Any Questions About Anthem?

[tamom]

As far as lines for disembarkation, our time was supposed to be 8am.  We passed by where you get off at 7:50 and a crew member asked what # we were and after we told him he said we could get off even though it hadn’t been called.  There were only a few people in front of us.  We got our luggage, went through customs, walked to the garage and were driving out of the garage about 8:30.

As far as specialty restaurants, we didn’t eat in any this time.  There were no sales for first day lunch.  Our head waiter told us a few times that he could get us 25% off at one of them and somewhere else we were told we could get 30 or 35% off (can’t remember where).  

We were on a 12 night so there were a few headliners.  A juggler, magician and some singers.  

 

 

[cft8]

What is the boarding process like? I saw an old post from 2016 that said you get an RFID sticker for your set sail pass that you can use to track you bags on the Royal IQ app. I'm wondering if that still happens. 

 

If you didn't upload a photo during check in, does the pier staff just take your photo with their iPad for checkin or do you have to go to a separate line?

 

How large of a suitcase can you take as a carry on? (I am managing a large group & have materials for our first event that I would like to carry on in case my luggage doesn't arrive at my cabin before the event.)

[Clarea]

14 minutes ago, cft8 said:

What is the boarding process like? I saw an old post from 2016 that said you get an RFID sticker for your set sail pass that you can use to track you bags on the Royal IQ app. I'm wondering if that still happens. ...

 

The luggage tracking feature never worked reliably, so was discontinued.

[SuiteLady]

I am sailing on the same 9-day itinerary in May and was wondering if drink cards were offered, and if so, what day of the cruise.  I opted out of the beverage package this time, but am considering getting some drink cards if offered (hoping!!)  Thanks and enjoy your cruise! 

[Biker19]

6 hours ago, cft8 said:

If you didn't upload a photo during check in, does the pier staff just take your photo with their iPad for checkin or do you have to go to a separate line?

 

How large of a suitcase can you take as a carry on? 

Check in staff take the pic.

 

Anything that will fit in the xray machine.

[cft8]

8 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Check in staff take the pic.

 

Anything that will fit in the xray machine.

Which begs the question, how big is the X-ray machine? Is it similar to the size of the machine going through TSA screening at the airport? If I had, say, a duffle bag that was longer than what I'd be able to carry on a plane, but no wider than a typical carry-on, would that fit? That's what I'm trying to get a sense of. I'm sure my carry-on bags have been x-rayed at other ports, but I can't recall any details, and I've never been to Cape Liberty.

[Biker19]

6 minutes ago, cft8 said:

Which begs the question, how big is the X-ray machine? Is it similar to the size of the machine going through TSA screening at the airport? If I had, say, a duffle bag that was longer than what I'd be able to carry on a plane, but no wider than a typical carry-on, would that fit? 

The machine size might vary but yes similar size to TSA at airport. Yes, the duffle bag should fit.

[sparks1093]

On 3/22/2019 at 7:50 AM, PelicanBill said:

Have a great trip!  We are going June 20 on the Bermuda-St. Maarten-San Juan-Labadee itinerary.   I would like to know:

1. How late are the main and solarium pools open?

2. When you return to NJ, are there two gangways and would it makes sense to choose a disembarkation point that starts from Two70 in the back of the ship for a shorter walk (and our cabin is near the back elevators.)

3. I figure the inside bars are open the latest. But how late are bars like the pool bar or sky bar open?

Thanks again and enjoy!

It looks like question 1 and 3 were answered. There was one gangway mid-ship on deck 5, so waiting in the spot closest to your cabin makes the most sense (for us it was Royal Theater since our cabin was forward).

[sparks1093]

On 3/22/2019 at 8:09 AM, Iamcruzin said:

Have a great trip. We will be on board in June. What itinerary are you on? We are on the 9 day itinerary.

1.  Do they have sales on bottles of liquor if so are the sale the beginning, middle or end of the cruise?
2. Did they offer a discount on specialty restaurants? I am particularly interested in Wonderland. I haven't seen it discounted in the cruise planner yet. I know that this varies from sailing to sailing so even if you or someone else answers the question it could be different on my sailing.

The sales are ongoing throughout the cruise as someone mentioned. One that caught my eye was 4 liters of Sailor Jerry's rum for $44. The only discount that I saw was 3 dinners for $99.

[sparks1093]

On 3/22/2019 at 3:02 PM, zooma said:

Not sure if you'll easily be able to figure out, but if you have the chance to ask Guest Services... I'd love to know if I can switch out a person for the All Access Ship Tour. I have paid for two of us to do this tour, DH and myself, and I would like to switch my dad in for DH. Trying to keep it a surprise for my dad and keep it off his cruise planner. This seems like it should not be a problem, but I'd love confirmation.

 

Also, if you buy something like that in advance on cruise planner, can you cancel on board and get a refund?

