Smooth Sailing on Enchantment Feb 17 2014 Bahamas- photo review

[Familygoboston]

Thanks so much for the info. We are on the 3/28 3 night sailing and am looking very forwards to sailing this class ship. You gave us some great ideas of things to do on Nassau and on the private island. But more importantly you made me very hungry :D

 

Thanks again!!!

 

We leave on the 24th aboard Enchantment and I am so grateful for all the information you have included in your review!!:D:D

 

Thank you for reading! Enjoy your cruises, wish I was coming on board again! :D

[Familygoboston]

Wonderful review, thanks so much! We will be on the Enchantment with another family in June. We can't wait! I do have a question, however. I noticed in the cruise compasses you posted (by the way thankyou for that), that there are several trivia contests held in various bars and lounges, i.e. the Harry Potter trivia at the Schooner Bar. My son who will be 17 and his friend who is traveling with us, would really get into these trivia contests. Are they allowed in these bars and lounges to enjoy these activities?

 

 

Not to worry! All the bars and lounges (except the diamond lounge at cocktail hour- which is a private club anyway, and the Viking Crown lounge after 10 PM are designated 18+) All the other bars and lounges that have entertainment or trivia are open to all! Especially, during the day, the activities are held in those spaces, and other than the fact that there is a bartender available, it is really not an adult or lounge atmosphere at all! Good luck with the Harry Potter trivia- sounds like he and my DD would have had fun cruising together, she's an HP fan too;)

 

 

Another great review! Thanks for taking the time to do these. I'm trying to decide which ship to take for our 30th anniversary and love reading the reviews that tell it like it is...like yours. Having only been on the Oasis for our 25th I really want to try something smaller, but am having trouble deciding. What ship? What itinerary? How do I decide? :confused: The reviews I read make me want to do them all. At least I have time to read more reviews that may direct me onto the right ship. Your pictures, hubby help or not, and how you covered all the details are wonderful for the cc (confused cruiser) that I am. Thank you again and I look forward to more of your reviews.

 

Oh, Happy! Nice to hear from you again! I have the same problem, too many places, not enough time;)

 

Happy anniversary! Can you go to Tahiti? I ask because the the PG was the most incredibly romantic cruise - ever! It's far, it's more money than a Royal cruise, but for a honeymoon or special anniversary, it's heavenly! It's really geared for couples, and so many others are celebrating- the honeymooners enthusiasm is infectious, they have a special anniversary ceremony in board in Bora Bora; the whole thing is a love fest wrapped in snorkeling, hiking, and amazing Polynesian culture and scenery! (Don't wait till the 50th- it will be too far to go at that age!;))

 

If not that, or you want to stick with Royal, the southern Caribbean out of SJ is also romantic- OSJ is so pretty at night on sail away at 9 PM and some of the islands are smaller and a little less trodden, which makes it feel more romantic too. I like Voyager class for the extra venues and activities, so if you liked Oasis for 25th, The Voyager class ship ported in SJ might be a good choice. Right now that's Adventure, but she is leaving in April 2015, and I don't know which ship is headed there. (Don't know when your big day is!) Jewel was lovely and very romantic, but if you like the activities, venues and action of Oasis, it might prove too sedate!

 

Our 30th is in 2017, and I thought I'd like to go back to French Polynesia on PG, but DH is itching to go to Antarctica (which would be our last continent) I may make a deal, Antarctica followed by a short cruise out of Miami/FLL on the way home to warm our bones:p. Do let us know what you decide!

[Familygoboston]

I loved your review! Thanks for sharing! I'll be on Enchantment in June, so I was really excited to read this :)

 

Thanks! Have a fun cruise!

 

 

Thank you so much!! Seriously! I have read a lot of reviews and while they were helpful and wonderful - YOU WIN! Best review and I'm so excited to get on the ship (and out of our new 8" of snow - ugh!!) I'm considering printing this all off so I can reread it on the way down (driving Michigan to Florida). But some (my family) would think that was obsessive ;)

 

That is very kind , thank you! I do that! I have printed out reviews to read later, but it can be awkward with all the photos! ;)

What I do is clip and paste all the "important parts" into a single word document. I will add info from multiple reviews and then move everything under headings like - Shore Excursions, Dining etc, that way I can find the info quickly when I'm making my plans. Of course that's obsessive, but it's fun!:p

[Familygoboston]

Wonderful job. We will be boarding soon and will try and pay it forward for all you have done.

