Noreen411 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #76 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) Tuesday 6/25/19 - Puerto Rico We were both ready to go to the gym by 6:30am but changed our routine a bit and walked/ran the outside track first. Then we went to the gym. We were already docked in Puerto Rico. We stopped at the Patisserie. I changed my order and got an iced Caramel Macchiato and 2 bottles of water. Scott got his usual cappuccino. We also got two macaroons to share; lavender and green tea. I think the one labeled green tea was really coconut. Whatever it was; it was very good. Back in the cabin we showered and got dressed. We had breakfast at the Windjammer. They were out of fresh squeezed orange juice this morning so we had soda. We got off the ship after breakfast. We saw the Chocobar Cortes that one of the bartenders in a local casino recommended to us. We walked in but ended up not staying. It was more of a sit down place and we just had breakfast. They had some chocolates you can buy to go so we may come back for that on the way back to the ship later. It’s too hot out to buy now and carry them around. We stopped at the Coach outlet store but I didn’t find anything. I used to have much better luck here finding things I liked but the last few trips were not successful. We walked to the Umbrella Street and took a few pictures. We found a T shirt and sweatshirt for Scott, an ornament, and a post card. I don’t mail the postcards, I use them in a photo album to separate the various ports we visit. A postcard usually has a much nicer picture than I could take and it has the name of the place we are in. We stopped by Barrachina. We had dinner here on a previous trip and enjoyed it. The Pina Coladas are really good too. Today we just took a picture outside. We wandered around Old San Juan some more. Once we got back on the ship, we sat on the balcony. We are really enjoying our balcony. We saw a plane from the balcony. Edited July 28, 2019 by Noreen411 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #77 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) Tuesday 6/25/19 - Puerto Rico - Continued We showered and changed. We saw interesting wall art in one of the staircases. It looks like donuts. And two of them reminded me of Mickey Mouse. We are also big Disney Fans and at Disney World you can often find “Hidden Mickeys” which are not obvious Mickey Mouse pictures or things, but something that looks like it. For example in the Haunted Mansion Ride there is a scene with a dining room table and one of the place settings has a big round plate and two smaller round plates that look like ears (looks like Mickey Mouse’s head). When we saw the wall art, we both had the same reaction “Hidden Mickeys”. We went to the casino for a while. We stopped at the Concierge Lounge for a drink and some snacks. We have a bad habit of filling up on the little appetizers they have. We went to Coastal Kitchen for dinner. For appetizers I had the Burrata and Scott had Shrimp Cocktail. We saw a pretty sunset from Coastal Kitchen. For our entrees I had the filet and Scott had the duck. Both entrees were very good tonight. For dessert I had the Creme Brûlée and Scott had the chocolate cake. We went back to the casino and were there until they closed about 2am. Back in our cabin we had a towel animal - an elephant. Edited July 28, 2019 by Noreen411 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #78 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Day 7 Compass and Planner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #79 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) Wednesday 6/26/19 - Labadee I went to the gym around 6:30am and Scott slept. I walked/ran around the track after the gym also, stopping a few times to take pictures. The outside pool was closed with a net over it. After stopping at the Patisserie we showered and changed. It was still relatively empty around the ship. We had breakfast in the Windjammer. We got off the ship and walked to Columbus Cove. We stopped taking a few pictures along the way. Scott had a bit of trouble getting into this hammock. I took pictures and laughed as he almost tumbled off, but finally got himself in the hammock. Once we got to Columbus Cove I took a picture of the ship. We got settled in our lounge chairs. We swam and snorkeled for a while. I used my round papadam (I think that is what it’s called) to float around. What a great idea this was. I read about it on cruise critic and saw it on Amazon. It’s easy to blow up the edges and sit in the circle to float. And you can easily deflate it and it folds up to a little circle. We sat in our lounge chairs and read for a bit. We swam and played in the water more. We had lunch at the BBQ set up on the island. Hot dogs and hamburgers. It was pretty good. Back at our lounge chairs, I read my kindle while Scott took a short nap. When he woke up we went back in the water swimming and snorkeling and floating on my papadam. We changed to go back to the ship at almost 4. This is the longest we have spent at a beach yet. We really enjoyed Labadee. We waited for the tram to take us back towards the ship since it was coming. We got off near the shop (the regular store not the line of local stands where they were yelling for you to buy items). We found an ornament. We walked the rest of the way back to the ship. Back at the cabin Scott took a shower than