Anthem of the Seas - 1st August 2021 - trip report

[spellman]

Thought I'd drop some thoughts about this sailing for others looking to research UK cruises (as there doesn't seem to be many UK trip reports on here)

Pre-cruise experience

Messaging from RCI was inconsistent and the Covid rules changed twice (the second time only three days before departure, causing mass panic and confusion when RCI said that children had to be PCR-tested, but of course there was no time left to get tested!). I was disappointed that RCI changed the rules on shore excursions to only allow disembarkation if you had purchased your excursion via RCI, although I can understand the reasoning of trying to keep passengers in their vaccinated "bubbles" whilst on-shore.

On-line check-in only partially worked on the app, and only one of our SailPasses was available on the app, we had to get the other two printed at the terminal. Nobody really understood why as they had been available in the app earlier in the week.

Our PCR test results had still not come back from Eurofins by departure day, so we had to get re-tested at the terminal (Antigen tests) which were handled quickly and professionally. The organisation at Southampton was superb with loads of staff on-hand and a very personal service offered.

Onboard-staff

The service was a bit more hit-and-miss than our previous cruise on-board Independence two years ago. Perhaps it was new staff and lack of training, or 18 months of being off work, but the attentiveness of the bar staff was not as good as previous cruises, and a general lack of attention to detail seem to be prevalent (like having to ask for shower gel from our room attendant three days in a row, or guest services having to be chased several times for answers to some questions).

Anthem of the Seas

The ship was well maintained, and spotlessly clean as you'd expect. We enjoyed all the available activities like Ripcord, North Star and Dodgems.

The physical distancing measures in place meant greatly reduced capacity onboard, so the ship felt very quiet. Bookings for shows still quickly filled up due to the greatly reduced seating capacity in 270 and the theatre, so I'm glad I booked everything the first few hours of being onboard via the app. 

Because of the physical distancing measures, I did miss the "social" side of cruising..meeting new people and making new friends etc. There was no guest dancing or singing allowed in any of the music venues, and tables in bars and restaurants were all distanced appropriately making it almost impossible to talk to your neighbours and make new friends. There were a few queues to get into the pool, as numbers were very restricted and enforced by the lifeguards. 

The ship felt more "intimate" than Independance with the main boulevard deck divided into two floors and no "interior balconies" and I missed being able to visit the very front (reserved for paid-for photo experiences on Anthem)

Food and drink

Windjammer was only open for breakfast and lunch for the first couple of days, then they added dinner service for the final four days. Food variety was normal, but seating capacity much less because of so many tables blocked to maintain social distancing.

We had MyTime dining, so most meals were in Silk main dining on deck 4 and food variety and quality was good, with menus accessed via the app (paper menus were available for those without smartphones)

After an issue with dinner in Silk one evening we we comped a meal in Chops Grill which was fantastic and definitely made up for the poor main dining room glitch. Catering management were keen to address any issues and put things right so received great customer service there.

With the an ultimate drinks package, we didn't waste any time sampling the various cocktails on offer, although found may of them too sweet and syrupy, or very weak with too much ice. The best cocktails tended to be from the robotic bar where you could specify the exact amount of spirit and mixer!

Shows and activities

Any activity that "encouraged" or allowed mixing of parties were scrubbed to keep physical distancing, so no ice breaker activities and a greatly reduced teen program. 

The headliner shows were all high quality and thoroughly enjoyed by all (particularly We Will Rock you and Spectra's Caberet, despite the audience being only 1/3 of the usual capacity.) I can imagine it must be hard for the performers performing to mostly empty venues as there are more empty seats than occupied seats in the theatre and 270.

Our teenage daughter spent most of her time with us, given there was no real opportunity for her to meet similar aged friends, whereas on our previous cruise she spent almost all of her time in the kids club and exploring with new friends. This meant far less "couple time" for us than normal, if you know what I mean

Room

We originally booked a balcony room but I snagged a bargain upgrade to a junior suite via RoyalUp (figured with a half empty ship upgrades would be easy to get at minimum bid prices and this seemed to be the case). Room was spacious and clean, and loved having a bath tub! Downside, the other half is now going to want at least this sized room on all our future cruises, so my wallet is going to feel that pain!

Shore excursions

Can't comment on these as we didn't do any! We had planned to do our own thing in Belfast and visit the Giants Causeway, however after RCI changed their shore leave policy I didn't fancy paying the RCI prices so we opted to stay on board in both Belfast and Liverpool.

Overall

We had a great time on board, and despite a few minor glitches with food and service, would definitely go back on the Anthem again, although perhaps we'll wait until some of the social distancing restrictions have been lifted to allow more socialising.

Hope you find this useful! Happy to answer questions etc.

 

Warm regards

 

Neila