Hits and misses on Anthem of the Seas

[sdmike]

We are finishing up the same sailing with you and I actually completely understand everything you are talking about.

 

We love Royal. We are diamond members and we're excited about this new class of ship. We actually loved everything about our trip and feel that the ship is gorgeous. New venues like Music Hall and Two70 are awesome! Staff was great.

 

Royal blows NCL away with their pools. NCL pools are small and lackluster. Sure slides are fun but I want to chill in a pool all day, and Royal has got them beat in this area. Especially the Solarium. Heaven.

 

 

Sorry..chopped up your post a bit to respond.

 

What an adventure, right? I'm not sure anyone mentioned yet (I just got back on after the trip) that we arrived in NYC 6 hours early because there was another medical emergency at sea and the captain wanted to get the pax back to NY ASAP. There were also some broken bones at the flowrider. I wonder if this ship is jinxed. A friend of ours did the transatlantic and said there was a fire on board during their trip. Oye!

 

I agree with the pools. Having the large outside pool, the large indoor pool and the solarium is awesome. My kids preferred the slides, but chilling in the solarium was my thing for sure. :) Like I said, it's a beautiful ship with a ton going for it. I posted because people should be aware of some things that can be improved so they can prepare/address them in advance. Happy sailing!

[sdmike]

Did anyone who was refused reservations at a free venue threaten to remove auto-tips? Unfortunately, I think that is the one thing they would listen to. If they told me I had to eat at WJ because there was no room at the free venues, that is what I would do.

 

Unfortunately, that punishes the staff which were all great and doing an outstanding job. I figured my best bet was to notify NCL of my displeasure both on and off the ship. If enough people speak up, maybe something changes.

[sdmike]

As to dinners, I'm curious why you didn't make reservations ahead of time, especially with such a large group. I don't blame you for getting tired of the Windjammer. It becomes redundant rather quickly.

 

For a couple of reasons, actually. First, we never know when and where we want to eat. I'd hate to be involved in something and then have to leave because it was dinner time. This is especially true of our larger group. There are some nights when a few of us want to eat while others had a big lunch somewhere else. The point being, we chose this dining method for the flexibility that quite frankly didn't exist. Second, we ASSUMED (yes, I know) that this worked like NCL freestyle that we were more familiar with. We were not aware that walk-ups would be turned away instead of being asked to wait for an available table.

[sdmike]

We are sailing on Thursday on the Anthem, a group of 15, and I understand the frustration of the OP even before we board. I checked online religiously for reservations of all types to open up. I was actually able to book two tables for dinner in free restaurants for every night of the cruise, and also for the three shows that need reservations. The first issue we had was with RCL changing the dates and times of two of the shows, which caused conflicts with our dinner reservations. I tried to adjust online and in a call to customer service, but was told 1) There were no reservations available for the new times needed, and 2) even though I had booked all the people in our group, each individual person (cabin) had to call to cancel. That wasn't going to work,but luckily, a fellow CCer on here provided an email address to ask for assistance. They were able to adjust our reservations for us, but, I am sure mist people, without the benefit of CC, would have been out of luck.

We also were unable to book any activities, which is disappointing, especially to the youngsters in our group.

Sorry for the long post; I just think the way RCL does things is exhausting and way too much work!

 

 

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The same thing happened to us. I successfully booked all of the shows for our group, and a week out they were all changed, which conflicted with other things we had planned. We lost out on the iFly due to one of the changes and were never able to get a new slot. By "we" i'm talking about any...not the 10 of us. :) My brother was able to get us a reservation on the North Star for the 8th day, but it wasn't easy. He had to talk to a supervisor in guest services after a show was scheduled over it. I agree 100%. There was way, way too much planning required for this ship versus others I've sailed on. I think it's a combination of the NUMBER of things you can do, the limited availability of each, their "needs work" approach to dining, and the horrible IQ app. :)

[sdmike]

Anthem is a very different sailing experience. It doesn't matter if you are true to Royal, this class ship requires reservations in advance which may "put" some cruisers off.

 

If you want to just book a cruise and pick a dining time, the Anthem is not for you. A lot of planning goes into it.

 

It's different and we loved it!:)

 

 

Well said. I came from a very different perspective and expectation, hence my post. At least people can see what they're getting into.

