LIVE from Anthem of the Seas Transatlantic October 2022

[Another_Critic]

30 minutes ago, ValerieJo said:

After well over 20+ cruises.  Why have I never heard of a boozy shake from Johnny Rockets???  We are boarding Anthem in just over 3 weeks and this is #1 on my "must have" list.   Thanks for bringing it to my attention.   Loving your review. 😄

 

FYI - you can use D vouchers for adult JR shakes.

[ecslady]

I am really loving your review.  I admire your bravery and fortitude to carry on with your excursions and treks since you are cruising solo and in a wheelchair. 

 

Wondering if from your virtual balcony, did you have a view of the port in Boston?

[MJSailors]

@laurieal Thank you for taking the time to write this review while on your vacation.

   I just read the part about your visit to Boston. I admire your tenacity to get around the city as it is not an easy one to navigate. Although you had a lot of effort in maneuvering to see the various sites,you did have a perfect sunny day to do so.

    I do have a question for you as you are traveling solo . If you chose not to answer the question,  that is okay as it might be of a personal nature. I am not being nosy,just would like to understand how you handle maneuvering in the cabin. How are you able to transfer from the chair onto the bed without assistance ?

   Again,thank you for writing about the cruise and your adventures.

MJ🙋🏻

 

[laurieal]

7 hours ago, ValerieJo said:

After well over 20+ cruises.  Why have I never heard of a boozy shake from Johnny Rockets???  We are boarding Anthem in just over 3 weeks and this is #1 on my "must have" list.   Thanks for bringing it to my attention.   Loving your review. 😄

 

My work here is done 😂 

[loug1601]

@laurieal I have been silently following you on your amazing trip. Thank you so much for the work you have put into this trip review. What a fun read…you are very talented!

 

 By the way…we board the Anthem tomorrow morning. Thanks for bringing her back to New Jersey, and safe travels home for you!

 

Pat and hubby Tom

[perfect match]

Thank you @laurieal 🙏 for another great review! I’ve really enjoyed following along with you. 😀

[earltonharley]

I absolutely enjoyed your exploits onboard the Anthem for the Atlantic crossing. I’ve been on Anthem four times and you made it possible to look for more adventures!  Safe journey on your return to Canada!  I hope to be able to “catch up” with another live review by you!

 

Best,

John

[Dorh]

Thank you for your amazing review. I have been one of your secret followers. I am now getting ready to cruise on Anthem for the next 8 days. I enjoyed your posts and I'm ready for our adventure aboard. Have a safe journey back home. 

Doris

[AF-1]

All I can say is wow.  You've provided a wonderful review, with great colorful pictures.  Thank you.

[LATTELOVE]

Very nice reviews and photos.

Thank you for taking us along.

Safe travels home.

[DaniDanielle]

Safe travels and thank you

[Salat13]

I love your review, thank you so much. We will be next year on the crossing from New York to Southampton. 

I can recommend you a very good book from a famous German writer. It takes place on a cruise ship and it's a really good thriller.

 

Sebastian Fitzek - Passenger 23

Every year, on average 23 people disappear without a trace from cruise ships.

No one has ever come back.

Until now.

Five years ago police psychologist Martin Schwartz lost his wife and son. They were holidaying on a cruise ship when they simply vanished, the case written off as a straightforward murder-suicide.

They are not the only parent-and-child pair to have disappeared from the ship in recent years – and yet, the authorities seem unconcerned.

But when a missing girl reappears – carrying Martin's son's beloved teddy bear – the police won't be able to avoid the truth that something sinister is lurking on board...

 

Hope you will like it.

[FionaMG]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us @laurieal.

Safe travels home. 

[laurieal]

On 10/28/2022 at 2:28 PM, ecslady said:

I am really loving your review.  I admire your bravery and fortitude to carry on with your excursions and treks since you are cruising solo and in a wheelchair. 

 

Wondering if from your virtual balcony, did you have a view of the port in Boston?

Here’s the only one I have. 
 

[laurieal]

On 10/28/2022 at 3:05 PM, MJSailors said:

@laurieal Thank you for taking the time to write this review while on your vacation.

   I just read the part about your visit to Boston. I admire your tenacity to get around the city as it is not an easy one to navigate. Although you had a lot of effort in maneuvering to see the various sites,you did have a perfect sunny day to do so.

    I do have a question for you as you are traveling solo . If you chose not to answer the question,  that is okay as it might be of a personal nature. I am not being nosy,just would like to understand how you handle maneuvering in the cabin. How are you able to transfer from the chair onto the bed without assistance ?

   Again,thank you for writing about the cruise and your adventures.

MJ🙋🏻

 

Since I have two fully functioning arms, it’s quite easy for me to lift myself up from my wheelchair and into the bed or the shower bench. Those surfaces have a height that is similar to my wheelchair’s, so transferring is quite easy and similar to the transfers I do at home. 
 