went to the gym. I showered and changed and went to the casino. Once Scott finished in the gym, he showered and changed and then met me in the casino. Edited July 28, 2019 by Noreen411 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #80 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) Wednesday 6/26/19 - Labadee - Continued We had dinner at Coastal Kitchen. The “question of the day” was a good one. I remember the basics of it - what sits in the corner but travels the world?.......A stamp. We solved this one. Each time we successfully solved a question of the day, Amar would give us a mini wrapped chocolate (like Halloween candy size). For appetizers we both had the lobster salad but with no sauce. It was much better without the sauce to us. Scott had a shrimp cocktail. Amar also brought us the chicken leg which I wasn’t a fan of due to the texture but Scott liked it. For our entrees I had the veal, Scott had the ribeye and we shared the pasta. For dessert Amar brought us red velvet cake. This was really good. Once he offered the red velvet cake, we didn’t even look at the regular dessert menu. Red Velvet is one of our favorites. We went back to the casino after dinner. We saw the comedian, Andy Woodhull, at 10pm in the theater. It was crowded. We were surprised it was so crowded; we thought most people would be tired out from a day at the beach. He was funny and we enjoyed the show. We went back to our cabin after the show and watched an episode of Riverdale. Edited July 28, 2019 by Noreen411 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPIcruiser Posted July 28, 2019 #81 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Noreen, I am enjoying your review and photos. We are on the Anthem in two weeks. I have been thinking that your husband, with his island shirts, is like my husband and his Disney World shirts. He almost always has on a Disney shirt if he is wearing a t-shirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcmagnum Posted July 28, 2019 #82 Share Posted July 28, 2019 7 hours ago, Noreen411 said: Even with all the desserts, Scott ended up losing almost 10 pounds this cruise. He spent more time at the gym than he gets to when we’re home. I totally have a sweet tooth and always like to have something sweet after I eat. It doesn’t have to be anything huge but I like something. At home usually it’s a cookie. I’ve gotten Scott into that habit too. Wow...10 pounds. My goal is to not gain any or no more than 5 pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #83 Share Posted July 28, 2019 3 hours ago, VPIcruiser said: Noreen, I am enjoying your review and photos. We are on the Anthem in two weeks. I have been thinking that your husband, with his island shirts, is like my husband and his Disney World shirts. He almost always has on a Disney shirt if he is wearing a t-shirt. Hi Are you doing the 5 night to Bermuda on August 10? I guess when you find find a shirt you like you get more of them right? I do that myself but not to the same extent as Scott and probably your husband. Scott has some Disney World shirts but the last few trips to Disney he hadn’t found many that fit right. However, stopping at Publix (grocery store near Disney) he found a few Florida T shirts he liked. Noreen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #84 Share Posted July 28, 2019 4 minutes ago, tcmagnum said: Wow...10 pounds. My goal is to not gain any or no more than 5 pounds. I was a bit jealous of his cruise weight loss myself. He felt even better when I told him most people gain 5-10 pounds on a cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #85 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) I found my floating thing...I was close on the name, it’s a Papasan Edited July 28, 2019 by Noreen411 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazydancemom Posted July 28, 2019 #86 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Awesome review and pictures! Thursday can not come soon enough. Can’t wait to experience Anthem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPIcruiser Posted July 29, 2019 #87 Share Posted July 29, 2019 15 hours ago, Noreen411 said: Hi Are you doing the 5 night to Bermuda on August 10? I guess when you find find a shirt you like you get more of them right? I do that myself but not to the same extent as Scott and probably your husband. Scott has some Disney World shirts but the last few trips to Disney he hadn’t found many that fit right. However, stopping at Publix (grocery store near Disney) he found a few Florida T shirts he liked. Noreen Yes, we are going on the five night Bermuda cruise. I wish it was a longer cruise, but it works with our August calendar. (We are going to Disney at the end of August.) This will be our first time on the Anthem. Our last few cruise have been on the Allure and Oasis. We will have to find my husband some Bermuda shirts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stosto52 Posted July 29, 2019 #88 Share Posted July 29, 2019 On 7/27/2019 at 11:38 AM, Noreen411 said: Hi Have a great time. Happy to answer any questions. The Junior Suite J1 is a great cabin. The layout works well and the balcony is fantastic. Thanks.. First time in a Junior Suite. We usually do balcony but with a 3 and 5 year old, its time to start looking at bigger rooms, if they fit the budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted July 29, 2019 Author #89 Share Posted July 29, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, VPIcruiser said: Yes, we are going on the five night Bermuda cruise. I wish it was a longer cruise, but it works with our August calendar. (We are going to Disney at the end of August.) This will be our first time on the Anthem. Our last few cruise have been on the Allure and Oasis. We will have to find my husband some Bermuda shirts. Hi Look for us and say Hi - we’ll be on Anthem then too. We are in the casino most evenings. You will probably recognize Scott’s St Kitts shirts. And you know what we look like from my pictures 🙂 We’re going to Disney in October. Seems like we enjoy some of the same types of trips - cruises and Disney (my 2 favorite things) Edited July 29, 2019 by Noreen411 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPIcruiser Posted July 30, 2019 #90 Share Posted July 30, 2019 6 hours ago, Noreen411 said: Hi Look for us and say Hi - we’ll be on Anthem then too. We are in the casino most evenings. You will probably recognize Scott’s St Kitts shirts. And you know what we look like from my pictures 🙂 We’re going to Disney in October. Seems like we enjoy some of the same types of trips - cruises and Disney (my 2 favorite things) We will look for you! If we don’t see you during the day, we will come by the casino. We can’t wait for the cruise. It is our first kids free cruise in ten years. We haven’t told our kids yet that we are cruising without them. We are celebrating our 20th anniversary. Disney and cruises are definitely Chris favorite things, with Disney being first. My favorite vacation is a cruise. I like Disney too but cruises are my first love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnabonna Posted July 30, 2019 #91 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Thank you for your detailed review. I will be on my first R CL cruise on Anthem 8/10 and your review was very helpful. I bid on a JS, but doubt it will be accepted because the cruise seems fully booked. No Coastal Kitchen for us! How was the casino? I'm sure I will be spending lots of time there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grod19 Posted July 30, 2019 #92 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Having read your last few reviews, I am curious, how many pictures of shrimp cocktail do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted August 2, 2019 Author #93 Share Posted August 2, 2019 On 7/30/2019 at 8:46 AM, donnabonna said: Thank you for your detailed review. I will be on my first R CL cruise on Anthem 8/10 and your review was very helpful. I bid on a JS, but doubt it will be accepted because the cruise seems fully booked. No Coastal Kitchen for us! How was the casino? I'm sure I will be spending lots of time there. Hi. Come look for us - we’ll be on 8/10 too. We’re in the casino most evenings and you already know what we look like. We really enjoy the casino. The dealers and bartenders working there are a lot of fun. We don’t usually sail in the summer either but when we booked for August 10, the Junior Suite we like (the J1 with large balcony) was already sold out. We’re giving the J4 (used to be called Spa Junior Suite) a try this time. I did put in a Royal Up bid for both a Grand Suite and Owner’s Suite but with the ship sold out know the likelihood of that happening is going to be rare. Noreen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted August 2, 2019 Author #94 Share Posted August 2, 2019 On 7/30/2019 at 5:21 PM, grod19 said: Having read your last few reviews, I am curious, how many pictures of shrimp cocktail do you have? LOL - probably too many pictures of shrimp cocktail. Scott likes them and orders them most nights. Maybe I’ll start doing what I did with the always available menu and the bread basket, take one picture since it will look the same each night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted August 3, 2019 Author #95 Share Posted August 3, 2019 Day 8 Compass and Planner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted August 3, 2019 Author #96 Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) Thursday 6/27/19 - At Sea Happy Birthday to Scott - today is Scott’s 50th birthday. I gave him two presents I wrapped and brought on board (playing cards where each one had a trivia item from 1969 [the year he was born] and a Coach money clip/card holder). On the way up to the gym together I took a picture of the Wayfinder by the elevator because it had his birthday on it. I know it had the date each day, but since this was his birthday, I took a picture. I’m corny like that. We went to the gym and then walked the track outside. After stopping at the Patisserie we went back to the cabin to shower and change. We filled another laundry bag to send out. We had a lot more stuff this time after visiting the various islands. Scott was able to stuff so much into that little bag. Since we had to list it, he filled it with 12 T-shirts, 10 underwear, and 15 pairs of socks. We went to the 10am Next Cruise talk/raffle in 270. They showed a lot of information about Oasis and it coming to NJ. We have one trip booked on Oasis from NJ and are talking about adding another one. We also talked about Alaska and maybe doing a B2B northbound and southbound. When we first talked about Alaska we talked about flying into Alaska and touring (on our own) on land first then cruising southbound. The logic around the possible B2B is that if we have bad weather