SYMPHONY V ANTHEM

[LSM212]

Having just completed Oct 18 sailing on Symphony, we are now considering a booking for Anthem in 2019, Cape Liberty/Bermuda.

 

It feels as though we have been spoiled with experiencing Symphony as our first RCI ship which we loved. I travelled with my husband and 13yr old son, we all had a fantastic trip and were impressed with the range of activities and the quality of the shows on Symphony.  The cabin was surprisingly spacious also (internal Central Park View).

Can anyone who has sailed on both Oasis and Quantum class ships give an opinion as to the main differences and feelings/tips on Anthem. We are looking at a balcony cabin on this occasion and have options on decks 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.

 

We used MTD on Symphony which suited us well, but I'm bit confused about the variety of main dining rooms on Anthem i.e Silk, American Icon Grill etc?

 

Any hints/tips much appreciated. Thanks

Edited October 31, 2018 by LSM212

[Biker19]

The cabin will be similar. The dining venues have names but it means nothing other than decor differences, the menu is the same. The activities and shows will be a bit different but you should enjoy Anthem. 

[LuCruise]

We have Symphony booked for this March and Anthem booked for following March so interested too.  From what I can tell they are very different ships, but both look great for their own things.

[mattb31]

The rooms will be very similar. Both ships have that new decor layout that RCCL has implemented in their newer ships. I haven't been on Symphony (have been on Anthem), so I'm only basing this off of what I've seen on line, but you will find both ships are technologically similar. The Anthem is so advanced you'll be blown away.

 

Anthem is also built for cooler weather which is great if your stuck with a rainy day at sea or something along those lines. There is an indoor pool and the solarium is completely enclosed. iFly was awesome and so was North Star. If you're traveling with a 13 year old, he's going to love the SeaPlex as well. I haven't seen anything like that at sea, they had bumper cars, dodgeball, roller blading etc, in there.

 

The dining rooms in Anthem are split into 4 separate rooms. American Icon and Silk are for My Time Dining and the other two are for reserved seating. It's just not the typical large cruise ship dining room you'd be used to seeing.

 

Lastly, if you want to save some money and don't mind it, get an interior cabin. We stayed in one on the Anthem and it was great because of the Virtual Balcony, the room was also a lot more spacious than any other ship we had been on in the past.

[LSM212]

Our Internal Central Park view cabin on Symphony was great. Loved the concept of being in an internal cabin but still having a view and Central Park was pretty to look out at and quiet. Also, for the amount of time we actually spent in our cabin a balcony would have been wasted on us cost wise.

 

Unfortunately have left this booking too late for a Virtual Balcony as both Internal & Sea View cabins for 3 people are sold out.  Thanks for the tip though, sounds ideal for us & will certainly bear it in mind for future! 

 

The seaplex sounds great! 

[EeyoreRN]

I haven't sailed on Symphony, but did the Anthem Bermuda sailing and it was great!  The only thing we didn't love about the ship was the lack of the big, grand, open dining room.  The design was for the original plan of dining rotation (with each serving a different cuisine), but that plan fell flat with passengers, so they just use them as regular dining rooms. There is still some old, confusing info about this on the internet...just ignore it.  The only thing we didn't like about the itinerary was that it was only 5 days...not long enough, but it was all the time we could afford at that time!  Bermuda is absolutely gorgeous!  You might consider a different cruise line to get more days if your schedule permits.

[Biker19]

22 minutes ago, EeyoreRN said:

 The only thing we didn't love about the ship was the lack of the big, grand, open dining room.  

RCI heard you and you'll get that with Q5.

[LSM212]

3 hours ago, LuCruise said:

We have Symphony booked for this March and Anthem booked for following March so interested too.  From what I can tell they are very different ships, but both look great for their own things.

 

I’m sure you will love Symphony, its a beautiful ship, the facilities and shows are great. Wouldn’t hesitate to book another trip on Symphony, it was only our dates that pushed us towards Anthem this time. That said, it will be nice to experience a different class ship and see what that has to offer. 

