Anthem of the Seas August 25

[kentuckytravelgirl]

I have a review...August 25-September3, 2016 Anthem of the Seas... Let me start by saying that I love Royal Caribbean. We are diamond members and have been cruising Royal Caribbean for over 16 years. This was by far the most disappointing cruise we have ever been on. Day one disembark-ridiculous, We had an 11 to 11:30 check in appointment that was never acknowledged. Once we were checked in on the iPads we were herded into a corral and told to take a seat. No acknowledgment of being diamond was ever made. About 10 till 12 they decided to let the masses start boarding the ship, this was done in a very unruly manner. People were walking in that had just checked in and were just walking right onto the ship and no one was stopping them. The ladies and gentlemen in the aqua sweaters are not employees of the cruise line, so they had no authority to do anything about the interlopers. We headed directly to 270 and had lunch, it was good and the room is amazing. I couldn't believe how many people didn't bother to use hand sanitizer as it is everywhere on the ship. Our room was ready at almost exactly 1 PM and we loved our balcony state room. The design of this room is so much more conducive than the previous design. Loved the closet space, loved the balcony, loved the shower . We were in cabin 7254 and were just behind the bump out, our balcony seemed a bit larger than the others. We had dinner at Grande that night. I had surf and turf, two pieces of grilled shrimp and a 1/2 inch thick piece of meat. The beef was not edible and my waiter brought me a lobster tail which was delicious. We ate at grande that night because it was not formal, resulting in me not having to bring one more pair of shoes. I'm not going to go through this cruise day by day I just want to hit on a few highlights and a few low lights. The meal in American icon was pretty good, I have to say the crabcakes were some of the best I've ever had in my life. My husband had prime rib and he agreed that it was superb. All and all we ate at the Grande four of the nine nights we were on board. The menu was the same all four nights. We ate at American icon the rest of the time we never ate it Chic. The service was not good at any of the restaurants except on the first and the fourth night in the grande. In my opinion the dynamic dining is a big bust, and I for one am happy that they're doing away with it. On to our ports… The captain did a phenomenal job leaving port in New York. He circled out around the Statue of Liberty and it was amazing going under the Verrazano bridge was also amazing. We took a trolley tour in Boston and enjoyed it thoroughly, afterwards we walked over to the market and had lunch and then back to the ship. The next stop was in Portland Maine, we met some friends there for lunch at DeMello's restaurant and it was delicious, we didn't do much else there except just walk back to the ship. Then we went to Bar Harbor Maine, beautiful city, we loved it. Very walkable and friendly. We had booked a tour through Royal Caribbean to go to Acadia national forest followed by a lobster bake. Our time was it 1:15 PM. So naturally we had lunch before because we didn't want to wait until the end of the 4 hour tour to have something to eat. While standing in line to get on the tour bus someone mentioned that we would be eating in four minutes!!!!! Four minutes, we had just spent $60 for lunch! Needless to say we were not happy about the situation. When we spoke to the Royal Caribbean representative he told us to go on to the ship and just tell them that we wanted a refund. That was all well and good but it didn't solve the problem of being able to go to Acadia national Forest. Luckily we were able to get on a private tour in the last four seats on the bus. We didn't get to sit together, but the trip was worth it. (By the way, when we asked at guest relations for a refund, he didn't even ask why we were upset. Customer service??). St. John's was okay, not much to see beside the reversing Rapids. LOVED Halifax! Did a walking tour in the morning and then hopped on a bus to go to Peggy's Cove. It was beautiful. The Ports on this trip were very good, the service on the ship was less than stellar.

 

As I mentioned earlier in this post, we are diamond. There were 500 diamond members on this cruise. The Diamond Lounge is not set up for anything near that capacity. We were told to go to the bar outside the DL and have our cocktails there. We again felt like herded cattle. This situation needs to be addressed. The concierge in the diamond lounge was practically nonexistent. The only thing she ever said to us was that it was time to go. The dining room manager, I'm not sure what her name was, was very moody and some days she would speak, others she didn't. Overall, I don't think I will be paying full price for planning ahead. So disappointing to plan a cruise for 16 months and then it not be all you expected. The shows, WWRY and the Gift did not disappoint us. We enjoyed them immensely.

 

Just One more thing, if you are flying into EWR, do not think that going in a day early is really helpful. Granted, we ALWAYS overpack, but we had to gather our bags, get on the elevator to the train level and then try to fit 4 people and their luggage onto a train car to the hotel pickup area. Lets's just say, it was NOT a pleasant beginning to our trip!

 

IFly and Northstar were very entertaining. I have some photos and will be glad to answer any questions.

 

 

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[qanderson]

Do you by chance have any pictures of the view from your balcony? Were you above the lifeboats?

