Review - Anthem Christmas Bahamas Dec 19 2015

[windjamming]

We are booked on the new Ovation OTS departing Sydney, Australia - interestingly we board on the 15th but depart on the 16th December, so we will be moored under the bridge and beside the Opera House for an extra day. The cruise travels down to Hobart and then over to New Zealand before returning on the 30th December. Christmas Day is at sea.

 

I have been really interested to read everyone's reviews on this Christmas Cruise on the Anthem. Although ours will be different, it will be similar in many areas I imagine. However, I have picked up some good tips and look forward to this cruise with an open mind.

 

Chris

 

Holy cow, that sounds like an amazing itinerary!! And for Christmas!

 

They really did a great job on the Anthem for Christmas. The ship was beautifully decorated, of course, but Santa arriving on the North Star and giving out gifts to all kids was really special. Plus the egg nog. :)

 

Have a great time!

[windjamming]

SHIP

 

If I had to pick one word to describe this ship, it would be “modern”. Our waiter in American Icon said succinctly that it’s for “young people”. I wouldn’t go that far, but it is hipper and more tech-centric than your traditional Royal Caribbean ship. There are big screens in every elevator landing and many corners of the ship that told where you are on the ship, where the ship is, the time, weather, where you’ll be tomorrow, sunset, and sunrise. It also had a nice feature which showed where every ship in the Royal Caribbean (plus sister companies) fleet was in the world.

 

In no particular order, some distinguishing and not-so-distinguishing features of the ship:

 

RoyalIQ

 

The prevalence of the RoyalIQ app was the most obvious tech influence. You could download it onto your phone ahead of time (or, if you didn’t get a chance to do so, at a specific download hotspot near the theater), and when you’re on the ship, it would provide all sorts of relevant info about your sailing.

 

It had menus, the daily cruise compass, your calendar and reservations, ability to make/cancel dinner reservations, buy excursions, and a few other features. It also had a “luggage finder” feature which didn’t work for us until the last night, when it suddenly let us know that our luggage had been delivered to our stateroom. It didn’t work again the next morning, when our luggage had been taken off the ship.

 

The other features were fine, though, and it was useful to have all the info at your fingertips on demand. Sometimes we’d wonder what else what happening on the ship, and all we’d have to do was check the phone. Or if we had a few minutes, we could check out the menu for that night’s dinner.

 

If you don’t have a phone or don’t want to carry it around, there were many iPads throughout the ship with the RoyalIQ app.

 

Stateroom

 

We had a balcony stateroom on deck 10, starboard side. In our configuration, the sofa bed was near the balcony door, and as others have mentioned before, space is *very* tight when the bed is open. We found plenty of storage, even for 3 adults.

 

There are both US and European outlets as well as 2 USB chargers, which came in very handy. As almost everyone knows by now, you need to stick a card into the slot near the front door to activate the lights. Any card will do. We used an old coupon card.

 

Photos

 

I think this was probably the one big #fail of the cruise.

 

Picture this (haha, think Sophia from Golden Girls): the photo gallery had about a dozen monitors where you could look at and purchase your photos by tapping your SeaPass against a sensor. (What’s nice is that you can pull up pictures of everyone in your stateroom. So my mom could see pictures of me on iFly, for example.)

 

It was generally empty all cruise save for the occasional person who wanted to check out the photos taken thus far.

 

Of course, on the last day, it was packed! We went up to a free monitor and picked our pictures but then weren’t sure how to apply our C&A coupon. None of the roaming agents were free to answer the question, so we went to the customer service line and waited until learning that the coupons would be applied automatically. Great! (They should publicize that more.) So we went back to our monitor, clicked on the pictures we wanted, and were given a time of 9pm to pick up our photos.

 

At 9pm, we had the Farewell Show (with half the ship), so at 10pm half the ship was in line to pick up photos. Lines were by stateroom deck, so there was some parallel processing going on, but it was still a bit chaotic.

 

OK, so here’s where the process needs some tweaking. The concept of picking your photos digitally and then picking up the printouts is certainly the right one. It’s certainly better than the old ship set up where all the photos are printed, and if they’re not sold, are thrown out. Instead of having people stand in line for the printouts, though, maybe they can leave paid prints in those circular kiosk things like on the Oasis with the kiosk number on your SeaPass. I guess there would be a risk of people stealing other peoples’ photos or claiming there's wasn’t there, but the benefits of a self-service system should outweigh the chances of dishonest people.

