"LIVE" from Enchantment of the Seas / Nov 4, 2010

[ckrobyn]

Radio :)

Thanks for the updates! So glad the weather is improving for you!! I am anxious to hear your report about Labadee - there has been so much discussion here with regard to the Cholera outbreak :( I will be in Labadee next week on the Freedom :)

Enjoy the rest of your cruise, and thanks again for taking us along with you. It is a lot of work to do a LIVE report, and you are amazing to do it as often as you do!

Cheers,

Robyn

[Sugar*Magnolia]

>>>>>

 

Labadee NEW Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I noticed at Dragons Plaza, #7 is "Sign Up". Do you know if you must pre-bookor if you can walk up and pay and "sign up". If you were in the area, did you notice if there was a long line or was it quiet? Labadee sure looks like it has changed a lot since we were therein 07!

 

Glad the weather is cooperating!

[Radio]

I noticed at Dragons Plaza, #7 is "Sign Up". Do you know if you must pre-bookor if you can walk up and pay and "sign up". If you were in the area, did you notice if there was a long line or was it quiet? Labadee sure looks like it has changed a lot since we were therein 07!

 

Glad the weather is cooperating!

 

 

You can book on board the ship, but you still have to sign the waiver at the Sign Up area. . .When I arrived, I had a bout a 5min wait.

 

The good weather lasted until about 1PM today. . .

 

 

 

Radio

;);)

 

 

.

[YumPo]

Hi Radio, thank you for your wonderful posts! It's funny --in May, you were on the Explorer just a week before we took our 9 night Caribbean cruise and your posts made me really anticipate our trip even more. Now here you are on the Enchantment, and we are sailing on her starting November 18th, once again only a week from now. I've never been on the Enchantment but I LOVED the Grandeur (what a lovely ship with a fantastic, friendly crew, and it was the best cruise ever!) and your photos make me think I just might love her as much as I loved the Grandeur.

 

You always have such a terrific upbeat attitude no matter what happens; I'm sure you must be a great companion and fun to travel with on all of your trips! Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[Radio]

Hi Radio,

 

Lovely pics, I always enjoy tagging along with you on your cruises. Did you feel more crowded with the Explorer being there at the same time as the EN?

 

Annieeee

 

 

Hi Annieeee ! Thanks for the nice comments. . . . It didn't feel more crowded at all.

 

The Enchantment sailed with 2000, and Explorer with 3100.

 

The Oasis has been sailing with OVER 6000 passengers. . .So Labadee is used to the crowds.

 

Yes, there was still a line for dining, and re boarding. . . but that's expected !

 

 

 

Radio

;);)

[Jimbo]

Hi Annieeee ! Thanks for the nice comments. . . . It didn't feel more crowded at all.

 

The Enchantment sailed with 2000, and Explorer with 3100.

 

The Oasis has been sailing with OVER 6000 passengers. . .So Labadee is used to the crowds.

 

Yes, there was still a line for dining, and re boarding. . . but that's expected !

 

 

 

Radio

;);)

 

Best thing about it now.......NO TENDERS !:eek:

 

Jimbo:)

[Radio]

Radio, your pics of Enchantment are making me want to try her for Bermuda next fall. She looks gorgeous! You mentioned a fresh water pool, I believe. Which one is that, please? And other than room service, is there any place to get food after the WJ has closed at night? (I'm used to ships with the Cafe Promenade.)

 

The Freshwater pool are closest to the Viking Crown Lounge. The Saltwater pool is close to the Windjammer.

 

The Solarium is open late for burgers, hot dogs, and Pizza. . .

 

 

Radio

;);)

 

 

.

[Radio]

Hello everyone ! I had a great day today in Labadee. . . I left the ship at about 9AM, and we had warm weather that was partly sunny for about 4hrs. . . It started raining hard by about 1PM, and didn’t let up until we sailed away.

