mevs904

Actually, we accepted a Move Over offer from Princess this past summer for our 14 day Mediterranean cruise on the Enchanted. It was a total win. The new date that we chose to sail had much better weather and the Princess representative that we spoke to found us a little larger balcony stateroom than the one that we originally had in the same section of the ship. She also rebooked our EZ Air flights and Princess absorbed the increase in fares for the new dates. We received our checks for the refunded cruise fare exactly when they said that they would arrive (approximately 6 weeks after the cruise). We could not have asked for anything better and would willingly take another Move Over offer again if it was ever offered in the future. Realistically, good fortune of this nature is usually a one time thing.

Yes, we used Ephesus Shuttle to take a tour of Ephesus and then stopped at the Temple of Artemis. There were a total of 7 people from the ship on the tour, two separate couples and an older couple with their granddaughter. The cost of the tour was much less than the Princess tour and we rode in a comfortable, modern minivan. Our guide was excellent and Ephesus was an amazing archeological site. On the way back to the ship we had the option of stopping at a government run facility where young women were taught to make Turkish carpets. The women live there for about 6 months and then the government gives them their own modern loom and sends them back home to make carpets. The process was very interesting. No one was interested in purchasing a carpet so we then left. Yes, we did get tea and cookies there. That seems to be SOP. We were very pleased with Ephesus Shuttle and would definitely use them again. Their email communication was very prompt and informative. They also did not require payment until after the tour. Please don’t consider staying on the ship. There’s so much to see at this interesting port. We actually liked it much better than Athens.

I would like to offer a compromise to the original poster. We were in Istanbul on the Enchanted at the end of June and after doing some research on this site and other travel sites we booked a tour with Ephesus Shuttle. They operate mini-tours with a maximum of 10 people. Their tours are with a van or on the tram. We went with a tram tour. It was the best decision we could have made. There were 6 people on our tour. Our guide was waiting for us with a sign as soon as we exited the port. He led us to the tram, purchased our tickets and we had a smooth ride to the Hagia Sophia. (We did have to stand up on the tram, but it was a short ride.). Our tour included the Top Kapi Palace, the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the market. Because it was a holiday the market was closed so our guide asked us if we would like to do the Basilica Cistern instead. We were delighted with that substitution. Because the Cistern admission was not included in our original tour we did have to pay extra for that. Our guide went to a ticket booth for guides so we didn’t have to wait in the ticket line. Booking with Ephesus Shuttle was the best decision we made during our entire cruise. Their communication via email was prompt and courteous and they did not require payment ahead of time. The cost of the tour was less than the Princess tours and there were only 6 on our tour. We also used Ephesus Shuttle for our tour of Ephesus and had a similar positive experience. If we return to Turkey again we would definitely want to tour with them. Both of the guides that we had were excellent. I hope that you will look into this option for your upcoming trip. Enjoy!

We were on the Enchanted in Europe at the end of June and the beginning of July. You had to look hard to find people who were dressed in white and gold. On the other hand, on formal nights many passengers were dressed in some version of “formal” wear. We saw only one person wearing a baseball cap in the dining room. We enjoyed dressing up and appreciated the little extra touches that the crew provided to make the evening special.

We were on the Enchanted earlier this summer and were frequently able to find loungers in the Wake Pool and Retreat pool areas. We had no interest in relaxing in the loud, crowded main pool area, but I do understand your disappointment and frustration. We also had a mini-suite balcony with chairs, but no loungers. We used our balcony mainly for observing the ocean and the interesting sail-ins and sail- outs.

I completely agree with this. For us, a ship with a full promenade deck is a must. We don’t care if it’s an “older” ship. Our previous Alaska cruise was on the Coral and given her full promenade deck and front and aft viewing areas she was perfect for Alaska. We are very grateful to the Cruise Critic posters who highly recommend the Coral when we took our cruise years ago. Royal class ships would be our last choice for an Alaska cruise.

We would never book a cabin on the Rivera deck for entirely different reasons. We always book a balcony room because we love to watch the ocean and the activity on the water during sail ins and sail outs. For us, the Rivera deck is too high, too far away from the interesting things that are happening on the water. We’re much happier on the Caribe and Dolphin decks.

I agree with the posters who commented that the lobster tails in the MDR have improved. On our recent Enchanted cruise they were much better than on previous Caribbean cruises. Definitely from a different, better quality source. While sympathetic to the passengers who are pescatarians, we have no problem with the extra charge for second servings. It must be very challenging to make decisions to keep cruise fares under control.

We were just on the Rome to Barcelona Enchanted cruise and I concur with what sboh has said. There were two formal nights on both legs of this cruise and in each case people dressed less formally than the first night. It may be because of luggage capacity limitations. We also thought it was nice to see so many people dressed up. I wore a cocktail dress and my SO wore a dark suit and tie. The majority of the people we saw were similarly dressed. There were definitely some tuxedos. It may be that those who chose not to dress up on those nights did not attend the Captain’s reception and did not dine in the MDR. We enjoy dressing up on the very rare occasions that we can and we also enjoy the efforts that the ship and crew make to provide a special evening.

We were just in a mini-suite on the Enchanted and my guy needed an extension cord from the cabin attendant to plug in his CPAP. The extension cord connected to an outlet over the desk. During the night when it was plugged in we had to be very careful not to trip over the cord.

