Just back from the Anthem.

[3StepDam44]

We were on last week's Sailing where there were 2,500 Passengers, 800 of whom were Children.  To say we feel stressed and certainly not relaxed is an understatement.  The Ship felt overcrowded.  The only place where we could find some peace was our Balcony and the virtually empty Diamond Lounge.  I understand that this is the School Holidays and we only sailed because of my Husband's Big Birthday, but the Ship was very, very, full and to us, it felt unsafe.  The Mask Policy (wearing inside when not eating and drinking), was mainly implemented, but most people once seated decided to leave the Masks off.  This included the Theater, Art Auctions, Two70 and so on.

 

There were some very unruly Teenagers onboard who decided to run riot all over the Ship, including the Lifts, Corridors, banging on Cabin Doors and certainly not wearing the Masks they should have been wearing.  The Staff were unable to stop this from happening and at times the Staff seemed overwhelmed by the vast amount of Passengers compared with 1000+ on previous Sailings.

 

The Ship is beautiful with lots of interesting Artwork, Bars and Restaurants.  The Staff, as ever are wonderful and every Staff Member we encountered could not do enough for us.  Our Cabin was kept spotlessly clean at all times and the Main Dining Room Staff were all wonderful.  The Food in the Main Dining Room, was a bit hit and miss, but the Windjammer Food was wonderful.  We only ate there for Breakfast and sat at the Back outside which was a lovely space.

 

The Entertainment was exceptional, as usual with Royal Caribbean but more often than not, we had to leave the Venues because they were very overcrowded and just felt unsafe for us.  There are sort of Marshalls who make sure there is space between Passengers, but all the Rows were completely full even though the Shows had to be booked in advance.  In this scenario with no Masks being worn by most Passengers, again it felt unsafe.

 

We were on the Virtuosa in June and it was a completely different Cruise experience.  There were only 1000 Passengers and it certainly felt more comfortable.  MSC also Status Match so we were offered their Diamond Status which offered everything apart from the Top Tier Event.  We had a Speciality Meal, Bottle of Bubbly in the Room, Robes and Slippers and so on.

 

Royal have now removed most of the Diamond and above Perks, right down to the Amenity in the Room.  The Open Bar during Happy Hour is gone and non of this was made clear prior to booking.  They are saying it's because of Covid and Safety in the Diamond Lounge, but all the other Bars, Lounges and every other space on the Ship was full to bursting most of the time, so I guess it really is a cost cutting exercise.  Some people we met have cancelled their up coming Cruises with Royal because they are upset with the Cuts to the Loyalty Program.

 

Overall, it's wonderful to be back at Sea, and the moments I will remember from this Cruise were the ones sitting on the Balcony admiring the Sea.  We have taken over 30 Cruises and sadly this was one of the worst.

[kernow]

Sorry it felt so busy, we were also on Virtuosa in June when the ship was empty and going on Anthem in Oct when it will hopefully be a bit quieter. 

Did you not get the diamond drinks on the card? We are really looking forward to this and think 5 drinks to use anytime will be much nicer than a couple of hours in a packed lounge. I'd read that the amenity in the cabin was still there on boarding, was this not the case?

[3StepDam44]

Yes the Drinks are on the Card, but some Bar Tenders took too many away and we had to call to Guest Services on a couple of occasions.

 

The Amenity was not there and we called Guest Services which again was a nuisance.

[tampadee]

Sorry you had such a disappointing time.

We're still trying to decide if we dare go on our scheduled Odyssey cruise at the end of October.

 

 

[3StepDam44]

Can you find out the Capacity beforehand?  

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Whilst it is unacceptable for children to run riot without any parents giving a monkeys ( kick them off in my eyes) i have to question why go on a cruise during school holidays? 

 

About 300 children on this week and no issues with any of them. 

 

Most passenges are jabbed and those not jabbed are double tested. Masks enforced walking around inside. Not so much in a dark theatre. As for the perks, companies are scrambling to recoup lost money from the pandemic. We have noticed quality in MDR is reduced. But still good to sail as it is. 

Edited August 31, 2021 by FamilyCruiserUK

[ukmusic]

thank you for your review - its good to see a negative review! I can imagine what it was like being at Spain All Inc resorts the last few years with the gangs of kids!

[Biker19]

22 minutes ago, 3StepDam44 said:

To say we feel stressed and certainly not relaxed is an understatement.  The Ship felt overcrowded. 

Just think, in normal times you would have had 4,500 passengers on that same sailing.

[Biker19]

6 minutes ago, 3StepDam44 said:

Can you find out the Capacity beforehand?  

Not really, even RCI won't know how many folks will show up and how many may be denied boarding.

[snowbeast93]

Wow, I thought that ships were capped at 30-50% capacity. This makes me slightly nervous for my upcoming cruise; we booked specifically because all of the COVID and capacity restrictions make it sound like a safer experience. I'm sorry to hear that you felt actively unsafe at times, especially with everything going on right now.

Edited August 31, 2021 by snowbeast93

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, snowbeast93 said:

Wow, I thought that ships were capped at 30-50% capacity.

Capacity caps depend on the market - out of the US you can probably still count on those caps for a bit.

[snowbeast93]

5 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Capacity caps depend on the market - out of the US you can probably still count on those caps for a bit.

 

Ah that makes sense, I didn't realize that this was out of the UK

[LuCruise]

Sorry you didn't feel safe.  Sounds discouraging.  We are hoping to go on Anthem during our xmas break (out of the US) so definitely will be kids.   

[Rockyroyal]

Thank you for the helpful review. We were originally booked on the 23rd August sailing but changed to the 19th September so feel we have made the right decision based on this information as would rather sail at lower capacity  during this time and am hoping this should be the case once the school holidays have finished.

