ANTHEM of the SEAS Review February 9 - 17, 2018

[stungazed]

This is my review of Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas on the February 9 – 17, 2018 sailing.

 

Anthem of the Seas:

This cruise was booked back in August as a celebration of my wife's 50th birthday. She has never been on a cruise before. She never had any interest in it but decided to give it a shot for the occasion. She wasn't sure if she'd even like it or if she was going to get sea sick or not.

 

I took this cruise with my father & mother as well.

 

When I booked this cruise back in August it came with a few perks. Those being $150 in on board credit, free VOOM Surf and Stream internet and free gratuities.

I thought the ship was VERY nice but compared to ships with fewer passengers I don't think they added enough space for the public areas. This is something that I found to be very true on NCL Breakaway too although, Anthem was not as bad. There were a few bottlenecks on the ship but nothing major.

For the most part I thought the ship was laid out well and things were spread out. One of the issues I did have on the ship was the slowness of the elevators. Not just at peak times but almost all of the time. It seemed to be a programming issue more than anything. While we were waiting for the elevator you could see multiple cars sitting on the same floors for what seemed to be long periods of time. Many times I'd see an empty car come zooming by but not stopping then come zooming by empty in the opposite direction without stopping. Then other times after a wait 2-3 cars would stop on our floor at the same time.

Some of the entertainment venues were a bit small for a ship that holds 5000 passengers and became quite crowded at times.

 

The ship has all the amenities of most ships with shops, a casino, library (well hidden and VERY small), gym, bars, and of course FOOD! They also had a few things that aren't on other ships like bumper cars, Ifly, Northstar, and Flow Rider. We never did get to do any of those things this cruise but that was mostly by choice.

 

Overall I thought the ship was in good condition and well maintained. For the most part the ship was spotless.

 

Below is my review of the stateroom, food, and entertainment and ports of call and more. I’ve broken it down by category.

 

Pre-cruise Hotel:

I don’t have much to report here because I live about an hour away from the pier in Bayonne. It was nice not having to fly and check into a hotel the night before the cruise. The parking fees at the terminal are cheap compared to Manhattan at “just” $20 a day. There was no traffic along the way and we were at the pier just after 9am.

 

 

Embarkation:

We were originally planning to get to the pier at about 9am. Dropping off luggage was a bit of a cluster f%$k. I had a hard time trying to get someone to even come over and help us. Once they did though everything went well.

Things seemed very organized here when we arrived. Security was open and there were no lines. We used the handicap line (my wife is in a wheelchair) and we were through very quickly. My parents are emerald and are supposed to get priority check in but it wasn't even needed at this time. I was surprised at how few people were in the terminal. We were actually escorted right through and checking in only took a few minutes. Once checked in we were directed to the staging area. A few announcements were made that we'd be boarding around 11am. It was going to be a long wait as it was not even 10am yet. Soon after another announcement was made that they had the ship cleared and they were ready to board at 10:30am.

We were among the first group to board. This was pretty organized but as always a few a-holes can't follow instructions and just slow things down for everyone.

 

When we boarded my mother and wife went to book a few shows that we weren't able to book online before we got here. Me and my father went to the dining room to confirm our dining times and tables were the correct. All was in order and it was time for food! We headed to the Windjammer buffet for lunch and were among the first to arrive at the buffet for lunch while others were exploring the ship.

After lunch we grabbed some pool chairs and hung out poolside in the Solarium.

We finally made our way to the muster area for the safety drill that was going to happen around 2:30pm. This would go just fine if people would just shut the hell up and listen like they are instructed to do. I do not understand why people feel the need to carry on personal conversations during this. You've got all week to talk, it can wait. There really has to be a better way to do these safety drills. Piling people up in public areas on the ship at the same time just doesn't work well when there are 5000 passengers on board.

 

Stateroom:

We had handicap accessible balcony cabin 6886. I was shocked at how large this cabin was when I opened the door. It has a king bed, a couch with pull out bed, more storage space than I've ever seen on any cruise ship. There were 2 closets, a dresser and 4 cabinets above the bed and couch. There is desk/make up area, fridge, flat screen TV and a large area to move around in. The balcony was very large with 2 loungers on it with foot rests and a small table. This room also had a window as well.

