What's wrong with the Anthem?

[Biker19]

I meant in comparison to the symphony of the seas! There are so many positive and negative reviews for both ships!

If you can stomach the typically high prices of the newest ship, you can't go wrong with that.

[CYN2920]

My favorite spot so far has been just forward of the forward elevators on 6. No obstruction and very convenient to the stairs to go down to 4&5. Personally, I feel any of the cabins on deck 7 that are over lifeboats should be labeled obstructed, though they are not. The hallways are really long on Anthem. Being close to the stairs/elevators is a big advantage. Noise is not an issue.

Now I am worried. We will be in cabin 7206 in September. I paid for a non-obstructed balcony, will it be obstructed?:(

[Biker19]

Now I am worried. We will be in cabin 7206 in September. I paid for a non-obstructed balcony, will it be obstructed?:(

As with other things, depends on the definition. Since there's nothing directly in front of the balcony, RCI calls it unobstructed. The lifeboats are in the way of seeing the water line directly at the side of the ship so some may call that obstructed.

[EeyoreRN]

Nothing is wrong with the Anthem! She is a beautiful ship. We sailed on her last year and absolutely loved her, would not hesitate to do it again...in fact considering booking a 9-day itinerary.

 

She is built for all-weather sailing, so there are not as many open-to-the-elements areas as there are on most other ships, but we found enough.

 

There are so many different entertainment venues, we couldn't see everything we wanted to see, had hard choices to make every night.

 

I wasn't crazy about the dining room set-up. I enjoy a grand, formal MDR. Anthem has 4 MDRs that feel kind of closed-in and dingy. That's the only aspect of the ship's design that is a drawback for me.

[Merion_Mom]

Nothing is wrong with the Anthem! She is a beautiful ship. We sailed on her last year and absolutely loved her, would not hesitate to do it again...in fact considering booking a 9-day itinerary.

 

She is built for all-weather sailing, so there are not as many open-to-the-elements areas as there are on most other ships, but we found enough.

 

There are so many different entertainment venues, we couldn't see everything we wanted to see, had hard choices to make every night.

 

I wasn't crazy about the dining room set-up. I enjoy a grand, formal MDR. Anthem has 4 MDRs that feel kind of closed-in and dingy. That's the only aspect of the ship's design that is a drawback for me.

 

 

 

I understand the "closed in" comment but not the "dingy" ??????

 

 

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[The Fun Researcher]

OP here, just checking back into the thread. I watched a walk-through of the entire ship and now I see why people call it a mix of the Solstice class and other ships. Some of the areas looked a LOT like the Equinox that I remember from our cruise this past summer, like the indoor pool, the buffet, etc...

 

One takeaway from watching the walk-through is that I really liked what I saw. Overall I have high hopes for our 9 night cruise next year. The main negative I see is the chopped up feel of the ship. Little venues, everywhere.

 

Dan

[SUSIEK]

We just sailed on Anthem June 9, 5nights to Bermuda. We also found reviews all over the place prior to sailing. Either "great" or "awful". Not much in between. We chose this ship for the itinerary.

 

Our cabin steward was fantastic. Always stopped for light conversation. He did a great job too! Balcony cabins nicely appointed with plenty of storage.

Dining room waiters excellent and friendly.

Chops was delicious. Although my son and husband didn't like the steak being almost char-broiled on the outside. The inside was perfect.

Solarium Bistro was fine.... loved the sides and dessert buffet offered. Service there was great.

The staff in the C&A Diamond Lounge was wonderful.

Bionic Bar ..... a lot of money for a drink...LOL!!! It was too sweet for my taste, but fun.

The SportsPlex was awesome....especially when you have a 12yr old boy.

Never had a problem getting loungers poolside at the covered pool. Nice large pool there with two large spa's.

 

Although we did enjoy many aspects of the sailing, we did find some of the staff attitudes to be so-so to rude. in our opinion. The not-so friendly staff we encountered was in the Logo Gift Shop. Someone must have been having a bad day.... she was terribly rude when I asked a question about the C&A discount. I've never experienced this on all my cruises.

 

Service in the Pub was incredibly slow. I mean.... 1 hour wait for a hamburger. Again, I have never experienced this before on any of our cruises. We are incredibly easy going people so we just went with it and had another drink while waiting.

I could absolutely see someone with not much patience totally losing it.

 

Vintages bartender had the attitude of "whatever". We felt we were inconveniencing him somehow by ordering. Very strange. My husband and I both felt this. We did not have the drink package. Again.... never felt this on any other Royal ship.

 

We went to the Art Auction. Apparently the format has changed. I liked going around and tagging what you are interested in bidding on... but then we sat there for over 2 hours and still hadn't see our art work we wanted to bid on. A lot of "talking" in between that really wasn't necessary. We had to leave as we had other activities planned. They missed out on our $$.

