Enchanted Princess - 2/26/24 - 3/7/24 Southern Caribbean

[JGmf]

Strap-in and read-on if you like long reviews.  Here's mine...

 

Overall, this was a wonderful cruise for me and my wife, a 50-something couple who needed some sunshine!

 

Ten days to islands in the Caribbean, on the February 26, 2024 – March 7, 2024 sailing, did wonders for us.  The itinerary was tremendous, especially St Lucia, Dominica, and Antigua.  The ship was/is beautiful; and the service level of the onboard staff was outstanding.  While my comments below may dwell on the negatives sometimes (we all love reading about juicy bits on these boards), it’s important to stress that the overall cruise experience was excellent.  If we had to do it again, we would…and we hope to.

 

The ship we're talking about here...

 

EMBARKATION

The process at Port Everglades was pretty straightforward and as fast as we could’ve hoped for.  We were dropped off at the port at around 9:30 via Uber; and we were on the ship a bit after 11am.  There was a decent line outside of the terminal, a hundred-plus people long, at first kind of a mess, but staff split us into green versus blue lanes.  We had our medallions mailed, so our green lane provided a quick and easy process to get to the check-in person who verified our passport and retook our photo (which I wish they would just load on the Princess database and link to our Princess ID number).  After checking-in, they tried to hand us the boarding group plastic placard, but we mentioned we were in a full suite; and we got shunted upstairs….pretty cool, me thinking we were going directly on to the ship…nope.  Instead we were directed to a quite-full waiting room.  No big deal. 

 

DISEMBARKATION

Super fast.  We had a 10:45 flight at FLL.  We walked off the ship with our luggage at 7am, took a Lyft ride to the airport, and was through security heading to our gate WAY EARLY at 8am.  Should've slowed our pace, as we had plenty of time, but my better half likes to be at the airport earlier than later...

 

THE VIBE

Well, a 10-day cruise while school was in session probably foretold that the ship would be overwhelmingly populated with retirees with very few ‘young’ couples and virtually no children (may 10 total??).  That was the case.  It may explain no real nightlife that I observed after 11pm.  I wish there had been more of a ‘scene’, but so be it.  I met a lot of tremendous, friendly people from all over North America (read: a lot of Canadians!).  It was really nice.

 

Ode to our brothers and sisters to the north...

 

THE ENCHANTED PRINCESS

The ship was generally clean and sparkling; and I was impressed by how new and fresh it felt.  The only recurring problem I witnessed was no soap in the rest rooms, which seems like an easy fix.  (Hope you're reading this Princess).

 

I’ve mostly sailed on NCL ships, but I loved the Enchanted’s deeper and more abundant pools; more hot tubs; and seemingly way more lounger availability.  I did miss, however, the lack of a “Waterfront” deck with bars like NCL ships have; but I used the Wake View Bar as an almost-as-good substitute.  The bar staff there were constantly slammed, but Ferdy, Braulio, and Patty did an excellent job keeping us, um, hydrated.  They really made it a fun atmosphere. 

 

Wakeview bar, Ferdy behind the bar working his magic.

 

Our nighttime hangout was the Bellini Bar.  Same thing: three excellent staff (Josh, Alex, and Aeron) made our many hours there more pleasurable.  We loved that location for getting a seat by the overlook into the Piazza and watch the various dancing and happenings.  We had a great vantage point there for the 80's dance party that they moved inside b/c of the weather.

 

Josh and Aeron at Bellini's

 

Menu at Bellini's.  Wife absolutely loved the "Raspberry Romance" drink.

  

 

STATEROOM – SUITE B101

We booked this forward-facing suite and largely enjoyed the space.  The angled wall was not an issue and the smallish balcony was fine for us.  Some don’t like these way forward rooms (we were obviously the last stop at the end of the hall), but the walk was good exercise.

 

 

 

 

Our steward, Henry, was maybe the best steward we’ve ever had.  (Thanks Henry!)  As mentioned, we were generally really happy with the room.  There was one big problem however: the shower….which became stuck on one temperature: scalding hot. 

