Enchantment of the Seas

[MISTER 67]

I have checked the regular CC reviews on this ship and they are all over the place so I came to the boards where I think we get a little better perspective on things. Any feed back on the condition of the ship along with dining and entertainment ratings would be appreciated. We are veteran cruisers and have taken 72 cruises and are low maintenance but I like that the cruise we are looking at sails out of Tampa which is the closest port for us living about 90 miles away in Punta Gorda. We love the size of the Enchantment as we sailed on her sister the Rhapsody before the pandemic and we had a great cruise with great service, very good food and entertainment on a perfect sized ship.

Edited December 16, 2023 by MISTER 67

[Anton]

I was on Enchantment the first week of December out of Tampa.  It was a good cruise but I was happy to leave.  To be fair this was the first 7 night cruise they did after the transatlantic, which was followed by a 5 night, and then our cruise started.  So they could have had a small learning curve and some kinks to work out.  I felt the dining room food was generally good at dinner.  The dining room is significantly understaffed though and meals took a while.  Our assistant waiter seemed to be covering twice the usual number of tables and the waiter was having to do a lot by himself.   I didn't eat breakfast or lunch there.  The Windjammer was disappointing for lunch and as usual for this ship it was always a mine field to wade through at peak times simply because of the cluttered layout.  Dry burgers (hockey pucks) and burned hot dogs, otherwise it was boring repetitive choices for the most part.  I walked through one morning to see the breakfast and the scrambled eggs were more like scrambled egg soup they were so watery.  I noticed nobody was touching them.  Someone remarked that one morning they had no bacon, just several pans of sausages.  The staff did try hard though.  I had breakfast in the solarium usually, just getting an egg muffin or breakfast burrito.  They were filling.  Didn't use room service. 

 

Bar service was fine and prompt.  The ship's band was excellent.  The entertainment staff put on good shows.  We had a headliner who had played Frankie Valli on Broadway in Jersey Boys and he was great.  Casino was stingy and cluttered, again this is because of the ship being old and they are trying to pack as much as they can in the small space.  VERY smoky.  They were installing a couple new banks of machines.

 

We had a JS and it had two problems - cold water was impossible to get.  Lukewarm was as cold as it got.  Hot water was the opposite - too hot but plentiful.  The AC did whatever it felt like regardless of the thermostat setting.  Usually it was cold enough to hang sides of beef.  They never fixed either issue.  The bed was fine. 

 

Of the two elevators that go to deck 11 and the Viking Crown, only one worked and it wouldn't stop at deck 5.  The other worked but not to go to deck 11.  A friend stayed for a second week and departed this morning.  He said they fixed the elevator that was not stopping at 11, but then the other one broke.  So good luck getting to the Crown or Concierge Lounges.  I had to play elevator tag often to get up there. 

 

A true high point was the ship's wifi worked very well all week.  Fast and never lost the signal.  I was impressed.  It was more reliable than the wifi on many newer ships has been lately.

 

The crew was pleasant and helpful. 

 

 

[MISTER 67]

16 minutes ago, Anton said:

I was on Enchantment the first week of December out of Tampa.  It was a good cruise but I was happy to leave.  To be fair this was the first 7 night cruise they did after the transatlantic, which was followed by a 5 night, and then our cruise started.  So they could have had a small learning curve and some kinks to work out.  I felt the dining room food was generally good at dinner.  The dining room is significantly understaffed though and meals took a while.  Our assistant waiter seemed to be covering twice the usual number of tables and the waiter was having to do a lot by himself.   I didn't eat breakfast or lunch there.  The Windjammer was disappointing for lunch and as usual for this ship it was always a mine field to wade through at peak times simply because of the cluttered layout.  Dry burgers (hockey pucks) and burned hot dogs, otherwise it was boring repetitive choices for the most part.  I walked through one morning to see the breakfast and the scrambled eggs were more like scrambled egg soup they were so watery.  I noticed nobody was touching them.  Someone remarked that one morning they had no bacon, just several pans of sausages.  The staff did try hard though.  I had breakfast in the solarium usually, just getting an egg muffin or breakfast burrito.  They were filling.  Didn't use room service. 

 

Bar service was fine and prompt.  The ship's band was excellent.  The entertainment staff put on good shows.  We had a headliner who had played Frankie Valli on Broadway in Jersey Boys and he was great.  Casino was stingy and cluttered, again this is because of the ship being old and they are trying to pack as much as they can in the small space.  VERY smoky.  They were installing a couple new banks of machines.

 

We had a JS and it had two problems - cold water was impossible to get.  Lukewarm was as cold as it got.  Hot water was the opposite - too hot but plentiful.  The AC did whatever it felt like regardless of the thermostat setting.  Usually it was cold enough to hang sides of beef.  They never fixed either issue.  The bed was fine. 

 

Of the two elevators that go to deck 11 and the Viking Crown, only one worked and it wouldn't stop at deck 5.  The other worked but not to go to deck 11.  A friend stayed for a second week and departed this morning.  He said they fixed the elevator that was not stopping at 11, but then the other one broke.  So good luck getting to the Crown or Concierge Lounges.  I had to play elevator tag often to get up there. 

 

A true high point was the ship's wifi worked very well all week.  Fast and never lost the signal.  I was impressed.  It was more reliable than the wifi on many newer ships has been lately.

 

The crew was pleasant and helpful. 

 

 

Thanks for the feedback, you just about answered all my questions, maybe things will be better by August 3.

Edited December 16, 2023 by MISTER 67

[shipgeeks]

We have sailed on Enchantment many times, and we love it.  Have never had any of the problems mentioned above.  When we've been aboard, service (especially MDR), food, cabin, etc. were all good to outstanding.  We would sail on her again in a heartbeat.

[Anton]

3 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

Thanks for the feedback, you just about answered all my questions, maybe things will be better by August 3.

I'd hope that would be the case.  I assume the crew was worn down after the transatlantic, perhaps some crew transfers for vacations when they arrived in Tampa, maybe some re-supply things to work out.  I think they were using up some supplies they got in Europe given some of the items on the buffet.  New captain too.  I actually like cruising out of Tampa even though I fly there.  West coast Florida seems to have a less frenetic vibe as compared to the east coast.

[CynBeth6]

5 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

We have sailed on Enchantment many times, and we love it.  Have never had any of the problems mentioned above.  When we've been aboard, service (especially MDR), food, cabin, etc. were all good to outstanding.  We would sail on her again in a heartbeat.

We were on it for a Med cruise in July in an JS and never experienced any issues.