Pre Drydock or New Standards? Enchantment highs and lows

Just off Enchantment this morning. Ship going into 2 week drydock today. Ship was in the worst shape of any RCI ship I have been on in 27 years. Interior lounges were pretty good for the most part, cabin was completely worn out (brown carpets, bathroom had mold in shower tracks and door, hardened dust (like a rock) in vents), exterior of ship neglected badly. Not just surface rust that is easy to dismiss on any ocean going vessel, but signs of years of neglect and decay in some places. Beneath the standards one would expect of a first rate company like RCI.

Now, I am willing to accept that some things just can not be done in a 3 day cruise (cram 7 days into 3), and I know there have been cutbacks, but I also can't tell what was being dismissed due to drydock and what has become the new normal.

No Welcome Back party

No Top Tier party

No Captains corner

No CAS gift in room

No robes. Actually, never met attendant so no ice or glasses. No card with attendant phone number. Left a note to ask for ice, note gone, no ice...

No Love and Marriage game; shame because lots of honeymooners on the cruise and game is always a hit

No MDR breakfast final day

Park Cafe went "off menu" for breakfast and served last nights Mexican dinner leftovers (refried beans in a tortilla with a sliver of egg), no parfaits, no prepared sandwiches or regular offerings

No poolside BBQ or special food offerings on deck

Food and coffee run out in WJ early on Nassau day, much not replenished. Gluten free section shut down an hour early. Was told they did not expect so many people to stay onboard and did not prepare enough food

A few weeks ago photos were posted of a lovely seafood dinner in the WJ for final night. Went to WJ at 7:30PM; no shrimp, sushi almost gone (not replenished), nothing like photos from few weeks ago. Was told they were trying to use up stock of beef onboard before drydock.

Ice cream machines down early Sunday afternoon, was simply told "Drydock this week" when asked if they would re-open. So many of the issues were responded to with "drydock".

Can't Stop the Rock is entertaining in a hilarious "is this real life" sort of way. The sound was waaaaaaaaaaaay off so it came across as a 3rd rate high school production. Music from movies across the decades in the show includes such up to date blockbusters as The Bodyguard, Men in Black, She's all That. It was fun for 45 minutes but also really sad. Zero Royal Wow with the show and it needs to be scrapped "in drydock". Zero appeal to anyone under 40 that the cruise line is trying to recruit.

I would have been happy to buy some souvenirs, but they don't even offer postcards for sale anymore;

no RCI informational/historical shows (like how they did Sovereign drydock, or design of Oasis class, etc.) Just commercials for random iteineraries <shrug>

I did not like the Diamond Lounge location. It was like being in the attic of the VCL. Lovely panoramic views of the ceiling panels and lights for the VCL. Had to go down to the VCL for the gorgeous panoramic ocean views that made the VCL a trademark for RCI for so long.

Not amused by push towards a 3 course meal with everything lumped under starters.

Check in relatively fast but RCI somehow lost all our information and made me fill out cruise contract, CC info, etc...all by hand again. FYI - Paper version of cruise contract you fill out at desk has zero mention of service charges, unlike online version (which does)

Plusses: The food served in the WJ was top quality; taste and presentation really nice.

Pool deck maintained well and nice open layout; never trouble finding a lounge chair in the shade.

Headliner show Dangerous Comedy of Wilde and James was one of the best fly in acts we have seen on a ship, any cruise line, in years.

DL Concierge Nadia and Attendant Frederick did a really nice job with hospitality and service

Schooner Bar is absolutely lovely. I hope they don't change a thing there. Beautiful ocean views, spacious, comfortable

Bedding/Pillows - Excellent. Weird that rest of room was so off the grid Motel 6 shabby but bedding was excellent

Solarium clean and comfortable place to lounge about

Fitness center up to date equipment in good condition

Check in relatively fast; I did online check in but somehow RCI lost it and

I kept wanting to "give it a pass" but when I booked I wasn't told about drydock, nor given discounts because of that, or lead to believe I'd have any less of a vacation than normal. Nothing at all felt special. Crew was friendly, but just robotic going through motions. I am sure many were leaving contracts (because they made in cabin announcements at 5:45AM for crew leaving the ship to prepare for customs) and some just needed a very well deserved break.

On Friday when we boarded we intended to book the same weekend next year on Voyager-class. By Sunday we said forget it. NextCruise desk was a ghosttown when we passed by numerous times on Sunday.