 

Finally, wondering how bad lines are for disembarkation/customs (like an hour or more?), particularly for elderly parents who might not be able to stand for very long periods of time. Is this a reason to try to get some kind of priority disembark, eg, the Key? Or would you need to get up very early and do a self-disembark (and then carry your own luggage)?

 

Thank you and enjoy your cruise!

I spoke to the shore excursion people and they said that as long as the ticket is the same type (i.e. an adult ticket for an adult) then it doesn't matter who actually goes. No one ever compared our ticket with our sail and sign to confirm the names. Excursions booked ahead of time may be cancelled with 48 hours notice. Disembarkation didn't take long at all. We were off the ship at 8:05 and through Customs by 8:30 (we were zone 23).

[sparks1093]

On 3/22/2019 at 3:06 PM, little britain said:

Are they doing any offers to Jamies for lunch on boarding day ($24.99pp in my planner) ot to Chops?

Are they charging you corkage when you take your own wine into the dining room

TIA.

I didn't see any offers for lunch specials. According to our waiter they no longer charge a corkage fee for wine brought into the MDR.

[sparks1093]

On 3/22/2019 at 3:20 PM, cementhands said:

Is Zumba still a sea day daily occurrence in the 270 big lounge at back of the ship? Beatles tribute band on each cruise? 

We were on Anthem back when new 2016 and food and service in the 4 MDR was not good. Is the food and service In MDR on par with other RCL ships now.

Any theme parties? We enjoyed one in the seaplex -great fun.

The tribute band was LedZepAgain. This was our first Royal cruise but we had no major issues with the MDR service or food. We didn't do any theme parties but they are listed in the Compass. I didn't see zumba listed in the compass but I could have missed it.

[zooma]

@sparks1093 -- Thank you so much for your responses! You are awesome for taking the time to help! Hope you had a lovely vacation.

[sparks1093]

On 3/22/2019 at 9:26 PM, carnival03 said:

Hello! How great to start a thread like this. First off, I hope you have a wonderful and safe trip! We'll be on Anthem in just about two months for the 9 day sailing. I'm wondering...

 

1. What are the hours of the fitness center?

2. What are your observations on deck chair availability? We're mainly interested In sitting on deck 15 (above pool). 

3. Other than the standard shows, what other entertainment was offered?

 

Thank you 🙂 Happy cruising!

1. 6am to 1 am

2. deck chairs on the upper deck seemed to have a good availability except on sea days when it could take time to find a lounger.

3. a pretty good variety of sing alongs, trivia, karaoke, etc.

[sparks1093]

On 3/23/2019 at 3:37 PM, carnival03 said:

I have another...

 

What time is the welcome aboard show?

6:30 and 8:30.

[sparks1093]

On 3/23/2019 at 4:18 PM, Chiliburn said:

Do they have the band rock the boat in music hall?

They had LedZepAgain on this sailing.

[carnival03]

1 minute ago, sparks1093 said:

1. 6am to 1 am

2. deck chairs on the upper deck seemed to have a good availability except on sea days when it could take time to find a lounger.

3. a pretty good variety of sing alongs, trivia, karaoke, etc.

 

Thanks for the info. Sounds like you enjoyed yourself. This will be our first RC cruise too, so we appreciate the help!

[sparks1093]

On 3/24/2019 at 6:53 AM, mugtech said:

Is  the public urinating dog still on the ship?

I didn't see it but understand that it is still on board.

[sparks1093]

On 3/24/2019 at 11:13 AM, Alaskalovr said:

If you go to karaoke I need to know if they have My Favorite Things. Thanks

We did go to karaoke once but I didn't see their playlist. I would be very surprised if they don't have that one available though.

[sparks1093]

On 3/29/2019 at 1:30 PM, SuiteLady said:

I am sailing on the same 9-day itinerary in May and was wondering if drink cards were offered, and if so, what day of the cruise.  I opted out of the beverage package this time, but am considering getting some drink cards if offered (hoping!!)  Thanks and enjoy your cruise! 

Drink cards were not offered on this sailing.

[SuiteLady]

6 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Drink cards were not offered on this sailing.

Ugh.....thanks for the info, however not what I wanted to hear!  LoL

[sparks1093]

20 minutes ago, SuiteLady said:

Ugh.....thanks for the info, however not what I wanted to hear!  LoL

This very well could vary from sailing to sailing. I would suspect that drink package sales might be less robust on a 9 day and maybe they will try to make up the difference by selling the cards.

[bar1068]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

They had LedZepAgain on this sailing.

 

Does RCI have a "list" or reference to what bands are playing on upcoming Anthem cruises?

 

 

[sparks1093]

2 minutes ago, bar1068 said:

 

Does RCI have a "list" or reference to what bands are playing on upcoming Anthem cruises?

 

 

I didn't see one (which of course doesn't mean that it doesn't exist).

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, bar1068 said:

 

Does RCI have a "list" or reference to what bands are playing on upcoming Anthem cruises?

 

 

 

No published list, but you can request info on your cruise from web_reservations@rccl.com about 3 weeks before your cruise.