Anthem of the Seas

Family Cruise

July

Pros: Great Service

Cons: A little crowded at times esp in buffet and hot tubs

Recommended: Yes

All of the staff were friendly and helpful, they made us feel like they knew us. Bumper cars were down, we had planned on using them.

Alaska cruise

July

Pros: Fabulous staff! Attentative at all times.

Cons: Bumper cars were down for service. Bumper cars were the defining factor for which ship to choose.

Recommended: Yes

Overall great experience. Spotlessly clean. No shortage of things to do. Very personable staff -- especially Fritz and Toni at the Music Hall bar.

Tokyo to Seattle

April

Pros: Great staff, Clean ship, Food was very good.

Cons: Lots of noise coming from Windjammer kitchen, even 2 decks down after. Ship only has 2 banks of elevators vs. the

Recommended: Yes

Nice ship...prefer mid-size ships but Anthem is a good ship.

Anthem of the Seas

June

Pros: We Will Rock You show was great.

Cons: Specialty dining did not wow us at all. Only good entertainment was the We Will Rock You show. the Gift and Spectacular were not very good at all. very very disappointed in the Spectacular show that we had to reserve. so much could have been done with the technology for that stage.

Recommended: Yes

Drinks were weak at best, food in specialty dining was just ok, Chops had 5 Potatoe dishes to choose from and only asparagus as a colored side dish. Not many options. Jamie's lasagna was very good. Wonderland was a nice experience, and the short rib was very good although the sides were limited and didn't like the dish the entre was served on. Windjammer was very good. Bars were good never waited very long for the drink. Casino was not very crowded which was good. Hot Tubs were crowded but nice.

Great cruise

September

Pros: Staff, clean, organized, good food

Cons: Nothing big. Side trips costly.

Recommended: Yes

We are over 50 cruises & know our way around. This was an exceptional ship. Very organized in checkin , we were in our cabin in 10 minutes. Room attendant did a great job. Food great. The best & largest buffet we’ve ever seen. Side trips were well done ( we were in Norway) I’d said with them again. Cruising is very expensive now & they do nickel & dime you , so you have to pay attention. Side trips are costly.

Great cruise

September

Pros: Staff, clean, organized, good food

Cons: Nothing big. Side trips costly.

Recommended: Yes

We are over 50 cruises & know our way around. This was an exceptional ship. Very organized in checkin , we were in our cabin in 10 minutes. Room attendant did a great job. Food great. The best & largest buffet we’ve ever seen. Side trips were well done ( we were in Norway) I’d said with them again. Cruising is very expensive now & they do nickel & dime you , so you have to pay attention. Side trips are costly.

Best crew ever

January

Pros: Great staff ….. Great food…….Great ship…… Great cruise

Cons: NONE

Recommended: Yes

Keep on shippin’ !!!

Family friends trip

November

Pros: Very good service cocoa cay was great

Cons: A lot of people onboard

Recommended: Yes

Wonderful time had by all The port canaveral stop is not something which interests me on a cruise It is really just a stop over to kill a day An additional day on the private island would be great An overnight in port at cocoa cay would have been wonderful allowing two full days to enjoy the beach and pools

Cruise control

April

Pros: Staff, service

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

Beautiful ship and pleasant staff. Unfortunately we needed medical services for my husband . We were very pleased with the doctor and staff. Relieved that we always purchase travel insurance.

