Skid

Royal did say a while back that its strategy was to modify their product towards the millennial generation (not over used any more than baby boomer generation, generation X, etc.). I think this aligns to their strategy as do the facilities on the Oasis class ships we see and are going to see.
BUT...
My reaction was something else. RC...are you in the cruise line business or the resort business? Many, many, examples exist of business ventures not being successful because the company(ies) ventured outside their core competency in a effort to increase revenues by trying to be everything to everybody. Is this the same? Some may say yes, others may say no.
I see BIG business risk in this. The size of the capital investment along with the operational costs for a resort (not their core competency!) of this nature...on a small island in the Bahamas...in hurricane alley. What makes this special versus something on the mainland a few hundred miles to the west that will compel people to get on a cruise ship? I've filled out many RC surveys and I don't recall a 'would you like a wave pool at a port of call' being part of it...I have to wonder how they have arrived at the conclusion that this is a good investment beyond someone's personal pet project. Hope they don't turn CocoCay into an eventual rusting piece of junk. I think their capital could be better deployed.
 

@Sabrinaklai We know how you feel. Our daughter is a teacher and you are so correct about it not being "just a job". The world is definitely a better place because of you good people who really care. Thank you for caring.

Haha! Unfortunately my own kids know this best! 
You can take the teacher out of the classroom but you cannot take the teacher out of the person!  It truly is a vocation. Not just a job.  But that is a whole other topic in itself. It becomes part of who you are. 
That's why avoided the Seaplex like the plague! It felt too much like recess or phys ed time in there ?

@Floski and @Skid thank you for your kind words.  I had so much fun with it! Normally on a cruise, my family would do stuff and I would find quiet moments to read. This time, I just replaced those moments with blog time. It was much more enjoyable! 
As far as next cruise, you know where I'll be, you could always come with, it would make for an even more interesting live blog lol!

Welcome home, Sabrina. Glad you all arrived safely. Thanks again for your well written, informative and just terrific live review. We loved it all, even mysterious hubby, who certainly knows his way with the camera! Good luck with the rest of the school year--I am sure your students love you.

I thought your blog was fantastic!! Trying to relax and at the same time keeping us all posted was amazing! Have a safe trip home! and thank you again!!

Loved reading your blog and sorry it's over for you!!!  I took my first cruise years ago out of there in June. As much as I loved the convenience (I'm on Long Island - about an hour and change from port) I'm not a fan of leaving from the Northeast. I would do it for cost reasons again to avoid flights and hotel but it's not my favorite. It's the only time I've ever been sea sick - and I grew up on the water.
 
Just a heads up, it's really cold this morning. It'll get to mid forties (7c?) later today.

