---> !!ANTHEM OTS REVIEW!! <--- Complete Pictorial Guide! [June 02, 2016]

[FHSPSU67]

Subscribed. We sailed Anthem on the March-April southern 12 day cruise and are going back in April.

Penn State Class of 1067!

[lauren0309]

Great and informative review so far. Looking forward to more of your review and pics as I will be on the Anthem in June of next year.

 

Going to Bermuda in September but on a different cruise line.

Edited June 15, 2016 by lauren0309

[lmp29]

Following your review, will be on Anthem in September. :)

[maggie416]

Love reading your review! We were on a 12 night, returned April 30th, this was our 14 th cruise and so far it is our absolute favorite ship!!!!

Marg

[Ocean Boy]

Great job with the video!:)

[Cruisin Around]

Great review so far! Can't wait for more. Will be on her in four months!

Did you happen to do the Escape Room puzzle near the SeaPlex? I heard that you're supposed to be 14 to do it, but I'm wondering if they let younger kids in if they are with their parents. My son, who will be 9 at the time of sailing, wants to do this so badly!

Thanks for any help!

[swim13]

DAY 2

Dinner In Asia?! -

 

Welcome back everyone, we are finally on Day #2! I'll try to respond to most of you even if it is a thanks or you may find some responses randomly in the review!

 

I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be natural light coming from the end of my bed right when I opened my eyes. I came to my senses pretty quickly and realized it was the virtual balcony screen (drat :-[). Heres the funny thing, you can't tell the difference between a sunny or cloudy day based on the light coming from the screen! Don't worry, it can be pitch black in the room but we wanted to keep the curtains cracked to make it seem more natural. So it was like a game for me every morning to guess if I'd see sun or clouds! Now I'll talk about the virtual balcony a little. It was a pretty cool experience and I would probably do it again if I am looking for the cheapest room. It is awesome if you are traveling with kids and you want them to have their own room. Get this room across from your balcony and they will be just fine and its much cheaper than two balcony rooms. The only issue with the realism factor is natural light. The sense of having a real balcony is lost here. But let me tell you, this is also much better than a basic inside stateroom! I loved being able to see what was going on each morning on this huge screen.

 

We went to the Windjammer for breakfast and then chilled out by the pool for the whole afternoon! I was amused watching the North Star go up and down and even over the side of the ship! It was an absolutely beautiful day! One of our favorite things on our Royal ships is to chill by the pool while listening to the live band. This band was great! The only disappointment was the lack of steel drums! Of course they had the steel drum sound, albeit on a keyboard...

 

 

 

 

I am so happy Royal Caribbean has decided to put screens on the pool decks of their ships! Originally the ship was designed to have the screen in the middle of the pool deck, between the main pool and the kids zone. I have no clue why they put it on the side like this because it looks out of place. I was surprised that they really didn't play much on the screen besides athletic games/tournaments on ESPN while the band wasn't playing. At night they would always have two viewings of a popular movie, new or classic (see Cruise Compass). I never watched, but I did walk by a few times and many people seemed to be enjoying it!

 

 

Nothing like those blue waters!

 

 

[swim13]

 

 

 

 

The mojito's on board are awesome and will work with the drink packages! (I had Premium Package)

 

 

The beautiful Royal Esplanade! Not as wonderful as the Promenade on Allure OTS, but it worked very similarly and as on any Royal ship from Voyager class-on, it worked great for passenger flow. It has the standard Sorrento's that is open 'till the early morning hours, Café Promenade, Focus Photo's, Boleros, Schooner Bar, Prince + Greene, Regalia, entrance to the Casino, etc. Michael's Genuine Pub is Quantum classes answer to the old "Boot & Bonnet" found on other RCI ships. I went there once and it was pretty neat! They were live streaming a basketball game between Cleveland and GS one night following with a live entertainer singing after the end of the game. They serve pub food too, including fries and chicken wings. The Esplanade veers off to the side once you walk past Michael's that holds the entrance to Music Hall and high end shops such as Armani Jeans. The Logo Shop and Port Merchant is combined on this ship. The Logo Shop really disappointed me as I LOVE Royal merch and couldn't find anything I like! It is a very small store and most of the merch is for women and children.

