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Spring Break Anthem of the Seas Review 3/27-4/8

queenL

By queenL,
in Royal Caribbean International

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queenL

queenL

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Back from another great cruise! Overall things went well. A few minor criticisms but nothing major. Weather was a little chilly leaving and returning to NY. There were choppy seas for at least one night while we avoided a storm. I will write a detailed review here over the next day or so. I'm still digging out of the piles of dirty laundry. :) If there are any questions I'll try to answer them.

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AAAAmerican

AAAAmerican

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Deear queenL,

 

WELCOME HOME!!

 

 

 

Thank you! Awaiting your review too now more..

 

Q.) Did they have a served , yes not the *** Line in the Buffet on Embarkation Lunch ?

 

 

 

 

Back from another great cruise! Overall things went well. A few minor criticisms but nothing major. Weather was a little chilly leaving and returning to NY. There were choppy seas for at least one night while we avoided a storm. I will write a detailed review here over the next day or so. I'm still digging out of the piles of dirty laundry. :) If there are any questions I'll try to answer them.
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queenL

queenL

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Finally able to get a start on my review......

 

We are back from a great cruise on the Anthem of the Seas! This was cruise #25 for me. We've sailed on all the major lines before RCL, Celebrity, Carnival, Disney, Norwegian, Princess, MSC and HAL. We sailed with DH, our two daughters, 4 & 9, my mom and her friend.

 

Pre-cruise

 

We flew into EWR a day early for a pre-cruise stay in NJ. We took the free shuttle to Courtyard Marriott Elizabeth. We enjoyed our brief stay here. The hotel had been recently remodeled. The carpet was new, could smell fresh paint etc. A mall (w/food court), additional free standing eating places (Ruby Tuesday and IHOP), plenty of stores and a movie theater were all within walking distance. There was even a convenience type store inside the mall where we could get last minute water, juice, snacks etc. We had a super early flight…arrived at the hotel about 8am. Fortunately they allowed us to check in early.

If I had one gripe it would be the cost of transportation options in NJ/NY. I’m amazed with the number of cruisers sailing from Bayonne that cheaper bus/shuttle services have not cropped up. Pre-cruise we examined all of the options we could. Although Courtyard had no shuttle service to the pier. The adjacent Embassy suites did. When we inquired about the cost if you didn’t have the room package we were told $28.50pp. We were a party of 6 so the estimates we got were cheaper for a cab then even a private car. We requested a cab that seated 6 and told them we had luggage. When the SUV arrived it was small where you had the option of the 3rd row seating OR a trunk….not both. So we ended up taking 2 separate cabs $70 for the SUV, $60 for the cab. Even though it wasn’t far, it took about 30-40 minutes to get to the pier due to the traffic.

 

Embarkation-

 

This was sooooo much better than embarkation on the Quantum. We arrived at the pier around 11:30. We walked right up and gave our bags to the porter. This process took only a few minutes. TIP: There were many people waiting outside in the cold for the tablet toting RCL staff. It was unclear whether you needed to see them before you went inside. You didn’t. There were many more staff members inside, with shorter, warmer lines.  We had already done our paperwork online, so a 10-15 minute verification and our boarding pass was stamped. Security was equally as fast, no problem carrying on my bottled water, juice or steamer. From there we took our embarkation photo and we were onboard. No more numbers, colors, no sitting down waiting, we were done. It may not have been the advertised “20 minute boarding from the pier to the ship” but it was darn close.

 

 

Ship-

 

Anthem is just as beautiful as her sister. Muted and modern, you can tell that attention was paid to even the smallest of details. Loved the artwork, the inspirational quotes, the little areas to sit, Anthem is definitely an attractive ship in great condition.

 

Cabin-

 

We booked a balcony guarantee. We were immediately assigned a D2 balcony (11318). Even though it was all the way aft, we didn’t experience any significant movement or noise. My mom’s cabin was also a balcony guarantee. She was assigned a D6 (11138) all the way forward. I couldn’t tell a difference between our cabins.

 

Cabins were not ready when we boarded. I didn’t use the app to track my luggage. I intended to, I downloaded it and everything. We just got so caught up in boarding and starting the cruise I didn’t remember until I saw our luggage. It came about 2 hours after we boarded.

