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VernRDH

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    Clifton Park, New York

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  1. I just sent a screenshot of my account page from RC that showed my points and status. Plus filled out the application. Had a MSC Voyagers number 2 days later. Definitely do it first than book, as you do get the discount. I believe you were on Anthem with us last week too!
  2. D+ will get you gold status on MSC. Very easy to do. We are D+, and are trying MSC Meraviglia out of Brooklyn this October. We booked Yacht Club interior for the same price as an ocean view on Symphony for the same week. Full drinks package,surf internet for two devices per person. Price included gratuities and bus transportation through the travel agent, since parking is $45/day. So I am saving since I would still buy soda package and internet for two, plus parking in Bayonne at $210. We are not suite or fancy upgrade people ordinarily, but as we age are looking for a quieter, more laid back experience. You also get access to thermal suite in the spa( unlimited) and private dining room. It may spoil me, but we will see. They offer different levels of cruise experience, and some nice perks with the Voyagers club. What's the worst thing that happens? You find it's not for you. We are planning on trying other lines as well, since Pinnacle is too far away and at Royal's current pricing, I may find other lines suit our needs better.
  3. It has never been an issue before, that's why I was so surprised this time. DH does have travel parts for his unit that he washes and runs in the So clean when we get home. So at least he has good clean stuff when we get home. I don't know if the pricing for Cape Liberty is just higher since there are not a lot of other drivable options in the Northeast. And while having newer shinier ships in Bayonne is nice, I can book something else for less and get more. Like I said we love Odyssey, but we sailed her out of FLL in October, so didn't need the enclosed pool. It may be a tough go if the weather is like we had last week.
  4. I think we waited maybe 15 minutes? I wasn't really paying attention, we enjoy people watching and sitting by the entrance across from the jewelry shop is a great spot.
  5. Just some highlights of our 8 night cruise on Anthem from Bayonne, NJ. Sailing are myself (53F) and DH (54M). We are D+ with this being his 5th and my 3rd time on Anthem. Cabin- 7658 balcony, just aft of aft elevators. Great location and we like the layout of these cabins. Shower is a rectangle, not the bullet. Plenty of room and storage for the two of us. Dining- Early seating in American Icon, we ate half our meals here and the rest at speciality. Food is subjective, but the menus are stale and some of the offerings are just not great. The prime rib on night one and the tenderloin on day 2 were excellent, but after that nothing really stood out. I ate 3 appetizers on night 3 instead of a main, but that was Super Bowl night. I wish we had known that they would offer free hot dogs and hamburgers at the theater for the game, and then we would have skipped MDR. We ate breakfast at Solarium Bistro each morning, the first two days the food was not very good. Eggs were cooked HARD (both scrambled and over easy) with whole yolks in them! At least I know they used real eggs. Improved for the rest of the week. We don't really eat lunch, just grab a snack. Specialty dining- we had Jamie's booked for Valentines day and once again it did not disappoint. We had the garlic bread, aranchini , bolognese and the short ribs. Wonderful meal and good service. We did Izumi one night and we just order ala carte. I have a shellfish allergy, so there are only a few things I can order safely, but again it did not disappoint. Johnny Rockets- its such a shame it has declined, it used to be a really great meal. $37 for two is a bit much. We skipped the milkshakes. For only $18 for two we got a WAY better burger at Brass and Bock, which we ate at the last night. We plan to add this to our rotation in the future. Ports- we had planned to go to Disney in PC, but they changed the excursion time from 9:30 (which IMO was already late since we were docked at 7am) to 11:30am. This would realistically only give you 3 hours in a park and at $150 per person, the juice wasn't worth the squeeze on this. We stayed on board and enjoyed our regular hangout, the Solarium. Coco Cay- well, it wasn't a "Perfect Day" more like a "Perfect 3 hours" Captain Tony said it would rain at noon and he was spot on. We spent a bit on time on Chill Beach, went in the ocean (it was a bit cool but ok), shopped a little, and had lunch (had to get my funnel cake and mozzarella sticks!) By the time we finished eating, the sky was very dark and we decided to head back. Just as we got to the pier, it started to rain in earnest. Winds did not help. We were docked alongside Freedom (first time we have every been at PDCC with another ship) and the line to get back on Freedom was crazy long. Maybe the Northerners are made of sturdier stuff and were willing to brave the rain? Hard to say, but we opted to head back and hit the hot tub in the Solarium. Nassau- We should really have our mail forwarded to Nassau as we are there so often. We shopped for trinkets for our coworkers and a new handbag for me. Had lunch at our fave restaurant Athena Cafe. It was a beautiful day with 6 ships in port- Allure and Anthem, Carnival Liberty and Freedom(?) and MSC