novicetraveller

Very nice review. Great photos too! For some reason I like the NYC harbor photo in color more. Not sure why. I like the way that you rate your experiences. Thank you for sharing. Loved the Anthem and the cruise.

 

Donna

Thanks for the comment Donna. :). I hope there are others reading my review. It can get really lonely writing this with nobody to read it. :o

So moving on quickly to the ship. Anthem of the Seas.

I had a choice getting to the ship via the courtesy bus which would have got me to the ship at around 12-12:30pm. I decided to get a taxi instead. Can't remember the cost, but all I can say is that the taxi driver is funny. We need these type of characters in the UK.

Dropped off my bag to the porter and gave the appropriate tip to throw the suitcase into the river, sorry I mean onto the luggage holdal. They put the RFID tag on my luggage and onto my Sea pass and I grabbed someone to check me in.

Check in was painless and didn't need a new security photo. Proceeded to the seating area via the security guards. Had the obligatory photo done and waited for the "Get on board" announcement.

My comment is that the boarding area is too small to seat everyone, and it wasn't obvious as to where I should sit as there were 2 sectioned off areas. The boarding is now done by C&A level rather than times.

Overall process / score: 9 out of 10. Would have been nice if there was somewhere in the terminal to get a drink and a chocolate bar whilst we waited to get on board.

First impression of the ship.

The ship is nice and aesthetically pleasing to look at. Not exactly wow like the Oasis class ship, but nice. I must admit that I found Deck 4 and 5 a tad bit confusing in terms of layout. I think RCI could have got away with putting things like the Bionic Bar into the pub or Schooners rather than on its own. The shore excursion area could have been better off near Guest Services. In Focus (The photo place) could easily be downsized.

The Bionic bar is not non-alcoholic friendly. If you want to try a soft drink, go elsewhere. The drink it served for me was fairly bland and watered down. For that, I give it 4 out of 10.

Schooners is a nice place to go to. Only tried it once just before Muster. Service is good. Often go past it to get to the elevators to get to my stateroom.

Schooners was often busy. Is it strategically placed? I don't know. Maybe better off nearer to the Casino. Who knows.

Score: 9/10.

Didn't visit Izumi or Wonderland, so can't comment on it.

Jamie's Italian. I visited it 5 times during the cruise. My only mistake was visiting it on Day 0. The pasta was a little cold and I don't think the staff were in their rhythm at that point. Overall during the 5 visits, the service was good enough and the food was good. Word to the wise. If you are expecting traditional Italian food, this isn't the place for you. If you want to try a British Chef's take on Italian food, this is worth a try. But please, don't be deluded into thinking this is a pure Italian outfit.

Score: 8/10. My only other comment is why there is an outdoor seating area for Jamie's Italian. It's never used. I hope that when Anthem goes to Drydock that they reclaim that space and do something else with it.

More to follow later.

Photos from NYC

My highlight of NYC was taking this picture near Exchange Place opposite to Manhattan on my way to visit the Statue of Liberty.

But I am trying to decide whether this image works better.

Anyway, I digress. I prebooked my tickets to visit the Statue so that I could go up to the Crown. Passport is needed for verification. In hindsight, I should have gone to the NYC side rather than Newark / NJ side, simply because of the walk to the cruise port from the Light Railway stop is too far. Also, the signage isn't great from the Light Railway to the cruise port.

There are plenty of photo opportunities approaching the Statue, and I wish I could have taken some of them at night.

It's a lesson learnt for the next time to find a place to photograph the Statue at night. More research is needed.

A word of warning. If you suffer from vertigo, issues with breathing, weak legs, other mobility issues, going up to the crown of the Statue is not a good idea. The base is good, but not to the top. It's a lesson learnt. But, if you haven't been to the statue before, it's worth a visit, and probably worth spending a day there.

My main regret was not spending 4 or 5 days in NYC / NJ before the cruise. If I also had known there was the opportunity to go to Niagara Falls before the cruise, I would have taken it.

Also, for those who are looking to travel light and need some electronic stuff, visit B&H Photo & Video near 34th Street in NYC. For the Brits, just think of Dixons / Currys / PC World on steroids. You can get a bit lost in there. Also, good news, they accept Chip and Pin.

