Anthem April 2-9, 2017 Sailing Review: "Unique" Info

[michele.catskill]

DAY 6

Well everyone is more comfortable on the ship and with the weeks activities, know each other a little better.

So the atmosphere on Friday was more lively, interactive, boisterous, fun-loving. The children are also more confident on the ship and have my friends, so their vocal and activity level was much higher as well. The parents were more relaxed too, so there was a lot of free-spirited running around.

Plus add to that the wind, cooler weather, and rocking ship, cancelled Rock and Spectra shows with many people going to guest services to get the seasickness tablets – that they seem to give away for free on choppy sea days. I took a Bonnie tablet that I brought with me so that I can enjoy my dinner at Chops.

 

TIP: From my reading of these threads, it seems like the way back up North is a little more rough than the way down. So I suggest you book as many shows and activities on the front-end. I did not do the North Star or Ifly, but those are definitely affected by the wind as well. When they reopen, those with reservations are honored first before the standbys.

[michele.catskill]

SOLARIUM- CHAIRS

Regarding getting a chair in the Solarium, and I expect the same general observation would apply to all the pool areas:

 

Day 1,2,3 it was fairly easy to find chair spaces at various locations – left, right, more forward, etc.

We would arrive around 900AM after yoga class and find good spaces.

Day 6, 7 specifically in the Solarium as it's getting cooler and windier, if you want to find an indoor chair, you need to arrive earlier.

Friday we did not do yoga session and had a little trouble finding a space when we came at 845AM. But some people along the window did leave soon after and we were happy with their spot.

Saturday there is no yoga session offered (nor on Nassau seaport day). DH went to the indoor pool at 7:30 AM to do lap swimming as usual. Due to the experience on Friday, he went to scope out the chair and 3/4 were already taken. When I arrived at 8:15, there were very few spots left in the Solarium seating area.

 

TIP: as the itinerary progresses, if chair seating matters to you, you will need to come earlier and earlier. (Most of you experience cruisers probably already know this.)

[michele.catskill]

ACTIVITIES

There's plenty to do on board as you all now, so I'll just say a little about what I did/recall.

In general, seems to be 6/630 and 8/815 shows, 10:30 music/dance events and 1145 adult activity/comedy) with some kind of Trivia almost every hour of the day.

Where I can recall the day/time I will add (no compass handy).

 

- Seinfeld Trivia (Fri 4pm): fun, yadi yadi yada.... what more to say?!

- Groovey Town 70s Dance Party (Wed 1030pm): weak to start, but after more drinks perhaps, really picked up with line dancing and then full out disco craze.

- Silent Dance Party (immediately after 70s dance): With the 70's dance lead-in, ppl were already warmed up. Plus, as they handed out the headphones, many more ppl came froward to see what it was about - me included as I had no idea what this was. There are 2 channels on the earphones and the channel you are listening to is indicated by a light ring on the ear device. So ppl dance to the music they pick yet for those walking thru, it's silent. And to watch movement with no music is quite amusing. It's more fun to dance tho and connect with other dancers non-verbally. When someone switched channels to a great dance song, a wave would ripple thru the dance floor as everyone switched over.

- Dancing with the Stripes (Th 1030pm): not as funny as I expected. I first saw this on Breakaway and the way they structured it was better as it had more time for the ppl to dance. This was almost focused more on the judges. Still enjoyable.

- Marriage Game (Fri 230pm, instead of planned Sat afternoon): as always, revealing....!

- Name that Tune (?Tues nite?): this was more like a show than simple game. It was a full production with music, singing, and dancing. If you like that (I do), don't miss it.

- Karaoke finals (Fri 1030pm): Talent abounds. A woman from Boston who owns an auto repair business won with a (near) perfect rendition of Whitney Houston's tough vocal "And I Will Alays Love You". Amazing!

- Quest (Fri 1145pm): Adult treasure hunt. Well, it definitely needs "adult" in title...!

- Boleros had a good Latin band and ppl (couples) seemed to always be dancing. It was a nice vibe.

