Just off the Anthem 11/4-/11/11- Long Lines-Pretty Good Cruise

[gaylemh]

Was also on the Nov. 4 cruise. Waited in line for two hours on the first day to book iFly. Then, they closed off the line before getting to us and told us they would call us with reservation. Never did. So, we waited in line for another 45 minutes at Guest Service regarding this issue. This set the tone for the cruise. Long lines for everything! But, we still managed to have a great time. If I were to go on this ship again, I would not choose MTD.

 

What time did you go to dinner? I've been on the ship for 96 MTD dinners, and I never had to wait more than 5 minutes. I always went sometime between 6:30 and 7:30. I hope nothing has changed, as I will be going on my 13 sailing in a couple of weeks.

[dvond]

i was on the same cruise.

 

Rock of Ages, don't waste your time on the other shows like The Gift and Spectra.

 

Quote]

Rock of Ages? We Will Rock You was on previously, surprised they would change to a show currently being performed on NCL Breakaway.

 

 

Im betting they meant we wll rock you which had great music and performed well

[dvond]

OP: Thanks for taking the time to post your comments. We'll be on Anthem in February, and I'm sure hoping your reports of long lines and waits, even when you had dinner reservations, was caused by Jersey Week/lots of kids.

 

 

But dont they normally cruise pretty full? I would guess the umber of bodies would not change and honestly on those lines, there were not that many kids and families

[dvond]

The band in the Music Hall was One 4 One not All 4 One. They are a Royal Caribbean house band.

 

 

Thanks for correction, were not really memorable so why I mis-typed

[dvond]

Did you return the car after hours, and if so, how did you get back to the boat?

I was scammed by a 50 something year old guy in a white SUV waiting in the parking lot who claimed to the running as the Hertz shuttle. Upon arrival at the port, he charged me for the trip. He did not mention any charge until we arrived and I'm fairly certain he had no affiliation with Hertz.

 

We got an uber was $8 and yes a guy in a shuttle approached me and I declined. We got to the car rental around 8:30pm

[gaylemh]

Thanks for correction, were not really memorable so why I mis-typed

 

Yes I agree One 4 One was not a good band. I'm usually in the Music Hall every night. My last two cruises I was only there when the tribute bands were playing. The band that was on before was Rock the Boat and they were excellent. I'm hoping the Royal Swedes, coming on in November, will be much better than what's on there now.

[dvond]

What time did you go to dinner? I've been on the ship for 96 MTD dinners, and I never had to wait more than 5 minutes. I always went sometime between 6:30 and 7:30. I hope nothing has changed, as I will be going on my 13 sailing in a couple of weeks.

 

We went at 6, 6:30, 7, 7:30 and 8 Had different reservations at different times each night

[steveknj]

I was on the same cruise. What do you people consider a "long line"? I find it interesting that a lot of the complaints about long lines could have been rectified by spending a little time here pre-cruise and researching how things are done on the ship, or, paying attention to announcements. We did MTD, and ate between 5 and 6 each night, never waited more than 10 minutes. We booked all activities that we could prior to the cruise on the RCCL website, so we never waited on a line for iFly or Northstar, and we avoided other activities that seemed to have long lines, such as Bumper Cars, which I could take or leave anyway. As for tender, we heard an announcement that they were offering tender tickets the night before at 270. Wife went and got one (tender 13) for us. We "waited" at Bolaros until they called our number (but honestly could have done some activity instead of just waiting and still made the tender). Once number was called we were on the tender within 10-15 minutes. I don't consider that a bad wait. The ONLY bad line we encountered was buying tshirts on 2 for $20 day., and while we did buy tshirts we could have skipped it.

 

To me this was really no different than other cruises I've taken either Jersey Week (on NCL) or during the summer (on NCL or Carnival). Maybe if you are used to traveling off peak time, there are fewer lines, but traveling during a peak week out of NYC Metro, you should expect this. And again, a little planning and booking pre-cruise goes a long way to avoiding lines.

