Anthem of the Seas: A not-so-live Review: Feb 6, 2016

[BonTexasNY]

Great review. Question about your cabin. Does the virtual balcony move in a different direction than the ship is actually moving? If so, was your balance off, looking at the virtual balcony but feeling it move for real in another direction? My understanding is that a live cam is placed on the ship somewhere and that's the view that you're getting in a virtual cabin. Thank you. Waiting for more :)

[sbb]

I love reading about your experience. Thanks for taking the time to post!

[A&L_Ont]

Here's an interesting marine weather site:

 

http://www.oceanweather.com/data/index.html

 

It is a great site. I found Ocean Weather about 5 years ago. We use it mainly for ocean surface water temps for ports of call beach days, as well as the sea heights/wave section for the areas we are cruising.

 

It gives way more info than we need but it provides what we require. :)

[Clarea]

It is a great site. I found Ocean Weather about 5 years ago. We use it mainly for ocean surface water temps for ports of call beach days, as well as the sea heights/wave section for the areas we are cruising.

 

It gives way more info than we need but it provides what we require. :)

I may have gotten the link from you.:)

[A&L_Ont]

I may have gotten the link from you.:)

 

I bow my head to you, awaiting my knighthood.:p If I knew more about nautical chart readings I bet I could know more. However, I just want to know if the water is warm and how wavy is it really is. I used to like it when the RC TV actually told you the wave height, but they don't anymore.

[nantravls]

I was also on this adventure! Your account is accurate with no embellishments or speculation. I oft times cruise solo but this was my daughter's birthday(2/7!) cruise - not so sure I could have stayed in my cabin without her! We also had Michael and loved his attentiveness; Chef Jackson also stopped by our table both evenings. It was a once in a lifetime cruise but will not hinder me from my future cruise. Leaving March on Grandeur then 3 more cruises on Anthem this year.

[tkportersat]

Very much enjoying your review and first hand account of the storm. Wow, Anthem is a beautiful ship...I need to get on an RC ship again soon. They took a break in Galveston for a while...then I had a baby and then Carnival keeps throwing great deals my way. Eventually I will get back on there. Sounds like there have been a lot of changes since my last cruise with them.

[F27TW]

I bow my head to you, awaiting my knighthood.:p If I knew more about nautical chart readings I bet I could know more. However, I just want to know if the water is warm and how wavy is it really is. I used to like it when the RC TV actually told you the wave height, but they don't anymore.

 

 

That's so you cant see what kind of seas they are sailing you into .. makes it harder to post the info and for the news networks (and lawyers) to find out ....

[A&L_Ont]

That's so you cant see what kind of seas they are sailing you into .. makes it harder to post the info and for the news networks (and lawyers) to find out ....

 

The last ship that showed the actual height was the Island Princess, and even then it wasn't 100% accurate. Perhaps it is more of a mental thing for those who don't do well with waves. After all if you don't know the height it can't be that bad.;)

Edited February 17, 2016 by A&L_Ont

[cpufrost]

Use some of that 600mbps O3B handout and point the browser of your choice to:

 

http://polar.ncep.noaa.gov/waves/index2.shtml

 

and

 

https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/wxmap_cgi/index.html

 

(have to add exception due to SSL cert on that site, it's safe ;) )

 

And more summarized for the layperson:

 

http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display.cgi?a=natla_height

 

Smooth seas - clean Racors - good day! ;)

[FloridaGram]

Signing on to hear the end! Thanks for taking the time to write this and making it realistic with no sensationalism!

[pickles&peppers]

A little off subject of cruising:

 

rfid skimming at Cape Liberty

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2317379

[Newbcruiser1]

Would you mind telling me what room number you were? We are trying to get an idea of the layout of the more square looking insides (as opposed to the longer, thinner ones) on the deckplans!

 

A very good question as there are many interior categories and they're all quite different on the Anthem.

 

My room was 10141 - a category M interior (also one of the smaller ones). Note that with the beds together, there wasn't a lot of room on either side to maneuver around the bed. There would be more room with them separated against the two walls.

 

This website should help you immensely - it has pictures of each type of interior room on the Anthem, along with descriptions of where the differences are.