 

The bathroom was also very large. It had the standard vanity and toilet but was roomy enough for a wheelchair to roll around in. The room is actually a wet room and the shower only had a curtain around it. Not wanting to make a wet mess I always made a dam around the shower curtain to keep the water from going all over the bathroom.

 

There were no issues with the room at all. This room was clean and was spotless. Even typically dusty areas in most rooms were clean and this steward knew how to clean!

 

The room steward's name was Caloy Jean Baptist. He was a friendly guy and greeted us every time he saw us. We're pretty easy going when it comes to requests and didn't ask for anything special from him except for additional towels (to keep the floor dry) which were delivered with no issues. For the most part this guy was pretty stealth. We'd leave in the morning without seeing him, return in the afternoon and the room would be clean. Repeat process in the evenings. We'd leave for shows and dinner and return to a fresh room and sometimes a towel animal.

 

Cruise Director:

Our Cruise director was Dennis Charles. I thought he did a good job and was visible quite a bit during the day in various areas.

 

Dinner (Main Dining Room):

We had late traditional dining which was at 8:15pm. We were assigned to the Grande dining room. Our server was Iwayan and his assistant was Inengeh.

I won't get too much into the food because everyone rates it differently. I can say though I thought most of the meals I had were excellent. My only real complaint about any of the food would be temperature. Rarely was any of the food actually HOT when it arrived.

Some of the issue with the food temperature was probably due to our server. While he worked hard, he seemed to always be chasing his own tail. Too many times we'd be sitting there with no food while it was sitting on a cart nearby and he was no where in sight. For the most part our dinner experience was excellent. Two things that stood out that weren't exactly good. One was no butter one of the nights in the dining room. In place of it was non trans fat spread. Seriously. Complaints to the waiter and assistant were met with “this is what we have tonight”. A complaint to the head waiter netted us an apology, an explanation of why (provisions managers screwed up) and a promise of butter tomorrow even if it was from the bakeshop and unsalted. She did deliver on her promise but I took no chances and brought my own butter from the Windjammer! Butter did return to the dining room a few days later. Our server/assistant also forgot a few things during the week. No big deal but not what I normally expect.

The only other issue we had during dinner was no fault of of the dining staff but has to do with ignorant passengers. A few tables down from us was family of 3 that had a boy that was 3-4 years old. The minute he'd get to the table the first thing he'd do is start clanging the knives together. His parents never made an effort to stop the noise. At times it was quite obnoxious and I can't believe that a parent would one, let a kid make that much noise in a dining room, and 2, let a kid of this age actually play with knives. To make it worse the father regularly joined in playing with silverware as well. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised as he's the same guy that came to the main dining room dressed in a t shirt and his bathing suit a number of nights. No, this didn't ruin our dinner. It's merely an observation and a bit of disbelief of people's behavior.

We don't usually partake in any of the restaurants that contain an additional charge. My reason for this is simple. I feel by doing so it’s going to lead to a time in the future where all food is extra and nothing is included in the fare price. My second reason is cost. I don't see the point of spending upwards of an additional $60+ for dinner when I already paid for food in the price of the cruise. By paying for this extra meal you’re actually paying for it twice. This is just personal choice and I have no issue with anyone that wants to go to the pay restaurants. It's your money, spend it as you wish.

 

 

Main Dining Room (Lunch):

We had a few lunches in the main dining room. I liked how the menu changed each day (unlike on the Breakaway where it's been the same for years). I also liked the mini buffet that was set up each day. You could order off the menu or have the buffet or BOTH! The buffet line could have been better organized. One thing that caused long waits was having a made to order salad station in the middle that caused lines to stretch a bit long keeping people away from the other foods. The service in the dining room was typically good.

Cafe@Two70°:

Good place for a sandwich, salad or soup. Only went here a time or 2 and everything was good. Great selection and variety of items to choose from.

 

Promenade Cafe:

Stopped in here once. Mini sandwiches and some baked goods. Nothing fancy.

