Enchanted Princess review, June 1 2024 Western Caribbean, with food pics, dailies and more

[Itchy&Scratchy]

I might as well post the rest of the dailies, since I posted the embarkation day daily already. Here they come!

 

Day 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 3

 

 

 

Day 4

 

 

 

Day 5

 

 

 

 

Day 6

 

 

 

Day 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 12 by Itchy&Scratchy

[BamaVol]

12 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we like to try many different entrees and appetizers, but the 13 yo in the party mostly leans towards pastas, pizzas and caesar salads. If my mom doesn't see anything she wants, she orders salmon. We eat chicken at home. 🙂

I am going to post food pics and opinions in a little bit.

My 45 year old son-in-law doesn’t eat pork, seafood or bread in any form whatsoever. No pizza, no hamburger buns, no sandwiches or subs, no pasta.  Nothing fried.  Nothing breaded. Beef, poultry and vegetables. He has a degree in nutrition and exercise science.  I should probably be following his regimen.

 

His 11 year old son is up for trying anything, although a little skeptical about exotic shellfish/seafood. He’s very excited about the menus.

 

His 8 year old daughter lives on pizza and PB&J sandwiches. She will be the hardest to please.

[JamieLogical]

3 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

My 45 year old son-in-law doesn’t eat pork, seafood or bread in any form whatsoever. No pizza, no hamburger buns, no sandwiches or subs, no pasta.  Nothing fried.  Nothing breaded. Beef, poultry and vegetables. He has a degree in nutrition and exercise science.  I should probably be following his regimen.

 

His 11 year old son is up for trying anything, although a little skeptical about exotic shellfish/seafood. He’s very excited about the menus.

 

His 8 year old daughter lives on pizza and PB&J sandwiches. She will be the hardest to please.

 

I imagine Princess has some sort of kid's menu available in the MDRs that the 8-year-old could order from?

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Disembarkation, EZ-check and misc info

 

Other than the two flyers below, we did not receive any info about the teen club schedule. Our 13 yo is not interested anyway, so...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My DH actually won $25 in door prizes. Some lucky guy won a cruise on Enchanted in a balcony cabin (the main prize).

 

 

 

 

EZ Check

 

 

Disembarkation info

 

 

[BamaVol]

4 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I imagine Princess has some sort of kid's menu available in the MDRs that the 8-year-old could order from?

She will sit with us in the MDR but will probably be fed pizza before dinner. She might eat a salad and dessert. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

17 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

His 8 year old daughter lives on pizza and PB&J sandwiches. She will be the hardest to please.

A word of caution:

 

DS tried getting something off the kid's menu on our last Enchanted cruise a couple of years ago and it didn't go well. The pepperoni pizza in MDR was awful, according to him. He really likes the pizza from Slice on Lido deck, though. Chicken nuggies were also a no go.

 

We do try to get him to try different foods on a cruise, and most of the time he is happy to try different pastas (he loved all of the Enchanted pasta dishes), and familiar favorites like potstickers, caesar salad, fruit salad, etc.

7 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

She will sit with us in the MDR but will probably be fed pizza before dinner. She might eat a salad and dessert. 

 

what we did in the past is run by the Slice on the way to MDR and get a couple of slices of pizza for him when there was nothing on the menu that he would agree to try.  That way he still eats with the family, but it's something he likes.

 

Now he always finds something he will agree to. Of course, he gets to look at the menu in advance just in case.

Edited June 12 by Itchy&Scratchy

[BamaVol]

2 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

A word of caution:

 

DS tried getting something off the kid's menu on our last Enchanted cruise a couple of years ago and it didn't go well. The pepperoni pizza in MDR was awful, according to him. He really like the pizza from Slice on Lido deck, though. Chicken nuggies were also a no go.

