Anthem of the Seas Review - Sweet but Short

[iscruisingdunzo]

The cruise to nowhere was indeed just that. Royal canceled the original itinerary booked and attempted to make a stop at Cococay, but could not do so because of weather. Instead we went to the originally scheduled stop of Nassau, but of course we were 5 hours late, so zero excursions were available and they would not honor the original excursions booked. 

 

Pros

1) The ship - The layout was cool and great for kids/families. The covered indoor sports court was utilized all week from Pickleball, to bumper cars and laser tag. Our family had a great time with the sporting activities on the ship.  

2) MDR - Service was excellent. The food was excellent. The new menu was good. I think the worst night of them all was the American night. Was happy to tip my waiter and assistant at the end of the week with cash!

3) Room staff - Did a great job as always, but they clearly are cleaning far more rooms than they used to. The once per day service makes more sense to me now because they clearly have far fewer people servicing rooms. Another cost cutting change. 

 

Cons

1) The ship. While many features were great, there was an over abundance of stores, all of which were empty every single time I walked by them. I hope Royal has learned that all the stores are just a waste of space that could be utilized for far more..but we shall see with the upcoming ships. 

2) Formal Entertainment - The shows were just blah...so much in fact that there were a tone of later aged women just having everyday conversations throughout which made them even more unbearable for anyone. 

3) Windjammer - You would think the cruise I was on was this ships first Rodeo. The Windjammer was insanely busy throughout because the ship made NO other options available at Breakfast. Why would they do this?? They put tables and chairs in walkways which made it even more congested, so not only could we not find tables or seats, but it was hard to search for them as well. Come on Royal! Make some other options available other than just the MDR so that the thousands on this ship are not all searching to have a meal in one place! What happened to Johnny Rocket's having breakfast?? Nothing in the windjammer was worth noting food wise other than the Asian option. 

 - Also, I need to make sure I note that the ONE THING people actually happily waited for was the Asian station WHEN it was offered. This line was always 15+ long. Why can't they make more Asian stations??? They have more omelette stations! In addition, why would you only offer meat on some of the days??? This was odd and really made Royal look petty. 

4) Bars - Long waits were the norm. I never saw more than two bartenders at a bar more than twice. Cost/staff cutting was obvious. Seems to me they are trying to make it harder for people to get drinks. Be prepared to wait on Anthem. 

5) The pool staff. These people took all the fun out of going to the pool. The pool is supposed to be a fun place during vacation. But not on Royal ships any longer!

 

Overall, the entire experience just felt...cheap. There were so many instances that I thought why would Royal do this, can't be saving them that much money...but then I thought of their billions they sleep in at night, and it all made more sense. Their penny pinching made for a far less enjoyable experience. Luckily we only have one more booked. If the experience is not vastly different on Harmony, then we will no longer be cruising with Royal or probably any other cruise company moving forward. The last all-inclusive we stayed at seemed to offer far more value and was a better experience without any formal entertainment. 

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

We have cruised on  Anthem several times and always plenty of seating in the Wj towards the back but we hardly go there for dinner.   Plus we love the outdoor eating in the back when weather permits.

 

I'm an early riser and love the WJ breakfast and omelette station or eggs Benedict.   Wj is a lot less crowded if you get there between 7 and 8 am.

 

I have always found it odd that JRs has not served breakfast on this ship.  Not sure if it is the same on all Quantum class ships.

 

Cafe 270 usually served breakfast foods.  I like going there for lunch.

 

How did pool staff ruin things for you?

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Sunshine3601

[Another_Critic]

Anthem is the only Quantum class ship with Johnny Rockets (and that may be replaced when Anthem moves to Asia).  Quantum had JR, but was replaced when it was retrofitted for Asia.  JR breakfast is only served on Oasis class ships.

 

Breakfast items are served on Anthem at WJ, MDR, Solarium Bistro (mini WJ), Two70 Café, and Café Promenade.  Also Coastal Kitchen (suites).

