Anthem of the Seas out of Port Liberty

[koolaid_and_kelly]

Hello everyone! Long time cruiser, first time member on this board. My husband and I are considering the Anthem out of Bayonne, NY, on the Dec 2 sailing. Have been on many ships over the past 17 years, but never on the Quantum class. Sailed out of Bayonne on the Adventure of the Seas many years ago (back when it was pretty new) so I know what I'm getting into going out of NJ. I guess my questions are, does anyone have experience on Anthem? Does it "feel" crowded, disorganized traffic flow, etc,? How's the entertainment/activities? What opinions do you have with this ship, and/or itinerary? Would also love to have some discussions about the ports given I haven't been to any of them (except San Juan) for over 10 years. Looking forward to your responses. Hope everybody has a wonderful night.

[Clarea]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

This is a good start with Anthem info: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/royal-caribbean/anthem

[koolaid_and_kelly]

Thanks Clarea. I'll check it out...

[welshrich]

Hello, we sailed on Anthem last year out of Bayonne, apart from check-in which was a little unorganised as they don't have the traditional desks the only time we felt crowded was at the muster drill, but, we find that with the bigger and newer ships everything is so organised that everyone is around the ship and not 'all' in one place, even when we were at dinner or at a show it was ok. I've known more queues and jams on the vision class. Hope this helps.

[Cruise a holic]

Hello everyone! Long time cruiser, first time member on this board. My husband and I are considering the Anthem out of Bayonne, NY, on the Dec 2 sailing. Have been on many ships over the past 17 years, but never on the Quantum class. Sailed out of Bayonne on the Adventure of the Seas many years ago (back when it was pretty new) so I know what I'm getting into going out of NJ. I guess my questions are, does anyone have experience on Anthem? Does it "feel" crowded, disorganized traffic flow, etc,? How's the entertainment/activities? What opinions do you have with this ship, and/or itinerary? Would also love to have some discussions about the ports given I haven't been to any of them (except San Juan) for over 10 years. Looking forward to your responses. Hope everybody has a wonderful night.

Having sailed on the quantum from nj last year, we were very disappointed in that class of ship. Yes it was very crowded as the layout of the ship is poor. Entertainment doesn't compare with oasis class. I would strongly suggest you consider the Harmony of the seas or any oasis or freedom class ship. Celebrity Summit also sails out of the port of Bayonne. Next year a new and improved adventure will also sail out of Bayonne

[WeatherFx]

We were on Quantum when it was in NJ and Anthem (2x) soon to be our third. We never found it to be crowded and have enjoyed the ship each time. From time to time the Esplanade can get congested, but not as bad as the Royal Promenade during sales events. There are plenty of places to sit and relax. It is different in that you have to schedule for different events such as NorthStar, IFly and shows. Dining, you usually have to wait to get seated, but not long in my experience, i.e. 5 minutes or so. The shows, like food, is subjective. We like Spectras Cabaret and We Will Rock You but the Gift was meh. Speaking of food, the dining menus are different than most of the fleet.

[Jenjer]

We sailed Quantum 1x and in June a 9 day on Anthem. Our first 9 day ever we had only done 7 days before that.

 

While it was our 12th cruise I got nervous as our departure date got closer and closer. Would we be bored?, get sick of the food?, get tired of the people?. My kids had picked the ship having loved Quantum so much and I had wanted to go to Bermuda and San Juan was new for us.

 

I will say that the sports court area takes up so much of the ship that you loose some of the wide open spaces that you have on Oasis class. But as a trade off you have a area that offers a place to enjoy inside during bad weather, to much sun or what ever. The young and young at heart flock there in groves.

 

Going out of Bayonne you know the weather may or may not be nice on your first day and last day. The sports court area takes care of that.

 

While they have 3 main shows you need reservations for. They rotate in other entertainers. keeping the evenings fresh and fun. We saw 3 different comedians and a juggler/comedian

 

The MDR dinner food was good. The option of so many specialties was incredible. We dinned in the MDR 4 times and specialties 5 nights Wonderland, Jamies (2x) and Chops (2x).

 

The buffet gets crazy busy like any other ship. but you have other options. I mostly enjoyed the Solarium bistro with its more than enough options for Breakfast. Café 270 for great lunch options or the MDR lunch. Do Not Miss lunch in the MDR extra special. they only have it on sea days and worth it.

 

The ship does feel more crowded than Oasis class but its not bad. I hate crowds, I hate lines and as long as you know....right after muster it will be bad, right after a show lets out it will be bad. People complain about the elevators but your on vacation what's the hurry? Sure they may take a few extra minutes during busy times but that's cruise life.

 

Didn't spend anytime in the main pool I was mostly in the Solarium pool that I loved. Spent a little time in the indoor family pool. Neither where crazy busy or crowded. Now the Solarium had bodies on most of the chairs but not that many people in the pools. especially in the mornings.

