Back from Enchantment - Review

[Justcrusin]

Enchantment of the Seas Nov. 2 - 6

First a little bit about us. My wife and I are both 30 and we have a 21 month old baby girl and one on the way. Our in-laws were gracious enough to baby sit and let us get away. Both my wife and I have degrees in hospitality management and have a hotel management background. This is our 8th cruise 4 Carnival (Destiny, Fantasy, Jubilee, Legend) 2 Royal Caribbean (Mariner, Explorer) and 1 Princess (Caribbean Princess). Our favorite was Mariner of The Seas and our least favorite was the Caribbean Princess. We LOVE to eat and enjoy good service and entertainment.

We arrived at Ft. Lauderdale from Baltimore via Southwest on time. We always arrive a day early after hearing horror stories of people missing the boat. We had scheduled to stay at the Ramada Airport/Cruise Port. We called for the shuttle and it arrived about 15 minutes later. We were in the hotel and in bed by 11:30pm.

Day 1 Embarkation

We slept in for the first time in months (after all we do have a 21 month old) until 8:30. We took in the free breakfast at the hotel and took the 10:45 am shuttle to the port. A little aside here I have read mixed reviews about the Ramada; I’ll say this for the $81 we paid it was perfect. This is a place to lay your head before the night of the cruise, not a place I would stay for an extended period of time. We were at the port by 11:10 am. They opened check in at 11:30 and we were on the boat by 11:40.

The Compass said the buffet in the Windjammer opened at 12:00 so we headed up for lunch. The weather started to turn bad so we hung out on deck 5 under the overhang. At about 12:15 we noticed the doors were not open for lunch yet. I browsed around to see if I could find a sign and it said open 12:00 – 4:00. The line became longer and longer, they finally opened the doors at 12:50. Now, I’m not complaining because they opened the doors so late (heck I had 4 days to eat), but I would have appreciated an announcement about what was happening.

We had our lunch which was the typical Windjammer fare, which as always was yummy. Our first impressions of the staff were very good. They seemed friendly and were helpful. We headed down to check out our room. Inside cabin on deck 2. We went for budget this time since it was a last minute get away (our last 4 cabins have been balconies). The cabin was adequate with plenty of closet space and a great bathroom layout with plenty of in shower and outside shower storage. The new bedding is nice, but my wife and I are both tall (6’) and if you pull the duvet up to high your feet lose the covers.

We headed up to make reservations for Chops we knew we wanted to eat their because of a great experience on the Mariner. We went to deck 5 where they were having the expo (which is RC way of hocking everything they have on the ship in one place, but it is good to get general info about everything). We went over to the Chops desk and were told that they were booked for tonight and that Sunday night (last night) was already wait list? Huh?? It was only 2:30. Not believing we had the right information we headed to Chops where we were given a reservation for tonight without a problem, really strange. We then headed to the dining room and switched to a table for 2 late seating. We enjoy meeting new people on the cruise, but this was really a getaway for us, so we decided to eat alone. We headed back down to our cabin and found our luggage so we got unpacked and had a little rest before the life boat drill.

We set sail on time at 5:00pm. We rested up for our big dinner in Chops, and played a few slots before the show. (we didn’t win enough to pay for our dinner in Chops). We attended the welcome aboard show which was very good with a great comedian. The Chops dinner was amazing. Both my wife and I had the 10 oz filet which you could have cut with a fork. We have had lots of steaks on and off cruise ships and this by far was #1 ever. The bread pudding for dessert was delicious. After dinner and a long day we headed for bed.

