JJK2008

Hey Melissa, per your request I did a quick review and posted on the RCCL board. Hope this helps. Safe travels, enjoy your cruise. Enchantment of the Seas April 27, 2024 - REQUESTED REVIEW,

We just got off Enchantment of the Seas and received a request to review the ship and ports. I'll keep it as short as possible but there is a lot to cover, and I'll focus on the major points. The ship is certainly older and doesn't have the bells and whistles. But it was clean, staff and food were excellent. Age demographics was a wide range from 20's - 80's. Unlike other cruises it was a very equally mixed group. It was a very good cruise experience. Left out of Tampa, very easy. We live in Florida so drove to the port and parked in the garage. If you are able to this is the most convenient option. You can prepurchase your parking on-line. This will insure a parking spot on busy port days. The Port website has the cruise ship schedule so you can see where your ship will be docked and what garage to use. We arrived early and breezed right through. Check-in was done with hand-held tablets by multiple RCCL staff. Total time from parking the car, walking to the terminal, check-in to on the ship was 15 minutes maybe less. Did muster station immediately then off to the Windjammer for lunch. Cabins were ready promptly at 1:00. Entertainment on the ship was good overall. The only negative was a lot of "downtime" in many of the venues. Example, in the Schooner Bar there were times where there was an hour between anything going on, same thing on the pool deck. The Viking Crown Lounge was virtually empty until the late-night DJ. Not that there needs to be constant entertainment, but there was a certain "Lull" to the atmosphere on the ship. The Centrum (middle of the ship) extends up the height of the ship. Would NOT suggest cabins anywhere close to it. The noise level from music, etc., was LOUD and travelled to all the floors in the immediate area. Although the cruise was sold out, the ship never felt crowded. Always empty seats in the MDR, Windjammer and on the pool deck. As an older ship it doesn't seem to have the stabilizers of the newer ships. As such, the ship movement was very noticeable, and we were not in rough seas. Now, it was NOT rocking and rolling by any means but for those concerned about motion sickness it may be worth bringing along medication. We had been to all these ports before. But we did book shore excursions but were not expecting much. We were pleasantly surprised. All, our excursions turned out VERY good. Cozumel, we did an excursion through the ship. Many ships in port and crowded. But the RCCL excursions were well organized, well-run, brand-new luxury coaches with bathroom on board. First stop, was a Honey/Bee Sanctuary. Very interesting, stingless bees that produce a small amount of honey compared to honeybees and with a very different taste. Next was a chocolate factory (can never go wrong with chocolate). Then was a Tequila tasting. Learned a lot and dispelled some myths about Tequila. Roatan, we did a Private tour through Victor Bodden. This company is highly rated, and we conquer. The Private Tour was $80 USD for two of us in a private van with guide. You customized the tour to your liking. Start time, end time and what you do are all at your discretion. Yes, they have suggested options to pick from. The $80 USD for two covers just the tour guide and transportation. We did an overall sightseeing tour of the island with beach and shopping stops. Went to an Iguana Farm for a tour. This cost $12 USD each. Next, we did the sloth/monkey/toucan exhibit. Cost $10 USD. Belize, we stayed on the ship. We've done the beach there and the caved tubing before. There is no port in Belize because of the Barrier Reef, too shallow. This is a tender stop with at least 30 minutes each way. Belize is building a "Port" stop offshore near the tender stops. It is called Port Coral. It is not open and still looks like a lot of work left to be done. A number of stories on-line about it. Costa Maya, we did an RCCL boat excursion to the 7 color Lagoon. This was better than we ever anticipated. Great boat ride and the "Lagoon" is really a LARGE freshwater lake and YES, the colors are brilliant. The water is as clear as a swimming pool, warm with sugar-white sand in the swimming areas, no water shoes needed. This is NOT a snorkeling sight, nothing to see. A buffet lunch was very good. Debarkation was a breeze. Like many of the ports, Tampa uses facial recognition. We carry our own bags off, so zipped right through. Hope this information is helpful. Stay Safe & Health all. Enjoy all of your cruises. John

It is on a first come first served basis. We just did exactly that. The main seating was at 5:30. We would arrive before that and put our name in. At 5:45 they would then start seating in the dining room to replace the "no-shows" We had a party of 6 and got seated together every night. It is on an availability basis. We would have gotten seating every night no problem, but not necessarily all together, we were lucky.

Just got off Enchantment of the Seas and anchored near Port Coral Belize. It is not open and looks like lots of work left to be done.

Carnival does the same thing, perhaps others as well.

Both RCI and X have been having problems for weeks. Frustrating!!!

We recently booked the Millenium cruise for August 18, 2025. I have never been to Japan, but my DW has many years ago. It is a long way off, but we too are starting to plan. I have also started a roll call for that cruise but don't expect much activity yet. There is lots of info out there here on CC as well as other sites to sift through. I've read every post on this thread and have already found a wealth of information. If you have not done so, I'd suggest doing the same, you may get the answers you're looking for. We have many Aussie friends scattered along the east coast. We visited Oz last October and November for 7 weeks. I truly hope we get a chance to visit again. It was a wonderful trip. Hope you decide to book the cruise. Stay Safe & Healthy. Cheers.

It has been happening for weeks on both RCI & X.

DW and I had a similar experience years ago on Royal Caribbean. Agree the medical staff was excellent. Glad you're feeling better.

In years past, many of the cruise lines had really nice pool towels with embroided logos on them. Of course, many of them disappeared. Hence, today we have cheap towels and a charge if you don't return them.

Sorry to hear that Mic. Get well soon. Try to have patience and heal. Easier said than done of course. Stay positive.

Water levels problems occur when water is too high or too low. Mid-summer is right in the middle of the winter snow runoff so we guessed it would be a better chance of being not too high or low. But this is just a guess. We did it mid-June and were fine with the water levels and the days were the longest giving lots of daylight. Great cruise. Enjoy it.

Get well soon Mic. I can relate. I'm barely over surgery from Mid-December and I have another one scheduled for May10th. Just want to get them over with. Wishing you a speedy recovery BUT a healthy one and that takes a bit of time. Want you back on-track for that next cruise and the one after that and the one after that......

WOW....that just Sucks!!! So sorry. Hope your surgery goes well. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Unlike an ocean cruise you can board pretty early in the morning 10:00ish. With only 180 guests there are no "lines" to worry about. You just walk on and check in. Cabin should be available as soon as you board. Yes, lunch is served day 1 and yes you can come and go freely. Viking usually has a walking tour even on day 1 that you can participate in or go on your own. River cruising is way more relaxed and less structured than an ocean cruise. Enjoy your cruise.