MS Anthem of the Seas is a cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International (RCI). She is the second ship of the Quantum class, which surpasses the earlier Freedom-class ships by over 14,000 GT, becoming the second largest class of passenger ships behind RCI's Oasis class ships on a gross tonnage basis.

Anthem of the Seas was delivered to Royal Caribbean on April 10, 2015, and christened on April 20, 2015.

Concept and construction

On February 11, 2011, Royal Caribbean announced that they had ordered a new class of ships from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, the first of which was scheduled to be delivered by Fall 2014. At the time, the project was code-named "Project Sunshine". Later that year, two 20.5-megawatt ABB Azipod XO propulsion units were ordered for that ship.

On February 29, 2012 the company announced that a second "Project Sunshine" ship had been ordered and would be delivered by Spring 2015, and ordered identical Azipod propulsion units shortly thereafter. Just under a year later, on January 31, 2013, Royal Caribbean announced the official name of the new class of ships, Quantum Class, as well as the names of the first two ships in the class, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.

Service history

Anthem of the Seas was delivered to Royal Caribbean on April 10, 2015. She arrived at her first homeport, Southampton, England, on April 15, 2015, to prepare for her maiden European summer season. At a ceremony held in Southampton on April 20, 2015, she was christened by Emma Wilby, a British travel agent chosen after a search for a travel agent who could sing, and also because she exemplified "grace, beauty, a social conscious (sic) and a sense of adventure." In addition to being a travel agent, Ms Wilby is a military wife who sings in the Military Wives Choir in Kinloss, Scotland.

The christening ceremony took place in the vessel’s Royal Theatre in front of 1,300 guests. It began with a procession, followed by performances by the Reading Scottish Pipe Band, and Only Boys Aloud, a boys’ choir from Wales. Ms Wilby then sang Katy Perry's hit song "Firework", after which she pushed a button to send a very large bottle of Perrier-Jouët champagne down a zipline on the ship's top deck, from the North Star gondola thrill ride into a wall bearing the ship's name.

Anthem of the Seas departed from Southampton on her maiden voyage, an eight-night cruise to France and Spain, on April 22, 2015. She spent her maiden European season cruising from Southampton to the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, and the Canary Islands.
From November 2015, she operated seven- to twelve-night itineraries to the Caribbean and Bahamas from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, United States.
In 2016, Anthem of the Seas began to sail year-round out of New Jersey to the Caribbean, Bermuda, and Canada/New England. At that time, Anthem of the Seas became the largest ship ever to cruise Canadian waters.

Currently, Anthem of the Seas operates various cruises to the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Canada&New England leaving from Cape Liberty. 

Design

Staterooms

Anthem of the Seas has 16 passenger-accessible decks, 8 of which feature balcony staterooms overlooking the ocean. Like the Celebrity Solstice class, those staterooms above the life boats are recessed into the superstructure and don't look down directly at the ocean. There are a total of 2,090 staterooms: 1,570 balcony staterooms, 147 ocean-view staterooms, and 373 inside staterooms. Of those staterooms, 34 are wheelchair accessible and 28 are studio staterooms for single travelers (including 12 studio staterooms with balconies). All aft-facing staterooms are a 2-story "loft" suites. Expanding on the "Virtual Porthole" concept introduced by Disney Cruise Line on the Disney Dream, all the interior staterooms feature a floor-to-ceiling 80-inch high-definition TV screen showing live views from the outside of the ship, which Royal Caribbean calls a "Virtual Balcony". On average, staterooms on the Quantum class are 9 percent larger than those on the preceding Oasis class.

Activities and entertainment

Like the earlier Freedom and Oasis-class ships, the "Sports Court" on deck 15 aft features a Wave Loch Flowrider surf simulator and a rock-climbing wall. A new feature on the Quantum class is "RipCord by iFLY", a skydiving simulator set in a recirculating indoor recreational vertical wind tunnel. Reservations for RipCord are able to be made online in advance of the cruise. All the features of the Sports deck are complimentary, although Royal Caribbean charges for pictures and videos taken of RipCord participants taken by a crew photographer. Guests are free to take their own pictures or have other guests take pictures or videos of them.

The "NorthStar" observation tower, located at the forward end of the top deck, uses a 7.1-tonne (7.8-short-ton) glass-walled capsule on the end of a 41-meter-long (135 ft) crane arm to lift groups of up to 14 guests up and over the edge of the ship, reaching heights of up to 300 feet above sea level. Rides on the NorthStar are complimentary, with the exception of sunrise, sunset, and private trips which have a charge, and can be reserved online in advance.

Anthem of the Seas is the first cruise ship to offer an on-board live room escape game, Puzzle Break's "Escape from the Future."

