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

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Toddcan

Toddcan

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, fair-winds39 said:

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.

 

We sail in a few weeks too (March 12), and in my opinion, if you've  cruised 26 times, you know what to expect, and won't be caught up in the minor issues that can pop up from time to time.  If I listened exclusively to negative comments, I would have cancelled our Pride of Aloha cruise 16 years ago, and may not have ever cruised. 

 

Enjoy your cruise!! 

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The Fun Researcher

The Fun Researcher

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, fair-winds39 said:

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.

 

I'm going in with an open mind.  I'm very much looking forward to trying a new class of ship.  I'm sure there will be things that we like or dislike when compared to other Royal ships, or even X or NCL.  We very much go with the flow, mainly.  However, we've cruised Royal quite a bit so hopefully we'll have a good reference point for what we're used to for things like service, food quality, ship cleanliness... etc..

 

We sail March 19th so I'm guessing any feedback I could provide would be too late for your sailing anyway.  I'm expecting to have an awesome time.  I knew going in that this is the worst itinerary that we've ever done (only really looking forward to Coco Cay) but it was a relatively inexpensive cruise for us since we're driving, and the cruise also gets us to Diamond level which is exciting.

 

Like you said, we've never had a bad cruise and I wouldn't expect any different from Royal. They are a solid cruise line all around IMO.

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pcur

pcur

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, Toddcan said:

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 

Hope you are as wow'd as I was!

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pcur

pcur

Posted
Posted
25 minutes ago, fair-winds39 said:

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.

 

I would say out of my 8 night cruise on the Anthem, 98% of my opinion is a resounding POSITIVE.  With watching the rocket launch at Cape Canaveral outside on Deck 15  a once-so-far-in-my-lifetime event!!

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Weluv2cruise2gether

Weluv2cruise2gether

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Toddcan said:

We sail in a few weeks too (March 12), and in my opinion, if you've  cruised 26 times, you know what to expect, and won't be caught up in the minor issues that can pop up from time to time.  If I listened exclusively to negative comments, I would have cancelled our Pride of Aloha cruise 16 years ago, and may not have ever cruised. 

 

Enjoy your cruise!! 

We too will be on the March 12 sailing. We also don’t sweat the small stuff! I did enjoy reading both reviews of recent Anthem sailings in prep for our sailing, so thanks to both OPs who wrote them!

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Engineroom Snipe Great Review Rare

Engineroom Snipe

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, pcur said:

I would say out of my 8 night cruise on the Anthem, 98% of my opinion is a resounding POSITIVE.  With watching the rocket launch at Cape Canaveral outside on Deck 15  a once-so-far-in-my-lifetime event!!

 

On CC, it is sometimes far easier to use words to describe only the shortcomings. This makes sense. We all expect a good cruise and then it goes from there.  If 98% of your cruise was positive, you would be wasting so much time saying things like, "My air conditioner worked, my TV worked, the plumbing and toilet (head) worked. The room service was outstanding. I enjoyed my breakfast of locks and bagels."

 

We would be snoring in no time.

 

I understand you review to be what it was, your review. 😁

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pcur

pcur

Posted
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3 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Agreed.  I’ve never had a problem with Sorrento’s. My only gripe is that it gets repetitive about halfway through a weeklong cruise. It’s one of the reason I love Playmakers on some of the ships so that I can get some nice pub food late at night other than pizza or finger sandwiches

Also, the Café 270 has good breakfast options, and is not crowded.  The "starbucky" coffee place is in the same location, and if you have any Crown and Anchor e-coupons on your card, you can use them.  I love me my chai tea latte with soymilk!! 

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The Fun Researcher

The Fun Researcher

Posted
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4 minutes ago, pcur said:

Also, the Café 270 has good breakfast options, and is not crowded.  The "starbucky" coffee place is in the same location, and if you have any Crown and Anchor e-coupons on your card, you can use them.  I love me my chai tea latte with soymilk!! 

Thanks for the tip!

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lenquixote66

lenquixote66

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Max and Ruby said:

My 15 yo DD is looking forward to Sorrento's when we cruise in April.

Very good .I find it very interesting that there is a guy who posts on CC who always says that he does not like Sorrento’s but he and I have been on several of the same cruises and no matter what time I am there so is he .I have at most 2 slices a day  while he has trays of the pizza that he consumes.

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Deeliteful "Live from...." Rare

Deeliteful

Posted
Posted

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.  
 

I don’t see these as Negatives but as Positives.
 

Mistakes were made and they were sorted and quickly, that’s really positive IMO.

Mistakes happen, it’s how they are rectified that’s important.

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teddie

teddie

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, pcur said:

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

 

6 hours ago, teddie said:

 

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

Theodora aka Teddie 🙂

 

 

Seriously tricky @pcur, as my husband's name is Lee.  Seen some surprised expressions when first meeting others 🙂

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nferr

nferr

Posted
Posted (edited)

I was on Anthem in December. Was very clean overall, didn't notice any major issues in the public restrooms. As far as MTD, you can make reservations in advance if you want, but you don't have to. Saying you have to make reservations for MTD is simply not true. I made reservations in advance on the website for 7:45 each night in MTD and never waited more than five minutes and it was a full ship. I'm not an early riser so for breakfast I either went late to the windjammer when it wasn't as packed, or I went to Cafe 270 for a nice breakfast sandwich. I do that often, much more relaxing.

 

I do agree about the chair hogs. There's so many complaints about this that I just don't understand why the cruise lines don't do something about it. It's so inconsiderate and rude IMO. Luckily for me I don't really like to lounge around in a big crowd in the solarium or right next to the pool. Up a level or so I always find a nice spot for a break.

Edited by nferr
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lenquixote66

lenquixote66

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I think Sorrento's on Anthem is their best one.    Not sure what they do different but seems better than other ships I have sailed on.

I have been on 10 RCI cruises,4 different ships.I too believe that Sorrento’s on the Anthem is the best.

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edrussell

edrussell

Posted
Posted

We were on this very same sailing and our opinion differs greatly from the OP, however (I know GASP) they have every right to offer their opinion.  Most of what OP mentioned did not apply to us, or we perhaps didn't notice.  The one that I can comment on is chair hogs, we spent some of every single day in the solarium and not once had any trouble finding a lounger.  Sure we didn't always get the exact one we wanted but never had trouble finding somewhere to relax.  I think I will post our own review of the sailing as well. 

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Engineroom Snipe Great Review Rare

Engineroom Snipe

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I think Sorrento's on Anthem is their best one.    Not sure what they do different but seems better than other ships I have sailed on.

 

I agree that Anthem's Sorrento's is consistent in being above average. I do not eat much pizza in general just due to the calories and salt. The crust is thick enough to chew but not so thick that it is doughy or so thin that it is more like a baked Pita bread (many people love thin crust and thick crust pizzas, just my eating preference).

 

My wife and I have about one slice (or two depending on the size being served) somewhere about 3pm on the pool deck. I will run down and get it. It is that little light snack between lunch and dinner. We tend to go for the veggie pizza but have tried all of the choices to find them more than satisfactory. 😋 

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