Anthem of the Seas -Friends and Family Cruise - July 12 - 21, 2018

[ladylyn915]

This is long – If you are in a hurry you should probably skip this one.

 

Family and Friends Cruise – Anthem of the Seas July 12, 2018

 

We are a group of sixteen – Ten adults and six children ages 5 – 15. We are all seasoned cruisers but this was our first RCCL cruise. We planned for eight months and I was the organizer. I booked everything I could ahead of time –dinners both MTD and Specialty. We had reservations for the three shows, I-fly and North Star. Most of the adults chose the Ultimate Drink Package – but not all. The kids had either the soda or refreshment package. Only one excursion was booked (for my husband and I) – Golden Eagle Catamaran in St. Maarten.

I have never had a bad vacation or a bad cruise – some have been better than others but the worst day on vacation is better than being home. The following are my impressions and opinions– some are positive and some less so.

 

Port Liberty was a pleasure compared to other ports such as Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. I arrived at 11:15 and literally walked right on board. The Anthem is beautiful! I loved the décor throughout the ship. Although it is huge, it was easy to navigate and quite quickly we all got our sea legs.

 

Cabins – Some of us were on deck 6 aft and our steward Kevin was fantastic! We were four in each cabin and he had our rooms cleaned twice a day every day so fast it seemed he was around a corner waiting for us to leave the room.We never wanted for towels, ice and we had lots of towel animals. We all had door decorations and sadly, someone took my daughter’s right off her door.

 

Dining

Upon arrival we ate in Café 270 – the first of many visits during the cruise. Everything was very good. Immediately after lunch I went to the Dining room to confirm our seating for 16.

Silk - We were very happy to have the same two tables and waitstaff throughout the cruise. We were asked to arrive at 5 PM – we wanted to eat at 6 PM and we compromised with 5:30 PM. Our meals were delicious! And the waitstaff fabulous! Always smiles for the kids – and always second helpings without even asking! Aleat and I Gustiwere the best waiters ever!

 

Chefs Table – Six of us enjoyed this. My only comment is be careful of all that wine! There are six courses all paired with wine – it sneaks up on you! Great experience. (At least what I remember!)

Chops Grille –The steak was delicious! Service excellent.

Jamies Italian -Entrees are generous in size and very authentic.

Solarium Bistro –Nice dinner – many Greek inspired dishes.

Windjammer –Always seemed crowded, but not difficult to find a seat or two. Food always hot and tasty.

 

Bars

My favorite night spot was the Schooner Bar – I loved listening to the piano player. The Brass and Bock had the best bartenders – shout out to Xavier and Marshall!

 

Entertainment

The Tribute Band was the Police –Excellent!!! If you closed your eyes you would swear you were listening to Sting. The Music Hall is set up like a nightclub. Nice, but not always easy to get a seat – more on this later.

The Gift – I have no idea what the story line was about, but the singing was great and I enjoyed it for that. Rock of Ages – Starts out a bit slow but the last 30 minutes are spectacular. Spectra Cabaret –Unfortunately I did not like this at all. It is very reminiscent of Cirque de Soleil –not my thing.

 

Activities

I-Fly, Northstar, Bumper Cars, and The Arcade-the kids loved all of these. We did not do FlowRider. We also did not play Bingo.

Pools – Chair hogs were out in force! One sea day we went to the pool deck at 7:30 AM – no chairs near the kiddie pool! We took two further outside but a pool attendant came by at 8 AM and removed towels from six chairs near where we really wanted to sit! We scrambled over and grabbed two of them! At 10 AM a family came by looking for their “stuff” – and were very annoyed that we were in their chairs. We sent them to the attendant, but they were grumbling all the way. Three hours later!!

Solarium – Nice looking area but almost impossible to find a chair in the main area after lunch.

Spa

This was a huge disappointment. Three of us booked massages at the same time. The treatments were great – no complaints.However, we all paid for a day pass to use the facilities which include a steam room, sauna and the thermal suite – all of which are co-ed! Within the thermal suite is a lovely rain shower – we stood guard for each other! While we laid on the thermal loungers, we had three men enjoying the room with us! Also lacking in the ladies changing area were any grooming products – no lotions, q-tips,combs etc. and although there were robes, there were no spa shoes. Without a doubt the worst Spa experience at sea for me.

Kids Clubs

The four younger kids in our group were able to stay together and this was a great plus. The counselors took the kids to dinner between 5 – 7 PM which was a great help for the nights we ate in the Specialty Restaurants. The drop off and pick up seemed off to us. Once designated, anyone could pick up the kids – but only the parents could drop them off. The two older girls (12 – 15) did not go to the Teen Club because they were not able to stay together. Overall, the younger kids liked being in the kids club and enjoyed the activities there.

PORTS

Bermuda was a washout – but we walked around the Dockyard (mostly in the rain) and had a very expensive lunch at The Frog and Onion – I had to have a Rum Swizzle!