Actually, on day one, it was only abnormally hot, not scalding, but we thought we weren’t working the controls properly, so we lived with it, but it got progressively worse, such that we had to turn the water off after lathering, just so the new burst of water was cool enough to rinse…and then do it again for the next bit(s).  (Yes, we turned the dial as far cold as we could, and tried various stops in between, but nada, still scalding).

 

We reported the problem 3 times over our 10 day cruise and received two visits of fixes attempted by engineering, including 3 guys crammed in the shower (really) to install a new mixing valve.  Well, it was OK at first, but oddly enough, it got bad again, reverting back to scalding....which is super odd, yeah, I know. 

 

Scene of the scalding hot shower experience...unadvertised bonus for this suite room.  Bring your mug and brew your tea while showering!

 

 

 

The second time we reported it, Guest Services provided a gratis pass for me to go to the Enclave to shower (my wife already bought an Enclave pass on day one, so she was set).  After the third visit to Guest Services -- on the second-to-last day -- they gave us $200 FCC each.  I don’t know what the proper compensation should’ve been, but when it hurts to wash your hair, that’s not a good thing.  The whole thing was really weird.  I hope they finally fixed it for the current people in that room.

 

THE FOOD

We’re kind of jaded.  We’ve cruised many times before; are well-traveled; routinely go to our local restaurants; and can make excellent home meals, so it takes a lot to wow us.  That said, we ate way too much, so I suppose the food was good, or good enough…and certainly was very abundant.  Below is my quick take on the dining.

 

Buffet: food quality very good by buffet standards.  Loved the Indian, especially the vegetable biryani.  As a ‘pescatarian’, I wish they had more fish options, but was generally happy with the selection of plant-based dishes, especially the green bean sauté and the stuffed artichoke bottoms (yes, that’s a thing).  Very happy (and surprised) they had Sriracha among the condiments as some of the food really need hot/spicy adds.

 

The Catch by Rudi: we liked it.  The food delivery to the table was slow, but maybe intentionally so, I’m not sure.  Overall, it was very good and nearly all the reviewers on these boards agree and really love it.  Next cruise, we’d do it again in lieu of Sabatinis and Crown Grill.

 

Reserve Dining: the food was kind of blah and been-there-done-that….but I’m happy to report that the butter was buttery and real. (Is that thread still active?) One day two, when we went to go there, the place was mobbed, both port and starboard side, such that we couldn’t see the sign for suite-level reserve dining entry, so we bailed and went to the buffet instead of waiting behind the crowds.  Boo, hoo for us.  In hindsight that was stupid, as if we found the proper entry, they would’ve escorted us in immediately.  When we did finally go on night 3, we found the proper area, and we were greeted by name and went straight to the table.  How was it? Well, I love crab cakes.  I judge a finer dining place by them…sort of like gauging bar food by how good they make nachos.  Well, the ones at the Capri dining room were gummy, thickly breaded messes.  ‘Nuff said.  The food, overall, was just OK.

 

360 Experience:  the Disney-like audio/video immersion stuff was very cool....but am I wrong?, at least from what I read, I thought we’d also get smell-o-vision when the lemons and lavender were in the show?  Nope, no scents.  Too bad.  As far as the food, it was generally very good.  The service was extremely personalized (1 server to 2 people). 

 

A big negative from me, however, was on the lack of any advance communication by Princess regarding food preferences.  We booked this prior to boarding the ship (after a lot of needless run-around), getting it gratis having paid for our suite way before December 2023.  I’ve read on these boards that someone is supposed to reach out and ask about stuff like food allergies, if people drink or prefer no-alcohol options, etc.  We did receive a letter in our room (see below), but it doesn’t have a contact number or person. 

 

Why do I care? Well, not the end of the world, but we don’t eat red meat; and we did see some of our tablemates with the same proclivity getting the alternative seafood option.  Huh?  What? How?

 

Whatever, we didn’t starve (please, c’mon, skipping a course won’t kill us), but it seemed like whomever runs this thing is missing a beat here or there, especially given all the hype about it (and big cost if you are paying). 

 

Overall, we’re glad we did it; glad we didn’t pay (in this instance); but wouldn’t do it again.

