Just back from first Cruise - Anthem to Bermuda, 5 day, 5/26 sailing.

[kevlandry]

Greetings,

I thought I would share my first-timers views on our Anthem trip this week.

 

First - we are a family of 5, travelling with three boys, 16, 14 and 12. We had a Balcony Room and an interior stateroom on Deck 10. Not far from the aft elevators.

 

In no particular order:

Parking and getting on the ship in NJ was very easy. Getting on the ship went smoothly as well. We had a 10:30-11:00 boarding time, and didn't get on until about noon. Not too bad.

 

We brought two bottles of wine per stateroom (well, two bottles may have looked like wine and had something else inside). They didn't even take the bottles out of our carry-on's and just wanted to see proof of two staterooms.

 

I also had a six pack of sodas in every check-in bag - three dozen in total. They all made it to the rooms.

 

There is wifi on board, and if you turn your iPhones to airplane mode you can use imessage to text anyone with an iPhone on or off the ship. Very nice for staying in touch with everyone.

 

Food: Meh. I was expecting much more. Breakfast was fine, lunch was as well. Dinner in the dining room was a ridiculous 2+ hour long event and it didn't need to be anywhere near that long. Our waitstaff were phenomenal. The kids wanted to go there every night just to interact with our assistant server, "Johnny". He made it fun for them and I'm glad for that. One meal, however, had us at 30 minutes between each course. The best food we had was at Jamie Oliver's place for lunch. We also ate at Chops and many in our group were not thrilled with the quality. And only ONE beef option at a a place called CHOPS is embarrassing - even for lunch. NOT worth the extra cost.

I was honestly expecting the extra fee dining options to be what was available at the inclusive dining areas and the add-on dining to be more "wow" and the just weren't. We went with long-time cruiser friends and they had the same opinion of the food scene.

 

Entertainment. In a word: Crowded. At NO time did we find ourselves easily getting seats. We left a singing comedian at the Schooner Bar because we had to stand in the photo area and listen from there. There was a weird rock/pop musical show in 270 that was also so crowded we had to watch from the library (upstairs in the back). Left that one too. We saw a man vs. woman show in the Music Hall that was pretty funny, but when it turned into karaoke, we left that too.

 

Entertainment for the kids was fantastic. So nice to just tell them: "GO" and meet up in a few hours. They took full advantage of everything the ship had to offer for them, and it made the vacation much more relaxing for the adults in our party (there were 6 kids). There were pingpong and soccer tournaments with medals that they participated in and they had a blast.

 

Bermuda - I just wish we had more time there. We felt very rushed with only two days.....I dunno, maybe that's just the nature of a cruise. I'd rather have more time to explore. 3-4 days in port would have been nice.

 

I'll never cruise without a balcony room.....we really loved sitting on the patio both in transit and in port.

 

The room steward was fine - just didn't do that much besides bring us ice every day and make up the room and that was fine for us.

 

Bar drinks were good (we didn't get any packages) and they were generous with the pours. It wouldn't have been worth it for us to purchase the drink package - especially being able to make rum and cokes in our room.

 

Solarium - good luck trying to find a place to sit. People would go there very early and put stuff on a chair and take off and go have breakfast. There was nearly NEVER a place to sit, and all the pools there were filled with people pretty much at all times. Pools in other areas were less crowded, and the kids even had pools to themselves sometimes.

 

Elevators were generally fine in terms of wait time. Occasionally we would just take the stairs due to the wait.

 

Disembarkation was a complete sh_t show. Totally could have (and should have) been managed better. We carried our own luggage off the ship and it took an hour and 15 minutes to wind our way around 270 to get off the ship and make our way through customs. Friends that waited in the Music Hall got out much more quickly.

 

I guess if there was a general theme, it was CROWDS. The ship makes you feel like they got the passenger to activity, dining and entertainment ratio wrong.

 

Now....all that being said, we had a GREAT time, the kids especially. Would I cruise again? Maybe. Probably. Anthem? Probably not.

