Frugal Husband’s Anthem of the Seas Review

Hello all!

I have learned so much, and have taken so many virtual vacations by posters’ trip reviews that I wanted to return the favor.

My wife and I took a 5 day Bermuda cruise on August 4th. Before hand we took the train from Richmond, VA to NYC and spent three days in the city bringing our trip to a full week.

My favorite reviewer is Cruise Critic’s favorite Cheapo Dad: Harryfat1. So I will also do a curb to curb trip review, including our days spent in NYC. So just know it will be a few posts before we actually board Anthem.

Now, here is where I need your help. I took a ton of pictures and I would very much like to share them with you. However I have spent almost a month trying to figure out how to post pictures to this site. It really is beyond frustrating and shouldn’t be this hard. I searched for answers and read posts about how to accomplish this seemingly impossible task.

I uploaded everything to Shutterfly but can’t figure out how to imbed the photos into a post. I then downloaded the Tapatalk app but can’t figure out how to post pictures in an existing post.

Can anyone throw me a bone? I’m 33 and am computer savvy...except this appears to be my Mt. Everest. If I can’t get pictures up I’ll still do the review, but I know my favorite reviews are the ones with pictures. So, please, educate this poor sap :')

Interested to hear your take on this sailing!

Hello all!

I uploaded everything to Shutterfly but can’t figure out how to imbed the photos into a post. I then downloaded the Tapatalk app but can’t figure out how to post pictures in an existing post.

 

Can anyone throw me a bone? I’m 33 and am computer savvy...except this appears to be my Mt. Everest. If I can’t get pictures up I’ll still do the review, but I know my favorite reviews are the ones with pictures. So, please, educate this poor sap :')

The easiest way is through the CC branded app or though the tapatalk CC app. You can post up to 6 in one reply.

Once you have the app loaded hit the reply bottom. It will load a screen like this, and then click this button.

It will then access your camera roll to where your photos are stored, in my cause this would be my iPad.

Then it will give you the quality option like this.

Pick the one you want. When you are done then submit your post.

Hope this helps.

You guys ready for this?

*takes a bow*

Thank you, thank you! I feel so accomplished.

So I posted this through Shutterfly, was finally able to figure that out. There's a CC app?!....and a tapatalk CC app?! I only downloaded the standard Tapatalk app....that's it I am officially old. This is a sad day for BigHouseFootball.

In any event. I am going to try to do the CC app and if that doesn't work I'll just stick with Shutterfly for now-ironically enough it was Harryfat1 who walked me through that process! I will get this thing going in earnest in a little bit!

Picture through CC app

Hahahaha ok if I can figure this posting pictures thing out so can you! Do not be afraid.

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Yippee

Ok enough of me looking like an old man who can figure out this internet thing.

So a little background. It was my wife (29) and me (33) on our 3rd cruise all with Royal. Previously we had cruised on Freedom and Allure. We had originally been booked on Adventure out of San Juan for April doing the Southern Caribbean route and we were pumped. Lots of ports and lots of active shore excursions planned.

But then I got a teaching job and made the career switch from being and assistant manager at a local bank (shudder, I hate banks, don’t you?). So that trip had to be moved since it didn’t line up with Spring Break. Then we decided to find a different itinerary because we are at the point in life where we may start thinking about having a family and with Zika going on down there we thought it just smarter to not take the chance. Paranoid? Sure. But we took the ultra safe route.

Which brings us to Bermuda. I will admit I had low expectations. I had this image image in my head of the Atlantic looking like it dies in Virginia Beach. But man. Bermuda is beautiful.

So we had balcony room 9142 which is port side forward.

Alright now that we have the syllabus done and over let’s get traveling.

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As I mentioned before we took the train from Richmond to NYC. We had debated whether to do the train or drive. When I crunched the numbers (I like crunching numbers) it was like $50 more to do the train plus getting from the hotel to the terminal than driving and paying for parking at both the hotel and terminal.

