Just Back!!

[newtoboard]

I'll do my best to give you an honest review of our very recent trip on the Enchantment of the Seas. We left Fort Lauderdale, FL on January 12. The weather was warm and very windy. White caps in the harbor is never a good thing! We arrived at Port Everglades about 11:15 am and were way back in a very long line of people. I'd say there were several hundred people ahead of us. It was orderly, no mooing, but we all felt like cattle. We made it through the boarding process in about an hour. Once on board we went to find lunch! The Windjammer was terrific. The food choices on this day were generous and delicious. We were all happy with our lunch and dessert.

 

Our cabins were ready by 1pm as stated at the pier. Ours was a pleasant surprise. Larger than we expected. We had an ocean view cabin on deck 4. Our cabin steward was very nice, very friendly and efficient. (And not stingy with the towels!!) Our luggage was at our door before we were so we were able to change out of our traveling clothes.

 

Dinner the first night was somewhat unorganized. There seemed to be many people who were unhappy with their dinner time. We were with 70 people for a wedding. Only four of them were given the wrong dinner assignment. (I put it that way because the bride had confirmation, as well as a seating plan, for the entire group.) By dinner the second night they "fit them in" to the early seating. Although, they were seated on a different floor than the rest of us! (Oh well!!) Those white caps have now turned into some pretty ugly conditions. The rocking is now getting to people!

 

Day 2 Key West - Wedding day!! We were to be at the Trolley station at 10:15 am to be taken to the wedding. That gave us a little time before the wedding and a little time after the wedding to see Key West. We chose to have a nice breakfast in the Windjammer. The chioces were great. Lots of fresh fruit and both hot and cold choices. (No iced tea at breakfast?!) I loved the cooked to order eggs. After the wedding we walked around Duval Street. My daughter loved the artisans and bought several pieces of handmade jewelry. But like most people, we agree, we weren't at Key West long enough to really enjoy it. Dinner tonight was formal. Perfect for the wedding goers. The bride wore her wedding gown throughout the day until the end of her reception. Then changed into a hand beaded full length white dress. Absolutely gorgeous! Most of us had brought a second outfit for dinner. I was so glad I did. :) Dinner tonight was fine, nothing to go on about. Again the ship is pitching and people are taking their sea sick meds.

 

Day 3 Cozumel - We were able to sleep a little later today. We had made reservations ahead of time at Dolphin Discovery. I know there are those who think the dolphins are being abused. I really don't want to hear how we shouldn't have done this excursion. We had a great time. The trainers were loving toward the dolphins. They answered questions in an educated manner. I felt like we got our money's worth and then some. It was a fantastic experience. (FYI, we chose the Royal Swim package. We were in the water for over an hour.) After we were done with the dolphins we went over to the beach on the other side of the park and found ourselves a couple of chairs. We hung out there for a couple of hours before going back to the pier. The shopping there was fine with us as we didn't plan on shopping in Cozumel at all!! We did get back to the ship in time for dinner. It was Italian night. Again, the food was fine, nothing to get excited about.

 

Day 4 At Sea - This is the day I could have done without. As much as I love being at sea and enjoying the ship I cannot stand the people who feel the need to push others around. Reserve chairs. Get overly drunk and make asses of themselves. After lunch we finally found a couple of regular chairs in the Solarium and made ourselves a combination chair so we could put our feet up. Dinner was the usual for the last day. The head waiter whom we hadn't laid eyes on the last few nights was there to make sure we all had our tips ready! Our waiter gave us a perfect eye roll!!

 

General comments. We were on a very rocky cruise. The seasick medicines worked. Some of us took Dramamine, some the medicine from the infirmary, others used the bands. It was all personal preference. The bedding was wonderful. The entertainment was good. I wasn't overly impressed with any show. We did have some great laughs at Karaoke!! My bed was so comfortable I wanted to take it home with me! I found having to sanitize my hands constantly was both annoying and comforting at the same time. My hands may never heal but no one that I know of got sick.

 

If you have any questions, I'll be glad to answer them if I can. Let me know.

[Coralc]

Welcome back from your Enchantment cruise. It sounds like you had a sort of nice time I think. :D Can't do much about the rough seas unfortunately. Do you think you will try cruising again on your own?:)

[SheilaSailAway]

Hey there,

I am glad you enjoyed your cruise(sort of, right?), Enchantment is a great ship. You should try cruising on your own as the previous poster suggests...you may find the experience slightly more to your liking. Everytime we cruise, it is a different experience, always good, just different. Sometimes we have a rip-roaring good time and other times we have been low-key and mellow. We always seem to meet new people and it makes it super fun. Actually, next week we are cruising with our tablemates from our cruise in September!

We had a different encounter with our head waiter, he spent a good amount of time with our table. We enjoyed him very much!

Anywho, happy future cruising to you!

[ddolphinmom]

I was also on the EOS this weekend. I agree with everything. The seas were very rough, not much you can do about it. At dinner, one by one, my party of 20 had to leave due to motion sickness.

 

I saw my room steward once, to turn down the top bunks on the first night. Never had pool towels in the room, a little hard to turn in a dirty towel for a clean one when you never had one to begin with.

 

All the chairs on the pool deck occupied by towels, book, or bags, but not people. We made due on sea day by pulling over some regular chairs too.

 

Our waiter was great, but the assistant waiter failed to bring bread, drinks etc. We saw the head waiter the 1st and last nights.

 

But even with the failed service we still had a great time and are ready to book again. This was our 1st cruise, so we had little expectations.

