Anthem of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was our 14th cruise.  The Friday before we were to leave on Monday I received an email that our cruise was postponed for one day leaving on Tuesday.  A storm was coming up the coast and I was concerned about parking at the pier.  I called the pier and left a message to have a return call to find out the parking situation not knowing it was a parking garage.  I received a call the next morning after leaving the hotel for the pier.  We were checked in by a man standing in a large room with chairs where we were directed to sit for 1 hour.  This is the point we found out from fellow travelers that we were not going to the western Caribbean but the eastern Caribbean. We were told from the travelers that they received an email with the notification.  I have no idea why we were not notified or given an option to cancel due to the change. We later received notification of the ports and the days.  Before leaving home we had made notification to credit cards and family for western Caribbean. My husband had to go to security on the boat to get his luggage .  They retrieved an iron which we got back when we disembarked.  All the shore excursions were cancelled and we had to rebook.. We were not told by our cruise planner that we had to make reservations for dinner at the various restaurants or to see any of the shows.  The boat is great for all that is computer smart but if your have difficulty with computers good luck. The first 2 days of travel we had to stand in long lines for the restaurants even though we had reservations.  The service was less than acceptable. I must say it did improve with time.  The shows were great.  There are many activities to do on board. Difficult to ride the bumper cars and their are limits on the number of people to roller skate. Again one must make reservations to do most activities.  Their is an adult area with hot tubs and pools but the childless restriction in not enforced.  Love my grandchildren but I don't take them on vacation.  You may think your Childs behavior is cute but not everyone will agree.  Bar Service is good if you go to the bar and pick it up.  Yes you will still pay the 18 % gratuity for this.  Our room was nice.  I love the virtual balcony. A wall size TV has video and audio from the deck makes it feel like a real outside balcony. Oh yes forgot we received a $100 onboard credit for our late departure.  It didn't cover the 1 day price for 2 people. Very disappointed no further compensation was offered.  I filed a former complaint with Royal Caribbean and  Cheap Cruises but no one will take ownership for lack of communication. The time we spent in San Juan was longer because of a medical emergency on a ship berthed beside us.  Passengers on our ship were locked out and not able to embark back on ship. Everyone on the ship was given free bar drinks for 2 hours.  That was great if you didn't have a bar package.  If you had a bar package there was no compensation again.  I guess we were lucky we got home safe and sound unlike the following cruise.

We loved our virtual balcony room. Very roomy. Bigger than some outside rooms we had! The shows were more for younger generation! Food was ok.

some nights better than others! The crew were  very pleasant and helpful!

Royal carribean handeled our one day delay fine! Would have preferred to go on our original schedule but it was ok

will call about our shipboard credit! Thanks

They say the ship is a good part of the destination, it is if you have never sailed on it before, if you have, you want to do different things and that includes going to different ports. This cruise was rerouted due to weather and the ship was delayed coming back up to Port Liberty. We lost one day of the 12 days and were not reimbursed properly.  We went to the same old ports on previous cruises. If you are traveling with another couple who are a different point level then you , you will find you cannot do everything together. 

Other then several very great crew members we found others lacked courtesy and were always saying no to your requests. 

New ship with lots of newer technology including robots making cocktails. Great entertainment: big variety of music for any age. Production shows are unbelievably great. We had balcony stateroom that was larger than on older ships with better appointed furniture & more storage room. We booked balcony guarantee room at a cheaper price & got so called obstruction view balcony which in fact does not have any obstruction. Plenty of restaurants with great  food.

Would never take the QUANTUM Series of ships from Royal Caribbean again.  In fact this cruise soured us from taking a cruise for our next vacation which would be our 50th Wedding Anniversary.

We expected to have a nice, relaxing vacation which, since my husband still works full time at age 71, was much needed.

