Enchanted review 4/20-4/27. Big ship with small ship feel and we loved it!

[mistyPA]

We have cruised more than 20 times and this was our 8th Princess cruise and by far one of the best. Princess use to use the big ship with small ship feel slogan which is what attracted us to the cruise line and we were able to capture that feeling completely on this cruise.

 

Boarding was among the easiest. We were a group of 7 and all but one of us had the Medallion mailed to us, so we thought we would be separated and would have to meet up on the ship, however, when we were coming around to board the ship, we all met up which was great. Once we boarded, we had to try to get all of us on an excursion to St. Johns which went seamlessly. Originally, we intended to try to get a spot in the Sanctuary, however, because this was a back to back cruise there was no chance we could secure a spot so we didn't even try, which worked out fine as we used the Retreat Pool and that was great. We really enjoyed it.

 

We headed to main deck for pizza and burgers and they were great as always. We were able to get our first drinks and sat there watching "The Muster" which was so easy. After watching, we went to our muster station had our Medallion's scanned then made our way to our rooms which were ready. Everyone's bags were delivered except for ours which was a bit of a bummer, but didn't deter us. We had our bathing suits on already so we returned to main deck and started the relaxing!

 

I returned to our rooms around 3 to see if bags had arrived and still none, but met our cabin steward Jun who was great. I asked him to open all the partitions between our rooms, he was a bit hesitant but I reassured him it would be ok, so he accommodated my request and made everyone happy. We had perhaps the longest balcony on the ship with the partitions being opened over a 5 cabin span and the view was great. We were able to sit back and really enjoy the expansive view. He assured me he would bring our bags to our rooms once they arrived, which he did. When I returned around 5 they were there.

 

When we boarded, we all upgraded to Premier as we all had a large amount of money in obc, so we figured we would take advantage of the Premier package. However, because we had the obc we didn't book any specialty restaurants prior to sailing. We had heard so much about Rudi's we decided to try it and went the first night and had no problem getting a table for 7 at 6pm. Seafood is their specialty, we found the seafood to be ok, but to be fair we are from one of the largest fishing ports in the country, so we know exceptional seafood especially what scallops should taste like. I did have the steak and that was the best meal of the cruise for me. We then started our expedition to secure a 2nd specialty restaurant. We stopped by Crown Grill and were told they were booked the remainder of the cruise so no. We stopped by Sabatini's and after some discussion we were able to secure a reservation for the day we were in St. Thomas, but we would have to go at 5 we said that would be ok. However, the next day I was looking at the app and found the reservation was made for the San Juan day, we would not have agreed to that as we went on a food tour in San Juan so we likely would not have been that hungry. That evening while walking around I stopped by Sabatini's to say an error occurred and request it to be changed to St. Thomas day. Well, I don't know what happened but he maitre d said to me stop saying a mistake was made and became a bit aggravated with the whole thing. In the end, he said he would do whatever we wanted to accommodate us but it was all just too weird so we decided to not dine there. This was the only blemish on the trip.

 

We tried a few bars for our before dinner drinks and we found the Crown Bar (shout our to Olga and Aeron) to be the best, so while having a drink on St. Thomas day we decided to ask if we could get the big table in the corner for dinner and the maitre d(shout out to Giovanni) said if we could be finished in 2 hours we could do it. We agreed to be finished in 2 hours and had a very good dinner with excellent service(shout out to Alexis and assistant). We were very appreciative of the accommodation and had an enjoyable dining experience. 

 

We dined at GiGi's once and service and food were great. We dined at the Pub, this was a bit challenging getting a table but one in our party went down at 430 and secured a table for us. We listened to music and enjoyed the food. The other three nights we dined in Santorini's our MDR and food was good. We enjoyed the escargot which is a favorite for many of us.

 

We did 2 excursions through Princess and both went well. The Food and History Tour in San Juan was very good. Carmen was a wealth of information with regards to food and history of San Juan and our tour guide was fabulous. Well worth it and if you ever stop in San Juan you may want to try this excursion. We did get caught in the rain, but nature does nature's thing.

 

Cabin was great. Earlier I said there was one blemish on the cruise, I did misspeak the other was that light that comes on when going to the bathroom at night. I think the concept is great, but wow is it bright. 

 

Disembarking was the easiest. We walked down with our bags to disembark around 7, scanned our Medalliions and walked out without any glitches. Scanned our faces and walked to the taxi area. We were able to get a taxi that took all of us to airport.

