Anthem of the Seas Review from Bahamas sailing

[AbeFroman2]

Thanks for the many kind words, all, but don't thank me, but rather the CC community that has made this place an awesome resource for all of us before, during, and after our trip!

 

I see many of you leave shortly, please ask away if you have any questions. We read more stories and posts than I can remember over the last month. Just were too excited. :D

[luckyinpa]

ive only researched royal for 2 months and found this review very good. never saw any warning about tender times on this forum before. the towel procedure to give any room number at all is nuts. and how do you prove it wasnt you if someone puts your room number down for revenge?

 

i noticed you wrote you got a takeout from MDR, is that something normally allowed? i'm assuming buffet stuff would be allowed but wanted to be sure.

 

also regarding ifly i had no idea about limits!

 

RipCord by iFLY will be complimentary for guests and likely mirror land-based guidelines: Flyers may be as young as three years of age. There is no upper age limit. All flyers must be in good health and physical condition. Those less than 6 feet tall must weigh less than 230 lbs, and those over 6 feet must weigh less than 250 lbs

[MacMarauder]

Great review, thank you! Question about CoCo Cay, will I need a tender boat ticket if we are going to the island around 2pm? And what time do you have to leave the island? I will be travelling with my 2 year old son so nap time is immediately after lunch, figured we would head to CoCo Cay after that. If we can get 2 hours of beach time that would be perfect! A toddler's attention span is only so long so spending the whole day on the beach isn't really an option for us.

[AbeFroman2]

ive only researched royal for 2 months and found this review very good. never saw any warning about tender times on this forum before. the towel procedure to give any room number at all is nuts. and how do you prove it wasnt you if someone puts your room number down for revenge?

 

i noticed you wrote you got a takeout from MDR, is that something normally allowed? i'm assuming buffet stuff would be allowed but wanted to be sure.

 

also regarding ifly i had no idea about limits!

 

RipCord by iFLY will be complimentary for guests and likely mirror land-based guidelines: Flyers may be as young as three years of age. There is no upper age limit. All flyers must be in good health and physical condition. Those less than 6 feet tall must weigh less than 230 lbs, and those over 6 feet must weigh less than 250 lbs

 

Sorry for the confusion, we did not do any takeout from the main dining room. I do not believe you can, but it never hurts to ask. Buffett you can, yes.

[AbeFroman2]

Great review, thank you! Question about CoCo Cay, will I need a tender boat ticket if we are going to the island around 2pm? And what time do you have to leave the island? I will be travelling with my 2 year old son so nap time is immediately after lunch, figured we would head to CoCo Cay after that. If we can get 2 hours of beach time that would be perfect! A toddler's attention span is only so long so spending the whole day on the beach isn't really an option for us.

 

You guys will have a blast. One thing I did not note is that our sailing had 50 percent of its passengers listed as 18 or under! So, while we do not have kids, I can assure you that from talking to parents that there was plenty for them to see and do on the ship.

 

As for your tender ticket question, I would check with either Guest Services or the Activities Team (which has a big role in the Tendering organization) once you board the ship. Unfortunately it's not a one size fits all operation, as things like weather can cause plans to change, and since we got over to CoCo Cay before Noon, I cannot attest to the cut off point for bringing passengers over to the island. I imagine you'll be quite OK going after 2 p.m., but it's best to double check so you aren't disappointed.

[MacMarauder]

You guys will have a blast. One thing I did not note is that our sailing had 50 percent of its passengers listed as 18 or under! So, while we do not have kids, I can assure you that from talking to parents that there was plenty for them to see and do on the ship.

 

As for your tender ticket question, I would check with either Guest Services or the Activities Team (which has a big role in the Tendering organization) once you board the ship. Unfortunately it's not a one size fits all operation, as things like weather can cause plans to change, and since we got over to CoCo Cay before Noon, I cannot attest to the cut off point for bringing passengers over to the island. I imagine you'll be quite OK going after 2 p.m., but it's best to double check so you aren't disappointed.

 

Wow 50% of guests under 18 seems like a lot! Good call on checking with the Activities Team, thanks for all the great info!

[seba1]

Thank you for the review. We are worried about weather and leave in 11 days. Can you provide us with your experience each day? What days were not pool days and on those days were the indoor activities extra crowded?

