Trip Review: Anthem of the Seas 4/7 - 4/14

[LoveSummerFun]

Pools: For the first day and a half and the last day of the cruise, it was too chilly to swim in the main outside pool. So of course, everyone who wanted to do so had to jam into either the indoor pool (for everyone) or the solarium pool (for ages 16+). Both were quite crowded. Actually, most of the public spaces indoors were crowded on those days because not many people wanted to be outside. This was to be expected, but again, you could feel the congestion of everyone trying to compete for their spot in the same places as everyone else. On the days it was good pool weather yes, the main outside pool was crowded but not so much that you couldn't find a spot in the pool to hang out. I found the water to be a good temperature. If you have issues getting up and down a standard ladder to enter a pool you may not like the main pool, as that's how you get in and out. About the chair hogs: yes, they were out in force, but DH and I never had a problem finding a couple of chairs together. I never once saw a staff member remove someone's belongings, nor did I witness any passenger confrontations. We would go to the pool maybe between 10 and 12 on a few days and then 1-2 on other days. The pool towel check out/in system really wasn't a problem, just a short walk from the main pool to the towel station. The beverage service was adequate and if it isn't quick enough, there are bars nearby. The Windjammer is just inside, aft, and many people went in, grabbed a plate of food and came back out to eat by the pool. Johnny Rockets is also right off the pool. They have a few tables, chairs and booths set up for lunch or again, you could eat poolside.

 

The solarium is beautiful on Anthem! Its a bright, spacious space - a great place to zen out. The pools cascade and the whirlpool is large. There are plenty of loungers and chairs. Again if you're craving a child-free zone, this is the place for you.

 

iFly and North Star: DH did both and loved both. Initially there were no appointments available, but we kept checking back and eventually cancellations opened some spots up. If you don't have the Royal iQ app on your device, there are kiosks at various locations where you can log on and view/schedule all activities which require appointments. We did not have any problems logging on.

 

Shopping: Certainly has a lot of stores on board, but the high-end boutiques outweigh the cheaper, souvenir-type places. They had the usual watches, purses, evening clutch bags, sunglasses, sun hats, swimsuit coverups, etc. all for sale in the Royal Esplanade. There's also a makeup & perfume boutique with the usual designer names.

 

Next Up: Entertainment/Venues

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Thanks for the great reviews!!

[perkimommy]

Thank you for your honest review. It was very informative and appreciated.

[ScottieLuvr]

Ports/Shore Excursions: We did not go into port for Canaveral or Nassau as we had been there multiple times. Just preferred to stay onboard and enjoy the ship. For Coco Cay, we did go ashore and LOVED it. We were worried we would not be able to dock there [seems like a 50-50 chance due to sea conditions] but the weather gods were with us! DH had an excursion ticket for wave runner. If you have excursion tickets, you don't need to wait for a tender ticket as your excursion ticket is your tender ticket. Your meeting time (onshore) and place will be clearly indicated on the ticket. Even if only one person has an excursion ticket, they will allow others from your family/group to tender ashore with the person with the ticket. DH's meeting time was 1:30 at the wave runner station, but we tendered ashore at like 11:00, no problem. If nobody had an excursion ticket, on this particular sailing, you needed to pick up a tender ticket the day before docking at Coco Cay, or between 8:30 and 10:00 AM the day of docking. We found the tender process to be easy and quick - just a few minutes from ship to shore. Coco Cay is a colorful, scenic little place! Most people get off the tender, then head to the left where there is a large expanse of sun loungers and beach. There are palm trees for shade if you want it, and you can rent a beach umbrella for $30.00 - they'll bring it to your spot and set it up for you. While I love a beach, I get weirded out by sinking sand, too much seaweed and murky water. This beach was beautiful... soft sand for about 15 feet, then you start walking on a compacted sand bottom. No seaweed tangling around your ankles and you can see the bottom. The swimming area goes out pretty far. Off to the tender and to the right is another expanse of beach and loungers, and that's where the kids's water toys are located (slides, bouncers, etc.). While still nice, it was not as nice as the other beach area. The restroom facilities are clean and well-stocked. Lunch is the usual included beverages, and the food is beach BBQ. There were burgers, dogs, bbq chicken and (get this) gyros. Plus all the trimmings and some sides like fries, coleslaw, beans,etc. There was a separate area that had fresh fruit/cut fruit and a few bar/cake-type desserts. There's plenty of places to sit in the shade and eat - pavilion style with picnic tables. The new dock is under construction and does not look like a dock. It doesn't even look long enough. And although shielded from passengers, you can tell where the new construction is taking place on Coco Cay. Royal is very proud of Coco Cay and it should be - it's got excellent facilities and makes for a GREAT beach day!

 

NYC/Manhattan Tour: We chose this tour because we did not fly out of Newark on departure day till 5:00 p.m. Plus, we'd never been to NYC and through it would be a good way to see parts of the city, and kill time till the flight home without having to worry about schlepping our luggage everywhere with us. Turns out, it was the best $99.00 per person we spent! The tour picked us up right at the pier in a comfortable motorcoach. There were only 28 people on the tour so we got to spread out on the coach. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, and loved his job and showing off Manhattan to tourists. For 4-1/2 hours we were shown Manhattan and hit all the cool neighborhoods, parks and buildings. We saw Soho, Greenwich Village, Tribeca, the Financial District (Wall St.), Times Square and of course, the downtown/shopping district and Central Park. We were let off the bus in front of the new World Trade Center and allowed 1-1/2 hours to spent time at the 911 Memorial and grab some lunch at a nearby place. It was a beautiful day in NYC - 75 degrees and bright sunshine - again, gotta love those weather gods. Another reason to choose this tour was the drop off at EWR, right at the terminal. Couldn't have been more easy or convenient and we enjoyed every moment of this excursion.

