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Anthem of the Seas

Voyager of the Seas

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Quantum of the Seas

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Kona (Kailua Bay)

It is a shame to rate the review 2 Stars when it could have easily been 5 Stars, however for the Strictly Kosher traveler the kosher food was at best marginal, and most times third world. I n all fairness if you are not a kosher traveler then this trip would be fantastic. The ship is hugh, modern, clean, and very exciting shows and entertainment...but if your a kosher traveler you 're going to suffer. Airlines pre packaged food was better than this cruise. Not wanting to mention the kosher source, its definitely worth asking your travel agent from which kosher caterer the food is coming from, and not only that....you must insist on seeing the actual menu in advance. do not take no for an answer...we were stuck

with the same meat menu all 12 nites and the menu was 4 items...thats it ! only one out of the four were able to be eaten....Weve complained to RCCL people and all they could tell us was that theyre looking to improve caterers, but they didnt get the idea that is they did serve decent kosher food much more kosher travelers would take their cruises..but it seemed to go on deaf ears sorry to say...Again the ship was great...now you have to see if you can handle the food...We took vacuum sealed food and actually boiled them in water

with a little coil heater..and it worked..and you could take that to the dinner table...but its no way to enjoy a cruise...but go anyway..its a great trip..just dont be disappointed in the food situation and you'll be fine....Bon Voyage

kosher food

Overall cruise was good.  Ship is very elegant n beautiful, entertainment good, lots to do like  bumper cars, North star skating assimulator and much more.  Food was just ok for us. Service not so great.  Shopping was good n enjoyed all ports.  Great experience-glad we did it-not worried about going again. (n we r advid cruisers-atleast 3 ayr) balcony cabin was nice  with good storage cabinets .        We still had a wonderful time despite hating the travels to New Jersey not being told bayonne bridge didnt open till 3 so we almost missed ship eventho we left in plenty enough time but got lost trying to get around city paid 2 xtra $15 tolls and tried to find other parking We prepaid for. ship parking very expensive @$20aday. When called rccl ermerg line the operator was very rude and no help. Told us we has 20minutes before desk closing.  Very cold

Good

THE MEALS WHERE GREAT IN  THE GRANDE ,AMERICAN ICON, SILK AND Cico, some of ports,labadee. Costa maya have long walks if no jittneys are provided.the elevator service could be improved after the shows with so many disabled passengers aboard. Some of the shows where geared for the children,not much interest for senoirs. I believe that the evening sales in the main hall clutters the walking areas with too many people blocking the flow of traffic. I think that the captain could or should have been better versed in his speaking over the ships public speaker systen. It was very diffucult trying to understand him we liked this ship so much that we would sail again on it, my wife was well taken care of in the infirmary,and provided with good medical attention after a bout of intestinal virus. MY WIFE AND I HAVE 70 CRUISES UNDER OUR BELTS SO WE CAN JUDGE A GOOD CRUISE SHIP

DONT LET THE SIZE OF SHIP SCARE YOU,PLENTY OF ROOM  FOR SENOIRS

I have thought long and hard about writing this review (which is why it's taken me so long) and with that in mind here it goes.

After previously cruising with RCI on Oasis, Allure (twice) - which were fantastic and Legend (well that's a story for another time), we had high expectations of cruising on Anthem.

We are from Australia and generally P&O Australia cruisers, so this was 18 months in the planning and a trip of a lifetime. We were really looking forward to experiencing the Quantum class of ship and with Ovation now visiting Australia we thought it would be great to see what it was like before booking on Ovation.

Let's just say we are glad we didn't.

Embarkation

Abysmal is the word I would use.  Bayonne has to be the worst port we have ever cruised out of and that is saying something when you live in Brisbane.

1.5 hrs waiting in an Uber to travel a couple of miles to the port (and we left late from our hotel because of the email advising us that the Coast Guard were doing inspections which we found at later was an excuse that is used frequently out of Bayonne).

No-one telling you where to go

Staff directing you the iPad holders and then other staff members getting up you for standing in the wrong lines.  iPad holders standing with no-one to attend to but looking every other way so as to avoid eye contact.

No organisation through security.  We had priority but were advised to go through normal lines - we ignored the direction.

Didn't like that they don't give you your cruise cards at this point.

There was no-one at the gangway as you got on, directing people - it was total chaos.

Once we got on we decided to explore to start with and then grab a coffee.  Guess what - my card didn't work.  Apparently it hadn't been set up correctly by the iPad lady, so I couldn't get in to our room either.  Now, I like to avoid customer service for the first 2-3 days, but unfortunately had to line up for 45 minutes to get it sorted.  I wasn't happy.  Lots of people were having problems with the ships technology and this seemed to become a theme for the 13 days.

