We were looking for a vacation that coincided with our children's Spring Break without flying to Florida. Anthem of the Seas out of NJ fit the bill. Its a beautiful ship and even though it was a full ship (4800 passengers and 1600 crew), I never really felt that it was "crowded".

We booked our trip just a couple of months out so we were not able to reserve the iFly, Northstar or "my time" dining time prior to boarding so thank goodness I did it right away when we got onboard (using the ipad access at the starbucks café) or we would have been out of luck. I had a work colleague who had a dining plan ($) and had lots of challenges getting reservations.

Pros: beautiful boat, love the size of the solarium seating, pools and hot-tubs with bar. Good variety of activities on the boat. Room was spacious, good storage and clean. Dining staff was really helpful and attentive. Room maid was so lovely and friendly. Read more