Review of Enchanted Princess, March 9, 2023 Transatlantic Cruise

[flannbarr]

Internet: This was the only disappointing part of the cruise. Within around 12 hours of leaving Fort Lauderdale, we did not have Wi-Fi again until possibly Madeira, Portugal 7 1/2 days later. Zero, nada, none. Not a bit, byte, trickle. Nothing. It really didn’t work virtually at all during the first 14 days, even when we got close to or at ports. We would get a small trickle at times. I was sitting next to a guy on the ship who was texting back and forth one day when somewhere in the area of Spain but I got nothing. Sometimes it worked for me but not my wife and vice versa. 
 

i complained after 2 days and they offered $60 per person OBC if you had a package and you asked. It wasn’t automatic. You had to ask. That’s bush league. They thought the Wi-Fi would improve on Tuesday which was day 5 but it didn’t at all. It didn’t improve for at least the first 8 days. 
 

I communicated our dissatisfaction for several days through the Crew Chat on the Princess app. I eventually got a call from a front desk supervisor who apologized and said he didn’t know when it would improve and that it worked fine in the Caribbean.  The front desk offered the use of their telephone if we needed to call home or somewhere else.

 

They gave us an additional $100 OBC for a total of $160 OBC per person calculated as 16 days at $10 per day. Their thinking was the Wi-Fi will work 4 of the 20 days. Well it really hasn’t worked well at all but just enough so I can do this post. 
 

In the end. I would have preferred to have had Wi-Fi and paid the money. It did make us do different things and it wasn’t horrible to unplug. I guess people could not Google answers to trivia questions so there’s that!

 

I was hoping to do a little remote work from the ship in the morning. I was also hoping to check the scores of the NCAA basketball tourney games or watch the gamecast live (w/o video). No chance at all. BTW, the games were not shown on any TV’s on the ship.

 

At the Captain’s Circle event, the Commodore welcomed us to the No Internet cruise! Even he made light of it. 
 

i heard from others that have sailed across the pond on Princess or other cruise lines that they have had great Wi-Fi so it is what it is. Who knows what happened or if it will get fixed or is fixable.

 

We purchased the international monthly pass with Verizon before we left home. We could not wait to connect once we reached Madeira. Cell service worked great at all ports and for a while at sea after leaving ports. 

[dockhl]

We had exactly the same problem on this ship in Sept'22 (09-02-2022 Enchanted Princess  (British Isles & Norway Passage,TA West to NY). NO internet for days! They told us it was an unusual, temporary problem. What the heck is up with the internet on this shiP? Does it happen anywhere other than TA's?

[loge23]

19 hours ago, Dudleydog73 said:

This was not our first TA, but was our first eastbound.  It will most probably be our last eastbound as well.  There were way too many 23 hour days that screwed with your internal clocks.  I would much rather have the westbound 25 hour days as they are much more pleasant, and the fact that the end of the cruise on the westbound is all sea days to decompress makes it much more relaxing.  Having nonstop port days at the end of the eastbound was definitely not relaxing in any stretch of the definition. 

Either way beats air travel - even in Business class. My wife likes to say that the TA's are the only civilized way to cross the ocean.

On our last East-bound crossing the time change was taken at noon each day to allow for the crew to get their proper rest (as limited as it is). We found that to be an amiable solution all around, although there were the inevitable grumbles from people who like to grumble.

We arrive in Europe totally rested and refreshed after the days at sea - a wonderful contrast to the zombie-like feeling of the first day after a flight crossing. Coming back is fine as well, picking up the hours and reflecting on the adventures you just had abroad. 

Another benefit that we like on the Atlantic crossings is the time of year that these cruises go:  shoulder seasons in Europe - less crowds and no intense summer heat (Europe is becoming unbearable in the summer) - and for my fellow curmudgeons: few or no children running amok on the pool deck! 

Happy cruising!

[flannbarr]

Sorry for being quiet on this post but little to no Wi-Fi on the ship! Currently flying home from Barcelona.

