Review Anthem of the Seas 10/1/2016

[nycfa]

First a little about us:

 

DH & myself are in our late 40's

DD1 & DD2 are 14 and 12

 

This is the 10th cruise for myself and DH. The 4th cruise for our DD.

 

As you can tell by my siggy we mainly cruise Carnival and have been very happy with them. However, I have been wanting to try one of RCL Mega Ships but they were always just too pricey!

 

We just went on an Alaska Cruise in July and had NO plans to do another cruise this year when all bunch of stuff kinda all fell into place and we went for it!

 

We book just two months out (we booked and had to make the full cruise payment the same day! LOL). We got a great deal on a Balcony Guarantee and the cruise left on a 4 day weekend for the kids (so they only missed two days of school).

 

Shortly after we booked we were assigned room 11708 a D2. Very happy with the cabin. The location was great and it was between two floors of cabins so it was very quite. It was located more aft but was a quick walk to the stairs and we were able to go up just a few floors to the buffet, pools and activities.

 

We took the stairs for pretty much everything (I have averaging 14,000 steps a day!) and managed to only gain 2 lbs (and I ATE LOL).

[nycfa]

You would think the two months would fly by but NO......it took forever but finally cruise day was here!

 

We live in Putnam County NY which is about 1.5 hr drive to Port Liberty in NJ.

 

Since it was a Saturday morning we had a quick easy drive down and pulled into the port about 9 am. (FYI....the area when you get off the turnpike is all under construction and kinda messy but we managed to find our way in).

 

Pulling into the dock area.....

 

 

My first thought was WOW she is big!!! LOL

 

Since she was still unloading (we were way early but I was worried about traffic if there was an accident or whatever) but we pulled into the luggage drop area.

 

We dropped off our bags and the porter tagged them. FYI we did bring on a 12 pack of diet coke. I had taped on a tag I had printed out at home and the port taped on the second tag. No one blinked an eye and it was waiting with our luggage outside our cabin door when the rooms opened up at 1 pm.

 

After we dropped off our luggage we parked and walked over to the terminal. A RCL Rep with an I pad checked us in. I had done everything online including our security photos so it was a quick process to check in.

 

Then we went into the terminal and thru security and they ushered us into a seating area.

 

We hung out and relaxed a bit until boarding began around 11 ish?

 

[Cruising Golfer]

Can't wait to hear more... We leave in 30 days... :cool:

[nycfa]

We headed right up the Windjammer for lunch before it started to get busy! Afterwards we wandered around the ship exploring until the rooms were ready!

 

As you can tell it was a little overcast and blah this morning but who cares we are going on a cruise! LOL

 

 

 

 

 

You can see the Statue of Liberty from the Port

 

 

The line into the port is getting long and busy at this point...

 

 

Glad we were early and are already on board! :)

[nycfa]

For anyone who is interested in hitting the jogging/walking path on the ship...

 

 

I went up most mornings for a few laps. It's marked one side for jogging and one for walking. I do suggest if you wish to jog go earlier in the morning. As the day goes on it gets busy with people just hanging out or leisurely walking to the I Fly or Flow Rider. So you have to do a lot of dodging people. In the morning thought its not an issue since most are still asleep.

[nycfa]

If you are interested in bumper cars check the schedule the first day.....

 

They opened at 12:30 and there was a very short line so we rode them twice!

 

 

Then some more exploring on deck...

 

I have to say I never saw the rock wall open? Maybe someone else did but I never saw anyone doing it and the last sea day when we wanted to try it definitely wasn't open (most likely cause it was too windy!)

 

 

North Star in motion....

 

[Kdamghani]

Looking forward to the rest!

[nycfa]

Soon the rooms were ready.....

 

We had been assigned cabin 11708. Thought the location was great. Balcony was nice. Lots of talk on here regarding the comfort of the bed....IMO the main bed was fine but the sofa bed....wow, hard as a rock!! Seriously even just sitting on the one side when it was open hurt my butt! If/When we take this ship again I will definitely talk to the room steward the first day about padding it up some. My younger one didn't complain but the older one (who was on the harder side by the desk said her shoulder hurt by the end of the trip! Yikes!

 

 

 

When we went to the cabin at 1 all our luggage minus one bag was outside so we unpacked. The last luggage showed up not too long after that. Soon it was time for the Muster. Ours was in the 270 which was nice vs standing lined up out on deck. We watched the video and then were quickly on our way (FYI don't forget to bring EVERYONE'S Sea Pass they scan you in as you arrive!).

 

After the presentation we hung out waiting for the crowds to disappear and they were playing music on the panels. It was pretty cool.

 

 

Sail away had begun and we crossed under the bridge and off to Bermuda we went....

 

[champagne123]

Loving this! We leave next week!

[JaniceB]

Nice start and loving the pictures!

[nycfa]

So let's talk about the dining.....(NOTE: Cruises after Nov 27, 2016 will have the traditional dining found on other RCL ships. So if you are sailing after this date what I am describing here will no longer be in effect!)

