We are retired in our mid 60s and travel 3-4 time per year - cruising only every other year. This is our first cruise on RCL but have cruised a couple times on RCL's sister line Celebrity. We found the ship to be very nice, comfortable stateroom with a roomy balcony. The various bars and lounges were also nice but overly crowded when entertainment was playing. Service was poor at the bars and lounges. During the first week, you had to go to the bar to get a drink. During the second week, bar service was a little better.

Our biggest problem with the cruise was how it was organized around the independent or choice dining option. We prefer to eat and sit at a fixed time with other like minded travelers. We chose the late seating (8:30) classic option. If this is important to you, this is not the ship for you. The Anthem rotates you and your other dinner companions between four restaurants, "The Grand" being the formal restaurant. On the nights when you are scheduled for "The Grand", you dress up. The choice diners (which were by far the majority) had different formal nights called "Dress your best." These nights never coincided with our traditional seating. We were left feeling terribly underdressed on their formal nights, and over dressed on our formal nights. If you enjoy traditional dining and the festivities of the entire ship in formal, this is not the cruise for you.

Also most cruises we've been on have two presentations of entertainment - one for each dinner seating. Only occasionally did the Anthem have two shows. Many of the main shows were at 9:00, when we were at dinner. We did have the same wait staff each night at the same table number and the wait staff did a very good job. Food on cruise ships in general has declined over the last 20 years we have been cruising and Anthem continued the trend. The food was not up to par with a decent restaurant. I guess you need to pay to go to one of the specialty restaurants for better food. Read more