 

Spoke with a couple at the Barcelona airport this morning. They did a TA cruise on the Symphony of the Seas that left Miami the same day that the Enchanted Princess left (3/9/23). We had perfect seas. They had rough seas the entire sailing across the pond (>16' swells). Apparently several passengers were injured with broken legs and other injuries yet we had smooth seas. They had perfect internet including the ability to stream videos where we had zero internet crossing the pond.

 

Conclusion--I will take smooth sailing and no internet anytime compared to that the Symphony went through. Thanks to the Commodore (forgot his name) of the Enchanted Princess.

[flannbarr]

Spa:

My wife and I both had facials on embarkation day. We had massages a few days later. They were both very good. The spa was not very busy. They comped us a day pass in the Enclave. We liked our time in there but likely would not spend much money on it.

 

Upon returning to the ship from Gibraltar, we both walked directly to the spa for another massage. They gave us 30% off plus another 10% off for being platinum.

 

The second massage I received was one of the best ones I have ever received.

 

The spa is definitely not cheap but neither is a cruise.

[flannbarr]

Entertainment and Activities:

The Enchanted Princess hit a home run and then some in the entertainment area. It was the best that we have ever experienced at sea. I like the 45 minute length of most shows including the production shows.

 

First, Cruise Director Gary from South Africa is the real deal. Amazing. He is so good. He even got me into Merengue dancing which is normally an impossible task. His assistants were Terry, Niki, Jonah, Wilmur and Danny. As a team, they are the best that I have experienced.

 

Shows--Rock Opera was amazing. We watched it twice. The singers were just great as were the dancers. I could watch that over and over again. 5-Skies was also very well done. We did not go to the Spotlight Bar show. It just didn't fit into our schedule.

 

Music--Virginia's Trio was very good to listen to in the Piazza. Her voice was amazing. Brian Johnson was usually in Crooners at night on the piano and was also good. The ship's orchestra was excellent. However, the Static Band was amazing. They are a 5 person band from the Caribbean. We just loved everything about them. They could sing from any decade and any type of music and do it well. They played almost every night and we danced with them almost every night. When they get with the party music, there is no stopping them. They even had the horn section from the ship's orchestra join them on the final night. So fun. They left the ship today for a 3 month break and then will be on the Caribbean Princess for several months.

 

Other Activities--Gary and his crew had so many activities scheduled day and night. There were obviously more activities on sea days. They did a crew tug-of-war one day which pitted crew from different departments. So much fun. They had organized activities around golf, Olympics, quizzes about anything and everything. The games shows were fun and included Marriage Match, Liar's Club, Rock the Room, Majority Riles and Hollywood Hiccups. 

 

Gary and his staff made this cruise amazing for us. They were all so creative and entertaining and kept us as busy as we wanted to be.

 

We loved the activities and energy in the Piazza. Music and activities during the day and music at night. We were in the Piazza every night. Consider it the Town Hall on the ship.

 

 

[Envelope21]

21 hours ago, flannbarr said:

Spoke with a couple at the Barcelona airport this morning. They did a TA cruise on the Symphony of the Seas that left Miami the same day that the Enchanted Princess left (3/9/23). We had perfect seas. They had rough seas the entire sailing across the pond (>16' swells). Apparently several passengers were injured with broken legs and other injuries yet we had smooth seas. They had perfect internet including the ability to stream videos where we had zero internet crossing the pond.

 

We joined the Enchanted Princess in Barcelona after her crossing from Ft. Lauderdale. We were also on the Symphony of the Seas crossing. Yes, it was a bit choppy, but I honestly didn't think it was that bad. I've definitely experienced worse. I did not hear of any injuries due to the rough seas. The only shows that were affected were the high-dive water shows.

 

And yes, the internet was very good. The wifi on the 6-day Enchanted was abysmal.

[ldubs]

Thanks for posting.  We just got home from the 6 day Barcelona R/T.  Everyone we talked to really enjoyed the crossing.  This was our first time on Enchanted (or any Royal class ship).  Except for the slow wifi already mentioned, it was terrific.  

