Abe Rappaport

"I sailed on Anthem of the Seas on a cruise through the Western Caribbean. This ship is one of Royal Caribbean International's Quantum Class cruise liners. It's massive! There's so much to cover when reviewing this cruise ship. Below are some takeaways and notes about features/areas of the ship that I checked out. CABIN ROOM (BALCONY): We were on Deck 7 and had a balcony room towards the aft. It was on the side of Windjammer and Two70. This was the first time that we stayed in a balcony room. It was spacious with lots of storage. I loved the room. ROYAL THEATER: During the cruise, there were two musical theater performances. One was called "The Gift". The plot wasn't clear, at least to me, my husband, and a few people around us. The other was a Queen-inspired musical called, "We Will Rock You," and it was pretty good. TWO70: You need to check out this area of the ship. At night, the show 'Spectre's Caberet' and other activities. During the day, the floor-to-ceiling windows provide amazing views of the ocean and people can sit in the two-level area to read and play games. There's also a cafe in there. The coolest thing about Two70 are the Robo Screens; must see. BUMPER CARS: These were fun. The line for bumper cars wind around the rink, but it moves fast. If you are interested in this, make sure to check the Compass (daily schedule) to see the hours. It's not open all day, only select hours. MAIN DINING ROOM: We were assigned first seating for dinner (6:30pm) at CHIC. You have lots of options for dining on Royal Caribbean. Our waiter and assistant at our table were fantastic! So friendly and welcoming. Also, they gave my vegetarian husband recommendations and also arranged for him to have Indian curry (off menu). Tip: The assumption is that you order one appetizer, one main entree, and one dessert. If you wanted, you can order two appetizers and even two desserts. I didn't do this, but I heard you can also order the entree as an appetizer (smaller portion). I found this out from a cruise savvy diner seated next to our table. You can also go to the main dining room for breakfast and lunch. We didn't get a chance to do this, but wanted to try it. WINDJAMMER: If you want the cruise ship buffet experience, you go the Deck 15 and go here. You can do buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The food was really good, and the service staff bussing the tables and taking drink orders were on point and friendly. For breakfast, my favorite thing was the made-to-order, omelet station. Also, each night for dinner, the Windjammer usually had a theme for the food (like different cuisines from around the world). Lastly, the dessert station was awesome. SCHOONER BAR: Schooner ended up being where I stopped by the bar to get a bottle of water at the end of the night. Like the other bars, it was open late. The bars on the ship, Sorrentos, and one cafe are open until about 2am. SOLARIUM: I would go here. It's like a sauna inside the enclosed area, but there are lots of places to lounge. I thought it was less rowdy than the pool areas in the middle of the upper deck. I liked to relax there."

  0000-00-00 00:00:00     Jeannette L.

"I began to write a tip and then realized it was becoming long winded. To make a very long and dramatic story short, our family of 9 left Bayonne NJ last April over the spring break on a 10 day cruise. The weather was spectacular, which was lucky for us, as friend Bill S had sails a few weeks earlier and it was very chilly. I had done so much research, that I begged my parents to cancel due to an overwhelming number of scathing reviews. Not just the little paragraphs here on Yelp... but the large number on cruise blogs too. Terrible, horrible reviews. I lost many nights sleep worrying about safety and hygiene and wasting so many thousands of dollars on a terrible voyage. WE HAD THE TIME OF OUR LIVES !!!!! We found not one criticism to be true. Every detail, every aspect of our trip was 5 star... from the dining to the shows to the pools to the amenities... the staff, crew, excursions... everything ! The ship was immaculate and filled to capacity. We ate every night at the same large round table in Chic. Loved our waiter... We loved the menu choices and found the quality to be great.. everyone was pleased. If someone actually complains about the main buffets, they are mistaken. I never really ate any of the prepared or hot dishes... stuck to the salads and fruits, simple meats and chicken etc... stir fry and fish. But there was plenty for every type of diet or restriction. My sister was able to enjoy gluten free crepes every morning. Never was there a time that anyone was hungry. We did not dine in any specialty restaurants as we were very happy with our nightly table. If you are a fine diner then perhaps I can see that this trip isn't going to wow you... but we were extremely pleased. I loved the coffee... loved the tiny bran muffins. On Easter, the most gorgeous display of pasteurized and sweets were put out. We took some excursions and had fun, but you could easily stay on board and enjoy the empty ship. Loved the beach on the island that we visited... Please feel free to message me if you have any questions. I am super picky and couldn't find a single complaint. I never slept so well in my life.. never once felt the boat rock. Our bed was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in and our room was large and the deck was great. Enjoy !!!"

  0000-00-00 00:00:00     Lisa E.

"It's like taking a holiday at Macy's while it rocks from side to side. Dodging the obese and obscene "Mericans" while trying to plow down enough drinks to make your "package" worth it and make the aforementioned go away. Crowds and more crowds only to get off in some scrappy little port with, uh, TAH-DAH, more crowds. Total and complete misery. It was like being the back end of the proverbial costume horse and the front end has gas. Oh and watch how much food gets wasted because it's "all-included". That's not convenience, listen up hospitality people, that's grotesque practices in waste which could feed thousands. Disgusting. Truly an endeavor for the criminally insane. Enjoy your trip!"

  0000-00-00 00:00:00     Robert C.