swim13

That is where the pictures end tonight! I will post the Cruise Compasses next! I am about to go have dinner and then drive to my dad's house. Once I'm there I will pick up with Day 4! ;)

I'm back! Sorry for the delay, was working all day. Let's see where we left off. I am going to pick up from when we got back on the ship!

(North Star rant...)

We made a reservation for North Star at 4:00 pm on this day because we thought it would be awesome to go up in while we were sailing away (departure time is 4:00 pm). We made this reservation as soon as they opened up for our cruise through Royal's website. On Day 2, we got notification that due to port regulations, we we're rescheduled to 6:30 pm since they could not operate at 4:00pm. Not a big deal, but it kind of defeated the purpose of booking at the time we did. We would've thought Royal would know they couldn't operate during sail away and wouldn't have allowed us to make a reservation. Anyway, I haven't really seen many reviews of Anthem yet and didn't know much about North Star. We saw it operating while docked at the port, so I thought maybe there was a glitch in their system. I walked up to North Star about 3:30 full of hope when we got back on to just ask and see if they really weren't going to operate at 4. The lady was very nice and found our reservation at 4:00 and told us to return at 5:00. We were delighted that it would be 5 instead of 6:30 as it would work much better! We got there around 4:50 and I started talking to everyone in line. I believe the 4 groups of people in front of me were also told to come back at 5:00 from their originally planned 4:00 reservation. This crew member from the U.S. was there telling all of us we needed to come back at 6:30. Well my family and the one behind us did not like that because we were told by a person to come back at 5! After asking what the issue was, the crew member started to get very snippy, which really took us by surprise. He started checking the first party behind all of us and they weren't even on the paper but got let on. Someone had asked why they got on without a reservation on their paper and the crew member was really sassy! I've worked at Disney before and know as a professional that no matter how many "dumb" questions you get, you do not talk back to the guests and we were sure Royal Caribbean would expect the same. It was honestly humiliating and many of the people around us couldn't believe how rude this guy was! I can handle a lot from people, but this was bad. We ended up leaving after we got his name, which was also an ordeal. He stuck it out and started yelling his name. :eek: We walked to Guest Services just because it has been one thing after another so far, besides last night's dinner. We just wanted to talk to someone who was in charge to calm us down and to let them know our frustrations with what has been happening. We did not want anything from them besides to just let them be aware of what's happening. The Guest Services manager was right there and took us to a separate room so we could talk. We just told him honestly what has been happening ever since we embarked the ship (credit card mishap, 2 nights of messed up dining, abnormally rude crew encounters, etc.). Now trust me when I tell you that I am a huge fanboy of two companies: Apple and Royal Caribbean International. I will talk up their product and ships anywhere and to anybody, but even a build up of all of these situations was overbearing for a vacation my family has paid thousands for. The GSM was very understanding and apologetic. He offered us some nice compensation, but we did not take up on it because that was not what was important to us. In the end he ensured that he was thankful for us telling him because if we had not, they would not be able to improve. He had the sports manager call us so we could reschedule a new North Star time, which we really appreciated. After this, it was smooth sailing as far as guest service or issues, thank goodness!!

I thought I would share this because the crew are very vocal about how much they dislike working on this ship. They wouldn't really go into specifics, but I think there is low employee morale on this ship. This situation only exemplifies the issue at hand. I am honest with my review and don't want to sugarcoat RCI just because I love them so much or bash them because we didn't get exactly what we want. We got connected with many great crew, some are even friends on Facebook with me now, but they will tell us they hope to have a contract on a different class of ship.

Dinner was in American Icon Grill tonight and the food was as good as always. It was our first time in this restaurant! Although we had a new wait staff, we were near our girl "Walmart" from the other night! She came over and talked to us for a moment, which we thought was nice! Periodically throughout the rest of the cruise she would do the same thing, even filling our waters, which really confused our own wait staff, haha! After dinner I went to Two70 and watched "Dancing with the Stripes". It was really funny and definitely worth going to no matter what age you are! Tonight was also the White Party in the Solarium, but everyone had gone to bed in my group, so I only went up to check it out. I left after a few minutes because I wanted to head down to the Royal Theatre for Late Night Comedy with Jessica Kirson. She is incredibly funny! I was actually hoping she would have another performance later on, but I was out of luck!