 

 

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Thank you! I look forward to your review:D

 

What I find is between reading reviews of 1- places and ships I want to go and need to research 2- ships and places I've been and want to "live through" again, and people whose reviews I just love to read, I'm sort of always reading reviews. :eek:

[Familygoboston]

great review - can't wait till May.....

 

Sandy, Have fun! I hope you review your cruise too!:D

[happyiam]

Thank you Familygoboston for the ideas for the anniversary cruise. :D We would love to go to the Polynesian Islands however my son and his new fiancée have decided that 2016 is the year they will get married. Wonderful really, but darn those kids for interfering with an anniversary cruise to Tahiti! I just read your PG review and it looked like an amazing trip.

 

 

I have been looking at the southern cruises and it is nice to have you suggest it. Because we are still newbies we love everything from the action to the quiet times. We have no set expectations or needs. We are pretty much go with the flow types, which may be why I am confused. Your reviews, and pictures have helped me understand when others have said that they missed seeing the ocean when on the big ships. Now I am excited to experience that. I'm going to use your idea to cut and paste from reviews. Another excellent idea for over-planners. ;) I think I stole your spreadsheet idea before our other cruise. Hmmm..are you a bad influence, or a good one? I'm sure once I decide I will be back for more information. Until next time, thank you and looking forward to more of your reviews.

[Familygoboston]

Thank you Familygoboston for the ideas for the anniversary cruise. :D We would love to go to the Polynesian Islands however my son and his new fiancée have decided that 2016 is the year they will get married. Wonderful really, but darn those kids for interfering with an anniversary cruise to Tahiti! I just read your PG review and it looked like an amazing trip.

 

 

I have been looking at the southern cruises and it is nice to have you suggest it. Because we are still newbies we love everything from the action to the quiet times. We have no set expectations or needs. We are pretty much go with the flow types, which may be why I am confused. Your reviews, and pictures have helped me understand when others have said that they missed seeing the ocean when on the big ships. Now I am excited to experience that. I'm going to use your idea to cut and paste from reviews. Another excellent idea for over-planners. ;) I think I stole your spreadsheet idea before our other cruise. Hmmm..are you a bad influence, or a good one? I'm sure once I decide I will be back for more information. Until next time, thank you and looking forward to more of your reviews.

 

Ahh, those pesky kids!! Skip the wedding, and offer to pay for joint honeymoon anniversary on PG- can't imagine they'd turn that down...LOL!;)

 

Congratulations on their getting hitched!! I think you would enjoy the "Radiance Class" in the Southern Caribbean- it's a busy itinerary and although there isn't as much to do on board as Oasis or Allure, the ports are all so wonderful, with loads of things to do! Also, the ships themselves are lovely, and some of them (like Brilliance) have already had the "oasis" features added. (like the Park Cafe) Im not sure which one will be there next, but its' worth looking into!

[micmacmissy]

Familygoboston-

 

Thanks for another fun (and funny!) review. Always look forward to reading them! Be sure to give the folks on the RCCL board a heads up when you post your river cruise review...you have a lot of "fans" here that would like to follow that one too! A river cruise is on my bucket list...but will have to wait til kiddos are off to college...or graduated from college, for that matter!

 

Thanks again! :)

[Familygoboston]

Familygoboston-

 

Thanks for another fun (and funny!) review. Always look forward to reading them! Be sure to give the folks on the RCCL board a heads up when you post your river cruise review...you have a lot of "fans" here that would like to follow that one too! A river cruise is on my bucket list...but will have to wait til kiddos are off to college...or graduated from college, for that matter!

 

Thanks again! :)

 

Thank You!! I always link my reviews in my signature, so hopefully you will see it pop up on there during another discussion! We are just about there, this cruise is our first 2 week trip even though we still have one home, but after that we've got some big plans because the nest will be empty! Thank goodness for my excellent pet sitter!;)

[kwazi07]

Great review and personality. I'm actually 13, so I'm excited to go on this cruise and make a TR-with pictures because your TR made my day when I saw it. Expect a few selfies :)

 

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[smeck]

As usual a excellent review.

[Familygoboston]

Great review and personality. I'm actually 13, so I'm excited to go on this cruise and make a TR-with pictures because your TR made my day when I saw it. Expect a few selfies :)

 

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Kwazi, that's awesome! There was a young man here, 18 and another young lady in college who used to do great reviews, I truly loved their "fresh" youthful perspective! I hope you do one, and I will certainly look for it!