Wonderful trip

March

Pros: Service was exceptional. Beautiful boat

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

The trip was booked at only half capacity which made the trip even more perfect. Service team were attentive. There was always room in the theater and other venues. It was the most pleasant trip I have been on in years

Fantastic cruise

January

Pros: Cabin Steward (13192), Pitri and others in Winjammer and dining room, tours

Cons: none

Recommended: Yes

Excellent trip. The tours were some of the best I have had (I had the St John Antigua horseback /beach riding tour, which was wonderful, and the Catamaran on St. Kitts/Nevis with snorkling which was wonderful also.) Our cabin steward, all of the staff in the Windjammer and various dining rooms were wonderful, and I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. The shows we saw were also very good (I liked the Beatles especially). The ship was excellent. The only thing I felt bad about was that I did not have time to tip the tour guide for the horseback ride (the bus left quickly after we changed out of swimsuits) because that was one of the best tours I have taken! (along with the Catamaran tour)

First cruise after shutdown

December

Pros: Ship was prestine. Royal crew is normally cleaning but this went beyond.

Cons: Missed our first port because of winds

Recommended: Yes

Very impressed with the changes since COVID. Felt very safe. But as usual had a wonderful time. Lots to do on board and entertainment was great. Cocoa Cay,the private island, is very nice. However, we are not beach people so did not do much there. But it is beautiful.

A great winter get away

January

Pros: sailing ou of Bayonne - We don,t have to fly

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

We had a good time on the ship and like the ports we stopped at. We would like to go again next year.

A Dream

January

Pros: excellent service & pleasant staff

Cons: thought 270 would be nice as a centrum where more music & dancing would be

Recommended: Yes

Had a wonderful time - no complaints - everyone does what they can to show you a good time.

Love this cruise

January

Pros: Wonderful service, nice crew

Cons: Missing the 12th night & Barbados port

Recommended: Yes

Puerto Rico is a waste, get there too late.

New Year Sailing 2019 into 2020

December

Pros: Beautiful ship with tons of activities to please all ages. Service is excellent for the amount of people onboard. Royal Caribbean is better at this than most. Food in MDR was GREAT as was the service. We did not experience the delays that I've read about in other reviews. MyTime dining is, once again, the ONLY way to go. Entertainment was good to very good. Spectra's Caberet was weird and not my thing, but it was absolutely a spectacle and different. The gift was darn good and We Will Rock You was fun and fantastic. Embarkation and disembarkation was EXTREMELY easy and convenient.

Cons: 3 consecutive sea days is a little much even for this ship. Wanted the sun and the warmth to be part of our cruise sooner! But that is personal preference, certainly not a knock on the Anthem or RCI.

Recommended: Yes

The New Year's party was outrageous and fun!! It felt like the whole ship was rockin' and partying. Kudos to RCI for putting on a GREAT party. There are a TON of cruisers on this ship and the population was 95% from New York City and Northern NJ. Don't know what it is about growing up or living in these areas, but it seems that they can find a way to loudly complain about anything and everything. This was definitely a "con" unless you don't mind hearing lots of whining about literally nothing. We were so pleasantly surprised at the quality of food everywhere we went (with the exception of the cheeseburgers....stay farrrrr away!). Food was just plain great as was the service delivering the food. We did one dinner (late) in Chops. Waste of time and money. Service did not come close to rivaling MDR and the food was only marginally better. Won't do that again. If you are on the fence about purchasing Deluxe Drink Package, don't be. Worth every penny. Bottled water, Specialty Coffees, and just a few fancy alcohol beverages a day (easy as pie) and you end up way ahead. So glad we made this decision. Be mindful of the included onboard gratuities. They REALLY add up and can total quite an expense by the end of a lengthy trip. Voom at Sea was great on this ship. Highly recommended. Still love Royal. Cannot wait until our next sailing.

Perfect but too crowded. Smaller ships are better

October

Pros: Relaxing and the crew couldn't have been nicer, friendlier or more helpful. loved the outdoor theater above the pool, lots of fun things to watch!

Cons: Too many people. Buffet could have been open 24 hours. Disappointed when North Star rides were cancelled.

Recommended: Yes

I was with the Craft group in the Conference Room on Deck 13 which make the trip perfect. Always something to do, made friends and was not bored when out to sea all day. Also enjoyed the ships activities and Casino.

more ports

July

Pros: great ship

Cons: not enough ports for nine days

Recommended: Yes

the ship was great! too much time a sea with the ship traveling in Caribbeans one more port I would have given a five rating.

