Just off Anthem 9 day, the good + the bad mini-review

[teddybear231]

So we just got home from our 9 day Bermuda and Caribbean cruise on the Anthem of the Seas that set sail on May 25, 2017. I don't plan on doing a long review, but I wanted to share some things I thought would help fellow cruisers. Also, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

 

The Ship

This is a beautiful ship, with all the bells and whistles no doubt about that. Everything was always clean, with no foul odors (may sound strange, but our last cruise there was a stench on certain parts of the ship). I thought, and other people noticed as well, that the ship felt warm. The elevators and major areas certainly felt warm at times. For being such a new ship I don't imagine it was an issue with the A/C, but maybe it was set at that temperature? Or it could of just been, but this was a minor issue. One big downside was the amount of movable space, areas where just too crammed. The hallways were so narrow, it would be impossible for 2 people in a wheelchair/walker to walk past each other. Even in the public spaces, like the Esplanade, Casino, and pool deck, the walkways were narrow. If there was a passenger with a wheelchair or walker, it would be impossible to pass them in some areas creating a traffic jam of sorts. Now, I have nothing against people using a wheelchair/walker, but we were traveling with my mother-in-law who uses a wheelchair. So I felt bad when we were walking down a narrow area and there was people backed up behind us. I don't think they made the spaces as open as they should have given all the people that are on the boat. I feel like they are getting like airlines by trying to squeeze as many people onboard as possible. I can also say we definitely noticed the swaying on this ship, everyday. The first day the weather was bad, so I get it. But we had nice weather the rest of the week, very strange to feel a ship rock this much, maybe an engineering error? It was major, and didn't affect us personally, but it is definitely there and we haven't noticed that on other ships that we have been on. Finally, the elevators. They needed to put more elevators on this ship, the wait times are much longer than we have experienced in the past.

 

The Cabin

We were traveling in a party of 18, spread out over 7 cabins, but I can only speak for my wife and mine's :)We had a balcony cabin, 9160. It was right when you got off the elevators which was nice. The sofa was next to the balcony door, which wasn't what we were used too, but it was nice, didn't make a difference to us honestly. We left a room key in the slot so our A/C was always on, and our room got nice and cold, no issues there. Our room steward was great!

 

Food

We were satisfied with the food overall. There were a couple dishes here and there that wasn't the best, but we got another option with no problem. We had the first dinner sitting and ate in Chic on deck 3. All of our staff were so nice, I don't know how they can keep smiling after working as hard as they do day-after-day!

 

 

 

I am starting to fall asleep while writing this, so tired! But I will be back tomorrow to add a couple more things. If you have any questions, just ask!

[CCC3]

Following.

 

 

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[angier0225]

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[easyboy]

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[dnjackson630]

Following. Curious about the anthem....

 

 

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[happy traveler69]

Also following. Getting on the Anthem January 2018

 

 

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[Rocketlady]

We have been on 5 cruises with RC. And this ship was our favorite of all of them. Others Oasis and Harmony and allure .

We always go in Jan or Feb which is a big mistake leaving out of N.J. We were in a snow storm going there and faced it

coming back. So 4 days were lost to being out doors . And for that reason we probably will never be on it again. Move to

Fla and I would go back. Trying to fly out of N.J. wasn't fun either. Most of the airlines cancelled out.

[brabrant10]

I too just disembarked from anthem of the seas 9 day cruise -loved - loved it. In 2016 I cruised this same ship however it was the 5 day cruise to Bermuda -didn't feel that 5 days was enough time to get to know the ships-but this cruise 9 days I knew which dining venues & entertainment venues were aft or fore -starboard-port. I also had early seating in the Grande -which is just that grand -our waiter mark & his assistant Elvis top notch -professional -friendly -went out of their way to ensure that we had the ultimate dining experience. Didn't do the buffet (windjammer restaurant)that much only breakfast & dinner once each-area is definitely very crowded. My daughter & I often dined in the less congested solarium bistro -little restaurant located front of ship in the area known as the solarium. This was also our retreat -peaceful -relaxing small bodies of water & hot tubs. This area (pool) is designated as adult area -minimum age 16 -so no children running around and splashing water. It was also noted that the amount of children on the whole was less than when I cruised in 2016-July -of course -summer time children out of school -so May just might become my favorite cruising month. Departing from Liberty on the 25th the first 2 days as we cruised south the Atlantic turbulent , didn't really seem to notice it after that. On a couple of sea days I put the "do not disturb " sign out -ordered breakfast in & enjoyed on the balcony-taking in the serenity of looking out & searching the horizon-beautiful-relaxing. Of the 4 islands visited I was most happy to experience Puerto Rico & Haiti -as those were very first for me. The spectra cabaret show is something not to be missed . I too will continue another time -with a review of a part of the ship most guest don't get to experience-the medical center !

