Never Again!!!

Let me start off by saying that there is probably nothing that could have helped this cruise be better. The "system" is definitely "broken". I have cruised hundreds of times (as both a passenger and as an entertainer working on ships) and this was by far the WORST cruise I have ever sailed. This was our 3rd cruise on RCL. We sailed on the Explorer in 2013 and it was awesome. We even got their RCL Visa Card to accumulate points for future cruises. We then sailed again on Explorer the following year and it was not as good. The food was going downhill, the condition of the ship looked unkept and we noticed less staff (and less happy staff). From 2014 until this past cruise we sailed other cruise lines (Carnival, Celebrity and NCL). (We cruise 2 times a year on average.) Those experiences were actually better than our 2014 RCL cruise. Since it was our son's school break we had 2 choices out of the NYC area, RCL Anthem or NCL Breakaway. I initially booked the Breakaway but decided to switch because the price and cabin size was better on RCL Anthem. Big mistake.

Our first and LAST mega ship, Maybe some people enjoy being herded like cattle from one area to another, scooting into your deck chair (if you could even find one) because they are crammed so close together you can't enter from the side, eating school cafeteria food, sitting on ripped, dirty furniture that is also extremely uncomfortable, sleeping on a bed that is hard as a rock, having to make reservations for almost EVERYTHING (dinner, shows activities) if you can even get reservations as there are not enough slots for all the passengers, a kids camp that won't take your child if they are "over their limit" because of capacity restrictions and not enough counselors (there were 1400 children on this cruise!), strange production shows that make absolutely no sense (talented performers though), constant "upselling" of services and having to pay for some of the activities that used to be complimentary. You will have to pay for popcorn. If you want an edible burger you will have to PAY for it. There is no complimentary outdoor grill on this ship. One ice cream machine for 5,000 people. A tiny gym. 2 out of the 5 Xboxes broken in Seaplex (again 1400 kids on this cruise). Virtually the same food every day in the buffet and most of it was inedible. The lines, the lines, THE LINES!!! Everywhere there were lines. I honestly don't know how this ship even gets an average review, let alone a good review. My thought is you must have been drunk or working for the cruise line to give Anthem a decent rating. I am definitely NOT drunk (although that may have made the cruise more tolerable), working for the cruise line or any of its competitors. I should have listened to the negative reviews before booking this cruise. They were correct. Read more