Anthem vs harmony

[renza]

We have been on all oasis class, we live in south Florida. We are considering flying to NYC for a few days and take the anthem for 9 nights. Will we be disappointed with anthem compared to harmony. Are we crazy to fly north to take a cruise when we live in Florida. We have been to every port so ports really do not matter.

 

 

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[alfaeric]

IMHO, it depends on what you want to compare.

 

Personally, to us, the ships are so different that it's hard to compare and be disappointed from one to the other.

 

Anthem does not have any ice surface, no Central Park, no Boardwalk/Aqua Theater.

 

But it does have 270, Music Hall, the sports complex, iFly, etc- that the Harmony does not have.

 

It's also laid out very differently than any other RCI ship- which is cool to us.

 

Really, it's just not the same as any other ship that it's really hard to compare it to any other ship.

[voyager70]

We were on Anthem for the first time in July (first cruise on any Quantum Class ship) after having done multiple cruises on Oasis Class. I LOVED Anthem, actually much more than Oasis Class. Super elegant, sophisticated ship, great crew (for the most part) and, for us at least, no complaints about the food or service. It has a totally different layout and feel than the Oasis Class, but this is something we really liked. I did miss the ice show, but the shows on Anthem we did go to did not disappoint. I say try something new, especially if you are going to add some time in NYC before the cruise.

[CruisinAg]

I'm doing Anthem in October for the first time. Can't wait. I love the feel of Oasis class ships but up to this point all of my cruises have been Caribbean so I'm looking forward to trying something new. All new ports to us on the Canada/NE itinerary and some of our party have never been to NYC before so it'll be cool showing some of the sights to them before even boarding and experiencing all that Anthem has to offer.

[138east]

We have been on all oasis class, we live in south Florida. We are considering flying to NYC for a few days and take the anthem for 9 nights. Will we be disappointed with anthem compared to harmony. Are we crazy to fly north to take a cruise when we live in Florida. We have been to every port so ports really do not matter.

 

 

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A lot of folks seem to be combining a few days in New York with sailing on the Anthem. If you choose to do this, please research all the logistics and costs of your trip before you pick an airport and book airline flights. Cape Liberty is very much a DIY Cruiseport. There are very few hotels that offer port shuttles and none in Manhattan. The expected travel time from hotels with shuttles into Manhattan is 1+ hours. It's all about balancing time, money, and stress.

 

Non-public transportation is expensive within NJ and even more so between NY and NJ. Manhattan hotels are very expensive on weekday nights. You can usually find better rates on weekend nights, particularly holiday weekends. Staying in NJ (Downtown Newark or Jersey City) can give you better hotel rates with good access to public transit.

[Joe12]

I would be disappointed to return to Anthem after 3 HM cruises, but if you want something different, it might be worth a try. IMHO - I much preferred Harmony from FLL last summer than Anthem from NJ the summer before in almost every aspect.

[renza]

Thank you for the comments. We went ahead and booked it. Uber prices are fairly cheap into NY and hotel prices where not to bad either. Will spend 3 nights after cruise in NY. Air fare is really cheap too.

 

 

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[95south]

Not sure I understand your question..What do you mean by "disappointed"??

[wheretonow?]

We just tried the Anthem in March and can easily say this is now my new favorite class of ship. I just wish more of them sailed from the US. It's a wonderful combination of the wow factor of the newer ships with the openess and glass of the Radiance class. Lots of nooks and crannies to find a quiet place to hang out and lots of new things to try that are unique to this class of ship.

 

The only downside to sailing from New York was it was quite cool outside for the first few days, since we were sailing in March. But there is so much to do it was not really an issue.

 

I found the port easy to manage and navigate. They ride from midtown to the port was on the expensive side, but no more than flying into Miami and sailing from Port Everglades. Try pricing Lyft as it was often cheaper than Uber. Have a great trip!

[Peeker28]

Hands Down Anthem is my favorite ship!! 270 is just wonderful and don't forget they have a complimentary food place there too. The panini's and salads are great. The shows on Anthem are fantastic especially Spectra loved that one!! The bumper cars, roller skating, iFly, Flowrider, rock wall, Escape Room, North Star. It's all wonderful

[Doc2725]

Anthem was very nice, but I think oasis class has a leg up on it. More bars and restaurants. And the neighborhood concept is cool.

 

 

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[LuCruise]

Subscribing as have a cruise booked in both classes.

 

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[Tatka]

Anthem was very nice, but I think oasis class has a leg up on it. More bars and restaurants. And the neighborhood concept is cool.

 

 

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While Oasis class is amazing these two classes are good for different destinations. Quantum class is better for colder climate or sailing from colder climate, Oasis is for warm sailings.

[TBone2K]

Have sailed on Oasis and recently on Anthem. I would agree the Anthem and Oasis are different from each other, but also both are different from all the other classes. There was nothing I hated about Anthem per se, just different. The rooms were nice and had some good design ideas (we had a balcony room). We had breakfast in 270 pretty much every day.

 

Hint, if you use the Solarium a lot, get a room on the deck below the pool. It had a direct access to the Solarium and never found there to be any extra noise due to the location.

[localunion333]

9 day Anthem cruise was my first RCI cruise last yr and we loved it.Trying the Harmony with my 2 girls july 21-28 then back on the Anthem a week later aug 4-9 with my fiancé so ill really have a good basis to compare this yr!!1

[CapeGal]

Husband loves Anthem. We will be on her in September. I love Harmony (cruised on her in May). He likes it because of all the activities on board. I did enjoy Spectra in 270. Really the style is preference. I love the size and neighborhoods of Harmony.

[MikeBTN]

We have been on all oasis class, we live in south Florida. We are considering flying to NYC for a few days and take the anthem for 9 nights. Will we be disappointed with anthem compared to harmony. Are we crazy to fly north to take a cruise when we live in Florida. We have been to every port so ports really do not matter.

 

 

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We just did this - spent 3 days/2 nights in NYC with the kids then did the 9-night to Bermuda, San Juan, St Maarten, Labadee. We’ve sailed Oasis-class 3 times. We had a great time on Anthem but we definitely prefer Oasis-class more.

 

Anthem felt very similar to the newer NCL ships - same narrow hallways, no Promenade, etc. There were also fewer venues and no dedicated comedy (a big negative for us, but it didn’t ruin the trip or anything).

 

We would definitely sail Anthem again, but our preference is definitely Oasis-class. The itineraries do get repetitive, though.