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Another_Critic

[Tatka]

We just disembarked from our cruise #10 on Anthem (Thanksgiving week). I agree about  service & food being great in MDR. 
We thought buffet was not crowded, but we eat breakfast between 7 and 8 AM.

 

We loved entertainment. Of course we watched main shows bazillion times, so only rewatched Spectra. New Spectra was as talented as Terry Lavell and very enthusiastic. 
Latin band Acapulco Gold was very professional and energetic. Iconic band in Music Hall  was nice. Nick Reeves in Schooner is talented & entertaining,  Juggler Pete Mathews entertaining and funny!!! Funnier than comedian. Love orchestra performances in two70. 
 

We loved Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. They just started doing it on Anthem since last year. In some reason image attaches upside down

 

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Tatka

[Merion_Mom]

2 hours ago, Tatka said:

We just disembarked from our cruise #10 on Anthem (Thanksgiving week). I agree about  service & food being great in MDR. 
We thought buffet was not crowded, but we eat breakfast between 7 and 8 AM.

 

We loved entertainment. Of course we watched main shows bazillion times, so only rewatched Spectra. New Spectra was as talented as Terry Lavell and very enthusiastic. 
Latin band Acapulco Gold was very professional and energetic. Iconic band in Music Hall  was nice. Nick Reeves in Schooner is talented & entertaining,  Juggler Pete Mathews entertaining and funny!!! Funnier than comedian. Love orchestra performances in two70. 
 

We loved Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. They just started doing it on Anthem since last year. In some reason image attaches upside down

 

 

 

No, I'm on the Anthem right now, and that's right.  That's what it looks like.  They hung it upside down.  😄 😄 😄

 

J/K, of course.

 

But we had a "tree lighting ceremony" yesterday.  I guess they just unplug it and plug it back in every week.  😄 

[Silke Rauh]

7 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

Anthem is the only Quantum class ship with Johnny Rockets (and that may be replaced when Anthem moves to Asia).  Quantum had JR, but was replaced when it was retrofitted for Asia.  JR breakfast is only served on Oasis class ships.

 

Breakfast items are served on Anthem at WJ, MDR, Solarium Bistro (mini WJ), Two70 Café, and Café Promenade.  Also Coastal Kitchen (suites).

 

Anthem will not move to Asia for long, she is going to Alaska 3 Month after Reposition. So I think the will not replace JR

[pcur]

8 hours ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

The cruise to nowhere was indeed just that. Royal canceled the original itinerary booked and attempted to make a stop at Cococay, but could not do so because of weather. Instead we went to the originally scheduled stop of Nassau, but of course we were 5 hours late, so zero excursions were available and they would not honor the original excursions booked. 

 

Pros

1) The ship - The layout was cool and great for kids/families. The covered indoor sports court was utilized all week from Pickleball, to bumper cars and laser tag. Our family had a great time with the sporting activities on the ship.  

2) MDR - Service was excellent. The food was excellent. The new menu was good. I think the worst night of them all was the American night. Was happy to tip my waiter and assistant at the end of the week with cash!

3) Room staff - Did a great job as always, but they clearly are cleaning far more rooms than they used to. The once per day service makes more sense to me now because they clearly have far fewer people servicing rooms. Another cost cutting change. 

 

Cons

1) The ship. While many features were great, there was an over abundance of stores, all of which were empty every single time I walked by them. I hope Royal has learned that all the stores are just a waste of space that could be utilized for far more..but we shall see with the upcoming ships. 

2) Formal Entertainment - The shows were just blah...so much in fact that there were a tone of later aged women just having everyday conversations throughout which made them even more unbearable for anyone. 

3) Windjammer - You would think the cruise I was on was this ships first Rodeo. The Windjammer was insanely busy throughout because the ship made NO other options available at Breakfast. Why would they do this?? They put tables and chairs in walkways which made it even more congested, so not only could we not find tables or seats, but it was hard to search for them as well. Come on Royal! Make some other options available other than just the MDR so that the thousands on this ship are not all searching to have a meal in one place! What happened to Johnny Rocket's having breakfast?? Nothing in the windjammer was worth noting food wise other than the Asian option. 

