Anthem of the seas - February 13th sailing review

[TravelRunLive]

Hi,

 

Just in case anyone is wondering, I wanted to share my blog review of the Anthem of the seas post storm, with a video of the remaining damage when we boarded.

 

http://www.travelrunlive.com/2016/02/anthem-of-seas-forgotten-cruise.html

 

IMHO, days 1and 2 you could really feel the effects of the storm with the broken glass ceiling panes out over the pools, the door broken to Windjammer, and colder than average temperatures. I think that did have a great impact of this cruise since without most of deck 14 and the outdoor portion of 15 in use, everyone was trying to pile into the Solarium and the Seaplex.

 

That being said, by the afternoon of day 3 things seemed to be back to normal, so none of you guys on future cruises will have to deal with it :)

[jonj]

Thank you for posting and sorry to hear you had issues. This is not directed at you directly, just a general observation. I will never understand why adults, unless they are teachers, would sail during a school holiday. I had a co-worker tell me years ago she would never sail on Disney again. I asked her what was wrong and she said the ship was full of children. I asked her when she went and the week she mentioned was Easter school break. She wasn't a teach and she was not traveling with children

[Clarea]

Thanks for the link, very nice.

[MikeandConnie]

Thanks for the review !

 

We're on the Anthem in October for a 12 nighter, so looking forward to it.

 

Hopefully by then all this will be a distant memory... :cool:

[TravelRunLive]

The problem is that the schools in our area actually don't get winter break so we honestly had no idea that so many other towns would have the whole week off and be on that cruise... Even so, I think had everything been open as expected, it wouldn't have made a difference since the adult area would have been exactly that.

[RealDeal]

Great review...OMG...does NOT sound like a good time! I'll be on Anthem in May & while I realize a lot of the "physical" issues will be fixed, the negative reviews continuing to pour in are not comforting.

 

And WHAT in the world is that frightening looking white stuff involved w/your Vietnamese tacos???

 

Which was your favorite restaurant?

[TravelRunLive]

Great review...OMG...does NOT sound like a good time! I'll be on Anthem in May & while I realize a lot of the "physical" issues will be fixed, the negative reviews continuing to pour in are not comforting.

 

And WHAT in the world is that frightening looking white stuff involved w/your Vietnamese tacos???

 

Which was your favorite restaurant?

 

In fairness, the review is mostly about days 1-3 when things were still being fixed. After that it got much better. Maybe I should do a second post on the fun we had days 4-8!

 

Unfortunately the white stuff in the tacos was a huge piece of lard. Sad actually because they were otherwise actually pretty good.

 

The best meal I had was at The Grand. The halibut at American Icon was also very good. I can't really pick a favorite as it varied by what was on offer on the menu.

 

I'm sure most of the issues will be worked out by the time you cruise!

[Clarea]

I... Unfortunately the white stuff in the tacos was a huge piece of lard. Sad actually because they were otherwise actually pretty good....

Not appetizing at all.:eek:

[gatour]

Enjoyed your review. Felt it reflected what you actually experienced.

 

However, I would suggest you give RCCL another try. I have been on cruises on various lines and there were some that were not even close to ideal, but the next cruise on the same line was excellent.

[RealDeal]

In fairness, the review is mostly about days 1-3 when things were still being fixed. After that it got much better. Maybe I should do a second post on the fun we had days 4-8!

 

Unfortunately the white stuff in the tacos was a huge piece of lard. Sad actually because they were otherwise actually pretty good.

 

The best meal I had was at The Grand. The halibut at American Icon was also very good. I can't really pick a favorite as it varied by what was on offer on the menu.

 

I'm sure most of the issues will be worked out by the time you cruise!

 

Glad to hear it! I mean, at this point, we're moving forward w/the trip, but I can't remember a ship getting as many negative reviews as this one has gotten.

 

As a fellow Jerseyite who does not like to travel when schools are out, my advice is to never, ever cruise President's week! We flew home from FL on Valentine's Day & I sat next to a guy who cruised on RCCL w/his whole family & he said there were a lot of kids on THAT cruise, which I found odd since it was the week BEFORE President's week. We were on Celebrity and there were a few kids but not really many to speak of.

 

I think that taco pic is going to haunt me for days....Seriously, the "outer" white thing that looks like a squid...what is that???

[bradcrc]

"it really doesn’t take much to please us"

 

 

Thanks for the review, but this part doesn't seem to be true.

[riclop]

Thanks for the link.

[Loucat]

"it really doesn’t take much to please us"

 

 

Thanks for the review, but this part doesn't seem to be true.

 

Given the circumstances of the first days on board, I think the OP provided an objective review of their experiences.

I would not like lard on a taco, Solarium pool taken over with unruly kids, damage still evident from the storm etc.

I thought the OP was reporting facts rather then complaining.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for sharing your blog review.

 

Keith

[WaveSplasher]

The food rating cards that they give out to people who like the food. Is that a new thing on RCL? The cards I mean. Never received it before, not sure about the rest.

 

I hope this is just a one off experience for you. Thanks for the review though.

[denatravels]

The food rating cards that they give out to people who like the food. Is that a new thing on RCL? The cards I mean. Never received it before, not sure about the rest.

 

 

 

I hope this is just a one off experience for you. Thanks for the review though.

 

 

That was my experience, too. I had a terrible first meal at silk. On the second day, when I raved about the short ribs, I got a card.

[TravelRunLive]

Glad to hear it! I mean, at this point, we're moving forward w/the trip, but I can't remember a ship getting as many negative reviews as this one has gotten.

 

As a fellow Jerseyite who does not like to travel when schools are out, my advice is to never, ever cruise President's week! We flew home from FL on Valentine's Day & I sat next to a guy who cruised on RCCL w/his whole family & he said there were a lot of kids on THAT cruise, which I found odd since it was the week BEFORE President's week. We were on Celebrity and there were a few kids but not really many to speak of.

 

I think that taco pic is going to haunt me for days....Seriously, the "outer" white thing that looks like a squid...what is that???

 

Traveling on President's day was a learning experience for sure. Now we know! Ohhh the outer white thing - is like a soft taco shell. It actually tasted a lot better than it looked.! the white thing inside the taco was the fat piece! haha

[TravelRunLive]

The food rating cards that they give out to people who like the food. Is that a new thing on RCL? The cards I mean. Never received it before, not sure about the rest.

 

I hope this is just a one off experience for you. Thanks for the review though.

 

Since this was my only RCL cruise I'm not sure if they have the comment cards on other ships, but it did appear to be important on this ship since the dining system is new.

 

I do think a majority of the issue was the storm damage over the pools on deck 14 and future passengers should in theory have a much better experience with that fixed!

[TravelRunLive]

That was my experience, too. I had a terrible first meal at silk. On the second day, when I raved about the short ribs, I got a card.

 

I also had the short ribs and the comment card pictured is my good review afterwards! I find it interesting that they are handing the comment cards out rather than just leaving some on all the tables in advance, and I think this does show they are specifically selecting who gets a card.

[Trainman52]

Thank you for a very well written and intelligent review.

 

I have forwarded your link on to someone at RCI corporate for their information. Despite their best efforts, it appears that the food and beverage department on the Anthem has a ways to go.

 

Happy sailing in the future.

[TravelRunLive]

Hi,

 

Here is a follow up post showing how much fun this ship can be when things are working correctly.

 

Link to the blog post:

 

http://www.travelrunlive.com/2016/02/anthem-of-seas-good.html

 

 

Link to the Youtube video:

 

 

If anyone on future sailings has any questions about the onboard activities, let me know!

 

Enjoy and happy Sailings!