[It'sRC4ME]

Thank you for posting this - we are taking that same cruise over labor day weekend. For the entertainment, were you planning in advance to attend certain things, and still getting shut out, or were you just walking around to see what was going on and finding yourselves crowded/shut out?

 

DH and I tend to be the "walk around and see" types, but I am wondering if for this cruise we need to make more of a point to study the compass and make plans. We generally don't bother with the big shows, so I haven't made reservations for them and we won't worry about trying to see them. I've never seen a good schooner bar sing-along guy who didn't draw a standing room crowd, so if we want to do that we know to go early. But usually we can find a lounge somewhere with someone playing something and few people there. It sounds like that wasn't the case on Anthem, despite so much entertainment listed in the compasses I've seen.

[ObstructedView2]

I wish Anthem didn't do 5 day cruises. 9 and 12 day cruises on Anthem are much better. Like night & day.

 

Did you reserve the 3 main shows in advance?

'Spectra Cabaret' in 270.

'We Will Rock You' in the theater.

'The Gift' in the theater.

 

Did you arrive at the shows 45 minutes prior to show start times?

 

Did you make reservations or use the stand by line for Northstar? RipCord? Escape Room?

 

Did you eat in Wonderland? Did you use the Seaplex? Bumper Cars, Rollerskating, Hot Dog stand, etc..

 

Tip:

Next time you disembark a ship, use porter service, porters bypass the long lines at customs, they have a separate line at customs, and you are out of the terminal extremely fast.

 

5 days on Anthem is simply not enough. Passengers are rushing to cram in activities & shows.

 

 

:cool:

[macfin]

Sorry all the negative stuff!

 

But you could have made reservations for the “free” stuff way ahead of time...

 

The ship this time of year thru summer is packed - we cruise in September as to avoid this.. I get that maybe you can’t ... as far as room steward goes that’s there job - you want a little extra than give them some extra — it’s a large ship with lots to do -

 

We are booked in September this year and are looking forward to it - we enjoy the big ship style and start planning for things as soon as we book — just my 2 cents —-

[pasodancer]

Thank you for sharing your vacation with us! Very sorry it wasn't all fantastic but you have an amazing attitude for dealing with the negativity - wish more people were like you!!

[kevlandry]

We booked and participated in iFLY, NorthStar and We will Rock You. We did all but "We Will Rock You". Also did the surfing thing. All that was GREAT! We only decided to skip "We Will Rock You" because we wanted the entire last night to just relax.

 

The puzzle room was booked up for the entire trip the minute we boarded.

 

"wonderland" is something we didn't do but I wish we did.

 

As far as the "I hope you get caught" stuff.....ok fine....we broke the rules with rum instead of wine. Really??? Who cares. If we were "caught" they would have just taken it and it wouldn't have mattred. It wasn't about saving the money as much as having the convenience of making a drink in our room at our own convenience. MANY people we talked to did this.

 

As far as my review stinking....the review is worth what you paid to read it CelticMCO. These boards are free, aren't they?

 

The kids "KILLED" Seaplex. Their use of that area made this vacation great for them. There was rarely a line there. It was a great part of having a vacation with kids!

 

MAKE PLANS and get to stuff EARLY. I'm told you don't need to do this as much on other ships. With the Anthem, you have to plan your shows and events and get there early.

[Merion_Mom]

We booked and participated in iFLY, NorthStar and We will Rock You. We did all but "We Will Rock You". Also did the surfing thing. All that was GREAT! We only decided to skip "We Will Rock You" because we wanted the entire last night to just relax.

 

The puzzle room was booked up for the entire trip the minute we boarded.

 

"wonderland" is something we didn't do but I wish we did.

 

As far as the "I hope you get caught" stuff.....ok fine....we broke the rules with rum instead of wine. Really??? Who cares. If we were "caught" they would have just taken it and it wouldn't have mattred. It wasn't about saving the money as much as having the convenience of making a drink in our room at our own convenience. MANY people we talked to did this.

 

As far as my review stinking....the review is worth what you paid to read it CelticMCO. These boards are free, aren't they?

 

The kids "KILLED" Seaplex. Their use of that area made this vacation great for them. There was rarely a line there. It was a great part of having a vacation with kids!

