On Anthem right now - pros and many cons

[poncho1973]

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.

 

All of this has been done on DCL ships forever. Royal is newer to it and will need to keep improving the process, but the process itself works.

 

The comment about retrofitting is pretty moot if it is intended to mean the layout of the ship wasn't originally based on this concept. The DCL ships have dining rooms on different decks and different ends of the ships AND were designed from the start that way. It has no real bearing on the rotational dining process.

 

If that comment was just pointing out that it was added later and that's all... then yes, that's true. I do agree that it was an overreaction to some serious whining that would've probably resolved itself without that particular solution.

[Trainman52]

I have read all pages of this most negative opinions ( mostly about food and service) and , unless I missed it, I have not seen anyone went to the Hotel Director during the cruise and asked for an explanation to all poor aspects of the dining experience, like long wait for a reserved dinner time, poor service at the table, cold or tasteless food....I wouldn't wait till my cruise is over and then complain.

I was very excited when my first Anthem cruise was booked for April 2016 and even after reading all negative reviews about Q, still decided to give RC another try. We had very bad cruise on Liberty last December and after many years of sailing on RC, I decided - will never sail RC again.

But still holding a hope for some drastic improvements on the Anthem before we sail...Would like to create my own opinion - loved it or never do it again.

We sail March 7th. After all of the problems with Quantum and the negative press received, you think that RCI would have learned something; obviously not.

 

I will be keeping a journal of EVERYTHING and will be a frequent visitor to guest relations should we encounter a problem.

 

The excuse with Quantum was that it was rolled out too soon. They were actually outfitting it during our cruise.

 

Stay tuned.

[Trainman52]

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

I think that Jimmy was stressed out due to the number of complaints that he was receiving about problems with dynamic dining and the whole reservation problem.

[DaniDanielle]

Makes sense but we just thought a few more activities would have helped.

[A&L_Ont]

Anyone else surprised that this Anthem thread gets to live another day, on the main boards, while others are shunted to gnome man's land (contdown to Quantum) to die?

[poncho1973]

I will be keeping a journal of EVERYTHING and will be a frequent visitor to guest relations should we encounter a problem.

 

Seriously, why bother even cruising? I'm not being rude or mean, just asking. Why bother?

 

This particular sentence in your post is just an awful way to look at life. This is a fun, relaxing vacation we're talking about. There is no need to turn it into an exercise in professional-grade complaining.

 

Stay tuned.

 

No thanks. I hate that society, generally speaking, has turned this way. "I'm going to complain for sport and the ENTIRE WORLD will know my personal dissatisfaction!!!!"

 

I fear that one day archeologists will uncover our ruins and know that social media destroyed our ability to live normal lives because people were trying to get internet famous for first-world problems.

[cruisedancemom]

As the OP I am jumping in here again because I am surprised at how many people love to bash the people with valid complaints.

I said WE HAD A GREAT TRIP and I started off the thread with the positives (and there are plenty)

But I had watched the boards since the beginning of this class and I expected more from Royal Caribbean.

I really thought the kinks would be worked out by now. And they weren't.

If a few things go wrong on a vacation it can be excused but when MANY things go wrong then the cruise line needs to pay attention.

As I mentioned, I did go to higher ups and there was a level of not caring on their part that I found concerning.

I don't need great food all the time to make me happy, but I do need nice and caring crew to serve it!

My main beef is that the staff doesn't seem happy and it shows.

Many of them seemed annoyed . The wonderful ship is meaningless to me to me if I don't feel the staff cares about my (our experience)

As an example, the celebrity summit is an older ship and the main dining room food was not good this past October on my cruise!

But I didn't complain about it on cruise critic because the staff is so warm and wonderful they go out of their way to make you happy.

I know it's a much smaller ship but I know I wouldn't have cared nearly as much about lines and waiting for things on Anthem if the crew had just smiled and acted like they cared more!

