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

[Itchy&Scratchy]

16 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

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

in the words of my husband it tasted like dirt/mud, not spices

[Itchy&Scratchy]

also forgot to say - Catch by Rudi also had a separate drink menu, but, unfortunately, I didn't snap a photo of it, so I can't remember what drink I ordered. It was super pretty, but I hated it.

 

 

 

 

[canadarocks]

Just now, Itchy&Scratchy said:

in the words of my husband it tasted like dirt/mud, not spices

Oh that sucks. Worthy of a send back for sure, but if you’re anything like me that’s not an easy thing to do. 😩

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Second day MDR dinner

 

 

 

Crabcakes were excellent, as always

 

 

 

We all love gnocchi, especially my DH. So, we all got them. They were good, but not as good as the last time. DH complained that they didn't have enough potato taste, but I am all about the sauce, and it was good. The portion was smaller than I remember.

 

I am very particular about my beef dishes and do not like gravy, jus, sauce, glace, demi-glace or anything else on the beef. I always get it plain and medium. The tenderloin was tender and delicious.

 

 

 

 

The red snapper at MDR was much better than at Rudi's.  To my dismay, Princess chose to serve beans with a LOT of MDR entrees this year. It was strange. And I hate beans. 

 

My parents also opted for always available salmon and it was great:

 

 

 

 

Mmmm, dessert...

 

Dad opted for sugar-free semolina tart and apparently it was pretty good:

 

 

Chocolate hazelnut bar was superb as always. This is my favorite.

 

 

Lychee Rose mousse. I don't know... I didn't taste much lychee which I love.

 

 

peach Melba was yummy:

 

[canadarocks]

Night #2 was a formal night, correct?

Edited June 14 by canadarocks

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Third day MDR dinner

 

I forgot to preface my food review with my usual full disclosure: I am a glutton and love pretty much all food, except for onions, celery, blue cheese and beans.  On cruises I prefer beef and seafood. DH has a more refined palette, he is not a glutton, and on cruises he prefers fish, followed by beef. DS is into familiar favorites, loves pasta and caesar salads.

 

Our favorite restaurant at home is Longhorn. DH also cooks and grills at home, and his dishes are usually mouthwatering.  Please adjust your expectations accordingly. 🙂

 

 

 

Everybody got potstickers and liked them very much. They were just your regular potstickers.

 

 

Crab and corn chowder was good.

 

Mom enjoyed the Asian salad:

 

 

DS loved spaghetti bolognese:

 

Fish and chips were unremarkable, but filling:

 

 

Yummy pasta alfredo is still the best:

 

 

Ribs were fatty, but juicy and flavorful:

 

 

We didn't see any desserts we liked, so we didn't order any.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

6 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

Night #2 was a formal night, correct?

correct. The service was super slow.... it took us over 2 hours to finish dinner, with 20 minute involuntary breaks between dishes.

We got a different waiter for the rest of the cruise, and he was a newbie who was trying very hard, so our dinners lasted 1-1.5 hours, especially when we told him we had a show to catch.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

4th night MDR dinner

 

 

Eggplant Parmesan was very good:

 

 

Seafood antipasto salad was great:

 

Prosciutto and melon salad was wonderful:

 

 

Minestrone soup was good:

 

 

Bellini soup was fabulous:

 

DS had Mama's lasagna and it was wonderful:

 

 

 

Grilled rockfish was delicious:

 

 

DH also opted for the $19 filet mignon, which was "very good" according to him, and amazing according to me (I had a bite and it melted in my mouth, and the sauce was actually really good, probably, because it was mushroomy, and I love mushrooms). 

 

 

I opted for the free striploin steak, sans chianti sauce, but it would have been better if it hadn't been served with beans. Ugh. I should have gotten the filet mignon.

 

 

Sauteed shrimp and scallops were amazing!

 

 

 Tiramisu was great!

 

 

But the lemon meringue cheesecake was better (as good as the last time):

 

I hated the amaretto creme brulee (I shouldn't have ordered it because I don't like almond flavor, so somebody else might find it delish):

 

and the sugar free mochaccino semi-freddo was very good:

 

[robbinsca]

Great job on the review. We had a couple of dining issues that you didn’t face, but we aren’t Platinum and had Plus rather than Premiere.