Deck 14 features an outdoor pool with a large video screen, an indoor pool with a retractable roof, an indoor "Solarium" with an adults-only pool, the "H2O Zone" kids' water park featuring the first wave pool on a cruise ship, and at least 4 whirlpools. Other included features that have become standard on recent Royal Caribbean ships include a Spa and Fitness Center on decks 15 and 16, the "Adventure Ocean" kids club on decks 11 and 12, a Broadway-style "The Royal Theater" on decks 4-5, and a Casino on deck 3. Unlike the earlier Voyager, Freedom, and Oasis class, Quantum-class ships do not feature a Viking Crown Lounge or ice skating rink, and the Royal Promenade mall down the center of the ship is replaced with the two-story "Royal Esplanade".

The ship also features a number of multi-purpose venues:

The Royal Theater

The Royal Theater is a Broadway-style theater on decks 4–5. It is home to the ship's fully licensed production of the Broadway musical We Will Rock You, the original stage production The Gift, headliner acts, 3D movies, and other entertainment.

Two70°

Two70° is a lounge on decks 5–7 at the stern of the ship, which features three-story-high 270-degree panoramic ocean views, a café, and an ice bar. Automatic window shades can cover the windows to limit the amount of sunlight entering, and a 13-projector projection mapping system can project live views from outside the ship and other imagery onto those shades. At night, movable furniture and retractable dividers and chandeliers allow the space to be reconfigured to be used as a performance venue for a cabaret-style show or as a disco. Both nighttime uses will take advantage of the projection system and 6 robotically controlled 100-inch LCD television screens to provide digital backdrops.

As of 2016, the venue features the show "Spectra Cabaret" starring Raven O and the Harmony Sisters.

SeaPlex

Located at the middle of deck 15, the SeaPlex is a large indoor gym with a full-size basketball court that can be converted into a dance floor, a flying trapeze school, a roller-skating arena, or a bumper cars ride. The "SeaPlex" also features the SeaPlex Dog House food truck, and has an Xbox room,table tennis, air hockey, and foosball tables on a second-level mezzanine.

The Music Hall

The Music Hall is a 2-story lounge on decks 3 and 4 that also serves as a nightclub and small music performance venue. The Music Hall features the self-leveling pool tables first seen on the Radiance-class ships.

Dining

Unlike previous Royal Caribbean ships, Anthem of the Seas does not have a main dining room. Instead, the ship uses a Dynamic Dining concept similar to the Freestyle concept used on Norwegian Cruise Line, with guests being required to make reservations for their choice of restaurant for each night in advance, and each venue will maintain the same menu throughout the cruise. A "classic" dining option will be offered, similar to the rotational dining on Disney Cruise Line, that allows guests to keep the same servers, table-mates, and dining time each night as they rotate between the four largest restaurants. On 27 November 2016 "Dynamic Dining Classic" was discontinued and replaced with "My Time Dining". The Grande and Chic restaurants serve Traditional Dining and the Silk and American Icon restaurants serve Flexible Dining. Traditional dining includes a fixed dining time (6 or 8:30pm), same table assignment and same table companions each evening. Guests in Flexible Dining are seated on a first come, first served basis.

Complimentary

There are five complimentary main restaurants (four of which are available to all passengers):

• American Icon Grill — American comfort food (Smart Casual, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner).
• Chic — Contemporary cuisine (Smart Casual, dinner only).
• Coastal Kitchen* — California Mediterranean fusion (Smart Casual, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner). *Restaurant available only to guests staying in junior-suite-level staterooms and above.
• The Grande Restaurant — Continental cuisine (Formal, dinner only).
• Silk — Pan-Asian fusion, served family style (Smart Casual, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner).

Other smaller complimentary dining venues include:

• The Café @ Two70° — Made-to-order sandwiches and salads, similar to the Park Café on other Royal Caribbean ships (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).
• Café Promenade — Sandwiches and pastries (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).
• SeaPlex Dog House — Hot dogs and sausages, similar to the Boardwalk Dog House on other Royal Caribbean ships (lunch and dinner).
• Solarium Bistro (breakfast, lunch and dinner).
• Sorrentos Pizza (lunch and dinner)
• Windjammer Marketplace — Complimentary buffet (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Includes a new The Grill area, and features all-day breakfast, cheese steak sandwiches, rotisserie chicken, and other food items.

Additional fee

There are several smaller dining concepts that are available to passengers for an additional fee:

• Jamie’s Italian by Jamie Oliver (lunch and dinner).
• Michael's Genuine Pub — À la carte gastropub from chef Michael Schwartz (lunch and dinner).
• Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine (dinner only)
• Prime Table @ Chop’s Grille (dinner only)
• Chops Grille — Steakhouse (lunch and dinner).
• Izumi Japanese Cuisine — À la carte sushi and Japanese food (lunch and dinner).
• Johnny Rockets — À la carte location of the restaurant chain (lunch and dinner).

Bars and lounges

Anthem of the Seas includes numerous bars and lounges, including the Royal Caribbean signatures Schooner Bar and Boleros, the Ice Bar located in Two70°, Michael's Genuine Pub, and the Bionic Bar which features robotic bartenders from Makr Shakr.