 

We signed up late so we did the Dynamic Dining Classic Early Seating at 5:30 pm

 

This is where you rotate thru the complimentary restaurants with the same table and wait staff.

 

I had contacted RCL dining prior to boarding to request a table for just the four of us. While some enjoy dining with others this is family time for us so having just the four of us together is our preferred seating.

 

RCL emailed me back with a confirmation this had been done as well as our table number and rotations (normally you do not find out until you board. all this information was located on the desk in our cabin when we arrived).

 

Our Rotation was:

 

Day 1 - Chic

Day 2 - Grande

Day 3 - Silk

Day 4 - American Icon

Day 5 - Chic

 

We had table 139 for 4 people. The location was great! Right next to the window so we could see the sea as we dined.

 

Our waiter was nice but I never felt he went the extra mile we have found on CCL (and what other's describe experiencing on RCL ships). We often felt this ship was understaffed for the amount of passengers it carries? The crew wasn't as warm and friendly has we have found in previous cruises. Not that any of them were BAD!! Not as all. But the last 3 cruises we were on I can still remember my waiter's name and where he was from and things about him. This time I do not know his name nor did he know ours. He only called us The Family.

 

The food was "okay" and believe me I am NOT a foodie. Seriously as long as I didn't have to shop/cook/clean I'm good with the food. So for me to say the food was just okay is a lot. We actually enjoyed the Windjammer Food MUCH better so for two nights we had dinner there instead (Day 3 since the Asian food at Silk isn't our thing and Day 5 cause we just didn't want to do Chic again and decided WJ was better).

 

I wonder if the change to MDR in a couple months will help to improve the food? I think so many different menus is overwhelming to the kitchens? Going to ONE traditional menu for all the restaurants will help to improve it all? I will be looking forward to reviews after the change over.

 

Again, don't get me wrong we had PLENTY to eat. The Windjammer food was really good with a huge selection.

 

We did not do any pay restaurants. There is so much "free" food on a cruise I can't really see paying for dinner anywhere. Plus again we are not "foodies" so it's kinda wasted on us. LOL

 

Windjammer: As I stated above we enjoyed the Windjammer food the best. Probably my only issue with the WJ is frankly the seating is NOWHERE enough for the amount of passengers on board IMO.

 

We ate there every morning for breakfast. It was BUSY! We always walked around to find a table FIRST then had one of us sit while the others got food. Otherwise your food would be cold before you found a table. Head towards the back was usually the best place to find a table or grab one as a group was leaving. If you like eating outside there was seating out back with a pretty view of the wake!

 

As has been reported here they do play recorded announcements asking people to leave when they are finished to free up tables for others.

 

So yes, it was busy but we always found a table with in 5 minutes of entering. Just maybe have involved a couple of sweeps around the place to do so.

[Summergirl*14]

Thank you for the review. We live in Orange County, NY and are going on Anthem n June. Nice to know about bringing the coke onboard. I paid for the beverage package because I enjoy all the frozen drinks and specialty coffee that's included. Husband is more of a Diet Coke guy, so I think we'll try carrying on a case for him.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[nycfa]

In case anyone wondered what the sofa bed looks like opened....

 

 

The half my DD is sitting on is like a brick. Seriously. YIKES!

 

A little more about the cabin.....

 

It had tons of storage space. We all over packed and still had space available for storage. Several outlets and two UBS ports. It was great not to have to rotate everyone's devices so much!

 

The Mini Bar was EMPTY when we got on board. So DH was able to fill it up with his Diet Coke.

 

IF you DO want stuff in your mini bar just fill out the form on the dresser and they will fill it with the items you request.

 

VOOM: We did purchase the Surf and Stream package for 2 devices for the cruise. Wow the speed was awesome. It felt like my Wifi at home. No problems with it what so ever! We purchased prior to the cruise for 30% off.

[nycfa]

Sea Day

 

The family slept in this morning thought I got up earlier and went for a walk on the track. It was MUCH warmer already at this point in the cruise.

 

After a late breakfast and some more wandering around we headed up to I Fly for our 12:40 pm appt.

 

My DH & both DD were going to do the I Fly. I really had no interested so I decided I would just watch and get photos.

 

Make sure you sign your waivers on your TV in your room and that you come wearing proper shoes (look on the compass for more information). One group missed their slot because they showed up right at the start time (really? come early people!) and weren't prepared and had to go back to their room (they all had on flip flops).

 

There can be NOTHING in your pockets and no jewelry so if no one can hold these items for you leave them the room as well.

 

The group went in for a training class where they watched a video then they got suited up.

 

I went upstairs for photos and to wait for them to come up (okay, I was a little worried one of my kids was going to bail! LOL). Soon they came up and everyone in the group got a turn.

 

You are only in for a minute but they said it was pretty amazing!

 

This is my oldest DD. She got up pretty high and he is only holding onto her one leg.

 

 

Also if you wear glasses you CAN keep them on for the event they fit right under your googles. I thought she was going to have to take them off (and she is blind as a bat!) but when she came out she had them on still.

