PGPrendy

I am sailing in Early June on the Anthem. Shows opened up two weeks ago, as well as the All Access tour. IFly, North Star opened up earlier this week. Character breakfast opened up a month ago. Other dining has not opened up yet

Thanks!

It is not available before 90 days out, and then it may not be until 60 days ahead of time.

Thank you!

How far in advance of a cruise does Royal Caribbean allow you to make reservations for dynamic dining, iFly, and shows? I googled and read on a blog that, on a particular Quantum-class sailing, reservations had opened more than a year in advance of sailing, but I've been checking our cruise planner, and reservations don't yet seem to be available... it actually says check when onboard.

Thank you for providing this great review, kjclosson! This is one of the best Anthem of the Seas reviews I've read, not only because of your positive attitude, but you've really touched on a lot of the areas folks may have questions about. Beautiful photos too!

We were on this tour this month. I think the speedboat would be frightening for a 1yr old. It was fast and rough. There is only one seat on the boat where it might be okay.Right in front of the driver, otherwise you are in the back getting soaked or holding on for dear life in the front on the sides.

That's what I've been wondering. Maybe I'll just do the cruise line excursion to Reduit beach.

going to follow along too! we are going and have a 3 &5 year old. I have heard about a train (my son is crazy about trains) but would love to hear others.

Thanks for mentioning this because I don't recall hearing about the St. Kitts train option before... and my older son loves trains, so I have to at least consider it.

When a ship in port, one can only book the train tour via the ship. For a beach, I would suggest you book Carambola in advance.

Oh, ok. I don't recall seeing the train option on the cruiseline's excursion list, but I'll look into it... just as another option... but I'm leaning more towards the beach day.

We did the train when we were last in St Kitts. It was pretty nice. DS was 11 and he enjoyed it. The scenery was beautiful. And they make a mean pina colada.

Sounds good! Is the train excursion through the cruise line or independent?

We went on the tour last year and while we didn't have kids with us there was a 3-year-old on the tour with us. She handled the speed boat ride with no problem, probably depends on the child though.

 

The volcano portion of the tour should not be an issue; really it's very mild, just a short walk down and up to a viewing platform where you see a few steam spouts and some bubbling mud in the distance. I didn't even notice much sulphur smell. Not what you picture a volcano as being. Not really much to see and you certainly could stay on the bus or at the entrance if you wanted.

 

Some people on our tour chose to do the mud baths instead; don't think this would be great with small kids. There is some bus time, which can be boring for kids, and the restaurant we ate at was pretty warm, food ok.

 

We enjoyed the tour a lot, but it might be a little iffy with small children. The snorkeling was pretty good, the beach area small, but kids would like it.

Thanks for this! Went to his website yesterday, and I'm thinking we may do just the Jalousie Beach Break. Not yet sure, but thank God, we have time.

Without hesitation the Anthem. I was on Quantum. We are booked for the 12day Anthem in March and a few years ago we did a back to back on the Summit out of PR. Don't get me wrong Celebrity was a great cruise and the ports were nice. However, it can't compare to the Quantum class. The activities, kids facilities and ship are superior to the Summit.

Thanks Queen L! Enjoy your Anthem cruise in March! I think a part of what's allowing me to get distracted by other cruise options is the fact that our Anthem cruise is a year away... seems so far away... yet, we're thinking it's worth the wait :) Thanks again.

Hi PG,

 

I've sailed both ships and the Anthem is really wonderful. Having said that, the food on the Summit would be much better, but everything else would be in the Anthem's favor.

If it were between an S-class ship of Celebrity and the Anthem, I would go with Celebrity. By the way, the Anthem has many "Celebrity-like" qualities and was built in the same place as the S-class ships. The dynamic dining thing was pretty good, but too bad Royal couldn't up the quality of the food to match these wonderful spaces.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

Thanks so much for this, Kel :) We already booked Anthem a few weeks ago, but I saw a Celebrity deal yesterday that led me to second-guess our original plans. Since then, someone else here on cruise critic suggested looking at a comparable Adventure of The Seas sailing... sigh... choices, choices! Really, I think it's easy to get distracted by other cruise options that are a bit sooner and cost a bit less because our Anthem cruise is a year away. I'm looking forward to Anthem... I just need to be patient :p

Good decision:) If you were to price Adventure from SJU that would be worth considering but Summit is a smaller older ship.

Oh maaaan, did you just complicate things! Ha! Adventure actually sails on the same day as the Summit, so it will still allow for the birthday celebrations in the Southern Caribbean :) I know, it's still no Anthem though. You know, it's this one-year wait that's causing this... how does one wait one year for a cruise that's already booked?!

Good choice! I would pick the Anthem over Summit any day and I do not have small children. There is way more to do on RCI than Celebrity and 12 days vs. 7 is a HUGE plus!!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks :D

There is no comparison. Hands down I would choose the 12-day Anthem cruise. It's incredibly convenient you don't need to fly anywhere, it's 5 days longer plus Anthem is a brand new ship.

 

The Summit while recently refurbished is 16 years old and not in the same league as the sleek, beautiful Anthem.

 

Have a great cruise on this terrific new Royal Caribbean ship.

 

Jonathan

Thanks Jonathan :) I'm thankful we've booked this cruise, but it's a year away, which seems like a really long wait. I now feel like one of my children... are we there yet?

