Wanted to try a new ship. We booked Anthem of the Seas with friends and family for a May 2017 cruise and wanted to check out the ship before bringing friends and family with us. Let me first say the ship is beautiful. We decided to do the Bahamas cruise which we have done before on the Norwegian Breakaway. We have cruised on the Breakaway 4 times and wanted a change.

Well we got a change, and not for the better. The restaurants all close at 9:30 so the only food available after that is pizza at Sorrento's. On the Breakaway the buffet is open later and offers snacks after it closes. Also they have a 24 hour restaurant so the late night people can still get something to eat. The nightlife pretty much ended around 11:00pm. No real nightclub. The Breakaway parties into the wee hours. The activities on the ship were not that good and not that many.

We decided to go in December because they had a covered solarium with a three tiered pool so we could be warm on the first couple of days. The pools were empty for two days because they painted them. The staff on the Anthem was better than the Breakaway. Cutting lines and bumping into others was the norm on this cruise, very unorganized. We liked being able to walk around and go to bars and restaurants outside on the Breakaway we couldn't do that on the Anthem. Read more