We sailed from Cape Liberty. The port was driving distance from our home. We had a 1230-1pm boarding time. We drove directly up to the porters and luggage crates albeit a line of cars the luggage drop off went pretty smoothly. The parking garage was on the right after the terminal. Parking for 9 days cost $198. The terminal was a bit crowded with a long line of passengers trying to get through security. Once passed the security you had another line for the cruise check in both seemed to take a bit of time. Since we are Emerald, the cruise only had 3 check-in stations, where Gold had at least 10+ stations and Diamond+ levels had 6 or more stations. The only nice part about being delayed in the terminal is that our cabin was ready once we boarded so we could drop off out carry on bags, go explore the ship and grab something to eat.

The entertainment staff and CD were good. The production shows were the same as a previous sailing other then a few cast member changes. This is where I wish that Royal Caribbean switched up the shows every six months-12 months. There seemed to be a lot of passengers that have sailed with the Anthem of the Seas multiple times. The Headliner show and the comedian were excellent. The cover band Led Zeppagain was excellent and fun to listen to. Again, I wish there was more than one band that played in the Music Hall. The Music Hall seemed like a lot of wasted space. The 5th floor was very hard to view the main stage located on the 4th floor. There are 3 well worn pool tables located in this areas. The Schooner bar had excellent bar staff. There was nightly music and daily trivia played in this area. The Brass and Brock bar was also filled with excellent bar staff and live Acoustic singers. The Two 70 Lounge is one of its kind. The sound system, electronics and views were outstanding. The show Spectra was a unique experience as well. We had my time dining and had the same wait staff team every night for dinner. Their service was superb they went over and beyond our expectations. Food choices were plentiful. Everything tasted fine. One unique thing that has changed when ordering in the MDR. The waiter takes your appetizer, main course and dessert order and the same time.

North Star and I-fly were neat experiences and must tries. Sign up in your cruise planner before you set sail. Bumper cars were hysterical. Watching adults of all ages laughing like they were kids again was fun. Being apart of the bumper car action was even better. Expect a little whiplash. The pool areas were as annoying as they usually are due to the chair hogs. I did not see any deck employees policing the area of this. With the bigger ships it seems like too many people and too little seating around the main outdoor pools. Bermuda was very windy so we just walked around the port on our own. We found a mini golf course overlooking the ocean and played for $15 pp. We booked the Maho Beach excursion in Saint Maarten. That was an experience seeing the planes land and take off so close to the beach. In San Juan we booked the bike excursion in which was a private tour by accident. We were lucky and the Shorex team allowed us to go. We rode around San Juan and the beach area for 8-9 miles. One hidden gem was an umbrella street not in the touristy area. In Labadee we rode Jet skis. I was little bummed my jet ski was not functioning properly. I didn't go as fast as I wanted to. On the last run, a better jet ski was brought out to me. I wish they listened to me on the first run when I told them the engine light was alarming. Read more