First time cruising on Anthem. Why are reviews so bad???

Loved anthem when we sailed on her in Europe last year . We want to start a petition to have anthem returned to the UK! Beautiful ship , 270 and music hall were our favorite venues. Best solarium I have seen to date . You will love her.

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Hi Everyone! Hoping you can answer some of my questions. We're taking our 10 year old son on his first cruise (and our first one in 13 years) I googled family friendly cruises and besides Disney cruises (which are totally out of our budget) the anthem of the seas popped up. I was instantly excited because it's out of New Jersey and we LOVE New York so we thought we would spend a few days there. Now I'm on Cruise Critic and seriously only 50% of families were happy on this ship!?! What's up with that? The quote I got is insanely cheap for such a new ship ($2300 on a balcony) and I'm just wondering if there are going to be all sorts of fees I wasn't expecting once we get on. I know about tipping and that some meals can cost extra, but what else costs money on the ship?

 

Also wondering about the balcony. The quote we got is for category x. So my guess is we'll get one that has an obstruction. Are we better off just getting an inside cabin or is the balcony still worth it? If I'm sitting down can I still see the ocean?

 

How does the whole dining concept work? Is the food good? Does the menu change every night or are we stuck with the same menu the whole trip?

 

We never take trips like this and it's hard to say when we're going to do it again so I just want to make sure we do it right. Any thoughts, different ships, or suggestions would be great!!! Thanks guys!!!

Just got off Anthem last week. Loved it! Never seemed crowded. Crew was very friendly. Plenty to keep preteens occupied in seaplex. Grandkids did bumper cars several times, circus school, roller skating a few times, basketball, arcade, air hockey, foosball, table tennis, rock climbing and ifly. Also went to adventure ocean aka kids club, made friends and enjoyed it the times they went. They also went to indoor and outdoor pools, hot tubs and lazy river whirlpool.

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Currently on Anthem. This is my first time on this ship and its been great so far. The only issue I had was the food in American Icon. We ordered the steak and it came out bland and cold. Okay no big deal as the waiter acknowledged it and quickly brought out another plate. I then ordered cheesecake and it was warm. Cheesecake should be cold. Again no big deal but this was my issue. Everything else, the staff, entertainment, and onboard activities have been great. I would def sail Anthem again.

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Sailed on Anthem in August to Bermuda with the "kids," 23 & 20. Everyone loved it. Enjoy!

A few years ago someone at Apple said "A happy customer tells a friend, an unhappy customer tells the world." In other words, people are much more likely to post a negative review than a positive one.

Why doesn't this show up on other ship reviews? I think Allure's rating is around 80, and the "S" class ships of Celebrity, which I'm more familiar with, are all in the 80s. I have not been on this ship so I can't comment on the experience one way or the other.

Hope to sail Anthem again. She is a wonderful ship and I loved every minute.

We loved her too. A great design, spreads passengers out very well. Loads of fun things to do, great solarium and indoor pool. 270 is beautiful. We loved DD so it's a shame it's gone and seems to have been killed off due to regular cruisers not accepting something new. Bars are too small for the number of passengers, cabins are very well designed and spacious. We would have gone back on her next year but the absence of DD means we will go elsewhere. Don't fancy being in 'Silk' with that decor each night.

 

 

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Why doesn't this show up on other ship reviews? I think Allure's rating is around 80, and the "S" class ships of Celebrity, which I'm more familiar with, are all in the 80s. I have not been on this ship so I can't comment on the experience one way or the other.

I believe the initial reviews and crew adjusting to DD at the same time were a contributing factor. Having just gotten off the ship a week ago, I saw few (if any) of the issues that others mentioned about DD. Hopefully the ratings will even out over time.

The quote I got is insanely cheap for such a new ship ($2300 on a balcony) and I'm just wondering if there are going to be all sorts of fees I wasn't expecting once we get on. I know about tipping and that some meals can cost extra, but what else costs money on the ship?

Also wondering about the balcony. The quote we got is for category x. So my guess is we'll get one that has an obstruction. Are we better off just getting an inside cabin or is the balcony still worth it? If I'm sitting down can I still see the ocean?

I booked a balcony guarantee (x) 3 days ago and was assigned a D5 cabin (no obstruction). This is for Jan 14 sailing

It took me a while to warm up to the Anthem vibe. But I ended up really enjoying our trip and would happily sail on her again.

Don't worry. Enjoy your cruise.

Why doesn't this show up on other ship reviews? I think Allure's rating is around 80, and the "S" class ships of Celebrity, which I'm more familiar with, are all in the 80s. I have not been on this ship so I can't comment on the experience one way or the other.

