4 Day Enchantment Review from a RCI Newbie

[Mommabear2Five]

We just returned from a 4 day cruise aboard Enchantment of the Seas, our first RCI cruise. We've cruised several times with Carnival, but decided to try Royal due to the low price. Overall, we had a good cruise and there are some things we liked better with RCI than with Carnival, however I found that the "fun" factor was a bit lacking.

 

Before I go any further, let me tell you a little bit about us and why we cruise. I am 41 and my husband is 36. This was the first cruise that we took on our own, without children or friends, to celebrate our 14th anniversary. In the past, we've enjoyed cruise nightlife, clubs and bars, shows, casino, activities, trivia, karaoke, and trying new drinks. Before this cruise, we had only cruise with Carnival and never had a bad experience.

 

Embarkation/Debarkation

We really enjoyed the embarkation and debarkation experiences with the ship. We arrived at Port Canaveral at around 11:15 and we were sitting poolside before noon. We liked that you could board the ship as soon as it was ready regardless of our loyalty status or whether or not we prepaid to get on early. This was also the first cruise that we chose self-assist for Debarkation and we met our ride by 9 AM. Super smooth. Winner: RCI

 

Dining

Before setting sail we decided to deviate from our usual plan of eating in the main dining room every night. Part of this was because, by the time we booked, both seatings were full and we were defaulted to My Time Dining. While we planned to eat in the main dining room on the last evening, we decided to enjoy the company of some friends we had met on board and enjoy the Windjammer again. While I had read some negative reviews on the food at Windjammer, my husband, who is very picky on food quality, absolutely love the selection every night. Some of my favorites were the Mongolian Wok, the chicken parmesan, and the Asian noodles. My husband enjoyed the lamb shank, the Greek Night foods and the sushi.

 

While embarking, we met a waiter from Chops Grill, Bryan, who was so sweet we decided to try it out on the second night, skipping formal night in the dining room. The experience at Chops was fantastic and all the food was delicious. My husband ordered one of the aged steaks, which was an additional charge of $19, and while he liked it, he did not feel that it was worth the additional expense since we were already paying the $30 cover per person. NOTE: we purchased liquor at the on board shops the first night and because we did this, we were given a coupon for 15% off the chops cover fee and 2 glasses of champagne with dessert. If you're planning on trying Chops, I would recommend you use the coupon.

 

We also enjoyed the sandwiches at Park Cafe and the room service breakfast. Winner: RCI (I reserve the right to change this opinion if I ever try their main dining room :) We have never had anything less than excellent in the main dining rooms on Carnival, but RCI wins out on all the other areas for food)

 

Ship

Enchantment of the Seas is a nice ship. I like the modern decor and she seems to be in pretty good shape. The state rooms are smaller but the way they are laid out makes them very functional. That being said, EOTS is a very basic ship. There's not much in the way of upgrades like the one that we have enjoyed on the Carnival ships such as sushi bars, themed restaurants, sports bars and comedy clubs. We also missed having access to our onboard account through either in room televisions or kiosks.

 

My one complaint about the ship is that the public areas always seem to be in need of a good cleaning. On the pool deck and lobby, it was very common to see empty tables full of beer cans drinks and plates that would sit for very long time.

 

Compared to Carnival ships of the same class type, I have to say Winner: Carnival

 

Itinerary and Activities

No one on this cruise was happy about the last minute itinerary change from a day at sea, Cocoa Cay and Nassau to 3 days in port at Nassau. While RCI stated that they were going to increase the amount of onboard activities while we were in Nassau and keep the casinos and shops open while in port, they really didn't deliver on this. Nassau is probably one of the most boring ports that we've been to, and this was our third time there. While our last day there was supposed to be our day at sea and they did have sea day activities, there wasn't much to do on the ship during the other days. They did open the shops and casino during the evenings around 7, but it would've been nicer to have it open during the day. There wasn't much visibility of the entertainment staff and that is something we have enjoyed on other cruises. I did enjoy the Can't Stop the Rock show, but in comparison to the shows on Carnival, it fell short. Our Cruise director, Mark, was charismatic and funny, but he wasn't as involved with the daily activities as other CDs are. Winner: Carnival

 

Miscellaneous

One of the things that I loved about this cruise was the ability to purchase a drink package for myself and my husband was not required to purchase one as well. This was a huge win over Carnival. Carnival's drink package is a flat $49 fee (and only includes 15 drinks a day) and anyone over the age of 21 in the state room must also purchase the drink package. The fact that my husband rarely drinks, maybe a beer or a glass of wine or two for the whole cruise, really does not make the drink package valuable for us on Carnival. I really liked that I could customize my drink package and wound up settling with the beer and wine package for $35 a day. It was a great savings and I really enjoyed that I could also have the nonalcoholic cocktails such as piña colada's or mango peach smoothies. Winner: RCI

 