 

 

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[wilsonwilksmcgee]

You dont happen to have a copy of the cruise compass we are going 6th july

thanks

[mchin]

Following...will be sailing Anthem for the first time in March.

[pasodancer]

also following - looking forward to the next segment of your review!

[nelblu]

We have been on 5 cruises with RC. And this ship was our favorite of all of them. Others Oasis and Harmony and allure .

We always go in Jan or Feb which is a big mistake leaving out of N.J. We were in a snow storm going there and faced it

coming back. So 4 days were lost to being out doors . And for that reason we probably will never be on it again. Move to

Fla and I would go back. Trying to fly out of N.J. wasn't fun either. Most of the airlines cancelled out.

 

I have the same concerns when flying to Fl in the winter months for our cruise. Some years ago, when the Quantum was in service in the NE, I convinced my better half to try the 12 niter to the Carib. I convinced her that yes we would lose about 3-4 days due to the weather, but would gain 7 beautiful & warm days for the same price and less hassle than flying to FL.

 

I have a 12 niter on the Anthem on Jan. 28th and looking forward to the wonderful experience again, less DD dining which I'm sure will miss.

[brookmill18]

Thank you for the reviews--we will be on this itinerary in July. For the Solarium Bistro--do you remember if there were vegetarian options? I have seen a menu, and it doesn't look like one is listed? I would think they'd accommodate upon request but surprised there wasn't one on menu.

 

Any chance anyone did trapeze school? It is the main thing DD wants to do and I'm trying to get a sense of how many times it will be offered.

 

Thank you for the reviews--would also love to see compasses if you have them!

[loupana]

We board for the same 9 night cruise this coming Thursday...Was the Dockyard in Bermuda busy because of the America's Cup Race that is going on? Also do you know if the America's Cup Race Village is walking distance from where you docked?

 

Thanks, looking forward to reading more.

[Cruisecrazycanuck]

So we just got home from our 9 day Bermuda and Caribbean cruise on the Anthem of the Seas that set sail on May 25, 2017. I don't plan on doing a long review, but I wanted to share some things I thought would help fellow cruisers. Also, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

 

We were on the same itinerary May 11th.At the expense of hijacking your posts - our comments. Totally agree about ship. She is beautiful but the esplanade has some serious choke points (like going forward after Sorrento's - always jammed up there

Add to that EVERY night was a sale - that got annoying

 

Dining - we had friends who kept taking us to Coastal Kitchen (suites only guests). Make friends with someone in a suite - amazing dining venue. Jamie's Italian is AWESOME. Even Chops was good. Main Dining room was meh. Windjammer was windjammer (although the routing youto sinks to wash your hands before entering is brilliant)

Johnny Rockets is takeout - no dancing waiters. AND SLOW!!!! 30minutes to get our orders

 

Ice cream machine was always empty

 

Coke machines frequently empty or simply not working

 

Bar Service -horrid. Hardly any waiters on pool decks or in the theatre - completely understaffed on our voyage

 

Cabin - amazingly spacious - well done. (Although shower door opening outwards is a bit of a pain if someone else is in the bathroom getting ready

 

Entertainment - BEST EVER. Comedians were incredible, Performers were great. Elton John guy was BEST ever. Rookie is an amazing band, U2 tribute band - incredible. Spectra's cabaret is weird as is the gift. We will rock you is good if you like Queen. Matt Yee at the piano bar was the highlight

 

Cruise director Dru - amazing. His staff not so much. Captain was very personable and everywhere. Always asking how we were enjoying th cruise

 

Sports deck - must check out BUT pay attention. Bumper cars are only on certain days (saves goes for all activities). Line ups are BIG - get there early.