 

If one bright light and one maitre d that may have been overextended are the only things to complain about on a 7 day cruise, they are not significant in any way. The cruise was wonderful. Our friends were exceptional. We never felt crowded or overwhelmed by the number of people on the ship. We encountered so many wonderful staff on board, who helped to make the trip wonderful. We were very appreciative of the care we were given. So much so we booked the 10 day Martinique cruise next year.

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

 

[Lady Arwen]

Thanks for sharing your experience on Enchanted.  We’ll be sailing on her in August and looking forward to it so much.  We pre purchased the Premier package and were able to book our two complimentary Specialty Restaurants and 5 more paid in advance reservations without a problem.  We didn’t want to be disappointed waiting until we board to make reservations.

 

 We’re hoping to book the Sanctuary for our entire voyage, but you just never know how successful you’ll be.  Sounds like you enjoyed the Retreat pool, which is a great option.  It may be our option, too!   We booked one of the far forward cabins with a huge balcony just in case.

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise and I wish you many more lovely days at sea.

[PacnGoNow]

Great review!  We too, love the Enchanted and her crew is awesome!

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, mistyPA said:

Cabin was great. Earlier I said there was one blemish on the cruise, I did misspeak the other was that light that comes on when going to the bathroom at night. I think the concept is great, but wow is it bright. 

people put tape over the sensor to avoid setting it off during the night. Enchanted didn't have that annoying light back in 2022.

I am so glad you enjoyed your cruise! We'll be on Enchanted in 3 weeks. 🙂

Edited May 12 by Itchy&Scratchy

[mistyPA]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

people put tape over the sensor to avoid setting it off during the night. Enchanted didn't have that annoying light back in 2022.

I am so glad you enjoyed your cruise! We'll be on Enchanted in 3 weeks. 🙂

Ah, that's a good idea. I will be doing that next year for sure. Thanks for the info. 

 

Hope your cruise is as wonderful as ours was, ENJOY!!

[Host CJSKIDS]

2 hours ago, mistyPA said:

Ah, that's a good idea. I will be doing that next year for sure. Thanks for the info. 

 

Hope your cruise is as wonderful as ours was, ENJOY!!

 

I would have shared my blue painter's tape that I had with me had I known.  Glad to hear you enjoyed the sailing and sorry we didn't get a chance to meet. 

[Host CJSKIDS]

5 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Thanks for sharing your experience on Enchanted.  We’ll be sailing on her in August and looking forward to it so much.  We pre purchased the Premier package and were able to book our two complimentary Specialty Restaurants and 5 more paid in advance reservations without a problem.  We didn’t want to be disappointed waiting until we board to make reservations.

 

 We’re hoping to book the Sanctuary for our entire voyage, but you just never know how successful you’ll be.  Sounds like you enjoyed the Retreat pool, which is a great option.  It may be our option, too!   We booked one of the far forward cabins with a huge balcony just in case.

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise and I wish you many more lovely days at sea.

 

I hope you are able to get the Sanctuary because the team up there was one of the best and we loved every moment spent relaxing there. 

[Lady Arwen]

5 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

I hope you are able to get the Sanctuary because the team up there was one of the best and we loved every moment spent relaxing there. 

That’s awesome to hear!  Fingers crossed for us, too……cannot wait!

[mistyPA]

2 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

I would have shared my blue painter's tape that I had with me had I known.  Glad to hear you enjoyed the sailing and sorry we didn't get a chance to meet. 

Yes sorry we didn't meet. It's funny when I am preparing for these cruises I have every intent on getting out there and meeting but then once I get on board it's like my mind turns to jello and can't coordinate. It's too bad, I am sure it would have been wonderful and I certainly would have appreciated the painter's tape. Perhaps another time. 

 

Hope the cruise was as enjoying for you as it was for my group!

 

Take Care

[Host CJSKIDS]

1 hour ago, mistyPA said:

Yes sorry we didn't meet. It's funny when I am preparing for these cruises I have every intent on getting out there and meeting but then once I get on board it's like my mind turns to jello and can't coordinate. It's too bad, I am sure it would have been wonderful and I certainly would have appreciated the painter's tape. Perhaps another time. 

 

Hope the cruise was as enjoying for you as it was for my group!

 

Take Care

 

I totally understand. Someone on the sailing was kind enough to invite me for a drink and I didn't make it with the unexpected issue of our cabin flooding due to a burst pipe and then having to pack up and change cabins late one night. That really stunk but I rebounded and didn't allow it to ruin my cruise. As they say, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! 

 

We did have a wonderful cruise besides that.  Met some people from my hometown who are now good friends and my husband and I had so much fun with Kerrie and her daughter Erin  (We've gotten together since at home.) Had some great meals, great cocktails, really enjoyed the Sanctuary and met some great crew members like we always do. 