‘Does anyone have an idea of what the capacity is for the September sailings?

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, Rockyroyal said:

‘Does anyone have an idea of what the capacity is for the September sailings?

Somewhere between 10-80%.

[EmilyJay]

We were on Anthem last week too and I totally agree with you about the Teenagers!!! While most children seemed very well behaved, we met some lovely families there were alot of tweens/ teens running all over the place being a bit of a nightmare. 

I also felt like the ship felt busy at times. 

 

We had a fabulous time in the main dining room, the food was excellent in our opinion. 

We spent breakfast in our room everyday as the Windjammer was ridiculously busy and that felt a bit close for comfort for us. 

 

Our sailing was a test for upping capacity in the Theatre etc... Although 2 seats between parties in a row, yes people could sit directly behind/ in front of you I think this was a test on RCI's part.

We found if you sat toward the front of the theatre in the side seats it was very quiet and felt very safe. 

 

Hopefully as time goes on it'll get better. They are sticking at a 50% capacity for the foreseeable, they are legally allowed to sail at 70%!  

 

 

[3StepDam44]

48 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Whilst it is unacceptable for children to run riot without any parents giving a monkeys ( kick them off in my eyes) i have to question why go on a cruise during school holidays? 

 

About 300 children on this week and no issues with any of them. 

 

Most passenges are jabbed and those not jabbed are double tested. Masks enforced walking around inside. Not so much in a dark theatre. As for the perks, companies are scrambling to recoup lost money from the pandemic. We have noticed quality in MDR is reduced. But still good to sail as it is. 

To top it all, once we dis-embarked and were walking to our Car we were both Pinged by Covid Test and Trace App.  Been in close contact with Covid.  Booked PCR's same day and glad to say both came back Negative.

 

[3StepDam44]

51 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Whilst it is unacceptable for children to run riot without any parents giving a monkeys ( kick them off in my eyes) i have to question why go on a cruise during school holidays? 

 

About 300 children on this week and no issues with any of them. 

 

Most passenges are jabbed and those not jabbed are double tested. Masks enforced walking around inside. Not so much in a dark theatre. As for the perks, companies are scrambling to recoup lost money from the pandemic. We have noticed quality in MDR is reduced. But still good to sail as it is. 

It was my Husband's Big Birthday so we sailed then.  Otherwise we would not have.

[3StepDam44]

21 minutes ago, Rockyroyal said:

Thank you for the helpful review. We were originally booked on the 23rd August sailing but changed to the 19th September so feel we have made the right decision based on this information as would rather sail at lower capacity  during this time and am hoping this should be the case once the school holidays have finished.

‘Does anyone have an idea of what the capacity is for the September sailings?

I think you have definitely made the right decision.  Hopefully you will really enjoy your Sailing.

[smokey01]

58 minutes ago, 3StepDam44 said:

Yes the Drinks are on the Card, but some Bar Tenders took too many away and we had to call to Guest Services on a couple of occasions.

 

The Amenity was not there and we called Guest Services which again was a nuisance.

Sorry you had a disappointing time, our cruise on 7th August had 1100 passengers and was fine but we could not imagine what the ship would be like when back to full capacity let alone the 2500 you had. At that time every other row in the theatre was not used and 3 seats had to be left empty between parties. Most people kept their masks on during the shows.

 

We did get our welcome amenity.

 

Anyway we enjoyed the cruise so much we are going again this Sunday and are hoping that the numbers will fall now that the kids will be back in school. I believe there are about 1700 this week, hopefully even less next week.

[3StepDam44]

2 minutes ago, smokey01 said:

Sorry you had a disappointing time, our cruise on 7th August had 1100 passengers and was fine but we could not imagine what the ship would be like when back to full capacity let alone the 2500 you had. At that time every other row in the theatre was not used and 3 seats had to be left empty between parties. Most people kept their masks on during the shows.

 

We did get our welcome amenity.

 

Anyway we enjoyed the cruise so much we are going again this Sunday and are hoping that the numbers will fall now that the kids will be back in school. I believe there are about 1700 this week, hopefully even less next week.

Sounds like Bliss.  Have a lovely time.  It certainly hasn't put us off Cruising.

[alexgtp]

Will be on Anthem NYE21. Looking forward to it.

 

Curious as why it felt full,  if ship was sailing at a 48% reduction in occupants. (Anthem 4905 occupants not including staff of 1500)

 

Was it due to area's being closed? or was it due to the teens being rowdy and an overall bad experience. How as the adults only solarium area?

 

Thanks for info!

[3StepDam44]

16 minutes ago, alexgtp said:

Will be on Anthem NYE21. Looking forward to it.

 

Curious as why it felt full,  if ship was sailing at a 48% reduction in occupants. (Anthem 4905 occupants not including staff of 1500)

 

Was it due to area's being closed? or was it due to the teens being rowdy and an overall bad experience. How as the adults only solarium area?

 

Thanks for info!

We did not go into the Solarium Areas because we wanted to keep to outside spaces and fresh air.  The Outside Pool Deck is quite small for the size of the Ship.  No Decks for lounging on above that because of the Activities such as North Star and Flow Rider.  There were lots of Towels being put down on Sun Loungers at 6 am when we got up for our Walk.

[Biker19]

34 minutes ago, alexgtp said:

Curious as why it felt full,  if ship was sailing at a 48% reduction in occupants. (Anthem 4905 occupants not including staff of 1500)

Most of the time (and the way RCI reports it in the SEC filings), 100% is at double occupancy, or about 4200 for Q class ships.

[CaroleC]

4 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Just think, in normal times you would have had 4,500 passengers on that same sailing.

I’ve been wondering if pax who have been concerned about overcrowding have ever sailed on ships at full capacity pre Covid 🤷‍♀️