Anthem Review from 9/3 Sailing

[Iluvmypuggle]

Just returning from the Anthem of the Seas Sept. 3rd sailing to Bermuda, and it was a wonderful trip. I would like to share a few comments from my trip and hopefully they can answer questions or help with some of your planning. Also, many thanks to all of the travelers who posted a ton of info to help with my cruise!

 

BACKGROUND

I traveled with my DH and booked about 7 weeks out. We booked a balcony guarantee and loved our cabin on Deck 11. We have not sailed Royal Caribbean before, but have been on plenty of cruises, and have sailed to Bermuda once before. We were most looking forward to the entertainment and dining. We did book the Premium Beverage Package before sailing, which I understand is now a different package. We did park at Bayonne and it was an easy process both in & out - we arrived at Noon on departure day, and next time will get there earlier to avoid some of the traffic.

 

SHIP

I thought the ship was absolutely beautiful with a ton of venues, seating areas and different places to hang out. Everything is modern and sleek, and all of the different bars and theaters had really nice, comfortable seating areas. I especially liked Two70 and the Royal Theater seating arrangements, since these venues had stadium seating and I never had anyone in front of me blocking my view.

 

ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITY RESERVATIONS

This was an issue for me before and during the trip. I had a hard time booking shows that worked with the dining times that were available. As many of you already know from the date, we were sailing during very rough seas and when some of the reservable shows were canceled Sunday evening, ours was rescheduled during the same time we had reserved for We Will Rock You. We didn't try to change this because once you move 1 reservation, it's a domino effect with the rest of your plans. We only were able to see We Will Rock You - the talent was incredible, but the story-line was silly. It's worth seeing as the actors/singers/dancers were amazing. I had difficulty booking iFly and North Star, so I was emailing with one of the sports managers prior to our trip, who supposedly booked us reservations. North Star had no record of my reservation, and iFly let me in, but didn't even check. Activity reservations seemed to be an issue for so many people, that it was just such a turn-off. When you are spending so much time to make advance reservations, and then waiting in line to find out your reservation is missing, it just made you feel defeated - and for me personally, it seems totally unnecessary to have activities that cannot accommodate so many passengers. We ended up doing iFly, but not North Star because I didn't want to "fight" for a spot.

 

OTHER ENTERTAINMENT

One of my favorite parts of this trip was the entertainment! We went to a bunch of the traditional shows including the Love & Marriage Game, The Quest, the late-night comedian, the Journey Cover Band and watched the belly-flop pool contest. All of these events were a great time and the cruise director did an excellent job hosting. We loved the music in Mike's Genuine Pub, and went to see the entertainer there 3 nights out of 5. We also attended trivia one afternoon. I think a lot of these activities were well done, and never felt too crowded (except belly flop lol). We really enjoyed every show we attended and particularly loved the Two70 venue. Bar service in all of the venues/lounges was great and was probably the best bar service on the ship. I would have liked to see one of the headliner acts, but with our other activity or dining reservations, we couldn't be in 2 places at one time - this might be something to consider researching before you book your dining reservations on the Anthem. Figure out which shows are important to you and look through the Cruise Compass schedules so you can book dining around the shows that are important to you - I did that in order to make sure we could attend the Quest without it conflicting with We Will Rock You.

 

