Anthem of the Seas Review 6/26- 7/1

[baileymouse]

Prepare for minor grumpiness due to sciatica. ;)

 

I chose this itinerary as a surprise for my husband for our 32nd anniversary. It's about time we sailed from home! Overall, the ship is lovely and modern, but because it's meant for cold-weather sailings there's a lot of indoor spaces which seem to become overcrowded. I think that was the only downside for me.

 

Cabin:

Our cabin, 8152, was great. It was extremely clean and had a great deal of storage: bins over the bed, closets and drawers on either side of the bed, drawers in the desk and underbed storage. Udiana kept our cabin looking great and entertained us with towel animals. No issues with the room although the TV didn't always want to connect to the account services. I reported it and it was fixed in a couple of days. I had the Royal IQ app on my phone so I often used that.

 

Dining:

We had breakfast at Cafe 270 most days. It was a lot less crowded than the Windjammer and we were able to grab and go. The guys working there were very friendly and the barista made great lattes. I had bought the coffee card and made good use of it. We ordered rooms service for breakfast on our Halifax day. It showed up exactly on schedule and was accurate.

 

We only ate in the dining room once, in American Icon, and I was severely disappointed. We were seated directly across from the waiter's station and it was noisy. Our waited was curt and grumpy, completely unlike the rest of the crew we encountered. We didn't go back after that. I had ordered fish and it was bland, unseasoned and rather unappealing. My husband had the delicious osso bucco. I had wanted the fish because it was lighter, but I was disappointed and sorry I didn't ask to change. If the waiter had been more attentive I might have, but I should have spoken up. He was the only problem person I encountered, all the other staff members were great.

 

Specialty dining was spectacular. On our first night we ate at Chops Grille. We really enjoyed it, but it wasn't our fave of the specialty places. Service was very good, we had a nice time. My husband wasn't in a steak mood and had the branzino, and said it was fantastic. I had a NY strip steak.

 

On our second night we hit Jamie's Italian. We started with house red wine, which was really great. We had fried calamari, a meat & cheese platter, they brought us garlic bread rolls, and then it was on to dinner. My husband had the lamb chops with polenta fries and a side of pasta. I had the bolognese. Everything was fresh, delicious and perfectly seasoned.

 

I think the only things that didn't thrill us were the desserts. My husband had the Pavlova, a meringue and fruit concoction, and I had tiramisu. They were good but not what we were craving, I guess.

 

If you're on Anthem and you want to sign up for specialty dining, the food here is excellent. The chairs sucked - I have become very chair conscious because I need lumbar support, but the food was great. Our waiter, Juan Carlos, went above & beyond. He was extremely helpful and sweet.

 

On our anniversary we had dinner in Wonderland. What a delight! The place has a great whimsical vibe, and is lovely to look at. You start your meal by painting your blank menu with water to make the menu appear. Our waiter, Bodgan, worked with me because of my crustacean allergy and even offered to get me food from other specialty restaurants. I assured him that I would be fine and I was. I loved the concept of eating offerings from the elements.

 

My husband started with the liquid lobster from the Sea, the Crispy Crab Cones from Ice, and the Shrimp Kataifi from Fire. He loved it all. We both had the Baby Vegetables in the Garden (mostly carrots and beets) from Sun, the Wonton Soup from Fire, the Oceanic Citrus (spicy tuna in a hollowed out line with yuzu granita on top) from Ice and the Buffalo Chicken Eggs from Fire.

 

Our entrees were the Berkshire Pork Belly from Earth, The Branzino in Crispy Bread from Sea, and the Halibut cooked in Clear Paper from Sea. If I had to rank them it would be in the order I posted, but all were delicious. Dessert was a molten lava bomb. The bring out this beautiful chocolate globe dusted with gold, pour hot chocolate sauce over it and expose the ice cream interior. It's a decadent dessert and I even though I'm a chocoholic I could only manage a few bites! They also brought us key lime lollipops, also very good. Wonderland was the perfect choice for our anniversary.

 

On our last night we ate dinner in the Solarium Bistro. Much quieter than the main dining hall! My husband had salmon and I had skirt steak.

 

Entertainment and Activities:

We made reservations for the Northstar, The Gift, We Will Rock You, and Spectra's Cabaret. I thought the Northstar was fun and loved taking pictures from up on high.

 

We both disliked The Gift. It began like a cross between A Christmas Carol and Titanic, morphed into Peter Pan and some other stuff, and just totally bored us. We walked out. I found the sound difficult. Why on earth did a musical about the Victorian Era feature songs from the 70s - 90s? It was all over the place. My husband's review? If this is a Gift, give it back! I know reviews are subjective and some people love it, but it wasn't for us.

 

We really enjoyed We Will Rock You. The singing and acting were good, and the storyline was simple but fun. The staging was great. It was a fun, toe-tapping experience and of course we know all the music.

 

I loved Spectra's Cabaret, it was bright and imaginative. My husband liked it but didn't love it.

