Anthem of The Seas - May 14-21 Bermuda, Boston, NYC - My Opinion

I am a lurker to these boards, taking info but not adding anything. The opinions on this ship seem to vary greatly so I will throw my hat into the ring with my opinion of this ship and cruise.

Balcony Stateroom:

Pro’s: Comfy beds, Good TV (that can be angled towards the couch) enough storage with tons of hangers, USB Charging on the desk, night table plug, the desk can be pulled out to be a table, glass shower enclosure, night light in the bathroom, good lighting overall. 2 chairs, two foot rests on the balcony. Modern good room.

Con’s: It was a bit noisy. I did not hear through the walls, but could hear toilets flushing, and in the bathroom could easily hear conversations happening in other cabins through the exhaust vent. As the doors are on springs, it was like our whole cabin vibrated when the people around us opened or closed their door without being careful not to let it slam which was not a priority around us. I understand we are on a ship and this will not deter us from sailing her again.

One thing a little outside the norm was with 4 days left, they emptied all of the mini-bars around us. Told us it had to be removed because of the next cruise. We had not used it and might or might not of, but found it strange. I did not pursue the issue. As I understood it, the cruise following ours (presently sailing as of this writing) is a charter LGBT Cruise, so I guess something to do with the charter. Anyway, shutting it down 4 days early was un-cool.

Restaurants:

Windjammer: IMO, it was very good and something for everyone. Excellent salad bar. It is a busy place but no major lines and we always found a table within 2 minutes. Coffee, tea, concentrated juices and Iced Tea were complementary. I am a coffee guy and whereas the complementary stuff is a bit weak for me, it is still pretty decent.

Silk: We ate there twice. Service was exceptional both times. The food was very good. The room well appointed. I did have as an appetizer the Asian porc tacos, not sure of the exact name, it was filled chunks of porc fat. I think I just got a bad batch, everything else was supper.

Grande: The formal restaurant. Service excellent. Food very good. My wife had the lobster and they were pretty good sized tails. I had the surf and turf , shrimp and filet mignon. No, not the best, but still very good.

Chic: We ate there twice. Service was good/OK. Food was very good. I do not remember what we ate, but it was all good.

The 270 Café: Excellent, soups, salads, sandwiches for lunch and breakfast sandwiches, pastries, cereal in the mornings. Always plenty of space to sit in the 270 room overlooking the ocean.

Chops Grill: It was great. I could say I have had better, but it was excellent.

Sorrento’s Pizza: Not the best pizza at sea, Princess gets that accolade, but still very good.

I do not think we ate anywhere else….oh the soft ice cream machine. Not as creamy as you might get on land but that is a positive as I assume it has less fat so I can eat more.

A note on the dynamic dining, we had reservations for some of the nights and never waited more than 10 seconds to be seated. On two occasions, we just showed up and waited a bit more….30 seconds to be seated. That might not always be the case and we did see lines for the stand-by’s when we did have reservations, so mileage may vary here.

VooM Internet: I had the slower of the two packages. Email, simple surfing, sending some photos, messaging, worked fine and exactly as advertised. If you want to stream the cheaper of the two packages will not work.

IFly, Surfing, rock climbing, bumper cars, trapeze, ect…. All cool, but reserve in advance. If you can not on-line, go there and they will slot you in, but I suggest early in the cruise.

NorthStar: Fun, we did it once on standby on the last day, waited about 25 minutes.

Solarium: Excellent area for the adults especially on chilly rainy days. We vegged here at least two days.

The other pools: great. Nice, warm water, something for everyone. Royal does a good job with the oversized hot tubs.

The gym, at first glance, I thought it was a bit small but it seemed to be just right. There are no sauna’s or steam rooms, and a small changing room is the spa. A miss here.

The jogging track: I think it would be more of a hassle and dangerous running around it during pool rush hour, but other than that, it is pretty good. That Giraffe would look down on me at every lap, telling me to do a few more laps due to the ice cream consumption.

