LIVE from Anthem of the Seas Transatlantic October 2022

[laurieal]

12 hours ago, Royalnina said:

Yeaaaaahhhh, I found it! So happy that you are doing another Live review and it‘s so cool to follow you along. As we didn‘t do Anthem yet, do they have a real bakery in the front of the Windjammer? They did have this on Quantum, when we sailed her and it was awesome to wait for the fresh baked chocolate chip cookies 😃 and I would guess that‘s definitely your thing. 

If there is a Windjammer bakery, I have not seen it. But if there is one, it’s very important I find it. 
 

Can anyone comment on this? Are there fresh baked chocolate chip cookies anywhere on Anthem?

[reallyitsmema]

10 minutes ago, laurieal said:

If there is a Windjammer bakery, I have not seen it. But if there is one, it’s very important I find it. 
 

Can anyone comment on this? Are there fresh baked chocolate chip cookies anywhere on Anthem?

The bakery area in the WJ in Anthem is at the very front area before you even get to the other food. It is in the area between the coffee bar at the left entrance and where you enter on the right. There’s all sorts of rolls, pastries and sometimes trays of fresh baked cookies. Haven’t sailed Anthem since Covid, so not sure of current setup. 

[laurieal]

11 hours ago, lulabelle said:

Enjoying your review very much.  We sail the Anthem every  winter. This January will be our first time back since covid.  Great crew and dining. Do you know if Perry be on the Anthem in January?  Thanks 

I don’t know, but I know there are fans of his checking this thread, so if anyone wants to chime in, please do. 

[laurieal]

Just now, reallyitsmema said:

The bakery area in the WJ in Anthem is at the very front area before you even get to the other food. It is in the area between the coffee bar at the left entrance and where you enter on the right. There’s all sorts of rolls, pastries and sometimes trays of fresh baked cookies. Haven’t sailed Anthem since Covid, so not sure of current setup. 

Thank you! I just went to investigate and I saw it. They only had breakfast things set up, but I will go again later today. 
 

Can’t believe I’ve been having room temperature cookies all this time 😞 

[laurieal]

Day 7 Compass

 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Day 7

 

Hello from the indoor pool!

 

One day you wake up and half of your cruise is behind you. What? How? What is time?

 

 

I decided to switch things up that morning. I went down to Deck 4 to drop off my Canada immigration form at Guest Services and then I went up to Two70. The Via was nice and quiet. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Day 7 - continued

 

At 8:00, the place was still empty and I took the opportunity to have a better look around. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Day 7 - continued

 

I used my specialty coffee Diamond voucher to get a cappuccino and grabbed a chili con carne burrito.
 

 

 

 

 

A couple of days ago, I had been thinking fondly about the chili at El Loco Fresh and I was hoping it would be the same recipe. Sadly, it was not, but it was still a very good breakfast.

 

 

I also got some fruits and a donut, because people were getting ready for a stretching and dancing session and seeing people exercise always makes me want a donut.

 

[laurieal]

Day 7 - continued

 

On my way out, I made a short detour to the outside promenade on Deck 5, which had been closed due to weather for most of the cruise.
 

 

 

Most of it was roped off, so I couldn’t see much, but I did see a group of cruising ducks chatting about shore excursions. 

 

 

 

Shore Excursions have accumulated quite the collection! Meanwhile, I have still found 0 and according the the roll call the place is crawling with ducks. 

[laurieal]

Day 7 - continued

 

When I arrived at the Solarium, it was packed with people and towels. I managed to find a table that was wobbly, had no chairs, and was full of empty glasses and dirty plates. Score!

 

 

 

There’s always that awkward, early period where the bar staff will ask you if you want alcohol in your drink when you order one. I always feel like a have to put on the show, so I checked my watch, looked up as I pretended to do some maths, and then finally said that yes, since he insisted, I would be having some alcohol in my mango Lava Flow. Thank you. 

 

 

There was a lovely family sitting beside me and playing cards and they were very interested in knowing what I was drinking, but unfortunately a language barrier prevented me from describing what it was. Pretty sure mango in Spanish is also “mango” and rum is “ron”, but what about strawberry? Duolingo didn’t prepare me for this moment, all I know are apples and pineapples!

 

I sat there and read for a while and eventually ordered a second Lava Flow, this time peach. The father of the Spanish-speaking family expressed his surprise that I was going for seconds, and all I could think was that I also had no idea how to say peach and really Duolingo needs a whole module about fruits. 

 

 

I was able to tell him that I was very thirsty, which I don’t think I expressed very well, because the next thing he did was squeeze my bicep. I wish I could tell you that it’s the first time a stranger has grabbed my bicep, but it’s really not. How do you say “what’s this? I was expecting some muscles but clearly that’s not it” in Spanish? Because I’m assuming that’s what he said. 

[laurieal]

Day 7 - continued

 

At that time they were setting up the lunch buffet in the Solarium Bistro and I decided to check it out.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I grabbed myself some carbs and a bit of meat. The twisty bread roll thing was very nice. 

 

[laurieal]

Day 7 - continued

 

It was getting a bit too warm for me in the Solarium (and, let’s be honest, a bit too bicep-grabby), so I moved to the outdoor pool which was quite busy. It was lovely to see everyone having a good time in the sun. 
 

