Enchantment of the Seas!! 2-24-14 First Cruise!

[Cmoore19]

Hello!!

 

We just booked our first cruise and we are so excited! It will be me, my husband and my mom and brother. Its a first for all of us. We booked my time dining. We will be flying out from California to Orlando (on a Saturday) and then staying in Port Canaveral in the Raddison at the port for 2 nights. The off to Coco Cay and then to Nassau for a 4 nighter. :) So excited! We have been planning to do a cruise for about a year and now that its actually booked I cant believe its going to happen :)

 

Any suggestions for this cruise would be awesome.

 

Also, quick question:

We have our birth certificates and IDs. Will we need this everytime we want to board the ship from the different ports?

 

Thanks for reading!

[Eng23]

Hello!!

 

We just booked our first cruise and we are so excited! It will be me, my husband and my mom and brother. Its a first for all of us. We booked my time dining. We will be flying out from California to Orlando (on a Saturday) and then staying in Port Canaveral in the Raddison at the port for 2 nights. The off to Coco Cay and then to Nassau for a 4 nighter. :) So excited! We have been planning to do a cruise for about a year and now that its actually booked I cant believe its going to happen :)

 

Any suggestions for this cruise would be awesome.

 

Also, quick question:

We have our birth certificates and IDs. Will we need this everytime we want to board the ship from the different ports?

 

Thanks for reading!

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Your birth certificates and government issued ID would be needed for reentry to the US at the end of your cruise. When you get off the ship in port all you need is your Seapass Card and you should have some form of government ID (driver's license or passport) so that you can reenter the port area. You have to show ID in Nassau to get back to the pier from the port building.

 

Be sure to find your roll call over in that section of Cruise Critic and start chatting with other that are on your sailing. :)

[boogerwolf]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1931455

 

Here's a review from our cruise on the Enchantment back in October.

[Cmoore19]

Thanks for the quick response! Ok I was worried about carrying it around everywhere. I figured you would have to carry ID esp since we plan on having drinks! :)

 

Thanks for the review!! I love reading and looking at peoples reviews and all the pictures!

[Disneylover1226]

Thanks for the quick response! Ok I was worried about carrying it around everywhere. I figured you would have to carry ID esp since we plan on having drinks! :)

 

Thanks for the review!! I love reading and looking at peoples reviews and all the pictures!

 

We are going to be on Enchantment in April as our first cruise too!! Please post about your experience and any tips you can give me!!!

[jmorgania]

Congrats on your first cruise. I think we all remember our first cruise vividly.

 

You will also need the birth certificate at the port when you board. Make sure it is a certified copy with a raised seal. No raised seal you will not be cruising. If you birth certificate does not match your married name bring your marriage certificate also linking the birth certificate name to your current name.

 

Orlando is a fairly easy port to navigate, unfortunately there is not a lot nearby though. Orlando is ~ 45 minutes away.

 

On boarding day bring a carry on with swim wear, medications, or anything else you may want that day. Your bags will arrive outside your stateroom, usually before evening dinner but not always. So make sure you have clothes for the pool and something to wear for dinner. They are more relaxed on dress code at dinner on embarkation day simply because not everyone will have their luggage yet.

 

CocoCay is a private island owned by RCI. It is a tender port meaning you will not dock but instead board smaller boats (200-300 people) to take you to and from the ship. The island is very beautiful. Everything for excursions should be listed in your cruise booking. You can book those in advance, they will not be cheaper on the ship or at the port. Since it is a privately held island you won't find excursions offered outside of RCI. CocoCay has beautiful beaches and you can just relax or swim. Food is provided on the island, think bbq foods. We did the Jetski here and had a wonderful time.

 

Nassau is the capital of the Bahama's and many cruise ships dock here because many of them are registered in the Bahama's. Some people really LOVE Nassau and others not so much. Atlantis is probably the biggest attraction here. However there are private beaches short taxi rides away. There are walking tours you can research and do. There are party beaches with included alcohol. Dolphin excursions. Etc. You can again research the excursions RCI offers through your booking. You can also Google search Nassau excursions and find other options. I tend to book excursions outside the cruise company as I can find cheaper prices and sometimes different excursions, word of caution though, if something delays your excursion the ship will leave you behind and it is not the cruise lines responsibility to get you back to the ship or back home. If you book outside the cruise agency research your operator thoroughly and make sure they are reliable and offer a guarantee.

 

If you are like many of us cruise addicts 4 nights will fly by before you know it and you will find yourself eager to get back onboard. If while on board you know you will want to cruise again you can go to the internet café and access the RCI website for free. There you can make a crown and anchor account (cannot due this until you are at least on your first cruise). Then you can find the future cruise desk and buy a voucher for a future cruise. This voucher can be redeemed for face value for your deposits but it also gets you OBC for your next cruise. If you know you will cruise again with RCI it's a win/win for you.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise and become a cruise addict!!!!!

[Cmoore19]

Congrats on your first cruise. I think we all remember our first cruise vividly.

 

You will also need the birth certificate at the port when you board. Make sure it is a certified copy with a raised seal. No raised seal you will not be cruising. If you birth certificate does not match your married name bring your marriage certificate also linking the birth certificate name to your current name.

 

Orlando is a fairly easy port to navigate, unfortunately there is not a lot nearby though. Orlando is ~ 45 minutes away.

 

On boarding day bring a carry on with swim wear, medications, or anything else you may want that day. Your bags will arrive outside your stateroom, usually before evening dinner but not always. So make sure you have clothes for the pool and something to wear for dinner. They are more relaxed on dress code at dinner on embarkation day simply because not everyone will have their luggage yet.

 

CocoCay is a private island owned by RCI. It is a tender port meaning you will not dock but instead board smaller boats (200-300 people) to take you to and from the ship. The island is very beautiful. Everything for excursions should be listed in your cruise booking. You can book those in advance, they will not be cheaper on the ship or at the port. Since it is a privately held island you won't find excursions offered outside of RCI. CocoCay has beautiful beaches and you can just relax or swim. Food is provided on the island, think bbq foods. We did the Jetski here and had a wonderful time.

 

Nassau is the capital of the Bahama's and many cruise ships dock here because many of them are registered in the Bahama's. Some people really LOVE Nassau and others not so much. Atlantis is probably the biggest attraction here. However there are private beaches short taxi rides away. There are walking tours you can research and do. There are party beaches with included alcohol. Dolphin excursions. Etc. You can again research the excursions RCI offers through your booking. You can also Google search Nassau excursions and find other options. I tend to book excursions outside the cruise company as I can find cheaper prices and sometimes different excursions, word of caution though, if something delays your excursion the ship will leave you behind and it is not the cruise lines responsibility to get you back to the ship or back home. If you book outside the cruise agency research your operator thoroughly and make sure they are reliable and offer a guarantee.

 

If you are like many of us cruise addicts 4 nights will fly by before you know it and you will find yourself eager to get back onboard. If while on board you know you will want to cruise again you can go to the internet café and access the RCI website for free. There you can make a crown and anchor account (cannot due this until you are at least on your first cruise). Then you can find the future cruise desk and buy a voucher for a future cruise. This voucher can be redeemed for face value for your deposits but it also gets you OBC for your next cruise. If you know you will cruise again with RCI it's a win/win for you.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise and become a cruise addict!!!!!

 

Thanks for all the information!!! We are back had a great time! While on board we signed up for crown and anchor and we also booked our next cruise!! We are excited. We are definitely addicted.

[Cmoore19]

By the way I noticed that you have been on a couple carnival cruises. Everyone I asked on Enchantment said to stay away from carnival. Is it really that bad? We were thinking about doing one real quick to Mexico since we dont have to fly.