 

MAKE PLANS and get to stuff EARLY. I'm told you don't need to do this as much on other ships. With the Anthem, you have to plan your shows and events and get there early.

 

Please just ignore that one poster. S/He is not typical of the members here.

 

All Quantum class ships (this includes Anthem) and Oasis class ships have shows for which you need reservations. It's just the way it is. You would have been able to find seats at Spectra's Cabaret if you had made reservations. I'm surprised that you even found standing room.

 

As for the "time in Bermuda" thing - that's the nature of a cruise. Other cruises, it's six to 12 hours in a port. Overnights are not common, except in a few ports like Bermuda.

 

You should either understand that, or...……..well, cruising is not for everyone. That's not a criticism. It's a fact.

 

Perhaps it seems obvious now, but you should have found and used this forum BEFORE your cruise. You could have received a lot of this advice when it would have done you some good. ;)

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

 

(By the way, how DID you find Cruise Critic?)

[CelticMCO]

Guess no one cares he is bragging about smuggling rum in wine bottles....

[Magnetchief]

Guess no one cares he is bragging about smuggling rum in wine bottles....

 

 

 

Not really.

Don’t do it myself but I do understand people do.

 

It’s between them and RCI.

 

I’m just pleased they took the time to write a review.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Merion_Mom]

Guess no one cares he is bragging about smuggling rum in wine bottles....

 

 

 

I care more about you being nasty to a first time poster.

 

 

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[nelblu]

Did you go to the MDR for lunch on sea . They have a wonderful buffet "Tutti salad bar" and also have a lunch menu. Just wondering if they presented the chocolate fountain as you enter Grande. Hoping they have it so that I can enjoy on our August 9 nite NE/Canada cruise.

[kevlandry]

I Learned about the wine/booze thing here....so I read quite a bit or this website before cruising. NOT bragging, i thought it was what most people did. Never saw a chocolate fountain. Still happy we went on the cruise!!! Don't know what MDR is...and maybe cruising isn't for us......I really do like to spend time in places taking everything in, A cruise doesn't let you do that always. That being said, I saw a great cruise with Crystal that goes around the world.....109 days and it's on my bucket list now!

[nicstress]

We did that cruise in 2016. You are right-2 days isn't enough. We booked a 7 day cruise on Serenade with 3 days in Bermuda. Really looking forward to that although Anthem is a much bigger ship. We liked the Anthem and never felt crowded and our meals never took that long but it happens. And nice job on the wine. We have taken boxes (that works too) and rum runners for our in cabin drinks too. It is a convenience thing. We also get a pkg typically or spend a lot in bars too so we don't feel to badly about it. It's too bad they limit the bottle service they do through gifts and gear because we would do that more often. Nice review!

[bsblindab]

I wish Anthem didn't do 5 day cruises. 9 and 12 day cruises on Anthem are much better. Like night & day.

 

Did you reserve the 3 main shows in advance?

'Spectra Cabaret' in 270.

'We Will Rock You' in the theater.

'The Gift' in the theater.

 

Did you arrive at the shows 45 minutes prior to show start times?

 

Did you make reservations or use the stand by line for Northstar? RipCord? Escape Room?

 

Did you eat in Wonderland? Did you use the Seaplex? Bumper Cars, Rollerskating, Hot Dog stand, etc..

 

Tip:

Next time you disembark a ship, use porter service, porters bypass the long lines at customs, they have a separate line at customs, and you are out of the terminal extremely fast.

 

5 days on Anthem is simply not enough. Passengers are rushing to cram in activities & shows.

 

 

:cool:

We did a 7day NCL cruise to Bermuda out of NYC and had 3 days in Bermuda on a Balcony. My next cruise in Jan will be on RCL..so it will be interesting. I would have liked to go out of NJ (for me much easier to navigate than NYC) but I've heard Balimore isn't to bad

[Ship2Shore]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

I don't care that you took advantage and smuggled booze on board, but why brag about it? You could've left it by saying you brought wine. We wouldn't have been the wiser. Does the fact MANY people do it make it okay? But, good for you - you stuck it to the man!

