Anthem of the Seas, 23 September to 5 October 2022, "Discover the Canaries"

[FionaMG]

Back on board, this was tonight's dinner menu.

Crispy coconut shrimp. Love these but tonight the sauce seemed a bit spicier than usual.

Prime rib and lamb shank. Two favourites that have yet to disappoint.

Dark chocolate brownie and profiteroles. I cannot praise the dark chocolate brownie highly enough. Chocolate magnificence!

Tonight's show was The Gift. For some reason, I had been under the impression that this was your typical production show with singers and dancers, which of course it turned out not to be. I did enjoy the use of technology in the stage sets even if the story line was somewhat tenuous.

For once we managed to get decent seats with no pillars in the way, and this despite arriving just minutes before the show, as usual. I hesitate to admit it, but we achieved this feat by clambering under some metal barriers to get right into the middle of a row in the central section about two or three from the back, much to the astonishment of the people in the seats nearby.

A few pics from the show, which is definitely worth seeing at least once.

[Yesiamthere6]

Wonderful blog. I’m even more excited for our grand oft suite in February. Thank you!  

[FionaMG]

20 minutes ago, Yesiamthere6 said:

Wonderful blog. I’m even more excited for our grand oft suite in February. Thank you!  

Thanks very much. I'm delighted you're enjoying it. The grand loft suite sounds amazing. 

[FionaMG]

Day 12 - our last day... Don't you just hate it when you come into the room and see these things on your bed?

We were at sea for our last day. I always prefer a sea day as the last day because you don't feel you're missing out on a port because you have to do the P-word.

The weather was not the best, heavy grey skies but admittedly quite mild and only a light breeze. However the lack of sunshine meant that the vast majority of guests forsook the outdoor pool area in favour of indoor venues. Front poolside lounger anyone?

We always like to go to Captain's Corner, which is normally held on the final morning. For some reason, they scheduled it really early - 9.15 am! Since it was to be held in Two70 we decided to have breakfast there. This was our first ever breakfast here and while the food was fine the fact that you have to ask for it and wait for it to be prepared instead of serving yourself can quickly lead to queues forming. I definitely prefer the buffet where you can just pick what you want and be on your way.

Quite a few other people had obviously had the same idea as us so even though we were well in advance of the start time for a change the decent seats with tables were already taken. We managed to snag the last of the tall ones over to the side where we still had a reasonable view.

Captain's Corner information sheet:

In the past you would have been given an officers' biography sheet at this event too but they have not been a thing since the restart. However, earlier in the cruise, precisely with this notion in mind, I had gone to Guest Services to ask for one. The senior GS lady, Alina, went well out of her way to get us one, albeit a shorter version than in the past. She explained to me that they were discontinuing them because it was so hard to keep them updated and, in fact, the one that she gave me was due to become largely obsolete within days because the Captain was leaving the ship at the end of our cruise and the CD and Hotel Manager at the end of the next one, immediately prior to the Trans-Atlantic.

Anyway, for what it's worth, here it is:

The questions asked and answered were largely the same as at any Captain's Corner, so nothing really worth reporting. However, they did say that "from tomorrow", i.e. the day we would be leaving the ship, masks were to become optional for crew members, and that news received a hearty round of applause.

With the weather not really conducive to outdoor activities and having already used up our free D internet days, we bit the bullet and bought a one-day pass for DH to keep him entertained for a bit. Of course, it being the last day, they'd bumped the price up from the normal $26.99 to $32.99.

Having done a bit of surfing on the net, we decided it was time for another little wander and we found a few very hardy souls braving the elements on the flowrider. They admitted to us that they were a bit cold... .

We then headed back inside to go to Guest Services because we'd been given tags for an early departure time despite having filled in the form saying we wanted the latest one. For once, there were actually a few people waiting in line but the crew member at the entrance told us not to worry, we didn't need new tags and could just get off at our leisure as long as it was after our tag number had been called. Nice.

Patience is definitely a virtue. For the first time, on the very last afternoon of the cruise, we managed to get two comfy cushioned loungers in the solarium. We couldn't have cared less how dreary it was outside, you still can't beat a view like this:

We had actually considered going to watch Perry Grant's matinee show in the theatre this afternoon but there was no way we were going to give up those loungers! If you've not come across Perry before, he is an amazing entertainer. We only caught a few bits of his shows in the Schooner Bar during the cruise but he is definitely worth seeing.

