MattG

FINAL POST RECAP! INTRO: Anthem is a gorgeous ship - there's class and elegance in the interior design throughout. I can't stress enough how impressed I was with the design. Two70, the Windjammer, the Via are all amazing spaces. I loved the size - it was big, but the largest single spaces I can think of are SeaPlex and the Main Theatre. Everything else is 100-200 people in capacity, so it was great to have so many individual, unique venues to go to. Even with the smaller venues, I never felt cramped, or as if something had to be scaled down to fit on the ship. Everything felt sized right. The only time I felt a little cramped was during AO pickup/drop-off, the spaces are a bit small, and the low-ish ceiling doesn't help. ACTIVITIES: I had hesitations going into this cruise that we wouldn't be leaving any family activities on the table - that is to say, we're doing everything we can find that's family friendly. Reflecting back, we did everything we could, and didn't skip anything. Checking pre-COVID Cruise Compasses, there are definitely activities that are missing (Bellyflop Contest, Sexiest Man, Roller Skating, Trapeze, etc) that we would definitely take advantage of, but are COVID casualties either due to lack of staffing or COVID protocols. We sincerely hope these come back around the summertime! I definitely wanted to do complimentary iFly, complimentary North Star, and FlowRider, and due to scheduling, never got a chance to do any of them. FlowRider's boogie-boarding was either right at AO pickup, or in the afternoon when we had the kids. I would have loved to see an early morning boogie-boarding session! As for iFly/North Star, complimentary times were only when in port, and released at 8am each day. If you weren't on the ball at 8am, you missed out. I ended up paying for the extended experience on North Star, but was disappointed in the lack of availability. I would have loved to book this in advance, or even been put in a lottery and been told when to come back (I can plan that better with kids!) Bumper Cars, dance classes, trivia were all a blast. I can't think of an activity that we didn't enjoy! ADVENTURE OCEAN: As a family with three kids under 6, we really needed Adventure Ocean to pull through, and boy did it! Each time we picked the kids up, they didn't want to leave, and were eager to go back every time. Mad props to all the counselors and staff, they really do an amazing job! We're looking forward to the amplified AO on Oasis! STATEROOM: We did two connecting interior staterooms, and it was fantastic. Our nanny and youngest were in one room, and myself, the wife, and two oldest in the second room. Plenty of storage to go around (even some unused). We're tempted to try a Family Stateroom on Oasis, but are concerned about storage and a single bathroom. Our stateroom attendant (Raj) was personable, helpful, and fantastic at his job. DINING: Windjammer was great for breakfast and lunch, nothing remarkable. It was occasionally hard to find seating, but not impossible. On our previous cruise on the Grandeur, we had a fantastic MDR experience, so we weren't really interested in specialty dining. Main Dining had hits and misses this cruise - the hits were high (french onion soup, baked cod, lamb shank, short ribs, apple blossom dessert, cheesecake), the lows were low (multiple over-cooked steaks, the garlic tiger prawns were bland and mealy). Overall a positive food experience in MDR. Our middle child got mac & cheese and a banana split every night and didn't have a care in the world! Our oldest was the adventurous one, switching between adult and