Just did a 12 night southern Caribbean cruise. We had a great time, and the six islands we visited were fantastic. This was our second time on Anthem.Our cabin was a tight fit for 3 people (we brought our 30 year old daughter). Other than that, the cabin was nice enough, though we noticed some dents in one of the walls and the plumbing in the bathroom was super noisy (more so than usual). The ship still looks great, but she can use that dry dock coming up next year. Dining was better than last time we were aboard. The food has improved and most notably the pizza is now really good. Dinner at Chops was a treat. We loved the crew -- everyone was super nice. Our cabin attendant was very nice and our waiter and assistant waiter were among the best we've ever had. "We Will Rock You" is still great, "The Gift" still mystifies half the audience; We didn't bother with Spectra's Cafe. "The Modern Gentlemen," a singing group, did a couple of shows -- they were excellent. We'll do this itinerary again. Read Less

This cruise was my 2nd cruise. I was hooked after last year on the Allure. We chose to leave from Bayonne on the Anthem because we liked the ports of call. The first port was Puerto Rico, I wanted to go to a shop called The Butterfly People. I hadn't been there in many years and I wanted a new piece of their work. They were closed but luckily the owner was coming out the door and let us in to purchase some things. St. Maarten was next, we saw the airplanes fly over the beach but my favorite stop was the antique carousel in the mall. Antigua was next, we spent the day at the beach and had lunch. St. Lucia was beautiful. We toured the sites and saw a beautiful church and went to the beach. Barbados was a 3 beach tour, had a lot of fun with the tour guide. Last but not least St. Kitts. another favorite of mine. Having been there before we decided to take the train tour. WOW...the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Our cabin was on the 3rd deck with an ocean view and even though we had choppy seas for a couple of days, we had no problems. We had most of our meals in the American Icon Restaurant. From the moment we approached the podium for reservations until we left the dining room we were treated like family. The food and service was the BEST!!! Activities were there for anything you wanted to do. We missed IFLY but will do it on our November cruise. Shows were good. Cruise director Dennis and Hannah were great! Read Less

This was my second cruise and my wife's 5th one. Starring with the good things about the cruise. We had the drinks package and it covered everything including Starbucks drinks, the wine by the bottle is discounted as they say. The bar staff were always polite and friendly. Our room (outside balcony) was amazing and very well maintained by Gabriel. We often took drinks back to the room as not a problem. The ship was maintained however needs some decor repairing. Now the bad parts. Royal Caribbean has changed from its formal dining to separate dining rooms. I found the menus to be the same at each of the restaurants and menus didn't change much. I found the staff to be unhelpful and times very rude. The main thing that really upset us both was when we had a genuine complaint and a serious complaint that could of endangered both of our lives and other people on a tour organised by royal Caribbean. I spoke with the main desk and explained my complaint however the said it was the excursions department that I needed to speak with. The next day I went to see them and was told by one of the staff, after explaining the seriousness of my complaint and health and safety of us and fellow cruise guests. Was told you are only getting 25% of your fee back. I asked to speak with the manager who took me to one side and said that's all your getting. I was amazed that how he spoke with me and hadn't even took into consideration the danger of what we was put through on our tour. So I said, you are not bothered are you and only bothered about the money. He replied that's all we are willing to give you and walked off. A manager of royal Caribbean. After that I realized over the next few days he was right, royal Caribbean constantly wanted to sell you something but didn't want to give anything back. I'm waiting for this particular tour to injure someone ( I do hope not ) but if it does, I will be the first to say. You didn't listen to your customers. So sad this one person has made our cruise a little upsetting. Good job the Knickerbocker in NYC knows how to do 5* Read Less

My husband and I always choose Royal Caribbean and love the longer cruises , 9 to 12 days. We had a great time on this cruise from start to finish. We were traveling with my husband's brother and his wife. We boarded at Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ. Everything went smoothly. Very short wait. We had lunch pre-reserved at chops grille. It was too early for our reservation when we boarded, so we went to sit pool side and we were greeted by Prince Charles. He turned out to be our favorite pool side attendant for the 12 days. It was always fun in the neighborhood when he was present. We also had the pleasure of seeing him working in the Royal Theatre. Always professional and friendly. Our next stop was Chops Grille for lunch. Service was a little slow probably due to first day. We had the filet mignon which was cooked to perfection and was tender and delicious. We had a muster drill aboard the ship..our station was Jaime's Italion which was quite crowded and was a glitch in the safety film being shown. Speaking of Jamie's Italion..We ate lunch there the next to the last day. It was fantastic from appetizers to desert. Will definitely be going there again next cruise. Our waiter was great, unfortunately I can't remember his name. Our cabin was on deck 10. A special shout out to our room attendant ANAK WIJAYA. We had a balcony stateroom that was immaculate and all our needs were met. As all the staff on Anthem, he was friendly and professional. We had our dinners in the MDR. We had the greatest staff in the Grande ,table 338. FATIMA the head waiter was attentive to everyone's needs. She made sure she stopped at all her tables in the area to greet everyone and see if any concerns. EVERTON our waiter and RAYNOLD our assistant waiter were excellent. After the first night, they had our likes and dislikes and were able to meet all our needs ( without us even having to ask). They were both friendly, professional and fun. We looked forward to dinner every night. We had breakfast and lunch at the Windjammer and had the pleasure of seeing FATIMA and RAYNOLD there also. They were working hard as usual. We also enjoyed all the headliner shows and the show Spectre Cabaret in 270 and the play We will Rock You in the Royal Theatre. We were on anthem before, so saw Spectre and We Will Rock You before. We loved them as if we were seeing for first time. They were Great! One of the headliner shows in the Royal Theatre was Ronn Lucas a ventriloquist. My husband Brian was the "dummy." My family and I could not stop laughing. ( My husband was a good sport about it.) It was a night to remember. Before i end my review, I can't forget to give a shout out to bar attendant UPENDRA in Boleros. My family and I love Sangria and Boleros was the only place we could find it. (Although Prince Charles made sure we had in Royal Theatre). Upendra made sure we got our Sangria before and with dinner. He even made sure he had delivered to MDR on evenings we had no time to stop at Boleros before dinner. He definitely went above the call of duty and made our cruise extra special. Last but not least a shout out to our CD Dennis Charles and activities director Hannah. They did a great job. Look forward to seeing them in the future. We can not wait to cruise again!! The only complaint we did have was, We were talked into an all you can eat surf and turf at Chops Grille (filet mignon and lobster tails). We were approched in Sorrentinos to purchase. We figured would try again because food was good first day. Again the service was slow, and we had to look for waiter to give us coffee with dessert. The main course was buffet style. The filet mignon was very rare and we were afraid to eat it and the lobster tails were stuffed. The tails had more stuffing then lobster meat. Was definitely not worth the money. However, the cruise itself was fantastic and as I said before can't wait to cruise again. I hope this review was helpful to someone. Read Less

