Enchantment of the Seas and Carnival Pride in Port Canaveral Today

[DgBg100106]

I was on Enchantment for the Feb 18 cruise.

First, I like Fox news and am stating what I think is fair and balanced.

1. Yes we were late leaving Baltimore

2. Yes we were probably the slowest ship afloat due to mechanical problems (yes things mechanical due have malfunctions).

3. Yes we ran into a storm for a day or so, but weather happens.

4. Yes we were 2 days late arriving in Port Canaveral.

5. Yes we missed 2 port calls - Key West and Cococay.

6. Yes we returned home safe and sound as scheduled.

7. Yes our Captain Gus Andersson was capable, personable and informative. (He is now my second favorite next to Capt Johnny).

8. Yes we had accomodations: bed, food, showers, entertainment, booze, slots and mostly happy cruisers.

9. Yes we cruised free. YES FREE!

10. Yes I will cruise RCI again and can't wait.

 

Now the negatives.

1. No, no enough of the disgruntled sour types left the ship in PC. Was a few left on board much to our dismay.

 

This was one of the most enjoyable cruises I have been on, as most took the problems in stride and made the best of a bad situation.

 

Thanks to Capt Gus and the crew of the Enchantment and of course RCI management.

 

What a great outlook, and I would hope that we would act the same way.

[sasysutler]

Even though not on this ship, I read the thread and had to thank RCCL for the great job of handling everything and this is the reply we got

Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay in our response.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write us with your kind words of appreciation.

It is Royal Caribbean International's utmost priority on all our ships and sail

dates to ensure a safe and fun environment for everyone onboard. Occasionally,

situations arise that may have to alter the course of a sailing and we do our

best to accommodate all guests for the changes that must take place. We

appreciate your understanding and loyalty to Royal Caribbean International and

hope to welcome you onboard again soon.

 

Ms. Vince, thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International.

 

Nice job Royal!

[joe6666]

I was on the Feb 18 cruise and I give the cruise line a big thumbs up for the way they handled the problem.

A full refund is adequate compensation.

As far as the actual problem…… It seemed like the US Coast Guard wouldn’t let the ship leave Baltimore until the motor problem was fixed.

I believe the technical people said they thought the problem was fixed Sunday morning, and that the ship would test the motor in the Chesapeake.

They did test and the motor was not fixed. The ship then continued at reduced speed.

Another tech crew worked on the ship in PC and it seemed like they got some power out of the motor, but still not full power.

The last announcement concerning the motor was on our way out of Nassau. Capt. Gus said that the problem engine was working at 65% power.

And no more mention was made of the problem other than to say that the ship’s schedule was not going to be affected.

As I said, I’m happy with the way this was handled. The above narrative was just in case anyone might be interested.

[TPKeller]

Welcome home everyone!

 

Believe it or not, even at our reduced speed, we were probably still one of the fastest ships on the high seas, when you take all commercial vessels into account. That saying "slow boat to China" has its basis in fact.

 

We reached at least 21.5 mph on the way to Nassau. The schedule for the return trip to Baltimore did not require high speed, as evidenced by the fact that we sailed fairly slowly all the way, and still arrived at the pilot pick-up by around 7PM Sunday evening, a good 3 hours earlier than a "normal" pick-up. The way the times and the distances worked out, that was our only option. We did not have enough speed to make it back on time if we had made a final stop at CocoCay the next day after Nassau.

 

If you missed the medical disembarkation, that was an amazing thing to see. About a half a dozen paramedics were dispatched via a pilot-type boat (I did not get there early enough to see if the actual pilot was also transferred), and they off-loaded an older couple, including all their luggage, onto the boat. The gentleman with the issue was unable to climb down the ladder, so they strapped him to one of those cage-like evacuation gurneys and handed him down to the boat. From there he was able to walk down into the boat for the ride back to shore.

 

It's always encouraging to see what they can do if they have to.

 

The itinerary of today's sailing is not speed intensive, with the one exception of the stop at Labadee, which they had to cancel. There were additional technicians going on board today, and the real test will be to see what the following sailing's itinerary will be. It is scheduled to be the same as ours was originally scheduled to be. That will be the true indicator of whether the issue is completely fixed.

 

One final note... the captain did make many references to the US Coast Guard early in the reporting of the problem. It cannot be overstated that their involvement was paramount to the safety of our cruise. They are well aware of what can happen if a ship gets in trouble at sea, and as the captain stated explicitly, they were satisfied with the initial repairs, and if they had not been, we certainly would have never left port.

 

Theron

[dunn48]

I was on Enchantment for the Feb 18 cruise.

First, I like Fox news and am stating what I think is fair and balanced.

1. Yes we were late leaving Baltimore

2. Yes we were probably the slowest ship afloat due to mechanical problems (yes things mechanical due have malfunctions).

3. Yes we ran into a storm for a day or so, but weather happens.

4. Yes we were 2 days late arriving in Port Canaveral.

5. Yes we missed 2 port calls - Key West and Cococay.

6. Yes we returned home safe and sound as scheduled.

7. Yes our Captain Gus Andersson was capable, personable and informative. (He is now my second favorite next to Capt Johnny).

8. Yes we had accomodations: bed, food, showers, entertainment, booze, slots and mostly happy cruisers.

9. Yes we cruised free. YES FREE!

10. Yes I will cruise RCI again and can't wait.

 

Now the negatives.

1. No, no enough of the disgruntled sour types left the ship in PC. Was a few left on board much to our dismay.

 

This was one of the most enjoyable cruises I have been on, as most took the problems in stride and made the best of a bad situation.

