Hits and misses on Anthem of the Seas

[Guest maddycat]

I see Solarium Bistro there now. I looked at the menu again and that was the issue, not much my picky DH will eat.:rolleyes: We booked a week before final payment too and could only get reservations around 7:45pm or later. That time is just too late for my Mom who is sailing with us. I have booked some specialty reservations now, so only one night is without a reservation. We could get Wonderland but not a good choice for my DH.:cool: We will do WJ if necessary. Just wish I could have booked Grande at least once.

We went to the Solarium Bistro on our cruise in April and really enjoyed it. They have a buffet with appetizers, salads and desserts. The wait staff serves you your entrees and beverages. We liked it so much that I booked it twice for our next Anthem cruise. I plan on just picking from the buffet and skipping the entree altogether....great selection on the buffet. I know that my husband will order an entree. You should make a reservation, go in one night during dinner and see what they have to offer. If it doesn't appeal to you, you can always cancel your reservation.

Edited July 7, 2016 by maddycat

[marci22]

My husband and teens did the Labadee waverunner (or kayak?) excursion 5 or 6 years ago on Labadee. They also had vendors come out on kayaks. My husband was ready for them by saying, 'sorry I didn't bring money', but of course they offered to let him pay when he got back. He just said no thank you.

 

I don't think they will stop doing this anytime soon. I can see why you were upset. Most people will just say 'no'. It is still annoying, especially if you are unprepared for it.

[sdmike]

Back when Quantum debuted I remember someone doing the math and calculating that the four free restaurants could hold about 1730 diners per seating. So unlike every other ship I've ever been on, they can't feed everyone in two seatings. Allowing for specialties, they probably need 2 1/2 turns.

 

Was on the 6/16 nine day sailing with 6:30 pre-booked reservations every night and was amazed how all four restaurants were always mobbed at 6:30, but less than 1/2 full by 7pm. Not much busier when we'd leave around 7:45. Despite this, we were constantly told that all time slots were completely booked each night.

 

Believe there are significant issues with the dining reservation system.

 

Much of this is due to Royal programming it to believe that dinner takes two hours. It doesn't. We were always done in a little over an hour including dessert and coffee. Because it uses 2 hour dining slots the system thinks the restaurants are much fuller than they actually are. This is somewhat ameliorated by space being absorbed by walk-ups.

 

Another issue is that while they need almost three seatings to feed everyone, a large % of each restaurant is dedicated to dynamic dining classic which only has two seatings. Once the early seating finishes those tables all sit empty for an hour or more until late seating.

 

Also, when you change a reservation the system doesn't always delete the old reservation when adding the new one. This double booking gives the appearance that restaurants are more fully booked than they actually are.

 

We did see them making progress turning tables faster. Dedicated teams really hustled to clear and reset tables in only 2-3 minutes. Also, while we did observe more folks than usual dining in the Windjammer, doubt the facility was more than 10% full. And they did attempt to vary the menu through several theme nights.

 

Contrary to what others said, the Grand was the most crowded venue we visited. Our party of four ate there three times and always had a 5-10 minute wait.

 

I think there's some real truth to what you are saying. Some of us were able to get into Silk when they opened (4 out of our group), and when we left there were empty tables everywhere. Our service was about 70 minutes, and if they reserved for 2 hours it would explain the openings.

[sdmike]

My husband and teens did the Labadee waverunner (or kayak?) excursion 5 or 6 years ago on Labadee. They also had vendors come out on kayaks. My husband was ready for them by saying, 'sorry I didn't bring money', but of course they offered to let him pay when he got back. He just said no thank you.

 

I don't think they will stop doing this anytime soon. I can see why you were upset. Most people will just say 'no'. It is still annoying, especially if you are unprepared for it.

 

Most of us said no for sure, but they clearly (likely without realizing it) took advantage of someone unable to deal with the situation logically and emotionally. That's what is irritating me the most.