 

http://anthemoftheseas.blogspot.ca/p/inside-cabins.html

 

[Newbcruiser1]

Great review. Question about your cabin. Does the virtual balcony move in a different direction than the ship is actually moving? If so, was your balance off, looking at the virtual balcony but feeling it move for real in another direction? My understanding is that a live cam is placed on the ship somewhere and that's the view that you're getting in a virtual cabin. Thank you. Waiting for more :)

 

Another good question! My virtual balcony wall faced aft, and what do you know - my view faced aft as well! And in rough seas, the ships movement was perfectly synchronized with what I could see on the virtual balcony (right down to the movement of the horizon in relation to the superimposed railing).

 

When leaving on the last day of the cruise when the stateroom doors were open, I noticed that each virtual balcony room appeared to have a different view. So presumably they receive the video feed from the camera facing the same direction as the virtual balcony. Makes it more realistic for sure! :)

 

[Newbcruiser1]

DAY 5: At Sea/Arrival in Bayonne - The Bonus Day!

 

So today wouldn't have existed if the ship had not sailed so slowly (whether due to the broken azipod, the lingering storm, or port traffic is anybody's guess and won't be debated here) back up to Cape Liberty and had the change in arrival time from 6am today to 9pm! I considered it a bonus and tried to enjoy it as best I could now that my flight was booked and sorted out from yesterday!

 

With the calmer seas, I slept in a little and skipped breakfast. I checked out the bionic bar for the "solo traveller lunch" that was once again advertised in the cruise compass. And what do you know - nobody showed up... Again! It's quite possible that people did show, but as the events are not hosted and are advertised in busy public areas, you can't tell who is solo and there for it, and who is hanging out there for the bar. In addition to trying to scope out any solos, I used my time there to watch the robot bartenders. Today was the first time I had seen some technical issues with them. One of them put a cup down which landed crooked so when it poured the drink, it spilled all over. The crew member staffing the area swiped her own card to re-order the beverage for the passenger. Then the whole system froze - one robot was stuck in the pouring position and the drink which had already been prepared would not release with the scan of the seapass, and the other stopped in its tracks of mixing the drink. Uh Oh! I guess the rough seas didn't only affect the passengers!

 

I gave up looking for solos and watching the frozen robots and headed to American Icon for lunch on my own. Fortunately, this time I was asked if I wanted to share a table or sit on my own and I opted to share. I was seated with a couple, a single lady, and a group of other ladies who reminded me of the Golden Girls! We had a nice time chatting.

 

I had the salad bar (which I look forward to on every cruise!), as well as the Philly cheesesteak. Everything was wonderful. For dessert, I ordered the skillet cookie. Unfortunately, it was not hot - in fact, it was room temperature, so scooping it out of the skillet was challenging. It tasted good but and had potential for sure, but should have been served warm.

 

 

After lunch I made my way over to the "Name that Tune Live" show. I have to say, this was THE best game show that I've ever seen on a cruise!!! Very interactive and entertaining, complete with singers, dancers, and the orchestra! Loved it!

 

 

 

 

A quick walk around the outer decks (it was very cold out!) revealed that the Hot Dog truck in the SeaPlex hadn't blown away in the storm! Too bad I didn't get a chance to try it!

 

 

I headed over to the solarium to relax for a while. Oddly enough, the solarium was almost empty but there were still chair hogs out in full force! I sat in a regular lounger beside one of the comfy round couches which had some personal belongings on it, and after over an hour when nobody appeared, I swapped seats with those belongings. Fortunately there was no drama from that when the people came along to pick up their stuff!

 

Interestingly, there were some helicopters along the coast filming our approach which ended up on the news - so while the sun was lighting up the port side of the ship, the media was out in full force.

 

I watched a beautiful sunset there as well. Somehow that short time watching the calm seas and the sunset made up for the few stressful days I had!

 

 

 

Edited February 18, 2016 by Newbcruiser1

[Newbcruiser1]

I stayed in the solarium as we neared NY/NJ, and watched as the Manhattan skyline came into view. Unfortunately, due to all of the lights in the solarium, it was impossible to take any photos through the windows due to the reflections. I suppose I could have gone out on one of the bridge wings through the solarium, but I didn't feel the need to freeze my face off in subzero temperatures! Eventually I had to abandon my favorite spot on the big solarium swing to start packing.