 

Thanks to Capt Gus and the crew of the Enchantment and of course RCI management.

 

It is so great seeing a positive outlosk. I agree with all of the positives and thanks for not posting any negatives. Hey -you were on vacation - had accommodations, food, entertainment, booze, etc. and it WAS FREE!

 

Way to go RCCL for handling this in such a professional manner.

[Buffett fan]

I was on Enchantment for the Feb 18 cruise.

First, I like Fox news and am stating what I think is fair and balanced.

1. Yes we were late leaving Baltimore

2. Yes we were probably the slowest ship afloat due to mechanical problems (yes things mechanical due have malfunctions).

3. Yes we ran into a storm for a day or so, but weather happens.

4. Yes we were 2 days late arriving in Port Canaveral.

5. Yes we missed 2 port calls - Key West and Cococay.

6. Yes we returned home safe and sound as scheduled.

7. Yes our Captain Gus Andersson was capable, personable and informative. (He is now my second favorite next to Capt Johnny).

8. Yes we had accomodations: bed, food, showers, entertainment, booze, slots and mostly happy cruisers.

9. Yes we cruised free. YES FREE!

10. Yes I will cruise RCI again and can't wait.

 

Now the negatives.

1. No, no enough of the disgruntled sour types left the ship in PC. Was a few left on board much to our dismay.

 

This was one of the most enjoyable cruises I have been on, as most took the problems in stride and made the best of a bad situation.

 

Thanks to Capt Gus and the crew of the Enchantment and of course RCI management.

 

I love your attitude - please keep it up!! By the way - we're almost neighbors, I'm right down the road from Williamsport!

[BonVoyage2010]

I was on Enchantment for the Feb 18 cruise.

First, I like Fox news and am stating what I think is fair and balanced.

1. Yes we were late leaving Baltimore

2. Yes we were probably the slowest ship afloat due to mechanical problems (yes things mechanical due have malfunctions).

3. Yes we ran into a storm for a day or so, but weather happens.

4. Yes we were 2 days late arriving in Port Canaveral.

5. Yes we missed 2 port calls - Key West and Cococay.

6. Yes we returned home safe and sound as scheduled.

7. Yes our Captain Gus Andersson was capable, personable and informative. (He is now my second favorite next to Capt Johnny).

8. Yes we had accomodations: bed, food, showers, entertainment, booze, slots and mostly happy cruisers.

9. Yes we cruised free. YES FREE!

10. Yes I will cruise RCI again and can't wait.

 

Now the negatives.

1. No, no enough of the disgruntled sour types left the ship in PC. Was a few left on board much to our dismay.

 

This was one of the most enjoyable cruises I have been on, as most took the problems in stride and made the best of a bad situation.

 

Thanks to Capt Gus and the crew of the Enchantment and of course RCI management.

 

Very well said! I was also on the 2/18 Enchantment and had a wonderful time despite the problems/changes that arose.

The only point above I disagree with is.... Capt. Gus is now my fav Captain!! He and his amazing crew are what made this cruise a memorable vacation for our family.

Does anyone realize how much harder the crew has to work when there are changes in the itinerary at the last minute like we had???? I haven't seen anyone mention that when we ran out of those little packets of butter that someone had to sit there and cut up sticks of butter so we wouldn't have to go without. This had to of taken that person away from his regular duties or cut into his break time.

My main concern was that people would not tip as well because they were unhappy with the missed ports and other changes. I am happy to say that after talking to many people most felt that the crew actually deserved MORE for going out of their way to accommodate our needs!

A lady came to the Captain's Corner and it seemed her intent from the beginning was to blast the Capt, RCI, the Coast Guard and anyone else she could blame for the situation. I applaud the Capt. in how delicately he handled the nastiness she spewed and cheered when the next person lambasted her! We were already on our way home from Nassau so it was not the same lady that Fox news interviewed. Wish this one had disembarked @ Cape Canaveral too!

[BND]

Very well said! I was also on the 2/18 Enchantment and had a wonderful time despite the problems/changes that arose.

The only point above I disagree with is.... Capt. Gus is now my fav Captain!! He and his amazing crew are what made this cruise a memorable vacation for our family.

Does anyone realize how much harder the crew has to work when there are changes in the itinerary at the last minute like we had???? I haven't seen anyone mention that when we ran out of those little packets of butter that someone had to sit there and cut up sticks of butter so we wouldn't have to go without. This had to of taken that person away from his regular duties or cut into his break time.

My main concern was that people would not tip as well because they were unhappy with the missed ports and other changes. I am happy to say that after talking to many people most felt that the crew actually deserved MORE for going out of their way to accommodate our needs!

A lady came to the Captain's Corner and it seemed her intent from the beginning was to blast the Capt, RCI, the Coast Guard and anyone else she could blame for the situation. I applaud the Capt. in how delicately he handled the nastiness she spewed and cheered when the next person lambasted her! We were already on our way home from Nassau so it was not the same lady that Fox news interviewed. Wish this one had disembarked @ Cape Canaveral too!

 

Was her name Peggy? Sorry, I couldnt' resist. Sounds like almost everyone had a fabulous time. And we plan to in 10 days!

[Orrclan]

This is my first post. My wife and I were on this cruise as first timers and we had a great time. We even booked the 12 day cruise for next year at this time. Life is what you make of it, as was demonstrated on this cruise. Captain and crew were awesome.

[ragen]

If it was free, I wish I would've loved to be aboard,....How do I sign up, for the next disabled cruise,....