 

As far as the wifi communications and texting, that is a bug on Quantum ships and may be gone tomorrow. Glad you enjoyed it while you could.

 

I don't know what more you expected of your room attendant. They make-up the room, change towels and provide ice. Did you not get any towel animals?

 

Chops offers two different filets along with a rib-eye selection and a NY Strip. I'm confused that you were disappointed in only one? beef choice.

 

Sorry you felt you 'rushed' with only two days in port. It is not, as you say, the 'nature of a cruise'. It's the nature of a 5-night Bermuda. Did you not realize this when you booked this itinerary? It shouldn't have been a surprise.

 

Anthem requires a bit of planning. You claimed to have learned about the 'booze thing' by reading these boards. Perhaps you could've learned about booking shows and activities here as well.

 

Lastly, I'm sorry your departure was a s-show. You indicate it 'should have and could have been managed better.' I do hope you offer your solution on the survey.

[nelblu]

The Op is talking about the lack of beef selections on the lunch menu. With regards to prior planning that was one of the main reasons for the criticism of the into of the Q class to go along with DD.

[kevlandry]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

I don't care that you took advantage and smuggled booze on board, but why brag about it? You could've left it by saying you brought wine. We wouldn't have been the wiser. Does the fact MANY people do it make it okay? But, good for you - you stuck it to the man!

 

As far as the wifi communications and texting, that is a bug on Quantum ships and may be gone tomorrow. Glad you enjoyed it while you could.

 

I don't know what more you expected of your room attendant. They make-up the room, change towels and provide ice. Did you not get any towel animals?

 

Chops offers two different filets along with a rib-eye selection and a NY Strip. I'm confused that you were disappointed in only one? beef choice.

 

Sorry you felt you 'rushed' with only two days in port. It is not, as you say, the 'nature of a cruise'. It's the nature of a 5-night Bermuda. Did you not realize this when you booked this itinerary? It shouldn't have been a surprise.

 

Anthem requires a bit of planning. You claimed to have learned about the 'booze thing' by reading these boards. Perhaps you could've learned about booking shows and activities here as well.

 

Lastly, I'm sorry your departure was a s-show. You indicate it 'should have and could have been managed better.' I do hope you offer your solution on the survey.

 

We obviously knew we were only going to be in port for two days, and only had ourselves booked on one excursion per day. The intent of that comment was to relay that, after arriving, we wished we had more time to do more. That's all.

 

We went to Chops for lunch. The only other beef option was a burger. Anyone that got either the filet or burger (party of 9 adults) wasn't thrilled with their meal. The other thing of note, neither good nor bad, was that there was nearly nobody else in the restaurant at the time. It was virtually empty, very surprising for an at sea day.

 

Could I have done more research here before the cruise - ABSOLUTELY, and it likely will have helped! We went with people who have cruised A LOT. One of the families are Diamond Plus, and the other family has cruised many other lines. Since it was our first time, we followed suit with what they were doing for plans. Their observations of the crowds and access to shows and departure process were the same as mine. Their expectation, based on prior cruises with Disney and RCL, were that you could pretty much get a seat at any show at any time. I think the difference is the size of the Anthem.

 

I think they should have had a more organized way to direct people to queue up for carry-off. We got in line at the entrance of 270, circled through 270, and then went back out towards the elevators. All those people and their luggage bumping up against one another was just nuts. EVERYONE in that line was complaining that it was a crazy process.

 

All in all we very much enjoyed the cruise. Our next cruise will probably be a smaller ship....

[Merion_Mom]

When you cruise on a ship where the large majority do not fly to it, you will have massive numbers doing walk-off disembarkation. It's the same on 3 night cruises out of any Florida port. It's just the nature of the beast.

[greyhairbill]

Thanks for your review and observations regarding your cruise. I'm booked on the same ship and itinerary on 7/7.

 

Although my wife and I have cruised many times before, this will be the first time on such a large ship.

I am totally amazed at the number of activities and the amount of planning that entails.

I never had to pre-book shows, but thanks to the posts here I made sure to reserve the shows we wanted to see.

