Have things improved on the Enchanted

[bradleyr1]

On the Enchanted now waiting to disembark at Southampton.

 

In short, the ship is beautiful, but is overcrowded, understaffed and you have to queue for everything. I'm in the breakfast queue now waiting 20 mins for a coffee and have given up. Last night I waited 45 mins for two glasses of Bailey's and gave up again.  If you have dinner at 7.30 you then can't get a seat in any of the bars afterwards as they are all taken so bear that in mind when thinking about dinnertime. 

 

And don't even think about getting a sunbed after 7.30am on a sea day - no chance! 

[caribill]

14 hours ago, Hlitner said:

But I do think folks can do themselves some good by using a little common sense and trying to make the best out of a tough situation.  When it comes to dining on Princess, a majority of folks get into a schedule where they dine early (generally before 7).  But what happens is that there are many folks who go to eating venues as soon as they open. 

 

For whatever the reasons may be, this is showing that DMW is a failure.

 

People who have booked times cannot be accommodated at the reserved times unless it is when the dining rooms first open.

 

Those who had liked traditional fixed seating times with the same table and same dining companions at the same time every evening cannot come close to replicating that experience now.

[villauk]

1 hour ago, bradleyr1 said:

On the Enchanted now waiting to disembark at Southampton.

 

In short, the ship is beautiful, but is overcrowded, understaffed and you have to queue for everything. I'm in the breakfast queue now waiting 20 mins for a coffee and have given up. Last night I waited 45 mins for two glasses of Bailey's and gave up again.  If you have dinner at 7.30 you then can't get a seat in any of the bars afterwards as they are all taken so bear that in mind when thinking about dinnertime. 

 

And don't even think about getting a sunbed after 7.30am on a sea day - no chance! 

I wonder if they will transfer the staff from Diamond onto other ships such as Enchanted, like Hank suggested. I reckon that probably won’t happen on this side of the pond and they’ll wait until it’s back in the States if it is indeed the case. Unfortunately, we have new cruisers sailing with us in a few weeks and they won’t want to return if things are this bad. Not pleasant for us either when we’ve always said how good cruising is as a vacation 🙈.

[teddyd33]

Have just disembarked from the Enchanted, and will have to agree with all the other posts. In short, the ship is lovely, but they simply booked too many passengers for the amount of staff they had. This was a significantly worse experience that what we had received from Princess in the past, and a completely different cruise experience compared to the Summer Seacations on the Sky.

 

The staff were trying their absolute hardest with the situation, but at the end of the day, corporate sold too many cabins for their capacity. Interestingly, when we had booked the cruise, they were only selling balcony cabins, then opened up to inside (so someone from corporate must have thought it was worth selling extra cabins even if not at full capacity).

 

Examples of this include: 

- Buffet only 35%-50% open and even with this, there were delays in replenishing items. Plates running out, knives and forks running out.  The pastry area was a complete joke, with just banana bread offered and a few other items. When we sailed on the Royal Princess during the inaugural sailing, the pastry section would be bursting with multiple items. 

- Massive queues at Salty Dog due to having only 2 staff members there

- Took 30 mins for a drink at breakfast, as the same staff member who was mopping floors, also had to do drink services for around 10 tables outside

- App Ordering resulted in drinks taking 1 hour to deliver, although contacting guest services sped this up

- 20 min queues for drinks at the Lido Pool

- Captain (or should I say, Commodore) claimed weather in Gurnsey meant we could not dock, but I study weather charts and I could see the wind did not pick up in the afternoon. After speaking with staff, I came to the conclusion it was due to the fact they had 3,700 guests, and not enough staff to safely run all the tender boats in time.

 

[MissP22]

3 hours ago, teddyd33 said:

Have just disembarked from the Enchanted, and will have to agree with all the other posts. In short, the ship is lovely, but they simply booked too many passengers for the amount of staff they had.

If it's a bad as you say it is, it looks like we'll be procuring our own drinks quite often. 

[bradleyr1]

I agree with everything Teddy said above - far too many people. Not enough staff and many rumbles amongst passengers about having to queue for everything, the unusable WiFi and inability to enjoy a drink in the evening.  Took 1 hour for 2 Bailey's to arrive last night! 

