RhondaPerr

We were inside the park a little after 9

Thank you for a very informative review. Just out of curiosity, what time were you dropped off at Disney?

Oh I remember what I left out.. We did the day at Disney, and for two adults it worked..if you have young kids it would be really hectic! We got our tickets online, and were able to do Fastpass for three rides, and then three more after we did those.. The transportation drops you off at the transportation center, and we were at the park a little after nine.. You can run the chance of the park being at capacity and not getting in, and the ship warns you about that, but thankfully that was not the case! You meet the bus back where it dropped you off at 4:30pm..

Trolls will be trolls.. If my review helped a few people I am good with that!

Just trying to lighten up your thread!:D

Ughhhhhhhhhhh. ....... It's like water torture..no pun intended lololol

Rhonda, please don't kill me, but do you mean this?

 

Don't make me sing the Washie Washie Song Lolol

Lol

Thanks my 25 years teaching have been handy today lol

RhondaPerr, thank you so much for your review. I am sorry others choose to bash you for your opinions. As for me, good job!

I think chair hogs should be auto ejected at the pool and theatre.. Lol I think if someone invented it, they could make millions :)

There's a lot of mention of "nickel and diming" on this thread. My opinion... I prefer to think of it as making things optional so everyone doesn't have to pay for them if they don't want. For example, we don't typically want a lot of photos so we don't purchase them. We play bingo some games and not others. We don't always eat the fancy steak, but don't mind paying extra if we want to so long as it keeps the overall price down.

 

I think it is try that they are making more things optional, perhaps as a way of keeping the overall costs down. Some things have also gone away altogether like the midnight buffets because they were just really expensive wastes of food.

 

I happy that they make extras available if people want to pay extra. We pick and choose which things we care about while on the cruise and know that we don't have to pay extra for anything we don't want or need.

 

A good example. They could charge everyone $500 per cruise more and have drinks be all inclusive, but we don't drink enough to make that worthwhile so we're glad they offer drink packages for those who want to drink that much and allow us to just buy our drinks when we want them. The same is true for sodas and other things we don't care about.

 

I think they should sell seats around the pool. Maybe that would slow down those who want to reserve them :)

 

Tom

For Spectra the further away you sit, the more you will see... Try to get a back row..

Rhonda, thank you so much for your review. I am definitely going to take a mattress topper when we cruise in May.

 

It will be fun to try out the shows. I didn't understand or really enjoy Starwater on the Quantum, but I will make sure we get to 270 early so we can get good seats, so maybe we will have better viewing. It is reviews like yours that make us look forward to this ship. If every ship or every cruise were the same, it would be boring.

 

I have to say, I haven't had a bad cruise yet and I am not looking forward to that day! There have been aspects of cruises that haven't been stellar, but that is life. DD on the Quantum was certainly interesting, but I am looking forward to DD Classic to see if it is smoother.

Yes, and the complimentary items were extremely sparse.. But the Continental breakfast worked for us on the mornings we just wanted to sleep in :)

I've read a few times now I that room service is extra on the anthem.. Is that true ? I thought it was just after midnight. Has that changed?

 

 

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I agree, it's a choice, but it can be very overwhelming for a newbie cruiser, who expects that the cruise they saved for, would be pretty inclusive. As veteran cruisers we know that's not true... No one can dispute that they do nickel and dime you constantly... The trick is to do your homework... Some things are worth the splurge... I use the reviews as a heads up, and really decided long ago that the negative nellies will never and have never stopped me from going on a planned cruise.. Many of the complaints are subjective, and what bothers some won't necessarily bother me. Out of 35 cruises, there were 3 really bad ones, and even after having said that, we still managed to have a good time! Just a word of advice, check your calendar constantly, after you board, we had two times of activities change with no message.. If you like the Symphony there is a virtual symphony at 270... The solarium Bistro formerly Devinely Decadent, was a great place to eat breakfast, and they also served lunch on sea days.. Not as much of a selection as wind jammer but much more quiet!

Unfortunately for some reason more people post negative opinions than those who post positive. I'm wondering if people read enough of the negative comments they go into the show with the idea that it will be bad rather than with an open mind and decided for themselves?

 

One thing I have learned is never judge anything by the comments posted on Cruise Critic as far as quality of shows or food goes. I was on the Celebrity Eclipse at the end of January. Celebrity has also started to produce their own shows and there are 4 of them on the Eclipse. There were so many people who hated one of the shows (Topper), making similar comments as what has been said about the Anthem shows. I was a bit uncertain if I even wanted to go see it based on those reviews. I am so glad I did go as it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. I spoke with others who also felt the same. I still can't figure out what was so horrible about it.

 

I'm going on the Anthem 3 weeks today and can't wait to experience this ship and look forward to going to the shows and trying the menus on the different included restaurants.

 

As far as nickel and diming goes, to me it's a choice. You don't have to pay for anything if you don't want to - you can skip pictures, the Spa, bingo, specialty restaurants and only drink the included beverages and still have a wonderful time. Pay for what you want or don't pay, no one is putting a gun to your head to pay extra for anything if you don't want to.

