X lover goes on very first Royal Caribbean cruise

[usha]

We recently returned from Enchantment of the Seas October 8th 4nt cruise. It was our very first on Royal Caribbean.
We booked this cruise because it fit the time window we had available, we liked the itinerary (Key West and Cozumel), and the price was great!

First off, let me say that we both really liked the ship. Enchantment is very, very pretty. I especially thought that the Orpheum theatre was lovely. The enclosed pool area was especially nice, but it was always full, so we didn't get to spend time there. Every public area seemed to be very well-maintained, and I was impressed that you could even see they were beginning to repair the outer hull damage caused by the "attack" of the Carnival Legend LOL!

Our inside cabin (2623) was really small, but very nice, with plenty of drawer space (way more than we needed for 4 days!) and closet space. The bed wasn't the most comfortable, but it wasn't the worst, either (Princess has the WORST beds!!!)
I must say, it was heavenly to be on a completely non-smoking deck, by virtue of RCI's smoke-free cabins! Bless you, Royal Caribbean!

I was unpacking our stuff, and realized to my shock that there was one drawer FULL of some woman's unmentionables! Also, in one of the behind-the-mirror shelves, there were other items the previous cruisers had forgotten. This was a definite first for us; in 28 cruises, we've never found stuff left behind by others (eek). We bagged it all up and took it to guest relations. (in hindsight, we should have turned it over to our cabin steward, but hindsight's 20/20, right?)

Speaking of our cabin steward, he was a really nice guy named Dennis from Costa Rica. He did everything in his power to make us comfortable and happy, bringing us bathrobes, extra towels, refilling the shampoo, extra bags for our laundry... he was a sweetie!

We had My Time Dining, and it worked out great for us. We visited the head waiter on day 1, and requested a standing reservation for a 7:15 pm table for 2. Poof! Our wish granted, and we had a great waiter & assistant waiter each evening. We learned quickly that we should heed the waiter's recommendations for what to order. When we ordered the "right" things, they were great; when we went off and ordered something else, we regretted it.

The Windjammer Cafe was really hit-or-miss, but we sure didn't starve. Some days, it was really hard to find two seats to have breakfast. We only ate one lunch there, the first day when we boarded; after that, we sort of grabbed hot dogs & fries or something & went outside one deck above the pools to eat.

That brings me to the pools...What a lovely pool area! Too bad they're not really doing anything to keep people from bringing their diapered infants into the pools! At least they've figured out a pretty good deterrent to chair hogs with the towel check-out (and the $20 fine for not turning in towels!) Chair hogging seemed to be a minimal problem. Noise was a maximum problem, so DH & I spent most of our sun-time up in the front of the ship, by the bungee-trampolines, that were almost never in use. It was roomy, peaceful & quiet, except for those INFERNAL Bingo announcements that seemed to come blasting out of nowhere.

The entertainment was good-to-very good. The absolute best show we've seen at sea consisted of the kids in the children's program all dressed & acting as pirates, crawling with their little paper knives & swords in theirs mouths down the aisles up to the stage in the Orpheu theater. They put on the cutest, most entertaining show EVER! They were obviously REALLY into what they were doing, and bravo to the staff who had worked with them to orchestrate this whole thing! It was just adorable! We loved it; it was a highlight of the cruise.

One "entertainment" thing that we found really quest-ionable was "Quest", the bawdy, raunchy gameshow that is evidently very popular with the vast majority onboard, but we felt it was way more denigrating than it was entertaining, and we left after about 10 minutes, when the gameshow host called for "RED PANTIES, I NEED A PAIR OF WOMEN'S RED PANTIES!!!" I was standing there wearing a red dress, with bare legs & high heel sandals, and another female passenger came up and asked me: "Do you have red panties????"
Okay, that was enough of that stuff....

One other thing about this cruise that was different was how few people really dressed for formal night. My husband wore his tux with tails & white tie (he was lookin GOOOOOOOD , and I wore a black & beige lace gown. I don't think there were 5 other couples we saw all evening that were really dressed formally. Oh, well, it sure made US look smashing

I would go on another Royal Caribbean cruise myself, but my husband wants to stick with Celebrity or Holland America, for the better food. But you never know....

[rebeljohn]

Thanks for the review of the Enchantment............
We too, are Celebrity/Holland fans, and we have chosen the Enchantment as our first RCCL cruise, on Halloween, a 5 nighter............
Now, we are looking forward to the 'kids' show. They are always so cute.........

[cb at sea]

When you hit the WJ, just sit in any empty seat....even if others are at the table....2 or 4 folks can't take up a 10-top table...or they shouldn't! Just sit, and smile and eat! If it offends them, then they'll leave! No big deal!
Too bad about the diapered ones....you should have told a pool attendant,(if you could find one) to do something about it....that's just totally nasty!
I'm glad you enjoyed dressing up...I've never understood why folks would book a vacation that suggested dressing up on certain nights, and then ignoring the suggestion....surely, there are other vacations that would have suited the "casual" vacationers better!

