Just off the Anthem Of The Seas

[Smileonboard]

Hi fellow Cruisers :

I have been lurking around for awhile and have gotten some great information and figure I would give a review of our cruise - I don’t take a tremendous amount of pictures but will post some - 

Here is some background on us :

It was my husbands 48 th bday the day of embarkation- 

I also am 48 - we had our 10 year old son with us and our 18 yr old daughter did not come. 

Our cruise history -

1996 - Majesty of the seas 

1997- celebrity ( century)

2007 Freedom of the seas 

2016- Disney Fantasy

2017 - Disney Wonder

2018 Norwegian Escape and Getaway 

We had some traumatic events happen in 2013-2016 - our daughter was diagnosed with Autism at 2 and she also has a Seizure disorder - she became very aggressive and we had to make an extremely difficult decision to bring her to a psychiatric hospital in 2014 - during that time I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer and had to have a double mastectomy and several other surgeries as well as a year of Chemotherapy. I am grateful I am now a 3 year survivor and my daughter has been in a group home and is doing well. 

Because of this tumultuous time we tend to splurge a bit when we cruise - we stayed in the Haven on the Norwegian cruises and had a suite on the Anthem. Much comparison of Norwegian and Royal Caribbean came into the picture quite often during this cruise. I will try and give as much detail as I can but please any questions I will be happy to try and answer - 

here is my son ready for the trip .......

 

[Smileonboard]

We live very close to the port cape liberty so we took a car service - left around 9:45 and got there by 10:15. I must say it was a bit confusing at the port - there were a bunch of people standing around so we thought the doors were closed - I went and asked a worker and they said go right in and then a rush of people followed us. We were checked in and on the ship by 11:07 - also a bit confusing I saw a few people go through the suite door but no announcement was made so I went over and they let us in and again a rush of people followed us - can you tell I was very excited to start my cruise ! 

Here is the ship as we were pulling in to port and the walk into the ship - it is amazing how great it feels to walk through and take that first step in the ship - 

[Smileonboard]

The cruise was a 5 night to Bermuda - 

First thing we did was find a nice place to sit and have a margarita- so we sat by the pool and had a drink until lunch time - my son loved the big screen playing videos at the pool - 

We had lunch at CK - it was ok I wasn’t overly impressed but this is one of the comparisons  issue - the Haven restaurant was definitely a step up from CK . However , the staff at CK were great. I had stuffed dates , we shared a flatbread and I had the chicken  The dates were good ,the flatbread was very thin hard to hold without it breaking apart and the chicken was ok- 

Since it was my husbands bday I bought the birthday decoration package from Royal- yes a bit pricey but my son was so excited about it - 

here we are with some of the decorations. 

I will continue tomorrow - tons of laundry to do now - the joy of coming home from vacation 🙄

 

[Smileonboard]

The first margarita of the trip - 

[Loralie]

I will be on Anthem for the first time in November.  Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

 

Loralie

[MadamG2U]

We will be on the Anthem in September will be following your review

[Smileonboard]

We had suite 8636 midship - we have stayed forward and Aft so we definitely did less walking on this ship not sure that’s a good thing with all the extra dessert I had - 😋

The cabin was great had lots of storage and really comfortable for the three of us - our cabin steward - Rico- was like a secret ninja sneaking in our room at the perfect time and cleaning it so we never had a timing issue. On Norwegian we seemed to always go to the cabin when it was being cleaned and waited around. We walked up to deck 15 ( a recurring theme as elevators were packed most of time ) the cruise was at full capacity and there were 1150 kids on board 😲

We went to a good spot to check out the ship going under the bridge and then we registered our son at the kids club. I have to compare at this point - the kids club was terrible the counselors were not the friendliest and the room was tiny and claustrophobic . The whole cruise they did the same games but luckily my son met some kids he liked and went to the club 4 nights and stayed for Late night so he can play GAGA ball - he was very excited to win medals and apparently he was the kid to beat ! 

