allyfree

14 hours ago, CatLadyFemme said:

I have so many! If I need things that are accessible, what are must see/do items (especially interested in not actual touristy places but just cool and fun and meaningful local things)? Any fun day trips or overnight trips from there that I should make sure to do? Any restaurant suggestions that are GF and veg friendly? And you may not know, but anything queer worth doing/going to? 
 

oh! Any what is the weather like in July? I.e, what outfits should I bring or avoid? Assuming summer dresses will be ok?

It's Scotland - we get 4 seasons in one day lol! July should be pretty good ... but bring an umbrella anyway 😂 

Excellent suggestions from FionaMG and here are a few more: A must visit would be The People's Palace - a museum dedicated to all things Glaswegian ... it's free (as are all museums) and in the main city park just a few minutes from the main city centre. Also beside West Beer - fabulous German food and beer with a great beer garden if the weather behaves - it's located in what was Templeton's Carpet Factory - a building based on the Doges Palace in Venice.

Excellent train services - those from Queen Street goes to places like Stirling and Edinburgh as well as small interesting towns like Helensburgh with it's connections to Charles Rennie Mackintosh ... all around 45 minutes away. Trains from Central Station go to the seaside resorts of the Clyde coast - places like Ayr and Largs (highly recommend Nardini's ... I know they have a GF menu but not sure about Vegan) - again, no more than an hour's jaunt ... all full of cosy accommodation for an overnighter.

The west end of the city (at Kelvingrove Art Galleries and Museum) is the trendy area beside "the" university - there are several in the city but this is my alma mater - the oldest and best, dating from 1451. Glasgow is also known as "the friendly city" so being queer won't even be noticed - unless you want to make them to notice 🤩

Will have a think about some websites that may also be useful ... I hope you're planning a long visit !!!

19 hours ago, CatLadyFemme said:

SUCH a good question. I don’t think I would on purpose. Maaaybe again in this situation where it would be use it or lose it? I definitely will not be doing another shorter cruise though. I didn’t even unpack my luggage or blow up my mattress cover. With how early disembarkation is, and how late you get your luggage and settled in, it’s really only a 3 day cruise. I take that back; I might do it for somewhere cool, like if they did a shorter leaf peeping cruise, or the PNW. But given that I don’t love heat or sun, and this cruise was a ton of kids and drunk people (NOT drunk kids at least! Wait until the next few weeks of spring breakers!), and then all the drama getting home? It was worth it for the mental health benefits but physically will be a recovering for a week or two.

 

MxCatLady just asked to confirm I am still ok going on our May cruise and I am still stoked (though we will be bringing a small roller suitcase of food with on it). Honestly, traveling *with* someone who knows me and can support access needs makes all the difference. Even just in being able to pee in the airport without having to carry all my stuff with me and lose my seat each time.

 

I am actually keynoting two conferences this summer; one in San Francisco and one in Glasgow. Neither partner is able to take that time off. I’m trying to convince a friend to go with me on each one, realizing how exhausting the travel part is when totally alone. So this was a good trial run for those two!

Have really enjoyed your observations and am looking forward to reading what you have to say about my hometown in the summer! Happy to answer any questions you may have about Glasgow 😊

Last year on Anthem, I had to cancel one on the day due to being unwell ... I called customer services to alert them to inform the guide not to wait for me ... didn't think I would be able to claim back but they refunded the cost to my account immediately ... one of the few occasions I have been impressed by them!

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Actually it was updated within the last year.

Well it's still $h1t ... 

Lots of water inside and out ... spend time in the pool swimming gently and rotating your ankles in the water as you float ... the buoyancy really helps!

Swear to God their website hasn't been updated since Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble carved out the first draft ... completely shambolic!

we take ziplock bags and fill those with ice ... much more flexible than an ice bucket!

Their website is so ancient I don't think it has been upgraded since the Flintstones carved it on a tablet! Shocking lack of functionality and current information 😡

3 hours ago, chill6x6 said:

So....so far I've been on hold for one hour and seventeen minutes....with Royal Caribbean and counting. I also called NCL....was done in eleven minutes.

What a joke...  

 

I feel your pain !

