Frugal Husband’s Anthem of the Seas Review

[BigHouseFootball]

Back to the cabin we went to pick up our phones and our coke cups then it was up to the Windjammer for lunch. But before we got our picture with the glass floor just outside the Windjammer.

 

Check out collection.

 

 

This is why I love buffets. Just love to get totally random foods that don’t go together and call it a meal. So at top we have like a beef stew, going clockwise that is fried calamari. It was ok, kinda rubbery but I anticipated that when I chose to grab a few, then beef salad...that was interesting, followed by Mac n cheese which was surprisingly good, and then some ravioli. The Mac n cheese was so good I went and got seconds.

 

Now here’s a funny thing. With all the good food and different food then I normally eat what is my favorite thing to get at the Windjammer? Their dang cheeseburgers! Why? I don’t know! They aren’t anything special and you would think that with it being a buffet and they are thin patties that they would be dry but they are juicy...or maybe I’m confusing greasy with juicy haha. Anyways I LOVE them. I think I got 4 of them over our 5 day cruise. Their fries are good too. That’s my guilty pleasure on Royal...their flippin Windjammer burger and fries!

 

Oddly enough I don’t have a single picture of them. Probably because I just start scarfing them down as soon as I sit.

 

Like I said, no one really found the outdoor seating for Windjammer on our cruise.

 

Getting my wake on

 

 

And this was in the Windjammer...should of built his house of bricks...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BigHouseFootball]

At 1 my wife headed to the spa. We had a free treatment with our booking. This was the first time either of us had ever used the spa. My wife selected to get the facial.

 

 

While my wife was doing that I explored a bit and took some pictures. My first stop was the Royal Store. Sadly Royal has not gotten on the pin train. Come on Royal! So this is what I walked out with.

 

A magnet to go along with our Allure one

 

 

A Christmas ornament which also goes along with our Allure one

 

And another magnet

 

Confession that last magnet was a total impulse buy. But it was cheap, doesn’t take up much space, and it is a night picture so it checked all my boxes. Also it did push me over the $25 threshold to get my crown and anchor discount.

 

Speaking of which I was under the impression that the discount would come off automatically when my sea pass got swiped. Um no. No it did not. Good thing I checked my receipt. Umm excuse me Mr. Royal Man, Frugal Husband did not get his 10% off his $25 purchase. I want my $2.50 back!

 

Well he couldn’t do that he had to have his manager come over to return the entire purchase then run it again and apply the discount. So it might now be a bad idea to tell the cashier you want to use your discount...I thought it was supposed to happen automatically now. Wasn’t that the point of getting rid of the coupons?

 

Anyways while waiting for the manager I stepped aside and Iger cruisers were making their purchases. Dude. People drop some serious money on cigarettes. Like $400 worth if cigarettes. I nearly fainted. People also blow major coin on booze. A guy bought like $250 on liquor. Frugal Husband does not approve haha.

 

I then strolled around the Esplanade and realized just how little time I had spent here on my cruise. Stranger still was the realization that I had no strong desire to spend time on the Esplanade. We cane for pizza and that’s it. It’s just so small. And I think the lack of space just zaps all the energy that the Royal Promenade has.

 

 

I then wondered over to Beleros and they were doing an art auction. I have no desire to buy art. I don’t get it. It has no meaning to me. And most of all it’s usually expensive. But I was curious to see a bit of the process.

 

As you can see the place wasn’t exactly packed.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BigHouseFootball]

This was the staging area

 

Another reason why I was curious is because I had just read Cruise Confidential 2. Where the author served as an art auctioneer on cruise ships.

 

This is the wall just to the side of Beleros. I love lights. Lights are shiny. Lights are pretty.

 

 

 

At this point I’m just walking around snapping pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BigHouseFootball]

Bionic Bar

 

 

 

Funny story about the bionic bar. We went twice just to watch. We are not big drinkers and the drinks I like are the frozen fruity drinks and you can’t get those there. But they do have a non-alcohol selection! It’s small but it’s there. So we go to order a Shirley temple like I’m back in high school. Well guess what! They were going to charge me like $3 for that even though I had the pop package! Well you can guess the Frugal Husband scoffed at that!

 

I then made my way up to the top deck and I watched the flow riders and the iflyers. Again, no ship photographers there.

 

 

 

Another discussion my wife and I had was that we were surprised they didn’t offer private sessions for ifly like they do for flow rider. I might of bought that! Now maybe they do offer this but we didn’t see it advertised anywhere.

 

The plan was to meet at the rock climbing wall when my wife was done with her facial. I then conquered the wall like spider man. Out of my way 10 year olds this Frugal Husband is all business on the wall.

 

Look at that form!

 

 

I made it to the top and I was exhausted. Which is what I was embarrassed about. I run marathons! A Rick wall should t make me be THAT winded.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[renata102]

Were they from NY or NJ? That will answer your question :P

 

What does that supposed to mean ?

[bobmacliberty]

 

Anyways while waiting for the manager I stepped aside and Iger cruisers were making their purchases. Dude. People drop some serious money on cigarettes. Like $400 worth if cigarettes. I nearly fainted. People also blow major coin on booze. A guy bought like $250 on liquor. Frugal Husband does not approve haha.

 

 

I never quite understood the duty free booze idea, unless it's to get something that's not available near me. Is there really enough savings involved to justify lugging around heavy, potentially breakable bottles?

[mets07]

Were they from NY or NJ? That will answer your question :P

Please stop making comments like this. It is insulting. Trust me that there are annoying people from everywhere.

 

Happy cruising, all.

 

Sent from my QTAQZ3 using Forums mobile app

[squadron]

I just want to say some people can not read body language, those almost anywhere on the autism spectrum have no grasp of that concept. It would not have been rude to say something like It was nice to meet you, but my wife and I were planning a quiet intimate dinner for the two of us. If the couple were offended by that they weren't worth caring about offending. As I get older I find i have less patience for beating around the bush, but I try to be nice about it.

 

Just request a table for two rather than a large table where people normally converse as a group. My husband didn't like a large table whereas I do now as a solo.

[linkerbink]

My sister and I will be on the Anthem (for the 4th time) next month. The burgers in the Windjammer are good, but I LOVE the French fries! And we go to the Esplanade for hot chocolate and to people-watch. I am enjoying your review...getting me psyched for our cruise!

[XJokerX]

I’m with you on the fries. Some days that would be all I would eat (damn you schooner bar) for lunch. The perfect cure.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Okcruiser64]

Thank you again for your in depth, but never boring review. I am so enjoying reading and the pictures are helping me feel less overwhelmed by the size and unfamiliarity of the ship. A week from today I leave and your review has also made the excitement and anticipation bearable.

[hazeleyes46]

Please stop making comments like this. It is insulting. Trust me that there are annoying people from everywhere.

 

Happy cruising, all.

 

Sent from my QTAQZ3 using Forums mobile app

 

I am FROM NY so I know how rude people from NY and NJ are and if you go out of a cruise from NY or NJ, the majority of people ARE from that area. SMH

[hazeleyes46]

I never quite understood the duty free booze idea, unless it's to get something that's not available near me. Is there really enough savings involved to justify lugging around heavy, potentially breakable bottles?

 

It all depends on what you are buying but yes, there are many things that are much less than the liquor stores on land.

[fleihr]

I never quite understood the duty free booze idea, unless it's to get something that's not available near me. Is there really enough savings involved to justify lugging around heavy, potentially breakable bottles?

There can be big savings to have, for example I purchased 4 liters of grey goose vodka for $100 bucks where on land one bottle is 50-60 bucks

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[BillOh]

My sister and I will be on the Anthem (for the 4th time) next month. The burgers in the Windjammer are good, but I LOVE the French fries! And we go to the Esplanade for hot chocolate and to people-watch. I am enjoying your review...getting me psyched for our cruise!

 

 

Are Anthem fries different than the WJ for the rest of the fleet?

[The Fun Researcher]

Are Anthem fries different than the WJ for the rest of the fleet?

 

 

 

Can’t answer for the Anthem but the fries have been fantastic, and similar, in the Windjammer on every cruise I’ve been on. I assume they are all supplied from the same vendor.

 

Taste buds vary, but I think Royal has great fries on their buffet. Can’t necessarily say the same for the burgers.

 

Dan

[JaniceB]

Love the wake pictures, one of my favorite pastimes on a cruise ship.

[BigHouseFootball]

Let’s talk about the Vitality Spa. This was the first experience for us and sadly my wife was not impressed. She said everyone she encountered was very rude and cold. When the woman called her back the first thing she did was point out any and all “flaws” on her face. “See these? They will be bags for sure. Notice these lines? You’re getting old now.”

 

Whoa! I prepared my wife for the hard sell they would give her to buy products but I didn’t know they would try to make her feel awful. The woman asked if my wife had ever been on a cruise before. Her reply was “you’ve been on a cruise 3 times and have never had a facial? Why?!”

 

My wife said the woman asked her the same 3-4 questions over and over which meant she wasn’t really listening to her. At the end the woman stopped, looked at my wife and said “meh, it’s ok. You need the super facial.” Then she tried selling my wife little bottles of product for hundreds of dollars.

 

I was disappointed for my wife. I thought it would be a nice relaxing hour for her and it turned into an hour of trying to guilt her into buying more services/products. I think that’s a terrible way to sell things. We are all self conscious about something about our bodies and to prey on those insecurities to get people to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars is a sick practice to me.

 

My wife was talking to another cruiser before she was called back and the woman was telling about her friend who came to get anti-wrinkle shots and she ended up spending $4,000 on them!

 

Anyways we will not be returning to the spa again unless we get another free treatment from booking our cruise.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BigHouseFootball]

Something I forgot to mention-we got refunds on port fees! I was checking our spending account (which I do everyday) and we are got like $22 a day back from port fees. That was nice.

 

After the rock climbing it was getting to be about 4. We were seeing We Will Rock you tonight before dinner. Sigh. The end is near. Off to the cabin to get dressed one last time for dinner.

 

Speaking of dinner here is the menu

 

 

Yesterday when we returned to the cabin after our Hidden Gems of Bermuda tour there were two $5 casino vouchers waiting for us. This will come to a surprise to no one but we don’t gamble. Frugal Husband would rather keep that money in our savings account earning pennies in the dollar!

 

So the plan is to grab one last fruity frozen drink and if there is time spend this free $10 in the casino. We head back to the Solarium bar and I get a virgin Miami Vice and my wife gets a Blue Hawaiian.

 

 

 

They were both delicious.

 

Alright down to the casino for what I assume will be 5 minutes of gambling. Hey maybe I can do a dollar slot! We enter and we stay in the nonsmoking section (although I will say the smoking section was no where near as bad as it was on Allure 2 years ago). I tell my wife to pick a slot machine. “Ummm...oh I dont know...OOOHHH that one is repunzel! I want that one!!!” As she runs to the slot. Repunzel is her favorite Disney princess.

 

Ok I do the 27 steps necessary to transfer the credits from the voucher to the machine. And I set her up so all lines are in play on this penny slot. Then off she goes. First spin she wins 12 free spins. Second spin the light starts going off on top and her money keeps going up and doesn’t stop till she gets to $25...interesting. She keeps spinning her free spins adding 50 cents or so then her last free spin comes and there goes that light again on top and it keeps going and going and going. It doesn’t stop till $77! She is also out of free spins. Frugal husband couldn’t hit the “cash out” button fast enough! She won $77.25 on a penny slot with a free $5 voucher!! Talk about your ultimate backfires Royal Caribbean! Haha the house didn’t win this time!

 

So we still have this other $5 voucher and we figure we will stay with Repunzel since she was so good to us before. Yeah my $5 disappears quickly. I cash out with like 25 cents. But. What a great 15 minutes! Ironically enough the $77 was the exact amount of cash we had spent over our entire trip in tips and bottled water in NYC. So because of Repunzel we broke even on our cash spending for our trip. Thanks Blondie!

 

Rock of love was pretty good. Weird, weird, weird storyline. But the performers were good. No intermission though. That surprised me as Mama Mia had one on the Allure. We have maybe 30 minutes to kill before dinner and we are just going to walk around the Esplanade. We turn the corner around the pub and there is our dinner couple. No no no noooooo no no. I turn on my heel and swing my wife 180 degrees. We retreat (aka hide) in the dance hall where we play a game of pool. After that we head back to the casino and cash out our big winnings.

[BigHouseFootball]

Time for dinner. Same deal as the previous nights. But tonight whenever I want to talk to my wife I just make eye contact and talk to her speaking over the couple. They weren’t talking with us, they were talking at us. If we would of dressed up two mannequins with wigs and sat them in our chairs they probably would of talked to them.

 

Last thing about this couple and then I’ll be done. At one point the husband is talking and he says that on night one they were so bored over in the corner by themselves and they kept looking over at us figuring that a mistake had been made and that they were supposed to be seated with us all along!

 

The look I must of shot my wife when he said that because once we left the MDR she punched my arm telling me it took all her strength not to bust out laughing at that point. So the one good thing that came out of this whole situation was that if we ever had any small curiosity about if we would enjoy eating dinner with others while on a cruise that got 100% squashed. Never again. And if it does I will ask to be moved or I will politely tell the people that my wife and I just want to have a private dinner together.

