Anthem of the Seas - how was the food lately?

[kiramoli]

Hello, we are scheduled to sail on Anthem in April. Our friends just came back from their cruise on Anthem and were really disappointed by the food there. They have been cruising with Anthem before and food was fine. This time they complained about variety and quality of food. There was no seafood in the main dining room other than salmon which was seriously overcooked and very dry. Lobster was really small and there was a charge for additional one. Most of the food was tasteless, bland and dry. 

Looking for other recent cruiser to provide their feedback.        

[Jcol5786]

We were on Anthem the week before Christmas. We have cruised on Anthem several times and found the food on our last cruise to be fine. I think that food is very subjective and admit that I'm fairly easy to please. I know what I like on the MDR menus and all of the "classics" for me were fine. Lobster was larger than the previous smaller Caribbean type and it's still free for the first one. Windjammer is IMO on Anthem is one of the nicest layout in the fleet. Really enjoy the outside sitting area at the rear. Have a good cruise.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Not sure what was up with their menu, but the one listed for 2/17 has the following in entrees:

 

Day 1 - whitefish

Day 2 - Salmon AND a seafood linguine

Day 3 - Sole

Day 4 - Salmon

Day 5 - Fish & Chips

Day 6 - Tiger shrimp

Day 7 - Salmon teryaki

 

So yes, a bit of salmon, but that is not the "only" seafood on the menu. Unless they only did main dining on the nights where the seafood was salmon, but then that's inaccurate info to say "they only had salmon in the main dining room" as a blanket statement.

 

(No, not an apologist - my upcoming could be my last Royal as I think Celebrity fits me better with occasional Disney thrown in. And I despise seafood. I was just looking to see if that were really the case.)

[mets123]

They are seriously cutting down proteins. Shrimp pad Thai on Asian night only had four tiny shrimp in it. WJ breakfast and lunch options are becoming more vegetarian in nature.

[gmerick]

18-29 Jan 2024 - MDR every evening - 11 different menus.  On sea days, I dined for breakfast and lunch.  Port days I did room service breakfast and skipped lunch.  Never entered Windjammer.  

 

Evenings my usual fare was 2 appetizers (soup or salad, and something interesting), two entree, and a desert.  I was very impressed with variety, I tried it all - lamb, pork, poultry, seafood, lentils, curry, pasta - all multiple times.  I used the app in the afternoon to browse the evening's menu.  Every day I had a choice of - beef - lamb or port - seafood - pasta.  Always present on the menu was a curry and a vegetarian.  Frequently I needed the waiter's feedback to narrow my choices to just two. 

 

Yes, I'll admit everything did taste and appear to be "banquet food" instead of individually prepared.  Waiters were quite able to omit gravies/sauces, add vegetables, and other preferences.   By intentionally ordering two entree I was never dissatisfied with a meal.  I generally had at least a "good" and a "great" dish, and at least half the meals I had an "excellent".  

 

@kiramoli , I don't know when, or the duration of your friends cruise, but your description does not reflect my previous two sailings on Anthem.  

[Tatka]

17 minutes ago, mets123 said:

They are seriously cutting down proteins. Shrimp pad Thai on Asian night only had four tiny shrimp in it. WJ breakfast and lunch options are becoming more vegetarian in nature.

 

Hmmm ... have not noticed it on Jan 7th cruise.

 

These are Pad Thai and also other Shrimp and seafood dishes.

 

Breakfast and lunch had lots of protein choices. Our11th cruise on Anthem and I have not noticed lewss protein choices. 

 

Sorry in some reason pictures get attached upside down.

[yogimax]

Food is such a subjective subject that most comments are meaningless.

 

One person could comment "Delicious" and another "I didn't like the taste."  There's no right or wrong answer.  It's solely an individual judgment.

[teddie]

7 hours ago, Jcol5786 said:

 Windjammer is IMO on Anthem is one of the nicest layout in the fleet. Really enjoy the outside sitting area at the rear. Have a good cruise.

Sailed Anthem in Feb 2023 and again in November 2024.  I found the MDR to be noticeably without the WOW factor from, say, 10 years ago.  Not horrible, but not thrilling.  On the most recent cruise, we had a number of dinners in the Windjammer, and we loved it.  Variety, presentation, international options, all very very good. Again--subjective but this was our experience.  

 

I add that the Solarium cafe is a great option for all three meals.  It's smaller, less crowded, and much more relaxing, even at peak times. 

 

Sailing again in March.  I will update after that.

 

Teddie