our first cruise with Royal!

Item: Anthem of the Seas
Rating: 4.5
Author: ToddN1XHR

Anthem of the Seas Cruise Review

ToddN1XHR

Contributor Level: Second Mate

199 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 5

Helpful Votes: 70

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5

7 Night Bahamas & Perfect Day (Cape Liberty Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 04, 2022

Ship: Anthem of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9692

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Overall, we were happy with our time on Anthem. The ship was active and always had something happening for anyone. My only issue was a lack of outside seating areas away from the pool deck where I could sit back and relax. A place to either read a book, or just watch the ocean water go by.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Cape Liberty Terminal makes the embarkation experience wonderful. Just don't show up before 9:15-9:30 and expect to be able to get into the parking garage. Overall, it was a fast and friendly place to start our vacation.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Overall, the bar tenders and servers were wonderful. We never had a bad drink. The Windjammer was below pr from other buffets we've been to on other ships (way below par!!) Speciality dining and MDR were very good with excellent service.

Wonderland

5 out of 5

A dining experience that is definitely worth doing at least once. Between the atmosphere and the food, we had a great meal and enjoyed the meal.

Windjammer Marketplace

1 out of 5

Avoid at all costs.Food was either too salty or too bland.I'm a big guy who doesn't waste too much food, but MOST of the food that I tried was terrible. I left multiple plates of food behind because they were disgusting. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, the food was always sub-par (even for a buffet).

Izumi

5 out of 5

Wonderful place to end our dining experience on the Anthem. We ate here for dinner on the last night.Food was top grade, just our service was slow. From seating until we left was over 2 hours

Chops Grille

4 out of 5

Food and service were good, but not as spectacular as I was told it would be. My chicken was unseasoned and their Mac n Cheese was lacking flavor.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Music Hall

5 out of 5

A great place for anything from tribute bands to karaoke. We found ourselves here many times for drinks and entertainment!

The Royal Theater

4 out of 5

We were here for We Will Rock You. It was a great show with a good cast and excellent soundtrack.No real bad seating in the theater.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Our waiter and assistant waiter in the MDR, Donny and Aloha, were wonderful. By day two were remembering our names and had our drinks practically waiting for us by the time we sat down (had them to us within a minute). Our room steward, Roy, was wonderful. He was friendly and cheerful every time we saw him. Any requests we had for the cabin, he was always accommodating.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The traffic flow was good on the ship. Decks 4 and 5, when busy, can get a little jammed up, but overall flow through the ship was good. The ship always appeared to be clean and overall well taken care of.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Our cabin was very nice with a larger than expected balcony (we're used to the smaller balconies of NCL). The bed was firmer than the wife and I appreciate, but one word to our steward and we had a mattress pad on that night. Cabin and bathroom were spacious and always kept clean for us. The wife appreciated the towel animals!!

Ship tip

Avoid the Windjammer if at all possible!!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

3 out of 5

We didn't get off ship. One issue with the port is there is nothing in any real walking distance of the terminal.

Thumbs Up 1

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

5 out of 5

We had a blast at Cococay!! The food was good and drinks were plentiful! We had a Beach bed at Breezy Bay. Was a great option for a guaranteed place to sit back and relax or take an afternoon nap.

Thumbs Up 0

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5

Nassau is always a good stop, so many options between shopping or beach day. We went to Blue Lagoon and had fun with the dolphins and sea lions

Thumbs Up 1

Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey

4 out of 5

Not really a port of call in my opinion, but was easy to get in and out of the area.

Thumbs Up 1