 

I was impressed with all of the storage/cubbies and overhead bins. I remember there was ample storage on the Quantum to put all of our stuff away, however, this cruise my husband was with us. The additional person put a strain on the drawer space. We had a little clutter that had no place to go.

 

More to come……

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queenL

queenL

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Did you see any drink cards offered at any time during the cruise?

 

Can't say I did. That doesn't mean the don't exist though. We bring our own drinks on board though so I don't pay attention to that sort of thing.

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queenL

queenL

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Deear queenL,

 

WELCOME HOME!!

 

 

 

Thank you! Awaiting your review too now more..

 

Q.) Did they have a served , yes not the *** Line in the Buffet on Embarkation Lunch ?

 

Checked my cruise compass, it says Windjammer, Solarium Bistro, Café 270, Micheal's Pub, and Coastal Kitchen are your only options.

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

Posted
Posted
Finally able to get a start on my review......

 

We are back from a great cruise on the Anthem of the Seas! This was cruise #25 for me. We've sailed on all the major lines before RCL, Celebrity, Carnival, Disney, Norwegian, Princess, MSC and HAL. We sailed with DH, our two daughters, 4 & 9, my mom and her friend.

 

Pre-cruise

 

We flew into EWR a day early for a pre-cruise stay in NJ. We took the free shuttle to Courtyard Marriott Elizabeth. We enjoyed our brief stay here. The hotel had been recently remodeled. The carpet was new, could smell fresh paint etc. A mall (w/food court), additional free standing eating places (Ruby Tuesday and IHOP), plenty of stores and a movie theater were all within walking distance. There was even a convenience type store inside the mall where we could get last minute water, juice, snacks etc. We had a super early flight…arrived at the hotel about 8am. Fortunately they allowed us to check in early.

If I had one gripe it would be the cost of transportation options in NJ/NY. I’m amazed with the number of cruisers sailing from Bayonne that cheaper bus/shuttle services have not cropped up. Pre-cruise we examined all of the options we could. Although Courtyard had no shuttle service to the pier. The adjacent Embassy suites did. When we inquired about the cost if you didn’t have the room package we were told $28.50pp. We were a party of 6 so the estimates we got were cheaper for a cab then even a private car. We requested a cab that seated 6 and told them we had luggage. When the SUV arrived it was small where you had the option of the 3rd row seating OR a trunk….not both. So we ended up taking 2 separate cabs $70 for the SUV, $60 for the cab. Even though it wasn’t far, it took about 30-40 minutes to get to the pier due to the traffic.

 

Embarkation-

 

This was sooooo much better than embarkation on the Quantum. We arrived at the pier around 11:30. We walked right up and gave our bags to the porter. This process took only a few minutes. TIP: There were many people waiting outside in the cold for the tablet toting RCL staff. It was unclear whether you needed to see them before you went inside. You didn’t. There were many more staff members inside, with shorter, warmer lines.  We had already done our paperwork online, so a 10-15 minute verification and our boarding pass was stamped. Security was equally as fast, no problem carrying on my bottled water, juice or steamer. From there we took our embarkation photo and we were onboard. No more numbers, colors, no sitting down waiting, we were done. It may not have been the advertised “20 minute boarding from the pier to the ship” but it was darn close.

 

 

Ship-

 

Anthem is just as beautiful as her sister. Muted and modern, you can tell that attention was paid to even the smallest of details. Loved the artwork, the inspirational quotes, the little areas to sit, Anthem is definitely an attractive ship in great condition.

 

Cabin-

 

We booked a balcony guarantee. We were immediately assigned a D2 balcony (11318). Even though it was all the way aft, we didn’t experience any significant movement or noise. My mom’s cabin was also a balcony guarantee. She was assigned a D6 (11138) all the way forward. I couldn’t tell a difference between our cabins.

 

Cabins were not ready when we boarded. I didn’t use the app to track my luggage. I intended to, I downloaded it and everything. We just got so caught up in boarding and starting the cruise I didn’t remember until I saw our luggage. It came about 2 hours after we boarded.

 

I was impressed with all of the storage/cubbies and overhead bins. I remember there was ample storage on the Quantum to put all of our stuff away, however, this cruise my husband was with us. The additional person put a strain on the drawer space. We had a little clutter that had no place to go.

 

More to come……

 

can you elaborate on "we bring our own drinks on board"?

thanks

mixplix

 

See the OP's post.