We attended the P/E reception several nights on our recent 14 day Enchanted Med cruise and were pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of the foods that were offered. We had read negative reports before we left and weren’t expecting much, but each night there was a differing variety of hors d’oeuvres that were similar to those in Steelers0854’s photos. The reception was in the Take Five Lounge and the time worked well for us as we dine later. Can’t comment on the cost of drinks as we were on the Plus Package.

Interesting…fabulous is the word that we’ve been using to describe our cruise to inquiring relatives and friends. We would love to do it again, but there are other adventures that we are looking at. I’m sure that you will have a wonderful time on a future Med cruise.

Unfortunately, Alghero wasn’t on our itinerary.

No problems with either of our flights. We flew from JFK to Rome and then boarded the ship. Our return was from Barcelona to JFK. Both flights were smooth and arrived on time. As we checked in for our flight from Barcelona they informed us that the flight was overbooked and offered us $1200 and overnight hotel accommodations if we would fly home the next day instead. We politely declined. Both airports are modern and very clean, especially Barcelona.

In Kotor we just enjoyed walking around the town and taking photos. Some passengers climbed up to enjoy the views, but we chose not to do that. Since we had recently had a great land tour of Sicily we chose to stay in town and explore the area around the port. At this port we would definitely recommend looking into excursions to Taormina or Mt. Etna. We’ve been to both and they are very interesting.

We had no problems getting off of the ships in either Turkey port. We also had a 7:30 meeting time with our guide in Kusadasi and she was right there as we came out holding a sign with our names on it. The van was waiting nearby in the street. It was the same in Istanbul where we had a 9:30 meeting time. Both guides were fluent in English and very knowledgeable. As I mentioned before, both guides were very conscientious about getting us back to the ship in plenty of time for the All Aboard.

The production shows were usually at 8:00 and 10:00. Some shows, like the final show on the night before we disembarked, were only one performance at 9:00. That made it difficult for those who ate dinner at 8:00.

We just disembarked from the Enchanted on Saturday and we frequently went to the Take Five Lounge. Tamantha was a great waitperson and gave us some good recommendations for different drinks. We also loved listening to The Larry King Trio.

I’m happy to offer feedback that may help others. This was such a rich experience and I’m hoping that others have the same wonderful time that we did.

We boarded in Rome and since we were just there in October we flew in on embarkation dat and transferred directly to the port. The same applies to the Naples port stops. Since we were just there and had been to Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, and Amalfi we did not book an excursion. In retrospect, we wished we had gone to Herculaneum. We did get off of the ship for a bit and explore. Although it’s a short walk off of the ship in Naples it’s a very busy area traffic area with a city atmosphere and few notable attractions. In Heraklion we took a ship’s tour to a drive through the city to a pottery studio in the country and then the archeological museum. The two ports in Turkey were with Ephesus Shuttle, the Ephesus ruins and Terrace Houses and the mosques, Topkapi Palace and Basilica Cistern in Istanbul. We also took a ship’s tour of the two towns in Santorini and explored independently in Mykonos, Kotor, and Messina. Kotor was a special delight.

The ship was immaculate. It sparkled, and crew members were very visible keeping it that way. We are not big fans of the Royal Class ships. We prefer ships with a full promenade deck, but given a desirable itinerary we would willingly sail on the Enchanted again. The ship was close to capacity, but we never had a big problem with crowds.

Yes, our Istanbul tour included Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace. We went to the Palace first and spent quite a bit of time there. After that we went to Hagia Sophia so it was probably close to noon. Unfortunately, it was during the Sacrificial Feast holiday so it was very busy since schools and many offices were closed. There was a line, but our guide told us that it would move fairly quickly and it did. There was no line at the Palace and Blue Mosque, but again, it was very busy. Because of the holiday the Grand Bazaar was closed. Ephesus Shuttle Tours had advised us of this in advance, but some of the people on the Princess excursions weren’t aware. This turned out to be an advantage for us because our guide asked us if we wanted to go the Basilica Cistern instead we were very excited about that. We did have to pay for that admission since it wasn’t included in the tour we booked. There was a long line there, but our guide told us not to worry as he had “Magic” and sure enough we were able to go right to the ticket office, purchase our tickets and enter. Again, this was an unusually busy day in the city, but all of the attractions were within walking distance from each other and there were only 6 people in our tour. I should also note that we took the tram from the ship to the mosques and back again. We could have booked the tour using a van, but the reviews from previous travelers strongly suggested using the tram because auto traffic in the city was very slow and would use up some of our precious time.

Yes, I agree about the communications with Ephesus Shuttle. Emails from Fevzi, the head of the company were prompt and thorough. On the way back to the ship in Kusadasi we stopped at the office to pay for our tour with a credit card. I met Fevzi, a very personable gentleman.

The weather and temperatures were ideal, primarily highs in the 70’s with a couple of days in the low 80’s. We were apprehensive about high temperatures, but they didn’t materialize. The last two days it was definitely getting warmer, but not oppressive. Sea breezes in several of the ports were refreshing. We felt very fortunate, but this may have been a fluke. It could have easily been very hot. There’s no way to make a prediction several months in advance.

Well, there may not be a “real” sommelier, but on last week’s Enchanted cruise a gentleman came up to our table in Sabatini’s, introduced himself as the sommelier and inquired about our opinion of the bottle of wine that we had ordered. We were surprised by his visit and found out that he was shared among 4 restaurants on the ship.