It was my first Royal cruise and I had heard great things about the cruise line so I was just very surprised by the lack of crew happiness.

[A&L_Ont]

As the OP I am jumping in here again because I am surprised at how many people love to bash the people with valid complaints.

I said WE HAD A GREAT TRIP and I started off the thread with the positives (and there are plenty)

But I had watched the boards since the beginning of this class and I expected more from Royal Caribbean.

I really thought the kinks would be worked out by now. And they weren't.

If a few things go wrong on a vacation it can be excused but when MANY things go wrong then the cruise line needs to pay attention.

As I mentioned, I did go to higher ups and there was a level of not caring on their part that I found concerning.

I don't need great food all the time to make me happy, but I do need nice and caring crew to serve it!

My main beef is that the staff doesn't seem happy and it shows.

Many of them seemed annoyed . The wonderful ship is meaningless to me to me if I don't feel the staff cares about my (our experience)

As an example, the celebrity summit is an older ship and the main dining room food was not good this past October on my cruise!

But I didn't complain about it on cruise critic because the staff is so warm and wonderful they go out of their way to make you happy.

I know it's a much smaller ship but I know I wouldn't have cared nearly as much about lines and waiting for things on Anthem if the crew had just smiled and acted like they cared more!

It was my first Royal cruise and I had heard great things about the cruise line so I was just very surprised by the lack of crew happiness.

 

I agree with you. The difference of the worker's mood (on a cruise ship or land based venue) can greatly effect my feelings and impressions. If they are happy I can gloss over things. If they are consistantly unhappy I can see how a mediocre experience can become tarnished by their mood.

 

I have read Quantum Class reviews that state there needs to be greater help in dining venue service as well as drink service. RC can't expand the crew sleeping accomidations to allow for more help, so it appears that RC has an interesting problem to solve in improving dining room staff moral.

 

Maybe they should forget the Bionic Bars and look at a way of helping wait staff and not turn them into "robots".

[Dave85]

 

Maybe they should forget the Bionic Bars and look at a way of helping wait staff and not turn them into "robots".

 

 

Or create some new "Bionic Kitchen Runners" that keep food warm and have big smiles on their robot faces. ;) Wouldn't need any additional crew cabins!

Edited December 3, 2015 by Dave85

[Trainman52]

Seriously, why bother even cruising? I'm not being rude or mean, just asking. Why bother?

 

This particular sentence in your post is just an awful way to look at life. This is a fun, relaxing vacation we're talking about. There is no need to turn it into an exercise in professional-grade complaining.

 

 

 

No thanks. I hate that society, generally speaking, has turned this way. "I'm going to complain for sport and the ENTIRE WORLD will know my personal dissatisfaction!!!!"

 

I fear that one day archeologists will uncover our ruins and know that social media destroyed our ability to live normal lives because people were trying to get internet famous for first-world problems.

We had sailed on Quantum last December, what a disaster. They were literally building the ship during the cruise. They were doing painting, wiring, hanging pictures. The elevators were a total mess. The last day of the cruise my wife got food poisoning. When I contacted RCI upon our return, their reply was that I should have made guest relations aware of the various problems that we had during the cruise. THAT is why I will keep a record. Not because I like to complain, but RCI is a bureaucracy that will only respond when you have everything documented. Sad but true.

 

Guest relations on the Quantum was a fiasco as well. Rather than having a traditional desk, they had "stations" where you could discuss your concerns with a representative. Unfortunately, they had no way of queuing all of the people who they needed to deal with. They were literally coming at them from all angles. I am not a technophobe, but there is a time when tradition wins out over innovation.

 

FWIW - many cruise lines have devolved to Motel 6 meets Applebees. We first started cruising in 1976. It was a whole different atmosphere back then.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Trainman52

[Trainman52]

Or create some new "Bionic Kitchen Runners" that keep food warm and have big smiles on their robot faces. ;) Wouldn't need any additional crew cabins!