 

[billslowsky]

10 hours ago, Loralie said:

I will be on Anthem for the first time in November.  Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

 

Loralie

Make sure you pre-register for activities like Ifly and NorthStar.  There aren't going to be many spots once you board, you may have to split up to do them.  Expect 15 minutes or more wait for bumper cars.  Just the way it is.

[Smileonboard]

3 hours ago, billslowsky said:

Make sure you pre-register for activities like Ifly and NorthStar.  There aren't going to be many spots once you board, you may have to split up to do them.  Expect 15 minutes or more wait for bumper cars.  Just the way it is.

Yes we actually had ifly and north star prebooked but cancelled them and they were happy we cancelled because they were overbooked - you just can’t do everything in 5 days. We did do the bumper cars and my son was stuck for most of the time he had so that wasn’t great. Roller skating was first come first serve and filled up in minutes. 

[Smileonboard]

We went to wonderland the first night - it was empty. I am not the most adventurous eater but I did enjoy the experience and tasted everything - I was shocked I was actually full my the end of the meal- 

 

[Smileonboard]

After dinner we went to the pub to listen to music and have a drink. My son went to the kids club. I went to the ca in to read before bed - I always have a goal to finish a book before the cruise is over ( I missed my goal by 50 pages 😩) 

 

Sea day - 

the weather was rainy but we are ok with that. We enjoy the activities on the ship. We first had breakfast at coastal kitchen- unfortunately my scrambled eggs were dry and cold and the bacon too crispy I like myself some well done bacon but this was too much - but hey I didn’t have to cook them so it’s ok with me ! 

We then booked to the bumper cars - it was about a 20 minute wait - the we went to the arcade ( very small arcade ) again in comparison to Norwegian the arcade was 1/2 the size and the selection wasn’t great. We then went to play fuzz ball - we wanted to play some ping pong but never got a table the whole cruise - again there were ALOT of kids on this cruise - 

We took a walk to the concierge club had cappuccino and read a bit - the three times we went there there was two or three people there. We never went during open bar time so not sure about that. 

We played bingo and did not win. The prizes were $140 400, 600 ( can’t remember the exact amount but something in that range ) 

We decided to hit the pizza place for lunch. I heard some people like it and some hate it we thought it was pretty good - my son probably ate a total of 20 slices during the cruise so he enjoyed it- 

we did a little shopping and picked Up a few sparkling waters and headed to our balcony to read - 

after a little relaxing I went to the gym and then got a massage. If was a good massage and I was happy that therapist was too pushy about products but I think I am a pro in letting them know I am not interested- 

here are some random pictures 

 

[Loralie]

16 hours ago, billslowsky said:

Make sure you pre-register for activities like Ifly and NorthStar.  There aren't going to be many spots once you board, you may have to split up to do them.  Expect 15 minutes or more wait for bumper cars.  Just the way it is.

 

Thanks,  I already booked iFly and North Star.  😀

[Smileonboard]

After the massage we did some trivia Beetle and queen music - fun and the crowd was great.  we went to chops - 

the service was great and food was pretty good - not the best steak but overall a good experience. After dinner did some bar hopping and reading. Early day tomorrow in Bermuda so lights out by 11- 

[Smileonboard]

Bermuda - 

Had breakfast in the dining room - actually only time we went to the dining  room. It was good we had French toast , eggs Benedict and pancakes and shared. 

We had a day pass at Elbow beach. The beach was beautiful - the water crystal clear and warm. We ate lunch at Mickeys on the water - again beautiful but I have to say  VERY expensive but we kinda knew that going in - we got off the ship at 9:30 - caught a cab and was settled on the beach by 10:30- stayed until 3:00

we decided to go shopping at Hamilton and have dinner at Marcus Samuelsson’s restaurant in the Princess hotel so we made a stop back at the ship to shower and change. 

The hotel is walking distance from the shops but it was hot and we were sweaty. The google is beautiful - it is actually on the marina and they have a beach club 20 minutes away- the restaurant overlooks the water and has urban art so the atmosphere is great. The drinks and food was fabulous as well as the service- wouldn’t mind taking a land trip there - we headed back so my son could make the Gaga ball competition- 

we went and changed into our bathing suits and went to the adult only hot tubs to relax - 

it was an incredible day! 