 

[swim13]

Delete

Edited June 15, 2016 by swim13

[swim13]

We Will Rock You!

 

Tonight we had reservations for Anthem's broadway musical "We Will Rock You". I cannot spoil anything for you besides the fact that is was seriously the best show I've ever seen on a ship!! I mean the shows on Allure and even MSC Divina were spectacular, but this was just amazing. You are definitely in for a treat considering that everyone involved in the musical knows what they are doing and do it flawlessly. I don't know if its because the ship is 'ANTHEM' and for that reason has more musical themed shows and entertainment, but there were probably 5 or 6 singers on board that are so good that they could probably get to the final rounds on American Idol or The Voice! They are pretty attractive too! ;)

 

Anyways, we had the early showing so we could watch it before our late seating dinner. Make sure you make reservations to "We Will Rock You", "Spectra's Cabaret", and "The Gift" as they are the 3 main shows on board and the only ones you can make a reservation for. Get there about 30 minutes prior and you will find a good seat in the middle bottom section. 10 minutes before the show starts is a free for all where people without reservations are allowed to enter the theatre. It's easy to make your reservation online through Royal's website. You can even make one with the Royal IQ stations on board.

 

While I am talking about the show, I would like to mention our cruise director on this sailing was Dru Pavlov. He did very well and is probably one of our favorite CDs! I really don't know when he slept, he was everywhere all the time (he even would pop up through the floors in Two70 :p)

 

 

 

[Yorkvillain]

Outstanding review Mike! Thank you.

[Yankee123]

Thank you for doing this review. I am subscribing also.

[swim13]

Dinner was in Silk tonight... or so it said on our TV! First of all, Royal Caribbean has a really great TV system. You are able to see and do so much on it. Anyway, does everyone remember the issue we had on Day 1 with our classic dining reservations? Well we got denied for classic but got our restaurants assigned for the rest of the cruise so we didn't have to worry. Tonight it said our stateroom was in Silk and the other room was in Chic again. We figured it might a glitch in the system however, we got to Silk and they couldn't find any of our reservations. :eek: The lady was very nice and I explained our whole situation. They got a table for 5 for us and we were able to go in. The lady at the hostess stand said to come see her after our dinner and she would get it all straightened out! Finally we found the service and friendliness from RCI crew that we are used to! It got even better with our server for dinner. She was just so funny and nice, we fell in love with her! If any of you have sailed Anthem recently perhaps you've had her. People know her as "Walmart"... haha! Dinner was great as always. Don't worry if you don't like to stray from American food, there are many traditional American options for you, but please go out of your comfort zone and try something new! The potstickers were FANTASTIC!

 

We finished our supper and saw the lady at the hostess stand that helped us before. The dining room manager Sergio came over and they both worked together to get us all straightened out with a smile on their faces. We finally got a table number, a dining time, and a rotation for all 5 of us. Unfortunately we could not get one of "Walmarts" tables, but we would end up meeting more great dining crew!

 

 

 

Hibachi Steak

 

 

 

[mtm103]

Thank you for your review, on Anthem for Christmas!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[swim13]

Tonight we started going to the Schooner Bar and met our two favorite bartenders, Jelena and Lambert. Those two just worked flawlessly together and always had some kind of joke! Jelena thought I was cute and it became kind of a joke between my family and her from this night on! :p It became a nightly routine to come here either before or after (usually both) dinner. The Schooner is a classic and standard on all Royal ships and the beauty of this one created a great atmosphere. More on this bar later.

 

 

 

 

 

Bionic Bar: Seemed to break down a few times during the sailing. I tried it just once because I thought it was cool. I tapped my card on a tablet and had to enter my birth year. Then I could build a drink or pick a popular one from the list. I picked a blue lagoon. It honestly wasn't very good and I actually threw it out after a few sips. It is a cool feature to watch, but the bar with real people is just irreplaceable!

