Anthem of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

As this was my first cruise I don't have a lot of experience to compare this too but what I can tell you is Anthem of the Seas did an incredible job.

The service from the entertainment staff to the working staff was excellent.

The food served on board, no complaints from me!

The ship was full of families taking a vacation to couples looking for a get-away trip for the February break. Despite traveling with my partner I didn't notice any trouble from the younger crowds and always felt safe on board.

The ship itself was relatively new (I believe?) and as you would expect has plenty to see and do to keep you entertained regardless of your age. The highlights for me being We Will Rock you show and winding down at the end of an evening listening to the highly talented piano player/singer (forgot his name, sorry!)

The ship was always clean and I don't remember ever having an empty stomach!

The few downsides were the extra long queues for Guest Services. To be expected I suppose but it would have been nice if there were more people manning those desks or for someone to speak to the people in line to see if we needed to be there (I wasn't aware or was told that my on board credit would take up to 48 hours to appear on my account so I didn't even need to be in line in the first place!)

Also the tenders (the boats used to get onto the private island) were not well informed. It wasn't overly difficult in the end to find out where we needed to go but I wasn't the only confused passenger when the time came to depart. Some simple step-by-step instructions would have made that morning much easier.

Despite those minor niggles, getting on and off the ship was relatively quick and painless and overall both me and my partner had a great time on board. The weather was not great on any of the islands but there was little they could do about that!

My only advice, should you be reading this would be to read the FULL list of activities the islands have to offer and not just rely on what BJ's has to offer. I would also stay clear of visiting Disney in Florida. Although it might be the key focus (should you be traveling with children) I spoke to a lot of unhappy guests who tried to fit it in. The money they paid only covered the travel to the park and it takes an hour each way to get there so it proved both expensive and frustrating trying to fit as much as they could. By all means go if that's where you really want to but be prepared to spend a fair amount of money for what will likely much less time there than you would like.

The other minor disappointments were the observation crane the ship boasts about and the robotic bar. Neither quite lived up to the hype and I rarely saw anyone drink at that bar. Make sure you book ahead for shows and anything that requires booking in advance because they sell up quickly.

Overall it was good value for money and well worth venturing out. Would definitely do another cruise in the future but I will no doubt look for one to visit new places and take on board everything I learned from this first cruise but it will be quite hard to top this one.

Went during winter break (February) and we were with a large group, so it was a fun time.  Ship quite modern in its design.  I personally like the older ships with a more warm atmosphere.  Ships like the Oasis line have captured both in a grand way, that ambience is lacking in the Anthem of the Seas.

Leaving from NY in Winter, we were at sea for several days.  The on-site pool was lacking in music, entertainment, special events.  There was literally no music; we had to provide our own.  RCCL has to take a good look at that aspect of their trips from NY.  No fanfare going under the Verrazano, which definitely calls for some!  Have cruised many, many times on RCCL, so I can compare experiences to the different ships/routes. Entertainment was not up to par for RCCL. This is one route that needs improvement.

But, overall RCCL always strives to provide the best experience (mainly Kudos to their staff who  definitely go above their 'pay scale' to make it a great trip.

I was impressed by the rooms and the service on board ship.

Found the food plenty but not gourmet, for the most part. Could only get really late dining, even thou we tried early in the reservation process. Couldn't get to the shows we wanted to see because we had a late dining time.

Would have liked more activities while sailing. Not much going on for older singles. 

Entertainment was lacking: mostly children's movies; shows inaccessible; and the shows we did see were rather lame.

Not enough children-free spaces. W

hen they were supposed to be children-free, it wasn't enforced.

Spa services were great! Shops were great but pricy. 

It was a good experience but for the money should have been great.

My wife, my son and I have previously cruised on MSC, Carnival & Princess but our experience with Royal Caribbean, Anthem Of The Seas blew them out of the water! First, I was pleasantly surprised that we realized no waiting times to board or depart the ship even for the excursions. Second, the food/service was top notch and the buffet was the largest we've seen. It was easy to find a table too. The entertainment was top notch. The theater at the back of the boat amazed me as the floor to ceiling windows converted to a massive LCD TV screen used in conjunction with the shows. The also had 4 assembly like robots maneuvering Flat Screen TVs that projected visuals that too enhanced the shows. My son loved the bumper cars 'me too', loved the on-board surfing, skydiving and pools. The cost was similar to the other ships but offered much more. We'll be going back for sure!

