Enchantment 10/23 review

[PamTroop179]

This is a long review. If you don't want to read it, please skip to the bottom and read about the departure. I wished we would of been warned what to expect when trying to leave the actual port (not ship).

 

My family of four sailed the western route last week. Our daughters are 6 & 11. This is our 2nd RC cruise with the girls but 3rd total. When we booked, the ship was supposed to go to Belize. The route was changed to CocoCay instead.

 

The Captain was Gunnar Oien and the Cruise director was Carly Boileau. The Captain had a funny sense of humor that was revealed at the welcome reception. Carly did a nice job.

 

We had an inside cabin on the second deck. Our kids really like the drop down bunks. Our room was much larger than I expected. Our stateroom attendant was Oscar. We only saw him a couple of times during the cruise.

 

We did not go to Chops. I didn't speak with anyone that did, so no review or comments on that.

 

We tried to avoid the Windjammer. It just didn't seem up to par. The breakfat and lunch and presentation didn't appeal to us. We ate dinner every night in the dining room.

 

Us girls all tried out the rock wall and bungee jumping. Enchantment is the only ship with bungee jumping (I read that in the stateroom book). DH didn't try either. Yes, I made it to the top of the wall! Our eldest daughter climbed the wall several times.

 

The adults only Solarium is beautiful. The roof was only open prior to departure then it was kept closed the rest of the cruise. We didn't eat any pizza/burgers from the Solarium.

 

Adventure Ocean - huge hit with the kids. We let them participate as much as they wanted. They spent a good deal of time there. The facility is small.

 

I have to add that all the staff were very friendly.

 

Monday Departure/Welcome Aboard Show

Flight arrived early. We took a cab to Port Everglades for $11.00. We had to show ID as did the cab driver at the gate. We dropped off luggage and sailed through registration. There was no line. We were on board by about 12:30 PM. We went to lunch in the Windjammer then went to our room. The girls put on swim suits and hung out at the pool. It was a very hot day. I did the treasure hunt (didn't win). Also toured the spa. It is beautiful! Our luggage arrived quickly.

 

We had main seating for dinner at table 76. This was a 10 person table on Deck 4 by a window. Only one night during the cruise did someone else join us for dinner. We had an outstanding waiter Vivak from India and Assistant Napalti from the Phillipines. They were both wonderful. They really enjoyed pampering our girls.

 

We didn't go to the welcome aboard show. Instead we went to the AO welcome show. Our kids loved AO last time and this cruise was no exception.

 

Tuesday - Key West/ Formal Night/Stage to Screen

We just walked around Key West. We went to the southern most point (It was a very long walk there and back). We hit some shops. We stumbled into Kino Sandles. I really wanted to get a pair, but wasn't happy with how they fit my big hoofs. Both kids ended up with new sandles! We had a Mojito. You can walk with alcohol as long as it is in a plastic cup. We did tour the Mel Fischer museum. I believed this was overpriced, but interesting. We only saw one R rated item. A man was walking down Duvall with a mini skirt and large padded bra. The further away from Duvall, the less crowded it was. We had to be back on the ship by 1:30. Rumor has it the ship sailed with several people left in Key West.

 

We spent the afternoon at the pool deck. We judged the belly flop contest.

 

The seas became very rough. I believe several people didn't feel well and missed formal night including my husband. We had signed the kids up to eat with AO in the Windjammer. DH tried to make it through dinner but had to leave. I was left alone at a table for 10. Luckily the next table over had some openings and invited me to join them!

 

The Stage to Screen Show was pretty good. I went with my older daughter. The younger stayed at AO.

 

Afterwards, I ended up going to the Captain's Welcome Aboard Reception and karaoke by myself.

 

The AO theme was Star Wars Night

 

Wednesday - Cozumel/Welcome Back/Magic Show/Dancing under the Stars

We have been to Cozumel before. We weren't interested in any of the shopping or excursions offered. Before we left home, we rented a car through Hertz. We also purchased a map through www.cancunmap.com.

 

When you walk off the ship, there are numerous shops at the pier. We docked at the International Pier and it is approximately 3 miles from downtown. At the end of the pier are all the car rental places. We went to Hertz. Somehow our reservation was screwed up. We had reserved an automatic with air conditioning. All they had was a manual. They ended up upgrading us to a PT Cruiser convertible. We drove around the island. I really wanted to go to Punta Sur. When we got there, there were cones across the road and the information stand was empty. Not sure what was going on.

 

We went to Paradise Beach and ate lunch. It was busy, but not overcrowded. It looked like there were only four cruise ships in port. We stayed at Paradise Beach for a while. We moved on to Playa Palancar. It was very quiet. No one was here. Manuel was selling jewelry that he and his wife made. He said he is at the beach daily. I bought some for Christmas gifts. The sets come with necklace, earrings and bracelet. We stopped at El Micador for some browsing and the view. Lots of vendors were there. We made a quick stop at Coconuts for the view. It really was beautiful. Our last stop was Senor Iguana's. We were the only ones there. It is next to Mezcalitos. We didn't stop there.

