Music to my ears – Anthem of the Seas will be based out of Southampton in 2015

So after the last few days Royal Caribbean have been building us up to the big announcement they have just made at 5pm today – the new Anthem of the Seas is coming to Southampton and will be based there for 2015 replacing the Independence of the Seas. So while it will be sad to see the IOTS leave the UK – what fabulous news about the Anthem of the Seas.

Currently the Anthem of the Seas is under construction and yesterday they laid the keel. Anthem of the Seas will join the newest class of ships for Royal Caribbean which is Quantum Class and the sister ship to the Anthem of the Seas (Quantum of the Seas) will come into service on November 2014 an then Anthem will be Spring 2015.

So what do we know about the Anthem of the Seas? Th ship will have 16 decks of which 8 of those will be balcony cabin decks. There will be a total of 2090 cabins of which 1570 are balconies, 147 will be ocean view and 373 will be inside cabins. The ship will hold a total of 4180 guests. There will be connected rooms, Studio Balcony cabins, Loft Suites and even cabins with virtual balconies.

The Quantum class ships will have the flow rider and the Climbing Wall but will not have an Ice Skating rink, a viking crown lounge or a royal promenade in the same form as the other ships. There will however in true Royal Caribbean style be lots of firsts – such as Ripcord by ifly -a sky diving simulator

the North Star Observation tower which will lift you 300ft above sea level and over the side of the ship.

Sea Plex is going to be an indoor venue with a full size basketball court which can then transform into a dance floor, flying trapeze school, roller skating ice rink or even a dodgem car track. There will even be a 2 storey Music hall which is a nightclub an small music performance venue an will also have the self leveling pool tables. The other new feature is Two70 and this is over 3 storeys with 270 degree panoramic ocean views with a cafe and an ice bar. This venue is an interactive experience day or night.

I know I am very excited about this news and the new ship and will first in line to pre register my interest for this ship

What are your thoughts on this – is this going over the top and takes away the traditional cruising or are you as excited reading all of the above as I am. Would love to hear your thoughts