 

 

 

Slice (on the Lido Deck): excellent thin crust pizza, hardly no waiting, vegetarian-friendly specialty pies, and plenty of hot pepper flakes….all add-up to a top-notch place to grab some grub.  I love that place.

 

Oceanview Sushi: we used our two free casual dining credits at this location.  It was good enough to go back.  As good as your favorite Japanese place at home?  No, but a pleasant surprise, as cruise sushi is usually all rice and no flavor.  This was good.

 

Ample food for two...I went with the all tuna option for my nigri...eating that edamame with chopsticks was a good way to pass the time...

 

 

THE ENTERTAINMENT

Alfred and Seymour, the comedians, were terrific for their first show; and “just OK” for the show later in the week.  We didn’t see other shows.

 

We did go to the cruise staff game shows, which were all very good.  The new cruise director, DuVaul (sp?) was very entertaining himself and led a very engaging team.  He may be the best cruise director we'd ever had on any ship.

 

The musical acts were fine, but I do have a pet peeve: stop continually playing the same songs over and over again, whether the steel drum guy in the Piazza or the piano player in Crooners, please expand your playlist over a 10-day period.  Also it would be nice if they would compare playlists between themselves, as different performers often sang/played the same songs as the other persons on the same nights. 

Does Princess have a select playlist of only 50 tunes they allow on the ship?

 

THE CASINO

The casino was mobbed and smoky, too smoky as others continually report.  It was rather unbearable on the “smoking side” and barely tolerable on the “non-smoking” side.  That said, I apologized to my lungs and spent a lot of time there.  I largely play table games and really like Ultimate Texas Hold’Em, as apparently a lot of other players do.  There’s only one table that is full, from the minute it opens to last call when the casino closes – no exaggeration – it’s such in demand that it required a 10+ long player sign-up sheet and hours in waiting to get a seat.  Meanwhile, other table games had tumbleweeds blowing across them.  C’mon Princess: read the room and add another table.

 

Peaceful time prior to opening the casino.  Bonus: it was smoke-free (like it should be always...in my opinion).

 

PORT STOPS

As mentioned, these ports were largely spectacular.  Here’s my quick take:

 

Princess Cay: tender port, nice beach, drink package works there, and nice food.  Especially loved they had fresh fruit available.  Other than that, nothing notable.

 

St. Thomas, USVI: we’ve been there before and knowing we’d see a lot of beaches in the coming days, we ventured off the ship only to buy more sunscreen.  Instead we enjoyed the Retreat Pool and the adjacent hot tubs on the deck above.

 

Dominica:  absolutely beautiful.  We took Pepper’s tour via one of the main booking sites.  He and his guide were wonderful.   The 10 of us in the van had a crazy, windy, hilly ride, but it was worth it, seeing waterfalls (Emerald Pool and Trafalgar Falls) and hot spring baths and making a stop on a (crazy hot to your feet) black sand beach.  The day we visited I saw the New York Times had a feature piece on how this island is a hidden gem in the Caribbean.  It is.  That said, I can’t see how to add more people and tours as some of the stops were very crowded.

 

Scenic overlook on trails by Emerald Pool

 

Emerald Pool

 

Black volcanic sand beach - we had about an hour here

 

 

St. Lucia: Wow.  That’s it.  Three letter reaction.  The Pitons were/are amazing.  We did another excursion via a major booking site, the “land and sea tour”.  It involved another nutty van ride, a rather long ride actually, across the island to get to the Pitons, but it was well worth it.  It also included a boat ride to an amazing beach and a really nice buffet lunch in Soufriere.

 

"Smally", our bus driver and tour guide, was amazing....and we even had a couple who proposed and got engaged under the waterfall.  That made this tour even better.

   

Stunning photo op stop provided by our tour provider.  Picture postcard worthy, really.

 

 

 

 

Martinique: It was a Sunday and mostly all the shops in the rather cosmopolitan town were closed.  We needed a break from beaches and tour buses anyway, so we just walked around for about an hour to get some exercise.  Just an observation, but at every port stop, while we dutifully brought our photo ID as instructed, no security asked for it when entering the gateways to the ship(s). They only wanted to see our medallion.  I thought that the French in Martinique would be the ones to ask, but no.  No big deal, just an observation.