Cabin

Rooms were available due to being so late getting on the ship.  This was our one big positive.  The cabin was probably the best we have ever been in.  A deluxe balcony cabin on deck 8 was clean and large, and had the most amazing amount of storage I have even seen on a ship. (Good for us as we were in the US for 5 weeks and had extra baggage). You didn't even know we were in there as we could put everything away.  Our cabin steward was good, although we didn't see him often as we had Dynamic Dining (see later).  We always had a late sitting, yet he seemed to pick those times to want to come in and service the cabin while we were trying to get ready.  Our only real gripe was the balcony.  It was filthy and covered in salt, including the furniture which we couldn't sit in without using towels.  We asked for it to be cleaned, which was only done once when we arrived in to the first port and it wasn't done again.  The steward said they don't clean them anymore unless requested.

Ship

I always say when it comes to ships, everyone has their own opinion of what they like and don't like so each and to their own.  I can honestly say, it's not the ship for us.  I must admit I like a ship with a big Atrium and promenade type setting but Anthem feels small and enclosed in their promenade considering it's such a big ship.  There was never enough room to walk as there was always "daily sales" selling the same crap every day and just being in the way.

Royal Theatre - never had a problem getting seating if you are early - nice and big but don't be late otherwise you will get stuck behind a pole.

Two70 - lovely place to relax during the day, but impossible to find a good seat for the shows at night.  The only place to really see anything well is right down the front.  This is not a people friendly venue and as it seemed the only place they held any ship events, it was often overcrowded, hot and stuffy.  The Halloween event was the only one we ended up attending.

The Music Hall - always seemed closed for "Private Functions" - big but again not enough seating.

SeaPlex - a great idea, but people took stupid pills when waiting for Bumper cars which were only held every other day.  Xboxes never worked.  Table tennis balls always seemed to be either flat or just not there at all.  We didn't skate or do the circus school, but the kids that did seemed to enjoy it.

The hotdog place was ok but don't turn up late and expect one as they run out quickly.

North Star - glad we booked before we got on.  They were very unorganised and even though we turned up at our allotted time they were running nearly 30 - 45 minutes late.  A point to note, if people are in a wheelchair, they are classed as 2 people, so they take less on the pod and push the poor people who were waiting with us but were at the end of the line to the next timeslot.  This then affected future timeslots.  Maybe RCI should have on the booking portal a box to tick "wheelchair" and that automatically adds 2 people and doesn't over book the pod.

Didn't use the FlowRider

I-Fly - what a fantastic experience.  Hubby booked again as he had so much fun and let me tell you - a minute in there feels like a lifetime but it is excellent fun.  We did it with a couple in their 70's and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

Pools - didn't use outdoor pool but it looked fine.  Mainly used Solarium pools as we had a fantastic barman "Jamie" who really looked after us.  Actually all the bar staff were great at this venue.  Pools and spas in this area were always clean and we never had a problem finding a deck chair.

Robotic barmen - didn't work for first 4 days.  When did only tried it once.  Drink wasn't too bad.  Was fun to watch it though.

Dining/Casual Dining

Didn't do any specialty restaurants

Cafe Promendade - (Starbucks side) became one of our favourite places to sit and relax and watch the world go by.  My hubby likes coffee, so our only complaint was they didn't offer us the coffee card at the beginning of the cruise and it was only when we heard someone in front ask for it that we got one.

Sorrentos Pizza - cheese pizzas good - it is what it is.

Solarium Bistro - ate here most days.  Nice salads and wraps.  Tip - get the sandwiches toasted as bread can be a little "stale".  Desserts - some of the yummiest on the ship.

Windjammer - only ate here when we absolutely had too.  I swear some people just don't know how to eat at buffets.  Staff were lacking here - never enough tables, when there were tables available, you could sit down and they were never cleared, floors were filthy with dropped food and spills. I can never understand why people feel the need to pile their plates up high and then leave most of it strewn across the table and not eaten. Unfortunately this is a cruise gripe for us as and is not limited to just RCI.

Dynamic Dining - what a disaster - I know why they got rid of it.  Wish we hadn't done it as we never got to eat with anyone and had no relationship with the servers.

The Grande Restaurant - just terrible service.  Sat down first time and waited 30 minutes for someone to just bring water and bread.  Didn't stick to their own dress requirements with T-shirt and short wearing gentleman allowed in.  Made the mistake of going back a second time and was just as bad.  Food - mediocre.

Silk - appalling.  Food inedible - probably the worst cruise food we have ever tasted (and we cruise P&O). Staff dropping plates and extremely inept.  Seemed like the were all first timers and in training.  Didn't go back.

Chic - first time was a bit hit and miss.  Second time was much better.  Food was ok.

American Icon - ended up eating here multiple times.  Got the same waiter - Andrew.  He was a highlight and the food was really enjoyable.  Seems funny when it all comes from the same kitchen.  We kept going back.