Nine Day Cruise review

May

Pros: Friendly helpful staff, great entertainment, wonderful cruise

Cons: Small smoking areas, small smoky casino, some dining rooms meals just adequate.

Recommended: Yes

Anthem of the Seas...was excpetional

April

Pros: Service was great, the food was awesome and the ship was beautiful

Cons: Arcade was down off and on during our stay

Recommended: Yes

The ship was great. We had the best time. Service was top notch, the food was excellent and the ship was clean and beautiful. Getting on and off the ship was so easy and smooth....didn't even have to wait. Royal Caribbean was the best!!! Wouldn't try and other company.

Great vacation on an unbelievable ship

February

Pros: Entertainment venues were great.

Cons: Never enough available lounge chairs around pool.

Recommended: No

Winter Cruise

February

Pros: Good Itinerary

Cons: Shows, Food

Recommended: Yes

Shows are really getting old, need more entertainment options. Most food is tasteless, needs seasonings to give some flavor. Soups are good

Royal Carribean Cruise 12 day

February

Pros: Friendly staff, great meals, great excursions

Cons: No bathrooms in dining rooms.

Recommended: Yes

The cruise was very enjoyable and we had a good time.

Snowball express to the Caribbean

February

Pros: large ship so getting plenty of exercise.

Cons: same productions; menus in traditional dining are boring.Too many pork products at Windjammer. How about turkey bacon??

Recommended: Yes

Time to change the productions on the ship. Saw them too many times. Enjoyed the Headliner acts when they were presented. Menus need an update. Need more than a few new items every night in the traditional dining. Sometimes hard to explain allergies to wait staff.

Great Vacation

February

Pros:

Cons:

Recommended: No

January Sunshine

January

Pros: fabulous 12 nights in the southern caribbean

Cons: show times conflicted with meal time and diamond club time

Recommended: Yes

Great staff room steward, waiters and bartenders store assistants always there to great you and ready to help with anything you needed to make your experience the best.

Eleven day cruise on Anthem Of The Seas

November

Pros: Great ship with plenty of entertainment. Food was great. Clean ship.

Cons:

Recommended: No

Anthem of the Seas

June

Pros: Excellent service, variety of activities, great staff, good food

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

I have been on several cruise trips; My next cruise trip will be on a Royal Caribbean ship based on this positive experience!

Great Ship to Sail On

December

Pros: Excellent Captain, Scooter & Wheelchair friendly, Sanitation stations at every eating establishment.

Cons: Elevators very slow.

Recommended: Yes

Should have known that the beach excursion at San Juan was not available before we departed the ship.

Fall New England/Canadian Route

October

Pros: Extremely personable, nice and helpful staff. Good food with lots of variety! Very clean cabins and common areas.

Cons: long lines for shore excursions and had to wait for busses, final disembarkment process was long and not very smooth, and again not enough buses available for transfer to local airports

Recommended: Yes

Overall, very enjoyable experience. Ports were lovely and tour guides were very knowledgeable. There was a lot to do on the cruise, especially on days at sea. Most activities would appeal to all age groups although music entertainment seemed to be set to appeal to a younger audience.

New England Cruise

September

Pros: Good iterniary, great food in dining rooms great cabin space and attendants

Cons: Poor entertainment, fees for too many features and poor social director and team

Recommended: Yes

Prefer smaller ship 4200 passengers too many for me. At least 2 elevators were down during entire cruise. Show rooms too small for so many passengers.

cruising North

September

Pros: beautiful ship / great customer service

Cons: LImited My time dining venues one per nite

Recommended: Yes

overall good cruise experience

Cruise Anthem of the Seas

September

Pros: Ship was beautiful. Service with food revive & housekèeping great.

Cons: Not a show every evening.