- Comedians (Mon and Thurs 1145pm)

 

The RCL channel supposedly runs videos of most of these contest type events, but I never saw any. We, I suppose like most people, are in the room somewhere between 5 PM to 7 PM getting ready for dinner and that to me would seem to be prime time. I suppose from RCL point of view, it's better to put videos about the cruise line and other RCL ships on instead… Can't blame them for doing their business…

 

That's all I can recall…if you have specific questions, I'll try and answer.

[michele.catskill]

MENUS/FOOD PORN

I direct you to recent Anthem posts by Canadiandisneymom - she did a great job and posted all MDR and bar drink menus + MDR photos. (Thanks! The bar menus were particularly helpful to me.)

 

Onboard: On TV in room you can view the MDR menu of that night. I asked for full week if MDR menus on Day 1, but as I expected, no go.

(I have not eaten in MDR yet- maybe tonight)

 

 

SUGGEST TO RCL: post bar menus on TV too. And post all menus on Royal-IQ app.

[michele.catskill]

Thanks for all the great information. Did you enjoy the Melia resort? Was it crowded? Able to find lounge chairs easily?

 

Here's MELIA Beach view at peak chair time.

 

Edited April 8, 2017 by michele.catskill
Photo missing?

[EeyoreFan1967]

Thanks for this great review!

 

You mentioned your DH prefers to eat Gluten-free. My DD HAS to because she has Celiac. I'm curious about all of the specialty dining venues, but especially Wonderland. I know they have a very limited menu, how were they for GF?

[michele.catskill]

Thanks for this great review!

 

You mentioned your DH prefers to eat Gluten-free. My DD HAS to because she has Celiac. I'm curious about all of the specialty dining venues, but especially Wonderland. I know they have a very limited menu, how were they for GF?

 

The menu in Wonderland is not limited, but it is very specific - as in, you can't really substitute.

Celiac is much more than avoiding gluten by choice....

Many sauces have gluten in them and most of the dishes we had had some sort of sauce.

I also suspect most of the food is prepped in pans/bowls that have had gluten ingredients in them prior.... so I'd be hesitant in any case.

If you are booking a BOGO of multi-meal package, then you can decide once on board and you speak to them directly about how they handle gluten-free dining in Wonderland.

I saw the restaurants being very accommodating to children who wanted different foods and they brought in food from another dining venue for them. So if you have a few diners and DD wants to join anyway, bring him along and ask them to bring in food that he can eat. If there were a dish or two that was gluten free, then DD could share that with you too!

FYI: The WJ has a gluten free line.

Have a fantastic cruise !

[michele.catskill]

SPECIALTY DINING- RESERVATIONS

If you sign up for BOGO or other dining packages, you can check when on board the date, time, restaurant they have assigned you and make the changes you want.

Best place to do this is with the head of dining services himself - Gary from South Africa. He was very kind, gracious, accommodating, and always available.

We had no challenges changing to exactly what we wanted, and Gary helped us add another option to our package (we went from a 3-meal package to 4 meals).

Enjoy!

[michele.catskill]

SPECIALITY DINING- CHOPS

4 of 4 package $100 ($25/each)

 

We dined the second formal night, Friday, in Chops.

This is a old-school, traditional style steak house.

Of all the dining atmospheres, I enjoyed this the best.

Yet personally, I found the food unimaginative and basic, which I suppose is fine for a traditional steak-house.

DH rarely eats red meat but decided to have a "petite" filet mignon (6 oz.), because hey - when in Rome... He enjoyed it very much. It was tender and flavorful. It is served alone on a plate and then they pour their specialty sauce on it. (You can also choose to have instead béarnaise, au poivre, or other [name?] sauce). I found the sauce a bit gummy.

I had the branzino and it did not wow me. It was a nicely grilled piece of fish, but with no special seasoning and the plating was vey unattractive. It was served on "garlicky spinach" but I did not taste much garlic. Others posted that the garlicky shrimp here was very good. They also had an Asian spiced tuna. I would try those instead unless you are looking for a blander taste.

The sides were basic and again, not plated with any flare (each in its own small bowl).

