REVIEW OF OUR ANTHEM OF THE SEAS CRUISE 2/12-2/19

[vadersprincess12]

 

My husband and I just returned from a cruise aboard Anthem of the Seas.  Very mixed emotions about this review as we've sailed with Royal before and had much better experiences.

 

POSITIVES:  Port check-in was seamless.

 

Our Stateroom Attendant, Harold, was pleasant and did a very nice job keeping our stateroom stocked and cleaned.

 

We absolutely LOVED the Las Vegas Tenors headliners.  We Will Rock You was a good show and We enjoyed the Billboard Band although I'm surprised the lead singer doesn't get headaches from constantly flipping her head to the side 😄.

 

Keep those Coconut Cookies coming ~ the best cookie on the high seas!

 

Sorrento Pizza was great as always.

 

NEGATIVES:  I used the app when the debark alert came up and I booked a specific time to debark.  For some reason they had us listed as self-assist so we had to go to Guest Services to make the change; the interaction was quick and painless.  This also happened to our table mates.

 

I requested a table for two; we were seated at a table for 10 and those at the table did not speak English; we requested a change and it was made quickly.  

 

While we were at the early dining time for this cruise, on our prior cruise we used My Time Dining and found out after we boarded the ship when we went for dinner that we needed to make reservations for each night.  That is redundant!!!!!  What's the point of "my time" if you need to make a reservation.  We like going to eat when we are hungry.  Your Time Dining on Carnival works great ~ you hit a button on the app when you are on your way to the dining room and you are seated usually within 10 minutes ~ Royal should take note of this. 

 

It seems like the ship was short staffed; when there were tables available in Windjammer for breakfast or lunch the staff was slow to get them cleared and cleaned.  Plates and utensils availability seemed to be limited sometimes; once I had to go to 7 different stations to find silverware.

 

Disappointed that there is no longer ice cream in Windjammer except for the last sea day.  

 

Many of the staff in the Windjammer, especially the cleaning staff, seemed very somber.  Some did interact with us but not many.  

 

Breakfast in the main dining room was a disappointment; the service was extremely slow.  By the time our meals arrived the toast was like a brick.

 

The specialty restaurants are overpriced; Chops Grille did our steaks to our liking but the "shareable" sides are hardly shareable, the portions are very small.  My husband, who is Italian, was very disappointed with the meat plank at Jamie's Italian.  Our lasagna was overcooked, and our waiter (from Montenegro) was rather snooty and he didn't even ask my husband how he wanted his martini.  It was better back in the day when there was simply a $25 upcharge.

 

We were upset that there is now a charge for North Star when at sea.  There is no charge when you are in port, but if you get off at every port of call when are you supposed to do the experience?  They now call it "North Star Extended Experience" on sea days and charge $29.99 per person.  Just another way to make money.  iFly by Ripcord has a similar experience where they charge a fee.

 

There were no toilet seat covers in any of the public restrooms which is very disappointing, especially when they push washing your hands down your throat at the Windjammer.  Got sick of the girl with the guitar singing washy-washy.

 

We would spend more time in the Casino but when it gets crowded there is really no difference between the smoking and non-smoking areas.

 

Setting up for photos on the Royal Esplanade really hurts the flow of traffic.

 

On a port day when we went to the outdoor pool we were directed at the towel station to go to the indoor pool for towels; when we went to the indoor pool we were instructed to go to the gangway to get towels ~ not acceptable.  

 

There was absolutely no policing of "seat saving" in the Solarium or the theater.

 

Being offered another cruise with a $100 casino bonus is great, but not at 4:00 p.m. on the last day.  There is no time to research and talk about it with my spouse.  We went to the Next Cruise desk and there was only one cruise out of our homeport of Baltimore listed ~ the crew member told us it was already sold out.  What’s the point of having it on the list?  We didn’t want to feel rushed to choose another cruise before the “end of this sailing."

 

There were many disappointing things on this sailing but we still tried to make the best of it.  Any questions, fire away.

