Anthem of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Like so many others we were very apprehensive about this cruise following so many negative reviews here on CC and other review sites. However we are so pleased that we resisted the urge to cancel and re-book on a different ship. Anthem was a fantastic experience from start to finish!
This was our 8th cruise, all with RCI on Vision, Radiance, Voyager classes and our first at Diamond level. Just the two of us travelling without family or children. The ship was fully booked with over 4200 passengers.
Embarkation at Southampton was fine but not really any quicker than the conventional queuing system. We had completed all the pre cruise on line check-in requirements, photos, charge cards etc but still found ourselves waiting while the roving (and slightly random) check-in person took photos and entered charge card details of the family ahead of us that had not gone to the trouble of doing it all in advance. This is about the only niggle we had for the entire cruise and we were still "car to Promenade Café" in about 20 mins.
Cabin Review
Large Interior Stateroom with Virtual Balcony
The cabin itself was spacious, well laid out (but different to our previous ships so had to find new places for things), full length hanging space was a bit limited but not an issue. The bathroom was excellent with a large GLASS door shower with proper (not aerated) shower flow. The virtual balcony screen was fantastic, so realistic that both of us bumped our heads trying to "see around the corner" as you would with a real window. No more trying to guess the weather before leaving the cabin. A kettle/coffee maker was provided (but we never used it). Cabin location worked great for us, only a few decks up or down to the public areas, a short walk from the forward lifts, no noise at all from anywhere. Would definitely book it again.
Port Reviews
Southampton
We parked at the port. Organisation is fine, luggage is collected from your car and is next seen outside your cabin door.
Embarkation has always gone smoothly for us.
Vigo
Not much to see or do in Vigo (even on a warm sunny day. Probably best to take an excursion somewhere or just enjoy being on the ship.
Lanzarote
Arecife itself does not have much to offer. There are plenty of excursion options if you've not been to Lanzarote before. Our fellow cruisers seemed to enjoy their tours.
Madeira (Funchal)
Brilliant cable car rides, very nice botanical gardens. Nice looking city with pleasant park areas. Avoided the famous toboggan ride but plenty of others did it and loved it.
Lisbon
Have visited the city before so took a very easy to do train ride to Cascais (about 35mins and 5 euros return each). Had a very nice day in this fishing port/seaside resort. Visited the Boca de inferno (Hell's Mouth) coastal feature which was an easy walk from the town.