 

We did book this online prior to sailing and they said it was booked solid on board BUT people did stop by and they did have openings (I think it's one of those things people back on after they see it "live"). So check on board often if you weren't able to book before the cruise!

[cabogal]

I am enjoying your review and photos. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. We are thinking about doing the Anthem next year. We have never been on an RCI cruise - mostly CCL and HAL. How does the food compare to CCL - about the same, better or worse? Thank you.

[clochette]

great review, the room seems really tight with 4 people how was it?

[Dina7]

We were on your sailing also. I recognize your name from our Roll Call :)

Loving your review!

 

We did Dynamic Dining Choice & I agree about the wait staff being just ok. This is our first RC cruise too. We have done a couple of Carnival cruises and one NCL prior to this cruise. We only encountered one waiter & his helper who were truly friendly, went out of their way and seemed like they truly cared. This was in American Icon Grill. We told the head waiter and also mentioned it in the post cruise survey. This surprised me.

 

I also agree about the sofa feeling like a rock and we never had it opened to a bed. I never wanted to sit on it because it was so uncomfortable. I don't know how your girls slept on it.

It was a running joke between my husband and I that whenever we saw a chair that looked so cushy and comfortable, we would sit on it and be disappointed at how stiff and uncomfortable it was lol. Not a big deal, just funny.

 

Dina

Edited October 11, 2016 by Dina7

[Dina7]

great review, the room seems really tight with 4 people how was it?

 

We were on the same sailing and I feel the room would be too tight with 4 people. We were only 2 and it was fine. I wouldn't want more than two in the balcony room. Curious to see what they thought about having four in the room.

 

Dina

[nycfa]

I am enjoying your review and photos. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. We are thinking about doing the Anthem next year. We have never been on an RCI cruise - mostly CCL and HAL. How does the food compare to CCL - about the same, better or worse? Thank you.

 

We had a family discussion about this....LOL

 

Dining Room: CCL wins here.

 

Buffet: RCL wins here.

 

The dining room wasn't awful it was just "ok". Buffet we thought was amazing....lots of selections (CCL tends to repeat a lot IMO). We also liked how it was laid out. Easy to get to everything.

 

Don't worry you will have PLENTY to eat! :) LOL

[Moltar]

Me, my wife and little guy are in your 270 pic :)

[nycfa]

great review, the room seems really tight with 4 people how was it?

 

 

Well, this is our 4th cruise doing 4 to a cabin so I kinda have a system in place to keep it neat and somewhat organized.

 

My oldest is a bit of a neat nic so that helps as well. ;)

 

It's narrow and when that sofa bed is open it's a PITA to get back to get to the balcony (I would hate to be in the reverse room where the sofa is by the bathroom cause getting up in the middle of the night to pee would definitely be an issue.)

 

I will say this cabin while on the narrow side had the most storage space I have ever had. We put everything away and still had empty drawers.

 

Would it work for 4 adults? I would say no it would definitely be on the tight side for that and I guess it would come down to your budget.

 

BTW our room was an adjoining room....we did NOT hear any noise from the other room (I have seen on CC sometime that adjoining rooms can be noisy but this was not the case on the Anthem in our experience).

[nycfa]

We were on your sailing also. I recognize your name from our Roll Call :)

Loving your review!

 

We did Dynamic Dining Choice & I agree about the wait staff being just ok. This is our first RC cruise too. We have done a couple of Carnival cruises and one NCL prior to this cruise. We only encountered one waiter & his helper who were truly friendly, went out of their way and seemed like they truly cared. This was in American Icon Grill. We told the head waiter and also mentioned it in the post cruise survey. This surprised me.

 

I also agree about the sofa feeling like a rock and we never had it opened to a bed. I never wanted to sit on it because it was so uncomfortable. I don't know how your girls slept on it.

It was a running joke between my husband and I that whenever we saw a chair that looked so cushy and comfortable, we would sit on it and be disappointed at how stiff and uncomfortable it was lol. Not a big deal, just funny.

 

Dina

 

 

Hi Dina! :)

 

I had read on here about the sofa bed but I did NOT say a word to the kids about it cause I didn't want to put the thought in their heads and them to start complaining before they even tried it. LOL

 

But wow, I sat on it and was like OMG.....but they dealt with it. LOL

 

Luckily they were worn out by the end of the day. Worst case we could have fit one kid in our bed....the main bed was HUGE!

 

Only my Oldest said her shoulder was hurting by the end of the trip. She sleep on her side. She was definitely ready for her own bed on Thursday!

[nycfa]

Me, my wife and little guy are in your 270 pic :)

 

Love it!! :)

 

It's always fun to see yourself is someone else's vacation pics on CC. LOL

 

That's right, I remember you saying you stayed after the muster drill too for awhile!! I thought that was pretty cool afterwards. :)

[nycfa]

Coming up....

 

Bermuda!

 

But first, I have to go to bed.....back to work tomorrow with a 4 am wake up.

 

I'm a Flight Attendant so I'm off on a long day out to PHX and back from JFK.

 

I will finish the review on Thursday!

 

:)

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.