 

Antigua: For this stop, given the early sail-away (4pm), we went with Princess’ Catamaran and Lobster tour thing.  It was a good excursion overall, including visits to two amazing beaches. Only regret: I wish we had enough time to go to what appeared like a vibrant shopping port, but we got back too late, with only about 20 minutes to spare for all-aboard.

 

Here's an amazing beach we visited.

 

CONCLUSION

That's it.  We enjoyed our cruise and hope to be sailing again soon on Princess.  Next stop: Bermuda in June on the NCL Joy!

 

 

[20165]

Great review.  We actually have the room opposite of you, B102 next month on Enchanted.  We have been debating on upgrading to a Penthouse, but they seem smaller than the one we have.  Our only concern about our current room is the slant in the bedroom given hubby is 6.3.  Do you think that height would be a issue?  From your pic, the bedroom seems pretty large and it doesnt look like a tall person would have an issue.

thx

 

[JGmf]

I'm 6'0".  No issues with slant in room at all.  It's really a non-factor.

 

That long shelf/drawer thing against the slanted wall is terrific.  We started out dutifully putting stuff in drawers, but as the week progressed, we just piled clothes (neatly) on top.   

 

Enjoy your cruise and say hello to those terrific bartenders!!

[beach_fever_4ever]

There was a lack of soap in the men's bathrooms when we were on the Enchanted for 20 days in January. They were continually filthy, trashcans overflowing and smelled like urine, too. I have seen porta potties in better shape. I went to guest services several times, but did not see any improvement.

Edited March 9 by beach_fever_4ever
The bathrooms were not like this when we cruised on the Enchanted for 30 days during January 2023.

[PacnGoNow]

15 minutes ago, beach_fever_4ever said:

There was a lack of soap in the men's bathrooms when we were on the Enchanted for 20 days in January. They were continually filthy, trashcans overflowing and smelled like urine, too. I have seen porta potties in better shape. I went to guest services several times, but did not see any improvement.

Contact the head of housekeeping, if nothing is done.  That is disgusting.

 

[PacnGoNow]

Awesome review!  Thank you.

[Potstech]

Was on the same cruise and agree with all in a general manner. We went to different places in the various ports and had a great time. Hope you didn't miss Duvall on the last night and his "Duck" song.

[JGmf]

2 hours ago, Potstech said:

Was on the same cruise and agree with all in a general manner. We went to different places in the various ports and had a great time. Hope you didn't miss Duvall on the last night and his "Duck" song.

Darn it.  We missed that.  Sounds like he nailed it!

[Potstech]

Ys he did along with pictures in the background following along.

[voyager1964]

Nice and timely review! Did you try the International Cafe, or the Irish pub? Where was your first meal on the ship at embarkation, did you like it? Did your wife enjoy the Enclave?

[JGmf]

9 hours ago, voyager1964 said:

Nice and timely review! Did you try the International Cafe, or the Irish pub? Where was your first meal on the ship at embarkation, did you like it? Did your wife enjoy the Enclave?

 

Yes, we used the IC for specialty coffees and, of course, enjoyed them.  We didn't get any food there, as we had so many meals, that eating any more snacks would've caused us to burst.  Everything behind the glass looked good, but I didn't see any compelling "light" food (read: without bread, cheese, and/or not dessert), so we skipped it in deference to our waistline.

 

Regarding snacks, despite the waistline concerns, I do wish they had some bar snacks at Bellini's so we could have enjoyed some mindless salty and/or crunchy stuff later in the evening.  I guess that's not a thing...

 

No on the Irish Pub as the food there seemed like anything we could get (but probably not as good) at any number of pubs and bars in my area.  It was way popular though, esp when the singer was there.  I saw a lot of people enjoying the food and the venue.

 

The first night we went to Catch as part of the benefit of being in a suite (first night meal can be in a specialty restaurant).  It was a 6:40 reservation and the place was rather empty. Dinner was very good.