 

And of course, the easy solution is just to buy your photos earlier in the cruise!

 

Library

 

Upstairs in 270, there is a small library. There were some nice selections, and I read a new Dave Barry book. There were also some board games and sudoku pages, so I guess this area also doubled up as the game room.

 

On our cruise, it was the meeting place for one of a few large tour groups on board, so it was always busy. Otherwise, I’d think it would be a wonderful place to relax for a little while and take in the expansive views.

 

Note - there is an accessible elevator going from the 1st floor to the Library.

 

Gym

 

This was on the top most deck - I think 16? Nothing too out of the ordinary. On our cruise, they had a free stretch class at 7am and at 5:30pm every day, with a free abs class at 7:30am and some paid classes (I think yoga?) mixed in.

 

Diamond Club

 

This was on Deck 4 starboard, tucked away in a corner, right near the theater. There was an exit into the upstairs of the Music Hall. It was quite beautiful, and every night there was hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. (3 words: bacon wrapped scallops!!) The coffee machine was available 24 hours, and in the mornings they’d have a continental breakfast.

 

Tip: there is a choice for just foamed milk in the coffee machine. I’d put some hot cocoa mix into a cup and add some foamed milk. Delicious and rich!! One of these days I’ll bring this up to the Windjammer during breakfast time and add some of the whipped cream they have set out for waffles. (And then proceed to not eat again that day, as that will have been my entire day’s recommended caloric intake.)

 

Concierge Club

 

About halfway through the cruise we realized we received no information about the Concierge Club. I hadn’t kept up on my Cruise Critic reading (shame) so wasn’t sure if Diamond Plus had lost its privileges. On the afternoon of our second to last sea day, we decided to find out.

 

First, we had to find the Concierge Club. On the Anthem, it’s waaayyyy aft on Deck 12, which is a really long walk! We got there, and I gingerly tried tapping my card.

 

It worked! We then boldly walked in. The lounge was huge and spanned the entire aft of the ship!! The door was on the port side, and the concierge was at his desk on the starboard side. He had to wave fervently to catch our attention to say hello and greet us.

 

The lounge was really pretty and the view awesome! And it had chocolate covered strawberries and peanut butter cheesecake for an afternoon snack, as well as fruit. Of course we had to stay and enjoy the lounge a little!

 

Conference Rooms

 

Since we were on a kick to visit random places, we also found the conference rooms - also wayyy aft but on Deck 13. There were 4 conference rooms, named for each of the ships in the Radiance class: Radiance, Serenade, Brilliance, and Jewel. 2 other tour groups had commandeered 2 of the conference rooms, but we peeked in an empty one and saw a gorgeous aft view. There is a bathroom back here. (For staterooms in Deck 13 aft that could be useful.)

 

Solarium

 

We only went by here a few times but never had a chance to stay. It’s absolutely gorgeous. The swing is a lot of fun - definitely try it at least once. My mom and I were able to fit together, and the quiet evening we swung up and down on it ranks as one of my favorite moments of the cruise. (Dad helped us out with a push at the start.)

 

There is also a way to get to the secret ‘wings’ from the Solarium.

 

Bridge

 

We were lucky enough to go on a bridge tour. I think it was on Deck 12, but someone can correct me if I’m wrong. What’s special about the Anthem is the safety room behind the bridge, where every 911 call is routed. The 2nd officer in charge of the tour also said that they monitored the level of heat in rooms and that 99% of the time the alarm is set off because someone’s drying their hair too long. It’s also amazing how much they can see on the balconies!!

 

Other random thoughts

 

Instead of a Royal Promenade like on other ships, there is a smaller Royal Esplanade. This is on Deck 4. Same idea. Cafe Promenade, Sorrento’s, a general store, a logo store, liquor, jewelry, cosmetics, and clothes shops lined the sides. There were counters in the middle of the esplanade where the $10 sales would happen.

 

Towards the back of the Esplanade there were some higher ends boutiques: Cartier watch shop as well as a Bulgari and an Armani jeans store. The cosmetics shop was here too. Character greetings tended to be here, if you are interested in seeing someone.