 

Can you stand a few tips from a "mom" :

 

Stay safe; be careful about revealing too much personal info about yourself. (Like a photo with you in tee shirt with your school name etc) I think it's a great idea to have one of your parents or a trusted grownup join and follow along on your thread! One of the safest things for kids is for strangers to know that you are being loved and taken care of by the adults in your life! :D. I'll bet there is an adult you cruise with who loves it as much as you and can make sure you stay safe on line! :D

 

Save your work, all your writing and photos in a document on a laptop or device. The 18 yo old young man ended up doing a report on cruising business for his school, so you never know when that review might be an interesting piece of writing to use for a project, an internship or application one day! ;)

 

I'm sure you will be great! Best of luck! I'll be waiting!

[kwazi07]

Kwazi, that's awesome! There was a young man here, 18 and another young lady in college who used to do great reviews, I truly loved their "fresh" youthful perspective! I hope you do one, and I will certainly look for it!

 

Can you stand a few tips from a "mom" :

 

Stay safe; be careful about revealing too much personal info about yourself. (Like a photo with you in tee shirt with your school name etc) I think it's a great idea to have one of your parents or a trusted grownup join and follow along on your thread! One of the safest things for kids is for strangers to know that you are being loved and taken care of by the adults in your life! :D. I'll bet there is an adult you cruise with who loves it as much as you and can make sure you stay safe on line! :D

 

Save your work, all your writing and photos in a document on a laptop or device. The 18 yo old young man ended up doing a report on cruising business for his school, so you never know when that review might be an interesting piece of writing to use for a project, an internship or application one day! ;)

 

I'm sure you will be great! Best of luck! I'll be waiting!

 

Thanks for all the tips! I will definitely shoot you an email when I'm done. However, its not until August! How do you post a picture in the TR :confused:?

 

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[kwazi07]

Also, I saw that you have been on the Jewel on western from Tampa. Do you think we should have booked Enchantment in the summer for the 4 night Bahamas or Brilliance in the winter for five nights? We have already been to Cozumel and GC, but what ship do you like more?

 

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[Familygoboston]

Also, I saw that you have been on the Jewel on western from Tampa. Do you think we should have booked Enchantment in the summer for the 4 night Bahamas or Brilliance in the winter for five nights? We have already been to Cozumel and GC, but what ship do you like more?

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

Here's a step by step of how I do it, below, but you can also use the Tapatalk app and upload your photos from your phone directly to a thread. I notice they are usually a little smaller than what I like (some people think mine are too big, but I like big pictures myself!) and you won't be able to edit, which I do before posting, (or DH does;)) but we usually crop, adjust exposures and such. If you didn't need to want to do that, Tapatalk may work for you...unfortunately, I don't use it much so I can't advise on that!

 

1- upload your photos to a photo hosting/sharing site, such as shutterfly, you can even use FB or Instagram, really any site that allows you to post the photos on the web with a specific URL for each photo.

 

2- when you want to add the photo to your narrative, you just go to the photo hosting site, copy and paste what is in the address bar for that photo into your narrative.

 

3- add to the end of the address. Make sure you have "period" in front of the jpg!

 

4- you can test if it worked by hitting the " preview post" button at the bottom of the box. Instead of "submit reply" ; this will allow you to have a look at the photos, make sure it's spaced right and it "appears" in your post. You can edit it in the "box" below your preview.

 

5- once you like the post, just hit " submit reply"

I often select all, and copy and paste it onto a word doc first to save it, and just in case the web goes down during my post, I will have it saved to try again.

 

You can only put 6 photos in per post, and that includes smilies ( I find this very limiting;)).

 

There is also a way to use the tool bar at the top to add photos directly so you don't have to type in the imgs and jpgs like I do, in that case you copy the URL of the photo, then in your post, hit the button that has the mountain and stamp on it (looks like a postcard!) that will bring up a "dialogue box" with http: and you paste the URL in there. Then it adds the photo to your post!

 

Good luck, I bet it turns out great whichever way you do it!:D

[Familygoboston]

As usual a excellent review.

 

Thanks Smeck!

[Maimou]

I just read your whole review in one sitting (insomnia sufferer here) and I must say I love your writing style and honest (but not brutal) opinions of your experiences. The compasses were a great help-I am still trying to talk DH into a cruise (my only cruise so far was when I was 18-3 day senior class trip to the Bahamas), so those will be great to study up on. That way I can casually toss off fun things into my conversations to pique his interest.

 

And $100 Ben & Jerry's bill? You are truly girls after my own heart!

[str8outhagutr]

I just finished reading your review of the Boat that i will be going to in about 10 hrs. Since this was a last minute deal i really have not had any time to research. So this was very helpful. Also thansk for the info onthe park and cruise wasnt sure where to park. SO i am going to reserve a spot now if i can. I will let you know how it goes when i come back.

