Anthem's wild ride

We were on the cruise that encountered the hurricane at sea on Feb. 7, 2016.  To say the least, it was an unexpected adventure.  While the captain and crew did the right moves to keep the passengers and crew safe during 170 mph winds with 40 ft. swells, it was still a terrifying cruise.  In the beginning it was somewhat fun, but when the ship continued to be tossed like a balloon in the wind, it became less enjoyable.  Confined to the stateroom for 16 hours while the ship listed at 20 degrees was "Poseidon Adventure" scary.  Time went by very slowly while we watched items roll from one side of the room to the other.  Rain pounded our balcony door with each wave and we were tossed around like rag dolls.  Each wave created a see-saw motion with jarring results.  The bow of the ship crested the wave and crashed into the next.  Wind, waves and rain made it impossible to  do much else but pray for it to be over.  Dinner consisted of the mini bar contents -- Pringles, Snickers and M&Ms. 

In the morning, damages were evident but not overwhelming.  After surveying the damage (damaged azipod), the captain decided to return to Bayonne instead of risking another storm off the coast of Florida. We crawled home on one engine. A wise decision -- disappointing, but wise.  The North Star remained intact, but unusable.  I was truly looking forward to going on that! 

As far as the food, breakfast was less than spectacular.  Eggs tasted processed and they were not able to keep up with the requests.  Dinners were much better, although the Asian restaurant was not up to par as the others.  The Grand was, by far, the very best on the ship.  Since our vacation was shortened by four days (with one of them confined to the cabin), we did not have the opportunity to sample the wares at the other dining establishments. 

Again since we were in the storm, the shows were cancelled as well as any pool activities (FlowRider, pools in general.)  The shows we did see were "Spectre's Cabaret" in the aft lounge.  It consisted of Circ du' Sol routines and was simply amazing.  We saw it twice!

I gave it a 3 because of the disappointment of the early return and the mediocre food. The Thermal Spa was equally mediocre.  Other than that, I am willing to try another cruise on the Anthem.