Just Booked on the Enchantment! Any Tips?

[DJan07]

Hey Everyone,

 

My family just booked the Enchantment of the Seas for a 5 night Western Caribbean cruise! We're leaving on July 6th (13 days), so there's not a lot of time to do as much research as we would like. Does anyone have any tips for the Enchantment or the ports (Key West, Cozumel or Belize City)? My parents are in their mid-forties but are very active. I'm 20 and my brother is 18, and we too, enjoy keeping busy on the ship and going on adventurous excursions. Thanks in advance!

 

Derek

[prc]

My wife & I ( both late 40's)did this itenerary last month. Enchantment was wonderful!

 

Key west was just a wander around day (been there many times). Duval St. can be "interesting", but you will be there early in the am, so not much activity. Walking over to the Bight (marina) is always interesting. The younger crowd will always like the bars on Duval, at any hour!

 

Cozumel: also been there many times. You'll have long hours here. Paradise Beach is always a great choice, just grab a cab...5 minutes.

 

Belize: we've been once, and went to Bannister Island (RCCL tour, "private beach break" or something). we were disapointed. Face-of-the-sun hot, with almost no shade and way oversold (read PACKED). next time we will try river tubing thru the caves.

 

The ship was fantastic, as was the staff. You'll really enjoy her!

[CAT GIRL]

I just got a kick out of you saying that "your parents are in their 40's

but are still active". Like being in your 40's makes you an old fogey. ;)

I guess when I was 20, 40 sounded old to me. Funny how that has

changed now. But, I digress....

My recommendations are....

Key West- just walk around the town area. We like the shops and we

always visit the Sponge Monster and the cat store. I always mean to

bring a picture of our babies but seem to always forget.

Cozumel- check out Nachi Cocum.

Belize- The cave tubing can be fun.

The Enchantment is one of our favorite ships. You'll have a blast.

[SUZCRUZ]

Hey Everyone,

 

My family just booked the Enchantment of the Seas for a 5 night Western Caribbean cruise! We're leaving on July 6th (13 days), so there's not a lot of time to do as much research as we would like. Does anyone have any tips for the Enchantment or the ports (Key West, Cozumel or Belize City)? My parents are in their mid-forties but are very active. I'm 20 and my brother is 18, and we too, enjoy keeping busy on the ship and going on adventurous excursions. Thanks in advance!

 

Derek

 

We've just found our new favorite ship on RCCL and Enchantment is it. ( We've been sailing RCCL since the 70's)Or maybe it's because we took our 10 yr old grandson and did so many fun things in 4 days.

In Key West we did the White Knuckel boat ride. Of course this was his choice but was alot of fun. We booked this on the ship. (It's a speed boat that does 360 degree turns, you get wet, and have alot of laughs.)

In Cozumel we did the dolphin swim. It was something we always wanted to do, but it never seemed the right time, was too expensive or whatever. We booked it before the cruise, online, thru RCCL's web site. It's a 2 year old facility and was actually not the place I thought we were going. I thought it was Cha---- beach, can't spell it. But it turned out to be Dolphinaris, you can access it thru the web @ dolphinaris.com. We did the actual swim and ride, and it was truly a thrill of a lifetime. After the swim, we had a nice lunch there, and headed back to the ship.

I'm sure you'll have a great time on the Enchantment with all the family!

 

[SamFritz]

Hey Everyone,

 

My family just booked the Enchantment of the Seas for a 5 night Western Caribbean cruise! We're leaving on July 6th (13 days), so there's not a lot of time to do as much research as we would like. Does anyone have any tips for the Enchantment or the ports (Key West, Cozumel or Belize City)? My parents are in their mid-forties but are very active. I'm 20 and my brother is 18, and we too, enjoy keeping busy on the ship and going on adventurous excursions. Thanks in advance!

 

Derek

 

Hey wait a minute, I'm in my forties!:D I ice skated, cllimbed the rock wall, and lots of other cool stuff! Cozumel has all kinds of great things. DW and I just did the Horseback Ride there and it was a blast. Lots of time on the horses and very well organized and supervised. It's a great family thing to do. Key West has lots of historic homes and things. As an English teacher I would HIGHLY recommend that you visit the Hemmingway House the Robert Frost Cottage. Belize has some really cool adventure excursions. We've been there twice and done some more laid back things. Horsedrawn carriage ride and the Belize Zoo and River trip. Liked them both. Have a great time. We're going to be bringing our two sons (19 and 14) on the the 4 day Enchantment at the end of July. So when you get back be sure to let us know how it was.