[MouseBerry]

Just disembarked the Enchanted today. The mentioned problems exist, but to our experience the situation was not that bad. We had dinner at 6:20 all night and had never to wait a minute. We saw queues when we left MDR at around 9:30. We found free seats in the bars most of the time. Sometimes waiting for drinks was up to 30 min. but most of the time quicker. Ship was nevertheless to packed or understaffed. MedallionApp has to be improved.

[jdacombe]

Will do a fuller review later, but as to the MDR evening meals:

I booked Capri on the first night on the App for 8.10pm as it was this or 8.30pm, I went to the restaurant to confirm our booking for 8 people and was told to come at 8 30pm when it would be less busy. Arrived at that time and had to wait for another 20 minutes or so to get a table.

Next time, formal night, had booked again for 8.10pm, only had a short wait, but restaurant was very busy and didn't finish meal until nearly 10.30pm, the Dining Room manager explained and apologised for the delay saying it was due to staff shortages and these later times were much busier.

Last night the only time I could book via the app was 8.10pm, phoned Booking Reservations and cancelled that time and asked if I could rebook for 6.15pm, was told the only avaiailable time was 5.30pm, but if I and my party were to come at 6 15pm we could be accommodated. Got there at 6.15pm and were shown to our table straight away.

Must say the staff were extremely helpful and hardworking, and the food was excellent on the three times we went.

[PacnGoNow]

8 minutes ago, MouseBerry said:

Just disembarked the Enchanted today. The mentioned problems exist, but to our experience the situation was not that bad. We had dinner at 6:20 all night and had never to wait a minute. We saw queues when we left MDR at around 9:30. We found free seats in the bars most of the time. Sometimes waiting for drinks was up to 30 min. but most of the time quicker. Ship was nevertheless to packed or understaffed. MedallionApp has to be improved.

MDR from 620 to 930?  That long to eat?

[MouseBerry]

Sorry, had Dinner from 6:20 to 7:30.

[Adventures ahead]

On 8/12/2022 at 3:54 PM, MouseBerry said:

Just disembarked the Enchanted today. The mentioned problems exist, but to our experience the situation was not that bad. We had dinner at 6:20 all night and had never to wait a minute. We saw queues when we left MDR at around 9:30. We found free seats in the bars most of the time. Sometimes waiting for drinks was up to 30 min. but most of the time quicker. Ship was nevertheless to packed or understaffed. MedallionApp has to be improved.

We disembarked yesterday too. Based on what I’d read, to avoid disappointments and avoid lines, we bit the bullet and dined at 5:30 each night, not our normal MO. Ordering coffee at Intl Cafe using the Medallion was always quick. I found the app worked well for ordering. Loved the Find your shipmates feature and Do Not Disturb button outside cabin door. Room service didn’t take more than 30 minutes. Used it several times. It was obvious they were short-staffed at the cafe for handing out food but lines weren’t bad when I was there.

 

Got Princess Theatre seats we wanted at the back by showing up 25 minutes early. It was a challenge for people turning up 10-15 minutes before (due to full capacity). A very few people even stood along the wall at the back for production shows and a very few left.

 

Before booking in June, I called ahead Office twice and was told they were holding capacity at 75%. At some point that changed. Captain’s Circle hostess told me they were full with 3660 guests (for that I’m disappointed with Princess… it’s called bait and switch, not cruise ‘with confidence’), 600 being children, totally understandable for a 7-day cruise mid-summer.

 

Wifi wasn’t good. At least iMessage worked well to people at home and between us onboard so I accepted the fact after a couple of days. After expressing my thoughts re the internet (FB wouldn’t load and I couldn’t update apps, emailed often lagged by more than 30 minutes), was given a $25 goodwill credit. We’re Elite, bought Standard fare as DH doesn’t drink and Plus fare not cost effective for us. I think the internet troubles may have been a result of full capacity and so many passengers buying the Plus pkg. People don’t log off. 

 

Anyway, the cruise wasn’t terrible and we made the best of it. As said, they simply sold too many cabins for this particular week. Was told by hostess that longer cruises before and after weren’t full.

