A British Mans First Cruise - Enchantment of the Seas

[mjldvlks]

Morning one and all. I wish i could say it was good but i wouldn't be telling truth and i did say i would be honest in all my reports. Still currently bouncing around in the sea, the night wasn't as bad as i thought it would be and had hoped to wake up to some good weather today. Sadly, the boat is still having problems and we had slowed to about 15 knotts (according to the captains report this morning). Coco Cay has been cancelled, and we will be spending the night in Nassau. While they have kindly said they will refund the price of the cruise (no mentions of any refund for a wasted 9.5 hour flight from UK) it was to much for my dear gf who broke down in tears. Not very impressed at the moment and from my walk around the ship, not many passengers are either. I fear this is going to reflect badly on the ship and on the crew who have been working hard. The captain has said things could change at any time and im holding onto some hope things will improve as the day goes on. I know a cruise is what you make of it and i will try my best to make something of it but as the bad news rolls in it is becoming harder.

 

Take Care One and All.

 

If I understand you correctly, the biggest issue now is weather. Unfortunately that is one thing [maybe the only thing] no one can control. Hope you still enjoy the time on the ship and the time with your GF and the people you meet.

[prekteacher1]

Take them up on the offer of reimbursement and enjoy the facilities. It's an experience you and your gf will never forget. Make memories and have a great time being with each other. I hope the weather turns for you and you can at least experience some warm temperatures! Hang in there!!!!

:o:p;)

[dixieva]

So sorry your first cruise and visit to the US is turning out so badly! I have hope that things will improve for you very soon. When you get past the stormy seas you will be further south so the sun should shine and you should have much warmer weather.

 

Hang in there and try to make the best of things.

[sea_la_vie]

Morning one and all. I wish i could say it was good but i wouldn't be telling truth and i did say i would be honest in all my reports. Still currently bouncing around in the sea, the night wasn't as bad as i thought it would be and had hoped to wake up to some good weather today. Sadly, the boat is still having problems and we had slowed to about 15 knotts (according to the captains report this morning). Coco Cay has been cancelled, and we will be spending the night in Nassau. While they have kindly said they will refund the price of the cruise (no mentions of any refund for a wasted 9.5 hour flight from UK) it was to much for my dear gf who broke down in tears. Not very impressed at the moment and from my walk around the ship, not many passengers are either. I fear this is going to reflect badly on the ship and on the crew who have been working hard. The captain has said things could change at any time and im holding onto some hope things will improve as the day goes on. I know a cruise is what you make of it and i will try my best to make something of it but as the bad news rolls in it is becoming harder.

 

Take Care One and All.

 

So very sorry to hear about all of this happening on your first cruise! It will be our first family cruise on the Enchantment in a few short weeks, and I can imagine how disappointed I would be as well. Take care and hoping there are still some great times to be had during the remainder of your cruise. It sounds like the crew is trying the best they can? I've heard Nassau is amazing and is one of the port stops we're really looking forward to. Wishing you calmer seas and only good times for the rest of your trip.

[pr1vatepiles]

Does seem brighter in distance so things may be on the up. Gf is going to have a hot stone massage and ha cheered right up. The crew has been amazing during all of this and can't fault them. Going to be crazy and swim outside later ha has :-)

[GXmanDC]

If I understand you correctly, the biggest issue now is weather. Unfortunately that is one thing [maybe the only thing] no one can control. Hope you still enjoy the time on the ship and the time with your GF and the people you meet.

 

Well the biggest issue is still the reduced power and speed. If they had full power they would be able to get past the storm. If RCI is talking about refunding the fare they obviously feel this cruise isn't up to their normal standards.

 

OP- I hope you and your GF can enjoy some of this trip. I'm sorry about the mechanical issues.

[DgBg100106]

Take them up on the offer of reimbursement and enjoy the facilities. It's an experience you and your gf will never forget. Make memories and have a great time being with each other. I hope the weather turns for you and you can at least experience some warm temperatures! Hang in there!!!!

:o:p;)

 

I second this... I know this is hard and understand that your time is not being reimbursed and that your time is not being spent as you planned, but please try and make the most of it.

[DgBg100106]

Does seem brighter in distance so things may be on the up. Gf is going to have a hot stone massage and ha cheered right up. The crew has been amazing during all of this and can't fault them. Going to be crazy and swim outside later ha has :-)

 

 

Keeping fingers crossed that things are looking up!