I have a review...August 25-September3, 2016 Anthem of the Seas... Let me start by saying that I love Royal Caribbean. We are diamond members and have been cruising Royal Caribbean for over 16 years. This was by far the most disappointing cruise we have ever been on. Day one disembark-ridiculous, We had an 11 to 11:30 check in appointment that was never acknowledged. Once we were checked in on the iPads we were herded into a corral and told to take a seat. No acknowledgment of being diamond was ever made. About 10 till 12 they decided to let the masses start boarding the ship, this was done in a very unruly manner. People were walking in that had just checked in and were just walking right onto the ship and no one was stopping them. The ladies and gentlemen in the aqua sweaters are not employees of the cruise line, so they had no authority to do anything about the interlopers. We headed directly to 270 and had lunch, it was good and the room is amazing. I couldn't believe how many people didn't bother to use hand sanitizer as it is everywhere on the ship. Our room was ready at almost exactly 1 PM and we loved our balcony state room. The design of this room is so much more conducive than the previous design. Loved the closet space, loved the balcony, loved the shower . We were in cabin 7254 and were just behind the bump out, our balcony seemed a bit larger than the others. We had dinner at Grande that night. I had surf and turf, two pieces of grilled shrimp and a 1/2 inch thick piece of meat. The beef was not edible and my waiter brought me a lobster tail which was delicious. We ate at grande that night because it was not formal, resulting in me not having to bring one more pair of shoes. I'm not going to go through this cruise day by day I just want to hit on a few highlights and a few low lights. The meal in American icon was pretty good, I have to say the crabcakes were some of the best I've ever had in my life. My husband had prime rib and he agreed that it was superb. All and all we ate at the Grande four of the nine nights we were on board. The menu was the same all four nights. We ate at American icon the rest of the time we never ate it Chic. The service was not good at any of the restaurants except on the first and the fourth night in the grande. In my opinion the dynamic dining is a big bust, and I for one am happy that they're doing away with it. On to our ports… The captain did a phenomenal job leaving port in New York. He circled out around the Statue of Liberty and it was amazing going under the Verrazano bridge was also amazing. We took a trolley tour in Boston and enjoyed it thoroughly, afterwards we walked over to the market and had lunch and then back to the ship. The next stop was in Portland Maine, we met some friends there for lunch at DeMello's restaurant and it was delicious, we didn't do much else there except just walk back to the ship. Then we went to Bar Harbor Maine, beautiful city, we loved it. Very walkable and friendly. We had booked a tour through Royal Caribbean to go to Acadia national forest followed by a lobster bake. Our time was it 1:15 PM. So naturally we had lunch before because we didn't want to wait until the end of the 4 hour tour to have something to eat. While standing in line to get on the tour bus someone mentioned that we would be eating in four minutes!!!!! Four minutes, we had just spent $60 for lunch! Needless to say we were not happy about the situation. When we spoke to the Royal Caribbean representative he told us to go on to the ship and just tell them that we wanted a refund. That was all well and good but it didn't solve the problem of being able to go to Acadia national Forest. Luckily we were able to get on a private tour in the last four seats on the bus. We didn't get to sit together, but the trip was worth it. (By the way, when we asked at guest relations for a refund, he didn't even ask why we were upset. Customer service??). St. John's was okay, not much to see beside the reversing Rapids. LOVED Halifax! Did a walking tour in the morning and then hopped on a bus to go to Peggy's Cove. It was beautiful. The Ports on this trip were very good, the service on the ship was less than stellar.

 

As I mentioned earlier in this post, we are diamond. There were 500 diamond members on this cruise. The Diamond Lounge is not set up for anything near that capacity. We were told to go to the bar outside the DL and have our cocktails there. We again felt like herded cattle. This situation needs to be addressed. The concierge in the diamond lounge was practically nonexistent. The only thing she ever said to us was that it was time to go. The dining room manager, I'm not sure what her name was, was very moody and some days she would speak, others she didn't. Overall, I don't think I will be paying full price for planning ahead. So disappointing to plan a cruise for 16 months and then it not be all you expected. The shows, WWRY and the Gift did not disappoint us. We enjoyed them immensely.

 

Just One more thing, if you are flying into EWR, do not think that going in a day early is really helpful. Granted, we ALWAYS overpack, but we had to gather our bags, get on the elevator to the train level and then try to fit 4 people and their luggage onto a train car to the hotel pickup area. Lets's just say, it was NOT a pleasant beginning to our trip!

 

IFly and Northstar were very entertaining. I have some photos and will be glad to answer any questions.

 

 

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[kentuckytravelgirl]

Yes, we were above the lifeboats. What type of pictures are you interested in?

 

 

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[easyboy]

Sorry your cruise didn't go well as you expected.

Those insensitive cruise staff should not stay any minute longer with the line.

Thanks for the feedback.

[shopnagain]

On Anthem right now. We ate at Jamie's Italian tonight (not worth the $70 bucks btw) and when I checked my statement they charged me the $70 and $105.38!!!! I had to go to guest services. They said it was for drinks, I had water and my husband had a soda (we have drink packages!) they had to call the manager even though I still had the receipt! Two others in the guest svc line were also complaining they were charged for bottles of wine they never drank so watch those statements carefully

[shipmate13]

I'm sorry, interlopers? The other passengers who paid to be on the ship? Is that who you are referring to??? You make it appear to sound like everyone else is not worthy. Very sad.

But reading your review, it appears that you enjoyed this ship which I will be on next August. I am looking forward to it and I will not board until I am told to do so.

Interloper: Intruding on people without their permission, one who interferes with the affairs of others for selfish reasons, an intruder who does not belong at a social gathering or anywhere else.

Sad very sad.

[shonandsuzie]

Yes, we were above the lifeboats. What type of pictures are you interested in?

 

 

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Did the life boats interfere with your view from the balcony? Some on CC have said this is an issue in some of the deck 7 staterooms.

We have a deck 7 room close to yours in January so are a bit nervous.

[ObstructedView2]

I have a review...This was by far the most disappointing cruise we have ever been on. Day one disembark-ridiculous.

You disembarked on day one?? I couldn't read past that, without spacing your review is a wall of words.

 

 

:cool:

 

[qanderson]

Yes, we were above the lifeboats. What type of pictures are you interested in?

 

 

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Do you have any that just shows your view while you are out on the balcony? Straight out, down or side to side. Whatever [emoji5]

 

 

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