 

To avoid disappointments, I often lower my expectations, a coping mechanism. I didn’t expect Princess to go from zero to hero at this point in time.  This was our first cruise since Feb 2020.  It’s been harder for me to let go of the full capacity issue. 

[teddyd33]

3 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

We disembarked yesterday too. Based on what I’d read, to avoid disappointments and avoid lines, we bit the bullet and dined at 5:30 each night, not our normal MO. Ordering coffee at Intl Cafe using the Medallion was always quick. I found the app worked well for ordering. Loved the Find your shipmates feature and Do Not Disturb button outside cabin door. Room service didn’t take more than 30 minutes. Used it several times. It was obvious they were short-staffed at the cafe for handing out food but lines weren’t bad when I was there.

 

Got Princess Theatre seats we wanted at the back by showing up 25 minutes early. It was a challenge for people turning up 10-15 minutes before (due to full capacity). A very few people even stood along the wall at the back for production shows and a very few left.

 

Before booking in June, I called ahead Office twice and was told they were holding capacity at 75%. At some point that changed. Captain’s Circle hostess told me they were full with 3660 guests (for that I’m disappointed with Princess… it’s called bait and switch, not cruise ‘with confidence’), 600 being children, totally understandable for a 7-day cruise mid-summer.

 

Wifi wasn’t good. At least iMessage worked well to people at home and between us onboard so I accepted the fact after a couple of days. After expressing my thoughts re the internet (FB wouldn’t load and I couldn’t update apps, emailed often lagged by more than 30 minutes), was given a $25 goodwill credit. We’re Elite, bought Standard fare as DH doesn’t drink and Plus fare not cost effective for us. I think the internet troubles may have been a result of full capacity and so many passengers buying the Plus pkg. People don’t log off. 

 

Anyway, the cruise wasn’t terrible and we made the best of it. As said, they simply sold too many cabins for this particular week. Was told by hostess that longer cruises before and after weren’t full.

 

To avoid disappointments, I often lower my expectations, a coping mechanism. I didn’t expect Princess to go from zero to hero at this point in time.  This was our first cruise since Feb 2020.  It’s been harder for me to let go of the full capacity issue. 

 

Interesting to hear that you were also told that they were holding capacity at 75% as we were told something similar when booking too as we were told they are only selling balcony cabins and then they must have changed the direction nearer the time.

 

I don't have any issues if a ship is at full capacity as pre-COVID this was the norm, and had sailed on the Royal Princess inaugural sailings which were also full, the challenge arrises when they don't have enough staff to meet the guest expectations and what was marketed (especially with things like half opened buffets etc), so they are quick to fill cabins but not quick enough to ensure there are adequate number of staff around.

 

I'm sure this will improve over time, but I have a feeling that they probably were't ready just yet for a full capacity sailing...

 

[villauk]

5 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

 

 

Anyway, the cruise wasn’t terrible and we made the best of it. As said, they simply sold too many cabins for this particular week. Was told by hostess that longer cruises before and after weren’t full.

 

 

I fear our cruise will be the same in a few weeks as Princess pulled the same tactic with our sailing: only selling balcony and above at first.

2 hours ago, teddyd33 said:

 

Interesting to hear that you were also told that they were holding capacity at 75% as we were told something similar when booking too as we were told they are only selling balcony cabins and then they must have changed the direction nearer the time.

 

I don't have any issues if a ship is at full capacity as pre-COVID this was the norm, and had sailed on the Royal Princess inaugural sailings which were also full, the challenge arrises when they don't have enough staff to meet the guest expectations and what was marketed (especially with things like half opened buffets etc), so they are quick to fill cabins but not quick enough to ensure there are adequate number of staff around.

 

I'm sure this will improve over time, but I have a feeling that they probably were't ready just yet for a full capacity sailing...

 

 

[Adventures ahead]

2 hours ago, teddyd33 said:

 

Interesting to hear that you were also told that they were holding capacity at 75% as we were told something similar when booking too as we were told they are only selling balcony cabins and then they must have changed the direction nearer the time.

