Anthem of the Seas 2026 – From Sydney to Honolulu
18 Nights Across the Pacific with Royal Caribbean
There’s something special about standing at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal, luggage in hand, knowing you’re about to disappear across the Pacific Ocean for nearly three weeks.
Our transpacific sailing aboard Anthem of the Seas promised 18 nights of sea days, tropical islands, trivia battles, entertainment, food, sunsets, and eventually Hawaii — and somehow it still exceeded expectations.
What started with a slightly chaotic embarkation in Sydney quickly turned into one of the most enjoyable cruises we’ve ever experienced.
First Impressions of Anthem of the Seas
At first glance, Anthem of the Seas feels enormous. Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class ships are modern, high-tech, and packed with activities, entertainment venues, and dining options.
Initially, the Royal Esplanade gave us more “upmarket shopping centre” vibes than traditional cruise ship elegance, but over time the ship absolutely grew on us. By the end of the voyage, Anthem genuinely felt like home.
Some of our favourite onboard venues quickly emerged:
Two70 became our go-to hangout, transforming from a peaceful observation lounge by day into an incredible entertainment space at night.
Music Hall hosted many of our trivia sessions, game shows, and live music events.
The adults-only Solarium became the perfect escape during sea days.
SeaPlex delivered surprisingly fun activities including sports festivals, bumper cars, Xbox gaming, and the famous Dog House hotdogs.
And yes… we spent a lot of time doing trivia.
Sea Days, Trivia, and Cruise Ship Life
One of the biggest surprises of the cruise was just how enjoyable the long stretches at sea became.
Rather than feeling repetitive, the sea days developed their own rhythm. Mornings often started slowly with coffee, breakfast, and ocean views before the daily schedule kicked into gear.
Royal Caribbean’s entertainment team absolutely carried this cruise. Between progressive trivia, Royal Trivia Live!, music quizzes, pool games, karaoke, and game shows, there was always something happening.
We somehow became deeply invested in trivia competitions throughout the voyage — from 80s icons and TV themes to rock music and movie trivia. There were victories, humiliating defeats, and some very questionable answers along the way.
The themed parties were another highlight. The 80s Night party brought the entire ship to life, while the 70s Disco Inferno party on the final sea day was pure chaos in the best possible way.
Entertainment onboard was a bit inconsist but when it was good it was excellent!
Highlights included:
The outstanding production of We Will Rock You
Jason Singh’s Heaven’s Greatest Hits
Comedy shows
Interactive game shows hosted by the endlessly energetic entertainment staff
Special mention also goes to Fernanda, Roo, Josh, and Cruise Director Kat, who helped create such a fun atmosphere throughout the crossing.
New Zealand and French Polynesia
Our first port stop was the beautiful Bay of Islands in New Zealand. Paihia was every bit as charming as we remembered — relaxed, scenic, and incredibly welcoming.
But the real magic of the voyage came once we reached French Polynesia.
Papeete, Tahiti
Papeete gave us colourful markets, black sand beaches, waterfalls, and one of the most unintentionally hilarious island tours we’ve ever experienced.
The scenery was stunning, but our tour guide seemed far more interested in pointing out churches than actually explaining the island. By the end of the day we’d turned it into a running joke and were literally counting church references on the bus ride back to the ship.
It was chaotic, bizarre, and somehow incredibly memorable.
Moorea
Moorea was simply breathtaking.
Towering green mountains, crystal-clear water, and postcard-perfect scenery surrounded the ship from the moment we arrived.
One of the biggest highlights of the entire cruise was an impromptu snorkelling trip where we encountered tropical fish, stingrays, and blacktip reef sharks in shallow lagoon waters.
At first it was slightly terrifying.
Then it became one of the most incredible wildlife experiences we’ve ever had.
Raiatea
Raiatea delivered another beautiful island day, though much of it unexpectedly revolved around one important mission:
Finding Pepsi Max.
After days of searching across multiple islands, we finally discovered “Pepsi Sans Sucre” in a supermarket at Uturoa. Sadly, it tasted far more like 1980s Diet Pepsi than Australian Pepsi Max… but victories are victories.
Dining on Anthem of the Seas
Dining overall was very solid throughout the voyage.
The Windjammer buffet impressed us far more than expected, particularly the Indian dishes, curries, and variety available during lunch and dinner.
The Main Dining Room experience was generally good, though somewhat inconsistent depending on the menu themes. Royal Caribbean’s vegetarian and gluten-free offerings occasionally missed the mark, but staff were always accommodating and eager to help.
Specialty dining was more mixed:
Chops Grille was good but didn’t quite live up to expectations.
Jamie’s Italian, however, was exceptional and one of the best meals of the cruise.
The truffle tagliatelle, lamb cutlets, risotto, lasagne, arancini, and incredible service made Jamie’s an easy 10/10 experience for us.
Crossing the Equator and ANZAC Day at Sea
Two particularly memorable moments stood out emotionally during the crossing.
The first was the traditional Crossing the Line Ceremony, where we officially became Shellbacks after crossing the equator. It was silly, messy, chaotic cruise fun — exactly the sort of thing that makes longer voyages memorable.
The second was the onboard ANZAC Dawn Service.
Held on the open decks as the sun rose over the Pacific Ocean, it was respectful, moving, and beautifully organised by the crew of Anthem of the Seas. It became one of the most meaningful moments of the voyage.
Arriving in Hawaii
After sailing roughly 5,500 nautical miles across the Pacific, we finally arrived in Honolulu.
Seeing Hawaii emerge on the horizon after so many sea days felt genuinely surreal.
Disembarkation itself was a little chaotic, and the Royal Caribbean hotel transfer process left a lot to be desired, but once we reached Waikiki all of that quickly faded away.
That evening we watched Anthem of the Seas sail away toward Vancouver while fireworks exploded above Waikiki Beach.
It was strangely emotional saying goodbye to a ship that had become our home for almost three weeks.
Final Thoughts
This cruise completely changed our perspective on longer voyages.
We expected the ports to be the highlight — and they absolutely were incredible — but the real surprise was just how much we loved life onboard during the crossing itself.
The entertainment, atmosphere, themed events, sea days, and sense of community all combined to create something genuinely special.
Would we do another transpacific cruise?
Absolutely.
And honestly… we probably wouldn’t hesitate to step straight back onboard Anthem of the Seas tomorrow.
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