Anthem of the Seas Review - 08/25/16 sailing

[loug1601]

We decided on this cruise for two reasons; we had never been to the Canada & New England ports and we live within an hours drive of Bayonne. We have sailed on Anthem of the Seas on two prior occasions and feel it is a lovely ship. We are 66 and 65; both retired. My sister and her husband joined us on this cruise. They are five years younger than us, and flew in from Florida. This was their first cruise on Anthem.

 

We have sailed with Royal Caribbean for many years on must ships from our first time on Sovereign of the Seas, through the Oasis class. We enjoy them all, but do prefer the big new ships with all of the bells and whistles.

 

Embarkation:

Easy. We had checked in on line, uploaded our photos, and we on board in no time.

On sail away, the Captain surprised us with a sail around the Statue of Liberty. This was spectacular!

 

Cabin:

Our Family Junior Suite was a splurge, as we did not really need such a large room for just the two of us. The premium for the room was rather steep, but we really did enjoy the extra space. We have also stayed in balcony staterooms on the Anthem and found them to be very nice as well.

 

Dining:

We are very plain diners. I am vegetarian, and my husband likes very plain food. We both found something we could enjoy in all restaurants, including the Windjammer buffet and Chops, the one specialty dining restaurant we went to. The Chops staff served me a vegetarian pasta dish from Jamie's. We did not dine in Chic, as we were too tired after a long shore excursion.

 

Entertainment:

Loved the production shows. We had seen them on a prior sailing, but went again and enjoyed them just as much the second time around. We Will Rock You is my personal favorite. The guest entertainment was also very good. The comedians were very funny. The ship had a gentleman on board who presented an overview of the ports and their history. He was good, but some of his lectures were shown at 6 pm, dinner time for many guests.

 

Service:

We found the service to be very good. Our room attendant, the wait staff in the restaurants, the bartenders, everyone we encountered were pleasant and helpful.

 

Ports:

All of the US ports were wonderful. Boston is amazing, Portland was lovely, Bar Harbor was just spectacular, and by far our favorite. The Canadian ports were not as picturesque at the dock areas, but they were both enjoyable. Peggy's Cove and the Titanic cemetery were both very enjoyable. We booked four excursions, all through the ship, as we were unfamiliar with the ports.

 

Final thoughts:

I do not understand why so many folks seem to dislike this ship. It is beautiful with so much to do that you just can't do it all in one trip. This was our third cruise on the Anthem and we still could not fit in everything. We were lucky as the seas were so smooth on this sailing. We also sailed once on Quantum, and also had a great time. We had very rough seas on our January 2016 sailing and this can certainly impact the cruise experience.

 

My only observation on this ship, and Quantum, is a shortage of staff. The tables in all of the included dining venues, including the Windjammer, Solarium Bistro, 270, were not cleared in a timely manner. We had a hard time finding a clean table, and at times we had to clear a table ourselves. The staff in these venues were working very hard, but it was not possible to keep up when there were just too few staff members working. Additionally, the food could have been warmer. It was never cold, but hot would have been better. I think this goes back to a lack of staff to serve the food while hot.

 

The good news!

1. We encountered no chair hogs on this cruise! Many lounges were available all of the time.

2. Cruise Director Abe Huges was wonderful. Always available and visible.

3. The Captain arranged for fresh lobster from Portland to be brought on board. A treat for lobster lovers!

4. Foggy leaving Halifax. The fog horn could be heard at regular intervals if you were on top deck. Such fun!

5. Excluding Halifax, we were the only ship in all of the ports which helped with crowd control in the ports. We shared Halifax with the much smaller Veendam.

6. Bagpipers! They played in both Canadian ports. The best was the piper who played as we sailed away from St John even though it was 11 pm!

7. We found all staff members to be friendly and helpful.

8. We did sail prepared. All dining, shows, North Star and Ifly were booked prior to sailing.

 

I would not hesitate to recommend the beautiful Anthem of the Seas!

[Clarea]

Thanks for the feedback!

[dpostman]

Here is a picture of you as you left the Halifax Port. I tried to get to the port as soon as I could to get a selfie with the ship but missed it by about 20 minutes :mad:

 

Seen the ship sailing away :(

 

Then went to Garrison Brewing right next to the pier :)

 

Edited September 6, 2016 by dpostman

[bbahorik]

What tours did you take? We booked a tour thru Royal at each port. We leave in a couple weeks!

[loug1601]

Tours:

 

Boston - 1 3/4 hr tour of Boston. No hop on hop off. They drop you in the center of town after the tour. You can then explore on your own. Go back to the drop off point later for your ride back to the ship.

 

Portland - Ollie's Trolly to the top of Cadallic Mountain. Then took the narrow gauge railroad tour. Right across from the dock.

 

Bar Harbor - just walked on our own. Beautiful.

 

St John - took the antique train ride to, and over, the Bay of Fundy. Saw the reversing falls. A little corny, but still enjoyable.

 

Halifax - Peggy's Cove and Titanic cemetery tour. Very nice.

Edited September 6, 2016 by loug1601

[hansolosmom]

Thanks for the review - I agree with you that the Canadian ports are absolutely lovely!

 

Glad you had a good time - we are on her in 44 days!

[CruisinAg]

Thanks for the review! Just booked this itinerary yesterday and am already getting excited. Now, only 400 days to obsess!

[cincicruisers]

Great review, thanks for sharing.

[Jan_In_Maine]

Tours:

 

Boston - 1 3/4 hr tour of Boston. No hop on hop off. They drop you in the center of town after the tour. You can then explore on your own. Go back to the drop off point later for your ride back to the ship.