 

BTW, did you happen to keep the Cruise Compass from your cruise? If you could post them, it would give me an idea of the daily activities, especially on the sea days.

 

Thanks again

[kosmo886]

Thanks for sharing your review! I was on the same sailing, so it’s always interesting to read others experiences. We also did self carry for departure and saw that 270 was a sh*tshow and chose to exit from the other side and were off the ship and through customs within 20 minutes. I agree they should manage this better.

 

As for dining, we found the service in Silk to be exponentially faster than American icon. Not sure why the big difference, but we opted for silk because of that.

 

I agree with you that the ship felt like it wasn’t big enough for the passenger capacity. Have been on oasis and allure and them having two flow riders, two climbing walls, a bigger casino, and more outdoor space definitely helps with the crowding.

 

We only went to spectras cabaret and had reservations and when we showed up 30 minutes prior to get a seat, we found that 2/3 of the theater seats had been roped off for some “group” that never actually showed up. The staff member told us the show had been “overbooked”. What?!?! What’s the point of reservations then? That was frustrating.

 

Overall we had a great trip too though! Thought the ship’s finishings were top notch and were a step up from oasis class.

 

 

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[kosmo886]

Thanks for your review and observations regarding your cruise. I'm booked on the same ship and itinerary on 7/7.

 

Although my wife and I have cruised many times before, this will be the first time on such a large ship.

I am totally amazed at the number of activities and the amount of planning that entails.

I never had to pre-book shows, but thanks to the posts here I made sure to reserve the shows we wanted to see.

 

BTW, did you happen to keep the Cruise Compass from your cruise? If you could post them, it would give me an idea of the daily activities, especially on the sea days.

 

Thanks again

 

 

 

I have them but keep getting an error message when trying to upload. Will keep trying!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Eslader]

Guess no one cares he is bragging about smuggling rum in wine bottles....

I cruise to abandon having to worry about things. The last thing I'm going to do is worry about someone else breaking the rules when it has absolutely no impact on me whatsoever. Him breaking the rules means he might have gotten caught and had to deal with security. It wouldn't have hurt my cruise experience one iota, so I don't particularly care.

 

 

 

We obviously knew we were only going to be in port for two days, and only had ourselves booked on one excursion per day. The intent of that comment was to relay that, after arriving, we wished we had more time to do more. That's all.

 

I always wish there was more time in port. Especially at stops like Grand Cayman, where you get the usual "part of a day," only it's even shorter because you have to tender in which eats up time. I've used cruising as kind of scout trips - "Hey, Jamaica was really awesome - next non-cruise vacation will be there!" It's a good way to get the flavor of a place before you shell out the cash to spend a week there. The advantage of cruising for me is that you can completely, absolutely relax for the whole trip because your responsibilities pretty much end at breathing. Someone else takes care of everything. It's really nice after spending the year working.

 

We went to Chops for lunch. The only other beef option was a burger. Anyone that got either the filet or burger (party of 9 adults) wasn't thrilled with their meal.

Liberty is the only ship where I've ever had a fantastic experience at Chops - and even on that ship, Giovanni's and Sabor easily outdid it. For some reason it seems to be the weakest of the specialty restaurants, and I don't really understand why. I mean.. It's steak. Steak is not hard. Salt, pepper, grill (briefly). Done. But for some reason Chops tends to get it wrong more often than right.

 

 

Could I have done more research here before the cruise - ABSOLUTELY, and it likely will have helped!

You could not have done enough research to know all of the ins and outs of cruising. You really have to experience it before you know what works and what doesn't work for you. I researched the heck out of my first cruise. I even knew the horsepower of the ship we went on, and who made the engines. I still had no idea what it was really like, or that I'd even like it at all, before I actually got on board.

 

I think the difference is the size of the Anthem.

I've never been on a Quantum class ship, but seeing as they hold fairly close to the number of passengers you can get on an Oasis-class, which is a lot bigger, it did seem to me like they'd probably be crowded. For the record, Oasis is really good at making 5-6 thousand people not feel crowded.