 

#1- the Specialty Dining reservation I made prior to the cruise was dropped from the system. Since I (mistakenly) didn’t check on it until Day #2 every reservation in every Specialty Dining spot was taken. We love to treat ourselves once a cruise to SD so it was a big disappointment. I was really looking forward to a Porterhouse in Crown Grill.

 

#2- casual dining hours are difficult to match up. We tried to get in to Gigi’s one night but have up since the wait was going to be 30 minutes plus. O’Malleys only served a couple hours per day.

 

#3- we really enjoy sharing a table with strangers. It gives DW a chance to listen to someone other than me. The Amalfi staff did everything they could to discourage us from doing so. Celebrity and RCCL do a much better job of accommodating us in this pleasure. 
 

Agree with your statement about slow service in the MDR. We sat for 30 minutes one night before our order was even taken. Another night I timed it- it was 1 hour and 20 minutes from the time we were seated until our entree was served. Sitting by ourselves that evening didn’t provide us with any distraction and we really noticed how rushed the waiters seemed, but that food wasn’t coming out. It seemed like they had too many assigned tables.

 

We absolutely agree on the Costa Maya pier walk. We missed the trolley so we walked it. DW literally was on the verge of heat stroke when we arrived back at the ship. We went directly to the Buffet and got multiple glasses of ice water into her!

 

Suggestion for your family next time in Roatan….. The ship’s Snorkeling adventure out on the catamaran was very pleasant. DS could be interested in doing that, I know kids would have jumped at the chance. It was a nice lazy 45 minutes or so in the water plus a lunch and drinks.

 

Carry on…..🤓

 

 

[wallyj]

30 minutes ago, robbinsca said:

Great job on the review. We had a couple of dining issues that you didn’t face, but we aren’t Platinum and had Plus rather than Premiere.

 

 

#2- casual dining hours are difficult to match up. We tried to get in to Gigi’s one night but have up since the wait was going to be 30 minutes plus. O’Malleys only served a couple hours per day.

 

 

O’Malleys serves food from 5:30-9 every day and usually 12-1:30 on sea days. Having limited space, passengers will go early to save seats and have a drink or two before food service is available. Some venues require a little pre planning if you want to partake and it sounds like you were caught off guard.

 

I was on the Enchanted May4-18. I had the premier package and was able to dine at O’Malleys and Ocean Terrace practically everyday, sometimes twice a day, as I really enjoyed the chicken wings and onion rings at O’Malleys. My first week on the ship, the onion ring tower app consisted of frozen type reconstituted onion rings, late into the 2nd week, real onions were being served and the portion was reduced from the full tower to 6 great real onion rings.

 

I feel many passengers towards the end of the cruise realize they need to use their casual dining credits thus cause the longer waits/lines. On my sailing, I never had a very long wait,  if any,  to dine at Gigi’s. Went during lunch, and dinner times.

[JamieLogical]

9 hours ago, wallyj said:

O’Malleys serves food from 5:30-9 every day and usually 12-1:30 on sea days. Having limited space, passengers will go early to save seats and have a drink or two before food service is available. Some venues require a little pre planning if you want to partake and it sounds like you were caught off guard.

 

I was on the Enchanted May4-18. I had the premier package and was able to dine at O’Malleys and Ocean Terrace practically everyday, sometimes twice a day, as I really enjoyed the chicken wings and onion rings at O’Malleys. My first week on the ship, the onion ring tower app consisted of frozen type reconstituted onion rings, late into the 2nd week, real onions were being served and the portion was reduced from the full tower to 6 great real onion rings.

 

I feel many passengers towards the end of the cruise realize they need to use their casual dining credits thus cause the longer waits/lines. On my sailing, I never had a very long wait,  if any,  to dine at Gigi’s. Went during lunch, and dinner times.

 

That was my experience on the May 4 sailing as well. We only had two sea days, but were able to dine at O'Malley's for lunch both times, by hanging out there before they started serving lunch so we already had a table when lunch started. We only had on dinner at Ocean Terrace, but did not have to wait for a table. We did have to wait what seemed like a long time for our food, especially since it's not cooked! We dined at Gigi's many times for both lunch and dinner. Never a wait for a table for either meal.

[Canuker]

On 6/12/2024 at 9:47 PM, canadarocks said:

Already did. See post #26.

Thanks I&S. Very helpful material.