I loved this ship everyone on it was so nice, The service was amazing! if you have never cruised RCC do it you will meet some cool people and have a blast. I loved st kits of the most beautiful islands I have been on. if you don't like to wait or want to have some nice extras I would say get the KEY it cost 19.99 a day if you get it on sale, other wise it 24.99 a day. I will get it every time I am on a RCC cruise I loved having wifi it was so nice being able to talk to my family while I was away, plus we got on the ship very fast and have a grate lunch at chops grill. I had the best meal of my life and wonderland the food looked great and tasted amazing! I only have one complaint and that is American icon the restaurant just doesn't run well the servers and good just takes a long time to eat, Silk is grate though Malcom dose a grate job the food was always timed right not to fast or slow. Read Less

This was the 12 day Southern cruise. Filthy ship! The room was disgusting a balcony room! The bathroom had mould in the shower and near the sink! We had to buy our own tissue at port the room didn't have any. The room attendant didn't do a good job cleaning! Basically all he did daily was make the bed and give us fresh towels! I had to tell him after a week please change the sheets and the bed is hard as a rock! Balcony was filthy from previous guests! The carpet in the room looked like it had never been cleaned! Not our first cruise this was number 13 but we will stick with other cruise lines. We both got very ill from the AC in the room the vents were full of 2 inches of dust! Throughout the whole ship it was just very dirty not what we are used too. Buffet area was dirty along the edge of the windows old food crumbs and stains! We both got some kinda bug on this ship and talking to numerous people we were not alone! Might have been because it was a filthy ship! We wiped down everything in our cabin upon arrival. Food in the buffet was gross by day 5 they kept putting out the same food just reheated yuck! We saw them put out the same white rice day after day for 4 nights and by day 3 it had turned a nasty yellow colour from being reheated too often! Just gross! Entertainment was a snooze fest in the evenings. Speciality restaurants, we tried Jamies that was the best service and food on the ship! The steak place was meh, service and food was not worth the money! Shopping on this ship is a joke, no selection and prices were insane! Lots of staff were getting off for vacation when this cruise was done so they were not too interested in working much! Overall this was the worst cruise ever and its the second time with RCCL and last! We paid quite a bit for this cruise and it was like throwing away money! The solarium was packed everyday could never find seats and towel hogs throughout the whole ship and they really did nothing about it. Pool water was very cold. Save your hard earned money and try another cruise! Read Less

I chose this cruise as I was celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary and also my birthday within 2 weeks of each other, so was able to have one in New York and the other onboard the ship. It also meant that we could visit both New York and the Caribbean in one holiday cutting out unnecessary long flights, This is now the largest ship I have traveled on and the 12 nights seemed a lot longer. The ship was still fairly new looking and clean, but not very homely looking - it seemed almost clinical and sadly did not have any great character. It was clean and tidy and everything was amazing. The solarium upstairs at the front was very busy. Had a couple of goes on the bumper cars, In fact just about everyone on the bumper cars was an adult! Had 3 goes in the North Star which doesn't operate if docked near an airport for that reason. The entertainment was top notch and the shows both in the main theatre (we Will Rock You and The Gift) and in 270 (Spectra's Cabaret) at the rear require booking in advance onboard, but run for more than one show. There was so much going on and so much to do that there was little time to rest and I felt I needed another holiday afterwards - had 2 days in New York before flying back to avoid spending the last day stuck at JFK. The Cruise Director was Dennis Charles and I met him a few times and he is a really nice bloke and got involved with many of the activities around the ship. Entertainments Manager was Hannah of Wales who I last met on the Indy a few years back and we had a good chat about that, In all, the staff aboard were all very kind and professional. Now for the only bad part. It may be just me and my wife, but we had a few issues with the dinning. Well just one major issue, Silk. This restaurant was not up to the standard of RCI's other restaurants and we had to complain. Firstly the staff on the first occasion seemed to rush us and slammed the cutlery and dishes down on our table. On the second occasion the food was not up to the same standard as we were used to before, and more importantly, not up to the same standard as the other restaurants on board the same ship. The third and final visit ended where as Diamond members, we get complimentary drinks during Diamond happy hour times and asked the waiter for a sparkling wine and explained we were Diamond and gave them our cards. Firstly they did not understand what we were asking for and wanted to bring us sparkling water. In the end we settled for a white zinfindal (which is included in happy hour). Later when checking our bill on the TV we found that Silk had charged us for a brand of Champagne that we had not had, nor had we signed for. I went to guest relations who rectified the error, but could not explain how we were charged for something we had not ordered or signed for. We had no such issues with our happy hour drinks in any of the other restaurants. Also, for Diamond members, the Diamond Lounge did get very full and they opened up the bar next door as a overspill every night, so there was plenty of room for the members. The Schooner Bar had a great entertainer (adult comedy I must point out) and we spent a few nights listening to Rick Yees perform some great songs. There was a issue with cheating at the quizzes. The prizes are only key rings and pens, but some people were caught with answers the had obtained from the previous cruise as they were doing back to back and the staff were aware of this and handed out prizes to the runners up. It is a bad thing that people behave like this, but also it would help if RCI either alternated the questions each cruise or allowed their staff to write their own questions.I point this out as several guests got into arguments with staff about this issue, some going to guest relations, others having direct words with the Cruise Director. This is supposed to be a bit of fun, but could have ended up with guest being dis-embarked (if you read the small print in the Guest Policy paperwork). Other than this, the behaviour of the guests was very very good and everyone got on great and we all had a good time aboard. We visited 6 islands and we have been to them all several times before so only did 1 trip with the ships tours. First port of call was San Juan. We got in about 3pm so was limited here. Went to the place that made the first Pina Coladas and had a few there before walking (staggering) around the town and back to the ship for dinner, Next day we arrived at St Maarten. The first thing we did as usual was get in the local bus (found on the street that has Tiffany's and Pandora) and set off for Maho beach which is a 30 minute drive for a few US doillars. Watched the planes come and go and had a few Rum Punches at the bar at the end of the beach that now charges you a dollar for the toilets. Next day we were at Antigua. Last time we were here we took a local tour bus to Nelson's harbour at the other end of the island going through the rain forest for about $20 dollars and the time before that we did the helicopter tour to Montserrat. This time we simply had a brief walk around St John's and then got back on the ship and enjoyed a lot of the ship whilst people were ashore. Next day (the main reason for the cruise) St Lucia. We got married here 10 years ago and this cruise was the closest we could get to being back there as it was cheaper to fly to New York, stay there for 3 days, take this cruise and have 2 more days there afterwards than having a 10 day holiday on the island. Just shows you what value you get from the cruise ship when you compare the prices with a land based hotel. We took the only trip with the ship here, and that was to do the Zip Wire next to the Pitons. Something we could not have done by ourselves, The $125 each it cost us was well worth is as we had a nice boat ride with Rum on the way back thrown in. Next day we arrived at Barbados. It was a Sunday so most places were closed. We found a nice bar and had some nice drinks there before getting a taxi back to the ship for $10. The last port of call was St Kitts. We paid the locals $25 dollars each for a full island tour that took over 2 hours and was well worth the money. Ended up at the top of a mountain with great views, 3 sea days followed going back to New York (well Bayonne) and the weather was very good for the first two, so plenty of sunning it. We did not have a drinks package for this cruise. This is because as we are Diamond members, we get a free bar between 1630 and 2000 every day and were going to be either off ship for most of the cruise or involved in onboard activities where a clear head is best, Lastly, The port of Bayonne is a pain to get to if you are not a driver. back in 2014 when I last sailed out of this port I made the mistake of taking the Staten Island Ferry and then paying for a taxi to the ship which resulted in a fare of $100 due to closures on the Bayonne Bridge and tolls and taxes. This time I did some homework and instead took the PATH train from outside Macys' at 33rd st to Hoboken for £3 each, then the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to 34th St in Bayonne for £2.25 each. I had arranged through our hotel for Archies Cabs to pick us up from there and take us the mile or so to the ship. This cost $15 and I gave the driver £20 as he bypassed the massive queue near the ship and dropped us off the employees area 100m from the terminal. Getting back into New York was a different story as we could not use our phone for a taxi, so had to wait for one. The problem here is that no-one wants to take us a mile when there are fares to JFK and Newark to be made. In the end small bus turned up and took us for $10 and then we simply got the trains back to New York. Hope this helps with anyone planning a trip on this ship from Bayonne. The cruise ship does offer transfers for about $36 per person which will mount up if you have kids and New York taxi drivers do not like taking you into New Jersey due to tolls and again this can mount up. The train is the cheapest. It is just a shame that the authorities have not put into place the infrastucture for either a branch line into the port from 34th st or constructed a monorail or sorts as this port is not very easy to get to unless you have a car which is not really what anyone visiting from the UK is likely to use for this purpose. Read Less