 

Next Up: Random Thoughts and Debarkation

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[shipfriend_max]

 

- Main Dining Room - We ate in Silk and American Icon Grill. Only once. While the service was good, the food was just mediocre and we couldn't see spending 90 minutes for just mediocre. If you've been following these Boards, you've seen the menus. The selections are diminishing and with a few exceptions, are ho-hum. Some good things: The french onion soup, vidalia onion tart, braised short ribs, braised lamb shank and most of the desserts. I realize things have to change, but MDR dining just isn't what it used to be. I kind of agree with a poster who said she felt MDR could be going away in a few years in favor of buffet and specialty, for fee, dining. Unfortunately, I really don't have much to add about the food in the MDR. Not saying you won't find something to eat and enjoy, but it's a very different experience now. And by the way, you'll find a wide range of attire in the MDR. I will say that on the nights we were there, it seemed most people followed the suggested dress for the evening. There were a LOT of families/children on this cruise and I thought most of the kids in the MDR were dressed so adorably.

 

 

Thanks for your report so far!

Sorry to read that you were not totally satisfied with the MDR experience.

 

Did they have the new menu, where starters/soups, entrees and desserts are all on one menu? Or did you still have a seperate dessert card?

 

We are on Anthem in 5 months, let's see what we experience. But seems the WIndjammer and Solarium food were good?

[ScottieLuvr]

Thanks for your report so far!

Sorry to read that you were not totally satisfied with the MDR experience.

 

Did they have the new menu, where starters/soups, entrees and desserts are all on one menu? Or did you still have a seperate dessert card?

 

We are on Anthem in 5 months, let's see what we experience. But seems the WIndjammer and Solarium food were good?

 

Hi....Yes, they had the new menus where everything is on one menu. If you search on these Boards, you'll run across them. Food is so subjective! We thought the Windjammer and Solarium, for buffets, were quite good. And the MDR wasn't a total bust for us, just not enough menu choice to spend 90 minutes in there and to us, the food was just OK. You may have a totally different experience, and I hope you will!

[ScottieLuvr]

Random Thoughts: Maybe not the best place or manner to mention this: the 24 year old man who jumped overboard was on our sailing. I won't lie, it was disturbing and very, very sad. You've all probably heard what happened. So let me say I think it would be difficult to just fall overboard from Deck 15. The plexiglass and rails seem higher on this deck [running track, sports, iFly] and there are risers above the rails. Plus there were witnesses who said it was intentional. The ship's captain and crew handled this incident quite well and the captain kept us informed throughout the whole thing. My thoughts are with his family. And also with the captain who had to forge ahead without finding the young man.

 

Ok. So, Anthem is large, but not difficult to navigate. We learned it pretty quickly. The proportion of passengers to public space seems unbalanced. On the colder days when most people were inside, it became cramped. We did not get to every nook and cranny and your experience will be different and varied. But if you're going on this ship to have fun, it's there to be had. If you want to relax, you can do that too.

 

I never met a cruise I didn't like.

 

Debarkation: What saved us a ton of time were the tour tickets which got us through lines quickly. Also, the porters on the pier. The debarkation process was a mess, but getting thousands of people off the ship in quick order is a massive undertaking. My biggest observation is that not all the customs agents were on duty and this made the lines much longer than they needed to be. This lead to back ups on the gangway, in the baggage pickup area. Not a great way to end a great cruise.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions and if you've booked Anthem and are waiting...you're going to have a very good time!

 

Thanks for following along,

[ladylyn915]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a detailed report of your vacation.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed following along!

[JBSteelerfan]

Thanks for a great review! We also had Clo a few years ago, and she has always been one of our favorites!! Very personable!

[carnival03]

Thanks for your review! I know you mentioned places could be crowded at times. However, do you feel the Anthem has ample sun loungers on the open decks?

[ScottieLuvr]

Thanks for your review! I know you mentioned places could be crowded at times. However, do you feel the Anthem has ample sun loungers on the open decks?

Depends on where you want to be. If at immediate poolside, no there did not seem to be enough loungers. Even if you go up to Deck 15 around the pool, there are not enough. However if you go farther out aft or forward, you'll see more available. Also depends on time of day. We usually got outside like 10-12 or 2 or so and were able to get a few chairs together. On port days, there's more choice.

[carnival03]

Depends on where you want to be. If at immediate poolside, no there did not seem to be enough loungers. Even if you go up to Deck 15 around the pool, there are not enough. However if you go farther out aft or forward, you'll see more available. Also depends on time of day. We usually got outside like 10-12 or 2 or so and were able to get a few chairs together. On port days, there's more choice.

 

Good to know. Glad you both enjoyed your cruise, thanks again for the review. :cool:

[shipfriend_max]

Hi....Yes, they had the new menus where everything is on one menu. If you search on these Boards, you'll run across them. Food is so subjective! We thought the Windjammer and Solarium, for buffets, were quite good. And the MDR wasn't a total bust for us, just not enough menu choice to spend 90 minutes in there and to us, the food was just OK. You may have a totally different experience, and I hope you will!

 

 

 

Thank you! Yes I have found loads of the new menus featured on all ships.

As long as I find enough to eat in MDR and the food is good, I am happy.

Very good food is important to me, but I try to be realistic in my expectations. I know I cannot expect the same food and service level as on HAL and Princess, my two favorites.

 

 

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