ANTHEM: Review of November 10-20, 2016 cruise. It was great!

[mizLORInj]

Hi all. Hope you enjoy this review of our recent Anthem cruise.

 

We have cruised many times on various cruise lines over the past 13 years. This was our fifth and longest cruise on Royal Caribbean. We were on the Anthem 3 nighter back in March too and thought the ship was worth spending more time on.

 

We received notice via email from RC that there would be an inspection and not to get to the port before noon as boarding would not start until 1. So we adjusted our timing to target arrival at the port at 1:45. Road into the port was backed up and took us about 20 minutes to get to the drop-off luggage point. We seemed to be near the last people arriving. Got checked in after a short wait and then moved on through Security. It was rather quick and easy right onto the ship. If only getting in to the port could be that quick.

 

Our D7 balcony cabin was great. Lots of storage space and a nice sized balcony with 2 chairs that recline, footstools, and a table. Very pleased with the cabin and balcony. USB ports in addition to electrical outlets. There is a second lock on the sliding glass doors near the top of the door.

 

Note that with just two banks of elevators, it can be quite a long walk to the stern area.

 

Muster was relatively quick in Two70. Sailaway was delayed a bit due to 1) coast guard inspection, and 2) crew immigration document inspection that had taken place earlier.

 

First sea day we had a CC roll call meet n greet. I would say around 60 people showed up. I understand that a notice is supposed to be left in cabins as to timing, but some (Including us) did not receive anything. Fortunately, the day before cruising I had been on the CC site and our official M&G was listed with date/time/location. Activities Manager Chris hosted and also raffled off some RC merchandise. I also had brought a bunch of Cruise Critic giveaways to be raffled off. Next time to speed the process I will randomly hand out some of the giveaways as we really had no time to mingle before the next activity was starting in Music Hall. I appreciate that RC will host this for us and even serves champagne and mimosas, and has their own logo giveaway items. Thank you RC!

 

We ate in various places: American Icon, Chic, Windjammer buffet, Sorrento, Café Promenade, The Grand, and Solarium Bistro. If you can’t find something you like I think you may be too picky! I liked the Windjammer at dinner time as there was a stir-fry station. The Grand restaurant requests that men wear jackets; we noticed that many men did not have jackets on--not that this mattered to us. We were told each of the 4 included-in-fare restaurants 10 day cruise menus are changed on a 4/4/2 day schedule. However, the menus on the monitor in the hallway were not kept up-to-date. Lobster in the Grand was very good, as was the filet mignon. American Icon’s strip steak was thin but very tender, and the shrimp scampi was good too.

 

We also ate once at Chops which had a very appealing menu—even the dessert menu was appealing—which is rare for me on a cruise. The Captain was in the restaurant chatting with guests that evening. Our server Vadym was very good, as was the food. The view outside, however, was lifeboats. Why did they put this restaurant in this location!

 

Note their upcharge restaurants are among the highest priced we can recall encountering on various cruise lines. Yet, the upcharge restaurant package is a good deal (though we did not buy it). Note that there are 4 restaurants in the package, and Wonderland is a mandatory inclusion in any package.

 

Solarium Bistro has brunch and dinner (make reservations for dinner). (It is formerly Devinly Decadent--misspelled all over the place—should be Divinely unless it's someone's name?--how did no one ever notice when the ship was being decorated?) The dinner is a small buffet for appetizers and sides, and the main course is selected off a menu. The food was quite good. We thought it odd that RC had gone ahead and made two dinner reservations here for us at very late times (9pm!). We cancelled both using the app and made our own at our preferred dinner time.

 

Bars/Lounges. Our favorite was Bolero. Loved the cocktails there, and the 2 for 1 daily specials were great too. Claudiu the bartender was great and we enjoyed trying out several of the drinks on that menu. The drink menu in Two70 wasn’t appealing to us (though the location is fabulous). Schooner’s had an odd wood smoky smell and decent drink menu. A lot of the trivia games were in this location. We tried out the Bionic Bar a couple times. There are more bars too by the pools. We didn't go to Michael's Pub.