Recommended: Yes

The majority of days were foggy from morning to night. Also royal Caribbean does not offer wheel chair assistance from the pier to busses for shore excursions therefore I had to cancel all excursions and remain onl the ship every day. Also debarking was really bad. We were suppose to get off the ship at 9:45 but did not get off until 11:45. Then once outside very long lines to wait for a bus to the airport.

2017 Anthem 9 Day Cruise

July

Pros: Hands down best time for a family with a teenager for both of us.

Cons: Outside pool to small.. Better shows

Recommended: Yes

We had a fabulous time on the 9 day cruise on the Anthem and most of it had to do with the fact that Royal nailed the indoor space for both adults and teenagers. We spent quality time with our teenager and we all had a good time apart as well.. However, the outdoor pool really needed to be bigger and the saving of chairs with a towel was terrible. We even witnessed a pretty verbal fight between guests over the chairs. Also the shows were not nearly as good as ones we have seen in the past. But overall, great time, great staff and great cruise.

Beautiful, Relaxing Cruise

July

Pros: Ship was spotless, loved the wash stations at the buffet. Delicous food

Cons: Shows (The Gift was weird) and We Will Rock You was ok. Showtimes were too early (515 and 815) should be 8 and 1015!. Pool was boring at times. Not nough entertainment and big video screen is poorly used

Recommended: Yes

Very happy with Royal Caribbean. This is our second cruise (Adventurer and Anthem). Balcony room was spacious, many closets and huge tv. Staff were friendly and helpful and fun. Food was the best I have seen in my 6 cruises!

Great ship with excellent service

April

Pros: Always something to do

Cons: Needs faster clean up service in the Windjammer

Recommended: Yes

Except for the clean up of the tables in the windjammer we received excellent service. I would have liked a longer period of time in the ports. Better service upon returning to Cape Liberty with Porter service There was no one to find or poor designation of where to find this service

Aboard Anthem

March

Pros: Plenty of places to go and get a drink Plenty of food

Cons: I feel the ship is a little to big

Recommended: No

Anthem 2017

February

Pros: one place dining; 270 shows

Cons: same "big" shows - we will rock you and the gift. San Juan as afternoon arrival

Recommended: Yes

Thanksgiving Cruise

November

Pros: Lots of activities, very kid friendly, many choices

Cons: Too crowded, long lines everywhere for everything, some activities not available

Recommended: Yes

Overall great experience. Frustrated with long lines and lack of availability of some restaurants, shows, and activities. The North Star and the Ripcord were booked out for the entire trip almost immediately so we could not do either during out trip which was very disappointing. The popular kids activities required hours and hours of waiting to get into (Rock wall, bumper cars, skating, etc). Some were just not available at all. In the SeaPlex where my kids spent most of their time while we were at sea, Royal Caribbean could do a much better job with organization and keeping the guests accountable by having more staff in each area. Unfortunately guests are very ignorant and inconsiderate of other guests so unless the staff enforces posted rules they just don't get done (one example is posted time limits on Xbox room where staff was never available and on the entire trip I never saw any staff in that area). Did not like that you had to pay for some restaraunts either. We basically had to take one of the restaurant packages at an extra expense because all of the complimentary restaurants got booked up unless we wanted to eat at 9 PM each evening. Entertainment was very good and would rival a top notch Broadway show. Food was good but again did not love the lack of availability for the complimentary restaurants. The staff on the ship, while still very good, lacked that 6 star over the top feel I have grown accustomed to getting with Royal Caribbean. Generally they were attentive and did their jobs but only a few were exceptional. I attribute this mainly to the change for automatic tipping. I think in the past employees knew they had to earn it where now it is essentially part of their pay. We did encounter a few exceptional staff and tipped them extra at end of the trip. Also, not enough staff for how many passengers. Not enough elevators for number of passengers. This added to lines and the ability to process the 4900 passengers in all areas. For anyone who goes on this trip, I can't stress enough the need to sign up for anything and everything you can before you go on the trip or the minute you get on the boat. This is the only way to make sure you get the times you want and/or that you can actually do the activities you would like to try. Still, all things considered, this is a very cool ship and we had a great time.