[gaylemh]

Sorry this is off topic and I can't help noticing. I'm reading your signature and have to ask if you have like 10 cruises planned on the Anthem over the next year or so? That's amazing if true, why so many on this ship? :eek:

 

I actually have 11 booked cruises between now and spring 2018. I loved Anthem and I get great deals as a solo either with balcony guarantees or SB cabins. I also know a lot of others that sail solo on Anthem that live close to the port like me. I'm only an hour away, which saves me airfare, hotels, transfers, and travel time. (I lived in Bayonne until 4 years ago, so I also have free parking most of the time with family that are still there)

Edited July 8, 2016 by gaylemh

[Merion_Mom]

I see Solarium Bistro there now. I looked at the menu again and that was the issue, not much my picky DH will eat.:rolleyes: We booked a week before final payment too and could only get reservations around 7:45pm or later. That time is just too late for my Mom who is sailing with us. I have booked some specialty reservations now, so only one night is without a reservation. We could get Wonderland but not a good choice for my DH.:cool: We will do WJ if necessary. Just wish I could have booked Grande at least once.

 

After the first time that I ate there, I just told the waiter that I was not going to order an entree at all.

 

I made a VERY complete meal out of the appetizer & salad bar, and dessert bar. No need for a 'main course' at all!

 

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Merion_Mom]

quite difficult to do when so many other things are on those decks, but yeah, I try to avoid them as much as possible.

 

My point was really that they should spend less space and time on selling us stuff and more time making sure pax spending $5k+ per room are happy.

 

I really have never understood the need for so many "high end" shops....jewelry, watches, clothes, handbags etc......Don't get me wrong I love all the things I've listed I just prefer the more reasonably priced versions ;)

 

 

Thanks for your review.

 

The shoppers subsidize everyone else's cruise. The profit that RC makes is not so much in the cruise fares.

 

It's really all about the on-board spending.

[newcruiser80]

Beautifully, beautifully written! We are finishing up the same sailing with you and I actually completely understand everything you are talking about. The biggest difference for is is that we are only 2 people and we were able to make all reservations, except for our 3 pay restaurants as part of the dining package ahead of time. Those reservations were easily made on board. I understand how difficult it is to plan something like dining for a group as large as yours.

 

I don't feel as if your review comes across as negative, just informative. Especially for families who are about to drop a lot of cash on one vacation.

 

We love Royal. We are diamond members and we're excited about this new class of ship. We actually loved everything about our trip and feel that the ship is gorgeous. New venues like Music Hall and Two70 are awesome! Staff was great.

 

Our favorite meals were at Wonderland and Jamie's, but again, for a large family it's hard to justify the cost for the restaurants when you're already paying so much. We cruised NCL last summer for the first time and you're exactly right, they have the dining down just right, but Freestyle always been their thing. Royal blows NCL away with their pools. NCL pools are small and lackluster. Sure slides are fun but I want to chill in a pool all day, and Royal has got them beat in this area. Especially the Solarium. Heaven.

 

We are always taken aback by negative reviews and all week have just not understood why so many people write negative reviews about Anthem. Thankfully your review helped us to understand the discrepancies in a productive, non-negative way. Thank you!

 

Royal is a great product, but I think most people who are past cruisers are disappointed in the rotational dining which still needs tweaking. We all need to be as focused and vocal about this concern to help them get it right.

 

Oh and Labadee, yeah what a nightmare. Such a shame they've built up the space so well but have now ruined it with these vendors. It's out of control. Period.

[RareBird]

I am glad you put it out there. We were on anthem back in May of this year and I came off the ship fuming. In fact as soon as I was off I booked Norwegian suite for December. Royal Caribbean completely lost me after all the issues I had on the ship.

 

I don't think I will book another cruise with Royal for very long time - and we cruise 2x a year! I couldn't wait to give Norwegian my money.

 

For four nights in a row we could not book a free restaurant, none of their free restaurants where available to be booked which is a shame. If you think it's better with Paid restaurants it's the same. The steakhouse was booked up for five nights in a row. Meanwhile, the huge restaurant they have set aside for the suite guests was always empty. And the food was never hot, warm but not hot.

 

North Star was booked up from the first day. We finally got a tip from another passenger to just go "stand by" hoping people didn't show up. That worked on first try and we were able to ride it.

 

We were in the balcony cabin. I honestly hated the beds, they are very hard. The pillows tiny. The cabinet layout is ridiculous. If the beds are separated, the cabinets next to the beds cannot be opened as they hit the beds and linens. And because of these huge cabinets next to the bed, you absolutely did not get a Waterview if lying down. What is the point of a balcony cabin if you can't see the water? I feel like the designers didn't think about where this room will be they were just designing for a hotel not cruise ship.

