Better the second time around

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

Anthem of the Seas Cruise Review

RGcouple

Contributor Level: Second Mate

145 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 71

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5

12 Night Southern Caribbean (Cape Liberty Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 08, 2019

Ship: Anthem of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7710

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

This particular cruise and it’s itinerary was extremely relaxing. Will definitely do it again!

Embarkation

5 out of 5

We cruised out of NJ. This is our second time at this cruise port. The Embarkation process there is the easiest one we’ve ever experienced. Both times. To make it easier, I highly recommend having your sail pass on your phone along with the appropriate picture on the RC App. If you do, it will be simply scanned and before you know it you’re on your way to the fun

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

The second time on this ship, we had the ultimate dining package which allowed us to dine anywhere. We went to every specialty restaurant several times. The food at the restaurants were all incredible, especially Chops. The Sushi at Izumi was fresh and delicious. Make sure to try the Yellow fin. Yummy! Wonderland is definitely an experience. It’s whimsical, and fun. Be prepared that the food is unusual. But that is part of the fun. I highly suggest the seafood tower appetizer from Chops. It sucks that it is an up charge. However, the seafood is soooo good and big that it makes it worth it. As before in a review, I’ll say it again... the windjammer is usually way too crowded. It’s hard to find seating. I truly feel they need to find a way to accommodate the amount of people that go to this buffet. The set up leaves people bumping into each other.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

The activities on the ship were fun. The bumper cars had us laughing. We dislike that many of the scheduled activities found in the daily planner are an upcharge.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

We thought the entertainment was really good. As this is our second time on the ship, we had seen the shows before. We hope they change it up soon.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

We cannot be happier with the actual service. Everyone we came in contact with were incredibly thoughtful, helpful and wanting us to have a great time. We didn’t find any miserable employees. They all would go above and beyond to ensure a smile on our face. And we extremely appreciate that. We did have an incident with workers working outside our balcony without notice. We had our curtains open at the time and were changing. We did complain about that. They apologized profusely and even sent a bottle of wine to our room. The only huge complaint we have is the internet. And this is the second time we had the same issue. We pay for the package for our entire cruise. It isn’t cheap. It continually drops you, requiring to log back in.. it happens every couple minutes. People were complaining about it

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The ship is beautiful and kept very clean. We did notice that it’s showing wear in the carpets as compared to the last time. But it’s to be expected. Also, we noticed issues with the air conditioning again. There are areas where it’s just extremely warm. For example, around the elevators. And other places... We noticed this the last time on the ship too. And many people were complaining last time and this time too. We truly feel they need to address this problem.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

The stateroom had plenty of storage, lighting, and outlets. It was nicely decorated. Plenty of room. The balcony itself was good. Although they do not consider this cabin as having an obstructed view, it certainly does. There are parts of the ship on the right and left of the balcony that causes you not to be able to see parts of the ocean. To me that’s obstructed. But you can see the ocean through the middle of it. Our biggest complaint is the bed. The beds them selves in the cabins are extremely hard. We noticed it both times. And others had complained too about it. We actually bought foam to put on top this time which helped a lot. But that required a second suitcase which is not ideal if you are flying. Anyhow, all in all the cabin was ok.

Ship tip

Get lounge chairs early. Don’t book excursions from the ship as they are too expensive. You can simply walk off and find the same ones cheaper. Be prepared for hard beds unless you’re in a suite. And enjoy a beautiful, fun ship!

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