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

10 hours ago, robbinsca said:

#2- casual dining hours are difficult to match up. We tried to get in to Gigi’s one night but have up since the wait was going to be 30 minutes plus. O’Malleys only served a couple hours per day.

we never even got to it on this cruise. Wanted to go to O'Malleys but the line was pretty long every time, and we would have wanted it for lunch only. We did get some interesting drinks at that bar, which I will cover later.

 

Long lines at Gigi's as well, but nobody wanted to go there anyway. On port days we didn't need lunch because we were off the ship having fun, and there were only 2 sea days, and just not enough time in them to fit all the eating venues into. 🙂 It's ok, though. We never ate at Gigi/Alfredo's when it was free.

 

10 hours ago, wallyj said:

I had the premier package and was able to dine at O’Malleys and Ocean Terrace practically everyday, sometimes twice a day

 

sounds like you stayed on the ship on port days. Unless we have a dinner at 5 at one of them  and a late dinner at 9 at another, there is no way we could eat there twice a day on port days. We didn't even manage once a day because we eat dinners at MDR.

 

10 hours ago, robbinsca said:

#3- we really enjoy sharing a table with strangers. It gives DW a chance to listen to someone other than me. The Amalfi staff did everything they could to discourage us from doing so. Celebrity and RCCL do a much better job of accommodating us in this pleasure. 

 

we don't want to share when there are 5 of us, because my parents don't speak English and would feel completely left out if we were seated with English speaking strangers. When there are 3 of us, we wouldn't mind sharing a table with someone else, since we all speak English. But with MTD, it's kind of difficult to arrive at the same time with another party, also willing to share...

 

And sometimes sharing a table goes comically wrong. Many years ago

an elderly lady dominated the conversation at a table for 10 for the entire dinner, not letting anyone else get a word in... The rest of the tablemates immediately asked for a reassignment when dinner ended.

 

10 hours ago, robbinsca said:

We sat for 30 minutes one night before our order was even taken. Another night I timed it- it was 1 hour and 20 minutes from the time we were seated until our entree was served.

 

that's awful. It was like that for us in 2022 on Enchanted - we somehow ended up at the same table every night, and the service was horribly slow. We even involved the dining room manager.

 

10 hours ago, robbinsca said:

Suggestion for your family next time in Roatan….. The ship’s Snorkeling adventure out on the catamaran was very pleasant.

thank you! We have to get my DH a prescription mask or contacts, otherwise, he is pretty blind without his glasses. We've been thinking about doing that for a while, just never got around to ordering them.

Edited June 14 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Day 5 dinner MDR

This was by far the best dinner of the week. Well, for me personally. 🙂

 

 

Seafood Vol-Au-Vent was flaky, creamy and delicious:

 

 

 

This was Oxtail soup! I didn't realize it would arrive encrusted in bread, although "En Croute" should have been a hint. Dad really liked it. And it was an unusual presentation. 🙂 

 

A salad is a salad. Mom liked it.

 

 

Now, the STAR of the show! My absolute favorite twice baked goat cheese souffle! It used to be an appetizer, but now it's an entree. Weird, because the size is the same, and since they are small, I ordered two. OMG! Still the best.

My parents also had one each and loved it.

 

 

 

Mom also had salmon (very good as always):

 

And dad had the rack of lamb, which was amazing (if you like lamb): 

 

 

DH really enjoyed his beef wellington:

 

 

DS loved Fettuccine Alfredo (and what's not to love? it's great!):

 

 

and I also ordered the pasta alla carbonara special of the day, but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the flavor: it had an unusual flavor, which is hard to describe, but it was neither the cream and bacon flavor, nor egg and bacon flavor. I didn't even finish it... 

 

 

 

Oddly enough, DS didn't like the chocoholic cheesecake, so we finished it for him.

 

 

French vanilla creme brulee was scrumptious: 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Gala dinner, 6th night, MDR

 

Would definitely recommend. 🙂

 

 

 

Cured salmon appetizer was terrific:  an amazing combination of textures and tastes. Should have had two. 🙂

 

 

I also had Escargot, but didn't take a pic. I like Celebrity's and RCI's escargot better - theirs is more like butter, garlic and parsley, and Princess has more spices in theirs, which I like less.

 

I didn't like the seafood bisque, most likely because of the tomato base. I don't like tomato sauces or soups. Other than that, it was good. 

