Questions about Anthem

[MsK64]

I’ve posted a few times since I’ve discovered Cruise Critic 4 years ago, but mostly I’m a lurker benefiting from the amazing amount of knowledge CC members have. And I’m hoping to benefit from it again.

 

There’s a lot of people on CC who’ve been on the Anthem of the Seas---including a few who’ve written wonderful reviews on this site (Mike--your photos were astonishing!) , and others who have sailed on her, so hopefully, I'll get some good answers. A friend and I are booked on the Aug. 11th sailing to Bermuda and the Caribbean, and though I am a veteran cruiser (on RCI as well as other cruise lines), I have never been on a ship this big, nor one with the unique elements that Anthem has. So here are my questions, in no particular order:

 

1. I have Dynamic Dining, and because of what I’ve read on CC, I went ahead and made reservations for every night at the 4 different complimentary ‘restaurants’. 3 of those reservations are directly tied to the reservations I made for ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘The Gift’, and ‘Spectra’s Cabaret’, because I knew what time those shows were, and the other reservations are for when my friend and normally eat dinner. (around 7:30) But what I don’t know is what time the other shows (comedians, singers/dancers, etc.) are. How likely is it that I can, once on the ship, switch a few dinner reservations to another time so that we can see the other ‘non-showcase’ performances on board? Since I may not know when these other shows are until the day of, can we realistically just show up at a different time and expect to be seated fairly quickly? (on previous cruises with flexible dining times, I didn’t make any reservations; we just showed up and there was never more than a 5 minute wait, but I don’t know how it works on Anthem)

 

2. It seems that iFly can’t be reserved online; can it be done on the cabin TV, or the iPads around the ship or do you have to go to Guest Services or the iFly location itself? It seems that’s something that should be done as quickly as possible on boarding day, right?

 

3. Speaking of the Royal IQ app, does it require the having the internet plan to work? We’ll both have our iPads and phones with us, but neither my friend nor I are planning to purchase any version of Zoom; does that mean the app would be worthless to us in terms of making reservations or anything interactive?

 

4. Has anyone used those ‘blue flag’ cabs in Bermuda? If you did, what was your experience with them? I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who used it in the last few months; what’s the current rate per hour, did you book in advance or just grab one at the dock, were you happy with your guide, if so, do you have their name and email?

 

5. Can anyone recommend a trustworthy local company that runs tours in St. Maarten or Puerto Rico? I had some great experiences on a couple of European cruises using local companies, and I’d like to see if it’s possible here as well.

 

6. Finally (at least until I think of something else), since we live in NYC, is it possible to bring your own large suitcases on the ship yourself, and more importantly, can we walk them off ourselves the morning we dock back in Bayonne? I wouldn’t mind so much having to ‘check’ them getting on the ship (especially if we arrive in the morning) but I would really like to avoid having to pack early that last night to get the suitcases out in the hall.

 

I want to thank everyone in advance for any help you can give me. The amount of knowledge on Cruise Critic forums is staggering, and it's helped me a lot in the past. So to pay it forward a bit, I was on the Brilliance last summer for the Scandinavia/St. Petersburg cruise; if there's anyone who has questions about that ship or the itinerary or local tour companies. please don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Clarea]

With regard to the RoyalIQ app, no internet plan is needed to use the app. If you want to send messages to other RoyalIQ app users, then you need to pay $7.95 per phone per cruise for the messaging funtion.

[Amtrac]

Walk off first thing with all your bags no problem.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GorillaSD]

Hey MsK64,

I'm on the same cruise!

 

1. I don't know the answer to, first time RCCL cruiser. I hope its similar to Norwegian as we never had any issues just showing up for dinner at any of their restaurants. I did reserve dinner for every night, but figured from what I've read that you should be able to either change reservations in your cabin or just show up. Hopefully that's the case, because we don't want to miss any of the non headliner shows either.

 

2. I reserved IFly through the Cruise Planner around the time they released it (Awhile ago.) If you don't see it there I guess its possible they could have booked all their reservations. If I were you I would call, or wait to see if it shows up closer to the cruise.

 

The other questions were either already answered or I don't know!

 

Hope this helps!

[PQI]

I am still to board the Anthem (a few weeks before you actually), but here are the answers I got while reading on the same topics you are interested:

 

1. I reserved late dining everyday, since that's what I'm used to (about 9PM every night). I also plan on doing that, and from what I've read they do not put all seats up for reservations prior to the cruise and have a few for reservations onboard and walk-ins. From some of the more recent reviews, it seems not to be a problem...

