Just off the Enchanment, mini review...

[travelgenie]

We just got back yesterday, from a 12 day cruise on Enchantment of the Seas out of Baltimore. We had a great time, terrific weather, and smooth seas. For us, embarkation was a breeze, we were dropped off around 10:30 and we were having lunch in the Windjammer at 11:30. We heard later that there were long lines, I would imagine due to the fact that lots of people came on buses, I would suggest that if you are being dropped off or driving, go early, or wait until 1 or after. The ship was lovely, a nice size, although we had never sailed on her before, I had been keeping track of the improvements from the dry dock. Nothing looked worn, carpets looked new, along with furniture in the open common areas. Our "large outside cabin" was tiny and seemed smaller than I remembered on our last RCCL cruise a couple of years ago, but we quickly got used to it. I don't think the mattress in our room was new though, pretty lumpy and a little uncomfortable, but at sea the motion of the ship does help me sleep well for the most part. This is our second cruise out of Baltimore, first time was on Celebrity and along with that one, the majority of the passengers are elderly and some grumpy ones at that....younger people beware, the activities and entertainment seem to cater to the older crowd. We had some excursions booked that were canceled at the last minute, due to the fact there were not enough signed up, the Shore excursion desk, said it was hard to book certain tours because of the limitations of older people, so do your homework before and look for alternatives if you have your heart set on doing more physical excursions. The crew was awesome, friendly, helpful and always seemed to want to please, it was hard to watch some of the "grumpy ones", giving them a hard time and don't even get me started on the complaining....... We had My Time Dining, worked like a charm, but I had set up reservations online before hand so we never had to wait, I had also requested different size tables for different nights and they were very accommodating. The Windjammer could be frustrating at times, that area and the theater seem too small for the number of passengers since they stretched the ship. The food was good overall, with Chops being fantastic. We usually don't do many shows, but the timing seemed to work well after dinner, so we went every night. The entertainment was OK, the production shows with the singers and dancers were terrible in my opinion, one of the reasons we usually don't do the shows, the comedian, impressionist, juggler, magician were pretty good, The Drifters, Bobby Arvon and the female singer was geared toward the older crowd so not as enjoyable to us but seemed to be well liked overall. Home Free, beat box type singing was the most enjoyable to us and surprisingly the Neil Diamond tribute by the cruise director John Blair was really good, my advice to him is to work with those RC singers and dancers.....Disco Party was lots of fun. Ports were great, San Juan, Labadee, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antiqua and Tortola, we had a nice day at each one, even without the excursions we wanted, the warm weather and beautiful water really puts you in a good mood. It is a shame that RCCL will no longer be doing the 12 day cruises out of Baltimore anymore after April, we will really miss these. All in all a great time, the Enchantment is a lovely ship and we will miss her in Baltimore.

[4merlurker]

Welcome back! We are on enchantment next month! I was wondering about the age demographic for this ship since it doesn't have all the "bells & whistles of the larger ones. Hopefully we wont have too many old grumpy people LOL. On our last explorer cruise it was 9 days and the canes, walkers and scooters were EVERYWHERE! (No offense if you are immobile) Just making an observation.

[travelgenie]

I have been on the Explorer twice and yes, the Enchantment does not have as many bells and whistles but I do like the smaller ships better. I am sure you will have a fabulous time and for every grumpy old person there were many very nice ones that we enjoyed chatting with. Grumpy, complaining people of any age are never fun to listen to wherever you are. Enjoy your cruise!

[4merlurker]

I agree. Grumpy people are NEVER fun! :D

Did you happen to get the soda package or notice if the infamous "freestyle machines" were in operation? When did it warm up? Was there a lot of motion? Sorry for all the questions....

[travelgenie]

The soda machines were being installed as we cruised, there were 3 of them that I saw but were not in use on our cruise. The first sea day was chilly, the next day was a lot warmer and got warmer as the day went, in another month you should be in good shape. We had nice calm seas this time, but 2 years ago the return trip was really rough, so rough it delayed us entering the Chesapeake Bay and we did not get to port until after noon, I am sure the next group was not happy. Enjoy!

[MS52]

It is a shame that RCCL will no longer be doing the 12 day cruises out of Baltimore anymore after April, we will really miss these. All in all a great time, the Enchantment is a lovely ship and we will miss her in Baltimore.

 

They'll be doing 10 nights maximum to the Caribbean with shorter cruises to New England and Bermuda.

 

The Grandeur of the Seas will be coming to Baltimore when the Enchantment leaves.

[beachnative]

Welcome back! We are on enchantment next month! I was wondering about the age demographic for this ship since it doesn't have all the "bells & whistles of the larger ones. Hopefully we wont have too many old grumpy people LOL. On our last explorer cruise it was 9 days and the canes, walkers and scooters were EVERYWHERE! (No offense if you are immobile) Just making an observation.

 

 

We'll be on her for the Feb.25th and April 13 sailing and we'll be grumpy.:eek::eek::eek: (not)

 

I agree with the OP: the way that the grumps treat the fantastic crew ticks me off. On our most recent EN cruise I volunteered to work at Guest Services for a day but they told be I'd be fired within the first hour because of what I would say to the grumps.:D

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

We'll be on her for the Feb.25th and April 13 sailing and we'll be grumpy.:eek::eek::eek: (not)

 

I agree with the OP: the way that the grumps treat the fantastic crew ticks me off. On our most recent EN cruise I volunteered to work at Guest Services for a day but they told be I'd be fired within the first hour because of what I would say to the grumps.:D

 

That's very funny! I've always wondered how the Pursers do it. Incredible.

[Candleonwater]

Woohoo!!!!!

 

The soda machines were being installed as we cruised, there were 3 of them that I saw but were not in use on our cruise.