Lol it never ceases to amaze me the lack of diplomacy some people have, and then the nasty grams start... I look at it this way... Two days prior to my cruise, we were rear ended in a car accident, and I was hurt... I was so grateful to be able to go on the cruise, and like I said enjoyed it greatly despite some things that need improvement. I don't care what other ships do or do not, I was talking about my experience on this ship.. The extras can add up really quickly, and for someone without experience they may not realize that! no, they did not have toppers, he put multiple blankets on top of the mattress. Our food experience was great, and I have very complicated allergies... Classic worked for us, and we liked it... Yes, you can pay for a speciality restaurant and then have to pay additional money on certain dishes. I did my homework prior to my cruise and brought my own glow accessories with me :) I prepaid most everything, had shipboard credit, and my final bill was $65 plus $120 in additional tips..

The last RCCL ship I was on, was The Adventure... I know people seem to love The Independence..

Have you cruised the Oasis Class and if so, which one did you like better, too me Oasis class has the WOW factor, did the Anthem not have the wow factor like the Oasis or what made the Anthem NOT have the wow factor, hope this makes sense. I love the Oasis class and was just wondering

Honestly the kids were never an issue..they have an indoor pool, and then adults have the solarium... I saw very few kids out of control, and when there was apparently a problem (we didn't see it). The parents and children were summoned to Guest Relations..

I could not handle that!!!:eek:

Hi,

This past week my 35th cruise was on the Anthem. I have many cruises to compare it to, and if you have read the title of my post, you can see we liked it. Since there have been many reviews on this board, I am not going to give you a play by play, but rather give you the experience of a seasoned cruiser. So here it is... The Anthem is everything it claims to be.. Embarkation was painless, the Internet worked 95 percent of the time, and was fast, the crew for the most part went out of their way, the shows were great, the cabin was clean, lots of storage but less physical space than we are used to... Dynamic classic was good, and we thought the food was good to very good in every venue including wind jammer.. The solarium was relaxing, the ship was beautiful.. There were 2000 kids onboard, but it was not a problem.. The ship only felt crowded at the pool.. The floor felt softer than the beds..lol

So, with all the positives and it was mostly positives, I need to admit that given the chance I would go for another ship over this one.. I realize that is a personal preference and my saying that should in no way discourage someone from sailing on her. It was just too big, and despite all the technology, and decor it did not have that "wow" factor for us. (It wasn't that there was anything that was really bad, and we had a terrific time) I think too it's the constant nickel and diming, things that were always complimentary and imho still should be.

There are many people who are loyal to royal, and I get that, my Diamond status afforded me many nice perks, but I was being offered better deals on lines I don't even sail with, than on this cruise. If you like the big ships, you might feel differently than We did.

The storm was a whole lot worse than anticipated.. Rough way to start a cruise, hope it gets better for you all!

Been talking to someone on ship right now, who is on 8 th deck, and waves were very close.. She thankfully does not get seasick, but can't imagine what you are going through right now.. I am seasick and I am home on my couch! Stay safe!

Thanks!

There's a live by report on the Quantum board and the poster has put the program for each day in this review. I noticed that many of the shows are at 7pm and 9pm. I assume if you have late seating you would book the 7pm show.

 

Here's the link to that thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2288327

I heard you have to be at the show at least 1/2 hour before.. I take late seating to enjoy as much of the day as we can..but I have a feeling I will be better off with the 5:30 this time..

Thanks for your input!

Rhonda, you schedule your own shows, so you should do that based on the time of your dinners.

Yes, thanks I know how it works... Need other questions answered.. :)

You rotate through the 4 main complimentary venues - with the same waitstaff and tablemates, at the same time each night.

Hi,

I am sailing on the Anthem, and would like to know if anyone did the late seating for Classic, and if they had any issues seeing the shows.. Second question, I know the Grande is formal, does the ship still have formal nights? I am hoping they coordinated it, but I would be surprised!

Thanks

Rhonda

I moved my cabin from the 13 th deck to the 10th after hearing all the complaints about noise. If it were just a few people I wouldn't be worried, but there were many!

Great review! Would have loved to see The Compasses, but it gave me errors each time!

Well, it's the H2O Lounge on top of me. Kind of fitting since I teach Biology lol. I tried to move but the prices are so insane, it would have cost me $400.00 more... So I will hope there is a sale that will work for me, and keep the cabin... I have been under the windjammer, it never bothered me, and the pool...

I am midship. Windjammer sometimes is a problem, early morning... Last cruise on Celebrity I had a bar above me and could definitely hear the stools being moved, but it didn't bother me.

As you can imagine, each deck is pretty big. Depending on where your room is, you might be fine. I would imagine locations below The Living Room or the Windjammer would be quiet overnight as they're closed at night.

 

However decks between 7 and 12 have staterooms directly above and below them, so the entire decks are more likely to be quiet.