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

[BMT]

I have to say upfront that we are 'older' cruisers.

 

We thought the ship was gorgeous, loved the solarium, the food was good, but..................:(

 

Was talking to a member of staff and he hit it on the head!! He said "Just too busy". People rushing from place to place - the Windjammer is huge and we were always searching for the right items! Lot of walking involved with plates in hand. Loved 270 and the staff were wonderful.

 

Just not for us, although we enjoyed seeing others on the bumper cars, iFly etc. On to the Explorer - next cruise soon.

[kevinyork]

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.

 

 

Maybe I missed it but are your comments wholly from reviews and not personal experience? Every new ship taakes time to find its 'audience' with many on the first season just trying her out because.....

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[rodenboy]

Maybe I missed it but are your comments wholly from reviews and not personal experience? Every new ship taakes time to find its 'audience' with many on the first season just trying her out because.....

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

The chair hogging statement was based on reviews seen on here and Facebook.

 

The statement about it not reaching its full potential in Southampton because of the Brits is based on personal experience.

 

But I feel I should again stress that this is just an opinion and am eagerly awaiting Anthem's relocation to the USA to see if reviews stay consistent.

[LoneStarJeffe]

We were on Quantum last January. There are plenty of spaces around to find a place to relax and read. We also used the Windjammer for dinner a lot more then ever before. That included dining at the Windjammer outside table when we were in San Juan which was a really wonderful experience. Another night we enjoyed the movie by the pool and then went to the Windjammer to eat. That was something we never did before. 270 was great. But the activities shift around and you do need to be aware and plan against what you want to do.

 

I think what everyone is trying to express is it is a difficult ship to meet new people. You never see the same people. It is simply too large a ship. Not that people are not friendly. We sat with people and enjoyed good discussions each night. But the next night, they ate somewhere else and so did we. There was little chance you keep seeing the same people. And you must plan more each day if you want to do things. More reservations and less walk up than other ships.

 

It was a beautiful ship and we enjoyed our cruise. But it was different. Relax and don't try to fit it to being a traditional cruise. Do things you normally do not do (Windjammer for dinner was our new thing) and see how that changes how you look at the daily schedule.

[Peeker28]

Lonestarjeffe, thanks for your review. I'm going next June and actually was planning on eating in the windjammer for most of my meals. It will be interesting to see if the reviews are different when anthem comes to the states

[sauvichick]

 

I think what everyone is trying to express is it is a difficult ship to meet new people. You never see the same people. It is simply too large a ship. Not that people are not friendly. We sat with people and enjoyed good discussions each night. But the next night, they ate somewhere else and so did we. There was little chance you keep seeing the same people. And you must plan more each day if you want to do things. More reservations and less walk up than other ships.

 

It was a beautiful ship and we enjoyed our cruise. But it was different. Relax and don't try to fit it to being a traditional cruise. Do things you normally do not do (Windjammer for dinner was our new thing) and see how that changes how you look at the daily schedule.

 

We found the opposite to be true on the Allure. We constantly ran into the same people which was so bizarre. I haven't tried a Quantum class ship, but they offer so many options for specialty dining that I'm open. Is the need for reservations similar to the Oasis class ships? We did make all reservations for dining, shows, and the comedy club on Allure each time. To me it's just what needs to be done now on Royal. I guess that's another factor that takes away from traditional cruising others enjoy. One final thing what is an Esplanade? A walkway? I still don't completel understand .:what:

[John&LaLa]

We found the opposite to be true on the Allure. We constantly ran into the same people which was so bizarre. I haven't tried a Quantum class ship, but they offer so many options for specialty dining that I'm open. Is the need for reservations similar to the Oasis class ships? We did make all reservations for dining, shows, and the comedy club on Allure each time. To me it's just what needs to be done now on Royal. I guess that's another factor that takes away from traditional cruising others enjoy. One final thing what is an Esplanade? A walkway? I still don't completel understand .:what:

 

It's a Cadilac version of the Suburban.

[papcx]

One final thing what is an Esplanade? A walkway? I still don't completel understand .:what:

 

 

This: -

 

 

This is the view from in front of Michaels pub looking Aft.

 

Imo it's not as grand as a Royal Promenade, so it's been given a different title to acknowledge there's a difference.

Edited July 26, 2015 by papcx

[Teehaml]

....But I feel I should again stress that this is just an opinion and am eagerly awaiting Anthem's relocation to the USA to see if reviews stay consistent.

 

That's what Nancy & I are waiting to see also. :)

[mistyPA]

We will be on the 5/5/16 sailing. A friend just called to book a single room and was able to get one, but was told there are no more inside cabins available and that she got the final single studio room offered. Is it really possible this cruise is booked to that capacity so early or do they hold rooms and release later? I know a few people who want to go but thought it was crazy for us to book so early. I am very glad we did.

Edited July 26, 2015 by mistyPA

[Teehaml]

We will be on the 5/5/16 sailing. A friend just called to book a single room and was able to get one, but was told there are no more inside cabins available and that she got the final single studio room offered. Is it really possible this cruise is booked to that capacity so early or do they hold rooms and release later? I know a few people who want to go but thought it was crazy for us to book so early. I am very glad we did.

 

Good question... maybe it's filling fast.

