Awesome Amazing Anthem

[lovelife]

This is a brief review of my November 20 Anthem of the Seas sailing. We are a mature Diamond Plus couple on our 49th cruise – 39th with RCCL. We took DS, DDIL, and DGS as a Christmas gift to them. This was their first cruise as Diamond members.

 

I apologize for the bad photos but I didn’t take my good camera and just used a point and shoot.

 

We drove the four hours to Cape Liberty arriving right at our 10:30 a.m. check in time. Despite what I have read recently there was no one to check us in at the parking garage and an attendant said that is not available. After checking in inside the terminal – which took all of five minutes – we walked right onto the ship.

 

We sailed Quantum a while back when she was in New Jersey and the Anthem is pretty much the same with different entertainment and some decor.

 

Cabin:

 

We had D1 cabin 9648 which had a very deep balcony. The cabin is sleek and modern but very narrow. The Quantum Class shower is quite an improvement over the others. The beds are extremely hard and our cabin attendant advised RCCL no longer provides egg crate toppers. I told him that was odd as I just had one a few weeks ago. He said there would be no more. (I have since found out that is not true as I had an egg crate topper last week on Oasis!) He did take care of all our other needs and was anxious to please us. He left us three towel animals.

 

 

Entertainment:

 

CD Dru Pavlov was good, just as he was on a recent cruise (can’t recall which ship). The first night we attended a comedy show with Carl Banks (on some past TV show) which was pretty good. Later in the week there was a much better comedian.

 

We saw The Gift and it was okay.

 

Spectra’s Cabaret was very entertaining

 

 

 

 

The best was We Will Rock You. I love classic rock and this was just fabulous. It sure held my attention and the two hours went by very quickly.

 

 

 

 

I would not have known about Puzzle Break without the Cruise Critic folks writing about it. It was not listed on my cruise planner and I checked every day for months. I did not see it in the Compass either. I went directly to the theater to sign the five of us up. HINT: Everybody else went to the top floor of the theater where there was a long line. We went to the lower floor where there were only a couple people. Puzzle Break was fun and we escaped with 12 minutes to spare!

 

The three younger ones in our party did RipCord and really liked it.

 

[lovelife]

We all did North Star the morning of day two and enjoyed that. It is so much better having reservations unlike when we did it on Quantum and had to stand in line for an hour.

 

 

 

All of us waited in line for the bumper cars one morning a half hour before it opened and got in the third group. Fun!

 

 

 

The Silent Party in the Music Hall was hilarious as always.

 

 

 

 

The other parties in the Music Hall were also a fun time.

 

 

 

 

 

All the shows on the robo screens in Two70 are fantastic.

 

 

For only the second time in all my RCCL cruises they had Dancing with the Stripes. It is so funny and I can't understand why they don’t have it on more ships. My DIL was a participant and had a lot of fun.

[Clarea]

I don't know why you are sorry about the camera, the photos look very nice.:)

[lovelife]

Dining:

 

What wonderful food we had almost everywhere on the ship.

 

We had breakfast at Café 270, Solarium, and The Grande. My favorite was The Grande

 

Lunches were in Café 270, Solarium, The Grande, SeaPlex Dog House, and Windjammer. My favorite was Café 270

 

Snacks: Sorrento’s pizza wasn’t too bad for a late-night snack.

 

Dinners – I love Dynamic Dining and it is easy to make reservations at the restaurants of your choosing in advance. Unfortunately, this was the last sailing with it. The following week it was back to the old way of dining. I am very tired of the old menus on every other ship but I understand these will change. I mentioned to one of our waiters how disappointed I am that we can’t have just one ship with Dynamic Dining and that I had written to Mr. Bayley and was called and assured by his office Dynamic Dining would remain on the Anthem. He responded that guests higher up in status than I had dictated what type of dining Anthem would have. Put me in my place.

 

I bought the two-night BOGO package for all of us. What a deal it was. We were assigned Chops and Jamie’s Italian for the first two nights but I immediately went to Wonderland and changed Chops to Wonderland for the first night. We had been given a complimentary dinner at Chops so I also made that reservation for later in the week with the Wonderland host on day one.

 

We also had dinners at Silk (good):

 

 

 

 

The Grande (very good)

 

Solarium Bistro (very good)

 

and Chic (very good).

 

 

Wonderland was amazing. Our waiter brought us just about everything on the menu so we could try it all. What an an array of absolutely delicious food and quite the experience. I can’t say enough about the shrimp and lobster. Wonderland must be tried!

 

Here is some of the meal. I missed getting photos of several dishes.

 

 

 

 

[lovelife]

Dining Continued

 

Wonderland:

 

 

 

 

 

[lovelife]

Dining Continued

 

Wonderland:

 

Oh my, the cheesecake pops!

