Anthem of the Seas Postcard #8 - Southampton & Disembarking

Finally, on our last evening onboard we were treated to a beautiful seascape sunset. All cruise we have either been busy or wrong side of the ship or just not noticed one.

Our last evening, started with final evening meal in the MDR, followed by a trip to the Theatre Royal to see the stars of We Will Rock You perform a concert as themselves.

When we eventually got back to the cabin, we found the TV on and what looked like a towel anteater sat on the bed with the remote watching it. We have never seen this set up before and it did make us laugh.

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So, to this morning and our return to Southampton. We arrived long before we were awake and I confess to not hearing a thing.

A quick breakfast in the MDR then back to the cabin to wait for our prompt to disembark. When we finally received it the whole process was over in less than 15 minutes and it seemed as if we had been instantly transported to the car. We stood looking up at the ship and reflected on the amazing week we had just enjoyed.

This has been a great experience, and we will probably never get the chance to experience a ship the size of this sailing at around 20% capacity. Hopefully you have enjoyed reading my nonsense ramblings and that I have given you an idea of how this ship and cruise line are dealing with the world post pandemic.

Another 5 weeks and we are off again on a 4 nighter on Regal Princess with a group of friends. I can't wait!

Anthem of the Seas Postcard #7 - Sea Day 3

We went to another amazing show in the Theatre Royal last night, this time it was called Frankie and The Dreamers which is a Frankie Valli show performed by Ryan Molloy, star of the original West End Jersey Boys production. Backed by his three Dreamers , they put on an exceptional performance and had many on their feet at the end of the show. It was his first live performance since lockdown stopped the world in its tracks and his happiness at being back on stage was very evident.

When the fog came down yesterday afternoon, it never lifted and at various times throughout the night the ship's fog horn sounded out every 2 minutes or so. We woke up to thick fog again this morning and because we were moving quite slow in a flat sea it was really quite eerie. Fortunately it all cleared just after 9:00 along with the foghorn. Nicole had her last yoga session while I went down to two70 to watch Captains Corner which was a Q&A with the Captain, Hotel Director and Cruise Director. It was really interesting with lots of very good questions being asked by some of the attendees.

For me it was also a great opportunity for a nice coffee before meeting up with Nicole for breakfast in the Windjammer. During breakfast we encountered another fog bank, which we soon sailed through but with plenty of sunshine following on behind. On arrival back at the cabin we found we had received our disembarkation times and luggage tags, ours being 16 which is an 8:30 slot and also the last to go. Cases will need to be out by 11:00pm and will be available for collection in the terminal when we get off in the morning. As part of the process, you are encouraged to watch channel 7 for additional information and also again on disembarkation day for notifications when to leave the cabin.

Once you have taken breakfast, you are to return to the cabin to await your turn to leave the ship. Back to today, after breakfast we returned to the cabin and the case's were packed in preparation for putting out in the evening. One last lunch in the Windjammer, followed by a few laps of deck 15, eventually deciding to grab a couple of beds at the aft to see the afternoon out.

We have had some glorious weather for our last afternoon onboard Anthem of the Seas. Before we made our way back to the cabin, we decided to go to two70 and have a coffee and were very lucky to find a couple of seats looking out over the wake. Absolutely stunning views!!

The last day is always a bit of a weird one, while it's great to still be onboard, getting off is only just around the corner.

Anthem of the Seas Postcard #6 - Sea Day 2

Today was the first of two sea days before we get back to Southampton, and both will be very leisurely. Nothing planned other than a few shows that we haven't seen yet.

Nicole went to her early morning yoga session and I went for a walk only stopping by the Diamond Lounge for a coffee. When she had finished we met up for breakfast in the Windjammer. It has been partially cloudy skies all day and when the sun was shining it was lovely but when it clouded over it got quite chilly.

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Lunch took us back to the Windjammer where we again found a nice selection of dishes, it does make selection very difficult at times and I often end up with a selection of things you would never have on one plate at home.

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After lunch we managed to get a couple of beds in a nice sheltered spot and stayed there for a couple of hours. With it feeling much cooler, we moved to the indoor pool area for an hour and were then amazed by a thick blanket of fog that descended. Quite strange to go from bright sunshine to thick low lying fog.