After 2 days in NY we went to the harbor taking an Uber to embarkation. Sadly, there was huge traffic and it took us 45 min for the last mile or so. Embarkation itself went very smoothly and in around 15 min we were able to be on the ship. What didn't work that well was that the suitcases were put "somewhere" into the hallway and not delivered to the correct cabin, everyone had to search for them. Our suitcases seemed to be the last ones anyway and I was lucky to spot them in the crew-area when a door was open... European cruise lines are doing a better job in this regard! The layout of the cabin and bathroom was quite good actually. Also the balcony was decent enough, although tables for room service seem to become smaller each cruise. (PS: this is my 3rd cruise). The biggest problem was that the cabin was disgusting and merely cleaned. Most edges and not completely obvious spots were filthy. We had to use around 30 (!) lysol wipes, which were black afterwards. The cabin steward just commented that the last cruise had problems with the A/C and so the occupants left the balcony doors open. Great excuse for a lot of dust... Our dining experience was better than expected. The Windjammer marketplace (buffet restaurant) stood out as extremely well designed with redundant counters and good seating opportunities (better that my previous cruise experiences). Only thing I found strange was that it was very very difficult to find proper bread in the morning. Nearly only sweet stuff at the bread station. At noon the "real bread" came out; i just guess this is the American way of breakfast. The main restaurant for seated dining was quick, and flexible MyTime Dining worked well. After nearly 2 weeks, dinner choices somehow became repeatable but it was still above average. Servers and dining staff sometimes looked very sad somehow, but I guess it is a difficult job. They were never unfriendly to guests as far as I can tell. Specialty restaurants: - Wonderland is cool with its imaginative cuisine. Some really interesting dishes. But: at the beginning you get an invisible menu with the dishes. Then the waiter comes and tells you, this is just for show, asks some questions regarding allergies and wants you to forget the "dislikes" because: he brings you what he wants anyway. He said we should order 2 main dishes. He brought all 3. Bit of a waste to be honest. it was really good, but you went out stuffed. - Jamie's Italian: Dinner quality was very good but I still left the venue completely disappointed. They have a wine menu where around half of the wines - of course ALL the cheapest ones - are NOT available. NO house wine either. the only Rosé? You guessed it: Nope. I mean this is a complete and utter joke. When I asked about this idiocy because I was furious by then, they said, this has been this way for 2 years (!!!!) but a change is planned for March. Very comforting. They got some wine out of the adjacent wine bar afterwards, but whoever thinks there was anything complementary about it: negative again. This venue alone cost this cruise -1 point for dining. - Chops Grille: great steakhouse, nothing to add! - Izumis: sushi venue, we haven't tried that. Looked cool, but the restaurant is "open", so everyone passing by is quite close, I wouldn't have felt too comfy there. Room service costs around 8$ per order: you can take what you want and our first order went out of control, because we thought it would be small portions :D. Breakfast in the room was a horrible experience to be honest: we ordered for 08:30 to 09:00 am, it came at 08:15 (naturally, we were woken up...). The order was COMPLETELY mixed up. Every tea other than the one I ordered, wrong juices, missing eggs (which cost extra btw!), hash browns instead of bacon, oatmeal missing, but cinnamon and raisins (???). I was extremely disappointed. PS: between 3 and 5 pm, it is rather difficult to find something to eat. The restaurants are closed (preparing for dinner and probably the staff is eating something too) and only 3 venues on the Royal Esplanade offer some bites (Pizza, Sweets, small appetizers). Drinks packages are really pricy. For the first time, we didnt take the big one because we didnt want to get wasted everyday, just to make the package worth it. It took some time to find the best spots for water bottles, because at 0.5 liters per bottle you are going to look for water quite often. Beer and other drinks are all around 9-15 $ each, which seems overpriced in my opinion. However, when you find yourself talking to other guests, it is possible to find someone with a package and they often "buy" you a drink. The WiFi package was certainly worth the price and the best I have ever experienced on a ship. The huge downside was that I found myself having A LOT of disconnects (around 10 sec every 4 minutes), this was really a pattern. I have no idea what the reason was, no one could help or solve this. also the Royal-IQ-App had its problems, on 6 days the cruise planner didn't work. Still: Best WiFi so far, when it was up, it was really nice. Entertainment was okay. Lawrence from Canada was the coolest guy on the entertainment team with a lot of dry humor under our Cruise Director Hannah (who was very annoying, because she made speaker announcements all the time...). Sadly, a lot of trivia staff was bored and not making a lot of fun or anything. We saw 2 shows, We will rock you was cancelled due to rough seas on the first days and they left the ship early in our cruise: - "Spectra's Carbaret", which is visually fascinating using robotic screens and making great use of the Cafe 270, but this is the only positive thing to say. It was way too loud, I could not really understand "what" was going on (story?) and the drag queen moderator was also mediocre fun at best (and I am gay, so I am not against drag queens...). - However, the second show "The Gift", was great and I couldnt understand why the theater was only half occupied. Great actors, a nice storyline, breathtaking music... I am still delighted when I think back. Shore excursions We did 3 excursions, action packed only (speed boat, ATV, segway), and we were very happy with our experience. Professionally executed, fun guides and the schedules were kept perfectly (no delays or anything). High prices, but high promises were fulfilled too. Annoying was, that the ports were always filled with diamond shops and other stuff. You couldn't save yourself from coupons in the cruise program and "deals" everywhere. The ship itself was good, overall. I like big ships so this was my biggest so far. Here a list of plus and minus: + Multi-Purpose venues like music hall, Cafe 270 and most notably SeaPlex are extremely intelligent in their use. This is still fascinating when I think back. Like a gym, where the court could be used for volleyball, basketball, football, trapeze exercises, bumper cars (!!!) and much more. the upper level has table tennis (although tables were not the best anymore, some people seem to treat them horribly), xBox lounge, and some other stuff. + enough sun chairs + fun and unique experiences like the sky-diving simulator + 16+ area without kids + I really enjoy the "self-checkout", packing the suitcase the night before is just so much more of a hurry. - Spa experience (grooming) was also underwhelming. First of all, it was bait and switch, since I reserved a time slot with explicit reference to an offer in the daily program. After the treatment the Indian guy just said: "Well i did much more and you liked it". Also, the spa was less comfy than on other ships. A light spot directly overhead nearly blinded me. - only 2 staircases and elevator areas. I was used to 3 staircases (aft, midship, bow) even on smaller ships but not here here. Naturally, waiting times for elevators at rush hour are huge. American guests, which were about 80% on this cruise, are less likely to use the stairs too, and I saw A LOT of those "cars" driving around for people who were not good at their feet. So every other elevator ride was with carts and 2 of those nearly fill up an elevator. - no loud speakers for crew announcements in the cabins. even the "alarm" is nearly inaudible in the cabin. So, in case of emergency I think this is worrying. In case of a cruise director constantly babbling from 7 or 8 am onwards it was a relief. around 100 german speaking All-in-all it was a decent cruise, not too bad but I had higher expectations to be honest. Probably the last Royal Caribbean cruise in a while. I was fascinated by the huge ships but somehow the "magic" is gone now. Read Less

