Back from the Enchatment

[eisens]

Just returned from a 3 day trip to the Bahama on the Enchantment of the Seas. This was our first RCI cruise, and only our second cruise ever.

 

I took my 15 year old son. He was too young to remember the earlier cruise so I had concerns that he'd enjoy it and find enough to do. He had a great time!

 

I decided to park at the Radisson (it was between them and the Park n Cruise). We made the mistake of going to the hotel, being directed WAY to the back, walking a mile to the lobby -- only to find out they moved non-hotel guest parking across the street! We had to schlep back to the car and drive to a not well marked building (looks like a 2 story office building) to park. But once we straighted that out the foks there were nice (I'd made a reservation -- $7.99 a day versus 8.99 if you just show up).

 

We got to the ship around 11:30 on Friday morning and getting through embarcation was pretty quick. I'd neglected to get my son a soda card but there was a table right as we got onto the ship and I bought it right away. They put a sticker on his Sign & Sail card so if he forgot the cup he could get soda at any of the bars.

 

We checked out the ship and lunched at Windjammers. Food was OK if not a little fancy. It would be nice if they had some "plain" food. ;)

 

DS went off to explore the ship. He found Fuel (the teen club) and made some new friends. There seemed to be a lot of family reunions going on so there were a lot of younger people. Lots of foreigners too (which I liked -- the diversity of seeing people speak Chinese, Indian and so on).

 

I discovered the Solarium (which I loved -- it was my favorite hangout on ship). My son loved the hot tubs which he and his friends spent a lot of time enjoying.

 

I had booked an inside room. My one and only other cruise I had 2 adjoining balconies so I wondered how much I'd hate the inside room. Surprise, surprise -- it was very nice! A bit bigger than I expected! No fridge or couch, but an attractive cabin (4555). The problems came later when we not only had really loud neighbors -- but a lot of loud noise from the floor above (casino) -- usually in the wee hours when I expect they were cleaning. We didn't let it bother us, though. Life is what you make of it and a little noise was not that big a deal to us.

 

That night we dined alone in My Fair Lady -- and got a lovely table right on the water. The waiters were nice, but we did seem a bit rushed (food came flying out the kitchen at us). That was the only dinner we had there. . .

 

That night they had a movie on the big screen by the pool. I also went up to Deck 10 (top deck) and sat at the bow just watching the ship sail through the waves. Lovely.

 

I also went to the Orpheum and saw the comedian who was pretty funny. . .

 

Saturday morning we had breakfast in MFL. Thanks to CC I knew I could order Eggs Benedict. I started a trend as everyone at the table then ordered them, too! :o We had a British family and some ladies from Nicaragua (diversity!). Lovely people all. My son ate 5 rolls, all the butter and half slept through breakfast having stayed up late with his new friends.

 

We got to Nassau at noon on Saturday. We ate in Windjammer and then left to explore. We hadn't booked an excursion (DS wanted to wng it). I wanted to book snorkeling for him, but instead we spent time at the beach, found a local bar who directed us to "Fish Fry" for some truly native cuisine. We met a local "hawker" who was very sweet and showed us around (no charge!). He took us up this HUGE hill to Fort Charlotte (1749). I thought I was gonna die from the walk but my son loved it.

 

We came back fairly early and collapsed! :p

 

My one complaint is that everytime I wanted to eat something in the evening the Windjammer was closed. Very annoying! They shifted us off the Park Cafe near the Solarium which didn't have much of a selection. I didn't want to do the formal dinner, just grab a bite and that was disappointing.

 

Sunday we were in Coco Cay. It was nice. DS got a kayak and swam a lot. We were both pretty tired so we only stayed there about 3-4 hours. It did seem like they were worse for charging for everything than they had been in Nassau!

 

Sunday we ordered room service (yes Windjammer was closed AGAIN). My son ordered 3 pizzas. I ordered a steak sandwich. You would not believe the number of trays they delivered! :eek:

 

I went to the late show (the blue show -- it wasn't that bad). A very drunk woman in the audience heckled the comedian but he dealt with her very well. It was fun.

 

Oh -- I also spent a little bit of time in the casino, but the smoke got to me. I broke even so not bad!

 

My son absolutely loved the trip. He explored a lot of the ship on his own, finding nooks and crannies. He said all the staff was really nice to him. He went to a dance at Fuel, played some of the arcade games -- but mostly he had fun doing his own thing.

 

I was pleasantly surprised with Enchantment. I was a bit worried as she is an older ship and doing these short runs -- but we really had a wonderful time. I'd said her again in a heartbeat. . .

 

And I joined the Crown and Anchor Club!!

[welshrich]

Welcome back, glad you had a nice time, we sailed on her last year on the same itinerary, we are going back on her in October on the 4 nighter, can't wait.

[cruiseapril]

Enjoyed your review. We had a great cruise on the Enchantment in March.

