Enchantment 4/14/08 Review (Long)

[KelJ]

This was my fourth cruise, my first on the Enchantment.

Sailing dates: 4-14-08 through 4-19-08

My cabin: JS 8084 (We also had 8082, 8085 and 8086)

This was a girls’ cruise. All were newbies but me. Nine of us flew round-trip nonstop from PIT to FLL. Both flights went exactly as scheduled (which was a relief going down, as we flew in the morning of the cruise).

Day 1: Embarkation was the smoothest I’ve ever experienced. Our flight landed at 10:30. We claimed our luggage and took a couple cabs to the pier. Boarding had already begun, and there were virtually no lines. We were enjoying lunch in the Windjammer by 11:45. We dropped off our carry-on bags in our cabins at 1:00 and went exploring. Our luggage had arrived by 2:00.

Day 2: This was a sea day. Boy, was the ship rocking. The winds were high, and I’ve never experienced so much movement on a ship. People were actually grabbing things to steady themselves and were sometimes bumping into each other as well. This went on all day, but it was kind of fun. I take a Bonine every day, just in case, and I was glad that I did.

Day 3: Belize. We had priority tendering as we had booked the Aerial Trek (zipline) and Cave Tubing. The ziplining was so fun! The lunch provided was very tasty. The cave tubing was very fun too, but in spots the water was very low. Our guide warned us that there were parts of the cave where we would feel violated due to the low water, and he was right! Today was a little overcast and breezy. Our bus transportation was air conditioned and very comfortable. Following the excursion, we had some huge, tasty drinks at the Sandpiper Bar at the pier while waiting for the tender to take us back to the ship.

Day 4: Cozumel. We booked the Deluxe Reef Snorkeling & Beach Combo. We snorkeled in the morning, when it was somewhat overcast and quite breezy. In fact, toward the end of our snorkeling time, the waves were quite large. This was intimidating for the beginner snorkelers among us and actually made it difficult to get back to the catamaran (we were drift snorkeling). We saw some very big fish and even a stingray. Once back on the boat, the liquor (open bar) was plentiful – rum punch, margaritas, beer and shots of tequila. We then had two hours to spend at Playa Mia, which I had visited before. The lunch buffet was included, which is nothing to write home about but is certainly sufficient to satisfy your hunger. We also enjoyed an open bar while at Playa Mia. We had free use of the paddle boats, kayaks, water iceberg, water trampoline, lounges, etc. The afternoon was very warm and sunny. The drinks were again plentiful on the boat ride back to the pier. We had a couple hours of shopping time, and I was able to find some nice black coral jewelry (which I had regretted not buying on my last visit there) and some nice sterling pieces as well.

Day 5: Key West. Today was extremely hot and humid. Our stop was from 12:00 noon to 5:00. A few of us didn’t book excursions and just walked around during our visit here. We had lunch at Margaritaville, did some shopping, had a couple drinks and walked down to the southernmost point for a photo op. Everyone had to go through immigration on the ship as soon as we docked in Key West, whether or not you were getting off the ship. This ended up being a huge timesaver yesterday when disembarking, as we did not have to repeat immigration.

Day 6: Disembarkation. As our flight was not until 3:00 p.m., I assumed we’d be assigned a color that would be called late in the morning. I am platinum and was invited to wait in the priority lounge but declined to do so as no one else in my party was platinum. We were in the first color group called, claimed our luggage, breezed through customs (and had no immigration), grabbed a couple cabs and were at the airport at 9:30 a.m.! We played games in a very comfortable lounge at the airport until noon, as we could not check in until three hours before our flight.

Food: We had early dining, and our waiter (Reynaldo – Phillipines) and assistant waiter (Yu- China) were great. Our headwaiter (Peter) had more contact with us than I’ve ever had with a head waiter. We purchased three wine packages among us, and Peter opened and served our wine every night and stopped by several times nightly. All of us really enjoyed the food served in both the dining room and in the Windjammer. We did not visit Chops.

Drinks: All drinks were very strong. We immediately found a great bartender, Joel, who would repeatedly return to us and refill our foo-foo drinks with rum after we had consumed a portion of our drinks. As mentioned above, our group purchased three five-bottle wine packages. We also had the yummy loving cups each night after dinner. A note about soda: canned soda is now $2.24 with gratuity.

Shows/Entertainment: Not all of us attended all shows, but everyone seemed to enjoy what they attended. Karaoke was a hoot, Quest was a blast (I was a sock chewer!), Love & Marriage was a riot, Trivia was fun, Bingo was exciting (I was a stander three times, even at the final jackpot bingo, but, alas, I was never a winner – but I never missed a game!). I made donations at the casino every day. I was ahead a few days but ended up in the hole overall – my usual! The cruise director (Paul) and the activities director (Luke) were both really great and made the cruise so much fun.

Get-togethers: The meet-the-captain night was fun and informative, as was the welcome back party. I did not attend the Platinum/Diamond/Diamond Plus get-together as it was held at the exact time as the final jackpot bingo. There was never a meet & mingle, as our roll call was nearly non-existent.

Platinum amenities: We had robes in our cabin. James, our wonderful room steward, brought one for my roommate knowing that she wasn’t platinum, which was a nice touch. My C&A gift is a navy blue bag of some sort. I honestly haven’t opened it yet.

I booked another cruise while onboard – in fact, I booked it as soon as I was done unpacking my clothing on the first afternoon as I had specific cabins I wanted to book for Alaska on the Serenade in July 2009. Andrea Charles was a substitute loyalty ambassador on this cruise, and it was actually her first cruise as a loyalty ambassador. What a nice woman! She was so knowledgeable and friendly – and she let me book three cabins (which were the exact three that I wanted) and gave me $100 OBC for each cabin even though I was the only one on the current cruise who would be sailing on the Alaskan cruise.

