Just off Anthem - GREAT cruise!

Just got off yesterday after 12 lovely days on the Anthem. Couldn't have had a better time! Yes they were out of a few ingredients here and there but nothing that would spoil my trip. Just wanted to let those of you sailing soon you're in for a great time! Wow bands are no longer free btw. $5 and totally not worth it, saw many trying to awkwardly use them and they looked silly and provide no special benefits other than being an ugly device to wear. Don't waste your money. Don't miss iFly it is much more fun than you think and the North Star is amazing and not at all scary even if you fear heights like me. Drinks everywhere are STRONG and wine pours are huge. Pools are a good temp, hot tubs are huge and finding a lounger was never an issue even on sea days, just look around a bit. Nighttime there is so much to do and all the shows were great. I can go on and on. If you've got a question I'll check back and try to answer. Cheers.

Just got off yesterday after 12 lovely days on the Anthem. Couldn't have had a better time! Yes they were out of a few ingredients here and there but nothing that would spoil my trip. Just wanted to let those of you sailing soon you're in for a great time! Wow bands are no longer free btw. $5 and totally not worth it, saw many trying to awkwardly use them and they looked silly and provide no special benefits other than being an ugly device to wear. Don't waste your money. Don't miss iFly it is much more fun than you think and the North Star is amazing and not at all scary even if you fear heights like me. Drinks everywhere are STRONG and wine pours are huge. Pools are a good temp, hot tubs are huge and finding a lounger was never an issue even on sea days, just look around a bit. Nighttime there is so much to do and all the shows were great. I can go on and on. If you've got a question I'll check back and try to answer. Cheers.

Great to hear! Sailing Anthem on Jan 25th. I hear you on the WOW bands, we had them free on Quantum last Feb, I barely used mine and DH didn't use his at all. It was really only useful when going to the gym when I had nowhere to stash my room key.

You just made me even more excited for my upcoming Anthem cruise :D

Thanks for the info.

Looking forward to the cruise in 89 days.

Considering booking the 12 day in March. Did you have any problems with the dining such as waiting lines and etc.?

Considering booking the 12 day in March. Did you have any problems with the dining such as waiting lines and etc.?

Dining was easy, we booked everything online ahead of our cruise. We did not wait anywhere to be seated. We easily changed several reservation once on board. Note that what you see available online and on the Royal IQ app do not reflect actual availability. The last night we wanted to do Chops again, the app said nothing available but we walked up the front desk and got 8:30 no problem. So if you don't see what you want online on in the app go to the restaurant and see in person.

I was noticing on the Anthem Deck Plans, a mid ship corner room, believe it is a JS, but the picture shows an additional room? This would be Deck 9, do you know what that cabin is. #9232 ( Handicap ) with # 9230. ?

I see you did Chops twice. Did you enjoy it that much?

I went to Chops on LOS in August and it was really so so.

Thanks for all your input on your fabulous vacation!

I see you did Chops twice. Did you enjoy it that much?

I went to Chops on LOS in August and it was really so so.

 

Thanks for all your input on your fabulous vacation!

We enjoyed Chops very much. We like a classic steakhouse experience and got that. I found the petite filet to be really excellent as well as several seafood dishes we shared. The sides are good and reasonably portioned, not super huge. Service was spot on and drinks came nice and fast. They are several notches up from the MDR experience, you feel well attended to at all times.

I was noticing on the Anthem Deck Plans, a mid ship corner room, believe it is a JS, but the picture shows an additional room? This would be Deck 9, do you know what that cabin is. #9232 ( Handicap ) with # 9230. ?

I'm sorry I cannot help you with that question. I was on deck 13.

Did you get the internet package? If so, how did that work for you?

Did you get the internet package? If so' date=' how did that work for you?[/quote']

 

We did get the internet package and my BF, who is the only one who used it, said he was extremely impressed with the speed of internet - better than any other ship we've tried by far. Also the rate is fairly reasonable, $15 unlimited, not charging by the minute or MB which can be annoying and expensive.

I was noticing on the Anthem Deck Plans, a mid ship corner room, believe it is a JS, but the picture shows an additional room? This would be Deck 9, do you know what that cabin is. #9232 ( Handicap ) with # 9230. ?

Gay, that is the Family Connected Junior Suite which includes Cabins 9232, 9230 and 9228.

We also got off the anthem yesterday. Being diamond members we were each able to get 24 hours of free internet. It was the fastest I have ever experienced.

We did buy the wow bracelets and liked them for the ease of getting into our cabin.

How was and where was the muster drill?

How was and where was the muster drill?

Our muster drill was in the Bionic Bar. Others were scattered here and there throughout the ship. It was the easiest muster I've ever done. No life jackets need to be brought, the crowd was a reasonable size, no pushing shoving and so forth. We watched a cute video about washing your hands and then about the safety stuff and we were on our way. Last muster on the Breakaway was like a cruel joke, nine million people stuffed in the atrium, ready to kill! This was a pleasure.

Glad to hear you had a great time. We are less than 4 weeks away from our holiday cruise.

Question about boarding...this is the first time when doing my on line check in that I was asked to select a boarding time. Did you have to do that and what was your experience? We have iFly booked for the boys at 1 PM boarding day, but our boarding time is 11:30-12:00. I've never boarded that late and was wondering if you kept to your selected boarding time or if you went and boarded earlier.

