experience. Safe journey home. Thanks again.

[Dall]

I'm sorry your cruise will be over in a few hours!! I have thoroughly enjoyed this live review, kudos to you for taking so much time on your cruise to do this.

[mstuba]

Here are some shots from Vintages

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last 2 shots are of self service wine machines where you can tap your card and serve yourself. However, we have just asked the bar man and he advised even if on a drinks package these wines are not included even if under the $14 per glass limit, which seems a bit odd. I guess it's a concept as I have never seen self service wine machines in any other bar before.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks so much for posting Vintages, I can hardly wait to enjoy some wine there. I love the concept of being able to try the various wines. Your posts are covering everything I wanted to know about. I appreciate and enjoy all your posts. Do you know if they had any wine tastings?

[icruiseMarilyn]

What wonderful posts!

 

I've a question that I have not seen asked yet (unless I didn't go back enough).

 

Like other ships I've been on, is there only one outlet on the Anthem? With multiple devices that need charging, it does get annoying to have to 'take turns' charging something.

 

Thanks. I've about 40 days before we sail and looking forward to it.

[MisterBill99]

Like other ships I've been on, is there only one outlet on the Anthem? With multiple devices that need charging, it does get annoying to have to 'take turns' charging something.

Bring a power strip if that is a concern for you.

Edited November 4, 2015 by MisterBill99

[BourkeBlogs]

It's 03.20 and we are just about to go under the Verrazano Bridge