Anthem of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Were told by cruises only we were getting a good deal with the room and because of this Royal Caribbean would choose the room.  They sure did, giving us a room over the engine room with the bed and walls shaking.,  We requested a room change which occurred in the middle of the night.  One day after the room change we were informed we would have to give up the second room to a family boarding in Nassau.  We were told by Guest Services that we had one hour to pack and get out.  Naturally we will never cruise with RC again.  We were part of a VIP group with a TV celebrity.  Really disgusting treatment.

We went on the Anthem of the Seas and celebrated New Year's Eve.  The complimentary restaurants are very good.  The North Star was a great experience. The staff and wait servers were friendly.  We particularly liked the restaurants Silk and Grande.  The Grande is the only restaurant where men need jacket. We did not eat in the specialty restaurants as we thought the price range $40 to $85/pp was high.  We booked an inside Virtual Balcony room because we were doing a winter sailing.  That was a nice touch. The balcony gives you a view of the back of the ship. When you book an inside room sometimes you loose track of time but the virtual balcony eliminated that. We loved Spectra which was in their 2/70 room.  That room is amazing.  My only complaint was that if you didn't book special shows or activities before you got on the ship you were closed out.  I also thought they could have kept activities like bumper cars and skating open for longer hours.  Love the Roast Beef on Wick sandwiches as I am from Buffalo. 

This was our 14th cruise in 8 years and we have cruised on 7 different companies altogether. The Anthem of the Seas is the most beautiful ship we have ever sailed with. Elegant, spacious, beautifully laid out, it features two exceptional venues: the 270, called onboard a "livingroom" which is actually a theater with the ocean in the background and a vistarama screen which is nothing short of amazing, and the Solarium with 3 indoor pools and 4 jacuzzis which allowed us, for the first time ever to actually bathe while still not far from New York. Another amazing space is the Seaplex which can accomodate soccer, basket ball, bumper cars, roller skates, ping pong tables, billiard, fussball tables. This is for all ages. The Anthem of the Seas is the ship of the future: robots prepare your own cocktail at the Bionic Bar, you can download the Royal Caribben app on your device and lets you reserve a table, take a peek at the day's activities among other things, browse through the menus of the 17 restaurants in your cabin and so on and so forth. On the plus side, you also have 5 complimentary middle-size restaurants which means you can eat at a different table every night. A special mention to the Devinly Decadent, on the 14th floor with impeccable service, complimentary champagne on the last night and a diet-oriented menu. One more thing, in spite of the 4,850 passengers on board we never had the feeling of being surrounded by crowds. Not a small achievement, due to the way the ship is laid out. 

On the minus side, the quality of the food is frankly average. We have not tried any of the specialty restaurants (up to 85$ per person which is a bit much) but in the complimentary venues, one should not be too fussy in terms of presentation and even service. Also, the shows int the evening, Spectra and the Gift are monumental productions which try to compete with shows on land except that you don't always understand what is happening  on stage. Too confused and I might add, a bit pretentious. The headliner shows (musicians, jugglers, comedians) were more entertaining to our taste. These are minor reservations for an overall very satisfying cruising experience.

THe Anthem of the Seas was a total disappointment. We have been on numerous ships and this was definitely  one of the  worst. This was suppose to be special for our anniversary and it was not. The staff was exceptional however, the food was the lowest quality. It was like eating cafeteria style food at a very high price. Johnny Rockets was the best meal and it cost an additional amount, very sad to say. We did go to Chops Grille for our 25 th Anniversary and that was great, again at an additional cost. Did not care for the dining plan, moving from room to room. It is best if a dining time is chosen it is in the same room. The food in each was not up to standards.  Ordered a hamburger in American Icon Grille, was a pre made patty and could not get it the way I wanted. Eggs were also horrible. Speaking with other cruisers on the ship, everyone felt exactly the same way. All in all not the best cruise taken. RC has a LOT to work on to get this up to speed.

The ship is beautiful. The special features of the ship are amazing. We loved the new activities offered on this ship; indoor skydiving/ bumper cars/ The specialty shows and view from the overlook. The ship was very clean and creative with many spaces to explore.

 My family could not tell some of the difficulties we experienced were due to the newness of the ship. The embarkation was really bad. We are diamond members and had to wait 1 hour 15 mins. to get checked in due to their understaffing. All shows we attended started late. The food was okay but not exceptional. I have been on 24 Royal Caribbean cruises and it was definitely the least tasty of all the cruises we have attended. I an hoping that these things will get worked out.

