Short Review of the July 6th Sailing of the Enchantment of the Seas!

[DJan07]

My family just returned from an amazing cruise on the July 6th sailing of the Enchantment of the Seas! The cruise sailed from and ended in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, and the ports included Key West, Florida; Cozumel, Mexico; and Belize City, Belize. Now that we’ve been back a couple days and have settled down, it’s time for a short review! I’ll just mention some of my personal highlights of the cruise since most of the basics have been covered and are readily available elsewhere.

 

Around the Ship: Even as a 20 year old college student and as someone who has sailed on three Voyager-class ships, I had a great time on the Enchantment. Despite the Enchantment not having all the bells and whistles, I had a fantastic vacation. The Cruise Director’s Staff did an incredible job keeping the passengers busy with lots of fun activities. I was NEVER bored even without mini-golf, the Royal Promenade or a basketball court. I must say that this cruise had one of the best atmospheres of all my cruises. The nightclub in the Viking Crown Lounge had great music and a lively crowd. The nightclubs on my past voyages mostly played 90s music and catered to a slightly older crowd, but I didn’t find this to be the case on the Enchantment. As I mentioned, this fun/party atmosphere was tasteful but felt throughout the ship. After the Farewell Show, the Cruise Director’s Staff hosted a 70’s Disco Party in the Centrum, and it was a BLAST! The staff dressed up like the Village People and had a dancing act, all of the officers showed up to enjoy and all of the guests were dancing and smiling. Rico, the Cruise Director, did an amazing job on this cruise, and I always enjoyed him. Oh, and speaking of the officers, Captain Ban and his staff were absolutely awesome! Captain Ban, himself, gave great announcements, was a “guest judge” for the Belly Flop Contest, played on the officer’s water volleyball team and danced at the 70’s Disco Party. The rest of the officers joined in all the fun all around the ship as well. I must say this certainly improved my cruise experience on the Enchantment!

 

I did experience one small “negative” while onboard, but it was of no fault to Royal Caribbean. The winds were so strong during our cruise that I was unable to go on the Bungee Trampolines. Lol. I was really looking forward to trying it, but it was always closed due to high winds. Hopefully I’ll get to try it sometime!

 

Cabin: My brother and I stayed in Cabin 8159 and my parents in Cabin 8155. This was a Category K inside room, and it was great for everyone. We were able to have two bathrooms and save money all at the same time. The rooms were clean upon our arrival and our Stateroom Attendant, Nelson, was great!

 

Food: I’ve always enjoyed Royal Caribbean’s cuisine, but I must say that in the Main Dining Room, the Enchantment kicked things up a notch. Everything I ate was well prepared and delicious! The service at Table 448 was pretty good. Our Assistant Waiter, Miroslav, was relatively new, so he didn’t have the most experience, but he did his best. Our Waiter, Stanislov, was absolutely fantastic. He picked up the slack from the Assistant Waiter and catered to our every request. The entire family had a great dining experience. All of the food in the Windjammer Marketplace was very good as well!

 

Key West: In Key West, my family walked around a few hours to explore, and then we rented scooters for about an hour or so. We visited Ernest Hemmingway’s home, Harry Truman’s home, the Southernmost Point in the U.S., and then drove around the island. It was quite a relaxing day, and we had a lot of fun.

 

Cozumel: My family hasn’t had the best time in Cozumel in the past, but we certainly did this time! It seems that everytime we’ve visited the island it POURS down rain. Without fail the second we walked off the ship there was a downpour. Haha. Well, since we did the ATV and Beach Tour, this wasn’t a problem. The ATV Tour was one of my favorite excursions of all-time. The path, sites we visited, length of the trip and the tour guides were all awesome! The huge rain puddles had everyone covered in mud once the trip was over, but I thought it was much more fun that way.

 

Belize: I Belize City, we did the Reef Rocket Tour. Once again, the weather was cool and rainy, but we managed to have a great time. Getting to the actual port, however, wasn’t enjoyable. There were some strong waves and the slow tenders made the rocking pretty bad. It took about 20 minutes each way, but there was nothing to do but wait to get on shore. Anyway, back to the Reef Rocket. Once we got to Belize City, we boarded the Reef Rocket (a really fast boat) and it took us to a small private island in the middle of the ocean. The island was about 50 yards by 30 yards, so it was TINY. They had a dock, a porta-potty, drinks and food for the guests. Although the current was extremely strong, the snorkeling in Belize was one of my favorites. One negative about this tour was the cleanliness of the snorkel gear. Once we had used the gear, the employees hurriedly put everything back into the bags and we watched the second-round of people on the excursion put on our gear. Other than that, this was a great excursion. After we got back to Belize City, we just walked around and did some shopping. We found an absolute treasure there, too. We happened to stumble upon the Rainforest Rumcakes stand and had a few samples… and then we bought four boxes. Haha. For me, those rumcakes beat Tortuga’s hands down. It’s right on the main boardwalk, so definitely stop there if you have time!

 

Overall, my family had a fantastic cruise aboard the Enchantment of the Seas. Even without the bells and whistles of the newer ships, the ship, staff and excursions were just what we needed for a relaxing vacation. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

[Tanker4]

We've done Enchantment twice on the same itenirary and as you said, she may not have the latest bells and whistles but she's a great ship. In fact, we've also been on the Mariner a couple of times and liked Enchantment better. Her sister ship Grandeur hasn't been stretched but she's also one of our favorites.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and thanks for the review.:)