Peardrop

Yes Amaretto is definitely available, on our winter cruises we often start the day on top deck with a coffee from cafe promenade, which the chaps behind the pool bar happily add a shot of Amaretto (Disaronno) to-lovely!

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We cruise as a family for between 10-14 days in the summer which I love, but I equally enjoy our annual 4 night cruise which we have every October, when we leave the teens at home and have a great time with a group of friends. And while it definitely does leave us wanting more, I see that as a positive as it means I never stop being excited about our annual mini break. It can be hard to feel you have experienced all that the ship has to offer in such a short break, which is what we found with Anthem last October, however we usually sail on Independence and we feel right at home as soon as we step on board as we have got to know her well, which helps. We will be on Indy for 4 nights this October, and Navigator in Oct 2017 but I gather they are fairly similar ships so I'm sure it won't take long to settle in![emoji3]

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We are just deciding between Independence or Navigator for summer 2017, and one of the venues we used to really enjoy was the nightclub. Do either of these ships have a nightclub or a late night dancing venue? We had a wonderful cruise on Freedom last summer but really missed the nightclub, and the 'disco' that was offered in the Viking Lounge just wasn't the same. The deck plan for Indy seems to suggest The Raven is still there, but I thought it had gone (I'd be delighted if it was still there!)

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Hi Scooter girl,

Yes we had a kettle with tea and coffee, not that we used it! We have been on 5 cruises which departed from Southampton, and this was the first time we have had drink making facilities in our stateroom. I'm afraid I don't know if you can request a kettle but I would recommend asking as the attendants have always been very willing to try and get you anything you need (within reason!) in my experience.

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We just got off the Anthem, and with the Royal IQ app there was the option to pay $14.95 (I assume per user) to have app to app messaging capability. We didn't purchase it, as we got the wifi package and used it to iMessage the rest of our group of friends if we needed to make arrangements for meeting for dinner etc, but I commented to my husband that it was a great idea and would have been ideal when we were on FoS with our teens in August.

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Favourite food is the French toast in the MDR. MY favourite drink was the Red Velvet Cake cocktail on Freedom in August, sadly it wasn't offered on Anthem last week [emoji22]

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Just to echo the posters above, we got off Anthem today and can confirm all of the above activities are included in your cruise fare. They all happen at set times of the day, as set out in the cruise compass.

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What category of cabin is this....looks a bit cramped...especially having the closet "right" next to the bed...doesn't appear to have two nightstands :confused:

We have an obstructed balcony (6628) and I've found it very comfortable and spacious. Yes there are 2 nightstands, the only thing I have found a little snug is getting round the bed where the curtain is, it's almost impossible to get into that side of the bed without inadvertently pulling the curtain open [emoji4]

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Thank you! Oh, no on closet space. I thought that 2nd cabinet had 2 hanging bars. Top and bottom. One is going to make this a tight squeeze with clothes for 3 people!

Actually there is a second hanging rail in the first wardrobe, it's just hidden by the bottom of my clothes. There is way more closet space in this cabin but it's cleverly designed to be quite discreet.

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Yes kevinyork there are two wardrobes, one next to the bed and one next to the bathroom, along with storage over the bed and in a chest of drawers. Lots of storage in fact! [emoji106]🏻

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Here are some pictures for you! There is not much in our wardrobes as we are only on board for 3 nights [emoji3] There is a good amount of wardrobe space plus cupboards above the bed, and a set of drawers (the mini bar is located in the large right hand cupboard of this unit). There is also a large space under the bed for storage of luggage etc

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Our balcony stateroom is very spacious and comfortable.

The bionic bar looks fun if somewhat gimmicky, but I can't really comment because it hasn't worked yet on this trip, despite frequent visits by various engineers! It looks good though!

The pool deck and SeaPlex areas are wonderful, although the dreary weather means that they aren't really done any justice in my pictures!

We have the premium drink package and I'm pleased to say the drinks are generous and strong, however the cocktail list is limited (compared to FoS in August) and the bars are woefully understaffed. We haven't encountered any roaming waitstaff so be prepared to queue (often for some time) when you want a drink.

On that subject, one thing we have noticed is that the crew are for the most part very efficient, but they lack the friendliness and wow factor of other ships. I wonder if they are overstretched, as for example in the windjammer there have been many uncleared tables and just one frantic staff member trying to clear up, whilst fetching drinks and replenishing items at the counters. Service has also been slow and somewhat lacklustre in the restaurants, and it's obvious that the staff are working hard, they just appear to have so much to do that there is little time for the niceties.

Overall we have enjoyed our time onboard and whilst Indy and Freedom perhaps remain or favourites, there is no doubt that the Anthem class of ship is stunning and I wouldn't hesitate to return, perhaps in a year or so's time when some of the 'teething problems' have been worked out.

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The Royal Esplanade is nice, and it connects the theatre and the Two70 venue very nicely as they are at separate ends of the ship. There is much more emphasis on shops rather than bars, so it feels more like a mini shopping mall with some food and drink venues, rather than an entertainment hub, however it is very stylish. The artwork on the ship is truly beautiful and very creative.

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Hello all,

We are on board Anthem at present, and I was interested to see how this class of ship compares to our favourite Freedom class. Our initial impressions are very favourable and she is an extremely beautiful, modern and stylish ship, well laid out with some excellent features.

The dynamic dining has been a big plus for us, as I find myself tiring of the MDR after a few nights, so the change of venues suits us very nicely indeed. The restaurants themselves are very beautiful.