The ship has many detail features that's impressive. Very eloquent. The attendant kept the room extremely clean. The staff attempted to satisfy our request.

designer ship good specious cabins and nice staff the breakfast restaurants are very good so you don't have to go to windjammer overall a nice and good ship🎊🎊🎊

The Anthem of the Seas is a beautiful and huge ship. I travelled with a friend and spent most of the eight days doing activities alone. It was all good. The entertainment was fabulous. I saw three wonderful shows, two Of which I made reservations prior to boarding the ship and one I couldn't make a reservation but was allowed in ten minutes prior to the show starting. I exercised each day at the Vitality Fitness Center. Since there are no locker rooms, I had no choice but to travel back to my cabin to shower. For $99+ Tax and gratuity, I paid into the Thermal Suite located in the Vitality Spa for the week. I had unlimited access to their fabulous infrared red sauna which was extremely relaxing along with their heated loungers in which I read and took naps. The food was average. Signing up for the classic dining, I ate at 8:30 each night and rotated among four dining halls with my fabulous servers. Each dining room had a different theme and offered different menu choices. The food was good and you could order as much as you'd like, but I remember earlier cruises when the food was gourmet. I guess I was spoiled. On Christmas they offered steak on the menu for a $20 extra charge. I ordered the steak, it was very good, but past cruises offered steak many nights with no additional charge. The excursions I chose were fabulous.  I highly recommend the eight hour tour of the Kennedy Space Center. It was the highlight of the entire trip for me. In Nassau, my friend and I hired a taxi for only $25 per person and we were given a fabulous tour of Nassau by a very knowledgeable driver. He gave us ample time to stroll around the beautiful Atlantis Hotel. And, spending Christmas Eve Day on the beautiful beach at Coco Cay was a dream. My friend and I loved the Solarium while at sea. The ship had hundreds of kids on board, but the solarium was for adults only and it was easy to find lounge chairs any time of the day. We spent much time in the whirlpools. The breakfast buffet in the Windjammer was the best breakfast buffet I've ever eaten. I particularly enjoyed the smoked salmon and omelets made to order. My room was cleaned perfectly twice each day and the towel art made returning to my room each night something to look forward to. It was a great cruise that spoiled me and made it difficult to return home and have to cook and make my own bed. I hope to do many more cruises. 

The good:

Very smooth check in and check out experience.

Beautiful ship, very clean.

Itinerary was perfect for us. Given that my wife was pregnant, and we had a one yr old with us, we didn’t need to be in the hot sun by the pool all day so didn’t mind the cooler temperatures at beginning and end of cruise.  That said, it was not nearly as cold as I expected for those days….quite surprising.

Stateroom was nicer than previous experience (Explorer and Serenade), little bit more space, little bit better design for bathroom.

Sky diving simulator was pretty awesome.

The bad:

Found the overall attitude of the staff to be very poor.  There were a few exceptions, but from the moment we boarded people were short, seemed genuinely unhappy to be there, and seemed to take it out on the guests.  At first I thought maybe it was just one or two people who woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but as time passed I am guessing it was a systemic issue…. maybe RC was not treating their staff well?  Regardless, very disappointing.

Bit of a tough pill to swallow when we pay almost full price for an infant who does not require an extra stateroom, much food, etc, only to discover that so many things are off limit for babies.  Why can’t a baby go in the North Star? The solarium? The pools?  If you’re going to have that many restrictions then you should not be charging so much.  Most all inclusives, airlines as examples, do not charge a cent for children under 2.

One thing I always enjoyed about the other RC ships I was on was the sushi every night in the Windjammer, they took that away and you had to pay extra.

Also I always really enjoyed using the sauna, change room with more spacious showers, hot tub, steam room etc in men’s change room.  All of this was also gone – apparently available for an extra fee in the Spa, but when I asked to see it, they brought me to some tiny change room with nothing but a couple lockers.  Very strange.

The noteworthy:

Definitely felt the boat moving way more than previous cruises, didn’t really bother me, but could bother those who are averse to this.  Someone mentioned that the Anthem is a bit “thinner” for a ship its size which causes you to feel the swaying more…..not sure if this is true.

Overall, we are satisfied b/c we got a very good price on our cabins, but if we paid the price that most people paid it might be a different story.  I don’t think I will look to sail on this ship again.

Service was poor, it definitely went downhill.  Cleanliness of tables in windjammer was slow, sometimes you had to clean it yourself.  Watched a bartender at the North Star bar pour a piñata colada back into the mixing machine because it was too strong for her.  Went to coco cay beach, it was 1:40 and they took the food away from the people that were in line because lunch ended at 1:30.  So if you didn't have a watch on in the water you missed out.  They had plenty of food that was left over.  There doesn't seem to be must drink service around the pool.  It was easier to get up and get your own. Hot tubs are definitely being over ran by kids, and the 30 minute sawing of the chairs at the pool is not true.  I never saw an employee remove towels that were laying there all day.

IF YOU WANT TO ENJOY THE NEW SHIP, I WILL PREFER THIS SHIP.

DON'T TO PAY $85 PER ON CHEF'S TABLE. I HAD BEEN MISTREAT SO BAD THAT I WILL NEVER CRUISE WITH ROYAL  CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL.