 

Thanks,

Stephanie

[jsrnec]

This was a great review, my wife and I leave on the March 19th sailing and we can't wait. You gave tons of great info in your post. I would of never thought of the tender ticket either and since this is the only port that we are getting off on that is good to know.

[luckyinpa]

is tendering a free for all or organized? reason i ask is on the last ship i was on it didnt matter what time the ticket said, the guy in the hall said 'back of the line' to every single person that attempted to cut in line because it was their time

[A Pisces]

You did a really nice job with your review! I like how you broke it up, as you said, to make it easier to find information.;) Lots of good tips included!

Kathy

[reallyitsmema]

This was a great review, my wife and I leave on the March 19th sailing and we can't wait. You gave tons of great info in your post. I would of never thought of the tender ticket either and since this is the only port that we are getting off on that is good to know.

 

We were on the sailing after the OP and I totally agree on what they have said about tender tickets. Make sure you go pick one up as soon as you can if you want to get off the ship early. They didn't stop calling tender tickets until after noontime. Make sure you listen for your specific number and location since they were tendering from multiple locations.

[AbeFroman2]

Thank you for the review. We are worried about weather and leave in 11 days. Can you provide us with your experience each day? What days were not pool days and on those days were the indoor activities extra crowded?

 

Thanks,

Stephanie

 

Great question.

 

Most of the days were very windy up on the pool deck. The second to last day there were moments I wondered if I'd blow overboard! But for the most part it was nothing unusual for this time of year on the high seas.

 

The captain said the wind was due to a couple of different fronts sweeping from the Midwest to the East and then out to sea. We actually went faster than normal and later slower than normal a few times to avoid storms in the distance, and that's one thing of note: While many might read about weather horror stories, almost all drastic weather events that would seriously affect the ship (read: Make you sick from the motion) are predicted via the forecast early enough for the bridge to make changes to avoid them and keep things as smooth as possible.

 

As for temps, we did not have a day below 60 degrees but never got warmer than 73 degrees at any point on our journey. It was overcast in Florida and CoCo Cay with temps around 70, and the water was warm enough to dip our feet in just to say we did, but we both had light jackets on. It was sunny and 70 in Nassau and the snorkeling water was brisk but fine once in it for a little bit.

 

Unless it is raining, you are always going to find that it's a pool day because many like to lay out and enjoy, sit at the solarium inside, etc., and that helps keep indoor activities fairly crowd-free. The Promenade is usually crowded because they're are generally some kind of sales going on, but for the most part, Anthem felt very uncrowded despite the large capacity it has.

 

Hope that helps, feel free to ask a follow-up!

[AbeFroman2]

is tendering a free for all or organized? reason i ask is on the last ship i was on it didnt matter what time the ticket said, the guy in the hall said 'back of the line' to every single person that attempted to cut in line because it was their time

 

I cannot speak to anything but the Anthem, sorry. On our trip, you merely showed up at Cafe 270 and picked up a ticket (you can get as many as needed; one family member can pick up for all) and then waited for your number to be called, starting with 1 and going in order. Sometimes, they called three numbers at a time, other times, they called one at a time, with really no rhyme or reason to it, so patience is required.

[beachnative]

Excellent review and very informative.

 

We have sailed on both the Quantum and Anthem but forgot about needing tender tickets. Thank you for including that information.

 

We board next week.

QUESTION: do we need a card to keep the lights on? If so I will bring one from a previous sailing.

 

I liked your style of writing. :)

[AbeFroman2]

Some other stray lunchtime thoughts (Yes, stray thoughts from your journey will happen to you weeks after you get back!)

 

-We did not do the watchbands which Royal Caribbean offers for charge and are used instead of your SeaPass card for drinks, room entry, etc. Did not want to pay the fee, and was glad we didn't because there are no handheld scanners on board, meaning you have to take it off every time. May be good for kids or anyone who doesn't like carrying a bag/wearing clothes without pockets often.

 

-We turned our phones to airplane mode, WiFi on while sailing so we could use Royal IQ (which is buggy and sometimes doesn't work) while not roaming. We picked up no special plan through our cell provider, either. I received iMessages (since they work on the principle of WiFi connection, not cell connection) and just received my cell bill, and was not billed any roaming or anything. My GF could not receive them though, and that was pretty much the story boat wide: Some passengers could get them, and others could not. Sort of hit or miss if you do not have a surf package of any kind.

