Anthem Review - 10/29/16 sailing

[davy jones]

I am an engineer by profession and write like one. I hope that you enjoy this anyway!

 

We are a couple approaching 60 with simple tastes. We have done about 25 cruises over the years, but have spread them across a number of cruise lines. Therefore, we do not have a high loyalty program status on any cruise line. We are fairly easy to please, but will be displeased if minimum expectations are not met. Our tastes are relatively simple and sometimes a little different than conventional cruising wisdom. We will often, but not always, zag when others zig to avoid the masses. We live in PA, so about 2/3 of our cruises are from homeports that we can to via car or bus. Anthem is the largest ship that we have sailed on by 30,000 tons.

 

This cruise was a 12 night sailing to Labadee, Falmouth, Grand Cayman, Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. The sailing was listed as sold out 2 weeks prior to departure. The combination of the cruise length and schools in session resulted in many older passengers and very few school aged children. Fewer children mean less overall people onboard. We had not done a western sailing for a long time prior to this. Prior to this cruise, our longest cruise was 12 days, so we wondered if that was too long. There were also some slight reservations about the mixed reviews that Anthem had received, but we decided to see for ourselves. The following opinions are based on our tastes and experiences on this sailing. Therefore, we did not experience some of the issues that have been reported in other reviews. In some cases, we did see the potential for some of those issues.

 

Thanks to all who posted in the past and answered questions. Your postings helped immensely. I hope that this helps return the favor.

 

By now, you are tired of hearing about us and the preamble, so I’ll get down to the nitty gritty.

 

Embarkation – Getting to baggage drop off is a hot mess. I vented about that in another thread when asked, so I won’t do it again. However, once the bags were dropped off, things went smoothly. TIP – people go to the first agent that they see, usually outside the terminal. Go inside where the lines are shorter.

 

Ship – Upon seeing the ship, my first two reactions were that the ship looked a bit top heavy and surprise that the hull is blue. “Aren’t RCI ships white?” Before you say, “Of course it is blue, you dumb bunny. Didn’t you look beforehand?” Yes, I saw pictures before online, but many of them still look white to me, probably because of sunlight, or the deep ocean blue make the hull look white in comparison. Since you don’t see the outer hull while onboard, this has nothing to do with the actual cruise. I wonder how many others also thought that the hull was white. That will tell me whether I need schedule an urgent visit with the eye doctor.

 

Onboard, it is a very fine ship. I know that some people prefer the promenade on other RCI ships to the esplanade on Anthem, but to me they are the same, except that the esplanade has a lower ceiling. It’s the same stores and bars with a Café Promenade. It’s still a bit to mall like for me, especially when the tables are blocking the passageway, which is pretty much all of the time that the ship is in motion.

 

The public rooms are very nice. 270 is impressive during the day because of the view. It does have a lot of technology, but nothing that I haven’t seen before. I especially liked the pools and hot tubs in the solarium. When there, we perched along the sides for a quieter experience. Seaplex is a clever multifunctional area. I suspect that younger folks might prefer a full time sports deck. The fitness center has the usual equipment. There is no changing area with lockers and showers like other ships.

 

The next installment will get to the topic that seems to generate the most discussion: Dynamic Dining and the food.

[euphscott]

I too was taken aback by the hull color. I have not sailed on Anthem yet, but we were docked with her in Bermuda this spring. Every picture I had seen of her DID look white. So, it was with quite a bit of interest that I approached the ship - and sure enough - it IS blue tinged. It was a surprise to me...

 

No - your eyes are not going crazy - thanks for mentioning this. I've never seen it mentioned anywhere else.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[easyboy]

Thanks for your feedback on the ship. Looking forward on your food impressions.

[Clarea]

Enjoying the review. First time I've read about the lack of showers and changing area in the fitness center. Surprising.

[TeeRick]

Thanks we are another couple from PA leaving on Anthem right after Thanksgiving. We are on the first cruise without dynamic dining. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[teddybear231]

Enjoying the review. First time I've read about the lack of showers and changing area in the fitness center. Surprising.

 

Same..I am a bit surprised and disappointed. We are traveling with a large group and usually I will get a shower in the morning after a work out while everybody is getting ready in the room. I wonder why they would leave this out on a new ship?!