[sdmike]

I want to update this thread on the Labadee situation.

 

I went to guest services to discuss the issue with my son on Labadee and submit a formal complaint so RCI corporate was aware of it. Two guest services representatives were at the station when I was assisted, and while one of them preferred to make excuses, the other was very understanding and recorded my information saying that he would inform the excursion staff. A few hours later I got a call from a very nice woman from the excursion staff about the issue, and she informed me that she had notified the "location manager" on Labadee about my complaint and offered to refund the cost of my son's wave runner excursion as an apology. I explained that I was just looking to get his $20 back, not the $100, and to "officially" complain about the practice to management, but she said it was the least she could do. She was apologetic on behalf of RCI, and I felt that I had my say on the manner. I walked to my son's room, gave him $20, and explained that RCI was sorry for what he experienced and wanted him to have his money...and the small box....as an apology. He was very happy about this.

 

The next day I looked at my account and they had refunded the price of the excursion for all 5 of us, not just my son. I have to say, while I still hope they change how they run Labadee, they stepped up to try to make things right for us. Thanks RCI.

 

Now go fix this permanently please.

[sdmike]

One final note.

 

Many of you knew that an 8 year old boy was found unresponsive in the main pool the first evening and airlifted off the ship. Many of you saw my pictures in the press and on tv taken from my balcony of the NYPD and FDNY responding to the emergency.

 

I'm very sad to say that the boy didn't make it. He had been on life support, but he didn't survive. Such a horrible tragedy.

[Lady_831]

Another concern is reservations for the North Star, I fly, Bumper cars, Shows, etc. Our eight grandchildren who ages will run from 8 to 18 when we sail, were very excited when they saw all the Anthem bells & whistles so I have already assumed responsibility for making all the reservations, since their parents might not make them before there is no more availability. Again, RCI assured me those reservations will be available seven months before sailing and, since everything is linked, I should have no problems.

 

So, I shouldn't worry about either dining issues or Bells & Whistles and yet I have no faith in anything they told me!!!!

 

Seven months before sailing? I am almost 90 days out from our October Anthem sailing and still unable to book the Ifly or shows online. I was able to book the Northstar.

[hapster85]

For a couple of reasons, actually. First, we never know when and where we want to eat. I'd hate to be involved in something and then have to leave because it was dinner time. This is especially true of our larger group. There are some nights when a few of us want to eat while others had a big lunch somewhere else. The point being, we chose this dining method for the flexibility that quite frankly didn't exist. Second, we ASSUMED (yes, I know) that this worked like NCL freestyle that we were more familiar with. We were not aware that walk-ups would be turned away instead of being asked to wait for an available table.

I can certainly that. More than once we felt the pressure of a looming dinner time. The system definitely had room for improvement. Some nights, we saw tables sit empty for our entire meal, yet the restaurant showed as fully booked. Crazy.

[Merion_Mom]

I want to update this thread on the Labadee situation.

 

I went to guest services to discuss the issue with my son on Labadee and submit a formal complaint so RCI corporate was aware of it. Two guest services representatives were at the station when I was assisted, and while one of them preferred to make excuses, the other was very understanding and recorded my information saying that he would inform the excursion staff. A few hours later I got a call from a very nice woman from the excursion staff about the issue, and she informed me that she had notified the "location manager" on Labadee about my complaint and offered to refund the cost of my son's wave runner excursion as an apology. I explained that I was just looking to get his $20 back, not the $100, and to "officially" complain about the practice to management, but she said it was the least she could do. She was apologetic on behalf of RCI, and I felt that I had my say on the manner. I walked to my son's room, gave him $20, and explained that RCI was sorry for what he experienced and wanted him to have his money...and the small box....as an apology. He was very happy about this.

 

The next day I looked at my account and they had refunded the price of the excursion for all 5 of us, not just my son. I have to say, while I still hope they change how they run Labadee, they stepped up to try to make things right for us. Thanks RCI.

 

Now go fix this permanently please.

 

Outstanding resolution, for your family.

 

JMO: Don't expect anything to change at Labadee with that excursion.

[troykahack]

We even tried breaking our group into smaller ones to get reservations. No luck. The woman in reservations said that they have a capacity of about 1000 for each of the dining halls each night, but with 5000 on the ship it was a real problem for them to find a way to accommodate enough people. The Windjammer was packed too (long lines, no tables), so I guess this is a big problem at this level of guests.

