Anthem OTS, Shorter Review, March 30, 2019 Sailing

[flannbarr]

Just off the March 30, 2019 Anthem OTS sailing. I thought I would share my thoughts after our first cruise on a Quantum class ship compared to Oasis class.

 

Background-I am 55, wife is 60, son is 17 and his friend is 16 (first cruise). We are Emerald status. We cruise about once every 1-2 years, mostly on Royal Caribbean. Most recently, we have sailed on the Harmony (Star Class, 2 bedroom AquaTheatre suite), Allure x2, Oasis and Liberty. 

 

Pre-Cruise-We flew from Detroit to LaGuardia the night on 3/29/19 and stayed at the Aloft Hotel on the grounds of Laguardia. Flights were at least $100 cheaper per person which is why I picked LaGuardia.

 

Staterooms-We had 2 adjoining, balcony cabins on deck 8--cabins 8184 and 8186. We were very happy with the location.

 

3/30/19, Sailway Day-We used a reputable limo company to take us to Cape Liberty Cruise Port. It cost about $110 including tolls and tip. We arrived about 10:45am. Check in was very quick and easy. We were on the ship just after 11am. Temperatures were in the low 60's. We had lunch in 270, walked around a bit, and headed to our cabins at 1pm.

 

3/31/19-We sailed down the eastern seaboard. Weather conditions were fine. Not warm enough for shorts for most people.

 

4/1/19-Port Canaveral-It seemed like a lot of people stayed on the ship, including us.

 

4/2/19-Cococay-One of our 2 favorite days. We docked using the new pier. It was a decent walk to the beach and massive pool but not unreasonable. The boys did the teen adventure pack excursion which included snorkeling and the Aqua Park. They loved it. We spent much of the day in the MASSIVE freshwater pool. Wow that was really nice. We wish we could spend several days on Cococay. We saw the construction going on which was not loud. When the 15 water slides, wave pool, etc. are complete, Cococay will be an awesome destination. In our minds, it already is awesome with the pool. The lunch buffet are is 10x better than the one on Labadee. The food was good with many choices and not long lines like we always see on Labadee. Cococay is a must do stop on our next RCCL cruise.

 

More to come....

 

[carnival03]

Thank you for sharing this, glad you enjoyed the trip! 

[LuCruise]

Great feedback.  We have this booked for next March.  What did you do on sea days  when it was cooler?  How did you find the ship compared with Oasis class?

[jenafish]

We’re going on the Anthem 4/20 but to Bermuda. Following to read about the ship!

[Susan in Maine]

So are we!

 

[flannbarr]

4/3/19-Nassau-We originally weren't going to get off the ship. A couple of weeks before the sailing, we found that our niece and her nephew and baby were going to be in Nassau at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar the same time we were in Nassau. We have a lot of Hyatt points so I booked a room for the day using 20,000 Hyatt points. We took a $30 taxi to the resort. We arrived at 9am and left at 4pm. We had a room assigned to us at 9am although we never actually went into the room until 2pm just so we could check it out. That lasted all of a minute and back to the pools we went. We booked the Baha Mar many times over the last 2 years only to cancel it for a cruise every time. We are glad we spent the day there. It is beautiful with many pools and beautiful grounds.

 

Thursday, 4/4/19 and Friday, 4/5/19-We were at sea sailing up the eastern seaboard. The weather was very good on Thursday and smooth sailing. Friday there rain and cooler weather so we did inside activities. 

 

Saturday, 4/6/19-We arrived in port around 6am. We were scheduled to disembark at 7:40am. We didn't rush since our flight wasn't until Sunday AM. We had breakfast in Two70 and then disembarked around 8:30am. This was very smooth and quick.

 

Post-Cruise-We took a taxi to the Newark Marriott hotel. We dropped our bags and got an Uber to Manhatten. We went to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, top of One World Trade Center, Hamiton's grave, etc. After dinner with friends hat we made on our Italy trip last summer, we took an Uber back to the Newark Marriott just in time to watch my MSU Spartans lose to Texas Tech in the Final Four.

 

Much more to come...

[flannbarr]

So here are my impressions of the Anthem of the Seas.

 

Food

The Windjammer seemed to be laid out much better on Anthem than Oasis class of ships. There appeared to be more seating. I don't recall the washing sinks on Harmony last year like I saw on Anthem before entering the Windjammer. Washy washy was good. It would be better if the water was at least warm compared to cold that I experienced. We ate a few breakfasts and 1 dinner here. They were better than I have previously experienced.

 

We liked the food at the Two70 Cafe. We had several breakfasts here and a few lunches. Never much of a line and much quicker to get through than Windjammer.

 

We had 1 breakfast in the Solarium Cafe and the eggs were horrible.

 

Sorrento's-We always like the pizza and other offerings here. The flow of people was much better and faster than on the Harmony.

 

Dining Room-We had 3 dinners with My Time Dining. The meals were very good and hot. The appetizers and desserts had very little change the entire cruise. I don't recall that from previous cruises.

 

Specialty Restaurants-We ate dinner at Wonderland, Jamie's and Chop's. We also ate at Wonderland on Harmony and the food was great on both ships. The ambiance on the Harmony is much better and it's also bigger on Harmony. Definitely our favorite specialty restaurant on Royal Caribbean.

Jamie's was excellent. The meat plank appetizer was excellent. Entrees and dessert were also very good.

The food at Chop's was good but we have great steakhouses in Michigan so not that impressed. Our favs in order were Wonderland #1, Jamie's #2, and Chop's #3.

 

 

[flannbarr]

On 4/6/2019 at 11:47 AM, LuCruise said:

Great feedback.  We have this booked for next March.  What did you do on sea days  when it was cooler?  How did you find the ship compared with Oasis class?

When it was cooler, we hung out in the Solarium and other rooms on the ship read books and played backgammon. 

 

Overall, we like Oasis class of ships better. I will explain in a while.

[KmomChicago]

Thanks for the info!

[Paulette3028]

4 hours ago, flannbarr said:

When it was cooler, we hung out in the Solarium and other rooms on the ship read books and played backgammon. 

 

Overall, we like Oasis class of ships better. I will explain in a while.

I have enjoyed the way you are doing your review.  I look forward to reading why you like Oasis class better.....we have sailed Oasis class on 4 occasions (Allure 2x, Harmony and Symphony) and our next cruise is on Anthem to New England upcoming in August.  

[Paulette3028]

On 4/7/2019 at 5:20 PM, flannbarr said:

When it was cooler, we hung out in the Solarium and other rooms on the ship read books and played backgammon. 

 

Overall, we like Oasis class of ships better. I will explain in a while.

What do you like about Oasis better than Anthem.....we sail on Anthem for the first time in August and very curious....we have sailed on the Oasis class ships 4 times.....looking forward to hearing more from you!

Edited April 9, 2019 by Paulette3028

[ShillyShally]

On 4/7/2019 at 10:04 PM, Paulette3028 said:

I have enjoyed the way you are doing your review.  I look forward to reading why you like Oasis class better.....we have sailed Oasis class on 4 occasions (Allure 2x, Harmony and Symphony) and our next cruise is on Anthem to New England upcoming in August.  

Agree, I've only done Oasis and Allure but am intrigued by the Quantum class and given the Anthem is currently within driving distance I'm tempted!

[ShillyShally]

Loving your review so far, thanks for the details, these definitely help since I've done the Oasis class but not this one and have wondered and of course heard varying reviews!

[SuiteLady]

On ‎4‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 5:17 PM, flannbarr said:

I don't recall the washing sinks on Harmony last year like I saw on Anthem before entering the Windjammer. Washy washy was good

Yep, they are there....matter of fact, they had it set up that you had to go through the washing sinks in order to get into the WJ.....Following your review, as I have sailed Oasis class (Harmony), and now going on the Anthem in May!