 

Portland - Ollie's Trolly to the top of Cadallic Mountain. Then took the narrow gauge railroad tour. Right across from the dock.

 

Bar Harbor - just walked on our own. Beautiful.

 

St John - took the antique train ride to, and over, the Bay of Fundy. Saw the reversing falls. A little corny, but still enjoyable.

 

Halifax - Peggy's Cove and Titanic cemetery tour. Very nice.

 

I believe that Cadillac Mountain and Ollie's Trolley are both in Bar Harbor - There could be a trolley in Portland though. Jan

[loug1601]

Oops! You are correct! the trolley and Cadillac Mountain were in Bar Harbor. So many ports...I knew I should have taken notes! Hahaha!

[Jan_In_Maine]

Oops! You are correct! the trolley and Cadillac Mountain were in Bar Harbor. So many ports...I knew I should have taken notes! Hahaha!

 

Sometimes they just seem to co-mingle!!! Glad you had a good time on your cruise .... :) Jan

[CrusinAgain]

OP, We have also been on the Anthem three times and about to leave for the fall leaves voyage on the the 6th of October. Went on the Quantum like you as well. We love this ship!

 

Where did they serve the lobster at when it was brought in from port? That sounds so delicious and so good to look forward to. We have never seen Portland, Maine but like you loved Bar Harbor.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.

[Addictedtocruising]

We decided on this cruise for two reasons; we had never been to the Canada & New England ports and we live within an hours drive of Bayonne. We have sailed on Anthem of the Seas on two prior occasions and feel it is a lovely ship. We are 66 and 65; both retired. My sister and her husband joined us on this cruise. They are five years younger than us, and flew in from Florida. This was their first cruise on Anthem.

 

We have sailed with Royal Caribbean for many years on must ships from our first time on Sovereign of the Seas, through the Oasis class. We enjoy them all, but do prefer the big new ships with all of the bells and whistles.

 

Embarkation:

Easy. We had checked in on line, uploaded our photos, and we on board in no time.

On sail away, the Captain surprised us with a sail around the Statue of Liberty. This was spectacular!

 

Cabin:

Our Family Junior Suite was a splurge, as we did not really need such a large room for just the two of us. The premium for the room was rather steep, but we really did enjoy the extra space. We have also stayed in balcony staterooms on the Anthem and found them to be very nice as well.

 

Dining:

We are very plain diners. I am vegetarian, and my husband likes very plain food. We both found something we could enjoy in all restaurants, including the Windjammer buffet and Chops, the one specialty dining restaurant we went to. The Chops staff served me a vegetarian pasta dish from Jamie's. We did not dine in Chic, as we were too tired after a long shore excursion.

 

Entertainment:

Loved the production shows. We had seen them on a prior sailing, but went again and enjoyed them just as much the second time around. We Will Rock You is my personal favorite. The guest entertainment was also very good. The comedians were very funny. The ship had a gentleman on board who presented an overview of the ports and their history. He was good, but some of his lectures were shown at 6 pm, dinner time for many guests.

 

Service:

We found the service to be very good. Our room attendant, the wait staff in the restaurants, the bartenders, everyone we encountered were pleasant and helpful.

 

Ports:

All of the US ports were wonderful. Boston is amazing, Portland was lovely, Bar Harbor was just spectacular, and by far our favorite. The Canadian ports were not as picturesque at the dock areas, but they were both enjoyable. Peggy's Cove and the Titanic cemetery were both very enjoyable. We booked four excursions, all through the ship, as we were unfamiliar with the ports.

 

Final thoughts:

I do not understand why so many folks seem to dislike this ship. It is beautiful with so much to do that you just can't do it all in one trip. This was our third cruise on the Anthem and we still could not fit in everything. We were lucky as the seas were so smooth on this sailing. We also sailed once on Quantum, and also had a great time. We had very rough seas on our January 2016 sailing and this can certainly impact the cruise experience.

 

My only observation on this ship, and Quantum, is a shortage of staff. The tables in all of the included dining venues, including the Windjammer, Solarium Bistro, 270, were not cleared in a timely manner. We had a hard time finding a clean table, and at times we had to clear a table ourselves. The staff in these venues were working very hard, but it was not possible to keep up when there were just too few staff members working. Additionally, the food could have been warmer. It was never cold, but hot would have been better. I think this goes back to a lack of staff to serve the food while hot.

 

The good news!

1. We encountered no chair hogs on this cruise! Many lounges were available all of the time.

2. Cruise Director Abe Huges was wonderful. Always available and visible.

3. The Captain arranged for fresh lobster from Portland to be brought on board. A treat for lobster lovers!

4. Foggy leaving Halifax. The fog horn could be heard at regular intervals if you were on top deck. Such fun!

5. Excluding Halifax, we were the only ship in all of the ports which helped with crowd control in the ports. We shared Halifax with the much smaller Veendam.

6. Bagpipers! They played in both Canadian ports. The best was the piper who played as we sailed away from St John even though it was 11 pm!

7. We found all staff members to be friendly and helpful.

8. We did sail prepared. All dining, shows, North Star and Ifly were booked prior to sailing.

 

I would not hesitate to recommend the beautiful Anthem of the Seas!

 

We were also on this sailing going to Canada/NE for the first time and have been on Anthem for a 12 night in March. I can not agree with you more about how awesome this cruise was!

We are mid 50's with a 13 year old Granddaughter and there was something for everyone :D

 

It's a shame most people I talked to or heard complain should I say were not prepared with reservations and pre planning so "they hated it"