Enchantment not so much for small kids

[haply]

Hello

 

Just off of the Enchantment for a 4-day Thanksgiving cruise with two kids ages 3 and 7. A few impressions:

 

*The ship was very nice and clean. We had a panoramic oceanview room on deck 7 and loved it. Can definitely hear the atrium music however so keep that in mind.

*Food was pretty good. Missing some kid-friendly items such as no cups w/ lids anywhere on the ship (a lot of spilled drinks-parent will understand what I mean). No chocolate milk for the last 3 days in at dinner. No omelette station on the third and fourth day.

*Kids club staff were excellent however the kids club area is basically a couple of rooms with some toys, etc. The staff ratio for the 3 to 5 year olds is 1 to 15 kids so not really comfortable with that. My 7-year old had fun during the times that it was not too crowded. No kids activities around other areas of the ship-ex: no kids evening shows, no characters, no kids movies/activities by the pool, etc. Only one kids TV station with an occasional kids program, and no option of ordering a kids movie/show in the room.

*We ate in the MTD every night and always felt rushed. I really missed the Main Dining Room feel that I had on my other cruises. We went to dinner at 5:45 and were always done by 6:45 - 7. Difficult to get a second cup of coffee, drink, etc as felt like they wanted to get the table cleared.

*The bars were good. Never had to wait. The drinks were good-not strong but not too watered-down.

*Hated Coco Cay (sorry everyone). Coco Cay would be nice if there were not 5000 people on the island (there were 2 ships). Definitely not enough amenities for the number of people. Long lines everywhere. Could not get to the kids club-walked and walked-may not be a big deal to have to go out so far unless you are carrying a couple of kids and all of their stuff. One activities station was a joke (good luck standing in line to book a float, etc).

*Loved the Blue Lagoon excursion in Nassau! Beautiful, calm water. Not crowded. Would highly recommend.

*We stood in line for over an hour to get on the ship. They do not have a separate line for the gold, etc club members-they just let those people "cut" in front of the line. Really frustrating when you are standing in line and they keep letting people get in front of you.

 

I would definitely recommend the Enchantment for people without small children. Wonderful staff and many bars, areas to explore. The pool deck never felt crowded and chairs were always available. Food was good but would try to get into the Main Dining Room if you enjoy the night eating experience. Not fair to compare to Disney, especially as half the price. I would probably look at other ships/options for families with small children.

[RSLeesburg]

With regards to kids club, RCI follows the guidelines set by State of Florida for day care facilities, which is 1 councilor to 15 children (3 years old), 1 to 20 (4 years old), and 1 to 25 (5 years old) - IIRC. We just got off Grandeur, and our son loved AO and the ship (same class as Enchantment), and we had close to 600 kids on board. Always plenty for him to do.

 

We were also at Coco Cay with you, and agree - RCI should never put two ships in there at the same time. Loved the island, but way too many people.

 

 

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[firestopr]

We also just got of the Grandeur a very nice Ship in my opinon but it left a lot to be desired when it came to our 16 month old passenger. she was left with nothing to do outside of the open play times which where a bit hit or miss. I did Enjoy Coco Cay very crowded. but no more then an amusement park on a Saturday. i never had trouble securing drinks from the roving vendors (love those cocolocos) and we only waited 5-6 minutes for food at the buffet simply by walking to the one that was further away, Quite the hike from barefoot beach but still enjoyable. i wish they had made it a little clearer that the straw market only took cash i was bummed about not having the ability to pick up some of the neat things i saw.

[RSLeesburg]

We also just got of the Grandeur a very nice Ship in my opinon but it left a lot to be desired when it came to our 16 month old passenger. she was left with nothing to do outside of the open play times which where a bit hit or miss. I did Enjoy Coco Cay very crowded. but no more then an amusement park on a Saturday. i never had trouble securing drinks from the roving vendors (love those cocolocos) and we only waited 5-6 minutes for food at the buffet simply by walking to the one that was further away, Quite the hike from barefoot beach but still enjoyable. i wish they had made it a little clearer that the straw market only took cash i was bummed about not having the ability to pick up some of the neat things i saw.

 

 

Yes. There is not much for the really little ones, but this is true across the board - the bigger ships have a tiny splash pool and Oasis/Allure have the carousel, but beyond the nursery and toy lending, there is not really much for the under three set.

 

We loved Coco Cay too, but imagine it with 50 percent of the people, and it would have made it that much better.

 

 

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[Victoria/73]

We loved the Enchantment, we sailed on it for our honeymoon but also said the same thing. We would not want to take our kids on this ship they wouldn't have much to do.

 

 

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[OCruisers]

haply (OP) .... Thanks for your time to give us your thoughts on Enchantment. Helpful to both those with and without children who are considering sailing on her. :)

LuLu

[Debde]

Enchantment does not have a basketball court so the older kids, mine were two, complained. So did the older kid too!!!:p