in a port we will have another opportunity to go there. We’re already pretty booked up for 2020 but maybe 2021 or 2022. We hung out in 270 and played some cards with the 1969 trivia cards. When Cafe 270 opened around 11:30 we had an early lunch of roast beef sandwiches and salad. I forgot to take pictures of our lunch. We walked around on deck 14. It’s so nice out. We are used to being on Anthem in February where the days sailing back to NJ are cold. Edited August 3, 2019 by Noreen411 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted August 3, 2019 Author #97 Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) Thursday 6/27/19 - At Sea - Continued We stopped by the spa a little after 1. We booked a spa special for me for 1:45. Scott didn’t want to go but wanted me to. We both went to have the foot print analysis done in the fitness center and ended up buying shoe inserts. Let’s see if they work or if it was a waste of money. I went back to the spa at 1:45. It was a nice special that included a back massage, foot massage, scalp massage, and mini facial. Of course the lady recommended tons of products at the end of the treatment. I know it’s their job to do so, but it’s annoying and ruins the relaxed feeling. I met Scott in the casino and we played some table games together. We stopped at the Patisserie for Capuccino for Scott and an iced Capuccino for me. We also had a chocolate and a raspberry macaroon. The macaroons have been consistently good this trip (this is the first trip we’ve tried them). We went back to the casino and Scott showed me something unexpected that he knew I would get a kick out of. When he put his card against the reader on a slot machine, the area that normally says welcome and tells you how many points you have wished him a Happy Birthday. How cute is that? We went upstairs and walked around outside a bit more. We walked by the bumper cars and I had Scott pose by the parked ones. We went back to the arcade and played some more skee ball. This was a lot of fun. We redeemed our points for some little prizes. We headed back to the cabin and took a picture of the little arcade prizes. We hung out on the balcony for a little while then showered and changed for the evening. Edited August 3, 2019 by Noreen411 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted August 3, 2019 Author #98 Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) Thursday 6/27/19 - At Sea - Continued Since today was Scott’s real birthday, I had him pose with the birthday decorations. We had dinner at Coastal Kitchen. While waiting for the host to seat us Scott went behind the podium so I took a picture. For our appetizers I had the risotto. Scott had the salmon and his daily shrimp cocktail. I forgot to take a picture of the shrimp cocktail tonight. For our entree I had the lobster but remembered to order it “naked” with butter on the side. Amar was surprised I didn’t want the normal things it comes with. He asked me if I’m sure I don’t want the sauce, the leeks, the fava beans. He asked if he could bring me some potato wedges with it so I had those. I know it doesn’t look that exciting but it was good. I preferred it this way than covered in the sauce. Scott had the lobster the normal way with lamb making it surf and turf (Amar’s Suggestion). For dessert we both had Baked Alaska. We really like the Baked Alaska in Coastal Kitchen. Edited August 3, 2019 by Noreen411 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen411 Posted August 3, 2019 Author #99 Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) Thursday 6/27/19 - At Sea - Continued Rueben, the manager, gave us cupcakes to go - Red Velvet and Vanilla. We brought the cupcakes up to the cabin to enjoy later. Of course, I made Scott pose for a few pictures holding the cupcakes. We had a towel animal - a crab. We went to the casino after dropping off the cupcakes. At 10:30 we went to 270 to watch the Quest. This was fun as it usually is. After the Quest we went back to the casino. We stayed until the casino was closing around 2am. On the way upstairs we saw a different funny animal in the elevator. What is this? A meerkat? I’m taking a guess. Back in the cabin we tried the cupcakes; they were really good. Scott liked his birthday. He normally is not a birthday person. He told me a few times this was his best birthday ever. I may get him to change his mind and like his birthday after all. Edited August 3, 2019 by Noreen411 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l_n_m Posted August 4, 2019 #100 Share Posted August 4, 2019 On 8/2/2019 at 1:37 PM, Noreen411 said: Hi. Come look for us - we’ll be on 8/10 too. We’re in the casino most evenings and you already know what we look like. We really enjoy the casino. The dealers and bartenders working there are a lot of fun. We don’t usually sail in the summer either but when we booked for August 10, the Junior Suite we like (the J1 with large balcony) was already sold out. We’re giving the J4 (used to be called Spa Junior Suite) a try this time. I did put in a Royal Up bid for both a Grand Suite and Owner’s Suite but with the ship sold out know the likelihood of that happening is going to be rare. Noreen Hi, Really appreciate the time you took for this detailed review. I'll be on the August 10 Bermuda cruise as well. Maybe see you in the casino! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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