 

2. On my cruise iFly was available for reservations on Cruise Planner around the 90 days left mark. It has since then been pretty much all booked up and then it stops showing on Cruise Planner, but when a spot opens up it shows up again. It might be that either it is all booked up on your cruise already or it hasn't opened up yet. Either way, keep checking to see if it comes up as someone might cancel. Worst case scenario, from what I read as well, they keep spots available for reservation onboard so just do that as soon as you board. People say Guest Services has a huge line early on boarding day, so I'd go straight to the iFly reservation desk if I were you.

 

3. clarea already answered this one

 

4. Can't answer this one... I'm planning on taking the public bus around the island.

 

5. I and some people on my roll call have reserved a tour with Bernard's SXM Tours. They have pretty good reviews around the web, including here on CC, and had a tour that catered to what we wanted to see.

 

6. Amtrac answered this one. I plan on doing that as well :)

Edited June 17, 2016 by PQI

[toras]

OP's question 6 has not been fully answered.

 

I don't think you can bring a suitcase on board yourself.

[ATLgirl15]

Just got off anthem so I can answer a few. You can't carry on luggage but you can carry it off. It was the easiest carry off process I've experienced in the last few years.

 

Changing dining times shouldn't be an issue if it's just you and your friend. We were always accommodated and told because we are only 2 that is why.

 

Good luck with ifly. Keep checking the cruise planner to see if something opens up-you might hit it right with timing and someone else's cancellation. I assumed they did not release all reservations in advance and I could do it on board but they was nothing available. Your only option is standby and they were even weird about that-they stopped letting people just wait in line and it was more an issue of being in the right place at the right time. I did get on the last day (5 day cruise) at 9 am. I imagine you'll have better luck on a 9 day. But don't expect to get a reservation when you board. But do put in the effort to get on-it was so worth it.

[MsK64]

With regard to the RoyalIQ app, no internet plan is needed to use the app. If you want to send messages to other RoyalIQ app users, then you need to pay $7.95 per phone per cruise for the messaging funtion.

 

Thanks for info; as someone who follows these boards (even if I don't post as much as I should), I know you're someone who usually has the answers!!

[MsK64]

Walk off first thing with all your bags no problem.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for the answer to that question; it will make life a lot easier that last night!!

[MsK64]

Hey MsK64,

I'm on the same cruise!

 

1. I don't know the answer to, first time RCCL cruiser. I hope its similar to Norwegian as we never had any issues just showing up for dinner at any of their restaurants. I did reserve dinner for every night, but figured from what I've read that you should be able to either change reservations in your cabin or just show up. Hopefully that's the case, because we don't want to miss any of the non headliner shows either.

 

2. I reserved IFly through the Cruise Planner around the time they released it (Awhile ago.) If you don't see it there I guess its possible they could have booked all their reservations. If I were you I would call, or wait to see if it shows up closer to the cruise.

 

The other questions were either already answered or I don't know!

 

Hope this helps!

 

Definitely helped--and I hope it's a great cruise for both of us!!

[MsK64]

I am still to board the Anthem (a few weeks before you actually), but here are the answers I got while reading on the same topics you are interested:

 

1. I reserved late dining everyday, since that's what I'm used to (about 9PM every night). I also plan on doing that, and from what I've read they do not put all seats up for reservations prior to the cruise and have a few for reservations onboard and walk-ins. From some of the more recent reviews, it seems not to be a problem...

 

2. On my cruise iFly was available for reservations on Cruise Planner around the 90 days left mark. It has since then been pretty much all booked up and then it stops showing on Cruise Planner, but when a spot opens up it shows up again. It might be that either it is all booked up on your cruise already or it hasn't opened up yet. Either way, keep checking to see if it comes up as someone might cancel. Worst case scenario, from what I read as well, they keep spots available for reservation onboard so just do that as soon as you board. People say Guest Services has a huge line early on boarding day, so I'd go straight to the iFly reservation desk if I were you.

 

3. clarea already answered this one

 

4. Can't answer this one... I'm planning on taking the public bus around the island.

 

5. I and some people on my roll call have reserved a tour with Bernard's SXM Tours. They have pretty good reviews around the web, including here on CC, and had a tour that catered to what we wanted to see.

 

6. Amtrac answered this one. I plan on doing that as well :)

 

Thanks for information; I found a website for Bernard's SXM and will definitely check them out.