[Hello, Newman]

We were also on the transatlantic portion of this cruise and can confirm the terrible internet service for the majority of the cruise.  On the morning of our first day at sea after leaving Fort Lauderdale a speed test of the internet came in at 2.2 Mbps, but by afternoon the internet connection had been lost and the crew of the Enchanted Princess began explaining it would not be restored for four or five days as we approached Europe.

 

When the ship finally started getting hints of internet service again the speeds came in as basically useless.  Many times our speed checks came in around 50 Kbps which is not enough to even check the most basic of email servers.  As we sailed around the coast of Spain the fastest speed registered at a whopping 340 Kbps close to Barcelona.  It amounted to a two week cruise completely disconnected from friends and family (which may or may not be a bad thing). 

 

The WiFi on the ship was absolutely fine, the WiFi is not the internet.

[onyourmark]

I complained at Guest Relations about the poor internet and asked for some kind of a refund or onboard credit.  I was told since it was part of a Plus package, they cannot give any credit.

Two days later I happened to walk past the Loyalty desk and the lady was there.  I told her I was one cruise short of Platinum.  She said the best perk to look forward to in Platinum is 50% off Internet package.  I said "what internet - you call what we're getting now internet service ?  I told her I asked for a token credit at Guest Services but was denied.  I said even a $5 per day credit would be nice.  She said "I can to $10/day.  She made a note and said - "Done.  And if you don't spend it in the remaining day, it's refundable !"  We had $120 credit, but Guest Relations would not pay it out in cash.  They said since it was over $25, the refund will be coming from corporate head office by check in 6 to 8 weeks.

I didn't want to spend any more time waiting in lines so I guess I'll just wait for the refund.

I also agree with the comment about the lack of a night light in the bathroom or even a plug so you can bring your own.  Poor design.  We had the smallest balcony cabin, so I wan't sure if this issue impacted the larger cabins.

 

 

[pompeii]

12 minutes ago, onyourmark said:

 

I also agree with the comment about the lack of a night light in the bathroom or even a plug so you can bring your own.  Poor design.  We had the smallest balcony cabin, so I wan't sure if this issue impacted the larger cabins.

 

 

There is a plug for low wattage.  I think it's meant for electric razors.  We have a nightlight we use in it with no problems.  

Edited April 2, 2023 by pompeii

[flannbarr]

On 4/2/2023 at 9:55 AM, onyourmark said:

I complained at Guest Relations about the poor internet and asked for some kind of a refund or onboard credit.  I was told since it was part of a Plus package, they cannot give any credit.

Two days later I happened to walk past the Loyalty desk and the lady was there.  I told her I was one cruise short of Platinum.  She said the best perk to look forward to in Platinum is 50% off Internet package.  I said "what internet - you call what we're getting now internet service ?  I told her I asked for a token credit at Guest Services but was denied.  I said even a $5 per day credit would be nice.  She said "I can to $10/day.  She made a note and said - "Done.  And if you don't spend it in the remaining day, it's refundable !"  We had $120 credit, but Guest Relations would not pay it out in cash.  They said since it was over $25, the refund will be coming from corporate head office by check in 6 to 8 weeks.

I didn't want to spend any more time waiting in lines so I guess I'll just wait for the refund.

I also agree with the comment about the lack of a night light in the bathroom or even a plug so you can bring your own.  Poor design.  We had the smallest balcony cabin, so I wan't sure if this issue impacted the larger cabins.

 

 

That's ridiculous what you had to go through. They told us they would only refund the internet charges if we had a package. It wasn't much of a flight at all.

[texasgirl29]

We did the TA in September. The commodore piloted us around the hurricane and it was a little rocky at times but didn’t bother me. We got $40 each I think when we went to guest services about the internet and we cashed it out in the casino. I was able to message with our daughter through Facebook messenger late at night most days, don’t ask me how. The production shows were too loud for me, but I loved the guest entertainers (Barricade Boys, Nathan Phan, Hannah Howie). Cruise Director Marcus, and his team (Niki, Bryant, Jayson) kept us coming back night after night to Princess Live for trivia and games.