Breakaway/Gem vs. Anthem of the Seas

[WashyWashyHappyHappy95]

Anthem has some very attractive looking pricing for early 2017...almost at low as NCL's even for a solo, so was wondering how the two options compare?

 

Just looking at some quick online videos the Anthem really does look like a mall. Is that what it feels like at sea, or do you just avoid those areas the same way you avoid the smokey casino on the Breakaway.

[Jrlang1]

I have not sailed on the Anthem but it is worth noting that they have just dropped their equivalent to Free Style Dinning and replaced it with either fixed time and table or my time. My time is in a single dinning room. No more rotating dinning rooms, if that is important to you. You may not be assigned to grand ball room but instead to one of the lesser smaller dinning rooms

[gizfish]

We have been on Breakaway 4 times and was just on Anthem in Sept. We love breakaway because it is comfortable for us and has the Haven. But, we enjoyed Anthem so much, we booked again for next year while we were on board. If the prices are similar, definitely give Anthem a try. What the other poster said is true about them stopping dynamic dining this month. There will now be two formal nights, and dining is assigned, two dining rooms with early/late seating, and two dining rooms with anytime dining. All four dining rooms are the same size though. Each dining room is keeping the same décor it had during dynamic dining. To be honest, there was really not that much more "grand" about the Grande dining room. There is no word yet about how the menus are with the regular dining and how formal, formal nights are turning out to be. There was talk that it would be the same fleet wide menus but with some special items being carried over. We WILL absolutely miss dining with different menus in different restaurants, but it is not a deal breaker. RCCL's thing is "the Promenade" the mall center of the ship. Anthem does a better job with the promenade than other ships in that it is not just a long hallway with stores. There is some flow to the area and it is visually appealing. There truly are a whole lot of things to see and do on Anthem and the ship truly is beautiful and quite unique.

[WashyWashyHappyHappy95]

A big indoor mall isn't really much of a draw for me. I try not to spend any money on the ship once aboard (sorry, Frank).

 

I'd mainly be interested if the food is substantially better, if the boat has any outdoor attractions that are substantially cooler/more fun and/or quieter, and if the balcony rooms are substantially nicer.

 

The dining room deal doesn't matter much to me. I'm more of a buffet guy anyway.

[mafig]

When you say the prices are the same are you taking into account the fact that you can get various perks with NCL that you do not get with Royal.

 

You have to pay for a beverage package on Royal, there's no prepaid gratuities, have to pay for any dining package you may select.

 

I'm looking at Allure vs. Jade (in a suite) and Jade, while more $, also offers more perks.

[WashyWashyHappyHappy95]

When you say the prices are the same are you taking into account the fact that you can get various perks with NCL that you do not get with Royal.

 

You have to pay for a beverage package on Royal, there's no prepaid gratuities, have to pay for any dining package you may select.

 

I'm looking at Allure vs. Jade (in a suite) and Jade, while more $, also offers more perks.

 

not a drinker and don't pay for any specialty dining, so not an issue for me. I always go GTY on NCL, so I never get the perks.

Edited December 3, 2016 by WashyWashyHappyHappy95

[Turtles06]

OP: We've cruised on the Gem three times (as well as on other Jewel-class ships) and on Anthem, so I will reply based on that experience. (We have no interest in the Breakaway, so haven't cruised on her.)

 

Most important, comparing the Gem and Anthem is like comparing apples and oranges. They are two totally different classes of ships. Gem is smaller, and in many respects more "comfortable" because of its size. Anthem is a mega-ship, and, like so many new ships, is disconnected from the water -- there is no promenade deck (as there is on the Gem), and there isn't even any forward-facing place to stand outside in the middle of the ship. (There are a couple of narrow wings off the sides of the solarium, but this is just not the same.)

 

All that said, Anthem is a stunningly beautiful ship, in some respects a Celebrity S-class ship on steroids (I mean that in a good way). It has some of the most incredible public spaces I have ever seen on a ship, especially Two70, which is just extraordinary. The "mall" part that you mention is a couple of decks with shops and some eateries; easily avoided. And the casino (where smoking, sadly, is allowed) is nicely buried in the bowels of the ship, and also easily avoided if you want to avoid the smoke.