Overall today was a good day! We did not fret the North Star situation. People will be mean, technology will not work perfectly and it's just life. After all, we were on a beautiful cruise ship and not at home! :D

Music Hall

I have a few more photos from the evening to share and a couple stories for you, including our disaster at the North Star! I am going to bed, but I will return tomorrow afternoon with the rest of Day 3, so stay tuned!!

What did you all think about the Bermuda photos?! I just couldn't stop snapping those blue waters. Truly a relaxing and remarkable place! :cool:

See you tomorrow! :D

Enjoying the review!

Day 3

A Misguiding North Star -

I am so excited to share my day in Bermuda with you all. The pictures came out great, but I can assure you I'm not bragging; Bermuda is the most photogenic land!

I hopped out of bed praying for sunshine. I knew there was a system somewhere on the east coast and was assured by a meteorologist on board that we wouldn't run into trouble, but you know how the atlantic can we around this time of year! The ends of my mouth started rising and soon my smile grew immensely as I ferociously opened up the curtains to find sun lighting up the harbor! Of course I couldn't breathe in the fresh Bermuda air because we were in a virtual balcony after all.

We headed up to the Solarium and got breakfast in the "Solarium Bistro". It is like a hidden gem up there! Nobody really knows they have complimentary breakfast on select mornings, so we easily got food and a table. They serve the main breakfast offerings you'd find in the Windjammer buffet such as eggs, yogurt, bread, fruit, sausage, bacon, cereal, etc.

We hopped off the ship as soon as we could and made a dash for the ferry to Hamilton. The ferry cost us $45 total for 5 of us and it was round trip. You get a little token to get on. We literally just made it on the ferry, otherwise we would've had to wait an extra 30 minutes!

The ride was gorgeous and it was a great opportunity to see some beautiful homes and yachts. Hamilton is absolutely stunning. It is essentially like being in a caribbean island setting, but with a very kept up and safe town similar to something of the likes of West Palm Beach or Boca. We went in a few shops although some were still closed as they will either open at 9 or 10 am. Eventually we made ourselves to a bar for some refreshments! Even though I can now legally drink, my refreshment was getting back on the internet with their wifi! I know, I know, but I am a millennial after all! I caught up and posted on Facebook for a little. Eventually we left and tried to make our way to the main bus stop. Bus #7 will take you to Horseshoe Bay Beach. We got there and found a huge line... someone told us they had been waiting nearly an hour with no bus. So we went searching for a taxi and found a nice guy that told us a little about the island during the drive! I don't recall how much it was, but I think it was reasonable. It was about a 15-20 minute drive. All of the roofs are white and have a lime wash on them to purify rainwater as mostly everyone on the island collects the rainwater to use as public water is very expensive. We actually passed the #7 bus stop and saw the people who told us about the long bus line getting off. We got dropped off right at the beach and the people on the bus had to walk about 1000 feet or more to get to the beach, so it worked out for us better in the end anyway.

Let's have some pictures do the talking now. And let me tell you, they can't truly give you a real feel for how beautiful it is in person!

Loving it! Thank you! :)

We are also on the July 23rd Cruise, my wife and I were completely sold on RCCL after taking the Liberty last year. We were diehard Carnival people but they have gone downhill as of late. Now I am freaking out that booking on this ship might have been a complete mistake!!!!! The reviews are awful, you can't find any info on the ship online and this board has just bashed the Empress terrible. I thought RCCL was a class act and could not wait to get back on but now I'm definitely second guessing. Is there anyone who has current info on the condition of the ship?

If you loved Liberty, I would not venture off to a ship like Empress. You should definitely check out the Oasis class or Quantum class and you won't be disappointed! I am so used to the new big girls that I know Empress would just never live up to past experiences!