Meraviglia and Seashore. We were right next to Meraviglia, which was nice since we will be sailing on her in October and it was nice to see her up close. Entertainment- having been on Anthem so many times, we did not see WWRY or Spectra again. We went to the theater to see the SuperBowl and went for The BeatleManiacs, which were very good. We tried to go to Music Hall for the band one night, but it was just SO LOUD! We found the music in the bars and lounges to be very loud. And that comes from someone who is hard of hearing! Casino- we like to play roulette. We are strict about our gambling budget. It is extremely easy to advance more money on your SeaPass, but that bill comes due when you get home, we just can't do it. So we play until we are out of chips, but if we hit, we take the payout in large chips and put that in our pockets. A "win" is coming out even. Roulette was very popular on this cruise, as the tables were full every night with people waiting to play. The last night they had all 3 tables open. Bar service- so we cannot drink alcohol due to medial reasons, but we do enjoy mocktails. Bar staff was great about making different things for us and many knew our preferences after a visit or two. Bars were busy and they were doing a great job taking care of everyone. Cabin attendant- Yudhy was a nice young man who did his best. He had soooo many cabins! We asked for distilled water on embarkation day for DH's CPAP, and he brought us a bottle of Evian. I left him a note the next day saying this isn't distilled water and his reply was they did not have any and would not get it until PC. Now this is not his fault, but c'mon RC I requested it TWICE prior to sailing. You can't have distilled water for medical device? But there was quite a few things we didn't get until PC (mostly fruits) and I get that provisions in Florida are cheaper and easier to acquire than the metro NYC area. But distilled water? Overall it was a very relaxing cruise, which is really what we are looking for. We will miss Anthem, since she is a true cold weather ship. We opted to fly next year and not go on Odyssey (which we also enjoy) due to the prices. I booked a 9 night out of Tampa in a balcony for less than a 7 night in an oceanview on Odyssey. Yes I have the added expense of pre-cruise hotel and flight, but its offset by not having to pay to park at Cape Liberty and I get 2 more nights and 2 new ports. Please feel free to ask any questions. Thanks for reading!
  6. DD is now 24 and Diamond in her own right. Never saw a kids menu. She always tried new things( still does) Mine also thought on land that extra entrees or apps were "included". Had to shut that down quickly😁
  7. I am going to be in the minority here. 1. Quantum class. Odyssey is my favorite, we have done Anthem ( and going again in 11 days but who is counting) multiple times and are looking forward to Ovation to Alaska in May. 2. Radiance class. Love the glass and views. 3. Freedom class. All the good things without 10 gazillion people. 4. Voyager class. She was our first, so holds a special spot in my heart, that's what got us addicted. I don't like Oasis at all, and truly have no desire to go on Icon. I would like to get on more vision class before they go away.
  8. We did a culinary tour in Nassau on our own, not through the cruise line. It was excellent. Tru Bahamian Food tour, you book directly on their website. Highly recommend it, we ended up going to one of the restaurants on the tour every time we go there and will be there again in 2 weeks. They also accommodate food allergies.
  9. We brought it back with no problem, we also drove to the port. In the new shopping area at the terminal in Nassau is a local beekeeper shop. Nice young man, told us about the family business of beekeeping and selling honey and other products. We purchased it as gifts and all said it was very good.
  10. We are looking at the Feb 28th sailing, includes Colon, Panama and Costa Rica
  11. We are planning to do a 9 night next February on Serenade from Tampa. 4 ports, 4 sea days. We don't care for Oasis class, we like the smaller ships. And for us, a relaxing day in a lounger by the Solarium pool is heaven.
  12. Which airport are you flying into? If you are wheels down at 7:30 am you probably won't get off the plane for another 30 minutes, then bathroom break, making your way to baggage claim, waiting for bags. So it is possible you aren't ready for an Uber until 9am. Newark is the closest, so that drive is *maybe* 15 minutes in light traffic. If you are flying into JFK or LGA your travel time might vary, depending on the day of the week. We go out of Bayonne frequently, it's not glamorous like Miami, but gets the job done. They usually start letting people in around 10, and then you check in and wait to be called for boarding. I will agree with others, flying the day before is a better option if you can do it.
  13. You get 2 devices per person in YC? How did I miss that? If that's the case, I can stop worrying about whether to use my phone or tablet!
  14. I am in the minority I guess. I don't like Oasis but love Odyssey and Anthem. Looking forward to Ovation this May. We are just not into all the bells and whistles that Oasis class offers. Our focus is on relaxation, so the Solarium is important to us. Love it on Anthem and Odyssey, perfect place to spend my days. Favorite class is still radiance, I do like smaller ships.
  15. Checked in for Anthem 2/9 sailing at 12:03 am today. Easy peasy.
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