 

DS had the ravioli and they were simple, but very good:

 

DH had the duck and it was ok: it definitely looked better than last time

 

 

 

DH also ordered the surf and turf, and the funny man that he is, he asked for it without the lobster.... Lol. I said - absolutely not, I will eat his lobster. 🙂 There is a $10 charge for an additional steak/lobster.

 

Sooo... this was his:

 

 

and this was mine:

 

 

 

 

My parents both had the snapper and the mushroom crepes, which were all amazing:

 

 

I also had the crepes, and yes, they were definitely wonderful.

 

Dad enjoyed his sugar free cherry trifle:

 

 

And DH ordered a pistachio dome:

 

 

 

and then we went to the buffet to have Nutella crepes. 🙂 Which are the best, but weren't offered every night. Why, Princess? Why???? Please, we beg you - every day!

[BamaVol]

How tough was the strip loin?  We’ve each tried it and both times it was nearly impossible to cut. 
 

are you getting to entertainment next? We board tomorrow and I’m looking for clues and hints on where to go after dinner.

 

And thank you for such a thorough review.

[EllieinNJ]

We were on the Enchanted repo from NY to FL in Nov. 2022 and again booked it this year in Nov.  We usually like to travel on ships we hadn't been on before so wasn't so excited but after seeing your pics of the delicious looking food am starting to look forward to it.  We have recently been doing mostly Carnival because when they had their big anniversary we were able to book four cruises at half price.  And last year we did one MSC.  The food on Carnival was just okay and the food on MSC was barely edible.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, BamaVol said:

How tough was the strip loin?  We’ve each tried it and both times it was nearly impossible to cut. 

it was not impossible to cut, but it was not exactly great. Very average. I could chew through it, but it was a little more well done than I would have liked.

 

1 hour ago, BamaVol said:

are you getting to entertainment next? We board tomorrow and I’m looking for clues and hints on where to go after dinner.

Must see - Rock Opera and Spotlight Bar, even if you've seen them before.

 

If you've seen 5Skies before, you can skip it, but we enjoyed watching it again. If you haven't seen it yet, I'd definitely go. My kid watched it once in 2022 and he didn't quite care for it, although I thought the gaming aspect would tug at his heart strings, but it didn't. It's fun and has more or less modern music and dancing in it.

 

The first night's comedy juggler Steven Ragatz act was just ok. A lot of people on this sailing's FB page were less than happy with this show.  If there is anything else scheduled during this time that you think you may like, skip the juggler act. Our kid liked it.

 

There was a different juggler/dancer Lianna Hay in the Piazza doing short shows - she was fun to watch.

 

We skipped guest vocalist Jassen Allen's show, he was singing Lionel Richie's hits. I guess it's not our thing.

 

The Gold Strings duo of violin players was great. They were in a Piazza quite often and in some of the production shows.

 

Celtic music players were great at O'Malley's. JamieLogical covered them and smaller musical venues in detail in her May Enchanted review.

 

We somehow never ended up in Take 5 to see any jazz performances. As a matter of fact, I don't remember a single thing scheduled there.

 

Comedy magic with Jason Bird was kind of lame. We've seen much better performances before.

 

We did not see the evening Farewell Variety show in the theater. We had to pack and we were tired. But we did see an afternoon Princess World Orchestra show in the Piazza earlier that day and it was fun.

 

Karaoke and games looked and sounded fun.

 

I am sure you'd appreciate the comedy shows in smaller venues.

Edited June 14 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, EllieinNJ said:

We were on the Enchanted repo from NY to FL in Nov. 2022 and again booked it this year in Nov.  We usually like to travel on ships we hadn't been on before so wasn't so excited but after seeing your pics of the delicious looking food am starting to look forward to it.  We have recently been doing mostly Carnival because when they had their big anniversary we were able to book four cruises at half price.  And last year we did one MSC.  The food on Carnival was just okay and the food on MSC was barely edible.  

Cool! We were on Enchanted in Nov 2022 as well (not repo), and the food was better then. I already booked Enchanted for next May as well.

 

We tried MSC Seascape last year, and unless the cruise is almost free, we are not planning to sail in steerage class with MSC any time soon. The only saving grace was the drink package and the entertainment. I don't actually recall the entertainment, but the drink package was good (especially since I scored it for $90 pp for the entire week).

 

We are trying Carnival this November. Fingers crossed.

 

We tried Celebrity this spring and loved it, so we are going to do 2 more with X next year. Both food and entertainment were great.