[marci22]

In Key West, stroll around & eat a piece of frozen key lime pie on a stick. There is a little trolley thing that takes you all over but it is not too adventurous. (you will really appreciate getting off your feet once you reach your ancient 40s though)

 

Cozumel: we liked Paradise Beach, take a cab and pay around $10 for a wristband to use kayaks and floats. They have waiters on the beach for food and drinks.

 

Belize: you need to book a tour here. Look on the Royal website or google around for private. We did the cave-tubing and it was fun but a bit crowded in the caves. People we met onboard said that scuba diving here was excellent. google Belize coral reef.

 

I forgot to add: go to the Ports of Call boards and look up your individual ports for lots of information/suggestions on what to do.

[hunter2004]

we sailed her twice, good food , great services and staff

 

Cave tubing in belize is fun water was very cold at first after that you will forget

 

have some cold bear at the port after got back from cave tubing

[globefrog]

We just booked on the 08/31 Sailing (same itinerary) and I have also been searching for Excursions.

 

So far I'm thinking:

 

Key West - walk around Duval and grab some key lime pie from Blonde Giraffe that everyone recommends

 

Cozumel - take a cab to Playa Uvas, it's about a $10 cab ride and $7 admission but looks amazing and has gotten great reviews from fellow CC'ers

 

Belize - we are considering doing the Bannister Island trip through Coral Breezes.

[pam_1024]

We were on Enchantment with the same itenerary in May. It was me and my 12 yo son. Here is what we did:

Key West: We took the Olde Town Trolley. This was great in that you could get off the trolley at various stops and then get back on another one. They run past each stop every 30 min. It's a relaxing way to see Key West! We toured the Hemingway House for the 2nd year in a row. My son wanted to see if the cats had grown any. :p We had chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick from Kermits which came highly recommended by the locals and didn't disappoint!

Cozumel: we took a cab to Paradise Island and had a wonderful day! Google their website. It will tell you all about what they have to offer. Folks of any age should find something enjoyable. This was my favorite stop on the cruise.

Belize: We did the zipline tour but not the cave tubing. Scared me to death but my son absolutely loved it. One thing i would recommend is to do an excursion through RC in Belize. Our excursion was running late and I was starting to panic because the last tender left Belize at 3 pm. Thankfully we made it but it was waaay too close for comfort! If your excursion is through RC and you are running late, the ship won't leave you. Belize is one place I would not want to get left!

[love2fish]

Just got back from our second time on the Enchantment.

 

We rented scooters in KW and visited Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park. Nice place to snorkel, tour the fort or just enjoy the beautiful scenery. The scooters were great way to get away from the beaten path of Duval Street. We did enjoy a drink at Sloppy Joes though!

 

In Cozumel, we went to Nachi Cocum. Go to the Cozumel board to read all of the reviews. It is definately an absolutely beautiful place to visit.

[jstewie23]

Going on Enchantment 8/17 so very interested in this thread.

 

In Belize I think we are going to do the Bannister Island excursion through Coral Breeze. Haven't decided about Cozumel yet. Maybe the Dolphin swim, maybe Paradise Island or Nachi Cocum...

[DJan07]

I just wanted to apologize for my comment about my parents being in their mid-forties and still active. Lol. When I said that, I meant that they are up for really challenging activities and like a good workout. A couple years ago we did the ropes course in St. Maarten and went on a really tough mountain biking excursion through the mountains of Curacao. I didn't mean to imply that they were old and incapable of doing any activities, but they certainly like a challenge! Our family, as a whole, finds relaxation through exciting and difficult excursions.

 

On another note, thanks to everyone for their suggestions and tips! :)

 

Derek

[SUZCRUZ]

Going on Enchantment 8/17 so very interested in this thread.

 

In Belize I think we are going to do the Bannister Island excursion through Coral Breeze. Haven't decided about Cozumel yet. Maybe the Dolphin swim, maybe Paradise Island or Nachi Cocum...

 

FYI, Great News! The prices on the dolphin swim have really come down since we were interested years ago.

The price now for the swim was $139.00 pp.

[gatour]

For Belize we really liked the Mayan tour. Between Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize we think the the Belize version is the best because of length of time of entire excursion and the quality of the ruins.

