I was going to do drinks next, but since pools were mentioned, let's talk pools on Anthem of the Seas. There really is no comparison.
Anthem of the Seas is a newer ship so it has Royal's latest and greatest, but it also is a ship that sails out of NYC even in the winter, and they really thought of that. Disney also sails out of NYC during the Fall, sails to Alaska and to colder European destinations. Yet at this time none of their ships are set up in a way where you can enjoy the pool areas in case of inclement weather. I'll be curious to see what they do with their new ships.
Anthem's pools are on deck 14 and there are several of them.
Let's start by saying that all Royal ships now have lifeguards.
DCL used to be the only one.
Lifejackets for the kids are provided by the pools, 2 sizes same as DCL.
The outdoor pool area on Anthem has a large pool, an H2O splash zone for the wee ones in swim diapers, a circular lazy river type pool, and 2 hot tubs. There is a height requirement for the lazy river circular pool, I believe 48 inches. My DS lived in this pool as it swirled him round and round, great fun. All pools are heated.
There is a huge movie screen by the outdoor pool, similar to Disney's funnel vision.
But it was a bit disappointing because they never played any movies on it during the day. Only shore excursion ads, or some other
Royal Caribbean facts etc. Occasionally sports. At night they did have outdoor movies at 7, then around 9:45. The first movie was intended for children, for example they played Moana one day.
The pool areas even had kid-size chair loungers.
Of course there is a pool bar called the Sky Bar and you could go up one deck to the North Star bar right above it. In the absence of anything interesting on the movie screen, I found myself watching the North Star go up and down. North Star is a pod that takes you for a ride 300 feet above the ocean. More on that later.
During sailaway from NYC and from Bermuda, they had a great live music band playing, as well as some other staff-led activities like a dancing contest, belly-flop contest etc. Belly-flop contest I believe happens on all Royal ships. NOT something you will ever see on Disney
From the outdoor pool, you walked through glass-sliding doors to the next one which is a pool under a retractable glass roof. This area has a large pool, a smaller wading pool next to it, and 2 more hot tubs.
There is also another pool bar creatively named "Pool Bar".
During our sailing the outside temps were low to mid 70's so the glass roof was closed, but the side windows of the indoor pools were often open to let in the breeze. I was told by the bartender when it's really hot they retract the roof.
It was great to know that no matter what the weather, one could enjoy the pool area and with the glass roof you don't feel like you're at local community indoor pool.
From indoor pool walk over to the Adult-Only Solarium, also under retractible glass roof. It is pure bliss and relaxation, although a couple of times it did get crowded. Get there early as it's popular.
There are 3 tiers of pools here with water spilling over from the heighest to lowest. Couple of huge hot tubs right next to the glass walls.
Of course another pool bar called the "Sunshine Bar". Solarium also has a bistro serving healthier options such as smoothies, salads and other healthy meals. It's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and it's included in the cruise fare.
The Solarium is all the way at the front of the ship offering incredible views of the ocean.
We often found people sleeping in the Solarium on huge wicker loungers.
While Anthem beats Disney swimming pools and it's not even close, Disney does some things better in my opinion:
- Pool towels. Each pool on Anthem has an area where you check-out as many towels as you like using your SeaPass card. There was never a line here, but it was a bit of a pain. If you don't return the towels by end of the cruise you are charged $25 each. Were guests walking off with these towels?
- Soft serve ice cream. Anthem has it too, but it's 2 or 3 flavours at a time only and not open all day like on Disney. It was open from I believe 11-5?
- Pool-side quick service. Nothing like what DCL has on Anthem. There is Johnny Rockets burgers by the outdoor pool, but it's an extra charge. Then there is the Solarium Bistro, but it's not a place you can grab a slice of pizza or a hot-dog. Sometimes between swims all you want is a slice of pizza without having to walk over to the Windjammer Buffet (assuming it's open) or Sorrento's pizza all the way on deck 4.
Water slides/rides - not much else to say other than there are none.
Aqua Duck on DCL is awesome.
Edited to add: Anthem has a surfing stimulator called The Flowrider, but it's not in the pool area. I will mention it again when I review activities on the ship.
Outdoor TV screen - I already mentioned Anthem doesn't play movies on it during the day. There is less kids I get it. Even if they played music videos or some PG shows.
Often times this screen just proudly displayed the Royal Caribbean logo.
Smoking Area - there is one near the pools, a few times we walked by it to get to where we were going... wish Anthem had this out of the way like Disney does.
Although once we figured out which side it was on, it was easily avoided.
Below are some pics of the adults-only Solarium and indoor pool on Anthem of the Seas.
I had to post outdoor pool pics in next post.
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