Enchantment of the Seas secrets, complaints?

[vlynn]

Hi I have never sailed with Royal Caribbean. DH and I have booked a 9 day Caribbean cruise January 5, 2013 on Enchantment of the Seas (We like to book early :D). Just wondering if anyone can fill us in on the good and bad of the ship and Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival....

 

Thanks!

:o

[cb at sea]

I'm not sure there's any "bad" to tell about! A cruise is what you make of it. The only thing I can think of, is the cabin's are quite small....book accordingly!

[Morecruisesplz]

I'm not sure there's any "bad" to tell about! A cruise is what you make of it. The only thing I can think of, is the cabin's are quite small....book accordingly!

 

There are some "bads" you might find if you search the forum by the ship name. For instance the Windjammer is over crowded because the ship size was extended (added cabins in the middle) but minimal additional seating was added. The same goes for the theater wear seats are hard to come by for more popular shows. Another negative, imho is that sailing out of Baltimore you'll be in cold weather at least until you get to Florida. You say you are on a 9 night cruise so you'll still have nearly a week of warmer weather. The only thing better would be 12 nights! I would guess those are more the types of things you were asking about rather than how to make the best of your crusie.

The cabin sizes are also not "quite small" but no one has ever accused cb of winning any awards for accuracy in posting replies! Some of the inside cabin choices are actually larger than the some other ships especially if you book the "new" cabins that were added to the middle of the ship. But for comparison an inside on the Enchantment is 146 sq feet and the same inside cabin on the Liberty is 152 sq feet. I don't call that much difference!

Do your research. Search by ship and port names to read previous discussions. You have plenty of time to learn all you need to know about this great ship and you hopefully will get honest help from more folks.

[read52]

Do you live close to Baltimore? That is a plus not to have to fly. The Enchantment is a smaller ship from RCCL but they take great care of their ships. I have been on the Pride twice. Nice ship and food but not much in the way of entertainment. RCCL has great food and entertainment. The ship is much brighter.

[MS52]

We were on the Enchantment in January 2011 in an outside on deck 3. I thought the cabins - while not huge, were an adequate size. Lots of storage, a sofa to sit on, great cabin attendant - absolutely no complaints about the accommodations.

 

The only time I thought the Windjammer was too crowded was at embarkation. I wish they would open the MDR as an alternative place for lunch that day.

 

We usually went to the late show and had no problems finding seats.

 

When we left Baltimore, there was ice on the upper deck. Our week in Florida and the Bahamas was on the cool side (they said it was unusual weather) but it was still a nice break from the bitter cold in the Northeast.

 

I hope to do it again this January although I'm holding out for fire sale prices. :o

[vlynn]

Do you live close to Baltimore? That is a plus not to have to fly. The Enchantment is a smaller ship from RCCL but they take great care of their ships. I have been on the Pride twice. Nice ship and food but not much in the way of entertainment. RCCL has great food and entertainment. The ship is much brighter.

 

 

Yes we are from PA and it is an easy drive to the Port. We also enjoy the Pride, but we are excited to try a new ship! Thank you for your feedback!

 

We will be taking along a 13 year old, how are the youth programs?

[sandy toes]

RC youth programs for the 13 yr old are great. The kids can hang out in areas only for them so you don't have to worry about older out of place people trying to hang out with your teen. There are events and parties scheduled just for the teens. Visit the family cruising boards/posting and read all about them.

[joe6666]

Enchantment has one very nice inside cabin. 8015

It is inside but it is 260 sq ft. Almost twice as big as most cabins.

It's the only cabin of its kind on Enchantment.

[oldIrish]

:)The crew and staff of the Enchantment are some of the finest and friendliest you will encounter while cruising.

I recently came off a 9 day to New England and Canada, and was advised the Enchantment will get a whole new makeover late this year or early next year.

