Live (almost) from the Enchanted Princess June 24-July 15 Best of the Mediterranean

[fpsphil]

3 hours ago, rocklinmom said:

Thank you for doing this! Looking at doing the Med next summer so will be following along. Would appreciate any feedback on the Rome airport and flights, airline, etc. in addition to your Med ports. Bon voyage! 

Will post reviews of our flight experience. Going to be a bit interesting flying in the day after a massive strike so could get some interesting experiences as we ride the ripple effects of the nationwide shut down

[fpsphil]

The Day Before we Fly!

 

It’s been a long time coming but we are now less than 24 hours from boarding our flight. Packing wise we decided to see what we could do with using only 2 checked bags. So far everything is perfect in that regards our 2 bags are around 47 pounds. Thank god for elite laundry onboard which we plan on using daily to cycle through the clothes that we have brought. We are usually pack everything and then more than you need cruisers since we have been blessed to go on so many cruises out of LA over the past 2 years.

 

Not too worried about the Italian air strike happening on Tuesday. With our flight landing on the 21st and the provisions in Italian law requiring services to aircraft during 2 time periods a day (including when when we land) hopefully all will be fine when we land at FCO.

 

Rest of the day today will be spent tying up loose ends around our home, getting the keys to our cat sitters, and off to bed early as we have to head for the airport at 5 AM.

 

[cruisequeen4ever]

Wishing you smooth flights! 

[Gwendy]

On 6/16/2023 at 7:28 AM, TorontoTL said:

How are the wifi speeds since the Enchanted was updated to Starlink?

In April, Mediterranean cruise, wifi was abysmal.  So frustrating, I nearly had a temper tantrum.  Not a good look for a 72 year old.

Internet staff pretty much useless, a couple of them were dancers from the show.

[fpsphil]

We’ve made it to Chicago. No delays or issues thus far other than a medical evacuation off the plane after we landed. Have 2 more hours on the ground here before we board the big jet to take us to Rome.

 

Did get confirmation from the hotel in Rome that we got the room we really wanted so super excited for that. 
 

22 minutes ago, Gwendy said:

n April, Mediterranean cruise, wifi was abysmal.  So frustrating, I nearly had a temper tantrum.  Not a good look for a 72 year old.

Internet staff pretty much useless, a couple of them were dancers from the show.

Was this post dry dock?

[Gwendy]

11 hours ago, fpsphil said:

We’ve made it to Chicago. No delays or issues thus far other than a medical evacuation off the plane after we landed. Have 2 more hours on the ground here before we board the big jet to take us to Rome.

 

Did get confirmation from the hotel in Rome that we got the room we really wanted so super excited for that. 
 

Was this post dry dock?

Yes first cruise since dry dock, Barcelona to Athens.

[fpsphil]

Welcome to Rome.

 

We landed this morning at 8:20 Rome time. In typical Italian airport fashion we weren’t in our arranged car to the hotel until almost 10AM.

If you have Princess transfers they are extremely easy to find. We saw people with Princess signs even in the baggage claim area before you exit out through the declaration area.

 

Checked into Luxury on the River and wow we love this place. Amazing room for a extremely reasonable price.

 

Off to the Vatican for our Sistine chapel and museum tour now

 

 

[AF-1]

Have fun on this cruise vacation.  All the best and safe travels

[fpsphil]

Rome Day 1 and 2 Recap:

 

It’s been a bit struggle during the day with Rome locked into a heatwave (99 degrees today plus humidity). We’ve managed to hit everything that we’ve wanted to do so far despite some curve balls thrown at us by tour operators from Viator. Our large forum-coliseum-pantheon tour got canceled at the last minute which was a bummer but we were lucky enough to squeeze into another Coliseum tour to salvage the afternoon.

 

We’ve made the decision to bite the bullet and take a private ride to Civitavecchia tomorrow as we are already feeling drained enough due to the high heat and a crowded train for an hour with all our bags is not something we are ready for right now. It also gives us a lot more flexibility tomorrow as the hotel will hold our bags after we check out at 11 so we can get another almost full day out of Rome.

 

We are excited to be boarding in less than 36 hours and move into our “home” for the next 3 weeks!

 

Here are some photos!

[Cruise-mom]

Fab photos 😃 the heat is killing today. We got a lot done regardless. See you all soon 😊

 

 

[LACruiser88]

1 hour ago, Cruise-mom said:

the heat is killing today.

A lesson we learned many years ago, we only visit Europe in the spring or the fall.  Summer in Europe is tough especially with so many locations not having A/C.

