“When you are an innovator and start something new you have to be prepared to go through the phase of learning and adjusting. So it took some time to go through the learning, adjust the expectations and the process as well.” “I think most were coming on board with the expectation that we can have everything we had and all the new, which is not possible the way the ship was designed and constructed. Quantum only spent a brief season in Bayonne and so the challenge of persuading guests that the new way was good fell to Anthem. As a result, when Anthem's nearly identical sister Quantum of the Seas came to Bayonne in late 2014, guests who were used to conventional cruising were taken aback. The Quantum class cruise ships were designed to introduce a new way of cruising that is much different than conventional cruising. Perhaps the biggest challenge Anthem faced in her first year was one of perception. That's quite satisfying,” observed Captain Henrick Sorensen. “I think overall if you look at the Anthem a year in basically, I can see how we have become a lot smarter, how we have learned a lot about things and also how our guests have gotten used to this way of cruising. Bigger than almost all other cruise ships and radically innovate, Anthem's first year was eventful. However, Anthem of the Seas in not like most cruise ships. Cruise news notes and commentary June 2022Ĭruise news notes and commentary July 2022įor most cruise ships, the first year in service is one in which some tinkering is done in order to get the ship working on a par with the rest of that cruise line's fleet.