swim13

Thank you so much for posting the compasses!!!😃

Of course! I am sorry in advanced for not getting every night's CC! Day 5 and 6 cruise compasses will come next week!

Loving living my cruise again!! Thank you!!!

Marg

Of course, I do too! :-D

This is great, thanks!

We'll be on Anthem in October, same itinerary. I've been on a lot of Royal

Caribbean cruises but this will be the first on this class so all the things you're noting that are specific to this class are very helpful.

I do hope they get the embarkation/no Sea Pass until 1 changed, that seems odd. How do they handle those who have drink packages and want a bevo but don't have the Sea Pass yet? The horror!:-D:-D:-D

Thank you! Yes, it is horrible for the first hour or so! I mean they know you have a package so you won't get charged for it, but it is just annoying because the crew has to fill out a paper receipt until you get your sea pass! Hope you will enjoy this class!

That name that tune game looks awesome!

Yes, better than I thought it was going to be! We had a great audience that helped make it even better!

Awesome video and pictures! Thanks for all the detailed information :-)

Thank you!

Haha, ya!! You would make a killing :) My daughters every now n then ask "Has Mike had any reviews lately?" They enjoy your post too! :D

Hahaha well I am glad to hear that! Hello family! I neglected to do a review for MSC Divina one, but I think I will keep doing one for each cruise. I might have to wait until 2018 for the next cruise though... the horror!!

Following

 

 

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Welcome!

I just found this review, and I am very glad I did! I have enjoyed your other reviews, so I have been hoping to find a new one to read, and I am certainly enjoying this one. :D

 

Anthem is a beautiful ship. I hope we get to sail on her some day. Bermuda is also on my cruise bucket list, so maybe one of these days. It's just that the cruise bucket list is so very long! :eek:

 

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this review and more of your wonderful pictures. :cool:

Yay, glad to have you back for this one!! She definitely is beautiful and Bermuda should be on everyone's bucket list! I totally feel you on the long cruise bucket list, lol!! Whoever I marry in the future just has to love cruises, could you imagine if not?!

Question about the drink package:

We purchased the ultimate package, just because we don't want to think about costs where it's avoidable.

That package is really expensive on a 9 day cruise, but comes with one advantage. Gratuities are built into the package.

So my question is (finally), did you add an additional tip with each drink or did you sign and smile?

 

 

 

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Great question! My family and I were trying to figure out why only sometimes they print a receipt for people with drink packages during the whole cruise! Sometimes they did not even look at our cards because they knew our stateroom number. I would say they only printed it 50% of the time and I usually gave $1 or $2 if they did. My step dad usually gave them some cash each day too.

Great review and photos. Keep it coming:).

Thanks!

When the azipods started I was in Two70 eating a delicious kummelweck sandwich from Café @ Two70. This is the same sandwich we all fell in love with at the Park Café on Oasis class! I walked up to the huge windows to see what was going on and boy was there a muddy ruckus going on! It was very cool to watch sail away from Two70 however, I realized we would be sailing by the very end of Fort San Cristobal and I wanted some good photos. We walked outside to the promenade where the lifeboats are. It was amazing to sail by so close! I was able to get some good photos and videos right before another downpour!

Eventually it became sunny again and I found serenity from the heat in the beautiful cascading pools in the Solarium. I don't really recall what all I did, but I imagine it was just another fun day on the pool deck's, including an ice cream cone from the self-serve station (starboard side towards inside pool entrance)! Pre-dinner routine at Schooner Bar again although this time they brought out some addicting nuts! I have a picture of the watch I got in St. Maarten this night!

Pork Taco's in Silk.

Mom actually took this picture because they always went to bed early and I liked to stay out. I told them I couldn't believe they didn't make towel animals anymore and they laughed and told me it's because I go to bed too late to see them! :p So she took this for proof. I went back to the Schooner Bar to enjoy Matt, the awesome piano man from Aus!

Day 6 END.

^One of my favorite photos! I don't really know why though...

Me in Puerto Rico 2004 vs. 2016!

I apologize for my short absence everyone!! It has been crazy this weekend with work, my dad's engagement, and now fathers day today! On a funny side note, I have been on the lake all day and during my shower it felt like the sensation of taking the first one on land after a cruise! :p

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE DAD'S FOLLOWING ALONG!

