Anthem of the Seas: inaugural transatlantic -- my review (detailed by subject)

My spouse and I recently returned from Anthem’s inaugural transatlantic, sailing from Southampton to Cape Liberty, Oct. 27-Nov. 4, 2015. This post and those that follow will contain our review of our trip, from our pre-cruise experience to the ship, the food, the entertainment, etc., organized by subject.

By way of background, we are in our 60s; this was our 14th cruise and our fourth TA. It was also our first sailing with RCI and our first on a mega-ship. We love TAs, we love sea days (the more the better), but we were not sure how we’d react to a mega-ship. So as not to bury the lede, I will start by saying that we loved Anthem – she is a stunningly beautiful ship with some of the most amazing public spaces we have ever seen, particularly Two70 and the solarium. North Star was fantastic. We had a wonderful trip. Still, as I’ll detail in posts below, nothing is perfect, and we found the food quality and the service in a number of the “complimentary” restaurants to be subpar if not worse. We did not let that (or other annoyances) mar our crossing, but significant improvement is needed in those areas.

Again, we had a fabulous time. How can you not on a beautiful cruise ship with 8 days at sea?

If you have questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

Pre-cruise experience, including booking dinner and shows

As noted, this was our first cruise with RCI. We booked directly (about a year out), and found it easy to do by phone with Royal. In fact, the representative with whom I spoke was extremely helpful in explaining different cabin categories on a ship that had not yet even been built.

Once booked (in a D7 balcony), I monitored prices (and took advantage of one big drop not long after), as well as checked the Cruise Planner waiting for dining reservations to become available. I was also active on our Roll Call, which was an important source of information, and I read everything I could here on CC about Quantum, much of which was quite negative, particularly concerning the launch of Dynamic Dining. I hoped and expected that the kinks of a new system would be worked out by the time we sailed on Anthem a year later.

Dining became available for booking about 7 months before we sailed. Making dinner reservations at that point was pretty much a shot in the dark, since entertainment could not be booked yet and no one had any idea of what else might be going on in the evening or when on this new ship. So we just created a list of where we wanted to eat (including some specialty venues) and when, made our selections, and hoped for the best. The actual booking process on Cruise Planner was quite easy, and I give RCI props for the technology there.

Some months later, RCI released the schedule for the three “bookable” shows – We Will Rock You, The Gift, and Spectra’s Cabaret – and, big surprise, there were a number of conflicts with our dinner reservations. So we juggled all of that around and managed to come up with a schedule that worked for us. This pretty much required the creation of a spreadsheet. Again, though, once we’d figured this all out, making the actual bookings in Cruise Planner was not difficult; in fact, there was no need to cancel any conflicting booking when making a new one, the system noted the conflict and asked if you wanted to cancel and proceed with the new reservation. I was quite impressed with how well this worked.

But then, about a month before sailing, RCI changed the show schedules and unilaterally moved our reservations around (as it did for others on our sailing), creating actual conflicts between the shows and our dinner reservations. Once again, we had to re-juggle everything we had carefully worked out. At this point, I have to say that I was pretty annoyed. I’m a planner, I love planning trips – it’s part of the enjoyment of travel for me –- but this kind of stuff was not fun and not how I wanted to spend my time before a cruise. In fact, the whole concept of making dining available to book without doing the same for the entertainment is absurd and predictably created conflicts once the entertainment schedule was released. Our preferred way of cruising is to not be scheduled, so the very need to reserve shows was a negative for us about a mega-ship.

Ironically, once we were on board, and after all that work, we wound up keeping very few of our dinner reservations. We often ate at different times than we’d booked, sometimes even in different places. But there was no way to know in advance how things would work out on the ship, and so I recommend that you reserve things before sailing, but not get stressed about it.

Check-in on line

As with Cruise Planner, we found the on line check-in process to be easy to navigate. It was fun to take and upload our own security photos, and we hoped they would be sufficient for RCI. (They were.)