[teddie]

Thanks for your review! You got on board the day we disembarked. We had a good cruise overall but agree with you on these points:

 

• Solarium chair saving: same.
• Definitely less attentive service in Windjammer.
• I felt many staff seemed tired and disengaged
• And here I thought it was just me losing out on the toilet seat covers! 
• I was aware of how the MTD worked so I was ok with it. 

Teddie

Edited February 21, 2023 by teddie

[pcur]

I also got off the Anthem on 2/12, and absolutely LOVED the ship!!  It's so elegant and beautifully furnished/decorated.  The Via area on the Esplanade was lovely, and reminded me of the lobby in the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

 

I found the staff in the Windjammer wonderful, and eating al fresco in the aft was wonderful, too.  

 

Chair saving is fleetwide, and not specific to any one ship.  It's been an issue for decades, and always will be.

 

No toilet seat covers are not a big deal to me.  I keep hand sanitizer in my tote bag, and put some on a little toilet paper, then wipe the seat off before I sit on it.

 

The reduced portions are in EVERY eating venue, except those where you ask for the quantity you want, like the walk-up eateries.  It will be interesting in the upcoming months to see if RCCL does anything about the tsunami of complaints they are obviously getting on this subject.

 

I found the Cafe 270 coffee bar was less crowded than the Patisserie on the Esplanade.  The woman there is very nice, too. C&A drink coupons can be used in both locations.

 

I would love to sail on the Anthem again sometime.

Edited February 21, 2023 by pcur

[Coralc]

They've never had toilet seat covers? 

[teddie]

25 minutes ago, pcur said:

I also got off the Anthem on 2/12, and absolutely LOVED the ship!!  It's so elegant and beautifully furnished/decorated.  The Via area on the Esplanade was lovely, and reminded me of the lobby in the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

 

I found the staff in the Windjammer wonderful, and eating al fresco in the aft was wonderful, too.  

 

Chair saving is fleetwide, and not specific to any one ship.  It's been an issue for decades, and always will be.

 

No toilet seat covers are not a big deal to me.  I keep hand sanitizer in my tote bag, and put some on a little toilet paper, then wipe the seat off before I sit on it.

 

The reduced portions are in EVERY eating venue, except those where you ask for the quantity you want, like the walk-up eateries.  It will be interesting in the upcoming months to see if RCCL does anything about the tsunami of complaints they are obviously getting on this subject.

 

I found the Cafe 270 coffee bar was less crowded than the Patisserie on the Esplanade.  The woman there is very nice, too. C&A drink coupons can be used in both locations.

 

I would love to sail on the Anthem again sometime.

I think the OP made some valid points, and some, not so much. Info about upcharges, MTD etc was all available well in advance and were  on the app, so there should be no surprises. It’s great that you had such a positive experience, but I think the OP had some valid concerns.  
 

I was on your sailing. We had a good time (we hadn’t cruised since way before Covid), but there were definitely some issues. Sure; chair hogging is everywhere, but it’s still annoying. No toilet seat covers is NOT okay and most of the public restrooms did not smell clean. That’s not something I can shrug off.  Most of the Purell stations needed refills. Definitely not ok.  There were a number of other issues, noticeable, but not enough to spoil our trip or even bother listing here.  I’m not a nit picker, but there was a definite difference in service/staffing to us since our last cruise, and I understand COVID has taken its toll. 
 

RCI is the only cruise line we’ve sailed and this was our first cruise as Diamonds—we really really liked the daily drink vouchers, and many other positive aspects. We will likely never reach D+ so we may consider other cruise lines to see what’s out there. It won’t be NCL or Carnival, but maybe Virgin. 
 

teddie 

Edited February 21, 2023 by teddie

[teddie]

12 minutes ago, Coralc said:

They've never had toilet seat covers? 

Every single stall I used had an empty dispenser 😞  And I never saw a single bathroom attendant, which is the likely reason. 

Edited February 21, 2023 by teddie

[mets123]

Instead of the toilet seat covers, couldn't you just put some toilet paper down? Doesn't it serve the same purpose?