Bars in General

There are no menus in the bars.  We kept asking for what drinks were available and no-one could give you a list of what they did.  We finally would find a drink to order and then discover that when we went to a different bar they wouldn't make it.  None of the bars were consistent.

Shore Excursions

Labadee - did Adult's only Sandbar.  Unfortunately weather wasn't favourable but we still had a good time.  Coming back to the ship was great fun in the big big big waves.

Falmouth - no tour

Grand Cayman - did a small tour on a trolley.  Got what we paid for.  Left 2 cruisers behind because there wasn't enough room and they didn't want to sit apart.  Maybe look at reviews a bit better next time

Roatan - Tabyana Beach Break - was not the relaxing beach break we were expecting.  Lunch included which was not really enjoyable.  It was really only an expensive shuttle bus over to the beach that took longer than it would normally but due to the condition of the roads.  We were the first bus load to get there and after having a "safety briefing" were taken out to the beach chairs.  Out the front of the chairs on the sand behind an invisible line were the vendors and they proceeded to scream at us for the next 4 hours if we wanted to buy anything and when we went to go in to the water they followed us still asking when we said no.  We had to get rude.  Security walking around to protect your belongings which was appreciated but I didn't not go back to the ship relaxed.

Costa Maya - no tour

Cozumel - no tour - enjoyed a very very expensive drink at Señor Frogs though...

Entertainment

We Will Rock You - probably the best show at sea we have ever seen.  Was fantastic and I really enjoyed it.

Spectras Cabaret /The Gift - after reading other reviews I thought I had done my due diligence to understand what was going on. Nope - didn't help.  Still didn't know.  Singing and dancing was excellent, but really just didn't understand the concept.  New entertainment crew did their first show of The Gift and they were good, but we didn't appreciate the old crew sitting in the crowd screaming and cheering every time something finished and then giving them a standing ovation.  

Guest entertainers - the Beatles tribute group were fantastic and there was an impressionist from Las Vegas (sorry forgot his name) and he was very good.

Cruise Director/Activities Manager

Drew and Chris - these two gentleman were fantastic and we became good friends with them.  Always acknowledged us when they saw us walking by and were always willing to have a chat even when they were busy.  Made what was a pretty mediocre experience for us in to a pretty good one by the end and we appreciated their effort.

In Conclusion.

We were very disappointed in the ship and the service.  We don't ask for much, but you pay good money to cruise these days and I guess there are just some things that you think are important and customer service is one of them.

We put it down to, that ships are like hotels, and it all depends on how they are managed and I just don't think Anthem is managed very well.

Good friends of ours just got off Ovation here in Australia and they had a fantastic time.  We didn't want to influence them and tell them we didn't enjoy her sister ship and they made up their own minds.

I always say, reviews are just someone else opinion and everyone is entitled to their opinion.  In the end, even though we didn't enjoy it as much as other cruises, it was a cruise and a cruise is what you make it.

Not the WOW we expected

I and my cruise gang just got off of a 12 day cruise and it was fantastic.  Overall, the ship is great.  The cabins are first-rate.  The staff are above average and the captain is the most visible and sociable of any that we've sailed with.  I think that if I were take one star away, it would be for the food.  It was good, but did not measure up to some of the other RCI ships.  However, all-in-all, it's a great ship and I and my shipmates highly recommend it.

The ports of call were OK, but we'd been to most and would have preferred some variety.  I think the worst, and all of my gang agrees, was Roatan.  I think that if offered on future cruises, we'll probably not take them.  Labadee was good, as usual as were Jamaica and was Cozumel.  Costa Maya was a pleasant surprise and very enjoyable, even though all we did was peruse the shops.  The flying Mayans show in the square was outstanding.

Great Cruise

+ + + + +

excellent sport in ifly, flowrider.... 

these guys are motivated and perfekt

Servicepersonal in restaurants is also good

Diving in good and save quality - no stress 


MINUS

fruits are green, there are no actual fruit as Mangos, Papayas ....etc

also the food itself is going down in quality on this ship (compare to other Royal ships) 

     - if you pay every day additional the food is OK

cabin service poor and lousy

the excursion service sell you transportation which do not exist

diving is too expensive

the cabin service charge you with minibar after the cruise which you have not taken

(invoice on board after cruise Ok, invoice which you get per mail after cruise charge you with minibar) there is no contact on invoice where you can clear the problem!

Look what you get charged -

it seams the cruise line give you % or PROMO (mostly over the agent), but add the part which been reduced afterwards on tax - so the PROMO is no PROMO or the % are not given in true

Result - we as Crown and Anchor member - will change the cruise line, 

I do not trust Royal Caribbean anymore. I feel burned.

