Anthem UK cruises in the summer?

[sgmn]

4 minutes ago, harrinp1 said:

Just received cancellation for June 11th cruise.

 

..."we’ve made the difficult decision to re-debut Anthem of the Seas in Southampton, exclusively for residents of the United Kingdom, offering Ocean Getaways and British Isles itineraries. As a result, your sailing will unfortunately be cancelled."

Will you go on one of these? 

[harrinp1]

Just now, sgmn said:

Will you go on one of these? 

 

Hopefully, can't find any details yet - if not we may give MSC a try.

[harrinp1]

Looking at https://www.royalcaribbean.com/gbr/en/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates it looks like the following dates are cancelled:

 

• Anthem of the Seas June 4 to August 29, 2021: Instead of offering European sailings, Anthem of the Seas will now offer Ocean Getaways and British Isles itineraries from Southampton exclusively for UK residents.

[royzer76]

1 minute ago, harrinp1 said:

Looking at https://www.royalcaribbean.com/gbr/en/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates it looks like the following dates are cancelled:

 

• Anthem of the Seas June 4 to August 29, 2021: Instead of offering European sailings, Anthem of the Seas will now offer Ocean Getaways and British Isles itineraries from Southampton exclusively for UK residents.

Yep ... just had an email cancelling June 2021 Anthem sailing.

[Guest BigRoger]

Finally!

 

 

LONDON, 31 March 2021 – Royal Caribbean International is setting a spectacular soundtrack this summer with its return to the UK. The cruise line has announced that Anthem of the Seas, a firm favorite in the region, will begin sailing from Southampton, England as soon as this 7^th July. UK families can choose from a combination of 4-night Ocean Getaways in early July and 5- to 8-night British Isles cruises, starting 15^th July, that feature visits to destinations such as Liverpool, England, Kirkwall in Scotland and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Plus, in recognition of the tremendous efforts of the emergency services, National Health Service (NHS), social care sector and armed forces over the last year, Royal Caribbean will offer 999 free staterooms on its first Ocean Getaways to those UK residents in these professions.

The new summer itineraries open for bookings on 7^thApril. Sailing with fully vaccinated crew, the cruises – at this time – will be available to UK residents above the age of 18 who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and those under the age of 18 with negative test results. These current health and safety measures, like others, may evolve as they are evaluated on an ongoing basis. Pre-registration for guests eligible for one of the 999 free staterooms open on 13^th April, and final names will be drawn from a ballot by the end of April.

“The UK is a place we hold near and dear to our heart at Royal Caribbean. We miss our UK guests and are as eager as they are to get back to cruising from Southampton," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "We are delighted with the UK government’s recent announcements regarding cruising and excited to set sail again with a phenomenal ship and favorite such as Anthem of the Seas. After a tough year, we all need a holiday, but no one more so than the emergency services, NHS, social care sector and armed forces who will have the long-awaited opportunity to get away and relax with total peace of mind.”

Welcoming guests of all ages, each and every aspect of Anthem of the Seas has been designed to repeatedly make this ship a top hit and favorite in the UK. From globally renowned entertainment and high-adrenaline activities, to a variety of cuisines from around the world, the award-winning ship makes for the perfect high-tech playground and relaxing getaway that will consistently wow and delight from bow to stern. Top highlights on board include:

• Thrill seekers can get their adrenaline pumping in no time, thanks to the RipCord by iFly skydiving experience, FlowRider, the cruise line’s popular surf simulator; and SeaPlex, the largest indoor activity space at sea, complete with bumper cars, roller skating and more.
• Signature productions fuse art, multimedia and game-changing technology in Two70, while the Tony Award-winning West End production of We Will Rock Youtakes center stage in the Royal Theater. As night falls, guests can dance the night away at Music Hall, the hottest live music venue at sea, and grab their signature drink mixed by a pair of robotic bartenders at the Bionic Bar.
• A haven for teens and tweens, there are teens-only activities and games galore. The youngest of guests can also enjoy an abundance of fun at the award-winning Adventure Ocean, where there are dedicated activities designed for their age group.
• Parents and grandparents can recharge in The Solarium, a tranquil adults-only lounge area, that offers a swimming pool, whirlpools and a crystal canopy overlooking the Not forgetting, further breathtaking panoramic views of the British coastline can be seen from 300 feet above sea level in the iconic North Star all-glass viewing capsule.
• The wide selection of complimentary and specialty dining venues will please palates of all kinds. The culinary lineup includes Wonderland, where diners will be wowed by imaginative cuisine; Chops Grillefor classic American steakhouse perfection; and Izumi, where guests can sample Far East flavors and fresh sushi.

