We chose this trip and itinerary as a second option to our original trip that happened to occur during our daughter's college graduation. Even though we have been to Bermuda before, we have never experienced Royal Caribbean so we thought "why not?" We stayed in a suite (something we have only done on Norwegian) and wanted to try to compare apples to apples. As far as the room is concerned, I would opt for a Norwegian suite over the Grand Balcony Suite we had on this ship. The beds are more comfortable, the bathroom is more spacious and there really is no comparison to The Haven as the experience begins before you even board with Norwegian. Haven guests are greeted individually and brought to the designated restaurant by a Haven staff member. When we boarded Anthem, even though we breezed through the check in line, we were left to our own defenses. Having never cruised on Royal Caribbean, we were a little lost at first, but made our way to the Coastal Kitchen Restaurant for lunch.

I can honestly say that the quality of food on Royal Caribbean was far superior, especially in the Coastal Kitchen. We only ate at American Icon for dinner 2 of the 7 nights and tried the Wind Jammer for lunch once. The food at the buffet was nothing to write home about, but the Coastal Kitchen food was outstanding as well as the service. We have one server, Christelle, who made each dining experience a delight. You just can't teach that kind of positivity and kindness.

We partook in the Meet & Mingle on Sunday and luckily won a bottle of wine. As for any of the other activities we signed up for through Cruise Critic, they didn't seem to pan out. Perhaps it was overwhelming to the organizer or things just kind of fizzled out, I'm not exactly sure. Read more