I loved this ship everyone on it was so nice, The service was amazing! if you have never cruised RCC do it you will meet some cool people and have a blast. I loved st kits of the most beautiful islands I have been on. if you don't like to wait or want to have some nice extras I would say get the KEY it cost 19.99 a day if you get it on sale, other wise it 24.99 a day. I will get it every time I am on a RCC cruise I loved having wifi it was so nice being able to talk to my family while I was away, plus we got on the ship very fast and have a grate lunch at chops grill. I had the best meal of my life and wonderland the food looked great and tasted amazing! I only have one complaint and that is American icon the restaurant just doesn't run well the servers and good just takes a long time to eat, Silk is grate though Malcom dose a grate job the food was always timed right not to fast or slow. Read Less

We had a great ri,e the foodmusic, food and staff were great I would like to acknowledge our cabin attendent Melvin he was aoways above and beyound expectations we were on deck 12 cabin 278 Our dininf room staff were tremendous We were in the geand Our head wairter was Rahesh he was awesoe the best head wairee we have ever had our waiter was Terry from Mauritius he was awesome. our assostant waiter was Atchawadeefrom Thialand she was great. In the theathre Himanshu took care of me above and beyond This was the best cruise I have been on The shows were great The group the Royal swedes were tremwndous so talented and sweet. The chops grille was great However Jamies Italiam was less then adequate They did nit serve enough Italian food. The Guest services were always very helpful. The solarium and the soarium cafe were wonderful. Bollares night club allowed very young children late at night and I found that in appropiate Loved the music hall 270 was awesome! Thank you Read Less

We have always sailed with Royal Caribbean and look forward to our cruises. I enjoyed it more than Oasis and here’s why. There are a lot more places to hang out and relax outside of your room and the pool areas. Oasis had Central Park which was very limited. Anthem has Two70 there are shows and events there but it’s super comfortable to hang out in and has great views. Lots of places to sit both inside and outside. The staff was awesome and the ship was well maintained. The only exception being bathroom doors that were difficult to lock in public ladies rooms. The We Will Rock You was really good. There were a lot of activities going on for all ages. We had a balcony stateroom. It was one of the best layouts I’ve seen. Best for clothing storage-ample closets and drawers. We had an issue with air circulation and it was immediately resolved. I would definitely sail on Anthem again Read Less

Great features on this ship. Solarium is beautiful as is 270. Enjoyed our time on this ship. Ifly was so much fun and Northstar has great views. Chops filet mignon was excellent. Jaime's was good and waiter was excellent. Music hall is a great space but seating upstairs is not so great. Embarkment and disembark are very fast and easy. Elevators were much more efficient this sailing. Pizza in sorrento is good. Love that they added small buffet to main dining for breakfast and lunch. Great idea. 270 is also nice for breakfast and lunch. Tried solarium Bistro for Dinner one night and food was very good. Dont be scared of reservations required. We showed up and were seated without reservations not crowded at all. You chose a dinner from menu but appetizer and dessert are buffet. Solarium is a good place for sail away especially in cold weather. Try Anthem it's a great ship. Read Less

We took the Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas out of Bayonne, NJ on 23 February 2019. We have cruised on Holland America, Celebrity and Norwegian before. It was a family reunion type trip for us (10 in our party) with about half being their first cruise ever. We had 2 adjoining cabins on deck 11 and 2 separated cabins on deck 8; all the cabins were about midship to prevent seasickness problems. We just kept the spare room key card in the slot so the air conditioning and lights were on whenever we needed them to be. Unlike previous passengers, that was not a problem on this trip. Cabin: Our cabin attendant was friendly and did his job. He only made towel art 3 times during our cruise (whereas our other cruises it was nightly). My cabin had 2 adults and 2 children so it was a little tight at night when the couch was converted into a double sleeping surface but the children didn't complain about it. I asked for extra blankets (the cabin was kept on the cool side for my DH but I get too cold to sleep at that temperature) and that was accommodated with no problem. The bathroom comes with 2 "gentle soaps" to wash your hands/body. In the shower, a 2-in-1 shampoo dispenser is attached to the wall. Our shower door didn't seal completely so we always had to use a used towel to soak up the extra water on the floor (even though there is a drain in the shower as well as next to the toilet). Unfortunately there isn't much of an air vent so the windows definitely fog up after a shower and if anyone stinks up the bathroom, it's going to take a while for the stink to go