Winter Break on the Athem (2/17-25) - A Trip Report

[clochette]

Merida is adorable, looking forward to following you, I really like Anthem and have cruised on it quite a few times.

[tennislvr8]

15 hours ago, jojo412 said:

Following along! Will be on the Anthem the week after Easter!  Hoping it won't be too crowded since it's in-between NJ spring break (1st week april) and NYC's  (last week April). I'm work in the education field as well 🙂

I am an educator as well and this is great to hear. Our spring break is mar 24 assumed it would be full of NJ and NY spring breakers. 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

16 hours ago, TeachInNYC said:

See you onboard! I am on the same sailing and also a NYC DOE teacher!

How did your remote day go today?

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

16 hours ago, perfect match said:

I figured, considering the name Merida. 😻😹

Her shelter name was Skylar, which is adorable but was too close to the name of a rather challenging student, so it got changed. Went with one of my favorite Disney princesses.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

2 hours ago, tennislvr8 said:

I am an educator as well and this is great to hear. Our spring break is mar 24 assumed it would be full of NJ and NY spring breakers. 

We are on March 24, also.  We thought that was the spring break cruise.  It is for the MD and Va area.  Our DD is going with us and she is a teacher.  Otherwise, we would have avoided this cruise date like the plague.  

 

We prefer longer cruises which usually means less children. We love children--I just don't always love the way they act on a cruise.

Edited February 13 by DragonOfTheSeas

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

3 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

We are on March 24, also.  We thought that was the spring break cruise.  It is for the MD and Va area.  Our DD is going with us and she is a teacher.  Otherwise, we would have avoided this cruise date like the plague.  

 

We prefer longer cruises which usually means less children. We love children--I just don't always love the way they act on a cruise.

Spring Break is not one specific time for the entire country. When you count colleges and universities, mid-February through around Easter is referred to as "Rolling Spring Break" when pretty much every week some group is on spring break.

 

IDK about NJ, but NYC Public Schools always have Spring Break over Passover which does usually coincide with Easter, but in Leap Years does not.

[TeachInNYC]

1 hour ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

How did your remote day go today?

 

I'm a high school teacher and I gave all my classes physical copies of their work for the remote day, so it was relatively easy despite the DOE's IT fiasco.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

6 minutes ago, TeachInNYC said:

 

I'm a high school teacher and I gave all my classes physical copies of their work for the remote day, so it was relatively easy despite the DOE's IT fiasco.

That's good. I sent packets home with my kiddos but still had 4 of my 6 on at different points of the day which is always interesting with Special Ed. But we survived.

Edited February 13 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[Cherful59]

@WrittenOnYourHeart & @TeachInNYC Looking to follow along.  I was on Anthem in November for her 1st cruise out of Bayonne after the start up.  We were able to move from an inside room to a balcony for the same price which was great and will probably never happen again.  It was a wonderful cruise.  We spent a lot of time out on that balcony.  Beautiful ship.  Enjoy your cruise!

[jojo412]

6 hours ago, tennislvr8 said:

I am an educator as well and this is great to hear. Our spring break is mar 24 assumed it would be full of NJ and NY spring breakers. 

I misspoke! There are NJ schools that are off for spring break that week March 24-29..the districts near me are off thr 1st week of April however. I'm sure you're going to have a wonderful time!

[teddie]

6 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Her shelter name was Skylar, which is adorable but was too close to the name of a rather challenging student, so it got changed. Went with one of my favorite Disney princesses.

That tells you where I'm at--I was thinking she was named after that lovely little town of Merida on the Yucatan Peninsula....

 

Teddie

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

7 hours ago, teddie said:

That tells you where I'm at--I was thinking she was named after that lovely little town of Merida on the Yucatan Peninsula....

 

Teddie

 

Aww, no. I hadn't heard of that town until long after I saw the movie Brave. 🙂

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Ash Wednesday is past, so now I can focus on the last 2 days of school and packing. I’m hoping to be mostly - other than last minute stuff - done by the time I go to bed tonight so I don’t have to rush tomorrow. Because when I rush packing is when I forget stuff - and on a cruise ship it’s not like I can just run to Target.