 

Oh- I forgot to mention, the cream puffs and napoleons in Cafe Promenade were delicious!!

 

The Bionic Bar was really busy the first day and then kind of busy the last day, but the rest of the team it seemed fairly quiet. The statistics seemed a little off, too. Still, it was a fun novelty to see.

 

There is some nice space to walk outside on Deck 4 along with the smoking “bus stop”.

 

The Via is the passageway between the Royal Esplanade and 270. It’s very Vegas, but upscale Vegas - think Wynn or Bellagio. Sparkly but expensively decorated. The space seemed a little wasted, though, but then again I liked that there was space that was open most of the time.

 

At the end of the review I’ll post some pictures.

 

Next, disembarkation and some final thoughts.

[Overtyme]

SHIP

 

 

 

If I had to pick one word to describe this ship, it would be “modern”. Our waiter in American Icon said succinctly that it’s for “young people”. I wouldn’t go that far, but it is hipper and more tech-centric than your traditional Royal Caribbean ship. There are big screens in every elevator landing and many corners of the ship that told where you are on the ship, where the ship is, the time, weather, where you’ll be tomorrow, sunset, and sunrise. It also had a nice feature which showed where every ship in the Royal Caribbean (plus sister companies) fleet was in the world.

 

 

 

In no particular order, some distinguishing and not-so-distinguishing features of the ship:

 

 

 

RoyalIQ

 

 

 

The prevalence of the RoyalIQ app was the most obvious tech influence. You could download it onto your phone ahead of time (or, if you didn’t get a chance to do so, at a specific download hotspot near the theater), and when you’re on the ship, it would provide all sorts of relevant info about your sailing.

 

 

 

It had menus, the daily cruise compass, your calendar and reservations, ability to make/cancel dinner reservations, buy excursions, and a few other features. It also had a “luggage finder” feature which didn’t work for us until the last night, when it suddenly let us know that our luggage had been delivered to our stateroom. It didn’t work again the next morning, when our luggage had been taken off the ship.

 

 

 

The other features were fine, though, and it was useful to have all the info at your fingertips on demand. Sometimes we’d wonder what else what happening on the ship, and all we’d have to do was check the phone. Or if we had a few minutes, we could check out the menu for that night’s dinner.

 

 

 

If you don’t have a phone or don’t want to carry it around, there were many iPads throughout the ship with the RoyalIQ app.

 

 

 

Stateroom

 

 

 

We had a balcony stateroom on deck 10, starboard side. In our configuration, the sofa bed was near the balcony door, and as others have mentioned before, space is *very* tight when the bed is open. We found plenty of storage, even for 3 adults.

 

 

 

There are both US and European outlets as well as 2 USB chargers, which came in very handy. As almost everyone knows by now, you need to stick a card into the slot near the front door to activate the lights. Any card will do. We used an old coupon card.

 

 

 

Photos

 

 

 

I think this was probably the one big #fail of the cruise.

 

 

 

Picture this (haha, think Sophia from Golden Girls): the photo gallery had about a dozen monitors where you could look at and purchase your photos by tapping your SeaPass against a sensor. (What’s nice is that you can pull up pictures of everyone in your stateroom. So my mom could see pictures of me on iFly, for example.)

 

 

 

It was generally empty all cruise save for the occasional person who wanted to check out the photos taken thus far.

 

 

 

Of course, on the last day, it was packed! We went up to a free monitor and picked our pictures but then weren’t sure how to apply our C&A coupon. None of the roaming agents were free to answer the question, so we went to the customer service line and waited until learning that the coupons would be applied automatically. Great! (They should publicize that more.) So we went back to our monitor, clicked on the pictures we wanted, and were given a time of 9pm to pick up our photos.

 

 

 

At 9pm, we had the Farewell Show (with half the ship), so at 10pm half the ship was in line to pick up photos. Lines were by stateroom deck, so there was some parallel processing going on, but it was still a bit chaotic.