[gaylemh]

We went at 6, 6:30, 7, 7:30 and 8 Had different reservations at different times each night

 

How long was your wait at American Icon? (MTD room for those with reservations)

[njmomof2]

Haven't cruised Jersey Week since oldest went into HS so it's been a while, but we do cruise during spring break and will cruise again this Christmas on Anthem (we sailed her same time in 2015).

 

I'm got all of our dining set up, and we'll make a specialty reservation on board since we have a promo for a couple of nights. Saw the shows last time, and the only one I think I'd see again is We Will Rock You.

 

If someone can comment on whether the Royal Swedes (or another tribute band) will be on over the Christmas holiday, that would be great. Wish Wanted or one of the Journey tribute bands were going to be on during our trip.

 

Even with the cooler weather, we never had trouble finding seating near the indoor pool during the day, while the boys used the Flowrider as much as possible. Of course, during our trip, it went down during the run back to NJ, so that put a damper on the end of their trip, so hoping this year it's in good working order.

 

They did iFly last time (not sure either one cares if they do it again), missed North Star, so might try that, but not too worried about it.

 

Since we're local NJ, hopefully we'll be able to get on and off without too much issue. I have a check in time for embarkation; getting off, we just have to make sure we get back home by around 11, since our dog needs to be picked up by noon on Saturday.

[MarieF4861]

What time did you go to dinner? I've been on the ship for 96 MTD dinners, and I never had to wait more than 5 minutes. I always went sometime between 6:30 and 7:30. I hope nothing has changed, as I will be going on my 13 sailing in a couple of weeks.

 

6:30 for all except the Port Canaveral day, which was at 8. On the lobster night, I heard them calling people off the line and asking them if they would be willing to go to the Grand, which was really absurd - assuming that those tables would be full with people who had regular dining!

[MarieF4861]

I was on the same cruise. What do you people consider a "long line"? I find it interesting that a lot of the complaints about long lines could have been rectified by spending a little time here pre-cruise and researching how things are done on the ship, or, paying attention to announcements. We did MTD, and ate between 5 and 6 each night, never waited more than 10 minutes. We booked all activities that we could prior to the cruise on the RCCL website, so we never waited on a line for iFly or Northstar, and we avoided other activities that seemed to have long lines, such as Bumper Cars, which I could take or leave anyway. As for tender, we heard an announcement that they were offering tender tickets the night before at 270. Wife went and got one (tender 13) for us. We "waited" at Bolaros until they called our number (but honestly could have done some activity instead of just waiting and still made the tender). Once number was called we were on the tender within 10-15 minutes. I don't consider that a bad wait. The ONLY bad line we encountered was buying tshirts on 2 for $20 day., and while we did buy tshirts we could have skipped it.

 

To me this was really no different than other cruises I've taken either Jersey Week (on NCL) or during the summer (on NCL or Carnival). Maybe if you are used to traveling off peak time, there are fewer lines, but traveling during a peak week out of NYC Metro, you should expect this. And again, a little planning and booking pre-cruise goes a long way to avoiding lines.

 

FYI - I am the consummate pre-planner. I signed up for IFly the day the reservations became available, but somehow they mysteriously disappeared from the calendar! And, I attempted to do it through the app when on board, but it was not working. I am glad you were fortunate enough to escape the lines, but for some of us, they were very real and had nothing to do with lack of research or planning.

 

With regard to the dining rooms, a crew member who works in Silk told us the MT dining rooms were exceptionally busy during this sailing.

[dvond]

How long was your wait at American Icon? (MTD room for those with reservations)

 

 

Between 20 and 35 mins every night

[dvond]

FYI - I am the consummate pre-planner. I signed up for IFly the day the reservations became available, but somehow they mysteriously disappeared from the calendar! And, I attempted to do it through the app when on board, but it was not working. I am glad you were fortunate enough to escape the lines, but for some of us, they were very real and had nothing to do with lack of research or planning.

 

With regard to the dining rooms, a crew member who works in Silk told us the MT dining rooms were exceptionally busy during this sailing.