 

It was Italian night at dinner. The staff sang. One head waiter talked about the staff and the Dining room.

 

We went to the welcome back party. One person was recognized for having cruised RC 80 cruises, 15 times just on Enchantment. We went to the Love & Marriage show which was cute. There was a newlywed that participated with his parents! His parents were the Longest married couple that would go up on stage to play. We went swimmming in the Solarium. We had the entire place to ourselves.

 

The AO theme was PJ night.

 

We didn't attend the magic/comedy show. We heard it was a good family show.

 

The Dancing under the Stars party with a buffet was 11:00-12:30. It was very windy. We went with our little one. Our eldest was already in bed.

 

Thursday - Day at Sea/Don't stop the Rock/Quest

 

We ate breakfast and lunch in the dining room. Hung out by the pool. There was a sexy legs contest. The kids spent some time at AO in the afternoon. There was a backstage tour but no one wanted to go with me.

 

It was pirate night at AO. I think every kid on board participated. They marched through the ship and put on a cute show before the main show. The kids also had their photos taken by a photographer. They were really cute. Of course we had to buy the photo.

 

The Don't Stop the Rock show was disappointing. I heard several people mention that the kids were better!

 

This was my first Quest. It was pretty funny.

 

Friday - CocoCay/Show

 

Spent the day lounging at CocaCay. We have been here before. We were going to do a glass bottom boat tour but it was cancelled due to the windy conditions. The kids spent a great deal of the day at AO.

 

Go to booth #8 by the hairbraiding. The shop sells handmade Christmas ornaments, bracelets and hair combs. I looked at all the other shops and this was the only one selling anything like it. The seller's Auntie makes them. I didn't bring much $$ as I wasn't anticipating buying anything. I did buy one bracelet for $3.00. I would of liked to have bought more.

 

The kids wanted their hairbraided. We had this done on CocoCay last time. It is $3.00 per cornrow or $2.00 per regular braid.

 

This was lobster night. Yum! Our waiter brought me 2. I didn't even ask!

 

AO theme was Rock N Roll night.

 

We caught part of the On the Edge show. They seemed pretty good in a hokey sort of way. Unfortunately, we had to pack. There was also a late night comedian and karoake. We were just too tired to go!

 

The captain announced that we would be encountering rough seas. I never really felt anything.

 

Saturday - Ft. Lauderdale Arrival

 

We had a leisurely breakfast then proceeded to the Orpheum Lounge to wait for our color. We were in the last group to be called. We were off by about 10:30.

 

Unfortunately, this was the worst part of the trip. After we picked up our luggage and walked out the doors, we were met with utter confusion. I'm not exaggerating that I've never ever seen anything like the site that greeted me. There was literally no place for people to go and porters were screaming for people to move. We were supposed to catch a shuttle to go to a car rental place. We couldn't even get close to the shuttles. We ended up being herded to the taxi area. I finally got aggressive and just jumped out into the front otherwise we would still be there waiting. The taxi dispatcher guy stated to me that I needed to tip him. I was so worked up by this time and just wanted to get away that I didn't even think about a tip. My kids were even taken back and asked isn't that rude? I gave him a couple of bucks otherwise he wasn't going to let us go as he was hanging on to the door. Just be aware that you will need patience. The shuttles are on the right, the taxis to the left. That being said, be prepared to be pushed, shoved and screamed at.

 

That's it! Feel free to ask any questions. Thanks for reading. Maybe see you on a future cruise!

[Mac303]

Hello Pam,

We were the couple you sat with at the Captains reception (small world) You review is pretty accurate, we did go to Chops, and just as good as we remember from our previous cruise on the Enchantment.

 

We did go to the Windjammer daily, (breakfast & snack) and found the food to be "good" as expected with any buffet type setting.

 

We both agree that the "R/C singer & dancer" shows need some change, in fact they were the same as when we travelled the Enchantment in Aug. 05.

 

The mess at the pier could have been avoided with some signs directing passengers which way to go for the different types of transportation leaving the port. Most people just need direction (ie: signs) and they will fend for themselves.

 

But the bottom line is this was a great cruise, and can't wait till May for our return to the Granduer.