 

Music Hall is a cool two-floor space that had a lot of events.

 

North Star is awesome—make a reservation and show up maybe 10-15 minutes early if you want to stick to your scheduled time. We showed up at 12:25 for our 12:30, and ended up waiting for the next “rising” as the pod was already full. It really is a unique view from way up high. And it goes up at night too.

 

While it seemed silly to me to have a designated person insisting you wash your hands as you enter the Windjammer buffet, I noticed that the one time no one was there - some people don’t wash their hands. One person walked through saying “I just took a shower” but I’m sure he pushed elevator buttons or touched things and could’ve used a hand-washing. I also liked sinks in various locations throughout the ship. The one near the soft ice cream dispensers came in handy.

 

How about getting rid of the toilet paper "helmets" in bathrooms—those things are unsanitary and antiquated.

 

One of us tried out iFly. He said "it was fun and a complete body workout. Follow the instructions and you will have a blast!" I think your time in the tube is about 30 seconds but could be a little longer if the group size is smaller. There is a photographer there too and he took pics which you can view on their computers with a swipe of your cruise card.

 

I liked that the announcement about no smoking in cabins or on balconies was made during the muster drill. As with most cruise lines, there are those who don’t think this applies to them. Or they don’t think their smoke travels downwind. As a non-smoker I do not appreciate having the air tainted with cigarette smoke while enjoying my balcony. It may have been coming from below us or a cabin or two away, but it was not enjoyable the times the smoker(s?) lit up. People need to speak up and report the people who continue to smoke on their balcony. RC does that this seriously. And thank you to those who go to the dedicated smoking areas to light up.

 

Download their RC app to use on your device. Your activities, account, the Cruise Compass, and more are available using their wifi at no cost. We used this a lot.

 

The Thriller dance class ended up performing their dance in the Promenade area. I had seen a couple of their rehearsals and it was very good.

 

The Name that Tune show in the Royal Theater has audience participation. It turned out to be over an hour long, but it was great.

 

We missed Love and Marriage but it showed on the tv. Seems all main cruise lines ask the same questions. Need to change the questions up please. We saw The Gift. We skipped We Will Rock You as we had seen it in March.

 

Love the outdoor movies. We watched Roman Holiday one of the warm evenings. One or two movies showed per night.

 

The Groovy (70s) dance party was a lot of fun. The dancers and even the Activities Manager Chris and some of his staff performed dance routines which were good and also entertaining. One thing I don’t get was why in the 2 hours of the party Disco Inferno was played 3 times. There are so many disco songs I was surprised this one and one other that I don’t recall now was played more than once. Some dancing girls led the group in a line dance too which was fun, but was very fast and at times difficult to keep up with. Dru the CD also made an appearance that was entertaining. The party was played on the RC channel on tv throughout the cruise.

 

Earlier that day we had fun at the 70s disco music trivia (was really name that tune--won it!) even though I was just becoming aware of music at that time (70s) I clearly paid attention to it! Also played the 80s music trivia (joined up with another couple and our team won that too). James Bond trivia—thought I knew about those movies until I went to the trivia! TV theme song trivia with CD Dru was a lot of fun. I don’t think anyone got all of the answers.

 

Two70. We LOVE this multi-purpose room and its view of the wake. So many activities from the Crew Q&A to dance/exercise classes. Spent quite a bit of time here. There were robot shows a few times during the cruise. We enjoyed them and wish they were different at each show. The symphony projection was very good, and the picture vistas were cool at night too.

 

There were more school-aged children on board than I expected to see. Quite a few toddlers onboard too who could be quite entertaining.

 

Gym has good equipment.

 

The room service menu was quite limited, and there were for-fee items on it too.

 

$34.99 laundry bag seems a bit high priced. Other cruise lines charge considerably less for the same service. I brought a tiny bit of detergent and handwashed when needed.