Beds are horrible hard as a rock and cheap toppers used which sag and sink in. Dirty bathrooms throughout the ship. Music is terrible with the same band night after night. Show was x-rated with filthy language not suitable for children or families. Drink package for soda is cheap syrup fountain drinks no cans. Higher priced drink package is horrible foreign teas at Starbucks and cheap bottled water. Handicapped beware of Northstar they will weigh you and make you transfer into their wheelchair and humiliate you while beer bellied passengers well over 300 lbs are ignored and not weighed. Selective enforcement of rules. No chairs to sit on for handicapped in the solarium. Solarium adult pool is only 2 feet deep what a joke. Food allergies were ignored and special medical needs ignored in the dining room. Handicapped passenger was violently sick from their ignoring medical problems. Cruise entertainment director Hannah should be fired. Catered to English passengers and lousy bands and music onboard. Worse cruise ever couldn't wait to get off the ship. And no compensation or refund offered by royal carbbean. Read Less

Overall, we rate this cruise very good. The Anthem is the largest ship we’ve ever cruised on, and there were pros and cons, some fixable and some not. On the plus side: despite carrying 4400 passengers, the ship didn’t feel crowded most of the time. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly. There were three elaborately staged shows. There were four venues offering live music in the evenings (Latin, rock, folk, and a piano bar). There were numerous food options. There was no shortage of lounge chairs on the outside decks. On the negative side: the ship only had two elevator banks and, depending on your location, it could be a long hike to the elevator. There were also some maintenance problems. Once, we were briefly stuck in an elevator, another time it passed our stop because the button didn’t register our floor. We spoke to other guests who also had problems with the elevators. The music venues were over-crowded at night. The heavy—and not even very comfortable chairs—didn’t provide enough seating. Smaller, lighter chairs would go a long way to better use of the space. There was too much nickel-and-diming. Other ships we’ve been on (Norwegian, Holland America) had free snacks poolside all day. The Anthem has a Johnny Rockets with an upcharge. There were free hotdogs on deck 16 forward (a long walk from the pool) or free pizza inside down on deck 4. Drinks were expensive, $13 for a mixed drink, $9 and up for glass of wine. There were considerable upcharges for specialties in the main dining room. And $8.25 for a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, really! Anthem has an attractive “promenade” in the middle of deck 4, but every night it was cluttered with “sale” merchandise. This reduced the flow of traffic—from the dining room to the theater—to single file. Ship: Anthem has with outdoor and indoor pools and a “solarium,” also indoors with hot tubs and wading pool. Although chairs at a premium on outdoor pool, ample chairs on the sun deck above, and some shady spots for those who wanted it. On the first and last day the indoor pools crowded. Food: My wife had some dietary issues and here the Anthem excelled, accommodating her needs. Chef Kumar twice came out to talk to her, and our head waiter, Alex, made sure she was taken care of. Twice he personally brought her a pre-ordered dinner up to the Windjammer. Overall the quality of food was good but not exceptional. We didn’t eat in the specialty dining rooms, which had a steep surcharge, higher than other cruise lines we've been on.. We mostly ate in the dining room, but used the Windjammer for dinner a few nights. Sometimes the quality of food on the buffet was better than the dining room and the variety was certainly greater. The dining room menu offered little variety. Only one new soup, salad, and dessert each night. There were usually three new entrees each night. Breakfast service in the dining room was slow and the omelets fresher at the buffet. The Windjammer has real sinks for hand washing before entering the buffet, which is much better than just the hand sanitizer, but they weren’t cleaning the sinks frequently enough. Entertainment: there were three reservations-only shows: “We Will Rock You” and “The Gift” each had an energetic cast of twenty- four, elaborate staging, and a live band. The former was two hours and the latter about an hour. It was hard to follow the plot of “The Gift.” “Spectra,” performed in the 270 cabaret space, which didn’t really have enough seats, was an hour show with an energetic cast and impressive display of computer graphics, but we couldn’t see the point of the show at all. The impersonator, magician, and juggler were excellent. The Beatles impersonators was first rate and SRO. An A Cappella group did some good numbers and displayed an amazing ability to mimic musical sounds. On the last night the group showed up in the piano bar and did several impromptu numbers with the pianist. Ports: In San Juan and St. John’s we could walk right into town. In most other ports there are a cluster of jewelry/liquor/souvenir shops right at the pier and needed some transport to main town. We booked our own excursions, about half price of ship’s excursions. Highlights were Harrison’s Cave in Barbados and Brimestone Hill Fort (UNESCO heritage site) in St. Kitts. Both would be a big hit with kids. Read Less

