On Anthem May 5-14

[dedosr]

Enjoy!! Thanks for posting!

[HLR]

Hi Daisy!

 

You mentioned in your first post at the WWRY show they weren't checking ID's and later for Spectra you said "Our seats were left of center, on a small platform". Do you need to make reservations for the shows and are they assigned seating?

 

HLR

[Duffy111]

Hi all, we sailed on the anthem 1/26/16, rcl changed itinerary and shortened cruise to 11 nights from 12, we still loved the anthem, activities staff, the whole feel to the ship, however food and dining room service was the worst we ever had. Please let me know if it has improved on any of your recent anthem cruises as we might try her again if there is hope of better food. Loved the ship. Thank you in advance for your input.

 

I was on the same cruise - cut short a day and with an extreme change of itinerary. I agree that the food and dining were the worst that we ever experienced! The bad taste left for both the Anthem and Royal Caribbean. I guess you may say that this bad experience has cured our desire to cruise with RCC or cruise anywhere - and we happen to travel a lot. As the once popular JDL theme: "never again" will we be held hostage on a cruising shopping mall.

[DonnaK]

Hi Daisy!

 

You mentioned in your first post at the WWRY show they weren't checking ID's and later for Spectra you said "Our seats were left of center, on a small platform". Do you need to make reservations for the shows and are they assigned seating?

 

HLR

Yes, there are 3 shows for whichreservations are recommended.

 

Seats are not assigned, so you might want to get there early.

 

WWRY and The Gift are shown in the main theater which has a large capacity. On our Anthem sailing, none of the shows were full, so the standby line was able to get in with seats to spare (we ended up seeing them twice, because the plots were a bit hard to follow, and it was significantly more understandable and more enjoyable the second time around).

 

Spectra is in a much smaller venue, so reservations are really needed to guarantee being able to see it.

Edited May 13, 2016 by DonnaK

[DaisyL]

Did the weather make the sailing choppy and rough? Did you feel it at all? I heard a review recently from someone on a Bermuda sailing that said she felt the ship rocking more than she usually did on other ships.

 

 

We have cruised many times to Bermuda on different ships, small to large and have had various weather and sea conditions. Some were smooth as silk and others rough. We happened to have rough seas going down the first night and bad weather in Bermuda. The rest of the trip has been smooth. I'll get back to you after tonight, our last day... Lol.

[DaisyL]

Which internet package did you get? Surf and Stream or just regular Voom?

 

 

Just the regular Voom... No need for streaming. I find it slower and more erratic than the regular internet last year on Liberty.

[DaisyL]

I cruised Anthem last month and noticed a noticable smell coming from the toilet, as if their septic was backing up. Anyone else get this? I was on deck 6.

 

 

We're on deck 10 and have not had any odor in our cabin but have smelled septic several mornings in the hall.

[DaisyL]

Hi all, we sailed on the anthem 1/26/16, rcl changed itinerary and shortened cruise to 11 nights from 12, we still loved the anthem, activities staff, the whole feel to the ship, however food and dining room service was the worst we ever had. Please let me know if it has improved on any of your recent anthem cruises as we might try her again if there is hope of better food. Loved the ship. Thank you in advance for your input.

 

 

We have enjoyed the meals on board, dining in Windjammer for breakfast and lunch and rotating the 4 main restaurants for dinner. I know tastes are subjective but we have been pleased.

[DaisyL]

Hi Daisy!

 

 

 

You mentioned in your first post at the WWRY show they weren't checking ID's and later for Spectra you said "Our seats were left of center, on a small platform". Do you need to make reservations for the shows and are they assigned seating?

 

 

 

HLR

 

 

Reservations are needed for WWRY, Spectra, and The Gift and they scan your card at entry. For some reason they did not scan cards for our viewing of WWRY . All seats are first come. We showed up about 30 min before the shows.

