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Anthem of the Seas: A not-so-live Review: Feb 6, 2016

Newbcruiser1

By Newbcruiser1,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Cruzin-K

Cruzin-K

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Posted

 

My photos are from a mix of my iPhone 6 (most of the food pictures, and the panoramic shots), and a Canon SX280 which is a 3 year old point and shoot camera with a 20x zoom. So you should be able to get some good pictures with your 20x zoom as well - just make sure to rest your camera on a still surface to help stabilize it, like the ship's railing. [/color]

 

And lastly, I'm from Toronto! :) [/color]

 

 

So, if you're still using that point & shoot after three years, I take it that you like it a lot? I just bought the SX530 because of the "super zoom" to get shots I can't reach with my DSLR. I'm enjoying your photos, so that's made me feel good about my purchase :)

 

I'm hoping to visit Toronto in the next few years. It's on my short list of cities to visit when I have a little bit of free time, and money :D

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Newbcruiser1

Newbcruiser1

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So, if you're still using that point & shoot after three years, I take it that you like it a lot? I just bought the SX530 because of the "super zoom" to get shots I can't reach with my DSLR. I'm enjoying your photos, so that's made me feel good about my purchase :)

 

 

 

I'm hoping to visit Toronto in the next few years. It's on my short list of cities to visit when I have a little bit of free time, and money :D

 

 

Yes, I love the camera - my favorite one I've had! And I love the small size that I can still fit in a small handbag! The 530 is obviously much bigger so I assume it has even more bells and whistles for good shots! :) The 20x zoom on these cameras is fantastic! It has come in handy SO many times for me, not only for travel but for concerts and such too. And it has an awesome fireworks mode! Enjoy it!

 

Try to visit Toronto sooner rather than later while the Canadian dollar is really weak - you'll get so much more bang for your buck! [emoji6]

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Newbcruiser1

Newbcruiser1

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I had lunch in the Windjammer today and took it outside to eat by the outdoor pool - some salad, turkey, and a slice of pizza. The pizza was terrible - the crust was quite undercooked so it tasted like glue. Needless to say, I didn't end up eating it!

 

IMG_4660%20Edited.jpg

 

I spent the next little while sitting out on deck and soaking up the sun. As I already mentioned, it wasn't very warm, but the sun felt wonderful. Around 5pm, it started to get much cooler outside so I headed back in.

 

Abe had done an interview with Captain Claus about the weather that we had encountered and it was shown on repeat on one of the channels so I went back to my room to check it out. Many of you have already seen the video of it that had been posted all over the internet. It still seems crazy to think that we sailed right through the eye of this beast:

 

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That night, there were 2 showings each of Spectra's Cabaret and We Will Rock You as the crew tried to cram 7 days worth of entertainment into the little time that we had remaining. I made it to Spectra's Cabaret before dinner. Somehow, despite it being 30 minutes before the show, every seat I approached was "taken". I ended up dragging a chair from the cafe down a couple levels and planting myself there. While waiting for the show to start, I booked a new flight home for around noon on February 10th, pending our 6am arrival as we were notified by Captain Claus, and as was confirmed by Guest Services on the ship, and by RCIs head office in Miami. This flight was close to $500, but my insurance "should" cover it. Yikes!

 

Back to the show... it was quite weird in that I couldn't figure out a plot and it looked like it was conceived by someone who was smoking something. Having said that, I enjoyed it! They made good use of the special effects including the vistarama screens and the robot screens, and some of the music was quite upbeat. I was shocked that there were no technological issues in Two70 following the storm!

 

I ate dinner in silk where I had pre-booked my reservation - and how fitting as it was Chinese New Year! Once again I showed up and was seated alone - no offer of sharing a table. I had the nicest, most attentive, upbeat, humorous server I have EVER had! His name was Michael and he is from Mauritius. He was fantastic! I started off with the egg drop soup and the spring rolls. I enjoyed both.

