Lassie5

There were no lobster tails on the menu at Grande or any of the other complimentary restaurants during the August 15 14 night Med on Anthem.

Nor on 18th July sailing. The only place we saw lobster was Chops Grill but at a supplement of $21 ON TOP OF the normal $39 charge.

I was on deck 7 (7290) and wouldn't hesitate to book this deck again. Whilst it's true that you can see the lifeboat when looking down, this would apply to any deck, for instance if you were on deck 12, looking down you would still see the lifeboat, it's just further away.

When sitting on the balcony on deck 7 looking straight out to sea you don't see the lifeboat.

The Brits voice a certain level of arrogance in many of the reviews. It often manifests itself when assessing fellow passengers and "servants" (crew) (much more so than in the U.S.).

 

A degree of this was evident in some of the reviews of the Independence. The Anthem is a very different concept from the Independence and a portion of the reviewers resent it.

 

For all reviews I enjoy trying to identify the first irritant that sets the tone and discolors the rest of the cruise experience.

Being a Brit I'm a bit peeved at the scathing arrogance comment - arrogance is not exclusive to Brits, infact some of the most arrogant people I have ever met were American's on Freedom of the Seas several years ago, but I certainly wouldn't tar all American's with the same brush based on a tiny proportion's attitude.

And I would say that the amount of people who refer to or regard the crew as 'servants' is miniscule, regardless of where they hail from.

Another thing that should be remembered is that Quantum, based until recently in the US and with a much higher proportion of American's than Brit's onboard, has even worse reviews - only 47% loved it against Anthem's 50%. Cruise Critic is a US site and has far more American users than British users - so go figure!

Anyway, back to the OP's comments, we were on Anthem last month and I was also a bit concerned about the negative comments beforehand but even more perplexed afterwards. We might have been on a totally different ship as far as many reviews were concerned. The food was not what you would call fine-dining but great nonetheless, the entertainment on the whole was superb, there were tons of activities going on all the time and the crew were exceptional. The only small negative in my opinion was the lack of available sunbeds on sunny sea days, but then that is the case on many ships, and on Anthem there is so much else going on besides sunbathing that it in no way affected our holiday or overall view of the ship.

Personally I wouldn't even think about cancelling and I'm just sad that Anthem is leaving our shores soon.

We were on Anthem last month and didn't see lobster in any of the complimentary restaurants - maybe we missed it but I don't think so as my OH would have had it if it had been there. It is available in Chops Grill but at an additional supplement of $21 on top of the usual $39 charge.

Lorraine

We were on the same sailing as you and it has been interesting to read of your experiences of this lovely ship, much of which I totally agree with. I did a similar day-to-day retrospective blog on another (UK) cruise forum and, like you, found it great to re-live our cruise through the blog.

Our favourite complimentary restaurant for food was American Icon and for ambiance was The Grande. Our least favourite (and by that I don't mean it was in any way bad) was Chic, so just goes to show we are all different. Just to add a bit more about the Royal Evenings, Captain Gus would hang around the Royal Esplanade so you could, if you wanted, have your photo taken with him - not for us but I know some people like that sort of thing.

Hope you enjoy your October sailing before she leaves our shores for the US.

Lorraine

Hardly YOUR list, this has appeared in many publications, for instance this one

http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/of-the-most-ridiculous-but-real-travel-complaints-ever/story-e6frfqfr-1226739965154

I'm not surprised since this concept wasn't communicated to anyone before the cruise, at least from what I've read. In fact I read somewhere (not sure here or on that other social media site) that Royal wasn't even admitting that there was such a thing as Royal Evenings. So how could people dress for it? I'm sure the people you saw dressed up were likely dining at Grande and everyone else was in smart casual or casual depending where they were eating as that was the dress code that was known for the other venues.

 

Besides what exactly is "dress your best" or "Royal Night". Were there that many people complaining about the lack of formal nights on Quantum that Royal has to come up with this to make them happy but still be able to say on Quantum class ships there isn't a formal night just a formal venue? Talk about confusing.

I received an email from RC yesterday. This is what it said:-

Experience something truly special, hosted exclusively onboard Anthem of the SeasSM, with our brand new Royal Evening beginning on sailings departing from 6 May 2015. This unique event takes place on the second night of your holiday (more often on longer voyages), and will even be attended by the Captain! It’s the perfect opportunity to dress your best, get together with family, friends and other guests, and enjoy an evening of tempting food, fantastic music and incredible entertainment.

As well as a stylish champagne reception in the Royal Esplanade and Via, you’ll be treated to a delectable dinner with exclusive Chef’s Special options at the onboard restaurants. And with a host of exciting entertainment offerings around the ship - including Casino specials and some spectacular live music performances - this truly is an evening like no other, and it's only available onboard Anthem of the SeasSM.

We can't wait to welcome you onboard.

The Royal Caribbean Crew

We are on Anthem in July for 14 nights, so not sure how many of these nights will be 'Royal Evenings'. Doesn't really bother me too much, I like the idea of Dynamic Dining (whatever the menu happens to be) as on land I would never eat in the same restaurant with the same table-mates for 14 consecutive nights. And if we don't end up liking much on the menu then there are plenty of other options to 'top-up'.

You must work for Royal. LOL

This is what what this site is for to let people know the Good and the Bad that

Happens. And you can't say less Revenue you don't know anything about me,

The fact that I usually donate a couple grand to their casino every cruise hardly makes for less revenue, i could go on but not going to get in a bashing match.

It's the principle of the thing they should not charge one person more than they would 2 that's messed up. An I'm not one to post an run away! Been here a long time.

So you are happy to spend $2000 in the casino but quibble over $132? :confused:

I commented earlier about your great review and pictures but one comment above really stands out. You said "it had indeed improved greatly and I wish it was staying here". For those of us who were on an earlier cruise, there was much room for improvement. It had to get better.

 

I can't help but think Royal Caribbean used us as Guinea Pigs, in preparation for sending the ship to the Asian market. Otherwise, why didn't they send it directly to Asia? :confused: Perhaps the Chinese are not as tolerant? :)

 

Thank you for not sugar coating your review. I thought the Quantum was a beautiful ship but I do prefer the Oasis Class. Not as many gimmicks.

The ship had to sail from somewhere first, why not the US? The UK is getting Anthem first - we are on it in July - then it is headed for the US, but I certainly don't think of the UK as being used as guinea pigs. Ovation is home-porting in Australia. I'm sure there would have been a bit of an outcry if the US didn't get one of them for their inaugural season. ;)

I've seen "free" beverage packages offered to UK bookings, but not yet for US bookings. Also note that Royal has a different defintion of "free" than most of us.

Correct, they do sometimes offer free Select drinks packages (wine, beer, soft drinks) in the UK, however it's a bit of a con. I tracked the prices for Anthem for our July sailing for several months before booking and when the 'free' drinks package offer expired the price of our cruise for 2 cabins reduced by £1600!! That's when I booked as there is no way we would get through that amount of drinks.

Very often the UK price is way more than the US price anyway. Also, if you book via a TA in the UK you can't cancel without losing your deposit.