DAY 6

"Run Inside That Castle!" -

My eyes did not want to open this morning as it was quite an early docking. You would think by now I would be okay with a 7 am wake up call however, my schedule at college this past semester worked in my favor of sleeping in a little later! :-] Today I knew I wouldn't be in water...ermm at least I thought... drat! So I put on some city-going clothes. My step-dad is used to getting up very early so he had already been exploring the ship a little with a nice cup-o-joe. He came back and informed my mom and I that we should eat at the Solarium Bistro since it was open for breakfast again and not many people had yet figured out this extra complimentary breakfast option exists! I am sure the Windjammer was slammed as we did not have much time in Puerto Rico today.

MY goodness was it hot this day. I lived in Florida for a bit of time in the summer last year and I used to think that was unbearable. Well this was on a whole other level! The issue was the humidity, I thought we may have docked in the jungle instead of Old San Juan! We walked around and mom and her friend went to some more jewelry shops, go figure! Haha! Quick note: There is a new Walgreen's opening up right when you walk off the dock if you need to restock on any toiletries. At one point we came out of the shops and it was a total downpour! We stood under the canopies for awhile and let it pass by. The weather was awfully weird today with sporadic moments of sun and downpours.

A couple split from our group to go back to the ship while the rest of us headed up to one part of the old Fort San Cristobal. I had been here 12 years ago and wanted to see it again! Out of nowhere another downpour happened and sent us sprinting to the reception area of the fort! If we were running towards the fort like this in the early 1600's, I probably would't be alive to give you this cruise review! ;-p

We eventually had a chance to take some pictures outside and walk back to the ship. Like I said, it was a very short amount of time on land - maybe 3 or 4 hours max. All aboard was 12:30 pm and we were leaving at 1:00 pm. A few people we talked to had a theory that the only reason we stop in Puerto Rico on this itinerary is to refuel. It was kind of nice though, because it was almost like a combo of a port and sea day all-in-one.

We met a nice Puerto Rican couple at the Solarium a few days prior and it was funny because they actually live in San Juan, so we asked if they were going to check on their dogs while they were home for a brief moment, lol! They were very knowledgable of the port area and gave us a suggestion of a place to eat lunch at. We would chat with them for a bit each night and then when we were embarking the ship for the last time back to Bayonne, they were walking out of their room on a couple down from us! Funny we never ran into them before then!

On to some pictures!

Loving your review!! Thanks for sharing with all of us.

Thanks so much!

Day 5 END!

Tonight was a great night! We walked in Music Hall, which by the way I think is a genius new area on the ship, and there was a silent disco going on. Anyone who wanted to participate could get a pair of headphones and dance on the dance floor. It was really funny to see people walk in and look at each other like, "did we go deaf or what is going on right now?!". No, they didn't have too many drinks, they are actually dancing to music in their headphones hahaha! It was also our formal night since we were in The Grande. The Grande is absolutely beautiful and very elegant. I was excited to dress up in some new dressy clothes. I was wearing a bow-tie for the first time ever and I was hoping I'd remember how to tie it after spending two days learning how to do so, lol! I was successful on the first try! Anyway, we went to Schooner Bar followed by dinner. It was delicious and included 1...2...3...maybe 4 lobster tails! If you didn't know, The Grande always has lobster, so you could technically eat lobster every night if you're on dynamic dining. There is a dress code for The Grande, but all the other restaurants are very casual. Men just need a sports coat and women should wear a dress at or past their knee's. If you are scheduled to eat in The Grande or just want to eat there on dynamic on the last night, you are not required to dress up!

There was no big show for us tonight so we went to "Name That Tune" in the Royal Theatre. It was really fun and the winner was a hoot! I think its amazing that Royal has literally created their own game show on the seven seas! Be sure to not miss out on this!

Now that is about it for Day 5! I will finish with pictures and then move on to Day 6 after I go out on the jet ski for a little! I have the cruise compass from this night, but it is at my mom's house and I will be unable to upload that until later in the review.

DAY 5

Honkey-Tonk Bar -

Hey everyone! Today is an absolutely gorgeous day at home. St. Maarten pictures today! I was pretty excited about this stop because I would actually be able to watch us sail in since we didn't arrive until late in the morning. Sailing by the mountains was incredible and you will see what I am talking about in the pictures.