[Darkwolfe]

Quest is ALWAYS going to be warped. You should see the video I have from Voyager in 2007! CD had a very LARGE "upper body support garment" on his head!

In any case Enchantment seems to be holding up to her standard over all. If you get a chance, take a longer cruise on her in the future. I hope to do that myself.

[yogimax]

Originally Posted by usha

I must say, it was heavenly to be on a completely non-smoking deck, by virtue of RCI's smoke-free cabins! Bless you, Royal Caribbean!

Celebrity has the same non-smoking policy in cabins, but extends it to balconies as well.

[Pooh8941]

Thanks for writing this very witty review. Really enjoyed reading it. I've been thinking about the Enchantment for the future since it cruises out of Norfolk.

[HeavySurf]

Usha, I am so pleased that you enjoyed Enchantment of the Seas. We have sailed on that ship three times, twice this year. Hubby likes the size of the ship, while I am a "the bigger the ship, the better" gal, but do confess that Enchantment is very comfortable.

We're not big Quest fans, but we do love the 70s Disco show held in the Centrum. What fun! We also enjoy the theater shows.

We never had much difficulty finding a table at breakfast, but that may be because we are pretty much up and at em by 7:00AM.

May I suggest, if you do happen to consider another RCI cruise, try one of their elegant Radiance Class ships, such as Radiance, Jewel, Brillance of the Seas. If you liked Enchantment, I am certain you will like those ships.

[usha]

Originally Posted by yogimax

Celebrity has the same non-smoking policy in cabins, but extends it to balconies as well.

Yes, and I'm REEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY looking forward to our balcony cabin on Constellation in February!!!

[usha]

Originally Posted by Darkwolfe

In any case Enchantment seems to be holding up to her standard over all. If you get a chance, take a longer cruise on her in the future. I hope to do that myself.

I'm thinking that that's probably sooooooo true, I'd like to see what a longer RCI cruise would be like, although I don't know if I could interest my husband in trying it.

[usha]

Heavysurf, thank you, and thanks for the Radiance recommendation.

Pooh, I'm glad you're encouraged about Enchantment. It's really pretty enchanting...
cb at sea, we DID tell the staff about the diapered kid, but they really didn't do anything! We felt like big old cranks! It wasn't pretty, let me tell ya~

rebeljohn, the mini-pirates are easily the most awesome entertainment onboard! You'll just love those little ones! RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

[pcl_cruiser]

Ok I have read this exact post at least two times before....hmmmm it kinda makes you wonder!

[usha]

Originally Posted by pcl_cruiser

Ok I have read this exact post at least two times before....hmmmm it kinda makes you wonder!

yeah, I posted this as a review, and I posted it on the Royal Caribbean board...
so, what is it that makes you wonder???

[BehrHunter]

I was going to ask why you wrote about an x lover but then I figured what happens on the boat stays on the boat and its none of my business LOL

[pcl_cruiser]

No it wasn't a review it was on these boards and it has been a while ago! It just seems that some will do anything to get things stirred up thats all! I just find it hard to believe as thoroughly as they clean those rooms that kind of stuff would have been found there, thats just weird to me.

[usha]

Oh!!! I SOOOO get that!!!
It seemed really weird to us, too!
None the less, I really hope that the previous cruiser gets her bunch of bras back.
I would hate to think that I could lose so many unmentionables on one little cruise!!! I'm just sayin.....

[pcl_cruiser]

Also as for formal dinners, I agree I am not sure why more people don't dress up. I look forward to that, I mean we can't afford to go to the kind of places that you can dress up to when we aren't on a ship. I think people are getting a little to casual. I realize it is vacation but to me that is just it you are on vacation...live it up!

[amybeth4]

WHITE TIE AND TAILS!?!?! I'm toooootally in love. If only the men who came to formal night in t-shirts realized how good they would "clean up" if they'd only wear a tux (much less a white tie and TAILS)...many of us single broads would be drooling...

(Maybe their wives tell them NOT to wear tuxes for that very reason!)

-written after two gin & tonics and a martooni

[olemissreb]

Originally Posted by usha

Yes, and I'm REEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY looking forward to our balcony cabin on Constellation in February!!!

We cruised on the Connie 4 1/2 years ago in a balcony suite! They are suite! Enjoyed having coffee on the balcony in the AM and having pre-dinner drinks out there in the PM. It was even nice to sit out there and read a book in the afternoon on the at sea day.

Enjoy! I know you'll have a great time!

[cruisingator2]

Originally Posted by usha

I'm thinking that that's probably sooooooo true, I'd like to see what a longer RCI cruise would be like, although I don't know if I could interest my husband in trying it.

Take a look at one of the four Radiance class ships. They are without a doubt the most beautiful ship that I have cruised. A little bit different experience than the larger Voyager and Freedom class ships.

[BroncosFan2010]

Thanks for your review! It was honest and objective. If you take another RCCL cruise, I suggest taking a longer, 7 night, that leaves out of San Juan, or any cruise on the Radiance Class ships. The Radiance class ships are amazingly beautiful, are known for being the best in the fleet for food and service, and more people seem to be willing to dress up for formal nights! I know we sure do!