This was a 9 day cruise: Bermuda, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, Labadee and 4 sea days. We went into the cruise a little hesitant because our previous week long cruise on Grandeur had been awful. We have also been on two Norweigan cruises last summer that were very different than Disney, but, in many ways, were more like Royal Carribean.
The Good
1. Our cabin: The layout was really nice. There was a big open area with a couch and a dresser and then a king sized bed by the windows. There was plenty of room in the middle of the cabin to sit on the floor and stretch. I was able to do yoga and my husband was able to do his stretching routine as well. We have not been able to do this on Disney boats nearly as well. Also, there was a ton of storage. There were two closets and a lot of drawer space and multiple cubbies. We had no problem finding room to put all our stuff. The suitcases easily fit under the bed.
The barrier on the verandah was high and didn't have anything in the middle so I was able to see really well when sitting out there. I spent much more time on the verandah than usual and that was a wonderfully relaxing part of the cruise.
There was only one bathroom, not a split configuration, but it was larger than other cruise ship bathrooms and easy to move around in. Also, I discovered if I showered with the door open (so the bathroom didn't get all steamy) I could see the ocean out the door. That was so peaceful and relaxing. I know it sounds weird, but it was nice.
The cabins weren't really adjoining. There was no door that we could pass through into the cabin where the kids were. But, the room steward opened the divider on the balcony and we were easily able to walk between the two cabins without a key. The three kids in their cabin also had plenty of storage space and everybody was able to spread their stuff out.
2. Having lots of different things to do: There are only so many times I can ride the AquaDuck. As a family we did the flowrider, the skydiving simulator, and the bumper cars. My daughter and I did the climbing wall multiple times and we went roller skating together as well. All the kids joined us at different trivia sessions. There was also an escape room type game that was held in 270 one afternoon. I wish I could remember what it was called, but we were all on a team together and it took about an hour. My kids loved it and the time flew by. There were adults in teams and lots of teams with families. My daughter also did the trapeze once.
My husband and kids love movies and there were multiple venues to watch movies. They saw Captain Marvel in 270 but that was weird because it was on six screens that went together as one and it was light in there. There were also multiple movies in the theater. They saw Aquaman in 3D and said that it worked well and there were movies outside by the pool as well. The outdoor movies were closed captioned so you get all the dialogue even if you missed words. In addition to the superhero movies, we saw Green Book outside.
3. Trivia: We love to do trivia as a family. They had something called progressive trivia which was at 10 am on sea days. We went the first day and the teams formed up. After that, most of the teams came back and the winning team received a bag at the end with lots of stuff. We came in third, which wasn't too bad. There were different music trivia and general trivia as well. I think there were 5 or 6 each day. The best one was an 80's music trivia one evening. There were a ton of people there and everyone was singing together around the piano. It was an unexpectedly joyous 30 minutes.
4. Our excursions: I only rarely book excursions through the cruise ships because of cost and number of people that go on them. I much prefer to book them on my own. Not only are they cheaper, but they are much more personal. We did a boat ride through Captain Bob on St. Maarten. I found it on Trip Advisor. It was amazing. We spent the whole day on a boat and went to multiple different spots. It was the best snorkeling I have ever done. The guides were very entertaining and knowledgeable. One man on the boat did get very seasick and threw up in the parking lot walking back to the boat. My husband got nauseous as well. But, my son who is almost always seasick, did fine. We also did a food tour in San Juan through a company called Flavors of San Juan food and culture tours. It was one of the best excursions we have ever done. My husband loved the history and I loved leaning about the food. Everything we ate was wonderful and our guide was very knowledgeable. On Bermuda, my sons and I did a Segway tour and my husband and daughter stayed on the ship. She enjoyed the fact that the pools were deserted and she had a blast. We stayed on the boat in Labadee as well. My daughter just wanted to play in the pool and I had read enough reviews that made me realize that I wouldn't have had much fun.
The Bad
1. The food: This was the worst cruise food we have ever had. We made the choice not to do any of the specialty restaurants for a variety of reasons. The cost would have been pretty high and I have always enjoyed the food in the Disney dining rooms. I have never thought it was awesome, but I hadn't had many truly bad meals. Also, when we looked at the menus for the specialty restaurants, I didn't see anything special enough to spend close to $200. With my family of five, we would have spent at least $100 and often more than $200. We did have the same wait staff each night so they did get to know us and our preferences. After I ordered just the vegetables from several different entrees on the second night, the waiter brought me a Vegan menu. He said that this was new this cruise. I really appreciated the gesture, but the dishes were all inedible. They had been made at some point in the past and then reheated for the meal. I tried a tofu taco salad and zucchini and then corn fritters. None of the them were good at all. Also, the menus were the same night after night with very few variations. There was one night with lobster, but they were the smallest lobster tails I have ever seen, just two bites. I had much bigger lobster tails on the Empress of the Seas a few years ago. The kids menu was the same every night without any changes. Also the service was just not good. My husband ordered coffee every night with dessert and he never got it until we were ready to leave the table.