 

We do try to get him to try different foods on a cruise, and most of the time he is happy to try different pastas (he loved all of the Enchanted pasta dishes), and familiar favorites like potstickers, caesar salad, fruit salad, etc.

what we did in the past is run by the Slice on the way to MDR and get a couple of slices of pizza for him when there was nothing on the menu that he would agree to try. Now he always finds something he will agree to. Of course, he gets to look at the menu in advance just in case.

With my food issues, we will see the next day’s menus at dinner each night. The rest of the family will have an opportunity to look them over. If the majority don’t seem pleased, we can always opt for the buffet. 

[phabric]

On night I didn’t find anything I wanted to eat so ordered off the kid’s menu.

 

They also have vegetarian menu, just ask for it.

Edited June 12 by phabric

[Itchy&Scratchy]

A quick review of our cabins.

 

Three of us were in an inside cabin, B716. All the way aft, quiet, A/C in the cabin worked fine, but the hallway outside and elevator bank area were always super hot.

 

I always wipe hard surfaces in the cabin with lysol wipes, and this time was a good idea.

 

To our surprise, our cabin was ready when we boarded. We left our backpacks in it and also discovered that our safe wasn't closing (we couldn't close the safe door so we could lock it). We told the cabin attendant and he got the supervisor to come out and fix it right away.

 

We always use the upper bunk above my bed because DH is taller. More prone to hitting his head... We bid on a balcony, but the cruise was fully booked, so no luck. We didn't spend much time in the room anyway, but I do love having a balcony to read on and dry our beach attire. Needless to say, none of our stuff dried well until I started using my parents' balcony to hang them up.

 

One annoyance about this room was the hallway light that came on randomly throughout the night. The sensor was taped shut and nobody was even up and walking around. We were all sleeping, when the light would just turn on and blind us.  One of those times all the lights in the cabin came on in the middle of the night, not just the hallway light.

 

A couple of days into the cruise our DS's medallion stopped opening the door, so we had it replaced at Guest Services.

 

The cabin attendant sometimes forgot to give us 3 towels, so we got 2 of everything: hand towels, bath towels and washcloths. He was friendly and we saw him every day. I requested a bar of soap the first day and he supplied it. If you like soap bar, you should bring your own. It's been awhile, so I couldn't remember whether Princess supplied soap or not. 

 

The liquid soap in a pump bottle was very nice and smelled of lavender. We mostly used our own body wash and shampoo. We once again became intimately acquainted with the shower curtain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

My parents' original cabin was inside and next to us, but they won a balcony bid and moved up one deck, but still in the same area, to A622. Thank goodness, they were so close to us. It made it a lot more convenient to meet up.

 

Their cabin was fine, the cabin attendant very nice, but she forgot to provide a bottle of lotion until the last day of the cruise. My mom didn't realize she could ask for it, because she didn't think it was provided.

 

 

 

 

Here are the balcony views from all the angles:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The neighbors kept their balcony light on all the time, which bothered my dad who sometimes slept on the balcony.

 

[Canuker]

I&S: if you could post a daily prog. fro a port day and a sea day that we be so useful.

Canuker.

[canadarocks]

4 minutes ago, Canuker said:

I&S: if you could post a daily prog. fro a port day and a sea day that we be so useful.

Canuker.

Already did. See post #26.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Before I post all the food pics, I am going to quickly mention ports of call.

 

This was our first time in Mahogany Beach in Honduras. We've somehow always ended up in the other port (Coxen Hole?) and went to Infinity Beach Club (not free). This time we docked at Mahogany Bay for a "free beach" day.

 

Hmmmm.  Let me tell you - if you want a lounger in the shade or a lounger in general - get up early, get off the ship early and "reserve" them with towels or bags.  There were two ships in port that day - Enchanted and a Carnival ship. It was bad.

Good grief, I don't remember the last time we were in such crowded situation before. A small beach completely swarmed with people - on the beach and in water. And many of them were smoking everywhere... By the time we got to the beach around 9, it was full. FULL.

