Back from Enchanted TA crossing...some thoughts

[emairs]

44 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Thank you for the review.  Do you know what deck was the quarantine area?

TIA

The quarantine area was mid to forward on dolphin deck port side.

Some passengers, like ourselves, were allowed to remain in our cabins.

[PacnGoNow]

41 minutes ago, emairs said:

The quarantine area was mid to forward on dolphin deck port side.

Some passengers, like ourselves, were allowed to remain in our cabins.

Thank you.  Maybe they are moving towards that?  Or, was the quarantine area full?  So hope you are feeling okay.

 

[suekel]

5 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Since the recipe cards have returned, what about the shirts to go with them?

they had tshirts in April but not all sizes.  

[emairs]

4 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Thank you.  Maybe they are moving towards that?  Or, was the quarantine area full?  So hope you are feeling okay.

 

I don’t know. The quarantine area was probably quite full. An anonymous source reported that there were at least 67 people onboard with Covid as we approached Boston, and we were not allowed to dock there due to the number of reported Covid cases. That’s not to mention the probable large number of unreported cases. My husband and I are feeling fine now, thanks.

[PacnGoNow]

14 minutes ago, emairs said:

I don’t know. The quarantine area was probably quite full. An anonymous source reported that there were at least 67 people onboard with Covid as we approached Boston, and we were not allowed to dock there due to the number of reported Covid cases. That’s not to mention the probable large number of unreported cases. My husband and I are feeling fine now, thanks.

Wow.  I thought they said weather. Hmmm

I wish we could get rid of this thing. Just messes with our vacations.

Take care.

Edited September 20, 2022 by PacnGoNow

[PurpleHays]

On 9/18/2022 at 9:07 AM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Have you noticed any crew from Ukraine?

I was on the same cruise and there were a couple in the International Cafe on the coffee bar side.

[PurpleHays]

7 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Thank you for the review.  Do you know what deck was the quarantine area?

TIA

Deck 9, port side near the panoramic elevators. The hall door was closed and marked as off limits (I forget the exact wording). I saw it every time I used the stairs going up for the Piazza to the Caribe deck.

[PacnGoNow]

4 minutes ago, PurpleHays said:

Deck 9, port side near the panoramic elevators. The hall door was closed and marked as off limits (I forget the exact wording). I saw it every time I used the stairs going up for the Piazza to the Caribe deck.

Thank you.

[Slyfox16]

We just got off the Enchanted and echo many of our fellow passengers comments.

A complaint that we had, and many others that there is no library or any place to go to read or be in a quiet area.

I'm impressed that people were actually confined to their cabins. There was a person at my table whose roommate had covid, but this person was walking around and had no mask on. Needless to say we vacated that table immediately.

[cruise2relax]

9 hours ago, emairs said:

I don’t know. The quarantine area was probably quite full. An anonymous source reported that there were at least 67 people onboard with Covid as we approached Boston, and we were not allowed to dock there due to the number of reported Covid cases. That’s not to mention the probable large number of unreported cases. My husband and I are feeling fine now, thanks.

Not sure who you heard this from, but a count of 67 against a 50-60% full ship is a tiny number.  Given the US stance on covid now, I am hard pressed to believe that rumor.  That said, rumors were rampant on the ship as to the cause to miss Boston and the need to dock in NYC a day early.  They ranged from the plausible to the not so much.  We will never know the whole truth.

[PacnGoNow]

2 hours ago, cruise2relax said:

Not sure who you heard this from, but a count of 67 against a 50-60% full ship is a tiny number.  Given the US stance on covid now, I am hard pressed to believe that rumor.  That said, rumors were rampant on the ship as to the cause to miss Boston and the need to dock in NYC a day early.  They ranged from the plausible to the not so much.  We will never know the whole truth.

Why couldn’t they be transparent, IF it was not a covid issue?  I don’t understand.  Anyway, I hope it was a fun cruise for most. 

[chisoxfan]

On 9/18/2022 at 2:19 PM, Kay S said:

 

 

Edited September 20, 2022 by chisoxfan

[chisoxfan]

Sorry for the blank reply above...... tried to delete.

