Subpar Bahama Cruise

We left out of Cape Liberty NJ. It was easy and seamless checking in and boarding the ship.

I wish I could give a 2.5 rating. The main dining room, specialty restaurants and the Windjammer buffet were all visually appealing. They looked great, but the food ... not so much. We ate dinner in the dining room twice, both times the food was cold and at best banquet food quality. We ate dinner in the Windjammer 3 times. The food was again of poor quality. There were fruit flies hanging out by the salad and fruit stations and I stuck to cheeseburgers of which were decent. We ate one night in a specialty restaurant, Wonderland, the presentation of the food was beautiful, but again the quality was lacking, but a step above the dining room and the Windjammer. In all honesty the best food on the ship was in Sorrentos Pizza, of which is surprising because I'm from CT and pizza has to be really good for me to say it's good. It was always hot, thin crust and cheesy. Overall though I am highly disappointed with the quality of food on Anthem of the Seas. The last cruise we took with Royal on Freedom of the Seas, the food wasn't that much better there either.

We played BINGO once, and it's a rip off. There are 3 games, that collectively took no more than 30 minutes and you have to pay at a minimum $29 (possible 39 ... I forget) to play the least amount of cards, up to approx $69 for the max number and it's just not worth it for 3 games when there are about 300+ people playing. The pools were nice and the whirlpools were always crowded. We didn't go to the spa or fitness centers ... we just walked a lot. I attended an art auction and it was ok, but long, over 2 hours long. I felt the staff of the auction were extremely pushy to get people to buy something.

We attended 2 shows, Spectras Cabaret and We Will Rock You. Spectras was a pretty good show and the Two70 Lounge was stunning, however the show had technical difficulties and the computer systems crapped out for about 30 minutes. The main character (Spectra) did a fantastic job at keeping us engaged during that time. We Will Rock You was longgggg, about 2 hours. It became a little unbearable towards the end because we were in the Royal Theater and the seating is TIGHT. If you are taller than 5'7" and weigh more than 150lbs you may start to feel claustrophobic towards the end. The performers were great though. We watched an Aerosmith tribute band in the Music Hall (same place where Bingo was) and they were pretty good. I must mention the Music Hall was a really nice lounge.

We didn't go with children.

I debated between a 2 and a 3 on this one. I went with a 2 because where the staff fell short was much to crucial of an area to fall short in. Let me start by saying the staff in Sorrentos Pizza, Starbucks, the Windjammer and in Wonderland were all phenomenal and work the butts off ALL DAY long. Where the service fell short, was our stateroom attendant: She was fairly nice but every time I asked her for something she seemed annoyed. I asked for extra pillows ... annoyed. I let her know that the bed was too hard (it really was .. it was on the prior cruise too. It made my hips hurt and I'm only 45. It was enough for me to never cruise Royal again but my travel agent said to Royal advises to just tell the stateroom attendant and they can remedy it), I told her and asked if they had a mattress topper, again annoyed. She did remedy the situation though and it was much more comfortable. There were two times where she knocked and didn't give us time to respond and just came in, once I was in the middle of changing. We also found a pair of old nasty sneakers under our bed. The main area where they fell short was with the medical department. There was a chest cold going around on the ship and my husband started to get sick the 2nd day into an 8 day cruise. By the 5th day his breathing was extremely bad and he had severe wheezing and I was also starting to get sick and I'm asthmatic. Thankfully I had purchased travel insurance of which would cover getting sick on the cruise so I called medical. The nurse answered the phone and was very short tempered with me and deterred me from using the medical services. I explained that I had purchased insurance and she said it didn't matter I would have to pay out of pocket of which confused me. I was confused and a little put off by it and asked how much it would be just to see the Dr. She stated $135 and that wouldn't include any medicine or treatment. I said wow that's a little ridiculous and she hung up on me. I called back and the same nurse answered and I confronted her about hanging up and she said she thought the conversation was done and I advised that I never said goodbye and neither did she. She then said that she hung up because someone collapsed in front of her and I told her I doubt that and she said someone else is collapsing in hung up on me again. I called guest services in tears and they said they would follow up with the medical department. They called back and said the nurse would be calling me again, and I never received a call. I had informed the nurse and guest services that my husband was having breathing difficulty and there was no urgency in following up with me. Thankfully I had my asthma rescue inhaler and let my husband use it. I also picked up medicine while in Nassau and that got us through the trip.

The ship was designed well and appeared to be clean. I don't think we got sick from touching anything on the ship. It was from everyone that was coughing.

The cabin was pretty nice. I was disappointed that there were the life boats right below our balcony but it was till fairly nice. The biggest complaint I have is that Royal Caribbeans beds ARE NOT COMFORTABLE. I also think the stateroom attendant should have cleaned the room better considering we found a pair of old nasty sneakers under the bed.

It was just as easy as checking in. No waiting, and no issues with customs.