 

Us as well, we pre plan everything. There was no option to reserve IFLy and like you the app did not work when on board. So you ask about lines

 

Lunch-40 minutes on 1st day

To reserve Ifly-45 mins and we were 1st

Wife got tender ticket easy night beforeand we had a good number but the organization was awful and slow, did not get on island until 11 after getting there at 9

Esplande was packed every night

Buying liquor in the shop took 45 mins on line

We got reservations for every night for dinner, showed up ontime and waited on a line then after giving our names waited additional time every night for dinner no matter the time

[steveknj]

FYI - I am the consummate pre-planner. I signed up for IFly the day the reservations became available, but somehow they mysteriously disappeared from the calendar! And, I attempted to do it through the app when on board, but it was not working. I am glad you were fortunate enough to escape the lines, but for some of us, they were very real and had nothing to do with lack of research or planning.

 

With regard to the dining rooms, a crew member who works in Silk told us the MT dining rooms were exceptionally busy during this sailing.

 

This was our first on RCCL. So maybe my expectations were different? I don't know. I've never been on a cruise where there's NO lines. Since I've generally cruised during busy seasons, I just accept them as part of the deal. Maybe RCCL used to be better handling the lines? I can't help that they lost your reservation, and that'd definitely on them. We did check a couple of days before the cruise to make sure they were there. So for us at least the pre-planning paid off. I'm sorry you had to deal with the lines. I did see that the first couple of days the lines at Guest Services were long (but I've seen them just as long on Carnival and a bit less so on NCL). Luckily we only needed to use that once (when we lost our Walkie-Talkie which they found). I don't doubt that the lines were longer than normal. At least in my experience, they weren't excessive. Maybe it was due to us generally being early eaters. Maybe 6:30 onward the lines were insane.

[gaylemh]

Haven't cruised Jersey Week since oldest went into HS so it's been a while, but we do cruise during spring break and will cruise again this Christmas on Anthem (we sailed her same time in 2015).

 

I'm got all of our dining set up, and we'll make a specialty reservation on board since we have a promo for a couple of nights. Saw the shows last time, and the only one I think I'd see again is We Will Rock You.

 

If someone can comment on whether the Royal Swedes (or another tribute band) will be on over the Christmas holiday, that would be great. Wish Wanted or one of the Journey tribute bands were going to be on during our trip.

 

Even with the cooler weather, we never had trouble finding seating near the indoor pool during the day, while the boys used the Flowrider as much as possible. Of course, during our trip, it went down during the run back to NJ, so that put a damper on the end of their trip, so hoping this year it's in good working order.

 

They did iFly last time (not sure either one cares if they do it again), missed North Star, so might try that, but not too worried about it.

 

Since we're local NJ, hopefully we'll be able to get on and off without too much issue. I have a check in time for embarkation; getting off, we just have to make sure we get back home by around 11, since our dog needs to be picked up by noon on Saturday.

 

From what I read a Beatles Tribute Band called Britians Finest will be on for the 12/22/17 cruise and LAVation, a U2 tribute band will be on the cruise after that. The Royal Swedes is the house band from November 25th through February 25th.

[SailingSal]

We were on Anthem the week of October 28 - the lines and crowds were still fairly unbearable. 5 year old granddaughter, daughter, husband and I found our best spot before dinner in the Schooner lounge listening to music. Our 5 year old had fun at ocean adventure the few times she went - BUT the facilities was too small for the number of children it serviced and the size of the this ship. We enjoyed our cruise - but would NOT take Anthem as a retired couple. It is just too big for our taste - we do not need all of the "bells and whistles". Hated the 2 times we went to the Windjammer - My time dining was great. We went between 7:15 and 8:00 and had no problem. Chops was wonderful and Wonderland was an awesome experience. Since we did these the 1st 2 nights for our BOGO at $30/person - I would highly recommend this deal.

Diamond Lounge was so crowded we couldn't get in and the Concierge Lounge was too inconvenient at the back of the ship on deck 12 - but a great view!

Every ship has something for everyone - we found what suited us on Anthem; enjoyed ourselves; and now that we've been there, done that, we won't do it again:rolleyes:

[reallyitsmema]

Did you return the car after hours, and if so, how did you get back to the boat?