 - Also, I need to make sure I note that the ONE THING people actually happily waited for was the Asian station WHEN it was offered. This line was always 15+ long. Why can't they make more Asian stations??? They have more omelette stations! In addition, why would you only offer meat on some of the days??? This was odd and really made Royal look petty. 

4) Bars - Long waits were the norm. I never saw more than two bartenders at a bar more than twice. Cost/staff cutting was obvious. Seems to me they are trying to make it harder for people to get drinks. Be prepared to wait on Anthem. 

5) The pool staff. These people took all the fun out of going to the pool. The pool is supposed to be a fun place during vacation. But not on Royal ships any longer!

 

Overall, the entire experience just felt...cheap. There were so many instances that I thought why would Royal do this, can't be saving them that much money...but then I thought of their billions they sleep in at night, and it all made more sense. Their penny pinching made for a far less enjoyable experience. Luckily we only have one more booked. If the experience is not vastly different on Harmony, then we will no longer be cruising with Royal or probably any other cruise company moving forward. The last all-inclusive we stayed at seemed to offer far more value and was a better experience without any formal entertainment. 

 

 

 

I am on the Anthem now for a b2b (2 weeks).  I love me my Anthem!!

 

I agree the entertainment is not inspiring, especially the huge amount of talent available in the New York area.  But, this is just personal preferences on my part.  I like ensemble productions more than stand-up or single performers.  The most amazing show I have seen in years was on the Liberty before Thanksgiving:  In the Air. Fantastic show.

 

I am very happy with the once daily room cleaning, and I prefer evening.  I don't have to be out of my cabin at any certain time, and can come and go anytime I want without being concerned my cabin steward might be in there cleaning. No waiting around during the day to get in my cabin. I leave for dinner and come back to a clean cabin.

 

I think the Anthem is a gorgeous ship. So sleek and well appointed.  My current "home" is an inside Promenade View cabin that is very large, beautifully furnished, with the gigantic live feed view outside the ship.  I very much like the Promenade and Via areas, and have never considered the number of shops.  With thousands of passengers, I'm sure somebody is going in and out.  I cannot fathom why the word "cheap" would be used to describe this ship, but everyone has their own likes and dislikes.

 

The Windjammer, IMO, is one of the BEST in the fleet, but I have only been on two of the super-sized ships: the Anthem and the Odyssey.  MUCH, MUCH better laid out than the Oasis class.  The Anthem's WJ has lots of separate stations, which keeps the traffic flowing.  The food there is excellent, which is pretty much the opposite of what I've experienced in the last year on several other ships.  I walked in yesterday for late breakfast, walked up to a counter, the lady was preparing EXACTLY what I wanted:  avocado toast with smoked salmon.  I thanked her for it, too!  Added fresh cut fruit, a fresh kiwi for me to cut, and I was at a table within 5 minutes from walking in the door.  Yes, it was very crowded.  Back for some scrambled eggs and bacon, eating those within a few minutes, too.  This Windjammer keeps the people moving with it's design. I appreciate that.  Also, a 15 person line for Asian food is pretty normal for all ships, and actually pretty small considering the number of people to be fed breakfast on the Anthem.

 

I'm not too sure about tables and chairs in walkways. I haven't experienced that any time I've been on the Anthem.  However, I know that passengers in general on all ships tend to leave chairs sticking out from the table when they get up.  It really does impede others' ability to walk through. It's like walking through a maze in the eating areas.

 

If the reference to the pool staff is the lifeguards, I appreciate them.  There were multiple child drownings before the attendants were added. Glad to see them.

 

[Tatka]

6 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

No, I'm on the Anthem right now, and that's right.  That's what it looks like.  They hung it upside down.  😄 😄 😄

 

J/K, of course.

 

But we had a "tree lighting ceremony" yesterday.  I guess they just unplug it and plug it back in every week.  😄 

Was it like this?
 

 

[Tatka]

1 hour ago, pcur said:

I agree the entertainment is not inspiring, especially the huge amount of talent available in the New York area.  But, this is just personal preferences on my part.  I like ensemble productions more than stand-up or single performers.  The most amazing show I have seen in years was on the Liberty before Thanksgiving:  In the Air. Fantastic show.

