Anthem OTS is my favorite ship. The weather for the week was fantastic and the ocean for the most part was smooth. Everyone we encountered could not have been nicer. It was a very relaxing week and can’t wait to sail again!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Not a long wait through security and check in. With doing everything before sailing, we were on the ship in a few minutes.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
I thought the food was great. Read a lot of reviews (good and bad) prior to sailing but you need to form your own opinion. The Windjammer had a nice variety. I like the way they take your specialty omelet order now. Instead of waiting in line, you give your order and they give you a pager when the omelet is ready. Of course, washing your hands is stressed and we had a very talented young lady playing the washy washy song on guitar. The food in the MDR was also delicious. Some don’t like the menu change, however, there still was a great choice to pick from. We ate at Chops Grille (2x) and Jamie’s Italian and both were excellent.
Jamie's Italian
5 out of 5
Fresh pasta and desserts to blow you away, what more could you want? Our waiter Chetan was excellent. He even gave us a taste of garlic tiger shrimp and fork tender lamb chops while we waited for our entrees. The lemon meringue cheesecake was decadent.
The Café@TWO70
4 out of 5
Great egg sandwich and fresh donuts!
Windjammer Marketplace
4 out of 5
Fairly decent variety. Food was good especially freshly carved meat. Excellent omelettes! Tends to be a little crowded at peak time 8-10am.
Sorrentos
5 out of 5
You can NEVER go wrong with their pizza. Always crowded after the Royal Theatre shows. Great place to grab a bite to tide you over till dinner.
Solarium Bistro
4 out of 5
Was a bit less crowded here however they seemed a bit short staffed especially at the toasting station. Good spot for breakfast, though.
Schooner Bar
5 out of 5
Great entertainment and the lavender martini was to die for! Daria was very sweet. Arun and Leonardo really know their stuff!
Pool Bar
5 out of 5
Wonderful Bloody Mary. Drinks always well made.
North Star Bar
5 out of 5
Fantastic chocolate martini
La Patisserie
5 out of 5
Great Starbucks drink and relaxing place to sit on our last day.
Chops Grille
5 out of 5
Amazing! The filet was fork tender and cooked to perfection. It was so good, I had it both times we ate there. Our waiters Ari (first night) and Tej were very attentive and made us feel like we were the only ones there.
Café Promenade
5 out of 5
Excellent sandwiches and great selection of teas
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Spent time at the pool - only thing I didn’t like was folks playing volleyball in the main pool during a time it was crowded. I know it was a tournament but it seemed to last longer than the advertised hour. You felt like you couldn’t enjoy the pool.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We went to see the rock tribute band Rookie. All I can say is wow! Their lead performer, Aaron MacKenzie was energetic, enthusiastic and fantastic! Rookie took us through the era of rock and roll and kept our feet tapping and lips moving the whole time.
Spectra’s Cabaret was entertaining - very loud and bright but performers were excellent.
I had seen We Will Rock You before but my hubby convinced me to see it again and I’m so glad he did. It was awesome! I actually got so much more out of this because I had a better understanding of the story of Bohemian Rhapsody. The performers were great!
Late night comedy with Dan Wilson was hilarious. While it was adults only, it was not overly “spicy”.
Hott Sands really kept you in the Caribbean spirit with their tunes.
Perry Grant was “cheeky” with his vocals and piano playing in Schooner and the Monnina Latin Band kept Boleros jumping.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward, Bhavish (we called him B) was super. He always made sure we had what we needed and told us even though they only clean the room once per day, we could call him anytime if we needed something.
Our MDR waiters were very attentive, too. Mohinish - waiter, Rizwana - assistant waiter and Ian - head waiter were personable and always made sure we were well taken care of.
Reila in the spa was amazing. She certainly knew what spots to work on during my Swedish massage. I couldn’t believe how quickly the time went.
Ari and Tej in Chops Grille were excellent. (see venue review)
Chetan in Jamie’s Italian was wonderful (see venue review)
Guest relations folks were very nice and helpful. There was no question to trite for them. Our Crown & Anchor Loyalty Ambassador was so helpful. I had a question I’m sure she heard many times about our crystal but she was more than gracious to take the time with me. (3 days after returning home, our crystal arrived!)
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
This was our fourth time sailing on Anthem OTS. She is due for a little freshening up but the crew does an excellent job of cleaning and freshening.
I like the layout. Things are fairly easy to find around the ship. It isn’t too big or too small.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Cabin was very comfortable - slept great every night. Just enough room in the shower and plenty of storage - in fact, so much so we didn’t use half of it. I like the way the A/C shuts off when you open your balcony door. That way it isn’t running constantly. Room was kept very clean and we always had fresh towels. Nice size balcony
Ship tip
Book shore excursions early (at home prior) or right when you get onboard - the same with North Star or iFly. Also, if you are like me, sit in the aft of the ship at Windjammer to enjoy the wake view because “Wake view is the best view”
Our second time here so we walked around to see things we missed previously. Had a great Coco Loco at the South Beach bar. Beautiful island.
Got some great pics.
Except for the lack of announcements when your tag number was called, it was fairly smooth. I actually was notified through the app before we realized our number was called. There was a porter right there when we walked off the ship and we had our bags in hand within 15 minutes once we were off.
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