 

I can't speak to the new dining arrangements on Anthem, as we sailed during "dynamic dining," but I can say that we found the food and service in the included restaurants to be subpar and mediocre. This was a year ago, perhaps that has changed.

 

Sailing on Anthem required a ton of pre-cruise planning in order to reserve the main shows in a way that did not conflict with dinner. I enjoy planning but this was far too much, as schedules kept changing before we sailed, requiring us to re-juggle everything more than once. It was truly a PITA.

 

Because we were on Anthem's inaugural transatantic, I posted a very detailed set of comments (by subject) with photos, that you may find helpful, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2277588

 

As I said in my comments, I enjoyed Anthem more than I expected to enjoy a mega-ship. We might sail on her again for the right itinerary, but we much prefer smaller ships, and don't need to have an amusement park at sea (although it was fun to experience on the TA). For a good price, you might want to try Anthem out; she really is quite beautiful.

 

If you have any other questions, please ask.

Edited December 3, 2016 by Turtles06

[mizLORInj]

I have been on all 3 of those ships more than once. Just back from Anthem's 10 nighter last month. It is a truly magnificent ship and vastly different from Gem (which is still a nice ship) and has more to do than Breakaway. Only thing I wish Anthem had was waterslides, but they had lots of other good stuff. My review is here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425759

 

RE: food and service, we have found it good on all the ships and lines. I think if people can't find something they like, they're too picky! We have not gone hungry on any cruise.

 

I have a friend who is boarding Escape today so I'm interested to hear what he has to say in comparison with our Anthem cruise, but to me Escape looked very much like Breakaway which I've already been on a few times. Although new is always nice!

 

One other thing we like about RC is you can bring drinks (soda, water, etc.) and one bottle of wine per person day of embarkation.

 

Also the travel time to and from FL in past years has me more interested in what is sailing from NY and NJ, and we're even looking at Baltimore for future cruises. For traveling back to NJ from FL taking up most of a day, I'd rather be having a relaxing day at sea and then a <one hour ride to home.

 

While I do read other people's experiences, I find it best to experience the ships myself to form my own opinion. :p

 

Happy cruising!

Edited December 3, 2016 by mizLORInj

[Zowena]

We have sailed on breakaway twice and oasis once and was looking into the gem for a trip. My husband can feel a little sea sick just during rough waters. Can you feel the motion a lot more on the smaller ship?

Also, were the rents that were done to the entire ship or just certain locations?

Thanks

[denatravels]

I've done both anthem and breakaway in February-- anthem's indoor spaces are superior to BA. And Anthem's main pool area is better (I missed out on the indoor pool-- windows were broken so it was too cold). If all things were equal or close to it (price including drink package), I'd choose anthem-- I just got too good a deal on BA this February to pass up!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited December 8, 2016 by denatravels

[drb116]

A big indoor mall isn't really much of a draw for me. I try not to spend any money on the ship once aboard (sorry, Frank).

 

I'd mainly be interested if the food is substantially better, if the boat has any outdoor attractions that are substantially cooler/more fun and/or quieter, and if the balcony rooms are substantially nicer.

 

The dining room deal doesn't matter much to me. I'm more of a buffet guy anyway.

 

To call Royal Caribbean's Promenades a mall is not really accurate. Yes there are stores, but there are also free eating options and they are used for entertainment as well. We have been on many different cruise lines and the Promenades on Royal Caribbean are one of our favorite features, even though we never by anything at the stores.

[parasailor]

I have not been on Anthem, but have been on Breakaway 3 times. Its public spaces are awful--much too small for the size of the ship and constantly crowded. Even the smaller RCL ships have much nicer atriums.

 

However, the freestyle dress and dining makes a big difference to me. YMMV.

[RareBird]

We Took a six year break from Royal Caribbean only to go back and have bad luck on anthem during dynamic dining - never again. Plus it's full of touch pads and not enough of actual people to help .... lines everywhere. It turned me off so much, I'm not sure if I'll ever go back to Royal Caribbean again. Maybe I will try celebrity next.

 

Breakaway is wonderful, I'd go ncl. Their suites and haven are amazing!

Edited December 11, 2016 by RareBird