Sorrento's Pizzaria:

Good for a quick snack in a pinch but probably one of the worst pizzas not only at sea, but any where. The one time I went here the service was horrible with one person stocking the bar area and serving guests. Myself and a number of other passengers waited nearly 10 minutes to be served while the only person back there made multiple trips in and out of the kitchen delivering oranges to the bar. It made no sense to any of us. Maybe it was a hint not to eat this crap.

Seaplex Dog House (Hot Dogs):

Not much to write about here. Small hot dog truck up in the Sea Plex with standard quality hot dogs and the fixin's.

 

Windjammer Market Place(Buffet):

A HUGE room with many different stations and selections. Laid out pretty well with separate stations instead of one big “cafeteria” line. Some of our breakfasts and lunches were here. Never came for dinner or a pre dinner snack. There was normally plenty of seating too unless you were there right at prime time, then it was a bit packed. I think they took more space than normal setting up the various stations and that took away some of the seating there could have been. But the flow of the buffet lines seemed to work well with the additional space there was in the serving areas. The staff did a good job of turning over tables and clearing dishes. The food quality at the buffet ranged from standard to good and everything in between. A few items I found to be low quality and even nasty but food is so difficult to judge because everyone has different tastes.

The desserts in the buffet were ok, nothing super but nothing really bad.

 

 

There were the typical buffet issues here like people not reading the signs about NOT filling water bottles, people eating in line, drinking at the drink stations and leaving their glasses on the counter. It amazes me the way people act when they see an endless supply of food free for the taking. I actually saw one lady fill a glass of orange juice stand there in line and drink it (while holding up others) and then leave her glass right there on the counter. Come on people.

Speaking of orange juice one thing I'd like to mention is the juice in the buffet (and likely everywhere else it's free) is NOT actually orange juice. It's orange juice cocktail made by Nestle Vitality. I was pretty disappointed to see this low quality product being passed off as orange juice. It was a glorified glass of TANG. The apple juice was the same cocktail mix with only a portion of it being real juice.

 

 

 

Room Service (Continental Breakfast Only):

We did this almost every morning of the cruise. Service was excellent, always on time and brought with a smile. All of the foods were as good as they are going to get for a continental breakfast. The exceptions would be the fake orange juice served and the blue berry muffin my wife ordered. When it arrived it was the size of a ping pong ball. Not a big deal but just a reference to anyone that is looking for a normal sized muffin for breakfast.

 

 

Entertainment:

We had made reservation for “The Gift” before we left and when we boarded got reservations for Spectra's Cabaret and We Will Rock You. We also saw some of the non reservation shows like the Welcome Aboard Show, Farewell Show, Wanted and Comedy.

Welcome Aboard Show with the Comedy of Don Gavin:

Standard Issue cruise ship welcome aboard show. Don Gavin was pretty funny. He did a longer show later in the cruise but we missed it.

 

The Gift:

Didn't get it, didn't like it. But it had your normal cruise ship show staples like music, singing and dancing. Would not go see this again and from the reviews I've seen on Cruise Critic, neither would most people.

 

Wanted – The Bon Jovi Tribute Band:

Checked this out in the Music Hall one night. If you like Bon Jovi, it's a good way to spend some time. If you don't like Bon Jovi, skip it.

Spectra's Caberet:

A unique show with music, singing, dancing, and variety with your host, Spectra (Terry Lavelle). Sort of a futuristic show. Hard to follow at times but neat seeing how the 270 theater works.

Name That Tune LIVE:

A Stage show format of the classic TV game show. Featured try outs to get on stage, a DJ, orchestra, singers and the Anthem of the Seas Dancers. A pretty well run show except when the buzzer wasn't working properly and lighting up someone else's podium when another player buzzed in.

Las Vegas Tenors:

Three guys that could sing well with a small amount of comedy added in. Many of their song selections weren't my style but it didn't take away from their abilities.

We Will Rock You:

Broadway show featuring the music of Queen as well as some comedy. There have been some questions whether this show is kid appropriate or not because there is some adult language. I'd say don't worry about it. Your kids hear worse stuff at school. It runs long at almost 2 hours so if you have late seating dinner you will get to dinner late. The dinning room staff is aware of this and expects everyone to arrive late the night this show plays.