 

Again, not trying to hijack OP - hope this is helpful

[tdiazfarmer]

Following leaving June 9th on Explorer of the seas and looking into booking this cruise for June 2018 via the next cruise offer...will be following!

 

 

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[Optifire]

TeddyBear231: You had mentioned in your post that you left a room key in the slot so your A/C was always on. Can you explain that a little more? Does the air go off automatically when you leave the room?

[teddybear231]

Ok so I am back! I like the others who have joined, you brought some items to my memory that I should share my experiences with as well.

 

wilsonwilksmcgee - Sadly, I do not have any cruise compasses or menus. I originally thought of doing a full review and grabbing everything, but I gave up on that idea after a far too many drinks on day 2 ;)

 

brookmill18 - I only stopped in the solarium bistro once to grab some ice tea, I didn't notice any of the food offerings, sorry. As for the trapeze school, my niece did try it and she loved it! Be sure to get there early though because it is limited offerings. I believe it was offered about 4 days on the cruise. So there are a couple of opportunities to try and get in line.

 

Any other questions, keep them coming and I will try to answer them! Back to the review.

 

Room Service

Painfully slow. I thought that with a $7.95 service charge it would be faster, but nope. As for the food options, we tried just about everything. Breakfast, can't complain since its pretty hard to mess up eggs and sausage or pancakes. It wasn't bad and I'm missing my room service breakfast today :( As for the other items, we tried for lunch sometimes or a snack in the evening, it was hit or miss. Wait times were about 45 minutes, and the food would arrive luke warm, and soggy. The only thing they came out great every time was the grilled cheese, I loved it! But as for the quesadillas, cheesesteak, wings, an chicken fingers, all came out blah. We ordered them all at least twice to see if maybe it was just service that day, but nope we got the same results. So I wouldn't say it is worth it, but the breakfast is. Just a note about room service, you can order on the TV and it will say you should get your order in about 30-35 minutes, but then room service calls you to confirm your order about 10 minutes later and they say it will take about 30-35 minutes, thus resulting in a 45 minute wait.. So it may seem easier to just order it on TV, but your better off just calling down. Hold down time was never more than 2 minutes.

 

Bar Service

I have to agree with Cruisecrazycanuck on this one, it was horrible. I was really disappointed, not what we were used too. Is it because so many people have the drink packages? Bars were always understaffed, making it hard to get a drink, and the bar staff just weren't personable. I have to give a shout out to Jamie in the Casino and Susie in the music hall, they were great, but everybody looked like they were serving out a prison sentence, I felt bad for them. As for trying to get a drink when your by the pool. forget about it. Long gone are the days of a bunch of servers coming around trying to sell you drinks. I probably only saw 3 servers walking around the entire time, and 2 of them were only selling the drink of the day in the souvenir cup which was no good for us since the cups aren't covered under the drinking package.

 

SeaPlex

The kids loved it here, I'm glad RCL dedicated such a large area for the kids. It was a nice, clean area. Lots of activities going on, just be sure to get there early for the big things, like bumper cars and trapeze school. We all did roller skating which was nice, haven't done that in years!

 

Entertainment

Loved the comedians, just which they had more shows! There was only about 3 or 4 shows for a 9 night cruise, but at least they were great. All of the other shows, The Gift, Spectre's Caraberet, and We Will Rock You I sadly never attended (I'm not a fan of Broadway type shows). But others in our party went and they enjoyed them, so I can't say much to them.

 

 

Overall, would I cruise Anthem again? Absolutely. She is a great ship, with just a couple of little things here and there. That's all that I can think of now, if anything else comes to mind I will be sure to share. If you have any other questions just ask!

[teddybear231]

TeddyBear231: You had mentioned in your post that you left a room key in the slot so your A/C was always on. Can you explain that a little more? Does the air go off automatically when you leave the room?

 

Yea, I had an old hotel key from Atlantic City the weekend before in my wallet so I just used that. The air and lights only go on when you put your key (any plastic card works) in the slot right next to the door. It's to be energy efficient they say. Although I heard others say it's to let the room steward know when you're in the room, I don't know how true that is. Some people have said their room steward removes the key, but this never happened with us.