Food and drinks are fabulous.  Our Suite attendant was impeccable...Rogelio.....  I would have liked to seen stairs for the outside adult pool.  With a knee replacement...I was unable to utilize it at all.   The ladder is not conducive. IT is especially important leaving from the northeast in the winter months. I did enjoy the solarium pool.  I wished that my items were not taken from the solarium.  Since I could not go into the other pool...it was important for me that my husband could secure a seat for me.  Perhaps a few disability chairs would be nice.  He got a seat for us and went for coffee.  I was in too much pain to go with him.  He came back and everything was gone.  I had to search for our personal belongings.  

Our favorite part of cruise was the selection of ports and the beautiful ship accommodations and eating choices.

We think the Lobster Lunch Excursion in Antiqua was not worth the $220 cost per person, the lobster tails were grilled for over 20 minutes while 30 guests returned to the catamaran. We watched onboard while this happened.The meal was very dry lobster tails, what a shame. Recommend that guests take the Beach Catamaran without lobster lunch at a reasonable cost much lower. The catamaran cruise was great except for this lunch mishap!

We would surely recommend this Anthem of the Seas cruise to anyone interested in 6 beautiful ports, Excluding San Juan!! Rather Labadee or Coco Cay, Much better.

The experience was pretty good. I think it's because we went during the time it is off-peak. However, a few things to note:

- We had a heck of a hard time with non-functioning elevator buttons.

- Touch screen lobby panels are not responsive.

- There were instances where wait-staff just left tables un-cleared and uncleaned for a pro-longed period of time in the Buffet.

- There's not enough traffic control getting everyone off the ship after the trip ended.

If anything would make this trip better, it would be a large water park on the ship for all ages. We need to be kept busy having fun!

We loved the ports.  Unfortunately it takes 3 days going and 3 days back from Cape Liberty but if you don't like to fly, it works.

We have been on Anthem several times and there entertainment is terrific.  But...they should change the production shows at least once a year for repeaters.

Seats in the windjammer café and lounge chairs on deck at peak hours are hard to find

This was our first cruise ever.  We both enjoyed just exploring all the amenities on the ship which was not disappointing.  All the staff from housekeeping to our servers were all friendly and cordial.  The cruise was a gift from our daughter and her husband. My husband never was a fan of cruising but now he is looking forward to his next one. 

Anthem of the Seas is a beautiful ship with a lot of high tech technology. The food and service were good and the staff was pleasant. There is a lot to do on the ship for all ages and plenty of lounging areas indoor and outdoor throughout the ship. The itenerary was great, this was out first winter cruise and were surprised at how pleasant the weather was, upper 70's and low 80's for most of the ship. The departure and arrival days by Bayonne were cooler but that was expected. The only problem we had was that the ship was warm. The AC should have made common areas cooler, the elevators especially were very warm. 

My husband and I enjoyed our 12 night cruise on Anthem.  It is a bigger ship than we are used to and that had many advantages and a few disadvantages.  It was often hard to find a seat for breakfast or lunch in Windjammer, although there were a couple other options for those meals. Staff was friendly and efficient, food was good.  We enjoy the ship board life, so only went ashore in Antiqua, which was a pleasant stop with the downtown very close to the ship dock.  We enjoyed all the opportunities on board to hear live music and the shows were good as well.

Last year the staff didn't seem ready for prime time. This year everything was much improved. The dining procedures were consistent and the quality of the food was excellent in comparison. The ship's staff made us feel both welcome and appreciated. The most outstanding negative was the complete lack of parental control for the disrespectful children who were in the pool area. It appears that they expect the pool attendants or the responsible adults in the area to supervise their children while they're enjoying the cruise; safety was an issue on several occasions. Thank God some of us took the initiative for their supervision.