kids menus each night. The MDR staff was the best part of this entire trip. Our waiter Jodie connected with my wife instantly, and together they ran our table like a swiss watch. Jodie would effortlessly switch between assertive (clearing plates, resetting place settings, keeping time ensure we could make a show), and deferential. She was always level-headed, a calm, quiet voice with a smile behind the mask. For one week she made dinner with three kids so painless. Her assistant waiter, Demis, was interacted with the kids every night, being the bearer of strawberries for each kid, and checking in with each one multiple times throughout the night. As parents, we finally felt like we could relax and enjoy dinner every night. Due to the hit-and-miss of the MDR menu, halfway through the cruise I asked the wife if she'd be open to specialty dining, and she said yes. When I told her about the UDP and the price I found it for, she was sold instantly. Looks like UDP is in our future Chef's Table, as always, was impeccable. SHOWS: The two oldest loved all of the shows - the youngest was hit-and-miss, usually depending on the showtime as we got closer to bedtime. "Frankie and the Dreamers" was good. I really enjoyed "Spectra's Cabaret". We didn't care for "We Will Rock You". We didn't see any of the late night shows. Really looking forward the ice show and Aqua 80s on Oasis. POOLS: The water was a LITTLE on the cold side all around, but the kids didn't mind. Our oldest won't stop talking about the "tornado" pool being her favorite (the mini lazy river). The wave pool for the kids doesn't really have any waves unless the ship is rocking, otherwise it's just a big wading pool. The "swim diaper area" is really too small and not stimulating enough for our 2-year-old, and that's the only pool he's allowed in. This was one of my wife's greatest complaints: How do we keep the family together when this is the ONLY pool our youngest is allowed to play in? All of the pools and hot tubs were great, and the kids loved them. We spent minimal time in the solarium, mostly because it was had a heavy chorine smell, and was crowded almost all of the time. We almost always found an open hot tub by the outdoor pool TIPS FOR NEXT TIME: Leave the Yeti tumblers at home - you brought them to keep the drinks cold, but in reality you're finishing the drink before the ice melts Magnet hooks are KING! The wife got a 6-pack of 25lb magnets, and I got a 10-pack of 100lb magnets. We used them CONSTANTLY - hanging up clothes for the next day, hanging bathing suits in the bathroom to try. I brought two wall-hanging shoe organizers, and they worked great to keep little stuff off the floor and desk: hairbands, hair brush, Kindle, phones, chargers, all the kids shoes/flip-flops, jewelry. We just hung it with the 100lb magnet hooks. Keep using the duffels for packing - when empty, they nest into each other and disappear under the bed. Use the biggest one for dirty laundry throughout the week. Pack more underwear. Seriously, like double it. Don't go hard on the drink package on Day 1. Trying to sleep while your body is adjusting to the rocking of the ship AND metabolizing alcohol just doesn't mix. Downloading MANY of Daniel Tiger and Sesame Street onto the iPad got you through several mornings and naptimes. Download more episodes than you think you'll need. The internet package was a savior at dinner when the youngest wouldn't sit still. Definitely doing Surf & Stream again. Surf & Stream for one device was plenty for us - we just shuffled around and "took over/kicked off" the last device. Thanks for reading!