As I mentioned before, on the first night we purchased some liquor from the onboard store. They offered 10% discount for buying it the first night and like I said, we also got the coupon for Chops, making our purchase a great value. I was surprised and we were told that we had to pick up our purchases before debarkation, but didn't think about it again until this morning. In the past when I've been on ships and we purchase alcohol, it has always been delivered to my room after dinner the last night of the cruise. I arrived at the appointed place at 6:30 AM this morning to pick up my purchase and I waited on the line for over 45 minutes to pick up my liquor. When I finally got to the front of the line and was given my package, it contained the wrong liquor and it took another 10 minutes for them to find the right bottles. They had only one crewmember working this area and by the time I left, the line to pick up the liquor was wrapping around deck 6. Needless to say, there were a lot of unhappy guests. Winner: Carnival

 

My husband had the all-you-can-drink soda package. He's a huge fan of Coke zero, and at $6.50 a day, we felt it was a great value. The problem was that the four Coke freestyle machines that are on board were frequently either out of soda or were not functioning at all. While he could've brought his cup to the bar to have it filled, they don't have Coke zero at the bars. He wound up not drinking much soda at all, so it wasn't a value. I also want to add that on the second day, we had gone to guest services to make a complaint about the machines not functioning. (It was more an effort to bring attention to the problem) One of my biggest disappointments of the cruise was the comment from the guest services crew member who stated that he could do nothing about it and we would have to talk to a bar manager. While I am a guest service manager for a major entertainment company, and I have high expectations of guest service from other companies, I found it ridiculous that a guest service manager on RCI could not assist us or even tell us that he would look into the problem. Twice we had a problem on a Carnival ship, once with a large erroneous charge and once with a flooded stateroom. Both times the Guest service recovery was above and beyond what was expected. Winner: Carnival

 

Final thoughts

We had a great cruise. RCI and Carnival are both comparable lines, there are things that we like about one and things that we like about the other. If it came down to choosing which place to take our next cruise I'd have to say, unless Carnival changes their drink package policy, we will probably stick with RCI, but try an upgraded ship.

[Mommabear2Five]

One thing that I forgot to mention was our disappointment in RCIs internet packages. They offered slow wifi for $40 for 24 hours or $80 for the whole cruise. Compared to Carnival's social media package which is $25 for the whole cruise, allowing us to keep in contact with our teenage kids while at sea, RCIs packages were way over priced. Also, a call home will set you back $7.99 a minute compared to Carnival's $1.99 per minute. Winner: Carnival

[hollon]

Thanks for the comparison, I too, think you'll love the bigger ships. I think you'll love the Oasis/Allure class and now the Harmony is coming out with big water slides, even better (I'm bias here, b/c I love this class), I know Freedom class is good as well and Voyager class too. Haven't been on the Quantum/Anthem

[depplep]

I agree that you might like a bigger ship better. I've not sailed on Carnival so I can't compare, but having been on Enchantment I think it's fine, but I like the bigger ships with more to see, do and eat.

[DarthGrady]

Good comparison, I agree totally, they both have their strengths and weaknesses. I gravitate back to RCI each time mostly because their past guest benefits far surpass Carnival.

[jayblue]

Thank you for your honest assessment. I will be on Enchantment in November for my first cruise since 1997 (that was also on her, so I am picking up where I left off). I am looking forward to seeing/experiencing all the changes.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Thanks for your review!!

 

I would definitely recommend you try one of RCI's bigger ships, specifically the Oasis or Allure, but also Freedom, Liberty, or Indy. They have tons of options, tons of things to do, and tons of activities going on all the time. And Oasis and Allure now have the VOOM internet, which is super fast and worth the price IMO.

[Aeryn]

Did they give a reason for the itinerary change? Thanks for the review.

[Mommabear2Five]

Did they give a reason for the itinerary change? Thanks for the review.

 

 

Yes. The ship needed maintenance that needed to be done in Nassau. And it wasn't exactly "last minute," it was announced mid July. However, many cruisers that we met were not notified and didn't find out until they were on board.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Mommabear2Five

[cruisingsince94]

We were on this cruise as well. We were not happy with spending all the time in Nassau either. We rarely got to use our balcony thanks to all the rain. It was so bad the first day we had standing water on our aft suite.

Speaking of our suite it was anything but sweet. Multiple maintenance issues, not very well cleaned, and certainly not worth the price paid.

We also noticed the lack of cleanliness standards by the crew. We watched them in the WJ simply brushing food off tables with a napkin between guests. Food in the seats, sticky tables and floors. Even the concierge lounge had the same issues of a sticky floor and unclean tables.

This was our 3rd time on Enchantment and 20th RCI cruise. It was by far the worst cruise of any on RCI. If this is the new norm, we will look elsewhere in the future. If we see similar issues on Brilliance we are going to cancel the others we have booked.

[2Shoes2Go]

Just did our survey this morning. Three sisters and Mom. We booked in Feb, the Grand Suite. It was beautiful and spacious. The room steward kept it clean and stocked well.

The problems were just too great.

First, when boarding, the Concierge had emailed he would meet and escort us aboard when we arrived. The rep that processed us in at 1030, called Alan, the Concierge. He told him he was on his way. He didn't make it. Suites were called to board at 1050. We just joined the line and boarded. Not a big deal.