 

I think the Anthem is a gorgeous ship. So sleek and well appointed.  My current "home" is an inside Promenade View cabin that is very large, beautifully furnished, with the gigantic live feed view outside the ship.  I very much like the Promenade and Via areas, and have never considered the number of shops.  With thousands of passengers, I'm sure somebody is going in and out.  I cannot fathom why the word "cheap" would be used to describe this ship, but everyone has their own likes and dislikes.

 

The Windjammer, IMO, is one of the BEST in the fleet, but I have only been on two of the super-sized ships: the Anthem and the Odyssey.  MUCH, MUCH better laid out than the Oasis class.  

 

 - I agree about Liberty’s entertainment being truly amazing! In the Air, Saturday night Fever, Encore (Ice show) were great!!! I still preferred Anthem’s smaller scale entertainment and two70 is simply amazing.

 

- What do you mean by Inside Promenade View? From your description it’s inside room with virtual balcony? Am I right?
 

- Agree about WJ!!! It is better than on any other class in terms of layout and menus 

Beef Wellington from the last night of Thanksgiving cruise. 

[CruisingInFebruary]

Thanks for the reviews. Scheduled to be on Anthem in March! Can anyone who has sailed recently share the show schedule? We have late dining which, based on last year's entertainment schedule, may conflict with some of the main shows. I wanted to book specialty dining one night at an early time to coincide with the headline show. Thanks!

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, CruisingInFebruary said:

Can anyone who has sailed recently share the show schedule?

You should be able to see that in a very close in similar sailing in the app (not yours).

[Another_Critic]

6 hours ago, Silke Rauh said:

Anthem will not move to Asia for long, she is going to Alaska 3 Month after Reposition. So I think the will not replace JR

True, I forgot that she was heading to Alaska.

[iscruisingdunzo]

15 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We have cruised on  Anthem several times and always plenty of seating in the Wj towards the back but we hardly go there for dinner.   Plus we love the outdoor eating in the back when weather permits.

 

I'm an early riser and love the WJ breakfast and omelette station or eggs Benedict.   Wj is a lot less crowded if you get there between 7 and 8 am.

 

I have always found it odd that JRs has not served breakfast on this ship.  Not sure if it is the same on all Quantum class ships.

 

Cafe 270 usually served breakfast foods.  I like going there for lunch.

 

How did pool staff ruin things for you?

 

Night one, we are leaving the frigid NY area. After dinner we thought it would be cool to go for a swim and hang in the Jacuzzi's in the covered, temp controlled area. We get up there after dinner. Both Jacuzzi's are closed LOL. When we ask why they are both closed we are told this was because they were open outside to watch the NFL game. Well, that was a cool idea until we got outside. We then find out they closed the pool outside and all Jacuzzi's EXCEPT for the one right next to the big screen. At this angle, it was unbearable to even watch the game. It was thing's like this that really made us wonder if this was their first sailing out of NY???

 

But it get's better. We then go back to the pool and barely even hop in and you would have thought the four of us and kids just committed a murder. Whistles going off, people yelling...all because we hopped in the pool. In all the years I have been alive I have never entered a pool and not jumped in. BUT you cannot get in the pool in this manner on the ship. Insane really. So, then I literally walked to the edge, and took a step off the side, and same result. 

 

Ultimately my kids and I had to go to the pool, walk to the edge, lie down on the edge, and roll ourselves into the pool. This was a lot of fun all week. Pure insanity. 

[The Fun Researcher]

Great to hear about the MDR quality.

 

Agree that the WJ on the Quantum class ships are busier than that of Freedom and Voyager classes.  It's somewhat on par with Oasis class IMO.