I'm sorry you had that experience! I certainly hope it spreads fleet-wide, I know a few more family parties traveling soon and can report back.

This was 100% NOT the case last week on Anthem. All three of our kids were in AO: one in Babies & Tots, two in Aquanauts. The two in Aquanauts were playing with other kids in close quarters, sharing toys, sharing supplies. The only thing not "normal" were masks. I also assume the limited slots are staffing related, as all of the extra-curricular staff (rock wall, iFly, North Star, AO, SeaPlex, etc) was down about 50% - There were only two staff members each in Aquanauts and AO Babies, and if I had to guess, more staff would mean more availability. The Aquanauts and AO Babies areas on Anthem aren't massive, either.

Which rules are you taking about?

We just finished Anthem with all unvax'd kids (our oldest hit "fully vaccinated" on our last cruise day), but I was very aware of what she could do IF she was fully vax'd. Call Royal Caribbean and see if you can get her tagged as vaccinated, which should enable you to upload the card. Looking back on it now, IF our oldest was fully vaccinated during check-in, we could have easily shown her vax card and gotten her a bracelet. I think the pre-cruise app upload is a pulse check for guests that they can't sneak through - I don't recall anything about the pre-cruise app upload being cross-referenced at check-in, our cards were just checked independently the moment we entered the terminal, and we were either issued bracelets, or forwarded for testing of unvax'd kids. AO is still considered an "Everyone" venue - she'll have to wear a mask during sessions, and you won't get any grace on time periods/limits for being vaccinated. Vaccine status is enforced on the ship, not in the app. Once you're on the ship, the app doesn't discriminate between vaccinated and unvaccinated members of your party. The staff is very good about seeing kids and looking for bracelets/asking vax status to ensure guests are directed to the most appropriate location for an "Everyone" event. Your daughter will get a "vaccinated" bracelet (some ships have a rubber bracelet, some still have the cloth bracelets) just like adults - that will be GOLD for her on the ship, and show staff that she can join V* only events, or sit in V* locations. I've been hearing this too - we had 12 hours of AO time when we boarded, and were told to re-check on Day 4 if additional time is available (AO staff gauges traffic on the first three days to ensure everyone gets a chance). Sessions on Anthem were 9a-12pm, 2p-5p, and 7p-10p (all 3 hour sessions). We personally used all morning sessions, and usually booked the next day when picking up (book Day 3 morning on Day 2 pickup, etc). Day 5 was Coco Cay, so on Day 4 we tried to book Day 6 but it was full, so ended up booking Day 7. When we cruise again, once we board, we're going to register ASAP and book Day 2. Then we're going to sweep through the schedule on the Royal app and reserve shows, coordinate with the entertainment schedule, and ID times there's nothing else interesting, and then call AO and book the remainder of our allocated time. If more time becomes available on Day 4, we'd book additional sessions then. DON'T sleep on booking your sessions, especially as capacity fills up going into the holiday!

The video game areas on the second floor of the SeaPlex were turned off - you could go into those areas, but there wasnt much to do (ping pong in one, paid air hockey in another). No roller skating or trapeze in the SeaPlex. No “sexiest man” or “bellyflop” competitions - these are the only things I can think of that were full casualties. In terms of limited access: balcony of main theater and all of Two70 had lots of sections “reserved for social distancing”. Third floor MDR for unvaccinated parties had tables kept empty for social distancing (not true on fourth floor for fully vaxed). All staffed sporting activities (climbing wall, iFly, FlowRider) had half the staff than normal, so there were times the activities were limited. Yes, chair hogs were still abound, especially in close proximity to the pools (indoor and outdoor). The Solarium was actually mostly full each time we went in, so there were few chairs without someone actually in them. However, you could still find a reasonable seat with minimal effort anywhere on the pool deck. Yes - about 75% of the casino is smoking, and it was smelly, but not hazy. I was concerned if I lingered too long I’d come out smelling bad. The other 25% is non-smoking, but the smell lingers. I never smelled smoke outside the boundaries of the casino. The casino was always busy, but not overly crowded. Always an energy and a presence of people. Rubber, removable bracelet issued in the terminal before boarding. Many people wore the bracelet on their lanyard with their seapass card.

I knew I took this picture for a reason!

I didn’t even think to go to Guest Services! I’ll try that next time!

This doesn’t make sense for me either, our Coco Cay visit was Day 5, and we were tested on Day 7.

Parked in the garage closest to the terminal. I tried to find something cheaper, but logistically, trying to get everyone and everything moved from the cheaper lot to the terminal was more of a hassle. In the end, $175 for the week was worth it for the ease of getting in, but also getting out. I built it into the cost of the cruise and just forgot about it. I vote for the garage at the terminal.

Cruise Compass from the whole week - @Matt feel free to post on the main site's CC directory, just credit "Matt G". AN-5Dec2021-CruiseCompass.pdf Entertainment Schedule AN-5Dec2021-Entertainment.pdf @AshleyDillo @SpeedNoodles @Lovetocruise2002 I can't seem to download/view these attachments - anything I need to do to fix it?

Kind of - kids were noticeable, but not overwhelming. After Day 3, you started to see the same families over and over, and by Day 6 all the kids are friends with each other as they also play together in AO.

Check out my live blog for a LOT more detail. If you can get the 4-year old vaccinated by then, your whole trip will go a lot smoother. For iFly and North Star, make sure you check the Royal app EVERY DAY at 8am for complimentary times, otherwise you're paying for the "extended experience".

100% agree, the greatest challenge during dinner was making it to the bathrooms on Deck 4. Swapping vax and unvax decks for MDR would have helped!

