Tell me about the Anthem of the Seas

[blueclawfan]

Will turn Diamond on this cruise in March 2019 . What should I expect from this ship ? What kind of shows are on board ? How long are the waits for featured attractions ? How smooth is my time dinning ? How bad is smoke in the casino ? To me this ship on the 8 day is all about being on the ship . Not very interested in ports of call . Been there done that. CoCoCay I believe I was there awhile ago . Lately did Laberdee . So let me know can I remain on ship . Is there enough open while in ports. Bingo how expensive your thoughts

Thanks in advance

[Pstreet12]

We were on Anthem in March--our current favorite ship. The 270 room is awesome; crew helped in any and every way they could; captain is "out and about" meeting passengers. Be sure and make your reservations for shows as soon as they let you--keep checking the cruise planner every month so you don't get on board without having reserved the difficult shows: Cabaret, We Will Rock You, and in addition, the Escape Room if that's your sort of thing. The Escape Room will be entirely booked very early--and their aren't more tickets available when you get on board; when they're gone, they're gone. Cabaret books quickly also, and We Will Rock You will show the cost for being in the reserved seats and meeting the cast--there will be free seats also, but you'll need to book ahead to get the night and time of your choice.

[srdancer]

We did a 12-day cruise on Anthem at end of Feb. We were anxious because this was a much larger ship than we had taken previously, but the cruise was a pleasure.

 

There are 3 shows that should be booked in advance: We Will Rock You, The Gift, and Spectra. We also booked Northstar and I-fly in advance. We booked escape room as soon as we boarded.

 

You can also book MDR reservations in advance but can also book them onboard or just show up. There are lines even with reservations the first few days.

 

Keep an eye out for sales. They usually have beverage packages (refreshment and deluxe) on sale at some point. Same for Internet and some shore excursions.

 

Have a great cruise.

[cot427]

We did a 12-day cruise on Anthem at end of Feb. We were anxious because this was a much larger ship than we had taken previously, but the cruise was a pleasure.

 

There are 3 shows that should be booked in advance: We Will Rock You, The Gift, and Spectra. We also booked Northstar and I-fly in advance. We booked escape room as soon as we boarded.

 

You can also book MDR reservations in advance but can also book them onboard or just show up. There are lines even with reservations the first few days.

 

Keep an eye out for sales. They usually have beverage packages (refreshment and deluxe) on sale at some point. Same for Internet and some shore excursions.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

srdancer pretty much summed it up. Definitely book those 3 shows in advance. There will be other shows you don't have to reserve, like comedy and guest entertainers.

 

Also reserve the Northstar (the sort of london eye thing that goes up in the air) and iFly (simulation sky diving) in advance.

 

If you want the escape room, book the first day. I believe it's done at guest services now, but someone clarify. When I went on in May 2016, I was given the runaround on that regarding where to book. They also have bumper cars, trapeze class, roller skating, flowrider, rock wall, all things that don't require reservations.

 

If you're interested in specialty dining, look out for the First Two Nights BOGO, $40 for two specialty restaurants the first two nights of the cruise. You can usually find that on cruise planner. Also if you're interested in the Deluxe beverage package, look for sales. Lowest I've seen on the Anthem is $42.

[Jasukkie]

While I do think it makes sense to book the shows in advance, I've cruised on Anthem twice and was able to just walk in to the shows without having my reservations checked. I think a fair number of people make reservations and don't show. Just making the point that if you are shut out of reservations in the cruise planner, just show up and you will probably get in.

 

We enjoyed the Escape Room a lot. It was never in the pre-cruise planner for our sailing. We boarded pretty early on and went straight to the ipad tablets across from where you board and reserved it without a problem. Again, no shows happen and you may just want to show up and talk to the worker there. Same for the Northstar.

 

If you really have your heart set on roller skating or bumper cars, carefully check the posted schedule. Get there early.

