Back from the Enchantment 8/7/05 cruise

[ChiSquare8]

Well let me start off by saying how wonderful the officiers and crew are on the Enchantment of the Seas! I think some of the best at sea

 

Overall we had a wonderful time on the ship!

 

I need to warn anybody traveling with a senior citizen about the horrible gangway in Philadelphia. It is very very long and uphill in parts (epecially in the humid weather). I am 36 and my mother 68!

 

Another concern was the food in the dining room! The menus were changed recently and the food in the dining room was a disgrace. There were tremedous improvements in the Windjammer Cafe for dinner. In fact, we ate at the Windjammer 3 evenings (we are not buffet people) and Chops 2 evenings (food was good there).

 

The Conceirge Louge was terrific and the conceirge Gilseppie was wonderful and will try to assist you with any issues that may occur during your trip.

 

If you have any questions please fee free to ask! I been on 16 Celebrity cruises and 1 other Royal Caribbean cruise (food was much better years ago on Song of America), NCL (1), and Windjammer (2). My opinion if you are looking for better food and a more conservative cruise pick Celebrity and if food is not an issue and you like a more livly entertainment pick Royal Caribbean. I must say that RCCL Loyal Program is much much better that Celebrity. Thet really go out of their way to please Diamond members will a substantial amount of freebees. Elite members get practically "nothing" on Celebrity

 

We are suppose to sail on the Horizon out of Philly in two weeks and hope the gangway is shorter since the ship is much shorter.

 

Any info is appreciated!

 

Melissa

[yogimax]

Another concern was the food in the dining room! The menus were changed recently and the food in the dining room was a disgrace. Melissa

 

We will be on the Enchantment later is the year. I'm curious about your comment about the food in the dining room. Did you mean breakfast, lunch or dinner? How many times did you eat there? What was the problem? Thanks

[wishful]

:) Thank you for your review. Sorry to hear about the food. Two questions. Do you remember the name of the Captain and the Head Chef? Sorry another question. Is Matt Baker the CD? Thank You

[paylady]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise, overall. Thanks for your post.

 

Were the ports familiar to you or was this your first Canada/New England cruise?

[paylady]

Ooh, I thought of more questions.

 

Did you save the Cruise Compasses? I was wondering which days the second seating shows were before dinner and which were after dinner. This may help us to decide which date and time to reserve for Chops.

 

Do they still have the morning walkathon? I always liked this because it forces me to get my exercise.

[sueinphilly]

second seating shows are before dinner except on formal nights which are monday and friday.

 

I was on the Enchantment 2 weeks ago and didn't have any issues with the food in the dining room for dinner (only had one lunch there - pasta bar and it was good).

 

Food is subjective.

[whale-watcher]

The Conceirge Louge was terrific and the conceirge Gilseppie was wonderful and will try to assist you with any issues that may occur during your trip.

 

If you have any questions please fee free to ask!

Do you recall what they served for breakfast in the Concierge Lounge? Did you have any tendering issues in Martha's Vineyard, or were priority tender tickets available from the concierge?

We were thinking of having dinner in Windjammer this september, due to the port-intensive itinerary, as well as the Northwest airlines issue (that way we can travel with just one carry-on per person and no checked luggage, in case of flight cancellations...) Sounds like windjammers was not a bad option:)

Thanks for the review!

[ChiSquare8]

Yes, Matt Baker was the cruise director. He is "crazy" and very lively!

 

As for the dining room, we only ate their two nights for dinner. The first night and the farwell dinner. The head waiter came over to our table and asked why he has not seen us. I told him the truth. It was the quality of the food. He listened very carefully while I know he could not make any negative comments about RCCL, I could feel that he agreed. More money has been put into the Windjammer so something has to be cut! I feel like a hypcrite since i am also a a RCL stockholder but the dining room experience is a focus point on any cruise bot for consumption and the social aspect.

 

As for the showroom, that was the only place on the ship that you felt a crowd. The shows were good and the guy that wrote the Happy Days theme was fantastic! You need to get to the showrrom about 45 minutes early for good seats. The show times varies pre and post dinner for the late seating.

 

Marthas Vineyard tends to be somewaht rough for tendering (distance from the island) but they did hire an additional charter boat thathad a 300 pp capacity. No more problems just a bit rough. Yes, I have been to all of the port before! Conceirge will give you priority tickets if you want to depart early, otherwise you will not need them. Take not they are only for departing the ship and not for the return tender.

 

 

I am sorry, I did not save the Compasses but I will happy answer any question

 

By the way, the pool area is quite spacy which is always a plus; therfore the chair hogs are only a minor problem.

 

ALL OF THE CREW ARE FANTASTIC AND I CANNOT PRAISE THEM ENOUGH!

[ChiSquare8]

Concierge Club breakfast was fine for me! I am not into breakfast meats, pancakes or eggs! They had smoked salmon, fruit (slight better quality that the Windjammer; golden pinapple instead of hard white stuff), danish, bread, fresh squeezed orange juice, assorted chesses, and free expresso/lattes. I was little hesitate about the automatic expresso machine but it worked quite well.

 

If you are into a big American breakfast then it will not be adaquate but for a nice European style breakfast the lounge is a must!

[ajpack]

I just got home from the same cruise and had no problems with the food in the dining room. We ate there every night and didn't have a bad meal. The only thing I didn't care for was the golden delicious apple soup. The food in the Windjammer was very good and they had a tremendous selection.

[Murphy]

Thanks for posting so soon after you got home! We sail on Oct 2 and love to hear what's going on onboard during the weeks before we cruise. Welcome back home!

[BJane]

We're leaving on the Enchantment next Sunday and I keep reading about the long tender ride to Martha's Vineyard. Do you remember how many minutes it took?

[ChiSquare8]

It takes about 30 minutes (ride) but additional time is spent boarding and sometimes the tide is difficult and they have to circle the ship to catch the ropes. If you can catch the ferry boat instead of the tender. It is less stressful and you feel less movement. It does not both me since I have sailed on sailing ships but some people do not enjoy the tendering experience (i.e. like my mother). I think the ferrty typre boat starts around 9:00 am since that is when the majority of passengers tend to go ashore.

[roamingfromroanoke]

We also just got back from the Enchantment - it was a wonderful trip! I do agree with the earlier poster that the dinning room food was just OK - but I thought there were dishes at the Windjammer that were exceptional. The variety of food there is also amazing. We ate in the Windjammer for every breakfast and lunch and the dining room for every dinner. I'm going to miss the Windjammer tomorrow morning when I come downstairs to my buffet of cold cereal...

 

My mom, who's in her 70's had no problem with the tenders - so it really depends on the person. They ran frequently and were well organized (we also didn't have any excursions booked so we weren't in any rush.)

 

My kids went to the kids' program a few times and liked it.

 

The shows really do require you to get there early if you want a seat. We watched most of them from the last row!

 

I'll be glad to answer any questions - in between doing loads of laundry!!

 

All in all, it was a great trip.

[GeoSci64]

:confused: I cannot believe anyone could have negative comments about the food! It was great - we thought about CHOPS but could not see spending an extra $20 per person for a meal that was easily matched in the dining room! There were always 4-5 choices - plus 5 "alternative" choices. We traveled with another couple and they were also quite happy with the entire experience!

 

The only thing I was at all unhappy with would be the Magician and Juggler since these are not at all my interest - but many liked them too. Herb Reed and the Platters were GREAT!

 

The constant chatter about sea-sickness is also interesting - we took NOTHING and did quite well! Why get drugged up for no reason? We carried a container of GINGER but never broke the seal! It did get -- "interesting" Saturday evening but no sea sickness among the 4 in our party!

 

I also find the comments about how Celebrity is SO MUCH BETTER very interesting - they are the same cruise line! They merged some time ago and you can bet both lines buy their food from the same sources and train their people in the same way!

 

Overall experience - GREAT!! Will post pictures as soon as I can.

[ChiSquare8]

Food is a very subjective thing!

 

Even though Celebrity is part of Royal Caribbean the two lines are very very different. The food is not the same. The brands they use are different which is not a subjective observation. Celebrity allocates more money into food. RCCL allocates more money into entertainment.

 

Basically, you just have to decide what you priority is for your cruise. Eventhough the food in the dining room was not the quality that I would like to have experienced, RCCL had many other things to offer that Celebrity does not have.

[Andipanda1]

Food is a very subjective thing!

 

Even though Celebrity is part of Royal Caribbean the two lines are very very different. The food is not the same. The brands they use are different which is not a subjective observation. Celebrity allocates more money into food. RCCL allocates more money into entertainment.

 

Basically, you just have to decide what you priority is for your cruise. Eventhough the food in the dining room was not the quality that I would like to have experienced, RCCL had many other things to offer that Celebrity does not have.

 

Chisquare,

 

Can you tell me what your specific issues were with the food? I'd be interested in hearing what your experience with individual dishes were. When we were on Enchantment in July, we were pleased that the menu had been changed; we had lamb, which was excellent, but the pasta dishes left much to be desired.

 

Thanks!

[ChiSquare8]

Well, the first evening I had the prime rib which was very very fatty but the baked potatoe was good and the root vegtables some were done some were very hard. I believe I had a cold soup which was nothing special but the rolls were fantastic. I cannot remember what I had for dessert but i could not believe that when I asked the ice cream choices they were vanilla, chocolate, and stawberry. My mother had the chicken which was OK.

 

Farwell dinner I had the lobster tail which was not bad but it was not even accompanied by a potatoe? The soup was nothing special and the dessert sampler was the same quality dessert that was served at the Windjammer.

 

Like I said the Windjammer for dinner was much better than I expected and offered most of the same choices as the dining room. I just was expecting a bit more from the dining room. I would think dining room food should be a step above buffet food. I could also be disappointed because we studied an older menu that was posted on the internet in which offered more sophisticated entrees and also more variety.

[whale-watcher]

Do you recall if there were a wide variety of salad or vegetarian entrees at the Windjammer? Thanks again!

[ChiSquare8]

There was always alot of vegatarian choices in the Windjammer (also 1 in the dining room). You will love the falefal, hummus, baba gunush (LUNCH)and they had a number of mid eastern salads along with other "american" type salads. The grill in the Solarium also had veggie burgers (I had the chicken burger which was good/ looked like all white meat). I do not eat much red meat at home so I tend to eat more on a cruise.

 

I also recommend for those who go to Chops and want steak to stick to the filet migion (better than Capital Grill) and not the sirloin (which suppose to be their speciality/not as good). I filet is excellent even though it is a leaner piece of meat. The pork shank was also good.

 

As for desserts, Chops all four desserts are the best you will experience on the ship. The only other desserts that I enjoyed in the Windjammer were rasberry almond cake (Thursday lunch), guava neopolitan (Saturday Lunch), and the mango rice pudding with pistachios. Of course there were plenty of cookies which were good but you tended to get "sick" of them by day three. The sugarfree desserts believe it or not tended to be better since they were not as sweet.

 

Just an added note, if you funds allow and you love seafood, make sure you eat ashore in Portland and Bar harbor. My mother was sick so i did not get to have as many lobster rolls as I planned. I was just greatful that I experienced these ports before. The African lobster on the ship cannot compare to Miane lobster! You will see...............................

[Triplet and One]

We returned from Enchantment on the 7/31 cruise. It was fantastic and the food in the dining room couldn't have been better!

[whale-watcher]

Thanks, ChiSquare8, for all great information -- sounds like we won't go hungry on this vacation!:D

[cruisinfanatic]

As for the dining room, we only ate their two nights for dinner. The first night and the farwell dinner.

 

How can you possibly be fair in giving a bad review for food quality in the dining room when you went only the first night and the last night. Sounds like to me, you prejudged the food in the dining room before you stepped in it. Would you give a disappointing review for entertainment if you only saw 1 show the whole cruise?

[Bucko]

We had a great time. This was our 7th cruise, 4th with RCL. We arrived at the terminal at about 11:30a.m. , went right through registration and were unpacked by 3:00 p.m.

The staff was courteous,attentive and friendly. The dining room was lovely, food choices were quite varied and presented beautifully. Food was delicious. We enjoyed breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer, however when entering there was a strong smell of garlic. We did have breakfast once in the dining room as I like Eggs Benedict.

The tender thing to Bar Harbor went well and we were on the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. The ports were interesting, our choice Bar Harbor where we took the excursion to Acadia. Loved Thunderhole and Cadillac Mt.

Disembaring took a little longer than the embarking. We had light blue tags and left the ship around 9:45. We waited in the theatre to be called.

Wishful....If you are still interested the captain is Gunner Oien and the Ex. Chef is Bartol Cabrera; Food Manager is Markus Juen.

Met some folks at our Meet and Mingle, also met very nice folks at our dining table. Great time!

[GeoSci64]

I must second everything Bucko said! We did the "EXPRESS" disembarkation and made it home - in Southern Delaware - by 10am!! They called us at 7:15 and we walked off - piled everything in the buses - got to the parking lot and walked through CUSTOMS with no more than a glance!

 

Pictures are at: http://community.webshots.com/album/424157396FAQbMy

 

I think that will work! If not - I am setting up many more at my website at: http://home.comcast.net/~ourcruise/

 

Keith