2,789 passengers out of 4,905 max is 56.8% capacity Windjammer was open for dinner Deck 3 MDR was for unvaccinated guests and families, with social distancing in place (every other table closed off) Deck 4 MDR was for vaccinated guests with no distancing between tables (we did lunch here one day) Adventure Ocean Three sessions: 9am-12pm, 2pm-5pm, and 7pm-10pm Maximum of 12 hours through day 3, we had more hours open up starting Day 4. Royal Babies and Tots is $6/hour, except at night when it's $8/hour We did morning session for Day 2, 3, 4, and 7 On Day 4, we tried to book morning session of Day 6, and it was full, so we settled for Day 7. We did not try to book afternoon or evening sessions Kids in Aquanauts and above had to wear masks. No social distancing enforced in AO that we saw - kids had plenty of interaction, activities, and crafts Each session of each day had it's own unique theme, and the kids left every day with some crafts

Hi everyone, I see others doing this, and it seems popular, so i'll give it a shot as long as people are curious! Ask me anything about our trip! 3 adults, 3 kids on Anthem out of Bayonne, NJ. Stops in Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Coco Cay.

This was the most consistent thing for us - sometimes push notifications worked, sometimes not. But checking the app for messages once an hour was the most consistent way to pass thoughts.

It's all good, man. I appreciate all feedback! Our two oldest (3.5 and 5) took advantage of ALL of the pools, including the indoor pools! Our oldest loved the "tornado" pool next to the H20 Zone, it was her favorite! My main concern was the only pool our youngest (2) could use was outside, away from most of the other pools. Even though there's a wading pool next to the inside pool that he LOVED using with his sisters, and that's all we really wanted - a place all three could play together. 100% agree, and if you look at the later Quantum class ships (Ovation, Spectrum, Odyssey), or the amplified Oasis (basically any ship built after Anthem ), they all have Splashaway Bay and a much more elaborate kids pool area. This is one of the key reasons we're doing Oasis next fall. We certainly voiced this concern in our survey, and based on the most recent ships, they definitely listen! Here's hoping Anthem gets amplified in the next 5-7 years, we'd love to cruise on her again!

DAY 8: DISEMBARKATION Today was the first day in a week to not wake up to the gentle rocking of the ship - more like shudders, shakes, shimmies, and ding-dongs over the intercom announcing our arrival back to reality. Everyone woke up at the same time, and it was disorienting and sad to look around our now-boring, plain, empty stateroom. A weeks worth of dirty laundry, accumulated AO projects, vaccine bracelets, Cruise Compasses, etc, all packed somewhere in the bowels of the ship waiting to be loaded onto the car for the drive home. We all got dressed in our last outfits of the trip, and crammed everything leftover into one more duffel bag. We made our way up to the Windjammer and found a table amongst the chaos. This is the busiest we've seen the Windjammer all week (which makes sense), and there's a palpably different energy - everyone's thrown off today. There's suitcases everywhere, and the rhythm is off. However, we still have our wonderful greeters with the guitar at the handwashing station ("washy washy, happy happy!"), and our friend at the first station that greets everyone with a two-handed wave and a "Good MORNING! WELCOME to wind-JAMMER!" We grab our breakfast and find a seat that overlooks the New York skyline. The PA system calls out luggage tag numbers that slowly increment to ours (30, 8:45am estimated departure). The announcer is ahead of schedule, but we limp through breakfast, an attempt to squeeze every minute out of this perfect vacation. Just as we wrap breakfast, the PA says "All luggage tags are now free to disembark", about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. We ensure we have all of our bags, and head towards the elevator, saying goodbye to all the helpers that made our week so effortless. Throughout the morning, I think about how unique embarkation day is for the crew - saying goodbye to friends you've made during the week, only to greet an entirely new passenger manifest in 3 hours time. Every stateroom is turned over, every inch of the ship cleaned and inspected, so it appears new and fresh to the next week's worth of passengers. Every person getting on the ship having the same experience we did when we boarded one week ago thinking "this is just for us...". I can't think of another vacation where we had such great, consistent staff every single day. To most of them, we're one table at MDR, or one set of staterooms on one cruise, but to us, we will remember them forever. As we hit Deck 5, I turn and take one last look down the Via, the same look that makes my heart skip a beat every time I see it. I hand out SeaPass cards to everyone one final time, and we zip through the check-out, onto the deck, and then the gangway. My wife says "I'm going to miss the rocking of the ship...", to which I immediately started jumping up down on the gangway to make it sway We make our way back to the escalator, down the corridor usually used for suite guests during embarkation, and out to luggage pickup. We wrangle a porter to grab our mountain of bags, and head through what I guess is "Customs" - There are people with what look to be oversized, stand-up cameras with a small screen beneath showing what the camera sees. Each person in our party pauses, looks at the camera, and they get a green light. It literally takes 2-3 seconds per person, no passports needed. Whatever AI/ML they're using behind the scenes to ID each person is insane. No questions asked, we're through in 15 seconds, max. I run up to get the car. We load the bags into the car, tip the porter, and head out of the garage. Parking was $175 for the week. We end up driving into NYC and hitting up the Bryant Park christmas shops, grab a pizza from Joe's in the Village, and haul ass down the turnpike headed home. Just as we leave NYC, in the distance, we see the Anthem one final time, the North Star extended up in the air like a hand waving one final goodbye.