Nice ship.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[dacsmom]

Thanks for the review. I agree the the hill up to Fort Charlotte is quite a trip, but it is a really nice fort.

[Keith1010]

Glad you had a great time and thanks for the review.

 

Keith

[Philly Steve]

Glad to hear lady Enchantment is still keeping folk happy! :cool:

 

Did anyone do the trampoline? Is it still featured on Enchantment's bow?

[Clarea]

Glad to hear lady Enchantment is still keeping folk happy! :cool:

 

Did anyone do the trampoline? Is it still featured on Enchantment's bow?

Bungee trampoline still on the bow.

[Philly Steve]

Bungee trampoline still on the bow.

 

Thanks and it's still on my "to do list." Too windy during our port stops.

[CP3o]

Just returned from a 3 day trip to the Bahama on the Enchantment of the Seas. This was our first RCI cruise, and only our second cruise ever.

 

The problems came later when we not only had really loud neighbors -- but a lot of loud noise from the floor above (casino) -- usually in the wee hours when I expect they were cleaning. We didn't let it bother us, though. Life is what you make of it and a little noise was not that big a deal to us.

 

We met a local "hawker" who was very sweet and showed us around (no charge!). He took us up this HUGE hill to Fort Charlotte (1749). I thought I was gonna die from the walk but my son loved it.

 

Sunday we were in Coco Cay. It was nice. DS got a kayak and swam a lot. We were both pretty tired so we only stayed there about 3-4 hours. It did seem like they were worse for charging for everything than they had been in Nassau!

 

 

Very nice review. You seem like you have the right attitude toward cruising, enjoying meeting new people and making the best of things when they aren't perfect. You may enjoy next cruise even more now that you've learned a few things and can manage expectations. Knowing now that Coco Cay charges for excursions but food and beachtime are free, etc.

 

It's nice that you had a good time in Nassau, many who wing it don't come out of the experience as happy as you were so, great attitude, maybe next Nassau visit you'll want to book an excursion and relax more next Coco Cay trip.

 

Just an fyi, since you are a relatively new cruiser. In Nassau, when they give "free" tours to show you around, if you are happy with the services they hope you will provide a tip in the amount of what you thought it was worth to you.

[negc]

One question - what hours did you want to eat in the Windjammer only to find it was closed? The dining times pretty much coincide with, or are slightly longer than, the hours when the main dining room is in operation. The daily cruise compass also list the hours of operation for all the dining venues, so you should not have been surprised when the Windjammer was closed,

[eisens]

Did anyone do the trampoline? Is it still featured on Enchantment's bow?

 

They have bungee cords on the bow (with kids bouncing on trampolines -- is that what you meant?). They had some smaller kids bouncing happily away. Me, I liked to go to the lounge chairs on the bow with a good book. I'd sit and read and look up at the waves. Lovely!

 

The aft had a rock climbing wall. . .

[eisens]

Just an fyi, since you are a relatively new cruiser. In Nassau, when they give "free" tours to show you around, if you are happy with the services they hope you will provide a tip in the amount of what you thought it was worth to you.

 

I figured that -- plus the folks at Fort Charlotte knew he was a "guide" -- so I think he probably gets a kickback (although the charge there was minimal).

 

I gave him $10 for his trouble -- not a ton o' money but I'm not rich! He also told me he makes his money by getting people into the restaurant -- like a commission. As I said, he was a nice guy. I'm sure he was looking for cash -- but he also seemed to really like us. He gave my son a big hug and told him he'd keep DS in his prayers for his upcoming surgery.

 

I'm a noob -- but not THAT much of a noob LOL!!

[eisens]

One question - what hours did you want to eat in the Windjammer only to find it was closed? ,

 

The signs said it was open 9:00 p.m. to something (11?). Whenever I went at 9 it was closed. 9:30 it was closed. 10:00 it was closed -- and this was both Saturday and Sunday. They were setting up the "midnight" buffet (on Saturday night) and it was STILL closed.

 

My son informed me that it was open "later." By that time I was in bed.

[Clarea]

The signs said it was open 9:00 p.m. to something (11?). Whenever I went at 9 it was closed. 9:30 it was closed. 10:00 it was closed -- and this was both Saturday and Sunday. They were setting up the "midnight" buffet (on Saturday night) and it was STILL closed.

 

My son informed me that it was open "later." By that time I was in bed.

That's odd. My recollection is that Windjammer closes around 9:30pm every night.

[Sheast]

July 15, 2014

 

Thanks for sharing your review.

 

My two DS, DB, two nephews and a15 year old niece also completed a 4 night

cruise on this ship. All had a lovely time. We had dinner in the MDR each

night. Our waiter Paul really did an outstanding job.

In Nassau we went to the Atlantis to see the aquarium and was surprised that

they charge a fee to walk in and view the fish $45 per person.:) So explored the free areas and

went to the Fish Fry. There we had some yummy conch fritters.