 

I purchased my FCD on day 2 so must have been enjoying myself.

 

Have fun planning your next sailing and maybe our paths will cross one day. 

[BamaVol]

Great review. We will be boarding her 6/15 with a party of 6.

 

Which MDR were you dining in?  I like the sound of that corner table.

Edited May 13 by BamaVol

[555]

On 5/12/2024 at 8:47 AM, mistyPA said:

I returned to our rooms around 3 to see if bags had arrived and still none

That's why we always carry our bags on the ship with us. We like to unpack immediately after lunch and sometimes they're a little slow with the bags.

The Enchanted is definitely one of their better ships. 

[RNRcruisers]

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for the review!

 

[Canuker]

OP: where did you encounter US customs & immigration, please?

Was it PR or was it FL?

You mention disembarkation was "the easiest", so I'm guessing C&I was at PR.

Was the interview on land or while on board?

[mtnesterz]

1 hour ago, Canuker said:

OP: where did you encounter US customs & immigration, please?

Was it PR or was it FL?

You mention disembarkation was "the easiest", so I'm guessing C&I was at PR.

Was the interview on land or while on board?

We were also on this sailing and will answer. We also stayed on for a B2B the following week and can add info should you ever choose to do the same.

Immigration took place back at Ft. Lauderdale. Yes, the first port was at Princess Cay, Bahamas, before PR. For those at terminal debarkation there was no interview. There are several tablets mounted on poles. A facial recognition scan, and that was that. The lines move quite fast. 

For those of us on a B2B, we got off the ship, all 430 of us, a facial recognition and sat in a waiting room for, maybe half an hour, then reboarded. A week later we disembarked at Ft Lauderdale and just the facial scan. They tell you to have your passport handy in case there's a glitch, but was not needed.

Edited May 13 by mtnesterz

[Sailor75]

On the Enchanted right now; where else can you hear Sweet Caroline at the captain's champagne waterfall in the atrium while eating at Sabatini's?

[mistyPA]

47 minutes ago, Sailor75 said:

On the Enchanted right now; where else can you hear Sweet Caroline at the captain's champagne waterfall in the atrium while eating at Sabatini's?

At the 7th inning stretch at a Boston Red Sox game...lol Fenway goers will understand OR on Enchanted. 

 

Hope you are have a wonderful vacation!!!

[mistyPA]

22 hours ago, BamaVol said:

Great review. We will be boarding her 6/15 with a party of 6.

 

Which MDR were you dining in?  I like the sound of that corner table.

The corner table was at the Crown Grill, when sitting in the bar if you look at the restaurant in the far left corner is a large table for 8 all by itself. We were sitting in the bar and noticed that no one was sitting there so my aunt went over and asked if we could get a table. He was trying to get us a table and was thinking of breaking the party into 4 and 3 but then my aunt said what about that table and he said it was reserved for 8pm. It was about 545 and he said we could have it if we could be done in 2 hours and we said we could and we did and everything worked out well for everyone. We thanked him well 😉and he was very appreciative. It turned out to be a lovely dining experience and more than worth the thanking😉.

 

We dined in Santorini's which was lovely. We had a large table near the window.

[ecs66]

On 5/12/2024 at 8:47 AM, mistyPA said:

We had perhaps the longest balcony on the ship with the partitions being opened over a 5 cabin span and the view was great.

That's one question we have about Enchanted.  We travel with another couple, and when we cruised on Royal, the entire partition opened, leaving one large balcony.  On other ships, there's only been a measly Hobbit door to squish through between balconies, and was not good for socializing.

 

We'll be on Enchanted Dec. 6, and have aft-facing cabins on Riviera.  I'm hoping this will be the full partition opening.

[mistyPA]

On 5/19/2024 at 3:21 PM, ecs66 said:

That's one question we have about Enchanted.  We travel with another couple, and when we cruised on Royal, the entire partition opened, leaving one large balcony.  On other ships, there's only been a measly Hobbit door to squish through between balconies, and was not good for socializing.

 

We'll be on Enchanted Dec. 6, and have aft-facing cabins on Riviera.  I'm hoping this will be the full partition opening.

We were port side but the partitions were wide open, Could walk from one end to the other without any problems, but can't speak to aft facing cabins.

 

[ecs66]

12 hours ago, mistyPA said:

We were port side but the partitions were wide open

Good to know.  Thanks so much!  I've been watching some videos of aft-facing, and it looks like that will be the case for us, too.