DAY 7 - SEA DAY Another day, another Windjammer. Everyone's settling into their routines of yogurt, waffles, and omelets. The greatest dynamic during breakfast is finding an open table that seats six! It's too cold to sit out back, so we grab another booth by the window and enjoy the view. After breakfast, we take one more trip to Deck 11 and drop the kids off at Adventure Ocean. Never any complaints or objections, they run right in every time. Can't be beat! I had a massage scheduled for the morning, so I headed up to Vitality. It was a 50-minute swedish massage, and while i've never had a bad massage, this one wasn't exceptional. The treatment room was a little chilly, and i'm actually used to the treatment bed being heated? This one wasn't. The masseuse was kind, but a bit firm in tone. The massage was straight forward, pressure was excellent, but overall it didn't feel personalized, it felt very cookie-cutter. Afterwards was the standard retail pitch for products. When I politely declined, I was escorted back to the hallway, and the masseuse disappeared. The whole experience lacked warmth. Anyway, time for a drink! At the recommendation of another guest, I finally grabbed a frozen Coco Loco...holy crap you guys, where has this been my whole trip!? It was REALLY good! Definitely getting more of those in my future. Since it was the last day and I missed iFly and North Star complementary experiences AGAIN, I finally bit the bullet and paid for a North Star Extended Experience. I was joined by one other person, and was able to grab some really great shots from above. The attendant said her favorite times to be on North Star are in port (though Bayonne is really boring), and in Alaska. I'll post those photos later tonight. After the North Star experience, I went back to the stateroom for the post-massage shower to clean off the oil, change, and go pick up the kids. We COMPLETELY forgot about their pre-departure COVID tests, and heard the announcement around 11:30am for any kids not tested, as well as B2B cruisers. We took the mid-ship elevator down to Deck 2, and we were the only guests there! When I booked the appointments, there were appointment times every 15 minutes, and 300 slots available per appointment time (none of them close to being full). I was asked for the QR codes from my appointments, which I found in one of the signup emails, and each child was linked to a test kit. The nurse proceeded to "boogie test" each kid, much to their chagrin ("I ALREADY DID THE BOOGIE TEST! WHY DO I HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN!?"), and we were in-and-out in 15 minutes. Painless! I cajoled the wife into letting me play Bingo with the kids, so after the COVID tests, we made our way to Two70 for lunch and Bingo. I grabbed a Kummelweck with garlic mayo and gravy, and YES PLEASE, I'll have another! So good! We grabbed our lunch and Bingo cards, and went to the balcony so the littlest can run around and not disturb as many people. After a while Bingo started and the girls alternated finding and dabbing the numbers Although we did not win (and the girls were VERY disappointed), much fun was had by all. The wife took our youngest back to the room for a nap attempt, and the rest stayed in Two70. I finally figured out how to get Expedition Two70 to work in the Royal app! I showed it to the girls, and they immediately ran off to find the masks. Each one was a really neat activity (if not a bit buggy). We finished Expedition Two70 after about 40 minutes, and went back to the room to tag out the wife and let the girls head up to the pool deck for one last dip. My intention during nap duty was to write out Day 6 and start packing, but the little dude fought hard on the naps, and I didn't get around to writing OR packing! I did start labeling the luggage tags and organizing the Cruise Compasses to bring home to scan. After an hour, the nanny tagged in for nap duty, bringing the girls back to change, with the promise of a surprise. They quickly changed, and we