The Spa: I am going to complain here, so be prepared. RC you missed the boat on this one. On day one, I just wanted to sign up for the thermal suite but was moved along through the whole preplanned sales pitches for all the other treatments. Got through the pitches, signed up for the thermal suite which was $99 for the 7 days.

The thermal suite was beyond below par. You are given a locker key which contains a robe and spa slippers. The robe is tiny. Twice there was no robe in my locker or slippers. There is only one shower that is shared with the gym upstairs. The body wash was empty the first time I used it. The locker room was generally in a big mess and it was not a busy place.

The thermal suite consisted of a rain shower with colored lights and three different settings. This is a relaxation shower not a cleaning shower and the area is coed. There are 6 thermal beds, a steam room and a sauna. The sauna using radiated heat, crap. It is nothing more than a wooden box with heat lamps. The steam room was luke warm on one day and on the last day, painfully hot. Intolerable, dangerously hot. The guy that was in there with me for one minute went to tell them as the controls are not within reach of the passengers. Other days the temp was ok, but always a mess with towels everywhere, even food wrappers in the steam room. I understand that some of my fellow passengers are pigs but it should not be left that way. The room itself where the thermal beds are located is noisy, mechanical noises. It is made for relaxation. None to be had there. On top of the that, they double charged me. An accident I am sure, but just one more thing. Such a beautiful ship and such a crappy thermal suite. If it was free, I would have only gone once, but since I paid over $99 plus service charge, I wanted it to get better.

Shows: “We will Rock you” – loved it. I am a big fan of Queen, so easy to like.

“Spectra’s Cabaret”, pretty cool. Spectra the main guy was born for this role.

There were comedian’s, a adult sing along guy, an Aerosmith Tribute Band, other bands, other singers. One guy belting out the tunes in a corner of the casino, awesome. All great. The Love and Marriage Show, Name that Tune, The 70’s Party….. Not everything might be for you, but it certainly worked for me and my wife. There were other shows that I missed; 7 days is NOT enough. The Music Hall is a great venue. Too much to detail but they nailed it.

Do not miss the intro to the 270 on the first night. It showcases what is to come in The 270 Room and explains the tech.

The Royal Esplanade. A beautiful space. RC has kiosks set up in the middle with watches, jewelry, purses….Sale Items. It jamms the place up, and I heard people complain but really, just stay away if it is not your thing. It is not mine, but judging by the amount of people, it is popular.

Casino: It is a Casino and a busy one.

Chair Hogs: They are on every ship. I heard that they were removing items for chairs left too long in the Solarium on the busy sea days. Good.

Drink Prices: I found them expensive on this cruise. The mixed drinks were on the high end ($14 plus service). Beer and wine, at par with most I think.

Staff Overall: Great. They are human, and sometimes you may run across someone that is having an off day. As I was going into Silk on standby, one of the passengers was coming out screaming at the head waiter. He said something about being ignored and was literally freaking out. I do not know what happened, but for me to react like that to a waiter, he would have had to spit in my food and then kick my dog. He was following that passenger trying to talk to him but was told to “GET LOST!” A word to the wise, never diss my dog.

Embarkation/disembarkation: super speedy. HOWEVER, our itinerary was NYC, Bermuda, Boston, NYC. After Bermuda, we hit Boston, and had to clear US Customs in Boston. The lines were crazy. My intention was to leave the ship first thing, go for a run, come back for a shower, get the wife and sightsee. The line was too long to clear US Customs that I decided I would just run on deck, and go to my favorite place the Thermal Suite and clear customs later with my wife. It was marked on the paper in our stateroom that everyone had to clear US Customs by 10:30am whether you were getting off the ship or not……I missed that part. I was happily jogging around the track with the Giraffe Scolding me at every lap with headphones pumping music into my ears. I did not hear the desperate pleas on the PA that everyone had to clear customs NOW. I then made my way down to the one shower in the locker room and then the steam room. Meanwhile my wife is searching for me and has the spa staff going into the men’s room and then the thermal suite. I must have been moving between the rooms and they were just missing me. I was eventually met by a very stressed, pissed off but incredibly beautiful wife. The crew was not allowed to leave the ship before all passengers were cleared. There were 4 other people after me.

