Anthem is a great family ship. Lots to do, activities and shows. Love so much indoor and outdoor space. We were at 80% capacity and NEVER felt crowded. The service and staff are friendly and amazingly helpful. Loved the View of the statue of liberty and Manhattan across the bay on embarkation. It is awesome to have a port in driving distance and this ship is a great choice for multiple sea days required to get to and from the Caribbean.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Surprisingly easy as long as you arrive in your departure window. If not you will wait in line. They expedited us since we were traveling with a child under 12.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Anthem had the BEST main dining room quality food I've ever experienced on a ship. We never felt the need to spend more at specialty restaurants. The buffet was very good also. We actually enjoyed the hot dog food truck too on multiple days and Cafe 270 for "healthy" tastings.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There is so much for every age to engage in. We participated in all the Free activities. Ifly was a cool experience. Bumper cars were great too. We played shuffle board, pool, trivia, games, rock climbing, and swam in the pools and hot tubs. The gym is nice but I prefered running on the track in the mornings. There is plenty of indoor space making cooler or rainy weather days ok. The adult solarium is lovely. Ship was at about 80% capacity so there was always plenty of space. Even our 3 sea days had abundant deck space and open chairs for sunbathing. Only wished they were hosting the circus training which did not happen on this cruise.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We Will Rock You was very good but only played 1 day. Spectra's Caberett showed multiple days. Although it is visually stimulating, it is VERY modern and a bit weird. Unfortunately a lot of the shows were scheduled during our dining time so it was hard to get to anything else.
Children's Programs
Our teens hung out with us the whole trip surprisingly so they never participated in the kids clubs. The teen space was realy cool looking though.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
WOW. Everyone is sooooo friendly and happy. We saw our room steward multiple times a day and the dining staff was exceptional. You can tell they are content with being back to work after 2 years of covid restrictions!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Perfect layout for cool weather cruises with lots of indoor activity space but still has enough deck space for hot days. I didn't feel a need to use the spa since the Adult Solarium was so nice. The ship is clean and well maintained. LOVE that the casino is on the bottom deck. You never had to walk through the smoky smelly room to get to where you needed to be! Only complaint would be that the promenade was kind of small and not as impressive as other Royal Caribbean ships.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Size was amazing for an interior cabin. The virtual balcony was really cool and made it feel bigger/less confined. Our 3 teens fit comfortably in 1 room. My husband and I were in another. Only problem is that the beds are rock hard. Our room steward did his best to pad it but our 18 year old daughter slept on the pull out sofa and that was even harder.
Ship tip
On the first day, use the app to click on everything you would possibly want to do. Then it all shows up in your calendar everyday and you can pick and choose as you go. Also Free ifly times drop at 8 am every sea day. We had no problem getting times (no all at the same flight so we could take video/pictures) for all 5 of us.
Wish we had more time in this port. Cocoa Beach is really nice and easy to get to with shuttles you can take directly from the port that drop off at the Ron Jon Beach Shop. Cheap souvenir shopping and you can rent beach chairs and boogie boards for $10 each!
Booked the cruise for this port. Coco Cay is so safe and family friendly. Love the private island with activities gallor. Drinks package works on the island and the food is great.
Overdone port but there is lots to do and shopping is easily accessed directly from the dock. You can even walk to Junkanoo Beach if you don't want to book an excursion. Dock is under construction right now.
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