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mixplix

mixplix

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Can't say I did. That doesn't mean the don't exist though. We bring our own drinks on board though so I don't pay attention to that sort of thing.

 

The "drinks" being referred to were those that I would expect would be purchased with a drink card, and not juice or water - i.e. alcoholic beverages. However, I could be wrong.

 

If the OP could clarify, that would be groovy.

thanks

mixplix

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queenL

queenL

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can you elaborate on "we bring our own drinks on board"?

thanks

mixplix

 

Not a problem. I'm a professed addict and daily drinker of Simply Lemonade. :) I don't drink alcohol at all. So for me its always water, juice, lemonade or soda.

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queenL

queenL

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Kids Club

 

My 4yr old loved the Kid’s Club. She wanted to go as often as she could. My 9yr old fussed about going but when we went to pick her she was never ready to leave. There were a slew of kids on our sailing. We never had problems with the kids’ club being full though. The Science lab was great. The kids made a volcano erupt in one experiment. I loved all the activities that you could come and do with your children (all ages together). One day we made door signs for the cabin. Another day we sculpted works of art out of magic dough. It was great to have activities that we could do as a family. We stayed so busy with the scheduled activities that we didn’t utilize the indoor play area very much.

 

Weather-

 

The weather was great in ports! It wasn’t too hot. It was warm enough to be in summer gear but not as hot as the Caribbean will be in a few more months. It was cool leaving NJ and cold when we returned. It was so cold that we regretted not bringing coats. We ended up buying sweatshirts, gloves and hats when we were touring Manhattan post cruise.

 

Food-

 

I think I’m over classic dining. We were seldom ready to eat at 5:30 this cruise. I missed anytime dining. We ate with our dining room crew at our assigned time 2 days the entire cruise. The remainder, we booked specialty restaurants, ate in the Windjammer or went stand by at Silk.

 

Chic we skipped it. The menu had changed and we weren’t impressed with anything on it.

 

American Icon Grill- Again, disappointing. I wasn’t impressed with the food at all. We waited 15 minutes before the wait staff brought menus or drinks. Once another 15 minutes went by and they hadn’t returned to take our order, we contacted management. I was impressed with the manager though. Once we brought the service to his attention, he took over waiting our table. Things moved quickly from that point. I remember reading a lot of reviews that mentioned long wait times in the free restaurants. That was definitely our experience at American Icon.

 

The Grande- It was good, but once was enough. They do have lobster on the menu. Our wait staff improved dramatically from the day before. I noticed the manager hovering nearby. He asked many times if we were receiving faster service this time.

 

Solarium Bistro- I miss Devinly Decadence. Don’t know why they removed it. We ate here one day for lunch. It was the same food as the Windjammer, served the same way as a buffet. The only advantage was that it was quieter and with shorter lines.

 

Silk was our favorite of the free restaurants. We ate there twice because we liked it so much. There was great food and great service.

 

Seaplex hotdogs – There are several different styles of hot dogs. I ate quite a few over the course of the cruise.

 

Café 270 –Ate here twice, once for embarkation lunch (the shortest lines on the first day) and one day when we returned from port. Love the salad station- choose your greens/and your toppings and dressing and they mix it. We tried several of the sandwiches too. I liked it better than the Windjammer but my kids did not. I lost the battle.

 

Johnny Rockets – Same as the others. I had a great burger, fries from the Windjammer (did they not think we’d notice) and a very, below average, milkshake.

 

Jamie’s Italian was really good! It was one of my favorite meals on the ship. We ate there twice. Once for lunch and once for dinner. The lamb chops and pasta were awesome. I love arugula. They had a really great arugula salad. I ate two of them. I could have bought a specialty package and just ate here. I liked it that much.

 

Micheal’s Genuine Pub – I didn’t eat here this time. I do remember the wings were good when I had them last on the Quantum.

 

Izumi’s –We didn’t eat here this cruise.

 

Wonderland- We ate here on the first night. (Specialty restaurants are 20% off the first day) Plus, on Quantum I waited to eat at Wonderland, then when I went to make a reservation they said they were completely booked. I didn’t want to take that chance this time. I did like it. However, Wonderland is for the ambience, the food presentation, the innovation of the menu, the taste of the dishes was just so-so. Some foods were good and some foods were awful. I hated the “dirt” made of pumpernickel bread. It was a great experience one time, but I don’t think I’d go back on future cruises.

