NOT UP TO RCCL STANDARDS

Anthem of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

jalenrakim1

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 59

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

9 Night Bermuda & Eastern Caribbean (Cape Liberty Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 28, 2016

Ship: Anthem of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11620

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

Having been on over 10 Royal Caribbean cruises I can clearly state that this was the most disappointing. We stayed in a balcony room, which was very nice. The ship is beautiful, though there are not many shows/ entertainment. The swimming pool in very small, especially considering that there are 4,000 guest! The food in the individual dining room was just OK, however the food was very good at the specialty restaurants. The service was decent, but not the outstanding service that I am used to on a RCCL. It seems that because tips are automatically assessed, the staff just doesn't work as hard. We had one server in the dining area, who was very nice, but clearly overwhelmed. She had no assistant, though they billed us for gratuity for an assistant waiter. It took three days to work out problems that we had with our dinner reservations and we never received any help from our headwaiter, who we barely met, but was assessed a gratuity charge for. I could go on and on. I was very excited about experiencing this new ship, and though I had a good time, I still left very disappointed. I hope that they can work out the kinks.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Great in specialty restaurant- just ok in the main dining areas.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Not enough.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

There were not many shows, but the ones that they had were great.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Most of them were not very engaging, but we LOVED Yelena, at the Schooner bar!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Very nice cabin. The size was very nice and there was good closet/ storage space.

Ship tip

If you can, eat at the Sushi restaurant. It was the BEST food on the ship.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey

3 out of 5

King's Wharf, Bermuda

5 out of 5

Bermuda is BEAUTIFUL. WE spent the day at the beach.

Thumbs Up 1

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

Having been to St. Maarten so many times, we decided to do a day trip to the Westin Resort. We had a great time.

Thumbs Up 0

San Juan, Puerto Rico

1 out of 5

I love Puerto Rico, however, there is very little time to enjoy it.

Thumbs Up 1

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

5 out of 5

Labadee is beautiful. We did the biplane excursion and it was amazing.

Thumbs Up 5

44 Comments

clemsue5254 8 years ago

Thanks space cowboy and dculpepper1 I enjoyed reading your comments and maybe learned a thing or two. I'm sailing in about a month on the anthem and looking forward to it. I've been on RC before and was not disappointed . My daughter 's been on Norwegian twice and loved it. So we wanted her to experience RC . I'm hopeful she won't be disappointed, and neither will we.

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eddiemac1 8 years ago

Lololol. That's it, just lolol. Maybe lmfao. Lol.

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damarie 8 years ago

Wow, talk about entertainment! Lol

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Nypd11483 8 years ago

I have and it's been great. Enjoy your cruise

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

Nypd11483 I hope so... I never cruised this late in the year.

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spacecowboy 8 years ago

I walk up and down stairs all day at work, that's enough for me. I have thought about working out, then I see chocolate cake......

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

Spacecowboy I must confess I lived at the Bionic Bar..... I actually named a drink after myself.

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Nypd11483 8 years ago

Na he should be fine in November

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

We leave Nov 14 for 5 days only :-)

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

Spacecowboy I work as a personal trainer......I'm a gym rat. I just don't feel right unless I work out......I know I have issues .lol.

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spacecowboy 8 years ago

Ooh isn't that hurricane season? We cruised in November 2 years ago, I prefer spring.

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

We are booked on independence of the seas in November.

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spacecowboy 8 years ago

I really need to ask you culpepper1 . Why go on a cruise and waste your time working out? Seriously, people cruise to eat and drink, can't it wait for a week?

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Nypd11483 8 years ago

Spacecooowboyyy switch to norrrrweigion breakawayyy April 2nd. This is your conscience....

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

Heat......nah I'm like this all the time.

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spacecowboy 8 years ago

Cruising in April on Grandeur.

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Nypd11483 8 years ago

You need to come on a cruise with us. Come to the dark side....

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spacecowboy 8 years ago

I am blaming the heat. Lol

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Nypd11483 8 years ago

Gotta love the Royal Caribbean commentary. I've been on the Norweigion side and people seem to be allot less colorful there.

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Nypd11483 8 years ago

Lol

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

Spacecowboy you are too funny ;-) my group tried to book roughly 2.5 months out, but was told by RC they couldn't seat all of us together. Actually it wasn't problem we docked in 4 ports and we ate locally. We ate some amazing local food. Next time you better meet me in the gym at 6am on the Anthem and sweat those toxins out of your system. I promise u, you won't be so grumpy . (Smile).

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spacecowboy 8 years ago

Yeah, gotta lube them joints. You really need to go out to dinner with me, I will show you how to eat right and proper like. You get to keep the greasy spoon when we are done.

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

Spacecowboy so my problem is I need more grease in my system...lol

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spacecowboy 8 years ago

Maybe you should have smuggled some gluten free, no calorie, organic carrots on board.

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spacecowboy 8 years ago

Oh dcculpepper, that's your problem! You are a vegan. Listen, I love a fresh healthy salad, I eat yogurt everyday, Kashi, all that healthy stuff. But I will woof down a greasy burger ,steak, and my husband makes some kick ass Enchiladas. Good for you getting up at 6 to work out. We booked all of our dining 3 months in advance with no problem.