[Jay Bee]

Dinner was the usual for the last day. The head waiter whom we hadn't laid eyes on the last few nights was there to make sure we all had our tips ready! Our waiter gave us a perfect eye roll!!

 

That would have been fun. It would make up for having to tip a guy who is completely superfluous. I'm curious as to how other people view the headwaiter. Have you had any help from him that you consider valuable? He shows up to make sure you know his face the first night, then again to fish the lobster meat out of the shell for someone or cut their steak. It's kind of transparent.

 

Jan

[ariel7303]

That would have been fun. It would make up for having to tip a guy who is completely superfluous. I'm curious as to how other people view the headwaiter. Have you had any help from him that you consider valuable? He shows up to make sure you know his face the first night, then again to fish the lobster meat out of the shell for someone or cut their steak. It's kind of transparent.

 

Jan

 

During my September Enchantment cruise, the headwatier was wonderful! He came to our table several times during the meal. He had several tables with kids at it and he seemed to focus on taking care of the kids. He did a great job of entertaining them. However, being that I was at a table of 7 other women....you think maybe that's why he paid attention to our table??? ;) On the Navigator, in October, the headwaiter wasn't as attentive...(maybe because we were 3 couples vs. 8 women!) but he did make a point to stop by all 7 nights and ask how things were going and attempt a conversation. So far, all my experiences have been pretty positive with the head waiters.

[ariel7303]

That would have been fun. It would make up for having to tip a guy who is completely superfluous. I'm curious as to how other people view the headwaiter. Have you had any help from him that you consider valuable? He shows up to make sure you know his face the first night, then again to fish the lobster meat out of the shell for someone or cut their steak. It's kind of transparent.

 

Jan

 

During my September Enchantment cruise, the headwatier was wonderful! He came to our table several times during the meal. He had several tables with kids at it and he seemed to focus on taking care of the kids. He did a great job of entertaining them. However, being that I was at a table of 7 other women....you think maybe that's why he paid attention to our table??? ;) On the Navigator, in October, the headwaiter wasn't as attentive...(maybe because we were 3 couples vs. 8 women!) but he did make a point to stop by all 7 nights and ask how things were going and attempt a conversation. So far, all my experiences have been pretty positive with the head waiters.

[Dremac373]

During my September Enchantment cruise, the headwatier was wonderful! He came to our table several times during the meal. He had several tables with kids at it and he seemed to focus on taking care of the kids. He did a great job of entertaining them. However, being that I was at a table of 7 other women....you think maybe that's why he paid attention to our table??? ;) On the Navigator, in October, the headwaiter wasn't as attentive...(maybe because we were 3 couples vs. 8 women!) but he did make a point to stop by all 7 nights and ask how things were going and attempt a conversation. So far, all my experiences have been pretty positive with the head waiters.

I too would like to welcome you from your cruise, and just like with land packages I have been on 2 to Mexico and over 10 to Jamaica each time I went was a totally different expirience, I too agree that next maybe travelling on your own would show a different view...hey ariel7303...I just love your pix!! thats what I like to see phots of the people taking the pix not just of the common areas etc. you can see that on the web site and the brochure :D but its the cruiseres actual photos is where you can truly see if they are having a great time...thanx

[nlcentralchmps03]

Welcome home :)

 

Sorry to hear about the rough seas.

 

We had a similar experience on the Sovereign of the Seas with the head waiter.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share with us!

[newtoboard]

We have cruised on our own. I think I like being with a group better. At least this way there is always a friendly face when things get too rough! I wasn't complaining about the rough seas, that's all part of nature. I actually didn't think I was negative about much of anything.......... except those jerks who think placing a book or a single shoe on a chair makes it theirs for the day! But that's part of the cruise experience too.

 

Will we go on another cruise? Probably not. This was my 5th and I wouldn't have done this one if it wasn't a family celebration. We prefer going to a destination and really getting into the culture. Not something a cruise allows. It's just personal preference. That said, if I had the opportunity I might not pass it up!

[Andipanda1]

We have cruised on our own. I think I like being with a group better. At least this way there is always a friendly face when things get too rough! I wasn't complaining about the rough seas, that's all part of nature. I actually didn't think I was negative about much of anything.......... except those jerks who think placing a book or a single shoe on a chair makes it theirs for the day! But that's part of the cruise experience too.

 

Will we go on another cruise? Probably not. This was my 5th and I wouldn't have done this one if it wasn't a family celebration. We prefer going to a destination and really getting into the culture. Not something a cruise allows. It's just personal preference. That said, if I had the opportunity I might not pass it up!

 

Hey there! My husband and I were on the same cruise with you, and we saw the blushing bride and her family--in fact, we sat in the DR next to you (pauline, is that you?!)

 

In any event, we had a great cruise, and I have to agree with you, during the sea day, the pool deck kind of was a madhouse. People moving chairs, chair hogs, etc.

 

We also got to attend Quest for the first time (lots of fun) and we attended what had to be the grossest Love and Marriage game show I've ever seen in my years of cruising. :o

 

I hope that you try cruising again, whether it be on your own, or with a group. The Enchantment is one of our favorite ships.

[msbunny]

Ariel, I enjoyed your photos. I am sailing Enchantment March 17 with 4 of my close girlfriends. Four of us are celebrating a "special" b-day this year. We are leaving the hubbies and kids at home. It looks like you all had a lot of fun. We are so looking forward to being able to hang out together for 5 days, since we usually only get together for dinner a few times a year.