[Clarea]

Same..I am a bit surprised and disappointed. We are traveling with a large group and usually I will get a shower in the morning after a work out while everybody is getting ready in the room. I wonder why they would leave this out on a new ship?!

I'm not familiar with Quantum class beyond what I read here, but I wonder if there are showers and changing areas in a section that is extra cost? I know they put the previously free saunas and steamrooms on Oasis class in an extra cost area.

[rwisles72]

We were on the 10/29 sailing and third time on the Quantum class. I just went down 1 flight to the spa, changed and showered in the men's locker room at no extra cost.

Edited November 12, 2016 by rwisles72

[Clarea]

We were on the 10/29 sailing and third time on the Quantum class. I just went down 1 flight to the spa, changed and showered in the men's locker room at no extra cost.

Good to hear, thanks for the clarification.

[teddybear231]

We were on the 10/29 sailing and third time on the Quantum class. I just went down 1 flight to the spa, changed and showered in the men's locker room at no extra cost.

 

Yes good to hear, thank you!

[davy jones]

We were on the 10/29 sailing and third time on the Quantum class. I just went down 1 flight to the spa, changed and showered in the men's locker room at no extra cost.

 

Interesting, I asked a spa worker where the locker room was and she said there was none. Thanks for sharing.

[gkny]

Looking forward to more of your review.

[psupa]

We were on this cruise. Love the Anthem and Captain Ban is the best. He was all over the ship and in the Diamond and CL talking to folks. We had the best wait staff in Classic1 dining and liked rotating through all the dining rooms and sorry to hear that will be changing. The entertainment was good especially the Liverpool Legends. I did see We Will Rock You and Cabaret Spectra, but did not make it to the gift, but will not comment on my thoughts. I believe you need to see it before you make any comments good or bad.

 

However our debarkation was another story. We have no choice but to use wheelchair assistance and we were on the ship until 11:00 when everyone else was already off and then they announce that everyone should be off the ship. Well I would like to know how they think we could do that without a wheelchair. Royal fails miserably with their debarkation for disabled passengers. Not sure what the issue was but I will tell you I gave them a "0" on the survey form for disembarkation and I have already sent Royal a complaint and I can't wait to hear what excuse they give. There is absolutely no excuse for this.

[psupa]

Onboard, it is a very fine ship. I know that some people prefer the promenade on other RCI ships to the esplanade on Anthem, but to me they are the same, except that the esplanade has a lower ceiling. It’s the same stores and bars with a Café Promenade. It’s still a bit to mall like for me, especially when the tables are blocking the passageway, which is pretty much all of the time that the ship is in motion.

 

I agree about the congestion in the area on deck 4 with the tables and $10 junk sales. Very hard to get by and this is the area where Cafe Promenade and Sorrento's Pizza is. That area is not big enough for that

[easyboy]

However our debarkation was another story. We have no choice but to use wheelchair assistance and we were on the ship until 11:00 when everyone else was already off and then they announce that everyone should be off the ship. Well I would like to know how they think we could do that without a wheelchair. Royal fails miserably with their debarkation for disabled passengers. Not sure what the issue was but I will tell you I gave them a "0" on the survey form for disembarkation and I have already sent Royal a complaint and I can't wait to hear what excuse they give. There is absolutely no excuse for this.

I am surprised how they have missed providing priority assistance to those needing wheelchair assistance. It is very basic on all carriers, cruise ships included. I guess your complaint should be vigorously pursued for the benefit of all disabled persons.

[davy jones]

Cabin – We originally booked an inside with virtual balcony. Due to price drops, we were able to upgrade to a guarantee with an actual balcony. We were assigned to a cabin 10682, deck 10 starboard side, toward the aft. Since some wonder about this, our cabin had the bed by the balcony doors instead of the couch. It was a very efficient layout with ample storage for 12 days worth of stuff and a case of water and 2 – 12 packs of soda. They do not stock the refrigerator with mini bar stuff unless you ask. The 40-inch TV was also good. As a standard cabin, I would all it excellent except for one thing, the bed. Everything that has been reported about the beds is true. They are very hard, even by my standards. My wife like her bed a bit squishy, so she had some sleep troubles. Our steward did put the comforter on top, but it didn’t help much. The sofa in the cabin was also quite hard.