I love the trip because of most of the ports. The ports are some that you don't go to often on a cruise. Seems like the ship went very slow-I think they could have gotten there faster. They also could have skipped San Juan & Martinique because most passengers felt they were a waste of time. The other ports were friendly, great beaches & good shopping! The ship also needs to cater more to the majority of passengers - CHILDREN IN HOT TUBS BY THE POOL - NO! Children have a very large children's pool area & the main pool/ tubs should be for the adults only. I know the Solarium is adults only, but that is indoors. There were so many kiddies in the main pool & hot tubs there was no room for the adults that wanted to use them to swim & relax. Parents think it is cute, but the rest of the people didn't. Adults can't swim in the kiddie pool, so the main pool needs rules & a pool attendant to enforce them. Asking parents to take the kiddies into the kiddie pool politely shouldn't offend anyone if the rules are posted.  Also, the dining format needs addressing. Opening the doors & allowing people to run in & take any table they like is ridiculous!  On the first night, people had to wait in line, check in, and be taken to a table. But, two nights in, all changed. People were lining up earlier & earlier so they decided to open the doors, skip the check in, and allow people to all just go in and pick any table!!!  The rush was dangerous! People need to be given a table number, a time,  & have it for the trip. We had anytime dining - 5:30. People were just coming when they felt like it & going in and sitting down at any table! No way to run dining. The food is delicious and the menus changing every night is a plus !! The food in the buffet is also great, but a couple find it hard to eat at the same time when you need to hold a table & also get food so for dinner it isn't an option most choose, although a lot of people got so disgusted with the dining rooms that they gave up & ate buffet style. Drinks are way over priced !! The shows are good, but having the main shows the same for over a year isn't passenger friendly. The smaller shows in between were great & the Spectra shows are wonderful !! Some times the timing of shows isn't matched in to dinner or other venues in the smaller lounges. Over all, the ship is okay with plenty of good food & service. I have been on Anthem several times because of the itinerary & would do it again just hoping the little annoyances are fixed. 

Dear Royal Caribean 

You ship Athem of the seas needs help. I put the total blame on mid and upper management . I have had about 7 cruises with you including allure and the oasis. You crews lak of trading and the inability to deal with the public

This ship is not geared to people over the age of 60 yrs old. Who else on non school holidays can take a 12 day cruise?. with 5 1/2 sea day you would think you would have Quality Activities.

 In the solarium people reserved the chairs by putting down towels before 8:am. Could not get a seat at all during sea days. Asked crew to help and refused saying it was on the honor stystem , note you have a sign posted that you can not reserve seats and after 30minutes of non use you can remove the towel.

1.  i was looking forward to going to the workshop to make jewelry . Used to buy 2  all the different set to bring home and do with my granddaughter. Went to first class and found out you turned the workshop into a photo studio. The class was held in the wine bar. Poor lighting not enough to tools and only one ugly set of big black ugly beads.

coloring class also in wine bar with terrible lighting ,about 25 pencils for the over 30 women and men who tried to attend also no pencil sharpener we each had to wait turns just to get one pencil!

2. windjammer food was cold and too few people clearing tables.  Lack of help trying to balance food and getting a table. Almost fell, yelled help and no staff arrived , my husband came running and caught me as I was going down.

3. Poor management of shore excursions. Lack of help and poor responce when help was needed.

4. Poor upper management when I requested my meal from the dinning room be brought up to me in stateroom. Could not put weight on my leg. Was propped up with ice on it in bed, I could either pay for room service(yes it now costs to get a sandwich delivered to your room.) or not eat. 

5.  Trying to disembark was a nightmare . I would say about 50 or more people requested assistance to get off the ship. Had to sign up two day  in advance before we docked. Told to get there at 7:15am. Never got a wheelchair unti 9:00am.  The man in charge said that we had not signed up even after showing our paper work. He took no names and everyone was just waiting around. Found out they only had 4 wheelchairs and 4pushers assigned to this area. Now they had a lead time of two days to get their act together I had high expectations for this cruise having been on the allure and oasis which had great service. This cruise falls at the bottom of our list. 

I liked that the length of the cruise was rather quite relaxing for us.. we were able to enjoy those days at sea just relaxing and the 6 days in land was very good.. we were able to go sight seeing to see the beautiful parts of the island and know of it's history.. the beaches were beautiful.. the walk to the town was quite interesting... we particularly loved St. Kitts for it's historical sites and landmarks - we truly loved it.. we managed to get tour guides from the island itself along with other couples - it's more reasonable in price that way as oppose to the price you have to pay inside the ship..  the shows were ok - nothing I really cared for..  my timing was excellent esp. with the waiter 'Melonia' or something like that, she and her crew were very attentive to our tables - excellent job.. on the last day of the cruise there 'was a carnival' but most of the passengers were unable to enjoy it since it was blocked by some vendors selling watches, etc. in the center of the event..  other than that what the cruise had to offer was very good.. we've enjoyed it..   as far as the ship itself I noticed that it was quite clean and everyone was nice and friendly which includes all waiters, serves, etc..    