On land there is adventure to be had in Liverpool, Scotland and Belfast. Liverpool is not only the birthplace of The Beatles and home to Premier League football clubs, but also a vibrant, cosmopolitan city that boasts a wealth of maritime history and modern art. Plus in Kirkwall, on north Scotland’s enchanting Orkney Islands, guests have in store some of the most picturesque landscapes in the UK and the opportunity to discover and learn about the Viking heritage of this ancient Norse town. Belfast presents the perfect gateway to exploring Northern Ireland, known for its historic landmarks, ancient Irish castles and stunning natural terrain.

 

[Mike.S]

13 minutes ago, harrinp1 said:

Just received cancellation for June 11th cruise.

 

..."we’ve made the difficult decision to re-debut Anthem of the Seas in Southampton, exclusively for residents of the United Kingdom, offering Ocean Getaways and British Isles itineraries. As a result, your sailing will unfortunately be cancelled."

Took them long enough, sorry for you having your cruise cancelled but at least they've finally made a decision.

[Pandamonia]

Lol.

 

Liverpool.... ugh

Belfast - Post Cold War Concrete jungle

Scotland - Cold, Wet, and where exactly?

 

Welcome to HMS Wind Rain and Sea. 

 

I think i prefer sailing to the Sunny weather and dropping anchor. 

 

I liken this cruise to those times you are day 1 or 2 sailing to the Med and 90% of the ship is sitting in Cafe Promenade fighting over seats as on deck its like something out of Deadliest Catch on the bering sea. 

Edited March 31, 2021 by Pandamonia

[Guest BigRoger]

4 minutes ago, Pandamonia said:

Lol.

 

Liverpool.... ugh

Belfast - Post Cold War Concrete jungle

Scotland - Cold, Wet, and where exactly?

 

Welcome to HMS Wind Rain and Sea. 

Love it.... just wonderfully consistent....

 

A Ray of sunshine over a morning coffee... can’t beat it!  Thank you you made me smile!

[swoopy2110]

Wonder what the L&S Options are for sailings where there is no comparable length sailing in 2022

[Daithi2021]

Harmony next 🙂

 

 

[Guest BigRoger]

2 minutes ago, Daithi2021 said:

Harmony next 🙂

 

 

Have a horrible feeling we won’t hear anything about Harmony for quite a while.... it’s just arrived or arriving at Cadiz then has its dry dock.... I personally fear they will ‘sit it out’ with Harmony for a good while to see if Europe situation improves to open up from Barcelona and Civitavecchia.... if they can great... but then we need to find out whether it will just be for EU citizens...... hope not...

[FionaMG]

12 minutes ago, Daithi2021 said:

Harmony next 🙂

 

 

 

I'm waiting for that one too. Booked at the end of September and, like you, may not be able to get vaccinated in time. 😞

[Daithi2021]

4 minutes ago, BigRoger said:

Have a horrible feeling we won’t hear anything about Harmony for quite a while.... it’s just arrived or arriving at Cadiz then has its dry dock.... I personally fear they will ‘sit it out’ with Harmony for a good while to see if Europe situation improves to open up from Barcelona and Civitavecchia.... if they can great... but then we need to find out whether it will just be for EU citizens...... hope not...

 

We had a chat last night and have decided that if RC cancel only after final payment then they will never get another penny from us.  We will be finished with them for the rest of our days.