DINING

We booked dynamic dining and ate dinner each night between 8-930pm. The service in the dining rooms was a highlight for us. We thought each of the dining rooms were beautiful with a great serving team - we never waited more than 2 minutes to be seated. We really enjoyed our meals in Chic, American Icon, The Grande and Silk. Chic was my favorite because the staff there was phenomenal! All of our meals were very good, and portion size was not too large, so we did sample multiple apps & entrees. We ate at the Grande on the first night, and we dressed appropriately (but no jacket required); we ordered the Surf and Turf as well as the lobster based on CC recommendations & both were awesome. I went to Chic on the second and fourth nights, and American Icon on the third night. Our only disappointment in dining overall was that the menus didn't seem to change for either Chic or American Icon during our trip. I did notice on Lor74's review that she posted a menu with Chicken Parm - I didn't see that on any of the menus, so maybe the virtual menu screens had not been updated when we checked them before dinner? Either way, we wanted to try their second menus but were not able to. Silk was very good too - it doesn't seem to be a favorite among most cruisers, but it was a nice change of pace from the other menus. We ate at Johnny Rockets twice - it was hot and delicious junk food and it was worth the $5/pp to avoid the buffet. We did try the buffet on 2 occasions - the first time it was so crowded that we spent way too long looking for a table and then left. On the second occasion, we picked up some lunch and the few things we tried were very good. Two70 had some good breakfast and lunch options, and we ate lunch here on the first day - never too crowded and it's quicker and easier than the buffet. Overall, we thought the quality of the food on the ship was very good and you will surely find something you like in any of the complimentary restaurants.

 

ROCKY SEAS

The rocky seas were a hot topic for this sailing, and luckily we were fine. Despite the weather, it was probably one of our best days because nothing was crowded, we weren't in a rush trying to save a pool chair, and we spent the day hanging out at different bars, seeing shows, drinking and trying new snacks. Unfortunately, a lot of things were closed this day including the pools, the Seaplex and Bionic Bar, but of course all for safety. We did see some big waves hit hard enough that for a few seconds, the windows in The Grande appeared to be "under water". We also saw some people getting sick - hope all of you passengers are feeling better.. DH & I both wore the patch and had no trouble. As a goodwill gesture, all movies were free in the cabin and that was a nice touch.

 

PREMIUM BEV PACKAGE

So I realize that the package just recently changed, but if the price is not outrageous, I would absolutely purchase it again. I think we paid $50/person/day and it was definitely worth the price for us. There is room for improvement with the beverage packages where it could be more clear what is included & what is not - we did have to ask the bartenders a few times, and they were great, but it slowed them down. I think so many people are purchasing the packages that they are making more drinks than they normally would. The soda cup/process could use improvement. We would try 3 soda machines before we could find 1 that was working or had not run out of Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper.. Also, think of being dressed for dinner with a clutch, but now you need to carry around your cup all night if you want to bring soda a cup of soda back to the room. The bartenders would NOT give us a can of diet soda since that wasn't part of the package, but they would fill our cup. Not a big issue, but I can't tell you how many times we would go to a different floor to grab a diet coke and the machine wasn't working.

 

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

• Reservation System - this was a pain in the butt before and during the the cruise. I'm not sure what the solution is here, but would be great if it wasn't so cumbersome.
  
• Guest Services - the line had a minimum of 10 people lined up all day & night. My best guess is that this is due to the reservations system, but I'm not entirely sure.
  
• Soda machines - If this is the standard for soda with the RCCL cup, they need to be filled regularly and functioning properly.
  
• Bionic Bar - We went to the Bionic Bar on 3 different occasions and it was either closed or not functioning properly - finally on our last night, we ordered a drink there and it was a fun experience.
  
• Bar Service - we spent 2 afternoons on upper level pool deck. On both occasions we could only get drinks by standing in long lines at the bar. We did not see 1 bar server walking around on the upper deck - I can't speak for the lower deck. Whether this is accurate or not, we felt that since we prepaid for the package, there was no urgency to deliver product. Once we did get drinks, everything was well-made so no complaints there.
  

 

PASSENGER TIPS

We met two people who had something stolen in Bermuda - please be careful with your personal items & your cash. I know everyone wants to have a great time, but you don't need to carry all of the cash you brought with you - that's what the safe is for. If you don't need to carry your passport off the ship, then don't. Of course this is no fault of the cruise line, but sad to see passengers dealing with these types of issues.

 

OUR HIGHLIGHTS

• The music & the beer selection at Mike's Genuine Pub
  
• Two70 - everything about this venue was well done, and comfortable. We sailed away in here (first time indoors actually) and the view was amazing. Drinks and service are great, and the Two70 Cafe was very good too.
  
• Journey Cover Band - they were amazing and so much fun - this was also in Two70.
  