 

I then went to the show, "In Concert" - it was more of a typical "cruise show" - unlike all of the other shows on the Anthem! It was okay, but as I felt the bow thrusters start vibrating at 8pm, I wanted to see what was going on outside so I left early and headed up to the solarium again. When I got to the solarium, I noticed that we had already gone under the Verrazano bride, and there was a tugboat right under the bow of the ship, with a rope attached. The bow thrusters were clearly working as the ship was still vibrating significantly, but the tug did appear to help nudge the Anthem alongside the pier. Other than the asymmetrical wake of the ship which was stronger on the starboard side, this was the first clear indication of any mechanical problems with the ship. It actually took a full hour for the Anthem to get into her berth with a full hour of intermittent bow thruster vibrating from 8-9pm.

 

I had dinner at Solarium Bistro (formerly, Devinly Decadence) tonight. I had made the reservation pre-cruise, and was so glad that they were open despite our arrival back to Cape Liberty. I must say it was one of my best dinners of the cruise! It was almost empty, likely due to the fact that many passengers were waiting to disembark. The salad and appetizer bar was wonderful - clearly its now a Mediterranean style restaurant since its name change! They had everything from roasted eggplant to shrimp in tomato sauce to stuffed zucchini to various dips including babaganoush, hummus, and tzaziki, a variety of olives, salads, moussaka, and more!

 

 

For my entree which was ordered off the menu, I had the shrimp which was great, served with roasted potatoes, asparagus, and garlic broccoli.

 

 

Dessert was also served buffet style and they had chocolate hazelnut cake, panna cotta, and more.

 

After dinner, I realized a solution to the reflection problem in the solarium... just open a window, silly! I got some nice nighttime views of Manhattan from the ship - views I would not have otherwise had if our itinerary had not been altered.

 

 

 

After we docked, all guests who were staying onboard overnight were required to go through US customs and immigration onboard in SeaPlex as they would not be there the following morning. I went around 10:30, and the lines were very long, although they moved almost continuously. In fact, the customs agents didn't even look at my passport - just took my declaration card as I walked right by them. Quite easy!

 

I then headed back to my room to finish packing and put my luggage out in the hall. It was apparent by the number of doors open for cleaning that many passengers had left the ship already! I tried to watch another on-demand movie which were still listed as free, but received an error message that my account could no longer accept charges. I assumed this was due to the fact that I had a cash account and the system was not recognizing that the movies were free. I called guest services and they re-opened my account for me, but the problem persisted. After another phone call, it was clear that they would not be able to resolve it. So it was off to sleep for me - unfortunately my last sleep on those very comfortable mattresses!

 

[Thetrail]

There was quite the line-up of cars forming to get into the terminal area. My shuttle only sat in the line for about 10-15 minutes but it looked much longer now!

 

 

A shot of NYC from the deck - no reflections this time!

 

 

 

After North Star, it was about 12:45 and I was getting tired dragging my coat and carry-on so I headed down to my room. The hallways were still closed until 1, but I waited there. At 1:00 sharp, an overhead announcement was made and our rooms were open! And as luck would have it - my luggage was already waiting outside. And my seapass was on my door, as promised (and nobody had stolen it as I was worried could happen! Haha). I quickly unpacked and settled in.

 

A few words on my room - a category M inside with virtual balcony on deck 10. I was not a fan of the layout as the balcony is on a side wall and the bed on the back wall.

 

 

Unfortunately, that means the layout is too strange for the virtual balcony to look realistic, and you can't see the virtual balcony from most of the bed. The virtual balcony itself is cool and has sound (optional - with remote control). Unfortunately the screen resolution is not nearly as good as I expected which again, makes it somewhat unrealistic. It also wasn't very bright in the daytime, so you don't get the "daylight" effect of a real balcony or window.

 

 

Having said that though, there is tons of floor space for such a small room and I imagine that couples or families wouldn't be tripping over themselves as badly as in a "normal layout" room. Fortunately the TV swivels out to aim towards the bed too. It took me a few hours to have the guts to pull on it hard enough for it to swivel out.

 

The washroom was quite large too, and the shower was very nice with a glass door that opens outwards instead of the typical sliding door!