[fpsphil]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

A lesson we learned many years ago, we only visit Europe in the spring or the fall.  Summer in Europe is tough especially with so many locations not having A/C.

I knew it was going to be hot but for June this is on the high end of temps

[Gwendy]

4 hours ago, fpsphil said:

Rome Day 1 and 2 Recap:

 

It’s been a bit struggle during the day with Rome locked into a heatwave (99 degrees today plus humidity). We’ve managed to hit everything that we’ve wanted to do so far despite some curve balls thrown at us by tour operators from Viator. Our large forum-coliseum-pantheon tour got canceled at the last minute which was a bummer but we were lucky enough to squeeze into another Coliseum tour to salvage the afternoon.

 

We’ve made the decision to bite the bullet and take a private ride to Civitavecchia tomorrow as we are already feeling drained enough due to the high heat and a crowded train for an hour with all our bags is not something we are ready for right now. It also gives us a lot more flexibility tomorrow as the hotel will hold our bags after we check out at 11 so we can get another almost full day out of Rome.

 

We are excited to be boarding in less than 36 hours and move into our “home” for the next 3 weeks!

 

Here are some photos!

Colosseum, there is a lift/elevator to reach the top level, it’s a bit late to let you know but others may benefit.  Good thinking getting a car, getting luggage to train, off train, then to ship, all too hard.  Enjoy last day in Rome, don’t forget Trevi fountain, throw some coins in to ensure you come back.

[fpsphil]

Civitavecchia and Welcome Aboard!

 

After another fun day in Rome and pleasant evening in Civitavecchia we have just stepped onboard the Enchanted Princess.

 

Checking at 11:30 was walk straight on and didn’t need to use the elite/platinum lounge even though we were directed through it after checking in.

 

Our room was ready as soon as we got to deck 15 and we are getting all settled in.

 

Will likely go down for embarkation lunch as we haven’t had a chance to get any food yet this morning. Town was quite hectic with multiple ships in port today.

 

Here is the first day patter as well as information on the holiday in Istanbul and tour changes in regards to that. Also some other pics of the room!

 

 

[fpsphil]

Also of note for those asking. Wi-Fi does not appear to be seeing Starlink as a provider but it is getting Starlink like latency. That might change after we leave port

[AF-1]

Have fun on your trip.  Hope weather is beautiful but not too warm

[pppatpc2]

Bon Voyage!!

[fpsphil]

Here are a couple pics of new Sabatinis and O’Malleys. Love what they did with the bistro space when they converted it over, it looks all brand new and well done, not a simple switch over. The entire deck 7 of the Piazza seems brightened up with more Italian flare

[Tyskie]

9 minutes ago, fpsphil said:

Here are a couple pics of new Sabatinis and O’Malleys. Love what they did with the bistro space when they converted it over, it looks all brand new and well done, not a simple switch over. The entire deck 7 of the Piazza seems brightened up with more Italian flare

 

 

Wow! The whole area does look so much brighter and so pretty.  Thanks for sharing.

[LACruiser88]

You are very lucky, Singer/Guitarist Ella Ryan just boarded with you!  Be sure to catch her performances, she is FANTASTIC!  We are sad that she will be gone by the time we board in November! 😒

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by LACruiser88

[fpsphil]

4 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

You are very lucky, Singer/Guitarist Ella Ryan just boarded with you!  Be sure to catch her performances, she is FANTASTIC!  We are sad that she will be gone by the time we board in November! 😒

 

 

 

 

 

We will check her out tomorrow night!

Wi-Fi is horrendous tonight not sure if it’s just us up in the front but it’s still showing SES on Speedtest

 

Here is tomorrows patters. We are off to Pomeii, Sorento, and Cheese tasting at 8 tommorow

[Hazelnut1106]

I was on the Enchanted Princess for 21 days (5/21-6/17) and had no problems with the wi-fi. I was on Deck 9 aft section. I used the internet for texts, email, FaceTime and some google searches with no problems.

[nimiq]

So far your doing a great job keep this thread coming. Very nice of you.

Thanks

Sea ya 

[talkorpi]

Thanks for the great thread! Would you mind getting a photo of the Salty Dog Cafe menu as well as any food you order throughout the cruise? Curious to see the “new items” and what changes were made. 

[fpsphil]

12 hours ago, talkorpi said:

Thanks for the great thread! Would you mind getting a photo of the Salty Dog Cafe menu as well as any food you order throughout the cruise? Curious to see the “new items” and what changes were made. 

I’ll post up the day recap later but grabbed a pic while I was up on deck before sail out. Didn’t look all much different