With the packing all done, it was time for our last dinner.

These are the green bean croquettes off the vegan menu, which you'll find in the app. I don't think they have a paper version of the vegan menu. It's always worth checking it if you're struggling to find something you fancy on the main menu. I had had these before on Harmony and Odyssey and really liked them. There were actually three of them on the plate but I had already demolished one before I remembered to take the pic, so I hastily rearranged the remaining two.

DH had the cream of broccoli, also from the vegan menu, but I didn't get a pic of that at all. Still, it's not hard to imagine a bowl of green soup. In fact, it looked pretty much like the green dipping sauce that came with my croquettes, just in a bigger bowl!

Garlic tiger shrimp, another of our regular favourites.

Tiramisu and a final slice of the Royal chocolate cake to tide me over until April next year.

We didn't make the farewell show, as it was at 9 pm and we weren't out of the restaurant in time.

Disembarkation on the final morning was very smooth. There was no buffet breakfast in the MDR this morning, only à la carte so we went to the WJ, which was busy as expected but not a complete zoo because by that time quite a lot of people had already left.

Our flight home from Bournemouth was not until 5 pm so we were heading back to the pre-cruise hotel where we would be able to store our bags for a few hours. Anybody can use this service at the hotel - Premier Inn Westquay - in exchange for a donation to a children's hospital. They have a tin at Reception for you to put your donation in. We hadn't booked a taxi to get us there as we weren't sure what time we'd be off the ship and I assumed () that there would be a quick turnover of taxis at the rank (wrong). It took a good half hour before we were able to get in a taxi for the 2-minute ride to the hotel.

With the weather being even less friendly than the day before, we were glad that there is a big indoor mall right next to this hotel, where we able to have a wander and some lunch before our pre-booked car from Westquay Cars picked us up promptly at 2 pm for the ride to the airport.

All in all, this was another great cruise, much more relaxing than the one we did in May on Odyssey because this time round we didn't do any excursions. No early starts, no visits to museum, churches and the like. We enjoyed our ports of call and we enjoyed the ship. I would be bound to say that since Odyssey is newer we preferred her over Anthem. I particularly liked what they did with the upper floor of the seaplex on Odyssey and I thought the entertainment was much better on Odyssey.

These were our first two experiences of Quantum class ships and I have to admit that, overall, we prefer Oasis class. We both missed the promenade (the esplanade really didn't compare), Central Park, the Boardwalk and the Aquatheatre. However that is just our personal preference and would certainly not prevent us from sailing on this ship or class of ship again. In fact, as I've already mentioned elsewhere on the boards, our next one is precisely on Anthem again, but this time from Bayonne as we recoup a trip to the Big Apple that got covidated early on in the pandemic.

Thanks to everyone who's been following along as I write this. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Time to start getting all my ducks in a row for the next one.

Until then, happy cruising and safe travels everyone!

 

 

[brgreens]

That was delightful! Just made me more the ready for the next 6 months to fly by, so we can do the fjords on Anthem in May.

[FionaMG]

44 minutes ago, brgreens said:

That was delightful! Just made me more the ready for the next 6 months to fly by, so we can do the fjords on Anthem in May.

Thank you.  

You're in for a treat, for sure. 

[FireFishII]

Thank you.  I loved the photos and following along with the MDR menus. 

[FionaMG]

41 minutes ago, FireFishII said:

Thank you.  I loved the photos and following along with the MDR menus. 

My pleasure.

[DDaley]

Another amazing blog, thank you!! I am sailing my first Quantum class (on the og, herself) next September to Alaska and loved reading about all the new-to-me venues on this class. Your port reports are my favorite, too! Where are we (the royal we) heading to in April? 

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, DDaley said:

Another amazing blog, thank you!! I am sailing my first Quantum class (on the og, herself) next September to Alaska and loved reading about all the new-to-me venues on this class. Your port reports are my favorite, too! Where are we (the royal we) heading to in April? 