 

TIP – Anthem has many decks. If you don’t like to climb a lot of steps, don’t book deck 10. It is 4 decks below the pool and WJ and 5 to 7 decks above the restaurants, bars, theaters, and esplanade. You will either be using a lot of steps or spending a lot of time waiting for elevators.

 

Dining – We like to choose our dining time, so we had DD choice. We may be in the minority, but we liked DD choice and will miss DD because of the ability to choose times and the increased variety. I don’t understand why DD classic was unpopular with those who prefer fixed time dining.

 

However, I understand the problems with the execution of DD choice. We booked early and made dining reservations early, getting our preferred 6:30 time and rotating between restaurants. We later booked the BOGO specialty dining package and had to change two reservations onboard. The kiosks and Royal IQ app only offered times after 9 PM.

 

TIP – when onboard, skip the app and kiosks and go the restaurant during the day and speak with a human. They have a lot more flexibility and can get you earlier ties that the app does not offer. This tip probably will not be helpful if you sail after the change to traditional dining.

 

We thought the food in the complementary restaurants was good to very good, with a dish or two that missed. The service was fast and friendly, but a little unpolished compared to previous cruises. I generally order appetizer, soup, salad and entrée. The order of service of the first three courses was different each night. In Chic, they served the appetizer and salad at the same time.

 

I will list the complementary restaurants in the order that we liked them from first to last.

 

1. Silk – This restaurant doesn’t get as much love as the others. I don’t know why. We liked it best. On our first visit, the menu was one that is only used on long cruises. It was excellent. The siracha tempura shrimp appetizer is superb. I could have ordered 5 of them and made a meal of that alone. The Thai beef salad was also excellent. The chicken tiki masala was very good and there was a warm cinnamon pudding dessert to die for. Two different waiters told us that they receive the most complements on that menu. We liked it so much that we changed a reservation from Chic to go to Silk again. The other menu was good, but not up to the previous menu.

2. Solarium Bistro – A hidden gem if you like Mediterranean dishes. Appetizers, salad, dessert, and a few hot dishes are offered on a buffet and your main course is ordered from a menu. Excellent chicken kebabs and DW liked her fish. The chocolate cake is good and the baklava is popular. The menu does not change though.

3. Grande – formal restaurant with a menu similar to the traditional “formal night” menu. The lobster tail seemed a bit overcooked. Try the pork shank. It’s huge.

4. American Icon – Good food, good service. They changed the Key Lime Pie though. It had meringue and cake on top. It was not as good as other RCI ships.

5. Chic – not as good as the others. We did not care for the décor. The service was spotty and food was average. We chose to change our second reservation to Silk.

 

Casual eateries. Not ranked.

 

Windjammer – Standard cruise buffet fare. We had breakfast there most mornings to get the omelet and made to order eggs. There is a smaller station way in the back that will make you crepes. The “orange juice” is lousy. I didn’t even get any after day 3. The iced tea isn’t very good either. Stick with the lemonade. Good breads and great cookies. We ate far too many cookies.

 

I think that the chef got a good deal on pork at the market. It seemed like they served pork a lot. That's OK, I like pork.

 

Café Promenade – much like other ships. The only cold beverage is water though. Others have had the iced tea. Finger sandwiches, cakes, and cookies. I liked the chicken roti warps.

 

Sorrento’s – Bar pizza. Nothing more. Will fill you up at midnight.

 

Hot Dog Stand – Another pleasant surprise. I had the hot dog, the smokehouse, and the German sausage. All were very good. The menu says they have German mustard, but they only have the yellow stuff. When I asked about it, the fellow looked at me as if I were speaking German.

 

270 – We liked the salads, shrimp cocktail, and roast beef sandwich. The other sandwiches were a bit short on the meat. The Reuben had one slice of corned beef. It’s also OK for a fast breakfast.

 

Room Service – We ordered a continental breakfast on day 3 for 7 to 7:30 AM. It arrived at 7:01 AM. The menu listed a half grapefruit, but it was not delivered. The waiter said that they didn’t have any.