My husband loves to go to breakfast in the dining room with the kids on the Disney ships. He went once with them early on and then didn't go back. The service was painfully slow and the food was so bad that they never went back. There is pizza down on the 4th floor in Sorrentos but that tasted like frozen pizza. We tried it once. There were a few sandwich shops, but they had the same sandwiches you could get in Windjammer. They weren't bad, but there were no chips or fries that were available to eat along with them. The food in Windjammer was typical buffet food, but we ate most of our meals there because it seemed to be fresher than in the dining rooms. We all really missed Flos on the Disney ships.
The quality of food even in Windjammer was just not good. The only desserts that were tasty were the ice cream and the cream puffs. The cakes and other pastries were so bland and dry that we didn't eat them. I tried multiple times, because - how can you mess up a donut?, but they weren't good at all. Even the bread was dry and taste free. All the baked goods were overcooked and unsalted. There was a nice salad bar with lots of options. I eat a primarily vegetarian diet and I had no trouble finding tofu and beans for protein on top.
My husband was really disappointed by the hot dog stand in the SeaPlex. The picture online shows what looks like a Chicago style dog with lots of toppings. In reality, there were only three available. He told me that the sausage he had there was tasteless as well and he threw it out. I didn't gain any weight on this cruise and actually managed to lose a few pounds.
2. The service: For us, the service is really what sets Disney ships apart from the rest. Everybody is friendly all the time. Not so much on the Anthem. Our room steward had a strange sense of humor that made us uncomfortable on several occasions. We couldn't tell if he was being rude or joking with us. I appreciate it when the staff can relax and be themselves because I know not all is rosy and perfect, but this went too far. I often felt like I was intruding into their peace and quiet when I asked a question about how something worked. For example, we were told early in the cruise that there might be available appointments to repeat the sky diving simulator later in the cruise after everybody who wanted a chance had been done. When I went back on the 7th day to enquire if there were any open slots, I got a lecture that we were only allowed to do it once because it was the most popular activity on the ship.
There were times when the service was good. On a key day, our family was the only one that showed up for the Flow Rider and we had a one hour personalized lesson from the two women working there. It was awesome. Also, one woman from the kid room told us we could sign a waiver to age our daughter up so that she could participate the tween activities. We have asked for this on Disney but didn't know that we could on Royal as well. It was nice for her.
3. The kid rooms: My kids went to the ice breakers on the first night as they always do on Disney. The two teens said that the room was packed and that there was no effort made by the counselors in there to facilitate things. Also, they got a lecture from security about not using their parents alcohol passes to get drinks. They have never received a similar lecture in Vibe. My daughter was miserable in the kid room. She did try again on the first sea day when it was quieter, but the kids were running around and she said it was awful. The teen boys never went back for a second look. These are three kids I never see once we get on the Disney boats. They LOVE Vibe and Edge and always make new friends and have a blast. I'm glad we got to do more things as a family, but I wanted them to be able to enjoy hanging out with other kids.
4. Timing of planned activities: The first time we went to roller skating, we arrived there 20 minutes before the start time to ensure that we got a spot. When we arrived, it was in full swing and all the times were already taken. They had just decided to open it early, but hadn't announced it anywhere. It wasn't in the app or in the cruise compass. They did find two slots for me and my daughter, but other people who came later, at the time it was supposed to have started, didn't get to skate at all. The same thing happened with the trapeze. We went 40 minutes early because this was the thing she wanted to do the most and they had already started and about half of the slots were gone. She was able to get a time, but when people came at the time it was supposed to start, they were turned away because all the slots had been taken.
5. Dishes: There were always tons of dishes everywhere on the pool deck. The glasses and plates were never picked up until the end of the day. It was gross. On our last full day, there were a tons of dishes in the hall by our room that I first noted at about 1 pm. They were still there the next morning when we went to breakfast. I have never seen that on Disney or other lines we have sailed.
6. Nickel and diming: The first day we had to say no at least 6 times to additional dining packages or to drink packages. We don't drink much in the way of alcoholic beverages or soda so we didn't feel that we needed the extra purchase. They are all over you to buy stuff. Then, at night there are watches, purses, hats and jewelry for sale up the main central concourse. Every night. Keep the stuff for sale in the stores.
7. Smoking: Half the pool deck on one side and a huge area on deck 5 were for smoking and there were always a ton of people there. It has hard to avoid and unpleasant.
8. No deck you could walk all the way around: One of my favorite things to do on cruise ships is to walk outside around the covered deck. I think this may be unique to Anthem, but that didn't exist. There is a running track on deck 14, but it is not covered and there are deck chairs on either side, so it is really only feasible to walk the circumference early in the morning. My husband ran there several times, but it was very sunny and busy even at 7 in the morning.
Overall, we did enjoy the cruise. I feel really relaxed and rested. However, we didn't book another Royal Carribean cruise. We always book another
Disney cruise onboard. We did go to the cruise next area and spent some time learning about other cruises. But, neither my husband nor I felt warmly enough to make a commitment to another RC cruise, even on a different boat with a different itinerary. We asked the kids and they said that they would far prefer a Disney cruise. (Granted, they don't pay)