On Anthem Now - Very Disappointed with state of Public areas

[dpostman]

We were on Anthem last March. I know it's been a while and things may have changed, but I clearly remember reading many threads that were negative About Anthem Service, Cleanliness, Food service, No Bar service... Before our cruise and they got me worried a bit.

 

Turns out, we had a great time on Anthem. Nothing wrong with the food, and surprisingly good in many occasions. Had good bar service, including roaming service on the pool decks. Public areas seemed clean.

 

My main complaint for the Anthem really revolves around the Esplanade area crowding, especially during they frequent $10 sales. I assume this must be a huge money generator for RCI because I find it very disturbing to the flow of the ship and I find it "Cheapens" the cruise experience. I found myself looking for alternative routes to make it from forward to aft or vice versa. I don't mind the luxury stores, I feel they add to the cruise experience. We usually tend to get ourselves one or 2 "luxury" items during a cruise, but the stuff in the center booths at $10... not for me. But I did not let this impede my enjoyment of the cruise.

 

dp

[gaylemh]

I just use deck 5 to get from one end of the ship to the other, and avoid the sales and crowds all together.

[Merion_Mom]

I just use deck 5 to get from one end of the ship to the other, and avoid the sales and crowds all together.

 

Moi aussi. ;)

[TC1957]

I'm sure it's just because of the weather they are in. Going through 30-40mph winds and 12 foot seas and will get worse before midnight.

 

I'm sure the dishes will clear up with the weather.

 

-Sean

 

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I have never understood this logic. My father-in-law went to sea for 50 years. Granted he wasn't on a cruise ship so he didn't have the luxury of stabilizers, but when he recounted stories of seas so rough the bow of the super tanker came completely out of the water my kids would ask how they could work in such conditions. His response was always the same...the ship must function at all times, period, end of story.

 

Do bridge personnel take off in rough seas? :o

[reallyitsmema]

I have never understood this logic. My father-in-law went to sea for 50 years. Granted he wasn't on a cruise ship so he didn't have the luxury of stabilizers, but when he recounted stories of seas so rough the bow of the super tanker came completely out of the water my kids would ask how they could work in such conditions. His response was always the same...the ship must function at all times, period, end of story.

 

Do bridge personnel take off in rough seas? :o

 

There is a big difference between what a maritime professional thinks are rough seas and what the average cruiser thinks.

[Big_G]

I would think that stating Diamond, is a way of saying that they have been on many Royal ships and they have a reference for comparing the crew activities of different ships and being able to comment with a little experience. Not an EGO thing like you seem to imply or assume. Hopefully today is the day you will look at it a little differently.

 

 

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Agree.

 

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[dpostman]

I just use deck 5 to get from one end of the ship to the other, and avoid the sales and crowds all together.

 

 

That is what we ended up doing most of the time, but then I missed walking by Michael's to pick up some :beer-mug::beer-mug::beer-mug:

 

 

Moi aussi. ;)

 

ooOOOoo... Française?

 

dp

[Yorkvillain]

Moi aussi. ;)

 

 

Moi trois.

[msbrookelyn]

Why do they sell so many button-fly jeans in Texas?

 

I agree! As a New Yorker, I'm offended. What is that supposed to mean? The ship shouldn't be dirty ever then because aren't we the city that never sleeps?

[wilmingtech]

I have never understood this logic. My father-in-law went to sea for 50 years. Granted he wasn't on a cruise ship so he didn't have the luxury of stabilizers, but when he recounted stories of seas so rough the bow of the super tanker came completely out of the water my kids would ask how they could work in such conditions. His response was always the same...the ship must function at all times, period, end of story.

 

Do bridge personnel take off in rough seas? :o

 

I agree with this in that you are talking about seasoned sailors with life careers in the tanker industry or Captains and senior staff on ships. On a cruise ship, the 1000 plus hospitality help are not all seasoned sailors with wet feet. A good percentage are probably on their first contracts especially when the ship turns over a percentage of the help. Not that it is an excuse for not doing your job. They also have additional work pertaining to safety and health conditions during bad weather (ie: cleaning up other messes that passengers are involuntarily making).

 

This could be a very small percentage but if you have 2 people responsible for cleaning up a specific public area of a ship (Sorrentos for example), 1 of them is sick and the other is cleaning up a "mess" either in back of house or in a public area, now for a good 30 minutes to an hour you have no staff helping to clean up in this area of the ship.

 

When we were on the Freedom in March my wife was walking down the hall and and approaching one of the cabin stewards as they opened the door to a cabin. Right after he opened the door he instantaneously stepped back into the hallway and (unknowing my wife was approaching) said to himself, "Sweet Jesus help me".