 

I really enjoyed Labadee today, and the cloudy weather (with sun breaks) was not bad. I need to come back though so I can take some better pics of all that Labadee has to offer(without rain). The main things that were added were more and larger public facilities like dining area, restrooms, info centers, and trams.

 

Labadee is set up in 6 distinct areas or “Neighborhoods” as listed below:

 

Dragon’s Plaza

Buccaneer’s Bay

Town Square

Adrenaline Beach

Columbus Cove

Barefoot Beach Club

 

There are Tram Stations in 4 of the 6 areas, and I spent a good bit of time at Adrenaline Beach. I was able to take a swim, watch the Folklore Show in Town Square, and have lunch. It was a nice lunch with Burgers, Hot dogs, BBQ Chicken and Ribs. (salads and desserts also)

 

The highlight of my day though was Dragon’s Tail Coaster. Wow, I loved it ! It has been open for over a year, but I haven’t been to Labadee in a while. It’s kind of like a coaster, but there is only a maximum of 2 passengers per car.

 

It takes a few minutes to get up the large hill, but once you are up at the top. . .hold on ! It is very fast. . . You do have a hand brake to slow you down if needed. You are not allowed to get close to other drivers, and there are traffic lights (Red-Green-Yellow) so you know if you are getting to close to the car in front.

 

I rode 3 times, and I loved it. . . I can’t wait to take Mrs. Radio on this ride when we sail Allure in May 2011. Hmmm. . . I might have to try Dragon’s breath Flight Line next time. . .

 

I strolled around, and looked at the new Artisan’s Village. There are about 50 local vendors that sell carvings, shirts, jewelry etc. This is the place were you can bargain, if you want. I didn’t care for it too much, because I didn’t care for the aggressive nature of the vendors. I preferred the Artisans Market, where everything is priced, and there are no aggressive salespeople. All of the local vendors take cash only.

 

There were many areas where you could use your Sea Pass card to make purchases for RCI logo gear, drinks, and rentals. They had to look at your card to see what ship you were on because Explorer transactions were electronic, while Enchantment were all manual paper transactions. I guess Labadee is only used to 1 ship at a time. . .

 

We left the dock promptly at 4PM, and within 5 minutes of leaving port we could no longer see the pier on Explorer of the Seas. The fog and clouds were very thick, and very heavy. . .

 

Our next stop is Baltimore Maryland which is 1054 nm away. . . I still have 3 night left on this cruise, so the “LIVE” post will carry on until we arrive in Cruise Maryland. . . .

 

Here are a few pics from today. Thanks for all of the nice comments. Tomorrow is a relaxing sea day, and I will try to re read all of the posts to answer any questions that I may have missed.

 

 

 

Thanks for tuning in !

 

 

 

Radio

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Labadee. . . All passengers on board at 330PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love it that Labadee has a pier now. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I should have gotten off of the ship before Explorer came in so get could get a pic of Enchantment of the Seas by herself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were lots of Blue Cabanas for passengers (no charge)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The water was calm and warm on Adrenaline Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The surf was rough on the rocks protecting Adrenaline Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Radio]

Best thing about it now.......NO TENDERS !

 

Jimbo:)

 

 

Yes Jimbo, you are right. . . I am not a big fan of Tenders :(

 

 

 

Radio

;);)

[Radio]

Here are a few more. . .

 

 

Radio

 

 

It’s time for Dragon’s Tail Coaster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok. . It looks like I’m next to go. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going slowly up the big hill. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green means “GO Fast !”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You could see everything from the coaster. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The winds and rain started coming in hard. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[TPKeller]

 

We left the dock promptly at 5PM...

 

 

Welcome to Labadee. . . All passengers on board at 330PM

 

 

On board 90 minutes before leaving? Is that normal? Seems unusually long.

 

Theron

[Radio]

These are the last for tonight. . . More Pics tomorrow of Labadee !

 

Thanks for tuning in. . .

 

 

Radio

 

 

 

Here is one of the views of Artisan’s Village

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The heavy wind caused some passengers to get stuck on the Flight Line. . .

