Anthem Xmas Cruise Mini-Review

[wise456]

We were a family of our sailing on the 12/22 Xmas cruise last week. After reading thread after thread of how RCL's quality level has been slipping, we are happy to report that we saw no evidence of this. We have been on 20+ plus cruises (RCL, NCL and Celebrity) and this was one of the best!

 

Embarkation was smooth and painless. We arrived at the port at 10:30 and were on board the ship fifteen minutes later. However, the hallways to the cabins are walled off until 1 pm so we had a very leisurely lunch in the Windjammer and a quick walk around a couple of the decks. We quickly appreciated how large the ship is as a lap on the sports deck is literally over a third of mile!

 

We had a balcony cabin (10170) and the room was spacious with a large balcony. My wife loved the glass shower as opposed to a curtain and I loved the fact that the flat screen TV had every bowl game along with a good deal of NFL action on Saturday and Sunday.

 

The atrium and indoor esplanade on this ship is incredible as are most of the public lounges. It seems like most of the public spaces are multi-storied which gives a real feeling of space and airiness. It also helps to reduce the perception of congestion as we were worried that we would be unable to move with 4900 passengers on this cruise. The only time things felt crowded was on the private island and when a show let out. This was our biggest pre-cruise concern but the ship is so large and spread out that this was not a problem at all.

 

I should also mention that Lounge Two70 is not to be missed. A spacious multi-tiered lounge/show room with a wall of windows looking over the rear of the ship, it turns into a gleaming multimedia showcase of the latest technology. A 100 foot wide wraparound high resolution screen drops from atop the windows and the sound system is incredible. We enjoyed an American Pops performance one night and a jazz concert another night. They put on a show Spectra's Cabaret in the lounge which marries live performances with all the technology but the star of the show is the array of eight LCD screens on fully articulating arms which create visual effects unlike any we have seen before.

 

The ony shortcomings we experienced was in the quality of the dining rooms. We were not fans of the concept of four separate dining rooms and we found the quality of the food to be lacking. Service was fine, but the menus were bland and unimaginitive. Even worse, the quaility of the food was about on a par with Olive Garden. We tried Chops one night and that was even more dissapointing. I can understand getting a sub-par piece of steak at any restaurant, but even the appetizers and sides were nothing special. Fortunately, the food at the Windjammer made up for the shortcomings in the main dining rooms. The quality and wide selection were excellent and while we are not fans of eating at a buffet for dinner, the food was two notches better than in the dining rooms.

 

Aside from the drop-off in the dining rooms, we enjoyed every other aspect of the cruise. The kids loved iFly and Northstar was unforgettable. The sports area is amazing, the split pool setup (indoor and outdoor) works well althogh I'd imagine it would get very crowded on a summer day at sea, the fitness room is well-appointed, and it all added up to a fantastic cruise. If anyone has specific questions, please ask away.

[easyboy]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and did not find the line’s quality level slipping.

 

 

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[Clarea]

Thanks for the report. Unfortunately I don't think the drop off in MDR food quality is limited to Anthem.

[jacketwatch]

Thank you. Every time before I cruise I read the latest reviews on the ship we will be on and no matter what cruise line it is the reviews are frightening. And every time I wonder what were they thinking after we disembark. We were just on the sister ship the Ovation and do agree about two70. It’s a fab venue.

[maggieq]

Thanks for the report. Unfortunately I don't think the drop off in MDR food quality is limited to Anthem.

 

I agree but we don’t cruise for the food. Entertainment is more important to us

[philpcruiser]

Wise456: so, would you do this cruise again?

[wise456]

Wise456: so, would you do this cruise again?

 

Absolutely we would cruise on the Anthem again although we are getting bored of the same New York - Port Canaveral - Nassau itinerary. I think this was our fourth cruise with these ports but it is so convenient to avoid flying out of the Northeast during the winter and we are limited by the kids' school schedules.

