Embarkation:

This was our first cruise out of Bayonne. 5 Day cruise to Bermuda to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We drove in from the northeast. Left home early to try and avoid the CT and NY traffic, and arrived at the port about 10AM. Our embarkation time was listed at between 11 and 11:30. At 10AM, there were no traffic at all getting to the luggage drop off area. Zipped right in and within 5 minutes of dropping the luggage off, we were parked. Parking garage is right next to the terminal and is $20 a day to park. Pre-payment of the full length of your cruise is required. We walked to the terminal (2 min walk), and had to fight through the remaining masses of people that were just leaving the ship. Once at the terminal entrance, we were greeted by representatives with iPads. If you did the online checkin prior to arriving to the terminal, you showed them your sea pass, they scanned your passport, and you were done. 5 minutes tops. If you did not do the online checkin, it's probably a 15 minute process. They need to fill out your information, take you picture, etc, etc.. Once in the terminal, we were told that there was a mandatory Coast Guard inspection that could delay embarkation. We sat in the terminal for about 30 minutes and were told that the inspection was complete and we could board.

We were onboard by 11:30. We headed right up to the Windjammer buffet to have lunch. After lunch, walked around the ship a bit to get our bearings and at 1PM it was announced that out staterooms were ready. Our luggage was waiting outside the door and we unpacked. We walked around a bit more and waited for the 3:30PM mandatory muster. We have not cruised in a few years, but this muster was different than I remember. On previous cruises, you went to your stateroom, put on your life jacket and waited for the alarm. On Anthem, there are no life jackets in your room. Once the alarm sounds, you head to your muster station, which is someplace inside the ship. They scan your sea card to ensure that you went, and they play a short video about washing your hands! And then a video about if emergency occurs, you meet where you're standing and a crew member will provide you with a life jacket and tell you what to do. We were done in 15 minutes and we headed straight up to the Solarium for sail away. It's an indoor glass enclosed pool at the very top front of the ship. Great view of the city and passing under the bridge as you head out to sea. Read more