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Anthem of the Seas is Royal Caribbean's brand new cruise ship that is under construction and a member of the Quantum class of cruise ships. Anthem of the Seas will have her first cruise in spring 2015, with a homeport yet to be announced.

Real Housewives of New York star Dorinda Medley spotted onboard Royal Caribbean cruise

In:
01 May 2016
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Attention reality television fans, one of your favorites is enjoying a Royal Caribbean cruise vacation.

Real Housewives of New York star, Dorinda Medley, is onboad Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas with longtime love John Mahdessian.

The couple is enjoying a Caribbean getaway, and has been spotted taking in panoramic views from 300 feet above sea level in Anthem’s iconic North Star; riding bumper cars in SeaPlex, the largest indoor active space at sea; lounging poolside in the ship’s adults-only Solarium; and previewing the new Royal Suite Class, launching May 2016.

Royal Caribbean teams up with Dancing with the Stars alum to showcase fitness options on Anthem of the Seas

In:
21 Apr 2016

Royal Caribbean has produced a number of videos that show off the fitness options available on Anthem of the Seas.

Former Dancing with the Stars fan favorite, Carlos PenaVega and friends, Emma Slater and Alec the Trainer, hit the gym onboard Anthem of the Seas to kick off their #FitAdventure.

The five new videos cover several workout routines, including...

  • Step ups
  • Pull ups
  • Bench presses

PenaVega's partnership with Royal Caribbean began earlier this year, when the cruise line announced he would be joining the cast of Grease on Harmony of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean teams up with Dancing with the Stars alum to showcase fitness options on Anthem of the Seas

In:
21 Apr 2016

Royal Caribbean has produced a number of videos that show off the fitness options available on Anthem of the Seas.

Former Dancing with the Stars fan favorite, Carlos PenaVega and friends, Emma Slater and Alec the Trainer, hit the gym onboard Anthem of the Seas to kick off their #FitAdventure.

The five new videos cover several workout routines, including...

  • Step ups
  • Pull ups
  • Bench presses

PenaVega's partnership with Royal Caribbean began earlier this year, when the cruise line announced he would be joining the cast of Grease on Harmony of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean teams up with Dancing with the Stars alum to showcase fitness options on Anthem of the Seas

In:
21 Apr 2016

Royal Caribbean has produced a number of videos that show off the fitness options available on Anthem of the Seas.

Former Dancing with the Stars fan favorite, Carlos PenaVega and friends, Emma Slater and Alec the Trainer, hit the gym onboard Anthem of the Seas to kick off their #FitAdventure.

The five new videos cover several workout routines, including...

  • Step ups
  • Pull ups
  • Bench presses

PenaVega's partnership with Royal Caribbean began earlier this year, when the cruise line announced he would be joining the cast of Grease on Harmony of the Seas.

CDC confirms gastrointestinal illness aboard Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas

In:
02 Mar 2016
By: 
Matt Hochberg

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported 3% of the guests and 1% of the crew aboard Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas have reported being ill during the February 21 - March 4, 2016 voyage.

The CDC report shows 125 guests and 16 crew members reported symptoms, such as vomiting or diarrhea.

In response to the outbreak, Royal Caribbean and the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions:

  • Increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan,
  • Collecting stool specimens from passenger and crew gastrointestinal illness cases for testing,
  • Making daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the VSP,
  • Sending 4 Hotel and Housekeeping Operations Managers, 3 Public Health staff, one nurse from the cruise line corporate office to oversee and assist with implementation of the sanitation and outbreak response procedures,
  • Sending 10 additional internal cleaning crew and 10 contract cleaning staff and equipment to the ship to assist in the execution of the ship’s outbreak response,
  • Consulting with CDC on plans for their comprehensive sanitation procedures in Bayonne, NJ, including:
    • planning staged disembarkation for active cases to limit the opportunity of illness transmission to well guests, and
    • planning for sanitation of terminal and transport infection control procedures.

Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist will board the ship in Bayonne, NJ on March 2, 2016 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Specimens have been collected and will be sent to CDC for testing.

Anthem of the Seas voyage was cut short, but Royal Caribbean reports the reasoning was not the illness, but a forecasted storm in the path of the ship.

CDC confirms gastrointestinal illness aboard Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas

In:
02 Mar 2016
By: 
Matt Hochberg

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported 3% of the guests and 1% of the crew aboard Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas have reported being ill during the February 21 - March 4, 2016 voyage.

The CDC report shows 125 guests and 16 crew members reported symptoms, such as vomiting or diarrhea.

In response to the outbreak, Royal Caribbean and the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions:

  • Increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan,
  • Collecting stool specimens from passenger and crew gastrointestinal illness cases for testing,
  • Making daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the VSP,
  • Sending 4 Hotel and Housekeeping Operations Managers, 3 Public Health staff, one nurse from the cruise line corporate office to oversee and assist with implementation of the sanitation and outbreak response procedures,
  • Sending 10 additional internal cleaning crew and 10 contract cleaning staff and equipment to the ship to assist in the execution of the ship’s outbreak response,
  • Consulting with CDC on plans for their comprehensive sanitation procedures in Bayonne, NJ, including:
    • planning staged disembarkation for active cases to limit the opportunity of illness transmission to well guests, and
    • planning for sanitation of terminal and transport infection control procedures.

Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist will board the ship in Bayonne, NJ on March 2, 2016 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Specimens have been collected and will be sent to CDC for testing.

Anthem of the Seas voyage was cut short, but Royal Caribbean reports the reasoning was not the illness, but a forecasted storm in the path of the ship.

Royal Caribbean cancels Anthem of the Seas cruise early due to storm

In:
28 Feb 2016
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas canceled the remainder of an Anthem of the Seas sailing due to a forecasted storm off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

Royal Caribbean announced that the ship would return to Cape Liberty immediately to avoid, "a severe storm".  The decision was made to provide its guests with a comfortable journey back home.

Royal Caribbean is exercising extreme caution following an incident earlier this month, where Anthem of the Seas ran into a stronger than expected storm in the Atlantic that saw hurricane force winds and caused some superficial damage.

Royal Caribbean released a statement regarding the decision, "The safety and comfort of our guests and crew is always our first priority."

"On a recent sailing, Anthem of the Seas experienced bad weather that was much worse than forecast; therefore, we want to be extra cautious about our guests' safety and comfort when it comes to weather in the area. That is why we have decided to head back to Cape Liberty immediately so that we can stay a safe distance from the storm."

Royal Caribbean CEO provides update on Anthem of the Seas following winter storm incident

In:
19 Feb 2016
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley provided an update on Anthem of the Seas to travel agencies following a stronger than expected winter storm earlier this month.

Bayley reitterated how well the ship held up structurally despite the strong winds and large waves and provided an update on the ship's repairs.

According to Bayley, there are a handful of remaining minor issues that require attention including replacing outdoor ceiling paneling by the SeaPlex, repairing some balcony partitions and replacing broken furniture. North Star, RipCord by iFLY, FlowRider and other favorite experiences are fully operational.

Bayley added that Royal Caribbean has updated their storm avoidance policy and added additional resources at their headquarters to provide more data and guidance to support our captains. Senior marine executives and, when necessary, meteorologists will be involved in decisions about when, where and whether to sail when storms are forecast.

To the question about how the incident was allowed to happen in the first place, Bayley indicated the severity of the storm, "far exceeded forecasts, but ultimately it is our responsibility to avoid these possibilities – and this event has provided us with an important learning opportunity. We can do better, and we will."