Day 2 Key West

I had spent over a month in Key West before for work but all I saw was the hotel and the airport so we were looking forward to spending some time there. We had breakfast in the Windjammer and then headed out to Duval street. We walked around Duval and headed to the Blond Giraffe. For any foodies this place was featured on the Food Network and has great frozen chocolate dipped Key Lime Pie (yes at 9:30am, I told you we liked to eat!) it was delicious!!! We headed to our tour at 10:45. We took the taste of Key West tour which visited 4 local restaurants. Sampled conch fritters, fried mahi mahi, local coconut shrimp, hot sauce and key lime pie. For the price ($33) we felt it was a great tour with great food. We headed back to the ship and to the pool, we departed Key West on time at 2:00pm. The rest of the day was uneventful, just a great book by the pool and lots of relaxing. Tonight was formal night and the production show From Stage To Screen. The show was great with very good quality singers and dancers. Stopped by the Captains reception, nothing special here. Dinner was very good too, although no lobster on the 4 nighters. L Opening show comedian had a midnight show which we enjoyed.

Day 3 Cozumel

My wife and I have been to Cozumel 5 or 6 times so we decided not to do a tour. We took a cab to Paradise Beach. Great free beach with a restaurant, bathrooms and changing rooms. There is also an option to use their water park for $9 but with my wife being pregnant it would have been a waste. We stayed at the beach until 3:00 and then headed into town to do some shopping. Not too much here, just some Maracas for our daughter. We headed back to the ship and headed to the future cruise consultant to book our next cruise (Jan ’08 on the Freedom woo hoo!!). The show was pre dinner. It was a “comedy magician” and was very good. Although he started out a little corny he grew on us and was a very good magician. Tonight was Italian night. I had the Tiger Prawns which we excellent. My wife said her Marsala was so so. Nothing hit us on the dessert menu so we grabbed some Ben and Jerry’s and headed back to the cabin to relax.

Day 4 At Sea

Not too much special today. A little on board shopping and lots of pool time. We love says at sea. There was a brisk wind on deck so we had most of deck 6 to ourself. Pre dinner show was comedy / jugglers and they were excellent. Dinner was very good and both of us had fried mahi mahi.

Day 5 Bye Bye Ship.

So so sad. We had a 11:25 flight so we had Beige 3 luggage tags (4th off the ship) we were off the ship and at the airport (via taxi) by 10am. Uneventful flight back to Baltimore.

Overall

We thought that the food and service was above average. We thought the ship was in great shape and well taken care of for a ship that was almost 10 years old.

[jobster71]

Thanks for taking the time. I have always wondered how a short cruise would be. I would hate it that they don't serve lobster on a shorter cruise. That is my favorite part of my trip. The seafood. We live in Oklahoma, so fresh seafood is scarce. The Key West port sounded interesting, you really go around tasting all the food? Yum, Yea I'm a foodie too.

[Ricochet]

My wife and I were on the same cruise and had a lot of fun! :D We also were on the Taste of Key West tour till we got left behind after the cigar shop. :mad: That was about the only low point of the cruise, but they gave us a full refunded. Also, the snorkeling via the catamaran was poor at best but my wife enjoyed it for her first time doing it (I'm a scuba diver so I know good reefs when I see them). This was our 2nd cruise...the last 1 was 10 years ago for our honeymoon (Premier Cruise Big Red Boat). We are looking forward to our next cruise, but I doubt we will do one again as soon as you are (must be nice). ;)

[lori450]

Thanks for the review. I'm scheduled to go on the 16th! You mentioned formal night and Italian night. Could you tell me what the themes were for the other two nights. I'm trying to decide which days to go to Chops. Thanks!

[Ricochet]

Thanks for the review. I'm scheduled to go on the 16th! You mentioned formal night and Italian night. Could you tell me what the themes were for the other two nights. I'm trying to decide which days to go to Chops. Thanks!

 

That was the only night I recall a set theme. We tried to get reservations for Chops but never heard back from them. I was bummed about that! We probably waited too long. :(

[lori450]

Thanks anyway!

[Merion_Mom]

First a little bit about us.......

Excellent and extremely helpful review, justcrusin. Kudos to you, and best of luck with your new family addition. :)

[Justcrusin]

Lori...

 

The italian and formal were the only themed nights. Check with the dining room for a sneak preview of the menus, but there was nothing on the first night that sounded "that" good to us!