Our 8 days to get to know the Anthem

[alfaeric]

Just got off of the Anthem today, and had a great cruise. I'll go into it, since this is such a new ship.

 

BTW, before the trip, we stayed in Jersey City- I'll post info about that on the east coast board. It was neat and frustrating at the same time.

 

When we finally got to the ship, boarding was chaos- apparently a big issue with internet at the site slowed things to a crawl. The people running this should be informed a little- more than one of us were suite people, and none were told that the line was short and warm inside, until I went in and asked. Why people were told bad info is beyond me.

 

But that put many, many passengers off on the wrong foot.

 

When we got on board, a lot of that was quickly forgotten based on the ship- she is spectacular.

 

We had a Spa JS, and waiting in our cabin were a pair of WOW bands- which we used off and on during the week. Nice to have, useful, not something I would pay for.

 

Food:

We made reservations a LONG time ago, and that really helped out a lot. We did make a couple of adjustments- on the first night, we went to Jamie's to use our BOGO coupon. To do that, we went to the Concierge Lounge, where they made the reservation change. That's where we found a big line of people who had lots of things to adjust. The lounge is in the back of the ship on Deck 12- which offered a rather spectacular view of the sun going down illuminating New York....

 

Anyway. Jamie's was really great. Not fully Italian, but Jamie Oliver's version if Italian- which is still quite good.

 

The next night we tried to get into Wonderland, but it was booked for the week. So we went to Coastal Kitchen. Great venue next to the Windjammer. Based on the apologetic nature of the servers, apparently people were not in good moods. We were happy, and had a great time- and mad sure our wait staff knew it.

 

Next 4 nights were free- 3 in MDR restaurants. First was Chic, which was good- not spectacular, but good. Next was Silk, which we thought was great. Much better food than in Chic. Then we swapped some reservations to have American Icon on Thanksgiving, which proved not necessary. Everyplace had the same menu.... For all three MDR places- we were again met with servers who were very apologetic. Again, the two of us were not having problems, so we smiled, and pointed out that we were not in a hurry. And that relaxed all of the servers and head waiters out quite a bit. Timing, speed, and quality never was a big problem for us. And we also liked the new menu options a lot.

 

Then a date in the Solarium Bistro- which was supposed to be good for you. We had a bad experience on the Oasis, so were happy to see they drastically changed the menu. Not an amazing venue, as it was clearly not a restaurant over something else. But good food.

 

Day 7 was back in Coastal Kitchen, seeing menu 2. Good stuff again.

 

Day 8 was more like what we have been doing for the past few years- which was dining in the Lounge snacks instead of the dining rooms. By the end of the week, the lounge was much less crowded, even if the DL expanded out to the Music Hall.

 

Lunches were mostly out of Cafe 270- which is basically a different version of the Park Cafe. Which we also ate at a lot.

 

We had one lunch at Michael's with the Beer/Burger $9.00 deal. Yea, well, well worth it. One of the best burgers I've had on a ship. You can tell they are made to order, better than Jonny Rockets.

 

We had one breakfast in the Windjammer, but most in Cafe 270. the WJ was so packed my food was cold by the time we could sit. So that plate was a waste. One thing I found likeable about 270- with them giving you food, you are far less likely to get too much to eat.

[sha88]

Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to hear more. On the Anthem New Years Eve! Can't wait.

[alfaeric]

Entertainment-

 

This ship is great. There's the summary.

 

Starting in the front of the ship at the theater- We Will Rock You was really great music. Ok, I'm a big Queen fan from a long way back. So I enjoyed singing the music (quietly) with the show. No, the story isn't exactly strong, and is a combination of a lot of stories put together. But the music is great.

 

The Gift was interesting- not hard to understand what is going on, but it seemed as if they tried to put to much into too small of time. On the back stage tour, they mentioned it was the most difficult technical show they do. This is a new thing for Royal- as it was written just for them- much like the aerial shows they do that have a story line (kind of). This has music, story, and dialog. They will do more of this in the future, for sure. While I would totally try to see We Will Rock You as many times as we can, the Gift is enough once.

 

Opening/closing/guests- just like every other ship.