My family had been to St. Maarten before and were eager to show me around! We didn't have the most time in the world here, but we did get to see a lot. We got off the ship as soon as we could. I should mention that we were surprised to never really run into lines getting off the ship. We walked to get a water taxi into Philipsburg from the dock for some shopping and lunch. My patience was really tested today while my mom and her friend browsed about every jewelry store on the street! I eventually found one shop that I like, Swatch, and took a look around. I love the Swatch I got last year in Grand Cayman because it is a great traveling watch and is even water proof. I found a nice new model they we're offering 10% off on. I took them up on that deal as they are already pretty inexpensive! I think I took a photo of it to share later on.

We had lunch at a smaller restaurant right along the coast. I can't recall the name, maybe Big Wood? It was absolutely delicious! I had the jerk chicken skewers and have been craving them ever since... drat. They had free wifi if you get lunch there, so I enjoyed catching up a little.

I was successfully able to convince everyone that we needed to head to Maho beach instead of going to more jewelry shops haha! The cab driver was a very nice guy and took us on a few back roads to show us some great views of the island! He ended up staying at the Sunset Bar on Maho with us after my family offered him a beer! He took a bottle of water instead! ;-p Unfortunately we missed all of the big planes coming in, but I did see a private jet fly in. There was a big A340 taking off at one point and it was funny to watch everyone get sand blasted! Now I saw this women sitting next to a rock wall on the beach holding a baby. I wish I would've told her to get away sooner, but that plane was very forceful and sent sand flying everywhere, no matter where you were sitting. If you have a baby, please do not step close to this beach!!

We didn't spend much time here and soon we were off with our cab driver once again! We got stuck in some rush hour traffic here on this metropolis of an island and got delayed about 30 minutes! Good thing we started heading back well before all aboard time.

Hi Mike

 

Great review and pics. Been reading since day one, though we have ages until we are on the Anthem...14 months!:eek:

 

Couple of (stupid) questions...

1. Do you have to buy a Voom/Internet package for the Royal IQ app to work on your phone or will it just 'work'?

 

2. You mentioned about the crew not having great morale and wanting to get a new contract on a different ship. Have you worked out why morale is so bad on the Anthem, or is it just 'one of those things'? You said you were on Facebook with some of the crew and I just wondered if any had been more forthcoming with their reasons.

 

Thanks again for the review and pics

 

Simon

Thank you!! Good questions, actually!

1. Royal IQ app will work without an internet package. Just connect to the Royal WiFi and the app will work. The messaging built into the app won't work unless you have the internet. I will review that app a little more in depth later on in the review!

2. Don't get me wrong, they still have fun and aren't hating their lives however, some of the crew we talked to preferred the other ships way over this class. There are a lot of issues with the technology that create stupid problems and the crew take the brunt of it from guests. We would talk to random people on the ship in the elevator or wherever and they would hear the same thing! I think the internals of the ship have been planned out differently too and they have smaller "single share" cabins where they get a super tiny private bedroom and just share a bathroom with another person.

I love St. Maarten. I never get tired of that island no matter how many times we have been there.

I would love to go back and explore more of the beaches!

Hi !

 

I was on your cruise - loved the new ship. Still prefer Oasis class though - but love all of the tech stuff, new cabin layout and storage and the shows on Anthem!

 

Funny that you mentioned the crew (especially your Northstar experience). I had something similar happen at the Seaplex when we went rollerskating. Just snippy attitudes from the crew there.

 

Only bad experience I had all week though - so I let it go.

 

Love your pics ! Keep trying to see if I can spot myself in any of them - hahahaha

 

Mike

Nice to have you on here as well! Perhaps we ran into each other at one point or another. It's funny because I was taking pictures of the Schooner Bar early on during the cruise and then I met a nice family towards the end of the trip and realized they were in my pictures from before I met them! I guess we had crossed paths during the whole trip haha!

Did you know a girl fell while rollerskating on our sailing and actually had to get off in Puerto Rico to fly home for emergency surgery?! That would be awful!

Yes almost everyone we talked to on the ship that had been on Oasis class would agree with us!