Pleasant Suprise

October

Pros: Quality of entertainment, many activities for children and adults, move large groups of people with ease.

Cons: Food is average, extra charge for speciality restaurants, very difficult to understand some members of the staff

Recommended: Yes

We were surprised at how efficiently the staff moved guests on and off the ship. The shows also featured superior talent. Most disappointing was the overall quality of food in the 4 dining rooms. Also ate for a charge at the sushi venue which was excellent. Overall we were very pleasantly surprised at the experience since we were apprehensive due to the ship size and over 4,000 guests.

Anthem 9/22/16

September

Pros: Ship itself

Cons: Windjammer dining

Recommended: Yes

Overall we had a wonderful time but it just seemed to be that this cruise seemed to not try to accomodate passengers as much as other cruises.

Anthem of the Seas Review

September

Pros: Beautiful ship - very clean - lots of places to relax and unwind - loved the area right before the Solarium! We loved our balcony room on Deck 12. We liked the Windjammer for breakfast and snacks. The made to order omelets were delicious. Husband liked the dessert area too!

Cons: We especially were disappointed in the dining - we did the classic cruise - I think - we reserved our dinners online prior to cruising - we did not have the same waiter but that was not a big deal- we didn't like how awfully rushed we felt at each restaurant. Also all our meals were medium warm at best. i heard other diners complain of food temps too. The meals at the complimentery restaurants seemed a bit chaotic at times - one server for drinks then another for meal etc. the best meal was at Chops - we were NOT rushed we had one waiter - he was very nice - we are used to dining like that. did not like the view though from our seats in Chops - we looked at a lifeboat - if the curtains could have been closed that would have been better in my opinion. The filet was so delicious though and again our waiter was so nice. Also on CONS were the very slow elevators - i think many folks were a bit upset with that.

Recommended: Yes

We enjoyed the ship - sometimes it was hard to hear the captain's announcements though in certain areas. We liked that you could go to your cabin TV to check out restaurant info, your account etc. I loved our room - I loved the balcony as we had never had a balcony room on our first and other cruise 10 years ago. (was with RC too). everyone was quite friendly and we thanked the staff and attendants for their efforts.

Fantastic and smooth Sailing

September

Pros: Beautiful ship, roomy and comfy cabins, wonderful staff, good entertainment

Cons: Very large ship, somewhat like a shopping mall, be careful of paying too much for dining options, disorganized disembarkment.

Recommended: Yes

The sail to Bermuda was great, Taking the 5-day cruise is just the right amount of time and Bermuda has a lot of options. It's a pretty island with very friendly people. I liked the option of coming back to the ship. The ship is incredibly stable. We were on Deck 10 in the middle with a balcony. The location was perfect, central, close to elevators. The elevators would get crowded at times going up and down to Windjammer buffet, but they were fast and you didn't have to wait long. Really great staff and there was a nice variety of club and bar options.

Anthem of the seas

August

Pros: Everything about this ship was great

Cons: The Pillows on the beds....hard as a rock

Recommended: Yes

We had so much fun aboard this ship, great service, beautiful ship......Just wish it was a longer vacation!!

Granddaughter Cruise

July

Pros: Family oriented; lots to do on-board; liked the clasic dining option/ changing restaurants was nice, while keeping the same staff

Cons: too large; too many people- at 4800; too many kids/but it is for families; elevators were very slow & several would pass us up; excursions were quite disorganized - not organized as Celebrity

Recommended: Yes

I think that I summarized on my pro's & con's. For children it was heaven, while it was not my ideal vacation. Too many kids, not great itinerary, excursions were not organized, staff did not know always what was going on- e.g. bumper cars- where to line up. The elevators were horrendous- skipped us and way too slow. Also, the time in each port was bad- too short. Several stops were for only 4 to 6 hours. If you had an excursion, there was no time to shop; not even for basic needs. The only suitable stop was in Haiti, at their private island. Also, on the excursion in St. Maarten to the dolphin swim, the trip made people sick; and, the authorities on Anguilla, BWI held up our return for over an hour. We had to run to get on the ship. It was not a pleasant end to a great day.