 

Regarding the Enclave, yes, my wife enjoyed it a lot, spending a hour-plus here or there during any given day in the facilities.  Geez, b/c I got the pass due to our blazing hot shower kerfuffle, I even tried it....and I'm not a spa guy.  It was pretty great actually.  The large heated, bubble pool was amazing.  It never felt crowded; and with features like a raised seating area and massage jets, it was something that I think I'll do again.  The steam room was special too.  Very big, with various scents, and steps away from the different shower options.  While my wife could spent a lot of time in there, me, it was maybe 30 minutes and it's time to go. I get kind of antsy just sitting anywhere doing nothing.

 

[NancyIL]

Thank you for your excellent, detailed review and lovely photos!

 

I was also on your cruise, and I had a great time. I hadn't sailed with Princess since 2016, so I was quite impressed with this beautiful newer ship and its Medallion technology.

 

I enjoyed the food very much.  I ate most of my breakfasts in the buffet, lunches & snacks in the International Cafe or the pool deck (pizza, or burgers from the Salty Dog Cafe), and all but one dinner in the dining room. Our travel agent gave us complimentary vouchers for Sabatini's (Italian) for one dinner, which was excellent. However, with 6 full-size courses - there was way too much food to eat.

 

I went to most of the shows, and especially enjoyed the 3 production shows by the Singers & Dancers. The shows were different from the usual ones I had seen on other cruise lines, especially "5 Skies" - but they were so well done. I also thought the first Alfred & Seymour show in the theater was much funnier than the later show in the Vista Lounge, but we were seated way in the back of the lounge and had trouble seeing and hearing everything. The tributes to Elton John and ABBA were excellent, as was the Farewell show. 

 

All of the ports were new to me, except St. Thomas, so I booked a tour in each port. I used to book tours with independent operators or join other people's non-ship tours. However, I've gotten lazier in my "older" age, so I used onboard credit to book ship tours. The highlight for me was the Balata Gardens in Martinique, which was gorgeous. I wish our tour of Nelson's Dockyards in Antigua had been longer, as we would've enjoyed more free time there. Our tour to Dominica visited Trafalgar Falls. I had no problem with the stairs, but I also wore my hiking shoes. A woman in our group fell on the stairs going down, and had to be carried back to the bus. When the shore excursion description and tour ticket warn about "steep and slippery" conditions and advise you to "wear sturdy shoes" - it's best to heed that advice!

 

I'm now looking forward to 2 upcoming Princess cruises - although both are on older ships: Sapphire in Alaska, and Emerald in the British Isles.

 

 

[JGmf]

10 minutes ago, NancyIL said:

Our tour to Dominica visited Trafalgar Falls. I had no problem with the stairs, but I also wore my hiking shoes. A woman in our group fell on the stairs going down, and had to be carried back to the bus. When the shore excursion description and tour ticket warn about "steep and slippery" conditions and advise you to "wear sturdy shoes" - it's best to heed that advice!

 

Amen to that.  There were quite a few folks on our visit to the Emerald Pool with canes and/or with bad legs that shouldn't have made the trek up and down those paths and rocky, uneven stairs.

 

13 minutes ago, NancyIL said:

wish our tour of Nelson's Dockyards in Antigua had been longer, as we would've enjoyed more free time there.

 

Same thoughts here.  More time in Antigua!!!

 

Thanks for the kind comments about my review.

 

[NancyIL]

1 hour ago, JGmf said:

 

Amen to that.  There were quite a few folks on our visit to the Emerald Pool with canes and/or with bad legs that shouldn't have made the trek up and down those paths and rocky, uneven stairs.

 

 

Same thoughts here.  More time in Antigua!!!

 

Thanks for the kind comments about my review.

 

 

I felt our time in Antigua was long enough, but I wish our shore excursion had been longer.

[Potstech]

3 hours ago, NancyIL said:

Thank you for your excellent, detailed review and lovely photos!

 

I was also on your cruise, and I had a great time. I hadn't sailed with Princess since 2016, so I was quite impressed with this beautiful newer ship and its Medallion technology.