away. Our room had a balcony with 2 chairs, 2 footstools and a little round table. There isn't much to look at on this trip (Bayonne to Cape Canaveral, FL to Nassau, Bahamas to Cococay and back) but it was still nice to go out on your own balcony to take in the air. Layout: There are 16 decks. Most of the activities we participated on are on decks 14-16 or decks 3-5. I tried to fight the gaining of pounds by walking up and down stairs instead of taking the elevators. But I also took the elevators when I was just too tired (or my feet hurt). I honestly can't decide whether deck 8 or 11 would have been better for all the activities we did since you have to go up and down a lot from either place. Our cabin didn't feel the ups and down of the swells as much as when we were in the front or back of the ship (which was quite noticeable sometimes) but by being in the middle of the ship, you always had to walk a while to get to the elevators or stairs. Dining: First day on board we ate lunch at the Solarium and also had reservations there for dinner. Both were good meals and it's quieter eating here than in the Windjammer. But the Solarium space itself is for adults 18 and older so you do get some looks when you have children around (mine were 11, 12 and 14 on this trip). My immediate family are night owls so we tended to eat breakfast in the Windjammer (has the longest hours) but the early birds said food is good in the TwoSeventy and Solarium and it's MUCH quieter in those locations but selection is less. Breakfast in the Windjammer was my family's favorite meal overall. If you like crepes, there's a crepe station in the furthest back spot of the Windjammer as well as gluten free omelet station (I guess the more special omelet station). Lunch in the Windjammer is hit and miss as to what's good. TwoSeventy has already made sandwiches and Cafe Promenade does that too. Pizza at Sorrento's is wonderful but the sides there are cold (just a warning). Another review said the cookies at Cafe Promenade are awesome but I think the pizza next door was better. I had a voucher for Johnny Rockets so we tried that out. I would not have paid for what they gave us (hamburger had gristle in it; fries at Windjammer are so much better!) If you get a Johnny Rockets voucher, beware that it does not include milkshakes (the only benefit of eating there instead of other places!!) I also had vouchers for 2 for specialty restaurants. Unfortunately it wasn't until after I went to my reservation that I discovered Izumi's (sushi) is not included in the specialty restaurants. But they were good enough to cancel that reservation without any problem. We tried Chops (steakhouse atmosphere, dark wood, dark lighting) and the food was excellent. We also tried Wonderland which is an "experience restaurant". Prepare for a 2 hour meal (but if you're really tight on time, it can be done in about 90 minutes). The food was good there too and it was definitely an experience. The forks and spoons are funky, the food portions will fill you by the end of the meal. The setting is intimate (dark lighting); there are tables for 2 as well as a long rectangular table that sits a lot more. After the first night, we arranged to have a set dining time of 5:30pm at Chic (since it was tough to get 10 people together otherwise). The food was wonderful for the most part; our servers were good (assistant was better than the head waiter). For those who never cruised before, a hint for your selections; if you can't decide between appetizers, main courses or desserts, you can get both or as many of them as you like. I looked like a pig ordering my meals because I would often get 3 appetizers and a couple desserts but I was also getting them to share with my kids (they were first time cruisers). If after you try something and you really like it, you can ask your servers if you can get more of it (sometimes they can get more, sometimes they can't). While I did sign up my youngest for the children's club, he refused to go. Since the whole point was to spend time with family, I let him hang out with the extended family instead. My older two tried a teen activity or two but for the most part, they all just played foosball, ping pong or soccer on their own rather than with the clubs. Entertainment: We saw The Gift. I understand why it gets such split reviews. The females in our group all cried while the males all came away with the remark "what was that all about!?!?" It's a love story but it's told in a very artsy, fartsy way and it doesn't become "clear" until almost the end (apparently only for the females does it become clear). Spectra's Cabaret was more of a spectacle of bizarreness. It was too loud (The Gift was also on the loud side) and strange. It was the cast's last performance (they had the new cast watching) so perhaps you will get a better performance than we did. We had rushed a previous dinner in order to make reservations for the North Star; since other reviews said Bohemian Rhapsody was on the long side and the last half hour was the best, we didn't rush to see it. Unfortunate since that was the best show of the 3. We almost couldn't find seats (we had to find separate seats since we went late). The one-night headliners that they had were very good. Most of the