 

It's pricey but we really enjoyed doing the all-access ship tour. They give you earphones to wear which I really appreciated. I hate going on tours and then not being able to hear what the guide is saying.

 

We never did the pay restaurants but there will probably be specials onboard if you are interested. On my last cruise, the 10-drink card was available on day 4 of 9, but that can vary. It's a good deal for the more expensive cocktails.

 

The solarium gets packed and stays that way. If you are eating later, things start to clear out around 5pm. The outside areas of deck 5 are a nice quiet place to sit and read. 270 is an amazing space, and the cafe there is a nice alternative to the buffet. There are some great long tables outside the cafe there for playing cards/board games.

 

The casino is very smoky and the smell is soaked in to all the surfaces there. On the positive side, it's well-contained there. No one has to walk through unless they want to.

[EmTeeNesters]

Re: Escape Room

If the reservations fill before you can book it, you can still do a standby. Find out what times it's held and get to the door 15 minutes before and ask if there are "no shows". If so, they will let you participate. The room is located by the SeaPlex near where you get the roller skates. Just ask.

[NCLfamily]

srdancer pretty much summed it up. Definitely book those 3 shows in advance. There will be other shows you don't have to reserve, like comedy and guest entertainers.

 

 

 

Also reserve the Northstar (the sort of london eye thing that goes up in the air) and iFly (simulation sky diving) in advance.

 

 

 

If you want the escape room, book the first day. I believe it's done at guest services now, but someone clarify. When I went on in May 2016, I was given the runaround on that regarding where to book. They also have bumper cars, trapeze class, roller skating, flowrider, rock wall, all things that don't require reservations.

 

 

 

If you're interested in specialty dining, look out for the First Two Nights BOGO, $40 for two specialty restaurants the first two nights of the cruise. You can usually find that on cruise planner. Also if you're interested in the Deluxe beverage package, look for sales. Lowest I've seen on the Anthem is $42.

 

 

 

Re. The sales of drinks packages, where would you find this? On the website, emails?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[KelJ]

We sailed on an eight-night Anthem cruise over Christmas. In my signature, there is a link to my Anthem review. Maybe that will answer some of your questions.

Happy planning!

[srdancer]

If you don't have reservations for the shows, there is a standby line. You might or might not get in - lines were very long on our cruise. If you get seats might be scattered single seats around the theater. Even with reservations get there very early for the best seats.

 

RoyalIQ app is very useful. Load it on phone before you go. Won't activate until you are on the ship. Lets you see your personal schedule and daily ship schedule, make and cancel reservations for activities, meals and shore excursions, see your account, etc. Basic app is free.

For $7.95 pp you can use it to text and call other people who have it, call guest relations, call rooms, etc. Found it very useful, especially on a ship this size

 

Escape room - sister made her reservation at Boleros on deck 4 as soon as she boarded.

I used RoyalIQ app to book it later in day since noone was in Boleros by then.

[Dina7]

Re. The sales of drinks packages, where would you find this? On the website, emails?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

On the website, in your Cruise Planner.

[MD VBMom]

How far out do reservations open up for shows and restaurants in the Cruise Planner? We're cruising in May 2019. Thanks!

[Conshydot]

You can reserve now, if the website is available.

[NCLfamily]

On the website, in your Cruise Planner.

 

 

 

Thanks Dina

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Clarea]

How far out do reservations open up for shows and restaurants in the Cruise Planner? We're cruising in May 2019. Thanks!

If you don't see what you want to reserve in the Cruise Planner now, keep checking periodically. There's no schedule for when Royal opens reservations for the various things.

[Belle5129]

We were just on the Anthem for the March 24 sailing. It was my first cruise with MTD. I was a little nervous about how it would go with seven of us. We had 7:15 reservations, and I am happy as made the ressy as the lines for non-reservations was sometimes pretty long. We sat at the same table every night, so it felt very much like traditional dining.