Thanks very much. I'm so glad you've enjoyed it.

In April we'll be doing the 8-night itinerary out of New Jersey with stops in Port Canaveral (already booked to go to the Kennedy Space Centre), Miami, Coco Cay (1st time there!) and Nassau. It's sort of an add-on to the main purpose of the trip which is to visit the Big Apple. And a big plus is that our son will be joining us for this one. The last time he sailed with us was 16 years ago, when he was still in high school. He now lives in North Hollywood, so not too far from you.

We have not done Alaska yet. It's on our bucket list but will have to wait till DH retires, as he works in tourism and so can't travel in the summer. I'm sure you're going to have an amazing time there!

[JEH106]

On 10/23/2022 at 7:37 AM, FionaMG said:

While we were finishing up our lunch, they announced that the cabins were open so we headed off there. Our luggage had already arrived (earliest ever!), which was great as it meant we were able to unpack straight away.

There was a copy of the Day 1 Compass on the bed, which pleased us greatly as there had been none at Guest Services. Instead, where they would usually be, there were QR codes to scan for a digital copy. After our cabin steward came to introduce himself I made sure to ask him to get us a paper copy every day.

Our cabin was an obstructed balcony, 6560, which had I had seen recommended by various previous cruisers due to having very little obstruction. As you can see from the pics, they were correct. Really the only obstruction is the davit to the right that blocks your view aft.

Views of and from our obstructed balcony cabin:

 

These two were taken on arrival in Vigo and you can see how little obstruction there is:

And these two show that there's plenty of water visible!

With everything unpacked, we headed out to explore the ship a bit more before sailaway. Luckily the weather was cooperating and although it was cloudy it wasn't raining.

A few brave souls using the pool (too cold for us):

The North Star bar was consistently packed solid for the entire cruise:

The brand new Norwegian Prima was also in Southampton but we left first! Bye bye Southampton and Prima! 

 

Hi, Fiona,

We have booked Premier City Center for our two night stay. For dining I am looking the Duke of Wellington and Upton's of Bassett in Southampton for dinners. Lunch, who knows. We may try to get to Winchester for a day trip.

 

Jim

[FionaMG]

15 hours ago, JEH106 said:

Hi, Fiona,

We have booked Premier City Center for our two night stay. For dining I am looking the Duke of Wellington and Upton's of Bassett in Southampton for dinners. Lunch, who knows. We may try to get to Winchester for a day trip.

 

Jim

Sounds like a good plan. I have heard good things about the Duke of Wellington and Winchester, although I have no personal experience of either.

When is your cruise and where is it going?

I will be back on Anthem twice in the forthcoming months, once out of NJ (April, tagging it on the main focus of the trip which is to visit the Big Apple) and once out of Southampton (July, mum + daughter trip to the Norwegian fjords), both of which were zapped by Covid back in 2020.

[teddy]

I've had some down time today and was able to read your blog.  Thank you for sharing.

 

[Maggie M]

I really enjoyed reading your blog! Sounds like a fantastic itinerary and Anthem did not disappoint! We went on her last year to Bermuda and also really enjoyed the ship. I may have to start planning for this cruise in the near future! Thanks so much for the awesome pictures and re-cap!

[FionaMG]

13 hours ago, teddy said:

I've had some down time today and was able to read your blog.  Thank you for sharing.

 

My pleasure.

[FionaMG]

11 hours ago, Maggie M said:

I really enjoyed reading your blog! Sounds like a fantastic itinerary and Anthem did not disappoint! We went on her last year to Bermuda and also really enjoyed the ship. I may have to start planning for this cruise in the near future! Thanks so much for the awesome pictures and re-cap!

Yes, indeed, it was a great itinerary. Glad you enjoyed the blog.

[JEH106]

On 12/14/2022 at 3:56 AM, FionaMG said:

Sounds like a good plan. I have heard good things about the Duke of Wellington and Winchester, although I have no personal experience of either.

When is your cruise and where is it going?

I will be back on Anthem twice in the forthcoming months, once out of NJ (April, tagging it on the main focus of the trip which is to visit the Big Apple) and once out of Southampton (July, mum + daughter trip to the Norwegian fjords), both of which were zapped by Covid back in 2020.

