Anthem review: 6/26-7/1

[coach jim]

I wanted to give a review of our recent sailing on the Anthem of the Seas, 6/26 to 7/1 to Bar Harbor Maine and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Several other people including LouTheGlue and video have done extensive reviews, I will attempt keep this short.

 

This was a family trip, as our boys are getting older and have a life of their own and my wife's parents are getting older, it was important we take a trip all three generations could enjoy, and I am happy to say our trip exceeded our expectations. My wife and I are north of 50, our boys are 21 and 24, and my wife's parents are north of 80. My wife and I have been lucky enough to have taken over a dozen cruises, mostly on NCL and Royal Caribbean, but we had not been on a RC cruise since 2008 when we were on the Explorer to Bermuda.

 

Food and Service: While we recognize food is very subjective, we had a very good experience with dinner, with my boys and I primarily eating meat, and my wife and in-laws primarily eating fish and chicken, we found something we liked each night. We would all usually order two appetizers and one entree each night. The braised pork shank was particularly good, along with the prime rib and lobster tail, yes they still have lobster tail on the regular menu one night. For us that was night four after we left Nova Scotia. None of us had a bad meal or sent a dish back because it was not cooked correctly.

Service, here we had a bit of an issue night one. While the food was good, service was not. Our meal took three hours, with several tables around us arriving after us and leaving well before we even ordered dessert. My 'displeasure" was obvious as the supervisor/head waiter came to our table. He promised to make this up to us, told us to use his name and he would personally take care of us the rest of the cruise. I am happy to report he did this and more. The service the rest of the cruise could not have been better. Even when we got moved to another of the restaurants, he came down to check on us and talk to our waiter. One particularly memorable act, with no advance warning we told him when we arrived that it was my Mother-in-law's birthday. They served us a magnificent cake that evening and of course sang happy birthday. The cake was a wonderful surprise and really good! By the way, the head waiter was Kaviraj Luchmun and he was just outstanding.

 

Bar Service/beer: We had the drink package, great being able to get bottled water, fresh squeezed orange juice and specialty coffee, things not included with the NCL package. We found everything we ordered to be covered, $13, except a particular wine my wife ordered, where she only paid the difference. Service was generally good, in particular at the bars we regularly frequented, Schooner bar and Michael's pub. One thing a bit odd, the wine and beer selections could be a bit different bar to bar, so if brand is important, you will need to check out the various bars ;) I enjoy craft beer and the selection in general was not great, though Paulaner Hefeweizen was available at most bars. At Michael's Pub, they also had Anchor Steam ale, Storm King Stout, and Widmer Hefeweizen in bottle, and Brooklyn lager and Loose Canon, an IPA from Heavy Seas, on tap.

 

Well, I have already gone a little longer than I wanted to. I will come back and include a few more thoughts.

 

Coach Jim

[coach jim]

A few other areas, first Entertainment: We saw all three main shows, The Gift, We will Rock You and Spectra's Cabaret. All three had great special effects and performers. For planning purposes, The Gift was a lean 45 minutes, WWRY is a full two hours! Good show, in particular if you are a queen fan, I am not but enjoyed the show, make sure you stay for the encore! Many rushed out and missed a great final number. Spectra's was just under 1 hour and is performed in 270. For all three arrive early, 1/2 hour if seat location is important. The performer we enjoyed the most was Charlie at Michael's pub. Great voice and knew a tremendous range of music. Performed all requests he knew, which was extensive. Great voice for Johnny Cash, but also did the Eagles, Neil Diamond, and everything in between. Great sing-along music. He often played through his break. We did not see the comedians, but heard they were very good, or the various "game shows" but saw them on TV and they looked fun.

 

Ports: We caught great weather, both ports, Bar Harbor and Halifax, had great weather, 70's and partly sunny. In Bar Harbor we went to Cadillac Mountain, which I strongly recommend, in particular on a clear day and enjoyed some great lobster roll near the water. Best part of the excursion was getting an early tender ashore. We were also able to explore the town and do some shopping. Know the town is on a hill. In Halifax, we walked off the ship, walked along the harbor and went to the maritime museum. A good 20-25 minute walk along the harbor. Nice small museum, with emphasis on Halifax, the Titanic and the role Halifax played, and model ship building. Several of the artist had open work rooms. On the way back we stopped at the Stubborn Goat beer garden along the harbor. This is an outdoor area with a service section with tables and an open area with a window for beer and food. Great local beers. Exchange rate was favorable for the American dollar!