 

Music venues: We liked the cover band in the Music Hall, and we listened to a lot of jazz in Boleros. I have to say that out of all the cruises I've been on (all with Royal), the music seemed weakest on this ship. I heard some really great jazz and singing on Enchantment and Majesty last year, so I was surprised things seemed to bland on Anthem. I think it was a little too Wonder Bread for my taste, give me some seasoning.

 

Comedy: We liked Derrick Cameron and his comedy. I never really felt like the Cruise Director (Dru) was engaged with the passengers the way the Directors were on the smaller ships. I barely saw him.

 

We didn't rollerskate, iFly, or use the bumper cars because of my back. . I tried to get my husband to do some of that without me but he couldn't. We're going again in October so if I'm better by then I'll try and get to do at least some of that.

 

Speaking of my back: there were times when I left certain venues because all the low seating was already taken. I can't sit on barstools. Not enough back support and it hurts too much for a short, injured person to get up on to it. I thought I was the only one until I heard some women talking in 270 about the same thing - they felt that a lot of the seating wasn't friendly for anyone who was short or disabled.

 

Favorite place on board was the Solarium. We spent a LOT of time in the hot tubs and reading on the lounge chairs. It's a great escape. We had one night when the hot tub was completely taken over by some loud teens and we left, but all the other evenitns were great.

 

 

Ports:

Loved both Bar Harbor and Halifax!

 

 

In Bar Harbor we took the Acadia National Park Tour, a 2.5 hour bus trip with three stops. I thought it was beautiful. I'd love to go back and spend more time in the park. Thunder Hole and Cadillac Mountain were gorgeous but I felt like we didn't have enough time, especially since I am not up to speed with walking.

 

 

After the tour we went back and walked around Bar Harbor, had lunch and some ice cream, and stopped in the stores. It's a cute place to visit. The line to get back on the ship at 5 was extremely long and it started to rain, but we all made it.

 

 

There was some confusion in the AM about tender tickets. People with Royal booked excursions didn't need them but someone told them they did, so they were getting ticked off going back and forth. Those with tours not through Royal (like us) waited for tickets. People lined up extremely early. We weren't late and received tickets for the last group.

 

 

Halifax:

 

 

Halifax is a great little city. We did our own walking tour and went up to the new Halifax Central Library. It's a new, state-of-the-art library that has become a big tourist destination and they give tours! We took their tour and found it informative.

 

 

We stopped at Tim Hortons for coffee (I have to, it's my personal law - in Canada, go to Tim's). Then we walked back down to the waterfront and went to the Museum of Immigration. I thought that was great, they had a really nice display about their history. Pier 21 is their Ellis Island. It was interesting to compare the two.

 

 

Once again the line to get on the ship was really bad. I was surprised at how slow it was. By the end of the day I was grumpy and in pain, so I went straight to the hot tub, haha.

 

Summation: Liked the cruise, loved the ports, loved the Solarium, loved the specialty dining, and we're going again (this time to Bermuda) in October. However, I do wish they had better flow for the crowds.

[dpostman]

Well... Back in March we were on Anthem and had the same room: 8152 (y) I thought it was a great location, very close to stairs and Elevators, but no noise. Our kids were next door in 8154. We also had issues with the TV. We could not sign the waivers through the TV but went to Seaplex and signed them all there.

 

I'm also positive we had Bodgan as our waiter in Wonderland. We were there on my Birthday and had a great experience. Glad to here you liked Halifax. I live nearby and like HFX a lot.

 

Nice review

Thanks

 

dp

[pasodancer]

What a wonderful anniversary celebration cruise - Happy Anniversary! Thank you for taking the time to post your review - sounds like a great ship with fabulous food. Again, Happy Anniversary!!!

[canuckcruiselover]

The chairs sucked - I have become very chair conscious because I need lumbar support

 

I was on the same cruise and found the chairs everywhere on the Anthem were very low backed and uncomfortable, even in the casino. It seems the designers went for form rather than function.

We weren't crazy about the Anthem's layout - a really chopped-up shopping mall effect which lacked the usual WOW factor of the wider promenade decks on other ships.

[baileymouse]

We weren't crazy about the Anthem's layout - a really chopped-up shopping mall effect which lacked the usual WOW factor of the wider promenade decks on other ships.

 

That's what my husband said. He really likes a more open floor plan.

[baileymouse]

Well... Back in March we were on Anthem and had the same room: 8152 (y) I thought it was a great location, very close to stairs and Elevators, but no noise. Our kids were next door in 8154. We also had issues with the TV. We could not sign the waivers through the TV but went to Seaplex and signed them all there.

 

I'm also positive we had Bodgan as our waiter in Wonderland. We were there on my Birthday and had a great experience. Glad to here you liked Halifax. I live nearby and like HFX a lot.

 

Nice review

Thanks

 

dp

 

You're right, it was quiet. Funny that the TV had problems when you were on.