Outstanding review Mike! Thank you.

Thank YOU! I feel like I remember you from one of my other reviews!

Thank you for doing this review. I am subscribing also.

Glad to have you! :)

Thank you for your review, on Anthem for Christmas!

 

 

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Of course! I think a cruise during Christmas would be awesome. I am sure the decorations are outstanding! Anthem was designed very well for cold weather.

Loving your review & your pictures are GREAT! Thanks for posting & I'm looking forward to more! :D

Thanks a lot! I like your username. Do you have a lassie at home?! We have 3 shelties!

I will be going on the Anthem in 29 days! thank you so much for this great review!

Ahh I'm going to come with you! :p

I'm loving this!! Thanks for helping me through my workday!

Thank you!

thanks for the review - your pictures are amazing!

Thanks a lot!

Following

Welcome! :-]

Subscribed. Thanks for your time and efforts!

Kathy

Certainly, glad to have you!

Looking forward to your next day and day in Bermuda. I love Bermuda but can't imagine only being there as a one day port of call. But I an excited to read about the rest of your trip.

Oh man, 1 day was way too short! Just wait until you see the pictures of Horseshoe Bay Beach!!

Thanks for the review and I enjoyed your video. 120-something days!!!!

Thank you! It will come before you know it! 8-]

Thanks for taking the time to put together an Anthem review. Will be following along to prepare for our Anthem journey this fall.

Of course and welcome to the review! I'll try and put some tips together at the end!

Subscribed. We sailed Anthem on the March-April southern 12 day cruise and are going back in April.

Penn State Class of 1067!

Would love the 12 day cruise! Hmm I'm assuming you're not immortal and mean 1967, haha! SO happy to have an alum here. I noticed a lot of Penn Staters (or people with PSU gear on) around the ship and it was awesome! :-]

Great and informative review so far. Looking forward to more of your review and pics as I will be on the Anthem in June of next year.

 

Going to Bermuda in September but on a different cruise line.

Thank you and welcome 'aboard'! So lucky. I would probably move to Bermuda if I could!

Following your review, will be on Anthem in September. :)

Welcome! :cool:

Love reading your review! We were on a 12 night, returned April 30th, this was our 14 th cruise and so far it is our absolute favorite ship!!!!

Marg

Thank you!! I am so envious of your 12 night cruise!

Great job with the video!:)

Thank you so much!

Great review so far! Can't wait for more. Will be on her in four months!

Did you happen to do the Escape Room puzzle near the SeaPlex? I heard that you're supposed to be 14 to do it, but I'm wondering if they let younger kids in if they are with their parents. My son, who will be 9 at the time of sailing, wants to do this so badly!

Thanks for any help!

Thanks and welcome to the review! So I actually did not do the Escape Room, but I did find it because I was pretty curious. If I remember correctly it will be on the first deck of the SeaPlex entrance (Deck 15), on the port side. I do believe there is an age requirement however, they encourage family participation. I did notice it was a pretty small room and looked nothing like the pictures of the one on Harmony of the Seas, if you've seen those. I wish I had more information for you!

Day 2 Cruise Compasses!

The Solarium is a beautiful space. By night they kept the pools open very late, in fact I would walk by around 1:30 am and see that both the pool and hot tubs were still open! I don't believe there is a restriction on kids here later in the evening. Notice the kids body underwater vs above water! The glass made for some funky distortions! :p

Tonight we started going to the Schooner Bar and met our two favorite bartenders, Jelena and Lambert. Those two just worked flawlessly together and always had some kind of joke! Jelena thought I was cute and it became kind of a joke between my family and her from this night on! :p It became a nightly routine to come here either before or after (usually both) dinner. The Schooner is a classic and standard on all Royal ships and the beauty of this one created a great atmosphere. More on this bar later.