• Beverage Package - I loved that this was almost an all-inclusive cruise and that we didn't have to think about prices when ordering drinks. Only 1 time did we order something with an upcharge and we enjoyed so many higher end brands.
  
• Dining - We really had great dining experiences, so many compliments to all of the staff for their hard work! Everything came out hot and fast each night.
  
• Late Night Comedian - Not only was the comedian hilarious, but the late-night timing was appreciated because it didn't conflict with other major shows
  
• FlowRider - my husband did FlowRider and it looked like a blast. It switched over to the stand-up surfing before I could sign the waver to try it with the boogie board, so will definitely do that next time. It was fun to watch even when you weren't doing it.
  
• Cabin - I have stayed in Inside, Window and most Balcony cabins previously, but this was my absolute favorite cabin. I loved that the balcony chairs had foot rests and there was SO much storage in this small cabin - It was very well planned out.
  

 

OVERALL

Being that this was my first RCCL cruise, I had a wonderful vacation but came back with some mixed feelings. I love a new and modern ship, along with all of the sleek decor and features, and the Anthem is a beauty. The reservation system makes me want to avoid this ship/class for future cruises, and despite that, I do think it's worth trying at least once. I thought the food was really good, but the dining room menus not changing during this trip was disappointing (Or maybe they ran out of those items by the late dining times we had - that's possible too). I loved all of the ship's specialty activities like iFly, FlowRider, etc. but fighting for reservations leaves something to be desired..The staff was phenomenal, but sometimes it seems that the bars were understaffed, particularly by the pools. That's not the staff's fault and they worked really hard. In my experience, there's definitely a lot of good here, but the process could be a little more user friendly, and booking the Anthem will require that passengers spend a little more time planning in advance. I will definitely book RCCL again if the price is comparable to the other cruise lines, and look forward to trying another ship in the future. :)

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

Thanks for posting your review. :)

[Yorkvillain]

Nice recap. Thank you.

[twofit]

Great review! We were on the Aug. 20 sailing to Bermuda and felt very much the same. Really don't know what most of the grumbling is about on this ship, unless modern, contemporary styling and planning isn't to your liking.

[Clarea]

Very nice report, thanks.

[gc]

Two really well written reviews on the same day ....

 

You and Michael have raised the bar for Anthem of the Seas reviews.

 

It's a pleasure to see good people on cruise critic.

 

gc

[Arzeena]

Pleasure to read your great review.

[MizDemeanor]

What a Happy read. Makes me feel giggly that we just booked this ship this week.

 

Thanks!

[akcruz]

Very nice review and I pretty much agree with all you said.

 

Personally I think the activities just can't handle the passenger load on the 5 day sailing. It really is a shame as they are good, but the frustration in reserving, changing, etc is too much. We do cruise primarily on Royal and are glad we tried this class but probably won't book on it again, at least not for under 7 days.

 

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

[Iluvmypuggle]

What a Happy read. Makes me feel giggly that we just booked this ship this week.

 

Thanks!

 

Have a wonderful time on your trip! That's such a great feeling to book a new cruise. :p

 

Very nice review and I pretty much agree with all you said.

 

Personally I think the activities just can't handle the passenger load on the 5 day sailing. It really is a shame as they are good, but the frustration in reserving, changing, etc is too much. We do cruise primarily on Royal and are glad we tried this class but probably won't book on it again, at least not for under 7 days.

 

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

 

Thanks! I think your description of the activities not being able to handle the passenger load for the 5-night trip is right on the money. In this case, some of the activities being closed due to weather made it even more difficult to accommodate everyone. I would do the 5-night again as we didn't see The Gift or Spectra's Cabaret, so those shows along with the bumper cars and North Star will be a new experience for us.

[Iluvmypuggle]

Pleasure to read your great review.

Thanks so much for the positive feedback!

 

Two really well written reviews on the same day ....

 

You and Michael have raised the bar for Anthem of the Seas reviews.

 

It's a pleasure to see good people on cruise critic.

