Anthem question

[horsefeathers75]

HI All,

 

My dh & I 30th wedding anniversary is in 2017. I wanted to do something very special like take the Anthem out of New Jersey. I wanted to try this bigger ship with its bigger features just because; however my husband thinks that it will be a lot of hassles with so many people. He feels with the amount of people it will take the enjoyment of cruising out of it and ruin our anniversary. We were on the Freedom when she had a storm incident like the Anthem. The Freedom was bearable for him with the amount of people on it. My question for those of you who have done both the freedom and anthem, what was the difference, could you notice the increase in the crowds, was it really crowded to get off and on the ship, go to the shows, catch the elevators, go to the buffett. What is the general age group, were there a lot of children. Are the extra amenities worth the amount of people and cost of the cruise. I need honest input. My husband is willing to take the Granduer out of Baltimore that is doing the same itinerary but we have done the Granduer 5 times.

 

Thank you.

[wgwdblu]

We never felt that we were in a large crowd. Dinner reservations were all made in advance. None of the restaurants seemed crowded but if you pick 6 or 6:30 for dinner, it may be different. If you get to ship around 12, it may take you a while to unload your bags. I would suggest trying to get there around 10 even if your room isn't ready. The ship has a lot to offer- several pools and a solarium. Try eating in the solarium at least once also.

[cruisecritik]

Yes, there were alot of lines. To do activities, expect 15-45 min wait, average was 30 minutes. Shows? There were no lines, but arrive 30 min early to get a good seat. Arrival at embarkation, waited an hour to drive 300 feet to the drop off point. Waited 30 minutes in security to get into another line for check-in. Guest Services? Have a problem, expect a 10-20+ wait in line. Still had fun, but yes, the lines were everywhere. There was even a huge line just to get the free soft-serve on a warm sea day. Elevator? Yes, a long wait, unless you were on deck 15 or deck 4. Since the ship is so tall, it is more inconvenient to take the stairs.

 

Contrast this with the Freedom of the Seas, there were none of these lines.

 

As far as kids on Anthem? There were alot of kids, but they weren't particularly ill-behaved. They seem to keep them in the Adventure Ocean so you never really see them during the day.

[goodycruising]

Interested to hear the feedback, as we have only done Voyager/Explorer as our larger ships. We think Radiance is a great size, but that could also be due to all the lovely glass.

 

We were looking at Ovation (we have cancelled), but we were worried about the crowds. I would have thought Anthem would not be that much different from Freedom, but it is interesting to hear your views.

 

We have found Voyager class had too many lines, and we tend to go outside peak times. Radiance and Rhapsody were a good size for walking around and we liked their layouts. Each person will find things different to their own priorities and taste.

[pjnj40]

You will love the Anthem. If you do all reservation in advance, it will make a smooth sailing. I would book dynamic classic for dinner this way you get same table same waiter in all four complementary restaurant. The kids is based on what week you sailing. If you go during school time it will be low. I traveled the anthem after new year and it was 300. Never noticed that many compared to what u heard on nye cruise which had 1500. Elevators is usually average. Happy cruising.

 

 

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[Clarea]

You will love the Anthem. If you do all reservation in advance, it will make a smooth sailing. I would book dynamic classic for dinner this way you get same table same waiter in all four complementary restaurant. The kids is based on what week you sailing. If you go during school time it will be low. I traveled the anthem after new year and it was 300. Never noticed that many compared to what u heard on nye cruise which had 1500. Elevators is usually average. Happy cruising.

I agree with the suggestion to do Dynamic Classic, removing one more thing to plan for the cruise and eliminate wait time getting in to the dining room.

[horsefeathers75]

Thanks for the honest inputs, if anyone else wants to chime in, feel free too. I am having a feeling, I should stay with Granduer.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the honest inputs, if anyone else wants to chime in, feel free too. I am having a feeling, I should stay with Granduer.

Based on how you described the Freedom as "bearable" to your husband, I don't think I'd try Anthem for this special occasion. I'd go with Grandeur.

[Guest maddycat]

We were on the Liberty (sister ship to the Freedom) and the Quantum (sister ship to the Anthem) last year. We thought that the Liberty felt much more crowded than the Quantum.

[Merion_Mom]

If the Grandeur were considerably cheaper, I would say pick the Grandeur, but I don't find her prices to be very cheap.