Enjoying your detailed review. Only wish it was for the 12 night southern sailing.

Thank you! Oh trust me, I wish I was on the 12 night too! :p

Great review Mike, your Allure review was the one that pushed me over the edge to take an Oasis class cruise this past January. Now I'll probably have to book a Quantum cruise, Thanks a lot!! :D:D

Glad to see you here!! I remember you from my Allure review! :) Hahaha that is funny, I should screenshot this and send it to Royal and ask for commission lol!

Atlantis is so grand and beautiful!! I love just watching the world go by on cruises too! :) Nice review so far!

Thanks for doing this review. I'm taking my daughter on this exact cruise next year for her HS graduation. She saw some of your pictures and exclaimed "There's a mall inside the ship!"

My mom took me on Allure for my HS graduation too and I couldn't have been more grateful! It was the best vacation I think I've ever been on! I had been wanting to go on this ship for about 4 years before we did, so the first time I stepped on board I just kept jumping up and down haha!

Your review and pictures are the best i've ever seen and i have been on here for years !! Love it, thank you! And my husband wants to know what camera you are using.

Marg

Thanks a lot!! I mentioned the camera in the beginning of my Day 4 post, which was after you made this comment! If you miss it, it is the Sony NEX-F3. :)

Sorry to hear about your experience with the north star. We too booked for sail away time in Bermuda. We are doing the 5 day in August, have checked my reservation and it's still there. I would hope they would let people know ahead of time if this is what they are finding now that Anthem is doing sailing there. How far ahead had you booked your time?

 

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Thank you. You may want to change your booking to a time about 30-45 minutes prior to leaving the port. They won't operate during any sail aways and you may get a disappointing experience like us. We booked right when reservations opened online, which I believe is 6 months prior, give or take. We thought they would let us know too, it has been going to Bermuda for about a month before our sailing!!

Enjoying your review.

Thanks!

Spectra's Cabaret

I won't bore you with dinner. It was at Chic and very good. We went to our 9:00 pm reservation to Spectra's Cabaret in Two70. What a neat show! Some people don't like it because they don't know what cabaret is. Honestly it was extremely different because they utilize so much of the Two70 technology. People will pop up through the floors, ceilings, and every other possible way in this theatre! I can't give anything away besides the fact that it is another must see show aboard this ship! Be sure to get there early because Two70 is a fairly small theatre.

There was an entertainer, I don't recall his name sorry, later on in the Royal Theatre, so we made our way there after Spectra's. He was a real funny guy and sang very well! He likes the classic old songs and made fun of the new stuff coming out currently. I thought it was actually pretty funny, especially when he talked about/sang how love songs used to be and then cracked a joke/sang about love songs today by artists like Justin Bieber! :p

She was having a casual performance here in The Via by Vintages. She is one of the musicians from We Will Rock You! Awesome!

Today was a great day and just wait until you see the pictures from St. Maarten tomorrow! I unfortunately don't have anymore cruise compasses for you until Day 5. I will have to go to bed, but will pick up on Day 5 tomorrow! See you then! :-]

I think today we ate breakfast in the Windjammer. The Windjammer is never overbearingly crowded and we always found a seat. This morning we walked out all the way to the back and got a seat outdoors! Before you enter the windjammer you must walk through a hand washing room. They have many sinks you can use or you can walk through and use the Purell. There is a crew member standing there to make sure you all wash your hands and they sing the "washy washy" song, hahaha! The "washy washy" song will get stuck in your head and now it is stuck in mine once again as I'm typing this! :rolleyes: It may seem like a bother, but it is just helping us in the long run and doesn't take too much time.

Today I went on the FlowRider. I have been on that thing since our cruise on Freedom in 2006. I just love the FlowRider! I only boogie board, but will probably trying surfing on the next cruise. We ended up in the Solarium to see our other favorite bartenders we met back before sail away in NYC: Travis, Duane, and Jaime. Great guys and easy to talk to!