 

IMG_4670.jpg

 

 

I ordered the hibachi steak on Michael's (and everyone here on Cruise Critic's) advice. Unfortunately, it was very underwhelming. The beef was 2 slices of filet mignon, and while they were quite tender, they were flavorless and a little dry. The 2 tempura shrimps tasted like they had been made hours ago - very greasy, batter was hard and chewy, etc. The best part on that plate was the vegetable slaw!

 

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Michael was quite funny, asking me "are you enjoying the food?" And whispering "you can tell me if you don't like it!". I told him what I thought! He asked if I wanted something else, but I was quite full by that point. So next up - dessert! I ordered the crème brûlée which was topped with pop rocks, and the icon candy bar from across the hall (Silk and American icon share a galley). I thoroughly enjoyed both. I'm not usually a fan of popping candy, but it added a whole new dimension to the crème brulee!

 

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Also noteworthy, was that the seas were getting somewhat rough and there was lightening outside during dinner. An interesting perspective as I was seated beside the window. I don't think Michael was enjoying it as he jumped several times when the lightning flashed. He did tell me about his "roughest cruise ever" before this one - it was his first contract ever and he was carrying a tray of glasses of red wine which he ended up spilling all over a table of passengers! Eeek! He mentioned that in retrospect, that was nothing compared to the weather on the previous evening!

 

I finished around 9:30 and knew there was a We Will Rock You show which started at 9 in the Royal Theatre. My original show reservation was for yesterday at 9pm, but that was obviously cancelled. As such, it had been rescheduled to Day 4 at 5:30pm. As I didn't want to cut into my day tomorrow, I decided to head to the theatre and catch the remainder of it. It was pretty good and had some funny lines. I sat there in awe that the show wasn't cancelled again due to the rough seas, and oddly enough, Abe mentioned afterwards that they had been on the verge of cancelling it but decided to power through.

 

There were various things going on late at night including the silent disco, but I headed back up to my room as I was exhausted from my 5 hours of sleep the night before. I surfed the Internet for a bit, and then called it a night.

 

 

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bunnyrab

bunnyrab

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Very enjoyable. Nice balanced report. Took it for granted you were a male.

Than you mentioned your purse & I noticed your bathing suit hanging up under your suitcase. Glad you are safely home.

Have never taken nausea medication but will pack some in future just in case.

Thanks Heather.

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LuCruise

LuCruise

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Thank you again for sharing. I did wonder what you all did in the few days after the storm and was (happily) surprised to see that you were able to grab a normal breakfast the next morning. (I pictured all broken dishes and ruined food didn't know how they were handling that). And aside from the pools, sounds like they still tried to keep some activities going. Good on them too for providing free internet.

PS - We're from Toronto too, and I totally agree how it's cheaper and easier (1hr vs 3.5hrs) to fly to NJ or NY compared with Florida.

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Newbcruiser1

Newbcruiser1

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DAY 4: At Sea

 

I woke up bright and early as I had previously booked iFly for 9am today. There was no cruise compass delivered as of yet because of all of the shuffling of shows and whatnot, so I called down to guest services and asked them if iFly was back up and running, to which the reply was "No, my apologies. Nothing is open yet!". Ah well. I was pretty bummed that I wouldn't get to try it after all but fully understanding of the circumstances.

 

With no iFly, off I went up to the Windjammer for breakfast. On my way, I found that the abbreviated versions of the cruise compasses were just being delivered so I took one to read during breakfast. I found a crepe station in the Windjammer, which I hadn't seen on any other cruises and was quite excited about it! They also had a wide variety of toppings - different fruit sauces, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, chocolate shavings, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, nuts, etc! Yum!