 

Comparing the two ships and what you get for your cruise fare, Anthem is a much better "buy".

 

Just my opinion, of course. :D

[Merion_Mom]

Yes, there were alot of lines. To do activities, expect 15-45 min wait, average was 30 minutes. Shows? There were no lines, but arrive 30 min early to get a good seat. Arrival at embarkation, waited an hour to drive 300 feet to the drop off point. Waited 30 minutes in security to get into another line for check-in. Guest Services? Have a problem, expect a 10-20+ wait in line. Still had fun, but yes, the lines were everywhere. There was even a huge line just to get the free soft-serve on a warm sea day. Elevator? Yes, a long wait, unless you were on deck 15 or deck 4. Since the ship is so tall, it is more inconvenient to take the stairs.

 

Contrast this with the Freedom of the Seas, there were none of these lines.

 

As far as kids on Anthem? There were alot of kids, but they weren't particularly ill-behaved. They seem to keep them in the Adventure Ocean so you never really see them during the day.

 

I had few, if any, of these "problems".

[horsefeathers75]

I really appreciate all the comments everyone had to offer. I will show him everything everyone had to say. I now understand that on the Anthem they do not have the dining room as on past cruises you have to select either classic or dynamic dining. I will have a group of 10 sailing with us, how close is the classic to traditional dining, is it a pain to "follow your waiter".

 

Do they also have a diamond club for diamond members?

 

Thanks for the info, that should sum it up.

[CheerMom15]

I really appreciate all the comments everyone had to offer. I will show him everything everyone had to say. I now understand that on the Anthem they do not have the dining room as on past cruises you have to select either classic or dynamic dining. I will have a group of 10 sailing with us, how close is the classic to traditional dining, is it a pain to "follow your waiter".

 

Do they also have a diamond club for diamond members?

 

Thanks for the info, that should sum it up.

 

As far as what I understand, for classic dining, they give you a time and once on board your rotation of restaurants so you show up at your classic dining time (Classic 1 - early Classic 2 - late) in whatever restaurant is in your rotation that day and your waiter will be taking care of you.

[Clarea]

I really appreciate all the comments everyone had to offer. I will show him everything everyone had to say. I now understand that on the Anthem they do not have the dining room as on past cruises you have to select either classic or dynamic dining. I will have a group of 10 sailing with us, how close is the classic to traditional dining, is it a pain to "follow your waiter".

 

Do they also have a diamond club for diamond members?

 

Thanks for the info, that should sum it up.

The Diamond Lounge is on deck 4, next to the Music Hall.

[Lizcourt]

Look at some of the responses that are pro-Anthem -- many of them talk about how you will enjoy the ship, but to make sure that you plan ahead and make your reservations. And that's just the problem. Over the years, I've sailed on RCCL ships big and small -- from Monarch and Empress to Oasis and Anthem (and, yes, Grandeur). Anthem is the only one -- including Oasis -- that I think can't handle the number of passengers that it can hold. That's why you really DO need to pay attention to pre-reserving not just pay restaurants, and not just restaurants, but everything -- shows, shore excursions, and activities like I Fly and NorthStar. For me, that kills one of the main advantages of cruising: the fact that once you're on board, everything is easy; you don't have to decide where should we eat and can we get in there -- or what show do we want to see three nights from now and can we get a seat. Its not specifically about the size, since we found that Oasis handled the crowds beautifully. Its about the public areas, including the restaurants, being so chopped up that they can't handle the number of people that would want to use them at any given time.

 

Anthem was beautiful, and any day on a cruise is better than a day on land, but RCCL has really done it much, much better with its other ships, and we will be sticking with either smaller RCCL ships or larger ones that are capable of handling the crowds.

[alfaeric]

Like many here, we've sailed all the classes...

 

In terms of crowd, I didn't notice much difference from the Liberty to Anthem.

 

That being said, I'm more on the side of asking the question- is "bearing with it" good enough?

 

Can you go to Florida? Assuming there's still a Radiance Class ship out of Tampa- a B2B on that would be pretty nice. While I really like hte Vision class ships, I prefer the Radiance class better- just a nicer overall ship.

 

And there have been the same class out of San Juan for a few years now.

 

Your anniversary isn't in September, is it? That gives you a great Boston option, as there have been Brilliance and Serenade from there that goes up to Canada.

