pittisit

DL & CL are up in the area that was the Viking Crown Lounge...Top deck..

Probably because the Diamond lounge on Enchantment is actually on the upstairs portion of the VCL above the dance floor.

oops. sorry. next time the barely platinum guy won't answer the question about the loyalty lounges... :rolleyes:

DL & CL are on 12 by solarium

Solarium on Enchantment is on Deck 9...

I think you want Deck 8. http://www.cruisecritic.com/enchantment-of-the-seas-deck-plans/dp/?shipID=73&deck=8

enchantment doesn't have a 12th deck...

What is a shot packet?

Porta shots - I find them at my local Total Wine

http://www.portashots.com/

I get the soda package, and then make rum and cokes or whiskey cokes (or sprite) If you want rum, get the "Gold"

I throw a few in my pocket when heading to the pool deck and rip and pour into my soda cup.

Much more convenient than trying to smuggle in a contact lens bottle or mouthwash. And I don't have to carry around a flask.

We bring "boxed wine" (don't laugh)

It's the equivalent of 4 bottles and we remove it from the box. We put it in a zip loc bag (incase it gets broken) and it lays flat nicely in the suitcase.

with a little planning you can find some really nice box wines (I like Bota Box Old Vine Zin) - Excellent!

I don't know how they track the allowance, but we bring this and some porta-shot packets and never have any issues. (yes carry on)

Thanks for posting about your experience! I will be cruising on the Enchantment for the first time at the end of this month (have been on other RCCL ships, just not this one). I have convinced my friend to give cruising a try, so it will be her first time on any ship... so I am especially happy to hear you had so many positive experiences (I'm hoping to successfully convert her into a "cruiser" just as you did with your friends :D)

 

Melissa

You'll have a great time. You can tell the people who work on Enchantment love the ship.

Advice - if you're looking for more chairs/deck to sunbathe, try deck ten aft near the rock wall. It's quieter and you can cut into the fitness center to use the restrooms when needed. (just make sure you calculate where the sun is going to be)!

We live near Port Canaveral and went on a 3 day with our friends who have never cruised before.

Some thoughts:

- Terminal 1 at Canaveral is AMAZING - it's efficient, well designed, has clean bathrooms (located throughout), and is easy to drive in / out of.

- Chops and the MDR were both significantly better than our last cruise on Freedom. This was the best Chops Experience (of 4) that we've had. Amazing service from Ronaldo. I am going to let corporate know how great he was. Food was outstanding as well - on par with $100 a plate spots we've been to. Still an Impressive experience for $30 a head.

- Our steward was fantastic as well.

- For being an "older" ship, she's in great shape. Much better than Monarch before they transferred her. Nice to have something newer for a short cruise close by.

- we brought a box of wine and a lot of "shot packets" and no one said anything about this being an issue to us. Made for a much more enjoyable weekend to drink our own wine and not feel nickel and dimed. (bota box old vine zin is great) - also bartenders happily gave us wine glasses so we didn't have to rip them off a table as we walked by

- they did a great job of making sure that people who wanted to watch the super bowl could - ship was a ghost town during the game if you weren't in one of the 4 locations.

A few quirks we didn't like

- debarkation was fine since we were on deck 4, but those on higher decks were stuck standing in line on deck 5 outside. This happened on Freedom too. Why don't they do 2 debarkation gangways?! Not fun to spend the last 3 hours of your cruise waiting to get off the boat.

- since it was chilly outside, the Solarium was crowded

- we had to skip coco cay due to wind, but instead went to Nassau early - (fair compromise!)

Overall very minor complaints, and a great vacation for the price. Got $125 OBC and an inside room - total sea pass charge was $78.

Bottom Line: we converted our friends to start cruising too! (I guess Royal did their part in this area too)

Wanted to share some positivity with this board that has taught me so much about getting the most out of our cruises.

Have fun!

Yeah, I am protecting him by being general/vague.

Really interesting to get the perspective - kind of like talking to a Pilot on a flight.

He did say that both lines - that when at sea, the captain "owns" the boat. The execs back on land can only make "requests," but when they do, they are asking the Captain if "he is able to x or y." They also ask him what they can do for him - because the Captain is in charge.

Pretty cool.

Hi there:

I had dinner with a former 10 yr RCCL employee who is now with Disney. I won't say what he does because I want to protect his identity.

He regularly cruises all the lines (for evaluating the competition) and he said the main problem with RCCL from a loyalty perspective, is that they spend SO MUCH on the new ships, that they become the marketing draw for the entire line. The commercials feature the latest ship, and every passenger thinks that's what they'll get when they board.

However, these brand new ships also bring with them a huge premium in fare, which most of the RCCL passengers can't afford or won't want to pay.

(hence Quantum going to affluent Asian customers first)

This is also why they don't do much to the ships when they DryDock - the money is spent on the new ships.

Disney's strategy is different, as is the customer. Less ships and more margin per customer means better food, more upgrades and dry docks, and more "magic."

So, to all those comparing who think one is better than another - remember that if you're comparing Carnival to Royal to Disney, you're comparing Chevy to Toyota to Lexus - (not saying Carnival is CHevy and Disney is Lexus - I've never been on Disney and it's been a while since Carnival)

I'm just pointing out that these are profit-seeking businesses with different targets, goals, and strategies. Choose the line that fits your style and budget. Wanted to share a 10 year higher ups comments about RCCL from the inside.

Happy Cruising.

Droop: We'll bring our small backpack. Thanks again for your help. We'll attach pics and update you upon our return in late march! :o)

Our trip starts at 1pm. I didn't notice that the other day. No biggie.

We can explore in the morning if we want. I went ahead and booked it. Sounds like a fun non-beach, shaded thing my wife and I can do to exercise and enjoy some jungle.

Saw the mountain bike excursion and thought of you :-) We don't bike a lot and the reviews of that excursion sounded treacherous even for experienced mountain bikers.

So from what you're saying, from start to finish, we're talking 5 hours? Not bad for $60 pp.

We'll bring snacks, water, and bug spray - sounds like fun.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for your feedback and info!

My wife and I are in our 20s and work out pretty regularly, so I don't think the activity will be too strenuous for us, but I really don't like it when people don't heed the warnings on the website about ability and difficulty. We end up waiting around and wasting our day for someone that could have done something more applicable to their condition.

That being said, (1) how long was your "trek" from the top down and (2) how long did it take to get up the mountain (once leaving the ship)? we are doing this on RCL Navigator in March and don't want to waste the whole day with this one...'

We want some time to explore St. Maarten as its our first port.

Thanks again for seeing me here! :-)

BUMP - I need help with this one please! Anyone done the Downhill trek? any feedback?!

Did anyone do this excursion? My wife and I don't want Bernard - we're not big drinkers and don't want to spend time getting on and off a minibus for several hours. We want something active like the downhill trek.

I understand the bus that takes you up the mountain is like a safari vehicle - but has anyone done this? How long does it take? worthwhile? fun?

THANKS!

Does anyone know the cost of a one-way transfer from Port Canaveral to MCO? I'm trying to decide whether to do a transfer or a car rental. Thanks.

You have to pay $15/day to park plus the cost of the rental. Get a transfer for sure!