Just got back from the 12 night on the Anthem

[Kbrauchle]

We arrived to port without any traffic and they were letting us on the ship by 11:15.

We had booked a table for 4 at Jamie's for lunch using OBC as a way to avoid the WJ on the first day. I haven't cruised in over 10 years and this was my boyfriends first cruising experience.

There was only one other table being served in Jamie's. It was a relaxing, fun way to start our cruise. The service was outstanding and the food was plentiful and delicious. I'd definitely do this again our next cruise. 

 

 

Entertainment:

We really enjoyed Spectra's and Vocal Extreme. While WWRY wasn't exactly my cup of tea, the cast did an amazing job and you can tell a lot of time went into the production. The comics on the ship were great. Kivi Rogers put on two shows and was a riot! 

The guitarist in the pub every night was a lot of fun too. Lots of singalongs that the crowd enjoyed.

 

DSB and the Royal Swedes played on the ship. We tried going into Music Hall to enjoy the shows but unless you showed up early, you either couldn't find a good seat or a seat at all, unfortunately. After this happened twice, we stopped trying to go and decided to enjoy other parts of the ship instead. 

 

Cruise compact activities:

We didn't do many of the activities listed but did participate in trivia often. Some crowds larger than others. We usually got there 10 minutes early. Sometimes we found a seat other times we had to stand, but we still enjoyed it. The last two days of the cruise, the staff had to remind players not to look up answers on their phones. This was seem often those two days, sadly.

 

Food:

We ate in the MDR every evening and often for breakfast and lunch. Every meal was delicious and service was incredible. Our waitstaff for dinner, Elizabeth and Deepak, were amazing. They really went above and beyond to serve us every night. We got spoiled with them for sure! Great meals for a vegetarian. My boyfriend, a meat eater, was always pleased with everything he was served. 

 

Solarium for breakfast was great. Smaller crowd. Great selection, good food.

 

We didn't go into the WJ often. It was busy at times but we tried to plan our visits there when it wouldn't be too terribly busy. The food was good and the staff there was helpful and attentive.

 

Service/Crew:

Our room steward and all staff we came into contact with were wonderful, helpful and kind. You can tell they all work very hard at making sure everyone is happy.

 

Solarium:

Lovely space. We only took advantage of this late into the evening. I knew before going on this cruise that the Solarium was a pretty popular spot. I also read plenty about "chair hogs". But the nice thing about chair hogs is that they usually disappear around 4pm. There were some evenings that we had the Solarium mostly to ourselves. We usually went before dinner around 6 or even afterwards at 10 pm and had the hot tubs to ourselves on more than one occassion. It was relaxing, peaceful, and quiet. 

 

It was really only chilly on the first and last sea day. While I was worried about finding a place to layout in the sun or shade, this wasn't the case. Sure, there are popular spots but we just avoided those. Lots of empty chairs on the top deck. You might not be super close to the pool, but we found it more relaxing that way. We often sat near the back of the ship and we loved it. Not crowded and perfect spot to read or just enjoy the quiet. 

 

While we were still able to find loungers away from the crowd and used the solarium during off-peak times for a more relaxing experience, I did still find it unfortunate that there were so many people hogging chairs. Blue towels in chairs that remained empty a good chunk of the day. Not only were the chairs not being used but many of those chairs had pillows from the couches on them. Not sure why people feel the need to do this. But as I mentioned, you won't have a problem finding a chair if you go on the top deck and go toward the back or front of the ship. And the solarium is great after 4pm.

 

Ports: 

Puerto Rico

 

We did this on our own. We walked along the city of OSJ. We walked the coast along the fort. Beautiful views. I brought cat treats and fed the cat colony there. There is an organization, save a gato, that works with the cats and cares for them. We had a blast feeding them and gave treats to a few other people that wanted to join in on the fun.

 

St. Maarten:

We booked through Bernard's Tours. We booked Tour two. Tour was only $45pp.

We drove around the entire island and stopped at Grandcase beach for 90 minutes or so. Beautiful beach. We also had a 45 minute stop at Maho Beach which was a lot of fun. We also had some time in Marigot Bay for shopping. We tried some pastries!