 

Moving slightly aft from the bow- The Music Hall- where a lot of live music was played. Our trip had an Aerosmith tribute group, which were great. We also saw some game shows done there, and a Anthem of the Seas Orchestra concert there. Lots of people used it.

 

At the end of the Esplanade was Boleros- where a small jazz group and a latin group did live music all week.

 

In the back of the ship- 270. This is an amazing venue. Hard to describe all that can be done there, but with robot screens, an HD screen that spanned the entire ship, great sounds, and aerial options- the ability to express some new artistic expression is amazing. Spectra's Caberet was really great- full use of all the tech. And one we repeated- and would want to repeat again. I wish we saw it earlier. We also saw a few robot video shows, and an American Philharmonic Orchestra concert back there. Even though it was a taped show, the presentation was so good, it was hard not to clap.

 

During the day, 270 is a great place to hang out- really relaxing music, and some nice places to take a nap.

 

We didn't use the solarium or pools (for the first time in a long time).

 

We did North Star in Canaveral- so got a great view of the Space Center. Since this was a port day- there were no lines except for the reservation just before us.

 

Our iFly reservation was on Day 6- just before we left Nassau. Even though it was a lot of prep time, it was totally worth it. It seems like it would be hard and intimidating, but our entire group was able to quickly pick it up and fly on their own.

 

While we went into the seaplex- other than watching the Quest- we didn't do any of the other stuff there. Next time.

 

The entertainment was spectacular on this ship.

[alfaeric]

The itinerary wasn't the best one- going to Port Canaveral, Coco Cay, and Nassau.

 

PC we did the North Star- and then ran down the coast to a rewarding Cuban Lunch Restaurant in Coco Beach. The tip part- there's a SCAT system in the area that runs busses in the whole Space Coast area. The #9 bus runs a loop down the Coco Beach and back up to the port. $1.50 pp. Great way to get up and down the coast.

 

Thanks to the windy weather (which has been noted by many others) we skipped Coco Cay- which was a shame for us- as that was the very first time we missed the island. But that turned into a pretty cool Thanksgiving- with the Battle4Atlantis basketball tournament going on- we got to see Michigan play at 9:30 on Thanksgiving Night. Plenty of time to have dinner and get to the game.

 

The next day we did our normal Nassau run.

 

We knew the trip was more about getting to know the ship over the itinerary.

 

Other notes:

 

Yes, the ship moves. But it was really, really windy- with +60knt apparent winds. It does creak- as noted by the theater techs. No idea why, but I wonder if they used more press fit panels instead of fasteners to save money and time making the ship.

 

We liked the separated bath in the Spa JS.

 

We heard cranky passengers, but honestly either didn't see the same problems, or went out of our way to make sure people who were helping us relaxed a little. So we never had service problems.

 

And since this cruise was about learning the ship- we didn't spend much time in either the CL or DL. When there, we did have good experiences.

 

One goal for this cruise was to know if we wanted to go back next September- and it quickly developed to a solid yes. Can't wait to go back.

 

While we had a good experience in the MDR restaurants, it's not likely we will use them a lot when we go back. Quite a while ago, we changed to snacking for dinner, and between that, Coastal Kitchen, and the pay restaurants, we will be good to go. While the food and service in Chic, Silk, and American Icon were fine- the MDR vibe isn't for us. Too loud, too many people, too low of ceilings. Maybe. But not likely.

 

We will also use more of the seaplex features next time.

 

With a New England/Canada itinerary- we will spend more time at ports, and it's good that we found what we like and don't like on the ship prior to sailing.

 

Feel free to ask questions on how we saw the cruise.

[alfaeric]

Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to hear more. On the Anthem New Years Eve! Can't wait.

 

I envy you- make sure you get a good seat in 270- that's where I bet the best party will be. And some kind of "fireworks".

[jonj]

Thank you for a very thought out review. Very glad to be reading one that isn't bashing everything about the ship. We still have six months to go and looking forward to it

[sha88]

I envy you- make sure you get a good seat in 270- that's where I bet the best party will be. And some kind of "fireworks".