 

We spent time at SeaPlex. Ping pong, bumper cars, basketball, roller skating, xbox, etc. Lots to do here.

 

Belly dance class looked like fun.

 

Q&A with crew members in Two70 was interesting. There was also a Q&A with Officers.

 

CD Dru and Activities manager Chris were personable and very entertaining

 

Toilets flushed oddly—sometimes a while after you pushed the button

 

Soft service ice cream mid-ship by the pool in the afternoon—why is this not in the buffet area with longer hours of operation?

 

Inside cabins are quite large—noticed this as we walked past them. They really look like a balcony cabin.

 

Jamie’s offered lunch for $20 the last sea day.

 

Chair hogs are in full force. While there are lots of loungers around on this ship, by early afternoon they are taken by either bodies or towels/personal belongings. It’s odd how the chairs along the outer perimeter on the sides are roped down so you can’t move them.

 

Cruise Compass was not always accurate. More than once we showed up for something that had been changed.

 

Bob the acoustic guitarist was very good. He played at various venues.

 

Never saw any customers in the Bvlgari or Hublot stores. Why are these shops on this ship.

 

Future Cruise (or whatever it is called) was usually very busy.

 

Seemed to be a lot of art auctions going on.

 

We had a bunch of photos taken and got some really nice ones. One thing annoying is that they put type over the photos you are viewing on the computer (no printed photos on this ship to view) so you really are not seeing the whole photo clearly. We used our gold level buy one and get one 50% off, and also the additional print for $5 options.

 

Elevators are slow at peak times. Some out of service at debarkation

 

Dynamic Dining is going away end of November. Two of the included-in-fare restaurants will be fixed dining and two will be flexible dining.

 

I thought the ship was a very comfortable ride. Gentle rocking which I enjoy. Even when the waves were large and we were being broadsided, the ship still was comfortable.

 

Cabin smelled a bit of dirty laundry, even our first day when nothing was dirty. Not sure if it was towels or the linens. We placed an open bar of Neutrogena soap to give the cabin a pleasant scent. I throw these in my suitcase too.

 

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I expected there to be long lines getting off and on the ship at the ports. The lines weren’t long and they moved quickly. This was a very pleasant surprise.

 

San Juan. Our port hours were 3-11. We just wandered around a bit. Got some good ship pics. Although the Cuba Libre is one of Bacardi’s (San Juan) featured cocktails, it’s amazing to me how many local places don’t know the proper way to make one. Tijuana’s, along the waterfront, served us just rum and coke with a lime wedge by a totally disinterested bartender-ess. I won’t go there again. Note that Walgreen’s has opened at the Sheraton which is closer to the pier than CVS. Both were quite crowded. We stopped in to the Sheraton’s restaurant that has outdoor seating and enjoyed a snack and drink there right across from our beautiful ship. Great location.

 

St. Thomas. You may have read on CC that Royal Caribbean now has a contract with Crown Bay and that is indeed where we docked. A bit out of the way and not a favorite place of mine. In St. Thomas we went on day sail Independence. Had a great day sail to St. John.

 

St. Kitts. Someone from our roll call posted about Thenford Gray island tours, and about 20 of us went on this tour. It was a good and enjoyable tour, and we ended up at the beach for a bit.

 

St. Maarten. This is the one port where we did a ship excursion because the America’s Cup Regatta sailing is available only through cruiselines or hotels. We met up at 10 per our tickets, walked to a ferry boat that took us to the sailboat, learned our roles and did a few practice runs. I would say total actual race time including training was less than an hour. It was indeed fun and the crew tried to train us well. After that you head for a (very diluted) rum punch and to view photos that were taken of sailing, which IMO at $30 was too much $. I think more people would have purchased (including us) if the price was less. Then you take the boat/ferry back to near the ship. The whole excursion is close to three hours if you count from when you first met up to when you are back at the ship. After that we had a few hours so we taxi’d to Divi Little Bay. Traffic was very slow with six cruise ships in port. It was funny how the Azamara ship looked like a tiny baby next to such large ships: P&O Brittania, RC Freedom, Harmony, and Anthem.