Baltmore is a great place to leave from. No parking problems and great security in the lot. I should know, in my excitement to get on the ship I left my passenger side window completely down...not open but completely down. Nothing was taken from the car. Got the Dummy award for that from my wife.

[ck53]

We just did the 10/1 Bermuda cruise on this ship and loved it. It was our 15th cruise and I have never had friendlier crew. The food was good along w/ the entertainment and we won in the casino so of course we loved it!

 

We had an aft suite, 7166, and it was larger than our friends suite next door. We were on the corner and our deck was larger and we had a walk in closet that could be a small dressing room.

 

We didn't have much of a problem w/ the Wind Jammer, the only time we felt crowded was for the showa more people than chairs.

 

Enjoy the ship and have fun!

 

I know they are refurbishing th Enchantment this year so it iwll be even better!

[bibbysnow]

We just did the 10/1 Bermuda cruise on this ship and loved it. It was our 15th cruise and I have never had friendlier crew. The food was good along w/ the entertainment and we won in the casino so of course we loved it!

 

We had an aft suite, 7166, and it was larger than our friends suite next door. We were on the corner and our deck was larger and we had a walk in closet that could be a small dressing room.

 

We didn't have much of a problem w/ the Wind Jammer, the only time we felt crowded was for the showa more people than chairs.

 

Enjoy the ship and have fun!

 

I know they are refurbishing th Enchantment this year so it iwll be even better!

We are sailing on 11/3/11. This will be our third cruise on Enchantment, but the first after the stretch.

We've been on Grandeur many times and we had that same corner aft suite and LOVED IT. We have the opposite one on our November cruise #7666, can't wait.

[Sing4you57]

Is a family inside room, unless its closer to the sale date, it is held out of general inventory and reserved for at least 5 travelers.

 

Enchantment has one very nice inside cabin. 8015

It is inside but it is 260 sq ft. Almost twice as big as most cabins.

It's the only cabin of its kind on Enchantment.

[vlynn]

Is a family inside room, unless its closer to the sale date, it is held out of general inventory and reserved for at least 5 travelers.

 

We already booked. There are 4 of us going so we booked adjoining rooms. Are rooms are mid ship but how do we know/find out if they are part of the "new" section or the "original"?

 

We are excited to hear about the refurb before our sail date!

 

Thank you for all your helpful information. :D

[enymarsh]

:)was advised the Enchantment will get a whole new makeover late this year or early next year.

 

That is wonderful news!! We were on Enchantment long before the stretch but haven't been back since then... we are booked in an inside cabin in the stretched section... didn't think they would be doing a makeover before we go!!!:)

 

Here is a link to a good thread about which cabins are in the stretched section:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1462063&highlight=cabins+enchantment+stretch

[enymarsh]

vlynn,

here is an awesome thread that even has deck plans marked with the new cabins for each deck!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1409322&highlight=cabins+enchantment+stretch

[sjb317]

We loved our Enchantment cruise and would like to sail on her again. The food was excellent as was the service. Really friendly staff. I loved the pool area. We did not have problems finding seats in the WJ or the theater but we tend to wait until 5 minutes before showtime and sit in the balcony.

 

Sherri:)

[enymarsh]

not sure why those links didn't post correctly...

will try again.. at least for the second one...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1409322&highlight=cabins+enchantment+stretch

 

hmmm... now they all look okay... ??

[jackinav]

We sailed the Enchantment last January (12 nights) and booked on-board for January 2012. It's true that the Windjammer and Theatre could get crowded but we were always able to find a place to sit, and the crew were always there to help. She's not a huge ship so there's an intimate feel. One gets to know the crew and fellow cruisers a little more and the ocean views from many public areas are stunning.

When we left Baltimore it was below freezing (can't remember how much) , but by the afternoon of our first sea day we were in shorts.

After the muster drill, we hit the outside hot tub and stayed there as we left port. That's one way to stay warm!