 

While in line, I encountered another passenger loudly complaining about the layout of the windjammer (which I commented on previously on day 2), and the fact that while you're in line for one thing, your other food is getting cold. I do agree somewhat, although I don't know what they could do to sort that out. For instance, if you want an omelette and French toast, one of the two will get cold while waiting in line for the other. Yes it sucks, but I didn't feel the need to listen to the guy loudly moaning and groaning about it. Despite the fact that my crepe got cold while waiting in line for bacon, I still enjoyed my breakfast! My apologies for the lack of picture - I think I was so excited about the crepe that I pretty well inhaled it, along with what became "chocolate covered bacon" from coming into contact with the chocolatey goodness of said crepe! :D

 

There were once again many activities around the ship today - bumper cars, roller-skating, characters, trivia, the love and marriage show, We Will Rock You, etc. I did make a stop over in the Seaplex to inquire whether they expected iFly to open again during the cruise, and was told that unfortunately it would not be opening as the "door flew off". I walked by it later on, and sure enough, the glass door into the tunnel had come off its hinges.

 

The passengers who were roller-skating said they really only had to stand there and let the ship's rocking do the work of moving them back and forth!

 

IMG_4696.jpg

 

I spent most of the day hanging out in the solarium and by the main pool briefly - while eating my frozen yogurt! There is unfortunately only one frozen yogurt machine, and it's outside. So when the weather is cold or rainy (or hurricane-y), you're out of luck if you want to stay warm and dry and are craving frozen yogurt. I also noticed that it was much less creamy and more icy, and therefore melted faster. Not sure if they've changed the mix but I seem to remember it being creamier way back when. It was once again pretty chilly out during the second half of the day so my hanging out outside was short-lived to the time it took to munch on my frozen yogurt.

 

While I was outside, Captain Claus made his noon announcement. I thought I heard him say something about arriving in Bayonne tomorrow "evening"... I thought I misheard as he was quite nonchalant about it, so I went about my day.

 

I had lunch at Johnny Rockets. The burger was $2.50 and onion rings were $1.50. I had planned on using my crown and anchor buy one get one milkshake coupon, but after the frozen yogurt, I was not in the mood for anything sweet - especially not two milkshakes for myself! The food is served take-out style, and you are given a buzzer when you order. It took about 20 minutes for them to prepare my food, but it was very good. I took it to the indoor pool to eat, although it was quite cold due to some of the glass roof panels being stuck in the open position.

 

IMG_5890.jpg

 

A few hours later, I heard a familiar voice behind me saying "I forgot to eat today!!!" - I turned around and it was Abe, the cruise director. I asked if I heard Captain Claus correctly when he said "tomorrow evening", and he said "to the best of my understanding, you did!". I casually mentioned that I had booked my flight for tomorrow afternoon and he said that guest services should be able to help me out, as "you were misinformed about the time being 6am". Too bad I had already tried Guest Services the day before and they wouldn't even let me make a phone call for free, so no luck there... at least I didn't want to deal with the frustration of trying to get help again.

 

I ended up having a very stressful time trying to reschedule my new flight. I knew that if we arrived late in the evening, they weren't going to force 4500 passengers off the ship late at night, so I suspected that I should plan to fly out on Thursday instead. I waited for confirmation of when we would be arriving, which Captain Claus announced in the evening to be 9:00pm, and contacted my family at home. Fortunately my family called the airline of the new ticket I had purchased and was able to reschedule it to the following day with no change fee due to the fact that there were storms in NJ anyway. My plan was that if they were kicking us off the ship that night, I would just get a hotel until the following morning. Although my gut instinct was that I would be able to stay onboard.

 

I spent the afternoon in the warm and toasty solarium, although it was a little drafty due to a small glass roof panel which was broken. I finally saw some signs of life off in the distance:

 

IMG_5891.jpg

 

The solarium is beautiful with the lights at night:

 

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I had a reservation at Chic for tonight, although upon checking the menu on the RoyalIQ app on my phone, there wasn't much I wanted. Instead, I showed up at American Icon around 8pm and they were happy to let me in. Not surprisingly, I was seated alone once again! I was close to my neighbors this time though so we chatted throughout dinner. I ordered the calamari and gazpacho to start with - both were excellent! My main course was the pistachio crusted salmon which I also enjoyed. For dessert, I ordered the "coffee and donuts" which was delicious, and the warm skillet cookie which didn't show up. The service, unfortunately, was very fragmented and off tonight. The assistant server approached the table beside me and myself in a very abrupt manner, asking what we wanted to start with. She then ran off after taking our appetizer orders, leaving us with the menus. It then became evident that she had gone to the wrong table when our actual waiter came back to take our full orders, so he was quite angry, and he made it known to some of the other servers. We did get our food in the end but the whole experience was somewhat "strange".