We need to be able to plan our summer and RC are making that very difficult.  If they make it worse by holding on to more of our money then that is cynical on their part.

They need to let people know what is going on and they need to release peoples money so they can have a summer.

[little britain]

So I had an email promoting the July cruises from Southampton but no cancellation email about my June 4 cruise!!   I love it how you learn about your cruise has been cancelled via social media!!! 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

1 minute ago, Daithi2021 said:

 

We had a chat last night and have decided that if RC cancel only after final payment then they will never get another penny from us.  We will be finished with them for the rest of our days.

We need to be able to plan our summer and RC are making that very difficult.  If they make it worse by holding on to more of our money then that is cynical on their part.

They need to let people know what is going on and they need to release peoples money so they can have a summer.

Yeah thinking along those lines as well. Thankfully our final paymemt is due the begining og july for end of aug trip so i hope by then we have some news. For us UK guests we also have to think about our flights and hotels etc. As for vaccine latest i can have it to make the cruise is end of may!!!!!!

[EmilyJay]

36 minutes ago, Pandamonia said:

Lol.

 

Liverpool.... ugh

Belfast - Post Cold War Concrete jungle

Scotland - Cold, Wet, and where exactly?

 

Welcome to HMS Wind Rain and Sea. 

 

I think i prefer sailing to the Sunny weather and dropping anchor. 

 

I liken this cruise to those times you are day 1 or 2 sailing to the Med and 90% of the ship is sitting in Cafe Promenade fighting over seats as on deck its like something out of Deadliest Catch on the bering sea. 

 

If I'm fully vaccinated I'd take this cruise in a heartbeat. Don't get me wrong I'd choose sunny weather and calm seas anyday usually, but I've worked full time, plus overtime for 12 months now without a break, except for Christmas and bank holidays so this cruise would be a life saver for me. 

 

The ship is the destination in circumstances like this. Equally for me personally I've never been to Liverpool, Belfast or Scotland so I'd be happy. But I do understand where you're coming from, it's not a Caribbean cruise or Med cruise or even just docking at sea in a sunny location. Quite frankly after the year we've all had I happily get on the ship at Southampton and stay docked there, just to get away from day to day life. 

 

 

 

 

[sgmn]

I think it will be quite unique to follow the coast from the sea perspective. It will be interesting to see how well it sells. Anthem is a good cool weather ship. Lots of things to do on board. Good food and great shows.  

 

[cublet]

50 minutes ago, little britain said:

So I had an email promoting the July cruises from Southampton but no cancellation email about my June 4 cruise!!   I love it how you learn about your cruise has been cancelled via social media!!! 

Hello,

 

I too have only received the July promo email and not the cancellation.

 

I see that June itineraries ex Soton are no longer listed for sale (or even for sail!).

 

My TA has advised that the L&S terms are: Same departure port; similar itinerary; length +/- 2 days; departure date next year +/- 2 weeks.

 

Re July - August 2021 , I would like some option to go ashore in Scotland so will wait for further news.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[di T]

1 hour ago, little britain said:

So I had an email promoting the July cruises from Southampton but no cancellation email about my June 4 cruise!!   I love it how you learn about your cruise has been cancelled via social media!!! 

Same here little Britain, We should of been going to Norway 8 nts in July! Husband not keen on us travelling all the way to Southampton to travel to places we can visit easily.

Might look at the lift and shift for next year. Think you were on one of our last cruises out of Dubai last year! 

[Biker19]

13 minutes ago, cublet said:

I would like some option to go ashore in Scotland so will wait for further news.

I assume that if you can travel and visit via land from home to Scotland, you will as well via the sea.

[harz99]

15 hours ago, little britain said:

Not necessarily. For Odyssey we could do any cruise any time any where....the only stipulation was the duration must be +/- one day.  Naturally went for a longer cruse LOL! 

Well sort of as i said before, except that the cancellation notice i just received says "product" instead of "itinerary" just to confuse matters and make yet more work for TAs.