[Coralc]

1 hour ago, teddie said:

Every single stall I used had an empty dispenser 😞  And I never saw a single bathroom attendant, which is the likely reason. 

We've only been on the older ships, and I have never seen a toilet seat cover dispenser or seat covers on Royal Caribbean. I don't think the plumbing system can handle them. 

Edited February 21, 2023 by Coralc

[Engineroom Snipe]

8 hours ago, vadersprincess12 said:

 

My husband and I just returned from a cruise aboard Anthem of the Seas.  Very mixed emotions about this review as we've sailed with Royal before and had much better experiences.

 

POSITIVES:  Port check-in was seamless.

 

Our Stateroom Attendant, Harold, was pleasant and did a very nice job keeping our stateroom stocked and cleaned.

 

We absolutely LOVED the Las Vegas Tenors headliners.  We Will Rock You was a good show and We enjoyed the Billboard Band although I'm surprised the lead singer doesn't get headaches from constantly flipping her head to the side 😄.

 

Keep those Coconut Cookies coming ~ the best cookie on the high seas!

 

Sorrento Pizza was great as always.

 

NEGATIVES:  I used the app when the debark alert came up and I booked a specific time to debark.  For some reason they had us listed as self-assist so we had to go to Guest Services to make the change; the interaction was quick and painless.  This also happened to our table mates.

 

I requested a table for two; we were seated at a table for 10 and those at the table did not speak English; we requested a change and it was made quickly.  

 

While we were at the early dining time for this cruise, on our prior cruise we used My Time Dining and found out after we boarded the ship when we went for dinner that we needed to make reservations for each night.  That is redundant!!!!!  What's the point of "my time" if you need to make a reservation.  We like going to eat when we are hungry.  Your Time Dining on Carnival works great ~ you hit a button on the app when you are on your way to the dining room and you are seated usually within 10 minutes ~ Royal should take note of this. 

 

It seems like the ship was short staffed; when there were tables available in Windjammer for breakfast or lunch the staff was slow to get them cleared and cleaned.  Plates and utensils availability seemed to be limited sometimes; once I had to go to 7 different stations to find silverware.

 

Disappointed that there is no longer ice cream in Windjammer except for the last sea day.  

 

Many of the staff in the Windjammer, especially the cleaning staff, seemed very somber.  Some did interact with us but not many.  

 

Breakfast in the main dining room was a disappointment; the service was extremely slow.  By the time our meals arrived the toast was like a brick.

 

The specialty restaurants are overpriced; Chops Grille did our steaks to our liking but the "shareable" sides are hardly shareable, the portions are very small.  My husband, who is Italian, was very disappointed with the meat plank at Jamie's Italian.  Our lasagna was overcooked, and our waiter (from Montenegro) was rather snooty and he didn't even ask my husband how he wanted his martini.  It was better back in the day when there was simply a $25 upcharge.

 

We were upset that there is now a charge for North Star when at sea.  There is no charge when you are in port, but if you get off at every port of call when are you supposed to do the experience?  They now call it "North Star Extended Experience" on sea days and charge $29.99 per person.  Just another way to make money.  iFly by Ripcord has a similar experience where they charge a fee.

 

There were no toilet seat covers in any of the public restrooms which is very disappointing, especially when they push washing your hands down your throat at the Windjammer.  Got sick of the girl with the guitar singing washy-washy.

 

We would spend more time in the Casino but when it gets crowded there is really no difference between the smoking and non-smoking areas.

 

Setting up for photos on the Royal Esplanade really hurts the flow of traffic.

 

On a port day when we went to the outdoor pool we were directed at the towel station to go to the indoor pool for towels; when we went to the indoor pool we were instructed to go to the gangway to get towels ~ not acceptable.  

 

There was absolutely no policing of "seat saving" in the Solarium or the theater.