 

[Smileonboard]

Second day in Bermuda - 

We decided to stay around port today- 

we went to the museum - went mini golfing and did some shopping- I bought myself a glass necklace - we headed back at 12 to a very quiet ship. We went to the pub for lunch and enjoyed the pretzels, poutine and burgers - we spent a lot of time here and the staff was great and music by Cat was fun at night - I had the drink of the day Woo Woo - 

We then went to the theater to see LEGO movie 2 in 3D - we all laughed out loud and enjoyed some popcorn- 

Headed back to the cabin and relaxed on the balcony - 

 

 

[Smileonboard]

Day 5 - Sea day

last day I always wake up the last day ready to do a lot and get as much vacationing as I can but so bittersweet- 

went to sorrentino’s for a parfait- my stomach was feeling a bit bloated from cruise eating 😬 

I then went to the spa to get a facial. Of course upsell was done before my treatment but I shut that down quickly - it was a good treatment- 

i then met my hubby and son at bingo - the same woman won the first two games and yes there were some nasty looks at her - I congratulated her - she was going home happy - 

the last game the winner received $ 658- 

we went to the cafe 270 for sandwiches but my son would not eat the ham it did look fatty and thick so we went to the windjammer for the first time. I had a big salad with some Ben stew and chicken gyro- it was all really good - and a yummy coconut cookie - throughout the cruise I had a few cookies - they are delicious when they are fresh but so many times they were stale - 

we went to the day showing of we will rock you - we brought our son as he loves music - he really enjoyed it. It did have some adult content but we felt it was fine for him as he is pretty mature and we discuss many of these subjects with him- I enjoyed the show I thought the singers had lots of talent. 

After the show I got some coffee at Starbucks and 2 macaroons- the cookies and cream and the raspberry are delicious- they are extra but very worth it - I think they were 1.75 each - brought my snack to my balcony to read - 

My son wanted a Shirley temple so we got one at the bionic bar -

 

[Smileonboard]

For the first time we went for a bridge tour which was really impressive - we all enjoyed this and the first officer was so informative and interesting to listen to- 

we went to dinner at Coastal Kitchen - I had a Caesar salad - French onion soup - cauliflower rice and chocolate cake - I enjoyed the meal and the staff is really wonderful there - we have tips every time we went to CK but they really make the experience great.

After dinner we went to pack - worse thing about a cruise 😢-

after packing I needed a drink so I went Boleros and got a coconut mojito- it was delicious- took the drink to the pub to listen to Cat for the last time - my son went to the kids club to say goodbye to his cruise friends - lights out 11:30- 

 

[Croozin Soozin]

Thanks for your review!  Can’t wait to get back on the Anthem!

[Networker]

Love the pic of your son hugging you.  So sweet 

[billslowsky]

On 8/31/2019 at 1:06 AM, Loralie said:

 

Thanks,  I already booked iFly and North Star.  😀

Make sure you don't no-show, they advertise a charge for people who do that without cancelling.  

 

Cancel = no charge.  No-show (or maybe last minute) = charge.

[MadamG2U]

Thanks for the review just 20 days to go!

[Smileonboard]

8 hours ago, Networker said:

Love the pic of your son hugging you.  So sweet 

Thanks - it was on of my favorites- 

[Smileonboard]

8 hours ago, MadamG2U said:

Thanks for the review just 20 days to go!

I’m jealous ! 😉Have a great cruise! 

[Smileonboard]

8 hours ago, Croozin Soozin said:

Thanks for your review!  Can’t wait to get back on the Anthem!

Is it happening soon? I am trying to decide what cruise to take next - 

[Croozin Soozin]

1 minute ago, Smileonboard said:

Is it happening soon? I am trying to decide what cruise to take next - 

Happening in 11 days!  Doing the 9 night to Canada/NE, followed by 5 night to Bermuda, followed by another 9 night to Canada/NE.   Still trying to figure out how to pack!  LOL