Did Anthem Of The Seas Live Up To The Hype?

Did Anthem Of The Seas Live Up To The Hype?

With Royal’s newest ships Harmony of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas not very far away from launching, we took a look back at Anthem’s launch.

Anthem of the Seas has been sailing since April 2015 now which is plenty of time for people to see what she has to offer (including ourselves!)

If you can remember that far back (we know, we know, it was a long time ago!) then you might remember just how much interest there was in Royal Caribbean’s newest mega ship before she launched.

Everyone (and we mean everyone) was talking about her! Getting excited for the launch, wondering what new features would be on-board, discussing the ones that had already been announced. It really was a bit of a media frenzy!

So nearly a year on, has Anthem of the Seas lived up to the hype?

At the time there was a raft of announcements and press releases about all her incredible features and since then we’ve had a slew of reviews uploaded to our site.

Which got us wondering…

Did the hype have much in common with the reviews? What did the real cruisers who write our reviews think of the things that everyone was excited about before the launch? Were all the new ‘features’ worth it?

 

So how did Anthem do? We combed through all the reviews we could find on Anthem of the Seas since she launched to find out what real people were talking about…

 

Boarding The Ship

Boarding was a breeze, checked in by staff with iPads and on the ship within half an hour. (Read more from this review here)

 

Checking in was so easy with everything having been done on line from home including the photos for the Seapass! We were on board in less than an hour and exploring the ship. (Read more from this reviews here)

Anthem

 

The ‘Wow’ Factor

When you board this ship for the first time you will experience the huge WOW factor. She is enormous and having been so excited that I did not sleep for weeks before we went, I was not disappointed. (Read more from this review here)

 

The Anthem is a stunning ship in most ways. We have sailed twice before on the Independence and been blown away, as we were with Anthem (Read more from this review here)

North Star

 

The Technology

The technology on-board is amazing but not off putting. You can book meals, shows etc. on stations dotted around the ship. The decor was modern and tasteful all over the ship with some lovely art, rattan day beds, couches etc. all around the ship (Read more from this review here)

 Robo bar

 

Virtual Balconies

Its 3:30 am on the maiden cruise of the Anthem of the Seas into New York. It is dark, a little cool outside and a headwind. I am looking at the Statue of Liberty, from the warmth of my bed, in an inside cabin, on my Virtual Balcony! 
This is the future of cruising for solo travellers and families alike. This new ship has many inside cabins with attractive pricing – and a sea view! (
Read more from this review here)

 

Very quiet location, not on the main corridor and not too far from the lifts. Hubby was looking forward to the technology of this ship and we were very impressed with these virtual balconies. The view is the view you would get if there were an actual window in that position. Our bed was at the far end of the room with the virtual balcony on the side wall so our view was out of the front of the ship. Lovely to be able see outside and quite realistic, so much so that on a couple of occasions, a bird flew by and I actually ducked! (Read more from this review here)

Virtual balcony

 

The 270 Theatre

270, the room at the rear of the ship was a fantastic place, in use all day, great for breakfast from the deli, fantastic sea views and comfortable seats for daytime lazing. At night it transforms into an innovative entertainment space. Spectra’s Cabaret was amazing. We’d booked for this before sailing – good job, it was packed every night. (Read more from this review here)

 

The main entertainment space though, had to be 270, a unique and amazing theatre at the rear of the ship. A massive lounge with huge windows by day, screens transformed it by night in to a moving landscape with individual, robotic screens adding further colourful displays. Truly amazing. (Read more from this review here)

 

 

The Food

The food was good and we enjoyed the different themed restaurants with their different menu offers and ambiance.

The downside of having different restaurants is that you cannot build up the same rapport with the dining room staff that you can when eating in the same dining room each night. (Read more from this review here)

 

With Dynamic Dining it was very difficult to bond with fellow diners in stark comparison to the traditional set tables. 

Food was good but many felt it was worth paying extra for the specialist restaurants like Wonderland. These fill up very quickly so book early. The choice of eating venues is seemingly endless. (Read more from this review here)

Jamies Italian

 

The Royal Esplanade

The Royal Esplanade is nice but not as impressive as I’d hoped, it felt a little cramped most of the time. Again a great experience but tends to get a bit overcrowded in the evening (Read more from this review here)

Royal Esplanade

 

Ripcord by I-Fly

The Ripcord by iFly is a must, not something I would normally consider but I’m glad I did for the unique experience. The North Star is awesome, a great view of the ship and a must when out at sea as it swings out over the side of the ship for a view you wouldn’t normally get. (Read more from this review here)

 

 

As you can see a lot of people were impressed with the boarding process, the virtual balconies and the technology involved with the ship in general but The Royal Esplanade barely got a mention (with just one person saying they preferred the Royal Promenade concept). 

What do you think? Were these too gimmicky? Have you seen them in action? Were they worth it?

 

The only slightly negative we managed to find was that people weren’t too keen on losing the main dining room in favour of Dynamic Dining. Whilst they loved the extra choices they missed out on bonding with the same passengers and serving staff.

 

What’s your thoughts?  Are you a fan of Anthem of the Seas? Have you sailed on her before or would you want to? 

Let us know in the comments below…

 

You can read a lot more about Anthem of the Seas here…

Bulletin Editor

Editor and Creative Copywriter of Cruise.co.uk's bulletin blog, bringing you cruise news, tips and guides daily! - Contact: [email protected]

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Bulletin Editor

Editor and Creative Copywriter of Cruise.co.uk's bulletin blog, bringing you cruise news, tips and guides daily! - Contact: [email protected]

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