Anthem of the Seas...A lot of negative reviews, why?

[LXA350]

The Quantum Class are great ships, however when you board one of these vessels it's just not the same then even when you are on board a Oasis Class ship. I don't think it's fair to say that the experience is not good, however it's different. For me the most disturbing factor was the dining concept; the multi story main dining room was missing and this for me takes away the whole experience of traditional cruising.

[Pencruise]

We were on Anthem last month on a 12 day cruise and we found the ship to be wonderful. DD takes some getting used to, however the food was the best we have ever had on a ship, and the menu choices in our opinion were varied and delicious. Coastal Kitchen and Wonderland were exceptional.

[JulieRose]

No loop de loops but great fun.

 

 

It sure is! We did it in Orlando. We just got word that they're building one in the suburbs of Philadelphia. We couldn't be more excited.:D

[Soozgone]

Our friends have just returned from Anthem, and were underwhelmed too. They have been on all other classes of Royal's ships, but felt this one wasn't as enjoyable.

 

Everyone has their own idea of what makes a vacation, and I'm sure other people will love it. We recently went on Allure after many years of using other cruise lines and we enjoyed it but didn't love it. I think our expectations may have been too high.

 

Good job there are lots of options out there to cater for all tastes! :)

 

There's still no such thing as a bad cruise, I don't think....

[VTSKIandCRUISEGUY]

A couple of the comments have left me a bit puzzled about what some consider the "experience of traditional cruising."

 

Most ships, newer and older, do not have large promenades like the Voyager and newer classes of RCL. Multi-story dining rooms are also a relatively new thing in cruise ships.

 

Although I do enjoy the large Promenades and beautiful multi-story dining rooms, they are certainly not "traditional." I personally would not avoid a ship just because it was missing one or both of those features. If those things are very important to you, then look at deck plans carefully before you book.

 

Not having a Promenade and multi-level dining room is definitely not lacking in tradition.

 

What you like is what you like, which is fine by me. Just don't misunderstand "traditional" because you have primarily or only been on a certain type of ship.

 

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[Joe12]

These ships are just a bit weird.

Anthem hasn't gone down great with the Brits in Southampton hence why Indy is coming back next year.

To me they are a much bigger and newer version of the Radiance Class without all the glam and a really poor passenger to space ratio (Just a little bit bigger than Freedom Class and 500 more passengers :mad:).

I would like to try these ships one day but give me Oasis Class any day. (Or any ship with a proper Promenade and Ice Rink).

If we cruised from Southampton this year then it would be the 2 month old Anthem or the 15 year old Explorer?

Explorer would win.

[celebrity]

From what I observed the ifly was a waste of time, all the queuing up dressing up waiting for your turn for 1 minute....then you never go higher than shoulder height of the attendant. The bumper cars were more fun....

 

Well I can tell you as a participant, it was definitely worth the time and everyone I spoke to that did it loved it too.

[papcx]

I don't know what it is about this that makes people want to open their mouth:eek:....but for all reading who have not yet experienced this, here is a word of warning. If you have any kind of dentures, keep your mouth closed! Someone in our group lost their dentures mid flight and they had to close down everything and search the "pit". They were found, but don't know what kind of shape they were in:rolleyes:.

 

 

Fortunately, I have (almost) all of my own teeth.

[read52]

We were on the Quantum this past April. The service was lacking but that was because in a few weeks they were headed to China and many, many of the people were new. The ship has so many great things to see and do that it can't be done in 7 days. The bumper cars were great. I did ifly but my husband did not because he just had a hernia operation. I am a 63 year old woman and that minute was long and fun. The operator did let go of me but I did not do a loop. We loved the dining and the fact that you could try different food. We meet great people from around the world.

[TomAceEsq]

It's obvious who has done iFly and who hasn't.

 

A minute in iFly is an eternity if you've never done it before. The instructor will most definitely let you go during your flight. He/She will only grab back on if you can't seem to grasp flying stationary.

 

And as someone who has experienced both bumper cars and iFly (albeit not on the ship), I can attest that iFly is most certainly more fun than bumper cars. How anyone can form an opinion on an activity just by observation is beyond me.

[moshek]

The pictures I have seen of the adult Solarium don't seem to show places where one can stay OUT of the sun. Does anyone know if there are indeed places to remain in the shade.

Thanks!

 

The adult solarium is fully enclosed by glass, the front section is mainly always in the sun but beds at the sides are shaded. It was really warm in there when I was there in May thought it was lovely but might be way too hot in high season in the Med.

 

I thought Anthem was a lovely ship with lots of areas to just sit and relax. I went on bumper cars, roller skating, north star but not ifly . We were only on a 3 night cruise so there was way too much to pack in.

I agree with others that there was no real focus area - the esplanade feels very different from royal promenade on other ships I have been on.