 

Good luck! We really enjoy celebrating anniversaries on the ship.

[Merion_Mom]

I really appreciate all the comments everyone had to offer. I will show him everything everyone had to say. I now understand that on the Anthem they do not have the dining room as on past cruises you have to select either classic or dynamic dining. I will have a group of 10 sailing with us, how close is the classic to traditional dining, is it a pain to "follow your waiter".

 

Do they also have a diamond club for diamond members?

 

Thanks for the info, that should sum it up.

 

Look at some of the responses that are pro-Anthem -- many of them talk about how you will enjoy the ship, but to make sure that you plan ahead and make your reservations. And that's just the problem. Over the years, I've sailed on RCCL ships big and small -- from Monarch and Empress to Oasis and Anthem (and, yes, Grandeur). Anthem is the only one -- including Oasis -- that I think can't handle the number of passengers that it can hold. That's why you really DO need to pay attention to pre-reserving not just pay restaurants, and not just restaurants, but everything -- shows, shore excursions, and activities like I Fly and NorthStar. For me, that kills one of the main advantages of cruising: the fact that once you're on board, everything is easy; you don't have to decide where should we eat and can we get in there -- or what show do we want to see three nights from now and can we get a seat. Its not specifically about the size, since we found that Oasis handled the crowds beautifully. Its about the public areas, including the restaurants, being so chopped up that they can't handle the number of people that would want to use them at any given time.

 

Anthem was beautiful, and any day on a cruise is better than a day on land, but RCCL has really done it much, much better with its other ships, and we will be sticking with either smaller RCCL ships or larger ones that are capable of handling the crowds.

 

Dynamic Dining Class is just like traditional dining, but better. Instead of eating in the same place every night, with the same menus as the rest of the fleet, you rotate among the four complimentary restaurants in a specific order, repeating as many times as your cruise days allow.

 

On any day, you can "opt out" and just go to a specialty restaurant (just like the Grandeur) or the Solarium Bistro (complimentary, but reservations suggested) or the Windjammer.

 

You and your tablemates eat in the different restaurants, but your waiters "travel" with you. And you have the same table in each restaurant. You can easily go straight to your table, just like the Grandeur.

 

Here is the paper that was in my cabin when I boarded. As I like to say, "Lather, rinse, repeat". ;)

 

 

As for entertainment. There are three shows that need reservations. No other entertainment needs reservations. And even those always have a stand-by line, and everyone seems to get in. And the kicker? That entertainment is worth reserving! It is so far above Grandeur's shows in quality that there are no words.

 

Yes, you need reservations for iFly and for the Northstar. But that just means that you know that you will get to do those things.

 

Timing is everything. Sometimes you encounter a lot of people at the bumper cars; sometimes you don't. But the line moves pretty quickly. Even when it looks long, a LOT of people can "play" at one time, so each time there is a new load, the line moves up A LOT.

 

Don't let the naysayers "scare" you off the Anthem. She is a fabulous ship that provides an amazing cruise experience.

[fair-winds39]

HI All,

 

My dh & I 30th wedding anniversary is in 2017. I wanted to do something very special like take the Anthem out of New Jersey. I wanted to try this bigger ship with its bigger features just because; however my husband thinks that it will be a lot of hassles with so many people. He feels with the amount of people it will take the enjoyment of cruising out of it and ruin our anniversary. We were on the Freedom when she had a storm incident like the Anthem. The Freedom was bearable for him with the amount of people on it. My question for those of you who have done both the freedom and anthem, what was the difference, could you notice the increase in the crowds, was it really crowded to get off and on the ship, go to the shows, catch the elevators, go to the buffett. What is the general age group, were there a lot of children. Are the extra amenities worth the amount of people and cost of the cruise. I need honest input. My husband is willing to take the Granduer out of Baltimore that is doing the same itinerary but we have done the Granduer 5 times.

 

Thank you.

My sister and BIL were on the Anthem in December. They are in their early fifties and said that on their cruise there were all ages. Definitely they wished they had made reservations for shows, activities, etc. prior to boarding. They didn't care for the Dynamic Dining at all. They said the ship was beautiful, crew fantastic, nice cabin. They have been cruising for many years, and probably would sail RCCL again, but not the Anthem....tooooo big!!! They definitely prefer a smaller vessel.