The Good Far Outweighed The Bad

Item: Anthem of the Seas
Rating: 4.5
Author: tonya73

Anthem of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

tonya73

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 32

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5

9 Night Bermuda & Caribbean (Cape Liberty Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 12, 2018

Ship: Anthem of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: Deck 8

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Disembarkation was bad for us as a group of eight people. We all had to report to different places at different times. My wife and I and one other couple managed to get off the ship by just walking off with the 'carry your own' luggage crowd. Two other couples were held up in the appointed stations waiting to be told to leave the ship and because of the lousy luggage retrieval system in the terminal they encountered, we all finally got in our van at 11:10, two hours and forty minutes after half our group got out and waited for the rest.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

No traffice from Long Island to Cape Liberty N,J.,. Boarded without any problems but had to freeze it out in the Treminal section we were put. A/C Fans were brutal.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Main Complimentry Dining (Windjammer) was remarkably smooth flowing. Food selection was endless and mostly hot served. Anything you wanted the great staff there would get for you.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

With so many people on the ship, trying to get to do some of the cool stuff (Northstar, Bumper Cars) was not worth trying or waiting on long lines lines. Solarium was our favorite hangout and the pools were nice to cool off in as it gets really hot and muggy there.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Don't buy the internet package unless you want to spend a lot of time configuring and getting help from staff (long lines there). IQ package for $7.95 was Ok but did not work half the time unless you shut off/on phone. finding thing was harrowing and I though it was a waste of money. Room cards had to be replace by almost everyone in our group and two of us had room safe breakdowns. Be careful of the shampoo dispenser in the 'beer can' shaped shower as it's easy to knock off the wall and breaks apart. In our room, the A/C was fixed at 65 degrees and not realized till the 7th day in. Remote did not work unless you swung it around in circles in front of screen. financial Account page would not load the 'next page'. No closed captions except for news shows. Sound volume was difficult toi adjust comfortably.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey

5 out of 5

King's Wharf, Bermuda

3 out of 5

Only thing toi do there was to go to the small beach area and scramble for a decent spot to sit. Charged us for chairs/chaise lounges $10-15. Too many people in a small area.

Thumbs Up 1

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

3 out of 5

Went to Maho and did nopt see any big jetliners, Saw several small prop and commuter planes. Disappointing. Bar on beach was good and prices were great as well as the drinks they served. St Maarten was still in disrepair and was not as nice as we expected it to be.

Thumbs Up 1

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

In Old San Juan where the ship docks, you'll see plenty of places to spend money and eat. The Gateway area and fountain was especially nice to visit. Took many photos there. Building on cobblestone streets were beautifully colored.

Thumbs Up 11

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

5 out of 5

got ther early enough to get under an Almond tree with big shady leaves right on the beach. Water was very warm but comfortable. Beach got overly crowded by noon and full of water toys, kids and kayakers. Food was pretty good and plentiful. Local shops were set up behind the RC main shop which unbelieveably had better prices than the local shops. Vendors were agressive and pushy and would not budge on their high priced items.

Thumbs Up 3