So we had never done the train before. Amtrak said get there 30 minutes before. Ha! Yeah right! I’m a seasoned traveler, can navigate an airport like a pro, and I must arrive to everything early. We shall get there an hour before and it will be grand. Weeeeeeeellllllll.....

We get to the train station, throw open the doors aaaaand...it was a small waiting room. Like my dentist’s waiting room is bigger than this. Ok, let’s go check in then...umm...huh...where would we do that. (Again, used to flying) There does t appear to be any workers around, ah, the good old ticket booth. Surely this is where I am to go.

I talk to the nice lady behind the glass and present my train virginity card. AKA I am clueless as to what I should be doing right now. So kindly explains that if I have my tickets already I am all set and they will escort us all to the platform when it is time. I am so used to the rigger of air travel that I am still suspicious of this answer but ok I’ll go along with your nice, calm, and relaxing story.

Sure enough about 10 minutes before the train is to arrive they escort us out to the platform. Aha! This is where security must be, I know the drill, let me just start getting g my belt and shoes off...no? No security? At all? Alrighty then.

So here it is the first official picture of the trip. Marvelous isn’t it?

And here is our mighty stead to take us to NYC

We are pretty happy to get our trip started!

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Following along. We have Anthem booked in future too . Interested in hearing how it compares to Allure and Freedom.

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Thank you for the picture posting tutorial. I never knew how to do it either. Now I just have to get DH to confirm he has vacation time in December and I can book our next cruise and have a review to write so I can practice.

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Cheap, frugal.... say no more. Following:D

Glad to have some fellow frugal travelers here!

Alright so we board the train and pick two seats. The train has a rack over the seats for your bags but no cover that closes like on s plane. I saw several solo travelers take their bags with them when that went to the bathroom/food car just to be safe with their belongings.

So we sit down and my wife asks if this is a first class car because there is SO MUCH leg room. Again, we are used to flying and frugal husband is t going to spring for first class tickets. But alas this is the coach car. Happy day.

So we start moving! Ummm is any one ever going to check that I actually have a ticket?! Or are we going on the honor system? Finally a conductor (ticket checker?) I dunno what his official title is but he did come complete with the classic train hat on his head.

Here is my power outlet I had which cane in very handy

And a good picture showing the amount of space each seat had.

Peace out Richmond. See you in a week!

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I’m glad you discovered the joys of train travel. We’re not flying ever again and routinely take the train from Richmond to either Miami or Fort Lauderdale. It’s a great ride.

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We are making some great time. After 45 minutes I am sold that taking the train and not having to drive I-95 is a gift from the heavens. I can sit back with my leg room and watch the world go by.

Alright let’s answer the question everyone must be thinking: “how was the WiFi?” Umm it was definitely hit or miss. Sometimes I was able to stream YouTube videos other times i couldn’t load cruise critic. At those times I would just disconnect and use my data.

At this point my wife was spending about 15 minutes in the bathroom. No, it wasn’t bad seafood from the night before, she was cleaning dog doo-doo off her shoe that she had stepped in. Why do I include this? Because I just really got a kick out of my wife spending the first part of our trip having to wipe dog doo-doo off her shoes in a train bathroom.

By the way she reported the bathrooms to not be that bad clean wise. Besides from being frugal I am also a bit of a germaphobe so I never dared entered the train bathrooms.

When we got to DC we stopped for about 20 minutes while they switched from a diesel to an electric engine. During this time there is no power and the food car and bathrooms aren’t open. So plan accordingly.

With the new electric engine on we were on our way. Up through Baltimore and Philly. Saw just some awful blight in both of those cities, especially Philly.

About this time I was getting a small headache and I knew it was from caffeine withdrawals. So off I went to the food car to feed my addiction. Let me tell you walking on a train is much harder than a plane. Luckily I had a few years of experience in college walking back from bars to rely on.