The Grande

Silk

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Hi all,

We are currently on Anthem and I thought some folk may be interested in the obstructed balcony view. Have to say we are delighted with our stateroom, very comfortable and cleverly designed. Also very pleased with our obstructed view, as it's much better than I expected. We have purchased the wifi package and speeds are good. Very impressed with this beautiful ship!

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We particularly enjoy the English pubs on board the freedom class ships, and often bring nachos or other snack bits from the windjammer to the pub in the afternoon to help the beers go down!

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We got back this morning from the rerouted Freedom cruise. Our itinerary changed from Eastern to Western and we visited Cococay, Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. I thought I would share our highs and lows:

Highs...so many, and we had a wonderful time. The ship is in beautiful shape and we encountered lots of lovely people, both crew and passengers. Our teens hit it off with other teens and had a wonderful time socialising. The entertainment was excellent and the cruise director Casey Pelter has become my firm favourite. The headliner shows were great with the exception of the comedian on the last night who was a little dull, but of course that is just personal opinion.

Our statement attendant Ronney was great and deserved his extra gratuity for looking after the room of our two messy teens who were in an adjoining promenade cabin to ours. The cabins were very quiet (we had 7321 and 7323) and there were no noise issues at all.

Our dining room team were just wonderful, the best we've ever had, and they were Micheline from South Africa and Orlena from Ukraine. Our extra helpings of lobster and scallops were much appreciated! The food in MDR was delicious each night, no complaints at all.

The revised itinerary was fine with us, and in fact we had 7 days of glorious blazing sunshine so I'm very grateful the decision was made to reroute. Cococay was very enjoyable, as was Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

My husband and I had the Premium Package and loved it...every drink we wanted was fully included and I made sure to try lots of different cocktails from the menu! My personal favourite was the 'Red Velvet Cake' from the R Bar.

We are in the MDR every evening. I saw a wide variety of dress in the dining room, including shorts and ripped jeans at dinner. No judgement, just passing on the info. We like to dress nicely, but my meal is all about the food, wine and company, I don't personally feel strongly about what others wear. I do enjoy formal night and we pushed the boat out, but my husband felt somewhat overdressed in his tux. I don't have a picture of us on formal night, but here are my teens.

Lows...not many, as we had a wonderful time. I was mildly irritated that several drinks were billed to our account even though we had the premium package. They were immediately removed but it necessitated an annoying visit to guest services which always involved a queue. As an aside, for every drink we ordered we were always presented a receipt to sign for $0 (I noticed that receipts with tips were kept, ones with signature only went straight in the bin!). The times we were incorrectly billed were the occasions in the dining room where the bar service waiter didn't take our seapasses, saying he would return but didn't, so drinks were automatically billed to our account.

Another minor low was the indifferent service we received at breakfast in the MDR. We had told friends what a great experience it is at breakfast time (our friends are first time cruisers) however when we went for breakfast, we were told we could have table service if we didn't mind it being a long wait, or we could just use the buffet that had been set up (Leonardos on Deck 3). We reluctantly decided to use the buffet (the wait staff made it feel that table service would be a massive inconvenience!) and unfortunately everything was running out and there were lots of unhappy people.

I happened to turn to an officer next to me (Rodrigo) who was senior in the MDR and casually remarked 'everything has run out, what a shame!' and he personally collected me a breakfast and then came to the table to apologise and ask that we try the MDR again the next day and not let it put us off. We said we would be back the next day at 8am and we got the red carpet treatment! He greeted our party of 8 at the door and escorted us to a table he had set aside, we then received the most amazing service ever!! So although this started as a low, Rodrigo made it a high.

Overall we had a fantastic time and didn't experience any of the things I had feared...we always managed a lounger around the pool, there were plenty of cocktail menus (I'd been led to believe they no longer existed!) and although the ship was full it did not feel crowded. I now eagerly await my next cruise, which is Anthem in October 2015.

Ps...we had towel friends every night!

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Also if you eat at Chops and want one of the special coffee drinks with a kick after dinner, they are included on UP and not on PP.

Just to add that after our MDR meals, we had regular (included) coffee at the table and ordered liqueurs from the bar service waiter (included on our premium package) and made our own coffees with a kick!

With regard to a point raised by another poster about the $10/$12 threshold for cocktails, at the desk where we signed up it said cocktails included up to $10 however the flyers and laminated posters on display all said $12 so I figured we would take our chances, but in the end every single drink was covered without issue for us.

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When we had the premium on our last cruise - there wasn't a single drink we could find that wasn't included in our package. From frozen drinks to martinis, to mojitos to manhattans. Only a handful of items (REALLY expensive liquors) are above the premium or ultimate package limits.

I second this...just got off of Freedom this morning, and tried virtually every cocktail on the menu and there wasn't anything that wasn't covered by my premium package [emoji3]

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Just seen on the website that our FoS cruise tomorrow has been rerouted to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico.

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if not in a supervised teen club activity or in the company of an adult sailing with them, they must be in the cabin after curfew.

 

 

 

loitering in any public area will be questioned, but quick trips back and forth to the cabin or the WJ for drinks should fine

Thanks spookwife, that's just the clarification I was after. I'm also pleased to see that the young people in the group can remain out past 1am as long as they are in our company, as this is likely on occasion.

Thanks all

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This sounds great, is there likely to be a pool party in our FoS cruise (Eastern Caribbean) in two weeks time?[emoji3]

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Following as we have never experienced this either. We will be on the Eastern Caribbean route on Freedom next month, and a sail away party would be fun!

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A few months back, Royal removed prices from bar menus. Figure cocktails at $10 to $12, plus 18%.

I have heard this too, but how does it work if you have the package? Must you clarify before every drink that it's included? Or are most drinks below the threshold?

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