 

After dinner I went to the late night comedy show. The comedian was Miguel Washington, and after about 20 minutes, I realized I had seen him before on a previous cruise, about 10 years ago! Nonetheless, he was VERY funny! He came out with his life jacket on and was poking fun at the whole situation. Abe, the cruise director, also made a comment along the lines of "is everyone excited to go home?!" To which everyone said "NOOOO!" And he said "good cause you're not going home tomorrow anyway! I don't know... This cruise went from 3 nights to 4 nights to 5 nights and was supposed to be 7 nights...". The jokes were very well received by the audience and really helped to lighten the mood.

 

After the show - bedtime for me! There was still plenty going on throughout the ship though.

 

 

 

Stay tuned for Days 5 and 6 - I'm back at work this week so it may take me a few days, but they're coming - plenty more pictures, including food!

 

Edited by Newbcruiser1
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nelblu

nelblu

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I live in NJ... fly to Florida!!!

 

Try it you'll like it. We sailed from Bayonne (first time) on the Quantum last February on an 11 niter. Granted the weather was not too good as it was sleeting when we left and something like -15 degree wind chill when we arrived. However, the 11 niter cost us the same as if we sailed out of San Juan or the Florida ports. Also, the Quantum provided us with a wonderful experience vis-a-vis the technology, entertainment and DD dining. DD was wonderful as it provided us with 4 different complementary restaurants and different menus. No comparison between the WJ on the Quantum vs the Oasis or Allure. Wonderful stuff and many more varieties on the Q.

 

Also, no comparison regarding the itinerary. For example on our recent Oasis we visited Nassau (was cold and rainy), St. Thomas & St. Marteen. Compared to the Q itinerary which stopped at Labadee, San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, & St. Marteen.

 

Ps. Still got 7 warm and sunny days on the 11 niter. Also, from a weather standpoint when we got off at Newark this Saturday it was about 5-10 degrees wind chill. Wish I was cruising as it is snowing here. LOL

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sjn911

sjn911

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Just at beginning but enjoying so much...want either Royal Caribbean or NCL to be my next cruise..ready for differences...that cabin is so interesting..I am only at the beginning but when people are doing such a great effort and you read...one just has to add their thanks..it is armchair trips for us and we are so grateful...to learn to the good with the bad. That Picture of NYC from that "sky thing"...so bad w. names because have not studied this ship type at all. I am so grateful to be an American with Canadian neighbors and all the countries here that truly respect and enjoy each other. Those shots, from a great new ship mean an awful lot to me..NYC having been only a few times is just in by heart and bones...love it and all it stands for now...thank you!! OK back to really enjoying this review..and all your effort..so glad you are home safe.

Edited by sjn911
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vamartha

vamartha

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I just realized that my fall (and scream on my way down!) was caught on video! Here it is, at the 50-second mark!

 

 

 

 

I was wondering if that was you. As I was reading your AWESOME storm report I was thinking it was like deja vu as I remembered watching something that was just as you described. :D

 

Thanks for sharing - I'm going to get to go on that ship sometime before I die! Your pics are fantastic and your attitude is one of the best I've seen! Thanks so much for sharing!

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sammydh82

sammydh82

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A few words on my room - a category M inside with virtual balcony on deck 10. I was not a fan of the layout as the balcony is on a side wall and the bed on the back wall.

 

IMG_5825.jpg

 

 

 

Would you mind telling me what room number you were? We are trying to get an idea of the layout of the more square looking insides (as opposed to the longer, thinner ones) on the deckplans!

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