You do go through customs again in NYC. Our departure time was 8:30 which is what I requested, and we were off the ship within 15 minutes. Flawless.

I never did Boston as a tourist so we did and loved it and the people. Boston Strong!

NYC: A Yankees Game the night before the cruise. After the cruise, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, had pizza, took a ferry back to Manhattan, walked through The Financial Dist. over to The 9/11 Memorial (every emotion ran through me, anger, sadness, hope….). A jog in Central Park on the Sunday then Home.

Bermuda: Day 1, Horseshoe Bay Beach. A $14 a person round trip. The vans are waiting for you at the pier and at the beach when you are ready to go back. Beautiful Beach. You can rent chairs, umbrellas, food concession. Walk to the rocky area, beautiful. At night we bar hopped at The Navy Yards, which was three bars. The next day we planned to just hit the beach at The Navy Yards but it was very windy so we walked around a bit then just made it a ship day.

Summery: The ship is beautiful, tons of stuff to do and the space to do it in or not. Great ship for a northern home port as there is lot’s of indoor pool space and indoor sports. I do not think it deserved all the negative reviews just because it was different. I would liken the ship to something resembling A Celebrity Solstice Class Ship on steroids. I would recommend planning and reserving more than you may have done on other ships. Even if it says not available on the computer/Ipad, go and see them and there is usually space, just do it early in the cruise, and there are usually standby lines if at the last minute.

The Spa area was my only major disappointment.

This is long. Sorry. I will pop up some photos a bit later.

Hi Bill, thanks for the good review. We will be on her in July.

This is long. Sorry. I will pop up some photos a bit later.

Not at all. This was great. Thanks for doing it.

Thank you! Wonderful review. :)

Don't ever feel like you're writing too much - its greatly appreciated! (Especially when you break it up into sections like you did!)

Very nicely written, thank-you.:)

Thanks for sharing! I have a couple of questions:

In Bermuda, did you pay cash directly to the van driver, or did you need to purchase a pass?

What approximate time was it when you walked up for dinner (without reservations) and was seated quickly? We do not have reservations for each night of our upcoming cruise, and I am hoping that if we avoid 6:30-7:30, then we will not have to wait too long to be seated.

Great review!!! Thanks so much!! Glad you had a great time!

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Nice.

Very informative.

Thanks

Safe travels

Great review, thanks!

What restaurant do you think is the most romantic? We're going to be on Anthem for an anniversary cruise and I'm interested in hearing what you think would be best and most romantic for my foodie husband.

Thanks for the review. How was the weather sailing out of New York and in Bermuda? Were the seas choppy? Since I'm prone to seasickness am worried sailing out of NYC in May. Thanks.

Thanks for the review; getting more and more excited! :cool: Did you happen to get a lot of sun in the solarium? I think we might just veg in the sun on the outdoor deck and then move into the solarium later in the day.

Thanks for the review - bummer about the thermal spa since that's one of my favorite places on a ship

Thanks for sharing! I have a couple of questions:

 

In Bermuda, did you pay cash directly to the van driver, or did you need to purchase a pass?

 

What approximate time was it when you walked up for dinner (without reservations) and was seated quickly? We do not have reservations for each night of our upcoming cruise, and I am hoping that if we avoid 6:30-7:30, then we will not have to wait too long to be seated.

Cash directly to the driver. They were very polite.

Good question, once was Silk in Boston at about 7:30 but we were still in port for another hour. The other time was Chic and at about 7:30 as well. My darling wife informs me that was the night we were staying docked in Bermuda. I had to ask my wife and she pointed out that is why we did not have reservations.

Great review, thanks!