Now, some of these are down to personal prerence, some are due to RCI cutting corners, and some are due to "just get through this cruise and get to drydock" (such as the pallets of plywood and construction supplies lined up at the stern on deck 5). But I can't figure out how much has RCI cut and how much was just "off"

Just seems like too many things off to be new standards. Guessing that they had to get ready for dry dock and opted not to do many things that would take time away from dry dock prep.

I love the layout/size of the ship. I hope drydock catches up on the deferred maintenance. Guests deserve a better experience for their hard earned money. I cruise often enough across various lines to know ships get wear and tear being used 24x7x365 but this ship has been neglected. To be honest, I feel the slightest bit ripped off about this weekend cruise. It was just not up to par. I emailed Mr. Bayley and told him if this had been my first RCI cruise it would have been my last.

Bob when I originally booked I did not know about drydock. I usually avoid cruises before drydock. I was on Victory in October and will be on Sky to Cuba in 2 weeks, so figured I'd split the difference, and gain Diamond Lounge, going with Royal for the 3 day weekend getaway. Technically I broke my own rule about not going on ships before dry dock. But that doesn't make the lackluster experience my fault either.

Thanks for the review. I really hope these are just pre drydock issues, as I thought our cruise on Enchantment in 2014 was great. I’ve been wanting to sail on her again—maybe see how the reviews are after drydock.

While I wouldn’t cruise before a drydock (and you said you wouldn’t normally either) guests in these cruises still deserve some semblance of a normal cruise. Some cruisers may not be aware of the drydock, book the cruise, and be disappointed.

Your comments about the production show are pretty funny (but also sad). Carnival seems to do much better on rolling out new shows to old ships (I believe most of them have the new ish Playlist Productions) , while Royal hangs on to shows forever.

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Just unpacked my photos from the gallery which reminded me that every other line provides you a protective sleeve/folder to protect your photos in your luggage. When I asked for a sleeve or folder was told they "Don't have those anymore". Now one has to wonder was THAT a "drydock" answer or just a company chintzing out. I hope Royal hasn't really gotten that chintzy.

I know the Centrum Aerial shows are gone from all Vision-class ships now, so I knew not to expect that (new Standard). The show Seasons was, to me, a highlight on Legend of the Seas in 2014 and definitely had a Wow factor not present in competitor midsize ships. I think the whole Centrum area of the ship is still gorgeous. I hope they don't mess with it too much in drydock, other than carpets on the stairs and elevator interiors needing refinishing, it didn't need anything else in that area. Still a wonderful space

I know the Centrum Aerial shows are gone from all Vision-class ships now, so I knew not to expect that (new Standard). The show Seasons was, to me, a highlight on Legend of the Seas in 2014 and definitely had a Wow factor not present in competitor midsize ships. I think the whole Centrum area of the ship is still gorgeous. I hope they don't mess with it too much in drydock, other than carpets on the stairs and elevator interiors needing refinishing, it didn't need anything else in that area. Still a wonderful space

They removed the aerial shows? Enchantment never had them, but I didn’t know they were gone from the other Vision class ships. Any word on if the Radiance class still do?

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They removed the aerial shows? Enchantment never had them, but I didn’t know they were gone from the other Vision class ships. Any word on if the Radiance class still do?

No aerial shows on Brilliance and Jewel.

We were on Enchantment in August (have been on her many times) and everything was fantastic - crew welcoming us by name, staff super nice, just no complaints at all

Pretty much everything the OP said they did not get, we did get so it must be a pre-drydock issue.

We actually like the DL, no issues at all, we go between the CL and DL depending on what we feel like.

Hasn't been a Top Tier party on Enchantment for some time. They do a welcome party in the Centrum the 2nd night. One of our favorite things on the final night is the Parade of Flags.

We have Enchantment in March for the last time since she will be leaving Miami and we will be said to see some of the staff we love leave and go with Enchantment

That being said, we are super excited to get Mariner and having a ship that size for our short cruises.

They did have the Parade of Flags in the centrum. That works very well in that space and is a crowd pleaser

Just received a call from corporate. They said many things on this cruise were not up to their regular standards and they left it at that.

Just received a call from corporate. They said many things on this cruise were not up to their regular standards and they left it at that.

WOW, that's quite the cop out. If I pay for a cruise I expect it to meet my expectations. It's a shame they don't seem to care sometimes.

WOW, that's quite the cop out. If I pay for a cruise I expect it to meet my expectations. It's a shame they don't seem to care sometimes.