The uncensored comedy of Phil Tag:

Funny guy that has been on all of the late night talk shows. I liked his material and thought he was good. That was until I looked him up on you tube and saw he was still doing the exact same material he was doing on the Tonight Show a decade ago. While this show was adults only and uncensored he wasn't raunchy but did say the eff word, among other choice words.

Farewell Show with Phil Tag:

Standard farewell show with Dennis thanking everyone for coming and clean comedy of Phil Tag.

Pools:

There are 3 pool areas on this ship and they seemed to be laid out well. We never had an issue getting seats with exception of the last day at sea in the Solarium. We arrived at 7:25am to see almost every chair with towels, shoes, books and other crap all over them. The only problem is there were probably less than 20 people in the entire area. I did manage to find seats for us. But what I saw in the area we were sitting was 4 seats across from us that sat unoccupied for over 4 hours before the people finally came to use them. Another woman that had 3 different seats and told her friends she likes to move around while she's in there and another guy that had 6 seats tied up and there were 3 of them. He eventually moved his crap so others could have the seats. Folks, I don't mind people saving a seat for an hour or even 2 but this is not only unacceptable, it's obnoxious. To make it even worse Royal Caribbean has signs up that says after 30 minutes belongings can be removed yet they don't enforce it. If you're not going to do anything about, then take down the signs. While I've dealt with the chair hogs on every cruise I've ever been on, the hogs in the Solarium were the worst I've ever seen.

Other:

The above are the main things we did. There are so many other things to do on this ship. There's almost always something on the daily planner happening. We never made it to the bumper cars, I fly, North Star or anything else in the Sea Plex. We did hit some other music venues and trivia to spend some time. Other times were just spent in the room relaxing or on our balcony in the good weather.

 

 

 

 

Casino:

I don't go on a cruise to gamble for the most part but do like to play a bit. However, after looking through this casino I chose not to play. With exception of the higher limit games all of their blackjack games were 6-5, craps was only double odds, the video poker pay tables were horrific and the quarter pushers were set to the tightest possible adjustments. All of the above would tell me their slots were probably set to the tightest settings as well. I'm certainly not afraid to make a bet in a casino but all of the above was a huge turn off to me and I opted to not play at all.

 

In Room TV:

The in room TV was interactive and you could look up your account on it, entertainment and even menus for the restaurants. I do have to say though that they had the weakest TV channel line up of any cruise line I’ve ever been on (this formerly belonged to NCL). Not that I go on a cruise to watch TV because I don’t. It would just be nice to wind down at night with something to watch. There were a few kids channels, a few news channels and a few others. The rest of the channels were all Royal Caribbean channels trying to sell something, 24 hours of commercials. Of course if you’re in the room watching TV you’re not out and about spending money! I can also say that the morning show with Dennis the Cruise director and activities director were nothing but commercials for products, beverages and pay venues. I guess gone are the days where they ran down the daily planner to let everyone know what was available that day.

 

Ports of Call:

Port Canaveral Florida:

My parents used to live in this area so we rented a car and visited some of their friends that they haven't seen in a long time. We also met up with my wife's parents who spend the winters in West Palm Beach. The drove half way up and we met them in Vero Beach.

CoCo Cay (Private Island):

We opted to not get off the ship today and stay aboard to enjoy the pool areas and dining venues without the crowds.

Nassau Bahamas:

We've been here many times so it's one of those “been there, done that” places. We got off the ship for a short while and walked along Bay Street and then sat in the park for a bit. After this we just re boarded the ship and enjoyed an empty ship without the crowds.

One thing that happened in Nassau was the computer system went down. SO to disembark from the ship they did everything manually on paper. This caused a huge slow down but it didn't take as long as expected. Coming back on board the system was back up but there was a slow down because when we scanned back in the system didn't think we had left. Small hiccup but was handled pretty well.

 

 

 

 

Disembarkation:

We arrived back to NJ right on time. We used self disembarkation as did many others. This went well except for my father who scanned out and was told to go to guest services. Turns out his credit card was declined and they wanted him to pay his bill. There was no issue with his credit card and the charge went through when they ran it again. Something they should have done long before they stopped a guest from leaving the ship that morning.