Edited June 14 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Scottdalfonso]

How does the MDR work... can you try a few things, like a pasta AND a main or two main dishes if you want? I know RC has been weird and will bring you one main, then if you asked for a 2nd, they will bring it when you are done with the first.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Since I am on lunch break, I might as well quickly cover our last night dinner, which was at Sabatini's. Since MDR menus are now available in the app only on the day of, it was very difficult to schedule a specialty dinner on the day when we found MDR offerings to be not as desirable.

 

The last day rolled around, I looked at the MDR menu and I was like - well, it's now or never. Well, Sabatini's was full, they said, but I could talk to the manager and, maybe, she could get us in (since there are 5 of us). The manager - a lovely lady named Alice - was very accommodating and, indeed, made a reservation for us at 5. A little early, but she assured us that since the dinner is very long, we weren't gonna be done by 6 anyway. She was right.

 

We showed up at exactly 5 and were immediately seated and offered the menus and served the arancini balls.
 

 

 

 

 

I ordered a Rossini for myself and a chianti for my mom. Rossini wasn't sweet enough for me...

 

Some of us started with a soup or a salad, I got none.

 

 

 

 

The following appetizers were delightful:

 

Panzanella

 

 

 

 

Salumi and Formaggi Misti (salami and cheese)

 

and Fritto Misto Alla Veneziana (I had this one - nom-nom):

 

 

 

Followed by Primo Piatti:

 

Mom ordered the risotto, but, unfortunately, it was extremely salty (I tried it and I concur), so she switched with dad, who ordered seafood linguini:

 

 

Seafood linguini was great:

 

Both DH and DS ordered the Sphaghetti Polpette which had one giant meatball (fork for scale), which was "the best my DS has had":

 

 

and I ordered pasta alla carbonara (I can't help myself) after questioning the waiter and making sure it was nothing like the MDR version: it wasn't. It had a strong egg and bacon flavor, and it was scrumptious. 

[Grego]

On 6/12/2024 at 1:44 PM, 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.

The daughter will probably out live everyone.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Main courses (Secondi Piatti) at Sabatini:

 

Both Dad and I ordered the chicken: chicken was delicate and the flavor was very good

 

 

 

DS ordered a Duo di Parma pizza instead of a Secondi Piatti: it was large and good, but by that time he was already full (despite his small adult size, this kid eats like a bird), so he only ate one slice and the rest went to waste. I regret not packing it up in a doggie bag for the next day since we traveled home):

 

 

Both DH and mom ordered the branzino. Funny, but DH thought he was ordering a vegetarian dish because he didn't realize branzino was a fish. Surprise! He didn't exactly like his. Mom liked hers very much.

 

 

And the best part of our dinner - fantastic desserts! OMG!

 

Mom and I ordered the sampler which is the last item on the menu and is called Chef's Specialty: each one of these desserts was unbelievable. So delicious! If you are not sure, get the sampler - it's stunning.

 

Right behind the sampler is a Limoncello spritzer the waitress recommended to me. Now, it wasn't sweet enough for me either, but the flavor was amazing and unusual, I've never had anything like that before.

 

 

DS ordered a Rocher: basically, a giant Ferrero Rocher. Super yummy, if you like Ferrero Rocher.

 

We ordered a Vanilla Panna Cotta for dad, since the waiter said it had little sugar in it. It was wonderful - creamy, light, just the right sweetness, great flavor.

 

 

True to himself, DH ordered a tiramisu: it was great.

 

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

We somehow never ended up in Take 5 to see any jazz performances. As a matter of fact, I don't remember a single thing scheduled there.

 

I think I read elsewhere that it was closed for your sailing as they were working on putting in the new slot machines to convert half of it into non-smoking casino space. I just saw a photo from this week's sailing with many of the slot machines installed.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

37 minutes ago, Scottdalfonso said:

How does the MDR work... can you try a few things, like a pasta AND a main or two main dishes if you want? I know RC has been weird and will bring you one main, then if you asked for a 2nd, they will bring it when you are done with the first.  

on RCI and Princess alike, you can order several apps, mains and desserts. How they are brought out depends on the waiter and their instructions. On RCI some are instructed to bring one thing at a time, but if you ask nicely, they'll bring out all apps or mains at once.

 

On this cruise, since we got the same waiter for nights 3-6, and he was new and willing to do whatever WE wanted, we asked him to bring all the appetizers out at once and then all the mains at once as well, and he obliged.