Bottlenosedolphin

Did you pre-book all your shows?? That is going to be the most confusing for me..We are on the 12 night cruise in April and have chosen classic late dinign because honestly if I had to pick restuarants every night and entertainment I might go crazy...Any show hints would be great...thank you...so glad you enjoyed your cruise.

I did prebook my shows and the tickets did sell out for my sailing (ship was at capacity). The shows were typically at 7 or 9. Make sure you check the messages on your T.V. throughout the sailing. One of the showtimes I booked (Spectra) was canceled and they moved my date (and the T.V. was my only notification) and the other show (The Gift) was completely canceled on my sailing due to technical difficulties. I hope they have more shows on your 12 night than they offered us!

There were a few posts recently mentioning that Anthem was going to be charging $1500-$3000 per couple for NYE in 270. Also I saw someone mention Vintages would have a $500 minimum, and there were also expensive charges for the Seaplex. Could you verify if any of that was true on your NYE sailing? I've been so curious ever since I saw those posts but didn't find any follow up information (maybe I missed it). Thanks!

On my sailing, all of the New Years activities were complimentary as far as I knew. Nothing on the daily newsletter that listed where the parties stated that there were additional fees. The two big parties that I was aware of on my sailing were the outside NYE party on the pool deck and the NYE party in the Seaplex which was a glow party. (they encouraged people to wear white or neon). They did charge for the glow party supplies (sunglasses, necklaces, etc.) There was also staff selling bottles of champagne outside the bars.

As for the Seaplex, the only charge was to play air hockey (your typical $1.75 a game charge). Everything else was free.

Also:

 

Do you know if there was a Captain's Corner/Q&A?

I didn't go but I believe there was. My husband was telling me some of the questions asked.

I did the choice dining and we were able to eat in a different restaurant every night. The Grande, Chops, Jamie's Italian, Silk, the Solarium Bistro, American Icon Grill, and Chic. I will say the whole reservations process was the most difficult part of the entire trip and I don't think they have the right system in place right now. It is way too complicated and they don't have enough dining times open prior to sailing.

I was on the Anthem sailing Dec 27-Jan 3. After reading many negative reviews on the Anthem before my sailing, I was extremely concerned about my cruise vacation and was more worried than excited for my vacation. I am so happy to report that my family could not have had a better experience. From the minute we arrived at the pier to the minute we walked off the ship, the experience was nothing but amazing for me and my family (with a couple of kinks here and there but that is to be expected on any trip I think).

The staff on the ship were incredible. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. Our stateroom attendant was always friendly (always present and working) and our room was immaculate. The waiters in the restaurants were exceptional, taking the time to learn our names and spending time just talking to our family. The staff in the Windjammer were also extremely friendly. If there was a table that was dirty, they would come over immediately, clean it, and always offered to get us coffee or juice while we got our food.

As for the food- it is the best we have ever had on a cruise. (Just as a reference, we are diamond members, and have also sailed NCL and Disney). Every night the food exceeded expectations, except for one night in the solarium (Divinely Decadence). The appetizers there were good but the main dish was inedible and we ended up leaving. Get the short rib in American Icon Grill- amazing. And almost everything in Jamie's Italian is great. Def NYC restaurant quality food. Silk was very good as well. Some people were annoyed because they don't interpret dishes the same as what some are used to. Food was still excellent. And don't miss the Grande. Food is excellent. If you don't want to dress up and bring a jacket, you should eat there the first night when it is not yet formal. The food in the Windjammer also exceeded expectations. In the morning there was always an omelet station and a fried egg station, but the cooks would make anything you wanted upon request, and happily did so. For lunch, there was always a pasta and fried rice station and a panini station (where they kindly made a simple grilled cheese for my kids.) The salad bar was always being replenished and the food stations were always clean. There were tons of employees making sure the stations were full of food and clean. The only negative was that they couldn't keep up with the demand for their chocolate chip cookies! :)

The SeaPlex is an incredible space and very well designed. We were able to do bumper cars, roller skating and circus school (trapeze) with minimal waits. I think the key was getting there early (if the session is scheduled for 3:30, I recommend getting there at 3:10 to get in line for a time.) For roller skating and trapeze they give you a wrist band with a time slot to come back. Bumper cars you wait in line, and we never waited more than 20 minutes, even toward the end of the session. The bumper cars run for 3 minutes a session which we felt was a sufficient amount of time (and no more or less than an amusement park I would think). They have a good amount of cars and not too many so you don't feel congested and stuck. The same idea for roller skating, they have a good amount of people on the rink so it doesn't get congested. It is extremely well run in my opinion. The XBox room was a bit challenging because the teenagers would sit for hours and hours without any regulations and the younger kids rarely had a chance to play.

We thought the pool complex was very impressive.

The shows left us with a bit to be desired. We liked the traditional broadway shows that Royal used to have. They were more frequent throughout the trip and more entertaining. My family didn't care for Spectra and We Will Rock You had amazing talent but the show could be better. The Gift was canceled. One note- make sure you read the messages on your T.V. in your room! They changed the date and time for Spectra on me and didn't notify me. It was on the message on the T.V. but it totally messed with my dining and plans for one of the nights.

I can go on and on (ship was immaculate, pools scrubbed every night, public bathrooms extremely clean, etc.) but I'd rather answer any questions you may have about your upcoming vacation or if you are thinking of sailing on the Anthem (esp if you have been reading negative reviews- I can put your worries to rest). My family will def be taking this cruise again!