Edited May 13, 2016 by DaisyL

[starfish216]

Ok, time for me to rant! We absolutely hate Voom. Compared to the Internet service we had last year on Liberty this is far inferior. It's very slow, cuts out, and uses up my battery. We need to sign in often with the password too. Early morning is the best and connection diminishes as the day goes on. All I do is check emails and go on cruise critic.... That's it. Ok, rant off.

 

I couldn't agree more! We had four cabins where family members purchased their own internet package and they all had the same issues. We didn't share the package, we all purchased our own package.

 

The internet service on the ship was just awful. Paid the extra dollars for so called faster internet and streaming, I always had a difficult time connecting whether I used my iPhone or iPad, it was so frustrating. After awhile I would just give up. I was just trying to connect to read email and Facebook. Every time I went down to guest services to complain I would have no problem connecting...and they would just turn around and say 'your connected now'. Couldn't sleep one night and tried connecting at 3 AM and it just kept going around and around trying to connect.

 

We also all purchased the Talk and Chat for $7.95 and that was just as bad. Text wouldn't go through or they would show up much later. We were constantly having to re-enter our contacts info cause it wouldn't show up to send them a text or call. At one point the internet person had me to delete the Royal IQ app and reinstall it, but after a day or two the same issues happened all over again.

 

Also found events in the Cruise Planner and Cruise Compass were not in sync, so you didn't know which one was correct.

 

We had a balcony on deck 10 forward and service in the cabin was almost non existent. We have been on many cruises and always purchase the internet package and this was the worst ever. Your device will show you are connected to Royal-wi-fi and you would see the signal strength had 3-4 bars but it just wouldn't go through just kept spinning and spinning and eventually timed out.

 

BTW we were all using some form of an Apple product so I don't know if that was the issue.

[tcavallaro]

Jonj, I will post the Compasses when we return. We never received day 2 so I'll see if my friends have a copy.

 

We really enjoyed Spectra last night. Showed up about 40 minutes early so we could have a drink and about half of the lower section was full. Our seats were left of center, on a small platform, in front of a platform that the performers rise from. The view was good and our seat was comfortable.

 

A different menu is being used for the second round at each of the restaurants. At Grande they had an entree called surf and turf, steak with 2 grilled shrimp, another entree of just lobster tail. Escargot was offered both times.

 

Today is Labadee but we're staying on the ship since we've been here before and I'm not really a beach person especially with 87 degrees today. Time to investigate while the ship is empty.

 

Unfortunately there was an emergency evacuation by helicopter on the pier this morning. Hope the person is ok.

 

TTYL

 

Would you mind gathering the compasses and posting them when you return? This is the first 9 night of this itinerary on the Anthem and they would be useful for future cruisers

 

Thank you

 

Hi DaisyL,

Were you able to gather up your Compasses for the week? I was onboard as well, and usually hold onto my Compasses, but misplaced a few of them. Was hoping you would be able to post yours.

[DaisyL]

Sorry all, I've been home a week and just now had a chance to get back on CC. I have all the compasses except Day 2 but will try to download them tomorrow.

 

We filled out the survey and complained about Voom but gave high grades to most everything else. Loved Dynamic Dining Classic for our group and found the menus interesting, the food was satisfactory and service was great.

 

Next year we'll be on a small ship with an interesting itinerary, Rhapsody, reposition from Bayonne to Tampa. Our whole group of 12 booked too! Can't wait.

[cindyfelix]

Where do I link to the web cam? 10 day count down!

[cindyfelix]

Where do I link to the web cam? 10 day count down!

Never mind, I saw the previous post

[espo56]

Can you please advise if men can wear dress jeans in the complimentary dining venues (not the Grande) and did you see anyone wearing dress shorts.

 

Thank you.

[go fish 44]

If you happen to walk by the lounge at the back of the ship on deck 12 can you see if the sign says concierge lounge or suite lounge? Curios if it changed with the new suite roll out of May 1st

 

Thank you

 

If you are diamond Plus you can still go to the Concierge lounge on deck 12.