 

So you can imagine that for the people being serviced by that cabin steward it might have taken him just a little longer to get through his rounds that evening.

 

I am not saying at all that this is 100% of the reason for the uncleanliness on the ship but just that it could be a contributing factor, especially because at the time the OP posted was right as they were headed into a storm.

 

-Sean

[mgmigs]

I agree with this in that you are talking about seasoned sailors with life careers in the tanker industry or Captains and senior staff on ships. On a cruise ship, the 1000 plus hospitality help are not all seasoned sailors with wet feet. A good percentage are probably on their first contracts especially when the ship turns over a percentage of the help. Not that it is an excuse for not doing your job. They also have additional work pertaining to safety and health conditions during bad weather (ie: cleaning up other messes that passengers are involuntarily making).

 

This could be a very small percentage but if you have 2 people responsible for cleaning up a specific public area of a ship (Sorrentos for example), 1 of them is sick and the other is cleaning up a "mess" either in back of house or in a public area, now for a good 30 minutes to an hour you have no staff helping to clean up in this area of the ship.

 

When we were on the Freedom in March my wife was walking down the hall and and approaching one of the cabin stewards as they opened the door to a cabin. Right after he opened the door he instantaneously stepped back into the hallway and (unknowing my wife was approaching) said to himself, "Sweet Jesus help me".

 

So you can imagine that for the people being serviced by that cabin steward it might have taken him just a little longer to get through his rounds that evening.

 

I am not saying at all that this is 100% of the reason for the uncleanliness on the ship but just that it could be a contributing factor, especially because at the time the OP posted was right as they were headed into a storm.

 

-Sean

 

Interesting to hear bc the other morning during a hectic and overcrowded breakfast in Grande we overheard a waiter say “Lord give me strength”

[terrig007]

I agree with this in that you are talking about seasoned sailors with life careers in the tanker industry or Captains and senior staff on ships. On a cruise ship, the 1000 plus hospitality help are not all seasoned sailors with wet feet. A good percentage are probably on their first contracts especially when the ship turns over a percentage of the help. Not that it is an excuse for not doing your job. They also have additional work pertaining to safety and health conditions during bad weather (ie: cleaning up other messes that passengers are involuntarily making).

 

This could be a very small percentage but if you have 2 people responsible for cleaning up a specific public area of a ship (Sorrentos for example), 1 of them is sick and the other is cleaning up a "mess" either in back of house or in a public area, now for a good 30 minutes to an hour you have no staff helping to clean up in this area of the ship.

 

When we were on the Freedom in March my wife was walking down the hall and and approaching one of the cabin stewards as they opened the door to a cabin. Right after he opened the door he instantaneously stepped back into the hallway and (unknowing my wife was approaching) said to himself, "Sweet Jesus help me".

 

So you can imagine that for the people being serviced by that cabin steward it might have taken him just a little longer to get through his rounds that evening.

 

I am not saying at all that this is 100% of the reason for the uncleanliness on the ship but just that it could be a contributing factor, especially because at the time the OP posted was right as they were headed into a storm.

 

-Sean

 

When I was in college I took a Fall semester off so I could go work as a chambermaid at the Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, MI. If you stayed to the bitter end you received a big bonus (it was 3K but that was 32 years ago and it may have gone up or down since then) plus I needed a break because I wasn't sure what I wanted to major in. Anyway, you would think that people who are staying at an upscale place would not leave such a mess. I can relate to the cabin steward as there were many days I couldn't believe that I thought it was a good idea to work as a chambermaid at a hotel that I had visited when I was 7 and 12 and thought the kids who were working all seemed to have a good time (we did have a great time after hours but that's another story for another day).

 

But at the same time I completely understand the OP's frustrations. I'm hoping things have gotten better since the first day. When you go on vacation you want to be on vacation and not have to worry about that kind of stuff.

[Guest maddycat]

We had a very different experience from the OP on our recent Anthem cruise (Oct. 12 - 21, Canada and New England). It was our 24th RCI cruise, our 4th on the Anthem. It was one of our best cruises. The crew was outstanding, they couldn't have been any more accommodating.

 

We were impressed with how clean the ship was. Tables were cleaned very quickly in the Windjammer even at the busiest times. The only area that could have been cleaned more frequently was 270.

[Thetrail]

Trying to understand why you are asking so many questions. The original post was quite clear. The OP is venting.

 

I have seen an excess of dirty dishes on the first day and it is an unpleasant way to begin a cruise. There's really no excuse for it, even if there are explanations as to why it happens.