I was scammed by a 50 something year old guy in a white SUV waiting in the parking lot who claimed to the running as the Hertz shuttle. Upon arrival at the port, he charged me for the trip. He did not mention any charge until we arrived and I'm fairly certain he had no affiliation with Hertz.

 

We rented from hertz this week and the regular hertz shuttle guy told us there is a company that works the lot after hours until the ships are gone. His business card is on the return box. We never would have expected that to be free after hours. We called a cab.

[choppe]

I would like to get on the ship as early as possible for our Easter cruise. I am a little confused. Are there assigned times to check in or can we get in line early and get on early? We have been sailing lately with Celebrity so this is our first RCCL cruise in a while We are gold members. Will be traveling with teenagers and seem to have missed the sign up for iFly and Northstar.

 

Any suggestions on the earliest time we can get in line at the port and get on? Thanks. Christine.

[Jerseygirl1416]

I would like to get on the ship as early as possible for our Easter cruise. I am a little confused. Are there assigned times to check in or can we get in line early and get on early? We have been sailing lately with Celebrity so this is our first RCCL cruise in a while We are gold members. Will be traveling with teenagers and seem to have missed the sign up for iFly and Northstar.

 

Any suggestions on the earliest time we can get in line at the port and get on? Thanks. Christine.

 

They do have assigned check in times but no one in the terminal looked at that.

 

We arrived by car at 10:30 after heeding the advise here on CC. It was the best advise.

 

We drove into the terminal and waited behind a few cars to drop off luggage with the porters then proceeded to the parking garage. We entered the terminal and all the check in people before security had groups of people with them so we went through security and then got on the regular checkin line. We waited about five minutes in that line and after we were checked in we were directed to board the ship. We walked right on. I think we were on board by 10:55. I did notice people that got there earlier were seated in the waiting area and were boarding by groups. 10:30 arrival was perfect! Thanks CC

[choppe]

They do have assigned check in times but no one in the terminal looked at that.

 

We arrived by car at 10:30 after heeding the advise here on CC. It was the best advise.

 

We drove into the terminal and waited behind a few cars to drop off luggage with the porters then proceeded to the parking garage. We entered the terminal and all the check in people before security had groups of people with them so we went through security and then got on the regular checkin line. We waited about five minutes in that line and after we were checked in we were directed to board the ship. We walked right on. I think we were on board by 10:55. I did notice people that got there earlier were seated in the waiting area and were boarding by groups. 10:30 arrival was perfect! Thanks CC

 

Thanks Jersey Girl. I love CC!

[dvond]

I would like to get on the ship as early as possible for our Easter cruise. I am a little confused. Are there assigned times to check in or can we get in line early and get on early? We have been sailing lately with Celebrity so this is our first RCCL cruise in a while We are gold members. Will be traveling with teenagers and seem to have missed the sign up for iFly and Northstar.

 

Any suggestions on the earliest time we can get in line at the port and get on? Thanks. Christine.

 

 

We had a 1pm checkin but got there an hour earlier and had no issue getting on

[steveknj]

We had a 10:30 checkin, but due to Coast Guard activities we were told not to arrive before 11. Sat in line in our car until they let us pull to dropoff and then to parking lot. Once we parked, walked up to attendant with iPad who checked us in, then to gate to board. Waited about 2-3 minutes there, and boarded the ship. Most smooth check in we've ever had.

[eric135i]

I would like to get on the ship as early as possible for our Easter cruise. I am a little confused. Are there assigned times to check in or can we get in line early and get on early? We have been sailing lately with Celebrity so this is our first RCCL cruise in a while We are gold members. Will be traveling with teenagers and seem to have missed the sign up for iFly and Northstar.

 

Any suggestions on the earliest time we can get in line at the port and get on? Thanks. Christine.

 

if you get to the terminal before 10:45, there will be very few cars lined up in the drop off area. Any time around 11-12pm, there will be long lines of cars, as there is only one lane (1 miles long) that feeds into the drop off area. i work at the terminal every day.

[Robo1098]

Between 20 and 35 mins every night

 

How many people were in your party?