The title reflects my hesitancy about the size of ship and large number of passengers as the Vision class had been my favorite. We had traveled in for some tourist time in Manhatten before the cruise and choose to travel in via train and light rail which worked out very well. Arriving at the port at 11:15 with only a carry on each we went past the porters straight into the terminal. Our wait was less than 5 minutes and we were checked in and on our way onto Anthem. Entrance was on deck 5 into the typical madhouse of selling but we skirted the crowds and headed to Two70 for lunch at the bistro. There was a bit of a line but once through we sat in the lounge and enjoyed a bit of peace. At 1:30 they released the rooms and we walked into a lovely balcony room 9170 - and I was in love with the modern feel of the room with plenty of storage available. The bathroom felt larger than the older ships and the glass enclosed shower positively roomy. The balcony was deep enough for two chairs with foot stools, even able to be out there when there was a light rain. We found the bed fine bearing in mind we like firm mattresses. Our steward was Randy and he took great care of us all week even finding a door decoration to put on my door for my birthday.

We choose MTD at 6:45 each evening as we have found this allows us time to eat and see the late show. Loved the Music Hall venue and spent most evenings in there - shout out to Katrina and the Synergy Band for funny and entertainment. We Will Rock You was terrific, vocals amazing. Spectra's Cabaret was energetic and different but not to be missed. Porsche in Michael's Pub was a pleasure to listen to. Bionic Bar rarely used after the first day - a shame as the space is right in the middle of things.

DH did IFly (I am the coward) - he had fun and we got a great photo as the photographer was right at the tube to get the perfect shots. Other than that we fully enjoyed the Solarium where we could always find a chair even though we had two days of rainy weather. Read more