My sister and I were celebrating our birthdays. We had visited the ports before but were excited to see how things had changed and to experience Royal Caribbean's lofts and luxury. The loft was nice and worth the added expense, but the royal genie turned a good cruise into an excellent cruise. Her attention was not intrusive but always on target. She anticipated our needs, provided assistance and addressed any concerns that occurred throughout the cruise. Dining in each venue was a blend of good food and excellent service Entertainment was excellent. Shows and venues were outstanding. Shore excursions were overpriced and very poorly organized. Many online and brochure descriptions were deceptive. Barbados was the only port where excursion meeting places were clearly designated and easy to find. The lack of shore excursion staff on the piers to provide assistance added to the chaos. The port is a nightmare. Traffic congestion and gridlock turned a short commute from the Newark Airport Hilton into a long, oppressive endurance trial. Thankfully the hotel provided a reasonably priced shuttle that was comfortable. Bus and taxi lanes would have helped. Personnel was almost rude outside the terminal. They refused to listen and redirected my party from our assigned embarkation meeting place and insisted that I go through the "cattle call" inside the terminal. Star class status with all the great amenities made this a memorable cruise. If Anthem had an aft elevator, I would consider it my cruise ship of choice over some of the luxury lines I have enjoyed in the past. However, the long walk to access midship and forwsrd elevators is a major concern and a major deterrent to fully accessing all that Anthem has to offer. Read Less

We arrived to the port early. We beat the traffic and had a minimal wait before being allowed on board. We had lunch booked for Jamie's at 1:00pm but switched it for noon when we got on board. I highly recommend this. Not only were we the only people in Jamie's, the food was delicious, and it beats how hectic the Windjammer can get the first day. It was a relaxing, fun way to kick off our trip and our waiter, Octavian was incredible. Our room was ready after our lunch and Muster drill shortly after that. The crew: I can't say enough about the crew on this ship. Everyone we encountered was friendly, helpful, hardworking, and nothing short of amazing. Our room steward, Edward, was wonderful. Very friendly. We chatted on occassion and loved bumping into him and other workers on the 12th floor! Such a great bunch of guys! Our waiter, Elizabeth, and assistant waiter, Deepak, were by far my favorite of any ship I've sailed on. Anyone would be lucky to be seated in their section. Very attentive and constantly went above and beyond to give us the best dining experience every night. Not only that but they were so friendly and genuine. Really awesome people. We didn't eat in the Windjammer often but when we did, I was constantly amazed and awed by how attentive the staff was. Please wash your hands before entering! Entertainment: Spectra's was our favorite. A very fun show to watch. We also really enjoyed Vocal Extreme and the comedians. WWRY wasn't my cup of tea, but a lot of people seemed to like it. And it's impressive and clear how hard the performers work to put on a show like that. Royal Swedes and DSB played on our ship. Unfortunately, unless you arrived pretty early, no seats were really available. We tried going once to these shows but gave up. They played often during the 12 nights but we decided to keep busy with other things. Too crowded and I didn't feel like arriving 30 minutes or more to an event to get a seat. Cruise Compass: We loved trivia. And they had it often. It wasn't always listed as trivia. Sometimes it would just say, staff activity. Some trivia was busier than others. We tried arriving about 10 minutes prior to get a seat. On occassion we had to stand but we still stayed. A few people had to be told to put their phones away while playing, we thought it was foolish that they were trying to cheat. Regardless it was a lot of fun. We even participated in the scavenger hunt. There was definitely a nice range of activities. We really only participated in trivia, a scavenger hunt, and some of the late night entertainment. The guitarist in the pub was outstanding! Cabin: We had an interior on deck 12. We found it to be large enough. We didn't spend much time there. Plenty of storage room. We didn't even use all the space given! And the beds and pillows were great. We have a soft bed at home and had no trouble with the firmness of the bed in our room. Food: We ate mostly in the MDR. Breakfast was great as was lunch. We didn't miss a dinner there. Minus our first lunch at Jamie's, we didn't eat in any other specialty dining areas. Food is delicious elsewhere so we didn't see the need. Dinner in the MDR was great. I'm a vegetarian and was pleased with the options. My boyfriend, a foodie and a meateater, had a wonderful experience every night. He always had positive things to say about the food and he ordered and tried quite a bit! We did the Solarium for breakfast on occassion. We found it less busy. Sure, there is a limited selection, but there was still more than enough to choose from. Solarium/Pool decks: I knew before going on the ship that the pool deck and solarium can get pretty busy. I was even worried about "the chair hogs" I heard so much about. The nice thing about the chair hogs though is they tend to stay away from the top deck. It was pretty easy finding a spot to relax on the top deck. Usually toward the front or back of the ship. And it's quieter in those places too! Chair hogs also tend to disappear from each location, even the solarium, starting around 4. Some nights we had the Solarium and even the hot tubs all to ourselves. We thought it was silly to get up early to fight over loungers and pillows. Why do that when you can get the whole place to yourself in the evening? It's still unfortunate that some people feel the need to stake their claim over a whole row of chairs, but we found it easy to find other, better places to relax. Any time of the day. The itinerary is great. I was bummed to hear that Barbados is getting taken off the same cruise next year. Beautiful islands. We loved them all. Overall the ship is beautiful, fun, and we can't wait to go back on her. We were worried about the crowds but it was never really a huge problem. Only disappointment was some of the passengers. Only a tiny few. But they seemed to have forgotten their manners. Niceness goes a long way and it's unfortunate that people forget this. We didn't let this damper our trip and we still can't stop thinking about the awesome time we had onboard and off! We didn't buy the beverage package and didn't see the need. We were more than satisfied by the tea, water, lemonade, fruit juices, and coffee available. Getting off and on the ship was an absolute breeze. No stress for 12 full days. The Anthem is great. Read Less

Having sailed on the inaugural season of Quantum of the seas out of Bayonne we had decided to not sail out of NJ no matter how fun the ship could be. 4 years later we changed our minds knowing full well there would be a couple of cooler days. The Anthem has lots of activities and venues. The Seaplex for roller skating and bumper cars and circus school was busy on most days but not unmanageable. 2 indoor pools, lots of bars what's not to like! DINING The MDR service was exemplary every day took the time to offer recommendations daily and checking in regularly if we wanted additional helpings of anything(we didn't except Lobster tails) windjammer was busy everyday but again could always find a seat. Wonderland is a must do at some point for the culinary experience. ROOM Spacious balcony Deck 11 forward. More storage space than we could use. Friendly room attendant who was available when/if we needed anything. ACTIVITIES Daily trivia,nightly Broadway or other shows,Flowrider,rock climbing. Music hall for-well music(and bingo apparently) PORTS San Juan lots of stuff to do, including walking OSJ, Casa Bacardi, restaurants we went to Fortaleza street and chocolate Cortes just for somethi Antigua beach for every day of the year, snorkel and ocean kayaking for something different! St Maarten French and Dutch so can get great pastries, shopping and see the island going through its Hurricane recovery(it's going well) St Lucia Unesco site the Pitons, Marigot bay Barbados famous for sea turtles and beaches, favourite port in the Caribbean St Kitts and Nevis monkeys, beaches, shopping We like to snorkel and have in most of these ports so always looking for other activities too, on the cheap can rent a local taxi for a private tour. May leave from NJ again but it will probably be another 4 years just to have some variety and possibly different ships coming into Bayonne. Read Less

