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7-23-16 Anthem Review

scottygirl
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scottygirl

scottygirl

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Cruise Report Subtitle:

(There are lines for everything, that’s why it’s called a “Cruise Line”)

Cruisers: Me, DH, DD19 and DS19, several cruises under our belts but first time Royal.

 

Drove in from Michigan and stayed in Parsippany (Free night Marriott Rewards) the night before.

 

Arrived at the terminal around 9:40, dropped off luggage, parked, checked in and had our butts in chairs in row 6 by 10:05, very smooth process. Then the announcement was made that boarding was going to be delayed until 12:00-12:30 ugh! The terminal started filling up with no more seats available. The Royal employees asked all the later arrivals to fill in the space toward the back. Well, people had other ideas and apparently rules that just applied to them and they were filling in the aisle ways thinking that when the sections were called they would just file in right behind the folks that were already sitting in the rows. Since this isn’t Royal’s first rodeo they cordoned off the rows preventing the scofflaws from weaseling their way in. When a section was called for boarding they then filled it in with the folks who were standing in the back.

 

We were on the ship by 12:05, grabbed a glass of champs and headed straight to the I-Pads on deck five to book Ripcord. I was only able to get one reservation for this online before the cruise. I had no problem getting three more once boarding. So if you can’t get a reservation ahead of time get onboard early and make it a priority.

 

We then made our way to Café 270 for lunch and witnessed a wedding! After we were done eating we walked around the ship for a few moments ended up at the SeaPlex where we rode the bumper cars. Other than the Puzzle Room this would be my one and only visit to this area. My kids who are 19 didn’t spend much time in there either as they said it was a pre-teen, teen hangout and there were lines for everything. The 30 minute limit for the XBOX was never observed. Apparently there were several kids on this cruise that never learned how to share and were very entitled. It wasn’t that big of a deal to my kids so they just moved on. I think the 18-20 crowd is a hard age because they aren’t in high school anymore but they are not 21 yet.

 

We then went to our staterooms and unpacked, two inside staterooms on deck 10. Good location and felt very little ship movement. The only downside was the ROCK HARD beds. Normally I sleep really well on a ship but those beds are ridiculous. Must have been a cost cutting measure, Royal really dropped the ball here. We changed into our suits and went up to deck 14 for sail-away.

HOT! 97 degrees! It was a scorcher and sail-away was delayed not sure they exact time we left but I have a pic under the Verazzano Bridge at 5:02. After getting by the bridge the Northstar opened up and we rode it. There was some kind of malfunction while we were up and the pod dropped slightly. Operator said it was due to the way the ship was turning. Once we were back down they had a hard time realigning the pod to the docking area. We had reservations later in the week which we then cancelled because once was enough. Sorry Northstar fans but I think it is overrated.

 

We then headed to the Flowrider. My kids have ridden a Flowrider at a waterpark and have taken surfing lessons in Hawaii. They absolutely loved the Flowrider and rode it several times both stand-up and boogie boarding. The crew working the Flowrider were very patient and helpful. My husband did the boogie board on the last day. I enjoyed watching him wipeout!

We went to the Welcome Aboard Show……boring. John Blair (my mom said if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say it at all….. so we will leave it at that.) We had dinner at the Grande, Surf and Turf which was a filet and two measly shrimp, our filets were cooked perfectly medium. Also we each got a lobster tail. Delicious! Best meal on the ship. Had dessert every night and the scale has reflected that! We enjoyed all the desserts. In general we were happy with most of the food. We went for a walk on deck 5 after dinner. This is one of the things I don’t care for on the Anthem, not a lot of openness to the sea. I get that this was designed for cold weather sailings but the Solarium should have had a retractable roof and the indoor pool’s roof was only open the last day in Bermuda.

 

End of Day 1

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CruiserTB

CruiserTB

Posted
Posted (edited)
Cruise Report Subtitle:

(There are lines for everything, that’s why it’s called a “Cruise Line”)

Cruisers: Me, DH, DD19 and DS19, several cruises under our belts but first time Royal.

 

Drove in from Michigan and stayed in Parsippany (Free night Marriott Rewards) the night before.