Anthem of the Sea paradise

May

Pros: Lots of fun things to do plus relaxation.

Cons: More shopping options and more food options after 2 a.m.

Recommended: Yes

We loved our vacation on board of the Royal Caribbean Cruise ship, we plan to travel again very soon. I would recommend it to everyone.

Anthem of the Seas

May

Pros: Ship was clean, cabin was comfortable, staff was great

Cons: Too crowded, always selling something

Recommended: No

See above.

Very good ship

April

Pros: Excellent Crew

Cons: Some glitches

Recommended: Yes

I thought the boarding process was long and chaotic even though it was advertised as being very fast. My wife and I went on this cruise to celebrate our 10th year anniversary. We specified this before boarding yet we did not receive any complimentary amenities, or acknowledgement like we did aboard the Explorer of the Seas. The fantastic crew made up for most of what I thought could have been better. The dining experience was great although the vegetarian selection seemed very limited outside of the Windjammer. We purchased a photo package that included a USB with all of the photos that the ship's photographers had taken. For some reason, many of the photos on the USB were corrupt and could not be viewed. Unfortunately we didn't find this out until we were home. Apparently RC uses a vendor for this so if you have problems with photos, you have to deal with the vendor. We have a support ticket open with them, but they are unavailable until Monday. These things may seem a bit nit picky but we spent over 4k for this cruise. Overall it was a good experience, but I think the Explorer was better.

Anthem Trip

January

Pros: Food was much better than the other ship

Cons: Entertainment needed a little work/ Some good some not so good

Recommended: Yes

Did miss the Western Caribbean trip. Hope they run it again Boarding and leaving the ship was good better than last year. Stop at San Juan not worth it Only had four hours I would have cancelled the trip if I had more time to do so.

Super trip.

January

Pros: Classic dining, menu upgrades, shows every night, Bobbi

Cons: Change in itinerary

Recommended: Yes

Loved the classic dining ( waiter follows you thru the 4 complimentary dining areas). Shows were spectacular. So much to do and no time to do it all. Although our itinerary changed from Western Caribbean to Eastern Caribbean, it was still a great trip. We left the white snow for white sand. It couldn't get any better.

Anthem 2015

December

Pros: Beautiful ship. Love the Solarium and Divinly Decadence.

Cons: Terrible food. Windjammer was awful. Dinners in restaurants not much better.Quantum last year was much better. Skimping on quality of food is very obvious. Drink prices, especially wines, are ridiculously high.

Recommended: Yes

Ship is worth the experience. NorthStar is fun.

Anthem of the Seas

September

Pros: Great Entertainment, good food, big rooms

Cons: Not as visually spectacular a ship as Oasis of the Seas. Calendar of restaurants, tours, shows didnt work very well for the most technological ship

Recommended: Yes

Overall an enjoyable cruise ship

Ship and destination review

May

Pros: Great Ship, staff, food and ports.

Cons: Vatican trip and retrieving bags after cruise.

Recommended: Yes

Ship was easy to navigate your way around. I liked the open areas where you could just sit and read or talk with friends. Restaurants were good as was food selection and wait staff. Food courts were very good. The trip to the Vatican was a negative. It was a long bus ride and all we could do was go in a gift shop near the Vatican. We got there when the Pope just finished and all entrances to the square were blocked. Got back on the bus and toured Rome which was good. Getting bags after cruise was not good. Too many people in a small area trying to find bags.