 

Very poor and lazy from Royal, given that there is only one ship available yearly from Southampton it wouldn't be too much effort to actually list the lift n shift options for each cancelled cruise. Still at least a decision has been made.

[heatherb1958]

2 hours ago, Pandamonia said:

Lol.

 

Liverpool.... ugh

Belfast - Post Cold War Concrete jungle

Scotland - Cold, Wet, and where exactly?

 

Welcome to HMS Wind Rain and Sea. 

 

I think i prefer sailing to the Sunny weather and dropping anchor. 

 

I liken this cruise to those times you are day 1 or 2 sailing to the Med and 90% of the ship is sitting in Cafe Promenade fighting over seats as on deck its like something out of Deadliest Catch on the bering sea. 

😆 Well aren’t you just a barrel of laughs on a Wednesday morning 😆.

 

We love Liverpool, have visited in February and October and had lovely sunny days .

Never been to Belfast , been told the Black Cab tour is excellent .

Scotland , all other cruiselines doing the seacations/ British isles are visiting Greenock for Glasgow . We have only ever driven through Glasgow on the M8 in the motorhome in our rush to get to the Highlands and Islands 😆.

 

Personally we are holding out for the MSC Virtuosa . Their multiple embarkation ports of Liverpool and Greenock with Southampton are more appealing  , will help with the social distancing as you will not have a whole ship trying to embark at once . No matter how many times RCI allocate an embarkation time no one sticks to it and you end up with crowds at the terminal. The older we get we don’t do crowds and especially during a pandemic 😷 😱. 

[heatherb1958]

1 minute ago, heatherb1958 said:

😆 Well aren’t you just a barrel of laughs on a Wednesday morning 😆.

 

We love Liverpool, have visited in February and October and had lovely sunny days .

Never been to Belfast , been told the Black Cab tour is excellent .

Scotland , all other cruiselines doing the seacations/ British isles are visiting Greenock for Glasgow . We have only ever driven through Glasgow on the M8 in the motorhome in our rush to get to the Highlands and Islands 😆.

 

Personally we are holding out for the MSC Virtuosa . Their multiple embarkation ports of Liverpool and Greenock with Southampton are more appealing  , will help with the social distancing as you will not have a whole ship trying to embark at once . No matter how many times RCI allocate an embarkation time no one sticks to it and you end up with crowds at the terminal. The older we get we don’t do crowds and especially during a pandemic 😷 😱. 
 

Liverpool on a lovely sunny day Feb 19

 

Liverpool Feb 2019

Edited March 31, 2021 by heatherb1958

[bigeck]

2 hours ago, Pandamonia said:

Lol.

 

Liverpool.... ugh

Belfast - Post Cold War Concrete jungle

Scotland - Cold, Wet, and where exactly?

 

Welcome to HMS Wind Rain and Sea. 

 

I think i prefer sailing to the Sunny weather and dropping anchor. 

 

I liken this cruise to those times you are day 1 or 2 sailing to the Med and 90% of the ship is sitting in Cafe Promenade fighting over seats as on deck its like something out of Deadliest Catch on the bering sea. 

Sunny and 18 degrees in Fife Scotland today

[Pandamonia]

2 hours ago, EmilyJay said:

 

If I'm fully vaccinated I'd take this cruise in a heartbeat. Don't get me wrong I'd choose sunny weather and calm seas anyday usually, but I've worked full time, plus overtime for 12 months now without a break, except for Christmas and bank holidays so this cruise would be a life saver for me. 

 

The ship is the destination in circumstances like this. Equally for me personally I've never been to Liverpool, Belfast or Scotland so I'd be happy. But I do understand where you're coming from, it's not a Caribbean cruise or Med cruise or even just docking at sea in a sunny location. Quite frankly after the year we've all had I happily get on the ship at Southampton and stay docked there, just to get away from day to day life. 

 

 

 

 

Its a pretty depressing place to be from where we were about 12 months ago before all this started.

 

Its like maximum security prisoners looking forward to their 30 minute walk around the yard in the sunlight.