 

gc

 

What a compliment! You made my day. Thanks.. :)

[Iluvmypuggle]

Thanks for all of your positive responses clarea, twofit, yorkvillain and whenisthemidnightbuffet! :)

[HLR]

Nice review! You gave back up to your observations, likes and dislikes. I am sailing on the Anthem in December.

 

One Question: When you ate dinner in the complimentary restaurants between 8 and 9:30 and were seated within 2 minutes...did you have reservations or were you walk ins?

 

HLR

[cincicruisers]

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.

[lor74]

Nice review! Also in full agreement for a 5 night on the Anthem, we barely scratched the surface on what this ship has to offer. I was going to do my own breakdown review, but I think this one covers everything already, so I will just add a few words specific to our stateroom:

 

We stayed in Superior Balcony cabin 8314, which is located in the aft section of the ship. It is quite large, with plenty of storage space. The room contains the 2 beds that make a queen, a narrow night table next to each side, flatscreen tv, a sofa, desk, and chair. The balcony is a nice size, with 2 adjustable chairs, 2 foot stools, and a small table. The view is unrestricted, except if you look straight down, which is a protruding roof from the venue below. Not including the day of the storm, motion was not a problem. The walls are thin, and we could hear noise coming from one of our neighbours. The shower had good pressure and temperature control. Small bottles of shampoo & conditioner were provided. There is no clothes line, but there are some hooks. The AC in the room worked well. The bed and pillows are firm. Tall people beware, there is a storage compartment over the bed which sticks out, and so does the light in the bathroom over the sink. I hit my head multiple times.

 

 

 

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[Iluvmypuggle]

Nice review! You gave back up to your observations, likes and dislikes. I am sailing on the Anthem in December.

 

One Question: When you ate dinner in the complimentary restaurants between 8 and 9:30 and were seated within 2 minutes...did you have reservations or were you walk ins?

 

HLR

 

We had reservations for dinner each night and we typically arrived on time or within 15 minutes of our reservation time.

 

On the last evening, when we noticed the menu did not change in American Icon, we walked over to Silk (an hour after our reservation time), and they were able to accommodate us. As a group of 2, I'm sure it is easy to find a table in most restaurants, but I imagine larger groups would be tougher to accommodate without notice.

 

As others have mentioned on the boards, even if you don't care for the reservation time or restaurant, book what you can get and change it later. With the Royal IQ app, you can check available dining times throughout the cruise, or you can walk up to the hostess stand outside of the restaurants. Sometimes there was a short line leading up to the hostess station, but it always went really fast.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

Edited September 9, 2016 by Iluvmypuggle

[Lionesss]

Enjoyed reading your review.

 

Thanks for taking the time and putting in a great effort -- it showed.

 

Sorry to hear about the rough seas.

 

My DH will not even consider a sailing from this port, even though we could drive to it and save on air fare......just because of the wavy seas.

 

Thanks for your post and insight.

 

later

[Iluvmypuggle]

Nice review! Also in full agreement for a 5 night on the Anthem, we barely scratched the surface on what this ship has to offer. I was going to do my own breakdown review, but I think this one covers everything already, so I will just add a few words specific to our stateroom:

 

We stayed in Superior Balcony cabin 8314, which is located in the aft section of the ship. It is quite large, with plenty of storage space. The room contains the 2 beds that make a queen, a narrow night table next to each side, flatscreen tv, a sofa, desk, and chair. The balcony is a nice size, with 2 adjustable chairs, 2 foot stools, and a small table. The view is unrestricted, except if you look straight down, which is a protruding roof from the venue below. Not including the day of the storm, motion was not a problem. The walls are thin, and we could hear noise coming from one of our neighbours. The shower had good pressure and temperature control. Small bottles of shampoo & conditioner were provided. There is no clothes line, but there are some hooks. The AC in the room worked well. The bed and pillows are firm. Tall people beware, there is a storage compartment over the bed which sticks out, and so does the light in the bathroom over the sink. I hit my head multiple times.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks for adding to the thread Lor74! I wasn't reading the boards during the trip, but my mom was following your thread from NJ and she really enjoyed it! LOL. I read it yesterday when I came back and it was fun to read through someone else's view of the trip. Everyone has their own experience even on the same trip, so always great to hear different perspectives. I absolutely loved your photos too! Thanks for posting that.

