Semi-Live Anthem of the Seas Review

[tennislvr8]

Good morning all,

We, DH (54) and myself (F53) are heading to Bayonne for our 9th voyage on Anthem. I love the view from 270 and he’s not a fan of flying so this is perfect. We left at about 8:15 and will arrive about 10:00. We are staying in a balcony, he got an incredible price, it was less than $2,000. We hoped and bid aggressively on a few suites but we didn’t win. It’s the risk you take and we are absolutely fine with a balcony room  This is purely a relaxation trip for both of us, work has been insane. As of right now the only show we are going to see is Spectra, because of Terry Lavelle. We have dinner and lunch reservations at both Chops and Jaime’s. We also have a massage scheduled for today at 12. I like to get on the ship as early as possible, he likes to arrive when the rooms open. The massage is a way to keep him busy while waiting for the rooms. In coco cay we will be at the adults an only beach. We will be Diamond plus after this cruise. I am not very good at taking lots of pics, I am also very good at starting a review then not finishing. I am going to do both this time because I am also using this to convince several coworker friends to try at least one cruise. Any questions I will do my best to answer. 

 

[Beer Belly]

Looking forward to your semi-live review, will be boarding April 15. Interested in if it is possible to park in parking garage.

[gfargo53]

looking forward to your review we love the anthem

[mets123]

6 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

Looking forward to your semi-live review, will be boarding April 15. Interested in if it is possible to park in parking garage.

Yes in the fall/winter when there's only one ship in Cape Liberty. In the spring/summer where multiple ships are sailing from there, it is usually just for handicap parking. April 15 should be fine.

[tennislvr8]

6 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

Looking forward to your semi-live review, will be boarding April 15. Interested in if it is possible to park in parking garage.

[tennislvr8]

We arrived in Bayonne about 10. Traffic was ridiculous. Anthem arrived an hour late, others said two hours late. It was a nightmare. Once we finally parked in the garage it was a breeze. We walked right in the terminal, through security and right on the ship at about 11ish. We checked in for muster made a dinner reservation for tonight that I couldn’t do online and headed to the windjammer for a quick lunch then to the spa for our massages. 
the couples massage was excellent. The room was small, we had to undress in the room and store our stuff there as well, it was right. But like I said the massage is self was excellent. My husband wants to do it every time now. There was a soft attempt to sell products. They took no easy and stopped with making either of us uncomfortable. 
It’s very cold today and since we have been on Anthem numerous times we didn’t feel the need to be outside for sail away.

It’s a spring break cruise and there are 1500 kids aboard this week.
We are diamond. We got a letter on our room saying due to the number of pinnacles and diamond+ onboard, we cannot go to concierge lounge for happy hour. It’s for diamond + and above only during happy hour. It’s available to all any other time. 

[Beer Belly]

How is the solarium ?, I figure if the weather is on the cool side, that is where we will head

[Another_Critic]

3 hours ago, tennislvr8 said:

We are diamond. We got a letter on our room saying due to the number of pinnacles and diamond+ onboard, we cannot go to concierge lounge for happy hour. It’s for diamond + and above only during happy hour. It’s available to all any other time. 

Correction:  Crown lounge (aka Diamond Club).  Concierge lounge is for suites.

[teddie]

4 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

How is the solarium ?, I figure if the weather is on the cool side, that is where we will head

Just off the 3/17 Anthem sailing. Solarium is warm and comfortable. 
 

teddie

[Merion_Mom]

6 hours ago, mets123 said:

Yes in the fall/winter when there's only one ship in Cape Liberty. In the spring/summer where multiple ships are sailing from there, it is usually just for handicap parking. April 15 should be fine.

 

FYI:  Handicap and consecutive cruisers.

[tennislvr8]

On 3/24/2024 at 7:17 PM, Another_Critic said:

 

[tennislvr8]

Today was a sea day. The solarium was PACKED. Standing room only. The pools were packed too, never seen them this packed. I was able to find to loungers at the outside pool that allowed me to listen to my books on tape and people watch so a good day. That’s pretty much all I did today, lounge and listen to books on tap, which is new to me and I like. It was cold today. The seas are rough I really feel the ship rocking bags aren’t out but it’s still felt. 

[tennislvr8]

We spent yesterday at hideaway beach in coco cay. It was worth every dime. So much so that my cheap DH had me reserve it for our cruise in June. It was not crowded at all. We got there early about 9:30. There were plenty of loungers available all day. We sat on the beach side by the pizza place. You could hear the music but it wasn’t too loud. The water was freezing. We also sat at the big bar I between the two pools. Service was great. The pool water was perfect. Might choose to sit at the pool in June. There were dancers shooting shots of champagne in the mouths of those in The pool. 
THERE WERE NO SEAGULLS. I REPEAT THERE WERE NO SEAGULLS

 

The food was good:

pizza - it wasn’t hot, it was warm and very good way better than sorentos. I tried the chicken. 
Empanadas- they were ok

the fish sandwich - a must try it was very good 

coconut shrimp - very good as well 

we will def go again. 
 

[tennislvr8]

Dinner at Jaimes

The food was was delicious as always, the lamb chops and the carbonara. The service was excellent as well EXCEPT for the hostess. 
We had lunch at Jaime’s too and she was problematic then too. 
i Prepurchased Jaime’s and chops lunch as well as Jaime’s dinner. I reserved chops immediately once on board. It was a gift from TA that couldn’t be purchased ahead of time. When he scheduled chops he saw all of our other reservations.  

The hostess makes seating last too long. The line backs up and I’m not sure what she’s doing. Before she seats everyone she goes into the restaurant and looks around. Each and every time. The restaurant isn’t that big and if you just seated folks and looked you should know what’s available. It makes the wait very long. People in line aren’t happy
She did this at both lunch and dinner. At dinner she tries to tell me I didn’t pay. I have the email as proof. She won’t look at it. She then says ok, it’s ok. We eat, great food and service, then the check is 0.00. 
the next day we have a change for $120+ from Jaime’s. Down to guest services I go. Luckily there was no line. The person waiting on me calls someone tells them what I just told you guys. He says they will look into and let me know. In a few hours it was credited. 
 

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for sharing your review with us.

[Beer Belly]

Any idea how late the main pool is open till ?

[tennislvr8]

5 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

Any idea how late the main pool is open till ?

I honestly don’t. I’ll try to find out though. I don’t do the pool. 

[tennislvr8]

We didn’t get off the ship in Nassau, had a very relaxing day in the solarium. The past two sea data were great in the solarium as well. Yesterday for some reason there were fewer people at lunch and throughout the pool during the day. Today, the last sea day, everything was packed. They were monitoring chair hogs and had out signs telling people to collect their belongings at the towel station. I once again was relaxing in the solarium. Yep different families brought in crying babies. I don’t know why. They weren’t there very long but long enough to disturb several of us. 
The international food in the windjammer has been delicious. I have eaten so much new Indian food. All of it great!

we had a medical emergency that required the coast guard to rescue. 
I pray they got the medical attention they needed and their family is able to be with them and they make a speedy recovery. 
the detour won’t impact our arrival in Bayonne.