[philpcruiser]

Absolutely we would cruise on the Anthem again although we are getting bored of the same New York - Port Canaveral - Nassau itinerary. I think this was our fourth cruise with these ports but it is so convenient to avoid flying out of the Northeast during the winter and we are limited by the kids' school schedules.

Glad to hear you would do the cruise again. I totally agree about the itinerary issue. We just hate when the cruise we want stops in nassau. There are much better ports in that area. With so many people loving to cruise out of the nyc area, why can't some cruise line come up with a new itinerary?

[lysolqn]

With so many people loving to cruise out of the nyc area, why can't some cruise line come up with a new itinerary?

 

My guess is the distance. There's only so far you can sail roundtrip from NY into the Caribbean in a week or ten days. If there was a market for it - even seasonal - you can bet the cruise lines would be doing it.

[rustyroo]

Did your kids do adventure ocean? Any feedback? Do you have any compasses for adventure ocean? I have an 8 and 5 year old and haven't heard a ton of feedback about anthem and kid friendliness.

[golden6911]

I am actually kind of glad to hear that the windjammer is better quality food than the main dining room. I personally enjoy a more casual style buffet if I am traveling with my family and sitting for hours in a dining room for just okay food is not really appealing with teenagers.

 

I wonder if they are trying to push people away from fixed reservations to the buffet since it requires less service people per passenger.

[Dina7]

Glad to hear you would do the cruise again. I totally agree about the itinerary issue. We just hate when the cruise we want stops in nassau. There are much better ports in that area. With so many people loving to cruise out of the nyc area, why can't some cruise line come up with a new itinerary?

 

Completely agree with you on the cruise lines sailing out of NY/NJ including a port other than Nassau. It's horrible.

 

I have also cruised on the Anthem before and while I felt one of the weaknesses of the ship is the dining options, we just booked another cruise on her. It's a great ship with lots to do!

[Merion_Mom]

The only shortcomings we experienced was in the quality of the dining rooms. We were not fans of the concept of four separate dining rooms and we found the quality of the food to be lacking. Service was fine, but the menus were bland and unimaginative. Even worse, the quality of the food was about on a par with Olive Garden.

 

Thanks for the report. Unfortunately I don't think the drop off in MDR food quality is limited to Anthem.

 

I don't know if it's good news or bad news, but the quality of the food also doesn't have anything to do with the "concept of the four separate dining rooms".

 

wise456, thank you for a very well-written review.

 

:)

[philpcruiser]

Completely agree with you on the cruise lines sailing out of NY/NJ including a port other than Nassau. It's horrible.

Unfortulately, we've had Nassau on our itineraries too many times. (No way around it). We don't even get off there. Why can't the ships try Key West, Freeport, one of the other Bahama islands, or build a private island like disney did?

[gaylemh]

Unfortulately, we've had Nassau on our itineraries too many times. (No way around it). We don't even get off there. Why can't the ships try Key West, Freeport, one of the other Bahama islands, or build a private island like disney

did?

Royal does have private islands - Coco Cay and Labadee

[Merion_Mom]

Unfortulately, we've had Nassau on our itineraries too many times. (No way around it). We don't even get off there. Why can't the ships try Key West, Freeport, one of the other Bahama islands, or build a private island like disney did?

1. Freeport sucks. Nassau is better than Freeport.

2. Hotel Directors have told me that Nassau is very popular with first time cruisers and infrequent cruisers. It's the constant cruisers who turn their noses up at Nassau.

3. No other islands of the Bahamas take cruise ships.

4. Key West is pretty picky about the ships they allow to dock. Anthem may be past the size of what they are willing to accept.

5. Royal Caribbean (and Celebrity, which you have sailed on, too) has CocoCay, a private island in the Bahamas, and Labadee, a private peninsula on Hispaniola in the country of Haiti.

 

There are lots of itineraries without Nassau.

 

From New Jersey, a Bahamas itinerary is necessary for the shorter cruises. Her longer itineraries do not stop there.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for taking the time to write this report.

 

Happy New Year.

 

Keith