Great cruise from NYC area

Item: Anthem of the Seas
Rating: 4.3
Author: TravelwithKeith

Anthem of the Seas Cruise Review

TravelwithKeith

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 64

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

7 Night Bahamas (Cape Liberty Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 30, 2019

Ship: Anthem of the Seas

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Leaving from our home port of Bayonne was terrific. Sea days were kind of boring as I felt there wasn’t many activities other than sports/bingo. I still highly recommend this ship, we had a great time!!

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Security and check-in were a breeze! Took less than 10 minutes. We did sit in the terminal for almost an hour but that was due to us getting to the port so early.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Buffet and room service were terrific. The Buffett was spread out so even with hundreds of people there was plenty of space to navigate, even on embarkation day. Main dining room food was ok, not the best I’ve had on Royal ships.

Solarium Bistro

5 out of 5

We ate breakfast here on several occasions and it was wonderful. Smaller buffet selection. Get there early though it gets crowded!!

Bionic Bar

1 out of 5

while it’s fun to watch once, it gets old really quick. I ordered a drink one night before dinner and took almost 20 minutes to get, and when I finally did the machine shook half of it out of the cup. It was neat but would never do it again.

Windjammer Marketplace

5 out of 5

The staff in the windjammer were by far my favorites! Helpful and always cheerful, a great way to start your day at breakfast. The selection was nice and everything was kept replenished and fresh.

The Café@TWO70

5 out of 5

This small cafe is a great place to get away from the crowds BUT having breakfast in 270 watching the wake of the ship was a special treat. Be sure to check it out!!

Silk

3 out of 5

This was our least favorite dining room simply because the decor was really dark and almost seemed dinghy.

Schooner Bar

5 out of 5

The schooner bar is often our hangout/meetup spot on all the royal ships. There was an entertainer there for our cruise who did a late night adult show and he was hilarious! The bartenders and servers were always very quick and efficient as well.

American Icon Grill

4 out of 5

We ate breakfast and dinner several times throughout our cruise. Breakfast was great with a small buffet and also a la carte options. The service was terrific!!

Jamie's Italian

5 out of 5

We had a WONDERFUL meal here!! Each course was delicious, and the service was fantastic! Highly recommend booking a meal while you’re onboard!!

Café Promenade

4 out of 5

This is a great spot for a quick or late night snack.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

All of the heavy hitters (rock wall, flow rider, pools) were fantastic. What seemed to me to be missing was other activities like crafts, dance classes, etc. The staff in the sea plex/North Star were awesome. Didn’t see our cruise director until the third night, kinda boring.

Seaplex

5 out of 5

We got to roller-skate and drive bumper cars! There was always some kind of sporting event or tournament going on as well. Great place if you have active people in your party!

Entertainment

5 out of 5

The entertainment was top notch, broadway shows, original entertainment, music around the ship was awesome!!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

This is a beautiful ship! My only qualm is that there is no promenade deck to walk completely around the ship close to the water line.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Our cabin was extremely comfortable, we had an obstructed balcony view. The cabin is meant for three people, which we had and it was a little tight when all 3 were trying to get ready.

Ship tip

Use your personal online cruise planner and book as many things as you can in advance! (North Star, Flow Rider, Shows). This way you don’t have to stand in any lines on embarkation day.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5

Great port of you want to visit NASA or beaches. However, if you’re thinking about visiting Disney World or Universal Studios don’t do it! You don’t get nearly enough time in any of the parks to make it worth it. By the time we got to Disney property we only had about 4 hours until we had to get back on the bus to the ship.

Thumbs Up 4

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5

I love this port every time we go. Yes, the locals can be loud and try to get your money. Remember you are visiting a tourist destination where tourist dollars are the major source of income. Politely decline and keep walking. We always try to make a walk up to John Watlings distillery for a rum flight and to chill out!!

Thumbs Up 3

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Also super easy leaving the ship, however when we got into the terminal to go through customs it seemed like the staff was overwhelmed and passengers were confused as where to go. All in all was still quite easy.

3 Comments

cruisereckoning 4 years ago

Great ship

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tonibeachhaze66 5 years ago

What time did you get to the port to embark?

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rapd 5 years ago

What is the entertainment on board?

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Other reviews of this sailing

Great cruise...highly recclmmend

Beautiful ship, excellent service, awsome tr