Anthem of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Embarkation was simple and fast once you got past the traffic at the port but we absolutely hated the emergency drill. It was a very bad start to the cruise as we were piled into an area that couldn't cope with the volume of people. About half the people had to stand for 30+ mins depending on the time of arrival at the drill and next time I absolutely won't be arriving early for it. You were then made to suffer an awful video that really didn't highlight the safety features in case of an emergency. As that was done, the Captain then came on and droned on for another 10 minutes about how he hoped we have a great cruise, what the barometric pressure was and all sorts of crap while we were penned in, hot and wanting to get on with life. Basically it was 45 mins of torture and while we appreciate safety is important, other ships can do this in 10 mins by outlining the important things instead of making it last an insufferable length of time.
The other annoying factor about embarkation procedures was being told by check in staff that cabins would be available at 1pm. We waited until 1.15pm to go to our room and then discovered a sign on the fire door stating 1.30pm. Quite why no-one can make an announcement on the ship to this effect is beyond us? Everyone understands delays can happen and in the grand scheme of things it's a small detail, but communication goes a long way and RCCL could easily have prevented hundreds of people being annoyed if only they had made an announcement on board.
After the poor start, we then had a treat as the Captain got permission to sail past the Statue of Liberty and take a good look at Manhattan. So that put us back in a good mood and we then went on to have a very enjoyable cruise.
Cabin Review
Ocean View with Large Balcony
Cabin was well designed and spacious. Enjoyed the larger balcony. Our room attendant was a bit hap hazard and one day didn't have the room made up when we returned at 1pm. Other than that, we enjoyed our stay.
Port Reviews
Bayonne (Cape Liberty)
Stayed in Manhattan the evening before the cruise and thoroughly enjoyed touring the city.
Boston
We never take a ship's excursion as we prefer to save money and do our own thing. We did a boat tour in the end and met some people who had organised through the ship. We saved $70 each on what they paid for the same trip!
Boston is a lovely city and we really felt we could have used more time there.
Portland (Maine)
Lovely port and we enjoyed walking around as well as grabbing the compulsory lobster roll.
Bar Harbor
Our favorite port and we did Ollie's Trolley tour that we booked ourselves and not through the ship. It was an excellent way to see Bar Harbor and while we could have done with extra time at each of the four stops,we still enjoyed it immensely. Lobster roll followed of course!
PS. If ever there is a way to dock in this port, it would save lots of time.
Halifax
This port is a little more sleepy than others but if you get out and about and explore, you can find plenty to charm you. We rented a vehicle and thoroughly enjoyed our time exploring.
Saint John (New Brunswick)
Rented a vehicle and drove to the National Park where we enjoyed some fabulous views.