StuartI went for the weekend on the Anthem of the Seas from Southampton, UK on what turned out to be a Eurovision Cruise. It has been about 15 years since I last went on Royal Caribbean, last time being on the Adventure of the Seas. I wasn’t keen on Royal Caribbean then so I decided to see if things had changed.
Itinerary
The cruise left Southampton in May for 2 nights, visiting Le Havre on the way. From Le Havre you can get an excursion to Paris (although it is a very long way). You can also visit the surrounding towns of Honfleur and Rouen. I decided to stay on the ship to get the full experience as I had been to these places before, .
Boarding Anthem of the Seas in Southampton
I stayed the night before in the Leonardo Grand Southampton. This is a short walk away from the City Cruise Terminal where the Anthem of the Seas was docked. As we had paid for a programme called “The Key”, we were able to get priority boarding and board early. Even if you didn’t have this, having talked to our people on board it was a very efficient boarding process.
The Anthem of the Seas Cabin
I had cabin number 16260 which is a balcony cabin in midships. I found that the cabin was spacious overall with a roomy shower that didn’t not have the dreaded shower curtain. The room also had robes, safe, interactive TV and tea and coffee making facilities in the cabin (I believe they do this when sailing out of the UK).
The balcony was also very spacious with footstools and a table. This was a nice space to sit out there taking in the views and sea air. The only annoyance was that the bedside tables were very small with no power by them. One side even had a phone on the table which meant there was no room at all to put anything on it such as my mobile phone or glasses.
Dining on the Anthem of the Seas
There are many places to eat which are included in the cruise fare as well as some extra charge restaurants. I didn’t try the extra charge restaurants as I was only on board for 2 nights. However, I did look around them and they looked lovely. These included Johnny Rockets, Jamie’s Italian, Wonderland, Izumi and Chops Grille.
Casual Dining
The Windjammer
This is the main buffet restaurant on board. I like the layout of this as it consists of various stations rather than one long line and it had a variety of food available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. From full cooked breakfasts to roast beef, the selection was vast and all the food I had was hot and tasty. I especially liked the different pie they had every day and the Eurovision cakes they had made especially for this cruise. It was easy to get a table, you just had to walk around for a short time to find one.
Sorrento’s
This is the pizza place on board on the promenade deck. This offers a range of complimentary pizzas by the slice with plenty of seating. The pizzas are all cooked in their pizza ovens behind the counter and are lovely and hot.
Café Promenade
This is also located on the promenade deck has a range of teas and coffees as well as complimentary cakes, snacks and sandwiches. Two 70 Café also offers the same on deck 5 near the Two 70 lounge. The sandwiches looked amazing and so did the cakes.
The Dog House
The Dog House is a complimentary hot dog food truck located in the Seaplex. It offers a range of toppings on American-style hot dogs. As I am not really keen on hot dogs, I did not eat here but people who visited looked like they enjoyed it.
Solarium Bistro
Located on deck 14, this is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For breakfast and lunch it offers a similar range to the Windjammer but on a smaller scale. However, at dinner it offers delicious entrees such as steak, chicken and salmon. It is a nice quiet place to go as and good alternative to the Windjammer. Despite it being next to the adults-only Solarium, children are allowed to eat in here.
Room Service
Room service on the Anthem of the Seas is available 24 hours a day. You can have a continental breakfast for free. However, a full cooked breakfast or any other meals on their extensive menu are subject to a $7.95 service charge.
Main Dining Room
The main dining room options are split in to Silk, Chic, The Grande Restaurant, and American Icon. These all offer a diverse range of options for appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and desserts. This variety caters to different tastes and ensures a satisfying dining experience. From tantalising starters to delectable desserts, these establishments provide a well-rounded culinary journey for guests to enjoy.
You have 2 options for evening dining:
- Fixed dining takes place in the Chic or The Grande restaurants and early and late sittings take place here.
- My time dining is offered in Silk and American Icon restaurants where you can dine any time between certain times in the evening. You can make reservations before you go (which is what I did) or you can go along a wait in a queue but this never took more than 10 minutes apparently. Don’t worry if you can’t get your preferred dining time beforehand as I went to the Maitre’d on the first day and got my dining time changed.
I had lunch in Chic as part of the Key experience which I am going to write about later. The service and food was excellent in here and it had a nice atmosphere.
You can also have breakfast and lunch in one of the main dining rooms if you wish.
If you are in a suite you get to eat in the Coastal Kitchen, which is a restaurant dedicated to suite passengers.