It was a somewhat busy during 5 to 6 pm but after than it was very easy to get seats. By 8pm it was dead. The Diamond drinking hours were 5 to 8.30pm

[Barbiegator]

Anthem of the Seas entering Port Canaveral.

[DaisyL]

Can you please advise if men can wear dress jeans in the complimentary dining venues (not the Grande) and did you see anyone wearing dress shorts.

 

 

 

Thank you.

 

 

I don't recall anyone wearing jeans in the dining rooms, except the first night. I think mostly Docker style pants with polo shirts or Hawaiian shirts or dress shirts.

 

My brother wears dress shorts to dinner every year, every cruise (except formal nights and Grande). All the other men in our group wore slacks. Then again he's 6'3", 250 lbs so I guess no one would say anything but I admit he looks neat. He gets new sneakers just for the cruise too. Lol.

 

BTW, many people change after dinner anyway.

[tserface]

Nice jeans can be worn to all restaurants except Grande. I saw lots of people (men and women) wearing their "dress" jeans in several of the venues.

 

Grande was, as expected, a more dress up place and I didn't see anyone there not dressing up. We did see one guy going in without a coat and the hostess went over and stopped him and asked him his size and brought him a coat which he took off and put on the back of the chair anyway.

 

Grande is certainly worth dressing up for... we really enjoyed that experience and the "classy" restaurant experience is so much more worth dressing up to have than just the typical cruise MDR room experience. They did a lot of things to make it even more classy like the wait staff dressing up, bringing free glasses of sparkling wine around, etc. I think they should have a restaurant like this on all ships. Like I said, I think this is so much better than just another night in an MDR.

 

Tom

 

Can you please advise if men can wear dress jeans in the complimentary dining venues (not the Grande) and did you see anyone wearing dress shorts.

 

Thank you.

[libertybelle41]

Can you please advise if men can wear dress jeans in the complimentary dining venues (not the Grande) and did you see anyone wearing dress shorts.

 

Thank you.

 

 

Yes, they can and no I didn't see any dress shorts.

[libertybelle41]

Did the weather make the sailing choppy and rough? Did you feel it at all? I heard a review recently from someone on a Bermuda sailing that said she felt the ship rocking more than she usually did on other ships.

 

 

Leaving and returning to NJ I did notice it rocked a bit more than nearing Bermuda, but not bad (imo)

[espo56]

I don't recall anyone wearing jeans in the dining rooms, except the first night. I think mostly Docker style pants with polo shirts or Hawaiian shirts or dress shirts.

 

My brother wears dress shorts to dinner every year, every cruise (except formal nights and Grande). All the other men in our group wore slacks. Then again he's 6'3", 250 lbs so I guess no one would say anything but I admit he looks neat. He gets new sneakers just for the cruise too. Lol.

 

BTW, many people change after dinner anyway.

 

So did your brother get away with dress shorts. My husband wants to bring hisTommy Bshama dress shorts and matching shirts.

Edited May 23, 2016 by espo56

[MommaBear55]

So did your brother get away with dress shorts. My husband wants to bring hisTommy Bshama dress shorts and matching shirts.

 

Yes, there are people who go against the guidelines and wear shorts to dinner. I have seen it both ignored by the staff and have seen guests turned away. I have no idea what the ratio is. Once people are seated no one can see anyway.

[espo56]

Yes, there are people who go against the guidelines and wear shorts to dinner. I have seen it both ignored by the staff and have seen guests turned away. I have no idea what the ratio is. Once people are seated no one can see anyway.

 

I certainly don't want to be breaking any rules. Just trying to find out what the norm is.

Edited May 24, 2016 by espo56

[luv2travel29]

i just got off anthem this past weekend. i saw all sorts of dress codes in all the restaurants. one lady looked like she came from the gym and went into grande (it was around 9ish)complete with baseball hat and all !:eek:

 

my DH and DS did not have suit jackets and they gave them one to hang on the back of the chair. they did not have to put it on.

 

our last nite in chops, there was a guy in jean shorts and tshirt and one guy was in a track suit. i have never seen them turn away anyone because of dress codes.