[MsK64]

OP's question 6 has not been fully answered.

 

I don't think you can bring a suitcase on board yourself.

 

Thanks; good to know I have to 'check it' on the way in.

[MsK64]

Just got off anthem so I can answer a few. You can't carry on luggage but you can carry it off. It was the easiest carry off process I've experienced in the last few years.

 

Changing dining times shouldn't be an issue if it's just you and your friend. We were always accommodated and told because we are only 2 that is why.

 

Good luck with ifly. Keep checking the cruise planner to see if something opens up-you might hit it right with timing and someone else's cancellation. I assumed they did not release all reservations in advance and I could do it on board but they was nothing available. Your only option is standby and they were even weird about that-they stopped letting people just wait in line and it was more an issue of being in the right place at the right time. I did get on the last day (5 day cruise) at 9 am. I imagine you'll have better luck on a 9 day. But don't expect to get a reservation when you board. But do put in the effort to get on-it was so worth it.

 

Thanks for the information. Good to know that getting the bags off by ourselves should be easy; not having to pack everything up the night before makes it so much less stressful. And I will keep checking re: iFly; it's something I've always wanted to try, because I have a thing about heights and I know this is the absolute closest I'll ever get to actual skydiving!!

[maggie416]

I’ve posted a few times since I’ve discovered Cruise Critic 4 years ago, but mostly I’m a lurker benefiting from the amazing amount of knowledge CC members have. And I’m hoping to benefit from it again.

 

There’s a lot of people on CC who’ve been on the Anthem of the Seas---including a few who’ve written wonderful reviews on this site (Mike--your photos were astonishing!) , and others who have sailed on her, so hopefully, I'll get some good answers. A friend and I are booked on the Aug. 11th sailing to Bermuda and the Caribbean, and though I am a veteran cruiser (on RCI as well as other cruise lines), I have never been on a ship this big, nor one with the unique elements that Anthem has. So here are my questions, in no particular order:

 

1. I have Dynamic Dining, and because of what I’ve read on CC, I went ahead and made reservations for every night at the 4 different complimentary ‘restaurants’. 3 of those reservations are directly tied to the reservations I made for ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘The Gift’, and ‘Spectra’s Cabaret’, because I knew what time those shows were, and the other reservations are for when my friend and normally eat dinner. (around 7:30) But what I don’t know is what time the other shows (comedians, singers/dancers, etc.) are. How likely is it that I can, once on the ship, switch a few dinner reservations to another time so that we can see the other ‘non-showcase’ performances on board? Since I may not know when these other shows are until the day of, can we realistically just show up at a different time and expect to be seated fairly quickly? (on previous cruises with flexible dining times, I didn’t make any reservations; we just showed up and there was never more than a 5 minute wait, but I don’t know how it works on Anthem)

 

2. It seems that iFly can’t be reserved online; can it be done on the cabin TV, or the iPads around the ship or do you have to go to Guest Services or the iFly location itself? It seems that’s something that should be done as quickly as possible on boarding day, right?

 

3. Speaking of the Royal IQ app, does it require the having the internet plan to work? We’ll both have our iPads and phones with us, but neither my friend nor I are planning to purchase any version of Zoom; does that mean the app would be worthless to us in terms of making reservations or anything interactive?

 

4. Has anyone used those ‘blue flag’ cabs in Bermuda? If you did, what was your experience with them? I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who used it in the last few months; what’s the current rate per hour, did you book in advance or just grab one at the dock, were you happy with your guide, if so, do you have their name and email?

 

5. Can anyone recommend a trustworthy local company that runs tours in St. Maarten or Puerto Rico? I had some great experiences on a couple of European cruises using local companies, and I’d like to see if it’s possible here as well.

 

6. Finally (at least until I think of something else), since we live in NYC, is it possible to bring your own large suitcases on the ship yourself, and more importantly, can we walk them off ourselves the morning we dock back in Bayonne? I wouldn’t mind so much having to ‘check’ them getting on the ship (especially if we arrive in the morning) but I would really like to avoid having to pack early that last night to get the suitcases out in the hall.

 

I want to thank everyone in advance for any help you can give me. The amount of knowledge on Cruise Critic forums is staggering, and it's helped me a lot in the past. So to pay it forward a bit, I was on the Brilliance last summer for the Scandinavia/St. Petersburg cruise; if there's anyone who has questions about that ship or the itinerary or local tour companies. please don't hesitate to ask.

 

 

This was like our 14th cruise and thus far our favorite ship!!! The day after we returned thus past April, we booked for next April.