 

We did book another cruise while on Anthem. Navigator, 9 nights, next year. Looking forward to that as we were married aboard 15 years ago. :-)

 

Happy Sailing !!!!

[EeyoreRN]

I understand the "closed in" comment but not the "dingy" ??????

 

 

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This was my personal opinion in comparison to a large, airy grand dining room. Dining rooms i experienced felt a little dark and shabby to me. YMMV.

 

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[hazeleyes46]

We just sailed on Anthem June 9, 5nights to Bermuda. We also found reviews all over the place prior to sailing. Either "great" or "awful". Not much in between. We chose this ship for the itinerary.

 

Our cabin steward was fantastic. Always stopped for light conversation. He did a great job too! Balcony cabins nicely appointed with plenty of storage.

Dining room waiters excellent and friendly.

Chops was delicious. Although my son and husband didn't like the steak being almost char-broiled on the outside. The inside was perfect.

Solarium Bistro was fine.... loved the sides and dessert buffet offered. Service there was great.

The staff in the C&A Diamond Lounge was wonderful.

Bionic Bar ..... a lot of money for a drink...LOL!!! It was too sweet for my taste, but fun.

The SportsPlex was awesome....especially when you have a 12yr old boy.

Never had a problem getting loungers poolside at the covered pool. Nice large pool there with two large spa's.

 

Although we did enjoy many aspects of the sailing, we did find some of the staff attitudes to be so-so to rude. in our opinion. The not-so friendly staff we encountered was in the Logo Gift Shop. Someone must have been having a bad day.... she was terribly rude when I asked a question about the C&A discount. I've never experienced this on all my cruises.

 

Service in the Pub was incredibly slow. I mean.... 1 hour wait for a hamburger. Again, I have never experienced this before on any of our cruises. We are incredibly easy going people so we just went with it and had another drink while waiting.

I could absolutely see someone with not much patience totally losing it.

 

Vintages bartender had the attitude of "whatever". We felt we were inconveniencing him somehow by ordering. Very strange. My husband and I both felt this. We did not have the drink package. Again.... never felt this on any other Royal ship.

 

We went to the Art Auction. Apparently the format has changed. I liked going around and tagging what you are interested in bidding on... but then we sat there for over 2 hours and still hadn't see our art work we wanted to bid on. A lot of "talking" in between that really wasn't necessary. We had to leave as we had other activities planned. They missed out on our $$.

 

We did book another cruise while on Anthem. Navigator, 9 nights, next year. Looking forward to that as we were married aboard 15 years ago. :-)

 

Happy Sailing !!!!

 

We were on the same cruise. I found some bartenders to be very rude or maybe just not too friendly as I have been used to on other ships. The woman at the Bionic Bar was not helpful at all and it was my first time and I screwed up my drink and she told me, that is what you ordered. Umm...yes, I only wanted a shot of vodka, lol. She did go in the back and get me the drink I tried to order but I never went back as I am not sure what her job there was.

We like the openness of the Oasis and the Allure much better than Anthem.

We felt like 5 days was not enough though as we missed many things as they had to squeeze so much in 5 days.

We had a great time overall but we probably wouldn't sail on this ship again even though it was so nice and close to home.

[nelblu]

Nothing is wrong with the Anthem! She is a beautiful ship. We sailed on her last year and absolutely loved her, would not hesitate to do it again...in fact considering booking a 9-day itinerary.

 

She is built for all-weather sailing, so there are not as many open-to-the-elements areas as there are on most other ships, but we found enough.

 

There are so many different entertainment venues, we couldn't see everything we wanted to see, had hard choices to make every night.

 

I wasn't crazy about the dining room set-up. I enjoy a grand, formal MDR. Anthem has 4 MDRs that feel kind of closed-in and dingy. That's the only aspect of the ship's design that is a drawback for me.

 

Remember, the dining rooms layout was designed for the DD concept. I've sailed on Quantum & Anthem (2) and did not have the closed in feeling or dingy. You make it sound that it's the size of an elevator. You probably did not sail 25-30 years ago as each of the Anthem's dining rooms is larger than those that sailed in those days.

[steveru621]

Anthem is just OK.

 

Hate the layout of the Schooner Bar, and the noise and vibration from the Music Hall that distracts from the piano player.

 

There is one hallway that seems to dead end at the Music Hall, but the elevators are just beyond that point. Always seemed to be on the wrong deck when looking for something on the Royal Esplanade.

 

2 cruises on Quantum class and I have yet to use any on the extras because the lines were always too long. (NorthStar, I Fly, etc...)

 

WindJammer is a zoo. Too many passengers chasing too few seats. Dining rooms are either intimate or dark, depending on your point of view.

