This was our second cruise, the first having been 6 years ago onboard the Independence of the Seas. We booked with great excitement way back at the beginning of the year before the Anthem was even finished being built and then found as the months went by all the negative whingey reviews posted about this ship gradually eroded our excitement and happiness until early this summer we were on the point of cancelling! Well what I can say is that I am so very glad we didn't listen and instead decided to follow our first instincts and judge for ourselves.

I can safely say the 2 weeks on Anthem of the Seas to the Canaries, Spain and Portugal has been the best holiday I've ever had. The ship is wonderful, beautifully fitted out, a great selection of bars and restaurants, awe inspiring areas such as 270 which had to be seen to be believed and was one of my favourite parts of the ship. spacious extremely comfortable staterooms, a great friendly, helpful and attentive crew. First class service with a smile all the way from the cleaning crew (they are clearly very proud of the new ship and are constantly cleaning, hovering, dusting, washing the Windows (inside and out) all to keep it sparkling and new and looking as vibrant and attractive, through to them stateroom attendants, bar staff, waiting staff, entertainment staff and cruise director, the ships officers and everyone else onboard.. Truly a gorgeous place to be.

Unlike some reviewers we didn't have any problems getting a drink a in bar or finding a sunny sheltered corner to sit and enjoy the views with a book or simply soak up the sunshine. On most ports we took advantage of the shuttle bus service which was a very cost effective and convienent way to explore the destinations on your own which is our preference over organised excursions. Read more