Another formal night tonight with a show at 7:30 so with little else to report I will sign off for today.

Anthem of the Seas Postcard #5 - Belfast, Northern Ireland

We had a full evening of entertainment so took our evening meal at 5:30 in the American Icon Grille. To date this has been the only restaurant we have used and we cannot fault the service or the food. At 7:30 we watched the production show, We Will Rock You and were totally wowed by the not only the show but the ship's performance of this West End show. Absolutely brilliant!! From there and with a 30 minute window, we made our way back to Two70 at the other end of the ship to watch an hour long performance called The Beatles Celebration, which again provided some great entertainment. This morning, things were a little less hectic with a later arrival time at Belfast. We were able to have a lie in and recharge our batteries in preparation for our day ashore.

We arrived at 11:00 and the gangplank was very quickly installed with passengers getting off within 15 minutes. We were off by 11:30 and very soon on the ship's shuttle to the city centre where we purchased HoHo bus tickets for the 90 minute circuit.

It seemed the whole bus had the same intention as us and used it as a tour to see some of the places that 30 years ago you would not have conceived a HoHo bus would take you. Places such as the Falls Road, Shankhill Road and the Crumlin Road. Great that it's now safe enough but there is plenty of evidence that loyalties still run very deep with lots of signs, painting and flags adorning the streets in certain areas.

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Once we made it back to City Hall, we set off on foot for the Titanic Quarter where we had pre booked tickets for the Titanic Experience. We passed several items of interest along the route including Belfast's version of the leaning tower of Pisa, the Albert Memorial Clock, along with the Big Fish, which is a 32ft long ceramic salmon commissioned in 1999 to celebrate the regeneration of the River Lagan. Also the Beacon of Hope Sculpture, informally known as Nuala with the Hula.

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With the Titanic Experience, we had decided that a timeslot later in the day would avoid the ship tours and although still very busy, there was little evidence of our fellow passengers.

It's an interesting and informative venue with every conceivable aspect of the Titanic taken into consideration, starting with how ship building came to be in Belfast right through to the present day and the finding and exploration of the wreck itself. I found it totally fascinating and money well spent.

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From there we walked back to City Hall to get the return shuttle back to the ship. Another great day ashore and another thoroughly enjoyable place to visit. Time to relax now in preparation for dinner tonight which is at a later time of 8:30.

Anthem of the Seas Postcard #4 - Greenock, Scotland

After dinner, while waiting for our evenings entertainment to commence, we went up to the pool deck to see what it looked like in the evening. Like most ships, the coloured lighting does make it look amazing and in warmer climates, I'm sure it would be great to sit outside and listen to a band playing.

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So, last night we made our first visit to the entertainment venue at the back of the ship which is called Two70. We had pre-booked a show called Spectra's Cabaret which was billed as multimedia show brimming with kaleidoscopic sounds, effervescent colours and dazzling movement. Despite the fact I was on my last legs, I really enjoyed the performance and pleased I made the effort.

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So to today, we were arrived in port before we surfaced this morning and had decided a lie in was in order. My Fitbit logged over 25,000 steps yesterday and my legs are backing up that data. MDR for breakfast again this morning, the ship feeling much quieter than previous mornings. We had decided not to venture into Glasgow after feeling the effects of yesterday, I recorded 25,000 steps on my Fitbit which is something I haven't achieved in a long time. Therefore, maybe just a walk around Greenock would be preferable with not too much exertion involved. We have plenty of walking planned for Belfast so decided to preserve our energy for then.

As, it happened, we ended up walking the length of the Esplanade and back just getting back to the ship before it started raining.

An early Windjammer lunch ensued because we were booked for the production show, We Will Rock You at 7:30. Our afternoon comprising of some more downtime just sat outside underneath the covered area of the pool deck. We would have used our balcony but there is building work going on near where we are docked with the continuous banging of a pile driving machine. From our vantage point, we were again treated to a large pod of dolphins frolicking in the Clyde just In front of where we were sat. We have seen hundreds on this cruise but I haven't yet managed to get a photo worthy of posting. The weather didn't improve and the rain just got heavier and heavier so it was an easy decision for us just to stay put and people watch the passers by from the indoor pool to midship stairwells.

So, with the exception of, our evening meal and tonight's entertainment, that has pretty much been our day.