Day by Day on the Anthem January 3

[TwoTimer81]

Well Day 1 aboard the Anthem:

 

Being that our last cruise was on Crystal Symphony (our Honeymoon) we decided to book specialties with our OBC (credit card points purchase) every night. We will not be in any of the MDR's all cruise long. Since I've noticed nobody's doing a diary, I guess I'll do one.

 

Hits:

Chef's Table - Known as Prime Table on this ship, the food was top notch (preparation, quality, etc) and very much on par with what was savored on Crystal Symphony (our high water mark). The portions were small (very small), but that was to be expected with gourmet dining. But with six courses and free flowing wine (I had seven glasses and didn't even finish all of them), we were stuffed 2/3 of the way through. One pair was only dressed smart casual, but that was ok. The other couple and us were dressed formally. Still highly recommended for wine drinkers, as the amount of wine presented nearly paid for the meal itself. Seven glasses for me (six for her) for $60 each after the discount - a steal! Highly recommended. Even at the $90 price point it was money well spent (caveat: see below in the misses section).

Embarkation - The most difficult issue was the line to get into the terminal. Once there, things went quickly and smoothly, we even got a pat on the back for our set sail pictures and jumped ahead of people because of them.

Solarium Bistro (formerly DD) - The same food selection (not all, but most of it) as what was in the Windjammer, but without the din.

Our room - Obviously our Crystal room was better, but not by much. The newness of the ship helps tremendously here.

 

Misses:

Chef's Table (Prime Table) - Yes it did take three hours to complete (we knew this), and the longest pause was between the entrée and the two desserts. The restaurant was not a part of the 30% off promo, although we only had six people. When we inquired, we were given 30% off however, because we have a couple bookings for Chops later on (savings - $170!). Our sommelier said that on the longer cruises, it doesn't sell out. He also informed us that Prime Table only has one menu which changes every six months, while the Chef's Table has two. We will cancel our second night there due to this.

OBC - I was under the impression based upon the pre-booking website that OBC would be given after booking a certain number (3) of specialty restaurants. We have Wonderland twice, Chops three times, a couple Prime Tables and some Izumi thrown in there for kicks. I knew about the specialty dining packages, but we can't choose when and where we dine under them. Nonetheless, we were not given said OBC, and we will ask about it tomorrow. The refund we were given was based upon the Chops/Prime Table portion of the bill. There's still the matter of the Wonderland, which I'll deal with at guest services in the morning before/after the meetup.

[TwoTimer81]

It was a pleasant surprise that Spring was in the air already, with temps pushing 70 near the end of the day. That notorious rough northern waters and frigid first full day temps were nowhere to be found. We overslept and missed We Will Rock you. We may try to catch it later. On to the hits and misses.

 

Hits:

Solarium Bistro - Mostly the same menu as Windjammer as mentioned before. No Oasis clone yet. However, it wasn't as empty as it was the first day.

Two 70 - The best entertaining space on the ship, and probably in the top three fleet-wide.

Meet and Greet - Very large turnout indeed, a far cry from the miniscule ones on Crystal and HAL.

Spectra's Cabernet - Short, sweet, and modern, welcome to 21st century entertainment apparently.

 

Misses:

VOOM - It wasn't clear to me when pre-booking online that the first line could accommodate two devices and didn't need to purchase a second package. I cancelled one and got a full refund for OBC. I rather it back on my original card, but oh well lesson learned.

Izumi - The appetizer portions were overpriced (WAY overpriced). Five dumplings for $9 (4.50 to 6.00 on land, and you get six that also happen to taste better). A small handful of fried dark meat chicken for the same price as well. The crime of the day goes to my noodle soup, with ramen noodles resembling baby food and two small pieces of pork. Cup of Noodles has better ramen. Luckily I had a hot dog in the SeaPlex and dessert in the Windjammer to compensate. Wife's sushi was unremarkable. There was also no house hot saki, my wife was looking forward to having saki today and had to do without. The bill came to $55. I cancelled my Izumi reservations for the rest of the cruise.

SeaPlex Hot dogs - They were ok, no mustard for awhile, luckily someone noticed the lack of mustard coming out and managed to replace it by time the long line came around to me. Still looking for that German mustard, however.

 

On to our rather summery day 3, as well be south of most of Florida by the morning.

[Merion_Mom]

Thank you! ;) :D

[TwoTimer81]

Things were a bit different today on the Anthem. Summer was in the air, our fellow passengers transitioned from the indoor facilities to the outdoor ones, and seas were moderate due through passing through a rainstorm.

 

Hits:

Solarium - Someone seated near my wife in the hot tub complained to one of the attendants about a child in the area (not misbehaving, just there with his mom). A few moments later they were escorted out of the Solarium by the attendant. So much for indifference about the rules in the Solarium.

Michael's Genuine Pub - I decided to pay for an "upgraded" burger here (the most expensive one on the ship, free ones are available of course in the Windjammer and 2.50 at Johnny Rockets). The bun was nice and soft, and the taste was good. It was discounted at 9.99 today instead of the usual 12.50. Not great but good, and it came with not nearly enough chips (pommes frites). The best thing here was the pork sliders, which at $5 for two has become the best bang for your buck for dining so far. In fact I'm going back down there right now to get some more sliders.

Chops Grille - The service was great, I asked for the bread I was presented with in the Prime Table nearby, and received it.

Music Hall - One of our CC family did very well in the high stakes bingo today! Congratulations. Also, they gave away an unoccupied Grand Suite as well (We didn't win :()

 

Misses:

Solarium Bistro - Clearly people have found out about it now, and lines have appeared here for the first time. Because of the wait my wife decided to bypass it after her nearby gym workout and decided to freshen up first. When I managed to get up there the lines were nearly gone. This has become the place to go (for food) for the forward cabins, as the aft Windjammer is a bit of a walk and the dining rooms are all on the aft side as well. The dinner menu also doesn't change either, and we'll try it out later on in the cruise.

