We enjoy cruising and although we have tried a couple different lines, we always return to Royal. Like all RCI ships, Anthem is stunning in many ways, but for us it is about the great service, excellent food, and wonderful shows, and ultimately the itinerary. We wanted to see Norway, so this was perfect for us. Southampton proved to be a good homeport. Our trip from Heathrow to the terminal was ...
good and not so good about anthem of the seas
Not so good-
The ship is really not that well designed. When I say that there are highlights and lowlights.
Highlights are the usual large theater with balcony as seen on other RCCL ships. Also the Two70 lounge is a nice space that is comfortable and techy. See other comments below about sportsplex and pools. Also the casino is below ...
We had been on this ship twice before - once during Covid19 as ships were starting to sail again and that was an amazing cruise actually despite all of that.
Then a year later to Spain and France and now this one to the Fjords. The last two times we got the Key package.
Embarking and disembarking were super quick and it wouldn’t have mattered had we got the key or not. It looks like it’s ...
DD and I enjoyed a wonderful round trip cruise to the lovely and breathtaking fjords of Norway. Our cruise took place in May at the beginning of the season, so we also were able to get a great price, and since I booked onboard during a previous cruise, I also got an incentive and help in choosing a cabin that turned out to be throughly enjoyable as well as a good value.
The Ship
I was ...
Boat still in good condition, cabin was nice. MDR food was variable. Desserts on the whole were ok but the starters and main were usually luke warm when they arrived. Food was dry, not enough sauce or gravy so had to ask for extra. Lots of items removed from the menu, ie cheese and biscuits, melon medley. Waiter was friendly enough but had little personality, assistant waiter was great. ...
First cruise since 2019 and we went in with realistic expectations. Long time Celebrity cruisers, we liked Royal’s price point for a first sailing out of Southampton. We chose a guaranteed inside cabin as we were unsure of how much we would use the balcony on a cold weather cruise.
Embarkation was efficient as was the parking at ABP. We walked steps to the ship and were onboard by 1130 with ...
First time cruiser so I went in not knowing what to expect/low expectations but boy did it go high and beyond. I met amazing people both staff and fellow cruisers and frankly, I had the best holiday since a long while. We had a room with a balcony which I loved waking up to a different view every morning. On ship, I spent most of my time attending the free events such as shows, promotional events, ...
The idea of taking the cruise was to visit Amsterdam beforehand and cruise along Norway villages were the two countries that we wanted to visit for the longest time. We were disappointed with how old the ship was, everything is outdated. The $32 fee a day for a couple is for room cleaning but the toilet area ALWAYS smells like urine.
The service in the Tides restaurant was excellent, though all ...
Bit concerned about effects of Covid on cruising but apart from pre-covid tests everything was as experienced in previous cruises. Anthem is a nice ship with lots of different areas and plenty of seating around the ship. If you wanted to do a quiz etc it was best to arrive early to get a seat however.
Entertainment was mostly good, especially in the Theatre. The Beatles tribute were very good ...
This was our 7th Royal Caribbean cruise, and we chose this Russia and Scandinavia sailing because of both the cruise line and the itinerary. It was also our second sailing on Explorer of the Seas, so we have had prior experience with RCCL.
Our overall impression (which we seemed to share with many fellow guests) was that standards had been allowed to drop by RCCL.
Meals in the Sapphire ...