Floating Lanai

Roatan is one of my absolute favorite ports (maybe even my favorite), only due to Little French Key (LFK)

With the cyber sale today the base fare for my May 2019 9 night Anthem cruise lowered by $100. I contacted my TA and discussed my option on getting the lowered fare. I did have the option to take the lowered price but would only have saved $10, I eventually decided not to just to avoid complexity for the $10.

The details are that I currently have $175 OBC from Royal, changing to the lower fare I would lose $75 since the current promotion is only for $100 OBC. I would have also lost $15 from the OBC my TA offered for a total loss of $90 OBC for the $100 lower fare.

This was my first experience with fare changes with Royal but at then end of the day I come out understanding it a bit more and feel that the logic behind my outcome is fair and makes sense.

I now know what to look for if the fare lowers in the future instead of going for it every time it lowers.

It happens to me like once a week, I try the next day and it works again.

My wife and I have the Anthem book for 5/23 next year. We are very excited and continue to hear great things about it. To me, only a couple things missing are water slides and a better or bigger spa area (and maybe more outdoor spaces).

You may find some more information here https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=196

these cruises are priced at 100% per guest, this 50% off is a gimmick. I know I paid full price for my next cruise

and yes, do try for a TA for more OBC

Roatan (LFK) is probably my favorite stop

Has anyone done both. I am leaning toward the adult only sandbar excursion only because I cant find much on the Amiga experience. Is booking through the cruise line the only option here?

for my cruise in May 2019 (9 day) it is showing $50 per day for the deluxe and $26 for the refreshment, I am assuming these are not sale prices?

How far out does the planner usually open?

My kids (11 and 15) love the Anthem! The bumper cars, roller skating, circus school, rock wall, IFly, Northstar, escape room etc. offers plenty to do.

The Anthem has an escape room?

How do you get so many perks? If you book on the ship and get OBC, but then transfer to a TA you get to keep both perks?

Are you saving the cruise compasses? Does anyone know if someone has them already for this 9 day cruise they have shared?

I assume there is no negotiating if you buy the dining package?

Does everyone in the cabin have to buy the same package?

Carnival has not totally eliminated lobster - it's only on cruises of 6 days or more. Did a 7 day on Miracle last month and had lobster.

It used to be 2 nights on 7+ day cruises and once on shorter cruises.

Sweet! Thanks for reporting back!

When you say indoor/outdoor solarium, from photos it looks like the solarium is all indoor? Where there teenagers there through the cruise or mostly adults?

I always use a TA, they always have better perks or more OBC. I wish there was a way we could share TA info so we could know who is giving the best perks.

How are the dive in Movies set up on the Anthem? The main pool area looks small.

Does RCCL do elegant nights and lobster in the MDR?

Is turndown service once or twice a day?

Can I pre-purchase alcohol to be waiting for me in my room?

So cool! Great job on the video. There were so many fish, that’s awesome!

 

Did you use a gopro for the whole thing (even the out of water part?). Also, did you use a gimbal? A red filter? How did you attach the camera under water? I want to make sure I have all the right gear.

 

 

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Yes, I use gopro for in and out of water. No filters. All of the attachments I use are from gopro as well, I use their stabilizer and floater attachment for in water shots.

I made a video of the entire cruise, it was from the Vista, there were other things we did in Curacao that were pretty awesome as well, you can find that video on my youtube page.

Having cruised RCCL and recently Carnival I will say that there are more similarities than differences, IMO: RCCL does not have the same wild deck parties that Carnival does (love the carnival deck parties, lots of fun), Carnival did not have a very good onboard shopping selection compared to RCCL (yes we like to shop in the ship's stores), the Carnival casino did not control the smoking as well as RCCL seems to with their filtration system (or whatever it is called) so we did not spend as much time there on the Carnival cruise, the food in the MDR on both cruise lines was very good in our opinions, the pool bars were more fun on Carnival as the bartenders would be making jokes and singing and dancing all the time but on RCCL there are usually waiters coming by to take your drinks orders where we had to traverse the decks to order at a bar on Carnival, the MDR waitress we had on Carnival was amazing and she made dinner a lot of fun so we ate in the MDR every night aside form our steakhouse reservation, the RCCL buffets are better as in the food seems a better quality and more variety (especially with desserts), the entertainment on RCCL blows Carnival out of the water and though some people complain about having to book shows ahead of time but I like that (we had to wait for ages in a long line to get into the comedy club on Carnival and it was terrible), the layout and storage options in Carnival's staterooms is better that the setup in RCCL's cabins, the drink package on RCCL is better I think because it is truly unlimited whereas Carnival allows 15 drinks from 6a to 6a and there were times when I tried a new drink and did not like it but it counted against my total so if you do that a few times you will whittle down your amount left, as for decor I think RCCL has the edge there but that is just my taste and maybe not yours.

 

Either way, you will have fun. Go on the cruise with an open mind as we did, knowing it will not be the same as Carnival, and you will find a lot to be happy about. We came back to RCCL for our next two cruises because when we were on the Carnival cruise and saw RCCL ships I felt a pang and realized I missed some of the things that makes RCCL special to me but YMMV.

I really appreciate this description and detail

Loved: Jewel, Freedom and Allure.

Hated: Anthem and Serenade.

Why do you hate the Anthem?

For anyone wondering what the blue room is like I made a video of it. Out of 5 cruises, I think this was literally the most awesome excursion we have dome. Here is the video

Hello!

 

My family and I are considering a cruise next May aboard the Anthem OTS visiting Bermuda, St. Maarten, San Juan, and Labadee. We've never cruised with RC, and it's been a while since we've even cruised with Carnival. Also, this will be our first time on a somewhat newer, fancier, larger ship.

 

What's everyone's opinions, advice, etc... for someone transition from Carnival to RC? What should I know? How does anytime dining work? What are the beverage (bar) prices like? Do we have to schedule our entertainment and activities? Any and all information is helpful!! :cool:

My wife and I are in the exact same situation. We have both done many cruises and only with Carnival. I was finally able to convince her to jump ship, I have wanted to try other lines for a while now. We are also going to do the cruise you are planning on. May 23rd 2019 on the Anthem.

We were having similar questions to understand the differences, Carnival is good at deck parties, and dive in movies, poor in main stage entertainment (imo). But what should we expect. Two things I see the Anthem is missing that I enjoy on Carnival are the water slides and the T pool in the spa. But it seems to have many dining options, and tons of other entertainment like the trapeze and bumper cars and two70 looks awesome.

My Favorites:

Empress of the Seas

Explorer of the Seas

Mariner of the Seas

 

Least Favorite:

Anthem of the Seas

Sovereign of the Seas (Before she retired)

 

 

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Favourites:

Allure, Jewel, Anthem

 

Least favourite:

Liberty, Independence, Voyager. (Dislike the Promenade.)

 

 

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My wife and I have only done Carnival, we will be doing our first Royal cruise on the Anthem next year. You both are on opposite sides, could you tell me why you made this choice on the Anthem?