 

It's a new ship coming to this side of the pond. Maybe go to the RC site and see what is offered there... :)

[sauvichick]

It's a Cadilac version of the Suburban.

 

Which one the ship or the Esplanade?

 

 

 

 

 

This: -

 

 

This is the view from in front of Michaels pub looking Aft.

 

Imo it's not as grand as a Royal Promenade, so it's been given a different title to acknowledge there's a difference.

 

Ok. Thanks for the visual explanation because now I see what it is.

[Biker19]

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!

 

The reason you didn't go very high is that they limit the air speed inside the Ripcord to about 110 mph with customers. When you see the instructors do their tricks (and go all the way to the top of the ride), the air speed is more like 140-150 mph.:cool:

[Biker19]

We will be on the 5/5/16 sailing. A friend just called to book a single room and was able to get one, but was told there are no more inside cabins available and that she got the final single studio room offered. Is it really possible this cruise is booked to that capacity so early or do they hold rooms and release later?

 

There are few SB cabins to be had and they do go fast. But, there are a number of SB cabins that are part of a larger set of rooms that make a family suite. Some have speculated that those SB cabins are held back in case a family wants to book the entire set of rooms. Once RCI determines that they are unlikely to sell those as a set, they will put them into the regular inventory individually. I'm not sure anyone knows when that happens.

[nclsuncruiser]

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....

 

You didn't participate in IFly so it's a worthless observation.

 

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.

 

Exactly.

[Peeker28]

We will be on the 5/5/16 sailing. A friend just called to book a single room and was able to get one, but was told there are no more inside cabins available and that she got the final single studio room offered. Is it really possible this cruise is booked to that capacity so early or do they hold rooms and release later? I know a few people who want to go but thought it was crazy for us to book so early. I am very glad we did.

 

 

 

Travel agents may have rooms reserved and if they don't sell them they will release them back to inventory.

[merlindog22]

Travel agents may have rooms reserved and if they don't sell them they will release them back to inventory.

 

All types of cabins are apparently available to book on Anthem of the Seas, from the UK.

Sailings available - 5/5/16, 14/5/16, 28/5/16, 2/6/16, 11/6/16, 16/6/16, 15/6/16 and 30/6/16

 

Various agents checked and they all state the same.

So what is going on I do not know.

[John&LaLa]

All types of cabins are apparently available to book on Anthem of the Seas, from the UK.

Sailings available - 5/5/16, 14/5/16, 28/5/16, 2/6/16, 11/6/16, 16/6/16, 15/6/16 and 30/6/16

 

Various agents checked and they all state the same.

So what is going on I do not know.

 

:what:How come Brits type the dates backwards. Allways makes me scratch my head. Used to seeing MM/DD/YY

[barneymag]

:what:How come Brits type the dates backwards. Allways makes me scratch my head. Used to seeing MM/DD/YY

 

Actually its us Brits that show the date correctly ;) i.e. Day/Month/Year .... Totally logical :D

[John&LaLa]

Actually its us Brits that show the date correctly ;) i.e. Day/Month/Year .... Totally logical :D

 

And 20 ounces to the pint, right. ;)

 

Look at the date format button in MS Office. First 5 choices list day first. If you are using a date in conversation where you use the month name, wouldn't you say December First 2015 :what:

 

Cheers

Edited July 27, 2015 by John&LaLa

[Bobal]

And 20 ounces to the pint, right. ;)

 

Look at the date format button in MS Office. First 5 choices list day first. If you are using a date in conversation where you use the month name, wouldn't you say December First 2015 :what:

 

Cheers

 

Not necessarily. I would say 1st of December. And Microsoft is an American company.

 

This is an interesting picture ;)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_format_by_country

Edited July 27, 2015 by Bobal

[John&LaLa]

Not necessarily. I would say 1st of December. And Microsoft is an American company.

 

This is an interesting picture ;)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_format_by_country

 

Guess I'm just out of touch. :cool:

[barneymag]

And 20 ounces to the pint, right. ;)

 

Look at the date format button in MS Office. First 5 choices list day first. If you are using a date in conversation where you use the month name, wouldn't you say December First 2015 :what:

 

Cheers

 

HaHa

 

Yes we get an extra 4 fl ozs in our pint of beer ;):) ....... but our Petrol (Gas) is about 4 times the cost of the US :(

[ncbn0902]

We sailed on the Quantum this past March and it was a great ship, most people don't like change and they complain about it. We are looking to book the Anthem for next June while we are sailing in September on The granduar. It come down to what you make it, if you go on the ship expecting to have a bad time you will. We liked dining this way, but some didn't. We had no problems with dining at all. The only problem that we had on the Quantum was that I ended up getting noro virus and had to spend the day in my cabin when we docked at San Juan.

Try to have fun on Anthem, like we will try when we sail on it in June

[mistyPA]

All types of cabins are apparently available to book on Anthem of the Seas, from the UK.

Sailings available - 5/5/16, 14/5/16, 28/5/16, 2/6/16, 11/6/16, 16/6/16, 15/6/16 and 30/6/16

 

Various agents checked and they all state the same.

So what is going on I do not know.

 

 

That's interesting, for the 5/5/16 sailing, from RCI there are no inside or ocean views available at this time. Go figure...