We chose the Anthem of the Seas because we could drive to the port. Loved the idea of a longer (12 days) cruise. It was going to 4 ports we had never sailed to. We had a junior suite with an extended balcony which we used a lot. The staff was amazing and so friendly. Loved the show We will Rock you. Enjoyed the technology and the performers in Spectra’s Cafe. Although a little too modern for my taste. Two 70 lounge was just spectacular. Lots of dinning options on the ship. The North Star, bumper cars, and Ifly were amazing. We scheduled everything online before boarding. We dined at Wonderland which was an experience. The food and service was top notched. Jamie’s Italian was just delicious. The layout of the ship was easy to navigate. Venues were not hard to reach. Can’t wait to go on this ship again. Read Less

We were not able to find affordable snow bird housing in Florida, so we took this cruise instead. We had no idea what to expect from the Anthem of the Seas, but as it turned out, she is a beautiful ship with numerous entertainment and dining venues and a great pool deck. The entertainment was much better than that of our previous cruises. You could go from one venue to another all evening. The productions were very interesting and entertaining. The voices of the performers in We Will Rock You were fabulous. There were plenty of daytime activities - especially on sea days. Service was top notch in all areas of the ship. The only disappointments we encountered were with the dining room menus that had been scaled back to the point of boredom over the past few years. Yes, the food is mostly good, but we've seen the same menus now on our past 3 cruises on three different ships. Johnny Rockets, unfortunately, was a take out only, but the shakes were still awesome. We also ate at the Solarium twice. The first time, my husband's meal (chicken skewers) was very dry. The second time, we had the best steaks ever on a ship! Unfortunately, the desserts looked lovely, but they were tasteless due to the absence of sugar. We had our desserts in the Windjammer instead. Speaking of the Windjammer, we had most of our meals there. The variety and quality of the food were very impressive. All in all, we had a great time and would definitely take this cruise again. Read Less

We chose this trip to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary and as a winter getaway. I was a little concerned with our choice after reading some of the past reviews. After our experience I am happy to report there was nothing to worry about. The ship has many different areas to please different tastes unless you are entirely too picky. We chose this ship and itinerary to avoid having to fly in any possible bad weather during February. We decided to drive ourselves to the port and park in the port garage. I know there were cheaper alternatives (off site or hotel parking) but we liked knowing that if we had any snow while we were gone we would not have to return and dig our car out. Embarkation: We arrived about 9:30 am and dropped our luggage off and found parking rather easy. There was a little backup around the parking entrance as some of the departing passengers were still awaiting pick up. A restroom was conveniently located between the parking garage and the entrance to the terminal. We breezed through check in as we had completed on line check in and went through security. We were directed to a general seating area. Announcements kept us aware of expected boarding times. They started the boarding process ahead of the anticipated time. We boarded with little trouble and enjoyed lunch in the solarium bistro. Staterooms: The staterooms were ready at 1 pm and we found our luggage ready at our door. Our stateroom attendant Christopher was top notch. He was friendly and helpful the entire trip. The room was nicely laid out, had plenty of storage and was always clean. I liked that the mini fridge was empty unless you requested something else. I had heard of bogus charges for mini bar items post departure. We did not find any issues with the elevators as we chose to take the stairs to help burn off all the additional calories. It gave us an opportunity to view all the different artwork in the stairwells too. Dining: We prefer to eat early and the regular early seating option was full. We chose my time dining and made reservations for an early time. We were directed to silk as the my time with reservations dining area. We dined there on the first 2 nights. We haven't cruised for a very long time and were more used to the large open dining rooms with a more leisurely pace. This was not the case. We felt that the dining room was smaller, crowded, and dark. The staff was required to almost run to meet the needs of the guests. The noise level was uncomfortable. This was not a major problem as we chose to eat in the windjammer for the remainder of the trip and LOVED it. The other guests talked of needing to eat in the main dining room for better food. The windjammer food quality was fabulous. We enjoyed the unending choices for food and the atmosphere suited us much better. The views from the windjammer were wonderful. The staff was attentive and helpful and had the time to speak with you. Venty and the rest of the windjammer staff made this restaurant a much more relaxed and enjoyable place for us. Even though we had different staff each day they still went out our their way to learn our names and what we liked to meet our needs. I understand that some prefer the wait staff attention of the dining room and that is what is great on this boat. Anyone can find something to suit their tastes. Entertainment: We saw most shows and enjoyed them all. The theater was our favorite venue with 270 as a close second. The Music Hall was okay but was closed a lot to hold the overflow diamond club affairs. It was also difficult to see what was going on from the upper level. Maybe they could add some video screens upstairs that you could see and not just hear what is happening. The game shows do not have the same entertainment value if you can't see them. Again we had no trouble finding a venue or entertainment that suited us. There was enough going on in areas we enjoyed to sweat what wasn't for us. Service: We had the drink package and enjoyed trying different drinks in different parts of the ship. Our favorite bar by far was the pool bar in the solarium. A big shout out to the bartenders: Raluca, Jamie, and Lyn were the most fun gang around. They had a following of guests that gathered to enjoy the atmosphere every day. Dailan from the beverage staff was also very helpful. He worked the pool area during the day and the theater area at night. We never needed to look far and he was ready willing and able to help. The only slightly off encounters with the thousand plus staff was the operator of the escape room as she thought we were trying to keep things from her (she actually yelled at us and did not apologize after she realized she was wrong) and one gentleman at the flow rider who had a dry sense of humor that was off putting. Shore Excursions: We chose shore excursions through Royal Caribbean at each port except Puerto Rico. We wanted the comfort of knowing that Royal had approved of these 3rd parties. I know some prefer to book privately and again to each his own. A couple on our cruise was disappointed that the person they chose did not show up to meet them for a trip they had reserved. We rode Rhino Riders in St Martin. We chose the kayak and snorkel adventure in Antigua. In St Lucia we traveled across the island to view the La Tille waterfall. In Barbados we did the turtle swim and shipwreck snorkel. We did a 4 wheeler trip with a beach stop in St. Kitts. All were wonderful. We would do this trip again in a heartbeat. Was absolutely everything flawless -no but 99.999% was and we are not the type to let one tiny thing upset a whole trip. This ship has something for everyone. If you don't like something go look somewhere else. Maybe you will find something you like better. Read Less