 

What restaurant do you think is the most romantic? We're going to be on Anthem for an anniversary cruise and I'm interested in hearing what you think would be best and most romantic for my foodie husband.

Just my opinion, others may want to chime in as well. Complementary would be Grande as it is The Formal Restaurant. We like Chops for speciality dining. It is a steak and seafood resto. Jamie's Italian, although the food is supposed to be great does not have a romantic setting. Located within Chops Grille is The Prime Table which is another step up. You mentioned "a foodie husband".

Thanks for the review. How was the weather sailing out of New York and in Bermuda? Were the seas choppy? Since I'm prone to seasickness am worried sailing out of NYC in May. Thanks.

The seas were calm on this cruise, but it is The Atlantic Ocean and is unpredictable. My wife suffers sea sickness and swears by the patch.

Thanks for the review; getting more and more excited! :cool: Did you happen to get a lot of sun in the solarium? I think we might just veg in the sun on the outdoor deck and then move into the solarium later in the day.

There are shaded areas and sunny areas in The Solarium. We were outside on the warm days but did get a couple cooler days when we headed to the Solarium. Lot's of sun or shade available as long as the clouds cooperate.

Thanks for the review, that is 1 ship we will avoid. Noise!!!

Just my opinion, others may want to chime in as well. Complementary would be Grande as it is The Formal Restaurant. We like Chops for speciality dining. It is a steak and seafood resto. Jamie's Italian, although the food is supposed to be great does not have a romantic setting. Located within Chops Grille is The Prime Table which is another step up. You mentioned "a foodie husband".

I can't speak for the complementary venues, but my first thought was Chops as well. I loved Chef's Table (best meal of the cruise), but romance is for a couple and you share Chef's Table with maybe 15 people.

Jamie's is nice, but setting is a bit casual, Wonderland has somebody stopping by every so often to explain your next course, and Izumi is bright and in the middle of the ship - I had somebody call out to me from the hallway to ask what I was eating!

Awesome review thank you!! I get to experience this beauty next week. About Bermuda, is the van better than the bus? How did you get back to the ship from the beach, call the van back or do they make regular stops?

One of the very best reviews I have read regarding the Anthem. Concise and to the point. Enjoyed your humor as well. Glad you had a good time.

Great review. I loved reading it. [emoji3]

Most helpful to me was info on thermal suite. Seems Royal has given up trying to "wow" people in that area.

Great review, we did the Anthem almost 4 weeks ago for a 5 nighter to Bermuda, we have sailed multiple times on all classes of RC ships but this is sooooo different and amazing, like nothing we'd been on before. It will be interesting to read future reviews from people who sail this class and then do another class to see how they judge it. For anyone who is interested there is a great blog on youtube from someone who posted daily when they were on Anthem, not sure of the link but it was easy to find, it helped us prepare for when we were on her and to try and not miss anything.

Awesome review thank you!! I get to experience this beauty next week. About Bermuda, is the van better than the bus? How did you get back to the ship from the beach, call the van back or do they make regular stops?

The van was convenient. We walked down the pier, we were approached by the van guys. They fill it up before it leaves, which was quick. At the beach, we walked back to where we were dropped off, there were a few waiting, filled it up and off we went back to the boat. There were two ships at the Naval Dockyard so no waiting for the van to fill up.

I can not comment on the public bus. My guess would be it would be a few dollars less but would take longer. There are people, maps and info as soon as you are out of the security area.

Be sure to bring photo ID. They do check at the security check point before ship security.

Thank you for the great review. I am really looking forward to to sailing on her.

thanks so much for the review........we sail in a week. We were on quantum in 2014 with our four kids and had a nice time, imagining this will be even better since we are leaving them home :) and thanks for the Horseshoe van info, that is what we plan to do as well. Do you think you need to arrive early at Horseshoe to get chairs/umbrella, it will be a Saturday but we are the only ship in port from what I can tell. We leave in a week!! need to start packing :)