St. Maarten –Some of our group took the water taxi to the beach. My husband and I did the Golden Eagle Catamaran– I highly recommend this! We had a great time. The crew was terrific and we enjoyed the snorkeling and the beach. There were endless rum punches and beer as well as soda and water. Sandwiches were served on the way back.

San Juan –This port was my least favorite – There simply wasn’t enough time to really do much. We had to be back on board by 1:30 PM. Having been to Puerto Rico many times, we just walked around for a while. I stopped by my favorite ‘knock off’ purse stand on the way back to the ship.

Labadee – This was our favorite stop!!! We had purchased a Beach Bungalow. Although they say it fits 6 people – all of us used it without any issues. We had extra loungers set up in front of the bungalow and the kids were either in the water or on the sand. We had a great waiter who we tipped as soon as we got there who kept us happy with fresh drinks all day! Labadoozies! The lunch was good – lots of food. We all enjoyed it.

Observations:

The Anthem is a beautiful ship with great amenities. The trade-off for this is you must plan every minute of every day. In order to get a decent seat at a show you have to go 45 minutes in advance. You must reserve the rides in advance. To enjoy the pool, you have to go at the crack of dawn.Lots of time was spent waiting for something to happen. I did not find this ship to be relaxing. For the most part, it did not bother me, but I think my preference is a smaller environment.

As for RCCL – The Royal IQ did not work more than it did. The WOW band needs to be fixed. Removing it to pay for something defeated the purpose. They seemed a bit flimsy. My grandson’s broke 2 hours after he got it. One of the adult’s band fell off in the water twice. Also, you still needed your card to get on and off the ship. The communication on board was not very good. It seemed we spent a lot of time at guest services. On a positive note, I left a jacket in the Music Hall and it was in Lost and Found!

It was a great vacation and I would not hesitate to cruise on RCCL again, but probably on a smaller vessel.

[Biker19]

It was a great vacation and I would not hesitate to cruise on RCCL again, but probably on a smaller vessel.

Do it soon, before they are all gone.

[timxrx]

Great job on the review.

Glad you had a great time.

[carnival03]

About the deck chairs, were a lot taken at 7:30? Or, were there still some available on the upper deck?

[ladylyn915]

About the deck chairs, were a lot taken at 7:30? Or, were there still some available on the upper deck?

Unbelievably, at 7:30 AM every chair around the outdoor pool and kiddie pool had towels on them ( not necessarily people). The indoor pool may have had a few here and there. But there were plenty on the upper deck (15) away from the pools. Even the chairs under the overhang were mostly covered with towels - not all but if you were looking for 3 or 4 together, you would not find them at that time. Our group never sat near each other.

I can't comment on the Solarium - I never went there in the morning.

[ladylyn915]

Do it soon, before they are all gone.

Ha - true! Or just move on to another cruise line.

[ObstructedView2]

 

Entertainment

 

The Gift – I have no idea what the story line was about, but the singing was great and I enjoyed it for that.

 

Rock of Ages – Starts out a bit slow but the last 30 minutes are spectacular.

 

Spectra Cabaret –Unfortunately I did not like this at all. It is very reminiscent of Cirque de Soleil –not my thing.

 

 

 

Did Anthem Of The Seas discontinue the Queen show 'We Will Rock You' and replace it with 'Rock Of Ages'?

 

 

 

.

Edited August 2, 2018 by ObstructedView2

[brookmill18]

We were on the same Anthem sailing last year and this year did Harmony--both the same weeks. The lack of chairs--both at pools and Solarium on Anthem was insane and totally different on Harmony. I dont really understand the massive difference! On Harmony, pool side seats would fill up maybe by 10 or 11 on sea days (last sea day closer to 9:30) but there were always ones further away in shade or up a deck. We could find 2 if not 3 seats together in the Solarium literally all day long. Just not sure why the Anthem was so different! We're going again in January and I'm curious to see if Solarium will be any different.

[DaniDanielle]

We will Rock You. Rock of Ages is NCL

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[carnival03]

Unbelievably, at 7:30 AM every chair around the outdoor pool and kiddie pool had towels on them ( not necessarily people). The indoor pool may have had a few here and there. But there were plenty on the upper deck (15) away from the pools. Even the chairs under the overhang were mostly covered with towels - not all but if you were looking for 3 or 4 together, you would not find them at that time. Our group never sat near each other.

I can't comment on the Solarium - I never went there in the morning.

 

This is a shame. I fully believe giving everyone a half an hour to allow for breakfast time in the WJ, but we all know the whole ship is not up and awake at 7:30 in the morning.

 

Thanks for the insight... 294 days to go!

[ladylyn915]

Did Anthem Of The Seas discontinue the Queen show 'We Will Rock You' and replace it with 'Rock Of Ages'?

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

So sorry! No it is still “We Will Rock You” sorry for the mistake.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums