A Big Ship That Always Felt Small
Anthem of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas
Sail date: February 13, 2016
Ship: Anthem of the Seas
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: 13642
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 8 years ago
Review summary
I think this mostly comes down to design and layout of the ship, but somehow, in spite of the size, this ship always felt small and crowded. The Windjammer was a terrible experience (tables were never available, the staff was overworked and unable to keep up with the crowd, an obsession with made-to-order stations created lots of lines and congestion in the buffet). The complimentary dining rooms all felt small and cramped (nothing like the grand dining room of other RC ships). The Royal Esplanade felt small and poorly laid out, and the shopping staff intentionally made it worse with one-hour sales all week long. The Two70 theater, while a cool concept as the ship's "Living Room" (cruise director's words, not mine), was not big enough for and should never have hosted a show like Spectra's Cabaret. Activities like North Star, sky-diving simulator, bumper cars, etc seem like cool ideas but simply can't entertain enough guests to be worth the deck space they consume. And the ship becomes a nearly unnavigable maze at the beginning and end of the cruise when doors and walkways are randomly closed and locked with poor or no signage because of the cold weather.
Simply put, this ship did not give the RC experience I expected after previously sailing on Freedom of the Seas
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Steer clear of this class of ship
Ports of call
Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey
Cococay (Cruise Line's Private Island)