Solarium

The Solarium is truly awesome on this ship. Definitely the best solarium on any RCI ship besides Quantum and Ovation. The pools are actually pretty massive and cascade into each other (see Day 1 pictures). I liked to sit in the middle of the 3 pools and lean my back up against the glass of the top one to feel the water from the top pool flow over my shoulders, very refreshing! Usually one of them is always shaded if you want to escape from the sun too. The glass is tinted very well and you most likely aren't going to get a tan in here. There is a cool swing chair in the very front that is popular. Never saw kids in there besides passerby's.

We got ready and did our pre-dinner routine of going to Schooner Bar to see Jelena and Lambert... and to drink of course! Jelena knew I like sweeter drinks and made me a few special concoctions. Delicious!!! A lady at the bar told my mom that she thought I was a handsome boy and then Jelena was like "Ummm aloha, back off he is mine!" and the lady goes "oh goodness he's too young for me (while laughing)". Jelena goes, "you never know, it's the 21st century!" hahahaha! :p I forgot to mention that I ended up buying the premium package earlier at the Solarium bar with Travis. I paid $417 since it was Day 4. Now it would only cost you that much for the whole trip if you purchase it before the cruise. Lesson learned although my mom had purchased it before, so at least she saved some money. Here are my drink package thoughts...

Drink Package

I think the premium package is great if you like to drink. I don't like to get obliterated every night, but I did recently turn 21, so it is a new and fun thing for me. I made my money's worth every night by a good amount and I was never really drunk. The thing is that cocktails are typically $11.99 and come in small glasses compared to on land. If you don't think you'll have more than 4 or 5 per day then maybe it is not worth it to you.

Lavender Daiquiri

DAY 4

Smooth Sailing -

Welcome back everyone! I know a lot of you have been asking about the camera that I use. I purchased the Sony NEX-F3 back in 2013 and have been using it ever since. I don't believe Sony still produces this model, but I did find some on Amazon if you click here (direct Amazon link). She is a great camera to travel with! As you can see the pictures come out great and the size is small enough to take it around with you comfortably. I am sure there are newer and better models though however, $300 is a pretty good price for a camera like this.

Today was a very chill day, in fact I did not even use my camera until the evening. I am sorry but there are few photos or information to post today! I will talk about the internet for this day as I did purchase it in the evening of Day 3 and it worked into today.

VOOM

I actually purchased this when I got back on board in Bermuda. I was contemplating purchasing it for the whole cruise before departure, but decided against it as I know I needed to unplug for awhile and really appreciate vacation without my phone. I did decide to purchase for 1 day while on board because I wanted to post all of the pretty pictures from Bermuda to Facebook and Snapchat, to secretly make my brother jealous who couldn't come this trip hahaha, don't tell him! ;) Here is a price breakdown,

PRE-CRUISE:

(They were offering 30% off if I booked before cruise)

Surf:

• 1 device: $9.99 per day

• 2 devices: $16.99 per day

• 3 devices: $23.99 per day

• 4 devices: $27.99 per day

• 5 devices: $31.99 per day

Surf + Stream:

• 1 device: $12.99 per day

• 2 devices: $22.99 per day

• 3 devices: $31.99 per day

• 4 devices: $39.99 per day

• 5 devices: $41.99 per day

While on board, 1 device will cost you $12.99 per day for Surf and $17.99 per day for Surf + Stream. You will actually be able to choose from a plethora of options while on board, including just 1 day. If you plan to purchase before the cruise to get the discount, you will need to buy for the whole trip. Now if you buy Surf for just 24 hours they increase the price to $19.99, but if you are a Crown & Anchor Society member you will mostly likely still have your 10% off internet discount available to you, so it only cost me $17.99 for the day... still a pretty hefty price. They are really trying to get you to buy for the whole time.

Surf VS. Surf + Stream: The only difference between the two is you will be able to FaceTime and stream videos on Netflix or the like on the latter half. If you post or load videos on a platform like snapchat or Instagram, the Surf will still work however, it will be much slower than posting a picture.

Performance: I thought VOOM lived up to the hype. I have never used internet on older ships, but it was pretty quick and messages sent instantly. It was kind of weird to be able to use my phone so easily while out at sea!

Last Night (24 hours): There was a special if you want internet for the last 24 hours or less...