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie's

 

 

Jamie’s is one of my favorites and it didn’t disappoint. The pasta and lemon cheesecake are amazing. Again, the waiter brought the five of us a table full of dishes so we could try them.

 

 

 

[lovelife]

Dining Continued

 

Jamie's:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chops - The Disaster:

 

Chops for the fifth time on five different ships was a disaster. I have never had a good meal or good service there and only went because our travel agent gave us the meal. First of all they did not have our reservation although I made it on day one and it was in our reservations calendar on the TV. They made a big deal of it when we arrived and huddled and whispered. They asked us six to eight times during the evening what our cabin numbers were. Obviously we were dealing with morons. We waited forever between courses and it took an absurd two hours and 45 minutes for our meal. The folks at the table beside us arrived an hour after us and were finished their meal when we were. Ridiculous. None of the steaks were cooked as ordered, the shrimp was nasty, and the red velvet cake awful. The only enjoyable food for me was the mashed potatoes and corn, but $39 is a bit much for mashed potatoes and corn.

 

We certainly didn’t let the poor Chops experience get us down. We put it behind us and moved on to enjoy our week.

[lovelife]

Drinks:

 

We never go to the Concierge, Suite, or Diamond Lounges in the evening as they are awfully crowded. I only go there for lattes. Since DS and family had just reached Diamond, we did go in the Diamond Lounge a couple evenings but otherwise used our three free drinks on our Sea Pass cards at the bars.

 

 

Ports:

 

This cruise certainly wasn’t for the ports but for the ship.

 

Port Canaveral – We got off and walked around the immediate area a little while and then enjoyed the Solarium sans the crowds.

 

Nassau – We walked to town and looked in a few shops before returning to the ship to enjoy it a little less crowded.

 

Ships in port that day

 

 

 

Coco Cay – Tendering was quite a challenge as the winds were preventing the tender boats from hooking up or loading pax safely. After the captain did some maneuvering, we finally started tendering. We didn’t stay on the island long and opted to go back to the ship for lunch instead of the crowded BBQ areas on Coco Cay.

 

 

 

They put up very few Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving.

 

 

 

From my bridge tour. You can see who really drives the ship.

 

 

 

Random Shots:

 

Two70

 

 

Two70 Bar

 

[lovelife]

Random Shots Continued:

 

 

 

 

 

Vintages

 

 

 

The Via

 

 

 

The Via and Jamie’s

 

[lovelife]

Random Shots Continued:

 

The Heartbeat Lights (place your hands on a spot and the lights react to your heartbeat) – very cool

 

 

 

 

 

The Esplanade

 

 

 

Bionic Bar

 

 

 

Never saw this before???

 

 

 

Lovely Solarium at night

 

[lovelife]

Debarkation:

 

This was the easiest debarkation yet, including when we have been escorted off as suite guests. We departed with number two and were in our car in 15 minutes.

 

Some decorations as we departed the ship

 

 

 

The Bad:

 

Not much bad about this cruise except the Chops experience and one other pretty awful situation with DS and family’s cabin (I can complain about it because I paid for it). The guests in the cabins on either side of them smoked pot and the stink seeped into DS’s cabin and of course the balcony. DS reported them and waited and watched but security never showed. The cabin attendant was also aware of it (all three cabins had the same attendant) but apparently security would not believe her as nothing was ever done about it. Terrible situation that RCCL would not address.

 

 

General:

 

We were treated quite well on this sailing by the heads of dining (however, Chops personnel showed no respect at all).

 

After the first two days it warmed up and remained warm until the final sea day. It was a little rocky immediately after leaving New Jersey and a little later in the cruise but nothing too bad.

 

There were I believe 1100 children on this sailing. DGS has always immediately hooked up with several other kiddos but this time he found no one to hang out with and didn’t even go to the teen venue or events.

 

Voom was excellent.

 

What a gorgeous, innovative, classy-looking ship and I dream about all the amazing food we had on the Anthem. I look forward to sailing her again in August but will miss the dynamic dining experience that I loved.

 

 

 

The End

 

[lovelife]

I don't know why you are sorry about the camera, the photos look very nice.:)

 

Aw, thanks!

[Jerseygirl1416]

Thank you for taking the time to post a report. I enjoyed it and the pictures were great! I have 3 questions. 1. Do you have any pictures of your balcony? I booked a D1 48 cabin too and would love to see it. 2. Was the bed or couch next to the balcony? And 3. Do you know if Vintages had a tapas menu? Thanks in advance.

[easyboy]

That sounded like a very relaxing yet fulfilling vacation with your family.. You covered every bit of information that we all wanted to know.

