Anthem of the Seas Review

Lovely holiday on a brand new ship

Review for the Mediterranean Cruise on Anthem of the Seas
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Kitty_1979
2-5 Cruises • Age 40s

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Additional details

Sail Date: May 2015
Cabin: Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

We traveled from Australia to cruise on Anthem.

The embarkation process was very easy - checked in with staff and on the ship about 10 minutes later. However, my bag didn't turn up for a few hours after we went aboard delaying the all important first swim.

We signed up for the internet as soon as we were aboard ($20US per day for 2 devices). The internet worked really well and was very handy for staying in touch with home (as we run a business it was very important to be contactable) and also to research our next ports of call (something we hadn't had a lot of time to do before we left home).

Cabin Review

Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin D2

Our cabin was lovely. Just perfect for what we needed - we probably could have managed with even a little less space. My one and only complaint about the room was that the toilets flushing during the night are quite loud. I am not usually very susceptible to being annoyed by noise but even I noticed this during the night. I think a bed near the window instead of the bathroom would probably be better and would try to get one of those if I was travelling on this ship again. We spent a fair bit of time in our cabin as it was really nice.

Port Reviews

Southampton

We didn't stay long here - just checked onto ship and came back after disembarking. Has a nice mall area that we went to while waiting for our car to be ready (we had booked 12noon not knowing what time we'd get off - actually at the car rental place by 9:30am).

Gibraltar

We did our own thing in Gibraltar. Had pre-booked the cable car which was an excellent time saver - jumped the ticket buying line. Only took maybe 15 minutes to get to the bottom of the cable car. Then about 30 minutes at peak time to get onto a cable car. We walked down and wouldn't really recommend that as it wasn't well signposted and we felt like we were getting lost. It took a lot longer to walk down than we had expected (but is absolutely beautiful). Probably off the ship for about 4 hours. Just headed back without lunch as all the places looked very 'touristy' and we couldn't find one on the walk back that particularly appealed to us.

Barcelona

I would love to go back to Barcelona again for a longer visit (this is our second time in Barcelona). We booked the Sagrada Familia entry and tower tour online which saves a massive amount of time when you are there. The tower tour was excellent - walk down the stairs instead of catching the lift down again as you get to see them actually working on mosaics and placing stonework - gives you a much better appreciation of the scale. We visited Casa Mila too with the VIP ticket which was also excellent - no set time and a private entry (worth the extra cost on a port stop). Lunch was at Bar Boqueria in the markets just off Las Ramblas. Very busy and popular just hover until seats become free. Delicious and generous servings. Grab one of the fresh juices from the market on the way out. We caught the metro out to Sagrada Familia but walked the rest of the way quite easily.

Nice

We caught the train from Villenfranche to Nice. Nice is a largish town and we recommend taking a map with you or buying one ... although you can just come out of the train station turn left and then turn right at the next major street and that takes you to the sea front where the action is. Just a relaxing day - we loved trying Socca, Gelato from Gelateria Pinocchio and getting some delicious macarons and chocolates from Pâtisserie LAC (wish we had bought more!).

Rome (Civitavecchia)

We hired a car and drove to Tarquinia a small town with historic tombs. Lovely out of the way place.

Florence (Livorno)

We stayed on the ship this day just to have a relax.

Marseille

Loved Marseille. Went into the old town and found a lovely little square with restaurants packed with locals.

Don't bother with the ship's shuttle - catch the free shuttle and then the bus the rest of the way to the old town. So much cheaper and very easy - look up directions on internet. Marseille is well worth a look and we would like to go back there again. Sorry I didn't try to have the fish feet spa treatment that we walked past. It looked like fun.

Malaga

Malaga was a surprise. Again don't bother with the ship shuttle - it was an easy walk into the town and such a beautiful place to walk (past the beach and marina).

We went to the Alcazabar which was very cheap to enter and just stunning with amazing views. We went to a local seafood restaurant for lunch with lots of locals and waiters who didn't speak English - lots of fun! My husband enjoyed the walk back along the beach (which may have had topless girls).

Seville

We docked right in the old town. It was a very easy walk. We hopped off the ship and collected a map from the tourist information people at the terminal. There were recommended walking trails and we did one of those. Nothing all that intersting that we saw but a nice old town area. We were back on the ship for lunch.

Lisbon

We had only one ambition for Lisbon - Portuguese custard tarts. Go to Pasteis de Belem. It is touristy but the tarts are amazing. Have them there served warm with cinnamon and icing sugar. Just walk straight past the long (take away) line and straight inside where there are lots of tables in the many rooms. We also went to the Museum of Beer on the way back which was cheap and cheerful and included a small cup of beer in your entry fee. The 'sexiest' toilet looked interesting but we'd spent our last Euro already (last port in Europe).

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