Weather: We never had a drop of rain, and the temps were lower and much more comfortable than temps that we’ve experienced in the Caribbean in the month of December. The first couple days were somewhat overcast and breezy, but the pool decks were full and the temps were very comfortable.

Comparison: While I had a great cruise (how could I not?!), I prefer the Voyager class to the Enchantment. I really missed the royal promenade, the mini golf and the ice rink.

Summation: A wonderful cruise was had by all!!:D

Please feel free to ask any questions.

[pmfan]

Sounds like you had a great ladies getaway. I have never been on the Enchantment, but am looking forward to sailing on her one day.

[RainbowPrincess]

Do you by any chance have the menus?

[KelJ]

Do you by any chance have the menus?

 

No, I don't. Sorry.

[#1BradyFan]

Thanks for the great review!!!!!

May 3rd can't some soon enough :D

[spaulo]

Thanks for the review!! My sorority sister and I are going on EOS on October 13- first time cruisers for us both :)

[kittymom65]

It sounds like everyone had a great time

Thanks for the review!

[pam_1024]

Thanks so much for the great review! I'm already planning to do a 5 day on the Enchantment next May, and now i'm more excited than ever! Just came back from a 4 day on the Majesty and it was wonderful! I caught cruising fever fast! :D You've also given me some good ideas for shore excursions. ;)

[cctimmom]

thank you for posting this!

 

We leave on EOS on Thursday!

 

I'm nervous about the seasickness, but am going prepared (starting dramamine on Wednesday).

[KelJ]

I forgot to mention that the bartender at the Champagne Bar looked at me like I was crazy when I asked about the Champagne card. I thought I read that the Enchantment was one of the ships where they were still available, but apparently that's no longer true -- or else the bartender was just clueless.

I also failed to mention that I used several coupons that were in my platinum coupon book, which obviously had better coupons than the gold coupon books which I had received in the past.

[KelJ]

I wanted to mention that at least two people in our group took money out on their SeaPass cards in the casino several times and there was no surcharge. Also, two in our group smuggled alcohol, some in a mouthwash bottle and also a regular bottle of Vodka. Neither was called to the naughty room, and the liquor was in their suitcases when they were delivered.

[raiderette]

We will also be on the Enchantment in September in JS 8584 and I was wondering about the trip to Cosumel did you eat the food and have drinks with ice and not worry about getting sick, is it ok.

[fpcruiser]

Where was the lounge in the airport at? We will have a long wait at the airport after our May 3 cruise. There is a poster( I think buffetfan) who has reviews going about their AOS cruise. She has links to all of the menus. Would you be able to tell from them which days were used on the Enchantment?

Thanks, it sounds wonderful

[KelJ]

We will also be on the Enchantment in September in JS 8584 and I was wondering about the trip to Cosumel did you eat the food and have drinks with ice and not worry about getting sick, is it ok.

 

This was my third trip to Mexico (twice to Cozumel via cruise ship and once to Riviera Maya on a land vacation). Each time, we ate the food and had drinks with ice. We've never gotten sick and have never been worried about it. Bigger/nicer resorts/restaurants have their own filtration systems.

[KelJ]

Where was the lounge in the airport at? We will have a long wait at the airport after our May 3 cruise. There is a poster( I think buffetfan) who has reviews going about their AOS cruise. She has links to all of the menus. Would you be able to tell from them which days were used on the Enchantment?

Thanks, it sounds wonderful

 

The lounge that we were in was called the Flight Deck, I think. We flew AirTran. When we walked into the airport near the AirTran check-in desk, we just walked straight past the check-in desk toward the far wall into the Flight Deck. It held lots of people. It was filled with chairs, love seats, stools, coffee tables. We sat in a corner that had one divider wall, and we rearranged some furniture, and it was quite private. It had restrooms and even had a bar, but the bar wasn't open when we were in there.

 

Also, if I saw the menus, I could tell you whether they were the menus we had, but I couldn't tell you what night had what.

[iheartbda]

Kelly,

I've been thinking about you and wondering how your cruise was. Welcome home and thanks for the nice review.:)

How did the newbies take the rockin' and rollin'?:eek:

I've got to start thinking about my trip to the Burg and will let you know.

[KelJ]

Kelly,

I've been thinking about you and wondering how your cruise was. Welcome home and thanks for the nice review.:)

How did the newbies take the rockin' and rollin'?:eek:

I've got to start thinking about my trip to the Burg and will let you know.

 

Hi, Collette. Nice to see you! We had a great time. The newbies (most of whom work at the C.H. with me) were quite relieved when I told them that the rock and rolling wasn't the norm. Being only the second day, I think they were wondering whether they could handle it for the entire cruise!

Do let me know when you'll be here!

[Puffinater]

KelJ...By chance did Reynaldo mention if he had been on the Granduer? Cruised Granduer in 04 and our waiter was named Reynaldo. He went way beyond the call of duty in assisting us when a situation arose that prevented us from getting to the dining room one evening. Just curious if he is still around. Thanks.

[Ripley's Lady]

Thanks for the great review of Enchantment of the Seas.

 

My DH and I were on her just before Chrstmas when they had an ongoing electrical problem which slowed the ship down, causing them to reverse the itinerary to the one we booked (and the one you actually took in April 2008). However, the electrical problem and a medical evacuaton caused us to miss Belize entirely. Our disembarkaton was miserable since we had to go through customs after our last port which was Coco Key in the Bahamas ( a very poor substitute for Belize!)

 

I can see where going through customs at Key West wold be a GREAT idea - really speeding up the disembarkation and custms process as you described.

Thanks again for the information! Happy cruising on the next one.