A cabin change before we sailed

Just a few weeks before sailing, the prices dropped on the “spa junior suites” to a point that we decided to take advantage of them. I mention this because the “spa junior suite,” while not really a suite at all (it’s more accurately described as a deluxe balcony cabin), did come with one suite perk – the ability to eat dinner in Coastal Kitchen. With the service and food in the “complimentary” restaurants being as poor as they turned out to be, our several dinners in CK were a bonus.

Embarkation in Southampton

This was a breeze! We arrived at the cruise terminal around 10:30 AM, and were immediately greeted by a friendly porter who put the much-hyped (and, as it turned out, useless) RFID tags on our two checked bags, and directed us inside the terminal. As soon as we entered, an RCI rep sent us right over to another rep with an iPad to be checked in. He looked at our set sail passes, called up our reservation on his tablet, pulled up the security photos we had uploaded (they worked!), swiped our passports, stamped our set sail passes with the necessary green stamp, and sent us off to the security screening line, after which we were seated in the terminal to await boarding. I think the whole check-in process took about five minutes. Kudos to RCI. (It’s my understanding that things broke down a while later, though, and I think some folks had a very different experience, sad to say.)

We’ve sailed with Celebrity several times, and thanks to our “loyalty” status with Celebrity, low as it is, it was sufficient to give us priority boarding with RCI. And so after a wait of about half an hour in the terminal, we were in the first groups allowed to board, around 11:15 AM.

Goosebumps!! After all this time, we were finally about to embark on this spectacular new ship. There’s a little kid in me that is always excited walking up a gangway, and wow was I excited now!

(photo by turtles06)

Hi. Looking forward to your review.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Embarkation lunch

From what I’d read on CC, it seemed the best place to wait for the cabins to become available was Two70. Certainly we wanted to avoid the zoo of the Windjammer buffet during embarkation day lunch. And so we made our way to Two70 on Deck 5, where we snagged two comfortable armchairs right in the stern with a spectacular view of the water. We’d read about the famous “Kummelweck” roast beef sandwiches at Café Two70, and so I ordered one of those for lunch. I have to say, I was pretty underwhelmed; it was dry and mostly bread. Later in the crossing, I ordered another, this time asking for some additional meat, and also for the horseradish mayo to be spread on both pieces of bread. This improved the sandwich immensely, but I still don’t know what all the fuss is about. Made to order, it’s a decent roast beef sandwich.

There is other food available during lunch at Café Two70 besides sandwiches, including pastries. I highly recommend the little slices of cheesecake there, particularly Oreo. Yum. :) And Two70 itself was definitely a great place to wait until the cabins were ready. In fact, it’s a spectacular space, much more on that later.

The cabins are ready!

Around 1:15 or so, it was announced that the cabins were ready. This caused the predictable rush to the elevators, and on a ship so large, with thousands of people, it took quite a while to get an elevator. That whole first day, in fact, the elevators were a zoo. Again, to be expected.

When you get to your cabin, one of your sea pass cards is in a sealed envelope outside your door; the other, with the WOW bands, is inside on the bed. And so we opened the door . . . to the most beautiful cabin in which we’ve sailed to date. Tastefully decorated in muted dark tones, just elegant. (Very much like the cabins on a Celebrity S-class ship. Clearly, a great deal of shared DNA here.)

Our “spa junior suite” had a ton of storage space – a huge closet, another half closet, and lots of drawers and shelves. For one of the first times on a cruise, we were able to put everything someplace easy to access, and keep our cabin neat.

The cabin has a half bath with a toilet and sink, and a separate bathroom with a sink, a tub, and a beautiful stall shower with a rain shower (and a regular shower head if you want to use that). The tub, which I tried once, was extremely narrow and hard to get out of; it was, however, the perfect place for us to string our travel clothesline across, as there are no clotheslines in the Anthem bathrooms.

The sitting area next to the tall window was a wonderful spot. As it turned out, we had several days of high winds and rough seas, with the outer decks closed. That sitting area was a great place to sit and read.

(photo by turtles06)

Thank you for your detailed review. Looking forward to the rest of your insights.