Final thoughts:
I’ve been trying to gather my thoughts on this cruise for a few days now.  This is probably going to come across as scattered because I haven’t quite figured it all out myself yet.  Going into this cruise, and being biased to Oasis class ships, I already knew that I wouldn’t be comparing apples to apples.  Also, keep in mind that we are all different types of cruisers.  So, read on and take my opinions with a grain of salt, as they are my own, and based on the type of cruiser that I personally am.  To wrap up this cruise, I tried to ask myself, and hubby, several questions:
Did this cruise meet all my/our expectations?
The answer here would be yes.  Everything was excellent.  Food was consistently good, in all venues.  Lots of activities to choose from for the whole family.  Staff across the ship has been excellent.  There have been a few stand out crew members and one not so pleasant one but overall, a good experience.
What did we love?
Our kids loved the SeaPlex.  Hubby enjoyed his share of it too.  I did not lol (too much like work).  The overall consensus from the kids was that Anthem is equivalent to and maybe even slightly better than DCL.  Wonder what they will think of Oasis class next March?
The shows were great on Anthem.  Same level of quality to match Oasis class.  I do miss not having the Aqua Theater and the shows that come with that.
Coastal Kitchen was also consistent with the level of service and quality on Harmony.  The one stand out thing here was the Coastal Kitchen restaurant manager, Bojan.  He was amazing!  And that isn’t even a good enough adjective to describe him.  I have never, in my cruising history, come across a head waiter/manager like him.  Some head waiters are quite “stand-offish”.  Each and every encounter with Bojan was personable and friendly.  Even if he was busy, and he was, he never showed it.  D2 is very soft spoken and each night he would bend down to eye level with her, lean in close, and have a conversation with her about her day.  On top of that, Bojan did everything.  Every single night, we witnessed him chat with each table, bus tables, serve drinks, fill water glasses, set tables, and sweep the floors.  How many of you have seen head waiters and restaurant managers do that??  I don’t even know where he found the time to supervise his crew!
What did we not love so much?
Our biggest dislike of Anthem is that she cannot seem to handle crowds well and traffic does not flow well in public spaces.  I have been trying to figure out all week why that is.  This ship is sailing at full capacity and it feels like it all the time, everywhere!  We’ve sailed Oasis class at full capacity too, in the height of summer, and it never felt as crowded as Anthem.  The conclusion I came to was that perhaps it has to do how Anthem is more narrow, compared to Oasis class?  Or perhaps there are more public venues on Oasis for crowds to disperse to?  I’m not sure I know the answer yet.
The WJ falls victim to poor traffic flow.  There was nothing wrong with the food here but the flow of traffic, the constant bumping into people, made for a very unpleasant dining experience on most days.  I wonder if it’s the way the WJ here is set up?  There are food stations in the middle as well as around the perimeter and maybe that’s why traffic doesn’t flow as smoothly?  I have been thinking the same as @twangster, in that this is a March break cruise, and hence the constant crowds.  But then I think back to all our other cruises, also during peak seasons, and traffic flow was never as bad as it was this time.
D1 also missed being able to see major “theater style” shows (not counting special guests and comedians) more often.  On DCL, there was one almost every night.  On Oasis class, you have 2 theater shows, 2 aqua theater shows, 2 ice shows.  Here, there is only We Will Rock You, The Gift, and Spectra’s Cabaret.  So again, I wonder what the kids will think of Oasis class next March?
Would I/we sail Anthem again?
Yes.  But…not under the same conditions.  One of our biggest disappointments this cruise was the weather.  This has nothing to do with RCI at all.  I already had reservations about this aspect prior to booking, and sailing this week, in mid-March, confirmed it.  We are not “sail out of cold weather” cruisers, even on a cold weather ship like Anthem.  Lesson learned.  We found that we did very little swimming this cruise compared to our other ones and we did not utilized our balcony as much as we normally do.  If we were to sail anything out of Cape Liberty again, it would be in the summer.
Am I still an Oasis class girl?
A definite yes here!  They say that your first cruise ship is always your first love.  This is not the case for Hubby and I.  Oasis ships are what we love most and that continues.  Anthem is great for families and a beautiful ship but there were things missing here that just could not be replaced.  For example, the stunning, panoramic views in the Suite Lounge/Coastal Kitchen area on Oasis class, Central Park (270 and La Patisserie while great venues in themselves cannot replace Central Park), and the smoothie bar in the Vitality spa isn’t here.
Should everyone give Anthem a try? 
Most definitely yes!  But know what you are signing up for and then you won’t be disappointed.  Do your research, book things ahead of time, especially if you are sailing at peak seasons.
In closing this out, I want to thank all of you for taking this journey with me.  It was so much fun to do a live blog and part of the fun was sharing it with you!  Thank you for that.  I also have to put a big shout here to Hubby and kids (because they are following this lol) and thank them for taking pics and putting up with my constant “stopping to update the live blog”.  That’s all, feel free to ask more questions, I’ll try to answer what I can.  Closing out now…Next live blog…Harmony March 2019…first time in Star Class!