They wanted to make sure there was no construction during the cruise (cutting, welding, sawing, drilling). I confirmed there was not. They were satisfied with that. I told them this was just far below their normal standards and due to that we did not book this weekend for next year. He asked if I wanted to cancel my April cruise, I said no, I am looking forward to it and if you are telling me that cruise will meet your regular standards I should have no further concern.

Have seen Wild and Haynes (now James) I bet 10 times. Love them. I was starting to think of myself as their groupie we had seen them on ships so often.

Your experience onboard though reminds me of our being on the Legend when it came back from Asia. Every excuse was “we just got back from Asia.”

thanks for your review Linda, it sounds like they really dropped the ball on a lot of things! I'm on the 12/14 cruise (first after the drydock) so it will be interesting to see how my experience compares to yours. Never been on a ship right after a drydock and I'm hoping everything goes smoothly!

I was on Enchantment in May of 2016 and I felt like she was a little shabby in some ways then.

Hopefully they fix all the issues in the dry dock. Clean her up and send her along.

Personally I am excited for the Navigator & Mariner to take over these short runs. I will definitely hop on those a few times through the year just to get away. Hoping they are still in nice shape!

Voyager class is among my favorites so I think it’s a major boon for short cruises.

I hope they get things finished in 2 weeks and no ongoing work. I saw so much evidence of deferred maintenance that I hope they can tackle it all. Guest deserve better and the company must realize they have a reputation to keep up

Refried bean burritos anyone?

Voyager class is among my favorites so I think it’s a major boon for short cruises.

 

I hope they get things finished in 2 weeks and no ongoing work. I saw so much evidence of deferred maintenance that I hope they can tackle it all. Guest deserve better and the company must realize they have a reputation to keep up

Here's hoping that the drydock will get things in shape. We're booked on a 4 day to the Bahamas in July 2018.

Just unpacked my photos from the gallery which reminded me that every other line provides you a protective sleeve/folder to protect your photos in your luggage. When I asked for a sleeve or folder was told they "Don't have those anymore". Now one has to wonder was THAT a "drydock" answer or just a company chintzing out. I hope Royal hasn't really gotten that chintzy.

Just off Enchantment this morning. Ship going into 2 week drydock today. Ship was in the worst shape of any RCI ship I have been on in 27 years.

 

Bedding/Pillows - Excellent. Weird that rest of room was so off the grid Motel 6 shabby but bedding was excellent

Ummm we are talking about RCI right? LOL!! That is the part I hate most about my cruises with them. Every bed is so hard, and all the pillows are less than an inch thick. It was weird, I just got off the Independence, and we actually had what I would call king size pillows, that appeared to be new. It was actually a talking point for a couple of minutes when we found our cabin. Yep.. that is sad! :o

I am not sure how I feel about the whole "Going to drydock" thing. I paid for the cruise, and I do not think it is unreasonable to expect to receive what every other cruise receives. This would probably end up being a call to guest relations once I returned home.

I am hoping to go on Enchantment again in 2018. We shall see...

We had booked Enchantment out of Galveston to go to Panama but the ship got repositioned. My daughter was to get married on the ship. We changed to Liberty since that is the only ship leaving out of Galveston. We wanted to drive and we lost going to Panama. I was pretty sad about this but now not so much!

Just unpacked my photos from the gallery which reminded me that every other line provides you a protective sleeve/folder to protect your photos in your luggage. When I asked for a sleeve or folder was told they "Don't have those anymore". Now one has to wonder was THAT a "drydock" answer or just a company chintzing out. I hope Royal hasn't really gotten that chintzy.

Received plastic sleeves last week on the Indy. That must be another pre-drydock “not up to regular standards” thing.

We have gotten protective plastic sleeves for our pictures on every RCI cruise we have been on (been on 3 in the last 2 months). Hopefully they only ran out of them.

I miss the card stock folders

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After I received a somewhat unprofessional and curt reply from Royal I forwarded it to my T/A who also received what he called a "lousy" response and he escalated it up through the owner of the agency. I don't know who they got a hold of from Royal but I received a reply actually addressing my concerns and providing compensation (which I had never asked for). Score one for a good TA being your advocate. Glad they reached someone at Royal empowered to right a wrong and recognize when the product offering was not full effort. Looking forward to a solid cruise on Navigator in 3 months time. Hope the fresh from drydock Enchantment is providing the guest experience Royal advertises and guests pay for.