[peteukmcr]

Morning one and all. I wish i could say it was good but i wouldn't be telling truth and i did say i would be honest in all my reports. Still currently bouncing around in the sea, the night wasn't as bad as i thought it would be and had hoped to wake up to some good weather today. Sadly, the boat is still having problems and we had slowed to about 15 knotts (according to the captains report this morning). Coco Cay has been cancelled, and we will be spending the night in Nassau. While they have kindly said they will refund the price of the cruise (no mentions of any refund for a wasted 9.5 hour flight from UK) it was to much for my dear gf who broke down in tears. Not very impressed at the moment and from my walk around the ship, not many passengers are either. I fear this is going to reflect badly on the ship and on the crew who have been working hard. The captain has said things could change at any time and im holding onto some hope things will improve as the day goes on. I know a cruise is what you make of it and i will try my best to make something of it but as the bad news rolls in it is becoming harder.

 

Take Care One and All.

Sorry to hear about your experience, especially as it is your 1st cruise and 1st trip to the US, but hopefully you can make the best of the situation.

[Lottycruiser]

Keep your chin up , I am bitterly disappointed for you , hopefully with a refund you will be able to book again and experience Royal at it's best , at least your getting the food and entertainment experience although I expect the ship is a pretty sombre place right now .

[cruisenuts4life]

I feel bad for all of you on this ship,my friend is also onboard it is her first cruise.

[BunkerVA]

I am so sorry that your first cruise is turning out so poorly. :( Please make of it what you can, though. Any day cruising is better than working!

 

Hopefully, with the refund, you all will be back and experiencing Royal at its very best in no time. I know that isn't much consolation when you were expecting a fantastic vacation....

 

Safe travels,

Sam :D

[mjldvlks]

Well the biggest issue is still the reduced power and speed. If they had full power they would be able to get past the storm. If RCI is talking about refunding the fare they obviously feel this cruise isn't up to their normal standards.

 

OP- I hope you and your GF can enjoy some of this trip. I'm sorry about the mechanical issues.

I was only commenting on what I understood OP's biggest concern to be. Looking at the charts on Passage Weather, I don't know that even full power would have helped in this case since the bad weather appears to be pretty wide spread and right on their path. Fortunately, it appears to be moving off to the east and an area of high pressure is moving in so they should have some good weather coming up. There is another low that appears to be moving into their area toward the end of their cruise [saturday - Monday], but it appears now that most of that will stay to the north so hopefully they will have relatively smooth seas for the rest of the voyage.

 

I haven't been keeping up too carefully on the mechanical issues, and I don't pretend to be a ship's engineer, but if they are making 15 knots in heavy seas, that sounds like they are doing pretty well.

[DgBg100106]

I feel bad for all of you on this ship,my friend is also onboard it is her first cruise.

 

I have friends on board also, I know they are having a good time!

[Cuizer2]

Morning one and all. I wish i could say it was good but i wouldn't be telling truth and i did say i would be honest in all my reports. Still currently bouncing around in the sea, the night wasn't as bad as i thought it would be and had hoped to wake up to some good weather today. Sadly, the boat is still having problems and we had slowed to about 15 knotts (according to the captains report this morning). Coco Cay has been cancelled, and we will be spending the night in Nassau. While they have kindly said they will refund the price of the cruise (no mentions of any refund for a wasted 9.5 hour flight from UK) it was to much for my dear gf who broke down in tears.

 

Take Care One and All.

 

A free cruise? I would gladly pay for the flight if I could get a free nine night cruise out it. I'll be getting on the day you get off.

[Lottycruiser]

A free cruise? I would gladly pay for the flight if I could get a free nine night cruise out it. I'll be getting on the day you get off.

 

If the poster took a package with Royal the cost would have been around £700 for the cruise and £700 for the flight , I can see why he would question if the refund would be for the flight as well as that's half the cost of his holiday ,not such a big loss if you live in the states .

[Cuizer2]

If the poster took a package with Royal the cost would have been around £700 for the cruise and £700 for the flight , I can see why he would question if the refund would be for the flight as well as that's half the cost of his holiday ,not such a big loss if you live in the states .