My only issue was the poor service in restaurants e.g. staff being told which table to seat us at but being unable to find that table, waiting over 20 mins for drink order to be taken and disappointment that as we were only on board for 3 nights they chose to give us the taste of anthem menu every night so didn't get to try the concept of dynamic dining even after selecting restaurants of our choice 10 months out. The night we dined in Chic there wasn't a main course from the Chic menu on offer.

[lmspitbull]

Are there any friends of Bill . W meeting's on Anthem?:)

[QE2_Fan]

No loop de loops but great fun.

 

 

 

What an awesome shot..yes indeed, proof someone was having FUN!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[QE2_Fan]

The pictures I have seen of the adult Solarium don't seem to show places where one can stay OUT of the sun. Does anyone know if there are indeed places to remain in the shade.

Thanks!

 

 

Good question!! Which I see is answered, but had same thoughts as this does look an awesome space to hang out, but we are not 'bask in the sun' type of people, good to know there is some shade we can hide in but still participate in the ambience of the location [emoji3]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[QE2_Fan]

D you actually order a drink or just "observed"

 

 

I must admit this venue grabs me as a 'one time wonder' type place. Go there once for the fun of seeing these robotic arms in action, but to make it a regular watering hole ...well I just don't see any repeat value in it.

 

And to be served in plastic glasses <eek> doesn't make any more enticing.

 

 

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[rodenboy]

I was asked recently on a FB group why I would never sail on a UK based cruise, specifically referring to Anthem and I was asked to explain why. I'm copying and pasting my reply here as I think it might also help explain why Anthem currently has a lot of negative reviews.

 

Firstly, I ask that you remember that I am British when reading this. In my own experiences (and I'm aware this is a sweeping statement and won't apply to everybody) I tend to find Brits are more selfish, snobby and impatient when holidaying in comparison to international holidaymakers - and not just on cruises.

 

The posts on here (and in the FB group where I originally posted this message), for example, constantly mention a lack of sun beds on board Anthem and this example highlights my point exactly; it's common knowledge that people are waking up early to reserve sunbeds and then going back to sleep until the middle of the day. While I'm not saying this doesn't happen at all on ships that sail out of the USA, it is nowhere near as big a problem as far as I'm aware. My latest sailing was on the Allure last year, you could get sunbeds constantly, including peak time on a "sea day." You might say that there are more sunbeds as its a bigger ship, but then there are more guests on board.

 

I use the word snobby for this reason: My siblings and I bought my parents a cruise (not with Royal Caribbean) in January of this year sailing to Spain, Portugal and Morocco from Southampton. She was seated with two or three other couples at dinner who were quote: "more concerned with outdoing each other's cruise stories," and when she was asked about her previous sailings the other guests didn't appear interested and then didn't believe her when she did manage to utter the words "Allure of the Seas." As a result of this instance, I can't even say it's just a Royal Caribbean problem as like I say, this was with a different company.

 

I appreciate this probably doesn't come across well and probably look quite harsh saying this. I'm not saying this to offend as that is not my goal. As mentioned earlier, this is my admittedly harsh opinion on why I will never cruise from the UK personally but I am curious to see what people think when Anthem is repositioned in America. I'm more than happy to eat a slice of humble pie if I'm wrong. We can only wait!

Edited July 21, 2015 by rodenboy

[tricksylou]

I live and work in Gibraltar and the Anthem has been coming into port every two weeks and I must say the response is mixed ,with really bad reviews ,to out of this world reviews and as you know the beloved Indy was on that route but I remember when that first started the route and I saw exactly the same response as the anthem is getting now , bad and good .. I am sailing Anthem in September and my first cruise out of Southampton as all my previous cruises have been from Barcelona or Malaga and so my first predominately British cruise . I think the ship looks stunning and looking forward to all the quirky new things it seems to have , my binoculars are being over used as I try and catch a closer glimpse and work out which balcony I be on

[sauvichick]

Thanks for all the comments regarding the Anthem. I take everything with a grain of salt. We usually cruise in July and options are either a 9 nighter on the Anthem which may be too long or back on an Oasis class ship. Each class is different and there really are no comparisons. The Anthem sounds really unique from any class of ship offered.

[Maraprince]

I was asked recently on a FB group why I would never sail on a UK based cruise, specifically referring to Anthem and I was asked to explain why. I'm copying and pasting my reply here as I think it might also help explain why Anthem currently has a lot of negative reviews.

 

Firstly, I ask that you remember that I am British when reading this. In my own experiences (and I'm aware this is a sweeping statement and won't apply to everybody) I tend to find Brits are more selfish, snobby and impatient when holidaying in comparison to international holidaymakers - and not just on cruises.