 

-Be careful in the Bahamas. You will be roaming if off airplane mode and wifi while out in port.

 

-I did pick up the non-streaming Internet package on Day 1 to avoid burning loads of data while uploading pictures and what not before sail away, and while you can stream music, you cannot stream video with that package. So, if streaming is what you want to do, be sure to get the streaming one. Also be on the lookout for deals if you need connection; the last two days, there was a deal that was cheaper.

 

-Someone in another thread here at CC mentioned wanting to be able to communicate with their kids. If that is all you want to do, do not be duped into paying $16.99 a day for WiFi. Instead, get the connection pass, which I believe is $7.95. Ask your room steward or guest service if confused. All parties must have the Royal IQ app for this option, so download on all phones before sailing if you want to use it.

[AbeFroman2]

Excellent review and very informative.

 

We have sailed on both the Quantum and Anthem but forgot about needing tender tickets. Thank you for including that information.

 

We board next week.

QUESTION: do we need a card to keep the lights on? If so I will bring one from a previous sailing.

 

I liked your style of writing. :)

 

There are so many little things you don't think of but that are trip essentials. This is one of them, so thank you!

 

Yes, a card in the key slot inside the room is required for electricity to work. Yes, you will leave the room, get to the elevator, and realize you do not have it. Yes, you will wake up in the morning in a panic thinking you misplaced it just to remember its in the light pod. Yes, it is a bit of a nuisance.

 

But, it is an environmental thing, and understandable.

 

And, thanks for the kind words. I'm happy that there has been so much discussion here, as that was my goal.

[reallyitsmema]

There are so many little things you don't think of but that are trip essentials. This is one of them, so thank you!

 

Yes, a card in the key slot inside the room is required for electricity to work. Yes, you will leave the room, get to the elevator, and realize you do not have it. Yes, you will wake up in the morning in a panic thinking you misplaced it just to remember its in the light pod. Yes, it is a bit of a nuisance.

 

But, it is an environmental thing, and understandable.

 

And, thanks for the kind words. I'm happy that there has been so much discussion here, as that was my goal.

 

You can stick any card in that slot and just leave it there for the week, so take an expired gift card or a loyalty card to put there. Our Panera card stayed in the slot for the week and we actually remembered to take it out when we disembarked on Sunday.;p We forgot last time and DH had to go back up to the cabin and get his Hilton Honors card.:cool:

[AbeFroman2]

You can stick any card in that slot and just leave it there for the week, so take an expired gift card or a loyalty card to put there. Our Panera card stayed in the slot for the week and we actually remembered to take it out when we disembarked on Sunday.;p We forgot last time and DH had to go back up to the cabin and get his Hilton Honors card.:cool:

 

I had no idea, great tip!

[seba1]

Sure great advice and helpful hints. Thank you!!!

 

Stephanie

[maggie416]

Excellent review, really liked the format. We did a 12 night on Anthem last April, 2 days after returning home booked same 12 nighter for this April. 16 cruises for us, Anthem was the absolute best!

Marg

[ljmandelbaum]

We were also on this sailing. My daughter couldn't finish her dinner one night and we asked for a cover to take it back to cabin. Had no issues with them giving it to us.

[Guest maddycat]

You can stick any card in that slot and just leave it there for the week, so take an expired gift card or a loyalty card to put there. Our Panera card stayed in the slot for the week and we actually remembered to take it out when we disembarked on Sunday.;p We forgot last time and DH had to go back up to the cabin and get his Hilton Honors card.:cool:

 

I bring along an expired AAA card to leave in the slot by the door for the entire cruise. That way I don't have to worry about remembering to take my seapass card out of the slot every time that I leave the cabin. We always turn off all of the cabin lights when we leave the cabin so that we do not waste electricity.

[A Pisces]

Does the card in the slot, have to have a magnetic strip on it, or will any card work?

[Clarea]

Does the card in the slot, have to have a magnetic strip on it, or will any card work?

Any card, even like a business card.

[reallyitsmema]

Does the card in the slot, have to have a magnetic strip on it, or will any card work?

 

I do not think it needs to have a magnetic strip on it as I have read on cruise critic that someone claimed they put a business card in the slot. I did not try it, so it is total hearsay.