 

Ahh, thanks for the tip! Have never been on a NYE cruise before so I think we picked a great ship to experience this!

 

Glad to hear that you would definitely rebook this ship. We have another cruise planned for Anthem in May and was wondering if we would keep the reservation. Sounds like we will especially since it is a bit of an unusual itinerary... Bermuda, Boston.

 

Thanks so much for sharing!

[sha88]

Thank you for a very thought out review. Very glad to be reading one that isn't bashing everything about the ship. We still have six months to go and looking forward to it

 

Me, too!!

[alfaeric]

Thank you for a very thought out review. Very glad to be reading one that isn't bashing everything about the ship. We still have six months to go and looking forward to it

 

It is interesting to see the play the more negative reviews get....

[Thetrail]

It is interesting to see the play the more negative reviews get....

Will be sailing on her for 12 days this upcoming March, down to double digits!....K.O.:)

[njmomof2]

We depart for her Christmas cruise in just 17 days and I'm happy to see a more positive review against all of the negative ones that have been posted over the last 2 revenue cruises.

 

We have sailed with Royal numerous times, and we have repeatedly sailed on Freedom. Mom was against flying over the break, and honestly the Freedom prices were not coming down, and coupled with the airfares, it made more sense to sail out of Bayonne where we can drive and park. But all of the negative reviews about the food and the dining rooms have really put a bit of a damper on our excitement.

 

We tend to be fairly easy going, so we don't get as upset by stuff. But if we have show reservations, I want to be sure we make them. So moving things along in the restaurants is important to us. I'll just have to let them know when we need to get out so hopefully they can accommodate us.

 

There has also been a lot of comments about the beds and linens. Did you find yours comfortable or very hard? And were the bedding and pillows up to normal standards?

 

We're travelling with my boys so the flowrider (for both) and the sports complex (for the younger one) is especially important to us. Hopefully I'll see a few reports from the current cruise that will help with that information.

[alfaeric]

I think our bed at home is pretty stiff, as I didn't actually notice the bed being too stiff.

 

I did notice that 2 of the 4 pillows in our room were too high. But the alternate we had were fine. Which I've encountered at hotels, so didn't think it was a big deal.

 

From what the DL concierge mentioned- having dinner reservations early (like we did) worked the best. If you have that, or can change the reservations- it seems like many of the rush issues reduce a lot. Still, we were asked if we had show reservations.

 

I wish I could give you info about the flowrider and the seaplex, but we didn't use either and don't have kids.

[Heather1972]

The bed was super HARD. It didn't help I think I hurt my hip on the darn bumper car, not to mention both my knees had bruises. So, every time I slept on my left side, it hurt!

[Heather1972]

What do you want to know about seaplex?

[Cruisin' Ya Ya]

How did the restaurants handle reservation people from non-reservation people? My DH has bad legs and cannot stand more than 5 mins. That is why I made reservations hoping the wait will be nill to minimum.

 

Thanks for the wonderful review. Can't wait to get on in 9 days!

[alfaeric]

How did the restaurants handle reservation people from non-reservation people? My DH has bad legs and cannot stand more than 5 mins. That is why I made reservations hoping the wait will be nill to minimum.

 

Thanks for the wonderful review. Can't wait to get on in 9 days!

 

There were two lines- one for reservations, one for not.... And the reservations were taken first.

 

You may want to try to get some reservations.

[Cruisin' Ya Ya]

There were two lines- one for reservations, one for not.... And the reservations were taken first.

 

You may want to try to get some reservations.

 

We have reservations already for each night. Thanks for reply.

[LuVermont]

How is the beer selection in the pub? Just wondering if there is a good craft beer selection- specifically any decent IPAs.

[alfaeric]

How is the beer selection in the pub? Just wondering if there is a good craft beer selection- specifically any decent IPAs.

Didn't pay that close of attention. They didn't have the special Michael's beer for the burger-beer deal, yet.

[jonj]

Did you happen to keep the compass for your sailing that you can share? Thank you

[alfaeric]

Did you happen to keep the compass for your sailing that you can share? Thank you

 

Sorry, no we didn't. They normally get tossed the next day.