Anthem of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We booked this cruise as part of my 40th birthday bash and I also wanted a cruise of more than 7 nights. For the most part we enjoyed every part of the trip but there were also a few let downs, but we did not let that spoil our trip.
We drove to Bayonne from Toronto, Ontario the day before the cruise, it was a bit of a gamble with winter weather but we kept and eye on the weather report for the days leading up and we ended up driving down in good weather. We took about 10 hours to drive down, but that included a lengthy lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, many bathroom and coffee breaks and the border crossing. We stayed at the Embassy Suites on a package that included parking for our car for the two week cruise, the only caveat here is that the shuttle to the terminal is not included. The hotel shuttle is US$20 per person. We were a group of 6 so we found it more cost effective to hire our own shuttle that cost us US$90 including the tip for the 6 of us.
We arrived at the ship around 10.30 a.m. and expected that we would have to wait to board, but by the time we had booked in we were allowed to board at about 10.50. Strangely our friends got held back for another 30 minutes.
Cabin Review
Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
The room has a double sized balcony, as we were traveling in a group we asked the room attendant for an extra two chairs which he did, it made it a great place to hang out with with the group. The balcony is also very private. The bed is at the back of the room with the living area at the balcony door. The room was close to the elevators but we had no noise from there. In general the room was nice a quiet.
Port Reviews
Bayonne (Cape Liberty)
The area around Bayonne is a little blah in my opinion, it is very industrial. Getting there and back can be expensive as you have to rely on taxis and shuttles.
San Juan
We climbed off and walked around the old town, it is really pretty and much bigger than I thought, there is very little evidence of the storm left behind.
St. Maarten
We went to the beach right on the board walk and we had a great day, we got two umbrellas and four chairs for US$40, beer was US$10 for a bucket of 5 and Pina Colladas were $7 each. We also did some shopping and got some good deals on jewelry and watches. There is still some evidence of the hurricane, the container yard you walk past from the ship to the town is very torn up. They are working hard to fix everything. The town itself was pretty much back to normal. I compared some of my older photos of Pilipsburg and saw that there were definitely less palm trees around the boardwalk now. I am sure they will be back soon.
Antigua
We hired a car, we just went to the tourist hut as you walk into town and they helped us with contacting a car rental company (Chekes Rental). The car was US$80 for the day including the mandatory license you need to purchase. We drove to Pigeon Point Beach for some swimming and snorkeling, it was lovely. We then drove to the rain forest where they had zip lining (which we did not do). After that we just drove all along the coast back to the ship. It is a beautiful island and the beaches are spectacular.
Barbados
My father and I did two scuba dives through West Side Scuba, we had an amazing time. The reefs were beautiful and I had a great time with my father. The Browns beach where we launched from was gorgeous.