This was my second cruise. My first cruise was several years ago on an older ship and different line; I was not impressed with the ship or the ports, and I thought I was just not a cruiser. I finally decided to give cruising another chance, but this time I did some research. I wanted a nice/newer ship and an interesting destination. I was leaning towards Bermuda anyway, but I chose Anthem because the ship seemed very nice and I thought it would interesting to see the Statue of Liberty as we sail out (as someone who has never been to NYC). (For anyone wondering - you CAN see the Statue as you sail out, and it is just as awe-inspiring as I had imagined! :) Also it was really cool to see the Manhattan skyline, I definitely need to visit the place sometime.)

We flew into Newark the morning of departure and made it to the port with plenty of time to spare. Check-in was a breeze, and I doubt it was even 5 minutes before we were on board. The ship is beautiful! I was very impressed with everything, so much better than my first cruise. My favorite area was the Solarium; it was just lovely. The only things lacking on the ship for me were a mini-golf course and/or water slides. I realize not everyone enjoys those, but I would have really enjoyed having either.

Dining-wise, we only ate in the main dining room a couple of times. We took advantage of the buy-one get-one specialty dinner package (highly recommend), and dined at Wonderland and Chops Grille the first two nights. Wonderland is visually amazing and I would say is a must for foodies, but maybe not the best choice for less adventurous eaters. The portions were pretty small and some on the odd side (one "course" was a shot of tomato water - looks like water, tasted like a tomato.). My favorite was dessert. Read more