Not exactly what you're looking for but we're booked on Anthem in May 2023 to Norway out of Southampton and several of the tours are in Spanish 🙂

On 11/23/2022 at 10:09 PM, loman said:

We did one Anthem cruise and it was one and done .

I really wanted to like it , but Oasis class is a winner for us.

I only liked the Music Hall .

I didn't even like that ! If it wasn't for Vintages, I think I'd have thrown someone overboard 😝

On 11/29/2022 at 8:42 PM, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Totally agree with you. Loved Oasis and indpendence. Wish Indy would come.back to the uk. Anthem we also found everything was just crammed, no open indoor space, lacked good outside space. 270 show was good though but everything else was lacking. However recently on brilliance i thought the outside seating at rear of the wind jammer was amazing. Rest of ship to small and dated

I know what you mean ... have grudgingly booked Anthem again for May 2023 purely for convenience of Southampton but going to Barcelona in October to enjoy Symphony 

Not getting the pool issues ??? .... Oasis class have great solariums and covered pools too ... and crowds will vary by timing/destination/etc. ... those aren't great reasons for/against a ship to me ... surely it is the facilities and accommodation that matter

We must just be staid old Brits ... we love Central Park, the Champagne Bar, the ice shows, the cosy library ... we're probably just not cool enough for AOTS ☺️

We were on Anthem in May for the first time ... hubby nailed it by saying it was like a holiday camp from the 1950s! No outside space, no quiet bars, lab-like library with noise from 270 ... really not for us at all ... some of us just want to relax and chill ... we much prefer Oasis class or even Freedom ... think Independence has been our favourite ship ever !

Typically us !

On 2/22/2022 at 11:41 PM, neverbeenhere said:

Here's a start. The pub will have other selections.

 

As for the bucket, on Royal, I don't know.

With the exception of Paulaner, I doubt any of those qualify as beer in my world 🤣

4 hours ago, teddie said:

I’ve become a singe malt scotch girl—just one every few days;  neat, thank you very much 😊.

 

We haven’t cruised for a good while and will be sailing on the Anthem. My preferences are Balvenie or Mcallan. Will I find either of those on board? And are top shelf liquor choices the same across all the RCI ships? If I use my Diamond voucher, will I just be charged the difference,  as I expect one scotch will cost more than $13? 

Thank you in advance. 
 

teddie

We were on Anthem in May and my hubby wasn't thrilled with the lack of/any decent malts although to be fair, there were still a lot of supply issues post-lockdown ... all of which created one very grumpy Scotsman !

5 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Dining rooms lack any wow factor, we were assigned the Grande with was very nice but much prefer the 3 level open dining room. Also found the ship to have a small feeling about it. Much prefer the open Promenade feel of other ships.  Absolutely love the Oasis Class. We are in our 70s and cruise for the ship over the itineraries.  

Totally agree about Oasis class ... Quantum is like being in a 1950s holiday camp !

52 minutes ago, kj_connections said:

 

Thanks

I was going to book the excursion through RCCL so I am guaranteed to get back on the ship 🙂

That's smart ... paying for a private tour won't avoid the lengthy travel and any delays on the autoroute could compromise your return to the ship

8 minutes ago, mek said:

In my opinion, Amsterdam is the easiest port to sail from.  Hotels are not far away and the airport is close.

The season is short - suggest you just check prices and see what pops up.

depends on where you're joining from, I guess .... Southampton is obviously closer

Heading out to fjords on 14 May 2023 from Southampton on Anthem ... only booked on Saturday. Not a huge choice of cabins left but good deal on Black Friday prices

as others have said, probably not worth doing, especially depending on the day of the week as French traffic is notoriously bad! Was on the France/Spain trip in May this year and others who had booked it felt they spent too long travelling and not enough time at Versailles ... We did the Deauville/Honfleur trip which is an area we've been to often on our own .... charming, quaint towns and only about an hour to get there

In 2022, RCCL are still using a 2002 website - it is atrocious and the delay on their phone lines are just ridiculous - and even more annoying when the recorded message tells you to use their website .... I'm calling because the website is garbage, you fools!!!

4 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

They wouldn't punch a hole in mine yesterday on symphony., and I don't see anyone else wearing their seapass cards without the plastic holder.

we noticed recently that the cards are not as robust as they were ... the film was starting to peel off on the corners and one of ours actually cracked !