Customs was empty and we cruised through there as well. We were back in the car in no time and back home by around 9am after a quick breakfast stop on the way home. We joked that there were probably still people eating breakfast on the ship and we were already home.

Other:

The seas were like glass. This was one of the smoothest voyages I've ever been on.

 

The weather was good once we got farther south. It was of course cold and dreary leaving NJ and coming back particularly on the last day.

 

 

Not knowing whether or not my wife was going to like cruising we didn't know how this trip was going to go. I'm happy to say that she liked it and is looking forward to the next voyage. Long before this cruise the 4 of us also had booked the Anthem to Bermuda in November. We figured worst case was we'd cancel it. Now that she likes cruising we won't be canceling it and will be returning to the Anthem of the Seas in November.

I've also booked another cruise in December on Holland America Eurodam from San Diego to the Mexican Riviera. I chose the smaller ship with less “family friendly” stuff for my wife who prefers a vacation where she can chill. While she liked the Anthem she could do without having 5000 people in one place. This will give her some good comparisons of the different kind of cruises that are available.

Questions and comments can be posted or e-mailed to me directly.

[jasper15]

Nice review. Thanks.

The ONLY time that I've encountered chair hogs was on the Anthem in the Solarium as well. It would be nice if everyone could use some manners.

[Silverado6x6]

Thank you for that review, it definitely changes my view of this type of a cruise.

[golden6911]

Thanks for the review! I particularly liked your detailed reviews of the entertainment. We are sailing next month so I wonder how much will overlap (besides the main shows of course).

 

The chair hogging thing is pretty terrible. I am from Boston and it reminds me of how people use space savers for parking spaces when it snows. RC really needs to get a handle on that somehow because it really reduces the appeal of what would be a desirable place to hang out for awhile.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the detailed report.

[Dina7]

Thanks so much for your organized & detailed review! We've sailed on the Anthem and agree with you on many of your points. We are also cruising on the Anthem again in Nov. to Bermuda. It's a great ship.

[Keith1010]

Outstanding review.

 

Keith

[Turtles06]

James, thanks for taking the time to post your detailed review.

 

We were on the same sailing, and totally agree with you about the elevators. Slowest we've ever encountered on any ship, even on Anthem itself a couple of years ago. Like you, we said at the time that the programming seemed "off," as you could see several elevators sitting forever on the same deck, then passing you by empty, while you waited and waited and waited. Made no sense.

 

And yes, chair hogs in the Solarium (and elsewhere) for sure. I typically do an early morning work out or swim, and would see loads of towels clipped to chairs with no people in sight, not when I passed through on my way to working out, nor on my way back.

 

I'm very glad your wife enjoyed the cruise, and that you have others booked. Excellent!

[pasodancer]

Happy Belated Birthday to your lovely wife! Thank you for taking the time to write the review - good information,

 

I do have 1 question for you - what time did you disembark back at Port Liberty?

[boatclub1]

Hello,

I enjoyed your review, I will be on the Anthem of the Seas this summer myself and looking forward to it.

On the subject of "chair hogs"........if the sign says 30 minutes of saving is the limit, I would then just move the items from the saved chair to the side and sit down! I have done this in the past on another cruises, after the allotted amount of time, me and my friends just moved the person's towels and sit down if the whole area was saved and taken. Did the person come back after about 1 hr looking for their chair???.........yes, but they didn't say a thing and walked away. That stops someone from "saving a chair" and doing god knows what, then comes back after 2-3hrs to actually think their chair will be there??? crazy.

[psupa]

This is my review of Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas on the February 9 – 17, 2018 sailing.

 

When I booked this cruise back in August it came with a few perks. Those being $150 in on board credit, free VOOM Surf and Stream internet and free gratuities.

For the most part I thought the ship was laid out well and things were spread out. One of the issues I did have on the ship was the slowness of the elevators. Not just at peak times but almost all of the time. It seemed to be a programming issue more than anything. While we were waiting for the elevator you could see multiple cars sitting on the same floors for what seemed to be long periods of time. Many times I'd see an empty car come zooming by but not stopping then come zooming by empty in the opposite direction without stopping. Then other times after a wait 2-3 cars would stop on our floor at the same time.