 

Antigua

 

We booked with Antigua Paddles. They were amazing and so much fun. We kayaked, snorkeled, spent time on Bird Island, and the hosts' home in their beautiful garden. 

 

St. Lucia

 

We booked a day pass at Bay Garden Resort and had a blast. $90 pp. It included chair, umbrella, massage, 4 drinks each, and lunch. They made sure we were happy and all worked very hard to ensure that we had a great time. Lovely scenery.

 

Barbados

 

We walked to the beach on our own. 

The beach was a little further than I was expecting but it was still an awesome day. Beautiful beach. Not too busy. 

 

 

St. Kitts

 

We booked with Thenford Grey. I think we would have enjoyed it more if we took another tour of theirs or a different company altogether. We booked the rainforest option and it just wasn't what we were expecting. 

 

We had a really amazing, relaxing vacation and absolutely loved the ship.

Yes, it can be crowded at times, but there are ways to avoid that and we did. Of you're not concerned about sitting right by the pool or getting a spot on the solarium during the day, you'll be fine as well. There are other, more relaxing places to relax. 

 

Every crew member we encountered was excellent. Most passengers were kind as well. We only had a couple negative experiences (at the resort an older passenger came up to where my boyfriend and I had a sitting and yelled at me, claiming I was using his towel. I didn't respond and let him realize on his own that he was near the wrong chairs and his belongings were further down the beach. He left without an apology. 

 

The only other incident was at the DSB concert when my boyfriend and I were walking down the stairs of the Music Hall. Instead of saying excuse me because she couldn't see, an older woman screamed at us that she couldn't see). 

 

But as I mentioned, most people are very kind. Others just forgot their manners at home. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kbrauchle]

Wanted to add: We have a soft bed at home and had absolutely no trouble finding comfort in our bed. We fell asleep fine every night. We stayed in an interior. 

[sprint180]

Thanks thinking about her next January

 

[Kbrauchle]

Just now, sprint180 said:

Thanks thinking about her next January

 

You won't regret it. We had a great time.

[sandebeach]

Thanks for your review!

[Woodmnky]

Thank you for the review

[carnival03]

Thanks for your review. What time did you arrive to port on embarkation day? Trying to judge when we should show up to avoid traffic.

[LBumb]

Good job

[Kbrauchle]

1 hour ago, carnival03 said:

Thanks for your review. What time did you arrive to port on embarkation day? Trying to judge when we should show up to avoid traffic.

I'd say around 10? We parked, got shuttled over and didn't have any traffic at all. They were letting us on the ship by 11, I think? We were on before 11:30. Quick and easy. 🙂

[carnival03]

23 minutes ago, Kbrauchle said:

I'd say around 10? We parked, got shuttled over and didn't have any traffic at all. They were letting us on the ship by 11, I think? We were on before 11:30. Quick and easy. 🙂

 

Good to hear. 🙂 Thanks again! 

[tomika75]

We were on Anthem (8 Night)a little over a year ago, and my husband won't stop talking about her to every passenger on every cruise we have sailed since. Glad to know that you had a great time as well.

[siriuscruiser]

Do you have the compasses? If not what days where the Love and Marriage and Bellyflop? Where there any theme nights?

[Kbrauchle]

21 hours ago, tomika75 said:

We were on Anthem (8 Night)a little over a year ago, and my husband won't stop talking about her to every passenger on every cruise we have sailed since. Glad to know that you had a great time as well.

Miss her already! Can't wait to go back.

[Kbrauchle]

12 hours ago, siriuscruiser said:

Do you have the compasses? If not what days where the Love and Marriage and Bellyflop? Where there any theme nights?

I don't and I can't remember. Sorry.

But there was a 70's night.

[franncos]

Where the seas rough?

[Kbrauchle]

1 hour ago, franncos said:

Where the seas rough?

The captain only mentioned rough seas one day, I think. And I believe it was the second full sea day. It didn't affect everyone. I'm a wimp and took dramamine every day. My boyfriend took it the first few days just incase. My dad never took it at all and my mom only once, the day the captain mentioned the higher seas. It was a pretty smooth ride though. 

[franncos]

Thanks for your response.