[Defender1158]

On Anthem now, great cruise and fabulous crew.  Only disappointment was a rain- out afternoon at Coco Cay.  One thing to mention for you. Is a change to Solarium Bristo.  In the past for dinner they had a buffet for appetizers and desert, but plate service for entrees.  Now everything is buffet. 

 

When I arrived for a dinner reservation, there was no one at the podium.  We all treated it like Windjammer, grab your plate and drinks, find a table and take care of yourself.  There was some spotty waiter service eventually, but no one came by my table.  The food selections were the same as always, and food quality was quite good.  You could pick up all the entrees you wanted, which was good since they came in very small portions.  Everyone ended up with stacks of small plates. 

 

Solarium Bistro remains a free venue, so I guess they have decided to reduce the overhead.  

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

3 hours ago, Defender1158 said:

On Anthem now, great cruise and fabulous crew.  Only disappointment was a rain- out afternoon at Coco Cay.  One thing to mention for you. Is a change to Solarium Bristo.  In the past for dinner they had a buffet for appetizers and desert, but plate service for entrees.  Now everything is buffet. 

 

When I arrived for a dinner reservation, there was no one at the podium.  We all treated it like Windjammer, grab your plate and drinks, find a table and take care of yourself.  There was some spotty waiter service eventually, but no one came by my table.  The food selections were the same as always, and food quality was quite good.  You could pick up all the entrees you wanted, which was good since they came in very small portions.  Everyone ended up with stacks of small plates. 

 

Solarium Bistro remains a free venue, so I guess they have decided to reduce the overhead.  

 

I'm glad to know this is an option for dinner! I guess since it's a buffet it's first-come, first-served? Or do you make reservations?

[Defender1158]

Just now, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

I'm glad to know this is an option for dinner! I guess since it's a buffet it's first-come, first-served? Or do you make reservations?

I had made a reservation, but there was no one to report it to.  There were not enough guests to make finding a seat any problem.  My only concern was if I had wanted wine or one of the extra cost items like lobster or fillet.  I suppose I could have tackled one of the wait staff who were occasionally bussing tables or gone around the corner to the Sunset bar.  One couple got upset about the lack of service and left in a huff, but everone else seemed okay.  It was just a bit jarring not expecting the change.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Got my health screener done. No magical Express Pass pop up like some on these boards have reported. No biggie. Still have a 10am PAT!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Pretty much all packed!

 

I am not checking my suitcase. I'm thinking that I should put my wine opener somewhere easy to access in my carry-on? There is no knife attached - it's one that has the little arms that come up and you push them down to pull the cork. (I can never figure out how to use the ones the will bring you on the ship.)

[TeachNY]

Mostly packed here too! I’m excited to embark in the morning. 

Edited February 17 by TeachNY

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Woke up after a typical night of pre-cruise napping to find snow. Went ahead and shoveled the walk in front of my building and salted it. I may have to do another pass before I leave, but I wanted it in as good a shape as possible before I left!

 

 

Definitely ready for some sun and warmer temps!!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Well…the ship is in port! That’s a good sign!

 

[SparklyPinkCruiser]

I'll be following along. I am wondering for My Time Dining, if like on Odyssey, you can go to the regular dining rooms about 20 mins after first seating and get seated? This is how we got early seating and not have to wait until 7pm. They were filling up the empty spots of those that didn't show up. 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

6 minutes ago, SparklyPinkCruiser said:

I'll be following along. I am wondering for My Time Dining, if like on Odyssey, you can go to the regular dining rooms about 20 mins after first seating and get seated? This is how we got early seating and not have to wait until 7pm. They were filling up the empty spots of those that didn't show up. 

I may check that out and see. Given that it is mid-winter break for schools I am anticipating a full ship.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

In my Uber and on the way to the port!! Whee!!

[SparklyPinkCruiser]

3 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

I may check that out and see. Given that it is mid-winter break for schools I am anticipating a full ship.

Yes, but also it's often families that don't end up showing up and opting to go to Windjammer. You'll always have no-shows.