 

 

Also tons of storage all over the room - a few drawers in the dresser, and then shelves and hanging space and a few drawers in the closet. There were also 2 large cabinets directly above the head of the bed. I couldn't reach them as I am quite short, but I'm sure they could come in handy for some. I was impressed with the room overall, and the new-ness was wonderful.

 

And relevant to some debates here on cruise critic... The beds! I was extremely worried about the so-called "Flintstone beds" pre-cruise and I had emailed special needs to request a mattress topper. Well as it turned out, the mattress topper promised was nowhere to be found BUT... I loved the beds!!!! They were very supportive and comfortable without having that horrible springing feeling that could toss you out on contact - this would become even more important later in the cruise! I was also able to sleep in the middle of the two mattresses without feeling the usual "ridge". There was a thin pad across the mattresses which added to the comfort. I also requested an extra pillow as my legs usually swell significantly on cruises, and received that the first night. Overall, I slept wonderfully on that bed! Much better than I did during the last 2 nights in my own bed!

 

Nice of you to share, this should hold me over till March 7th!....K.O.

[Newbcruiser1]

Day 6: Goodbye Anthem, Hello Home!

 

I woke up bright and early today to have breakfast prior to disembarking. I ate in the Windjammer and it was very quiet and pleasant for a change! Breakfast was great, as usual... with the exception of the bacon which was different today.

 

 

I took a last walk around the ship to take in the sights of Manhattan!

 

This is how far away it actually is...

 

 

 

 

Goodbye, Solarium! Thank you for keeping me warm and toasty on this 5 night cruise-to-nowhere!

 

 

After a quick stop in my room to grab my carry-on and coat, it was down to the gangway on deck 5 and off the ship! As everyone had already cleared customs, it was the easiest disembarkation ever! Fortunately the media had already cleared out of the terminal area from the night before. And a nice gesture - there were about 30 crew members lining the gangway waving and saying goodbye and "see you soon"' to everyone! See you soon, Anthem of the Seas!!!

 

Royal Caribbean also provided free shuttle service to EWR which was nice. After boarding the bus and waiting for half an hour for it to fill up, a port worker boarded and informed us that the driver would get us to the airport safely, and that he knows that we were unhappy with our week onboard, but to "please look after your driver". Awkward much?! There was a lot of traffic and the bus ended up taking some seedy-looking back-roads to get to the airport, which took another 45 minutes. The ladies in front of me were actually GPSing the route on their phones because it just didn't look right. On arrival at the airport, he simply got off the bus with no announcement of which terminal we were at, or which airlines we could find there. He opened the luggage compartments and just stood there watching as everyone (myself included!) struggled to get their luggage out. Too bad he didn't do much to deserve those tips they had requested. I suspect he may have been angry that he had to work on what was not supposed to be a port day.

 

The remainder of my journey home was fortunately uneventful - my flight was (almost) on time, albeit on the tiniest plane I have ever seen, and rocking significantly from side to side before touching down! It was so nice to finally be on solid ground after 5 days on a rocky cruise ship! It took me 3 days of swaying to lose those sea-legs.

 

Up Next: Overall Impressions and a forgotten picture... drumroll please....

 

[sjn911]

Durmroll.....and thank you so much!!

[Newbcruiser1]

First off, I forgot to share this picture from Day 4! As I walked around all morning, I could not figure out why there appeared to be fog lingering over the waves which resembled ghosts! In 10 cruises, I have not seen that before. I must not have been the only one wondering, as Captain Claus made an announcement later on to clarify what we had seen. Turns out it was the warm water from the gulf stream colliding with the cold water of the Atlantic, causing fog just over the water. So the gulf-stream isn't only visible on weather maps after all! ;)

 

 

 

 

So down to the important stuff... Overall impressions of this (mis)adventure on the beautiful Anthem of the Seas:

 

The good:

•Loved the ship! Such a nice change from the old style of all of the RCI ships! It was a nice change to NOT know exactly where I was going while onboard! As one of the crew members put it, it has the familiarity and comfort of Royal Caribbean with a redesigned style!

•The Crew (mostly) - they did a wonderful job despite their own fears and bad experiences in the storm! Almost everyone stayed upbeat and cheerful throughout the cruise! I really felt for them as the last 3 cruises had issues with itinerary changes and whatnot, first as a result of Winter Storm Jonas, and then due to this hurricane at sea.