Anyway appreciate the comments on this cruise. The Commodore (excuse my ignorance but this is first Commodore I have run across) confirmed that there were a 'few'  more cases than normal. I agree more transparency in these cryptic comments would be helpful. Speaking to crew and passengers I understood that infected passengers were staying in their original cabins. One couple we spoke to at length said that there was a Covid passenger next door and that the attendant had 'special' tools to clean their cabins (ie, red containers for bedding and towels, etc.). They were upset that this was their same attendant.  

I know we were fighting  large swells and had slowed to approx 17 knots for an extended period which is the reason given for missing Boston which I would tend to accept. In my mind the day early entry to NY was not much of a 'bargain'.  We had to spend several hours Friday going through immigration before we could return to the ship. Everyone sitting for hours in a great hall was not my idea of reducing opportunity for disease spread. 

My wife and I came down with strong 'head colds' on Friday and on Saturday (maybe we were just hyper tuned in to it) heard coughing everywhere on embarkation. 

 

My takeaway is mixed... we had a wonderful cruise on a beautiful ship and Princess did many things right. We would take the trip over without hesitation. I could not sign up for a cruise on this ship at max capacity however..... I kept picturing this as a full Caribbean cruise with people fighting for pool seating, waiting for dinner, full theatre shows, lines at bars, etc. Perhaps unfair but likely accurate. 

We used to enjoy at least one winter warm weather cruise every year but this will be replaced with an all inclusive experience in the future. More space, less drama, similar cost.

 

We will continue to cruise but now view it more as an efficient way to see areas around the world versus a shipboard getaway 'vacation'  (exception perhaps for MSC Yacht Club).

 

Thanks for indulging these rambling thoughts.

 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

3 hours ago, cruise2relax said:

Not sure who you heard this from, but a count of 67 against a 50-60% full ship is a tiny number.

that's if it's reported. So many now do not report... And walk around with no mask because "it's just a cold now."

 

  

7 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

I could not sign up for a cruise on this ship at max capacity however..... I kept picturing this as a full Caribbean cruise with people fighting for pool seating, waiting for dinner, full theatre shows, lines at bars, etc. Perhaps unfair but likely accurate. 

 

we did in June on the Allure. It was just fine, except for rampant coughing and sneezing, and, of course, we got Covid on it. We are "looking forward" to getting Covid again on our very full Thanksgiving Enchanted cruise. 😞

 

Edited September 20, 2022 by Itchy&Scratchy

[loving goldens]

26 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

Sorry for the blank reply above...... tried to delete.

Anyway appreciate the comments on this cruise. The Commodore (excuse my ignorance but this is first Commodore I have run across) confirmed that there were a 'few'  more cases than normal. I agree more transparency in these cryptic comments would be helpful. Speaking to crew and passengers I understood that infected passengers were staying in their original cabins. One couple we spoke to at length said that there was a Covid passenger next door and that the attendant had 'special' tools to clean their cabins (ie, red containers for bedding and towels, etc.). They were upset that this was their same attendant.  

I know we were fighting  large swells and had slowed to approx 17 knots for an extended period which is the reason given for missing Boston which I would tend to accept. In my mind the day early entry to NY was not much of a 'bargain'.  We had to spend several hours Friday going through immigration before we could return to the ship. Everyone sitting for hours in a great hall was not my idea of reducing opportunity for disease spread. 

My wife and I came down with strong 'head colds' on Friday and on Saturday (maybe we were just hyper tuned in to it) heard coughing everywhere on embarkation. 

 

My takeaway is mixed... we had a wonderful cruise on a beautiful ship and Princess did many things right. We would take the trip over without hesitation. I could not sign up for a cruise on this ship at max capacity however..... I kept picturing this as a full Caribbean cruise with people fighting for pool seating, waiting for dinner, full theatre shows, lines at bars, etc. Perhaps unfair but likely accurate. 

We used to enjoy at least one winter warm weather cruise every year but this will be replaced with an all inclusive experience in the future. More space, less drama, similar cost.

 

We will continue to cruise but now view it more as an efficient way to see areas around the world versus a shipboard getaway 'vacation'  (exception perhaps for MSC Yacht Club).

 

Thanks for indulging these rambling thoughts.

 

 

We too were on this cruise first with Princess... we have another booked this february for 10 days ... we have decided we will cancelled I cannot imagine sailing when full....   