 

You are forgetting the fact that he is in fact on a cruise. It might not be what he originally signed up for, but that is what the cruise refund is for.

 

I'm on the next cruise. If Royal Caribbean wants to refund me the my cruise fare and we spend twelve days touring the Chesapeake Bay, I'm fine with that.

[ready2sail40]

Anyone have a pic of the waves that were referred to? I'd love to see.

[EmJakeBubbie]

Miss Kitty needs a Spa Treatment ;)

 

We sail the ENCHANTMENT, 5/31 ... it is a very sea worthy vessel, but old and does experience intermittent engine and sewer-smells.

 

two cancelled ports and the price of each cruise is being refunded? I wouldn't complain, no matter where I called home.

[Cuizer2]

Anyone have a pic of the waves that were referred to? I'd love to see.

 

 

 

[BND]

We were on En in July and will be again on 10 March. Anyone complaining about having ports cancelled obviously hasn't cruised much. It's something that's learned through experience. In 10 cruises we've had ports cancelled 2 or 3 times (Grand Cayman, Roatan) and a delayed boarding once due to the ship arriving late because of a medical emergency. A free cruise isn't a bad deal. We cruise for the being at sea part. Ports are nice as we get to visit interesting places but we enjoy being at sea too. The most we've ever gotten in compensation is port fees refunded for the missed ports and $25 credit for late boarding-basically covered lunch we had to get before we boarded just before dinner time.

[Cuizer2]

We were on En in July and will be again on 10 March. Anyone complaining about having ports cancelled obviously hasn't cruised much. It's something that's learned through experience. In 10 cruises we've had ports cancelled 2 or 3 times (Grand Cayman, Roatan) and a delayed boarding once due to the ship arriving late because of a medical emergency. A free cruise isn't a bad deal. We cruise for the being at sea part. Ports are nice as we get to visit interesting places but we enjoy being at sea too. The most we've ever gotten in compensation is port fees refunded for the missed ports and $25 credit for late boarding-basically covered lunch we had to get before we boarded just before dinner time.

 

For comparison, I've been on eighteen cruises and I haven't missed a port yet. I was on the same itinerary as another ship (each going in the opposite order of the other ship) and the other ship missed a port and we didn't.

 

Also, many first timers might not realize that ships do miss ports.

[Lottycruiser]

You are forgetting the fact that he is in fact on a cruise. It might not be what he originally signed up for, but that is what the cruise refund is for.

 

I'm on the next cruise. If Royal Caribbean wants to refund me the my cruise fare and we spend twelve days touring the Chesapeake Bay, I'm fine with that.

 

Me too , but the cruise package included having to fly to board , I would be clapping my hands otherwise , I sail from Southampton in April which is only an hours drive , if I was to find myself in the same situation I would be quite happy , but after a 9 hour flight and £700 I might feel differently , if he gets his air fare back too , well that's what I would call a result .I think Royal have handled this extremely well to be honest and wouldn't really expect them to reimburse air fare too .

[BND]

For comparison, I've been on eighteen cruises and I haven't missed a port yet. I was on the same itinerary as another ship (each going in the opposite order of the other ship) and the other ship missed a port and we didn't.

 

Also, many first timers might not realize that ships do miss ports.

 

We've also had a cruise cancelled (Carnival last year) for pushed up drydock, but in that case we were given 3.5 months notice so we rebooked, but on RCI Freedom.

 

I never said first timers would know. That said, on my first cruise, I read the documentation and always knew it was a possibility.

[Lottycruiser]

For comparison, I've been on eighteen cruises and I haven't missed a port yet. I was on the same itinerary as another ship (each going in the opposite order of the other ship) and the other ship missed a port and we didn't.

 

Also, many first timers might not realize that ships do miss ports.

 

We missed a port on Freedom , we were literally about to dock at St Thomas, I was on deck watching it , all of a sudden instead of getting further in we started to pull away , I couldn't believe it , there was a little swell with the waves but nothing I thought was serious , it was the captains decision that it was too rough to put her in ,so off we went , the amount of passengers that moaned ,yet he did it for safety to passengers and didn't want any damage to the ship .we did get something like $30 in onboard credit , I was fine with this I hadn't planned on getting off anyway but some of the moaning that was going on was unbelievable .I am just glad we never experienced anything like the waves in the pictures you have just posted , now that's scary .