LIVE from Anthem of the Seas, 23 September to 5 October 2022, "Discover the Canaries"

[FionaMG]

We decided to skip the inevitable pandemonium in the WJ at lunch and had some pizza from Sorrento's instead, which was fine, before we went searching in vain for two loungers even remotely close together in the solarium. We ended up with two single loungers about as far apart as you could get. 

It didn't start clearing out until about 4pm.

 

Then I went to the gym to do battle with the treadmills, plural because the screens kept blocking and I had to keep switching from one to another. It's clearly a known issue because there is a yellow tape along the bottom of the screen telling you how to unblock it. Except if you manage to block it twice it tells you to call the technical peeps! 🙄

Well I made the best of it and got my session done despite the hiccups.

[njkruzer]

46 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I couldn't quite catch the name at the top tier event this morning and they didn't have it written down anywhere. It sounded something like Straker. He is from Dubrovnik in Croatia. Maybe someone who is following the thread will recognise him from that and be able to give you the correct version of his name.

Could it be I've Vidos?

[FionaMG]

Day 2 MDR menu

 

We didn't fancy any of the starters so we ordered the stuffed Portobello mushrooms as a starter. They were ok but had a bit too much cheese on them so we weren't able to finish them.

 

For mains I had the curry and DH had the tenderloin. I didn't get a pic of his but he said it was very good. I enjoyed my curry too.

 

The waiters seemed to be rushed off their feet this evening, probably because it was formal evening, and we had to wait about 20 minutes for dessert. I had my favourite royal chocolate cake and after waiting so long I completely forgot I was supposed to be taking a picture of it. By the time I remembered, there was only one bite left! Oops. 🤭

 

Speaking of formal night, there were lots of folks dressed up to the nines, definitely many more than on our Odyssey cruise in May.

 

The headliner tonight was a magician called Jamie Allen and he was very good. I definitely recommend seeing his show but suggest getting there early to secure a seat that doesn't have obstructed sightlines. Between pillars and overhangs, we weren't always able to see everything that was going on on stage.

 

Tomorrow we have our first port of call: Vigo. This is a new port for us and we have a walking tour booked. However, having already asked the tour company to accommodate a schedule change made a few months back, we just found out this evening that our arrival time is "ship time" rather than local time, so we're having to see if they can accommodate a further change. 🤞

 

We will be staying on UK and western European time throughout the cruise since only the two ports on the Spanish mainland - Vigo and La Coruña - are in a different time zone.

 

[FionaMG]

7 minutes ago, njkruzer said:

Could it be I've Vidos?

Possibly. I'll definitely try and confirm for sure.

 

[njkruzer]

13 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

Day 2 MDR menu

 

We didn't fancy any of the starters so we ordered the stuffed Portobello mushrooms as a starter. They were ok but had a bit too much cheese on them so we weren't able to finish them.

 

For mains I had the curry and DH had the tenderloin. I didn't get a pic of his but he said it was very good. I enjoyed my curry too.

 

The waiters seemed to be rushed off their feet this evening, probably because it was formal evening, and we had to wait about 20 minutes for dessert. I had my favourite royal chocolate cake and after waiting so long I completely forgot I was supposed to be taking a picture of it. By the time I remembered, there was only one bite left! Oops. 🤭

 

Speaking of formal night, there were lots of folks dressed up to the nines, definitely many more than on our Odyssey cruise in May.

 

The headliner tonight was a magician called Jamie Allen and he was very good. I definitely recommend seeing his show but suggest getting there early to secure a seat that doesn't have obstructed sightlines. Between pillars and overhangs, we weren't always able to see everything that was going on on stage.

 

Tomorrow we have our first port of call: Vigo. This is a new port for us and we have a walking tour booked. However, having already asked the tour company to accommodate a schedule change made a few months back, we just found out this evening that our arrival time is "ship time" rather than local time, so we're having to see if they can accommodate a further change. 🤞

 

We will be staying on UK and western European time throughout the cruise since only the two ports on the Spanish mainland - Vigo and La Coruña - are in a different time zone.

 

Did a wine tasting tour from the ship when we were on the Jewel in April/May and stopped in Vigo.  More Portuguese than Spanish. 

[wolfcathorse]

1 hour ago, njkruzer said:

Could it be I've Vidos?

I'm thinking Shreko Ban, he's from Croatia. I bet rotation doesn't occur until after the crossing on Oct 6.

Edited September 25, 2022 by wolfcathorse

[njkruzer]

12 minutes ago, wolfcathorse said:

I'm thinking Shreko Ban, he's from Croatia. I bet rotation doesn't occur until after the crossing on Oct 6.

Crossing is Oct. 17th.  We'll be onboard. 

 

[little britain]

5 hours ago, njkruzer said:

Could it be I've Vidos?

It’s Shreko Ban

[grapau27]

8 hours ago, FionaMG said:

The weather was starting to clear up a bit after we came out, not warm enough for us southern Europeans to put our bathing suits on but still nice enough to wander and take some pics to prove there were blue skies over the Bay of Biscay.

 

 

 

 

 

There were quite a lot of loungers outside the seaplex that looked like needed a really good wash. Some even had what looked clumps of soot on them. 

Great photos.

We noticed all the sunbeds looked like they needed a good clean or replacing when we were on Anthem September 4-11.

Fortunately there are plenty of towels at the towel stations to put on the sunbeds.

 

 

[FionaMG]

8 hours ago, njkruzer said:

Did a wine tasting tour from the ship when we were on the Jewel in April/May and stopped in Vigo.  More Portuguese than Spanish. 

