This ship and itinerary were the only option for the dates we wanted (celebrating my mom's 91st birthday) and sailing out of the NYC metro area. My mom is a fan of old school cruises and we normally sail on Cunard, and have also sailed NCL and Oceana.

Embarkation was a tad chaotic but quick once we found where we were supposed to be. I grew up in Weehawken, a few towns north of Bayonne in Hudson County so the idea of cruises departing from Bayonne still cracks me up. It's gritty and industrial, and longshoremen run the port so don't expect much atmosphere. Disembarkation was quite unpleasant for my mom. There was nowhere indoors to wait for our driver, which is utterly ridiculous. Fortunately, it was not raining or snowing but it was about 35 degrees and my mom was one of many miserable older people sitting in their wheelchairs shivering until their rides could make it through the long lines of traffic. This process needs an overhaul.

The ship itself is a destination, as the cruise director Dennis mentioned multiple times. This cruise was sailing full and at times it did feel very crowded, especially in the pool areas. There are a lot of public spaces and it's worth taking the time to explore. I spent a great deal of time looking at the art in the stairwells, some of which is astounding. The Solarium is a delight, as is Two70. Finding a chair is not so easy. I'm not one of those people who jumps out of bed at 6 AM to reserve themselves the best chair and the "rule" about not saving chairs is a joke. The ship is very clean, staff is attentive and are either fairly happy or are really good actors. I've definitely observed the staff on other cruise lines "going through the motions" and the staff on Anthem for the most part were friendly, helpful and upbeat. I think it's terrific that there are lifeguards on duty, I'd not seen that on a cruise ship before. Read more