Day 5: New Jersey and beyond

For some reason I did not book a transfer from the hotel/airport to the cruise terminal.  The hotel had a private transfer but it was $30 per person.  I thought I could do better so researched it and could not so I booked it.  It will be easy since they pick us up from the hotel and looking back now will admit it turned out to be good good decision.  Since I was so cheap with our transfer yesterday I was okay with the cost.  We are picked up and whisked away in a very nice SUV . . . the traffic isn't too bad either.  We dropped our bags and headed inside to board the ship . . . well at least that was the plan.  Apparently Royal Caribbean was having issue with the gangway and the computer system so we sat in the waiting area.  And we sat and sat and listened a dozen times they were having issues.  This cruise ship is suppose to hold about 5,000 passengers not counting the crew so it was quickly becoming crowded.  Our assigned check in time was between 1130am-12:00pm.  We arrived at 11:45am but there were people in front of us with much later times.  At least we were inside and not stuck outdoors in the heat!  Again, we thought it would be a quick process so did not eat breakfast.  It was brutal but after 2 hours our row was finally called to board.  Finally . . . hello Cape Liberty cruise port . . . our cruise will just have one stop!  It is a five day cruise . . . one day at sea, two full days at the island, and one sea day back!  What really had me the most excited was the ship docks and you get two full days in port so our hotel is the Anthem of the Seas.  It is a huge ship with a lot of fun activities!  We finally get to our room and head right to the balcony . . .

So when I book a cruise I always pick a specific cabin . . . I research a lot and make sure there is nothing noisy above or below . . . I can't say always anymore because this time I went with a guaranteed balcony cabin to be assigned by Royal Caribbean . . . never ever again!  Why?  Our cabins was on Deck 13 and on Deck 14 right above us was the pool.  I am crossing my fingers it is a low traffic area and that the noise doesn't bother us but since I said never and am writing this after the fact you can guess it did not go so well!  While it was nice to save $200, never again!  Anyway, our room was beautiful and the nicest room we have ever had.  This ship isn't that old so the color and design is new and hip compared to some of the older boats we have been on.  So it took us two hours to get on board, but the cabin was ready for us to enjoy!

Again, loved the layout and blue color scheme of the room!  Our bags arrived soon after, and I got busy unpacking!  I really do enjoy the concept of being on a cruise and the fact I can unpack all my stuff since we stay in the same room the entire trip!  It just seemed issue after issue and hopefully things get better once we leave New Jersey!  But for now we are on our way . . .

. . . and out of the cabin exploring this massive vessel . . .