Labadee workers had to throw ropes to them to get them back to the platform.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel like I’m on the pier in Cozumel. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last few passengers make it back to Enchantment of the Seas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We pull away slowly from the pier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We say so long to Labadee. . . Until next time

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Radio]

On board 90 minutes before leaving? Is that normal? Seems unusually long.

 

Theron

 

We were scheduled in Labadee from 7-4, and Explorer was 8-5.

 

 

Ooops. . I see that I posted the wrong time. . .

 

I fixed it. . . Thanks !

 

Time for coffee !

 

 

 

Radio

;);)

 

.

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

:DThank you so much Radio. I'm enjoying this so much. Enchantment was our first cruise ever way before the stretch and I'm very excited to have her in Baltimore. We will be on BtoB in January so this is such a great source of info for us.:D

[TPKeller]

We were scheduled in Labadee from 7-4, and Explorer was 8-5.

 

 

Ooops. . I see that I posted the wrong time. . .

 

I fixed it. . . Thanks !

 

Time for coffee !

 

 

 

Radio

;);)

 

.

Ah that makes sense!

 

Theron

[chef_christoph]

Radio, I'm loving the live reports and have been following along with great interest.

 

I've been thinking about cruising from Baltimore or Bayonne for a while because, in addition to wanting to sail the different itineraries, I can make the drive to either port in under 10 hours. I have to say that your reports on both Explorer and Enchantment have made either seem like a great choice.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to share your cruise with us!

 

I look forward to the next few days of your posts until you arrive back in Baltimore.

[MedicKen]

Radio, Meg's back. My computer's on the fritz. DW will send you new address for Meg.

Great photo work.

[beachbuddy]

Radio,

 

Great post and wonderful pictures! Wow........think I'd have to pass on that coaster!! Labadee sure has changed since we've been there! Our more recent cruises have been going to Coco Cay! Labadee looks great and I too love the fact of no tenders and yes, that pier reminds me of the Cozumel one too....LOL

 

Thanks again for taking the time to share your vacation with all of us.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

 

Patty

[beachbuddy]

Radio, Meg's back. My computer's on the fritz. DW will send you new address for Meg.

Great photo work.

 

 

Yep, I was so happy to see her back and posting again!!!

 

Patty

[boewok]

Thanks for all the good info and the pics. Will be on board soon and your posts are really getting the anticipation going.

 

Been quite a while since I've been to Labadee. Are there enough paved/packed areas to use a transport chair? Would love to explore but can no longer take the continuous walking.

 

Thanks again - enjoy your posts every day.

 

Barb

[planetcadillac]

Wonderful reports Mr Radio! We are intently watching these reports because we have a holiday on the EOS scheduled for Dec 27 with a stop in Tortola instead of San Juan.

 

Two questions:

 

1) Do you post additional pictures from these trips somewhere may show additional views? I know bandwidth times cost so you limit the pics to the choice.

 

2) We are a French & Spanish (and English too!) speaking family and I assume the locals are friendly enough to chat up with?

 

Again wonderful stories!

[crisndeefromde]

Awesome reports Radio! How are you enjoying the Enchantment vs Explorer? You know I am a diehard fan of The Explorer for sure.

 

We loved the coaster on Labadee too and plan on zipping this next cruise on the Allure for sure. Dee figures he will get practice on the ship!

 

Have a great evening!!

[Kteacher]

We were on this cruise last July, and will be on it again next summer-thanks for the pictures :) I love the Enchantment!

[CruiserCindy]

Hi Radio Great pictures! You are wonderful to do this while on your cruise. I was wondering do they have beach wheelchairs at Labadee that you can transfer into from a scooter.also when you were in Sanana were the tenders equipped to handle scooters. Thanks and :)have a fantastic time on the rest of your cruise.

[funfamilyof6]

Radio, I enjoy your reviews and photos so much...thank you so much for taking the time out to do it. If I only had 1/4 of your talent. :)