This 7nt Itinerary really isn't the best. So the ship has to be as much the destination as any of the ports of call except for Perfect Day at Cococay. Anthem is a high quality ship just not my favorite.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Cape liberty had embarkation down to the point where you almost didn't have to stop (B.C.). This embarkation experience was much quicker than Galveston. It took longer to walk from the garage to the terminal than it took to get on the ship once inside. $25 💸 per day to park at cape liberty, hopefully the off site options will return at a lower price point.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Had to take off a ⭐ here for the reservation line at dinner time for my time dining. Had to be 100 people in line that first night, decided to skip the reservation and the MDR for most of the cruise. Food was better than normal for RCI.
They should remove one of the (4) main dining rooms (a left over from what was dynamic dining) and add the teppanyaki to this ship. One of my biggest misses about this ship.
Buffet was acceptable but lacked the variety of the past.
Room service food has always been good on this ship and still is.
Johnny Rockets express, where's the chicken sandwich and the apple pie a la mode? (I hope they return to this ship along with chili cheese fries which were never on this ship)
Sorrento's, Cafe Promenade, Cafe@270, solarium bistro all were very good.
Overall the variety of complimentary and paid food on this ship is legitimate, however I want to see Playmakers and teppanyaki available.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Entertainment "quality" was a improvement over the last cruise. This cruise didn't even have it's full entertainment team available for quarantine protocols so no Spectra's Cabaret or We Will Rock You on this sailing.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
I think that RCI has the right idea to upgrade Seaplex which is why the newest Quantum ultra class ship Odyssey, has Playmakers up there.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Overall a great value.
Ship tip
Choose the traditional time dining. My time dining in the MDR is still not something RCI does well.
After a week of social distancing, all of that went out the door for disembarking. The line went back towards 270 and looped back on itself and they were still calling luggage tag numbers. It was almost as bad as the old muster process with crowding along the "via". RCI actually improved the process during the restart by allowing passengers to stay in cabins during the departure process. Admittedly my comparison is from a cruise that had 1400pax, this ship had twice that but Anthem was still only at 65-70%. Facial recognition gets you out of the old customs line if you have a passport. Those with birth certificates were processed separately (somewhere).
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