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Anthem main dining rooms- differences?

big al

By big al,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Iamcruzin

Iamcruzin

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 9/13/2019 at 1:44 PM, K8T said:

I wish I’d looked at the other dining rooms, last week. We were on My Time dining and in Silk.  

 

We we found it to be dark, cramped and nothing special.  The furnishings were cheap and tables so close we were almost sharing!  

 

A leisurely dinner with family is one of our highlights on a cruise, but the ambiance To sit back, chat and enjoy just wasn’t there.  We also, despite having a time to eat, had to stand in a queue for sometimes half an hour beforehand, it was bedlam. 

 

 

 

 

We had My Time as well and had a reservation every night. We were shuffled between American Icon and Silk all week except for the second formal night where we were seated in Chic. It was late in the evening as We Will Rock You ended at 8:30 so traditional was in the middle of that annoying waitstaff napkin twirling parade by the time we were seated. I didn't find the service any better that night as a matter of fact it was the worse service all week. I would have been pretty upset had we dressed formal. All the venues are crowed and loud and as far as a leisurely dinner, the only place to have that experience is in a specialty restaurant or in Windjammer where you can eat at you own pace. The food was good but the service all week was rushed and non engaging. I have had better experiences at Applebee's.

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K8T

K8T

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Posted
15 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

We had My Time as well and had a reservation every night. We were shuffled between American Icon and Silk all week except for the second formal night where we were seated in Chic. It was late in the evening as We Will Rock You ended at 8:30 so traditional was in the middle of that annoying waitstaff napkin twirling parade by the time we were seated. I didn't find the service any better that night as a matter of fact it was the worse service all week. I would have been pretty upset had we dressed formal. All the venues are crowed and loud and as far as a leisurely dinner, the only place to have that experience is in a specialty restaurant or in Windjammer where you can eat at you own pace. The food was good but the service all week was rushed and non engaging. I have had better experiences at Applebee's.

 

 

I am so glad it wasn't just us!   We have cruised a lot and were quite taken aback by the whole experience to be honest and I agree with Applebee's analogy, we don't have them in the UK, but spent five nights in NYC before the cruise and ate there one night near Times Square, excellent service and ambiance!!  My daughter only wanted to eat there as there is a line about it in School of Rock, but we weren't disappointed.  I'm presuming by your comment, it is a cheap chain?

 

We ate at Chops one night, the service was shocking, the food nothing special, my sea bass was burnt and dry, so I sent it back, the second was fine and  in Wonderland,  we had to wait ages for drinks several times - only wine, but they seemed to have to go to a different bar each time - surely better to bring the bottle and we had to ask for water to be refilled more than once.  I'm afraid service was so bad in Wonderland, we didn't tip, despite me feeling embarrassed, my OH refused and he is normally really easy going about such things!  It was our last night, so didn't bother following it up.

 

We actually ate at Windjammer, six of our nine nights, at least it was calmer, but not the dining experience I expected on a cruise ship.  I don't expect haute cuisine, it is mass catering after all, but I expect good service, calm and pleasant surroundings in which to relax and take time to eat.

 

 

 

 

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Iamcruzin

Iamcruzin

Posted
Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, K8T said:

 

 

I am so glad it wasn't just us!   We have cruised a lot and were quite taken aback by the whole experience to be honest and I agree with Applebee's analogy, we don't have them in the UK, but spent five nights in NYC before the cruise and ate there one night near Times Square, excellent service and ambiance!!  My daughter only wanted to eat there as there is a line about it in School of Rock, but we weren't disappointed.  I'm presuming by your comment, it is a cheap chain?

 

We ate at Chops one night, the service was shocking, the food nothing special, my sea bass was burnt and dry, so I sent it back, the second was fine and  in Wonderland,  we had to wait ages for drinks several times - only wine, but they seemed to have to go to a different bar each time - surely better to bring the bottle and we had to ask for water to be refilled more than once.  I'm afraid service was so bad in Wonderland, we didn't tip, despite me feeling embarrassed, my OH refused and he is normally really easy going about such things!  It was our last night, so didn't bother following it up.

 

We actually ate at Windjammer, six of our nine nights, at least it was calmer, but not the dining experience I expected on a cruise ship.  I don't expect haute cuisine, it is mass catering after all, but I expect good service, calm and pleasant surroundings in which to relax and take time to eat.

 

 

 

 

With the exception of the rubber lobster and the Turkey dinner ( my fault for ordering it I don't know what I was thinking) I found the food to be very good. It wasn't over salted like I have experienced on other lines and the cuts of meat were tender. Service however was non existent. Apparently coffee is no longer served with dessert or at least it never came when we ordered it. Better save your beverage for the meal because a refill of anything was impossible to come by. One night I was so fed up that I walked over to the wine bar in the middle of dinner to get 2 glasses of wine. The other members of our party did the same. I guess next time I will be forced to bring a cup of coffee in with me and save it to have with dessert.

Edited by Iamcruzin
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Clarea

Clarea

Posted
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10 minutes ago, jneitzel1 said:

Does the Anthem have a "Park Cafe"? Looking for soup,salad,sandwich options for lunch. Also the "Kummelweck". Need to have that.

4 days away! 

 

I believe that Anthem has Park Cafe type items at Cafe 270.

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Paulette3028

Paulette3028

Posted
Posted
On 9/13/2019 at 2:03 PM, nelblu said:

On our Aug. 29th Anthem sail, the Grande was used to accommodate MTD Paxs when empty tables became available.  Menus are the same in all of the 4 restaurants.

 

Ps.  No longer any Formal Nights, I believe those nights are called something like "Wear Your Best" or something like it.  Some Paxs wore non traditional garb and I'm afraid eventually it may turn into some freak show.

We were on the same sailing as you were to NE....Formal nights have been replaced as you say and you see everything from casual to formal. But I thought 'less formal wear on this cruise' was clearly visible.   I have seen plenty of 'freak shows' on the old traditional Formal nights....so for me, this was quite welcome.

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