jenmouse

Thank you for your review! Our cruise is almost here; it was great to see all of your pictures - I'm even more excited now!

I always have a thick folder of everything possible printed for the trip. This year we are also spending time at Niagara Falls and in New York City in conjunction with the cruise, so I have one of those big accordion folders. :') I don't use 90% of the stuff, but having been a travel agent (years ago) I can't shake the habit of having documentation for EVERYTHING. :o

Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences! This is our first time driving; when we flew, we always booked mid-afternoon flights so we weren't in a hurry to get off the ship. We want to get on the road ASAP, and between my husband and two teenage sons, handling our own bags won't be a problem at all.

I called RCCL's customer service line to ask about this, since we have a nine hour drive home next month, and we want to get on the road early. The customer service rep told me "you can sign up for it on the ship". That was the extent of his helpful information. So if anyone has anything else to add, I'm all ears.

Thank you so much for your review and lots of great pictures so far! We will be on this cruise in just a few weeks.

Our cruise on Anthem next month started out at $60, dropped to $48, dropped again to $39 (we decided to book it at that point) and it has gone back up to $42. So you really do need to check it often, and book it as soon as it is at a price you are willing to spend.

As for e-mails, we are signed up for them and almost never get them. They aren't going to spam - we just hardly ever get them, so I don't count on them.

Kind of a reverse of that, but a few years back we were eating lunch in the main dining room and my son (8 years old at the time) had a taste for onion rings. He asked if they had them, our waiter said no. So we all ordered, and we were eating, and here comes the waiter with onion rings. He ran up to Johnny Rockets himself and got them for my son.

Point being, it never hurts to ask. Most of the time, if they can accommodate you, they will.

Our drink package for Anthem, cruising in a few weeks, started at $60, went down to $48 a few months out from the cruise, and we just recently noticed (about three weeks out) that it had gone down to $39. Keep watching - it still could go down!

Our Anthem cruise in a few weeks started out at $60. A few months out, it went down to $48. Then, last week (three weeks before the cruise) we noticed that it had gone down to $39. So yes, 35% off happened.

Incidentally, that convinced my husband and I to get the package.

I have this in my Anthem cruise planner too for Aug 17 - 35% off for the drink package - $39. But here's the thing - drink packages are usually $55 - If you took 35% off of that, it would be $35.75, not $39. $39 is 35% off of $60 - it is only 29% off of $55. Either they raised the price of a drink package to $60, and I don't believe that they did, or someone over at Royal needs to check their math.

The regular price for the drink package on our nine night Anthem sailing was originally listed at $60. It went down to $48, and then we noticed last week that it had gone down to $39. So yes, the numbers are right, for our sailing, anyway.

I must say, the RCI CSR come up with some doozie BS nonsense.

Right on the top of our booking dashboard, it says:

Please note: Cruise or Cruisetour reservations with Onboard Credit(s) can only be modified by calling 866-562-7625. You can, however, complete your Online Check-in and make reservations using our Cruise Planner.

So that is consistent, but it claims they can do it, and I was told no.

We need split beds, and we were not able to change it from our normal preference for one bed. I called and they told me that I couldn't do it, and neither could they, because we had an onboard credit on our reservation (it did say online that we had to call to make any changes to the reservation).

We are not worried; we know the cabin steward will be around when we get to the cabin, so we will just ask him or her then.

You dont happen to have a copy of the cruise compass we are going 6th july

thanks

We have a group of 13 on this sailing!

Our Anthem cruise next month started the deluxe drink package out at $60/day. A few months ago, it went on sale for $48/day. We happened to look on the website yesterday, and it was at $39/day. I would personally book it, and watch for any sales online that will save you money. You can always cancel and rebook the package if the price goes down between now and a couple of days prior to your cruise.

Great theory but not correct in my case. My cruise isn't until Nov. and my balance due is the exact amount minus my drink packages and specialty restaurant reservations.

Well, in that case, I guess they are switching their system around, or just "royally" messing up. ;p

We are sailing on Anthem next month. The drink package started at $60 a day, went on sale for $48, and then we looked today and it was $39. Hubby and I decided to go for it. He drinks soda, I drink specialty coffee, and we both drink beer and mixed drinks. Plus bottled water. We should end up ahead when all is said and done. Regardless, knowing we already paid for it and can go ahead and order one more drink is worth it!

We have a group of 13 doing the nine night on Anthem next month. We are doing Dynamic Dining Classic as well - were they able to fit your whole group at one table? The most we have done with Royal is nine people. I know they could seat us at two tables near each other, but one table is always more fun.

Same issue for our cruise on 7/6. It switched over exactly 30 days prior. I have a feeling it is IT issues related to making onboard accounts active, thereby transferring shore excursions, dining, drinks etc to the account, and making the computer see the money you paid for them as "extra", since the items have been moved.

Just a theory from the combination of my travel agent background and my husband's IT background.

I'm not liking this at all. Some things need to be treated seriously, not as a joke. I'm sure that they have managed to insert the safety info into the video, but how many people are going to pay attention enough to extract that info?

Thank you for sharing the link - we are on the July 6th Anthem sailing and this helps!

We stay at the Lago Mar. It is right on the beach. No free breakfast or shuttle, but a cab or Uber isn't too expensive. We arrive a few days early, and if we are sailing out on a Sunday, we can sit on the beach and wave to the Saturday ship as they sail out. Everyone there is very kind, and they treat you like family. They have two pools, putt putt, shuffleboard, etc. When we have a big group sailing, they always have a van/cab waiting for us when we head down to check out. It may not be the least expensive option, but we wouldn't stay anywhere else.

It happened to my brother-in-law. He had originally booked a cabin that slept four because he was cruising with his three sons. They couldn't go, so he removed them from the booking. Fast forward a few months, and I was adding our show reservations (I used to be a travel agent, so I handle family bookings) and I noticed that his cabin number had changed.

Okay, thanks. That is what I thought, but it seemed like the implication was that it might happen on this cruise, so I just wanted to clarify.

So, just to clarify, since we will be turning Platinum on our upcoming cruise, we may receive some Platinum benefits? I thought that we didn't get them until after the cruise we hit Platinum on. Is it just a hit or miss type thing, or should we be expecting it? Not so worried about the lapel pin, but I was wondering about the top tier event.

I took this picture off of You Tube on March 14th. In the video, which is a Royal Caribbean sponsored travel blog, they specifically say that shorts are allowed in the main dining room. As you can see in the comments, they confirmed it again. We have always dressed to the stated dress code, but we have some people on our upcoming cruise who will be very happy to wear shorts.