[LSM212]

50 minutes ago, EeyoreRN said:

 The only thing we didn't like about the itinerary was that it was only 5 days...not long enough, but it was all the time we could afford at that time!  Bermuda is absolutely gorgeous!  You might consider a different cruise line to get more days if your schedule permits.

Thanks, I did wonder what the ‘dynamic dining’ situation was all about😀! 

 

Luckily the itinerary we are looking at is a 9 day one, Cape Liberty/Bermuda/St Maarten/San Juan/Haiti/Cape Liberty. 

 

Our Symphony cruise was 9 nights and really felt we needed it to experience everything.

[EeyoreRN]

1 minute ago, LSM212 said:

Thanks, I did wonder what the ‘dynamic dining’ situation was all about😀! 

 

Luckily the itinerary we are looking at is a 9 day one, Cape Liberty/Bermuda/St Maarten/San Juan/Haiti/Cape Liberty. 

 

Our Symphony cruise was 9 nights and really felt we needed it to experience everything.

I would not hesitate to book this itinerary! Don't miss Wonderland.  Enjoy!

[tennislvr8]

I have been on both Harmony and Anthem and loved them both. To me they both offer different things. The Harmony is HUGE and feels alittle less crowded than the Anthem. There are more things to do on the Harmony but you won't be bored on the Anthem. Harmony has a better coastal kitchen, but Anthem has 270 which to me is the best feature on any ship. As someone already mentioned, the only thing I dislike is the anthem doesn't have a multi-floor dining room. 

[barb in ga]

We did both this year: Anthem in May, and Symphony in September.  We have sailed all 4 Oasis class ships, which are by far our favorites. Anthem is a beautiful ship, but we did not care for the entertainment as much as Oasis class.

 

MTDining was not enjoyable for us: we waited a long time for seating,  then felt rushed once seated, leading us to eat in Windjammer several nights.

 

The public areas are beautiful, especially 270, but I missed the Royal Promenade.

 

Barb

[dani negreanu]

19 hours ago, tennislvr8 said:

.... Anthem has 270 which to me is the best feature on any ship. 

 

I've been on Allure and on Anthem. The lack of one big dining room didn't bother me. 

270 is simply amazing.

[LSM212]

Thanks, alot of people seem to have positive things to say about 270! 

[sammyreddog]

Barb in GA nailed it.  I've been on Quantum, Anthem, Oasis and Allure (x2) and leaving for Symphony soon.  Allure has been my hands down favorite.

On 11/1/2018 at 1:02 AM, barb in ga said:

We did both this year: Anthem in May, and Symphony in September.  We have sailed all 4 Oasis class ships, which are by far our favorites. Anthem is a beautiful ship, but we did not care for the entertainment as much as Oasis class.

 

MTDining was not enjoyable for us: we waited a long time for seating,  then felt rushed once seated, leading us to eat in Windjammer several nights.

 

The public areas are beautiful, especially 270, but I missed the Royal Promenade.

 

Barb

 

[barbeyg]

We just sailed Anthem. I too prefer the Royal Promenade,  but loved Anthem. We were in 270 quite a bit relaxing, and for shows, demonstrations, etc. we had breakfast most days at Cafe 270 just for the amazing view there. 

 

I dont think you will lack for activities on Anthem. We didn’t make it to everything.  We’ve already booked it again for the NE/Canada sailing next year. 

[LSM212]

270/Cafe 270 sounds great, looking forward to seeing it! Thanks

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, LSM212 said:

270/Cafe 270 sounds great, looking forward to seeing it! Thanks

If you ever need to "sneak" in, don't forget about the back entrance on deck 6.

[voyager70]

51 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

If you ever need to "sneak" in, don't forget about the back entrance on deck 6.

 

Didn't know about that.  Thanks for this info, will have to remember for my next Anthem sailing.  Love 270 & Cafe@270.

 

[truckswain]

We have sailed the Oasis class 3 times and we just finished an Anthem cruise.  We really like the Oasis class and it did take some time to get used to the unique layout of the Anthem as it is very different from other RCCL ships.  But once we got used to it we really enjoyed how different it was.  Yes 270 is amazing but for us the highlight is the Solarium, a covered adults only area with a multi level pool, and hot tubs.