entertainment on the ship was too loud (I don't understand why they blasted it so that those who went into the room would suffer just to possibly draw people in from the outside) Disembarkation: We didn't have any timed excursions so there was no pressure to get off the ship by a certain time for any of the stops. Therefore, we didn't have any trouble getting off (well, except for my one child's card stopped working and we had to go to Guest Services to get a new card; then it didn't work coming back on and we had to get a new card AGAIN) Tips: Sign up for the Escape Room using the iRoyal app (if you have it) on the first day. We tried to sign up on day 3 and it was completely booked already (sigh). Otherwise, you can go to Shore Excursions or Guest Services to sign up on their iPads. Same goes for iFly and North Star. We had a collective brain fart and no one remembered to go to our iFly time slot so we missed out. North Star should be done during the day; we went at night and all you really see is the blue glow of the lights within North Star or you see the pool down below you. We were hoping to see the stars but the lights within are too bright to see out in the night. Rock climbing was fun; there are 3 lines you can climb. It's a first come-first serve. Depending on how many people there are, usually you climb up once (hit the bell at the top or in the middle) and then you have to get back in line to try the other ropes. If you fall off, you have to get back in line too. But if there's no one around (usually close to bad weather conditions) you can go multiple times in a row. The treadmills on the ship are okay but not high end gym level. So I ran on the running track outside (approximately 3 laps equals 1 mile). First time hardly anybody was out there since it was still cold, windy and misty. Once the sun came out, the running track gets filled with sunbathers and walkers. If you really want to run, I can tell you from experience that 12am-2am is a great time for having it to yourself. There is definitely a headwind and tail wind effect, especially at the front of the ship. In fact, the last day I ran up there, the winds were so blustery, the crew had closed off the front section of the ship on the running track. Also, they will close that level if the weather is bad (happened once to DH and once to me). I was surprised that the gym was full but never such that I had to wait to use equipment (I only went a couple times to the gym). I spent a lot of time in the casino. It wasn't as smoky as I feared it would be but it really depended on who was there. There were a couple nights the smokers made it smokier (I am not a smoker) and even though I was in the NS section, it just permeates the room. Most of the dealers are very nice and will help you learn how to play. There's one cash Texas Hold'em table. Get there by 9pm if you want to play or you can add your name to the waitlist. The Park West Art folks were also very friendly and knowledgeable. Champagne is offered at many of their auctions. The first night there were "free" alcohol samples being given and the line was nearly the size of the Esplanade area (too long for me). So go early if you want this one. There were 2 "Formal" nights. But the range of formal really ranged so don't worry too much about having a tux or suit. I even saw a nice shirt with jeans pass for formal. Read Less

We cruised out of Bayonne because it is only about 2 hours from our home. Embarkation was quick and organized and we were through security and on the boat within 15 minutes. Our room was ready by 1pm. We had a balcony room on the 7th floor that had a pull-out couch (we traveled with our 4 year old) and plenty of storage. Our room steward was always friendly and efficient. They work so hard. We mostly ate at the Windjammer because it was the easiest option with a young child. Breakfast was delicious everyday. Dinner was hit or miss but there was so many options, we were always able to find something. We did eat in the MDR twice for dinner and the food was great both times. I do wish there were more options for snacks during off times. We went on the North Star on the last sea day of our cruise. It was cold and grey outside. I would definitely recommend trying to do this during one of the port days - I’m sure it would have been a much more enjoyable experience had we done that. We went to 2 shows - Spectras Caberet and We Will Rock You. We Will Rock You was excellent. A previous reviewer of the ship said this show was x-rated. That is not the case at all. There were a few sexual innuendos but nothing too bad at all. We brought our 4 year old and never felt that it was too inappropriate. He says this show was his favorite part of the cruise! With over 4000 people on board - the ship rarely felt crowded. The only time we really noticed the crowds were on the warm sea days where there didn’t seem to be enough chairs to go around. There were a ton of kids on board - many more than I had expected and it seemed many were left unsupervised which was a little off putting. We loved all 3 ports.. Port Canaveral - we went to Magic kingdom for the day and used Royal Caribbean’s transfer. I was worried we wouldn’t have enough time in the park (7 hours) but we were able to get on all the rides we wanted to and had a really great day. Nassau - we went to Blue Lagoon Island for the day. Beautiful Island but I felt the excursion was a bit too short. It was supposed to be 5 hours but things seems a bit disorganized at the pier which cut it down to 4 hours. We had booked a sting ray encounter which was cancelled unfortunately. Since it was cancellled, we were issued a full refund for the day so we ended up getting to experience this day for free. The boat ride to and from blue lagoon island is really pretty - you can’t beat the pretty blue water! Coco Cay - this was our favorite stop. This island is so pretty. The construction is nowhere near complete and I was a bit worried about the construction noises/view but you don’t even remember it’s there within a few minutes. We walked all the way to the far end island (by the floating bar). You can walk all the out into the ocean - maybe 1/3 mile and see lots of fish swimming all around you. Later in the afternoon, when the tide started to come in, we started seeing a lot of reef sharks and large manta rays swimming all around us in the open water. Probably one of the. coolest things I’ve ever experienced. IF your ship isn’t able to stop hear due to the weather - please know that it’s for your safety. It was a relatively calm day when we went and getting on and off the tender was pretty scary. At one point, the bridge that you walk on to get to the tender rocked so hard that the people on it almost fell off! We didn’t utilize the kids club at all but a lot of other families did and they seemed much more relaxed than us! Next time, I think we’ll try it out. We had to go to guest services twice (not for issues with the ship or for complaints) and there wasn’t a line either time and the people working that department were very helpful. All in all, it was a great vacation! We can’t wait to book our next cruise! Read Less

I normally don’t write reviews, but I feel that my review might help other families make a better decision when chosen a vacation. Especially those whom value the health and the well-being of their families and loved ones. Some readers may find my review absurd and exaggerated but everything I will be mentioning in this review is true. We’re very easy-going people and not at all picky or complainers but this horrible experience is what prompted me to write this review. Please read it to the end and see the attached photos. We’ve been cruising and traveling for the past 20 years with many different cruise ship companies. The Anthem of the Seas was our 8th cruise with Royal Caribbean and most likely will be our last cruise with RC. Our first cruise with Royal Caribbean was onboard the Explorer of the Seas when it was a brand-new ship back in the early 2000’s. The difference between my first and last cruise with RC is like night and day! Royal Caribbean’s quality control, housekeeping, guest relations and overall services have dropped drastically over the past few years since our first cruise with them. Cabin: Upon entering my state room onboard, the Anthem of the Seas, I noticed a very strong human body odor. I picked up the blanket that’s on the bed and to my surprise the sheets were never changed from the previous guests! The sheets that are supposed to be white were a shade of yellow and filthy. I took a closer look and there was multiple human hair on the bed sheet. My two sons, whom are asthmatic, started to have asthma attacks. Luckily, we had two portable nebulizers with us for the boys. We walked out of the room to an open area on the 5th deck to get some fresh air. I returned to the room by myself to further inspect the room before my family can return to it. My findings were disturbing! Besides the filthy bed, the floor in the room was never vacuumed. The bathroom had more human hair in multiple places. But that’s not all! Mold! Yes, you read that correctly! Mold in multiple locations in the shower area. I walked around the room and found dust in every corner of the room. I took some photos and went to guest relations to bring it to their attention. The assistant director of guest relations showed up after the guest relations staff member called her to investigate the matter. She greeted me and heard what I had to say and then turns around and tells me that unfortunately due to fact that the ship is fully booked, she cannot upgrade my room or provide a different room for us!!! I said, madam, I’m not here to ask for an upgrade or a free lunch! I’m asking to have my room cleaned properly. I explained that my children suffer from asthma and that I have photos of the horrible sanitary conditions in the room. She asked to see the photos and I showed it to her. She then says that she is going to contact the directory of housekeeping to bring it to his attention and that the matter will be resolved immediately. That immediately promise was never fulfilled. I went back to the room to take my luggage in and went about my business with the family. Again, I went back to the room after lunch thinking that the room must be cleaned since it’s been over four hours since I brought it to their attention and to my surprise nothing was done!!!! After dinner we returned to the room and noticed that the room was vacuumed but nothing else was