 

I took some pictures of the sunset (mind you at this time the couple is still talking and I am clearly not paying attention to them as I have my phone out taking pictures!!!)

 

 

 

For the appetizers we both got the coconut shrimp. Sorry no picture (this was my first attempt to be a blogger I’ll do. Enter next time I share!). They were tasty but we got like 3 each.

 

For dinner I got the lamb shank. Holy moly. So good and tender. No knife needed. Just fell off the bone.

 

 

My wife got the turkey she said it was ok.

 

And since this was the last night we also got the carbonara to share. Oh baby was that tasty.

 

 

Dessert we both got the Strawberry Cheesecake. It was good. Pretty standard cheesecake. No picture-bad Frugal Husband bad!

 

As is our tradition we always get a picture with our servers on our last night.

 

 

We then said our goodbyes and left the MDR for the last time. Hopeful to never ever meet this couple again.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BigHouseFootball]

After dinner we went back to the cabin mostly to put our big cash winnings away but also to change. Shoot I forgot to mention that we packed everything up after rock climbing but before heading to dinner.

 

I am so proud of my wife. If we checked a bag on Amtrak it was going to be like $50 so she packed for a week in a carry on.

 

It is also a tradition that we spend the last night walking around the top deck taking a few more laps and feeling the sea breeze in our face. Another tradition that we have no control of us that it is usually incredibly windy. So much so that it was difficult to walk into it. Like you could lean waaaay forward and not fall over. It was hilarious. Then the other way you were making GREAT time with the wind pushing you along. If only I could run my marathons with that kind of wind pushing me along. I would set a land record.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we all know this picture and the pit in your stomach when you see it.

 

We actually spent a good amount of time sitting on our balcony when we got back. Trying to soak it all in. Also we would be getting an hour of sleep back tonight as we fell back an hour coming back into NYC. This was the first cruise the time ever changed on a cruise for us. All the previous cruises the time never changed from our embankment port.

 

Alright it is time to accept reality that our cruise is over and it is time to get some rest.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BigHouseFootball]

Day 5 Cruise Compass

 

 

 

And here a fun photo showing the wind

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Judie]

I’d like to add my voice to the chorus saying I loved your writing style and sense of humor. Bravo! Please cruise some more so we can be the recipients of your reviews. Some of us on CC become groupies of our favorite writers. You are definitely one! Thank you for taking the time to take photos and write, so GO YOU! [emoji122][emoji122][emoji122]

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[bangzoom6877]

Great update on your last day of the cruise. I’ve been enjoying your review so much. I’m sad that it’s coming to a close soon. You will just have to go on another cruise really soon and write another one! ;)

 

I’m sorry about what your wife went through at the spa. That absolutely should not have happened. No one should ever put a client down like that.

 

One of the classes I teach is a cosmetology class. (I’m a makeup artist and hair stylist in addition to being a teacher). I spend a lot of time teaching the students about client communication and etiquette. I teach them about the pressures they might experience by management to upsell if they work in a salon, or if they decide to go the route of esthetician and work in a spa performing facials and other services. This is a reality in the business.

 

However, there is a way to try and sell products without being pushy, and there are plenty of estheticians, stylists, etc. that just don’t try to sell products and truly believe their client should have a relaxing experience without being pressured. Those are the good ones that get repeat business and regular clients for years and years, provided of course that they also have the skills to match their personality.

 

Unfortunately a lot of times on a cruise ship or resort, the workers at the spa and salon see it simply as an opportunity to take advantage of tourists that are maybe a little bit more quick to spend money since they’re relaxed and away on vacation. Plus they know that they don’t have to make an effort to please someone so that they become a repeat client. But the spa is supposed to make you relax and feel great, not feel self conscious or feel like you’re being guilted into spending more money.

 

The pasta carbonara looks fantastic by the way! And the solarium looks like heaven! Can’t wait to spend time there in April.

[bangzoom6877]

Oh and yes, that wind can be fierce! About 5 years ago on a cruise, my kids wanted to play mini golf on the first evening after dinner. So we headed up to the deck to play. I thought I was going to lose my shoe (backless sandals) every time I lifted my foot off the floor, it was so windy! We actually played though. We laughed the whole time, and we still talk about it periodically. My kids called it “Extreme Mini Golf”!