Let's see: 7 days v. 12 days, pricing is comparable (when airfare to the 7-day is considered), 12-day doesn't require flying, older ship v. stunningly beautiful new ship....

 

Was this a trick question? ;)

Ha! I know, I know... in hindsight, it does seem like a trick question :p Looking at the overall value, Anthem is the better choice... a great choice! Now, to figure out how to stay calm because the cruise is a year away!

We did a Taste of Belize tour with Coral Breeze Tours when our son was 25 months old, and it was fine. The company had other tour options as well, but that was 3 years ago, so I'm not sure of what's being offered now. While the adults did the Belizean food and drink tasting, our son did not... we made sure to have sseparate snacks for our toddler as he enjoyed the drive around the island.

Thanks all. We already booked Anthem, but saw this Celebrity deal today that made me second-guess our initial plans. We'll keep our booking :-)

Thanks all. We already booked Anthem, but saw this Celebrity deal today that made me second-guess our initial plans. We'll keep our booking :-)

Hi - what type of vacation are you wanting?

 

If you want family time on a smaller, quieter ship with fewer children, then Summit is probably better. If you want some time away from the wee ones, Summit has an enclosed pool just for adults which I find nice. Don't know about Anthem in that regard.

 

If you want a new ship with a lot of bells and whistles and probably more children, then go with Anthem.

 

If your 5 year old is going to use the kids club, how do the clubs on the two ships compare?

 

How many sea days do you want - clearly far more on Anthem. What time of year is the sailing - will the waters be rougher on the Anthem till you get further south? Is this a factor in your comfort - any tendency toward motion sickness in your group?

 

How do your children do with air travel? Would the ease of being able to drive to NJ be better than flying to San Juan?

 

What drew you to the Anthem sailing in the first place? Does the Summit offer that same draw?

 

I've sailed on the Summit out of Puerto Rico - it is a lovely ship. But if I had children, I think would be going with RCI.

 

Which ever you choose, have a wonderful cruise.

The draw to Anthem is definitely the convenience, and the bells and whistles... but we didn't want just any itinerary on Anthem, so we chose the Southern Caribbean itinerary, which I've been researching and getting super excited about. Now, I think the ports of call are the biggest draw for me, but obviously my question indicates that the ship matters too :) Thanks for your input!

Thanks all. We already booked Anthem, but saw this Celebrity deal today that made me second-guess our initial plans. We'll keep our booking :-)

FYI, I already booked the Anthem Cruise, but now, see deals for the Celebrity cruise. If you had to choose between a 7-day Celebrity Summit Exotic Caribbean Cruise and a 12-day RCI Anthem Southern Caribbean Cruise to basically the same ports, except Celebrity does St. Thomas when RCI does St. Kitts... the other ports are Barbados, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, and Puerto Rico (Celebrity leaves from PR, but Anthem leaves from NJ)... we live in NY, so NJ is more convenient, but we will sail longer with that option... what would you choose if pricing (with airfare included for the PR option) is comparable? Our group of 5 includes me (my 36th birthday will be during the Celebrity cruise), my husband, our two sons (a 5-yr-old who will turn 6 during the Celebrity cruise, and a 1-yr-old), and my mom. The RCI cruise will be one month after the Celebrity cruise.

If you had to choose between a 7-day Celebrity Summit Exotic Caribbean Cruise and a 12-day RCI Anthem Southern Caribbean Cruise to basically the same ports, except Celebrity does St. Thomas when RCI does St. Kitts... the other ports are Barbados, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, and Puerto Rico (Celebrity leaves from PR, but Anthem leaves from NJ)... we live in NY, so NJ is more convenient, but we will sail longer with that option... what would you choose if pricing (with airfare included for the PR option) is comparable? Our group of 5 includes me (my 36th birthday will be during the Celebrity cruise), my husband, our two sons (a 5-yr-old who will turn 6 during the Celebrity cruise, and a 1-yr-old), and my mom. The RCI cruise will be one month after the Celebrity cruise.

If you had to choose between a 7-day Celebrity Summit Exotic Caribbean Cruise and a 12-day RCI Anthem Southern Caribbean Cruise to basically the same ports, except Celebrity does St. Thomas when RCI does St. Kitts... the other ports are Barbados, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, and Puerto Rico (Celebrity leaves from PR, but Anthem leaves from NJ)... we live in NY, so NJ is more convenient, but we will sail longer with that option... what would you choose if pricing (with airfare included for the PR option) is comparable? Our group of 5 includes me (my 36th birthday will be during the Celebrity cruise), my husband, our two sons (a 5-yr-old who will turn 6 during the Celebrity cruise, and a 1-yr-old), and my mom. The RCI cruise will be one month after the Celebrity cruise.

If you had to choose between a 7-day Celebrity Summit Exotic Caribbean Cruise and a 12-day RCI Anthem Southern Caribbean Cruise to basically the same ports, except Celebrity does St. Thomas when RCI does St. Kitts... the other ports are Barbados, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, and Puerto Rico (Celebrity leaves from PR, but Anthem leaves from NJ)... we live in NY, so NJ is more convenient, but we will sail longer with that option... what would you choose if pricing (with airfare included for the PR option) is comparable? Our group of 5 includes me (my 36th birthday will be during the Celebrity cruise), my husband, our two sons (a 5-yr-old who will turn 6 during the Celebrity cruise, and a 1-yr-old), and my mom. The RCI cruise will be one month after the Celebrity cruise.

I posted on the family cruises board as well. Any suggestions here?