 

We also had same issues with reservations on the mobile app versus customer service versus the big screens on the ship nothing matched. And because they had so many automated reservation options, they had few real people to address concerns.

 

The big positives were shows and entertainment. The new theater in the back of the ship is fantastic. I loved the shows, all of them. The entertainment was really much better than NCL. I wish Norwegian would put more money into their shows and organizing events.

 

In the end, even though I am a very active member of this forum I did not write a bad review. To be honest, I always think people exaggerate when I read they had a bad cruise. But in the case of anthem what you read is actually true.

Edited July 8, 2016 by RareBird

[marci22]

I think there's some real truth to what you are saying. Some of us were able to get into Silk when they opened (4 out of our group), and when we left there were empty tables everywhere. Our service was about 70 minutes, and if they reserved for 2 hours it would explain the openings.

 

I also think they are blocking out time periods. When I went to book my dining there was not a wide selection of times. Seemed to be two available time periods for the various restaurants, one early and one late. All the free restaurants booked up quickly and there has been no availability since.

 

Did anyone who was refused reservations at a free venue threaten to remove auto-tips? Unfortunately, I think that is the one thing they would listen to. If they told me I had to eat at WJ because there was no room at the free venues, that is what I would do.

Edited July 8, 2016 by marci22

[micmacmissy]

I agree that Labadee has changed a lot. That cell phone story has changed though, I remember the thread, the cell phone was left out in the open on a lounge chair, it was not in a bag. Either way, the person who stole it was in the wrong, but leaving an expensive item out in the open is not a good idea. I found the original thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1783276

 

The whole waverunner issue is just wrong, but they have gotten away with doing that for years. We had read about it here on cruise critic and decided against the excursion because of it.

 

Wow, you must really have a great memory, because I was there and I don't even remember that much.

 

My main point was this: RCI needs to get a grip on this place. They could have cared less about the theft, had no system in place to officially report the theft, and do not seem to have proper oversight over these locals. Even the "security" people are locals.

 

Travelers to Labadee beware! (I guess you should beware regardless of where you go, but you don't expect to be taken advantage of like that: OP's son is a perfect example.)

[hapster85]

My #1 issue is that it’s virtually impossible to get a sit-down dinner in a free dining room ...

 

... However, as part of the “tour”, the guide had us stop and regroup in a small bay where locals (I assume) paddled out in kayaks with their boats full of crap to sell to the tourists. They grabbed our wave runners and offered their products. One grabbed my leg so he could pull himself closer. It was very difficult to get them to leave us alone.

 

As to dinners, I'm curious why you didn't make reservations ahead of time, especially with such a large group. I don't blame you for getting tired of the Windjammer. It becomes redundant rather quickly.

 

The situation you encountered in Labadee on the wave runners is appalling. No one should be grabbing at your craft, and certainly not your person. Those things become pretty unstable when they aren't moving. They could easily tump someone off that way.

[newcruiser80]

I am glad you put it out there. We were on anthem back in May of this year and I came off the ship fuming. In fact as soon as I was off I booked Norwegian suite for December. Royal Caribbean completely lost me after all the issues I had on the ship.

 

I don't think I will book another cruise with Royal for very long time - and we cruise 2x a year! I couldn't wait to give Norwegian my money.

 

We were in the balcony cabin. I honestly hated the beds, they are very hard. The pillows tiny. The cabinet layout is ridiculous.

 

In the end, even though I am a very active member of this forum I did not write a bad review. To be honest, I always think people exaggerate when I read they had a bad cruise. But in the case of anthem what you read is actually true.

 

This is where your opinion of exaggeration is exemplified by your own post. OP was rational. Anthem's cabins are beautiful and very well laid out. To say you'll never cruise Royal again is quite dramatic. Quantum class ships are the minority in a beautiful group of ships that still cater to your traditional tastes. Trust me, based on this reply, go to NCL and you'll nit-pick there, too. Happy sailing :rolleyes:

[cyndepet]

Thanks for posting your feedback (good and bad). I'm sailing on Anthem in October, and this will be my first RCL cruise in 10 years after many on NCL, Carnival and Princess.

