This was our 15th cruise (3rd on Royal Caribbean). Most of our cruises have been over the Christmas/New Year’s break, so we expect the ship to be crowded and we expected there to be a large number of families with children. Knowing this, we were very pleased with our experience on the Anthem of Seas. After reading many negative reviews, we were unsure of what to expect, but we rated this one of our best holiday cruises. We really enjoyed the ports of call and we found the service to be as good or better than past cruises. We had only a few minor negative experiences (mostly due to other cruisers) and no major problems.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We enjoyed the food choices in the main dining room. The Classics section of the menu was consistently good. We used the Windjammer Cafe for breakfast and lunch. We found that there were a good number of choices. The staff was also very attentive and attentive in the Windjammer. Every day, a manager asked us about our experience and if we needed something.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
There was an ample number of activities for everyone on board. We were never bored. All of us enjoyed the North Star and Rip Cord. The children enjoyed the Sea-Plex. We enjoyed the entertainment and saw many of the shows that were offered. We also enjoyed playing poker in the casino. The Solarium and pools were crowded. The chair-saving seemed out of control, but since arrived later in the day, it was not a problem for us. Nonetheless, Royal Caribbean should do a better job of enforcing their policy.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Overall the entertainment was good. We saw almost every show that was offered. We enjoyed most of the acts. We felt that they were well performed, even though some appealed more to us that others. The late-night comics were very funny. Ronn Lucas, the ventriloquist was outstanding - possibly the best act we have ever seen on a cruise ship.
Children's Programs
N/A
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We used My Time dining, but we reserved the same time each night. On our second day we found two servers were liked very much in the American Icon restaurant. We were so impressed that we asked to have them as our servers each night. They were outstanding in their service. They were friendly and went out of their way each evening to making our dinner time exceptional. Our nightly dinner became the highlight of our cruise. Everyone in our party looked forward to it.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was very clean and still felt very new. We enjoyed all the various entertainment and recreation venues. There was something for everyone in our family.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had a balcony room that was a standard size for a cruise ship. There was ample storage and a good size bathroom. Our room attendants were friendly and provided excellent service.
Ship tip
Book your dining times, shows, Rip Cord by iFly, and North Star online before you get on the ship. I can state this enough - you will have a much more enjoyable experience if you plan these experiences before you get on the ship.
This was our favorite private island of the all the cruise lines. We enjoyed being able to walk off the ship. We went later in the day and found it easy to get two beach chairs in one of the coves. There is much to do on the island and many places to enjoy the beach. Unfortunately intermittent showers arrived later in the day.
The ship docked around 2 PM and it was dark by 5 PM. We wished we had more daylight hours in San Juan. Overall, we enjoyed walking around Old San Juan.
my family will be going on our first holiday cruise on Anthem of the Seas...any pointers? We have 2 kids and was curious if they do gifts with Santa...
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