We really enjoyed sailing on the Anthem of the seas for the past 10 days. Admittedly I was nervous after reading some reviews on here but came to realize that everyone has their own opinion. We really could not complain and would do this cruise again and again. I love cruising from Cape Liberty (NJ) since we live in CT and that means no flying and a very easy travel plan. The port is very convenient and efficient. No wait time. We left our house and within 2 hours we were having lunch on board the beautiful Anthem of the Seas!!! They take your luggage at the curb when we were dropped off and check in took just minutes. We were able to board ship early, by 11am. Cabins were ready by 1pm and all our luggage was already there at 1pm when we arrived to our cabin!!!! Leaving ship on final day was so quick and easy as well. It took 15 minutes from time we left cabin until we made it through customs and outside to wait for our ride!!!

Dining...as veteran cruisers, we opted for the classic dining, late seating. Table was always ready by 8/8:15 for us. We like having the same waiters each night and never had to deal with reservations. They gave us a rotation of restaurants...Silk, American Icon Grill, Chic, Grande, then it repeats. Our waiters are with us each night and followed us through the rotation. Very simple. We sort of miss the main dining room like we were used to on other ships, but this was fine. Food was pretty good, definitely remember other cruises when it was better, but still good. We rarely used Windjammer because don't care for crowded buffets. Was fine when we did use it-many options. We loved the cafe at 270. We really liked it for breakfast and lunch. Never crowded and very healthy options. Also used sorrentos to grab a quick slice of pizza when anyone in the family ever felt hungry!

We read many reviews about the crowds but we managed to avoid it. Our ship was at full capacity but the ship is big enough with plenty to do and plenty of spaces that allowed us to avoid major crowds. We were pleasantly surprised that although it was crowded we still did everything we wanted...North Star, I-Fly, rock wall, bumper cars, all the shows and entertainment. I heard other complaining about their reservations for things that got screwed up but we had no issues. Read more