This was a pleasant cruise, but not great.  The destinations were lame, but we went mostly because of the hype of the ship.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to experience most of the amenities of the ship because... either there no reservations available or the lines were too long during the open times.  Dinner reservations were difficult to get at normal dining times so we ate mostly at 9:30pm.   Nonetheless, the ship is beautiful, but lacked that Royal Caribbean feel (for those of you who have sailed with RC before you will understand)!  Except for the specialty restaurants, the food was disappointing.. most meals were overcooked and were not served hot.   The service was exceptional as you would expect except for a few staff members with some attitude!  The one feature that I would have loved changed was to have the ability to make reservations from your room tv... lt was so inconvenient to have to find a kiosk!!!!!!

The cruise was AWESOME !!! Service was great!!!Personal was  SUPER !!! Will take this cruise again! Shopping on board was very good got some great Christmas gifts.Excursion in Nassau was okay prices have gone up very much since my last visited 2 yrs ago.

The ship is beautiful The room is very spacious Better than we expected We have a great time Will recommend to anyone who is interested 

The different dinning experience is a good idea Unfortunately some dinning is good some are not up to what we hope Overall it is a good experience 

Our server is excellent, friendly and efficient Her helper is doing a good job too They should be able to tell we give them a very good extra tips 

Anthem of the Seas is a beautiful new ship but has many qualities that need to be improved. The food is poor, the service is mediocre, the new style shows are futuristic and not my style. The crew seems to have more responsibility and seem to be overworked. They are friendly enough but do not go above and beyond as like past cruises we have been on. The food in the windjammer is average, the food in the Coastel Kitchen was wonderful, but the food in the new restaurants on board was awful. The show styles were high tech and very futuristic. The actors had a lot of talent but I'm more old school with entertainment, I like singing and dancing and comedians. They did have two random shows that were excellent, one was a comedian and the other was a star search singer. 

There are many activities on board but are geared for the younger generation. The North Star was fun, the bumper cars were cool, we did not get to try the sky diving simulator b/c it was booked with reservations for the week. 

Overall it was a nice vacation but being on so many past wonderful cruises it was kinda hard not to compare. 

Don't like that Spa Suite guests were not allowed Coastal Kitchen for breakfast or lunch Didn't like limited and expensive room service menu Waiters in American Icon did not act liked they truly cared Head waiter in Coastal did not check on us Didn't like the reliance on laptops and computers by staff as this created a loss of the personal touch that we felt in the past Didn't like 1 hour sale specials in shops as these conflicted with dinner reservations and created excessive congestion when we could shop for the sale item Didn't like that the Diamond Club Happy Hour (5:00 - 8:30) cocktail list did not include any Canadian Whiskey like for example Canadian Club Didn't like black jack during the day in the casino did not offer a $5 or $6 table. Also please have non smoking tables open during the day We want to give praise to our cabin steward Joanna who did.a fantastic job for us!

 We've always Cruise with Royal and have loved their service, however this cruise left all the Royal luster that we love. The ship was tight the stuff was hard to find, and our neighbors were routinely noisy leaving her tvon the loud till 2 AM even when they weren't in the room which routinely took several hours to get staff to respond.  There was no live bandmusic until the 3 to last day,no exciting atmosphere, and the showtimes lacked in were very sporadicThe ship would be perfect for those cruising with teenagers, And that don't mind tight spaces, and lack of staff presence

My family and I had a great time on the Anthem. There was so much to do! The ship is great for both the older and the younger crowd. My kids had such a good time that they didn't even want to go home. 

It was average...

GOOD: Staff, activities on ship, rock band "Resurrection" , ship info app, 3D movies and movies poolside.

BAD: Headliner Shows , ship design, need more pools, dirty bathrooms, you can hear other people though bathroom vent "Awkward", pillows sucked take your own.

I would go again, but not if I had other choices of ships!   

This brand new technology loaded ship is not worth the time or the money spent.  The technology did not work most of the time, the food was awful and the attitude of most staff was equally bad.  Don't spend your money on the upcharges for the restaurants - the food at Jamie's was inedible.  The various restaurants were all out of things at some point - two appetizers, fruit, olives for the martinis.  The executive chef should be fired.

There were few activities of interest for free (discounting Northstar, RipChord, trivia, poolside activities). 

Two of the headline shows either started late or had to be stopped in the middle because of computer and technology problems.  Shore excursions were cancelled for no apparent reason.  There was a fee for adult jewelry making, adult scrapbooking and yoga to name a few.  The headline juggler did one 15 minute performance because his props didn't show up.

Cabin was tight (outside cabin with balcony), especially if you wanted the beds separated.  There was one plug on one side of one bed for charging.

With everyone needing cellphones or tablets, it was shocking that there were no charging stations around the ship.

Corridor outside cabin stunk like sewage.

Check-in agents in the terminal were rude.

The theater may look nice but if you are sitting on the sides of the balcony you can't see half of the stage.