Thank you sharing, especially the food porn.

 

 

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[lovelife]

Thank you for taking the time to post a report. I enjoyed it and the pictures were great! I have 3 questions. 1. Do you have any pictures of your balcony? I booked a D1 48 cabin too and would love to see it. 2. Was the bed or couch next to the balcony? And 3. Do you know if Vintages had a tapas menu? Thanks in advance.

 

You are welcome. For some reason I did not take any photos of the balcony but it is very deep. The 48 is a good choice. The bed was next to the balcony. Love this ship!

 

I have seen the Anthem tapas menu on line. Hopefully this link will work.

 

http://eatsleepcruise.com/2016/05/anthem-of-the-seas-menus/

[lovelife]

That sounded like a very relaxing yet fulfilling vacation with your family.. You covered every bit of information that we all wanted to know.

Thank you sharing, especially the food porn.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

My pleasure! A great cruise.

[Rogueperson]

 

Chops - The Disaster:

 

Chops for the fifth time on five different ships was a disaster. I have never had a good meal or good service there and only went because our travel agent gave us the meal. First of all they did not have our reservation although I made it on day one and it was in our reservations calendar on the TV. They made a big deal of it when we arrived and huddled and whispered. They asked us six to eight times during the evening what our cabin numbers were. Obviously we were dealing with morons. We waited forever between courses and it took an absurd two hours and 45 minutes for our meal. The folks at the table beside us arrived an hour after us and were finished their meal when we were. Ridiculous. None of the steaks were cooked as ordered, the shrimp was nasty, and the red velvet cake awful. The only enjoyable food for me was the mashed potatoes and corn, but $39 is a bit much for mashed potatoes and corn.

 

We certainly didn’t let the poor Chops experience get us down. We put it behind us and moved on to enjoy our week.

 

Sorry about your experience in Chops. We were on the Anthem in October, and Chops was amazing. I did notice that their selection of steaks has been cut down significantly since the first time I went to Chops on the Jewel in 2009. Ironically, in 2009, I too felt the same way about Chops and it felt like that dining experience fell below the Outback standard. However, my subsequent visits to Chops on Independence, Grandeur and now Anthem have been good. Its odd that they go from hot to cold like that.

[lovelife]

Sorry about your experience in Chops. We were on the Anthem in October, and Chops was amazing. I did notice that their selection of steaks has been cut down significantly since the first time I went to Chops on the Jewel in 2009. Ironically, in 2009, I too felt the same way about Chops and it felt like that dining experience fell below the Outback standard. However, my subsequent visits to Chops on Independence, Grandeur and now Anthem have been good. Its odd that they go from hot to cold like that.

 

Five out of five really bad experiences for us. No more chances! Give me Jamie's and Giovanni's!!

[Yorkvillain]

Awesome Amazing Review! Great job. I enjoyed it.

 

 

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[lovelife]

Awesome Amazing Review! Great job. I enjoyed it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks much!!

[Blackberry New Brunswick]

Would you remember if they had the Love & Marriage game show & if yes what night was it on. We love to watch & laugh.

[lovelife]

I'm pretty sure they had it but don't remember what day. Maybe someone who attended will chime in.

[Life is Good Cruising]

Would you remember if they had the Love & Marriage game show & if yes what night was it on. We love to watch & laugh.

 

On our 12/9/16 Anthem sailing, 7 nights Bahamas, the Love and Marriage Game was held on the 3rd night at 10:15 pm in the Royal Theater.

 

 

 

 

OP, I enjoyed your review :)

Edited December 29, 2016 by Life is Good Cruising

[TeeRick]

Back to your original comment on your beds in the cabin. We sailed Anthem Nov 27th in a Spa JS. Our beds were very hard- as has been frequently reported here on these boards. We were also told "no egg crate cushions". However, our cabin steward put an extra duvet set on as a mattress topper. That helped quite a bit. We also found the small sofa in our cabin to be quite hard and uncomfortable. I'm not sure who picked out such hard materials when they outfitted Anthem. Perhaps for durability - but not comfort!

[sammydh82]

Thank you for taking the time to post a report. I enjoyed it and the pictures were great! I have 3 questions. 1. Do you have any pictures of your balcony? I booked a D1 48 cabin too and would love to see it. 2. Was the bed or couch next to the balcony? And 3. Do you know if Vintages had a tapas menu? Thanks in advance.

 

I have a few photos from our Anthem sailing in May 2016 when my parents stayed in 8248! Hope this helps! Don't mind those two handsome fellas... just trying to give an idea of the actual size of the balcony! It was fantastic!

 

Only another 16 days until we are back on the wonderful Anthem! YAY! :D