Anthem of the Seas Entertainment
Entertainment on the Anthem of the Seas is where Royal Caribbean comes into its own. The range of entertainment on board was varied and of really good quality.
There were singers and bands in various places on board, including:
- an excellent singer in the English Pub on the Promenade which is a really popular place for people to go so you need to get there early
- a party band playing great music to dance to in Boleros
- a very talented pianist in the Schooner Bar
- entertainment on deck including a silent disco and movies during the day and night (My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 was showing when I was on board)
- a DJ on the promenade, which I thought was an odd choice of location as it was quite crowded with the shop counters in the middle
- the Music Hall which had a great rock band and dance floor if you wanted to dance
There was also a great range of entertainment on board during the day including quizzes, games and music.
Main Theatre
The highlight of the cruise was the show We Will Rock You. This is not some shortened cruise ship version of it, it was the full Olivier Award-winning show which was on for nearly 2 hours. The singers and dancers were great and, whilst the story is a little far fetched, it was extremely entertaining and well worth going to see. If you like Queen music then this is a must see! You need to reserve this show but they do let people in who haven’t reserved 5 minutes before the show starts.
Two 70
Two 70 is a two deck high area at the back of the ship with amazing view out the floor to ceiling windows across a 270 degree angle (hence the name). During the day you can marvel in the views whilst getting a snack and drink from Café Two 70.
At night, it is the home of Spectra’s Cabaret. This is a show combining state of the art technology with moving screens together with alternative arrangements of pop music through the years. Whilst it was very clever, it wasn’t really my cup of tea. However, other passengers seemed to like it.
Music Hall
This is a two deck bar and entertainment space which has live music on every evening together with quizzes and activities throughout the day. This is a lovely space to listen to live music although the sight lines aren’t great upstairs if you want to watch the band. There is also a pool table in here.
Pools and Loungers
There are plenty of places to lounge around both inside and outside the ship.
Main outdoor pools
These include the main pool on the Anthem of the Seas together with Jacuzzis and children’s pools. This is a great place to hang out during the day as it has a number of bars, big screen showing movies and an abundance of live entertainment to keep you amused. The towel station is also here so you can obtain and replace your pool towels throughout your cruise.
Indoor pool
This is a great pool to go to if the weather isn’t great or even if it gets too hot outside. The space is very flexible as it has a retractable roof. This space has a number of loungers and a couple of Jacuzzis as well.
Solarium
This indoor, fully glazed space is adults only and features a cascading pool together with 4 Jacuzzis (there are a bit strange as the Jacuzzi on each side is a double one so you have to walk through one to get to another). We spent a lot of time here as we were sailing in Northern Europe. It has very comfortable padded loungers and a cocktail bar if you are feeling thirsty. I would definitely recommend this space if you don’t have children.
Activities on board the Anthem of the Seas
You’ll never be stuck for things to do on board the Anthem of the Seas. Some of the activities that you can experience are:
Top Deck Activities
- The Flowrider is a surfing simulator where you can learn to surf or practice your skills.
- Rock Climbing Wall is great if you’ve never tried climbing before. However, you need to sign a form to confirm you are fit to go on this before you try it and the minimum age is 6 years old.
- North Star is a pod that elevates you up to 300 metres about the sea giving you great views across the ship and the surrounding area. At sea there is a charge for this but it is free when in port. I would recommend you book this as soon as you board on the app as it gets booked up very quickly. We experienced this on the day in Le Havre and it was great to get a different perspective of the ship.
Seaplex
Seaplex is one of the largest indoor activity centres at sea. It is home to a number of activities
- Bumper Cars sessions take place at various times throughout the day and booking is recommended. Enjoy the thrill of driving around in the bumper cars whilst trying to avoid other drivers!
- Roller skating also takes place at various times during the day. If you have children, you will need to be there when they get their skates as staff won’t give them out to unaccompanied children.
- Full size sports court: when the bumper cars and roller skating is not taking place, it transforms back in to a sports court for basketball and other sports.
Kids Clubs
There are plenty of activities for kids to do and I have been told that nobody does it better than Royal Caribbean. These clubs include:
- Royal Babies & Tots Program takes children ages 6 to 36 months.
- Aquanauts: 3 to 5 years old
- Explorers: 6 to 8 years old
- Voyagers: 9 to 12 years old
- Teen Club: 13-17 years old
Conclusion
I only went on a 2 night cruise from Southampton so I didn’t have time to experience all the restaurants and activities that were on offer on board. However, what I did experience was excellent in every way and the entertainment staff were amazing. I would definitely go on another Royal Caribbean cruise again.