Chops Grille - I paid the upcharge for the dry aged steaks (the first at sea), and they missed the temperature on my NY strip. I ordered it medium and it came medium well. It was a bit larger than the filet I normally go with and saw floating by on plates ordered by my crewmates. While they were willing to recook it, I didn't want to delay my meal any longer. The meal took about 90 minutes from start to finish. Nonetheless, I don't feel its a worthy upgrade ($18 more on top of the cover charge) however. Also, the mashed potato shared side was actually inferior to what was available in the windjammer, and the spinach was steamed (a nitpick, but steakhouses often saute it). The shrimp and crab cake was mostly filler, and short on crab and shrimp. We'll be back here later in the cruise and will order differently.

VOOM - The connection was a bit spotty today, and it's getting annoying now to have to log in again every time I turn on the laptop or awake it from sleep.

 

Well on to Day 4, the Dragon awaits (we're doing both the coaster and zipline)

Edited January 6, 2016 by TwoTimer81

[TwoTimer81]

Hits:

Anthem Rocks - A great show, which packed up the Music Hall nicely.

Michael's Genuine Pub - I indeed had the $5 sliders again (while wife went to bed early). They also give you more fries when ordered separately from the burger ($5 for fries, $12.50 for the burger, wait for a discount on the burger like I got).

Johnny Rockets - The only centrally located place to get water overnight for those that go without a drink package (like us, we don't drink soda so we decided to a la carte this one) and only occasionally drink alcohol. We don't plan to eat here this cruise so look elsewhere for an updated review for that.

 

Misses:

Chops Grille - My wife's "King" Caesar salad wasn't exactly king sized, my mixed greens salad was ok although the greens weren't crisp. We know to order multiple apps next time as we were hungry.

Café 270 - The same special and menu as yesterday, the water/ice machine was down, and the gluten free options were lackluster. I had a discussion with a fellow CC member the first day who thought this was better than the Windjammer. I'm not so sure. Different may not be better, but it definitely is different from what's upstairs from it. Try out both and see what you like.

[Merion_Mom]

Chris, would you please take a picture of the dinner menu for the Solarium Bistro and post it? Many thanks. :)

[JamesEM]

Following along.

[KiwiFunCruiser]

Thank's will look forward to the next stage.

[DonnaK]

thank you for taking the time to post. I am reading along with interest!

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[Nhsaltshaker]

Subscribing, and thanks.

[Croozin Soozin]

Subscribing, as well, with interest. Looking forward to my first Anthem cruise in 81 days!

[Clarea]

Appreciate the review, have not read much about this ship.

[dpostman]

Great review and info. Much appreciated. Will only be on Anthem next year, but I'm the "information" go-to guy for our group of 7 Families. So I really like all this info you are giving out.

 

All of our cabins are Forward, so the kids can make it all the way aft to eat, and we can scoot over to the solarium for a quick bite.

 

dp

[marci22]

Thanks for posting all the food details. How are the beds?

[Alter Ego]

Another thank you for your comments. I'm also planning on doing specialty restaurants (eagerly awaiting reservations to be posted for my trip), and have not seen any detailed review for some of them.

 

I admit I'm confused about the dining discount as I too plan on reserving in advance. How did your conversation with guest services go (or did I miss your comment)?

[didicruiser]

Keep it coming...😄

[jonj]

If you see any drink package special offers / punch card options as they are appearing on other ships can you let us know?

 

Have fun

[rednancy1]

Thank you for your review. :)

[Turtles06]

Appreciate the review, have not read much about this ship.

 

Bob, not to take away from the OP, and many thanks to the OP for taking the time to post their comments, but there are a number of very detailed threads about Anthem in the Quantum class subforum, including my own detailed comments (by subject), with photos, from our wonderful transatlantic on Anthem a few months ago:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2277588

[Croozin Soozin]

Bob, not to take away from the OP, and many thanks to the OP for taking the time to post their comments, but there are a number of very detailed threads about Anthem in the Quantum class subforum, including my own detailed comments (by subject), with photos, from our wonderful transatlantic on Anthem a few months ago:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2277588

 

Thank you for the link to your review - I enjoyed it very much!

 

Susan

[Life is Good Cruising]

Thanks for posting all the food details. How are the beds?

 

Even though we felt the mattress to be quite firm, we had no problems falling asleep each night on our 11-30-15 sailing.

[Trixie21]

Even though we felt the mattress to be quite firm, we had no problems falling asleep each night on our 11-30-15 sailing.

 

 

I agree with this - my wife has back problems and was nervous about the beds - when I first felt the bed in the cabin I was concerned but we actually found them to be extremely comfortable and at the end of the 12 nights my wife said her back was better than it has been in months!

[cruz4evr]

Thanks Chris for taking time out while on vacation for the wonderful daily reviews! It's with great interest that I'm reading your comments...we'll be sailing on Anthem next week!

 

Have a great cruise!

Edited January 6, 2016 by cruz4evr

[FROGGY23]

Are any of the other Pay Dinners including wine or alcohol with price ?

[johnjen]

Outstanding and very well written and THANKS OP!

 

One definite thing - we won't be booking Chops Grille. Your reviews thus far prove to me that, beyond a doubt, the vast majority of reviews on CG have convinced me to NOT book this restaurant. Fillers in crabcakes and over-cooked steaks - I have heard this DOZENS of times in here.

 

Chef's Table - By far, booking this one for sure. Nearly every review has it shining.