On the Quantum the wait staff was severely taxed. Many of the restaurants had the guest capacity, but didn't have the staff to handle the tables.

[A&L_Ont]

Or create some new "Bionic Kitchen Runners" that keep food warm and have big smiles on their robot faces. ;) Wouldn't need any additional crew cabins!

 

I thought about about it that but didn't suggest it. I could only imagine the tipping threads that would create. "I never get the human, I only got the robot and they had no personality". Following that would come the discussions about more fuel consumed to generate the power to charge the robots, which in turn would increase the fares to pay for the extra bunker.

 

The robots and servers might have no emotion, but the boards here would have animation.:D

[njmomof2]

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

 

I don't expect my life or my cruise to be perfect. Heck, I drive 35-40 minutes to work each way every week, and there are many days that my commute is 60-75 minutes. Do I complain? Nope, that's just the way it is. I expect it.

 

However, my commute to work is a requirement, not a luxury. I'm not spending thousands of dollars (other than the cost of my car and gas if you excuse that) on commuting to work. I am, however, spending quite a bit for a cruise on a line that I've been sailing with for years, and from whom I have come to expect a certain level of product and service. I should not have to wait 20 minutes in line for a "free" meal (which is not free but is included in my fare) when I've made a reservation, I shouldn't have to eat lukewarm food that I have waited 45 minutes to be delivered, I shouldn't have to be treated indifferently or, worse, rudely by staff.

 

First world problems...I hate that phrase. Someone recently posted in response to that phrase too. If this was a board for charity work, or about poverty in third world countries, and someone started complaining about their commute or that their food from a local restaurant was not correct, maybe I can tolerate it. But this is a board about cruising. We are all lucky that we can spend the money to enjoy a "luxury" trip. So saying that these are first world problems and basically we should all suck it up and deal with things that aren't perfect, is really insulting.

 

Again, I don't expect perfection. But what I do expect is to get what I've paid for, and if I don't, I will speak to someone about it. And I'll make my feelings known on a board such as this so others have the opportunity to judge for themselves if it's important or not.

[DaniDanielle]

Well said

[Cuizer2]

Suffice to say one hand doesn't know what the other is doing often enough.

 

Lately this seems to sum up Royal Caribbean. Royal Caribbean has a new president and I guess it is taking some time to get the lines of communication straightened out.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Cuizer2

[poncho1973]

We had sailed on Quantum last December, what a disaster. They were literally building the ship during the cruise. They were doing painting, wiring, hanging pictures. The elevators were a total mess. The last day of the cruise my wife got food poisoning. When I contacted RCI upon our return, their reply was that I should have made guest relations aware of the various problems that we had during the cruise. THAT is why I will keep a record. Not because I like to complain, but RCI is a bureaucracy that will only respond when you have everything documented. Sad but true.

 

Guest relations on the Quantum was a fiasco as well. Rather than having a traditional desk, they had "stations" where you could discuss your concerns with a representative. Unfortunately, they had no way of queuing all of the people who they needed to deal with. They were literally coming at them from all angles. I am not a technophobe, but there is a time when tradition wins out over innovation.

 

FWIW - many cruise lines have devolved to Motel 6 meets Applebees. We first started cruising in 1976. It was a whole different atmosphere back then.

 

And yet, you keep going.

 

I'd guess that virtually EVERYTHING you do for entertainment, vacation, work, recreation, etc. is different than what you did in 1976. It's easy to glorify the good old days of free love, polyester, disco, and plaid!

 

Unless you still only watch your 3 channels on a flickering 19" console mono TV...

[OTownNick]

I don't know where all this negativity comes from, but I've cruised almost 50 times and have NEVER had a bad cruise. Anthem is my favorite ship and anyone thinking about booking her should definitely do it.

[Dave85]

I don't know where all this negativity comes from, but I've cruised almost 50 times and have NEVER had a bad cruise. Anthem is my favorite ship and anyone thinking about booking her should definitely do it.