 

1 we booked all dining reservations before we boarded however, changed almost every single one daily!!! Either for just the 2 of us, or for 4, we met another couple.

 

3. Loved the Royal Q app, always worked well for my husband & me, and with the other couple we met because they also had the app, 7.95 pp for entire cruise.

 

5. Bernard tours, very reputable.

 

Enjoy!!!!

Marg

[MsK64]

This was like our 14th cruise and thus far our favorite ship!!! The day after we returned thus past April, we booked for next April.

 

1 we booked all dining reservations before we boarded however, changed almost every single one daily!!! Either for just the 2 of us, or for 4, we met another couple.

 

3. Loved the Royal Q app, always worked well for my husband & me, and with the other couple we met because they also had the app, 7.95 pp for entire cruise.

 

5. Bernard tours, very reputable.

 

Enjoy!!!!

Marg

 

Thanks for information, and for the great feedback about Anthem in general. As I said in my post, I've been on lots of cruises, but never on a ship this big, so I don't really know how different it will be from what I've come to expect on other ships. But I'm really looking forward to it!

[Ocean Dancer]

You have a bit of misinformation. You may carry on any amount of luggage that you can handle, but it MUST fit through the X_ray scanner. One large suitcase will not work, but two carry ons will.

 

Showtimes for the regular shows are usually at 7pm and repeated at 9pm, so go ahead and make plans around that.

 

As others have said, keep checking your planner for openings on I-FLY.

You do not need Voom to use the App. You will still be in port using your own phone. After the ship leaves, turn off your phone.

 

The I-FLY office may be closed and Guest Services may look like a Disney ride line. That is why we are telling you to try the Royal IQ App.

 

Have a great cruise!!:)

[MsK64]

You have a bit of misinformation. You may carry on any amount of luggage that you can handle, but it MUST fit through the X_ray scanner. One large suitcase will not work, but two carry ons will.

 

Showtimes for the regular shows are usually at 7pm and repeated at 9pm, so go ahead and make plans around that.

 

As others have said, keep checking your planner for openings on I-FLY.

You do not need Voom to use the App. You will still be in port using your own phone. After the ship leaves, turn off your phone.

 

The I-FLY office may be closed and Guest Services may look like a Disney ride line. That is why we are telling you to try the Royal IQ App.

 

Have a great cruise!!:)

 

Thanks for clarifying! And I've read all over this board how crowded Guest Services is, so I will definitely download the app.

[gaylemh]

OP's question 6 has not been fully answered.

 

I don't think you can bring a suitcase on board yourself.

 

You can bring a suitcase on yourself as long as it fits through the scanner when going through security. (Carry on size)

[Merion_Mom]

Thanks for clarifying! And I've read all over this board how crowded Guest Services is, so I will definitely download the app.

 

Guest Services is NOT "always crowded." Some times are worse than others, but there are MANY times when you can be the only one there or behind just one or two people.

[ATLgirl15]

One thing to keep in mind about carry on bags-yes you can carry similar to what you can carry on a plane. But the rooms usually aren't open until 1 so if you board early you will be stuck dragging your bags with you. If you board after 1, no problem go straight to the room and drop it off. We like to just carry on a shoulder bag so we can maneuver easily and don't have to straight to the room.

[MsK64]

Guest Services is NOT "always crowded." Some times are worse than others, but there are MANY times when you can be the only one there or behind just one or two people.

 

Thanks, good to know...

[MsK64]

One thing to keep in mind about carry on bags-yes you can carry similar to what you can carry on a plane. But the rooms usually aren't open until 1 so if you board early you will be stuck dragging your bags with you. If you board after 1, no problem go straight to the room and drop it off. We like to just carry on a shoulder bag so we can maneuver easily and don't have to straight to the room.

 

Thanks for the response, and I completely agree. I was only asking about the large suitcase; as I said in my original post, I have been on many cruises and I learned early on what a pain it is to schlep around a carry-on suitcase until the cabin is ready. Now, like you, my only other 'luggage' is an oversized shoulder bag.

[Pandabear90]

Anyone know how far out do they allow you to start booking online for the Ifly and north star

[Ocean Dancer]

Anyone know how far out do they allow you to start booking online for the Ifly and north star

 

About 6 months, check your planner often. Did you decide to do 5 or 9 days?

[Clarea]

Anyone know how far out do they allow you to start booking online for the Ifly and north star

No set time, keep checking your Cruise Planner.