 

It was awfully hot and humid that day, so by the time the 10 minute walk to the beach was done and we then searched for a couple of loungers for another 10-15 minutes, I thought I was going to faint or have a heat stroke. I had to drop everything and go into the water, and it cooled me down very nicely.

 

These yellow umbrellas and green shells were for a fee - $30, and they were almost fully sold out by 9 am.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was this busy by 9:30 am

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The walkway through the gardens and the nature trail were lovely. Lots of photo opportunities.

 

We got an airlift "excursion" for my mobility challenged dad and he loved it. The rides are unlimited. You can purchase it with your OBC in advance, or you can pay for it at the kiosk. For those doing it for the first time like us - if you buy it in advance, go to the kiosk, stand in line with everyone who is now paying for theirs, exchange your excursion ticket for an arm band, and then go stand in line for the lift. We didn't know what to do so we went to lift line first, then back to the kiosk, back to lift line, and then back to the kiosk because somebody finally explained it to us.

 

Many people dropped their phones and other belongings into the water as they were riding it, so please - keep everything secure. A guy dropped his phone into the bay right in front of us.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

We haven't been to Costa Maya since before the pandemic, so we didn't know what to expect, since everything has changed so much in other ports.

 

We chose to go back to Blue Kay beach as before.

 

They no longer charge $12 pp as a cover fee, they just want you to buy food and/or drinks. It would have cost us $60 for 5 people in the past, but would have included 10 drinks. 

This time food and drinks were $46 and I added $5-6 grats. They give you an arm band for bathroom use. The bathroom is still questionable, but usable.

 

Chicken tacos and chicken burrito were below average to average, but edible. Mango daiquiri was awful (it had powder consistency, as if the flavored powder didn't dissolve).  Pineapple juice was bad (unsweetened and powdery). I'd stick with canned/bottled drinks (beer and sodas) if I were you - they were standard.

 

We got there before 10 am, so we had pretty much any available chaise to choose from. 

Some had a matt on top, some didn't. We picked the ones with matts and covered them with cruise beach towels, and all was good. I was surprised some people chose to sit directly on the wooden loungers...

 

Some more people showed up later, but it didn't get awfully busy. Several large parties have arrived throughout the entire time we were there, but I am not sure what happened to all those people. It didn't look like they stayed long. Maybe, they had a separate area for themselves.

 

There was natural shade and shade from wooden roofs. The place didn't change much, except for adding many more chaises, tightly packed together in rows.

 

The water was clear but had some of that prickly seaweed in it. Easily ignored. Water entrance was rough - lots of broken shells and rocks, so I'd recommend water shoes if you have sensitive feet. I do. There were some rocks in the water, but once you are a couple of yards into the water, the floor is sandy. We spent most of our time in the water and that's exactly what we like.

 

There were a lot of boat tours "parking" very close to us, which was at times stinky and unnerving, since they passed very close to us. All in all, not too troublesome.

 

There were many vendors walking by and offering stuff, but I am sure it's like that everywhere.

 

BEWARE of some of the "taxi" drivers at the port. One of them asked if we needed a taxi, we said - yes, to Blue Kay. He started telling us that BK now charges $90/pp (!!!) and was all inclusive and belonged to the cruise line. What? None of that made sense. He said he'd take us to a different beach club for only $20 pp, which had bathrooms and shade. We insisted on BK, so he lost interest immediately and sent us towards real taxis which are just outside the port gate. Most of them are large vans and hold 6+ people. It's $4 pp to Mahahual beaches. On the way back the staff called a taxi for us (5 people) and some other folks.

 

The pier walk was super long and very very hot and tiring. There was no trolly service in the morning.  Once you enter the port, you can use the shortcut through the gelato store. Take a photo with flamingos, and after the flamingos you will see the gelato store. The taxis are outside of the port entrance. We were all sweaty and miserable by the time we got to the taxi stand...

 

There was a trolly in the afternoon, running the length of the pier back to the ship for a tip.

