Anthem of the Seas LIVE 1/9

[OnTheJourney]

On 1/18/2022 at 10:16 AM, rbeauch said:

There is a lot less mask compliance as the cruise goes on. Almost no one wears one in the solarium or indoor pool areas. It's about 50% compliance in other common areas.

 

This doesn't impress me at all. Exactly what happened post 9/11 when, initially, airport security was very tight. Then, gradually, back to loosey-goosey. 

[OnTheJourney]

On 1/18/2022 at 10:29 AM, toad455 said:

Theater have the least compliance.

yikes...and just the venue where there should be the MOST compliance. Most unfortunate. 

[toad455]

Just now, OnTheJourney said:

yikes...and just the venue where there should be the MOST compliance. Most unfortunate. 

 

Hard to enforce this once it gets dark. Luckily for any show there, it was never crowded.

[toad455]

Just now, OnTheJourney said:

Bummer for folks who've never been to the canceled ports and were looking forward to it. Such is unfortunately life during covid travels right now. 

 

We got extended time in St. Maarten (9am-10pm). Credit for missing St. Kitts.

 

 

[OnTheJourney]

7 minutes ago, toad455 said:

Hard to enforce this once it gets dark

Yeah I wondered about that. Only so much can be done. The crew isn't about to throw someone over the side, put them off the ship, or in the brig (is there one? lol) for not wearing a mask. Sounds like in general there was decent compliance. 

[EllieinNJ]

It's the last day at 4 15pm sitting in the Solarium while hubby is in the hot tub.  They are still asking people to put on masks 

[BND]

Everyone returning tomorrow, there is a winter weather advisory from 5 am to 1 pm.  Up to 2 inches of snow expected.  Roads could be slippery.  We have a friend onboard and they drove.

[mets123]

5 hours ago, PiperHolliday said:

 

There's three of us and there's only three mains. Learn how Italian dining works before you try to spew your insults. 

I guess I'm not a food snob. I have no problem with their drinks or food. Are they all perfect, absolutely not. But I'm not going to complain about everything I don't like. If a dish is not to my liking, I politely let the wait staff know, and request something different. They are very happy to please. It doesn't have to be broadcast on cruisecritic. It's should just be between the staff and myself.

[PiperHolliday]

3 minutes ago, mets123 said:

I guess I'm not a food snob. I have no problem with their drinks or food. Are they all perfect, absolutely not. But I'm not going to complain about everything I don't like. If a dish is not to my liking, I politely let the wait staff know, and request something different. They are very happy to please. It doesn't have to be broadcast on cruisecritic. It's should just be between the staff and myself.

 

It's a live review, is it not? This is Cruise CRITIC? I don't expect things to be perfect either but I think customers have every right to know so they can choose the cruise line and ship that's right for them. And we have definitely discussed these things with the staff in a very polite manner but at a certain point, it's just not vacation anymore when you have to ask for everything to be fixed. It's also a lot of extra work for the crew, who are already working their butts off. I had to have one meal replaced three times and it still wasn't right so at that point, what do you do? There's also a difference between not liking a dish and having the meat dry and overcooked. That's what we are running into most. 

 

We've had a lot of great food, too. And I've been mentioning those as well. It's not as if I'm only saying negative things. And these are my opinions, not facts set in stone. I'm sure plenty of people have no problem with the things that bother me and that's fine. But it doesn't make my experience (or theirs) any less valid. This is the reason CC exists. 

[PiperHolliday]

4 hours ago, Virtopia said:

Thanks for this live reporting - I'm on the 1/31 sailing and barring any last minute complications, I'm looking forward to my return to cruising. My last sailing ended December 2019 so it's been a long time coming!! Also, I've never been on Anthem before so it will be nice to have all this time to explore a new ship.

 

2 hours ago, shleds said:

Thank you Piper for entertaining us for the last couple of weeks. Like Virtopia, we’re leaving on the Anthem on January 31st, and we are hanging on every word you write!

 

You guys are going to have a great time! The crew are so awesome and really make the cruise! Really, some of the hardest working and kindest crew I've ever experienced on a ship. 

[PiperHolliday]

For those of you that prefer a softer bed (or supportive without being hard) you may want to request extra mattress pads for your bed. It really helped with ours. Other than that, I like everything about the cabins on this ship very much. They're very nice and so much room. 