Hi, FionaMG,

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. We had a water leak in December (not weather related) and had to vacate our condo for two months. I am still trying to catch up on missed communications.

We will be on Anthem in October 2023 for a transatlantic trip. We stop in Vigo (Spain), Lisbon, Lanzarote, Tenerife and Bermuda (2 nights). Before Southampton, we will be in New York City for a week, Amsterdam for a week and London (2 nights).

The big Apple is a great place to visit. Do you need any suggestions about what to visit and where to dine?

Before I retired in 2011, I used to go to Alaska three times a year, two weeks each trip for about twenty years. It is a spectacular place. If you put one end of the Aleutian Islands in Seattle (where I live), Ketchikan would be around Houston Texas. That is a long way. When I first started traveling there the state had three different time zones. Now it is two.

Madie and Jim

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, JEH106 said:

Hi, FionaMG,

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. We had a water leak in December (not weather related) and had to vacate our condo for two months. I am still trying to catch up on missed communications.

We will be on Anthem in October 2023 for a transatlantic trip. We stop in Vigo (Spain), Lisbon, Lanzarote, Tenerife and Bermuda (2 nights). Before Southampton, we will be in New York City for a week, Amsterdam for a week and London (2 nights).

The big Apple is a great place to visit. Do you need any suggestions about what to visit and where to dine?

Before I retired in 2011, I used to go to Alaska three times a year, two weeks each trip for about twenty years. It is a spectacular place. If you put one end of the Aleutian Islands in Seattle (where I live), Ketchikan would be around Houston Texas. That is a long way. When I first started traveling there the state had three different time zones. Now it is two.

Madie and Jim

Oh wow, what an upheaval that must have been! I hope everything's fixed now?

That's a great itinerary. The overnight in Bermuda is a real bonus. I have real hopes of getting there one day. In fact, it sounds like a fabulous trip overall and is the sort of thing we would like to do ourselves after we retire.

We've got our NYC plan pretty much mapped out: the usual touristy stuff like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building. And, of course, we will visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in order to pay our respects.

We have no ideas as to dining, so will gratefully accept any suggestions you have. We're not foodies at all. Our favourite would be Mom+Pop Italian. We're staying in the downtown area of Manhattan pre-cruise and up by Times Square post-cruise. 54 days and counting...

 

 

[JEH106]

Hi, Fiona,MG,

From your description of where you are living my guess is Portugal. Am I right? If so, here is a book you might enjoy: Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone, a World War II mystery. As to dining in New York City, off the top of my head, there are two that come to mind right away. Both are touristy but serve great meals. Katz's Delicatessen (Lower East Side) and Junior's (Times Square). Both serve traditional NY style Jewish food. Junior's is also noted as having the best cheesecake in NY (I vouch for that claim!). For steaks, I recommend:

1. Keens Steakhouse, 72 West 36th St near the Empire State Building. It has been in business for 136 years.

2. Smith and Wollensky E.49th St. and Third Ave.

3. Peter Luger's in Brooklyn, probably the best and most expensive.

For Italian:

Carmine's Italian Restaurant, 200 W. 44thn St. Times Square.

i hope this helps a little.

 

Jim

[FionaMG]

17 hours ago, JEH106 said:

From your description of where you are living my guess is Portugal. Am I right? If so, here is a book you might enjoy: Two Nights in Lisbon by

i hope this helps a little.

Jim

Thanks Jim!

You are absolutely spot on. We actually live down in the south, in the Algarve, where all the great beaches are!

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I love reading so I'll be sure to check out the book you mentioned as well as the restaurants!

[JEH106]

On 3/14/2023 at 10:25 AM, FionaMG said:

Thanks Jim!

You are absolutely spot on. We actually live down in the south, in the Algarve, where all the great beaches are!

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I love reading so I'll be sure to check out the book you mentioned as well as the restaurants!

Hi, FionaMG,

The Algarve has been on my bucket list for many years but as I advance into my mid80s, it is getting further away rather than closer. The book is a mystery. I hope you enjoy it. Bon appetite as well.

