Live: Anthem of the Seas, 3/31 to 4/7

[OliviaJ10]

we're scheduled for the 4/14 sailing, and a SpaceX launch is scheduled for the day we'll be in Port Canaveral. I was psyched to get to KSC, but i've heard from several a launch makes the place a zoo. Actually didn't think it would...it's not infrequent manned stuff any longer.

 

 

 

REALLY glad to hear you can see it clearly from the ship. i think that will be my plan.

 

 

 

So what did you do instead of going to KSC?

 

 

 

We had a private excursion for KSC and turned back to the ship. Watched the launch from the ship. Friends of ours had booked through the ship so they had to go. Took them almost 3 hours to get there. KSC ran out of food, they had to eat only popcorn for lunch. They only had about 2 hours to walk around.

 

 

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[Mom.to.2]

Dumb question, but how did you know there would be a launch? Would the ship let us know ahead of time?

 

 

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[Clarea]

Dumb question, but how did you know there would be a launch? Would the ship let us know ahead of time?

There are various websites with launch info, here's one: https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/launches-and-events/events-calendar?pageindex=1&categories=Rocket%20Launches

 

They may announce it on the ship. I remember a shuttle launch on Monarch that was announced.

[alevyinroc]

We had a private excursion for KSC and turned back to the ship. Watched the launch from the ship. Friends of ours had booked through the ship so they had to go. Took them almost 3 hours to get there. KSC ran out of food, they had to eat only popcorn for lunch. They only had about 2 hours to walk around.

 

I hadn't heard about KSC running out of food. But I also didn't go looking for much food. I brought water & snacks of my own in anticipation of long lines, high prices, and poor availability. We picked up popcorn & hot pretzels for our group in the IMAX building right after the launch as we were standing near there and the line wasn't bad (the movies were playing).

 

Yes, it took close to 3 hours to get into the facility (we got off the bus at about 3:15 PM)

Yes, it was unfortunate that some people planned poorly for the long delays on the bus and got frustrated over things that were out of the driver's control

Yes, I'm a little disappointed that my son & I "only" got to see the launch, Rocket Garden, static displays in the IMAX building and the Atlantis exhibit.

 

No, I don't regret it at all. For a family that can't get to KSC without an expensive flight or a multi-day (each way) road trip, being on-site for a launch *and* getting to see Atlantis up close (the whole exhibit/experience is breathtaking) may be a once-in-a-lifetime (or at least once-in-a-childhood) opportunity.

[smosh]

sounds like a great day! really refreshing to hear about no regrets. You got to see plenty.

 

i went to KSC by myself (i was in Ft. Lauderdale for business and stayed an extra day) about 20 years ago and saw as much as i could. Launches were infrequent then, so did not see one. The exhibits and the visit to a launchpad were amazing in their own rights. Atlantis obviously wasn't on display yet, but I'd been looking forward to dragging my family there.

 

Atlantis isn't going anywhere, so i will in the future!

 

Maybe we'll love Anthem and this itinerary so much, we'll want to do it again in a couple of years.

[plo888]

Best. Excursion. Ever.

 

We went to Blue Lagoon for the Royal Dolphin Swim. [emoji227]

 

The dolphins and trainers (Dave and Keva) were amazing. We all had a great time and were able to do a lot of tricks with the dolphins.

 

Blue Lagoon is a little further than I would have preferred, but the island and beach were beautiful.

 

 

On same cruise and wished I booked dolphin excursion as the aquaventure excursion was smaller than I thought. Finished every slide & tube ride in a few hours and that's with crowds from 3 cruise ships docked on same day. Went back 2 hours earlier, could've squeezed in dolphin. For what it's worth, read a lot of ppl on the forum saying Disney excursion is a waste, if planned correctly with fast pass, you'll have a great time checking all the boxes. Was able to ride splash mountain, space mountain and big thunder mountain inside of 90 minutes. Space mountain first ride and line was 150 minutes for regular line. :cool:.

[lovescats5]

You said you were in Star Class. Who is your Genie?

[CruiseZog]

It was Yen Lee. She was very nice!

[riclop]

Thanks for sharing.

[baljaffray]

We had an easy Uber ride to the ship and are now onboard.

 

The vacation had started! [emoji924]️[emoji847]

[ATTACH][/quote

 

 

What was the cost of the Uber please?

[JaniceB]

Exciting to see a launch, thanks for the picture.

[Brianweb]

Exciting to see a launch, thanks for the picture.

Here is a video (above picture was from my awesome wife!)

 

 

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[JaniceB]

Thanks!

[CruiseZog]

We had an easy Uber ride to the ship and are now onboard.

 

The vacation had started! [emoji924]️[emoji847]

[ATTACH][/quote

 

 

What was the cost of the Uber please?

 

The Uber from the hotel to the pier was $19.55.

[CruiseZog]

Well, we’ve been back for a few days and I wanted to post aquick summary of the week.

 

Anthem: beautiful ship with many great amenities. I wish itwould have had more elevators, but we got around pretty easily. The shows wereentertaining, if a bit weird.

 

Room 10324: the best part of the trip for me! I lovedthe aft view and space of this room. The balcony was fantastic. Only complaint is that we did get a fair amount of ash from the stacks. While the room attendant washed the balcony daily, it was still a mess.

 

Star Class / Genie: what’s not to like here! We werewell taken care of. I thought having a Genie was especially valuable onAnthem (even more so during Spring Break) given the number of activities thatneed an appointment and the difficulty in getting them. Our Genie, Yen,was helpful and very nice and made sure we did all of the activities we wanted to do. Side note, we met a really nice couple from one of our Genie's other cabins. We shared some activities and shows and really enjoyed meeting them!

 

Food: this was the first cruise where we didn’t eat in theMDR. The food was good, although a little bit inconsistent. Thefirst meal at Chops was not good, but the second one was excellent. Jamie’s was great both times and Coastal Kitchens is always a favorite!

 

Ports

Port Canaveral: we didn’t get off the ship given the crowds,which ended up being a great decision. Even more, the ship was a greatlocation to watch the rocket launch.

 

Coco Cay: beautiful beach day. We’re very excited tosee the island after the construction is complete.

 

Nassau: dolphins at Blue Lagoon was one of the highlights ofthe trip! Highly recommended!

 

I hope you enjoyed my live review… we enjoyed the trip!