Joe, Molly and the lane

now featuring Eevee and Brucie!

The ongoing blog of caravanner, holidayist and dog-lover

Jock E Wheel !

24. Sep, 2022

The Anthem of the Seas

As with most cruise ships, this ship is loaded with things to do. We hadn't cruised post covid, and the the first thing to notice is the amount of people on board. The bars were overflowing as we cruised out of Southampton, we purchased our special offer drinks passage and sipped our Pina colada's as we tripped on down the Solent.

The cabin was perfect, spacious and quite luxurious, with a balcony and large double bed, room to manoeuvre and a big en-suite.

We went down to the main dining room which was very very busy. We chose the MyTime dining, disappointed to have to queue for ten minutes to get in, but, after requesting a super window-table overlooking the sea and the sunset which was delightful.

The whole ambience was ok, if felling slightly rushed and a bit panicky feeling. Several choices of starter and main courses, good service, food, ok, not stunning and very average sized portions with limited amount of veg support and more on the lukewarm than hot side.

Again, disappointing, not on any comparable level to the first cruises that we have done.

I'm not going to rant on about this restaurant, just will say that we found the food quality better in the Windjammer buffet restaurant up on the 14th Deck. Given the cost of the cruise, we were so unhappy with the restaurant. The problem, I think is that Royal Caribbean cruises (maybe all the cruise lines)? are trying to grab back lost income, because it appears that everything is extra.

Jamie's Italian, Chops Grille,

Izumi Sushi Bar, Johnny Rockets Burger Bar, Chef's Table, etc, you can visit for speciality meals, and you pay extra for all of them, adding up the dollars on a daily basis should you choose to go and upgrade your food offering!

Going back to our very first cruise, we were treated to the most fabulous dining experience, and the dining room was very special, we sat on a table of 10, same people every night, exemplary service and sumptuous lashings of food and wine. I know this was a long time ago, and that times have changed and we have gone through the epidemic, but, sad to say, if this is the new standard, we are out! For the price that you pay for these cruises, you would expect a minimum of great food, and this wasn't even good, let alone great.

Such was the deterioration on this latest cruise, before dinner on the last formal night, we had to force ourselves to dress up in black suit and tie and cocktail dress to keep in the spirit of the cruise. We gritted our teeth and did it, and were monumentally disappointed. I don't want to bore you with the details, but it was awful, the head waiter apologised about Lyn's 'Flaky pastry" inedible pie top, explaining there was a new chef, and he wasn't sure how to make this pastry! Laughable!!

Anyway, enough moaning, suffice to say this new standard is unacceptable and our lesson is learnt. If we ever go on a cruise again, a simple, small ship with 4000 less people and no families and one dining room will be our vehicle of choice!

However!

Entertainment was astonishing! We saw the Beatles Celebration twice, playing two completely different sets in the Royal Theatre, which was rocking! and then in the less formal setting of the Two70 Theatre bar. I was actually crying when their George Harrison rendition of Something, so brilliant, so emotional. (I blame the drinks passage and me trying to get my monies worth)! These guys are the Beatles! What an act! I would travel to see them ashore!

The other things we saw, the bands and singers, comics and magicians were all well presented and also very good, Theatre service, atmosphere and presentation on a par with any professional theatre operation that I've seen!

Then there was the "We Will Rock You" musical (Ben Elton's West End production full of Queen classics). Bloody amazing, well acted, sung and amazingly played out by the band in the balconies on each side. Again, the whole thing was absolutely marvellous!

Entertainment; Unfaultable!

Excursions; Difficult to book in advance, a lot of 'Sold Out" notices weeks before the online booking. Yet again, quite expensive. My trip up to Pulpit Rock was an exceptional experience, but $200 for a coach trip there and back is still on the pricey side.

The only other trip we booked was "A taste of Norway" when we reached Flam. This cost $250, and was (trip on the Flam railway, up into the mountains with amazing views over the fjords, lakes, mountains and waterfalls)-stunning scenery and what The Fjords are all about. After the train ascent we were dropped of at Voss, and given 'free time' to walk around the town (shops, a big and lovely 12th Century church. and a scenic lake), given an average buffet lunch in the hotel, then more free time (We went under our own steam for a pint in a delightful cafe overlooking the lake). Then the disappointment. They put us into buses and ferried us down the mountain. Now we had spent 2 and a half hours in a pretty ordinary town.

So the guide announced next we would be travelling down through (and it was) amazing

scenery in the bus, stopping off at two very spectacular waterfalls. I did ask about the Viking Village, which was also on out itinerary.

I think this would have been the icing on the cake for this tour, and to be frank, would have rescued the whole day trip, but was told that we would be going to the village, but if we wanted to visit the village, he would recommend that we 'book it separately' the next time we come to Norway!

When we got to the amazingly picturesque port of Olden, we couldn't have been happier!

What a pretty place, and amazing weather to boot. We had our best trip here, nothing booked, we just walked ashore and caught the open top bus that took us up to Brixtal glacier, which was stunning, and, yet again, plus a low mountain mist, astonishing scenery! What a place!

This trip cost us 600 Krona (I think about £45) and included a drop off at the local town, shops and after a little walk back from town, a cheeky pint in the pub on the quay.

Bloody lovely!!

Guys I am going to update this blog tomorrow with names, etc added and a scoring system similar to the caravan site ratings, so thanks for reading and have a look tomorrow for ratings and costings!

For the rest of the ship, too many families and people, everything was extra, but there was plenty to do with shops, bars, Dodgems, Climbing Wall, Waverrider, Quizes, music hall, the Solarium with spa, Jacuzzi's and pools, all really good.

The saving grace on top of the expense was Norway. We were blessed with great weather (unusual-apparently Bergen gets about 270 days of rain a year)! But worth going just for the scenery alone.

Absolutely stunning!

Jock