 

[swim13]

The Solarium is a beautiful space. By night they kept the pools open very late, in fact I would walk by around 1:30 am and see that both the pool and hot tubs were still open! I don't believe there is a restriction on kids here later in the evening. Notice the kids body underwater vs above water! The glass made for some funky distortions! :p

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2016 by swim13

[IrishLassie]

Loving your review & your pictures are GREAT! Thanks for posting & I'm looking forward to more! :D

[kenandcindyc]

I will be going on the Anthem in 29 days! thank you so much for this great review!

[shonandsuzie]

I'm loving this!! Thanks for helping me through my workday!

[swim13]

Day 2 Cruise Compasses!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hansolosmom]

thanks for the review - your pictures are amazing!

[swim13]

Following

 

Welcome! :-]

 

Subscribed. Thanks for your time and efforts!

Kathy

 

Certainly, glad to have you!

 

Looking forward to your next day and day in Bermuda. I love Bermuda but can't imagine only being there as a one day port of call. But I an excited to read about the rest of your trip.

 

Oh man, 1 day was way too short! Just wait until you see the pictures of Horseshoe Bay Beach!!

 

Thanks for the review and I enjoyed your video. 120-something days!!!!

 

Thank you! It will come before you know it! 8-]

 

Thanks for taking the time to put together an Anthem review. Will be following along to prepare for our Anthem journey this fall.

 

Of course and welcome to the review! I'll try and put some tips together at the end!

 

Subscribed. We sailed Anthem on the March-April southern 12 day cruise and are going back in April.

Penn State Class of 1067!

 

Would love the 12 day cruise! Hmm I'm assuming you're not immortal and mean 1967, haha! SO happy to have an alum here. I noticed a lot of Penn Staters (or people with PSU gear on) around the ship and it was awesome! :-]

 

Great and informative review so far. Looking forward to more of your review and pics as I will be on the Anthem in June of next year.

 

Going to Bermuda in September but on a different cruise line.

 

Thank you and welcome 'aboard'! So lucky. I would probably move to Bermuda if I could!

 

Following your review, will be on Anthem in September. :)

 

Welcome! :cool:

 

Love reading your review! We were on a 12 night, returned April 30th, this was our 14 th cruise and so far it is our absolute favorite ship!!!!

Marg

 

Thank you!! I am so envious of your 12 night cruise!

 

Great job with the video!:)

 

Thank you so much!

 

Great review so far! Can't wait for more. Will be on her in four months!

Did you happen to do the Escape Room puzzle near the SeaPlex? I heard that you're supposed to be 14 to do it, but I'm wondering if they let younger kids in if they are with their parents. My son, who will be 9 at the time of sailing, wants to do this so badly!

Thanks for any help!

 

Thanks and welcome to the review! So I actually did not do the Escape Room, but I did find it because I was pretty curious. If I remember correctly it will be on the first deck of the SeaPlex entrance (Deck 15), on the port side. I do believe there is an age requirement however, they encourage family participation. I did notice it was a pretty small room and looked nothing like the pictures of the one on Harmony of the Seas, if you've seen those. I wish I had more information for you!

[swim13]

Outstanding review Mike! Thank you.

 

Thank YOU! I feel like I remember you from one of my other reviews!

 

Thank you for doing this review. I am subscribing also.

 

Glad to have you! :)

 

Thank you for your review, on Anthem for Christmas!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Of course! I think a cruise during Christmas would be awesome. I am sure the decorations are outstanding! Anthem was designed very well for cold weather.

 

Loving your review & your pictures are GREAT! Thanks for posting & I'm looking forward to more! :D

 

Thanks a lot! I like your username. Do you have a lassie at home?! We have 3 shelties!

 

I will be going on the Anthem in 29 days! thank you so much for this great review!

 

Ahh I'm going to come with you! :p

 

I'm loving this!! Thanks for helping me through my workday!

 

Thank you!

 

thanks for the review - your pictures are amazing!

 

Thanks a lot!

[kuddles14]

Enjoying your review. We are doing the 9 day on Anthem in four weeks:D

[Wildcatfish]

Thanks for helping me get through the day. Looking forward to seeing Anthem live in person... tomorrow!!!!!!!!