 

A few final thoughts, crowed was more geographically mixed than I expected. There were big groups from Texas and Oklahoma escaping the heat back home. Age was families and middle aged. Not a party cruise like those in the Caribbean, but a very relaxing cruise. While there were not many in our sons age bracket plenty of activities and opportunities for brother's to compete with each other! There is a lot of road construction going on in Halifax, so excursions to Peggy's Cove were delayed getting back, so we left a little late.

 

Leaving the ship was a bit delayed, "congestion in the terminal" we were told, so you may want to adjust your time, this is apparently common. Once off the ship things moved reasonably through immigration, just a lot of volume in the terminal. Last thing, know a dinning room is only available for breakfast and lunch on sea days, other wise it is windjammer buffet, solarium bistro small buffet, or sandwiches and salad bar in 270.

 

Safe travels,

 

Coach Jim

[dpostman]

Glad to hear you had a nice cruise.

 

I'm wondering if the head waiter you mentioned "Kaviraj Luchmun" if he is the same one we had. He insisted we call him "Raj" and I never thought to look for his full name. He was excellent for us all (Group of 7 or 8 families) and was adored by all our kids. Made their cruise experience all that much better. On most nights, we sat all the adults at 2 or 3 tables and all the kids sat together at their own tables. The serving staff (especially Raj) were great at making the kids feel like VIPs

 

dp

[coach jim]

A few final items. My wife, one son and father-in-law did the iFly and thought it was great. We got some great pictures. Know they are tough with the weight restrictions, under 6 foot, 230, over 6 foot 250. Some people in their group were turned away. They put you on a scale in private. North Star was fun, go on while in port if possible. It was open before we left, check at the North Star bar, you will see people lining up. Boys enjoyed the bumper cars, also open while still in port in Bayonne with a relatively short line. Only one of the xbox stations worked during the cruise if this is important to your kids. Indoor pool and the Solarium were ideal for cruises out of the New York area. One day was very windy and a bit cool. My wife and I particularly enjoyed the Solarium and while we needed to look a bit, did find loungers. Good cover band in the Music Hall, "Rock the Boat", along with a few theme nights. Plenty of people on the dance floor.

 

Feel free to ask any questions,

Coach Jim

[coach jim]

Glad to hear you had a nice cruise.

 

I'm wondering if the head waiter you mentioned "Kaviraj Luchmun" if he is the same one we had. He insisted we call him "Raj" and I never thought to look for his full name. He was excellent for us all (Group of 7 or 8 families) and was adored by all our kids. Made their cruise experience all that much better. On most nights, we sat all the adults at 2 or 3 tables and all the kids sat together at their own tables. The serving staff (especially Raj) were great at making the kids feel like VIPs

 

dp

Kaviraj was in Silk, so if you were in Silk and had a large group it was probably the same person. After the first night problems, he more than made up for it and was a big part of why we had a great cruise.

 

Coach Jim

[easyboy]

Thank you for your review.

[Clarea]

Good feedback, thanks.

[Maraprince]

Any costumed characters roaming around the ship that you can take photos with? RCL used to have Cat in the Hat?????

 

MARAPRINCE

[Guest maddycat]

Any costumed characters roaming around the ship that you can take photos with? RCL used to have Cat in the Hat?????

 

MARAPRINCE

 

Yes. The schedule will be in the compass.

[CruisinAg]

Thanks for the review. Taking our first NE/Canada cruise in October and I'm really looking forward to my first non-Caribbean itinerary. The scenery looks beautiful in the photos I've seen.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[PlatinumCruzr]

Did you make reservations for the three shows? Or did you just show up early and hope for a seat?

You have to make reservations ahead of time for We Will Rock You, Spectra'S Cabaret, and The Gift. However, there is a standby line for them.

[mems]

Thanks for the review. We are looking forward to Anthem in September.