 

I enjoyed the food very much.  I ate most of my breakfasts in the buffet, lunches & snacks in the International Cafe or the pool deck (pizza, or burgers from the Salty Dog Cafe), and all but one dinner in the dining room. Our travel agent gave us complimentary vouchers for Sabatini's (Italian) for one dinner, which was excellent. However, with 6 full-size courses - there was way too much food to eat.

 

I went to most of the shows, and especially enjoyed the 3 production shows by the Singers & Dancers. The shows were different from the usual ones I had seen on other cruise lines, especially "5 Skies" - but they were so well done. I also thought the first Alfred & Seymour show in the theater was much funnier than the later show in the Vista Lounge, but we were seated way in the back of the lounge and had trouble seeing and hearing everything. The tributes to Elton John and ABBA were excellent, as was the Farewell show. 

 

All of the ports were new to me, except St. Thomas, so I booked a tour in each port. I used to book tours with independent operators or join other people's non-ship tours. However, I've gotten lazier in my "older" age, so I used onboard credit to book ship tours. The highlight for me was the Balata Gardens in Martinique, which was gorgeous. I wish our tour of Nelson's Dockyards in Antigua had been longer, as we would've enjoyed more free time there. Our tour to Dominica visited Trafalgar Falls. I had no problem with the stairs, but I also wore my hiking shoes. A woman in our group fell on the stairs going down, and had to be carried back to the bus. When the shore excursion description and tour ticket warn about "steep and slippery" conditions and advise you to "wear sturdy shoes" - it's best to heed that advice!

 

I'm now looking forward to 2 upcoming Princess cruises - although both are on older ships: Sapphire in Alaska, and Emerald in the British Isles.

 

 

We saw that woman the fell. We were right behind them and it did take awhile to get her up and sat down.  Hope she was not injured too bad.

[SlimShady94577]

We were on this cruise. We enjoyed it all except the Dominica sardine can ride to the Emerald Pool and Trafalgar falls. The driver and narrator were great. The vehicle was sized for children. I wouldn't recommend it unless you are under 5'6" and 140 lbs. We were on a small but comfortable bus in Antigua that was sized for adults.

[JGmf]

2 hours ago, SlimShady94577 said:

We were on this cruise. We enjoyed it all except the Dominica sardine can ride to the Emerald Pool and Trafalgar falls. The driver and narrator were great. The vehicle was sized for children. I wouldn't recommend it unless you are under 5'6" and 140 lbs. We were on a small but comfortable bus in Antigua that was sized for adults.

 

On the buses we took -- in Dominica and St Lucia -- you really have to get ready for long, crazy zig-zag drives on narrow (and not so smooth) roads.  People prone to car sickness would have a difficult time I think. 

 

[Fa-Li]

Thanks for your review.  We were on Enchanted the same time last year, and are booked for it next year.  (did land tour this Feb)  I might have missed your mention of it, but did you eat the suite breakfast?  I see that Catch has replaced Sabatini's so I'm wondering where suite guests get their private breakfast served these days.

 

Thanks!

[JGmf]

49 minutes ago, Fa-Li said:

I might have missed your mention of it, but did you eat the suite breakfast?

 

We only went to the suite breakfast once.  It was at the Crown Grill; and the service and food were great.  We didn't go a second time as we're not really breakfast people.  We wanted to try it at least once; and we're glad we did.

 

Also, Sabatini's is still there; as is the Crown Grill.  The Catch is a third specialty dining spot.

[Robkat]

@JGmf:  Thanks so much for doing this review of your cruise on the Enchanted.  We'll be sailing on her next month, and then again for a

14-nighter to the ABC's in August, so we really appreciate your insights and, of course, your photos.  

[Fa-Li]

2 hours ago, JGmf said:

 

We only went to the suite breakfast once.  It was at the Crown Grill; and the service and food were great.  We didn't go a second time as we're not really breakfast people.  We wanted to try it at least once; and we're glad we did.

 

Also, Sabatini's is still there; as is the Crown Grill.  The Catch is a third specialty dining spot.