Bad Cruise

We are retired and like to cruise twice a year.  RCCL is our favorite ship line and this cruise was on the Anthem of the Seas.  We had excellent service in the Coastal Kitchen I  say excellent because I have stomach issues but in this restaurant I was fine.  They worked with me.  Christa made sure everyone was well taken care of food wise!

We also had the pleasure of meeting the Godmother of the Freedom of the Seas who was on this cruise.  Louise and her husband otherwise known as he who sleeps with the Godmother,  fostered disabled and terminally ill children in fact over 400!  I so admire her.

The Captain on the Anthem is extremely friendly, don't know who was steering the ship as he was all over the ship! Okay I do know there is no steering wheel!!!  

Do not want to address the elevators!  Out of Service was on at least one elevator which makes it very annoying when one can't take the stairs due to knee issues!

Our group of four had a great cruise.

Request;  Need 3way mirror for bedroom, clothes line in bath!

GREAT CREW, CAPTAIN, AND FOOD!

We are Diamond Plus at 536 cruises.  Embarkation & disembarkation went smoothly.

Our second time on Anthem, We chose this cruise because it leaves from  Bayonne,NJ. , thus no need to fly cuts down on added expense.  We were in a Grand Suite-12646. It was very well appointed.  Location on ship could not have been better.  We ate quite often in Coastal Kitchen, the dining room designated for Suite guests.  It was amazing! Service was impeccable.  Our server-Christa- was beyond excellent.  She greeted us by our first names, and always had our choice of beverage ready.  Miranda- DR hostess - was always pleasant & efficient.  The food was always to our liking. We were very pleased with our Dining in Coastal.  A couple of nights we did dine in the Grand.  Unfortunately, it was very disappointing.  Server was running around, had way too many tables to efficiently care for any of them. We dined in Chic one night.  This was ok.  Just ok.  

The Ship is beautiful.  We have been on all the Oasis class ships, and I must say that we prefer the size of Anthem.(Quantum class). Easy to maneuver.  Lots of pool space. Easy to get seats.

Shows /entertainment were great. We normally don't do shore excursions, but decided to do one since we have never been to Roatan,Honduras.  It was Mayan Princess beach break.  It was very disappointing! And Not  cheap$$. Place was run down and country very poor!

Lunch (included) was scary.  We wished we had remained on the ship.

We are booked again on Anthem in February.  Different itinerary.  No shore excursions for sure.  

The Captain was very visible. Always floating around the ship. Spoke to us numerous times during our cruise.

We love Anthem

Chose it because we wanted to try the Quantum size ship.  It was very beautiful and high tech but we feel for all the passengers, there were not near enough elevators to accommodate all the people.  Always waiting for elevators and walking long distances to get from one place to another.  Did not mind the rotating dining rooms, however, did not like the choice of the Silk dining room 4 nights out of a 12-nite cruise.  Lucky if I eat chinese two times a year.  Entertainment was terrific....enjoyed We will Rock You, The Gift and Sprectra's Caberet.  Still like going to a show after early or late seating....not making reservations for shows.   Biggest problem is the swimming pool.  Ship staff never does anything about their "Pool Rules".   You can never get a chair because people save chairs from early morning and sometimes don't come back for 6 hours or more.     The pool attendants did nothing as far as removing towels or stopping all the kids from running and jumping into pool (1st rule of your ship).  Rules apparently are made to be broken as RCCL does nothing to follow up on their rules.

Beautiful ship, however, way too big.

Went last year on Liberty of the Sea and had a fabulous time so we wanted to go on another cruise with Royal Caribbean again.  The ship is new, clean, gorgeous art work, delicious food, wonderful personnel who always were helpful. Our waiter Anoop and his assistant Carlos were great, and the head waiter Isabel was helpful beyond belief.  Isabel came to my table every night to help me plan low sodium dinners for the next night. We had dynamic dining, and all the food was terrific and the 4 restaurants were gorgeous.  The art on the ship was spectacular.    

My husband did a lot of research of the ports we would be visiting, and we had been to Cozumel previously, but I didn't know too much about the history of the ports, but I did know Haiti has been having a lot of problems recovering from their recent hurricane.  I just went off the ship and we looked around, bought some things for my granddaughter, and enjoyed the scenery.  

Oh, yes, the ship was wonderful, we never felt it rocking, and even the elevators seemed like they weren't moving.  I didn't have to take any medicine for seasickness, which is very important.  We all enjoyed the trivia on the ship, although there were so many activities that conflicted with dinner, trivia, and shows,   Will you consider having bridge instruction in the future?  We love the Cruise Compass Brochure, and the morning show with Drew Pavlov and his friend were also helpful.  We would have wanted more TV shows, and I noticed that the some of my favorite shows were on but they were in Spanish.

12 day cruise on Anthem of the Seas

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