 

Arrived at the terminal around 9:40, dropped off luggage, parked, checked in and had our butts in chairs in row 6 by 10:05, very smooth process. Then the announcement was made that boarding was going to be delayed until 12:00-12:30 ugh! The terminal started filling up with no more seats available. The Royal employees asked all the later arrivals to fill in the space toward the back. Well, people had other ideas and apparently rules that just applied to them and they were filling in the aisle ways thinking that when the sections were called they would just file in right behind the folks that were already sitting in the rows. Since this isn’t Royal’s first rodeo they cordoned off the rows preventing the scofflaws from weaseling their way in. When a section was called for boarding they then filled it in with the folks who were standing in the back.

 

We were on the ship by 12:05, grabbed a glass of champs and headed straight to the I-Pads on deck five to book Ripcord. I was only able to get one reservation for this online before the cruise. I had no problem getting three more once boarding. So if you can’t get a reservation ahead of time get onboard early and make it a priority.

 

We then made our way to Café 270 for lunch and witnessed a wedding! After we were done eating we walked around the ship for a few moments ended up at the SeaPlex where we rode the bumper cars. Other than the Puzzle Room this would be my one and only visit to this area. My kids who are 19 didn’t spend much time in there either as they said it was a pre-teen, teen hangout and there were lines for everything. The 30 minute limit for the XBOX was never observed. Apparently there were several kids on this cruise that never learned how to share and were very entitled. It wasn’t that big of a deal to my kids so they just moved on. I think the 18-20 crowd is a hard age because they aren’t in high school anymore but they are not 21 yet.

 

We then went to our staterooms and unpacked, two inside staterooms on deck 10. Good location and felt very little ship movement. The only downside was the ROCK HARD beds. Normally I sleep really well on a ship but those beds are ridiculous. Must have been a cost cutting measure, Royal really dropped the ball here. We changed into our suits and went up to deck 14 for sail-away.

HOT! 97 degrees! It was a scorcher and sail-away was delayed not sure they exact time we left but I have a pic under the Verazzano Bridge at 5:02. After getting by the bridge the Northstar opened up and we rode it. There was some kind of malfunction while we were up and the pod dropped slightly. Operator said it was due to the way the ship was turning. Once we were back down they had a hard time realigning the pod to the docking area. We had reservations later in the week which we then cancelled because once was enough. Sorry Northstar fans but I think it is overrated.

 

We then headed to the Flowrider. My kids have ridden a Flowrider at a waterpark and have taken surfing lessons in Hawaii. They absolutely loved the Flowrider and rode it several times both stand-up and boogie boarding. The crew working the Flowrider were very patient and helpful. My husband did the boogie board on the last day. I enjoyed watching him wipeout!

We went to the Welcome Aboard Show……boring. John Blair (my mom said if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say it at all….. so we will leave it at that.) We had dinner at the Grande, Surf and Turf which was a filet and two measly shrimp, our filets were cooked perfectly medium. Also we each got a lobster tail. Delicious! Best meal on the ship. Had dessert every night and the scale has reflected that! We enjoyed all the desserts. In general we were happy with most of the food. We went for a walk on deck 5 after dinner. This is one of the things I don’t care for on the Anthem, not a lot of openness to the sea. I get that this was designed for cold weather sailings but the Solarium should have had a retractable roof and the indoor pool’s roof was only open the last day in Bermuda.

 

End of Day 1

 

Can you tell me more about the wedding you witnessed? Was 270 decorated for a wedding or did it look the same? Were there a lot of non-guests walking in and out of 270? Anything else you recollect. Thanks.:D

Edited by CruiserTB
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scottygirl

scottygirl

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Did you try the puzzle room? If so, how did you make the reservations?

Also, is North Star open the first day while in port?

Thank you for your review 😄

 

Yes we did the Puzzle Room. I was able to make reservations online. However I could only get two of us the first sea day and the other two on the second sea day. It was fun and my group got out in 37 minutes which I hear was pretty good!

 

The North Star operated every day we were on the ship.

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scottygirl

scottygirl

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Can you tell me more about the wedding you witnessed? Was 270 decorated for a wedding or did it look the same? Were there a lot of non-guests walking in and out of 270? Anything else you recollect. Thanks.:D

 

I really didn't notice any decorations other than some flowers. Cafe 270 was open and people were walking in and out. The couple getting married were down by the stage area and the bride walked down the staircase from the second level. I would not say it was an intimate venue. If you want a bunch of random strangers at your wedding then it would be perfect!

