Overall, we rate this cruise very good. The Anthem is the largest ship we’ve ever cruised on, and there were pros and cons, some fixable and some not. On the plus side: despite carrying 4400 passengers, the ship didn’t feel crowded most of the time. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly. There were three elaborately staged shows. There were four venues offering live music in the evenings (Latin, rock, folk, and a piano bar). There were numerous food options. There was no shortage of lounge chairs on the outside decks. On the negative side: the ship only had two elevator banks and, depending on your location, it could be a long hike to the elevator. There were also some maintenance problems. Once, we were briefly stuck in an elevator, another time it passed our stop because the button didn’t register our floor. We spoke to other guests who also had problems with the elevators.

The music venues were over-crowded at night. The heavy—and not even very comfortable chairs—didn’t provide enough seating. Smaller, lighter chairs would go a long way to better use of the space.

There was too much nickel-and-diming. Other ships we’ve been on (Norwegian, Holland America) had free snacks poolside all day. The Anthem has a Johnny Rockets with an upcharge. There were free hotdogs on deck 16 forward (a long walk from the pool) or free pizza inside down on deck 4. Drinks were expensive, $13 for a mixed drink, $9 and up for glass of wine. There were considerable upcharges for specialties in the main dining room. And $8.25 for a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, really! Read more