•The "normalized" experience. Despite the damage to the ship, they really kept everything going and tried to cram the activities into the few days we had left! It almost felt like a normal cruise after all. Abe Hughes was the best cruise director - he was always running around trying to keep everyone busy and re-plan the ship's activities despite all of the changes in itinerary and the unknowns. Kudos to him and all of the crew for busting their butts to get the ship cleaned up in the hours after the storm, and then carrying on with their jobs as if nothing happened to give everyone the best experience they could, in such poor circumstances.

 

 

 

 

The Bad:

•The weather!!! Obviously not in RCIs control, and based on where the storm was, I don't think they could have done anything to avoid it. Fortunately they handled it quite well with the frequent updates, free movies and mini bar, and delivery of snacks!

•Solo events! RCI has a LOT of work to do to come close to NCL's offerings for solo travelers! It's great that they have studio cabins (which must be in high demand as they were sold out when I booked my cruise), but they need to step up their game and actually do hosted solo get-togethers... Or at least have a dedicated solo area like NCL's studio lounge so people can come and go and meet others. Another lesson learned - despite hearing others' experiences with sharing tables nightly on choice dining, I would book classic if I were to travel solo on the Anthem again! It was quite disappointing having to dine alone each night. I know most people prefer to dine alone with their party, but it would be so nice to have the option. Next time I would book dynamic classic dining and request a large table (as I had originally done for this cruise prior to changing it) and stick with it.

•Activities booking! It was a fiasco trying to book things like iFly and the puzzle room! There was always a run-around of where it needed to be done, availability, scheduling errors, etc. They should really allow reservations either online or on the onboard app or iPads around the ship. It would help alleviate the stress and time required to make these reservations.

•Room attendant - mixed feelings here! She was fantastic for the first day but things went downhill after the storm. I learned later that several passengers had their glass vacuumed from their rooms the evening of the storm when the crew came around to deliver snacks - all I got was advice not to hurt myself on it. I am cognizant of the fact that they were having a difficult night too though, so no harm done here. In fact, she told me the following day that her family back at home had heard that the ship "went down in the water" and thought she was dead - I'm sure she was traumatized from that. In the last few days, the room was often partially made up. For example turn down one evening still left the "make up room" magnet on the door, the washroom door open, all of the lights on, and the TV on and blasting. Definitely not how I left the room. Once again though, not a huge deal - I'm more forgiving as this cruise was so atypical.

 

 

So after all of this - would I cruise again? Yes - definitely! Although I would definitely be more cautious of cruising if I was mobility-challenged now that I see what can happen onboard... despite the risk being so minute.

 

Thank you so much to everyone who has been following along! You made all of the time worth it for me! :) If there are any questions, please fire away! I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability based on my experience!

[FluffyFiFi]

Thank you for your wonderful report, really enjoyed reading it and seeing the pictures. The ship looks amazing and I hope to travel on her one day. The storm must have been so scary for you, especially to be on your own in a cabin. Glad you got home safely.

 

Fiona

[Alter Ego]

Thanks so much for your review. I honestly don't know how I would have reacted had I had to be alone through that.

 

As a solo traveler, I personally usually prefer to est alone, but I'll definitely remember your experiences whenever somebody is asking about dynamic dining. In fact, I know somebody from my roll call was concerned; I should go try to find out what she has (although likely too late to change now!)

[Peeker28]

Did you have to make reservations to eat lunch at American Icon?

[TPCRUISER2]

Best review yet for the weather affected Anthem cruise! Thank you.

[BonTexasNY]

Another good question! My virtual balcony wall faced aft, and what do you know - my view faced aft as well! And in rough seas, the ships movement was perfectly synchronized with what I could see on the virtual balcony (right down to the movement of the horizon in relation to the superimposed railing).

 

When leaving on the last day of the cruise when the stateroom doors were open, I noticed that each virtual balcony room appeared to have a different view. So presumably they receive the video feed from the camera facing the same direction as the virtual balcony. Makes it more realistic for sure! :)

 

Thanks for answering. I would have been more than dizzy if I were swaying in one direction for real while looking at the virtual balcony that was moving in a different direction.

 

Wonderful you made the best of a very scary experience, and solo yet! Way to go. Wishing you calm seas and smooth sails from now on.