Anthem of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,871 reviews

Generally nice time - too crowded - undue stress resulted

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Anthem of the Seas
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momof5ct
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Apr 2018
Traveled with children

We chose this cruise because it looked like it would be fun for everyone. Traveled with my husband and 5 children (12-21) and my parents. There looked like there would be plenty to do and there was a lot going on. Having said that, we were disappointed in the fact that everything had huge wait lines & near impossible to get reservation slots. We were unable to get onto the Northstar (the thing on the arm at the top of the ship) at all and kids opted out of things because of the waiting and the crowds - even dodgeball games and hot tubs were always over capacity. Further, as soon as we got on the ship it was a mad dash to sign up for these things because you couldn't do it ahead of time. The lines were ridiculous and the fact that everyone was so stressed out trying to make reservations for shows, sky diving simulation, northstar, etc. was miserable. That was the last thing we wanted to deal with especially kicking off our vacation. We also tried to get a cabana or the like for the day at Coco Cay - but those were all sold out by the time we were able to meet with a human as the computers weren't always working on board either, Spa services were booked up fast too. Clearly the servers (computers) on board couldn't handle all the activity.

Having last been on the Independence of the Seas ship, we were also disappointed with our dining room accommodations. The Independence of the Seas has a 3 tier dining room and is gorgeous - this larger ship had 2 flat one room dining areas - modern looking - nice but just not the same. We used the windjammer for breakfast and it was always a pain to find a table for at least 6 let alone any more. Food was good.

Lastly - the way the pool deck is set up is just crazy - the front of the ship has this solarium for adults which, while very nice is totally underutilized - completely encased in glass and was pretty much too hot to even want to go to most of the time. They had an indoor pool next tot that which had retractable roofs which i thought would be a nice way to utilize the area - but they didn't open on our cruise idk why- again it was like a hot house in there. they had an outdoor kiddie pool area, and was just that, unless you have little guys you don't want to be there. The main pool was smaller than my pool at home. That's where everyone wants to be - outside in the sun - vying for a lounge chair around the pool was a sport and you had to get up mighty early to get one - we never got one. Again - not relaxing for anyone - looking for more than one chair, then being so on top of one another is ridiculous. The promenade was too small too, kids were disappointed there was one soft serve machine and no other ice cream stores on board (Ben and Jerry's was on the last one). The store on board has limited items - on the website it showed little bottles of shampoo, conditioner, etc. but what you get is a dispenser in the shower of soap/shampoo/conditioner - which was no more than hand soap. Had to get some at port at our first stop. The shows were good - people were nice, but overall, especially at capacity - this ship cannot handle the crowds.

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