[jmaco]

We were planning on visiting Passion Island. Can anyone compare Passion to Nachi Cocum or Playa Uvas. We are a large group and Passion seems to be a relaxing way to go? Not familiar with Playa or Nachi? Suggestions / feedback would be appreciated. Thanks

[love2fish]

jmaco...my suggestion would be to visit the Cozumel message board. There is a lot of feedback there on the places you are questioning. I have only been to Nachi but I can tell you it is beautiful and quiet. Not sure what you're group is expecting from their visit to Mexico...a quiet place or one with lots of activities.

[rushedmom]

My best advice is eat at Chops!

 

love this boat going for our 3rd time in July!

 

oh and we are going to Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel, and snorkeling in Belize (I hear it is some of the best snorkeling in the Carribean)

[KAWS]

Key West- just walk around the town area. We like the shops and we

always visit the Sponge Monster and the cat store.

 

Where do you find the Sponge Monster and the cat store? And isn't there also some super sandal place that is a must see? Anyone know about that?

[CAT GIRL]

Where do you find the Sponge Monster and the cat store? And isn't there also some super sandal place that is a must see? Anyone know about that?

 

The cat store ( I think it's the Blue Cat or something like that) is in

a building with some shops in it. If you're walking towards the downtown

area it's on the left before you get to main area.

The Sponge Monster is in front of this neat shell store. It's just a

monster figure made out of sea sponges. It's about 7 feet tall. The

shell store sells all kinds of shells at a very low price.

[SamFritz]

We were planning on visiting Passion Island. Can anyone compare Passion to Nachi Cocum or Playa Uvas. We are a large group and Passion seems to be a relaxing way to go? Not familiar with Playa or Nachi? Suggestions / feedback would be appreciated. Thanks

 

DW and I went to Passion Island a few years ago, just after some really bad hurricane damage. It was beat up then, but you could tell how nice it would be when they got it back up to where it should be. As it was it was a very nice beach break with good food and lots of free drinks. I do recommend it.

[acc82]

Okay, I've been on enchantment twice

*1st in December of 2004 BEFORE the stretch

*most recently in 2007 after the stretch.

 

I must say that stretching and refurbishing is one of the best things RCCL's done. The pool is great now! when i went, they turned the pool area into a "miami style" nightclub on one of the nights. Of course, as someone else mentioned - you can't miss chops. they have the largest chops in all the fleet! the rock wall has been 'extended' - made larger.

 

as for excursions: i've been to key west only once and we did the walk around thing and ate lunch there as well as did ripley's believe it or not

 

cozumel: i've been to cozumel about 3 times. we've done the dolphin swim at chakanaab, snorkeling on the palancar reef, and the playa mia beach break with snorkel. i think the dophin swim is good to do once in your life, but i probably won't do it again as it's kinda overpriced. the palancar reef snorkel was great as well as the playa mia beach break! the beach break was cool because we got to snorkel (great snorkeling in cozumel!) and then you can get beer and food at playa mia.

 

 

here's a pic of dessert on chops (aboard enchantment) to get you ready:

[Chuckawoo]

My friend and I will be going on the same cruise as the OP, so all of this information has been EXTREMELY helpful...thanks to all! We are both first-time cruisers, so trying to learn everything has been quite overwhelming!

 

I do however, have one question of my own: my friend is not so much a fan of swimming in deep water, but I don't think snorkeling in Cozumel or Belize is something we should miss...do most of the snorkeling excursions have life jackets available?

 

Thanks again!

[Jimbo]

My friend and I will be going on the same cruise as the OP, so all of this information has been EXTREMELY helpful...thanks to all! We are both first-time cruisers, so trying to learn everything has been quite overwhelming!

 

I do however, have one question of my own: my friend is not so much a fan of swimming in deep water, but I don't think snorkeling in Cozumel or Belize is something we should miss...do most of the snorkeling excursions have life jackets available?

 

Thanks again!

 

Yes, and they will make you wear them, they are the type that you can blow into yourself so you can either add air into them to float or take the air out of them yourself so you can swim down deeper if you like.

 

Jimbo:)

[HHFamily]

Does anyone know if either Key West or Cozumel has a boardwalk with wheelchair ramps that we could use to get close enough to a place where we can watch our two teens snorkel? Thanks so much!

[LuckiePuris]

Have never been to any of the ports, but have found the following link for Cave Tubing which has some videos:

 

http://www.cave-tubing.com/belize-cave-tubing-video.html

 

Not sure if this is the same tour that the cruise line offers, but hope it gives you an idea of what to expect from Cave Tubing