On Anthem right now - pros and many cons

[alfaeric]

See my thread for cancelling my 3 cruises on the Anthem for the problems I saw/experienced on the same sailing as the OP

 

And see MY thread were we kept a later sailing on the Anthem. Over a similar one from Boston on the Serenade.

 

Not everyone had a bad time.

[John&LaLa]

Don's does and it's a garden variety Norelco. I think the plug is the same but the voltage is lower. I'll try to remember to ask him in the morning.

 

I'm replying as i go through the thread :eek:, but my shaver works fine. it is lower amps not watts i believe. won't power a hair dryer, which is the usual complaint.

[Merion_Mom]

What they need to do is get the system worked out.

 

Behind the door, the galley is set up pretty logically- there are 4 identical areas that are set up for each different area. In each area, the waiters pick up specific items in specific areas. And drop off dirty dishes in specific areas.

 

It's not that different than a MDR on every other ship.

 

The wrench in the system is the flexible timing. Where a waiter and assistant have to deal with 3-4 tables running on different time lines. That's where it can get confusing to someone who is used to a traditional set up.

 

Then matching that working with the galley- so that food is ready at the right pace.

 

The system breaks down when everyone wants to eat at the same time frame- so the room is full of people going through ordering, apps, main, and desert all at the same time- and there's also a line out the door. That doesn't happen with traditional timing when most people are phased in two main seating events.

 

Each of the 4 dining areas can sit close to 500 people EACH. Which when filled to the brim and blended in time makes movement interesting.

 

It's not impossible, but the working system needs to be put together better.

 

Still- the 4 restaurants are just like on big MDR all on MDT in one form or another. That can be worked out.

 

I appreciate how you phrased the situation.

 

How do you think this compares to My Time Dining on other ships, though? That seems to work just fine.

[Merion_Mom]

This piqued my curiosity. Would you mind explaining more?

 

I spoke to the head of passports/immigration when staff messed up so badly about something my family missed an excursion because we were unnecessarily detained at the gangway by security.

To try and make up for that they promised to send a car for us to take to our next day's excursion but that never showed up.

They kept trying to do good by Us. But it became a comedy of errors.

So in answer to the question did we speak to any higher ups? We most certainly did.

I am not a complainer by nature. Im someone who believes they should get what they paid for.

[critterchick]

I'm replying as i go through the thread :eek:, but my shaver works fine. it is lower amps not watts i believe. won't power a hair dryer, which is the usual complaint.

 

Don agrees with you on that point.;) It will recharge an electric toothbrush, too.

[alfaeric]

I appreciate how you phrased the situation.

 

How do you think this compares to My Time Dining on other ships, though? That seems to work just fine.

 

Discombobulated.

 

So far, when we see the MTD areas on all the ships- it's either one deck of a 3 deck dining area, or part of a deck of a two deck one. Give or take, maybe 30% of the diners are doing MTD. And even with that, you see some lines out the door all the while people saying that there isn't a wait for a walk up.

 

On this ship, even with "traditional" dining, it's pretty much 100% MTD. Traditional means you move around the 4 restaurants with the same waiter. And theoretically at the same time. But what I didn't hear with that system is that it's "main seating" and "late seating" system.

 

Basically scale up MTD by a lot.

 

Which is why I think the system CAN work. It just takes some work to get it all to work out.

 

Our times were 6-6:30pm for all week- and it was pretty smooth then. Once it got to 8pm, that's the time we heard that it all really fell apart. Even that note- I did hear that many of the dining issues were worked out by the end of the cruise (talking to the Diamond Concierge)

 

One other thing- with this ship being in Europe up until earlier this month- the patterns by the guests changed a lot.

 

I honestly think this will all get worked out over time. But there will be some adjustment pains (as we read about them).

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Does anyone have experience with Classic Dining? Wondering if maybe service is a little better? Or runs more smoothly?

Edited December 1, 2015 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[ISABELLA]

Keep in mind, nothing to ruin a cruise and nothing horrible. The overall cruise was great...just a lot of things that added up to impact the overall dining experience a bit. It would not take a huge amount of effort to fix these things but they do need to address them. As we did, if you have an issue make it known. Do it in a polite (feedback) manner and they will go out of ther way to correct as best they can.

 

We have done mainly Celebrity over the last 10 years and they have glitches as well - just not quite as many.

 

I always cruise with an open mind and anticipation of a good cruise. Like you, most of them in the past 8 years with Celebrity.

Good food and service are important to me. I do sail in AQ on Celebrity when I can and I like food and service in Blu. I would like to see Anthem, seems that everyone like the ship - it is an amazing ship and if I don't like food and service in free restaurants, will just have to try other places. I am taking all opinions on consideration and then will establish my own opinion.

Will see.....