Jim

[JEH106]

On 12/14/2022 at 3:56 AM, FionaMG said:

Sounds like a good plan. I have heard good things about the Duke of Wellington and Winchester, although I have no personal experience of either.

When is your cruise and where is it going?

I will be back on Anthem twice in the forthcoming months, once out of NJ (April, tagging it on the main focus of the trip which is to visit the Big Apple) and once out of Southampton (July, mum + daughter trip to the Norwegian fjords), both of which were zapped by Covid back in 2020.

Hi, Fiona,

Oct. 15, 2023 transatlantic. Thanks for all the info. 

Jim

[Elenor6]

I am not a cruising person I am here to see the beautiful posts by the users. These posts are amazing and beautiful. 

[Mamasafar]

Hello I loved your Blog, we are sailing next month on the same ship. After reading your blog it looks like there were 2 formal nights? Can you please confirm because we were told sometimes there are 3 formal nights on a 12 day cruise?

[FionaMG]

13 hours ago, Mamasafar said:

Hello I loved your Blog, we are sailing next month on the same ship. After reading your blog it looks like there were 2 formal nights? Can you please confirm because we were told sometimes there are 3 formal nights on a 12 day cruise?

Hi @Mamasafar and welcome to the boards.

I'm delighted that you enjoyed my blog.

Here is the list of "Suggested Attire" for each day on my cruise:

Day 1: Casual

Day 2: Formal

Day 3: Smart Casual

Day 4: Casual

Day 5: Casual

Day 6: Smart Casual

Day 7: Casual

Day 8: Casual/Tropical (lots of the men were wearing Hawaiian-type shirts on this night)

Day 9: Formal

Day 10: Casual

Day 11: Smart Casual

Day 12: Casual

I hope this helps. If there's anything else you'd like to ask, feel free; I'll be more than happy to help if I can.

[FionaMG]

On 6/10/2023 at 3:09 PM, Elenor6 said:

I am not a cruising person I am here to see the beautiful posts by the users. These posts are amazing and beautiful. 

Thank you @Elenor6, I'm glad you enjoyed them.

[Mamasafar]

On 9/8/2023 at 3:58 AM, FionaMG said:

Hi @Mamasafar and welcome to the boards.

I'm delighted that you enjoyed my blog.

Here is the list of "Suggested Attire" for each day on my cruise:

Day 1: Casual

Day 2: Formal

Day 3: Smart Casual

Day 4: Casual

Day 5: Casual

Day 6: Smart Casual

Day 7: Casual

Day 8: Casual/Tropical (lots of the men were wearing Hawaiian-type shirts on this night)

Day 9: Formal

Day 10: Casual

Day 11: Smart Casual

Day 12: Casual

I hope this helps. If there's anything else you'd like to ask, feel free; I'll be more than happy to help if I can.

Hello thank you for the info. Can the men wear nice jeans at dinner time on casual nights or does it have to be dress slacks)

[FionaMG]

3 hours ago, Mamasafar said:

Hello thank you for the info. Can the men wear nice jeans at dinner time on casual nights or does it have to be dress slacks)

My pleasure.

Nice jeans are absolutely fine.

And to be honest, even on formal nights, a suit is not really a requirement any more; for those nights dress slacks would do nicely. Of course, you can get dressed up to the nines if you want to but if you're having to take airline luggage allowances into consideration, you can leave the suit at home if you prefer.

[Mamasafar]

12 hours ago, FionaMG said:

My pleasure.

Nice jeans are absolutely fine.

And to be honest, even on formal nights, a suit is not really a requirement any more; for those nights dress slacks would do nicely. Of course, you can get dressed up to the nines if you want to but if you're having to take airline luggage allowances into consideration, you can leave the suit at home if you prefer.

great!

[Mark Rowland]

Wow! What an amazing "review" and photo exhibit.  Thanks SO much for compiling and posting that.  We'll sail this itin next June, and your report will help.

Mark Rowland

[FionaMG]

10 hours ago, Mark Rowland said:

Wow! What an amazing "review" and photo exhibit.  Thanks SO much for compiling and posting that.  We'll sail this itin next June, and your report will help.

Mark Rowland

My pleasure. I would do this itinerary again in a heartbeat. I'm sure you'll have an amazing time!