We choose this cruise to experience a bigger ship and to have some winter sunshine. From the moment we arrived at Bayonne every thing was as smooth as silk. Check in was fast, efficient and exciting. From the second our feet were on board we could see exactly where the millions and millions were spent on the ship. No expense spared here. As usual staff were outstanding, food excellent and service well just second to none. Every single staff member was so good at their jobs. All remembered our names and would always address us when we went into the restaurant and to the bars. Marco in the Pub is outstanding at his job and he works so hard. The staff in the bar 270 again fantastic at their jobs as were the Solarium bar staff. Jonathan our room Stewart is so good at his job. The trips we booked were all great. Thank you so much everyone you gave us a fabulous fabulous holiday that we won't ever forget. We are already booked again for a different cruise next year. Read Less

Most staff appeared to not know answers to simple questions. Unlike most ships there were very few passenger activities with staff. At 10 AM there was a ton of stuff to choose from. After that really nothing much. I thought it was just my impression. But two different passengers, actually held there own activity after the crew member left. Most (if not all) the people stayed for the next two passenger led activities. On a 12 day cruise. the first two days the staff had a solo get together for lunch. WOW that is great. I told Hanna of Wales, who was the person in charge of activities, what a great thing this was. I repeat they only did it the first two days!!! I also told the staff member who was there for the solos to get together. She said she will tell her boss. NOTHING HAPPENED. The staff in the speciality restaurants -(except Wonderland) were not very attentive. I waited forever to get my dessert. It appeared as the restaurants get busy, there was not enough staff. The ship itself (except for passenger activities) was the best I have been on. The cabins were large, the storage space amazing, the bathrooms had nightlights. There were many pools. The solarium was amazing. Several pools were lower than 5 feet. The ship was very safety conscious. They even had lifeguards. However the muster drill (probably where everyone got sick) had 500 people in a space meant for 50. The room where we met was really overcrowded. They (I think - couldn't really see) only showed the same video that was playing in our room. They never said were the life jackets were, or how to put them on. In an emergency the space where we met would have been pure panic. Oh leaving the ship - they screwed up the luggage. At least two groups were affected. Mine was they brought the luggage cart onto the port and left it there. It was not brought to the number, the plastic wrapping the luggage was still on. Another group found that too much luggage was given the same number, so they just places the pieces along the wall. In either case nobody told us this. Oh lets not forget that the balconies were never cleaned. The chairs had sand, the glass that you look through while sitting on the sandy chairs were filthy. After a week they hosed down the balconies -that only made things worse- I think. I liked the ship, driving while not cheap, it was very easy to get there. In St Lucia - there were some excellent excursions found on the port. Read Less

Part of a group of over a hundred radio station listeners. Two busloads. Embarkation was smooth once we got past the inevitable Port Liberty traffic jam. THis access road has been under construction for YEARS! They need to take a lesson from Baltimore. A very beautiful ship with a ton of amenities. So many activities. Ship is laid out nicely. A lot of people onboard but the crowds rarely impacted our days with the exception of the pool deck on sunny days and the Windjammer every day. Balcony cabin 10th floor starboard. Very nicely appointed. Bed and couch and chair were hard as stone. Be prepared if you like sleeping on a soft mattress. Attendant George was wonderful. Internet was terrible. The most complained about part of the group trip. Constant drop outs. Good for maybe checking your email during non peak hours, and good for absolutely nothing the rest of the time. RC should be ashamed to charge what they do for that god awful mess. Food in the main dining rooms was good. Not great, but good. I ate everything. Food at Jamie Oliver's was fantastic. If you only do one specialty restaurant, do Jamies. Izumi was very good, too. Room service breakfast was not good (how do you mess up continental breakfast? By forgetting stuff on the order multiple days. I suppose that when there is no service charge there is lesser service?) Biggest food surprises - the hot dogs at the dog cart next to the bumper cars. They were awesome! Best kept secret on the ship. And, dinner at the Solarium Bistro. It just seemed fresher and hotter and more custom. Perhaps because it's a smaller place. We ended up eating there 3 times (lobster special!). Also, the pizza at Sorrento's had some fans in our group. The Windjammer was the real disappointment. Lots of stations scattered around all serving the same thing made the traffic pattern a free for all. The food tasted like school cafeteria food, except for the custom stuff. The make your own pasta station was good, and the made to order omelets were good, too. But, geez RC - on a ship with 3,000 plus people can't you afford to have more than two chefs making omelets in the Windjammer? One morning I counted 16 people in line. Ridiculous. And not nearly enough seats. Why do people insist on sitting in the Windjammer during busy breakfast and lunch, and play cards at the table while other people are looking for a place to eat their meal? Also, you're sailing out of New York - how about getting some decent bagels! Bar staff was good everywhere we went. Schooner Bar was a favorite. Well done. And activities were well organized and fun. We had people do the Flowrider and the Eye and the whatever it's called when you get blown up in the air in that tube and float around. All were well liked. Shows were well liked, although older members of our group complained about the volume. All the ports were good. I've been to them all before so with most of them I got off the ship and did my own thing. St Lucia I did a ship excursion catamaran to the Pitons. Nice trip! I haven't been to St. Kitts for several years. Certainly the Most Improved Port on the cruise. Disembarkation was smooth. No issues. I've been cruising for 30 years. The big ships have some big advantages and are fantastic. RC has always had great staff and crews and always deliver a great experience. My only disappointment was the food. It's nowhere near as good as it used to be. RC you really need to up your game, especially in the Windjammer. It was not a pleasant experience. We did everything we could not to have to try and eat there. It was not enjoyable. You can do better. Read Less

my first ever cruise 2/3/19 12 night to the southern carribbean...my fiancee and myself, stephen had been on many before again this was my first cruise...i was in awe of how wonderful everything was....first impression so clean...then every crew member we/I encountered was helpful warm and could not do enough (yes i had broken my are 2 weeks prior to sailing and it was not going to stop me) but i truly believe the crew would have been wonderful either way...the food in the main dining room, windjammer, and all the other venues were superb (i am not a foodie)...the show we will rock you sooo good...in the pub brass n brock the acoustic guitarist was the best...(along with the fried pickles)...the pool and hot area at times a little crowded but crew and bartenders were on point keeping the area well maintained and my glass full :)...the islands we stop were fun we really chose this cruise for the length and warm weather...a big plus was also the ship was at cape liberty which is only about and hour from our home...and while this review is about the anthem of the seas...cape liberty is well run...i was so happy with this sailing that i book another cruise for 11/16/19...unfortunately i will be cruising solo has my fiancee past away suddenly after we returned home...if you have a chance do not pass up a cruise on this ship... Read Less