Love this review - sailing on nov. 22 so finding it very informative and well written. Thank you!

Why was this thread moved??

Why was this thread moved??

It was moved from the main RC board to the Quantum Class sub-forum (which is useless and stupid).

Excellent start to your review -- thanks for taking the time to do it.

The ship (Part I – Two70)

Anthem is a stunningly beautiful ship, a Celebrity S-class ship on steroids. That is meant as a compliment. I don’t think photos can adequately convey just how spectacular Anthem is as a ship. The large public spaces are breathtaking.

Two70, hands down, is the most amazing space we have ever been in on any ship. Two decks high, with soaring, curved windows in the stern more than 100 feet long and 22 feet high, and tiered seating with couches, chairs, benches, and tables, Two70 is a sort of comfy hangout and living room during the day (with a great bar) and an entertainment venue at night. Performers rise up from under the deck, and aerialists drop down from above. Eighteen projectors turn the windows into a Vistarama screen, used for virtual concerts and symphonies and also to project fantastic moving images that you have to see to believe. When there isn’t a show going on, be sure to drop in at night just to see what is on the screen.

We had several days of very high seas and winds, and when you walked into Two70 and saw the sea rising up and dropping away behind the ship, it was as though you were watching a giant IMAX movie, except this was real.

The Cruise Director said it cost $27 million to build Two70; it was money well spent. It was absolutely our favorite place on the ship, just an extraordinary space.

(photos by turtles06)

Awaiting the rest with bated breath.

Leaving on the Anthem in 3 days!

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Awaiting the rest with bated breath.

Leaving on the Anthem in 3 days!

 

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I will try to finish before you leave. :)

Still going through my photos and also catching up on sleep and laundry! :) :) :)

I will try to finish before you leave. :)

 

Still going through my photos and also catching up on sleep and laundry! :) :) :)

Yay!!!!!!! I have been waiting for your review....BUT......I am soooo angry that they bumped it to the Quantum section. Not NEARLY as many readers will see it now.

GET RID OF THE QUANTUM SECTION MODS. Oh, did I say PLEASE.

It was moved from the main RC board to the Quantum Class sub-forum (which is useless and stupid).

Thanks. Had to do a search to find it again, but now I know where to look. Kinda crazy :eek:

The ship (Part II – the solarium and covered pool)

The solarium, on Deck 14 all the way forward, is another amazing space. Surrounded on the sides by glass, with a glass roof, and tiered pools of water two-feet deep in the center, as well as hot tubs, it’s another great place to just sit and relax and stare at the ocean. (Unfortunately, on our sailing at least, it was a prime spot for chair hogs, and at times it was very tough to get a seat here.)

There’s an open “wing” on each side of the solarium, the only places on the ship where you can be outside in the forward part of the ship and have a view. The lack of a forward-facing open deck area is, to me, one of the few big negatives about Anthem. Not enough connection to the sea. (BTW, trying to get out onto those wings is an IQ test. I will not give it away.)

Just aft of the solarium is a pool with a retractable roof. (It was too cold on the TA for the roof to be retracted.) If you’ve ever been on a Celebrity S-class ship, this space is pretty much identical to the solarium on those ships.

I thought the pool here was a very nice one for some actual swimming; when I got there early in the morning, I could even do laps.

(photos by turtles06)

Just one more rant........CruisenovicesUK has a review on the Anthem. (wonderful, by the way) 536 replies and 50, 994 hits and still going strong on the regular RCCL threads. :confused::confused::confused: WHY WAS THAT ONE NOT MOVED??????????

The ship (Part III -- the main pool)

The main pool is the outdoor pool in the center of Deck 14. It’s the largest pool of any ship we’ve been on. Because this was a cold weather crossing, I don’t know whether the pool would be large enough in warm weather, but I suspect it might be very crowded. It never was for us, and I was happy to be able to swim laps in such a large pool; the air temps were in the 50s and close to 60, but how can you pass up the chance to use a pool like this on a cruise ship? :)

There’s a large, outdoor movie screen on the port side of the pool deck, where movies were shown just about all day and into the night. The audio was broadcast loudly all over the pool deck, and I suspect would be annoying during the day if you just wanted to sit by the pool and read and relax. There was not much of that going on during the crossing, though, given the temperatures.