[kwazi07]

This is mainly a try at uploading pics through Tapatalk.

I love watching the countdown clock for our cruise (the blue one) tick away!

 

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[Familygoboston]

I just finished reading your review of the Boat that i will be going to in about 10 hrs. Since this was a last minute deal i really have not had any time to research. So this was very helpful. Also thansk for the info onthe park and cruise wasnt sure where to park. SO i am going to reserve a spot now if I can. I will let you know how it goes when i come back.

 

Even if you can't reserve, go anyway...there were not that many folks there when we went, it's less if you can book ahead, but they obviously advertise to folks driving in day of, so they will have room. It was the easiest 40 bucks I've saved in a while!:D Have great cruise!!

[Familygoboston]

I just read your whole review in one sitting (insomnia sufferer here) and I must say I love your writing style and honest (but not brutal) opinions of your experiences. The compasses were a great help-I am still trying to talk DH into a cruise (my only cruise so far was when I was 18-3 day senior class trip to the Bahamas), so those will be great to study up on. That way I can casually toss off fun things into my conversations to pique his interest.

 

And $100 Ben & Jerry's bill? You are truly girls after my own heart!

 

Do that! I bet it works! (does he like trivia, cause then it will be easy;):D) I have a cruise friend who was so jazzed about cruising, but his Midwestern family was nervous, not being ocean folks, it took him ten years, but now that all LOVE it!! DH and I were convinced it was all sitting around and drinking, until we tried it, and we learned while you can certainly do that, there are plenty of other things to do too!!

 

And yes, one of those things is wracking up a B&J bill bigger than my bar bill!:p

 

This is mainly a try at uploading pics through Tapatalk.

I love watching the countdown clock for our cruise (the blue one) tick away!

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

It worked! But see how the picture is sort of small? Depending on what you are trying to convey, it may be too small. There are also lots of folks reading using devices and phones and then it gets really tiny:eek: You are still young, but a good part of the audience here is umm...not. They might need glasses to read anyway and if things are too small they will just move on and miss your great review! Something to consider!

 

edited:

Bizarrely, your picture has "quoted" HUGE!! I have no idea why??? Also now that I can see it I can see that there is some "private info" in this pic you might not want to share!

Edited March 14, 2014 by Familygoboston

[kwazi07]

Do that! I bet it works! (does he like trivia, cause then it will be easy;):D) I have a cruise friend who was so jazzed about cruising, but his Midwestern family was nervous, not being ocean folks, it took him ten years, but now that all LOVE it!! DH and I were convinced it was all sitting around and drinking, until we tried it, and we learned while you can certainly do that, there are plenty of other things to do to!!

 

And yes, one of those things is wracking up a B&J bill bigger than my bar bill!:p

 

 

 

It worked! But see how the picture is sort of small? Depending on what you are trying to convey, it may be too small. There are also lots of folks reading using devices and phones and then it gets really tiny:eek: You are still young, but a good part of the audience here is umm...not. They might need glasses to read anyway and if things are too small they will just move on and miss your great review! Something to consider!

 

I plan on using your method. On the app it looks big but on the site it looks tiny! I will probably use one of those Bluetooth keyboards to use with my tablet.

 

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Edited March 14, 2014 by kwazi07

[Familygoboston]

I plan on using your method. On the app it looks big but on the site it looks tiny! I will probably use one of those Bluetooth keyboards to use with my tablet.

 

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That will work!! So please be careful about sharing where you will be at a given time in the future and any personal (a birth date is personal info!!) it's not unusual for reviews to get thousands of views...I'm hopeful that they are all very nice people, but we need to thwart the few bad eggs! If you get something up and realize it was a mistake, you can always delete the "link" if its on photo sharing site. If that doesn't work you can ask the moderators to delete something.

 

Have fun!

Edited March 14, 2014 by Familygoboston

[kwazi07]

That will work!! So please be careful about sharing where you will be at a given time in the future and any personal (a birth date is personal info!!) it's not unusual for reviews to get thousands of views...I'm hopeful that they are all very nice people, but we need to thwart the few bad eggs! If you get something up and realize it was a mistake, you can always delete the "link" if its on photo sharing site. If that doesn't work you can ask the moderators to delete something.

 

Have fun!

 

Thanks, I will post a note on this thread when I make the TR.

 

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[rsharp83]

"I have a cruise friend who was so jazzed about cruising, but his Midwestern family was nervous, not being ocean folks, it took him ten years, but now they all LOVE it!!"

 

I wonder who you might be talking about... Hmmmmmm who could this be?

 

Great review, as always my friend.

 

 

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