 

There were 3 ships in this port: Enchanted Princess, Harmony of the Seas and NCL Breakaway, so all three - quite sizable.

 

Let me know if you have any questions. We have the same itinerary next year and wouldn't mind going to Blue Kay again, but we'll stick to ready made drinks. Pre-pandemic the drinks were great, but not anymore. New management...

 

Blue Kay - good for swimming and lounging, but, perhaps, not for food or specialty drinks anymore.

 

right

 

 

 

 

 

 

middle

 

 

this is my kid swimming. It was shallow.

 

 

 

 

the man in the middle sleeping on the lounger is my dad. We had 5 of them in a row in a shady area.

 

 

our loungers are right behind these:

 

left:

 

 

 

 

the longest pier in our cruising history: you can see the trolly all the way back. It runs from that spot to the ships.

 

 

 

[555]

37 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

This was our first time in Mahogany Beach in Honduras. We've somehow always ended up in the other port (Coxen Hole?) and went to Infinity Beach Club (not free). This time we docked at Mahogany Bay for a "free beach" day.

 

Hmmmm.  Let me tell you - if you want a lounger in the shade or a lounger in general - get up early, get off the ship early and "reserve" them with towels or bags.  There were two ships in port that day - Enchanted and a Carnival ship. It was bad.

I believe Carnival is the one who developed that beach. Every time we've been there a Carnival ship has already arrive in the early morning & we've arrived around mid morning which meant all the lounge chairs in the shade were taken. You might find a broken one here or there. 

No matter how quick you get to the beach, it'll be to late for a decent seat.

It is a nice beach (much better than Princess Cays by far).

[Itchy&Scratchy]

23 minutes ago, 555 said:

It is a nice beach (much better than Princess Cays by far).

it's nice, but we couldn't enjoy it fully because it's was too small for 2 ships and too crowded. Princess Cay hosts one ship at a time and is much bigger.  Yes, we have to tender to it, but the place is much bigger and now has umbrellas for rent.

 

My teen is begging me not to go to the same beach next year.  He doesn't like crowds.

[555]

49 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

it's nice, but we couldn't enjoy it fully because it's was too small for 2 ships and too crowded.

We're scheduled for another stop there later this year and don't arrive until 10 AM. I haven't checked but I'll almost bet a Carnival ship will be there at the same time and probably arrive before us. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Cozumel

 

We were docked in Puerta Maya this time, so the taxi for 5 people was $60 each way to Playa Palancar, our go to beach location in Cozumel. While the taxi was more expensive, to my surprise we didn't have to wait for an hour in a very long taxi line like we did during our last visit to Cozumel at a different port (whichever one MSC docked at). We walked out and the taxi was immediately available to us.

 

Playa Palancar now charges $20 entrance fee per person.  At least this time they gave us a tiny welcome drink which didn't taste like it had any alcohol in it and didn't give us any buzz.  A little steep for a beach day, IMHO. However, DH is absolutely enamored with this beach club due to its beautiful beach and waterline.  I used to like it because it was inexpensive, pay as you go, with a nice sandy beach for the kid (when he used to play in the sand) with umbrellas and loungers. I still like it because it's exactly what we want in terms of a beach break. You also get loungers and umbrellas for the fee. Since we got there early enough, I think we were first to arrive, so we got to choose from all the loungers.

 

These photos are from a couple of years ago, but it still looks the same. Still no wifi.

 

 

Large margaritas and daiquiries are $12-17, and non-alcoholic ones are $7. Last time I got a mango daiquiri, DH got a mango-strawberry margarita, and DS got a mango/strawberry smoothie.  Yummy as always.

 

This time we were a bit hungry, so we ordered fish tacos for me, chicken tacos for the DS and cheese nachos for DH, and the food was actually good. $9-12 each. And unlike in Costa Maya, there were 3 tacos per order (in Costa Maya - 2 tacos per order).