Saw ONE picture of plates on a table, need more proof with a post such as this one.:rolleyes:

[gqboy1]

Alert: The January 28th ship out of Cape Liberty will be VERY dirty. It is highly recommended for you to cruise around this date. :P

[Thetrail]

I’m on Anthem now too and have no idea what the OP is talking about. This is one of the cleanest ships I’ve been on. Anywhere I go I can sit with no mess on the table and have seen no food or dishes on elevators. Just pulled up to Cococay and it’s a beautiful day!!

This is why I need proof when I read a post like this. And by this I mean the OP's post.

[Mom2labs]

This is why I need proof when I read a post like this. And by this I mean the OP's post.

 

 

 

Well really how many more pictures do you need? As I posted previously even a supervisor in Solarium did not disagree that the dirty dishes were there too long, and that was yesterday ( day 5). Simple fact is that I’ve been on other RCCL ships and it hasn’t been like this. This won’t stop me from cruising with them again however I probably will think twice before Sailing Anthem again.

 

I’m glad that it obviously hasn’t been like this for very many of you. That’s a good thing, but it’s not up to snuff on this cruise. Please don’t insinuate that I must be mistaken, or hard to please.

 

 

 

 

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[lv2bcruzin]

We just got off the Anthem (10/21 - 10/28) and I would say we experienced both scenarios. Many times dirty dishes were left in the public areas for extended periods of time or walking into a public area with many tables occupied by dirty dishes. Other times it was kept very clean. The place where it was the worst was the Windjammer. Many times it was a crap shoot whether or not there were people still at the table and were up getting more food or had indeed left for good. We were always looking for personal belongings to decide, but that didn't always work. The worst place within the Windjammer was at the far back outdoor area. Tables had dirty dishes on them for 20 mins plus many times. In one instance my sister and brother-in-law let us know they had left that area about 15 minutes before we arrived during breakfast. They came back to join us when we got there and said the table they were sitting at still had all their dirty dishes on it.

 

So, I absolutely believe the OP and also believe others who have said the areas have been clean as we experienced both. One overly dirty area were the elevators. Almost every elevator for the entire cruise had something spilled on it and you could tell it had been there for awhile as dirt from being stepped on was accumulating on it.

Edited November 3, 2017 by lv2bcruzin

[nolesrule]

We leave on Saturday. I'm not sure what to think. I'll just keep an open mind.

[ibeeznik]

We'll be joining you on Nov4th! Unfortunately, this forum is no different than any other. People always feel enabled to make snide derogatory comments (I think it's the anonymity). I am sure the points on here about cleanliness are valid and it may seem dirtier than usual. Could be that with the itinerary change there's a lot of new crew. Hopefully when we get on board the quirks will be worked out. Others have said it's not nearly as bad as some are saying here. And maybe it's just perception. I can't say until I see it for myself. I have a few friends from another unrelated forum who are on Anthem now and they say it doesn't seem unusually dirty. So who knows?

 

 

 

See you in a few short days ⚓️⚓️[emoji3]..... I agree that there are likely variances in perception. I don't even care at this point. I am just excited to board the ship and detach from reality for a while! Bring on the fun & sun!

 

 

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[chrisby]

What does being Diamond have to do with anything? I have never understood this. Does it mean Diamonds are entitled to something other than the rest of us? I don't get it and I hope one day someone will explain to me why people are always stating their status. In other words, you made a statement based on your opinion. Great.... but why did you have to let us all know you are Diamond? To "me"....it's sound like you should not have to endure the crowds and chaos because of your status. Maybe I'm wrong. Would love an explanation. Thank you

As a Diamond member myself I wouldn't argue with it [emoji39]

 

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[Jerseygirl1416]

The captain just confirmed we have several cases of Norovirus on board. Yuk!!! There are tons of kids on board so it’s not surprising. If you’re coming on board tomorrow washy washy!!!

[reallyitsmema]

The captain just confirmed we have several cases of Norovirus on board. Yuk!!! There are tons of kids on board so it’s not surprising. If you’re coming on board tomorrow washy washy!!!

 

Yuck! The next sailing is Jersey Week which is not going to help. Hopefully, they get things cleared up before we sail on 11/11!

[nolesrule]

The captain just confirmed we have several cases of Norovirus on board. Yuk!!! There are tons of kids on board so it’s not surprising. If you’re coming on board tomorrow washy washy!!!

 

Thanks for the warning. We're planning to avoid the dining room and Windjammer on this cruise, but I'll make sure everyone is extra washy washy anyway.

[wilmingtech]

Jersey Week - That'll be a fun one. Would love to know how many kids are on that trip :)

 

Anyone that's on the Anthem now - What time were you cleared to leave the ship in Cape Canaveral? Trying to get an answer to another thread I have running... thanks.

 

-Sean