 

I don't have any issues if a ship is at full capacity as pre-COVID this was the norm, and had sailed on the Royal Princess inaugural sailings which were also full, the challenge arrises when they don't have enough staff to meet the guest expectations and what was marketed (especially with things like half opened buffets etc), so they are quick to fill cabins but not quick enough to ensure there are adequate number of staff around.

 

I'm sure this will improve over time, but I have a feeling that they probably were't ready just yet for a full capacity sailing...

 

Agree, 75% capacity might have been about right for the number of staff and they obviously weren’t ready.
 

For me, a lower capacity booked was a ‘cruise with confidence’ issue with Covid in mind. I hoped Princess would stick to the 75% to the end of September.
We’ve also been on many full sailings pre-Covid and always expected they would be.

[Steelers36]

On 8/9/2022 at 12:37 PM, QueenieA said:

Rooms B624 (I think)  and C515.  Both were nice cabins apart from smells (although B624 does get a lot of ‘vibration’ coming up through the bed).   Hopefully by now they will have sorted the ‘smell’ problems.

GS were pulling their hair out liaising with Hotel Management (were given room numbers and when they took us there to see if OK - already occupied - were taken to 4 Rooms before we got our final one).  Were given a nice bouquet of flowers.  

As I said - GS were doing their absolute best.  When we asked to speak to Restaurant Director - they said ‘no need’ - so many complaints and people wanting to see him (her) he’d stopped seeing people but was aware of all the problems so we wouldn’t be giving him any new ‘constructive criticism’ (a Rose by any other name .......) 

Our pre-booked time dining time was 19.20.  Arrived just after 19.00.  Decided to go early the 3rd day as they said this would help.  Went about 18.30 - no queues - but then realised doors closed.  When stepped inside they said they were not letting people queue and no more availability until 19.45.  Asked if we could reserve - “No”.  Tried Amalfi - long queues.  Couldn’t get into Specialities.  Went back to Capri (I think about 19.30) and as I said a shorter queue and wait - but didn’t gain anything as they had a row of tables for 2 (about 6+) but until all were filled they didn’t take orders and then all meals came up at the same time - so those that only ordered 1 Starter were waiting for their Entree until others who had ordered Soup, Starter and Salad (some 2 ‘first’ courses, some ‘3’ and some like us just ‘1’.)

As I said - we gave up after the 3rd day so I don’t know if it got any better.

I know this was posted some days ago and I will likely read further updates as I catch up on this thread, but the above is just terrible dining mess IMO.

[Steelers36]

On 8/10/2022 at 7:42 AM, Pack Leader said:

Additional charges are starting to appear for the wine which is above our Plus package.

So today, wandering around the ship we ventured into Santorini MDR and found they are open from 5.30pm and had been from 2 days into the cruise. No announcement has been made and Santorini does not appear on Princess Patter! Talk about poor communication. We think this ship is a reflection of the management on board and will report such when we are home. Will try Santorini tonight. 

5 Skies production a technological marvel but overall not the most entertaining show. Rock Opera on last night. Was good last time on Sky.

Evening theatre last night was Phil Tufnell. V funny, even though I do not like Cricket. Had the audience in stitches. La Coruna today. Not much to write home about. Back on board afternoon just 2 hours. Have our disembarkation notes today. A bit early! 2 days before 

Terrible DR mgmt.  IDK Silvio Zampieri (last known DRO on your ship).  Maybe he and his team have little clue about DMW and how to work around it and such.  But no excuse for not listing all DR's in the Patter.  Is this guy a newbie with Princess???  NOPE - Just found a basic profile on LinkedIn and states he has been with Princess since 1988.  Well, IDK how long he has been a DRO, but seems to be missing a beat here and there.  I hope he wasn't the one they used to provide input on DMW app.   Just noticed he listed in his LinkedIn that PM Trudeau is an influencer for him (eeeegads!!!).  Silvio is from BC, Canada.

[caribill]

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 But no excuse for not listing all DR's in the Patter. 

 

Since it is up to someone in the Cruise Director line of command to put out the Patter, it looks like whoever is responsible for the Patter did not learn of the dining room now being open.