went off to the pool deck, and up to Johnny Rockets and pointed to the milkshake sign. After many gleeful squeals, and I asked them "Okay, you both have to agree: Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, or Cookies & Cream?" They settled on vanilla, and we were able to split the milkshake into two cups. We walked to the inside pool bar and I grabbed another frozen Coco Loco. By the time my drink was ready, the bartender saw the girls cups almost empty, and he said "What's that, a milkshake? I'll make you a BETTER milkshake!" So he made two more, and the girls swapped cups for ANOTHER milkshake. I'm pretty sure this is a mutual game - the girls love to be spoiled, and the bartenders love to spoil kids. With another hour to kill before dinner prep, we lazily made our way down to Two70 to say goodbye to my favorite venue. We wandered over to the bar to hand over our cups, and the bartender said "What's that, a milkshake? I'll make you a BETTER milkshake!". I had to wave him off twice, saying "If they have any more, they won't eat dinner!" I settled on taking a few bottles of water, and the girls ran into a few friends from Adventure Ocean. They all frolicked around Two70 while I was able to decompress with some of the other parents. Two70 is such a great space. After an hour of playing, we said goodbye to the kids, the parents, and the venue, and headed up for dinner prep. We made our way down to Chic for our last MDR meal. I ended up YOLOing the menu and getting three apps, an entree, and two desserts The wife grabbed the steak, which was comically overcooked (a repeat from Day 2). The head waiter noticed, asked if she ordered it that way, and apologetically took the plate back for a re-fire. Steak #2 arrived, and when the wife prodded it to check for doneness, the head waiter offered to cut and check, and Steak #2 was also overdone. We had a good laugh (what else are you going to do), and I joked "They're going to bring you another fillet from Chef's Table next..." Steak #3 came out, and it was cooked perfectly medium rare. The head waiter was very apologetic, and I'm sure choice words were provided to whoever was firing the steaks. Dinner was excellent, and stuffed, we headed back to the room to pack. We set the kids up with the iPad while the wife and I packed as best we could. One of the best choices we made was to pack in duffel bags, the largest being a laundry basket throughout the week. Once everyone changed into pajamas, we closed the big duffel and started packing toiletries, nightlights, Cruise Compasses, etc into the various duffels. We ended up finishing around 10pm, after the kids went to bed. Tomorrow is Day 8 - Disembarkation!

Just got off Anthem and we did CT, and had the identical menu - it's fleet-wide and rotates every year, I think?

Understood, but there were also paid time slots that were coming and going with nobody taking them. I was on the pool deck most of the morning of a sea day when the Extended Experience was offered, and there was an entire hour where it didn't go up at all. I really wish they would convert these to complimentary times, but also understand that the Extended Experience is about making money.

Now that I think back, this makes a lot of sense, as the lifts are out of your peripheral if you're down front.

Last week was about this number, and we definitely felt a presence of others on board. It never felt crowded, but was never a ghost town. The places we felt had a lot of people were the Solarium, and Windjammer during breakfast and lunch. The places that felt exceptionally empty were Schooner Bar, Izumi, and Vintages. Everywhere else had people, but it was a very comfortable level. It made me wonder why I could never land iFly or North Star complementary times!

Strange! We were given the rubber ones during check-in at port. We did have plain, white "Tyvek" wristbands for activities (rock climbing, FlowRider, etc). Enjoy! First and last days are brutally cold, but it gets better (WARMER!) as the week goes by!