[nu2cruzin03]

We board for the same 9 night cruise this coming Thursday...Was the Dockyard in Bermuda busy because of the America's Cup Race that is going on? Also do you know if the America's Cup Race Village is walking distance from where you docked?

 

Thanks, looking forward to reading more.

 

We also just departed the Anthem yesterday morning. It is a very impressive ship. Apart from some moderately rough seas from the first night until about 11:00 AM on Friday, we thought the seas we very calm (no more than 3 - 4 feet for the remainder of the cruise). We did see all three shows (The Gift, Spectra's Cabaret, and We Will Rock You). All were excellent. The visual effects in the Spectra's Cabaret show were breathtaking. The band performing We Will Rock You was amazing (especially the lead guitar player, who I believe is leaving the ship in two weeks).

 

We did walk to the American's Cup Race Village from the ship. It is about a 20 - 25 minute walk, just over the bridge near the clock tower mall. Basically you walk around the perimeter of the area, passing the ferry terminal, some shops, and the clock tower mall, then over the bridge. You do need to be careful crossing the bridge since the sidewalks are very narrow. Once you cross the bridge, the entrance is on the left. You will see some the the boats docked on the left, as you cross the bridge.

 

We only spent about 30 minutes walking around the area. It was interesting to partake in the atmosphere. We did buy our America's Cup tee shirts at the "superstore".

[nelblu]

TeddyBear231: You had mentioned in your post that you left a room key in the slot so your A/C was always on. Can you explain that a little more? Does the air go off automatically when you leave the room?

 

Yes, the room temperature is controlled by the insertion of a card in the slot. I used my seapass card and used the WOW band for everything else, except for embarkation/disembarkation at various ports.

[nelblu]

Thank you for the reviews--we will be on this itinerary in July. For the Solarium Bistro--do you remember if there were vegetarian options? I have seen a menu, and it doesn't look like one is listed? I would think they'd accommodate upon request but surprised there wasn't one on menu.

 

Any chance anyone did trapeze school? It is the main thing DD wants to do and I'm trying to get a sense of how many times it will be offered.

 

Thank you for the reviews--would also love to see compasses if you have them!

 

 

He should try the I Fly, it was the longest minute of my life. Left indentation on my cheeks for about 2 days from wearing glasses. LOL

[nelblu]

To the OP: When departing Bayonne, did you go straight to sea or did the Captain make a detour and go left up the Hudson. On my 9 niter NE/Canada the Captain provided Paxs with a gift--what a sight of the skyline and surrounding iconic such as Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Freedom Tower, etc.

[bob brown]

To the OP: When departing Bayonne, did you go straight to sea or did the Captain make a detour and go left up the Hudson. On my 9 niter NE/Canada the Captain provided Paxs with a gift--what a sight of the skyline and surrounding iconic such as Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Freedom Tower, etc.

You were lucky...I've watched many of the Anthem's departure's on the NYHarbor webcam, and it rarely does that...

If you want to be sure to see those sights, you would have to consider taking one of the ships sailing from the Manhattan cruise terminal...

 

The only Royal Caribbean ship I can see doing that this year, is the Navigator of the Seas, on her repositioning cruise from Southampton to Miami....she stays overnight in Manhattan from November 14 to 15. To do that cruise legally, you would have to board in Southampton....:)

[teddybear231]

We board for the same 9 night cruise this coming Thursday...Was the Dockyard in Bermuda busy because of the America's Cup Race that is going on? Also do you know if the America's Cup Race Village is walking distance from where you docked?

 

Thanks, looking forward to reading more.

 

The dockyard wasn't busy, the race was held on the other side so we were fine. It was actually the first day of racing we were there, it was nice to see from our boat! Michael Douglas was in attendance to kick off the races (not on our boat, but at the race :D). I spoke with some people who went to the village and they enjoyed it. We actually walked down to the village just to get some pictures from the ship, it was manageable, and there seemed to be a lot of people walking with us as well. We couldn't get in though because we didn't have tickets, but it was still nice to see!