Anthem of the Seas review plus Fjords

[orangedec10]

We recently sailed Anthem out of Southhampton on a 7 day cruise to the Norwegian Fjords. I found many great reviews on Anthem, but not a lot of info on the ports of call, so I am hoping this review helps future cruisers plan!

 

First, Anthem is huge! While there are plenty of bars and restaurants, she felt too crowded for my tastes. I suspect this is because for the majority of the cruise the weather was brisk and foggy making the out door areas not as appealing. 

 

we tried all of the specialty restaurants and Jamie’s was our favorite! Food in the dining room was decent enough and the service was good. We typically sail with Celebrity and would give the edge to Celebrity in service and food, but any day I am not cooking dinner is a happy one! 😀

 

We did buy the drink package and would do again if it was on sale.
 

We were fortunate to win our bid up to a jr. suite. Found the room

to be spacious and with a 4 year old appreciated the bath tub! Husband loved having the espresso maker in the room and the room attendant was sure to refill it with pods each day.   We had an extra large balcony which came in handy when sailing into the ports. That said, something about how the balcony was built created a wind tunnel and I could hear the wind “howl” all night. Sadly, if I thought I was going to encounter any wind at all, I’d pass on a je suite on the “hump” for this reason.

 

I was a bit nervous about sailing through the North Sea and on our cruise we experienced rough seas only 1 night, and we were already in Norwegian seas at that point. Please don’t worry too much about this if you are concerned. 🙂

 

Now, on to Norway! 

I put a lot of thought into packing and will share my two cents. Yes, do pack for all weather but assume it’s going to be damp and cold. I wore long sleeves, fleece vest, rain proof shell hat and gloves most days. 
We are from FL, so perhaps the hat and gloves were a bit overkill for others but I was glad to have them! We also did laundry early in the trip and this allowed us to reduce the total jeans etc packed.

Haugesund 

We did not book an excursion in this port as we were traveling with a family member in a wheel chair and did not find any accessible tours. We did opt to jump on the hop on and hop off bus, which as accessible and a decent way to spend the day.  

 

Geiranger 

Beautiful port! Be sure to get up to watch the sail in - mountains and waterfalls!! 

Sadly and disappointingly the accessible tour for this port was canceled. No replacement was offered and we had to contact RC to get refund. The shore excursions staff we actually heartless about the situation. 
 

Luckily, this port offers a lot to do and we found an accessible boat tour through the beautiful fjords. There’s plenty of shopping and an awesome hot chocolate shop here too! 
 

A few of us took a rib boat ride here and found it enjoyable.  If you are lucky enough to sail in May, they said it’s common to see Orcas!

 

Olden

This was my favorite port of call. It’s a tiny village with a ton of natural beauty. Our group split up for this one. We took a tour through Olden Adventures to the Briksdale glacier. Around 45 mins to get there but beautiful scenery along the way. We opted to take the troll cars to the top of the mountain and we’re glad we did. I have a feeling our 4 year old would have made the hike up, but would want a ride back down. 😂 highly recommend.  

The Village is walkable,  it there’s not a city center per say. There are a few shops and one or two places to eat within walking distance. I would encourage you to take a tour here, to really experience nature.

 

Bergen

we opted for the Bergen on your own excursion which bought us the funicular tickets in advance. If the weather is good, I would recommend going there first as it seems like the lines get long quickly.

 

We visited the fort and toured Haakon’s Hall, which has a nominal fee but we found it to be worth it.

 

Lastly we ended the day at the fish market and later walked back to the ship and took time to detour to a few of the parks which has beautiful Spring flowers.

 

A word of advice, the walk from the port to the city center is long. A free shuttle was offered for those with mobility issues. It’s worth the wait if you or someone in your party needs it. 

Lastly, on disembarkment day we had nearly a full day in England before our flight took off. We found a private tour company on viatour and visited Stonehenge and Windsor Castle. Yes, it was rushed! But so worth it! Loves seeing both sites and if you do it, try to get to Stonehenge early as we were one of the first groups to enter and on our way out we could see long lines already forming.

 

Sadly, one person in our party did return home with Covid. We took precautions but it seems to just be a risk associated with traveling these days.

 

Hopefully this has been helpful and happy planning!

[stacynray]

I haven’t read yet but just want to say thank you for writing all this out. We’re going on the anthem out of south Hampton July 7-14, but going down to Southhampton two days early. As of now I’m tempted to rent a car for two days because the alternative seems very pricey. How did you get down to Southhampton if I may ask?

[Another_Critic]

8 minutes ago, stacynray said:

I haven’t read yet but just want to say thank you for writing all this out. We’re going on the anthem out of south Hampton July 7-14, but going down to Southhampton two days early. As of now I’m tempted to rent a car for two days because the alternative seems very pricey. How did you get down to Southhampton if I may ask?

Car rentals are very pricey too [1].  😞

 

National Express bus is probably the most cost effective transportation from London to Southampton and return.

 

[1] I did rent a car earlier this month at Southampton and returned a week later at Heathrow.  I also have a reservation in October at Heathrow for a 3 day rental with return to Southampton.

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by Another_Critic

[stacynray]

They are, but I think I saw enterprise uk had a car for 230 pounds for two days. To get a private driver was over 400 pounds, plus we’re stranded once we’re at our hotel. I honestly wish I had it where we fly into Southhampton but out of Heathrow, which is where we’re currently flying in and out. We’re staying in London a week after the cruise, so we were just going to try the train back into London when we disembark.  
 

but I really want to go to Lyme Regis and bath, being such a huge persuasion and Jane Austen fan. I’m totally going to drive my husband crazy reenacting all the scenes on the Cobb 😂. 
 

And your blog was so helpful, btw, especially about Bergen being a long walk to the city center. I’m really debating, also, on getting the u limited dining package. I feel it would be worth the money to be able to try them all.

[orangedec10]

32 minutes ago, stacynray said:

I haven’t read yet but just want to say thank you for writing all this out. We’re going on the anthem out of south Hampton July 7-14, but going down to Southhampton two days early. As of now I’m tempted to rent a car for two days because the alternative seems very pricey. How did you get down to Southhampton if I may ask?

This is the company we used to get to the airport to Southhampton.https://www.london-transfers.com/

 

We had six in our party and a ton of luggage, wheel chair and walker and we fit in one of the large vans.

[stacynray]

Ty so much! I’ll look into it.

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, stacynray said:

They are, but I think I saw enterprise uk had a car for 230 pounds for two days. To get a private driver was over 400 pounds, plus we’re stranded once we’re at our hotel.

Remember that UK drives on the left.  Many roads are narrow with blind corners and cars parked in the road.  Plus, the cheaper rental cars are manual transmission (using your left hand).

[stacynray]

It is a challenge for sure. The manual just makes it extra difficult. The first time I drove on the left was in 2020 when I went to Ireland by myself for three weeks. Drove all over the island and the narrow mountain roads were death defying. I can’t believe they think they’re meant for two vehicles at a time. First few days are terrifying then it was exhilarating. I’m hoping it’s like riding a bike 😬

 

But if the rates change I’ll definitely do the car or bus service. 

Edited May 26, 2023 by stacynray

[mslhb]

Thanks for the review! We are booked on a June 2024 fjord sailing so I love to read about other’s experiences!

[sandebeach]

Thanks so much for your review and tips on each port. Just booked this cruise for next May, your review was very informative.