[ringers0815]

We were on this TA and on the previous Scandinavia cruise and both went very well in our opinion. Even though the Scandinavia cruise was at full capacity we really did not wait in line anywhere on the ship. On the Scandinavia cruise, The Piazza was very full when they had events and the pools were very busy (including with kids) but those were the main differences with the TA which was not at capacity. The food was for the most part very good and the service excellent. We thought the immigration in NY went well. We had been given an 11 am time to go to Immigration but they announced early in the morning that immigration was running ahead of schedule and guests could go ashore at their convenience so we left the ship early, took a few minutes to go through immigration and then spent the day in New York, returning to the ship in the evening. All in all, we had 2 lovely cruises, the first ones since the pandemic for us. Looking forward to cruising again in a few months.

[Ombud]

On 9/18/2022 at 12:11 PM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

did the bathroom have a built-in night light?

No

On 9/19/2022 at 10:28 AM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

were all three appropriate for 10-11 yo children, please?

Excellent review, by the way, thank you!

Yes. Spotlight Bar is the same one they showed on July Discovery Princess cruises (although Marcus stated it was premiered here). Shows were at 7:30 & 9:30 except 1 night when 8 & 10 due to a piazza all officer celebration.  

IMHO those under 50 will understand 5 Skies much better than those over 70. (Its a virtual game thru 5 levels ..... my new favorite show barely beating out Silk Road)

 

 

Edited September 22, 2022 by Ombud

[Itchy&Scratchy]

24 minutes ago, Ombud said:

IMHO those under 50 will understand 5 Skies much better than those over 70.

I hope my 11 yo will fully appreciate it. 🙂

 

He and DH were truly bored during Mama Mia!, which is weird. I understand being bored by Cats...

He has seen many other musicals/musical productions on NCL, Princess and RCI, and loved them all. I didn't take him to Grease on Harmony last year, though - it was not appropriate for him. However, a very risque musical on NCL went way over his head at 7 yo. 🙂 DS was, however, dismayed the people smoking on stage.

 

28 minutes ago, Ombud said:

No

thanks, I'll have to bring an extra night light. I am night blind, and I actually fell on the Allure while trying to navigate my way into the bathroom in the middle of the night. Harmony had a built-in night light in the bathroom, so I didn't bring one when we sailed on the Allure.

[MissP22]

17 hours ago, Ombud said:

IMHO those under 50 will understand 5 Skies much better than those over 70. (Its a virtual game thru 5 levels)

Isn't that the truth. 

I'll have to see it one more time to view it in a different light. It seems like it was made for a younger Carnival audience and not the typical demographic of Princess. 

[Ombud]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Isn't that the truth. 

I'll have to see it one more time to view it in a different light. It seems like it was made for a younger Carnival audience and not the typical demographic of Princess. 

They are lowering their target age and becoming intergenerational to stay profitable.  

[dave_k58]

On 9/18/2022 at 3:50 AM, cruise2relax said:

I would not call this a full review but more quick reporting back from our Transatlantic crossing on the Enchanted Princess.  As always, I read CC religiously in preparation but more so for any detail as this was our first cruise post COVID shutdown.  Based on some of the topics many others have commented on and/or inquired about, I am adding to that mix.  We loved the ship and the cruise.  We did not feel the diminishment of the product that so many are complaining about.

 

·         Ship is stunning.  We like the Royal class ships and felt that its design has evolved and they really took many things in the right direction (save for a couple of items noted herein).

·         Shops are no longer owned by princess, except the Princess logo branded shop and the candy shop.

o   10% elite no longer works except in branded shop and candy shop

o   No sundries in the regular shop, now in candy/snack shop on 5 (used to be Celebrations) and the supply is not varied and quite limited.  Fair warning to you all.

 

·         Good spirits

o   Only serves mixology drinks at night

o   Got the recipe cards

o   All priced in the plus package

o   Loved them!

 

·         Embarkation weird, check in 1^st then through security onto ship.  Fast but disorganized and odd.

 

·         Canapes in room on formal nights, - soo much better than they used to be as others have mentioned.

 

·         Food has been very good with nice presentation, we had no complaints.  A couple nights the veggies seemed salty (we do not use salt in cooking) but otherwise all well done.

 

·         Internet is god awful and an embarrassment to Princess.  Many of us still work and need to be connected on some limited basis.  Princess will quickly lose folks to other lines that can make this happen for them.  That would include long time loyalists like us.  Really shameful and all this satellite nonsense they spout is just that, nonsense, ask anyone who is in that industry and they will tell you it is nothing but a pat excuse without meaning.

