Anthem of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,871 reviews

Not Enough Space, Unable to Get Reservations

Review for Bermuda Cruise on Anthem of the Seas
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trueter
6-10 Cruises • Age 40s

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Sail Date: Jul 2017

This was our first cruise on a "mega" ship. Previous largest ship we'd been on was the Explorer of the Seas. This was also our first time cruising with our small child (we brought our 1.5 year old and mother (mother-in-law for me) with us). We normally cruise on Norwegian, but loved Explorer of the Seas and thought RCCL might be our new go-to cruise line. However, we'll be going back to NCL after this experience.

The good: we had two rooms (balcony and large interior). They were both clean and spacious. Balcony on the balcony room was spacious and could easily fit a reclining chair and ottoman. Food at Windjammer was actually very good and in my opinion the best food we had. Room attendant was very nice and pleasant. Embarkation was pretty smooth. Bermuda was beautiful as always. Wife and MIL enjoyed their horseback riding excursion.

The bad: For a five night cruise on such a large boat, getting reservations for almost anything other than the shows at night was impossible. Unable to make reservations for North Star and sky diving, either before the cruise or during. Main dining rooms (my-time diners, so we were in Silk and American Icon) were cramped and loud and service was not impressive. We dined as a couple a few nights and were basically on top of the couples next to us each night, which forced us into awkward conversations with them. Windjammer did not open for dinner until 5:45PM, which is very inconvenient if you have a small child with you (ours normally eats around 5). Two soft serve ice machines which were constantly closed, out of service, or being refilled for thousands of people. Constantly felt nickeled and dimed. Drink prices (even for the same drink) seemed to vary wildly depending on the location you are at, and the time of day. The Royal IQ app that I downloaded on my phone was extremely buggy and never worked, so I gave up on it after 2 days. Pool areas were small for such a large boat. In fact, this was a recurring theme for us. For such a large boat, we felt all the common areas were way too small: the pool, the promenade, the main dining rooms, windjammer, elevator banks, etc. I'm not sure where all the space went. Perhaps to high-priced suites on board?

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