Greeting us in the hall on way to suite-- that sewage smell! It filled the area and hovered over our bed. We reported it. Ended up two of us slept on balcony; it strengthened in the night. Sister called in the morning. They sprayed and we thought it was better. Came back in the night. They worked on it the next day; filter change or something. One good clear night. It returned the last night.

We were given a future cruise discount letter.

Windjammer, as reported, packed, always. Not clean. Public ladies room, not clean enough. Halls near suites full of dishes, food scattered.

What more to say? With the lack of itinerary, the late changes to it, and the weather, it wasn't good. Oh, true, no space in the Concierge Lounge; we stayed in VCL and fought for a server.

Rant over. Sorry.

[Mommabear2Five]

Halls near suites full of dishes, food scattered.

 

 

I forgot about that. With the narrow hallways on this ship, we did have to dodge all the trays in the hallway on the way to our cabin. One morning, we put our room service tray outside around 8am and it stayed there (along with the rest of the hallways trays) until well past lunchtime.

[2Shoes2Go]

Deck two must have been troubled as well. CD "BingBong" make loads of loud announcements (thought they were cutting down on these). One announcement he ended with saying "it's smelling better on deck two today, isn't it, people?":(

[cruisingsince94]

Just did our survey this morning. Three sisters and Mom. We booked in Feb, the Grand Suite. It was beautiful and spacious. The room steward kept it clean and stocked well.

The problems were just too great.

First, when boarding, the Concierge had emailed he would meet and escort us aboard when we arrived. The rep that processed us in at 1030, called Alan, the Concierge. He told him he was on his way. He didn't make it. Suites were called to board at 1050. We just joined the line and boarded. Not a big deal.

Greeting us in the hall on way to suite-- that sewage smell! It filled the area and hovered over our bed. We reported it. Ended up two of us slept on balcony; it strengthened in the night. Sister called in the morning. They sprayed and we thought it was better. Came back in the night. They worked on it the next day; filter change or something. One good clear night. It returned the last night.

We were given a future cruise discount letter.

Windjammer, as reported, packed, always. Not clean. Public ladies room, not clean enough. Halls near suites full of dishes, food scattered.

What more to say? With the lack of itinerary, the late changes to it, and the weather, it wasn't good. Oh, true, no space in the Concierge Lounge; we stayed in VCL and fought for a server.

Rant over. Sorry.

We didn't have a sewer issue thank goodness. Our issues were confined mostly to our room and balcony. Walked out on the balcony to find a bed pillow from prior guests on a lounger, covered in soot. Sticky table and food in chairs. Broken closet door, busted drawer, bathroom drawer off hinges, faucet that wouldn't shut off when used the first time. Food on the floor, handprints on the tv, dust everywhere. A spa robe that was yellowed on the inside from the neck down to mid back and also the sleeves. Fruit tray of over ripe bananas, squishy grapes, and a moldy orange. That was just in the first two hours. :eek: Not exactly what we expected to find in a suite.

Edited August 30, 2015 by cruisingsince94

[Summerknight]

It makes me sad to read that The Enchantment is not being properly maintained. We have sailed her many times, but not in the past four years.

 

RCI, are you reading this thread? ALL of your ships deserve to be clean and well maintained.

[Mommabear2Five]

Deck two must have been troubled as well. CD "BingBong" make loads of loud announcements (thought they were cutting down on these). One announcement he ended with saying "it's smelling better on deck two today, isn't it, people?":(

 

 

I think think that was a reference to a joke from the previous night's love and marriage show :)

[Aeryn]

Thanks for the reply. It's a shame this was handled badly.

[2Shoes2Go]

I think think that was a reference to a joke from the previous night's love and marriage show :)

 

Thanks for clarification! Haven't been to one of those shows in years. :)

[Scotty G]

It makes me sad to read that The Enchantment is not being properly maintained. We have sailed her many times, but not in the past four years.

 

RCI, are you reading this thread? ALL of your ships deserve to be clean and well maintained.

 

Interesting that we were on this cruise and didn't experience any of the negative issues expressed here!

 

Enchantment and the entire crew got a rave evaluation on my survey.

[splash_in_the_water]

that's crazy! sounds like a lot of problems on this cruise besides being stuck in nassau for 3 days...cocao cay was a beautiful island!

 

we sailed on her in may and had little issues really...was a great time. Sorry about your rough cruise ...I'd be irritated too!

[cruisingsince94]

Interesting that we were on this cruise and didn't experience any of the negative issues expressed here!

 

Enchantment and the entire crew got a rave evaluation on my survey.

 

Good for you. However, you were not in the OP's cabin nor ours I might add. The crew certainly didn't deserve a rave evaluation from us other than our dining room waiter and we let them know how outstanding he was.

Be grateful you didn't have to deal with what the OP or we did. To assume that just because you had no issues that nobody else should have, or did have, is ridiculous.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for the review and input from others, sorry to read that the ship spent that time in Nassau, one of my least favorite ports.

Edited August 30, 2015 by JamesEM