Anthem - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[DevonianCruiser]

Just got of Anthem after a short 3 day mini cruise and thought I'd share my initial thoughts:

 

THE GOOD

Very efficient boarding process. We arrived and were on in 5 to 10 minutes.

Straight to the cabin balcony cabin. Being brand new it was clean and crisp. I like the size and the layout. Good sized TV, lovely bed, really nice bathroom and a great shower.

The technology - can see how this will make cruising that little bit easier. There are iPad's around the ship where you can check your meals, tours and general information. Easy to use.

The ship - it's a really lovely looking lady. Like the cabin, clean and crisp design, very modern, quite funky. It's been well thought out.

Windjammer great, the theatre again great. Music Hall is a great venue too. Really liked the two70 location. The large windows brought a really good bright fell to the place.

Jamie's - had a fantastic meal and well worth it. We paid the set price as we booked early.

Shows - great ventriloquist onboard and We Will Rock You was a good show . . . . . . Made even better as BRIAN MAY was in the audience :cool:

Overall - a lovely new ship and I'd be happy to sail on her anytime.

THE BAD

Most of it was just teething problems and nothing really bad.

No draught beers available in the pub.

Didn't have the ingredients to do some cocktails in the two70, also very slow service in there as not enough staff.

Jamie's - whilst this was great, we worked out that it would be very expensive if we had ordered everything we had and had to pay individually like it's now priced. Considering meals are part of the cruise this extra is a bit too much.

Johnny Rockets - have to say the service here was quite appalling. There were 4 staff and the place was empty and it took ages. Worse still they didn't seem to care. This place is quite open and exposed to the elements unlike on other ships we've been on and I think in Europe (and I guess when it sails out of NY) it will be very quiet as its really cold if the sun isn't shining.

Drinks - have to say the cost of them is a bit of a rip off. I've never had an issue spending money onboard, but I think the prices now are very expensive. On a mini cruise you may not care, but I think longer cruises people just won't pay it. I guess it's designed to make people buy the package, but I wonder if it will backfire?

THE UGLY

Nothing ugly here, it's a beautiful ship :)

 

Anyway that's my short review, I'm sure I'll think of other things, but overall it was a really nice break.

[BekkaW]

Thanks for sharing your review :) I'm looking forward to Ovation coming out here next year

[Missus Makkem]

Sadly the bad bit about the drinks would appear to be on all RCI ships not just the Anthem

Glad you enjoyed it , we certainly did.

[floridaglen]

Many thanks for your review. I was a bit concerned when I saw 'the bad' and 'the ugly' in your heading but needn't have been as we aren't drinkers and there wasn't any ugly! Suits us just fine :)

[DevonianCruiser]

Many thanks for your review. I was a bit concerned when I saw 'the bad' and 'the ugly' in your heading but needn't have been as we aren't drinkers and there wasn't any ugly! Suits us just fine :)

 

Ha ha sorry for the headline :p it just seemed apt at the time :D

[floridaglen]

No need to apologise at all, I enjoyed reading your review and it made me laugh when I read 'the ugly'!

[bogofman]

No draft beers in the pub!

 

It's not a pub without draft beer, really disappointed if this us the case

[DeepBlueOcean]

Thanks for the review, on Anthem in just over 100 days now. Hopefully some of the teething problems will of been flattened out by then!

[Cshgrand]

We left Jamie's (booked as only restaurant left available when we saw the menu for Wonderland and cancelled our reservation) feeling it wasn't the best value for money. Food was ok (salmon for me, lamb for my husband) and service a bit slow.

[Justmekaren918]

Wow did Brian get up and play?[emoji14]

I am curious is there any freestyle soda machines onboard? Thanks for your nice review!

[DevonianCruiser]

No draft beers in the pub!

 

It's not a pub without draft beer, really disappointed if this us the case

 

I know, very odd. However it was on the first night and on the last night I walked past and someone had a pint in his hand so I'm guessing the draught was back on.