One question - what does RC offer for Diamond members regarding breakfast? Is it similar to Elite breakfast on Celebrity? Thanks

Edited December 1, 2015 by ISABELLA

[Guest maddycat]

It is my understanding that the motion is partially the result of windage on such a tall ship, but also the narrower beam, vs. the Oasis. The creaking all over was weird from such an experienced shipbuilder. The dining situation was terrible. Waiters were rushing, doing the best they could while the "suits" were standing around. Food however was great, in our opinion. While the shows were very impressive, the audio was too loud on all stages for many age groups (not just older folks) from our conversations. We prefer Oasis and Freedom class.

 

I've been on 20 RCI cruises and on every one of them the audio has been too loud in the theaters. Many times it has been so loud that I leave. It's painful.

[linkerbink]

I've been on 20 RCI cruises and on every one of them the audio has been too loud in the theaters. Many times it has been so loud that I leave. It's painful.

 

I agree....now I never cruise without my earplugs!

[cruisedancemom]

Merion mom - without getting into too much detail - 2 members of my family were to be disembarking from the ship while we were in the Bahamas.

This had been set up months in advance and permission had been granted by Royal Caribbean.

Suffice to say all the issues related to the incident I mentioned had to do with one hand not knowing what the other one was doing. It had nothing to do with corporate red tape it was all ship specific.

There were problems when we tried to get off the ship on the 26th in the Bahamas (we docked a day early since we missed coco cay) and then again the next day when they were actually getting off for good.

It was so frustrating I could have cried. It seemed as though there were so many issues related to ineptitude it was getting very hard to believe!

[Submariner]

I hope Ken Rush is gone by April - can't stand the guy.....

Funny... I thought he did a fine stand-up job. Professional, and polite yet provided the necessary comic relief, where applicable.

[poncho1973]

See my thread for cancelling my 3 cruises on the Anthem for the problems I saw/experienced on the same sailing as the OP

 

I'm not going to New Jersey when I can cruise in Florida so easily, BUT I have to say that the interesting thing to me is that I want to go on Anthem MORE because of who I see hates it and who I see likes it on CC.

 

It's very cruise-partisan of me, but I'm amused by it.

[poncho1973]

I've been on 20 RCI cruises and on every one of them the audio has been too loud in the theaters. Many times it has been so loud that I leave. It's painful.

 

In the famous words of Ernie Anderson (RIP ol' Ghoulardi, a show long before my time, but always hilarious to see clips of):

 

"If it's too loud, you're too old!"

[alfaeric]

I'm not going to New Jersey when I can cruise in Florida so easily, BUT I have to say that the interesting thing to me is that I want to go on Anthem MORE because of who I see hates it and who I see likes it on CC.

 

It's very cruise-partisan of me, but I'm amused by it.

 

If you are considering a New England/Canada cruise, the Anthem would be a very good choice.

 

It's price for a 9 nighter is VERY close to a 7 night out of Boston.

 

:D

[DaniDanielle]

Ken is a lot better than Jimmy Rhodes. Our Quantum inaugural with him was actually boring.

[ThirstyCruiser]

We sailed on Quantum the last week it was here before going to China. The cruise was great, the food and service was fine. Yeah, getting a drink at dinner was tough. A couple of times I just got up and went to the bar right outside the dining room and was back in 5 minutes. Not ideal. But not something to crucify the entire class of ship over! I didn't sit there all grumpy like I made in my pants just cause they had one poor waiter trying to get drinks for 20 tables. I was thirsty, I got up, got my own drinks, and my happy cruise continued.

 

We waited in line for the bumper cars a few times. Oh the horror!

 

I did encounter a snotty bartender the first night. Seemed like he copped an attitude as soon as I presented my drink package card. Sucks for him. I avoided him and relied on the other bartender at the same bar the rest of the cruise who got about $20 in cash tips from me over the course of the week.

 

Last day at sea we were in rough seas and I thought the ship was quite stable (I've been on 7 cruises).

 

 

The people that complain about cruises likely complain about day to day life as well. Anyone wanna hear about how traffic was so bad today it took my 70 minutes to drive home instead of the normal 30? Yeah, that's what I thought....

 

Not that things aren't perfect on cruises or life, but that's just it. Life and cruises aren't perfect. Perception is reality, make the best of it. Jeepers, talk about first world problems. Wah, I had to wait 20 minutes for a 'free' meal in the MDR..... a meal that most people on this planet would consider a 10 star, once in a lifetime event.

 

Life's a garden, dig it?! - Joe Dirt

[sblair]

Funny... I thought he did a fine stand-up job. Professional, and polite yet provided the necessary comic relief, where applicable.

 

How many times have you sailed with Ken Rush? The first time he is great, but the 2nd time 3 years later it was completely boring because every line he said was identical to the first time we sailed with him. Just discovered he is on our Anthem cruise next week and dreading it. Hopefully he's got some new material in the last 2 years since we sailed with him.

 

The other issue as someone else put it so well is that Ken Rush loves Ken Rush. His ego just gets a bit tiresome too.

[marci22]

On this ship, even with "traditional" dining, it's pretty much 100% MTD. Traditional means you move around the 4 restaurants with the same waiter. And theoretically at the same time. But what I didn't hear with that system is that it's "main seating" and "late seating" system.