We have sailed with RCL several times aboard the Explorer, Quantum and Anthem. It seems to us that RCL is cheaping out. There is no filet mignon offered in the dining tables unless you want to pay more. Would one night kill RCL's budget to offer filet mignon? Better bring your own body lotion, cause if you booked anything below a suite it's not going to be in your cabin. Your steward will get it for you, but have to ask. The soda machines work some of the time. But never all of the time. Seems like a lot of money for machines that don't work. The shampoo is in a dispenser on the shower wall... like Carnival. RCL used to be a quality cruise line. Now it's just OK, how sad. On a brighter note, our cabin steward, wait staff in the dining room and managed in the dining room were excellent. They could not do enough for the guests. Read Less

Hi, This review is a bit delayed since we sailed in January. We usually sail on NCL because of our time frame and destinations. This year it was the Anthem that fit. The ship is beautiful and we had a wonderful time. We ate mostly (actually, completely) in the buffet because my DH has dietary issues and it's easier for me to bring him what is a good choice. The food was very tasty and I especially appreciated the salad bar with so many choices. I also really enjoyed the 2 pools, especially since they were not salt water and one was indoors so I was able to swim even if it was cool outside. I just wished they opened earlier, especially the outdoor one. The crew and our steward were amazing, couldn't have been more pleasant and helpful. Anything we asked for was immediately brought to us, even in the Windjammer. I would recommend this ship to anyone. Thank you Read Less

We choose RCI Anthem of the Seas for several reasons 1) we could drive to the port, it was 2.5 hours away. 2) the itinerary that went to San Juan, St Kitts, and Barbados where we have never been to 3) it was with Royal Caribbean - we thought a quality cruise line. Being the 1st time on such a large ship, we were awed by the size, and cleanliness of the crew. We were worried we would lose that 'personal touch' that we've received before - we didnt. The 1st 2 days we were at seas, the shows were very good. HIGHLY Recommend We Will Rock You. The 3rd or 4th day, is when the AC issue started ..... read on Here is what I filled out for my survey Cabin 10171 Inside Accessible - internal Cabin Temperature 80+ degrees from Day 3 until last Sea Day when we hit cooler weather. REPEATED (2 and 3 times a day) Trips to Customer Service - Captain finally announced that we had an AC issue 2 days later and that it would be fixed in a few hours. It wasn't. Captain announced the next day, that they were still working on the issue via zones and it would all be fixed by tonight. It wasn't. We received no further updates from the Captain, and Customer Service couldn't do anything - Onboard CS tells us to call CS Stateside when we get off of the ship. We received a letter in our stateroom stating that we would be getting a $200 refundable OBC Cruise Fare Credit for your Technical difficulties. (if you were a Balcony or Ocean View, you receive $300, and if you are a Suite $400) Obviously $200 credit for a RUINED 12 day cruise is laughable and a slap in the face for a client who is loyal to Royal AND we even booked another cruise BEFORE all of this AC issue started. Next subject Theater Accessibility for Wheelchairs - there are rugs with a Wheelchair Symbol on them, (for wheelchair and scooters to watch the shows at) there are big heavy comfortable chairs on these carpets, that GENIES reserve for NON Wheelchair/Scooters. Being big comfortable chairs, people sit in these first, with no regard for us folk in wheelchairs. A *SIMPLE* solution is to remove these chairs and only place them when a Wheelchair user's COMPANION needs one. - which when I spoke to the Captain personally, he said it "SHOULD NOT HAPPEN" and he would "CORRECT IMMEDIATELY" - (it wasn't corrected and still happened even on the last show of the cruise,) I pointed it out to RC Personnel who stated that in his 10 years with Royal, these rugs have ALWAYS had chairs on them. The Good - well GREAT Roel our assistant waiter in MTD Silk - Fabulous, friendly attentive - he really needs to be the waiter and his partner Elvis needs to his assistant. Chops - 'Dundee' (also known as James Bond) FABULOUS, Funny, engaging, took care of any request we might have Micha our Room Steward - was Fantastic, kudos ! Thumbs up ! We cant praise these 3 staff members enough ! The bumper cars - my wife Dottie enjoyed beating and banging with the other 2 couples we traveled with. Read Less

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My Brief Review of Anthem of the Seas Cruise – Jan 06 through Jan 18 Giving a little back to the forum that has given to me… The Bad – well documented in this forum, the AC was not functioning for 5+ nights. We received little compensation for the rooms being 83 degrees. My complaint to Royal is ongoing and in process. Other than that Mrs. Lincoln did you enjoy the play??? Yes, the Cruise was great Anthem is a great ship. It never felt crowed. My only other complaint is you did have to wait for the elevators. Usually not very long. A minor inconvenience. Embarkation. We got to the port @ ~ 1030. We went to security and right on the ship. We had no problems carrying on two bottles of wine. Could have brought two bottles per person as long as people go in different security lines. I neither approve nor condone this behavior. Rooms - I had two rooms 11811 and 11813, both inside cabins. The rooms were great, spacious. Lots of room for luggage and storage. In 11813 there were three people staying in it. The room got a little tight when the attendant pulled out the sofa at night, but still a nice room. The virtual balcony was neat. I enjoyed looking at it so see what the weather and sea conditions were. It was interesting when we were in port and see the comings and goings Kids Club – my 6 y.o. LOVED the kids club. There were not many kids on the cruise, so they combined some of the age groups. That seemed to work out well. He enjoyed the activities, and liked eating dinner with the kid’s club. We had him picked up from the main dining room some nights and some nights he just stayed in kids club and ate with them. He liked both of those options. IFLY – very cool. There is a weight limit and the have a scale to check. Under 6 feet you need 230 lbs., over 6 feet under 250 lbs. There were people in my group that did not make the weight and they didn’t fly. North star – also very cool. Also had a weight limit of 250 lbs., per person. There was a scale there but no one was there to check. We grabbed a time when we were pulling out of port and at sunset. Very nice view. The escape room – great - do this. Book as soon as you get to the ship. It was a LOT of fun The trapeze - was fun. Again, a weight limit – 220 lbs. Again, there was a scale and they checked The bumper cars were fun as well. Windjammer – standard windjammer – Good was good. Never had much difficulty getting a table (although I did not go there on embarkation day). There is a place there to get specialty coffee The main dining rooms – food ranged from ok – great depending on what was ordered. Service was excellent. One thing that we did not do until later was have lunch in the main dining rooms, there is a upscale buffet as well as table service. If I would have known I would have eaten lunch every day in the MDR. I never tried breakfast in the MDR. Sorrento's Pizza – good pizza, not great but not bad. They also had other “Italian” dishes and some pastries and breakfast sandwiches. 270 – What people have written about the roast beef sandwiches is true. They were great! The rest of the food was good was well. Not crowed on embarkation day The shows were good as were the headliners. Some shows were better than others, but I felt all were worth my time. The coffee show (I forget the name) was good. This was the only place I had to wait it I wanted to get two beverages (I had the deluxe package). They asked me to wait 15 min between drinks. Anthem is a great ship. I would sail her again (depending on how Royal responds to the AC problem) If you have questions feel free to ask Read Less