 

My order of busiest to least (on the classes we've cruised so far)

1. Oasis class
2. Quantum Class
3. Freedom Class
4. Voyager Class

There are plus's and minus's with all the classes and there are enough great things with the Quantum class to keep us happy.  We particularly like the Solarium, 270, indoor pool area, Music Hall.  We miss ice skating, one grand dining room, large promenade (it's o.k. on Quantum class, but barely)

[mets123]

I agree about the wok stations, it's pretty cheap offering just a vegetarian dish with no protein available. But then again we had shrimp pad Thai on the Liberty for dinner and it had just four tiny shrimp in it

 We let our waiter know and he felt so bad he got us a plate of shrimp.

 

 

[Another_Critic]

13 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

There are plus's and minus's with all the classes and there are enough great things with the Quantum class to keep us happy.  We particularly like the Solarium, 270, indoor pool area, Music Hall.  We miss ice skating, one grand dining room, large promenade (it's o.k. on Quantum class, but barely)

Odyssey (coming to Cape Liberty Nov. 2024) deletes indoor pool (same pool but no cover) and adds one two level dining room.  Also adds Playmakers.

[iscruisingdunzo]

1 hour ago, Another_Critic said:

Odyssey (coming to Cape Liberty Nov. 2024) deletes indoor pool (same pool but no cover) and adds one two level dining room.  Also adds Playmakers.

That does not seem like the best idea but when the pools are not open I guess it doesn't matter anyway. 

[jptoz]

59 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Odyssey (coming to Cape Liberty Nov. 2024) deletes indoor pool (same pool but no cover) and adds one two level dining room.  Also adds Playmakers.

I was also on the cruise to nowhere, with horrible  weather (11-12-23). If this scenario happens on Odyssey, there will be a lot of unhappy passengers, And one super crowded soluriam. Love Odyssey, one of my favorite ships, but a huge mistake  IMO,having her sail out of NJ  in the winter.

[The Fun Researcher]

1 hour ago, Another_Critic said:

Odyssey (coming to Cape Liberty Nov. 2024) deletes indoor pool (same pool but no cover) and adds one two level dining room.  Also adds Playmakers.

Love the addition of Playmakers and also love the single large dining room. I question the loss of the indoor pool and hot tub area especially sailing out of Bayonne. We did the Anthem in March and it was in the 30’s when we got on the ship. No one used the outdoor pool deck for half the cruise due to cold weather in the northern half of the itinerary until we got close to Florida and the Bahamas.  It is what it is though I guess.

[mkmaj]

I was on this cruise as well. The weather and ports were a bummer. My thoughts on above:

 

MDR - Fantastic service, food was just OK. There were a few things we loved and some that went uneaten on our plates. I wouldn't say it was awful, just not good. 

 

Windjammer - Actually preferred the food there to the MDR. It got crowded but we always found a seat and food we liked. The stations broke up the crowds but there was no flow at all. People starting on both sides, cutting in, etc. I think they need arrows 🤣. 

 

Other food- Kummelweck at 270 was great but everything else that we had there and Cafe Promenade was basically like gas station quality grab and go. Our local gas station is probably better, tbh. What surprised me was that I really liked the Doghouse and Sorrento's was not bad. I wish there were still some sides there.

 

Cabin/Service - Cabin was great and no problem with once a day. Our steward was really nice but clearly didn't have time to go above and beyond with all of the rooms. We got a few towel animals, everything we requested, and the cabin was spotless. No complaints but I did miss getting to chat a little. 

 

Bars - I don't think I ever waited more than 5 - 10 minutes. Bars were clearly understaffed. The bartenders were really efficient IMO but the stress showed and not many were very friendly. Not rude, just obviously didn't have time to make small talk.

 

Entertainment - Never really lined up for us as far as shows. We Will Rock You was the only formal one we caught and LOVED it. Also really enjoyed Iconic in the Music Hall, various piano music at Schooner, trivia, bumper cars, etc. We never got to try Northstar or IFly because reservations were gone as soon as they were released it seemed.

 

Pools - Typical cruise ship crowded, no surprise there. The Solarium was great. You had to get there early for prime seats but we always found somewhere to throw our stuff 

 

That's all I can think of off the top of my head but happy to answer any questions!

 

 

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

That does not seem like the best idea but when the pools are not open I guess it doesn't matter anyway. 

