We were originally scheduled on a 5 night cruise to Bermuda but due to hurricane related forecast for rough seas we were re-routed to Portland ME and Halifax NS. Booking this at the height of hurricane season, I had kept my mind open to not going to Bermuda so it wasn't a big disappointment to me.Sailing with my husband, our previous cruise experiences were more than a decade ago with our then school aged kids.

We are not big budget cruisers so we booked an inside virtual balcony guarantee. Upon boarding I put our name down to see about possible upgrades. Our original cabin was way far forward on deck 11. I had underestimated the size of Anthem and happily we found out after dinner we could upgrade to a category D7 midship balcony on deck 10. This location was a big improvement and I loved having the balcony. The cabin was very well designed, more than enough storage, a spacious seating area, and very comfortable bed. Some might find the bed quite firm but I slept very well. We could have used more electrical outlets but we made things work. There are only 3 in the room. We had to ask our steward for a remote for the TV and hair dryer as these were not in the room.

Anthem is impressive and we soon discovered that 5 nights would not be enough to even see it all, never mind take part in the variety of activities. We did the North Star which was definitely worth doing. I had thought about doing iFly but read a post from someone who had hurt their shoulder doing it and I already have a problem shoulder so that made that a no go for me. I walked by a couple of times but never saw it in operation, same for the flowrider. Missed the bumper cars and roller skating too. I did use the gym which was fine, though the movement of the ship did make me have to hold on to the treadmill. If a certain activity is a priority for you, check the daily Compass for times and plan accordingly. I was very happy to sit and read for hours and watch the sea go by, very relaxing. Read more