 

But I am not surprised that the CD staff does not know what is going on in other areas. On one cruise I met an experienced CD who did not know that there was a dining room open for lunch on embarkation days even though the Patter he was responsible for correctly listed it as being open.

[caribill]

14 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

Wifi wasn’t good. ..... I think the internet troubles may have been a result of full capacity and so many passengers buying the Plus pkg. People don’t log off. 

 

MedallionNet is promoted as being fast even if a high number of passengers are actively using it at the same time (assuming within the appropriate satellites' coverage zone).

 

And on some ships, per CC posts, that is true or was so in the past.

 

 

 

14 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

Anyway, the cruise wasn’t terrible and we made the best of it.

 

Not a ringing endorsement.

 

I can imagine the Princess advertising campaign now:  "Cruise Princess. At least the cruise will not be terrible."

[jdacombe]

FWIW here are some of my thoughts on our 5-12 August cruise.

Embarkation:

Taking into consideration the number of passengers, it was pretty efficient and seamless. The only real delay was going through security.

The Ship: 

As you would expect from a new ship it did not have that "tired" look and was lovely in keeping with other ship of this group (Regal etc;). I liked the new design of Princess Live and the Vista Lounge. The stateroom (Deluxe Balcony) and bathroom was just a bit on the small side but perfectly adequate. No problem at all with the shower having a curtain, pretty flow of water and very hot. My wife said that she found the decor quite bland, but I liked how understated and bright it made the room look.

Food:

We ate in Capri MDR, IC, GiGi's, Buffet and had Room Service breakfasts a couple of times. Was very impressed with the quality of food in all these areas, the steak with the surf 'n turf was one of the best I've had, although the Room Service Breakfast menu I though was rather small. The buffet was now back to virtually all self service.

My son is a vegan and had a problem in the IC where there was a lentil pie advertised as vegan, but when he asked about it he was told that it had egg wash on the pastry, he politely pointed out that this wasn't vegan, and to their credit future pies did not appear to be egg washed and not advertised as vegan. First night and last nights in the MDR he had very attentive waiters who produced a vegan menu and saw to his needs, great credit to both of them - he had two very enjoyable meals, sadly he had problems on one of the formal nights, his first main dish contained cheese, and also had problems with the alternative that was offered, in the end one of the two original waiters appeared and arranged for him to have a very good pumpkin pie. 

Drink: 

Again a good selection of various types, we were on the Plus option and did notice that quite a lot of the wine selection was in the Premium range, but I found that what was in the Plus section to be perfectly acceptable. Good range of cocktails, especially in Good Spirits at Sea and Take Five. 

Apart from a couple of Bars we did not have to wait all that long to get drinks. I did notice that in one bar those seated at the bar seemed to get preferential treatment (but I suppose if you tip the barman a tenner, as I saw on one occasion you would expect that)

Entertainment:

Impressed with both 5 Skies and Rock Opera, although 5 Skies may not be to everyone's taste in fact an elderly couple next to me got up and left half way through. Saw Phil Tufnell, absolutely loved his session even if you didn't like cricket. Enjoyed the addition of Take Five, great music (if you like jazz) and ambience. Good selection of live music across all areas of the ships.

WiFi/Internet:

Certainly a bone of contention with many, me included. It was very patchy to say the least, could not access things like emails for a lot of the time. The App was pretty flaky some of the time. a bit disappointing compared to the service on our last trip in September on Regal (although to be fair it did sail at reduced capacity)

Final Thoughts:

The ship was apparently sailing at full capacity, and at times it certainly felt like it, virtually impossible to get a sun lounger from mid morning onwards, but did manage to get in the hot tub a few times. Big thumbs up to the waiters, bar staff, chefs, Gracey our lovely stateroom steward who all worked extremely hard and tirelessly to keep things running as smoothly as possible, they did certainly seem to be understaffed for the number of passengers.

It look from this cruise that cruising is nearly back to normal with hardly a face mask amongst the passengers to be seen and a virtually full self-service buffet.

On the buffet matter, one thing that I did find quite disappointing was the amount of passengers that went into the Buffet without washing their hands or even sanitizing them, a basic hygene necessity in my opinion.