So I make it to the food car and ask for a coke. “$3” says the worker...for a CAN of coke. I thought surely it would be a 20oz plastic bottle for $3! So there I stood in the swaying food car feeling like a drug addict. Alas I had no choice. Accepting my fate I slowly reached into my pocket and begrudgingly handed over my credit card. Just give me the drugs, no more questions sir.

I walked back to my seat and drank the sweet nectar of the gods in silent. Feeling slightly ashamed.

Here is the food menu for those of you who would be interested.

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We are getting closer to NYC. In fact I get my first glance of Manhattan and there is World One.

Not bad for a cell phone picture!

Ok so we pull into Penn Station NYC about 15 minutes late. Ha! I can deal with that. I would probably still be on I-95 and I’d be ready to punch someone to release the build up of road rage.

So off the train we go and into Penn Station up a flight of stairs. Alright where do we go...how do we get out of here and up to street level? I’m certainly not going to ask the two soldiers with guns hanging off their backs with a German Shepard-they seem like they have more important things to be doing at the moment.

So by some luck we find the exit to street level we need and up the escalator we go! At the top I meet the first of 235 Hop On-Hop Off Bus Tour wieners I will encounter during my 3 days in NYC. And then we step out and onto the sidewalk. We had about a mile walk from the station to our hotel, Yotel which is at 42nd and 10th.

Now look. I thought I had been to cities before. I grew up in Detroit. I have been to DC. I have been to LA. But none of those experiences prepared me for what I walked into. First, yes, the buildings are tall. Really tall. I tried not to act like a tourist and look up but I couldn’t help it. And the people. Everywhere. All moving quickly and with purpose.

Ok. Time to kick it into Disney mode. You know that “my fast pass for Space Mountain is going to expire in 10 minutes and I’m in Frontierland” walk. So we join the masses and make our way up to 42nd. Both of us wearing backpacks and dragging carry on luggage behind. I thought we looked ridiculous...until I saw countless other families doing the exact same thing.

I learned that you don’t wait for the crosswalk guy to light up to start walking you wait for the light to turn yellow then just go! It was also hot and that backpack made my back feel like Niagara Falls with sweat-and we run marathons!

Anyways we finally made it to Yotel. All those calm relaxing feelings of the train gone, dead, and buried.

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We had debated whether to do the train or drive. When I crunched the numbers (I like crunching numbers) it was like $50 more to do the train plus getting from the hotel to the terminal than driving and paying for parking at both the hotel and terminal.

Did that calculation include about $60 in tolls?

Biker, who also debated this but is opting for driving.

Following

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Great review so far. I love the train, it is much more laid back than air travel.

I am trying to convince my DH to do this same trip in 2019. Love review of train up I 95! We are in Va Beach so can’t wait to hear about Bermuda!

:)

:):)

I was on this cruise with you, so I will be interested when you get to the cruising part (spoiler alert: for the most part loved the Anthem and Bermuda *is* gorgeous. And the two days that we were there, broiling!

One note: Amtrak goes through the absolutely worst section of North Philly. Not garden scenery : )

One note: Amtrak goes through the absolutely worst section of North Philly. Not garden scenery : )

Wasn’t that the home of the Fresh Prince of Bellaire?

Wasn’t that the home of the Fresh Prince of Bellaire?

I believe that was West Philidelphia :D

 

With the new electric engine on we were on our way. Up through Baltimore and Philly. Saw just some awful blight in both of those cities, especially Philly.

I take the train from Baltimore to NYC occasionally. The last time, there was a family in front of me from the UK (based on accents). I cracked up when we were going to Philly and the kids pipes up "Look mama! And abandoned building!!!" He was so excited. I just thought, "Kid, there is another 90 minutes of this view."

There are some scenic parts, especially along the bay and when you cross the Susquehanna. If you even get the chance, keep going up to Boston. I happened to do that in the fall, and it was beautiful going through Connecticut!