 

 

Agreed! (And nearly 82 cruises between us lol)

[Dave85]

I thought about about it that but didn't suggest it. I could only imagine the tipping threads that would create. "I never get the human, I only got the robot and they had no personality". Following that would come the discussions about more fuel consumed to generate the power to charge the robots, which in turn would increase the fares to pay for the extra bunker.

 

The robots and servers might have no emotion, but the boards here would have animation.:D

 

 

IMHO it would be worth it just to see those threads on CC :D

[ISABELLA]

I don't know where all this negativity comes from, but I've cruised almost 50 times and have NEVER had a bad cruise. Anthem is my favorite ship and anyone thinking about booking her should definitely do it.

 

I can use something positive to read - please tell us what is that you like so much about Anthem....:)

[Turtles06]

I can use something positive to read - please tell us what is that you like so much about Anthem....:)

 

I'm not the person to whom you posed the request, but you can read my comments about Anthem here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2277588

 

As I said there, we had a great time, and I specified in detail what we loved about Anthem (and the few thing we didn't). Photos too. :)

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

 

FWIW - many cruise lines have devolved to Motel 6 meets Applebees. We first started cruising in 1976. It was a whole different atmosphere back then.

 

Give me a break!

 

Why are you even bothering to cruise anymore?

[grouchomarx]

After all the time I spend on CC I'm still bewildered by people who go on a new cruise ship that is a totally different style of cruising than what they're accustomed to and the opposite of what they love, and then they turn around and criticize everything about it. If you're here on CC researching cruises you would easily expect plenty of kinks to be worked out on a brand new cruise ship. This is par for the course. If you think you can't handle that or the new style of cruising (dynamic dining, etc) please stay home or cruise elsewhere. Our Caribbean inaugural cruise on the Anthem had some snags, like bars being out of ingredients or dining room menu items not in stock and we expected that were fine with it. Everything else was fantastic. (I'm disgusted with myself for chiming in on this very stale thread but it's a slow afternoon here.)

[Cuizer2]

We first started cruising in 1976. It was a whole different atmosphere back then.

 

Do you mean less greenhouse gases?

[OTownNick]

I can use something positive to read - please tell us what is that you like so much about Anthem....:)

 

We loved the elegance of the ship. It has the wow factor. Everything throughout is beautiful. We loved the dynamic dining. Some restaurants were better than others but I really liked Silk (food is subjective though). We absolutely loved Jamie's Italian. Wonderland was the best meal we've ever had. Get the server to suggest the food items. They bring a few dishes of each course to share. The servers in these 2 places were top notch. Same wth Silk. One night at Grand there WAS a little hiccup with getting our server assigned to our table and we waited a little bit, but it was a miscommunication. Not a big deal.

 

We really loved the various activities. I usually love the Flow Rider but it was too cold for me. The Ripcord was awesome. Did it 5 times (it's all free. After 1st time, you just show up as stand by and they let you fly). Bumper cars were great. Puzzle Break really fun. North Star was cool, but most of the time there was a pretty long line and we didn't feel like waiting 30 minutes. We finally went when the line wasn't so bad.

 

We loved the Concierge Lounge, but realize not everyone has access to this. I WISH I could have eaten in Coastal Kitchen. Heard it is wonderful.

 

The shows were spectacular. The 270 amazing. Had fun playing progressive Trivia in there. Worked out in the gym most days and that gym is really well equipped. Loved the ambiance of the Royal Esplanade and the Via. Loved Michael's Genuine draft and his pub. Loved the variety of the restaurants.

 

Music Hall always had a lot happening in there. There's even a pool table onboard.

 

We also loved the SeaPlex in general. Ping pong without the ball flying everywhere due to wind and we played Foos ball. If I played Xbox this ship would make me very happy but I don't play it lol.

 

We loved our balcony, but needed extra hangers (a lot LOL).

 

I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out, but you get the idea.

Edited December 3, 2015 by OTownNick