SunReader

I booked through RC during the Thanksgiving sales.

Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. It is very cold in New England again so enjoy the warmer weather.

Is there a "must see or must do" for 4 adults and the best way to get there? Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas only lists 4 excursions so considering booking on our own. Any thoughts would be helpful. TYIA

I am on the same cruise. I believe they don't have as many excursions for this date, as it isn't beach weather yet.

Have you been to Bermuda before? If not a tour of the island would be great. They have taxis near the ship that offer tours.

Four or five years ago, I had a non beach day, so I took the Ferry to Hamilton and walked around the took the bus to St.George had lunch and walked around and took the Ferry back. You could get a 1 day bus and ferry pass if that is still available.

If the weather is warm, I may go to sit on the beach at Horseshoe Bay. It is beautiful there.

Also, I am going to see if there are any boat tours, probably will need jeans and a warm sweatshirt.

Ellen

Donna, Its' the Golden Eagle tour through Royal. I booked it last week. Not sure if I'm keeping it. It depends on if anyone else is going.

Hi Gail,

This Ellen not Donna. Not on until the 5/3. I have been looking at some of the ports when it is stormy or cold. A little distraction.

I am disappointed about Orient beach and the repairs not being done by then. It is so beautiful there. The last time I was in St. Maarten, I did a tour of the island and going in the submarine.

Hopefully, the recovery in St. Maarten starts 5 speed up for the residents sake.

Have a great weekend.

Ellen

Was the catamaran excursion booked through Royal Caribbean or outside company?

Thanks for the update on San Juan and St. Martin.

There is a video on YouTube of cabins 6648 and 6650, they are the solo balconies on the opposite side of the ship. 6648 has a much better view if that is available.

I am on this sailing and mostly people from east coast, but there are many from outside the US that are combining it with a NY visit. Younger and more families on the ship than expected as US schools are still in session. Haven't noticed any rude passengers. Maybe talk to fewer passengers because of different languages, but everyone has been polite.

Have reservations for dinner tonight. I will try to post back how it is.

They had live music in the Music Hall most nights on our recent 12 day (the one just before your cruise). Occasional DJ too. We had a comedian on opening night and another later in the cruise. If your comedian did not make the ship (and if true)- I can't see how that qualifies as a RC entertainment cut. I agree - no tribute bands but some here have already posted these are coming back in the new year. There were multiple venues each night that had live music in addition to the production shows.

It is possible the comedian didn't make the ship due to personal issues, but weather was fine in the Northeast. Haven't seen Savannah Jack on the schedule. Sounds like I would have enjoyed them. The music sets are repetitive. If you see them one night, they were the same songs the next two nights. Tonight there will be a show. Spectre Carbaret got postponed due to technical difficulties. So a lot of the entertainment is now scheduled on later couple of days.

Due to large number of non US travelers on board, they may not be working hard to replace the entertainment. I think many have done this cruise as part of a longer US holiday tour. Maybe this is why much of the music is instrumental.

They have live music in the Music Hall, it is just early in the evening. Went to Windjammer tonight to see the live music in the Music hall. They had live music in Boleros too, but it was geared toward the senior set.

Yes, there have been cuts to the entertainment. I am on board now. The first night was karaoke in the Music Hall and the second night was a DJ that had music for the younger crowd. Tonight it is the DJ in the Music Hall at 11:00.

Besides the tribute band cut, the comedian was also cut for the welcome aboard show and late night comedy show last night. The cruise director said the comedian didn't make the ship.

One recommendation I have is don't schedule the late seating for dinner. They have entertainment options but they are earlier in the evening.

Hi, I will be on the same cruise as Gail on Friday. I have the internet package. I will try to post about the Music Hall entertainment. Hope the smaller venues aren't packed.

Royal didn't notify customers who booked direct about the dynamic dining and tribute bands changes. It was after final payment date. Found out from Cruise Critic.

Looking forward to a great cruise.

Comparing our 9 day anthem cruise in May and the 7 day Thanksgiving cruise the entertainment certainly suffered. We really enjoyed the Tribute bands and live bands most nights in May to none last week.

 

Very disappointing and the guitar player in the pub was dropped too, which would have been great last week too.

 

The Viking Lounge on other ships are much better than the current Music Hall, there were no live bands after 10 pm.

 

 

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Any recommendations on what to do at night after 10?. Usually have done the live music. Done Quest etc, in the past. Disappointed they aren't having the Journey tribute band. It sounds like they have geared the cruise toward senior citizens.

Does the Schooner bar still have a piano player?

I am not going to contribute extra to the casino before the holidays because they eliminated

after dinner entertainment.

I upgraded yesterday from an inside guarantee to a balcony guarantee for a very reasonable amount on the Anthem in December. I was assigned a D5 cabin on deck 12. It doesn't have an obstructed view.

Thank you everyone for your information on the hotels. I don't need anything fancy for a hotel. I will probably just get dinner, relax and get some sleep. Meeting up with other solos that I met on an Explorer cruise. On that cruise, we were out each night until the music ended.

Hi Don,

Thank you for the very quick reply. The information was very helpful. I am a couple of towns away from you.

I will be going on a Thursday as I am taking the day off of work, so I will be going during the day. I will probably wait until September to see if JetBlue or United have any deals. I have been looking at Country Inn and Suites in Elizabeth, NJ.

Stay cool the next couple of days.

Ellen

DJLDRUMS,

I am trying to decide between driving or flying to Newark. I haven't driven to that area before as I have taken the bus from Woburn (no longer available) or flown in early morning of the cruise. The cruise I am going on is in December, so I want to go the day before.

Where did you stay? Would you recommend it? What time did you leave the north of boston area?

Ellen

Thank you for the quick reply Carol.

I don't think I would be able do just a carry on for a week cruise.

I have taken an early flight from Logan the day of the cruise and then taken the RCCL transfer, but where it is winter I plan to go the day before.

Ellen

Hi Carol,

On another thread you mentioned taking Amtrak to Newark from the Boston area. I checked the Westwood and Springfield routes and both only take carry on luggage. Do you know what stations take luggage?

I am thinking of flying to EWR and staying at Country Inn and Suites as they have a shuttle to the port. I would be going on a Thursday in December and I am going by myself. Does this sound like a decent plan?

Ellen

Hi, when i booked an Anthem cruise in May for December, I asked about the bus from Woburn and Royal told me it was discontinued. It was very reasonable $ 110 rt and very convenient as it was 2 exits from home

Hi,

We didn't have a problem getting to Grand Stirrup Cay as we had reserved Clam Shells and/or snorkeling, so we did not have to get a ticket #. You take your excursion ticket (incudes clam shells) to deck 5 - Guest Services and you are given priority on the tenders. They also left a towel in your room to take to the island. It was very easy.

Once on the island, we went to the right and were able to get 4 clam shells in the first row of clam shells.

It was on the return that MSC had problems as the only had one location open to return to the ship. After waiting a half hour, they opened a second location on the other side of the ship.

It was very hot last Friday. The clam shell worked well.

Ellen

Hi Saphir,

We had the 6pm seating. Dinner was almost 2 hours.

Other than the first night, the show was at 9 pm. Late seating show was 7pm. You need go to the Michael Jackson show early to get seats

I have sailed Royal Caribbean the last couple of years in the fall and there weren't many children.

For breakfast in the dining room, they had great belgian waffles with sliced bananas (menu said stewed).

The Allegrisimo drink vouchers were a great deal 15 drinks for $ 72.00. If you purchase before the cruise, the 15% service charge was included. A drink included tip came to 4.80 with the vouchers. Many drinks were in the $ 7 range. The also have a beer package that included bottled beer.

Gambee was on the roll call and he will be doing a review. If you have seen his other reviews, his pictures are incredible.

Ellen

Hi Saphir,

I got off the ship yesterday and they are having sevice problems with the dining room due to the large

staff change since the ship returned two weeks ago.

When you go in October service should be much better as the new staff will be trained and it probably won't have 4,300 passengers as kids will be back in school.

Also, had trouble returning to the ship from the private island. Took about an hour at 2:30. They finally opened a location on the other side of the ship so we could get off.

Enjoy the Divina is a beautiful and very clean ship. The shows were great.

I think you will see better reviews once the kids are in school.

Never tried the hamburgers on the buffet. People in our group loved the Pizza at the buffet, but I never tried it. Went to the Villa Rosa dining room 3 days for lunch.

Ellen

Has the ship been cleared through customs yet?

A long time ago, I was on a ship that we got off late because a few selfish passengers had illegal drugs. If that is the case, it is the previous passengers fault.

I hope the Port Authority/law enforcement will make an annoucement soon.

If people are out in the heat, air conditioned facilities should be provided.

Enjoy your cruise when you finally board. I hope everything goes better on the 9th for all you and us as we will be boarding.

Joybaby, I ordered the vouchers when the final payment was due. It is for the 8/9 sailing. I checked the edocs and it states 15 drinks. I believe it was called Allegrisimo Escape. I used the phone number on the website.

Dharma, I don't know about the wine packages. The alcohol drink vouchers states they can be used in all bars and restaurants.

Ellen

Hello,

Yes, you can buy additional vouchers on board but pay an additional 15 percent service charge.

We were told you can also use the alcoholic drink vouchers for the ice cream cones or cups.

Ellen