Anthem of the Seas: A not-so-live Review: Feb 6, 2016

[Newbcruiser1]

Did you have to make reservations to eat lunch at American Icon?

 

 

No reservations needed (in fact, they don't take them) and no wait at all!

[Clarea]

Did you have to make reservations to eat lunch at American Icon?

No, just show up.

[breezy_carol]

Thanks for the excellent review and great pictures.

[Lulubelle45]

That was the best review i have read in a long time!!! I haven't sail a mega ship, RC or east coast yet so you answered alot of my questions before i even asked them.

[adjjb12]

What a great review & positive outlook.

[Keith1010]

Great trip report.

 

Keith

[sjn911]

Thanks so much for your thorough report and pics and have a wonderful...very easy lovely cruise next time...that was rough and you did great....Sarah

[Scotsgirl01]

Great review and so glad you managed to stay positive and make the most of what was on offer. You have a wonderful writing style, I was totally engrossed.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for your report and photos, I agree completely that RCL needs to upgrade their policy towards solo cruisers. My dining experience on the Allure last year was a disaster, since I do not like eating alone in the dining room I wound up having my meals in the Windjammer, also their solo parties are a joke.

[happyiam]

I thoroughly enjoyed your report and pictures. Thank you for taking the time to give your thoughts on what you experienced.

[Clarea]

Very much enjoyed the report, and sorry your cruise was cut short.

[Croptop]

An excellent review of a harrowing experience. I actually came over from the Princess forum (via the Solo Cruisers forum) just to read this. Thank you for sharing your experiences and photos.

 

In spite of the events, your review has convinced me to add RCI to my list of lines to try.

[bigred08046]

Dynamic dining ruined my trip as much as the hurricane did! First night I had to eat at the windjammer because all of the free dining venues were full till 9:30PM!

 

I finally got smart and just showed up without reservation and was able to get seated.

 

I understand RCCL has thrown out Dynamic dining as a huge failure. Book classic dining it's a tad better. No main dining room on Quantum class ship and the Grand is the same menu night after night!

 

I'm going back to Celebrity!

[Clarea]

... I understand RCCL has thrown out Dynamic dining as a huge failure....

I don't think they have thrown out Dynamic Dining on Anthem. I've read that they change the menus once per cruise, but maybe that does not apply to Grande?

[knittinggirl]

I don't think they have thrown out Dynamic Dining on Anthem. I've read that they change the menus once per cruise, but maybe that does not apply to Grande?

Are the four free dining rooms any quieter than eating in one large room?

[bragstarr]

Thank you so much for this honest and excellent review. As a New Yorker on a Mexican Riviera cruise at the time this was happening, I was hoping for something real to come out of someone. We were getting a bit of hype on our ship from CNN and the such, but I can only imagine the New York press was having a field day broadcasting every single gory detail. You seemed to have a great time despite the "event" and being solo.....I would NOT have liked to be in my cabin alone at that time. Hope your next cruise is on water as smooth as glass and you have a great time. BTW, lovely shot of the Freedom Tower at night.

[Newbcruiser1]

Are the four free dining rooms any quieter than eating in one large room?

 

 

It seems to depend on when you eat and the crowd levels! Although overall I feel like it was much less noisy - I could actually hear the conversations going on at the tables beside mine!

[Newbcruiser1]

As proof that the storm didn't traumatize me from any more cruises...

 

I just booked my next one! A 13-night Transatlantic on the Independence in May! I guess seeing how well the ship was able to handle the storm, and the fact I didn't get sea-sick (with the help of plenty of medications) was somewhat reassuring to me. Enough that I'm willing to go on a cruise with 8 sea days in a row! [emoji6]

 

And my employer felt bad enough that they're allowing me to take two full weeks off!

[adjjb12]

That's great! And nice of your employer too!

[Tender Lady]

Excellent report. I appreciate that you covered the follow-on days with as much detail and clarity as the weather event. We're sailing on the Anthem on March 7 (I noticed a fellow traveler also mentioned that in this thread) and your essay gave me as much day-to-day info about the ship as it provided coverage of the storm experience.

 

One small quibble: Ain't nothin' wrong with chocolate covered bacon! ;)

[debgreg]

Great review, pictures made it so much more engaging. I am on the Ovation soon , just hoping none of your Weather excitement :)

[StretchamI]

I hope you are joking.

 

One of life's most basic rules is, if in any kind of danger, especially if there's the teeniest possibility that's it's mortal danger, smoke! Or whatever you vice is . Wouldn't you hate to bobbing around the Atlantic, getting ready to inhale seawater, and your last thought is "should have had that cigarette?"

 

Speaking of, this is ridiculous:

 

http://patch.com/new-jersey/hoboken/anthem-sea-passengers-busted-smoking-pot-horror-cruise-returns-port-0

 

However you feel about that otherwise, it's seems kind of nervy to arrest someone like this after a storm like that. And who's the crew that turned them in?

 

OP thanks for post, pics are a bit big for me. I'm at 1920 X 1200

 

Talk about adding insult to injury......... A true cruise to hell and back.

[ecormier]

Just booked the Anthem for Sept6th Canada New England cruise. Need to try everything on the ship that we missed on this cruise.

 

@ StretchamI, "You bet your sweet ass I am!" 😉

 

Cheers, Betty

[NikkiOh]

This is regarding the passenger who recently filed a lawsuit - He claims he was thrown 18 feet across his cabin, which sounds preposterous!

Methinks this fool opened up and stepped out on his balcony during the immense wind up to 175 mph in order to be thrown "18ft". LOL !!

[Newbcruiser1]

Yes I saw the article about that lawsuit. I imagine he may have fallen, but don't see how anybody could have flown 18 feet in the air! My fall when the ship listed was straight-down - no tossing involved! [emoji849] I did just realize the video made it onto ABC's Nightline though! Talk about embarrassing! Lol!

 

On another note, I received my refund for the cruise today! Glad Royal Caribbean followed through with their promise! And contrary to some other threads on here, it was the exact amount that I paid, including taxes, port fees, and gratuities.