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scottygirl

scottygirl

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Got up and to the gym by 7:30 and it was PACKED! Had to wait a few minutes for a treadmill, there were 3 that were out of order and only 2 of them had signs on them. I was unfortunate to get a treadmill that was next to a machine that wasn’t working and wasn’t signed as such. Spent my 3 mile run telling people who were trying to use it that it was broken. Daughter wanted to use the free weights and but someone decided to gather all the weights they would use for their entire work out in front of them instead of just using them as needed and then putting them back on the rack. I’m not sure how many sets of weights that were available but once again we encountered someone who hadn’t learned how to share,

 

We then went to Solarium Bistro for breakfast. Very good, healthy options. I love the Muesli! Seems to be the same recipe as on Celebrity. Went back to the room to shower and got ready for Escape from the Future by Puzzle Break

 

I was able to book this activity online although I could only get two spots on the first sea day and two spots on the second sea day. My daughter and I participated in today’s session and were able to escape in 37 minutes. This was a fun activity especially since dark clouds were looming and we were about to get rained on.

 

Due to the rain showers we ended up at the Solarium and not one chair was to be found, chair hogs were out in full force. Lots of seats with towels and no people. We just dropped our bag in a corner and hopped in the pools and hot tub. This is a fabulous area but I think Royal missed the mark by not making the roof either retractable or at least partially open because it is really warm in there. The ship sails out of a colder climate but it sails to a warmer climate! I’m not an engineer or ship architect so maybe there is a good reason for this???

 

Once it cleared up we headed to the main pool and grabbed some prime seats. On my previous cruises there was always a band playing by the pool on a prime sea day, well not on the Anthem. They had music playing that kept on being cut off every minute or so. It was truly annoying. The big screen had the same social media posts being shown over and over again. The music being cut off seemed to have something to do with these posts on the big screen. We were at the pool for a couple of hours and this issue was never resolved. On the last sea day the social media posts were not playing and the music at the pool was just fine. A random I-Phone hooked to a Bluetooth speaker would have better than what was playing! The kids went to the Flowrider several times and the rock climbing wall.

 

We had dinner at Silk this evening. Dinner was good with the exception of the rice. How can an Asian restaurant not make good rice? Well Silk managed to accomplish it. The rice was undercooked bordering on crunchy. Desserts were good especially the mochi ice cream!

 

After dinner it was time for Spectra’s Cabaret. I want this hour of my life back please. The technology was interesting but the rest of the show was not our taste. We then headed to The Music Hall to see The Police Experience which was already in progress. We really enjoyed the show and went back another night to see the show from the beginning. After the show we called it a night because we wanted to be up and ready for our first day in Bermuda!

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FM

FM

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Great review so far - thanks. But what's with the "rock-hard beds that I have been reading of late ... did you request any blankets to be placed under the sheets - is it hard because it is a firm mattress or one that is like a concrete slab (lol)? If this is an ongoing concern about the Anthem staterooms then that will definitely change our plans of doing a B2B Canada/New England/ Bermuda cruise next year ... no way going to spend 2 weeks on a hard bed :(

 

Regarding the SeaPlex area, was it more of a teen hang-out during this sailing ... I assume it would be less so during sailings outside of summer/holidays ...

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DaniDanielle

DaniDanielle

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We enjoyed most of Spectra, it was designed to showcase 270. We are in the minority apparently because we found the beds perfect, just needed extra pillows. We had a balcony room and in March my daughter had an interior room and did not enjoy the bed so maybe it is an interior room thing[emoji15]

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scottygirl

scottygirl

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Great review so far - thanks. But what's with the "rock-hard beds that I have been reading of late ... did you request any blankets to be placed under the sheets - is it hard because it is a firm mattress or one that is like a concrete slab (lol)? If this is an ongoing concern about the Anthem staterooms then that will definitely change our plans of doing a B2B Canada/New England/ Bermuda cruise next year ... no way going to spend 2 weeks on a hard bed :(

 

Regarding the SeaPlex area, was it more of a teen hang-out during this sailing ... I assume it would be less so during sailings outside of summer/holidays ...

 

The mattress was way to firm for my liking. We have a firm pillow top mattress at home so I am used to that. Stayed at 3 different Marriott's on this trip also and the mattresses were just fine.

