Great Cruise - Had some great experiences...and some that could have been better
Anthem of the Seas Cruise Review to Bermuda
7 Night Bermuda & Boston (Cape Liberty Roundtrip)
Sail date: November 03, 2018
Ship: Anthem of the Seas
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 9520
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
First cruise with Royal Caribbean. Was pleased with the experience and had a great time. We had traveled with Disney before and found their Customer Service to be better than RC's. The ship activities were similar for both cruises with Disney being better for small kids and RC better for teens. Main dinning was fine. Food was a little better than your neighbor restaurant. Variety was limited. The Chop House was awesome and Jamie's Italian was also good. I recommend both. Windjammer buffet was above average. The Two70 Cafe was a nice find. Lots of gluten-free options if you want (need) that. The adult deck was nice. Spent most of our time there. The sports deck was fun. Did bumper cars and rollerskating. The North Star was disorganized. Our 1st reservation was cancelled due to weather. (No prob. Safety first.) But our rescheduled reservation was lost and the attendant didn't seem to care. We tried to reschedule again, but were told they were sold out and that we'd just have to wait in standby for "no shows". The standby queue was disorganized and the attendants had no idea who was next. After waiting an hour to ride, we finally gave up and left. Never got to ride. The thermal spa had some nice features (heated lounge chairs, sauna rooms, showers) but rude guests in the spa ruined it. Too much talking and loud people. Wanted to relax and read, or sleep, but couldn't. Left frustrated due to folks that probably should have gone to a bar or pool to have their conversation, not the spa. The musical "We Will Rock You" was below average. Community theater quality IMO. The live entertainment was nice to have in the bars and on the decks. There was a U2 tribute band that was awesome and "spot on". Had a chance to talk with "Bono" after one of the shows. Great guy. I would see their show again. Cabin attendant was great. Knew our names. Very helpful and quick to correct anything wrong with our room. Waiter for dinner was great. Funny guy, but seemed very busy. The baristas at the coffee shops were 95% nice and friendly. (One guy was grouchy so we avoided him when we needed a latte.) The bartenders we friendly and knowledgeable. (Especially the ones from the Caribbean nations.) Would cruise with RC again if they had an itinerary I liked, but would probably consider traveling with Disney first if I could afford it.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Avoid the Royal Esplanade when the shops are having their "clearance sales". The area gets very crowded and hard to pass through. Go up to Deck 5 to get round the crowd if you're going from one end of the ship to the other.
Ports of call
Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey