Famous Last Words - A 3-night Enchantment Review

[karena1]

I love Enchantment, one of my favorites for a short cruise. She is leaving Miami and we are getting Mariner which I am super excited about. But due to a "Charter" we got kicked off Mariner in Feb 2019 so are making the treck (almost 5 hours from Fort Myers) up to CocoBeach to board Enchantment for one last time. Will say good-bye to the staff we know very well, especially Myra in Schooners!

 

Time to start new memories on Mariner!

[lemonade-sails]

Enchantment is in my radar for my first time on her coming up this fall, thanks for the effort.

You're welcome. We liked Enchantment - if a little rust and some windows that need washing will break your vacation, you may want to reconsider. Otherwise, although we liked Serenade better, Enchantment was amazing for what we were getting which was basically an extended "date" together without the kids. :)

 

Loving this thread. Writing style is captivating, to say the least. I can't wait to find out where this is all headed (aside from, hopefully a wonderful cruise).

Erika

Thank you so much! We did have a wonderful time - the rest of the weekend was not as crazy and we enjoyed thoroughly.

 

There are both a TJMaxx and a Ross right by the cruise entrance on 17th Street.

This is good to know! We needed all of the toiletry stuff as well though, so Target was the better choice for us. Although I don't really shop at TJMaxx or Ross - do they have that stuff too?

 

Loving this so far! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks! Hopefully will be finished soon.

 

Loving this review! It's like a book I can't put down! I raised 6 children so I can relate to the craziness! :o:o:o

You get it! :) Thanks for reading and I appreciate your kind words.

 

 

My heart was pounding reading your airport experience! Glad you made the plane! Can’t wait to read more!

Me too, me too!

[BillOh]

Honestly, we didn't ask if it was ok - we just did it. But I don't think they were too concerned as we were literally running in and out of there. I mean r u n n i n g. :) In my mind, until I was onboard, there was still the danger that we would miss the ship so we were trying to hurry.

 

 

Great, I'll look forward to you getting on the ship, there hasn't been a lot of Enchantment reviews lately. I'm looking forward to what will be a new class of ship for me. This will be a relaxing road trip/cruise for me, looking forward to it, but I don't want to wish the summer away! I'm wondering if you got any pictures of the pier construction at Coco Cay. I took some back in Sept.

[lemonade-sails]

Oh man. Following along. Can’t wait to read the rest!

So glad you're here! Thanks!

 

So then what happened??? 🤣

 

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:)

 

Yeah, come on Lemonade!!! Where are you??? You get us "hook, line and sinker" and vanish!!!!!!

So sorry :) But what do you expect? The whole thing at once? Where's the fun in that?:D:D

 

OMG so funny! You handled it way better than I would. I only wear swimsuits from Venus so I would have made sure, if nothing else, my swimsuits made it into my carryon bag. And my makeup! Other than that, with you, can buy anything else I need at Target. But bless you for taking it all in stride and just doing what you had to do!

Yes, good swimsuits are hard to find. Luckily I fell in love with a suit at Target. I was so glad!

[lemonade-sails]

You had me at 9 kids. ☺️

 

Fun review. I can't wait until it is made into a film!

 

Hahaha! This made my day! Thanks!

[lemonade-sails]

I love Enchantment, one of my favorites for a short cruise. She is leaving Miami and we are getting Mariner which I am super excited about. But due to a "Charter" we got kicked off Mariner in Feb 2019 so are making the treck (almost 5 hours from Fort Myers) up to CocoBeach to board Enchantment for one last time. Will say good-bye to the staff we know very well, especially Myra in Schooners!

 

Time to start new memories on Mariner!

 

Enchantment was great! Sorry that you got booted due to the charter but enjoy your last sailing on Enchantment - I'm glad we got to try her out!

[lemonade-sails]

Great, I'll look forward to you getting on the ship, there hasn't been a lot of Enchantment reviews lately. I'm looking forward to what will be a new class of ship for me. This will be a relaxing road trip/cruise for me, looking forward to it, but I don't want to wish the summer away! I'm wondering if you got any pictures of the pier construction at Coco Cay. I took some back in Sept.

 

I noticed what I thought was a lack of reviews for Enchantment as well. I love to do the reviews because I love coming back to read them for myself - great memories. I think I did get a couple of pictures of the construction. I will look for them. :D

 

I only found one picture - and it's not a very good one. You can see Enchantment way out there - this was on our return trip.

 

 

Edited May 30, 2018 by lemonade-sails
to add a photo of the pier progress

[MSarahM]

I'm hoping that you'll be a travel writer in the very near future! Your writing is EXACTLY what I love! DH and I are taking our 1st ever RCI cruise in February on Enchantment, so could you please have your book published by then?

[lemonade-sails]

I'm hoping that you'll be a travel writer in the very near future! Your writing is EXACTLY what I love! DH and I are taking our 1st ever RCI cruise in February on Enchantment, so could you please have your book published by then? ��

 

Surely you jest, hahaha, but thank you so much for the kind words. I love writing although I don't get a lot of chances to do it. As soon as I get some sponsored trip opportunities rolling in, I will get right on my travel writing career ;). I would love that - DH too I'm sure :)

 

I hope you enjoy Enchantment as much as we did - is it your first cruise ever or just with RCI?

[MSarahM]

Surely you jest, hahaha, but thank you so much for the kind words. I love writing although I don't get a lot of chances to do it. As soon as I get some sponsored trip opportunities rolling in, I will get right on my travel writing career ;). I would love that - DH too I'm sure :)

 

I hope you enjoy Enchantment as much as we did - is it your first cruise ever or just with RCI?

I'm not jesting at all! You've got a gift and I think my fellow readers would agree. Loving every minute of your review. We have cruised on Carnival a few times and wanted to try a different line. This is also an extended "date night" for us and wanted something from Jax or Port Canaveral. The Enchantment had the winning dates!

[JPV072900]

The big question is.... How do you find someone who is willing to watch 9 children?? 🤣 🤣 🤣

 

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[Ocean Boy]

I don't think the start of this vacation and my OCD would have meshed well together at all.

[DISFANS3]

Awesome trip report..

[lemonade-sails]

The big question is.... How do you find someone who is willing to watch 9 children?? 🤣 🤣 🤣

 

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Forums mobile app

That is a good question - and it's the reason we haven't had a vacation without them in five years :)

 

I don't think the start of this vacation and my OCD would have meshed well together at all.

I know - it was pretty rough! They say not to fly in the same day as you set sail, and they're probably right, but this drama was totally self-inflicted. What can I say? :)

 

Awesome trip report..

Thanks!

[lemonade-sails]

We had previously stopped at the dining room to check on our MTD reservations. I had made them online before we sailed and, because of the mix up on our family cruise, we decided to make sure everything was good in that way. I didn’t have anything to worry about though because it was all as we requested. We waited in the MTD reservations line for just a few minutes and then were seated at table 127 by the top of the stairs in the main dining room.

 

Our servers were Gabrial and Henry. We had a delightful dinner. I must confess that I didn’t take notes this trip or pictures of the menus - so my memory might be lacking. I think I started with the Caesar salad and had the prime rib. But most memorable was my first ever cup of coffee. Yes, I know this is weird, but I am not a coffee drinker. I’m pretty sure I had a taste at one point in my life and thought “never again”. I love the smell of coffee but never drink it. Because of our early morning, I thought I would give it a try to see if it would keep me going for the rest of the evening.

When our assistant Henry found out that it was my first cup of coffee he got a little funny. He told us he would be back in a minute with some kind of “special cream” and he laughed the strangest laugh. When a minute turned out to be kinda long, I scooped some ice cream from my dessert into the cup. The verdict? Coffee is the second worst thing I’ve ever had to drink (the worst I think being apple cider vinegar). Coffee is even worse than tea - which I think tastes like the grass you find stuck in the bottom of the lawnmower. Coffee tastes like bread, covered in tar and burnt to a crisp. Sick. Eventually, Henry showed up with “cream” which was in a small pitcher. I declined. DH said if I didn’t at least drink half the cup it didn’t count - so I quickly held my breath and drank enough so that the whole experience wouldn’t be in vain. Blech!

 

We were, as usual, impressed with our dinner in the main dining room. The food was delicious and warm and the service was so great. Let’s face it, at home DH and I are the chefs and the servers and the referees. So, sitting there for an hour and a half eating, talking, and people watching - I couldn’t complain if I tried. And I’m not complaining about the coffee - it’s just not for me. DH had a couple of cups with no issues.

 

I think we skipped the welcome aboard show on the first night. By the time we finished dinner, took our traditional walk around the promenade deck and listened to some music in the centrum, we headed to bed. We like to try and catch the sunset but this cruise we didn’t have much of a sunset any of the nights. We had lots of clouds and even rain.

 

Earlier in the evening, we had stopped at the excursions desk to sign up for the kayaking tour on CocoCay. We used some OBC we had from our Royal Visa. We had to get up early as we had a very early (I think 7:30am) meeting time in the Schooner for our tour.

[BillOh]

. But most memorable was my first ever cup of coffee. Yes, I know this is weird, but I am not a coffee drinker. I’m pretty sure I had a taste at one point in my life and thought “never again”. I love the smell of coffee but never drink it. Because of our early morning, I thought I would give it a try to see if i..................................The verdict? Coffee is the second worst thing I’ve ever had to drink (the worst I think being apple cider vinegar). Coffee is even worse than tea - which I think tastes like the grass you find stuck in the bottom of the lawnmower. Coffee tastes like bread, covered in tar and burnt to a crisp. Sick.

 

Ha, we have something else in common besides being Americans who will/have sail on Enchantment. Coffee drinking declined in the US in the 70s and 80's, but it on the rise again. I thought I was the only one who felt this way.

 

[/thread hijack]

[lemonade-sails]

Ha, we have something else in common besides being Americans who will/have sail on Enchantment. Coffee drinking declined in the US in the 70s and 80's, but it on the rise again. I thought I was the only one who felt this way.

 

[/thread hijack]

 

There are at least two of us then! I'd much rather have hot chocolate :)

[birdylady]

When our assistant Henry found out that it was my first cup of coffee he got a little funny. He told us he would be back in a minute with some kind of “special cream” and he laughed the strangest laugh. When a minute turned out to be kinda long, I scooped some ice cream from my dessert into the cup. The verdict? Coffee is the second worst thing I’ve ever had to drink (the worst I think being apple cider vinegar). Coffee is even worse than tea - which I think tastes like the grass you find stuck in the bottom of the lawnmower. Coffee tastes like bread, covered in tar and burnt to a crisp. Sick. Eventually, Henry showed up with “cream” which was in a small pitcher. I declined. DH said if I didn’t at least drink half the cup it didn’t count - so I quickly held my breath and drank enough so that the whole experience wouldn’t be in vain. Blech!

 

I have to agree with you about tea. Cold or hot, to me it's like drinking dirty dishwater. YUCK. As far as coffee, I never drank it until < 10 years ago. I agree, the smell is wonderful, but never had a taste for it. I will say I HATE the ship coffee. It tastes like burnt tree bark. IF you are ever willing to try coffee again, I suggest you try Dunkn Donuts coffee. And probably with cream. I love their hazelnut coffee with cream. Just saying.

 

Erika

[JPV072900]

There are at least two of us then! I'd much rather have hot chocolate :)

 

 

NINE KIDS, AND YOU DON'T DRINK COFFEE??? You're like a superhero or something!! :D

[breezy_carol]

So far, so good. Too bad it is only a 3 day cruise. I am enjoying your upbeat take on everything.

[lemonade-sails]

Early the next morning we woke, showered, slipped into our brand new swimsuits and I threw on my coverup. Because we had left our flip flops and sandals back in the trunk at the airport, we put on our tennis shoes and headed up to the Windjammer for a quick and early breakfast.

 

Breakfast in the WJ is like a dream for me. Hot waffles with strawberries or blueberries and whipped cream. Eggs and sausage or bacon. So much fresh fruit that I need a second plate to carry it all. And, oh yeah, the view. We could see CocoCay off the bow of the ship as we sat down near the windows. At this early hour (6 am or so) there were lots of available tables with great views. The windows were a bit dirty we noticed on the trip - but hey, I don’t get my panties in a wad over things like that. There was an NCL vessel also anchored out in front of us.

 

As we ate, the bow of the ship swung around and the island ended up on our left as we were finishing breakfast. I was pretty excited as the night before people were mumbling in the halls about bad weather and rain. And, while it wasn’t clear and sunny, we were definitely hanging around and making preparations to stay. I know that sometimes they skip CocoCay because of issues with tendering in choppy seas so I was so glad we would get our “perfect beach day” and our kayaking adventure.

On the way out of the WJ, we both grabbed a glass of water and headed to the Schooner bar to wait with a small group of people who had signed up for the kayaking tour and the wave runners as well.

 

They handed us some kind of release form to sign. I didn’t really read it, but I’m sure I agreed not to be upset if one of us was maimed or killed while kayaking. I wasn’t too concerned as we planned to GoPro the whole thing - so at least if we didn’t make it back the kids would know what did us in.

 

I was a little confused about the whole locker situation on CocoCay so we didn’t bring any kind of backpack with us or anything. My coverup had a nice large pocket and DH’s swim trunks also had pockets. We fit our tiny sunscreen and stuff in there. We also did not plan to do any shopping on the island so didn’t worry about bringing cash.

 

We headed down to deck one to board the tender. Typical tender procedure here. Nothing spectacular. They only had the lower level open so we all sat on the bottom. The ride to the island was uneventful except that there were men working on the new pier and generators running for that. It will be so nice when it’s finally finished and CocoCay becomes more of a “sure thing” for people.

 

After we got off the tender there were crew members waiting to gather people who were taking excursions. We followed a very friendly girl - Kat I think - on a long walk to the other side of the island for the kayak tour. She explained everything to us and we waited around for a few minutes while people purchased lockers and used the restroom. I don’t remember how much the locker was. I want to say $8 for the day - but I’m not positive. The good news is that you get an RFID wristband that you can use at any locker station on the island. So we shoved our shoes, my coverup and our towels and sunscreen etc. into the locker and put on our life jackets.

 

We had a quick little lesson about safety. Kat would tell us something and then say “Cool? Perfect!” Over and over. It was so funny. After the instructions, we all got into our kayaks. Most of us were already there in pairs - but there were two singles along as well. They both opted for a single kayak. So, that is an option as well.

 

 

We brought along a baseball cap that has an attachment on it already for securing a GoPro to the front. This was pretty convenient and it worked out great. The only thing is that it’s not a very steady view as it follows the movement of your head. It might have been better to wear a chest harness so that the view would have been more stable. But we did get some great footage of my back and my mad kayaking skilz. Ha! I basically sat in the front and let DH do all the work. I wasn’t even sore the next day.

 

 

 

It was pretty windy, but the kayaking was not hard at all. The tide was out so it was very shallow for quite a long distance from the beach. We kayaked straight out past the inflatable playground and then stopped for a little information from our guide about the islands in the area. Then we headed to a place Kat called Kayak Beach where we all got out of the kayaks and had a chance to be in the water a bit. Our other guide grabbed a starfish and let all who wanted touch and hold it. Then we got back into the kayaks and had a slow paddle back to where we began.

 

And that was it. Was it worth it? Once, yes. I wouldn’t do it again as a tour. I believe you can also rent kayaks on your own. We got some front-row lounge chairs on the beach after our tour and just soaked in the views.

 

 

It was really cloudy but it was very relaxing to just sit there and look out on the ocean. The beach by the jet skis was less crowded and less windy than the beach that was by the buffet. When they began serving lunch we headed over and had some food.

 

The food on the island is brought from the ship and we thought it was good. It was a picnic atmosphere but the lines were long for some of the stations. They even had gyro and pita with hummus so we tried that and it was good. The tables were crowded, but people were very friendly about sharing space at the tables. There were chickens roaming around and large lizards.

 

After lunch, we decided to try and find the nature walk that I had read about. I guess I missed the post about the construction going on and that the nature walk was no longer a thing. No big deal. Looks like there are going to be lots of fun things to do at CocoCay in the near future. Funner than a boring old nature walk.

 

We relaxed on the beach for a while longer before the clouds got dark and we decided to beat the mad rush to avoid the rain and headed back to the ship. There was a tiny line for the tender when we got there but it went quickly.

 

There were metal detectors in the building just before getting on the tender. We had to put our belongings through the x-ray machine - our towels etc. My husband asked the woman what they thought people might be smuggling onboard from RCI’s private island and she said “drugs”.

 

We were glad to be on the bottom of the tender because it looked like it was going to downpour at any minute - but we all made it back dry to the ship. We headed upstairs to grab some drinks from the cafe in the solarium and then challenged each other to a serious game of ping pong.

 

I’d like to say I won, but I didn’t. I guess I’m a little more out of practice than he is. At ping pong at least. We sat on the pool deck watching the kids in the splash pad area. They were having a ball. We noticed lots of people coming by with ice cream cones so we went in search of that as well. It started to pour rain about then so we sat under the roof on the pool deck and ate our ice cream.

 

We also went out on deck five to watch the tenders arriving with people from CocoCay. They were getting soaked from the downpour.

 

We headed back to the cabin to find that it hadn't been made up yet. I had forgotten to place the “make up room” sign in the door so we freshened up quickly and headed out for some activities around the ship. I know we did some trivia, participated in some music game shows and generally roamed around.

 

Before long it was time for dinner again. Standing in Target in Fort Lauderdale, we had decided to skip formal night instead of buying dress clothes for DH. I did, however, grab a dress for myself. At dinner on the first night, someone had come to our table asking us what we thought of the service and the food that evening. She then asked us if we planned to be in the main dining room the next night. We said we planned to go to the WJ because we did not have any formal clothes with us. She assured us that it didn’t really matter and that she hoped she would see us the next night and not to worry about our clothing.

 

So, we headed for the main dining room for formal night - DH in jeans and me in a dress I had found in a hurry at Target. Dinner was amazing again and we were not out of place. There were t-shirts and baseball caps in the room as well. We like to follow the dress code but mostly just because we enjoy dressing up. People who don’t do not ruin our trip in the least so hopefully we didn’t offend anyone either.

 

 

After dinner, we strolled the deck looking for the sunset again, but no luck. Tonight we headed to the theater for the show - You Can’t Stop the Rock, I think is what it was called. It was pretty good and we enjoyed it.

 

The theater is very pretty and it was never very crowded. After the show, we meandered around the ship checking out the Viking Crown Lounge and other nooks and crannies we hadn’t discovered yet. Then back to the cabin.

 

I was so surprised to have a towel animal on the bed that night.

 

 

I had completely forgotten that these were even a thing. Funny how those little things can really make you smile.

 

Off to bed. Nassau in the morning and we would be exploring on our own.

[Ellceee]

Loving your review, glad you made it on!

[L1211]

How nice. Your review made

Me smile!! Thank you. Love that you follow the rules yet still enjoyed formal night. So glad they welcomed you both. You looked great!! Enjoying you review. Thank you!!

 

 

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[sdear]

You both look totally awesome for having 9 kids !! Kudos to you ! Great review !!

[Merion_Mom]

You both look totally awesome for having 9 kids !! Kudos to you ! Great review !!

 

 

 

Oh, c'mon!

 

They look totally awesome, period!

 

 

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