Indeed, there is a very strong Portuguese influence there and the local language is more closely related to Portuguese than to Spanish.

Portuguese wines are very underrated because they're not very well known.

[FionaMG]

43 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Great photos.

We noticed all the sunbeds looked like they needed a good clean or replacing when we were on Anthem September 4-11.

Fortunately there are plenty of towels at the towel stations to put on the sunbeds.

 

 

First time I've ever seen that on any of our cruises. All the beds in that whole area were dirty.😕

[FionaMG]

Today's compass

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FionaMG]

Random stair art on the way down to breakfast, just because I liked it. 😊

 

[FionaMG]

MDR breakfast menu

 

The power wrap doesn't look like much but it was absolutely delicious. Highly recommend.

 

I'm not sure if we'll do the a la carte breakfast again because the service is very slow. Tomorrow we'll probably try the MDR buffet and take it from there. Decisions, decisions... 😂

I was hoping to see the brunch that has been popping up on some ships but it doesn't appear to be scheduled for this sailing. However, the MDR appears to be staying open later for breakfast than I remember from past sailings, until 10 am. I don't know if that will continue but fingers crossed it does. It's much nicer than the WJ.

 

[FionaMG]

We stopped by the loyalty ambassador's desk on the way out of breakfast to introduce ourselves and make sure we're on the crystal block list. This will be our first one. 😁

They don't have any in stock on board however, so he checked our address to make sure it was correct and hopefully we will eventually receive it at home. 🤞

I also asked him if he could get us a copy of the sheet with the officers' names on it and he went looking for one but wasn't able to get one. 😕

[Tin can]

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

I also asked him if he could get us a copy of the sheet with the officers' names on it and he went looking for one but wasn't able to get one. 😕

 

We asked in May at reception and they didn't have one either, not a big issue but I enjoy reading about the officers.

[6MonthsHere6MonthsThere]

12 minutes ago, Tin can said:

 

We asked in May at reception and they didn't have one either, not a big issue but I enjoy reading about the officers.

Didn’t have them in On our cruises in May,June,July and August either, mind you at that time many of the officers and staff were being put behind the scenes due to them having covid 😟

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, Tin can said:

 

We asked in May at reception and they didn't have one either, not a big issue but I enjoy reading about the officers.

 

4 hours ago, 6MonthsHere6MonthsThere said:

Didn’t have them in On our cruises in May,June,July and August either, mind you at that time many of the officers and staff were being put behind the scenes due to them having covid 😟

Definitely a pity. We really like to read about them too.

[njkruzer]

6 hours ago, FionaMG said:

We stopped by the loyalty ambassador's desk on the way out of breakfast to introduce ourselves and make sure we're on the crystal block list. This will be our first one. 😁

They don't have any in stock on board however, so he checked our address to make sure it was correct and hopefully we will eventually receive it at home. 🤞

I also asked him if he could get us a copy of the sheet with the officers' names on it and he went looking for one but wasn't able to get one. 😕

Still waiting for our crystal block from our April cruise on the Jewel.   We should get one on the Anthem in October.   Try guest services for officers sheet.

[bonsai3s]

6 hours ago, FionaMG said:

We stopped by the loyalty ambassador's desk on the way out of breakfast to introduce ourselves and make sure we're on the crystal block list. This will be our first one. 😁

They don't have any in stock on board however, so he checked our address to make sure it was correct and hopefully we will eventually receive it at home. 🤞

I also asked him if he could get us a copy of the sheet with the officers' names on it and he went looking for one but wasn't able to get one. 😕

Hi Fiona!...Congratulations!  E.

[Another_Critic]

7 hours ago, FionaMG said:

We stopped by the loyalty ambassador's desk on the way out of breakfast to introduce ourselves and make sure we're on the crystal block list. This will be our first one. 😁

They don't have any in stock on board however, so he checked our address to make sure it was correct and hopefully we will eventually receive it at home. 🤞

I'm still waiting for my Anthem block from Dec. 5, 2021.

Brother is waiting for Anthem blocks for Dec. 31, 2021 and May 2, 2022.

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, njkruzer said:

Still waiting for our crystal block from our April cruise on the Jewel.   We should get one on the Anthem in October.   Try guest services for officers sheet.

I think that's where he went looking for it but I'll stop by next time I'm passing and it's quiet. The worst they can do is say no, right? And you never know. 🤞

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Hi Fiona!...Congratulations!  E.

Aw, thanks! 🥰

[FionaMG]

3 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

I'm still waiting for my Anthem block from Dec. 5, 2021.

Brother is waiting for Anthem blocks for Dec. 31, 2021 and May 2, 2022.

Guess I better not expect it any time soon then. 😬

[Jimbo]

12 hours ago, FionaMG said:

MDR breakfast menu

 

The power wrap doesn't look like much but it was absolutely delicious. Highly recommend.

 

I'm not sure if we'll do the a la carte breakfast again because the service is very slow. Tomorrow we'll probably try the MDR buffet and take it from there. Decisions, decisions... 😂

I was hoping to see the brunch that has been popping up on some ships but it doesn't appear to be scheduled for this sailing. However, the MDR appears to be staying open later for breakfast than I remember from past sailings, until 10 am. I don't know if that will continue but fingers crossed it does. It's much nicer than the WJ.

 

Can you explain more about the MDR buffet and maybe take a few pictures of the set-up they have in the MDR. Don't think I have ever heard of that before?