 

They were having Name that Tune Live in the Royal Theatre that afternoon and I really didn’t want to miss it. Unfortunately, I was in the minority who thought that. Maybe because the weather was too nice and people preferred to stay by the pool, or maybe people assumed it would just be another round of Name That Tune trivia, but the theatre wasn’t even half full. 

 

 

 

 

Still, it was a very fun show, kind of like a production show and a game show had a baby.  The participants had to name tunes (bet you didn’t see that coming) either played by a DJ or by the orchestra and the singers from We Will Rock You. The dancers from WWRY were also there, so the end result was a fun, colourful show. I think Royal Caribbean just recently acquired the rights, so it’s still a new one, but I recommend giving it a try if you see it on your cruise. 

 

After the show, I returned to my stateroom to get ready for the evening. It was formal night and while I didn’t intend to go to the MDR, I still made a bit more of an effort. 

 

[laurieal]

Day 7 - continued

 

I had not been to Vintages on this sailing, so I grabbed a table over there and tried the Drink of the Day: a Raspberry Rickey. I wasn’t a fan, so I won’t be ordering that again. Eventually, I was joined by a lovely couple from California on their first Royal Caribbean cruise. 

 

 

 

We chatted for a while and when they left I decided to order a glass of Paco&Lola and some Tapas. I had the plate of carbs with a side of carbs (to soak up the extra sauce from the first carbs). 
 

 

 

I think it’s a good option for people who are interested in trying some of Jamie’s appetizers without doing the full Jamie experience, especially if there are a few people to share the tapas. For just me, it was a good and very filling dinner. Still, my next stop once I was done eating was the Windjammer. 
 

Someone on this thread had mentioned fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, and I had to investigate the situation. It was España night, so I also kept an eye out for some garlic shrimp. If I had seen any, I don’t think I would have been able to resist grabbing a small plate. Sadly (or thankfully?) I couldn’t find any warm cookies or shrimps. 

[laurieal]

Day 7 - continued

 

It was still lovely outside, albeit a bit cold, and people were watching Morpheus while wrapped up in blankets. I ordered a chocolate martini from the Sky Bar and for a while I watched Matt Smith do his Matt Smith thing on the big screen.

 

 

 

When I had emptied my drink, I took a stroll around Deck 14, which looks lovely at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, I returned to my stateroom for some very intense partying. 

 

 

What do you mean collapsing in bed and watching the Royal Caribbean story on the TV is not partying?

[laurieal]

I’m afraid I’m almost done reading the last book I had downloaded for this trip. Of course, I could re-read the Harry Potter or Song of Ice and Fire series in order to do better at trivia next time, but if anyone has any books recommendations I’d be happy to check them out and buy them digitally. 
 

I prefer fiction and tend to enjoy a good mystery while on vacation. Bonus points of you know any good books that take place on a cruise ship. 

[shopaholic6]

4 minutes ago, laurieal said:

I’m afraid I’m almost done reading the last book I had downloaded for this trip. Of course, I could re-read the Harry Potter or Song of Ice and Fire series in order to do better at trivia next time, but if anyone has any books recommendations I’d be happy to check them out and buy them digitally. 
 

I prefer fiction and tend to enjoy a good mystery while on vacation. Bonus points of you know any good books that take place on a cruise ship. 

 
A Fatal Crossing by Tim Hindle is a good one! It’s set on a cruise ship in the 1920s and has a lot of characters to keep track of, but if you like a mystery, it’s a cracker!

[shopaholic6]

Sorry, TOM not Tim! 🤣

[laurieal]

Just now, shopaholic6 said:

 
A Fatal Crossing by Tim Hindle is a good one! It’s set on a cruise ship in the 1920s and has a lot of characters to keep track of, but if you like a mystery, it’s a cracker!

Thank you! It looks right up my alley and I see you have an orange cat in your profile picture, so I trust your judgment 100% 😉 

[Another_Critic]

27 minutes ago, laurieal said:

I’m afraid I’m almost done reading the last book I had downloaded for this trip.

Did you see what books they had available in the Library?

[shopaholic6]

5 minutes ago, laurieal said:

Thank you! It looks right up my alley and I see you have an orange cat in your profile picture, so I trust your judgment 100% 😉 

Lol that’s Roly 😺😺

 

loving your review - you have such a brilliant style of writing 😁😁

[laurieal]

Just now, Another_Critic said:

Did you see what books they had available in the Library?

I saw they had books, but I would rather have something I can take home with me in case I have not finished when the cruise ends. 

[Another_Critic]

10 minutes ago, laurieal said:

I saw they had books, but I would rather have something I can take home with me in case I have not finished when the cruise ends. 

That makes sense.  Although, I thought the library was take one, leave one (if you have one to leave).  But I could be wrong (although I did have an orange cat 😄 ).

[MommaBear55]

3 hours ago, laurieal said:

Thank you! I just went to investigate and I saw it. They only had breakfast things set up, but I will go again later today. 
 

Can’t believe I’ve been having room temperature cookies all this time 😞 

I was not able to get warm cookies the 28 days I was in her in May. It was a disappointment.

[njkruzer]

On 10/24/2022 at 10:44 AM, Another_Critic said:

That makes sense.  Although, I thought the library was take one, leave one (if you have one to leave).  But I could be wrong (although I did have an orange cat 😄 ).

If I recall there is a system to actually check out the book, though haven't used it in a while. 

[RedSails1968]

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware is a good fun mystery. It does take place on a cruise ship, although a very small one.