We finally made our way to the muster area for the safety drill that was going to happen around 2:30pm. This would go just fine if people would just shut the hell up and listen like they are instructed to do. I do not understand why people feel the need to carry on personal conversations during this. You've got all week to talk, it can wait. There really has to be a better way to do these safety drills. Piling people up in public areas on the ship at the same time just doesn't work well when there are 5000 passengers on board.

Disembarkation:

We arrived back to NJ right on time. We used self disembarkation as did many others. This went well except for my father who scanned out and was told to go to guest services. Turns out his credit card was declined and they wanted him to pay his bill. There was no issue with his credit card and the charge went through when they ran it again. Something they should have done long before they stopped a guest from leaving the ship that morning.

 

Nice review; we were on this cruise and the weather and seas could not have been better. You were very fortunate to get some nice perks. We booked this cruise in Oct when the local travel agency was running a group with bus included and couldn't pass it up. We usually take the 12 night cruises but really enjoyed this 8 night. The demographics were much different on this cruise. It was so nice to see families with young children eating dinner and doing things together and the atmosphere was much more pleasant. Just my opinion but on longer cruises some folks are stuffed shirts who think they are better than others, complain about everything and I very much dislike that. We thought the staff and crew on the ship were excellent and went out of their way to help you and we always treat them with respect the way we want to be treated. We ran into some of the waiters who remembered us from other cruises and ships and it was so nice to see them again.

 

I agree about the elevators and wonder why a ship this large does not have 3 banks of elevators instead of 2.

 

The muster drill is a cluster as far as I'm concerned. It is just mass chaos with everyone just standing around because there is just not enough seating and room for that many people. I have addressed this on the survey and wonder why they don't have a separate area for people with disabilities. Try getting an elevator after the drill is also a nightmare so we just wait back in 270 until it clears.

 

Disembarkation and credit card: Saw the same thing happen on the Grandeur in Baltimore. We were a group on a bus and we were all off and waiting for 1 lady. Well when she went to get off the ship they stopped her because her credit card had rejected. She held the group up for over 1 1/2 hours because they would not let her off until she paid the bill. Just saying it could happen.

[Jimbo and Katy]

Great trip report as always. Glad you enjoyed the ship and there was no seasickness. D must have enjoyed it as well if she has agreed to 2 more cruises. Keep planning and posting.

Thanks for sharing,

Katy

[psupa]

In Room TV:

The in room TV was interactive and you could look up your account on it, entertainment and even menus for the restaurants. I do have to say though that they had the weakest TV channel line up of any cruise line I’ve ever been on (this formerly belonged to NCL). Not that I go on a cruise to watch TV because I don’t. It would just be nice to wind down at night with something to watch. There were a few kids channels, a few news channels and a few others. The rest of the channels were all Royal Caribbean channels trying to sell something, 24 hours of commercials. Of course if you’re in the room watching TV you’re not out and about spending money! I can also say that the morning show with Dennis the Cruise director and activities director were nothing but commercials for products, beverages and pay venues. I guess gone are the days where they ran down the daily planner to let everyone know what was available that day.

 

The TV channel selections have always been terrible and now seem to have gotten worse. One of the things we liked about Carnival was they had Direct TV and you could get ABC, NBC, CBS, weather, etc. They had the best TV channels but I read they are doing away with that and going with the lame channels. People say they don't cruise to watch TV or spend much time in their cabin, but my husband has limited mobility and does spend a lot of time in the cabin so something good to watch on TV would be nice. As far as their Royal channels selling things, I don't watch those and don't attend any of those port talks either.

[dacsmom]

Thank you for the detailed review. I am on the Anthem in September and enjoyed reading your thoughts on the ship.

[linkerbink]

Last time we were on the Anthem the pool police were vigilant. Several chairs across from us were "reserved" for over an hour when the pool person came by and put some kind of sticker on them. He came back later and removed the belongings. The"owners" came back and tried to evict the new occupants when the pool patrol intervened and set them straight. Was good to see.