First hassle was in the terminal to sign us in.  Chaos everywhere.  No clean lines and people in lines scattered throughout the terminal.  Good luck in picking the right line where someone before you may have an issue and that line  becomes an additional wait line.   Of course, cabins were not ready because these ships don't take the time to accommodate disembarkment as well as embarkment.  All about the $$$ - jam them out and jam them back in.

did not seem to have knowledge that for this cruise style, reservations for dinners and shows should have been made before the cruise, so we find out as we want to know where we are to go for dinner.  It was assumed by us, and that it would be set up as other cruises are, in a beautiful grand ballroom with assigned seating.  Not so.  Each night of the cruise needs reservations for a restaurant of your choice.  No opportunity to meet new people because reservations are made ahead by passengers with their own group or two alone.  We, fortunately, had met some nice people we started talking to while we waited for our cabins to be ready.  However, that did not solve the problem of us not having made reservations for dinners and shows ahead of time.  Fortunately, I had downloaded the Royal Caribbean app but unfortunately everything was already booked, except for some 9:30 P.M. time slots.  No shows were available.  I proceeded to Guest Services, where of course, the lines were long.  When I told them I was unaware of the new way of cruising this ship adopted, I was given a yes, reservations must be made ahead and I told them all I could get for dinner was on the third night at 9:30, I was told, I am sorry.  Yes, reservations are to be made.  Alrighty then. We proceeded to grab some pizza in the shop in the atrium.  First night dinner on a cruise ship.

Next day as I checked the schedule for dinner, still no reservations available.  We decided on room service, which was very limited.  Next day I go back to Guest Services and am told the same thing as my previous visit.  I asked if I was supposed to eat pizza every night because I had no reservations and they said he buffet is open until 9:00 each night, or I could go to any restaurant and wait in line to see if anyone cancelled or did not show up for their reservation and I could get in that restaurant for that night.  Really.  At this point I see my $$$ spent not affording me a decent meal for 10 days and burst into tears.  At that point a guest services employee who was outside of the lines approached me and I proceeded to tell her my story, while my husband went to different restaurants to see if we cold get in that night.  By this time it is about 4:30.  As the guest service rep is trying to finally solve my problem, my husband comes back and says one restaurant said we could come in now if we wanted to.  So now, plans for a shower and changing into some dinner clothes is not an option, but we get to eat.  The guest services rep told me to go to my room tonite and select restaurants from the TV channel that would show the menus as well as the shows we wanted to book and meet her back at guest services in the morning before 11 and she would handle it.  I feel some relief but still not happy that I do not yet feel settled or relaxed.  We go to dinner and find the food less than stellar, but ok.  Spend the night figuring out our schedule and restaurants for the week.  We are now going into Day 3 before we finally have some sense of what we are doing for the remainder of the cruise.

This ship is so huge and it seems to have been built to squeeze in as many cabins as they could, while providing a small crowded main area for guest services, shopping etc. No beautiful grand atrium to be found.  People all over the place and it was not pleasant.  Very limited places where you could even get a free glass of water.  They were pushing the drinks and the drink programs.  $$$ instead of starlight in our eyes.   There was water available in the pizza/coffee shop area where lines were long.  Also on the 7th floor restaurant area and the buffet on the 14th floor which was open select hours.  If it was closed for changeover to the next meal.  What a hassle just for a drink of water.  

Forget trying to recharge any of your devices - no outlets to be found.  you would think there would be at least a designated area that would have recharge stands, though I am sure you would have to wait for those as well.

Let's get to the Casino - very small - VERY TIGHT SLOTS and wait in line at the bar for a water and you are told you must buy a bottle of water.  WHAT!!!!

Smoking area takes up a bigger part of the Casino and is right in the middle of everything.  All tables are smoking, as well as slots outside of the tables.  I felt I was getting lung cancer just being in the Casino.  The casino is long and narrow and the machines are louder than the payouts.  Bet MAX, you might get a ding ding ding and fancy lights for a payback of 50 cents out of the $2.50 you bet.  Then the casino puts in the newsletter that they paid out $50,000 thus far, but not what they pulled in.  Two machines were paying pretty good and when gamblers realized this, forget getting those machines.  One machine was consumed from first thing in the morning until dinner time by one elderly gentleman who had a cabin down the hall.  If he had to get more money, go to the bathroom or change his clothes for dinner, he left his money in the machine and had his wife watch it for him.  I, fortunately, am a night person and finally got to sit at that machine late after dinner and shows.  Max bet, however was $8.88. I took a chance and came out a winner the first time I used it.  That is the cost of gambling, I understand, but I am sure the ship could give out a little bit to make the passengers happy.  By the end people were playing minimum just for the entertainment of it.  Ridiculous.

The shows, however, were very good.  A bit strange, but good and enjoyable.

In conclusion, I would never go on this type cruise again, and because of this trip, not sure we even want to cruise at all any more.  Perhaps it is time for a land trip.  