Overall I enjoyed the cruise, good weather, good company, good service and had many chats to other friendly passengers, wasn't too disappointer at missing Guernsey as I've been there before

 

[MouseBerry]

@jdacombe: Good description that reflects next to 100% our experience.

A few remarkable observations:

The embarkation was the most smooth and swift one we ever had.

DW is a big lover of fresh pressed orange juice at breakfast. We didn‘t see this on any menu, but we asked the first morning in MDR and a good one was delivered every morning. We think it comes with an extra cost, but the PrincessDeal covered it.

 

MedallionApp didn‘t work all the time on ordering drinks/food. We made a visit to the guest service to ask about just to ensure we didn‘t something wrong. It was no complaint, but desk officer had the impression that we are unhappy, which wasn‘t the case. He granted an inappropriate credit to our account. 

 

Service in general was understaffed and/or occupancy was to high. I‘m sure Princess will improve this soon.

 

For disembarkation Princess asked to pack the luggage until 8pm, which is the most early time we ever had on any cruiseline/ship. We decided to take the luggage on our own. This worked out pretty well in Southampton.

 

[jdacombe]

5 minutes ago, MouseBerry said:

@jdacombe: Good description that reflects next to 100% our experience.

A few remarkable observations:

The embarkation was the most smooth and swift one we ever had.

DW is a big lover of fresh pressed orange juice at breakfast. We didn‘t see this on any menu, but we asked the first morning in MDR and a good one was delivered every morning. We think it comes with an extra cost, but the PrincessDeal covered it.

 

MedallionApp didn‘t work all the time on ordering drinks/food. We made a visit to the guest service to ask about just to ensure we didn‘t something wrong. It was no complaint, but desk officer had the impression that we are unhappy, which wasn‘t the case. He granted an inappropriate credit to our account. 

 

Service in general was understaffed and/or occupancy was to high. I‘m sure Princess will improve this soon.

 

For disembarkation Princess asked to pack the luggage until 8pm, which is the most early time we ever had on any cruiseline/ship. We decided to take the luggage on our own. This worked out pretty well in Southampton.

 

Yes, I found that a bit strange and rather early for the luggage to be left outside of the stateroom, usually it's around 11pm. Maybe it was because of the high number of passengers comapred to crew

[caribill]

4 hours ago, jdacombe said:

 

WiFi/Internet:

 

Certainly a bone of contention with many, me included. It was very patchy to say the least, could not access things like emails for a lot of the time. The App was pretty flaky some of the time. a bit disappointing compared to the service on our last trip in September on Regal (although to be fair it did sail at reduced capacity)

 

 

 

 

Thanks very much for a thorough, honest and interesting report. Like many others, you have found the crew to be outstanding.

 

As far as the Internet, Princess has no excuse for poor access due to passenger count. Their marketing of the Internet says:

 

"MedallionNet®The Best Wi-Fi at Sea • Wi-Fi Wherever You Are Access the internet everywhere on board so you can text, post photos, video chat and stream your favorite shows, movies, music and sports with ease."

 

There is no asterisk with an explanation saying "unless passengers actually try to use it."

[Pack Leader]

Agree with everything said by the others here regarding the cruise and would add some further details - my wife’s main disappointment was that of the plus package Chardonnay wines, three listed, one unavailable - Decoy, said to be due to a promised delivery at Southampton on embarkation not arriving and a replacement Italian Chardonnay being added, which my wife felt was a very poor Chardonnay. We then had to purchase some additional cost glasses of wine that fall within the premier package.

 

I would also concur with embarkation at Southampton being very slick and very quick. I would imagine the reason the cases had to be outside at 8 pm was due to the fact that there were limited numbers of staff and some staff duties were probably doubled up, as described above, certainly our cabin steward said that he would be arranging the luggage delivery on embarkation which is not his usual role. Shop floor staff should be applauded but on ship upper management and head office management need to look at their decisions closely and reflect on what improvements can be made in the future.

[CineGraphic]

On 8/11/2022 at 10:29 AM, texasgirl29 said:

Another good source if you're wondering about Virgin, is Gary Bembridge's Tips for Travellers. 

 

 

 

Gary made another on o Virgin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdGSnxmbR1Y