done. The mold is still there, the hair is still there, and the dust was also still there in every corner of the room. I made a second and final attempt to have the room properly cleaned and like the first attempt, I was promised that it will be cleaned immediately!!! On the 4th day of the cruise they removed the mold, but the hair and dust was still there in every corner of the room until the day we left the ship. The room was never cleaned properly. I never made a 3rd attempt to get the room cleaned because after 20+ years of traveling, I knew better not to ask a third time because if they truly cared, they would have cleaned it the first time I brought it to their attention. Dining: I've never been on a cruise where I had to wait on a long line to enter a restaurant. Even though we stopped by the dinning room on the 4th floor upon boarding to make reservation for the entire vacation, we had to wait on a long wait line every single night. The waiters and staff were friendly and helpful, but the overall service was terrible. Bread and water sometimes took more then 20 minutes to come to the table, appetizers would take another 30 minutes after that and main meal about 45 later!!! Completely unacceptable especially when you have young children whom are hungry and whom waited out side restaurant for 30+ minutes to get in and another hour and half to eat. Most times we had to take them for a slice of pizza before dinner to avoid the hassle of trying to have them patiently wait for the main meal. Food: The overall quality of food was okay although the main dining room and the Windjammer was boring at times because it’s almost the same menu every single night. Cleanness: The overall sanitary conditions on the ship was horrible. I noticed on multiple occasions that my table utensils had dry food on them. (see photos) Activities: You must reserve almost every activity there is. The play area was always crowded. I mean really crazy crowded. After the 2nd day my kids were not even interested to do any kind of activity because all the activities were always too crowded. The ship felt like it was overbooked. I know they can’t overbook it for safety reasons but that is how we felt. Other guests shared the same thoughts as well. There were many occasions where I had discussions with other guests about the ship and the overall services and we all felt the same. Disgusted! Service: The overall service was terrible Housekeeping was a disaster (read the cabin section above) food services was mixed; sometimes were better than others but overall terrible. Staff: Unlike how RC’s staff were back in the days (going back to the early 2000’s) most of the staff didn’t greet us or even smile. Some were very friendly, genuine and kind people, but the majority were not. I can’t blame them. The conditions RC puts these workers through would be tough on any human to live a normal life let alone be kind and friendly to anyone. Roberto, the housekeeping director was rude and obnoxious. The director of food services was a gentleman. I believe his name was Carlos. Usually the cruise director is all over the cruise making sure everyone is having fun! Never saw the cruise director and don’t know what she/he look like! Entertainment: The shows and the entertainers were okay, but defiantly nothing to be wowed about. Again, everything must be reserved ahead of time. Overall: The overall experience onboard the Anthem of The Seas was simply awful. Sadly, we’re Diamond Crown and Anchor members with about 8 cruises with RC but we’ve decided to never book another cruise with RC from this point on. We’re no longer recommending this cruise company to anyone. Thank you for reading. Read Less

This won't be a minute description. We have cruised enough to take the great with the not so great realistically. Despite some ups and downs (most of which were family related) we have already signed up to take the same cruise the same week next year. OK, the ship is showing a bit of wear and will need the minor refurb this fall before the major refurb next year. The ship was running at capacity, over 4000 passengers. We were told over 1600 kids were on the cruise, this being NYC area winter break week. It seemed like every single passenger we met was from Long Island. We are from upstate New York, so immersion in that culture was kind of fun (and often hilarious) for us. Two problematic areas of ship infrastructure: 1. Elevators - long waits most of the time. Some switches (call buttons, floor buttons etc) were inconsistent or just not working. Some cars out of service intermittantly throughout the cruise. Overall they worked well enough, but barely. 2. VOOM and the Q app for phones - On this sailing this service was a disaster. On debarkation day thousands of people were trying to download the app simultaneously (HINT: GET THE APP BEFORE YOU SAIL, just don't expect it to work until you are on board, if then only barely). Unfortunately many staff reservation systems are on the same network, so they were all non functioning until second day of the trip. Promotions from RCCL claiming you can stream over this system were false. There was not enough bandwidth ever to stream a You Tube video for example. This overload of the system might be due to all the kids on board? We were happy we booked a suite and got Drink Packages, since the suite related services saved the cruise for us. Really loved the Concierge Lounge, Sky Deck etc. Made it feel like what I imagine cruising was like in thirty or forty years ago - everything included. Read Less