Bionic Bar: Seemed to break down a few times during the sailing. I tried it just once because I thought it was cool. I tapped my card on a tablet and had to enter my birth year. Then I could build a drink or pick a popular one from the list. I picked a blue lagoon. It honestly wasn't very good and I actually threw it out after a few sips. It is a cool feature to watch, but the bar with real people is just irreplaceable!

Dinner was in Silk tonight... or so it said on our TV! First of all, Royal Caribbean has a really great TV system. You are able to see and do so much on it. Anyway, does everyone remember the issue we had on Day 1 with our classic dining reservations? Well we got denied for classic but got our restaurants assigned for the rest of the cruise so we didn't have to worry. Tonight it said our stateroom was in Silk and the other room was in Chic again. We figured it might a glitch in the system however, we got to Silk and they couldn't find any of our reservations. :eek: The lady was very nice and I explained our whole situation. They got a table for 5 for us and we were able to go in. The lady at the hostess stand said to come see her after our dinner and she would get it all straightened out! Finally we found the service and friendliness from RCI crew that we are used to! It got even better with our server for dinner. She was just so funny and nice, we fell in love with her! If any of you have sailed Anthem recently perhaps you've had her. People know her as "Walmart"... haha! Dinner was great as always. Don't worry if you don't like to stray from American food, there are many traditional American options for you, but please go out of your comfort zone and try something new! The potstickers were FANTASTIC!

We finished our supper and saw the lady at the hostess stand that helped us before. The dining room manager Sergio came over and they both worked together to get us all straightened out with a smile on their faces. We finally got a table number, a dining time, and a rotation for all 5 of us. Unfortunately we could not get one of "Walmarts" tables, but we would end up meeting more great dining crew!

Hibachi Steak

We Will Rock You!

Tonight we had reservations for Anthem's broadway musical "We Will Rock You". I cannot spoil anything for you besides the fact that is was seriously the best show I've ever seen on a ship!! I mean the shows on Allure and even MSC Divina were spectacular, but this was just amazing. You are definitely in for a treat considering that everyone involved in the musical knows what they are doing and do it flawlessly. I don't know if its because the ship is 'ANTHEM' and for that reason has more musical themed shows and entertainment, but there were probably 5 or 6 singers on board that are so good that they could probably get to the final rounds on American Idol or The Voice! They are pretty attractive too! ;)

Anyways, we had the early showing so we could watch it before our late seating dinner. Make sure you make reservations to "We Will Rock You", "Spectra's Cabaret", and "The Gift" as they are the 3 main shows on board and the only ones you can make a reservation for. Get there about 30 minutes prior and you will find a good seat in the middle bottom section. 10 minutes before the show starts is a free for all where people without reservations are allowed to enter the theatre. It's easy to make your reservation online through Royal's website. You can even make one with the Royal IQ stations on board.

While I am talking about the show, I would like to mention our cruise director on this sailing was Dru Pavlov. He did very well and is probably one of our favorite CDs! I really don't know when he slept, he was everywhere all the time (he even would pop up through the floors in Two70 :p)

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The mojito's on board are awesome and will work with the drink packages! (I had Premium Package)

The beautiful Royal Esplanade! Not as wonderful as the Promenade on Allure OTS, but it worked very similarly and as on any Royal ship from Voyager class-on, it worked great for passenger flow. It has the standard Sorrento's that is open 'till the early morning hours, Café Promenade, Focus Photo's, Boleros, Schooner Bar, Prince + Greene, Regalia, entrance to the Casino, etc. Michael's Genuine Pub is Quantum classes answer to the old "Boot & Bonnet" found on other RCI ships. I went there once and it was pretty neat! They were live streaming a basketball game between Cleveland and GS one night following with a live entertainer singing after the end of the game. They serve pub food too, including fries and chicken wings. The Esplanade veers off to the side once you walk past Michael's that holds the entrance to Music Hall and high end shops such as Armani Jeans. The Logo Shop and Port Merchant is combined on this ship. The Logo Shop really disappointed me as I LOVE Royal merch and couldn't find anything I like! It is a very small store and most of the merch is for women and children.