 

5 groups and all trying to dine same place at same time could be a problem? What did you attempt to reserve? It sounds like 2 could get a table?

[Ship2Shore]

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Edited July 16, 2016 by Ship2Shore

[david_sobe]

Mike

I am glad I ventured from the NCL board to find your mini review. Sorry to hear about the eating situation on this cruise. I hope you come back to do a full review. Your cruise reviews are some of the best ever.

[sdmike]

Mike

I am glad I ventured from the NCL board to find your mini review. Sorry to hear about the eating situation on this cruise. I hope you come back to do a full review. Your cruise reviews are some of the best ever.

 

Hi David! Hope things are well. I'll be back on the NCL board soon because my next trip will be back on NCL. :)

[sdmike]

5 groups and all trying to dine same place at same time could be a problem? What did you attempt to reserve? It sounds like 2 could get a table?

 

We tried all kinds of things. We tried to get the large group in first, and when that didn't work we asked how man could they seat (thinking that we could split up). It was just locked tight, even though there were clearly tables available.

[Tin can]

Thank you for the review.

 

We were on Anthem last year out of the UK and the selling of the $10 junk had to be seen to be believed. It was like a cheap market stall, some fella standing on the counter shouting at the top of his voice to attract interest and then others in suits prowling about trying to get interest. Really cheap and tacky :(

 

Never seen it quite as bad on any other ship we have been on, seriously how much can RCI make on these $10 watches and purses.

 

Other than that lovely ship and we hap a great time, we did book all dining and entertainment before we left though.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for your review............

[Amtrac]

Thank you for the review.

 

 

 

We were on Anthem last year out of the UK and the selling of the $10 junk had to be seen to be believed. It was like a cheap market stall, some fella standing on the counter shouting at the top of his voice to attract interest and then others in suits prowling about trying to get interest. Really cheap and tacky :(

 

 

 

Never seen it quite as bad on any other ship we have been on, seriously how much can RCI make on these $10 watches and purses.

 

 

 

Other than that lovely ship and we hap a great time, we did book all dining and entertainment before we left though.

 

 

 

Saw the same thing on Quantum last year[emoji12][emoji12] Since they sell on most ships they'll continue. To each his own[emoji12][emoji12]

 

 

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[hapster85]

We were on Anthem last year out of the UK and the selling of the $10 junk had to be seen to be believed. It was like a cheap market stall, some fella standing on the counter shouting at the top of his voice to attract interest and then others in suits prowling about trying to get interest. Really cheap and tacky :(

 

Obviously this sort of thing doesn't appeal to everyone, but some people enjoy it. My wife and sister-in-law among them. My SIL bought 5 of the cheap watches over the course of the cruise. Lol

[FM]

Thanks for the review - it was intelligently and thoughtfully presented. Glad to hear that the Labadee situation with your son was handled well by RCL. A well presented case usually wins out over emotional, demanding and rude ... for the most part. We can attest that we've had successful resolutions (above and beyond) whenever we had some serious issues on our cruises.

 

Doing a B2B next year, with our first ever RC cruise (aboard the Anthem) immediately followed by a return to NCL (Breakaway) for the first time in over 19 yrs ... so it will be our first experience(s) with "dynamic" or "free-style" dining. It'll be interesting to see how we like it. With all the options and changes available with dining, I just look at it as being exactly the same as our stays at WDW (or Universal) ... planning your dining around your activities for the day ... instead now it's at sea instead of on land at a theme park ... battling for those prime time spots and so forth - lol.

 

Hoping the beds are comfortable enough on the Anthem ?! We must be spoiled as our last three cruises were aboard the Disney Fantasy ... I honestly can't recall if the Fantasy ever had any merchandise tables outside their stores with CM's hawking merchandise. I had to chuckle as I read the other posts here as I totally forgot about the following ... $10 watches ... Inch of Gold ... tons of shirts and purses on sale ... and $10 watches - lol. No Labadee on our RCL itinerary - but we do have a stop at GSC with the Breakaway - so hoping there are no pushy vendors there. For us though, nothing can beat Disney's Castaway Cay :) ...