 

Regarding drink packages, I checked prices almost daily...finally ended up purchasing for $41 about five months out. I was pretty happy with that price! I tracked it all on a spreadsheet and I never saw it that low again. We debated cancelling it numerous times because we weren’t sure if we would be able to drink enough to make it worth it. But we had such a great price that I felt like I couldn’t let it go! As it turned out, I think we did it justice!

[teddybear231]

We booked the shows, iFly and Northstar all in advance. We met people who were able to see the shows without booking in advance, but we also met people who weren't able to do iFly or Northstar because they didn't book in advance. So I would definitely book those 2 activites in advance if you know you want to do them. Our sailing was also sold out so I'm sure that didn't help. I read reviews of iFly/Northstar being booked on shorter cruises (5 days) because of such limited time with so many people, but we were on a 9 day cruise so that could have also been why.

 

Check the times for bumper cars and circus school (it may be called something else) if you want to do these and get there EARLY! We made the mistake of showing up about 2 minutes before the start time of bumper cars only to be told the wait was over 1.5 hours and we may not even get a chance to get on the bumper cars, so we didn't do them that day, we went back and got there about 45 minutes early and still had to wait about 20 minutes to get on! It was nice though, the kids loved it!

 

My favorite 2 places onboard this ship (or any ship for that matter) is 270 and the Solarium. 270 was like a quiet place to get away from it all. I would sit on one of the lounge beds in the back looking at the wake while reading a book. One day I passed out and took a nap there only to be woken by my kids! I wish all ships had a space like this, definitely thumbs up. Also, I loved the solarium. I read a lot of reviews of people saying it was always filled but we never had an issue finding lounge chairs. It was only me and my wife so we only needed 2 chairs, I guess if you were with a large group there may be trouble finding a spot but we didn't. Since kids under the age of 16 I believe, aren't allowed in you don't have to worry about kids running around. After about 4:30 it did clear out for the night, since we had late seating for dinner, we could stay there until about 7:30 and see the sunset in peace. It was a nice relaxing area, another place I wish all ships had. I like how it was fully enclosed, not partially open like on Oasis class ships.

 

I can't speak precisely on MTD since we had assigned seating, but I remember seeing a line of people waiting to get to their table in MTD. I spoke to a lot of people about this, I met one couple who didn't make any reservations in advance and didn't have to wait more than 10-15 minutes for a table. I also met some people who were in a larger group of 14 who had to wait usually over 30+ minutes each night even though they had reservations. I even met a couple who did make reservations but also had to wait 25+ minutes each night, which they weren't happy about. So I guess it's hard to tell, we got a lot of mixed reviews on MTD. It just solidifies why I like having an assigned time/table with the same wait staff who know exactly what I like. By the second night they would have my ice tea waiting for me and a cup of fruit for the kids. The wait staff were great!

 

I'm a smoker so it is hard for me to tell how bad it was in the casino. I do remember the casino being divided into 2 sections, one for smokers and the other side for non-smokers. There were a lot of smokers but I don't know how bad the smell was to a non-smoker. I can't ask my wife because as far as she knows I was never in the casino :D

[alevyinroc]

If you really have your heart set on roller skating or bumper cars, carefully check the posted schedule. Get there early.

And watch out for line-jumpers/cutters. We got in line for bumper cars close to 45 minutes early and watched a lot of people holding places for larger groups (despite signs posted stating that it wasn't allowed), just cutting into line themselves, and even getting back into the cars right after their ride was up. The Seaplex staff did not do a good job of managing this situation until the bumper cars had been active for about 15 minutes (at which point all the line-jumpers ahead of us had already gotten through).

 

The casino is very smoky and the smell is soaked in to all the surfaces there. On the positive side, it's well-contained there. No one has to walk through unless they want to.

We only passed through a few times, but didn't really notice much of a smoke smell except in one small section. It was much worse in the designated smoking area on Deck 14 by the pool.