I'd like to make sure we're on and have a bite of lunch before I take the kids to iFly.

Also, if you drove and parked, how was your experience parking in the new deck and making your way to the terminal? My mom has a handicap placard so we'll be using that as well. I'd like to drop her, the boys and the luggage off at the terminal, then park and walk back over.

Patti, thank you, wasn't sure if it was an added room off the JS.

Gay

Considering booking the 12 day in March. Did you have any problems with the dining such as waiting lines and etc.?

We had some issues with waits on the first 3 days, especially on one day when they stupidly scheduled We Will Rock You and Spectras for 9:00, so there was a huge rush starting at 7:00.

After that, it was clear sailing in all the restaurants regarding getting in.

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Glad to hear you had a great time. We are less than 4 weeks away from our holiday cruise.

 

Question about boarding...this is the first time when doing my on line check in that I was asked to select a boarding time. Did you have to do that and what was your experience? We have iFly booked for the boys at 1 PM boarding day, but our boarding time is 11:30-12:00. I've never boarded that late and was wondering if you kept to your selected boarding time or if you went and boarded earlier.

 

I'd like to make sure we're on and have a bite of lunch before I take the kids to iFly.

 

Also, if you drove and parked, how was your experience parking in the new deck and making your way to the terminal? My mom has a handicap placard so we'll be using that as well. I'd like to drop her, the boys and the luggage off at the terminal, then park and walk back over.

We were assigned 11-11:30 boarding time. We arrived by car service at about 10:30. Dropped off luggage to very nice porter who tagged our bags and gave us the receipts for tracking. We went up to the rep with the iPad, showed our papers and answered a few questions. Entered the terminal and sat down for about 5-10 minutes until someone looked at our papers and said, you are ready to board! It was astonishing. Never got on a ship so fast in my life. We didn't even know what to do with ourselves. Even more shocking our room was ready about a half hour later, not 1pm like they say. Luggage arrived a few hours later in stages and the app tracking worked pretty well.

I suggest you arrive earlier than advised to make the iFly and have lunch first.

We did not park so I have no advice for you there.

I'm sorry I cannot help you with that question. I was on deck 13.

Hi, thanks so much for posting and I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed the cruise.

We are on deck 13 near the forward elevators. I am worried about noise issues. Where was you cabin and did you have any issues with noise.

Also do you / can you book NorthStar ahead of time or do you just go and get in line.

Thank you.

Hi, thanks so much for posting and I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed the cruise.

 

We are on deck 13 near the forward elevators. I am worried about noise issues. Where was you cabin and did you have any issues with noise.

 

Also do you / can you book NorthStar ahead of time or do you just go and get in line.

 

Thank you.

We were deck 13 midship, right under the pool deck, cabin 13210. There is noise from the pool deck in the wee hours, around 5am. Seems they are moving the deck loungers around and power washing the deck. It was VERY annoying, I cannot lie. Even my trusty earplugs did not solve the problem, however, I am a light sleeper by nature. It goes on for about a half hour to 45 minutes, I think. During the day you can hear the music from the entertainment up there but we don't sleep during the day so that was no tan issue. It's not massively booming noise but you'll notice it.

You should be able to book the North Star in your cruise planner online. You can only book ahead of time once but once on the ship you'll be able to get in on standby as often as you like. We did it three times total, the first was reserved and the second two we waited only a few minutes. It gets way less crowded as the cruise wears on and everyone has tried it. Same story with iFly, we did it twice.

You should be able to book the North Star in your cruise planner online. You can only book ahead of time once but once on the ship you'll be able to get in on standby as often as you like. We did it three times total, the first was reserved and the second two we waited only a few minutes. It gets way less crowded as the cruise wears on and everyone has tried it. Same story with iFly, we did it twice.

Great info - thanks! iFly is free once for 60 seconds - correct? Is Northstar a one-time freeby too?

We were deck 13 midship, right under the pool deck, cabin 13210. There is noise from the pool deck in the wee hours, around 5am. Seems they are moving the deck loungers around and power washing the deck. It was VERY annoying, I cannot lie. Even my trusty earplugs did not solve the problem, however, I am a light sleeper by nature. It goes on for about a half hour to 45 minutes, I think. During the day you can hear the music from the entertainment up there but we don't sleep during the day so that was no tan issue. It's not massively booming noise but you'll notice it.

 

You should be able to book the North Star in your cruise planner online. You can only book ahead of time once but once on the ship you'll be able to get in on standby as often as you like. We did it three times total, the first was reserved and the second two we waited only a few minutes. It gets way less crowded as the cruise wears on and everyone has tried it. Same story with iFly, we did it twice.

We are in cabin 13564 so it's a bit more foward and closer to the Solarium. Hoping it's a bit quieter. I do like to take a nap in the afternoon.

Nothing yet is available to book online except for dining. Do you know how far in advance they open up reservations on-line for activities? We sail on March 7, 2016.

Thanks again.

I see you did Chops twice. Did you enjoy it that much?

I went to Chops on LOS in August and it was really so so.

 

Thanks for all your input on your fabulous vacation!

I'm not the OP (glad she had a great time!) but we ate at Chops on the Anthem TA and really enjoyed it. The service as well as the food were excellent. (A big shout out to the braised short ribs; yum!) We would definitely eat there again.