Also, near the shop is a nice Indian curry house called Patiala. Ok, it's not a posh Indian restaurant, but the food is fresh and edible.

Empire State building. Personally, I don't think it's worth the $65 price tag if you have been before. It can get a bit crowded on the viewing platform. If you are going to go to the Empire State Building, go in the late evening and do Rockefeller building during the day.

You might want to add "Anthem" to your thread title while you still have the chance.

Oops. Well spotted. I'll have to email admin and ask them to change it for me.

Ok, I better start this review before I forget. I may include some photos somewhere along the line, but mainly wanted to give my impression of the cruise. I'll try answer questions if I can, but no promises.

Pre-cruise experience

Flights and Newark International Experience

Booked my flights, hotel and cruise via RCI to avoid anything possibly going wrong by booking things individually. The flight was with British Airways and the hotel was with Hilton Newark Penn Station. I stayed in the hotel for 2 nights.

Flights was painless and getting through Newark International immigration was also painless. It's a shame that nobody knew where I needed to go to for Global Access interview, but managed to find it in the end. I went to terminal C to get the courtesy bus to the hotel. Please note that if you are staying in Hilton Penn Station, you need to call the hotel to get the courtesy bus to pick you up.

Overall process / experience 9/10.

Hotel

As mentioned in my live review, the hotel is not the best place to stay in. Yes it is convenient to get to the station, but the windows are not thick enough to block out the noise from the train station. My room was on floor 7 towards the far end facing the road. I don't know if the hotel has quieter rooms available, but may be worth asking. The "Gift" shop is nothing more than a place to get some food / drink, and the welcome staff are the ones who deals with you and no dedicated staff. The shops that neighbours the hotel are pretty much closed on a Saturday, so if having access to newsagents, etc. is important to you, this location isn't the greatest.

The restaurant is expensive. The neighbourhood is safe'ish, but it's not something I felt comfortable being around on my own so I didn't visit any of the local restaurants on my own. If you are a fan of McDonalds, there is one across the road from the hotel. I didn't visit it myself, so can't comment on the friendliness of the place.

Overall experience 7/10. If I had booked things myself, I would have either stayed in the hotels near the airport or in NYC. However, access to the Metro was convenient from the hotel (about 5 minutes walk at most).

The Metro

Nice and relatively cheap, but lacks the elegance of London Transport in terms of information display outside the barriers and also lack of a route map other than on the trains. At no point did I feel unsafe on the trains, but did experience a confrontation when I came back to the hotel after my experience in NYC. Also, I found it interesting that nobody I spoke to (i.e. the passengers) knew how to help me in getting from A to C via B. Whilst this is fairly universal, at least in London, if nobody could help, you could look at a map before the ticket barriers and on the platform. A lot of educated guesses were needed.

Overall process / Experience 8/10.

Statue of Liberty, Manhattan and Empire State Building.

I know in my review I said I wasn't going to go the Statue of Liberty, but my mission to go up to the crown beat my better judgement. I was exhausted after the climb up the statue, and was going to go back to the hotel to retire. However, I decided to visit B&H Photo and Video shop and wanted to go to Rockefeller building, but ended up going to the Empire State Building. It is expensive, but I feel that for a tourist attraction, it is priced about right. I felt relatively safe in Manhattan / NYC, but I wish I had more time to do more and I wish I didn't have to rely on Google Maps to get me around NYC.

Overall process / Experience 9/10.

A note to British travellers. Get a 3 Mobile Sim Card, even if it is a Pay as You Go. The Sim card works in the USA and San Juan without any additional cost. Also connect to the AT&T Mobile network instead of T-Mobile as the quality of the line is clearer and you can dial numbers as if you were dialling them locally in the UK.

More to follow shortly.

It has now been sorted by thr fairy points godmother.

Thanks for the help everyone.

I was supposed to be on this cruise but decided to go to Europe on the Carnival Vista (next month) instead. Sounds like a wonderful itinerary and great ship... Thanks for the review, maybe one day I'll meet the Anthem!

You missed a great port of Martinique. No Diamond International!

A couple of years back, RCI was giving "triple" points to those who cruised in the month of "December" I think. That was sweet!!!

If that promotion was still valid, I would be Diamond by now. [emoji12]

Holland America Line allows you to get additional points based on on-board spend. I believe it is one point for each $300 spent (drinks, specialty dining, shore ex, tips, shopping, etc.) Maybe that's where you read it.

 

If you bought casino credit on your account, then yes, that would count for spending.

I don't read other boards on here, as I have only sailed with RCI.

But you get ice cream and free drinks.

I rarely eat ice creams on the ships, including the free ones. I suspect the drinks package and a standard balcony would be significantly cheaper then a B&J room. [emoji2]

Sorry, that one is a sweet, not a suite. ;)

 

No dbl points for you.

 

Only if your balcony is attached to a suite. ;)

 

No dbl points for you.

I learnt something new about the B&J room in that they are not a suite.

That was just an experiment on Freedom last September. No word on what the future is.

Thanks John&LaLa, much appreciated. I thought I should find out before asking C&A.

The other question I have is based on what I have heard on CC about getting points for spending money on board and acquiring points. I assume "spending" money in the Casino doesn't count towards obtaining additional points? I'm not expecting to gain any more points, but thought I should ask.

MY DH & I stayed in the Ben & Jerry's Suite on the Liberty last year. Should we have gotten double points? We are staying in a balcony room in November on the Anthem. Do we get double points for a balcony room?

 

Aileen

I believe you will get double points in suites, but not in a balcony as 2 people are occupying the room.

Hi,

 

You should receive double points. Royal Caribbean seems to have a problem automatically crediting solo cruisers with double points. I took a solo cruise on the Adventure of the Seas in February 2016, but only received single points for each night. This was corrected after I sent a message to Royal Caribbean.

 

Chuck

It is good to know I am not alone. When I went on the Oasis a couple of years ago, I got double points automatically.

The Anthem solo balcony cabins indicate occupancy for 2. Would double points apply to a solo cabin?

I'm surprised to see occupancy for 2 as I thought the solo cabins were for 1 person.

The stateroom I was in is a double occupancy room.

It's just a simple call. Sometimes it doesn't kick in automatically but a couple of minutes on the phone and they get it taken care of. I had to call (maybe I emailed? I can't remember now) after my Alaska cruise last year (solo, inside but you still get the double points as it was a room and not one of the coffins) but it was no big deal for them to fix it.

No problem. Just wanted to check with the community first just in case RCI had changed their policy. I will sort it out soon.

No, Royal still gives an extra point per night to solo guests in any stateroom that normally holds two or more guests.

Ok. Royal has only credited my 1 point per night for my last cruise on Anthem. I need to get in touch and find out what is going on.

Hi all,

Have RCI done away with double points program for solo travellers who book standard balcony rooms?

No, the OP upgraded to a better category. Then, after the upgrade, the price of that category went down.

 

Cliffs Notes based on OP's post:

 

OP booked a cabin many months ago.

Sometime after final payment, RCI called with an upsell offer.

OP bought the upsell offer.

After the deal was finalized the new category cabin which the op bought went down in price.

OP is upset that RCI won't give him a refund and thinks that we should complain to RCI about this policy.

OP also thinks that he was pressured into the upsell and thinks that RCI knew the price will go down at the time the upsell offer was made.

Ahh ok.

The one thing that got me was how RCI was able to offer a better deal on the same exact cabin. Does that imply that the cabin the OP booked wasn't booked?

I bet a Royal Suite on Harmony's Transatlantic that the OP won't reply or give us updates.

Are you really prepared to pay out if you are wrong? If so, I'm first in the queue. :D

I understand that solarium bristo -health alternative dining -pretty sure vegetarian meals would be available

I sadly never got around to trying the solarium on this occassion.

Just for info. Have come off the Anthem of the Seas yesterday. I forgot to add this to my blog. If you play a minimum of 5 hours on the tables (i.e. not the slots machines) during the whole cruise (maybe specific on the 12 night cruise, but may be applicable to others), you may be entitled to something. I got a $400 off a future cruise, providing it is booked in the next 30 days and is for a sailing by 17th January 2017. It's not a great offer, but it's better than nothing.

Thanks for the great review. Just booked Anthem for November and loved reading about your cruise. What is your Facebook name?

If you do a search for novicetraveller cruise diary, you should find me.