 

Could you explain this better? I had Dynamic Choice for an upcoming cruise but switched (waitlisted) to Classic Early because of all the complaints about Anthem MDR dining (and I have 5 people in my party).

[alfaeric]

Could you explain this better? I had Dynamic Choice for an upcoming cruise but switched (waitlisted) to Classic Early because of all the complaints about Anthem MDR dining (and I have 5 people in my party).

 

As I observed (didn't actually do it), even with a fixed dining time, I get the impression that the movement from place to place causes enough of a disturbance in the system that it still is more similar to massive MTD than traditional dining.

 

Again, being that we see that MTD works, and really well sometimes, I do really think that this can be dealt with and fixed.

 

Still, based on what we talked with the DL concierge, choosing the earlier classic dining should minimize the current issue- if it's not fixed by the time you get on board.

 

it will be really interesting to hear how you see it when you get on board.

 

If the movement issues can be contained only to the guests (which can't really be deal with via experience)- I think it will work pretty well.

 

I would to be surprised that many of the specific food issues can also be traced to the delivery system and it's timing. Enough people have liked the food to indicate that it's good, as a base. But we all know that bad delivery can really mess up the food experience (cold, rushed, sloppy, etc).

[Turtles06]

Could you explain this better? I had Dynamic Choice for an upcoming cruise but switched (waitlisted) to Classic Early because of all the complaints about Anthem MDR dining (and I have 5 people in my party).

 

Dynamic Dining "Classic" is traditional, fixed seating/fixed time dining. You have the same table (and table mates), the same servers, you eat at the same time (early or late), the only difference is that there isn't a single MDR -- all of you rotate together among four of the five "complimentary" venues, Silk, Chic, Grande, American Icon. (Not Devinly Decadence.)

 

This dining was never intended for the Quantum class ships but was "retrofitted" by RCI in reaction (or overreaction) to the early Quantum cruisers who were so negative about the original Dynamic Dining (now called DD Choice) when it was first introduced.

 

Apparently, if you are in DD Classic, you won't know the order of rotation of the restaurants until you are on board, which makes it hard to decide which nights (if any) you might skip for specialty dining.

 

I liked the original Dynamic Dining on Anthem (DD "Choice") -- you decide where you want to eat, and when. It's about as close to freestyle/MTD as you can get (albeit it's a good idea to make reservations, particularly given the shows that need to be reserved).

[caribbean sailor]

WOW - the food/service situation was the same when we sailed on Quantum last November. I could have written your exact comments. I was hoping they'd have worked it all out by now. NJ is also our homeport, and we don't like flying...I wish they'd just bring Explorer or Liberty back.

 

Could not agree with you more,we also live in New Jersey.Would love to see the Explorer or Liberty in cape liberty.Only problem they raise the price of the other ships to pay for the quantum class.The amusement parks of the seas.After fourteen cruises in a row,we have no cruise planed for 2016.Refuse to fly or sail quantum class.Flame on :)

[OTownNick]

We sailed on Anthem for 12 nights out of Southampton in June. This was the best cruise we ever had and our new favorite ship. I don't know why anyone would say the ship is bad cause it rocks or creaks. No one can control the weather and all ships do this. We had 18-ft seas the 1st 2 days, but it handled it perfectly fine. Better than OTHER ships I have sailed.

 

We experienced the opposite of what the negative things mentioned about service and food. Lines at bumper cars?, They can't help it if there's 1,000 kids onboard for the holiday and they all want to show up at the same time.

 

Other positives- the shows, the ships elegance, the RipCord, the gym was amazing, Jamies and Wonderland both excellent.

 

I'm not discounting anything people observed or have opinions on. We just saw nothing but positives in our cruise and we can't wait to go back on the Anthem.

Edited December 3, 2015 by OTownNick

[champagne123]

We sailed on Anthem for 12 nights out of Southampton in June. This was the best cruise we ever had and our new favorite ship. I don't know why anyone would say the ship is bad cause it rocks or creaks. No one can control the weather and all ships do this. We had 18-ft seas the 1st 2 days, but it handled it perfectly fine. Better than OTHER ships I have sailed.

 

We experienced the opposite of what the negative things mentioned about service and food. Lines at bumper cars?, They can't help it if there's 1,000 kids onboard for the holiday and they all want to show up at the same time.

 

Other positives- the shows, the ships elegance, the RipCord, the gym was amazing, Jamies and Wonderland both excellent.

 

I'm not discounting anything people observed or have opinions on. We just saw nothing but positives in our cruise and we can't wait to go back on the Anthem.

 

Love your attitude. Cannot wait to sail the Anthem.

[marci22]

Still, based on what we talked with the DL concierge, choosing the earlier classic dining should minimize the current issue- if it's not fixed by the time you get on board.

 

I agree.

 

Apparently, if you are in DD Classic, you won't know the order of rotation of the restaurants until you are on board, which makes it hard to decide which nights (if any) you might skip for specialty dining.

 

I planned on booking specialty on board anyway. The included dining seems to be getting very meh reviews.