 

 

 

OK, so here’s where the process needs some tweaking. The concept of picking your photos digitally and then picking up the printouts is certainly the right one. It’s certainly better than the old ship set up where all the photos are printed, and if they’re not sold, are thrown out. Instead of having people stand in line for the printouts, though, maybe they can leave paid prints in those circular kiosk things like on the Oasis with the kiosk number on your SeaPass. I guess there would be a risk of people stealing other peoples’ photos or claiming there's wasn’t there, but the benefits of a self-service system should outweigh the chances of dishonest people.

 

 

 

And of course, the easy solution is just to buy your photos earlier in the cruise!

 

 

 

Library

 

 

 

Upstairs in 270, there is a small library. There were some nice selections, and I read a new Dave Barry book. There were also some board games and sudoku pages, so I guess this area also doubled up as the game room.

 

 

 

On our cruise, it was the meeting place for one of a few large tour groups on board, so it was always busy. Otherwise, I’d think it would be a wonderful place to relax for a little while and take in the expansive views.

 

 

 

Note - there is an accessible elevator going from the 1st floor to the Library.

 

 

 

Gym

 

 

 

This was on the top most deck - I think 16? Nothing too out of the ordinary. On our cruise, they had a free stretch class at 7am and at 5:30pm every day, with a free abs class at 7:30am and some paid classes (I think yoga?) mixed in.

 

 

 

Diamond Club

 

 

 

This was on Deck 4 starboard, tucked away in a corner, right near the theater. There was an exit into the upstairs of the Music Hall. It was quite beautiful, and every night there was hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. (3 words: bacon wrapped scallops!!) The coffee machine was available 24 hours, and in the mornings they’d have a continental breakfast.

 

 

 

Tip: there is a choice for just foamed milk in the coffee machine. I’d put some hot cocoa mix into a cup and add some foamed milk. Delicious and rich!! One of these days I’ll bring this up to the Windjammer during breakfast time and add some of the whipped cream they have set out for waffles. (And then proceed to not eat again that day, as that will have been my entire day’s recommended caloric intake.)

 

 

 

Concierge Club

 

 

 

About halfway through the cruise we realized we received no information about the Concierge Club. I hadn’t kept up on my Cruise Critic reading (shame) so wasn’t sure if Diamond Plus had lost its privileges. On the afternoon of our second to last sea day, we decided to find out.

 

 

 

First, we had to find the Concierge Club. On the Anthem, it’s waaayyyy aft on Deck 12, which is a really long walk! We got there, and I gingerly tried tapping my card.

 

 

 

It worked! We then boldly walked in. The lounge was huge and spanned the entire aft of the ship!! The door was on the port side, and the concierge was at his desk on the starboard side. He had to wave fervently to catch our attention to say hello and greet us.

 

 

 

The lounge was really pretty and the view awesome! And it had chocolate covered strawberries and peanut butter cheesecake for an afternoon snack, as well as fruit. Of course we had to stay and enjoy the lounge a little!

 

 

 

Conference Rooms

 

 

 

Since we were on a kick to visit random places, we also found the conference rooms - also wayyy aft but on Deck 13. There were 4 conference rooms, named for each of the ships in the Radiance class: Radiance, Serenade, Brilliance, and Jewel. 2 other tour groups had commandeered 2 of the conference rooms, but we peeked in an empty one and saw a gorgeous aft view. There is a bathroom back here. (For staterooms in Deck 13 aft that could be useful.)

 

 

 

Solarium

 

 

 

We only went by here a few times but never had a chance to stay. It’s absolutely gorgeous. The swing is a lot of fun - definitely try it at least once. My mom and I were able to fit together, and the quiet evening we swung up and down on it ranks as one of my favorite moments of the cruise. (Dad helped us out with a push at the start.)

 

 

 

There is also a way to get to the secret ‘wings’ from the Solarium.

 

 

 

Bridge

 

 

 

We were lucky enough to go on a bridge tour. I think it was on Deck 12, but someone can correct me if I’m wrong. What’s special about the Anthem is the safety room behind the bridge, where every 911 call is routed. The 2nd officer in charge of the tour also said that they monitored the level of heat in rooms and that 99% of the time the alarm is set off because someone’s drying their hair too long. It’s also amazing how much they can see on the balconies!!

 

 

 

Other random thoughts

 

 

 

Instead of a Royal Promenade like on other ships, there is a smaller Royal Esplanade. This is on Deck 4. Same idea. Cafe Promenade, Sorrento’s, a general store, a logo store, liquor, jewelry, cosmetics, and clothes shops lined the sides. There were counters in the middle of the esplanade where the $10 sales would happen.