There were, however, some die-hards bundled up in warm clothes and pool towels watching the movies. (RCI needs to take a cue from Celebrity and provide blankets on the pool deck.) I have to say, the screen was gorgeous and could be seen clearly from all angles.

Speaking of pool towels, you have to sign them out, and you get charged $25 per towel if you don’t bring them back. I hate this. While I understand why RCI does it, I still object to being treated like a criminal. It’s a pet peeve of mine. And particularly on a TA with no ports, what did Royal think people were going to do with those blue towels?

(photos by turtles06)

Superb descriptions and awesome pics so far Turtles, thank you so much!

The ship (Part I – Two70)

 

Two70, hands down, is the most amazing space we have ever been in on any ship.

Totally agree, Two70 hands down the best space in any ship, just spectacular... much better than any Viking Crown imho :)

There’s an open “wing” on each side of the solarium, the only places on the ship where you can be outside in the forward part of the ship and have a view. The lack of a forward-facing open deck area is, to me, one of the few big negatives about Anthem. Not enough connection to the sea. (BTW, trying to get out onto those wings is an IQ test. I will not give it away.)

100% bang on... I posted exactly the above on my Quantum review last year!! Lol :p The forward view is almost non-existant and horrible for sail-in/sailaway, and the wings are almost useless.

(p.s. I have pics on how to get out on the wings ;):D ... not that difficult but was sure as hell funny watching people banging their heads on the door, pushing, pulling, lol!!)

The ship (Part III -- the main pool)

 

The main pool is the outdoor pool in the center of Deck 14. It’s the largest pool of any ship we’ve been on. Because this was a cold weather crossing, I don’t know whether the pool would be large enough in warm weather, but I suspect it might be very crowded. It never was for us, and I was happy to be able to swim laps in such a large pool; the air temps were in the 50s and close to 60, but how can you pass up the chance to use a pool like this on a cruise ship? :)

 

 

There’s a large, outdoor movie screen on the port side of the pool deck, where movies were shown just about all day and into the night. The audio was broadcast loudly all over the pool deck, and I suspect would be annoying during the day if you just wanted to sit by the pool and read and relax. There was not much of that going on during the crossing, though, given the temperatures.

 

 

There were, however, some die-hards bundled up in warm clothes and pool towels watching the movies. (RCI needs to take a cue from Celebrity and provide blankets on the pool deck.) I have to say, the screen was gorgeous and could be seen clearly from all angles.

 

 

Speaking of pool towels, you have to sign them out, and you get charged $25 per towel if you don’t bring them back. I hate this. While I understand why RCI does it, I still object to being treated like a criminal. It’s a pet peeve of mine. And particularly on a TA with no ports, what did Royal think people were going to do with those blue towels?

 

(photos by turtles06)

Do you remember if there were any spa specials offered?

We will be aboard next month.

Do you remember if there were any spa specials offered?

We will be aboard next month.

Sorry, we're not spa people ...

The ship (Part IV – North Star)

North Star was simply wonderful.

Before I say more, I want to repeat a piece of advice I read on here about Quantum/Anthem a long time ago --- if there is something you want to do on these ships that is weather dependent, like North Star, Ripcord, and Flowrider, do it as soon as you have the chance, because you may not get one again.

And I had that advice in my head the very first very morning at sea, which dawned sunny and beautiful. Shortly before the 9 AM start for North Star, we went up on deck and there were just a few people in line. We’d be on the first flight! The crew ran a test flight, and then we got to board. (Everyone is discreetly weighed before boarding, as there is a weight limit on the safety harnesses that would be used if North Star got stuck and passengers had to be evacuated.)

The capsule rises almost imperceptibly, and before you know it, you are 300 feet above the ocean! Needless to say, the views are amazing. And then the capsule swings out to each side of the ship. WOW. I've never been in a helicopter, but I imagine these views are about as close as you can get to that.

