LIVE from the Enchantment 8/14-8/21 #1

[barbface1]

Carol or Barbface..

 

Can you guys answer the question from another thread.

Flagger has posted a question ...

On Cruise Critics review page..They have a review (not member reviews) post stretch.That states that tips are automaticaly added to your account,at 10 pp

per day.Can either of you confirm/or deny that is true...And maybe post it on the other thread

 

Thanks

.http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=4516099#post4516099

 

 

I just got off the ship. The tips $10 was not automatically charged. We opted to charge out gratuities but it was our option. Additionally, it was not $10 pp pd....it was less, but we gave a little cash in addition to the vouchers to our dining room staff b/c they were fabulous....

[ggc23]

Just got off today.

Same cruise as MerionMom.

[brn2crz]

great...Thanks for the info...

 

would you mind posting on Flaggers thread...I think he's fixing to pop a vein:D

[Merion_Mom]

great...Thanks for the info...

 

would you mind posting on Flaggers thread...I think he's fixing to pop a vein:D

Now, where's the fun in THAT? Pop away, flagbuddy. :D

[CruisinBabe]

That post about the gratituities is incorrect.

 

I was on the Enchantment July 31st - Aug. 7th sailing and we were given the option of having the gratituities added to our seapass account... or we could tip on our oun... just like it's always been.

[Merion_Mom]

Martha's Vineyard- you said you were glad you took the tour. Can you share name of tour, where you found it and why you're glad you took it? Did you have to book in advance?

They REFUSED to take advance reservations and IN NO WAY informed me ahead of time that CASH is the only thing that they accept. I think that it does fill up quickly, but since we arrived on land two hours before the first tour (8:30....10:30), we had no trouble being accommodated. I liked the tour a lot and would recommend the company, because the driver/guide is very good, but the "front end" is NOT hospitable or welcoming. JMO. In a sense, this describes my whole feeling about Martha's Vineyard. SOME (few) people there were friendly, but we often got the feeling that we were seen as not-very-welcome intruders. http://www.mvtour.com/

 

Chops- do you remember if they did (or did not) have prime rib on the menu?

Yes, there is prime rib on the menu.

 

and last- but certainly not least- inquiring minds want to know if there were any "issues" with bringing your own liquor on board. I would rather buy on board and pay the extra fee- but since they don't allow that anymore I guess we'll put it in our checked luggage. Do you know if anyone had something "confiscated" from their checked luggage? I know NCL does this which is one reason we won't sail on them (don't flame me- personal opinion, this is like a hotel- if I want to drink in our room in privacy- I should be able to. Trust me, our bar bill is still in a fairly hefty range at the end of the trip as we do enjoy the atmosphere in the bars/lounges at times- but also at times want to be in ours pj's and that might be frowned upon in the bar? guess it would depend on the pj's.....)

We experienced and witnessed NO issues. I will say that, as we disembarked this morning, I noticed far fewer people carrying big cardboard "bought on board" liquor store purchases off the ship. Maybe fewer people on this cruise WANTED to take home duty-free liquor, or perhaps their sales ARE lower if they can only buy and carry off, without enjoying on board.

 

I did hear (grapevine, not directly), that this was the "gamblingest" sailing of the Enchantment! I personally didn't see HEAVY bar action going on. I saw NO disorderly underaged behavior at all. ONE shrieking teenager with elephantine pounding of feet in hallway last night/morning around 3 a.m.

[Merion_Mom]

Carol, Carol, Carol..... It has been waaay to long since you're last post!!! I'm starting to suffer cruise withdrawal!!!! How was Bar Harbor??? Have you talked to my friend at the rock climbing wall yet?!?!?!?!

 

Looking forward to reading your next post!!!

 

Amy

OMG, it was awful! I think that the mess here on the boards, with technical difficulties, reared its ugly head while I was trying to post on Fridaynight/Saturdaymorning. I had this LONG LONG LONG report, and then I hit "submit", and then the computer just STOPPPED. I ended up having to go and talk to the Purser's staff for about 45 minutes to get 118 MINUTES of computer time taken off my bill! (it jammed, wouldn't move, wouldn't turn off........just stayed on into the night, apparently. Remember that post about the Mom whose kid racked up an enormous internet bill? It can happen. The computer itself isn't accessible - just the monitor, keyboard and mouse. The processor box is locked inside a cabinet. No alt-ctrl-del possible. I know that there's stuff I THOUGHT I posted, that actually floated off into never-never land)

It's now 3:20 a.m. Friday "night" and I am having WAY too good a time tonight. Uncle Jack and I finished keeping each other company tonight, and I am feeling far too little pain. .......

 

I am having WAY too good a time tonight. As I said, I finished my Johnny Walker tonight. (after polishing off a bottle of Piper-Sonoma on the balcony between 4 & 5 - well, I gave ONE glass to my daughter and ONE glass to my balcony & dinner table mate-

OMG! How drunk was I? LOL! I HATE Johnny Walker - wouldn't touch scotch if you PAID ME!!!

 

That was JACK DANIELS who accompanied me on my cruise. hee hee hee

 

Glad you are having a great time. Just 1 question is the casino bigger than it was in the past and is it nicer,

Casino is identical - small and crowded. Not that that's a bad thing. Until the LAST HOUR of gambling the entire week, you could move about at will and find anything you wanted available.

 

Oh, I can't find the post where someone asked WHICH slot machines worked for me. If you are REALLY going on the Enchantment any time soon, here they are:

 

1. The only "9x" Triple JackPot machine - in the row marked above in neon as "Morgan's Millions", on the far right end.

 

2. Against the back wall, near the wall to the left of the Cashier's cages. "Deluxe Red, White and Blue" - play 5 quarters for all five paylines.

 

Sound crazy? Maybe, but they did seem to be paying off better than any of the others. I actually came out ahead for the cruise, a first for me.

 

 

I was just in PA and now you are in New England!

 

How funny!

 

Laura

Yes, the world has a strange sense of humor! You know, the weather during our entire trip was GORGEOUS GORGEOUS GORGEOUS. (I know that it was UNBEARABLY hot and humid, typical August, back home here in Philadelphia the whole time). It is SUCH a shame that those poor diverted Voyager-Bermuda-Canada passengers couldn't have lucked into the kind of weather that we experienced! Weather is just the luck of the draw. (Go watch "The Day After Tomorrow")

 

I wish that we could have packed lightly enough to use Express Disembarkation. The end was the usual mix of sit-around-and-wait. We could have been home before the even closed they Windjammer, if we had used this feature. As it was, we were home at 10:45 A.M. I was so exhausted, and my kids were already fighting over using the computer, that I just took a nap. That's why I didn't start posting again until 6!! :D (they went to their father's for dinner)

 

More after a snack. Gotta call Room Service.

 

Carol

[kenandlaura06]

Carol--

 

Welcome back!

 

Laura

[BonnieNYTX]

More after a snack. Gotta call Room Service.

 

Carol

 

Carol: Did "they" turn down your bed and place a chocolate on your pillow next to your towel animal? LOL Welcome back! I was on that ship with you but unfortunately only in spirit. You made it all seem so real. Thanks for that! Glad you had a great time.

[erntrish]

erntrish-

 

was the Bluenose II schooner in Halifax when you were? It kind of roams around the province through the summer and will be in Halifax when we are.

 

what time were you off the ship in the a.m.?

 

 

There were several "antique" sailing vessels in Halifax, though none looked like the photos of the Bluenose I could dig up on the net. We kept largely to ourselves this cruise (not by choice...we did lots of icebreaking, but had few takers!), so I don't know if anyone on the ship sailed on the Bluenose. I believe we were off the ship between 8:30 and 9, but it may have been a bit later.

 

I wouldn't risk having your arrival be so close to "all aboard." You'll spend the last hour of what should be a relaxing afternoon worrying about whether you'll get to see what the aft balcony cabins look like from, well, aft.

 

Enjoy your cruise...we did!

[erntrish]

Carol: Did "they" turn down your bed and place a chocolate on your pillow next to your towel animal?

 

We had some interesting "wildlife sightings" in our cabin. In addition to the usual elephant, rabbit, and monkey, we had a manta ray (!) and a rattlesnake. Our cabin steward Ricardo gave the towel-folding demo, but we missed it.

[Wirenut624]

OMG, it was awful! I think that the mess here on the boards, with technical difficulties, reared its ugly head while I was trying to post on Fridaynight/Saturdaymorning. I had this LONG LONG LONG report, and then I hit "submit", and then the computer just STOPPPED. I ended up having to go and talk to the Purser's staff for about 45 minutes to get 118 MINUTES of computer time taken off my bill! (it jammed, wouldn't move, wouldn't turn off........just stayed on into the night, apparently. Remember that post about the Mom whose kid racked up an enormous internet bill? It can happen. The computer itself isn't accessible - just the monitor, keyboard and mouse. The processor box is locked inside a cabinet. No alt-ctrl-del possible. I know that there's stuff I THOUGHT I posted, that actually floated off into never-never land)

 

Carol

We noticed that in the internet lounge. It seems that half of the computers were locked up at the time. It looks like, while browsing, popup windows would open up and keep building up. It seems like the computers that were locked up had a whole lot of open window buttons in the task bar

[Murphy]

Thank you all so much for "sharing" your cruise with us. I almost feel like I was there.

 

Carol, it was me who asked which slot machines were paying and we are on the Oct 2 sailing. Hopefully they won't have reconfigured the payout before then and I have printed out your directions to find the "good" machines. I don't do slots, but DH does so I'll make sure he is appropriated seated before I squeeze my way on to a BJ table!

 

Thanks again and welcome home all!

[CruisinBabe]

Carol --

 

I would love to meet you and see your pictures and share stories about our cruises... And I would also love to get together and chat with other CC'ers from the Philly area.

 

Would you... and anyone else who lives in the Philly area who might be reading this... be interested in seeing if we can arrange a get together of the Philly CC'ers???

 

Anyone interested???

[Merion_Mom]

Absolutely, Amy. Count me in. You plan it, I'll be there. There are lots of us Philadelphians on CC.

 

Carol

[Merion_Mom]

Oh, part of my lost-in-CCtechnoproblem-limbo was info about the Windjammer.

 

You know how everyone argues on here about proper dress in the dining room, especially on formal night, and other people always say, well, go to the alternative dining/Windjammer instead, it's just as nice, and has the same food and a wonderfully different appearance and atmosphere at dinner?

 

Well, this post isn't about clothing.

 

On the Portland, Maine day, we returned to the ship at 6:25, and really wanted to get to both The Quest and the regular show, and skipped dinner in the dining room. (after telling our waiter)

 

Food: yes, lots of food, and good, but not "just like the dining room." Of course, in some ways, that was better. I could "graze" the soups - a little miso soup, a little strawberry bisque, a little garlic, a little more strawberry bisque................. The food has to sit on serving trays over steam or some other heat source, so there IS some loss of quality if you don't get it right after they put it out.

 

Atmosphere: Others have posted that they dim the lights and put out white tablecloths. Not on the Enchantment. Did I care about those things? Not I, but someone who had read that stuff on CC and gone to the WJ expecting to find that experience would be rather disappointed.

 

Service: I don't need anyone to help me, and generally turn down offers of assistance, but except for clearing dishes when we returned to the buffet, I noticed no extra "service" in the WJ from any other buffet time. (i.e., breakfast or lunch)

 

To sum up: The Windjammer is a fine alternative if you want to eat at a different time, have kids who can't sit still for dinner in a "restaurant", have picky eaters/ADD eaters who need to jump from food choice to food choice until they find something satisfactory (the Goldilocks Syndrome), want to ignore dining room dress codes, or just want a change. Don't expect it to be "more" than it is, though.

[4merlurker]

Welcome home MerionMom!!! I've been following your cruise reports this week and really appreciate your taking the time to type it all!!! Sounds like you had a wonderful time!!!

 

Now it's back to the grind...............:(

[rubrrick]

It's good to have you back on "terra firma" Carol, although with your constant updates while onboard, you let many of us enjoy YOUR cruise.

Did you find any extras in your JS, except for the concierge lounge, that we have not heard about?

 

We look forward to our 4 nighter coming up one week from today. We have 6 in our family group that have never cruised before, so we should have a great time.

 

Rick

[memphismimi]

Holomuku:

We had to be aboard by 3 for a scheduled 3:30 sail. They seemed to allot half an hour at each port to button up the gangways and prepare to push off. From the number of announcements just after sailing for guests to call the Pursers dek, I'm pretty sure not everyone made it.

 

3PM is just too short for a port like Halifax...there's so much to do, and it's very scenic, especially outside the city itself. Portland, however nice, doesn't need the 12 hour or so we spent there.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

We were on the 8/7 sailing and I totally agree- Nova Scotia needed more time - plus there is the hour time difference and I don't think RCI made a big enough point of this - they were calling over the speakers for three separate parties after 3:30 - I thought that meant the people didn't make it back to the ship but later my teen heard that they did somehow...

 

My family's favorite was the whale watching in Bar Harbo r- saw 4 whales and 150 dolphins!

[TheWog]

Welcome back. Glad you had such a great time.

[booze brothers]

Carol --

 

I would love to meet you and see your pictures and share stories about our cruises... And I would also love to get together and chat with other CC'ers from the Philly area.

 

Would you... and anyone else who lives in the Philly area who might be reading this... be interested in seeing if we can arrange a get together of the Philly CC'ers???

 

Anyone interested???

 

Sure, count us in. We live in Bedminster,PA about 30 N. of Philly (Doylestown area) BtoB in Nov.on Radiance Will be out 21 and 22 cruise with RCCL Mimi

[Merion_Mom]

Trina: About noise...............

 

I never did get to the area of those cabins on Deck 7 while the Spotlight Lounge was in full swing, but I can make some assumptions.

 

Noise carries all over this ship. We were right under the outer seating area/outside deck area of the Windjammer, and we heard them every morning. We were in the hall the last night, and heard teenage shrieking and feet pounding, only to look out in the hall, and it was deserted. They were actually a couple of decks away, but the sound carried via the stairwell. Frankly, I would expect to hear noise from the Spotlight every night, but those particular festivities end before midnight, and later stuff goes on elsewhere. (like Bolero's and the Viking Crown Lounge). So, unless you hit the sack early, you won't be bothered.)

 

Carol

[DisneyGirl92]

Carol --

 

I would love to meet you and see your pictures and share stories about our cruises... And I would also love to get together and chat with other CC'ers from the Philly area.

 

Would you... and anyone else who lives in the Philly area who might be reading this... be interested in seeing if we can arrange a get together of the Philly CC'ers???

 

Anyone interested???

 

You can count me in - I live in Horsham. Any chance to get to hang out with Merion Mom again - what a great person!!!!

[erntrish]

(like Bolero's and the Viking Crown Lounge).

Carol

 

While we didn't hear any noise (or see a speck of light!) from our inside cabin (7635, just aft of the centrum. I know, I know, we went on the cheap this time!), we spent each night in Boleros listening to the great band and chatting with the staff. Each night, 2 security officers would come to the lounge and talk with the bartenders and servers. Apparently, some lady staying in one of the inside cabins directly below the bar area called avery night to complain about them dropping things and dancing over her head. One day, the officer jokingly placed the bartender's hands behind his back and led him away as if he were arrested!

 

My question: if you're a light sleeper, and one who turns in relatively early, why book a cabin directly underneath a brand-new, high-energy nightclub?

[CruisinBabe]

To those of you who have expressed an interest in a Philly get together:

 

I will post a seperate thread later today (as soon as I get a few free minutes here at work) about plans for a get together... So keep an eye out for it!!