Just my opinion - One, Dynamic Dining wasn't for everyone. A lot of complaints, enough so that they have decided to eliminate it completely. Two, the layout isn't your "normal" Royal Caribbean ship - no Promenade, no large open spaces. I think a lot of people prefer the "traditional" RCCL ship. Three - she started out hitting a few rough weather patches.

There is the Esplanade and The Via, just not as big as the other ships. Still better than the ones with the Centrum.

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Hi DD, not bashing everyone from the Big Apple, but if you live there you know what I mean.

I do live here (and have for my entire life). What do you mean?:confused:

We are from Staten Island, does that change things!!!!!

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Back from the ship last week. We loved DD, 4 individual restaurants and no problems to change time or restaurant. Menu chanched after 4 days.

If you booked in advance there were no problems to visit shows or ifly or northstar.

We will miss DD. The ship is great. Also full booked it was never crowded.

Just compare it to other ship and if they don't tell you the ship belong to Royal you will think it belongs to other cruise line. The interior of the ship is painted with dark colors it looks like a nice hotel but doesn't fell like a cruise.

I compare this ship class to apple's AirPods, the company loves it but consumer don't. Let's see who is right [emoji851]

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Just compare it to other ship and if they don't tell you the ship belong to Royal you will think it belongs to other cruise line. The interior of the ship is painted with dark colors it looks like a nice hotel but doesn't fell like a cruise.

 

I compare this ship class to apple's AirPods, the company loves it but consumer don't. Let's see who is right [emoji851]

 

 

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If consumers don't like it why do they sail full and command a premium rate? This consumer does like it!

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Personally I think that repeat cruisers don't like this ship because it's different. We did Chef's table with some D+ people who bad-mouthed the whole ship because the dining isn't like the other ships they've been on and were so happy is going back to traditional.

I think the other big complaint we heard is about the general crowding/needing reservations for "everything"

We've had a good time other then dining issues we encountered.

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Personally I think that repeat cruisers don't like this ship because it's different. We did Chef's table with some D+ people who bad-mouthed the whole ship because the dining isn't like the other ships they've been on and were so happy is going back to traditional.

Those folks will still find something to bitch about even after Anthem goes to traditional dining.:rolleyes:

I was so looking forward to DD and NO formal night. Oh well, I'm sure we will have a GREAT time anyway.

The most regular comment we experienced on Anthem was ' we prefer a big Royal Promenade' and yet they had booked a ship without a Royal Promenade. It's like criticising an Italian restaurant because they didn't offer Thai food. Nothing in the advertising of Anthem suggested there was a Royal Promenade and yet they complained.

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I think you're all being a little harsh on people stating their opinions! Not nice to blame the passengers because they're from a certain area...we found people from all over the country and world! I thought these boards were for people to share their opinions whether unhappy or totally happy, to give other cruisers something to think about when researching a future cruise. I, for one do a ton of research before selecting a cruise and appreciate everyone's opinion.

We got off the Anthem on Saturday and it was not my favorite ship and probably will not go back for a variety of reasons. It is a beautiful ship with lots of technological wonders. Best cabin ever. We liked Dynamic Dining but didn't like how close the tables were to each other. We thought the dining room food was much better than the Windjammer. Great shows and cruise director. Did not like the lack of normal chairs to sit in around the decks - hundreds and hundreds of lounge chairs (all with towels on them!) but not a regular, good old chair for us older folks. I bet the covered pool areas are great in the winter, but not so much in the warmer weather! When it's 95 deg. out and 85% humidity, it's damn hot in there! The roof was never opened during the 9 days we were on her. DH's main complaint was no food after 9PM...and the craziness of the Windjammer. I could go on, actually I did do a full review but my point here is - come on people, take it easy on those of us who are only stating our own opinions.

Two, the layout isn't your "normal" Royal Caribbean ship - no Promenade, no large open spaces. I think a lot of people prefer the "traditional" RCCL ship.

The majority of RCCL ships do not have a Royal Promenade. 14 without vs 11 with. I have to disagree with your statement.

We are a family of 8 ranging from 3 to 60 something and we ALL absolutely loved Quantum and Anthem. Anthem is such a beautiful ship and there is so much to do and so many places to relax as well. We are already booked for next year and if I could, would hop onboard tomorrow or any other day. Amazing ship, fantastic staff.....

People complain about everything - my point is, if you want to complain, stay home, it's cheaper! LOL Enjoy your cruise!

Swiss

Was on one of the first Anthem voyage from Southampton in the UK in May 2014 and read so many poor report about the Quantum, was a bit anxious but we loved absolutely everything about it, so much that we are booked to go again in 40 days. That's a 45yo young at heart and two teenagers.

The only thing we were a bit disappointed with compared to our previous experience on the Indy was the windjammer as we felt the quality and choice were not as top, but we still loved it.