 

Chef’s Table- AWESOME! It always is the best meal at sea IMO. The food presentation, combinations, textures it’s just a great experience for any foodie. We don’t drink and hate the idea of paying so much cover for alcohol we don’t consume. So we always pre-arrange for other beverages and they discount the cover by at least half the price.

 

Windjammer- Still not a fan of the Vitality drinks. Lots of different food stations, crowds were a problem only at peak times. For the most part, they had the typical Windjammer variety. I was absolutely in love with the cookies on Quantum. Even though they did have the same flavors they were never fresh out of the oven when I went. That was disappointing. We still got great service here though and ended up eating here the majority of the time.

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ranchette

ranchette

Posted
Posted
Finally able to get a start on my review......

 

We are back from a great cruise on the Anthem of the Seas! This was cruise #25 for me. We've sailed on all the major lines before RCL, Celebrity, Carnival, Disney, Norwegian, Princess, MSC and HAL. We sailed with DH, our two daughters, 4 & 9, my mom and her friend.

 

Pre-cruise

 

We flew into EWR a day early for a pre-cruise stay in NJ. We took the free shuttle to Courtyard Marriott Elizabeth. We enjoyed our brief stay here. The hotel had been recently remodeled. The carpet was new, could smell fresh paint etc. A mall (w/food court), additional free standing eating places (Ruby Tuesday and IHOP), plenty of stores and a movie theater were all within walking distance. There was even a convenience type store inside the mall where we could get last minute water, juice, snacks etc. We had a super early flight…arrived at the hotel about 8am. Fortunately they allowed us to check in early.

If I had one gripe it would be the cost of transportation options in NJ/NY. I’m amazed with the number of cruisers sailing from Bayonne that cheaper bus/shuttle services have not cropped up. Pre-cruise we examined all of the options we could. Although Courtyard had no shuttle service to the pier. The adjacent Embassy suites did. When we inquired about the cost if you didn’t have the room package we were told $28.50pp. We were a party of 6 so the estimates we got were cheaper for a cab then even a private car. We requested a cab that seated 6 and told them we had luggage. When the SUV arrived it was small where you had the option of the 3rd row seating OR a trunk….not both. So we ended up taking 2 separate cabs $70 for the SUV, $60 for the cab. Even though it wasn’t far, it took about 30-40 minutes to get to the pier due to the traffic.

 

Embarkation-

 

This was sooooo much better than embarkation on the Quantum. We arrived at the pier around 11:30. We walked right up and gave our bags to the porter. This process took only a few minutes. TIP: There were many people waiting outside in the cold for the tablet toting RCL staff. It was unclear whether you needed to see them before you went inside. You didn’t. There were many more staff members inside, with shorter, warmer lines.  We had already done our paperwork online, so a 10-15 minute verification and our boarding pass was stamped. Security was equally as fast, no problem carrying on my bottled water, juice or steamer. From there we took our embarkation photo and we were onboard. No more numbers, colors, no sitting down waiting, we were done. It may not have been the advertised “20 minute boarding from the pier to the ship” but it was darn close.

 

 

Ship-

 

Anthem is just as beautiful as her sister. Muted and modern, you can tell that attention was paid to even the smallest of details. Loved the artwork, the inspirational quotes, the little areas to sit, Anthem is definitely an attractive ship in great condition.

 

Cabin-

 

We booked a balcony guarantee. We were immediately assigned a D2 balcony (11318). Even though it was all the way aft, we didn’t experience any significant movement or noise. My mom’s cabin was also a balcony guarantee. She was assigned a D6 (11138) all the way forward. I couldn’t tell a difference between our cabins.

 

Cabins were not ready when we boarded. I didn’t use the app to track my luggage. I intended to, I downloaded it and everything. We just got so caught up in boarding and starting the cruise I didn’t remember until I saw our luggage. It came about 2 hours after we boarded.

 

I was impressed with all of the storage/cubbies and overhead bins. I remember there was ample storage on the Quantum to put all of our stuff away, however, this cruise my husband was with us. The additional person put a strain on the drawer space. We had a little clutter that had no place to go.

 

More to come……

How do you get the app to track your luggage?

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