[njkruzer]

We sailed the Quantum and will sail the Anthem in January. Loved the bumper cars and 270. I don't recall crowds. I have not sailed Oasis class ships but have sailed on all the other classes. After the Radiance class ships, which I love, I like the Quantum class next. Enjoy.

[Cruise a holic]

We experienced such crowding on the Quantum that many days we were given beeper and had to wait 1/2 hour for dinner at a restaurant-even with a reservation. We also had such long lines for the bumper cars that we had to walk away after 45 minutes. The "arm" that circled the ship was also very crowded. I believe now they have reservations so the wait time will not be 2 hours. I recall the people ahead of us after waiting one hour, were told that their son was too short to ride the "arm". That was horrible. When we sailed the ship was only a few sailings old and the employees seemed poorly trained in most areas-including the bars. Hopefully the staffing is better trained on the ships now. However the overall experience including registration was so bad it will take me a few years to consider ever sailing on that class again.

[Alysia]

We sailed many times on all Royal classes of ships except the Quantum class up until last May. We went on the Anthem in May and I truly have to say that I love that ship. Before we the cruise was over, we booked it again for next May. In my opinion, it never felt crowded and I love the design with all the different venues and that you don't have to go outside to go to a specialty restaurant. This is just my opinion and I know others may disagree.

[starfish216]

Sailed on the Anthem twice and the Quantum. Going again in October because we like the ship so much.

 

This ship is made for cold weather sailings. There is a nice sized enclosed adult only Serenity area, they do keep the children out of this area. There is an indoor pool. Once the weather gets warmer there is also an outdoor pool. If lounging on a lounger is not your thing there are also many quite spots around the ship sit and relax. Two70 is a very nice place to sit and read. Also the promenade leading there is nice and quite.

 

There is a large sports complex on the ship which is good for those who are traveling with children or adults who just want to be more active.

 

As with any cruise ship expect peak times at the buffet to be crowded and finding a lounger in the Serenity area or by the pool late in the morning may be difficult. If you are not looking to be near the pool, there are plenty of loungers on the deck above the pool. This never effected me personally since I am an early riser, even on vacation.

 

I like that there are actual hand washing stations as you enter the buffet, I would rather wash my hands than use hand sanitizers.

 

Dining was easy. I usually make reservation before sailing, show up and wait to be seated. Never had to wait more than just a few minutes.

 

I like that the Esplanade is two levels. This allows us to travel from one end of the ship to the other if the main promenade is crowded with a parade or sale.

 

Also the cabins are better designed to have more storage space like cabinets above the bed and drawers under the sofa.

 

Give her a try you may like it. You'll still be on vacation so how bad can it be.

 

Shows and food taste vary from person to person so I won't comment on that.

[bethc1952]

We've spent 17 nights on Anthem since January and we have 19 more booked. She's my current favorite ship. We never felt crowded, except on boarding day when the rush for elevators when the rooms opened was crazy. We solved that problem for our upcoming cruises by booking rooms on Deck 6 instead of 10 and 11. We had traditional dining and never experienced a wait to be seated. We only went to the Windjammer once, but it was an off-time and wasn't crowded at all. We were able to book all of our shows on board and got the days and times that we wanted. The cabins are very nice and have plenty of storage. Our cabin attendants were great, as were all of our dining servers.

 

I can't wait to be back on board on Sept. 9!

 

Beth

[TennisCaptain]

We have sailed Anthem twice since the NJ port is so close to home. you do not have to enter the congested traffic of NY and the parking garage is beside the terminal. As with any sailing the congestion depends on the passengers interest on that sailing. But knowledge of the ship can help you bypass areas if necessary. For example on embarkation day the second time, we just pulled our luggage to the back of deck 5 to the 270 Cafe.. no need to get an elevator to the Windjammer or deal with trying to get a table schlepping luggage. Did the same thing on disembarkation day having breakfast there so we only had to pull if off when called.. any specific questions or tips feel free to contact us.

[hansolosmom]

Count me in the like Anthem column. We were on her in October, I didn't think it was too crowded, however if I traveled during summer I might think differently :)

 

The only places I thought were crowded were the Esplanade when they started a sale and right by the outdoor pool on nice days. Since there's only 1 outdoor pool if it's sunny everyone is out there.

 

We loved the Solarium and 270. Also the North Star bar. When we sailed, we had an issue with dining, it was still when they were doing dynamic and set times, and ours got royally messed up. It took days and many visits to Guest Services and finally an email from me while on-board to the corporate offices to get it straightened out. Even with that, I wouldn't hesitate to go again on Anthem.

[dswallow]

I've recently been on Anthem and have two more cruises booked on her, one in October and one in January. I dislike the ship. It felt least like a cruise ship than any ship I've been on, and I mean that in a derogatory way. The dining rooms are horrible. May as well be in a chain restaurant on land for all the ambiance. Actually if they did that, there'd be more ambiance than there is now.