Awesome, thank you! We very much are breakfast people and that's part of why we book the suites.  

 

I had not realized Sabatini's was still there because I was only looking at the deck plans in the app.  Now that you've told me, I thought to look in the restaurant list and there it is.  

 

[schmenge]

Thanks JGmf for the great review. My wife and I were on the same cruise and your review could have almost been our review. We are also in our 50s, in a full suite, arrived at the same time, and also had to get off for a 10:45 flight (to Orlando on our way to Milwaukee.)  Hmmm. Did I write a review already and forget???  We were on the same ship and in the same cabin as 2 years ago with a half full ship when things opened up. 

 

We also had a great cruise. A few additional raves and pans…..

I thought the embarkation experience was not as great. The separation of green and blue lines seemed almost worthless to us as the lines merged together prior to check in. (As green, the line was shorter before the merge. ). It all went pretty quick, but we initially were sent to the elite lounge as we were full suite only to be redirected back to the regular area. Very confusing, but I suspect that the other area was full as there were A LOT of Elite level cruisers. Demographics: As said earlier, we are in our mid-50s, and I estimate in the lower 20% age wise. 

 

We loved the food and service in Reserve MDR, Crown Grill, and The Catch. This is saying something as I am comparing it to the Retreat dining experience on Celebrity which is amazing. Suite breakfast was great, buffet was so so, pool deck food was great. I thought 360 experience was great but once is enough. (My wife is not as adventurous am eater so did not care for some of the items.)

 

Production shows were the same as last cruise so did not go again. (Loved Rock Opera, really don’t like 5 Skies-sorry. ) Rest of entertainment was just OK, not great in my opinion. (I agree that Duvaul and his staff were very good.)

 

I could not agree more on the casino. At night, it was overly crowded and so smoky that it was often unbearable. (In one of the shows, one other cruiser let my wife overhear a snide remark about how bad she smelled of smoke - and we only walked through the casino.). We can’t stand the smoky conditions and wish Princess would make smoke free or ventilate better. (Let the flame throwers begin. 😄)

 

We had been to all of the island before, but still enjoyed them. High point was Dominica where we went on a whale watching trip and saw multiple whales and hundreds of dolphins. Low point was a Martinique snorkel trip that missed a stop due to wind and the stop we did had a lot of jellyfish. (Both had minor stings. )  Coordination of the excursions was great. 
 

OK- those are my items to share. Again, great cruise and thank for letting me ride in the coat tails of your review. )

[Projunior]

We have been on the Regal Princess three times in the last 15 months and will be sailing on the Enchanted in early April. Your experience at having difficulty playing at the Hold'em table echoes our exact experience on the Regal (minor correction: WPT Heads Up Hold'em is licensed from Galaxy Gaming and is in the casino on Carnival Corp lines/ships while Ultimate Texas Hold'em licensed from Shufflemaster is on RCCL/Celebrity ships. The games are very similar). 

 

There were no sign-up sheets on the Regal and so people were forced to stand and wait and wait and wait at the table for an empty seat. I saw one man stand and wait almost five hours for a seat. People would sit down in the afternoon and play until closing without even going to dinner. Total insanity.

 

I have asked about adding a second table more times than I care to count. I point out the need to address this on every survey. I have talked to multiple casino management people. Invariably they respond with some form of shoulder-shrugging and the implausible argument that "there's nothing we can do". Nor do they ever have an explanation as to why the Ruby Princess, a Grand class ship with a smaller passenger capacity (3080) than the Royal-class Regal (3660) has TWO of these tables.

 

Sounds like more frustration ahead for our April cruise. Bummer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tmcabee]

Thanks for the review!  We're excited to board Emerald for our first Princess cruise this Summer.

 

Do you happen to remember what time the shows were in the evening?  We're trying to decide the best time to get dinner reservations in the evening, in order to also have time to get seated in the theatre.  Thanks so much if you can remember!

[LACruiser88]

2 minutes ago, tmcabee said:

We're excited to board Emerald for our first Princess cruise this Summer.

You mention going on the Emerald, this review was for the Enchanted Princess?  🤷‍♂️