Just back from my first Princess cruise- Enchanted Canada New England

[grimace95120]

Good day all, first off i would like to thank this board, it certainly helped me plan our cruise. Overall I'm going to rate this cruise an A- , i thought for the most part it was a terrific ship with wonderful staff and a great ambiance.

I'll gladly answer any questions you may have re this ship/itinerary etc. To set the stage a bit, we were in a Mini suite ( Baja Deck 526 mid aft roughly). We had the new Premier 90, and ate 6 of our 7 dinners in the Specialty Dining, with one night being the casual Ocean terrace. The only MDR experience we had was breakfast one day and it was quite good. We did purchase the enclave thermal spa pack, which i give high marks for the pool and the steam room, but sadly the 2 other dry type saunas were out of order so we didn't get to use.

 

One area that i was incredibly pleased with was embarkation. Because we live in Toronto and NYC is an hour flight away with many flights available, we flew in day of. That got us to the terminal by 9 am. There were already about 100 or so people in line at that time. We were told the terminal would open at 10:30 and it did right on time. We all went in, passed through a simple security scan, got a photo taken etc., and then sent into the boarding area. I thought at that point we would be told to sit and wait, but no, the boarding was open !. We were on the ship by 10:50 am... lovely. Surprise #2 was our cabin was ready. High marks to the Princess team for their organization of these complex logistics. 

 

We stayed on the ship for most of the ports ( this was a chill out vacation for me, I was happy to sit on the deck and read), but form what folks were saying it seems like most ports were a hit.

 

Food is incredibly subjective, but for us in order : Rudis ( 3 meals). Our personal fav. We love fish, so this was a no brainer. I though the menu was creative without being too silly ( the hanging prawn is a bit much, really don't need that) , lovely quiet room, and a great staff.

Sabatini ( 2 meals). Good to very good. I loved their salads, and the carbonara app was excellent. The Oso buco was decent, not great but decent

Crown Grill. I know this is a perennial fav, but we really did not like this one at all. Now, in all fairness, we probably ordered wrong. I ordered lamb and my wife ordered fish. I think that threw them off. My lamb sat under the heat lamp while they tried to get her fish, so by the time i got it, the mid rare lamb was now edging toward well done. It was tasty, but I couldn't help think what it would have been if presented when ready. We actually cancelled the 2nd night reservation and opted for the sushi instead ( nice spot for a casual meal) 

 

Anyway, thanks again to all on this forum, I felt I was really prepared when i got on board thanks to the information I gathered here !

 

 

 

[JGmf]

I have a question: was there any restriction on your using your Premier package when in port in NYC or in Boston?  (I know about Canada and their limit on open bars).

[grimace95120]

1 minute ago, JGmf said:

I have a question: was there any restriction on your using your Premier package when in port in NYC or in Boston?  (I know about Canada and their limit on open bars).

None whatsoever. I was concerned about that myself, given the verbiage on the website re charges when in US ports, I can tell you the drinks we flowing freely, and there was absolutely no issue with using the packages in any of the ports, nor were there any extra charges on the folio.

[Vascodigama]

Hi, I was wondering what airport did you fly into, and what transportation did you use? We're flying into LaGuardia next Saturday morning from Detroit.

thanks. 

[Crusin Karen]

I was on 9/14-9/21. I had plus so 2 casual meals. I went to MDR for each of the “elegant” nights otherwise ate at buffet. Never used casual offers or dessert offers because the buffet food was THAT GOOD! I’m still raving about it (and craving lol)  Loved ship so much

i booked for next September as soon as I got home! 👏

[grimace95120]

5 hours ago, Vascodigama said:

Hi, I was wondering what airport did you fly into, and what transportation did you use? We're flying into LaGuardia next Saturday morning from Detroit.

thanks. 

Hi there we flew into LaGuardia, terminal B air Canada. We booked Carmel car services, for an 8:30 pickup ( our flight landed at 7:50 am). I believe it was around 68 USD before tip for an upgraded sedan 

[grimace95120]

5 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

because the buffet food was THAT GOOD! I’m still raving about it (and craving lol)

Hi there, i agree the buffet was really good. We ate a few breakfasts there, and a couple of lunches and I agree lots of choice , and the quality was good. The only item i wish was a bit better were the tomatoes. At this time of year there still should be local tomatoes, but when you need to buy in bulk, I'm sure they have to take hothouse 

[xtrail]

regarding the car service from La Guardia airport , we (also from Toronto) flew in the day before and had arrange Carmel Limo to hotel , prompt , clean upgraded sedan , very polite driver , will use again

[antmaril]

I, too, use Carmel Car Service when visiting NYC (flying into LaGuardia).  

[susiee]

Hello I'm very happy to hear you cruise was so enjoyable! One question please. I couldn't find a library anywhere on the Deck Plans. Is there a spot where people can borrow/donate books instead while on the ship? Thank you

[grimace95120]

1 minute ago, susiee said:

Hello I'm very happy to hear you cruise was so enjoyable! One question please. I couldn't find a library anywhere on the Deck Plans. Is there a spot where people can borrow/donate books instead while on the ship? Thank you

hello, i do recall seeing a book exchange time daily in the patter. Not sure where/when it was ( we are avid Kindle users so don't carry books anymore) but they definitely did offer the book exchange. Not sure how well its used though, i didn't see a lot of folks just sitting around reading 

[beshears]

I just put a question out, and I believe you said you had the $90 Premier package. Just curious. Do you think it was worth what you paid? The reason I ask, I just don't think I would be using All the things that would be offered to me for the $90 package pp per day. I had that package in February on the Regal, and didn't mind paying the "lower" price, even then I did not use everything that was offered then.

[grimace95120]

2 minutes ago, beshears said:

I just put a question out, and I believe you said you had the $90 Premier package. Just curious. Do you think it was worth what you paid? The reason I ask, I just don't think I would be using All the things that would be offered to me for the $90 package pp per day. I had that package in February on the Regal, and didn't mind paying the "lower" price, even then I did not use everything that was offered then.

Hi there, I'll probably open up a can of worms here but here goes 🙂

I look at things in terms of value proposition. For me, one of the things i highly value is convenience. The package inclusions, for me anyway, offer that convenience. For example, the drink package. Did I come close to 15 ( or unlimited drinks now)? , nope not even close. However, the convenience of not doing mental math each time i got a drink was, in my mind , value add. We also appreciated the ability to enjoy the higher priced wines, champagne etc. The unlimited dining was excellent for us. We prefer the intimacy of smaller venues for dinners, and this package gave us all we wanted there. Gratuities covered, internet covered, all good 🙂

End of the day, I felt i received value for money. Value is always in the eye of the beholder though. I'm sure you will make the right decision based on your own value proposition !

[Kerry's Girls]

39 minutes ago, susiee said:

Hello I'm very happy to hear you cruise was so enjoyable! One question please. I couldn't find a library anywhere on the Deck Plans. Is there a spot where people can borrow/donate books instead while on the ship? Thank you

The Internet Cafe was the site of the daily(?) book exchange.  I would not plan on finding books to read on board.  I was glad I brought mine, but also assumed I could find more after the glorious library on the Emerald that was stocked with multiple copies of great books.  

[Crown Vic]

On 9/29/2024 at 8:19 PM, grimace95120 said:

Hi there we flew into LaGuardia, terminal B air Canada. We booked Carmel car services, for an 8:30 pickup ( our flight landed at 7:50 am). I believe it was around 68 USD before tip for an upgraded sedan 

Just used Carmel as well LGA to Red Hook. Price was U$60.50 plus tip. Good service. Would use again. Cheers…