 

Do not touch the wildlife, unless you want to get expensive rabies shots. Plus, the racoons and cats on the premises looked very sickly this time and had what looked like ringworm or a similar dermatological affliction.

Edited June 13 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Belize

 

We haven't been in Belize since our very first cruise back in 2009. We did cave tubing that time, and after some ports of call research, we decided to do it again. Of course, my dad is in no shape to walk through the jungle, so we left him on the ship.

 

We bought the tour through Butts Up, saving $10 pp by booking a couple of weeks in advance. So, the price for cave tubing alone was $40 pp, which included a small lunch at the end. All in all, totally worth the money. They also had tours which included both ziplining and cave tubing, but it's for healthy and fit people, which we are most definitely not.

 

Their email instructions differed from the order confirmation, so we split the difference and decided to show up at 8:30 am. Ship arrived at 7 local time.

 

I got the tender tickets on my way to breakfast (ended up with group 7), so when we were done with breakfast and ready to get on the tender boat, we were waved right onto the tender. It departed soon after, and we were onshore at exactly 8:30. It took another 5 minutes to find and follow the signs to Terminal 1 exit.  We were taken to the bus (a short walk) right away, but told that we were still waiting for another group. We took a picture with the Belize sign and got on the bus, which departed immediately. I was a bit surprised, but we just drove around town for about 15 minutes, accompanied by an interesting narration and arrived back in port to pick up the group we were waiting for.

 

After an hour long drive, full of music and instructions, we finally arrived at the preserve. Do apply sunblock to exposed parts in advance. Do wear a hat if you are pale/burn easily and don't want skin cancer.  You can tuck the hat into your swimsuit or shirt later. The tour guides said that the jungle walk was going to be completely in the shade and that we would only get some sun at the end of the tour, and not to bring any hats. NOT TRUE!  The entire walk was in the sun. It was awfully hot and sunny, and the air was full of smoke due to wildfires. At least we didn't have to haul our own tubes on the walk, only helmets and life vests. When  you get your helmet, make sure it fits your head.  Oh, and, apparently, they are required to provide you with a helmet, but you are not required to wear it while tubing.

 

If you want a fun, talkative, "crazy" guide for your tubing experience, do not pick Felix. If you are ok with a quiet guide with minimum talk, Felix is the guide for you. We didn't get to pick, though, and simply went with whatever guide took our tubes down the river.

 

The cave tubing was a very good excursion. At the end you float a little through the jungle, and it's just so beautiful and serene... 

 

I brought my phone in one of those water-proof pockets, and unfortunately it overheated once we got out of the caves and floated through the jungle in full sun. No worries, it just had to shut down, but it still works.

 

After the tubing part, we drove for a couple of minutes to a different location and had a small lunch - a small chicken tamale per person. Small by American and cruise standards, and not small by any other standards.  The tamale was very flavorful and not too spicy. Even my mom could eat it.  My kid ate his as well (he is not very open to trying new things) and liked it.  They warn you to let your picky eaters try YOUR tamale first before unwrapping their own, because if they don't like it, they can exchange their unopened tamale for a more bland food choice. Maybe, chips and guac?  They also had nice hot sauce available for your tamales, and my DH and other people really liked it.

 

You can bring your drinks with you (we brought water and some coke in a Contigo tumbler) or you can buy them - local Fanta and Coke/Sprite and some beers.

 

We then drove back to the port and arrived way before the last tender boat was scheduled to depart. We had a great time, and for my mom it was a once in a lifetime experience.

 

Some photos from the jungle part of the tubing. Please understand that all the photos were taken "blindly" since it was so bright outside, I couldn't see anything on my phone screen. 

 

 

 

 

 

as we are exiting the caves

Edited June 13 by Itchy&Scratchy

[canadarocks]

Fabulous review so far! Eagerly waiting for Food Porn and Reviews! 😁

[PMGS247]

Enjoying the review.  A couple comments on the check-in process...