 

The Windjammer, generally, seemed better than most Windjammer's I've seen previously. And Two70 was an amazing room that the cruise line misuses constantly -- closing off the beautiful view during daylight hours to have a projector-based show. Still Two70 is a great space. The theater is also disappointing; very bare-bones in a lot of ways. The main Esplanade area inside could be in any shopping mall in the US for all you'll ever generally see while there. And there was not really even any grand sort of area within it, such as around elevators or a central atrium. Everything about the ship, is for the most part, disappointing when compared to even one of RCL's oldest ships.

 

There's basically one and a half decks you can be on and feel like you're on a cruise ship.

 

There's apparently a reason it's always among the cheapest of itineraries across the RCL fleet. And similarly you'll see the same sort of thing with the other Quantum class ships -- highly discounted.

 

That said, it's convenient if you live in/around NJ. And that's probably the only reason it gets much in the way of bookings. Convenience. And low price, especially not having to pay for airfare to get to a port with decent ships. :)

 

It s it a bad experience overall? No, even I don't think that. It's just disappointing. I expected better. I'm used to better. And for such a new class of ship, even for one they still are building more of, it should be better.

 

I never felt crowded. There were the obnoxious usual pinch points in the promenade when they set up too many sale tables and block the path in several places. But you'll find that on every RCL ship. The staff is still generally great. The cabins are well appointed.

[mizLORInj]

There are also reviews in the member reviews section on this site, and you can also search on this board for Anthem Reviews. There are many, including a few by me.

 

We LOVE this ship. Does it help that the port is an hour from home? Yes. We do cruise other lines and ships, but are going back on Anthem for a fourth time. It is a fabulous ship in many, many ways. We have been on larger ships and smaller, and yet really love this class of ship.

 

I will say I'm not a fan of the port itself, or the traffic getting into it. Once stepping on board though, that part is forgotten.

Why not try it out for yourself and form your own opinion!

[eel]

I would say that Anthem and Quantum class in general is the most polarizing class of ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet. It seems you either love it or hate it. Personally we love it. We spent 12 days on Quantum and 30 days on Ovation. We have Quantum booked for next month.

 

Oasis and her sisters are among our least favorite ships. That class seems less like a cruise ship than any other class to us. It is more like a mega-resort that floats! It is hard to see the ocean from most venues. We think it is best for Transatlantic cruises with many sea days.

 

The crowding situation on Anthem (or any other ship for that matter) is a function of how many kids are on the cruise. In December it should not feel crowded at all.

[sakepuppy]

Do you have to make a reservation ahead of time to park at the NJ terminal? How much was it for the 9 days to park? Also which itinerary did you sail? We're doing the New England/Canada and I don't know how to find the best Shore Excursions. quote=TennisCaptain;53582664]We have sailed Anthem twice since the NJ port is so close to home. you do not have to enter the congested traffic of NY and the parking garage is beside the terminal. As with any sailing the congestion depends on the passengers interest on that sailing. But knowledge of the ship can help you bypass areas if necessary. For example on embarkation day the second time, we just pulled our luggage to the back of deck 5 to the 270 Cafe.. no need to get an elevator to the Windjammer or deal with trying to get a table schlepping luggage. Did the same thing on disembarkation day having breakfast there so we only had to pull if off when called.. any specific questions or tips feel free to contact us.

[mizLORInj]

Do you have to make a reservation ahead of time to park at the NJ terminal? How much was it for the 9 days to park? Also which itinerary did you sail? We're doing the New England/Canada and I don't know how to find the best Shore Excursions. .

 

No reservation. $20 per day. There is a deck and then a big lot for overflow.

 

Check the Canada/NE Ports of Call section on this site; lots of good info there. Also TripAdvisor for each port. Or you can book RC's excursions too.

 

Read reviews of Anthem's first NE sailing from June in the Member Reviews section too. :)

[Bobb1728]

The Anthem is our favorite ship. We are long time cruisers, mostly on RCCL. We are in our late fifties/early sixties, so that might make a difference. The indoor solarium is perfect for a cruise from the northeast. The music hall has excellent music for listening and dancing. Great shows/entertainment. We loved the restaurants. The balcony cabins have reclining chairs with foot rests.

[sakepuppy]

Thanks for all the replys, a couple more questions. We are signed up for My Time Dining but I don't understand how it works. When do we make our reservations? Some of our shows end at 8:30. Some of our shore excursions get back at 7:00? Also planing on doing 4 Specialty Dining Package, can I chose my own restaurants and times? Enjoy my cocktails and wine, is the Alcohol package worth it? TIA for the help!

[Clarea]

... Also planing on doing 4 Specialty Dining Package, can I chose my own restaurants and times? ...

 

You cannot chose restaurants and times pre-cruise. You make arrangements once you are onboard.

[luckyinpa]

Count me in the like Anthem column. We were on her in October, I didn't think it was too crowded, however if I traveled during summer I might think differently :)

 

 

what would be different? ive read many places on this forum that all ships sail full all the time

[Clarea]

what would be different? ive read many places on this forum that all ships sail full all the time

Masses of children in the summer.

[luckyinpa]

Masses of children in the summer.

 

dont kids take up less space, eat less, not allowed in solarium etc?