[DevonianCruiser]

Thanks for the review, on Anthem in just over 100 days now. Hopefully some of the teething problems will of been flattened out by then!

 

I'm sure they will be. It's a lovely ship and as each sail goes by they'll tweak things I reckon :D

[DevonianCruiser]

Wow did Brian get up and play?[emoji14]

I am curious is there any freestyle soda machines onboard? Thanks for your nice review!

 

He got up and spoke afterwards. He always seems a really nice guy. I read once that he bought Sir Patrick Moores house off him (famous astrologer and host of The Sky At Night) when he was quite old and let him stay in the house for free for the rest of his life, so Patrick could use the money to live on.

 

I'm sure I saw the soda machine around the ship :cool:

[kevinyork]

We left Jamie's (booked as only restaurant left available when we saw the menu for Wonderland and cancelled our reservation) feeling it wasn't the best value for money. Food was ok (salmon for me, lamb for my husband) and service a bit slow.

 

 

I think the A La Carte decision on Jamies will backfire. By not having a set cover charge it will make it hard to offer a discount on quieter/longer cruises. Whilst Ive read the pricing has been set at about 75% of Jamies UK restaurants, for those in the US this will seem a bit pricey compared to US restaurants were portion size will be larger than at Jamies. When onboard, why would I want to pay 75% of the cost of eating at Jamies in my home town when I can have a free meal in a complimentary restaurant? Looking at the menu a 3 course meal will cost more than the cover charge so this can only be about increasing income. Knowing how many UK cruisers think, they wont pay that much more for a meal on a cruise ship given they have already paid a cruise fare that includes their meals and they definatel wont pay the same extra charge for lunch as it would be for dinner.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[johala_reewi]

No draft beers in the pub!

 

It's not a pub without draft beer, really disappointed if this us the case

 

They had 4 draught beers on in the pub for the first cruise. And a reasonable selection of bottled beer. Maybe we drank all of it!! They were all covered by the select drinks package which was bundled for free with UK bookings.

[rockyhavoc]

Karen

 

Yes there are Freestyle coke machines on board the Anthem.

 

We saw 2 in the windjamer 1 in Sorrentos and 1 in the Living Room (teens).

 

There might have been more but we didnt notice them.

 

The Windjammer has a 24hr grill station so machine in there was accessible 24hrs.

 

Maria

[CarpeCerevisi]

He got up and spoke afterwards. He always seems a really nice guy. I read once that he bought Sir Patrick Moores house off him (famous astrologer and host of The Sky At Night) when he was quite old and let him stay in the house for free for the rest of his life, so Patrick could use the money to live on.

 

 

 

I'm sure I saw the soda machine around the ship :cool:

 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lintott,_Moore,_May.jpg

 

Sir Patrick was an astronomer, not an astrologer, there is a big difference. Brian May is an astrophysicist and, of course, one the the best rock guitarists there is.

[papcx]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lintott,_Moore,_May.jpg

 

Sir Patrick was an astronomer, not an astrologer, there is a big difference. Brian May is an astrophysicist and, of course, one the the best rock guitarists there is.

 

 

I agree on 2 counts.

 

There's a massive difference between an astronomer and an astrologer. One relies on cold hard facts, after careful observation and the other is simply made up.

 

And Brian May is one of the best rock guitarists. I was lucky enough to see him play. He did an acoustic version of "love of my Life" and I was about 10 foot from him. Actually, he played, the crowd did most of the singing, including me.

[johala_reewi]

One of the bad things is smoking in the casino. It stinks even if nobody is smoking at the time. Even smoking friends of ours said it stank.

[Donsyb]

 

We saw 2 in the windjamer 1 in Sorrentos and 1 in the Living Room (teens).

 

a

 

There are two in sorrentos and also one in seaplex next to the hot dog place

[Donsyb]

I had originally planned a review with the same header ;)

 

We loved the ship, entertainment was great. Staff were very friendly, but service in restaurants was hit and miss as was the food quality (same poor some amazing).

 

Taste of anthem menus were our biggest issue which would have been my "ugly"!