 

The posts on here (and in the FB group where I originally posted this message), for example, constantly mention a lack of sun beds on board Anthem and this example highlights my point exactly; it's common knowledge that people are waking up early to reserve sunbeds and then going back to sleep until the middle of the day. While I'm not saying this doesn't happen at all on ships that sail out of the USA, it is nowhere near as big a problem as far as I'm aware. My latest sailing was on the Allure last year, you could get sunbeds constantly, including peak time on a "sea day." You might say that there are more sunbeds as its a bigger ship, but then there are more guests on board.

 

I use the word snobby for this reason: My siblings and I bought my parents a cruise (not with Royal Caribbean) in January of this year sailing to Spain, Portugal and Morocco from Southampton. She was seated with two or three other couples at dinner who were quote: "more concerned with outdoing each other's cruise stories," and when she was asked about her previous sailings the other guests didn't appear interested and then didn't believe her when she did manage to utter the words "Allure of the Seas." As a result of this instance, I can't even say it's just a Royal Caribbean problem as like I say, this was with a different company.

 

I appreciate this probably doesn't come across well and probably look quite harsh saying this. I'm not saying this to offend as that is not my goal. As mentioned earlier, this is my admittedly harsh opinion on why I will never cruise from the UK personally but I am curious to see what people think when Anthem is repositioned in America. I'm more than happy to eat a slice of humble pie if I'm wrong. We can only wait!

 

 

The bad reviews have to be based on more than not being able to get a lounge chair on deck. This holding of chairs is a common problem on other ships as well.

 

MARAPRINCE

[rodenboy]

The bad reviews have to be based on more than not being able to get a lounge chair on deck. This holding of chairs is a common problem on other ships as well.

 

 

 

MARAPRINCE

 

 

I'm not saying chair hogging is exclusive to Anthem, I was using that well publicised example to highlight why, in my opinion, British people potentially don't make for as good cruising companions in comparison to say, Americans. As such, I am implying that Anthem's current location could be part of the reason the ship isn't as successful in Southampton as it could have been.

 

To be honest, I thought I would get a lot of people claiming I was flaming the British. On the Facebook site, it's been quite the opposite. Like I said, I am more than ready to come back and apologise for this bold statement if, when Anthem is repositioned in the USA, the reviews stay consistent.

[John&LaLa]

The bad reviews have to be based on more than not being able to get a lounge chair on deck. This holding of chairs is a common problem on other ships as well.

 

MARAPRINCE

 

Deck attendants are really cracking down on both Oasis and Freedom on my last two trips.

[gkbiiii]

A couple of the comments have left me a bit puzzled about what some consider the "experience of traditional cruising."

 

Most ships, newer and older, do not have large promenades like the Voyager and newer classes of RCL. Multi-story dining rooms are also a relatively new thing in cruise ships.

 

Although I do enjoy the large Promenades and beautiful multi-story dining rooms, they are certainly not "traditional." I personally would not avoid a ship just because it was missing one or both of those features. If those things are very important to you, then look at deck plans carefully before you book.

 

Not having a Promenade and multi-level dining room is definitely not lacking in tradition.

 

What you like is what you like, which is fine by me. Just don't misunderstand "traditional" because you have primarily or only been on a certain type of ship.

 

-------------

 

 

All Royal Caribbean ships have a multi-deck atrium and ALL RCCL ships (excluding Quantum Class) other than Majesty, have multi-story dining rooms.

 

Royal Caribbean International brought these now concepts to the forefront, and sadly now seems to be abandoning the very things that brought them, great success from 1990 onward.

 

I mean, a ship without a Viking Crown is NOT a real Royal Caribbean vessel!!

[John&LaLa]

All Royal Caribbean ships have a multi-deck atrium and ALL RCCL ships (excluding Quantum Class) other than Majesty, have multi-story dining rooms.

 

Royal Caribbean International brought these now concepts to the forefront, and sadly now seems to be abandoning the very things that brought them, great success from 1990 onward.

 

I mean, a ship without a Viking Crown is NOT a real Royal Caribbean vessel!!

 

Evolution, who would have thought a Porsche would have 4 doors. :eek:

[swoopy2110]

I mean, a ship without a Viking Crown is NOT a real Royal Caribbean vessel!!

 

Like the Oasis Class Ships now?

[Suzieanna]

Rodenboy, I am a Brit, and I know exactly what you mean... I have experienced plenty of this on ships belonging to another company sailing from Soton... My husband refuses to go on their ships any more because of the constant oneupmanship and bragging.

 

A minute is a long time on the Ifly. I did it, and I was actually really good at it! The man didnt hold my leg but all the same I didnt seem to go very high - but 4 foot off the ground is flying just as much as 40 foot up is! And it was actually REALLY GOOD FUN.......... I wont forget doing it thats for sure.