 

Specialty restaurants – We purchased the BOGO specialty package prior to the cruise. If they offer it, get it. It is for the first two nights. In our case, it was nights one and three. Mrs. Jones wanted to try Wonderland. It was booked the first two nights so they honored the package for an 8:30 reservation on night 3. Our other choice was Jamie’s.

 

Jamie’s – We had a very good dinner there. The planks are excellent. I’m not sure that I would pay the full upcharge price though.

 

Wonderland – I’m a comfort food kind of guy, so I was a bit nervous after looking at the menu. It turns out that Mrs. Jones was even more apprehensive.

 

Don’t be nervous. It’s not as scary as it sounds. We loved it. It must be experienced.

 

TIP: Let the waiter choose the small dishes. You’ll get around 10 appetizers to try. Some may look or sound unusual, but the combinations work together very well.

 

I ordered the short ribs received a caveman sized (big) portion. Mrs. Jones ordered the fish. The waiter also brought us the pork belly entree.

 

We let the waiter choose desserts. It was another great choice. I ordered more key lime pops. I wished they came in bags like Tootsie Pops. I would buy several bags.

 

I would gladly pay full price to dine here again.

 

Next: Entertainment.

Edited November 12, 2016 by davy jones

[TeeRick]

Thanks for your great review. Looking forward to more.

[BermudaBound2014]

Great review, thank you for taking the time. Looking forward to hearing about entertainment :)

[davy jones]

Daytime activities:

 

North Star - We made reservations for early in the cruise. I went up in the pod. It was interesting to look down on the ship, but otherwise unspectacular. Since it was a long cruise, you could pretty much walk onto it whenever it was running during the last few days of the cruise.

 

TIP - If taking pictures, get right up on the glass. Otherwise, you will get reflections that look like bad selfies, sometimes of your feet, depending on the curvature of the pod glass.

 

Ifly - We made reservations before the cruise for day 10. My observation was that reservations were required for all sessions. I don't know how easy it is get reservations when boarding. All reservations for the remainder of the cruise were gone on day 10. It was fun and we would definitely do it again.

 

Rock Wall - I tried it, but I was really bad at this.

 

Flow Rider - Short lines. I suspect it was because it was an older cruise with few children/tees. I had never done this before, so I tried it. I did not do surf board mode because I wanted to return home intact. Boogie board, yes. Helicopter airlift ride, no. I ended up riding it about 10 times. My last ride was about 15 minutes because there was no one waiting to ride, so they left me keep going.

 

Bumper Cars - We die not seek these out but did wander by and found a relatively short line. Our wait was in the 10 to 15 minute range. It's a smoother ride than the amusement park versions.

 

Trivia - I played many days. When I do, I play alone and do fairly well. To me, it's about testing myself and not the highly coveted zipper pulls. They should enforce their rules though. A team of 9 played every day and won a couple of times. It surprised me that 9 people would sacrifice their integrity for a key chain.

 

Fitness Center - We intended to go most days. Despite our best intents, we only managed 4 or 5 days.

 

Casino - Mrs. Jones once lost 2 bucks on a penny slot machine and felt guilty about "wasting money. I understand the laws of probability. Therefore, I can't comment. I think we did walk through the casino once when it was closed.

 

If not doing any of the above, we could be found lounging on the starboard side of the solarium, in the indoor pool area near the windows, or in a shady spot on deck 15.

[easyboy]

TIP - If taking pictures, get right up on the glass. Otherwise, you will get reflections that look like bad selfies, sometimes of your feet, depending on the curvature of the pod glass.

It's good you highlighted this. Like us, it's a common cause of regret for not reviewing the picture before the end of cruise. No chance for a retake.

[gkny]

On my upcoming cruise they won't have DD which I loved in the past.

[davy jones]

Tribute Bands - Two of the tribute bands that were supposed be on the sailing were not there. Apparently, Royal quietly cancelled them starting on the cruise prior to ours. A Beatles tribute band called Liverpool Legends did appear. They were the headliner show in the theater one evening and appeared in 270 and the Music Hall on subsequent evenings. If you liked the Beatles, you will like them.