 

Love the covered pool. Solarium is too noisy.

 

Two70 is excellent.

 

It is a beautiful ship with a lot to experience, but I prefer Radiance or Voyager class.

[masim17]

Can anyone tell me where you go after embarkation to sign up for ifly and northstar? It was closed when I tried to do this on line for the last 3 months! Thanks

[WestTexasBySea]

Either connect to Royal Wifi once you board and use Royal IQ App or go to 270, Shore Excursions Desk or Guest Services.

 

I recommend the IQ app. If you board early there should be plenty of times.

 

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[Merion_Mom]

This was my personal opinion in comparison to a large, airy grand dining room. Dining rooms i experienced felt a little dark and shabby to me. YMMV.

 

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I simply cannot fathom anyone thinking that the dining rooms are shabby. SHABBY?!?!?!

 

a : threadbare and faded from wear

• a shabby sofa
  

 





b : ill-kept : dilapidated

• a shabby neighborhood
  

 

REALLY?

[SUSIEK]

Can anyone tell me where you go after embarkation to sign up for ifly and northstar? It was closed when I tried to do this on line for the last 3 months! Thanks

 

 

Hi, we went to Two70 as soon as we boarded and had no problem booking Northstar and iFly.

We tried doing the app. onboard but it never worked.

[EeyoreRN]

I simply cannot fathom anyone thinking that the dining rooms are shabby. SHABBY?!?!?!

 

a : threadbare and faded from wear

• a shabby sofa
  

 





b : ill-kept : dilapidated

• a shabby neighborhood
  

 

REALLY?

Thanks for the vocab lesson! Words have so many meanings, don't they? Here's the definition I was thinking of:

 

Shabby : inferior; not up to par in quality, performance, etc.:a shabby rendition of the sonata.

 

No they are not worn or threadbare. But I was thinking of it in a different sense...as compared to a grand MDR, which we have experienced and loved on other ships. Just not my idea of an MDR on an elegant cruise ship, which Anthem certainly is. As I said, we loved everything about Anthem, but if we had one complaint it would be the design, configuration, decor and overall feel of the "main" dining rooms. I get that they were designed that way for a reason that failed. Maybe that's why it continues to feel like a big fail to me.

 

We had anytime dining and we were either in New York themed one and Silk. Curtains always closed, so no view. Very dark and confined. Underwhelming (occasionally rude) service. No cruise ship ambiance, IMO.

 

I'm glad others enjoy the MDRs on Anthem. Differences make the world go 'round!

 

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[Biker19]

As I said, we loved everything about Anthem, but if we had one complaint it would be the design, configuration, decor and overall feel of the "main" dining rooms. I get that they were designed that way for a reason that failed.

RCI seems to agree with you and on Spectrum have opened the MDR to the typical open middle 3 level affair.

[CYN2920]

As with other things, depends on the definition. Since there's nothing directly in front of the balcony, RCI calls it unobstructed. The lifeboats are in the way of seeing the water line directly at the side of the ship so some may call that obstructed.

I just called RC to see if they had any available cabins on a higher deck. They had several, but to switch to a cabin on deck 8 in the same category would cost us over $1000. I think that I will keep my cabin. :)

[nelblu]

Can anyone tell me where you go after embarkation to sign up for ifly and northstar? It was closed when I tried to do this on line for the last 3 months! Thanks

 

In January, as soon as we boarded we went to Bolero's on deck 5 "Esplanade" and made reservation with RCL staff there. Not only I-Fly & NorthStar, but also any shows.

[Biker19]

They had several, but to switch to a cabin on deck 8 in the same category would cost us over $1000. :)

Call back - if it is truly the same exact category (there are several within the regular balconies), there should be no cost.

[CYN2920]

Call back - if it is truly the same exact category (there are several within the regular balconies), there should be no cost.

My mistake, it was a different category. Thanks for replying.

[INGODWETRUST]

I just recently sailed on Anthem and did not like it. However I do love the Oasis class. This was my 14th cruise with RCL.

[exercisemama]

I just recently sailed on Anthem and did not like it. However I do love the Oasis class. This was my 14th cruise with RCL.

 

Can you please tell me what you didn't like about it? I have not been on either one of those classes, only the Adventure of the Seas twice.

[xpcdoojk]

As far as ships go nothing beats Oasis class, two flowriders. Nuf said. But as far as beyond that, Anthem and Ovation which I have sailed on both are simply superb. better than freedom class, in layout and they have the Ifly, which might make them better than Oasis. I like the bumper cars but after 21 days on them I spent 3 minutes riding them and 1 hour waiting for them.

 

Simply top end tech for cruise ships.

 

Will be on Symphony soon and will see if the next gen Oasis class raise the bar, expect it will.

 

JC