Anthem of the Seas Review
4.5 / 5.0
Freethinker1602
2-5 Cruises • Age 30s
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Sail Date: Dec 2017
Cabin: Large Ocean View Stateroom
So... I actually originally wanted to rate my experience and recommendation as a score of 5/5 stars.
However, I asked my husband what we would/should rate our experience as and how likely we are to recommend Anthem of the Seas and Royal Caribbean to our friends and family. I was comparing this vacation from Royal Caribbean to the last vacation I took with Royal Caribbean (incidentally my first Royal Caribbean vacation).
The first vacation really was a disaster and would make almost any vacation thereafter better by default. The first cruise on anthem set the bar super low, it would have been hard for them to do any worse than that first cruise. So I wanted to award this most recent vacation a 5. When we thought about it, it really was not a 5.
Cabin Review
Large Ocean View Stateroom
Cabin G
I have stayed in a balcony stateroom and also a "large ocean view" stateroom. I am not sure a balcony stateroom is really worth the money. I personally don't use balconies too much. I am probably enjoying facilities on the ship or out on the town if we're in port. I also find something to be desired when it comes to the view of balcony staterooms.
I find their layout and square footage a bit cramped, but that is essentially normal on any cruise ship. The ceiling of the forward large oceanview stateroom slopes for the last 4 feet of the room and has an armchair for looking out the panoramic window. The footprint under the slope adds roughly an extra 16sqf (or about 5sqm) of floor space. It makes a handy and enjoyable nook. I imagine people that know they will want to camp out in their stateroom or people with children will really enjoy that extra space. I put the armchair next to the couch and made myself a nice cozy private spot to have some quiet time and a sense of privacy and personal space. This small area does somehow look and feel separate in some way from the rest of the cabin and floor space.
You will hear and feel huge bangs, crashes and reverberations and in rough weather, ocean spray will reach up to the 9 or 10 deck or higher. You may see the ship bowunder big waves. It is startling, the front of the ship is more hollow so you will feel and hear when the ship hits a big wave head on. You will feel some "ocean turbulence" but there is less correction in the bow of the ship.
In rough weather, the back of the ship tries to correct and compensate for the front of the ship, so it will apply unnatural forces to the ship and to you and you will feel that "mechanical intervention" on physics. In the back, you do feel a sort of yanking type sensation instead of the smoother (but bigger) motion at the front of the ship. In the front, pitch may also feel significant.
I did not mind the crashing noise from waves or the pitch and rolling in the cabin. It was not bad. We hit a storm big enough to require the pools to be drained. We had 16+ foot waves (5 meters) not including the trough. Including the trough, the waves were probably about 24 feet ( 7 meters).
Most large oceanview staterooms will have the bed near the door and not near the window. I would love to have the layout with the bed near the window.
Anthem has lots of storage space. It has over bed cupboards, a dresser with 4 drawers, a closet with shelves and drawers and hooks and shelving in the bathroom. The layout and thoughtfulness for design and economy
The ship was designed to be versatile. In the staterooms, the desk/vanity pulls away from the wall and can be used for dining or other uses. It is supposed to be put in front of the couch, or really anywhere you desire in the stateroom.
Port Reviews
Barbados
So, there is not too much to see in Barbados. This is the island you want to sample some local jerk from. Before going on a tour, bring some sealed food, like chips or a power bar or what ever. We saw the nice neighborhoods, we drove by some of the "sights" but there really aren't many, other than Rihanna's house that she grew up in, you can't see her new home, it's in a gated community. Barbadians LOVE Rhianna and you can't get out of seeing her house on a tour. They named a street after her and they call her their diamond. Just act happy and impressed about Rhianna's house. Rhianna does lots of great charity work for the island and gives back to her people. You have to get some Jerk on barbados. I recommend Rascal's It's a restaurant and bar on the beach. It's a 5-10 minute ride from the pier. We saw the nice neighborhoods
Martinique
this might have been my favorite island on the cruise. I hope RCCL keeps going to Martinique, but not too much. There is a lot of concern that frequent big ship tourism might disrupt the charm of Martinique. It was so fun. We took a tour from a local company. they took us to Mt Pelee and I splashed in river Sait-Pierre. They took is to "Favorite Distillery," We went to Sacre Coure. They also took us to a bar that had a private beach! The tour was well worth $30. We were served juice, soda, rum punch, beer and water. It was a fabulous tour. The island was happy to have our business. There was a parade to greet us and then a drum line to see us off. They had free pedicabs to and from the gangway to the end of the pier.
St. Thomas
I don't know how to rate St Thomas. I cannot accurately rate it either way. It was rainy and only 10 percent of the island has power. We took a tour in a safari truck from the local tour company. The island is in dire straights. There is a lot of downed timber, washed out roads and much damage to their infrastructure. the main shops are up and running and St Thomas has good port shopping.
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