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

Spacecowboy .....forgot l like!e quinoa

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

Spacecowboy ...... FYI couldn't get into speciality dining due to it booked...might I add my group tried to book way in advance of sailing. I was told by RC everything was booked...... RC said try to book on board. Lastly,...no problem hiking my butt up anywhere...was in the gym every morning at 6......so definitely not lazy. ;-) and to prove I'm not lazy I just added Spacecowboy to my dictionary on my tablet... can u say the same ???? Lmao ... Thanks 4 the laugh. Enjoy ur Day! !!!!

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

Spacecowboy......I like to eat healthy.....noticed very little fresh / good quality vegetables. I am vegan so I don't eat Bologna sandwiches....... too many nitrates.. oh and don't eat bread due to eggs . ;-) Lol. Dude calm down just sharing some information. Reread what I wrote....... my point is if people want better quality RC has to charge higher prices. Just because some of us weren't crazy about the food doesn't make our point of view invalid. Why the anger issues ???? Breathe....... Breathe .....Lmao. oh forgot I don't eat sugar or drink soda...... Just offer me some good veggies am I asking 4 to much. Smile .

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spacecowboy 8 years ago

Dcculpepper1, what exactly are you looking for food wise? C'mon people! Food is food! There is so much to choose from. And so what if you did not like the specialty restaurant food, you can always hike your butts up to the Buffet afterwards and get more,and there is always the snacks at the coffee shop. We had fried Bologna sandwiches for dinner the other night because we did not want to cook.

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dculpepper1 8 years ago

When I was on the Anthem the cruise director said that the quality and offering of food isn't the same due to costs. Bottom line if RC offered better quality food cruisers would have to pay more out of pocket. Also, a friend who works for another cruise line told me that cruise lines limit the seating in the restaurants area due to profitability. If everyone can get seat in a restaurant it cuts into the profits. It more profitable for the cruise line when passengers eat in the buffet since the type of food they serve cost less. Hindsight it makes sense.

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raward 8 years ago

Spacecowboy, Love your comments and totally agree! From others comments looks like folks just cruise to eat. Everyone wants the best and then complain about cost. There are luxury cruise lines out there where you will get the best in food and alcohol, all- inclusive, but you're going to pay fares a good deal higher than on RCCL.

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shnhutson 8 years ago

I removed my prepaid tips on this ship after I had similar experiences. I then tipped the staff individually. I still ended up paying the same amount, but it went to who earned it, and provided great service.

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spacecowboy 8 years ago

I can't see what the food complaint is about. What do you people eat at home every night? Steak and Lobster? I doubt it. I am quite sure with most people's schedules of work, kids, a home to take care of, that you eat on the run, or simple meals that are quick. We enjoy the food and have no complaints. We have only been on 10 cruises in the last 12 years, but it has been wonderful each time.

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jallaway 8 years ago

I can't speak for the crew. Articles I have read say otherwise. The whole thing stinks; but remember almost every restaurant in the USA follows the same practice of underpaying staff with the expectations they receive tips.

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joefive 8 years ago

On the contrary the crew you deal with likes it better. When I tip my waiter it goes to my waiter not all the others I don't see it deal with. The crew hates prepaid gratuities, it gave Royal their opportunity to lower their already low salaries...but everyone should do whatever they feel is best for them. It was my own suggestion..whichever enjoy!

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jallaway 8 years ago

Just remember, your plan may significantly backfire as there have been reports that the names of those that remove gratuities are shared with the crew. They all work together and this would likely not be received well.

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joefive 8 years ago

When you get onboard remove your prepaid gratuities at services immediately. Your staff DOES get notification that YOU will be tipping. Throw them something at beginning if cruise, it baits the line and they are eager to please awaiting your tip at the end.....I think everyone should remove prepaid gratuities!!!!

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thecruiseaholics 8 years ago

I agree. Royal has dropped the ball on what made most people fall in love with cruising. The food is way better on many other cruise lines. They are taking a big gamble and will wind up losing in the long run

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michelle1005 8 years ago

Went on 7 night southern carribean cruise with carnival. Six islands for less than 500 a person. We spent 600 including excursions on three islands. Best time ever

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jrmkjm 8 years ago

Or to put it another way, $8,000 for me and my family for 15 minutes in ifly and north star, and 5 min of "less than county fair quality" bumper cars after 1 hour wait, rather than great service, quality, value, even luxury... who's buying that crap more than once???

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jrmkjm 8 years ago

Although Oasis class service and quality is still pretty good, it really all started going mainstream, money grab, average, about the time Oasis OTS was rolled out in 2009. The extreme degradation however came with the Quantum class, including Anthem, which were clearly designed to maximize revenue per square foot, and reduce costs and service to bare minimums (translated = whatever RCCL can get away with on newbies who don't know better).

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eddiemac1 8 years ago

I've noticed food quality going down over last couple years

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indybat 8 years ago

The ship has more than 1 pool. There are 3 pool areas: the main, the adult only Solarium and the 1 in between those two with the retractable roof.

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jallaway 8 years ago

I seem to see a lotta of RC posts that either say "RC is great, the best you can get" or "RC has gone to the dogs, I'm never going back". I've only been doing all of this about five years now; but when was this magic age when the food and service were so much better?

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