 

Our bed is away from the window/balcony and our friend's is the opposite. After being onboard for 11 days, I think I prefer our layout more. We used the balcony a lot, so keeping it easily accessible from the living area made it convenient. 

[mets123]

59 minutes ago, PiperHolliday said:

 

It's a live review, is it not? This is Cruise CRITIC? I don't expect things to be perfect either but I think customers have every right to know so they can choose the cruise line and ship that's right for them. And we have definitely discussed these things with the staff in a very polite manner but at a certain point, it's just not vacation anymore when you have to ask for everything to be fixed. It's also a lot of extra work for the crew, who are already working their butts off. I had to have one meal replaced three times and it still wasn't right so at that point, what do you do? There's also a difference between not liking a dish and having the meat dry and overcooked. That's what we are running into most. 

 

We've had a lot of great food, too. And I've been mentioning those as well. It's not as if I'm only saying negative things. And these are my opinions, not facts set in stone. I'm sure plenty of people have no problem with the things that bother me and that's fine. But it doesn't make my experience (or theirs) any less valid. This is the reason CC exists. 

In answer to your question, it is cruise critic, but it is NOT food critic. How many people on this thread agreed with you about the food? You say you discussed with the staff, then leave it alone. Mant you should find another cruise line since you seem to have so many issues with RCL?

[Merion_Mom]

1 hour ago, mets123 said:

I guess I'm not a food snob. I have no problem with their drinks or food. Are they all perfect, absolutely not. But I'm not going to complain about everything I don't like. If a dish is not to my liking, I politely let the wait staff know, and request something different. They are very happy to please. It doesn't have to be broadcast on cruisecritic. It's should just be between the staff and myself.

 

1 hour ago, PiperHolliday said:

 

It's a live review, is it not? This is Cruise CRITIC? I don't expect things to be perfect either but I think customers have every right to know so they can choose the cruise line and ship that's right for them. And we have definitely discussed these things with the staff in a very polite manner but at a certain point, it's just not vacation anymore when you have to ask for everything to be fixed. It's also a lot of extra work for the crew, who are already working their butts off. I had to have one meal replaced three times and it still wasn't right so at that point, what do you do? There's also a difference between not liking a dish and having the meat dry and overcooked. That's what we are running into most. 

 

We've had a lot of great food, too. And I've been mentioning those as well. It's not as if I'm only saying negative things. And these are my opinions, not facts set in stone. I'm sure plenty of people have no problem with the things that bother me and that's fine. But it doesn't make my experience (or theirs) any less valid. This is the reason CC exists. 

 

20 minutes ago, mets123 said:

In answer to your question, it is cruise critic, but it is NOT food critic. How many people on this thread agreed with you about the food? You say you discussed with the staff, then leave it alone. Mant you should find another cruise line since you seem to have so many issues with RCL?

 

If we are taking sides on this disagreement, I'm on Piper's side.  She wrote calmly, dispassionately and in detail.  To say that this is "cruise" critic not "food" critic is a bit silly.  Food is a large part of the cruising experience.  

 

She didn't rant.  She didn't say DON'T CRUISE ON RC BECAUSE THE FOOD SUCKS.  She gave her full experience over 11 nights, and her food posts were full of pictures and worthwhile captions.  I applaud her hard work on this thread.

[Merion_Mom]

7 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Did the 2 of you have 6 main dishes at one seating, I know the portions are tiny but....... trying to get your monies worth I guess.

 

@Jimbo, I think that you are spiralling.  Why would you comment on how much someone orders for dinner?  It's just plain ODD.

[Megamixer]

54 minutes ago, mets123 said:

In answer to your question, it is cruise critic, but it is NOT food critic. How many people on this thread agreed with you about the food? You say you discussed with the staff, then leave it alone. Mant you should find another cruise line since you seem to have so many issues with RCL?

I have very much enjoyed Piper's live critique. You do realize you can just pass over this thread instead of getting all stressed out about it?  

[maggieq]

2 hours ago, PiperHolliday said:

 

 

You guys are going to have a great time! The crew are so awesome and really make the cruise! Really, some of the hardest working and kindest crew I've ever experienced on a ship. 

Thank you for this live review.  Booked on the 2/11 sailing and starting to get excited.  Really appreciate you taking the time out of your vacation to share your experience and opinions. 😊 

[PiperHolliday]

Tonight was Indian night at WJ. Our head waiter suggested we pop into the buffet tonight right when they opened so we could sample some snacks before our late dinner. It was a wonderful suggestion! We really liked everything we tried and highly suggest having dinner at WJ on the Indian night. Everything was delicious! 

