Enchantment of the Seas: June 17-20 - short family cruise

[ricklepickle]

I’m just back from a short 3 day family cruise on the Enchantment July 17-20, and I thought I’d share some quick observations. We=my parents (74 and 76), my brother (49), nephew (almost 16) and myself (53). We had previously sailed on the Oasis 4 years ago, and NCL Sun to Alaska 2 years ago – my parents have been on other cruises as well. My parents live in south Florida so cruising out of Ft Lauderdale or Miami is easy.

 

Embarkation: Easy embarkation at Ft Lauderdale port. Arrived at the terminal at 10:30, dropped the luggage + mom/brother/nephew at the curb, parked in the parking lot across from the terminal, and walked easily to the terminal. $60 Friday-Monday, easy peasy. Almost no line, and they let people on the ship at 11 am.

 

Boarding day: Got to the windjammer between 11:20 am and noon was very relaxed. Not crowded at all at that time – although it was starting to fill up at noon.

 

Rooms: Rooms were available at about 1:45 – ours were three OV rooms, 3070, 3072 and 3074. While smaller than any other room we’ve seen, they were perfectly fine, and clean. The carpet was a little worn, the bed was okay, and my 16 year old nephew joked that the only thing on the tv was ALF, but the room served its purpose well.

 

Service: Service was excellent. Room Steward, Wait Staff, etc – all helpful and cheerful.

 

Food: We ate in Chops the first night, and the service was excellent. The food itself was good, not great. I don’t understand the love for the peppered bacon appetizer, but the shrimp cocktail was wonderful. (and I know this is subjective) Worth going – especially the first night when there was a 20% discount.

 

We found the food overall to be just okay. I don’t love buffets, but the teenager did – his concerns are quantity over quality. We ate in the MDR for night 2 and 3, and breakfast on day 3 and before we disembarked. Service was great – we are easy to please, because on reflection there were a few wrong orders, but they were gracious and gave us the right food right away. The menus in the MDR were Saffron (2nd cruise night; formal night) and Basil (3rd night).

 

We enjoyed knowing that there were ‘free’ pastries at Café Lattitudes, which some of my party ate while the nephew had some Ben & Jerry’s.

 

Shows/Entertainment: The shows were enjoyable, if a bit hokey. But we always go to the main shows. We missed the first act of the Welcome show on night 1 due to dinner at Chops lasting 2 hours, but that was okay – I think it is not a must see. The second night was a Headliner, Matt Baker, who was a “stunt comedian” or something like that – he had us laughing while he juggled and did other physical stunts. The third night was a production show “Stage to Screen” – they do get some incredible talent on these ships. I’m glad these people have opportunities for entertainment careers!

 

I went to the 70's Disco Party (first night) - my family went to sleep. It was FUN. I recommend it.

 

Ports: At Coco Cay, we did the kayaking tour – really fun. My mom & brother flipped over halfway through and couldn’t get back in the kayak (it was a bit rough). The staff was incredibly calm and sent a jet ski to come fetch them – our joke was that it was the “great adventure at sea” and they did it to get a free jet ski ride. ☺ We were, however, annoyed that the BBQ was not available at 11:55 am, and we were hungry and tired so went back to the ship.

 

At Nassau we walked off the ship. On our way to Junkanoo Beach, we decided to take a glass bottom boat tour. My mom negotiated down from $35 to $25 per person, and away we went. It was enjoyable – not a must do, but fun. Junkanoo Beach, where we ended up eventually, was beautiful if crowded with kids.

 

 

I think the only real disappointment we had about the cruise is that they did not pay for the rights to show the NBA Finals on the ship – you could watch on ESPN in your room, or at the bar in the casino. It would have been fun to watch with a bigger crowd, maybe at the on the big screen at the pool deck – I did this a few years ago on the Oasis (at the ice rink theater). My nephew and I watched for 15 minutes in the beginning in the casino, but it was too smokey to stay. We returned there for the fourth quarter, and it was fun (until, at 10 seconds left, an older lady made my nephew move because he wasn’t ordering a drink, and then ordered a diet coke herself). There were about 35 people watching the small screens. My nephew remarked that while he didn’t see many people smoking, it was incredibly smokey. (ick)

 

But I understand – it’s probably expensive to license the rights to show it, and the passengers were a very international group who were likely not as interested. Still, we would have enjoyed it tremendously.

 

Overall – we had a great time! Great quick getaway.

 

Any questions - I don't have Cruise Planners but I can try to answer.

[Clarea]

What year was your July cruise?

[TheSeaWord]

Do you know what the menu was in the MDR on the first night even though you were in chops?

[ricklepickle]

What year was your July cruise?

 

Oops, that was a terrible typo. It was June 17-20 2016 -- this past weekend! I have no idea how that happened.

 

i can't edit it now; should I repost with the right dates?

 

And no, I don't know what the menu was in the MDR the first night.

Edited June 24, 2016 by ricklepickle

[Clarea]

Oops, that was a terrible typo. It was June 17-20 2016 -- this past weekend! I have no idea how that happened.

 

i can't edit it now; should I repost with the right dates?

 

And no, I don't know what the menu was in the MDR the first night.

I'd try contacting the moderators (help@cruisecritic.com) and maybe they can make the edit for you.

[baileymouse]

Thanks for the review! We're on Enchantment on August 15th for a short family cruise, and I am really looking forward to it. I will definitely drag the husband to the disco party. Not sure if the 13 year old will want to go, but she might. She loves all music.

 

We're thinking of getting beach passes to Melia on our Nassau day. Other than that we are pretty open to just experiencing this.

 

Rooms are pretty small, huh? I hope the three of us won't get on each others' nerves. ;)

[ricklepickle]

Thanks for the review! We're on Enchantment on August 15th for a short family cruise, and I am really looking forward to it. I will definitely drag the husband to the disco party. Not sure if the 13 year old will want to go, but she might. She loves all music.

 

We're thinking of getting beach passes to Melia on our Nassau day. Other than that we are pretty open to just experiencing this.

 

Rooms are pretty small, huh? I hope the three of us won't get on each others' nerves. ;)

 

The rooms are small but it's only a few nights. Enjoy! We certainly did.

[alex800]

Do you reserve chops online or on-board in order to get the 20%? Thx

[stones902]

Do you reserve chops online or on-board in order to get the 20%? Thx

 

 

My experience is if you reserve a specialty restaurant in advance they will charge you immediately (hence no discount). I am not sure if there is a mechanism to credit you back the 20%.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[TheSeaWord]

Was there a white party one of the nights?

[splash_in_the_water]

sounds like you had fun! we did enchantment last ear in May....a short, but fun cruise for sure...

[Clarea]

Do you reserve chops online or on-board in order to get the 20%? Thx

I'd wait and book onboard.

[ricklepickle]

Our experience with booking Chops: I originally booked on line in advance for the Sunday night of the cruise (last night). It was Father's Day, and I wanted it to be from me, not on my Dad's bill. When I paid, it was $30 per person. On board, we were convinced to go the first night, at a 20% discount, but the discount was off $35 per person, not $30. I don't know if the prices went up between April and June.

 

They credited the original charge back in to our on board account then charged the new ever so slightly less charge.

 

There were a lot of empty tables the first night (Friday) and it was very relaxed. I don't know what Fathers Day would have been like.

Edited June 30, 2016 by ricklepickle

[ricklepickle]

Was there a white party one of the nights?

 

 

I don't know, don't think so. Definitely was a 70s Disco Party.