Great ship!  Lots of activities for family and parents alike.  Awesome for those who like a highly active lifestyle from iFly, rock climbing, or walking 10 laps around Deck 15 which is equivalent to 10,000 steps.  Entertainers work hard particularly days at sea, which made it all even more enjoyable.  6 consecutive port stops can be intense but most are small islands and easy to explore on your own or excursion.  Highly recommended beach is Raggae Beach (across from Carambola which is also awesome) in St Kitts.  For Fort de France, I suggest taking water taxi across to Pont de Bout where the beaches are pristine with fabulous French cafes and awesome bakery called Baguet Shop with great wifi, which are hard to find for most of the Caribbean.    Barbados - head to Holetown beach where you can take a local boat out to swim with turtles for $30 per person.  If you are into world class restaurants, when in San Juan, be sure to finish the evening off at Jose Enrique (7 min cab ride from Old San Juan) - and a drink at Marmalade just 4 minutes walk back to port.  Antigua - don't miss out Dark Wood Beach, it is crowded but it is huge with beautiful sand.

Food on the ship overall is highly disappointing considering the quality of the services provided - even for specialty restaurants.   Chops grill's steaks were always sinewy - borderline inedible.  Bad crab cakes that are filled with imitation crab meat.  Both My Time Dining are abysmal every single meal - though service is awesome and very attentive especially for older guests such as my mom who uses a walker.  Pastry program is bad across the board with the exception of breakfast pastries at Windjammer.  Izumi is abysmal in quality and variety for sushi and the a la carte pricing is rip off - unfortunately it's necessary for the dining plan to eat there.  Wonderland can be fun with enthusiastic staff, but the menu while interesting is really poorly executed.  Jamie's Italian can be great depending on what you order - decent lamb chops, good pastas, but strangely not popular.  Sad to say, most reliable dining option is Johnny Rockets burger, tho it is awkward having to pay additional for them.  The view at cafe 270 cafe is lovely.

Room attendants rock!  They are the friendliest and seem to be working the hardest on the ship!

Note: I am generally used to much smaller ships where both staff and guests are friendlier with more intimate environment.  This isn't such, but I notice if you like to imbibe, there are plenty of bars on the ship to hang and those crowds tend to be much friendlier!  Happy cruising!

The cruise on Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas was very enjoyable.  Food and service was great.  Everyone always smiling and wishing you a good day and very helpful.  Two of our excursions through Cruises Only were cancelled because of lack of participants, but we were not notified until we found the departure point.  There was no one near the dock with a sign to make it easier to find our tours.  The bus in Martinique is inappropriate for the roads and turns and the inside is much too cramped.  It would be better to have three 20 passenger vans than one huge bus.  The excursion on Barbados was the best of the lot.

We went during winter break.  A lot of kids and college kids.  We had about 4000 people on board.  A lot of activities on the boat.  Climbing wall, skating, bumper cars,  Riptide.  Indoor Skydiving.  There is something for everyone to do.  All kinds of music offered in different locations through out the boat. 

The negative the food isn't very good, but honestly we cruise a lot and we always choose the best deal, all the cruise lines, food is lacking.  Out of all the complimentary restaurants, our favorite was the Solarium Bistro, mediterean food offered.  I love the sinks where you can clean your hands before going into the Windjammer.  That Purcell that they do offer as an alternative, dries out my hands.

Not a fan of the décor of the ship, but it was very clean. They have a great internet package that is so much better and less expensive than other cruise lines. 

I'll stick with carnival from now on cruised with them 5 times and never a problem just cruised with royal Caribbean and very bad service and dirty ship. Most workers wouldn't speak to the guest they just had certain people they walked around with.

Favorite part of the cruise: beautiful ship, beautiful art work, great amenities / entertainment, great food specially Coastal Kitchen, great service all over.

Needing improvement: The app and the iPads all over did not work properly indicating erroneously that there were no availability for restaurants reservations nor entertainment to the contrary when we went directly to the restaurants.   In this manner, I see why comments from my clients and others say negative things about the Anthem / Anthem cruises.