 

Harmony of the Seas was in port with us. Awesome looking ship. I had forgotten how much fun it was to have sailaway with other ships around and all the waving and hooting and hollering.

 

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Debarkation. I thought we had heard you could sign up for self-assist walk off (or whatever RC calls it) on our mobile device or the tv, but we went to Guest Services and she told us you could not sign up via tv or mobile app. She took our cabin # and told us she would do it later and it would show on our schedule. It did. We arranged for a 9am car pickup not realizing the ship gets in at 6am and first self-assist walk off is 6:30am! So we had breakfast at Grand with the slowest service we had experienced all cruise long. Wandered back to our cabin, got our bags, and headed down to deck 5 at 8am. Long line by that time as tag #s were already being called. Took probably 15 minutes to get off the ship, then the terminal was disorganized with people coming from various directions to merge into one line. Clearer direction is needed here in the terminal. Another 20 minutes or so in line to get to the Officer. I think we were out of the terminal around 8:50am. A bit longer a process than we are used to. Even outside it was disorganized. This is not a new port. Planners of the port need to come together to figure out how to make arrivals and departures outside more pleasant.

 

Since we were in a later debarkation group many cabins were already vacated with cabin doors wide open, so I was able to take notes as to bed placement. We used to want the bed by the balcony, but this time we had bed by the bathroom and I grew to like it. I will start another thread or post on an existing one with the cabin #s and where the bed is which I think some will find helpful.

 

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The cruise was great. Yes, certain areas feel crowded now and then. There is a lot to do if you choose, or do very little as we chose sometimes too. Shows, activities, trivia, movies, music. We enjoyed the cruise a lot and we plan to cruise on Anthem again. :)

Edited November 23, 2016 by mizLORInj

[Clarea]

Excellent, detailed report, thanks.:)

[mizLORInj]

couple other things. . .

 

Was interesting that at the end of Royal Caribbean's post-cruise survey they ask you to write a review on Cruise Critic!

 

Also, not sure why it takes two weeks to get your cruise credits posted to your RC account history. (other lines do it in 2 days!)

[Brocktoon623]

Awesome review! Personally I felt the dining was a bit hit/miss, and there was some confusion with our RC excursion on San Juan ... but besides that it was an overall amazing cruise! I wish the Anthem would have more longer Caribbean cruises planned (they do have a few), but it looks like they may be trimming back for more Bermuda and Bahama runs.

 

We were one of the groups that never got our Meet/Greet notice. Once on-board I asked 3 times about the meet/greet at guest services and was given different answers each time. Luckily I did eventually get the correct info to drop by and win the pair of blue cruise critic bags.

 

I though I did well at 80s music trivia, but you must have been on the team that had the perfect score! I was the idiot that showed up late for Bob's Schooner show before the trivia and still got him to play me some Rush ... doing 'La Villa Strangiato' all the way through! Bob was a huge highlight for me and became my go-to entertainment for quite a few nights.

 

I agree that the iFly can be a workout. I messed up my hand and leg balancing and got my butt kicked, flipping me and pinning me against the wall. Right before they almost shut down the fan (as i was stuck), I finally managed to lunge off the wall to basically launch myself back toward the doorway. Quite an experience ... I think once may be enough for me.

 

I really enjoyed hanging out in the cushioned seats near the North Star Bar with bar service, but the Solarium quickly became my day long hang out after excursions and on sea days. The Solarium on the Anthem was the perfect mix of relaxed while still being social. I was able to do everything from a late breakfast, lounge and read, hit the pool or hot tube all in once place.

 

Bar wise the solarium bar was my main hangout during the day, but during the evenings I would drop by Micheal's. Being a beer geek it was great to get Brooklyn lager on tap, bottles of Victory Storm King and Rouge Dead Guy (on a cruise ship)!