 

We still went to the MDR for our usual late dinner so we could say our goodbyes to the awesome waitstaff and properly thank them and gather some contact info for future visits to India. We had to roll each other out of there, we were so stuffed. 

 

Baked French Onion Soup. Yummy. 

 

Coconut Shrimp. 

 

Aged Prime Rib of Beef. 

 

Cheese Tortelloni. 

 

Chicken and Veg Curries. Off-menu. Amazing, as always. 

 

Dark Chocolate Brownie. The brownie is inside the mousse. 

 

No Sugar Added Profiteroles. I actually didn't initially notice these were no sugar added, but they were good! 

[Husky1987]

My wife and I enjoyed the Indian food in the WJ on our December Oasis cruise as well.  IMO Royal does Indian food pretty well.

[CPT Trips]

Yep! Dry and overcooked describes many of the MDR entrees we had about a month ago. And soup that was warm, not close to hot. Neither are acceptable. 

[irelandvegas]

10 hours ago, Virtopia said:

Thanks for this live reporting - I'm on the 1/31 sailing and barring any last minute complications, I'm looking forward to my return to cruising. My last sailing ended December 2019 so it's been a long time coming!! Also, I've never been on Anthem before so it will be nice to have all this time to explore a new ship.

Exactly the same in all counts!   Excited but a bit cautious.  Again thanks Piper and everyone currently aboard.  

[Love Cruises]

7 hours ago, PiperHolliday said:

Tonight was Indian night at WJ. Our head waiter suggested we pop into the buffet tonight right when they opened so we could sample some snacks before our late dinner. It was a wonderful suggestion! We really liked everything we tried and highly suggest having dinner at WJ on the Indian night. Everything was delicious! 

 

We still went to the MDR for our usual late dinner so we could say our goodbyes to the awesome waitstaff and properly thank them and gather some contact info for future visits to India. We had to roll each other out of there, we were so stuffed. 

 

Baked French Onion Soup. Yummy. 

 

Coconut Shrimp. 

 

Aged Prime Rib of Beef. 

 

Cheese Tortelloni. 

 

Chicken and Veg Curries. Off-menu. Amazing, as always. 

 

Dark Chocolate Brownie. The brownie is inside the mousse. 

 

No Sugar Added Profiteroles. I actually didn't initially notice these were no sugar added, but they were good! 

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your very informative narrative of this cruise.  It was so kind of you to take the time to post the Compass and all the many pictures.  We were supposed to be on the ANTHEM for our annual winter cruising but had to cancel because of health issues.  Have a safe trip home and enjoy all your future travels.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Love Cruises

[toad455]

This was a fantastic cruise. Felt safer on the ship then anywhere on land. The crew was fabulous, food was great, weather was damn near perfect. @PiperHollidaythanks for letting me add to your Live Report. Already counting down to next year. Anthem 1-13-2023!!!

[toad455]

Likely due to the low capacity, but that was the fastest debarkation ever. Got to the dinning room at 7am for breakfast, headed back to the room at 7:45am to grab our carry-ons and was off by 8:15am.

[dolls123]

16 hours ago, PiperHolliday said:

For those of you that prefer a softer bed (or supportive without being hard) you may want to request extra mattress pads for your bed. It really helped with ours. Other than that, I like everything about the cabins on this ship very much. They're very nice and so much room. 

 

Our bed is away from the window/balcony and our friend's is the opposite. After being onboard for 11 days, I think I prefer our layout more. We used the balcony a lot, so keeping it easily accessible from the living area made it convenient. 

Thanks! Hubby prefers a softer bed and I like a firm one so I'll ask for the extra mattress pad. 

[PiperHolliday]

We did self-walk this morning at 7:00 and getting off the ship was quick, simple and easy. CBP (per usual for cruises) was almost non-existent, which is very convenient for us. 

 

This was my only time sailing from Bayonne, so I'm not sure if it's usually like this, but it seems best to arrange your transportation ahead of time if you didn't drive yourself. Taxis charge $65 plus tolls just to go to EWR, which is comical. We arranged a Lyft XL for $30, tolls included. You can do this ahead of time in the app. When we arrived, we checked availability for Lyft and Uber and neither had drivers readily available. 

 

We got to EWR quickly and are now seated on our 10AM flight home.