Floating Lanai

It's a waste of $60.

If you're trying to convince people it's a waste to make sure people don't buy so they are available when needed, then I'll jump on board lol.

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1. If you work out in the gym and/or get sweaty ... you can use their laundry service and stuff as much into one of their laundry bags as you can for a flat $15 fee. TIP: Roll your dirty clothes before putting them in the laundry bag and you will get more in. I paid for ONE bag but when they returned my clothes it was three bags lol.

 

 

 

3. ANYTIME someone asks for your Sail and Sign card they are charging you for something (except when you get on/off the ship.

 

 

 

BONUS TIP: When you first get on the ship day 1 they will have waiters walking with trays of drinks.... these "drinks of the day" in special souvenir glasses ... which are REALLY expensive. You can skip buying the expensive souvenir glass (unless you really want it) and just get the drink in a regular glass from any of the bars.

All great tips!

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"I have heard of people getting up to 20 lobsters in the past"

 

Did you read that on the internet?

 

Oh please, Who? Joey Chestnut? Record holder for eating Nathan's hot dogs.

That number may be exaggerated by the messenger, who was the waiter. I can do around 4 lobster in one sitting, unless at the steakhouse. And I always ask the waiter whats their high number, and its always high teens.

If you plan to use taxi's on shore or private excursions have enough small bills with you. Taxi's and small boat operators etc. never have change. I got burned a couple of times years ago...After boarding the ship, if you can drop your bags and head to lido for lunch. On our first cruise (2001) I waited in our room for someone to tell us when and where to eat.(lol)

I agree, going off the beaten path instead of using ship offered excursion can be much more rewarding and better value.

That money and clothes joke was said three times already. Here are a few things that took me a couple tries to figure out:

When dining in the MDR (main dining room) you can order as much as you like, multiples of anything, I have heard of people getting up to 20 lobsters in the past.

On or around decks 5-7 you can walk all the way to the front of the ship/bow, right under the Bridge, you may see some officers and can wave at them. This area is really cool and less traveled, very windy too but a cool trip.

Get to comedy shows very very early if you prefer comfort instead of standing room

Tip the casino dealers/table dealers and the pit boss usually begins to take care of you after a bit/few days of generosity, for that matter tip everyone a couple bucks here and there that you have an enjoyable encounter with, it can make a difference.

If I think of more I will post again.

There is no guarantee you will be offered an upsell. This was our first time to be offered one and I've been cruising almost 20 years.

I have been offered one in the past, which was how I was introduced to 8P and the spa. But now wonder if I ask for an upgrade on my own would be priced around the same as when they contact you, less than initially booking.

Google and search - Carnival steakhouse menus

Thanks, I have the steak menu down, one of the best things offered by carnival and great value.

I was thinking the MDR menu was easily accessible somewhere.

It looks like booking a less expensive room and then upgrading from there will save money.

I booked 8P my last two cruises and on the Vista for next year. Maybe I should look into booking a cheaper room and then upgrading to 8P.

I like ordering ahead of time and putting them on ice in the room.

Still no luck on that menu. I will keep looking.

Where do you find the ships menu?

I am booked 400 days out and it is sold out, but I will keep a weather eye on the FTTF page trying to get one.

Thanks for the info!

Great pictures! Thanks

I have no idea about Anthem specifically but I can tell you that out of three Chops experiences on two different ships, it doesnt even come close to Carnivals steakhouse. I find thats the general consensus of those who sail both lines and have no bias towards either. Also, you dont get the hard sell pitch to pay 18-20 dollars extra for a "better" steak on Carnival either.

 

JMO. Others are certainly welcome to disagree.

I've never eaten in a Carnival steak house but I'll say our Chops experiences have been nothing to write home about. Our last couple weren't bad but prior to that we had taken a break because it was such a crap shoot. Our last two cruises we didn't bother.

Thanks or the input and information. The steakhouse is probably the best thing carnival does and has to offer.

Anthem (Quantum class) is different than any of the other Royal Caribbean ships for a few reasons.

 

1- Dynamic Dining: There are 5 different restaurants that are complimentary (at least when we cruised in May 2016- Amer. Icon, Chic, Silk, The Grande, and Solarium Bistro). You can pick and choose your reservations with dynamic or do a rotation on dynamic classic.

They also have specialty restaurants, which I can't speak to because we've never tried any! They do have Chops Grille tho, which is Royal's version of a steak house!

 

2- Northstar and I-fly: Northstar is the giant capsule that goes up above the ship on a mechanical arm and you get great views. I-fly is the skydiving simulator which was awesome!

 

3- 270: Great, Great public space with 270 degree views of the ocean on the aft of the ship. It was a beautiful space and has it's own bar and cafe adjoined to it. They have robot screens in this space that do shows and they did Spectra's in 270 as well!

 

4- Seaplex with bumper cars, trapeze school, etc.- I think these are the only two activities offered on Anthem that aren't available on other ships. Both were a lot of fun!

 

5- Solarium: Absolutely beautiful enclosed, adults only pools and hot tub area with great ocean views as well!

 

6- Enclosed pool: Open to everyone but nice if you have some not great weather days!

 

There was a lot of stuff happening at any given time around the pool deck. I honestly cannot remember whether there was or was not a band playing Caribbean music! lol I also only used the Fitness Center and not the spa so I can't answer that question either. :o

 

Either way, we LOVED Anthem and had an absolute blast! So much so, we just switched our future cruise booking to another sailing on Anthem!

Thank you so much for all your info and input.

We love the freedom of dining, that sounds like a value add, even the your time with carnival can be annoying if you are wanting to eat late. We want many dining options, even if we have to pay

An I fly opened up near our house but I guess we can hold off on doing it for a better view on the ship without walls lol. Love the innovation with RC.

Trapeze schools sounds extremely intriguing as I love high flying acts, I was a diver in college and look to cliff dive on every vacation we take so I am sure I would love trapeze and circus acts.

Probably wouldn't use the solarium much if at all, but the 270 sounds nice.

Thanks again.

We haven't sailed Anthem yet, but I can tell you from personal experience and 2 people that sailed Carnival many times before trying another line, you will love RCCL! Once we sailed Oasis, we never looked back....until I talked hubby into trying Breeze. Biggest mistake and worst cruise we ever had. :mad:

 

Carnival could offer us free sailings for life and we would still never step foot back onto one of their ships.

 

You will have a great cruise!! :)

We took Breeze last year and had a great time, but we are always able to make the best of it.

One major reason of wanting to switch is in my opinion the lack of innovation with carnival when compared to NCL or RCCL, but the increase in cheapness lol.

Thanks for your input!

Hi everyone,

We (my wife and I) are looking to change things up and get away from Carnival for out next cruise.

Our goal is to have an itinerary with St Maarten, worse case we would accept virgin islands or St Kitts etc..

I think I found our best option (from searching with MSC, NCL and RCCL), next summer on the Anthem out of NJ, we have never sailed out of NJ or with RCCL obviously. (Bermuda, St Maarten, PR, Haiti)

3 things we love with carnival, are the spa rooms (which RC does not have), the steakhouse and the dumb but fun lido deck games with an overall "music(y) atmosphere"

Going on the Anthem with RC, what would we be losing. It seems we would miss out on the Thallaso pool, but still have the heated tile loungers. How much is a weekly spa pass with RC, or how does the spa work with packages?

Are the Anthems steakhouse and specialty restaurants great? The carnival steakhouse is literally super delicious.

And also, how is the vibe and atmosphere, is there music all around and good innocent deck fun?

I love ordering a ton of the main course options, I do finish it all though.

I think other lines allow multiple MDR orders as well

Ordering an additional 5 desserts each in the MDR and taking them back to the cabin for a midnight feast!

 

Saves us having to tip room service!

I do not see any updates yet either! Still waiting. Looking for a 8-9 day to St Maarten from Miami in the second half of 17

because I can knock out the slides with no lines first thing and not have to worry about trying them in the middle of the cruise

I can also start to eat and get familiar with the ship if its new to me.

Depending on how far your out from the cruise, more should/most likely will be added at random.

I think it also depends on if another ship is in port first.

I have done both itinerary's and both are great, so I would recommend doing both sooner or later.

Cozumel is awesome, a lot of great excursion offerings especially the Cenotes and others in Playa.

My favorite port of all is Roatan, amazing place!

Belize has some cool offerings for excursions too.

Cayman Islands has some of the most beautiful water and a cool sting ray city excursion.

Jamaica is another wow, the bobsled and dunns falls!

Basically, you can not go wrong! Amazing ship with awesome ports, just pick which 2 places you would prefer to do more than the others. All of them have beautiful beaches and something fun to offer. Don't let anyone steer you away from a port for safety reasons, there are dangers everywhere and in every country. Just be smart, carnival, the tour guides and the ports do a good job for our safety.