 

I am sure the SeaPlex area would be less of a teen hangout during other times of the year.

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scottygirl

scottygirl

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We enjoyed most of Spectra, it was designed to showcase 270. We are in the minority apparently because we found the beds perfect, just needed extra pillows. We had a balcony room and in March my daughter had an interior room and did not enjoy the bed so maybe it is an interior room thing[emoji15]

 

I was chatting with a woman who had a balcony cabin at the pool and she was complaining about the bed also so I doubt this is the case.

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scottygirl

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I got up bright and early and was seated at a table by a window in the Windjammer by 7 am. Watched the sail-in to Bermuda, beautiful and highly recommended. It took about an hour and half to dock and you see the entire western? side of the island from St. David’s to the Dockyard. Enjoyed my coffee and muesli. The coffee in the Windjammer is just fine. In fact they have hot milk over by the cereal area and I used that in my coffee to make a poor man’s latte.

 

We were off the ship by 9:15 and ran to make the 9:30 ferry to St. George. In St George we walked the town a bit, went to city hall and the unfinished church. Then we walked to Tobacco Bay where we rented a couple of chairs and umbrella and spent a couple of hours swimming, sunbathing, and snorkeling. Had a couple Rum Swizzles which were very light on the rum! My son, who is always hungry, had a burger and fries which he devoured like someone who hadn't eaten in a week. We had a good time but the snorkeling was disappointing.

 

Walked back into town bought bus and ferry tokens at the Post Office and took a long bus ride to Hamilton. My family was complaining about the bus ride (we live in the Motor City and public transportation is very limited so other than a school bus my kids have never had to take a city bus anywhere!) I on the other hand appreciated the scenic ride and enjoyed watching the locals go about their day. Our original plan was to get off the bus at the Swizzle Inn but that didn’t happen. Went to the Hog Penny? and had some nachos. Everyone was beat so we hopped on the 4:00 ferry back to the ship. Rested up a bit, showered and got ready for dinner at Solarium Bistro.

 

Dinner was good. The entrée choices are very limited but the buffet offerings are plenty. After dinner we watched a little family karaoke in The Music Hall. Let’s just say some people had better keep their day jobs. ;) I believe we then went to the headliner show with Earl Turner? He was very entertaining but we left early to see The Police Experience again. We then called it a night because we wanted to be up bright and early for Horseshoe Bay.

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ForeverAfter

ForeverAfter

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I got up bright and early and was seated at a table by a window in the Windjammer by 7 am. Watched the sail-in to Bermuda, beautiful and highly recommended. It took about an hour and half to dock and you see the entire western? side of the island from St. David’s to the Dockyard. Enjoyed my coffee and muesli. The coffee in the Windjammer is just fine. In fact they have hot milk over by the cereal area and I used that in my coffee to make a poor man’s latte.

 

We were off the ship by 9:15 and ran to make the 9:30 ferry to St. George. In St George we walked the town a bit, went to city hall and the unfinished church. Then we walked to Tobacco Bay where we rented a couple of chairs and umbrella and spent a couple of hours swimming, sunbathing, and snorkeling. Had a couple Rum Swizzles which were very light on the rum! My son, who is always hungry, had a burger and fries which he devoured like someone who hadn't eaten in a week. We had a good time but the snorkeling was disappointing.

 

Walked back into town bought bus and ferry tokens at the Post Office and took a long bus ride to Hamilton. My family was complaining about the bus ride (we live in the Motor City and public transportation is very limited so other than a school bus my kids have never had to take a city bus anywhere!) I on the other hand appreciated the scenic ride and enjoyed watching the locals go about their day. Our original plan was to get off the bus at the Swizzle Inn but that didn’t happen. Went to the Hog Penny? and had some nachos. Everyone was beat so we hopped on the 4:00 ferry back to the ship. Rested up a bit, showered and got ready for dinner at Solarium Bistro.

 

Dinner was good. The entrée choices are very limited but the buffet offerings are plenty. After dinner we watched a little family karaoke in The Music Hall. Let’s just say some people had better keep their day jobs. ;) I believe we then went to the headliner show with Earl Turner? He was very entertaining but we left early to see The Police Experience again. We then called it a night because we wanted to be up bright and early for Horseshoe Bay.

 

Did you rent snorkel equipment there?

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