 

I'd love to get to Moncton someday. I used to know someone there but never made it up. :)

 

What a wonderful anniversary celebration cruise - Happy Anniversary! Thank you for taking the time to post your review - sounds like a great ship with fabulous food. Again, Happy Anniversary!!!

 

Thanks much!

[Steveanaruss]

We were on the same cruise! Completely agree with you about the food in Jamie's and Chops, they were fantastic. We ended up walking out of all of the shows, except for We Will Rock You. I couldn't follow the story line in "The Gift", and like your husband said, that would have definitely been given back :)

 

Spectra's was a little too over the top for me. It just seemed that they had all this cool technology that they found ways to use, but there was no substance. We Will Rock You started off really slow, and some of the story line didn't seem to fit, but it closed really well. The lead singer was fantastic!

[easyboy]

Glad you like your cruise! Thank you for your review.

[luckyinpa]

That's what my husband said. He really likes a more open floor plan.

 

have you or the OP been on Breakaway? for such a large ship i didnt think it was that 'wide' at all inside. ive only seen pics of anthem but it seems MUCH wider throughout the shopping areas than the breakaway.

 

at times i even thought the BA was a tad small with nowhere to go on cold sea days when upper deck stuff was closed.

 

sooo looking forward to anthem

[baileymouse]

have you or the OP been on Breakaway? for such a large ship i didnt think it was that 'wide' at all inside. ive only seen pics of anthem but it seems MUCH wider throughout the shopping areas than the breakaway.

 

at times i even thought the BA was a tad small with nowhere to go on cold sea days when upper deck stuff was closed.

 

sooo looking forward to anthem

 

I haven't been on Breakaway. So far I've only been on Royal ships: Liberty, Majesty & Enchantment, and now Anthem. My friend liked Breakaway but didn't mention it seeming tight.

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks for sharing your review.

 

I also find the flow of Anthem to be bad, with the Esplanade constantly crowded, unless it is very early morning or very late night. We like the cabin design and are happy that they also put this cabin design on Harmony.

 

Would sail Anthem again, since it is a 4 hour drive away, but only if we got a good price we couldn't pass up.

[baileymouse]

 

Would sail Anthem again, since it is a 4 hour drive away, but only if we got a good price we couldn't pass up.

 

That's how we feel. Anthem is not a favorite but we live here and can probably get some off-season bargains that will definitely make sailing worthwhile.

[slyster]

Thanks for your honest review. I appreciated the feedback on the chairs as I have back problems too. We are planning stops in the three specialty restaurants you went to and we are super excited about trying Wonderland for the first time. A little nervous being that I'm more on the picky side, but I have heard they do a really good job catering to making your experience a good one.

 

As for Bar Harbor, I have a early morning RC excursion and I just asked in another thread about whether we needed tender tickets or not. Did you ever find out whether they needed the tickets?

 

Thanks again for your review!

[baileymouse]

Thanks for your honest review. I appreciated the feedback on the chairs as I have back problems too. We are planning stops in the three specialty restaurants you went to and we are super excited about trying Wonderland for the first time. A little nervous being that I'm more on the picky side, but I have heard they do a really good job catering to making your experience a good one.

 

As for Bar Harbor, I have a early morning RC excursion and I just asked in another thread about whether we needed tender tickets or not. Did you ever find out whether they needed the tickets?

 

Thanks again for your review!

Your RC shore excursion ticket puts you in the early group. You don't need the tender tickets, they look at that. They'll gather you all together in one location. Enjoy, it was a beautiful stop.

 

Sent from my SM-G935T using Forums mobile app

[slyster]

Your RC shore excursion ticket puts you in the early group. You don't need the tender tickets, they look at that. They'll gather you all together in one location. Enjoy, it was a beautiful stop.

 

Sent from my SM-G935T using Forums mobile app

 

Thank you for your quick reply and for confirming we don't need the tender tickets.

[Clarea]

Interesting review. I had not read any feedback regarding the seating in 270.

[reallyitsmema]

Interesting review. I had not read any feedback regarding the seating in 270.

 

Two70 has high top tables with bar stools in the back section near Cafe Two70 where people can eat when the cafe is open or sit during shows. There are also low tables that have leather cube seats and maybe other seats, don't remember as those were always full and we never were able to sit there. The high tops are good to see over the people in front of you, but they are tough to get into for the vertically challenged, like me.

 

Many of the other seats are modernistic, low backed and not the most comfortable. There are some nice high back leather chairs in some areas, but those get taken quickly. There is also banquette seating and some bench seating as well as onion basket seats.

 

The whole venue is very eclectic.

[marci22]

Many of the other seats are modernistic, low backed and not the most comfortable. There are some nice high back leather chairs in some areas, but those get taken quickly. There is also banquette seating and some bench seating as well as onion basket seats.

 

Those high backed chairs are so comfortable. As you said, there are only a few. We were the 3rd or 4th group in line and no one went for the 4 chairs (straight ahead from the entrance) so we got lucky. The downside is that we couldn't see some of the floor show, but we didn't care cause those chairs were so good.