 

Being offered another cruise with a $100 casino bonus is great, but not at 4:00 p.m. on the last day.  There is no time to research and talk about it with my spouse.  We went to the Next Cruise desk and there was only one cruise out of our homeport of Baltimore listed ~ the crew member told us it was already sold out.  What’s the point of having it on the list?  We didn’t want to feel rushed to choose another cruise before the “end of this sailing."

 

There were many disappointing things on this sailing but we still tried to make the best of it.  Any questions, fire away.

 

Thank you for taking the time to post this. 🙂

[Sunshine3601]

@vadersprincess12. Thank you for your review.   We will be on Anthem end of March and hope to see some of our favorite workers.

In regards to casino, you earn credits/discounts based on your total points earned.   The casino issues these certificates after you reach xxx amount so this probably why you received on your last day.  That is the usual.

You can go to clubroyaleoffers.com and input your name and crown and Anchor number to view your offers.  I check every week since we are prime casino members and receive free cruise offers every week.

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by Sunshine3601

[teddie]

7 hours ago, mets123 said:

Instead of the toilet seat covers, couldn't you just put some toilet paper down? Doesn't it serve the same purpose?

Of course. And that’s what I did. On top of that, the bathrooms were less than clean and that was not acceptable. 
teddie 

Edited February 21, 2023 by teddie

[The Fun Researcher]

No offense intended, but seems like "much ado about nothing", at least compared to how we sail.  Most of the negatives the OP states either don't apply to us or aren't something that normally hits our radar.

I'll be sure to give our review after our Anthem cruise next month.

[vadersprincess12]

13 hours ago, Coralc said:

We've only been on the older ships, and I have never seen a toilet seat cover dispenser or seat covers on Royal Caribbean. I don't think the plumbing system can handle them. 

There are dispensers in all the stalls, but they were all empty.

[CruiseKeeper]

6 hours ago, teddie said:

Of course. And that’s what I did. On top of that, the bathrooms were less than clean and that was not acceptable. 
teddie 

We were on 2/4 Anthem.  Public restrooms were comparable to the public restrooms we used on our road trip to Bayonne.  Paper strewn even outside the doors, trash cans overflowing, lack of paper products.  A woman I conversed with in elevator said she took a picture and sent it to corporate.  I spoke with the head of housekeeping when I met her.  She blamed passengers.  Something wrong with that.  We’ve been cruising Celebrity lately and there was a stark difference.  

Of course it’s the unruly passengers, but also their job to keep up after it.  

 

[pcur]

On 2/20/2023 at 10:20 PM, teddie said:

I think the OP made some valid points, and some, not so much. Info about upcharges, MTD etc was all available well in advance and were  on the app, so there should be no surprises. It’s great that you had such a positive experience, but I think the OP had some valid concerns.  
 

I was on your sailing. We had a good time (we hadn’t cruised since way before Covid), but there were definitely some issues. Sure; chair hogging is everywhere, but it’s still annoying. No toilet seat covers is NOT okay and most of the public restrooms did not smell clean. That’s not something I can shrug off.  Most of the Purell stations needed refills. Definitely not ok.  There were a number of other issues, noticeable, but not enough to spoil our trip or even bother listing here.  I’m not a nit picker, but there was a definite difference in service/staffing to us since our last cruise, and I understand COVID has taken its toll. 
 

RCI is the only cruise line we’ve sailed and this was our first cruise as Diamonds—we really really liked the daily drink vouchers, and many other positive aspects. We will likely never reach D+ so we may consider other cruise lines to see what’s out there. It won’t be NCL or Carnival, but maybe Virgin. 
 

teddie 

I have been on 7 ships with RCCL in the last year, and none of the women's restrooms had toilet seat covers. I think it's more of a supply issue than bad policy or labor shortage.  If it was a great concern to me I would buy 100 / $13 on Amazon and take them with me.  I find my hand sanitizer/toilet paper adaptation satisfies me.

 

The air circulation in most, if not all, women's bathrooms on ships is poor. I always find this irritating, but not specific to the Anthem.

