First time cruiser and hopefully not my last!

As this was my first cruise I don't have a lot of experience to compare this too but what I can tell you is Anthem of the Seas did an incredible job.

The service from the entertainment staff to the working staff was excellent.

The food served on board, no complaints from me!

The ship was full of families taking a vacation to couples looking for a get-away trip for the February break. Despite traveling with my partner I didn't notice any trouble from the younger crowds and always felt safe on board.

The ship itself was relatively new (I believe?) and as you would expect has plenty to see and do to keep you entertained regardless of your age. The highlights for me being We Will Rock you show and winding down at the end of an evening listening to the highly talented piano player/singer (forgot his name, sorry!)

The ship was always clean and I don't remember ever having an empty stomach!

The few downsides were the extra long queues for Guest Services. To be expected I suppose but it would have been nice if there were more people manning those desks or for someone to speak to the people in line to see if we needed to be there (I wasn't aware or was told that my on board credit would take up to 48 hours to appear on my account so I didn't even need to be in line in the first place!)

Also the tenders (the boats used to get onto the private island) were not well informed. It wasn't overly difficult in the end to find out where we needed to go but I wasn't the only confused passenger when the time came to depart. Some simple step-by-step instructions would have made that morning much easier.

Despite those minor niggles, getting on and off the ship was relatively quick and painless and overall both me and my partner had a great time on board. The weather was not great on any of the islands but there was little they could do about that!

My only advice, should you be reading this would be to read the FULL list of activities the islands have to offer and not just rely on what BJ's has to offer. I would also stay clear of visiting Disney in Florida. Although it might be the key focus (should you be traveling with children) I spoke to a lot of unhappy guests who tried to fit it in. The money they paid only covered the travel to the park and it takes an hour each way to get there so it proved both expensive and frustrating trying to fit as much as they could. By all means go if that's where you really want to but be prepared to spend a fair amount of money for what will likely much less time there than you would like.

The other minor disappointments were the observation crane the ship boasts about and the robotic bar. Neither quite lived up to the hype and I rarely saw anyone drink at that bar. Make sure you book ahead for shows and anything that requires booking in advance because they sell up quickly.

Overall it was good value for money and well worth venturing out. Would definitely do another cruise in the future but I will no doubt look for one to visit new places and take on board everything I learned from this first cruise but it will be quite hard to top this one.