 

There were three comedians, Rodney Johnson, John Joseph, and Wayne Cotter. We attended shows of the first two comedians and found them to be entertaining. We did not see Wayne Cotter's show.

 

Other headliners included Adam Kadio (juggler), Earl Turner (singer), and Greg London (impressionist singer). All were fine. We especially enjoyed the Greg London show. It was very good and a bit different than the standard cruise ship headliner acts that we have seen.

 

We Will Rock You - Like most "tribute theater", it is a weak plot designed to string together an artist's songs. If you like Queen, like us, you will enjoy the show.

 

The Gift - As others have said, it is a bit hard to follow. The cast is talented and the show is worth the time.

 

Spectra's Cabaret - This is a modernized spin on a production show using the bells and whistles in 270. You may or may not like the show's premise, but the performers are good.

 

The house cover band, Rock the Boat, has filled the voids in the Music Hall created by the cancellation of the tribute bands. They are excellent. Because of them, we did not miss the tribute bands. A good cover band will provide more variety than tribute bands.

[CruisingChick]

The house cover band, Rock the Boat, has filled the voids in the Music Hall created by the cancellation of the tribute bands. They are excellent. Because of them, we did not miss the tribute bands. A good cover band will provide more variety than tribute bands.

 

Loved Rock The Boat when we sailed in March on Anthem. They are on vacation now and will be joining Ovation for their next contract.

 

I wonder who they will now get for the Music Hall?

[davy jones]

We did not do any ship excursions. One or two were tempting, but Mrs. Jones was not interested. We also to return to the ship early to beat the rush. You will see a theme in our port activities.

 

Labadee - I can't say anything that hasn't already been said about Labadee. To us, loungers under a coconut tree 5 feet from the water's edge at Columbus Cove is a very good day.

 

Falmouth - I believe that this port exists only as a starting point for ship tours. The Disney Fantasy was also in port. It's a touristy shopping area no nearby beaches sites. The town outside of the gates is not for the feint of heart. We walked through the port area and found nothing of interest. Three blocks of the town were enough for us, so we decided for a quiet day on the ship. We were off the ship for an hour. The remainder of the port time was spent in the solarium.

 

Grand Cayman - The Carnival Breeze (our last cruise and a nice ship) was also in port. We took the public bus to the seven mile beach. We got off at the "public beach" and rented two loungers under a tree a little past Calico Jack's. After three hours, it became quite crowded and we started to get squeezed in by people who wanted the shady space. We left and took the bus back into town, checked out some stores and returned to the ship.

 

Roatan - There were no other ships in port. We booked a tour through Victor Bodden. I would book through them again. It is a very good value. The tour guide was average. It was fun to interact with the monkeys and we spent two hours at the West Bay beach. It's a nice beach, but a bit commercialized. The tour included loungers at Bananarama. I took a walk on the beach. It appeared that most of the beach goers had ship towels. A few people on our tour took a boat out to do some snorkeling and reported that the snorkeling was very good.

 

Costa Maya - Anthem was the only ship in port. There is another large area with touristy stores and bars. Apparently, they don't want you to leave because the exit is hard to find and not marked. Outside of the gates, it is a $2pp taxi ride into the town of Mahajual. We walked along the Malecon. The Malecon is best described as a Mexican version of a boardwalk, except that it is a concrete walkway. The bars and restaurants have primarily alfresco dining on the beach. We chose Tropicante and had two shady loungers on the beach. The food and drink were very good and the service was excellent. The Malecon or beach never became crowded during the day. Later on, 10 crew members came here for lunch, leading us to believe that we made a good choice.

 

Cozumel - The Norwegian Pearl was also in port, but at another pier. It was Sunday, so a number of places on the island were closed. That did not include the stores in the port area. We took a taxi to Paradise Beach. Admission is $3pp, but they ask you to spend $10pp on food and drink, which you would do during the day anyway. It includes changing areas, showers, a pool, and plenty of sunny and shady loungers. The place did not get crowded, so it was a very relaxing day. When we returned to port, DW picked up some vanilla and treasures for home and I picked up a bottle of tequila.