 

The information you're sharing is extremely helpful to others like me who are planning their cruises. Because of reviews like yours, I know that I should have all my reservations made before we get on the ship. And I know what to look for as far as hits and misses on entertainment and activities. And areas of the ship to avoid the crazy sales!

 

Thanks again for sharing!

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks for posting your feedback (good and bad). I'm sailing on Anthem in October, and this will be my first RCL cruise in 10 years after many on NCL, Carnival and Princess.

 

The information you're sharing is extremely helpful to others like me who are planning their cruises. Because of reviews like yours, I know that I should have all my reservations made before we get on the ship. And I know what to look for as far as hits and misses on entertainment and activities. And areas of the ship to avoid the crazy sales!

 

Thanks again for sharing!

 

Make sure you are even checking now. Some things should already be available for booking.

[DaniDanielle]

When booking the Anthem, reservations for shows and dining were available on-line. We always book before the cruise, reservations can be changed onboard and we did this easily. Our balcony room was very nice, beds comfortable. If you want to gaze at the sea go out on your balcony, it is beautiful out there. We were on the Breakaway and found Norwegian to be lacking. There are waits for dining etc.

[RareBird]

This is where your opinion of exaggeration is exemplified by your own post. OP was rational. Anthem's cabins are beautiful and very well laid out. To say you'll never cruise Royal again is quite dramatic. Quantum class ships are the minority in a beautiful group of ships that still cater to your traditional tastes. Trust me, based on this reply, go to NCL and you'll nit-pick there, too. Happy sailing :rolleyes:

 

I didn't say never, I said very long time. Last cruise on royal before Anthem was in 2010, so maybe in 3-5 years when another new ship is in Bayonne? Oh well. Just saying they lost a frequent passenger on Anthem. We used to sail Explorer so many times. Empress too.

[reallyitsmema]

I didn't say never, I said very long time. Last cruise on royal before Anthem was in 2010, so maybe in 3-5 years when another new ship is in Bayonne? Oh well. Just saying they lost a frequent passenger on Anthem. We used to sail Explorer so many times. Empress too.

 

It is really just different perspectives, you say you "sailed Explorer so many times", but if your signature reflects all of those sailings, it is only three times plus two times on Empress. What you consider a frequent cruiser, others would consider an occasional cruiser.

 

Moving on to another cruise line is the right move since you are unhappy with what Royal Caribbean is offering right now. If that changes in your mind, then give it another try. Blind loyalty to a single cruise line is something that makes no sense to me whatsoever and I have only sailed with Royal Caribbean.:eek::D We are looking to book Princess to Alaska in 2018 and NCL from Boston in 2017.

[Ocean Dancer]

Anthem is a very different sailing experience. It doesn't matter if you are true to Royal, this class ship requires reservations in advance which may "put" some cruisers off.

 

If you want to just book a cruise and pick a dining time, the Anthem is not for you. A lot of planning goes into it.

 

It's different and we loved it!:)

[Baron Barracuda]

Have been to Labadee many times. My family loves it there. Always head to Nellie's beach where we have NEVER seen a vendor. If you prefer the other side of the island just give the native market a wide berth.

 

Waverunner complaint is legit. Have seen it mentioned in many posts in recent years. No excuse.

[newcruiser80]

I didn't say never, I said very long time. Last cruise on royal before Anthem was in 2010, so maybe in 3-5 years when another new ship is in Bayonne? Oh well. Just saying they lost a frequent passenger on Anthem. We used to sail Explorer so many times. Empress too.

 

Actually I get that. I see you cruised Explorer frequently which is good for us NYers. Hopefully you love NCL (apparently the Haven is incredible) and RCCL gets their act together and you will want to join them again. ;)

[BillNY]

We are sailing on Thursday on the Anthem, a group of 15, and I understand the frustration of the OP even before we board. I checked online religiously for reservations of all types to open up. I was actually able to book two tables for dinner in free restaurants for every night of the cruise, and also for the three shows that need reservations. The first issue we had was with RCL changing the dates and times of two of the shows, which caused conflicts with our dinner reservations. I tried to adjust online and in a call to customer service, but was told 1) There were no reservations available for the new times needed, and 2) even though I had booked all the people in our group, each individual person (cabin) had to call to cancel. That wasn't going to work,but luckily, a fellow CCer on here provided an email address to ask for assistance. They were able to adjust our reservations for us, but, I am sure mist people, without the benefit of CC, would have been out of luck.

