Anthem Questions

[Broons77]

VERY excited for our first post-covid cruise on March 13th!  This is a surprise cruise for DW, she knows nothing of this and hoping to keep it that way until embarkation morning - fingers crossed!!!

 

• Does anyone know if you can see Port Liberty (and the ships docked there) from the piers in Jersey City?  We're staying pre-cruise at the Hyatt on the Hudson and I'm curious if we'll be able to see the ship that morning from the hotel.
• Best option for embarkation lunch that's not the WJ?
• For those that have sailed her in the past few weeks with the reduced capacities, have there been any issues getting dinner reservations at the specialty restaurants or can you pretty much pick and choose at will?
• I've heard that they've been giving pretty steep discounts on the specialty restaurants on board, have others that have sailed recently found this to be true?  I just want one night at Chops and one night at Jamie's that I've got a Chops + 1 pack for.  But I'm wondering if I would do better to wait...

 

My line of questioning clearly indicates my cruising priorities, lol.  TIA!!!!

Edited February 6, 2022 by Broons77

[cruiserking]

Perhaps if your hotel room faces south you might see Anthem docked at Cape Liberty. 

 

Besides the Windjammer the other embarkation day dining options include

- the 270 Lounge Cafe Deck 5 aft

-  Sorrento's Pizza - Deck 4

- Coastal Kitchen - if you are booked in a Grand Suite or above

- Jamie's Italian - Deck 5

- Solarium Bistro - Deck 14

-Seaplex Dog House - Deck 15

 

From what I've heard specialty dining can be booked on board without issue. 

 

Haven't heard anything about reduced prices on board for specialty restaurants. Typically the best deals are before the ship sails.

 

Jonathan

[mets123]

Try the solarium bistro or Cafe 270. Keep in mind you need a negative covid test two days prior to departure. How will will you accomplish that? Can't see the ships from Jersey City piers.

[aphrodite6528]

I would book all specialty on the first day.  We were told by crew we'd have no problem but there was very limited availability to secure reservations for the final days of our 5 night dining package 

[Broons77]

8 minutes ago, mets123 said:

Try the solarium bistro or Cafe 270. Keep in mind you need a negative covid test two days prior to departure. How will will you accomplish that? Can't see the ships from Jersey City piers.

 

Thanks!

 

I'm going to be making appointments for both of us at CVS beforehand.  Then on the day of the appointments I'll tell that I may have been in contact with someone that was positive and I was miraculously able to come up with a last minute appointment.  I also have the proctored at home tests on hand as a backup, but I have no cover if I have to use those.  If that happens, the jig is up...

[JerseyGem]

What a wonderful surprise for your DW.  Clever idea for getting her to take a Covid test!  As for lunch on embarkation day, Jamie's is not free (I think it was around $20+), and the Solarium Bistro may or may not be open for lunch that day.  We ate at 270 (limited cafeteria style options).  

 

Although your cruise may have significantly fewer passengers, the specialty restaurants may be accepting fewer diners for social distancing.  Book your meals and your shows as soon as possible after boarding.  To book shows, you can call 2323 from any house phone.  

[Dina7]

Is Jamie’s open on embarkation day now?? On our previous Anthem cruises it wasn’t. Maybe something new??

[MommaBear55]

9 minutes ago, Dina7 said:

Is Jamie’s open on embarkation day now?? On our previous Anthem cruises it wasn’t. Maybe something new??

It was in December. Maybe they alternate with Chops as the specialty restaurant open for lunch on boarding day

[Broons77]

2 hours ago, Dina7 said:

Is Jamie’s open on embarkation day now?? On our previous Anthem cruises it wasn’t. Maybe something new??

 

2 hours ago, MommaBear55 said:

It was in December. Maybe they alternate with Chops as the specialty restaurant open for lunch on boarding day

 

Lunch at both Chops and Jamie's are available in the Cruise Planner for our sailing on day 1.  Izumi doesn't appear to be though which is a bummer, If they have another sale before we go and they're discounted at all, I may grab one, probably Jamie's.  Would be nice to have a quiet sit down lunch and cocktails to relax a bit once we're on board and not have to deal with the craziness of the WJ.

 

 

[Broons77]

5 hours ago, JerseyGem said:

What a wonderful surprise for your DW.  Clever idea for getting her to take a Covid test!  As for lunch on embarkation day, Jamie's is not free (I think it was around $20+), and the Solarium Bistro may or may not be open for lunch that day.  We ate at 270 (limited cafeteria style options).  

 

Although your cruise may have significantly fewer passengers, the specialty restaurants may be accepting fewer diners for social distancing.  Book your meals and your shows as soon as possible after boarding.  To book shows, you can call 2323 from any house phone.  