 

1 hour ago, jptoz said:

I was also on the cruise to nowhere, with horrible  weather (11-12-23). If this scenario happens on Odyssey, there will be a lot of unhappy passengers, And one super crowded soluriam. Love Odyssey, one of my favorite ships, but a huge mistake  IMO,having her sail out of NJ  in the winter.

 

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Love the addition of Playmakers and also love the single large dining room. I question the loss of the indoor pool and hot tub area especially sailing out of Bayonne. We did the Anthem in March and it was in the 30’s when we got on the ship. No one used the outdoor pool deck for half the cruise due to cold weather in the northern half of the itinerary until we got close to Florida and the Bahamas.  It is what it is though I guess.

 

I'll be "delivering" Odyssey to Cape Liberty (14-night transatlantic from Rome) in early to mid-November, so I'll see first hand the pool situation.

[nelblu]

5 hours ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

But it get's better. We then go back to the pool and barely even hop in and you would have thought the four of us and kids just committed a murder. Whistles going off, people yelling...all because we hopped in the pool. In all the years I have been alive I have never entered a pool and not jumped in. BUT you cannot get in the pool in this manner on the ship. Insane really. So, then I literally walked to the edge, and took a step off the side, and same result. 

It's standard on all ships.  No jumping in pool.  Safety to the Jumper and to other waders in the pool.

[Sunshine3601]

8 hours ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

Night one, we are leaving the frigid NY area. After dinner we thought it would be cool to go for a swim and hang in the Jacuzzi's in the covered, temp controlled area. We get up there after dinner. Both Jacuzzi's are closed LOL. When we ask why they are both closed we are told this was because they were open outside to watch the NFL game. Well, that was a cool idea until we got outside. We then find out they closed the pool outside and all Jacuzzi's EXCEPT for the one right next to the big screen. At this angle, it was unbearable to even watch the game. It was thing's like this that really made us wonder if this was their first sailing out of NY???

 

But it get's better. We then go back to the pool and barely even hop in and you would have thought the four of us and kids just committed a murder. Whistles going off, people yelling...all because we hopped in the pool. In all the years I have been alive I have never entered a pool and not jumped in. BUT you cannot get in the pool in this manner on the ship. Insane really. So, then I literally walked to the edge, and took a step off the side, and same result. 

 

Ultimately my kids and I had to go to the pool, walk to the edge, lie down on the edge, and roll ourselves into the pool. This was a lot of fun all week. Pure insanity. 

That is odd hot tubs were closed in solarium after your dinner.   They are usually open pretty late.

 

Outdoor pool is closed at night on any sailing I have been on out of the US.  Most likely safety issues.

 

Sorry but you are not allowed to jump into pool. No need to roll into the pool Use the ladder/steps like everyone else.  

[Husky1987]

3 hours ago, nelblu said:

It's standard on all ships.  No jumping in pool.  Safety to the Jumper and to other waders in the pool.

 

32 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Sorry but you are not allowed to jump into pool. No need to roll into the pool Use the ladder/steps like everyone else.  

 

Yeah, to get upset at a "no jumping into the pool" rule seems kinda weird. 

 

Almost seems like it was a tad more than a simple "hop" into the pool...more like a family "CANNONBALL!!!!!"

[teddie]

On 11/28/2023 at 9:04 PM, iscruisingdunzo said:

 

3) Windjammer - You would think the cruise I was on was this ships first Rodeo. The Windjammer was insanely busy throughout because the ship made NO other options available at Breakfast. Why would they do this?? They put tables and chairs in walkways which made it even more congested, so not only could we not find tables or seats, but it was hard to search for them as well. Come on Royal! Make some other options available other than just the MDR so that the thousands on this ship are not all searching to have a meal in one place! What happened to Johnny Rocket's having breakfast?? Nothing in the windjammer was worth noting food wise other than the Asian option. 

 

 

 

On the Anthem now.  The Solarium restaurant has a nice breakfast buffet and I'll likely hit it again in the morning.Was that not offered on your cruise?

 

 

Teddie