[BobBeaSea]

Nice review! I've never sailed on a Vision class ship, was this you're first time on a Vision class ship? If so, what did you think of her? Bummer about the disembarkation however, if that is the only thing that was not good...all in all, not too bad :)

[cds2423]

I too was on the Enchantment last week & found the disembarcation to be a little longer than usual, for me, travelling as a NON-US CITIZEN we usually do get somewhat 2nd class service when leaving the ship no matter what port we're at, i realize that there aren't as many non-US as there are US citizens but we all usually end up waiting in 1 single line whereas there are 2-3 lines for citizens. I didn't sense any confusion or yelling or screaming, it was just a little slow, we were Orange and were off by about 10:00.Truth to tell I'm always a little miserable at the end of a crusie so it would take a whole lot for me to be happy about the dis-emb experience.

I did go to Chops on Thurs, well worth the $20.00 and i will always visit either Chops or Portofino when available, it's just a really nice treat, and the food is freshly cooked and HOT which is something that i miss in both the dining room and WJ (Which is to be expected at a buffet style eatery). I'd sail the EOTS again, without hesitation, new bedding was wonderful wasn't it? Went to the Quest, i'd seen it on the Jewel in March what a riot. I was sitting right behind the guy with the holes in his underwear, his wife wasn't impressed, it was too funny.

I found all the crew to be friendly and accomodating.

[PamTroop179]

I was interested in trying out Chops, but my husband wasn't. Oh well, it will be something to look forward to the next time. :) We are working our way up in ship classes - Sovereign, Vision, hopefully Voyager next!

 

I loved the boxer shorts with holes! Quest really was a riot. I was on a team, but we were in a bad spot to get out of the seats quickly. I did donate my bra to the cause.

 

Mac303 I'm jealous that you're already booked! We looked into booking on board, but decided to wait.

 

We would sail Enchantment again. My husband thought my side of the bed was softer than his. I slept like a baby (of course exhaustion helped). I ordered room service coffee every morning. What a treat!

[kapeppy]

Pam,

 

Thanks for the great review! DH and I will be sailing the same itinerary next week and while we've cruised many times in the past, this is our first voyage on the Enchantment. I just have a quick question for you regarding dining room dinners on the off chance you will remember..... on a seven night cruise we usually book Chops on the Caribbean night. Was there a caribbean night?

 

Thanks again for such a detailed review!

[PamTroop179]

I don't remember a Caribbean night. Anyone else remember?

[nellie54914]

Hmmm...lobster on Friday night? I thought it was on Thursday. Or was it because of the change on ports? Just wondering cuz we're going to be on the Dec. 4 sailing and want to go to Chops, but definitely don't want to miss lobster night! I hope I get your waiter and he brings me 2! :p

[phabric]

We have cabins on deck 2 and one is an inside. There are in the older section of the ship (2500 section). Did your cabin have the new bedding and did it have shower curtains or a door. We will be on the Enchantment for Christmas week Dec 23-28.

[sailingsue5]

We just got off yesterday from the 5 night Jamaica and Grand Cayman trip. We had adjoining cabins 2047 and 2049. Both had new bedding but still had the shower curtain.

[CleoPat]

"My family of four sailed the western route last week. Our daughters are 6 & 11. This is our 2nd RC cruise with the girls but 3rd total. When we booked, the ship was supposed to go to Belize. The route was changed to CocoCay instead."

 

We are supposed to go to Belize so am wondering if they gave you a reason for the route change. When did they tell you?

 

Great review. Thanks!

[Stankin]

I just got off the Enchantment yesterday from a 5 night cruise (Jamaica & Cayman) and were in 3073, which had new bedding and a shower curtain. The shape of the room seemed to hint it was the new section they had dropped in last year. I will be doing a full review of the ship and cruise soon from a first time cruisers' point of view.

[EggDropErin]

Thank you for the informative review! :)

[fpcruiser]

We were in cabin 3072 in Sept. It had new bedding and a shower door. Our friends in 3070 also had a door I believe.

[music]

Pam,

 

I enjoyed your review, we have been on the Enchantment 3 times and had Vivak all three times. He is a great person and very good at what he does.

We love the ship. Glad you had a good time.

 

Music

[PamTroop179]

Oh Music, Bad news!!! Vivak is leaving. In 4 mos. he is going back to India. He has an 18 mo. old son and wants to be home. I specifically pointed out the wonderful service we had to the headwaiter.

 

Phabric, We had new bedding with a regular shower curtain.

 

CleoPat, No reason for the route change. It was done sometime over the summer so we had plenty of notice. Our TA tried to find out, but didn't get anywhere with RC. It would of been fun to go to Belize as we have never been there.

 

Nellie, the lobster was the last night. No idea why.

 

I hope I answered all your questions!

[music]

Pam,

 

The first time we were on the ship he was going on leave to get married, an arranged marriage. The next time, his wife was pregnant, last summer we saw pics of the baby. He is a very smart man, into computers. He was working as a waiter to save money to start a company of his own.

 

He made going to dinner each night alot of fun, picking on DH with a special dessert. My kids thought he was great.

 

I wish him and his family all the best. He is a class act!

 

Music