 

I take my own hand sanitizer whenever I travel, so I can clean my hands after touching handrails, elevator buttons, serving utensils in the Windjammer, etc.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by pcur

[TexasRon]

23 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

No offense intended, but seems like "much ado about nothing", at least compared to how we sail.  Most of the negatives the OP states either don't apply to us or aren't something that normally hits our radar.

I'll be sure to give our review after our Anthem cruise next month.

Looking forward to your report but why make a negative statement about someone’s opinion if you really intend no offense?  I take all reviews with a grain of salt and glean what I can from them.  
 

No offense intended; I just don’t understand some of the posts people make.  Not a big deal…I am sure people don’t understand all of mine!

[teddie]

20 minutes ago, pcur said:

I have been on 7 ships with RCCL in the last year, and none of the women's restrooms had toilet seat covers. I think it's more of a supply issue than bad policy or labor shortage.  If it was a great concern to me I would buy 100 / $13 on Amazon and take them with me.  I find my hand sanitizer/toilet paper adaptation satisfies me.

 

The air circulation in most, if not all, women's bathrooms on ships is poor. I always find this irritating, but not specific to the Anthem.

 

I take my own hand sanitizer whenever I travel, so I can clean my hands after touching handrails, elevator buttons, serving utensils in the Windjammer, etc.

 

 

 

 

I wish more passengers washed and sanitized their hands!  No matter how much I love RCI, and issues with ventilation understood,  a public bathroom that smells of stale urine on my cruise isn't acceptable to me. My opinion.  

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by teddie

[pcur]

14 minutes ago, teddie said:

No matter how much I love RCI, and issues with ventilation understood,  a public bathroom that smells of stale urine on my cruise isn't acceptable to me. My opinion.  

 

Ahhhhh.....methinks it's a guy thing.  Bad aim and all of that. 😁

[jencruzin]

Good review. Gives me hope that some of your negative points are fixed by the time we sail on Anthem this June out of Southampton.

[teddie]

39 minutes ago, pcur said:

Ahhhhh.....methinks it's a guy thing.  Bad aim and all of that. 😁

 

But I'm the GIRL, so I'm speaking about the Ladies room lol.

Theodora aka Teddie 🙂

 

[little britain]

On 2/21/2023 at 6:13 AM, Coralc said:

They've never had toilet seat covers? 

I’ve never seen seat covers… ever. On any RCI ship.  And I assume they would clog up the pipes.  

[Jasukkie]

I don't use seat covers and don't recall seeing them, but now I know why there is so much toilet paper on the floor.

[The Fun Researcher]

1 hour ago, TexasRon said:

Looking forward to your report but why make a negative statement about someone’s opinion if you really intend no offense?  I take all reviews with a grain of salt and glean what I can from them.  
 

No offense intended; I just don’t understand some of the posts people make.  Not a big deal…I am sure people don’t understand all of mine!

...Because I wasn't meaning to offend, however I think many the negatives are over nitpicky things, so that' what I stated.  Just stating my opinion.  How else would I say it?  That's what this board is about right?  Stating opinions, giving facts, sharing information.

 

When I give my review I'm happy to hear if someone disagrees with me, thinks I'm nit-picking, or differs in opinion.

[Toddcan]

I'd like to publicly thank my parents for raising a son with an attitude of gratitude, and hope I never have a sailing where my negative points use 791 words compared to 82 words of positive notes. I'll be on the Anthem in a few weeks 

[fair-winds39]

Wow, I usually don’t pay much attention to reviews, but I can always find answers to cruise questions here, and don’t know why I’m doing it now, except that me and my 3 sisters are booked on Anthem for our “girls” cruise in March 2023. This will be my 26th cruise and 3rd with RCI. Maybe it’s because the trip is right around the corner, my previous Royal cruises were on small ships (Empress and Grandeur), and I’ve never had a bad cruise. Some of the things seemed trivial and have been happening with most cruise lines, post Covid. I understand that there will be shortages with crew even now, but I’m still feeling apprehensive about our Anthem cruise. Anyway, I hope we love the Anthem because I was hoping to book it or Oasis later this year for myself and DH.