How to Access: Just simply open your internet browser (Safari for all of Apple users) and type a site like cnn.com and the Royal internet browser will pop up. Just make your profile and then it will lead you to a scroll screen where you pick the package you want. Click it and it will be added to your sea pass charges. If you have any discounts from C&A Society they are already preloaded in your sea pass and it will ask if you'd like to use it. Then you're all set! It's super easy. If you want to use your computer and phone just get 1 device. You can log out of one device and then log into the other. It will save you some money!

I think I've pretty much covered VOOM. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! :)

Ahhhhmazing review! I am so absolutely ecstatic to board the Anthem and head to Bermuda and this just added more fuel to that fire lol. Thank you!

Haha thanks so much!! You're going to have such a great time! :)

Thank you for the review and great pics. The ship looks amazing. Unfortunatel I cruise out of Florida, which is driving distance, and by the look of it I'll have to wait a long time for a Quantum class ship here.The Ovation is going to China.

Thank you. Yes the ship is truly beautiful! I understand the pain of not having the ship you want to go on near you! Ideally we would always leave out of NYC, we just got lucky with Anthem! :p

Bermuda looks gorgeous and your pictures are amazing!

Thank you!

Have to agree with some of the other readers here, your pictures are some of the most clear and amazing ones we've ever seen on a review. Great stuff, keep it coming. What camera did you use?

 

I've just finished checking 'cruising on an Oasis class ship' off my bucket list and a Quantum class ship is next.

 

Cheers!

 

Nick

Glad to see you here, Nick! I am loving your current review. I really miss our Allure vacation! I use the Sony NEX-F3 camera with the standard lens on it (E 18-55mm). It is a compact camera with some great quality. I use Adobe Lightroom to lighten up or adjust some of the color levels and to add the watermark. I am envious of all of your travels on just one trip! Hope you enjoyed Alaska too!

I get out of college (hint: WE ARE!)

 

 

 

Did you go to College at Marshall?

WE ARE... Penn State!! University Park

Beautiful pictures - thanks for taking the time to post all the pics and the compassesand passing along all the island information !

Of course. Thank you!

Enjoying your review. Hard to believe it's only been a month since I've been on her. I'm not even a beach person, but I also fell in love with Bermuda. I'm not one to go to the same place multiple times, but I will be returning there!

 

I also really liked Dru! At first, I thought he may be too serious because that's just his look. But, he was great! Also agree about the Schooner bartenders - was always crowded up there.

 

Keep the photos coming - love to re-live my cruise!

Thank you! Yes I had the same opinion on Dru, he just kept getting better throughout the cruise and I appreciated how he seemed to be everywhere on the ship! Wonder CD staff too. Do you remember Jelena and Lambert?!

Enjoying your review. We are doing the 9 day on Anthem in four weeks:D

 

What kind of a camera did you use?

Thank you! The time will come before you know it! I use the Sony NEX-F3 with the standard lens (E 18-55mm). Great camera! I also use Adobe Lightroom to fix some of the colors in the photos.

Thanks for helping me get through the day. Looking forward to seeing Anthem live in person... tomorrow!!!!!!!!

So excited for you! Hope you will come back to this review after your cruise and share your experience!

Following along, great photos.

Thank you!!

Great job! Bermuda looks gorgeous, I can't wait. Thanks

Thanks again! Trust me, I saw a hundred photos of Horseshoe before I went and it was like I was seeing it for the first time!

First let me say that I am loving your review, and the photos are some of the best I ever saw posted on Cruise Critic, GREAT JOB!

 

Tips:

 

Always do on line check in, it only takes a few minutes, and will save you time in lines at GS trying to set up your account.

 

In the future, send an email to rcldining@rccl.com with your name and reservation number and that of who you want to dine with, and they will link your reservations, and notify Dining, and then you will all be seated together with no problems. We will be on the Anthem in July, and are looking forward to continue reading your review.:)

Thanks so much! It was a lesson learned and one I will definitely share at the end of my review for the people who may have skimmed through the beginning! Thank you for the dining tip, I will be sure to include that with credit at the end! :)

I share your enthusiasm for Bermuda. The place is just a gem.

 

Did you go to Gibb's Hill Lighthouse? I always look forward to climbing up and the view from the top is pretty spectacular.

Glad to see you here again! I unfortunately did not get to check out Gibb's Hill Lighthouse, just another reason why I need to return! :p I would also like to check out St. George's!