Desserts are also traditional.

Maybe my experience of this venue is colored as they knocked over the bucket where they were keeping chilled the half-bottle of expensive champagne I brought with me on board, and it all spilled on the floor (and all over another diner's shoes!).... (!$#!^). The waiter and manager of Chops need a bit more customer service skills training.... Anyhew, Prince Gary handled it... later!

[michele.catskill]

DISEMBARKATION

Breakfast is served 6/6:30 - 8:30 AM at 4 locations (Grande [limited - no eggs benedict this morning!], WJ, two70, Café Promenade. NOT Solarium).

Basically, the front half of the ship waits in the Theater, and the back half in two70 (Suites in Coastal?).

We carried off our own bags and so just joined the end of the line when we were ready.... which just so happened to be in the "carry your own luggage" designated time slot (800-8:30AM. They also had an earlier one 7:15-7:45AM).

Checkout was super fast and simple.

We were in the car before 9:00 AM.

Parking fee is $20 a day = $140 total. You pay at the entry level before you go to car.

[Sunshine42794]

SPECIALTY DINING- RESERVATIONS

If you sign up for BOGO or other dining packages, you can check when on board the date, time, restaurant they have assigned you and make the changes you want.

Best place to do this is with the head of dining services himself - Gary from South Africa. He was very kind, gracious, accommodating, and always available.

We had no challenges changing to exactly what we wanted, and Gary helped us add another option to our package (we went from a 3-meal package to 4 meals).

Enjoy!

Where do I go to to see what they assigned you and make changes?? Can I do this as soon as I board? Thanks.

[Clarea]

Where do I go to to see what they assigned you and make changes?? Can I do this as soon as I board? Thanks.

You can go to any specialty restaurant as soon as you board.

[TeeRick]

Really excellent review- THANKS!

[toras]

Where do I go to to see what they assigned you and make changes?? Can I do this as soon as I board? Thanks.

 

I really wanted Wonderland so went there as soon as I boarded without looking at the IQ app. A staff there wrote down our cabin number (yes pen and paper). Later I saw that I have reservations for both Wonderland and Chops on the same night so just deleted the Chops on the app.

[Sunshine42794]

You can go to any specialty restaurant as soon as you board.

Thanks

[michele.catskill]

Where do I go to to see what they assigned you and make changes?? Can I do this as soon as I board? Thanks.

 

Oh yes, that's an important piece of info - I think any specialty restaurant can help you but if you can, do it at Wonderland. It's immediately on the right as you embark.

The head of specialty dining is posted there and he can make all the arrangements for you - his name is Gary (from South Africa).

[oct696]

Michele, outstanding review! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. So helpful! <3

[movierunner]

Great info & review, will be on Anthem March 2018 as our 2nd cruise.

Not having to drive to Florida will be nice, but weather leaving from NJ could be an issue.

But a cruise & away from home beats it.

[luckyinpa]

Great info & review, will be on Anthem March 2018 as our 2nd cruise.

Not having to drive to Florida will be nice, but weather leaving from NJ could be an issue.

But a cruise & away from home beats it.

 

do you mean snow preventing you from getting on board?

 

ive never been on but after watching many videos and seeing pictures, my assumption was anthem is a cold weather ship with many more indoor areas than a typical ship . at least more than the breakaway

 

if this is not true then my money has been wasted

[movierunner]

do you mean snow preventing you from getting on board?

 

ive never been on but after watching many videos and seeing pictures, my assumption was anthem is a cold weather ship with many more indoor areas than a typical ship . at least more than the breakaway

 

if this is not true then my money has been wasted

 

Snow would not stop us getting onto the ship, but might slow us down getting from the Toronto area to the port. Last cruise March 17 we went through a snow storm from around Niagara area to about 1 1/2 hrs south of Erie PA. WE had 3 days to get to Ft. Lauderdale and still made our daily overnight stops as planed. Was just meaning that NJ & NY in that time could get lots of snow & if so we will travel accordingly. Looking forward to our 2nd cruise & newer ship, love the covered pool areas from what I'm seeing on You Tube.