[winslow050]

Happy Belated Birthday to your lovely wife! Thank you for taking the time to write the review - good information,

 

I do have 1 question for you - what time did you disembark back at Port Liberty?

 

We disembarked at 630am... in our car at 645am., home by 845am

[molsonschooner]

I agree about the elevators and wonder why a ship this large does not have 3 banks of elevators instead of 2.

I am pretty sure there no RC ships that have 3 elevator banks. Not even Oasis class ships.

[ladylyn915]

Great Review! Love all the details. We will be on the Anthem for the first time in July. Information very helpful. Thanks!

[Thirstday]

Thanks for this very detailed review.

 

This is my review of Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas on the February 9 – 17, 2018 sailing.

In Room TV:

The in room TV was interactive and you could look up your account on it, entertainment and even menus for the restaurants. I do have to say though that they had the weakest TV channel line up of any cruise line I’ve ever been on (this formerly belonged to NCL). Not that I go on a cruise to watch TV because I don’t. It would just be nice to wind down at night with something to watch. There were a few kids channels, a few news channels and a few others. The rest of the channels were all Royal Caribbean channels trying to sell something, 24 hours of commercials. Of course if you’re in the room watching TV you’re not out and about spending money! I can also say that the morning show with Dennis the Cruise director and activities director were nothing but commercials for products, beverages and pay venues. I guess gone are the days where they ran down the daily planner to let everyone know what was available that day.

Questions and comments can be posted or e-mailed to me directly.

 

 

The TV channel selections have always been terrible and now seem to have gotten worse. One of the things we liked about Carnival was they had Direct TV and you could get ABC, NBC, CBS, weather, etc. They had the best TV channels but I read they are doing away with that and going with the lame channels. People say they don't cruise to watch TV or spend much time in their cabin, but my husband has limited mobility and does spend a lot of time in the cabin so something good to watch on TV would be nice. As far as their Royal channels selling things, I don't watch those and don't attend any of those port talks either.

 

I have a quick question about the TVs in the cabins. Do they have easy access to HDMI ports so we can hook up a tablet/PC or Chromecast device to watch movies and shows that we have saved? My wife and I like watching shows together in bed before going to sleep..

[movierunner]

Great review, thanks. We are on the ship on the 17th for our 2nd cruise.

[tcrandal]

Stungazed-

 

Really loved your review. I so appreciate the fact that you can point out the negatives and positives, and regardless of how many negatives, you focus on the good time you had and don't let it ruin your trip. I found myself agreeing with you in so many places, and the things that we might differ in opinion on I enjoyed as well. It's so refreshing to see someone write a review without grudges!

 

We've sailed NCL mostly (Breakaway, Getaway, Escape), and our first RCL cruise is on the Anthem in April.

 

Thank you very much for posting!!

[stungazed]

Happy Belated Birthday to your lovely wife! Thank you for taking the time to write the review - good information,

 

I do have 1 question for you - what time did you disembark back at Port Liberty?

 

I'll let her know but you're not late. Her birthday isn't until June!

 

 

If I recall we were off the ship by 6:30-6:45am.

 

Hello,

I enjoyed your review, I will be on the Anthem of the Seas this summer myself and looking forward to it.

On the subject of "chair hogs"........if the sign says 30 minutes of saving is the limit, I would then just move the items from the saved chair to the side and sit down! I have done this in the past on another cruises, after the allotted amount of time, me and my friends just moved the person's towels and sit down if the whole area was saved and taken. Did the person come back after about 1 hr looking for their chair???.........yes, but they didn't say a thing and walked away. That stops someone from "saving a chair" and doing god knows what, then comes back after 2-3hrs to actually think their chair will be there??? crazy.

 

The problem with that is I would have to stand there and watch these "occupied" chairs for 30 minutes in order to do this. Not something I wanted to do. As far as the people that were missing for hours, I had a chair so didn't worry it after that.

 

I agree about the elevators and wonder why a ship this large does not have 3 banks of elevators instead of 2.

I am pretty sure there no RC ships that have 3 elevator banks. Not even Oasis class ships.

 

I think there were enough elevators in total to handle the volume. They just need to reprogram them so they work properly.