Feeling...Disenchanted

[why2klisa]

Trying to decide which cruise to take for our 10th wedding anniversary in December and for the first time I'm have loads of trouble committing. We have sailed on the Enchantment the past two cruises and found it extremely lacking in good service, food, and quality entertainment. There is just something very "off" about this ship.

 

We live very close to Port Canaveral so it is frustrating that our closest and most affordable ship is a stinker. Freedom is nice but now that we have a baby at home, 7 night cruises aren't ideal. It looks like Navigator will be relocating to Port Canaveral at the end of the year. Does anyone have an opinion on this ship, versus driving further to Fort Lauderdale for Liberty or Independence? I just can't make up my mind. :cool:

[Clarea]

Trying to decide which cruise to take for our 10th wedding anniversary in December and for the first time I'm have loads of trouble committing. We have sailed on the Enchantment the past two cruises and found it extremely lacking in good service, food, and quality entertainment. There is just something very "off" about this ship.

 

We live very close to Port Canaveral so it is frustrating that our closest and most affordable ship is a stinker. Freedom is nice but now that we have a baby at home, 7 night cruises aren't ideal. It looks like Navigator will be relocating to Port Canaveral at the end of the year. Does anyone have an opinion on this ship, versus driving further to Fort Lauderdale for Liberty or Independence? I just can't make up my mind. :cool:

Explorer (not Navigator) is coming to Port Canaveral for several weeks at the end of the year, and it's a fine ship. It will have some 4 and 5 night cruises. However, it's only in PC until March.

Edited August 17, 2014 by clarea

[HB Cruiser]

Hate to hear that about service on Enchant OTS. Haven't been on her in several years but always enjoyed her and her service.

 

If you question that ship, might I suggest Indy as you stated. We were on her this past December and will be on her May 2015. Service top notch and really enjoyed the beauty of the ship. Cannot wait til May!

 

Tim

[Folk Singer]

Trying to decide which cruise to take for our 10th wedding anniversary in December and for the first time I'm have loads of trouble committing. We have sailed on the Enchantment the past two cruises and found it extremely lacking in good service, food, and quality entertainment. There is just something very "off" about this ship.

 

We live very close to Port Canaveral so it is frustrating that our closest and most affordable ship is a stinker. Freedom is nice but now that we have a baby at home, 7 night cruises aren't ideal. It looks like Navigator will be relocating to Port Canaveral at the end of the year. Does anyone have an opinion on this ship, versus driving further to Fort Lauderdale for Liberty or Independence? I just can't make up my mind. :cool:

 

 

Like the the Nav. nice ship. We had a great time on her.

[mattpro]

It's worth the drive to FLL for the Freedom Class ships would be my opinion.

 

4 or 5 day trips on the Liberty may be the way to go.

 

Personally, I won't be on the Liberty until Dec. 2014 , but have been on the Indy for many B2B cruises and so far that has been my favorite ship.

[UFMOM]

We have not been on any of the ships, but a quick search showed me that Liberty and Indy are newer ships and look like nice amenities on both with Indy edging out for me. I don't know if you go to specialty restaurants, but for an anniversary cruise I would economize at home enough to afford to go to at least 3 specialty restaurants and maybe do a great private excursion. This will eliminate some of the ho-hum MDR dinners and make it seem more like a higher end cruise. Use your free 2 bottle allowance to bring a couple of bottles of champagne to have in your room too. We live in Florida also and the time difference to drive to Ft. Lauderdale instead of Port Canaveral is negligible.

 

 

Mary Ann

[nivek82]

I'd be interested to know what you didn't like about the EN? Reason I'm asking is DW and I just debarked from the Freedom this morning and many nights in the past week we said how we are officially done with Freedom class ships. More than once I was regretting booking the Freedom and wished I had done a B2B on EN.

 

Things that we don't like about the bigger ships is there are so many people it seams as staff are always too busy or put out to help, waiting all the time for an elevator (always seams like much longer than on smaller ships,) the packed crowds all over the place. More of it though is I've always seen so many of the crew look like (and sound like) they are having many bad days in a row. Of course this wasn't everyone but enough.

[why2klisa]

Thanks everyone for the input. I'm leaning towards Liberty at this point but really dislike driving 4.5 hours to FLL vs an hour to PC. I'm not going to completely rule out Explorer though. I tend to prefer smaller or mid-sized ships. I miss Monarch. :(

 

We sailed on Enchantment in June and in December of this past year and both sailings were lackluster. On our last cruise in particular, our toilet didn't work in our room and overflowed once. The food was consistently overcooked in the dining room. It seemed that no matter what temp we ordered meat at, it came well done. One of the cruise director staff was creepy and kept announcing that it was his last cruise so "all the rich people onboard should buy him gifts and give him money." He kept stopping trivia events to hit on girls passing through the lounge. It was just weird.

[cruisegirl1]

It does make make sense to take a cruise on a ship you do not like, especially for a special occasion. If you like the Freedom class and want a shorter cruse, the Liberty or Independence are just a few hours away. Most have to take an expensive flight to drive a full day or more just to take a cruise. Looks like you have many options.

 

enjoy

M

[thegima]

As already mentioned Explorer will be in PC in December, looks like the 18th and 23rd.

 

If you're close to PC why not sail out of Tampa? Brilliance does 4-5 night Cozumel/Grand Cayman trips.

[alfaeric]

Must be nice to live so close to a port that flying isn't an option....

[why2klisa]

Very nice. :)

[30scruiser]

If you're close to PC why not sail out of Tampa? Brilliance does 4-5 night Cozumel/Grand Cayman trips.

 

This!

[Bazzito]

I was going suggest Tampa, but thegima beat me to it.

 

We love the Radiance class ships and the Brilliance is one of our favorites.

 

My wife and I have fond memories of our 20th anniversary on it which includes our most memorable bunch of table mates, the only ones we have ever kept in touch with after the cruise.

 

We also live in Florida and would rather sail out of Tampa than Fort Lauderdale any time. Traffic and parking are much better there, IMHO. (Of course, if we sail out of Tampa, we can get our son to pick us up from the terminal!)