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Overall an excellent cruise

Anthem of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 54

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5
Anthem of the Seas

8 Night Bahamas (Cape Liberty Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 30, 2017

Ship: Anthem of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6556

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

We are pretty loyal to RCI since we got engaged and married onboard RCI's ships. Wouldn't mind considering other cruise lines, though. To us, RCI is a pretty good value and they really try to go beyond your expectations. Learned a lot on this cruise from the All Access Tour.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Smooth. There were two main entrances at the ends of the reception hall. Save time and look for the shorter line.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Delicious! Dining service by their staff was right on. Buffet at Windjammer offered enough choices for my family. Couldn't really use Johnny Rocket's since it was open to the outdoors and it was pretty cold.

American Icon Grill

5 out of 5

Great choices

Jamie's Italian

5 out of 5

One of the best Italian means I've ever had in my life. Also best coffee!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Fully utilized the fitness center, spa, bumper cars and RipCord but weather this time of year limited our use of many other activities outdoors like the climbing wall, FlowRider, pool, etc.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
Pretty good selections but I wasn't as impressed with their shows as I thought I would be. The Gift was a little disappointing and "headliner" ventriloquist act was ok. Two70 performances were impressive.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Fantastic all around. Chatted with cabin steward, wait staff, security and were impressed. Took the All Access Tour (which we HIGHLY RECOMMEND) to get a behind-the-scene look at our ship. Very impressive!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
More spacious than we anticipated and well designed. The cold limited our use of the balcony.

Ship tip

Definitely book the All Access Tour if available. Well worth it! There's plenty of room on the Anthem to find your little private spot. Ours was in Two70 near the library overlooking the seats and stage. We even saw a wedding in action while there! Try at least one specialty dinner. We did Jaimie's Italian and were very impressed. Excellent fitness center. Would recommend booking any outdoor activities (FlowRider, North Star, RipCord during the cruise when it was warmer further down south. Ours happen to be closer towards the north when it was pretty cold from the "Bomb Cyclone" along the east coast. I don't work for Costco Travel but they seem to have quite a few additional benefits (free specialty dining, free soda, free Johnny Rockets, $50 onboard credit, $100+ Costco gift card, etc). Might be worth a look.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey

4 out of 5
Only spent the night there prior to the cruise
Thumbs Up

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5
Ok considering the weather
Thumbs Up

Nassau, Bahamas

4 out of 5
Atlantis wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be. Can say "I've been there, done that" now. I wouldn't make a special trip there now.
Thumbs Up

Cococay (Cruise Line's Private Island) Did not visit port

Weather prevented us from tendering into Cococay.
Thumbs Up

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Very smooth and well organized. Suggest taking care of any billing issues the day before. Guest Service lines could get pretty long.

Traveler Photos

Gorilla. So inventive. Wedding in Two70 when Cococay visit was cancelled. We all enjoyed this surprise. Look down through clear floor from an upper deck. Scary! We actually saw this huge cake being made during the All Access Tour. Not overly sweet or heavy. Sunset from top level of Two70 near Library French onion soup with Gruyere cheese - delicious! Escargot - highly recommended Chilly departure day Fitness Center with TRX set up Top quality italian dishes, dessert and coffee
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3 Comments

Barbz5768350    6 years ago

If you aren't bringing children along, I highly recommend Celebrity, owned by RC but a cut above. We went on Equinox in December and absolutely loved it. It is a ship for "adults".
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loubo83    6 years ago

The cooler weather really prevented (or limited) us from using most of the outdoor area. Rockclimbing wall was closed off. FlowRider was operational for a limited time while Anthem was in the southern (warmer) part of the cruise. North Star operated half the time but due to cooler weather was also limited. Pools that were exposed to the outdoors were filled when we started but was evident it was closed when they were drained as it got significantly cooler. Indoor pool was fine. We were able to use the RipCord, but was only allowed outside for participants only--no spectators (too cold). Although a little dissappointed (especially with Cococay shore cancellation), Anthem had plenty to do inside to keep us entertained. Anthem really was a destination in and of itself. Hope this helps.
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royalcruisers    6 years ago

Were you able to use the outside areas of the ship?
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Other reviews of this sailing

Great Time!
Had a great time inspite of the bad weather. Spending New Years at sea was wonderful. Unfortunatly the weather was bad the whole time. But we felt completely safe, the captin communicated with us frequently. we bi passed the unsafe waters.
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