We were so looking forward to the Anthem of The Seas

[Flying Scott]

We are Diamond and love the Oasis Class which we have cruised on 4 times. We have been waiting for the dust to settle on the Quantum Class but that just doesn't seem to be happening. Less than 1/2 of the cruisers loved the Anthem, that's horrible. We wanted to do a New England/Canada cruise around Sept 2016 but I am not willing to pay the price at the risk of not having a great experience. So, it looks like we will go on the Serenade of the Seas which is getting awesome reviews and is a whole lot cheaper. Is RC paying attention?

Edited December 26, 2015 by Flying Scott

[Mythbuster]

I have not been on the Anthem yet (March2016) but we did go on the Quantum. I was like you very concerned about the reviews. We went any way and was very happy we did. We were blown away by the ship and the experience.

 

If you are a traditional cruiser who wants their formal night and classic dining and traditional Broadway type shows you will be disappointed. This is not your father's cruise ship. However, if you love new experiences and can go with the flow, you will enjoy her.

 

We loved going to different dining venues and found the food was acceptable and no better or worse than the Oasis or other RCI ships. For every negative experienced we had 2 positive experiences.

 

I know you are talking about the glitches but I have found that those who are frustrated with the very different experience are also less tolerant of problems that comes up. I would never go on a ship the 1st couple of months because of the newly trained staff but within 6 months it should be fine.

[Overtyme]

We are Diamond and love the Oasis Class which we have cruised on 4 times. We have been waiting for the dust to settle on the Quantum Class but that just doesn't seem to be happening. Less than 1/2 of the cruisers loved the Anthem, that's horrible. We wanted to do a New England/Canada cruise around Sept 2016 but I am not willing to pay the price at the risk of not having a great experience. So, it looks like we will go on the Serenade of the Seas which is getting awesome reviews and is a whole lot cheaper. Is RC paying attention?

 

 

Loved the Serenade! By today's standards, she's smaller, but just a great ship.

What's interesting about that statement is that she doesn't have all of the attractions (some would say gimmicks) that the newer ships have.

We had a great time on her. Amazing service. The views were spectacular and the entertainment was great.

Enjoy your cruise!

[bayob]

We agree with Mythbuster. We were on the Quantum last year and loved it. We did the 12/12 sailing on Anthem and loved it. We are booked on Anthem 3/27 and can't wait. We love the dining since we enjoy having a table for two. We also found the food to be decent. We are not foodies so we are not fussy about our food. The ship is beautiful. The solarium is wonderful. We found the majority of gone staff to be very accommodating and friendly. Go with a positive attitude and you will have a good time.

[Lynne95]

bayob - good to know. We are also on the 3/27 cruise, and I admit I'm a bit nervous, but we are go-with-the-flow people, and am eager to see this beautiful ship! Happy to hear you enjoyed it enough to book another cruise.

[swoopy2110]

We are Diamond and love the Oasis Class which we have cruised on 4 times. We have been waiting for the dust to settle on the Quantum Class but that just doesn't seem to be happening. Less than 1/2 of the cruisers loved the Anthem, that's horrible. We wanted to do a New England/Canada cruise around Sept 2016 but I am not willing to pay the price at the risk of not having a great experience. So, it looks like we will go on the Serenade of the Seas which is getting awesome reviews and is a whole lot cheaper. Is RC paying attention?

 

Less than half the people who have written a review on CC didn't enjoy it ... the other thousands and thousands of people who have cruised her probably loved it! We did when we cruised on her in May :)

[Lveh8lve]

Anthem had is ups and downs, but we booked a holiday cruise for next year. A lot of serious cruisers simply hated the ship. I heard that from suite guests as well. One person told me he thought the service was disastrous since he only got 3 towel animals in a 7 day cruise. We had an inedible meal, but it didn't ruin our cruise. Be open minded and you'll have ablst

[MikeandConnie]

This is not your father's cruise ship. However, if you love new experiences and can go with the flow, you will enjoy her.

 

 

 

Exactly what we're looking forward to !! :) ( 12 day out of Bayonne 10-29-16 )

[MisterBill99]

As I see it from reading many posts here (and I will be on Anthem for the first time next week), there are two issues here that are causing the bad reviews.

 

First, it's a different cruising experience. People who liked having the same table in the same dining room each night may/will not like Anthem (this was a big factor in Quantum's bad reviews last year). In theory, DD Classic fixes this but you still have to go to different dining rooms each night. But you still have to reserve shows, activities, etc. As someone else said, it's not your father's cruise ship. It's also not your old reliable cruise experience either.

 

Second, and I think more importantly, there appear to be real service and food quality issues on Anthem, seemingly worse since she got to the US. There are too many bad reviews of Silk on this board for it to be just an individual opinion (or someone who doesn't like Asian cuisine) so there is obviously a problem there. It appears to me that they have cut back of employees again so even in restaurants where the food is OK, the service is poor and meals take too long. I remember reading about issues like this on Q last year and that Adam Goldstein was on a sailing and saw (and presumably heard about) the problems first-hand. He reportedly ordered that more staff be added, and that made things better. Seems like he or some other top exec needs to sail on Anthem and see the problems first-hand.

 

Anyway, that's my take from reading all the posts here. I'll see things first-hand next week.

Edited December 29, 2015 by MisterBill99

[Robinhill]

I have not been on the Anthem yet (March2016) but we did go on the Quantum. I was like you very concerned about the reviews. We went any way and was very happy we did. We were blown away by the ship and the experience.

 

If you are a traditional cruiser who wants their formal night and classic dining and traditional Broadway type shows you will be disappointed. This is not your father's cruise ship. However, if you love new experiences and can go with the flow, you will enjoy her.