1. Platinum priority embarkation doesn't have any impact on the security screening or the blue lane/green lane.  Only after you've gone through security screening and medallion pickup and/or check-in with medallion will you experience priority boarding in the form of the platinum/elite lounge or if boarding's already begun getting right in line without having to wait as part of a boarding group. You mention someone else going straight through security; I'm very confident there was more to the story as to why it appeared they were able to do that; it wasn't status.

2. Interesting note that blue lane came back to bite you this time.  I watch this topic a lot and this further confirms my perception that while more often than not blue lane is barely any longer, there is more risk of more noticeable delays.  Green lane's always safe from that perspective. If you end up with the premier package again and can get them shipped as part of the package you might as well.  If it doesn't make it in time you just go to blue lane anyway.....nothing lost.

Edited June 13 by PMGS247

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Onto the food!!!! The most important part of sailing with Princess for us is the food.

 

My DH and I were a little disappointed in the offerings this time compared to our Nov 22 Enchanted sailing. Our kid was fine either way. My parents are just happy to cruise.

 

We both felt that the offerings were not as numerous, varied or great. Our biggest disappointment was with the specialty dinner. Prior to this cruise we never tried specialty dining, in part because it's expensive, and in part because MDR and buffet offerings on Princess in general and on Enchanted in particular have always been great.

 

Since we had a Premier package, we all got 2 specialty dinners. Our DS has been on a sushi streak lately and was really looking forward to unlimited sushi (casual dining) on Enchanted, but every time I offered to go to Ocean Terrace, he refused to go. Just didn't feel like it, I guess.

 

So, on our first night I managed to score a reservation at the Catch by Rudi for all 5 of us.

We had a lovely dinner, but neither my DH, nor DS liked their catch of the day entree (red snapper). Well, it was expected in DS's case, because he doesn't like seafood and didn't even want to go to the Catch by Rudi, but I was surprised that DH was very disappointed in his chosen entree. He loves fish and makes great fish dishes at home.

 

Our waiter was Filip, who was wonderful and attentive.

 

 

Free prosecco was brought out for all of us (except the kid).

 

This spread was brought out before the appetizers, and it was delicious: you are supposed to mix it all together and then spread it on a baguette.

 

 

We really loved our appetizers.

4 of us ordered the crabcakes and loved it (a little spicy):

 

Mom ordered Tale of Citrus and loved it as well:

 

For the main course, I ordered Triple S Platter and enjoyed it:

 

 

 

I must say that it looked rather unusual with that creature hanging above the plate:

 

 

 

My mom ordered Sole ala Minute and loved it, especially the presentation and the fileting by the table:

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

DH, DS and my dad ordered the Catch of the day. Dad gobbled it up (he'll eat anything, so...), but DH and DS didn't like theirs. I don't even remember who ate DS's red snapper.

 

 

Filip also brought out all of the side dishes to share:

 

 

 

Fingerling potatoes were fabulous, everybody really liked ratatouille as well (I didn't try it), buck choy was good (it's not even on the menu), parmesan fries were great, but all of us thought the cauliflower puree was weird. It didn't taste good (nothing like cauliflower which the whole family loves) and the consistency was rather thin.

 

The fancy dessert was the highlight of everyone's experience:

 

Mom and I ordered a lovely strawberry Pavlova: my mom super-duper loves meringue

 

 

We ordered Berries for dad:

 

 

DH had a fantastic and gargantuan Berry Composition souffle, and everybody got to try a bit of it, and there was still so much of it left: it's huge!

 

 

 

 

and DS got a wonderful Rudi's Artistic face:

 

Edited June 13 by Itchy&Scratchy

[canadarocks]

Thanks so much for these! I am a huge lover of pavlova and that one looks delicious! Sorry the restaurant wasn’t a hit overall though. 
 

And I laughed when I read about your DS loving sushi, but never wanting to go to Ocean Terrace! Teenagers… right? 😆

[BamaVol]

I can’t imagine not liking a snapper dish.  I wonder what was wrong.