Thanks also to the Captain who led us around the storm and had the foresight to extend a day in order to do that.

P.S.  My husband broke out in hives and face swelled after eating at Silks, an Asian style restaurant.

Also beware if you want to play Bingo - very expensive and the last day they offer a large cover all Bingo, but it cost $50 to get all the boards, and they have a very stupid rule that you must have the last number called if you call Bingo.  The first lady on our cruise who yelled bingo did not - she really had bingo from the number before and they disqualified her - $7500 winner and they disqualified her.  A Bingo is a Bingo.  Why add that rule.  Even if they would have accepted another Bingo from the next number called and split the jackpot.  But to disqualify someone who actually had Bingo is crazy.

Poolside is very crowded and chairs are squeezed in tight.  Good luck getting a chair that is not being held by someone for the day with their clothes or towels.  Charged for towels until you return them.  No food poolside - Johnny Rockets available for a cost.  No self-serve water, lemonade, etc.  Go to a bar and ask for water.

Now I ask what happened to the midnight buffets?  Or food all day, even fruit or snack foods?  by 9 PM everything closed except pizza, coffee and cookies on 4th floor.  No fruits, etc. except for buffet on 15th floor which closes at 9.  And if it is time to close, believe me, they are cleaning it up half hour before hand.  So get your food early!

Just ok shows and food.  Too many "pay" items.  Paper bingo using daubers that you had to buy.  For such a technical ship this baffled me.  Reservations required but not followed.  Walk-ins got preference.  

The destinations were nice, the ship in excellent condition. The state rooms are very nice. The food Service I felt warrants some attention. The room service options do not include hot breakfast items unless you want to pay extra (like we couldn't go get warm items from the buffet for free). The specialty restaurants charge even more for some menu items. If you're already paying for a specialty restaurant, whatever is on the menu is what you should be able to get without an extra, extra charge. High speed internet was excellent (unlimited data for two devices @ $20.00 a day). The shows and entertainment were nice and well managed. If you want to attend the shows make sure and book them in advance, the waitlist lines on the ship were quite long. We were new to cruising when we took this cruise but really enjoyed it. If your destination is the Caribbean from Bayonne, be prepared for several days at sea each way. If I was to do this again, I would likely go from Ft. Lauderdale.  But overall the experience was great. You can't go wrong with this cruise.

This is my 7th or 8th cruise with RC and the most expensive single cruise I have purchased. I have also sailed on Princess and Carnival ships. 

Anthem's downfall is with service. The staff is not professional especially in the Windjammer. I have never been told I could not have scrambled eggs because the cook did not care to walk over and get 2 uncooked eggs from the next station, he would only make omlets after he had just made scrambled eggs for the lady ahead of me?😝. Another cook at the dessert station told me he was closed because there was 5 minutes to go until lunch time. He would not serve me nor could I help myself! "We're closed" became our catch phrase of the cruise. I could go on and on but I think you get the point.

I do enjoy Vacation Outlet and will continue to book our cruises through them- If you want allot of elderly people who do not have the patience for anyone younger , than the Anthem of the Seas is for you- If you enjoy being nickel and dimed to death , than this is the Ship for you and if you are not worried about what you will be eating and you don't enjoy food you will enjoy this ship. Better to book another ship with the Royal Caribbean, this one will disappoint you !

To cruise in jan during the epic storm of 2016 you will need sea legs. The halls were empty going abd coming back from the island which made the cruise like your very own personal ship.

We booked for  next jan 2017 already hoping the seas will be the same because there are no crowds on this ship if you do not have sea legs.

It was wonderful and hardly any issues.the food was great and no one to bother you including children.

I would highly recommend the jan cruise to people who do not like crowds and like personal service. ..

I enjoy traveling on Royal Caribbean, but I feel they cut a lot of nice things to put in new things.  It should have been a mix of old and new.  If buying liquor do it on the first day, after that there is no sale.

I had a great time on this new cruise ship. The food was great and the atmosphere felt fresh and hi tech. Loved the art work that was placed around the entire ship especially the unique pieces on every landing of the stair cases. The shows were phenomenal and felt Vegas style. I would try this same cruise ship again. Keep up the great work!

Dinner the first night was very slow.  It got better as we went along.  Would like watermelon without seeds.  They do have them.  The room was nice and very sufficient for one person.  Loved the ship.  A little long when you have to travel from one end to the other.  Good exercise though.  Did not gain any weight.  