For several years we wanted to go on a cruise with Royal Carbeen, the pictures, the beauty of the boats gave us confidence. It must not only be beautiful, but happy to satisfy us. the disastrous experience of our cruise brings us back to our first cruise 20 years ago. If I can summarize, wait in line, wait to go to the restaurant, even if we had a reservation, expect all the morning at least 15 minutes if we wanted an omelette, wait 45 minutes for the skate wheel or the auto tapping and what to say to come back tomorrow very cavalierly. The choice at the Windjammer Cafe buffet, the variance and taste was the worst of all the cruises we had. It was always very similar, and if we did not arrive at the reopening from 7:00 am or 3:30 pm, the hour goes on, unless it's fresh, dry and hard. For the late-night end, after 9:00 pm, not much, a chance that the Level 4 pizza was very good, but $ 6,000 to eat a slice of pizza at night, it was not térible. A chance we had a suite, you could eat at the costal kitchen, the exemplary service of the person (mainly Lina) and the excellent taste of the food. It is certain that the majority of the dishes had a Jamaican tendency (coming from the chief cook), but it was a pleasure for the mouth. Almost every night we ate there, it saved our cruise. For other meals a la carte (free) it's the same, it's the same menu with a different decort. We went for lunch, I think of the American icon, poor service, a 1st employee served the juice ... and stop there, after 10 minutes, no one came to see me, although I could easily count 20 people who work there in 10 seconds of observation. (I meant talking to each other and not working). So we decided to go to the small buffet of this restaurant, as dry as the big buffet. When we decided to leave, we had 11 plates to stack on our table (4 people at the table), and apart from the girl who was going to offer us juice, we did not exist. To end with the Windjammer Cafe buffet, there was not enough room to eat, we were still looking for several minutes to toruver a place and always had to leave a person to monitor the table. And the configuration is not efficient, it does not give a restaurant ordered to serve thousands of people. Another big disappointment, private island, cocokay, in all the internet sites, it shows us a park with wave pool and sled ... pay attention, it's a lie it does not exist yet, arriving on the ile, there was a poster, soon in 2019, or in 2018, or another in 2020. it is a fraudulent sale to make us believe that there will be all this, and that there is nothing, my boy of 15 years came expressly for the day in this island. In closing, the boat's employees did not look as happy as on the Holland America or Norwegian, after seeing a white-shirted team leader jostling a restaurant clerk and pulling him by the arm in the kitchens, I tell you, that the other employees gave more than one regime of terror on this boat than pleasure. Read Less

It was February break in the Northeast and the only appealing thing to cruising out of New Jersey in the middle of winter was the fact that we didn't have to fly. I had low expectations of an overcrowded ship with kids everyone, mediocre food, and so so entertainment. I was pleasantly surprised and had one of the best vacations ever! We were a group of 11 (4 moms and 7 kids ranging int ages 10-16). Debarkation was an absolute breeze. we arrived at the port around 10:30 and were on the ship by 11:00. Parking was no fuss easiness. The price was a little steep, but oh well. The ship is beautiful with something for everyone. The kids spent the majority of their time in the Seaplex playing basketball, soccer and air hockey (beware of the charge for air hockey games. The arcade charge showed up several times on my account). The moms spent the mornings running on the upper deck and the afternoons relaxing in the sun. We did my time dining and had really good meals each night! We rarely made reservations and typically had 8-10 people eating together at a time. I think the longest we waited for a table was 15 minutes. We had the deluxe beverage package and it was worth every penny. It included specialty coffees, milkshakes from Johnny Rockets, and top shelf liquors, great IPA's in the Irish Pub, espresso with baily's at dinner, etc.. It was great to be able to try different drinks and not worry about charging every single one to your onboard account. I loved the bracelets you could purchase for $5 from guest services that worked as your seapass card. No more looking around the room for my card! I just wore the bracelet the whole time. The entertainment was wonderful. Loved We Will Rock You. Had a blast at the Matt Yee adult sing along, enjoyed listening to the singer int he Irish Pub every night and laughed out loud at the comedians. The service everyone was incredible. The staff always took the extra step to make everything perfect. All in all, I would recommend this ship and look forward to sailing with RC again! Read Less