sayok

This is so subjective, so when you ask “Is food on the Anthem really that bad??!!” I guess the answer would be, for those folks who have written negative reviews, yes. However, I was just on the Anthem 2 weeks ago and while the food wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, it certainly wasn’t “bad.” One of the things we enjoy about cruising is the ability to try new & different foods. We’d order several appetizers at each meal to split as a family, and the same for desserts. If we ordered an entre and weren’t completely happy with it, we’d ask for something else. We had some tremendous food, and some that I wouldn’t likely order again, but one thing is for sure – we never left a meal hungry! I’d probably rate the food on Oasis/Allure higher, but I certainly wouldn’t say the food is a reason to avoid sailing on the Anthem.

so with the lovely elevator art, do people generally face the rear of the elevato on this ship?

I'd probably call it more "quirky" than lovely ;) but no, I didn't see anyone facing the rear to enjoy it -- but I admit it did make me smile when the doors would open and you were greeted with it!

For the past several cruises we've done a combination of the stateroom voicemail and a small (school locker size) white board in the room. We'd have a general plan in the morning of what everyone was doing, sometimes planning to meet for lunch at specific venues, etc., but otherwise we'd keep each other posted as to changes by leaving messages. As someone else mentioned, by the 2nd or 3rd day there seem to be a few favorite places to find each other, and even on the largest ships, we'd manage to cross paths now & then anyway :)

So much great information -- thank you for taking the time and being so thorough! Always appreciate hearing different impressions, particularly of a newer ship, and I loved your hits/misses approach. I'll be on the Anthem in less than a month and I'm sure I'll look over this thread again before I go. Thanks!:)

Agree that Park Cafe is wonderful for breakfast (made-to-order breakfast sandwhiches are great)... my kids ate at the Wipeout Cafe most days, and I grabbed a couple lunches there myself. Sorrento's was our late-night favorite, and the Solarium had some terrific 'healthier' alternatives for lunch. :)

Just to clarify, you are not talking about actually ordering off the menu, just getting your food at the WJ and sitting in Chops, correct?

Yes, I can get the price for one balcony cabin & double it, but I guess the real question that can't be answered online is whether there ARE any connecting balcony cabins left/available for the sailing I'm considering. Thanks...

I am considering a cruise in Feb. on the Epic for my family (2 adults, 2 teens). On our last cruise on RCCL we had 2 connecting balcony cabins and it worked out nicely. I'm trying to price out different options, but the NCL website indicates that you can only book one stateroom at a time -- do I need to call to get a price for two connecting balconies? (I'd also like to compare it to the cost of a mini-suite, or even a 2-BR suite, since it looks like the cabins as a whole are smaller than RCCL's.)

:eek: Yikes... was looking at a Feb. sailing, thinking she'd be all extra clean & spiffed up, but now I'm not sure...

I thought someone here had mentioned that Freedom was due to go into drydock in January, but the "schedule" for refurbishing on the website doesn't include that. Can anyone confirm it's so? Thanks...

Hey there, I’m considering my first cruise out of a “northern” port (have always cruised out of FL or PR) in February… looking at the Quantum out of Cape Liberty to the Bahamas. I’m wondering what to expect for weather and choppiness of the seas for that route & time of year. According to the itinerary you don’t get to FL until 1pm on day 3 and you leave the Bahamas to start the trip north at 5pm on day 5. I’m debating whether it’s worth it if we need to stay indoors on days 1, 2, 6 & 7 (if it’s too cold). I realize that in February even the days in FL/Bahamas could be iffy as far as temperatures go, but I can pretty much guarantee it’ll be considerably warmer than here in Boston at that time J

We were in line for burgers at the grill, but it was a long line & we had all gotten sunburned :( so we decided to head back to ship for lunch instead. I didn't buy any beer, but they gave us a little "orientation" upon arrival and I believe they said they were $5 each, 3 for $12, or 6 for $20; lots of folks on the beach had the "bucket of beers" which I assume was 6. As I recall the burgers were going to be $4. Good luck!

Just got back, spent last Tuesday at Red Stripe beach... didn't book ahead of time, but ended up jumping in with the cruise excursion. I think it was $24/person -- covered round-trip transportation & entrance into the private beach, but no lunch or chairs/umbrellas (extra). It's small and got really crowded around noon, but it was clean, had decent restrooms, and a beach bar/grill, as well as a DJ playing music and running games. Turned out to be just what we were looking for :)

We booked onboard.

 

Five minute ride, on decent roads in a full sized bus there, large vans coming back since not everybody leaves at once.

Just to clarify, is this a 5-minute ride from Falmouth?

Tremendous job Grady... I can't believe I actually went thorugh 20+ pages of pictures, posts, etc., on this one review -- of a ship I've already been on! :eek: Just very well done. After trying both the Oasis & Allure, we're headed back to the Oasis in February -- we loved them both, but the Oasis was cheaper and we wanted to alternate between Eastern & Western itineraries.

A couple of random thoughts: the Windjammer can be crowded if you go during peak times (particularly breakfast), by mid-week I saw lots of people making plates & taking them out to eat outside (not sure this is actually encouraged, but they were doing it). One of my kids' favorite things and lasting memories is of night swimming! The pools are EMPTY while everyone is in the dining room or off at shows, so they pretty much had them to themselves... with all the colored lights, it was awesome. For the grown-ups, the cantilever hot tubs at night are spectacular... ahhhh. Our regular midnight snack was a big chocolate chip cookie from the Cafe Promenade (IMO better than the cupcake$). Schooner Bar was my favorite place for people watching.

Thank you... you've brought back lots of great memories from our previous cruises, as well as enormous excitement for the upcoming one! :D

This is one of the first places I come once I've booked a cruise -- just loads of valuable, clever ideas :) One of my favorites, that I've used repeatedly, is the collapsable shoe rack that hangs in the closet -- for years we've been travelling with 2 adults/2 children in one cabin and this turned out to be a huge help; the kids claimed all the actual "drawers" in the cabin, so the adults put all our folded clothes in the shoe rack "shelves".

I love the idea of the suction cups for the bathroom -- never seems like there's enough room to hang wet suits, or the ones that are hung in the shower need to be removed when someone wants to use it. This seems much more convenient.

Keep 'em coming! :)