Ship: The interior of the ship was pleasant; especially enjoyed the pools.. There were three kiddie poola that I recall. I really loved the indoor pool and the large, beautiful solarium. Also, there were many very comfortable spaces to sit to read, snack, mingle.; Our balcony room was large enough for us to be comfortable, with a lot of storage space. We used the balcony when we wanted to relax by ourselves.

Activities: There was something happening every night. A variety of music in the bar/lounges as well as the Music Hall and Royal Theater. There was  a variety of entertainment during the cruise, which were which were very enjoyable. Seasoned comedians who were really very funny, much to my surprise, professional Broadway performers e.g. Reva Rice, and a virtual classical concert were wonderful. The two in-house productions had very talented casts, but the productions themselves were not very good. There was a huge space for athletics, games, roller skating and bumper cars.

Staff: The staff was friendly and helpful.

Food: The quality of the food was very uneven. Loyal RCL cruisers were especially upset with the downgrading of the quality of the food served. I was very disappointed, since I thought the food on the Norwegian Breakaway was far superior, The RCL criusers on the ship bragged about how much better the food was on the RCL ships. Some dishes were excellent, many were good enough,, but there were dishes that were totally unacceptable, The meat at the carving table was overcooked and tough. The turkey was okay. 

Itinerary: We left the ship for three of the six ports. The line has it's own piece of Haiti  in the port of Labbadee, There is so much poverty and destruction in most of Haiti, that I was disturbed that there was this secured playground which provided revenue for the RCL. I enjoyed the beaches in St. Maarten, and the Barbados, and great food in San Juan.

Inspite of the food issues,we rebooked the cruise. The other activites the boat offered outweighed issues with the food. I also love having the indoor pool and Solarium.

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The ship was so beautiful. Had lots of things to do or just sit around and relax. Had a wonderful time. Would go back on this ship anytime. Loved the ports, the food was great. 

This ship is new and is great... Don't expect 5 Start Dining though!!! The food on this ship was horrible. I basically didn't eat for the 12 days except for the  day we ate at a specialty dining - Chops Grill!

New big ship with 4500 people on board, never felt like there were that many until you went to the buffets and tried to find seating, but you always make due with what you have!  Entertainment was great, but was with my sister-in-law and her husband, and they didn't know We Will Rock You songs and they didn't get some of the other shows, like the Gift, but I enjoyed them all.  Beatles tribute outstanding along with Mo5aic and the comedians. Classic dining venues were pretty good, wait staff was excellent, wish the menus changed a little more. 

We normally LOVE Royal Caribbean, but this ship was the exception....decor was like an IKEA store and the food of poor quality.  The entertainment and staff were as usual FABULOUS, but they didn't make up for the overall feeling that RC dumbed this ship down to a Carnival level....very disappointing. They are making motions to change their errors, but you won't catch us on this ship again, although we will be returning to RC.

The ship and staff were excellent, unfortunately because of poor planning by Royal, we couldn't enjoy any excursions, arriving late in Florida, Magic Kingdom closing, arriving late (2pm)in the Bahamas, couldn't take advantage of any of the excursions, like the hotel and beaches, Atlantis. The stores on the island closed at 6pm, so couldn't get off the ship to shop after dinner. The show on board was cancelled, because the director quit. The ship was very nice, but the food was below par in the restaurants. 

This was one of the worst vacations and most expensive vacations we have ever taken. If I could rate this trip zero stars I would. I was talked into a "partial" oceanview stateroom. We could NOT see anything but a HUGE hello lifeboat or the sky!!! The ship docked so late at every port that we had NO time to do ANYTHING! The food wasn't just bad, it was DISGUSTING!!!! The food was abundant, but it was awful. We felt like prisoners on that boat. Crew members never even said hello to you when they walked past you, the we will rock you show was so bad, people were getting up & walking out. You had to make your own reservations for horrible dinners!!! I spent more time on the customer svgs. line than I did in a lounge chair. I was BEGGING for reservations!!! The ship shut down the Sea plea, the kids hang out, on Saturday night, while the kids were playing soccer, and literally kicked all kids out of the entire complex, so that they could host an ADULTS ONLY party!!! Who does that??? Awful, awful, super expensive trip!!