Anthem vs Grandeur

We've cruised on the Anthem 2 years ago and loved the ship. Activities were outstanding.

However the food and service were poor. Many other cruisers felt the same way and we joked about it. The solarium bistro was not as bad but still lacking. I spoke with the chef and he felt it was the poor oils and oversalting of recipe.

So last year we tried the Grandeur and were amazed by food and service. All were outstanding.

The question is has Anthem improved?

We would love to try it again. But hate to be disappointed with food and service. My wife is a cancer survivor so we value these trips and are concerned for healthy eating.

We're from New England and enjoy cruises out of Bayonne and Baltimore.

Any opinions from recent cruises would be appreciated.

Food is so subjective but I think main dining room food on Anthem is very good to excellent. The Windjammer is just okay. I thought the Solarium bistro was supposed to have a Mediterranean menu but its just the exact same as Windjammer. Service has been excellent but that could be helped by having late seating in a less than half full dining room.

I was on Anthem this past July and enjoyed the trip. The food was good. I had My Time Dining and also went to Jamie Oliver's and Chops. I found the Windjammer to be surprisingly good, too. Of all the dining venues, I liked Jamie Oliver's the best.

However, when compared to Grandeur, I must say that the food on Grandeur is superior in terms of preparation, taste and service. I have some dietary limitations and it was much easier to address those needs on Grandeur. The personalized service and attention to my needs was amazing. Personally, I think there is much to be said for the intimacy of smaller ships. I would cruise on either ship again in a heartbeat, but given a choice and all other things being equal, Grandeur wins without question.

Anthem no longer does Dynamic Dining, so all dining rooms have the same menu. Food is subjective, but many seem to report that the smaller ships have better food (in their opinion). One could easily make the arguement that it's easier to serve good food to 2,500 passengers vs 4,500.

I cruised on Grandeur last September and the only complaint I have was during dinner and lunch times in the Windjammer they didn't have a great variety of choices and some days they repeated the dishes. But the food tasted good overall. Now December this year will be my first trip onAnthem. A small complaint was in the indoor adults only pool area they have a little cart with hamburgers and hotdogs but that was only open for an hour or two during lunch only. they didn't keep that section open long.

I cruised on Grandeur last September and the only complaint I have was during dinner and lunch times in the Windjammer they didn't have a great variety of choices and some days they repeated the dishes.

HUH????

Not a great variety? Did you actually walk all the way around? :D

Typically, there is a salad bar. Plus a cold sandwich bar. Then the soup and bread bar.

Then there was at least 3 - 6 cold salads, like pasta, potato, etc.

And at least 6 hot dishes around the middle island. For lunch, a burger and hot dog bar on the outer ring. And some more hot dishes on the other side, typically with some food theme (Italian, British, Mexican, etc). And the carved meat. And then there was the made to order bar (omelet station for breakfast), with something.

Yes, over our 9 night cruise, some dishes were repeated, but not back to back days.

Just got off Anthem, and I found the food and service wonderful!!! After the years of reading negative comments, I was thrilled with my experience. I went into it expecting a positive experience, and I found it. My experience was better then Harmony back in April!!!

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Haven't been on Grandeur, but I just got off the Anthem three weeks ago and the ship itself is my favourite thus far, but the food and service were near the bottom of my 12 sailings. Our table mates at dinner thought this as well.

Haven't been on Grandeur, but I just got off the Anthem three weeks ago and the ship itself is my favourite thus far, but the food and service were near the bottom of my 12 sailings. Our table mates at dinner thought this as well.

I absolutely agree. Love the ship but food and service was just so so. The Grandeur on the other hand is an older ship with less activities but the for and service is among the best of any cruise we have been on. Given a choice between the two, I'll ot for the good food and service on the frandeur.

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We've sailed on the Anthem twice in the past year and both times had excellent service and food choices. This past sailing we splurged a bit for the Ultimate Dining Plan ($200/CDN and well worth the money) and ate in the specialty dining rooms each night (and lunch on sea days). Jamie Oliver's and Chops were both excellent while Tables in Wonderland and Izumi were OK. In March, we stuck to the main dining room and found the meals to be good to very good - many choices including "healthier options". My wife is also a cancer survivor (4+ years!) and loved the food on board.