If you’re curious, you can look up « wheelchair transfer » on YouTube to see what the technique looks like. 

[laurieal]

20 hours ago, loug1601 said:

@laurieal I have been silently following you on your amazing trip. Thank you so much for the work you have put into this trip review. What a fun read…you are very talented!

 

 By the way…we board the Anthem tomorrow morning. Thanks for bringing her back to New Jersey, and safe travels home for you!

 

Pat and hubby Tom

Have a wonderful trip on the Anthem! I saw you leaving without me earlier 😊 

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by laurieal

[Another_Critic]

2 minutes ago, laurieal said:

Since I have two fully functioning arms, it’s quite easy for me to lift myself up from my wheelchair

 

PSA - Don't challenge Laurie to an arm wrestling match.  🙂

[laurieal]

Day 12 Compass

 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Day 12

 

Hello from New York City!

 

I wanted to attend the Captain’s Corner that morning, so I skipped the Diamond Lounge and went down to Deck 5 instead for some quiet time in Two70. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Day 12 - continued

 

 

When Café@Two70 opened, I ordered a cappuccino and a breakfast burrito. No one was exercising that morning, but just thinking about people exercising made me want a donut. 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I tore into that donut so quickly that I forgot to take a picture. But it tasted so incredibly fresh that I considered getting a second one. 

 

Captain’s Corner was fun and informative. I like our captain and his jokes. It was particularly interesting when he told us about what the Anthem was up to during the covid lockdown.

 

 

[laurieal]

Day 12 - continued

 

Right after Captain’s Corner, they were doing a Q&A with four people from the Entertainment Team in the Royal Theatre and I really hope you weren’t expecting anything too exciting from me for the last day of the cruise because it was basically just me going to Two70 and the Royal Theatre. 
 

 

I decided to tackle packing early since there wasn’t any activity I wanted to attend for a while. Also, I wanted to make sure my transfer to Manhattan was still confirmed. Apparently, I had booked a transfer that no longer exists, so I wasn’t extremely confident. 

 

I managed to speak with the person in change of transfers and he assured me that everything would be taken care of. Since I was allowed to book something that no longer exists, they would be arranging a private accessible transfer for me. 

 

As I’m writing this while sitting in the Schooner Bar on departure morning, I am still not 100% convinced it will happen. We’ll see!

 

In the afternoon, with most of my packing done, I attended the show In Concert in the Royal Theatre. The show featured singers from the We Will Rock You cast and it was very enjoyable. 

 

 

 

After the show, there was some movie/TV trivia I wanted to attend, but that’s when I saw The Email. The Email was from my hotel to let me know that due to unforeseen circumstances, they were now closed. That’s the kind of email you want to get on a cruise ship the day before your hotel reservation. 

 

So I found a quiet spot in Schooner Bar, ordered a Grapefruit and Habanero drink, and I got to work.
 

 

The hotel was offering to move my reservation to another one of their properties, but the location was far from ideal so I started looking for something closer to what I had originally booked that was also wheelchair accessible and at a reasonable price. 

 

I ended up finding something super close to the drop off point of my transfer. It looked like it was going to be somewhat dodgy, but not quite as dodgy as the hotel I had in Rome, which on the scale of hotel dodginess is a point I’m trying not to reach again. 

 

With my new hotel booked, I used Skype to cancel my original reservation and I headed to Two70 where they would be having a technical demonstration of the venue. They were still doing karaoke when I arrived and I watched the end of the finale while eating a kümmelweck sandwich with plenty of jus. So, so good. 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Day 12 - continued 

 

The demo of Two70 was fun and I think those robot screens are extremely cool. I wish they had a different demo for the C&A event, maybe something featuring the RCI ships, instead of showing the Da Vinci thing to both events.

 

 

 

 

I had some time before the Farewell Show, so I went for one last slice of pizza at Sorrento’s and some cheese and prosciutto thing they had, which I really liked. 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Day 12 - continued

 

 

At the Farewell Show, I got my last drink of the cruise: a Goombay Smash. I enjoyed the first part of the show a lot. It was one of the performers from Spectra’s Cabaret who did some songs. The second part was comedian Richie Minervini and his humour is not really my style. 
 

 

 

 

After the show, I returned to my stateroom to finish packing. With my suitcase out in the corridor, I went to bed early. 

[iamthetitleist]

We will be sailing in December. Did you happen to see the drunk menu for Brass and Bock? In 2019 when we were on the Anthem they had Dogfish 90 minute and Red Hook Longhammer which were my go to drinks. Is there anything similar to that now? Thanks.

Edited October 29, 2022 by iamthetitleist

[MJSailors]

Thank you for answering my question.

I hope the hotel in Manhattan worked out favorably for you.

Safe travels home to Canada.

MJ🙋🏻