We were incredibly fortunate to have done North Star that day, as we had high seas and very strong winds the next few days that caused the outdoor decks to be closed and all outdoor activities to be cancelled. So remember the advice above – do it when you can! Toward the end of the crossing, the ship was able to operate North Star again, but the lines were incredibly long, and the operators did not swing North Star out to the sides very far, possibly to save time, given how many people needed to be accommodated. One thing that made NO sense to us was that, given all the cancelled days, the ship did not start operating North Star earlier than 9 AM. It was light out hours before that; the ship should have been more flexible on the operating times, given all the lost days.

On one of the final evenings of the crossing, I had gone up to the top deck around dusk to photograph some marine birds I’d seen flying over, when I noticed that there was only a very short line for North Star. So I got on it, waited about 30 minutes, and got to ride again, this time at night with the ship all lit up below. What an amazing, unplanned experience!

(photos by turtles06)

The ship (Part V – Flowrider, Ripcord, Seaplex)

Anthem is very much an amusement park at sea. In addition to North Star, there’s the Flowrider (surfing and boogie boarding), Ripcord by iFly (simulated sky diving), and the Seaplex, a multi-purpose indoor complex used for bumper cars, roller skating, trapeze lessons, basketball, etc.

I’d never intended to do Flowrider, but did enjoy watching the (relatively few) people who did. It was freezing out there most of the time, and I was rather amazed by the folks who were not wearing some form of wet suit.

I had planned to do Ripcord, and was also going to ride the bumper cars, but a medical issue involving one of my eyes that arose shortly before we embarked made it prudent for me to take a pass. (I’m fine now, no worries.) Those activities looked like great fun, and I’m sorry I can’t report personally on them.

(photos by turtles06)

The ship (Part II – the solarium and covered pool)

 

The solarium, on Deck 14 all the way forward, is another amazing space. Surrounded on the sides by glass, with a glass roof, and tiered pools of water two-feet deep in the center, as well as hot tubs, it’s another great place to just sit and relax and stare at the ocean. (Unfortunately, on our sailing at least, it was a prime spot for chair hogs, and at times it was very tough to get a seat here.)

 

There’s an open “wing” on each side of the solarium, the only places on the ship where you can be outside in the forward part of the ship and have a view. The lack of a forward-facing open deck area is, to me, one of the few big negatives about Anthem. Not enough connection to the sea. (BTW, trying to get out onto those wings is an IQ test. I will not give it away.)

 

 

 

 

Just aft of the solarium is a pool with a retractable roof. (It was too cold on the TA for the roof to be retracted.) If you’ve ever been on a Celebrity S-class ship, this space is pretty much identical to the solarium on those ships.

 

I thought the pool here was a very nice one for some actual swimming; when I got there early in the morning, I could even do laps.

 

 

(photos by turtles06)

I'd love to know the secret of the "wings" entrance even if you only want to PM it. I figure if it's tough, I'll get a head start to a nice quiet place!

Great review do far- thanks!

The ship (Part VI – the running/walking track)

When I’m on a cruise ship, I love to get up early in the morning and go for a long walk around a deck. There’s something very special about being able to look at the ocean while you are out there walking. On most cruise ships, if there’s a walking/running track, it’s usually pretty short, maybe 8 laps to the mile. Eventually, you lose track of what lap you’re on.

Anthem, however, has a track that runs around the entire perimeter of Deck 15, so long that it’s 2.91 laps per mile. For a cruise ship, that’s fantastic. There’s even a little uphill as you reach the bow. The track shares space with lounge chairs, which was not a problem on our cold-weather crossing. But I suspect that in warmer climes, unless you get out very early or late, it’s pretty congested.

With the outside decks closed for several days on our crossing due to the weather, I was not able to get in as many walks as I'd have liked. That was too bad, given the great track.

(photos by turtles06)

Did I mention now much we loved the North Star? :)

(photo by turtles06)