 

I'm a newbie cruiser, but I though the Anthem was rocking a bit on our last day sailing back. I think we were hitting some bigger waves. They closed most of the pools that afternoon due to the rocking and I had a family member go down for the count and missed lunch and dinner due to being sea-sick.

[mizLORInj]

. . .

We were one of the groups that never got our Meet/Greet notice. Once on-board I asked 3 times about the meet/greet at guest services and was given different answers each time. Luckily I did eventually get the correct info to drop by and win the pair of blue cruise critic bags.

 

I though I did well at 80s music trivia, but you must have been on the team that had the perfect score! I was the idiot that showed up late for Bob's Schooner show before the trivia and still got him to play me some Rush ... doing 'La Villa Strangiato' all the way through! Bob was a huge highlight for me and became my go-to entertainment for quite a few nights.

 

. . .

 

 

Yes, we won the NorthStar bag in a bag!

 

Glad you got a couple CC items at the M&G.

 

I was in the photo area when I heard the guitarist start La Villa Strangiato. . . I stopped what I was doing and my guy and I looked at each other (he is an even bigger Rush fan than I am) and I said "no way! is that Rush" and he said "YES!" I thought the guitarist did a GREAT job of that song! We came back over and stayed through the end of the song.

 

He did some Zeppelin outside Vintages and Pink Floyd was supposed to start but he got requests for Zep songs. Wish he did a Rush set! LOL I was going to ask if he knew any Iron Maiden (another favorite along with 80s and 70s disco!) :p

 

I agree we rolled a bit on the last day but I don't mind it. We've been on cruises with much more motion--quite an adventure!

 

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More things coming back to me: Joggers should not get annoyed when they are trying a run at peak daytime activity. Bad placement of the jogging track!

 

COCONUT RANGER COOKIES!! YUM YUM!!

 

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Edited November 23, 2016 by mizLORInj

[easyboy]

Very comprehensive review. Thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[BillHoo]

What decks were you folks on that you experienced some rolling?

 

I'm on Deck 6 for a future cruise on Anthem and have a room for my mother on the same deck. She is really prone to seasickness (at least on a plane). This is her first time on a a boat of any size. I'm hoping she does not get sick.

[GGI]

TY for posting a review.

[kevinyork]

I'm a bit confused, I thought that Anthem had removed dynamic dining and replaced it with traditional dining in two restaurants and mytime dining in the other two?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Clarea]

I'm a bit confused, I thought that Anthem had removed dynamic dining and replaced it with traditional dining in two restaurants and mytime dining in the other two?

You are correct, that just happened this week.

[Brocktoon623]

What decks were you folks on that you experienced some rolling?

 

I'm on Deck 6 for a future cruise on Anthem and have a room for my mother on the same deck. She is really prone to seasickness (at least on a plane). This is her first time on a a boat of any size. I'm hoping she does not get sick.

 

I was feeling the rolling on deck 14 especially towards the front and back at the Solarium and Coastal Kitchen. I had taken Bonine and did fine though. My Dad didn't take anything when I warned him and he got sick. The movement didn't feel quite as bad on the lower decks and it looked like most people were fine.

 

Keep in mind that the ship movement was really only strong on the last sea day as the Anthem was moving around storm systems and strong weather changes so I don't think it's that typical. It wasn't bad enough that they had to put out any sea sickness bags, but they did have to shut down the pools due to the water/wave movement.

[mizLORInj]

I actually don't recall feeling much more than a rolling motion, which I don't mind. I think it's worse when the ship is pitching (perpendicular to the waves--so the bow is rising and falling over the waves) than rolling (side to side motion). :cool:

Fortunately we don't get seasick anyway.

 

And yes, we were on the second to last cruise that still had Dynamic Dining. We liked Dynamic Dining.

Edited December 1, 2016 by mizLORInj