 

The app shows both Solarium and 270 as being open for lunch on day 1 but from what I heard, the posted times aren't always accurate.  Last time we were on Anthem, we were in a suite and ate at Coastal Kitchen for lunch.  I really did like having a nice quiet lunch to start things off and wait out most of the time until cabins are available.  Unfortunately, we cheaped out on this cruise and have an interior, so no CK for us 😭

 

And as far as the surprise goes, I'm totally busting!  Can't wait for the look on her face when she realizes what's going on...

[Sunshine3601]

When we boarded Anthem on Jan 9th we went right to cafe 270 and had their delicious kumelweck (hot roast beef) sandwich.  We then sat in that area until they announced cabins were ready.   nice and peaceful area.

On our sailing after day 2 of our 11 night sailing they were offering deep discounts on speciality dining.  40 to 50% off.  But keep in mind our sailing had only 1623 passengers.  We took them up on chops special and with ship having less than 40% capacity we didnt even have to make a reservation.  We were even approached about doing chefs table one night for only $65 pp.

 

[Broons77]

3 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

When we boarded Anthem on Jan 9th we went right to cafe 270 and had their delicious kumelweck (hot roast beef) sandwich.  We then sat in that area until they announced cabins were ready.   nice and peaceful area.

On our sailing after day 2 of our 11 night sailing they were offering deep discounts on speciality dining.  40 to 50% off.  But keep in mind our sailing had only 1623 passengers.  We took them up on chops special and with ship having less than 40% capacity we didnt even have to make a reservation.  We were even approached about doing chefs table one night for only $65 pp.

 

 

Thank you!!!  I believe it was your posts I was reading on another thread that led me to believe there were discounts on the specialty restaurants on board, along with easier bookings.  I'm really waffling on keeping the cruise planner package I bought and taking my chances on board.  I'm going to have to keep my eye out for any folks posting from the cruises closer to ours to see what the head counts are running and if they're seeing anything similar.

 

Are you back on board Anthem for March 20th or am I mixing you up with someone else?

[Sunshine3601]

Yes it may have been me as I did mention the speciality sales onboard on another thread or 2.  Yes, we are back onboard March 20th for a b2b on the March 27th sailing.

Our Son and his Fiance are joining us the first week for their very first cruise!  

He never had any interest in cruising before this but now they are really excited.   They drove us on Jan 9th so they could see the ship.  They couldnt believe how big it was in person.

I'm sure your DW will be happily surprised.  When do you plan on telling her so she can pack?

[mets07]

7 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

When we boarded Anthem on Jan 9th we went right to cafe 270 and had their delicious kumelweck (hot roast beef) sandwich.  We then sat in that area until they announced cabins were ready.   nice and peaceful area.

 

We did same on day 1 of Jan 20 cruise on Anthem. Agree that it is a nice spot for first day lunch. Many passengers are not even aware of it at that point. 

[DonnaK]

We ate at Sorrento's on boarding day.  You don't have to get pizza.  They have a nice selection of antipasto-type foods, and in the adjoining Cafe, you can get specialty sandwiches and desserts.

[Broons77]

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Yes it may have been me as I did mention the speciality sales onboard on another thread or 2.  Yes, we are back onboard March 20th for a b2b on the March 27th sailing.

Our Son and his Fiance are joining us the first week for their very first cruise!  

He never had any interest in cruising before this but now they are really excited.   They drove us on Jan 9th so they could see the ship.  They couldnt believe how big it was in person.

I'm sure your DW will be happily surprised.  When do you plan on telling her so she can pack?

 

That sounds like so much fun!  Our first cruise was on Anthem and was smitten with everything about it.  We went small on our second cruise and went on Rhapsody, and found that we enjoyed it just as much, but for different reasons.  I'm sure your son & fiancée will have a blast!

 

DW is disabled and I take care of most everything so packing isn't really the concern that most guys would have.  The big challenge will be getting her out of the house for long enough to get everything packed and stash the packed bags.  That and pulling off the covid tests.  If I can get away with those 2 things, I should be home free and I can tell her as we're driving to, or maybe even pulling up to the ship at Cape Liberty.  Wish me luck!

[brillohead]

On 2/5/2022 at 9:10 PM, mets123 said:

Keep in mind you need a negative covid test two days prior to departure.

 

Just a helpful suggestion regarding the wording of your sentence for future posts.  The test has to be "two days or less" or "within two days" prior to departure.  

You may be aware of the details for this rule, but some people reading your sentence might think that the test has to be taken exactly two days prior to departure, when in fact it can be two days prior, one day prior, or the day of (for vaccinated individuals).