Now that we can actually get to the cruise planner on the new site, do check your sailing for possible savings.  For our May sailing on Adventure refreshment package is $18pp/day (+ gratuity  of course)-regular price I've seen was $26, a BOGO 50% off on deluxe drink package makes that $42pp/day instead of $52, classic soda with VOOM 1 device $21pp/day (not sure what regular price was. Not everything is a great deal though-one of the excursions we booked at $63pp is now $94pp, although some other excursions do show savings. Certainly worthwhile to check.

Nope, you didn't miss it. We're a family of mystery ?

I've been wondering the same....
The omelette line is at least 10 people deep most times. Hubby hasn't even bothered. 

Last full day at sea? Dude, totally uncool :(

The only thing better than an afternoon nap is an afternoon nap on a cruise ship! Savor it. Glad you are feeling better.

Waiting for bumper cars to start. This was the line up at 20min prior.
Start of the line is at the pink arrow.  They run 17 cars at a time. The ride lasts 3 mins. The line now at 10min prior is 3/4 the way around the rink. 
Tip: Get here early!!

You must be a minimum of 5 years old to be a passenger and over 42" to drive.

?: Hubby
Random observation: something I've been wondering is how this activity handles Star Class guests. They made an announcement about 1-2 min prior to starting that SC guests did not have to wait in the line. They all went straight to the front. The dirty looks and comments were unbelievable! I know some of you may disagree with me, but I'm annoyed that people would think that all is equal when obviously not all fares are equal!

The only thing better than an afternoon nap is an afternoon nap on a cruise ship! Savor it. Glad you are feeling better.

Afternoon report:
Pretty lazy day at sea today. The ship is really moving today. The Captain came on earlier and reported that they are already taking a detour back to Cape Liberty but still warned everyone that this ship is going to move a lot more into the night as we pass by Hatteras. He also suggested that everyone takes their medication for sea sickness if needed.
After taking mine before going on North Star, I'm good with the motion but very sleepy. First afternoon nap I have had in years!
Here are some photos from this morning:
?: Hubby

Photo evidence of the dedication to this blog ?


It was interesting to be able to ride it today and yesterday in port. The experience was way better in port. Views were better and less motion. The operator said that winds were at 29 knots when we rode it. That capsule was moving! They shut the ride down at 46 knots. I also witnessed someone without reservations trying to get on the NS. No go. Completely booked. So make your reservations ahead of time. 
This was in our stateroom today ?


 

I agree. Another GREAT must see show is Million Dollar Quartet.  I was hoping for that on Symphony, but I think I read that it is being performed on another cruise line. The story line is about people you are too young to know much about (Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and, of course, Elvis), but it is a fantastic show. The local theater productions are obviously smaller but as entertaining as Broadway.

I am sooo happy to hear how much you liked We Will Rock You. After all my raving about it, I'd have felt really dumb if you didn't like it! We went back a second time to see the finale again.

Sabrina, I think it would be impossible for anyone to hate you. You are absolutely one of the nicest people I have never met!! I am certainly not alone in loving your review. Enjoy the rest of your cruise---and the We Will Rock You show.

It wouldn't be dumb at all! Entertainment is highly subjective too, just like food. But we did love it. Now I need to see Cats from Oasis to complete it. Such a shame Symphony is showing Hairspray.

I am sooo happy to hear how much you liked We Will Rock You. After all my raving about it, I'd have felt really dumb if you didn't like it! We went back a second time to see the finale again.

Yep, there rolling out the old website ?

If you want frozen & fruity, my wife's new favorite from the Schooner Bar on Grandeur this year was "Kiss On The Lips": Peach Schnapps, Mango Mix, Grenadine, & Crushed Ice.

I'm making me a list!  Keep 'em coming!

You might like a Pain Killer - that's one of my goto fruity drinks.
2-4 oz. of Pusser's Rum
4 oz. pineapple juice
1 oz. cream of coconut
1 oz. orange juice
Grated fresh nutmeg