 

·         For those of you who have inquired of late, yes we had a pub lunch in the Crown Grill last sea day (which actually was supposed to be Boston, long boring story as to why we did not stop)

 

·         Staff worked hard and were super friendly and helpful.  That has not changed since COVID for sure.

 

·         Cannot comment on lines and waiting as our cruise was only 65% full.  So, no lines no waiting ever in 15 days.

 

·         We had the Plus package and did not upgrade as we figured we would test it out and had some onboard credit if we needed to spend up.  We did not need to for the most part.  90% of all drinks are in the Plus package.  Those that are more expensive include the bellini’s bar entire menu, wines that are more upscale, certain higher end scotches, bourbons etc (although plenty in the package).  We chose to buy up wine by the glass in Crown Grill, that was it.  In our experience as well, every bartender will warn you if you order something outside your package and explain that you will be charged the difference. 

 

·         Ocean Terrace has moved away from the type of seafood offerings and towers like they have had into straight up sushi and sushi rolls.  Not only was the food very good, it was wildly popular on this cruise.

 

·         Salty Dog Gastro Pub and Bistro Sur la Mer are both the biggest wastes of space since Curtis Stone’s Share.  In 15 days, I can state I never saw more than 4 people in an evening eat at each one.  BIG mistake on Princess’ part.  To shift off Vines was not a smart move and the Bistro takes up a lot of prime space on deck 7 that could be much better used, even for revenue building.  Come up with a restaurant concept that includes paid (reasonable) lunch on sea days.  No one had a problem paying for sushi as it was packed every day for lunch, people eating there throughout the day and into the evening. 

 

Cannot wait wait to cruise again!

I think this was an excellent review. It covered everything I wanted to know

 

[Protseq]

On 9/19/2022 at 4:47 PM, emairs said:

I don’t know. The quarantine area was probably quite full. An anonymous source reported that there were at least 67 people onboard with Covid as we approached Boston, and we were not allowed to dock there due to the number of reported Covid cases. That’s not to mention the probable large number of unreported cases. My husband and I are feeling fine now, thanks.

Well I guess that I was one of the 67 or more who tested positive for Covid. Tested on  Tuesday after I had a rough time sleeping Monday night.  The wife and I were given option for me to isolate in our original cabin or be moved.   The wife said "move him".  I ended up on deck 9 balcony, orange sticker on the door said 'trained personnel only admittance'.  I am sure that there were many unreported cases.

Being escorted off of the ship,  I passed many cabins with red labels indicating no admittance warning.

No followup from Medical during my stay onboard ship.  I did receive one phone call from guest services early on asking me how I was doing.  No real explanation on the 5 day isolation policy was given.  If you want a good review of this trans Atlantic passage, go to the review section for Enchanted Princess.  I totally agree with the review.   Tom

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

They are lowering their target age and becoming intergenerational to stay profitable.  

Ballroom & opera just doesn't attract many of the younger crowd. 

[Ombud]

29 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Ballroom & opera just doesn't attract many of the younger crowd. 

My kids & grandkids love opera & symphony. PLEASE no big band era music. Ballroom dancing is my parents generation (ex salsa-type which the 25 yo taught me). Unless Princess is going to grow, they become stagnant. No one likes that. Even HAL is trying to attract a younger group (although that group is still 60+)

 

 

Edited September 23, 2022 by Ombud

[emairs]

1 hour ago, Protseq said:

Well I guess that I was one of the 67 or more who tested positive for Covid. Tested on  Tuesday after I had a rough time sleeping Monday night.  The wife and I were given option for me to isolate in our original cabin or be moved.   The wife said "move him".  I ended up on deck 9 balcony, orange sticker on the door said 'trained personnel only admittance'.  I am sure that there were many unreported cases.

Being escorted off of the ship,  I passed many cabins with red labels indicating no admittance warning.

No followup from Medical during my stay onboard ship.  I did receive one phone call from guest services early on asking me how I was doing.  No real explanation on the 5 day isolation policy was given.  If you want a good review of this trans Atlantic passage, go to the review section for Enchanted Princess.  I totally agree with the review.   Tom

We had no follow up either, other than to cancel and rebook our flight.

Did you go to the Hampton Inn?