I did post in both forums to get opinions from both Royal and Disney cruisers. Itineraries don't matter all that much to us, and the price is quite a bit more for the Fantasy so we are trying to see if it is worth it. We sailed the Dream and kids club was amazing, food was average, lifeguards were a huge plus for us, and the service was outstanding. We have never been on RCI with kids so we are trying to get a good feel for the differences with kids. :)

I am looking into cruising over New Years 2015 with my husband and twin 6 year olds. We can't decide between the RCCL Oasis and the Disney Fantasy. Has anyone ever been on both ships? Thoughts? Thanks!

I am looking into cruising over New Years with my husband and twin 6 year olds. We can't decide between the RCCL Oasis and the Disney Fantasy. Has anyone ever been on both ships? Thoughts? Thanks!

I am sailing in June and chose My Time Dining. I was wondering how this works exactly as I am hearing varying answers. Do I have to book my dinner reservations before I sail? Am I able to just show up at the main dining room at my convenience? Thanks in Advance!

My husband and I have taken many RCCL cruises, but we have yet to take one with our children. We just returned from a Disney cruise where the kids club is obviously above and beyond. They have also been on NCL, and the kids club is just fair. I was wondering how the RCCL kids club is in comparison, and if anyone can give me a general overview. I would love to take them on a Royal Caribbean cruise because I love the ships and the overall cruise line, but wanted to make sure the kids club would keep them happy and occupied for a few hrs here and there. Thanks in advance!

I am glad this seems to be an isolated incident cruise in terms of my experiences compared to everyone's else's recent sailings. I agree that when you had a fantastic cruise, it is easy to compare, but I do hope that my vacations are nothing short of fun and relaxing. My family definitely spoke to management…multiple times. Thats why we got the (moldy) chocolate covered strawberries. And of course we delivered them right back to the front desk. :)

Honestly, there was not much management could do during our trip because it seemed to be the culture of the ship. It would take more than someone talking to one or two people. I don't think the stateroom attendant affected anything - was it rude of him to not even say hello in the hall, but I'm not one to let that ruin my trip. It was everything compounded. I thought the cruise director was terrible. He always seemed awkward. He spent a half hour narrating how the chefs were preparing the paella at the outdoor BBQ. It was strange to me. Another example is one night my family dressed up to take photos. The photographer took two pictures and i asked to see them to make sure we didn't need to take more. He said no that I would see them the next day and they were fine. Needless to say my dad's eyes were closed in one photo and my son was making a horrible face in the other. Things like that urk me because it is wasting our time and their ink.

Anyway, for those who were on that sailing and had a great time, I am glad you did! Sometimes on these cruises I think you roll the dice on who you will encounter and who makes up your experience. Glad to know this isn't the culture fleet wide! Happy sailing :)

I returned on Saturday from the Gem and left questioning whether we will sail NCL again. My family sailed the Gem in August and had such a great trip we rebooked. This trip had such a different feel to it. The August sailing was filled with happy employees, nice stateroom attendants, helpful staff, and had a really fun vibe. This sailing was the complete opposite.

Before I get into the details, I will say, the food was excellent, the other passengers on this sailing were very, very nice(a calmer crowd, polite, no chair hogs, etc), and I was happy to see NCL supervision at the pool.

So I am left questioning NCL because the vibe on this ship was so "bah-humbug" to say it nicely. The staff basically did their job to get it done and not get noticed. 5-10 years ago, what would have been viewed as expected service felt exceptional because everyone else barely did their job. The standards have really come down. Our stateroom attendant wouldn't help us get the safe fixed in our room (he told us to call and take care of it ourselves) and was very bothered he had to make up the couch at night for my kids. He said he wanted to leave it open the whole time. He never once said welcome aboard, good morning, etc. throughout the week. We found dirty dishes under the bed from past cruisers and old socks and toys from previous cruisers in our cabinets. YUCK! In general, when we would try to speak to an employee on the ship, everyone was very matter of fact, nobody cracked a smile (except for the washy washy girl :) ) and everyone seemed bothered. Staff didn't know times of shows or restaurants, etc. the band didn't play by the pool until 4 p.m. (except on the last day when it was too cold to sit out anyway!) and I can go on and on. We had chocolate covered strawberries delivered to our room that were moldy and my daughter almost ate a molded roll (i mean the roll was already green) at the Garden Cafe. At night, my husband and i would have a coffee at the Garden Cafe watching tons of people walking through looking for food- most nights there was nothing out there. The Gem definitely scaled back on food and beverages (drinks by the pool are served in tiny plastic cups now) and it was felt throughout the whole week. Also, a little pet peeve of mine is that if the cruise line has policies they should stick to it. There were tons of babies in the pool with swim diapers and lots of people in the dining rooms with shorts. The diapers in the pool is just gross.

I don't mean to be so negative but I am curious to know if this was specific to my sailing or if this basic "go through the motions to get the job done" attitude is fleet wide. I love cruising and have been sailing for 20+ years (both RCCL and NCL). I always have fun sailing with my family but this cruise didn't have that fun feeling. Just came home very confused and trying to find reasons to stick with NCL.

Thanks.

Thanks, all! Since we are six people, I prefer to take the excursion than have to deal w car rental, car seats, and actually finding my way there. Would rather relax on the bus :) Sounds like a great excursion though and we can always take a taxi back to the ship. Do the buses first start to return at 7 (thats what time Disney buses start to return if I remember correctly)? Def going to look into the IMAX movies!

We are sailing the Gem next month, down to Port Canaveral, and decided to try the Kennedy Space Center excursion for the first time. We will be traveling with little ones and was wondering if anyone knows how long you have to be there before buses start heading back to the ship. Hoping there is enough for five year olds to do there for an extended time. Thanks!