[DonnaK]

Personally I think the activities just can't handle the passenger load on the 5 day sailing. It really is a shame as they are good, but the frustration in reserving, changing, etc is too much.

 

I agree with this. They try to cram everything from a normal 7 day or longer cruise into 5 days, and it just doesn't flow smoothly because there is too much overlap and competition for prime timeslots.

 

Having said that, we booked the first Bermuda cruise of the season (April 30, 2016) about 3 weeks out and everything was booked solid online before the cruise. We boarded very early (11am), and we were able to straight out all our dining reservations with a hostess at the podium outside the dining room on deck 3. And, we were able to book all the activities/entertainment that we wanted by using the Royal IQ app either on our smartphone or on the iPads in the shore excursion area. It took about 30 minutes total at the start of the cruise, but it was seamless and frustration-free.

[Iluvmypuggle]

Enjoyed reading your review.

 

Thanks for taking the time and putting in a great effort -- it showed.

 

Sorry to hear about the rough seas.

 

My DH will not even consider a sailing from this port, even though we could drive to it and save on air fare......just because of the wavy seas.

 

Thanks for your post and insight.

 

later

 

Thanks for the feedback. :)

 

I'm sorry to hear your DH won't try sailing out of NJ or NY - we have done it many times and rough seas are hit or miss. I'm sure there is a certain time of year where the seas are calmer, but the convenience wins us over either way. The benefit of flying though is the much larger selection of ships.. Happy cruising wherever you depart from.

[Iluvmypuggle]

I agree with this. They try to cram everything from a normal 7 day or longer cruise into 5 days, and it just doesn't flow smoothly because there is too much overlap and competition for prime timeslots.

 

Having said that, we booked the first Bermuda cruise of the season (April 30, 2016) about 3 weeks out and everything was booked solid online before the cruise. We boarded very early (11am), and we were able to straight out all our dining reservations with a hostess at the podium outside the dining room on deck 3. And, we were able to book all the activities/entertainment that we wanted by using the Royal IQ app either on our smartphone or on the iPads in the shore excursion area. It took about 30 minutes total at the start of the cruise, but it was seamless and frustration-free.

 

Wow, that's great that you had a smooth experience booking dining & activities onboard!

 

I think your seamless booking through the Royal IQ app is how it's intended to work.. We did try to use the app, but some of our reservations were missing; when we tried to find open times for NorthStar and iFly throughout the trip, none were available. I imagine things can only improve from here, so hopefully RCCL is taking everyone's feedback into consideration.

[finz2u]

Thanks for your review. I can't wait to be on this same trip starting next Saturday. Hoping there will be no weather issues to cancel the first day reservations and back everything else up. Happy sails.

[reallyitsmema]

Wow, that's great that you had a smooth experience booking dining & activities onboard!

 

I think your seamless booking through the Royal IQ app is how it's intended to work.. We did try to use the app, but some of our reservations were missing; when we tried to find open times for NorthStar and iFly throughout the trip, none were available. I imagine things can only improve from here, so hopefully RCCL is taking everyone's feedback into consideration.

 

Thanks for sharing your review. We were on this cruise and had issues booking prior to the cruise too since we booked the cruise right before final payment. I was able to get reservations using the Royal IQ app once we boarded. Our Northstar reservation was cancelled due to the weather and we were never able to get on. Our Spectra reservation was also cancelled, but we went stand by for the first showing and got in.

 

We were really happy that we got a reservation for Escape to the Future. We did escape with 9 minutes remaining. We had a good bunch of people in our group who really worked together for the most part.

 

I really think the combination of a shorter cruise with lots of cancellations due to weather made it difficult to get to do and see everything.

[Mel8730]

Great review! I'm glad that you and your husband didn't get ill. I was on the sailing before yours and agree that Anthem is a beautiful ship. We had a few issues with reservations as well, but other than that we had a great vacation.