 

 

 

Towards the back of the Esplanade there were some higher ends boutiques: Cartier watch shop as well as a Bulgari and an Armani jeans store. The cosmetics shop was here too. Character greetings tended to be here, if you are interested in seeing someone.

 

 

 

Oh- I forgot to mention, the cream puffs and napoleons in Cafe Promenade were delicious!!

 

 

 

The Bionic Bar was really busy the first day and then kind of busy the last day, but the rest of the team it seemed fairly quiet. The statistics seemed a little off, too. Still, it was a fun novelty to see.

 

 

 

There is some nice space to walk outside on Deck 4 along with the smoking “bus stop”.

 

 

 

The Via is the passageway between the Royal Esplanade and 270. It’s very Vegas, but upscale Vegas - think Wynn or Bellagio. Sparkly but expensively decorated. The space seemed a little wasted, though, but then again I liked that there was space that was open most of the time.

 

 

 

At the end of the review I’ll post some pictures.

 

 

 

Next, disembarkation and some final thoughts.

 

 

Such a fantastic, objective review. I'm looking forward to the rest.

[faymuiheng]

quick question...we are late eaters....without reservations, can we get in anywhere without reservations? Last cruise we would just walk into the main diningroom about 830 or so, and never had to wait. this was on the Navigator.

 

thanks!

[CaroleV]

We were also late eaters & never had a problem just showing up at any of the free restaurants.....ever.

[FirstCruise2331]

Thanks for sharing, nice balanced review.

[jerseycanadian]

What is the daily rate in the garage at Bayonne?

[windjamming]

Such a fantastic, objective review. I'm looking forward to the rest.

 

Thanks Overtyme! I should have something up in the next day or so. The first work week of the year was a bit crazy! I’m also working on getting some photos posted.

 

quick question...we are late eaters....without reservations, can we get in anywhere without reservations? Last cruise we would just walk into the main diningroom about 830 or so, and never had to wait. this was on the Navigator.

 

thanks!

 

I can’t say for certain about 8:30, unfortunately, as we always went in around 6:30. I can say, though, at 6:30, plenty of families did not have reservations and waited about as long as those with reservations.

 

It was almost like they were planning ahead for walk-ins, as there was always plenty of open tables in the restaurants. The problem was, some areas were really crowded, and others were almost empty. It made for the inconsistent service I described earlier - you either got waitstaff that were rushed or those who had plenty of time!

 

Thanks for sharing, nice balanced review.

 

Thanks FirstCruise2331. I try to look at things objectively. Some things were awesome, some things needed some tweaking, but who are we kidding - we were on a cruise!!

 

What is the daily rate in the garage at Bayonne?

 

$19/day

Edited January 10, 2016 by windjamming

[Guest maddycat]

What is the daily rate in the garage at Bayonne?

 

Someone who used the garage recently (since Jan. 1, 2016) posted that the rate is now $20 a day.

[destiny217]

"The Via is the passageway between the Royal Esplanade and 270. It’s very Vegas, but upscale Vegas - think Wynn or Bellagio. Sparkly but expensively decorated. The space seemed a little wasted, though, but then again I liked that there was space that was open most of the time."

 

Our biggest problem with The Via was that the seating was so low (the lowest we have ever seen). My SO sat down and I had to lend a hand for getting up, and he's in shape. No way I could have gotten up. Come to think of it, I could not have sat down that low~~I'm talking almost to the floor. Would have been nice if they had some traditional seating.

[windjamming]

Someone who used the garage recently (since Jan. 1, 2016) posted that the rate is now $20 a day.

 

Good to know, thanks maddycat!

 

Our biggest problem with The Via was that the seating was so low (the lowest we have ever seen). My SO sat down and I had to lend a hand for getting up, and he's in shape. No way I could have gotten up. Come to think of it, I could not have sat down that low~~I'm talking almost to the floor. Would have been nice if they had some traditional seating.

 

Yeah, on our cruise I noticed it was mostly teenagers and younger children sitting in those couches. Makes sense - they're able to easily get in and out of them!