 

We loved going to different dining venues and found the food was acceptable and no better or worse than the Oasis or other RCI ships. For every negative experienced we had 2 positive experiences.

 

I know you are talking about the glitches but I have found that those who are frustrated with the very different experience are also less tolerant of problems that comes up. I would never go on a ship the 1st couple of months because of the newly trained staff but within 6 months it should be fine.

 

so are there no formal nights? I am just doing the 3 day to nowhere in March but if i dont need to pack a gown i won't. Thanks

[Turtles06]

so are there no formal nights? I am just doing the 3 day to nowhere in March but if i dont need to pack a gown i won't. Thanks

 

Leave it home! There are no formal nights on Anthem. The Grande restaurant (and that alone) is "formal" for dinner, but what that boils down to is that men have to be wearing a jacket to walk to their table; if they didn't pack one, there are loaners. No dress shirt or tie required, and certainly no gowns required. Some nice clothes and you'll feel perfectly comfortable. Not to say that some folks weren't wearing true formal wear, but there is zero need for that unless it's something you enjoy.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

If you are a traditional cruiser who wants their formal night and classic dining and traditional Broadway type shows you will be disappointed. This is not your father's cruise ship. However, if you love new experiences and can go with the flow, you will enjoy her.

 

 

I think this is the key to deciding whether or not you want to try a Quantum Class ship.

 

For me: I don't think I'm ready for it.

Edited December 29, 2015 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[broberts]

Anthem had is ups and downs, but we booked a holiday cruise for next year. A lot of serious cruisers simply hated the ship. I heard that from suite guests as well. One person told me he thought the service was disastrous since he only got 3 towel animals in a 7 day cruise. We had an inedible meal, but it didn't ruin our cruise. Be open minded and you'll have ablst

 

Once one is on a cruise, I agree one must roll with the punches and take enjoyment where one can. But knowing that even one meal was inedible for someone makes me think that shelling out a premium fare may not be worth it.

 

Premium fares in my mind should deliver a premium experience. An experience without teething issues.

[dani negreanu]

I'm also looking on cruising New England/Canada late summer, and after "sampling" the Anthem for 13 days, I'm not ready to pay premium prices again.

Serenade seems a good bet.

 

BTW, re: dining experience on Anthem. We had reservations for all the evenings at the complimentary restaurants, and after eating once at Chic and Silk, and twice at Grande and AI, we cancelled the remaining ones, ate dinner at WJ, which we found various and good. We also ate once at Jamie's -- nothing to write home about:mad:

[jonj]

Once one is on a cruise, I agree one must roll with the punches and take enjoyment where one can. But knowing that even one meal was inedible for someone makes me think that shelling out a premium fare may not be worth it.

 

Premium fares in my mind should deliver a premium experience. An experience without teething issues.

 

While the cruise prices are increasing and for most of us it is a "premium" price. Royal Caribbean is in no way a premium cruise line. it is mid stream. Premium experiences can be found on Cunard, Oceania, Crystal, etc. those really are "premium" prices and out of my price range :)

Edited December 30, 2015 by jonj

[MisterBill99]

While the cruise prices are increasing and for most of us it is a "premium" price. Royal Caribbean is in no way a premium cruise line. it is mid stream. Premium experiences can be found on Cunard, Oceania, Crystal, etc. those really are "premium" prices and out of my price range :)

They may not be a premium line, but they were certainly charging premium prices for Anthem when bookings first opened. Fortunately, prices came down significantly for both of my cruises and hopefully others who booked when prices were high had them adjusted while they were cheaper.

 

I'm not expecting gourmet food at the free venues on Anthem, but well prepared food that matches the menu description shouldn't be beyond their capabilities and I'd like it to be better than what you can get at Applebee's. Asian food is not that difficult to prepare, and it's certainly not premium, yet it appears that they are unable to turn out decent quality food at Silk. You should not have an inedible meal no matter what price point the cruise is.

 

The lines you are talking about are considered luxury.

Edited January 1, 2016 by MisterBill99

[Tura Lura]

I'll be on Anthem for the New England / Canada cruise 9/8. Everything "traditional" cruisers don't like are all the reasons I choose this ship. Looking forward to dynamic choice dining and eating where/when I want (I'll be winging it), high speed unlimited internet ( free promo), 270, rock n roll, no table mates, no formal nights, and yay- solo cabin!

[BND]

I'm reading the reviews, but taking them for what they are, other people's opinions. We plan to have a great time and while we appreciate good food, it's not the reason we cruise. While we've found food on RCI varies from ship to ship, and we like to eat, we have yet to be on a cruise that had high end, gourmet food. It's a mass market line feeding lots of people. We can't wait to enjoy this new ship.

Edited January 1, 2016 by BND

[Arzeena]

I have not been on the Anthem yet (March2016) but we did go on the Quantum. I was like you very concerned about the reviews. We went any way and was very happy we did. We were blown away by the ship and the experience.

 

If you are a traditional cruiser who wants their formal night and classic dining and traditional Broadway type shows you will be disappointed. This is not your father's cruise ship. However, if you love new experiences and can go with the flow, you will enjoy her.

 

We loved going to different dining venues and found the food was acceptable and no better or worse than the Oasis or other RCI ships. For every negative experienced we had 2 positive experiences.

 

I know you are talking about the glitches but I have found that those who are frustrated with the very different experience are also less tolerant of problems that comes up. I would never go on a ship the 1st couple of months because of the newly trained staff but within 6 months it should be fine.

 

Great way to put it!

We had a good experience on the Q and are looking forward to a great one on the A.

[kevinyork]

We have been on Indy and Adventure. Anthem this Autumn eclipsed them both. Very stylish, great food (dynamic dining worked fine) and great fun things to do. We would be unlikely to go back to a ship with a Royal promenade and big main dining room on RCI.

 

 

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