We also were unable to book any activities, which is disappointing, especially to the youngsters in our group.

Sorry for the long post; I just think the way RCL does things is exhausting and way too much work!

 

 

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[anthemcruise2016]

Just a note about the restaurants! I booked my cruise at the end of April and stupidly, having never traveled with Royal, didn't do reservations for anything until three weeks before my cruise date. I just assumed I had plenty of time like I did on other ships. Needless to say, I didn't have time and everything was booked. We will rock you, the gift, and spectra's cabaret were completely booked online and a call to Royal's customer service gave me the shove off that if I didn't book and was basically screwed. Restaurants were available but all the bookings were for 8.45 and 9.00pm which was an obscene hour to eat dinner. Again, a call to customer service told me I'd just have to make do at the buffet, yes, that's really what they said to me. I was completely disenchanted with going on the cruise after that. I felt like I wasted money. I mean part of the price is the food right? Anyway, I ended up booking several restaurants for the late hours they offered. I read a few different reviews and every one said that the best bet was to get on board and do reservations via guest serves or the app.

 

As soon as I boarded I had the app loaded up and ready to login. I tried a ton of times and couldn't get into it. Hint: you have to use your floor and cabin number to login. So, if you're on floor 10 and your room is 115 you'd have to put in 10115. I didn't know this.

 

Anyway, I asked a crew member where I could book the shows as that was my top priority since I couldn't do them online. I felt for sure she'd tell me they were booked and I'd have to be on stand by. She directed me to the theater and told me they would help me there. Hint: Go directly to the theater when you board if you haven't been able to book online. They'll have all the shows available as well as Northstar, Sky Diving, etc reservations.

 

I rushed to the theater and both doors were closed! Again, Hint, head upstairs to 5, the doors here to the theater are open and three people sitting at tables are there and waiting to book shows, etc....!

 

I ended up getting into all three shows as well as booking Northstar easily. But they do fill up fast so, again, head there first as soon as you get on board.

 

As for restaurant reservations I was unable to solve the late bookings I had nor switch them when I boarded. BUT...the good news is this, even though I had 8:45 and 9pm bookings I was able to head to any restaurant at anytime and they happily accommodated me with an earlier time. I was eating dinner as early as 5:30 and some days six or seven if I had a busy schedule. As long as you have the reservation they really didn't give me an issue about switching it for an earlier time. However, I was only with one other person! It might not be as easy if you have a bigger group or family that you are traveling with!

 

This also worked fine with paid restaurants. For example, Jamie's Kitchen I had an 8:30 reservation but a show collided with the dinner slot. I ended up going at 5:30 and asking if they could take me and they were completely fine with it.

 

So, don't be too discouraged if everything is booked late! Just ask nicely and they seem more than willing to change any late bookings for earlier ones at the podiums when the restaurants open for dinner!

 

Good luck!

[BEENSAILING]

On board you can usually accomplish wayyyyyy more than calling Reservations or C&A.

 

 

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[tinkandpan]

We were just off the this sailing as well. Our steward nicely out blankets under all our mattresses so our beds were not as hard as I previously heard. She was a wonderful steward.

We had reservations prior to boarding for dinner. We were a party of 6 with one wheelchair. We did the dynamic dining but we do eat early at 6:00. About three months out we tried to book and everything on line was full but we called and the reservations operator was able to help after about 40 minutes. We boarded with a table for 6 every night. We weren't picky about the restaurants. First night was grande which we thoug was excellent and wound up changing one of our silk nights to a third night at grande. Personally I would have rather kept silk and traded in American icon but my mother hated her silk meal ( and she was right what she ordered was horrid but the rest of us had good dinners). My complaints with the dining rooms was it was always a surprise that we had a wheelchair in our party and they would freak out about table assignments and make my dad very uncomfortable. Actually all in all the concept of disability on this ship was deplorable. My dad was told can't you just walk the three steps to get into the North Star ( uh no he is a paralyzed veteran). Even the night they saluted the vets they did it on a stage with stairs. But that's another story.

 

I highly suggest going in the morning down to Deck 4 to talk to the restaurant hospitality crew. They will help you to their best ability get a reservation.