Edited January 17, 2016 by windjamming

[windjamming]

Conclusions

 

As I mentioned at the start of the review, we thought this was a very interesting cruise. It was by no means perfect, yet we got to experience things not possible elsewhere on another ship. Thus, it was still a net gain.

 

I am hopeful that the hiccups will improve over time. Food and service definitely had some consistency issues, but that’s a matter of practice and experience. The shows … well, they may be on Anthem for a while, but each of the shows had its own wow factor (We Will Rock You - Queen songs, Spectra’s Cabaret - 270, and The Gift - amazing set design) which made them certainly worthwhile to see.

 

Upon hearing that we had also sailed the Breakaway, someone on the cruise asked us how we compared her against the Anthem. I told her that I thought that the Anthem was actually more similar to the Breakaway than different. The ship is definitely the attraction for both, with similar customer bases, and I thought they had congruent activities/attractions:

 

* “Theme” Bar: Breakaway's Ice Bar / Anthem's Bionic Bar

* Interesting Walkway: Waterfront / Via

* Unique “Experience": Ropes Course / iFly

* Broadway Show: Rock of Ages / We Will Rock You

* Asian Cuisine: Teppanyaki / Izumi

* Central Area: 6/7/8 / Royal Esplanade

 

That said, I think the Anthem is the more beautiful ship and has the North Star and 270. 270 in particular makes the Anthem stand out by itself. However, I thought the Breakaway’s complimentary food offerings were stronger. There is no real equivalent to the Breakaway's Manhattan Room on the Anthem, nor a real sit-down 24-hour place like O’Sheehan’s. (Cafe Promenade & Sorrento’s are not the same.)

 

Other takeaways (and notes to myself for next time)

 

- Book anything and everything you can ahead of time. I am so glad we had reservations for iFly and North Star, as the non-reservation opportunities were rare and time-consuming.

 

- Go on North Star early in the cruise when lines aren’t as long. It seems that when demand is less, North Star will swing over the side of the ship for a much more interesting view and longer ride (I heard 16 minutes, others have said 20 minutes). On our cruise, we went on Day 3 and ended up going only up and down in “observation mode” for a 9 minute ride.

 

- At least try the different complimentary restaurants. I’m hopeful both the food and service will improve and show more consistency.

 

- Formalwear is not required at The Grande on Day 1.

 

- Menus switch after day 4.

 

- Book Wonderland ahead of time. By the time we thought about it onboard, it was too late. That’s the one regret I have from this cruise.

 

- Cocoa Village (Port Canaveral) is a gem. We’ll certainly be back.

 

- Dessert. Just do it. Loved the desserts in the complimentary restaurants as well as the pastries in Cafe 270 and Cafe Promenade.

 

- When arriving at Cape Liberty, check-in with the first person you see with an iPad. Do not wait until you’re in the holding pen. (They will try to direct you there.)

 

- In the winter, it starts getting warmer the 2nd day. Dress in layers.

 

- If not sure about the shows, book reservations and sit in the aisle. Leave if it’s not your thing. I wasn’t dazzled by either We Will Rock You nor The Gift, but for free shows on a ship, it certainly was worth it.

 

- The big info screens all over the ship are fun. Check them out when you have some time to waste.

 

- Don’t expect RoyalIQ to work flawlessly. Think of it as a bonus app.

 

- The pictures in the elevators of various animals dressed up made me smile. The ostrich was my favorite.

 

Next, some photos of the ship and cruise.

[jeanigor]

Thank you for the extremely detailed review! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and it made me even more excited about sailing on the Anthem in late spring 2017. I feel your experiences will help to ensure that myself and many others will have an improved experience aboard.

[kahliasmom]

Thank you for your excellent and very detailed review! I am wondering what the secret wings are that you refer to and can access from the solarium. You must be very busy at work still but I would love to see some of the photos that you were going to post. I am taking the cruise on March 19th and would love to see copies of the compasses. There will be some differences because you went at Christmas time but I would think they would be for the most part, pretty similar. Thanks again!

Edited January 24, 2016 by kahliasmom

[shaun07]

Nice job! thank you!

[cruise-is]

What a great review.....thanks for all the info....really helped

[marci22]

Thanks for posting, your tips are very helpful.

[Peeker28]

Loved your review, going in June with my daughter