Be prepared for the possibility of some "wave action". The first few hours of your trip will probably be calm but you'll hit the ocean before dawn and sometimes it can be a little rough at first. if you're prone to sea-sickness, it helps to take something before going to bed so you don't wake up feeling green.

[garnetpalmetto]

We just did the 10/1 Bermuda cruise on this ship and loved it. It was our 15th cruise and I have never had friendlier crew. The food was good along w/ the entertainment and we won in the casino so of course we loved it!

 

We had an aft suite, 7166, and it was larger than our friends suite next door. We were on the corner and our deck was larger and we had a walk in closet that could be a small dressing room.

 

We didn't have much of a problem w/ the Wind Jammer, the only time we felt crowded was for the showa more people than chairs.

 

Enjoy the ship and have fun!

 

I know they are refurbishing th Enchantment this year so it iwll be even better!

 

According to this post - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=29325952&postcount=251 - Enchantment isn't being refurbished until December of next year and according to http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSitelet.do?pagename=royal_advantage_main, enhancements won't happen to her until 2013-2014

[vlynn]

vlynn,

here is an awesome thread that even has deck plans marked with the new cabins for each deck!

 

Thank you for your help. We missed the new section by a few cabins but that is ok. I was told we are in a quiet area and that is important for my Mother in law. :D

[WOWJr1]

The only time I thought the Windjammer was too crowded was at embarkation. I wish they would open the MDR as an alternative place for lunch that day.

 

Agreed. Although the MDR was not open for embarkation, the Solarium was. Limited menu (sandwiches, pizza, burgers, hot dogs, fries, drinks) but MUCH calmer and plenty of seating.

 

We usually went to the late show and had no problems finding seats.

 

This was also our experience. We had My Time Dining. We always attended the show times designated for late traditional dining (usually 10:00pm or 6:15pm) and always found there were plenty of seats in the theater. The overflow problem must be during the show time for early traditional (usually 8:15pm).

[vlynn]

According to this post - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=29325952&postcount=251 - Enchantment isn't being refurbished until December of next year and according to http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSitelet.do?pagename=royal_advantage_main, enhancements won't happen to her until 2013-2014

 

I checked and they don't have any cruises available for December 1 - 15th of 2012. So maybe that is when it will dry dock. :rolleyes:

[richcrow]

According to this post - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=29325952&postcount=251 - Enchantment isn't being refurbished until December of next year and according to http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSitelet.do?pagename=royal_advantage_main, enhancements won't happen to her until 2013-2014

 

Just returned from Canada/New England cruise on the Enchantment and was informed by the cruise director at our Meet & Mingle that the EOS will go in for refit after the first of the year. One of the enhancements that he discussed was removal of one of the two pools on the pool deck and the addition of an outside movie screen.

[richcrow]

Hi I have never sailed with Royal Caribbean. DH and I have booked a 9 day Caribbean cruise January 5, 2013 on Enchantment of the Seas (We like to book early :D). Just wondering if anyone can fill us in on the good and bad of the ship and Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival....

 

Thanks!

:o

 

Most of the "bad" has already been discussed by others. Other than overcrowding in the theater and the buffet, we didn't find much "bad" about the EOS. As for comparison to Carnival, Carnival staterooms are a little larger but Royal Caribbean has much more and better storage. For instance, our outside cabin's loveseat had two very large pullout drawers which we used for dirty clothes.

[enymarsh]

Just returned from Canada/New England cruise on the Enchantment and was informed by the cruise director at our Meet & Mingle that the EOS will go in for refit after the first of the year. One of the enhancements that he discussed was removal of one of the two pools on the pool deck and the addition of an outside movie screen.

 

Wow, Enchantment is getting MUTS? I hope that doesn't mean there won't be an indoor pool by the time we go on her in February... our cruise is scheduled to depart on February 6thm 2012 ... it would be done by then unless the changes are scheduled for January of 2013?? It seems so soon for it to be in just a few months... especially put together with what vlynn said about no cruises being scheduled for those dates in December of 2012...:confused: