Enchanted Princess Review WITH PICS - April 20, 2024

[bassmk]

I know I am so late posting this, but I always like reading reviews no matter how old they are. This is only my second review here, so bear with me! And be sure to ask questions and/or leave comments if there's anything you want to know! 

 

Pre-Cruise Travel:

We flew American from BNA to FLL with a stop in Charlotte. We had kind of a long layover, but I’m a bit of an anxious traveler, so I prefer them to the possibility of delays and missing connections. We spent the layover in the Centurion lounge and it was PACKED. We stayed at the Embassy Suites 17^th St. in Ft. Lauderdale and had dinner in the restaurant there. I had plans to walk to one of the places close by, but we were exhausted. The hotel is super old and is in desperate need of an update. I think they’re beginning that process but the lobby and the rooms are very, very dated and just seem generally run-down. It was fine because we were there less than 12 hours, but the fact that it was very expensive AND kind of a dump irritated me. But like I said…we were there less than 12 hours and I was about to get on the ship, so I was able to put it out of my mind!

 

Embarkation, Saturday, 4/20:

We took Lyft to the port and arrived around 9:45a. I knew that was too early, but I just couldn’t wait any longer. I was so ready to leave that dumpy hotel and get on our ship! The sign where we were lined up said the doors would open at 10:30a, but at 10:00a they were open and we were going in. We were through security and on the ship by 10:30a. Since I did all our check-in stuff on the app, it was a breeze.

 

Immediately after stepping foot onboard, we went up to the Sanctuary to book a cabana. The line was already at least a dozen people deep! I know our sailing was also sold as a 14-day trip, so I’m assuming some of those people were already onboard. We were in line for about 10 minutes before one of the staff were coming down the line to get names on the waiting list for loungers because they were sold out. That’s so crazy!! Bob and I stayed in line because we wanted a full-day cabana. We finally made it to the reservation stand and got the actual last one available. It was on the day we would be in San Juan, but we didn’t care. We were just happy to get one!

 

After securing our cabana rental, we had lunch in the buffet. It was pretty good. I don’t remember what we ate, but no doubt it was a sampling of a little bit of everything. We followed that up by sitting down in the Piazza where Bob got a cup of coffee (and I got a sweet treat!) from the International Café, something we would do every day of the cruise. We watched folks get on board and we checked in back home to let everyone know we were on the ship. Once our room was ready, we went up to check it out. We were thrilled to see that our luggage had already been delivered! We unpacked and tidied up a bit, then watched sailaway from our balcony. We were in A429, which is a Reserve Class mini-suite, and it has the angled balcony, which provides a little bit more room that a normal balcony.

 

Our cabin steward was Leonardo, and he was VERY nice. He looked after us so well all week. I like ice in the room, so when he asked if there was anything we needed, I asked for that. He made sure I had it every day. The other thing he did that I thought was very much an “extra mile” thing was to fashion a sort of cover for the motion sensor on the light outside of the bathroom in the closet. The first night, it would come on and blind whoever was going to the bathroom and wake up the person still in the bed. AWFUL! Who thought that was a good idea? I made a note to bring painter’s tape for our October cruise.

 

Once we were underway, we had a few drinks in Bellini’s before having dinner in the buffet. The drinks were fine. I do drink, but I’m not well-versed in cocktails. I wasn’t sure what to order, but as the week went on I found my groove. We normally have the first dinner in the dining room, but we weren’t feeling up to it, so we went to the buffet. I’ve been on MANY cruises and I rarely have dinner in the buffet. I had forgotten that it can be really good! We really enjoyed it.

 

We were still super exhausted (both our jobs ran us ragged before vacation) so we wound up going to bed around 8:00p.

[bassmk]

[metairiegal]

We were on the cruise right after you, April 27.  Can't wait to read more of your report.

[bassmk]

 

Princess Cay – Sunday, 4/21:

We were both awake at 6:00a and couldn’t go back to sleep. I guess going to bed crazy early will do that. We didn’t sleep well because of that stinkin’ motion light, but Leonardo fixed that for the rest of the week. We went on up to the buffet and ate breakfast. I love breakfast at the buffet. I’ve cruised Princess, Holland, and Carnival, and in my opinion, Princess has the best breakfast buffet of the three. I love that they keep a tray out with sunny-side up eggs on it. Anywhere else I have to stand in the omelet line to ask for some, and I’m always met with strange looks.

 

We sat outside the International Café to wait for the tenders to be ready. I dropped the ball and didn’t realize I had to go upstairs to get a ticket, so we were in the second round of tenders. It went really quickly, though, and we were on the island by 10:00a.

 

I reserved a Sanctuary Cabana for the day, and it was worth every penny. The area was very quiet, there was lots of shade, and it was clean and beautiful. The cabana had a table and chairs, refrigerator, and air conditioning. Bob and I posted up in our loungers under the umbrella for most of the day. The staff were attentive and friendly, and the drinks were good. (There was one that tasted like straight paint thinner, but the others were good enough to make up for it!) We opted for the VIP lunch package and again…worth every penny. To start, they brought us “Island Gazpacho” which was, of course, cold tomato soup but it was spicy and had a really great Caribbean flavor. Next was a seafood plate with shrimp, mussels, and lobster tails. Again, very delicious. They were dressed in some kind of light, herby dressing. The main course was jerk chicken, ribs, salad, rice, and beans. The ribs were fine, but the jerk chicken was absolutely fantastic. For dessert we had fresh fruit and vanilla ice cream. They kept our cabana stocked with water, popcorn, and peanuts throughout the day. I would 100% recommend a Sanctuary cabana on Princess Cay. (I think you can reserve a cabana without the Sanctuary amenities, too.)

 

Around 2:00p we decided to head back to the ship. The line for the tenders was quite long, but it moved quickly. There were staff there handing out water and cool towels and those were VERY welcome. Once we were back onboard we went to our cabin to clean up and rest a bit. We sat in Crooner’s for a few drinks before going to the Reserve dining room (sectioned off area in the Capri dining room) for dinner. We had Gerald and Ronald as our serving team, and I can’t speak highly enough of them. We wanted for absolutely nothing. We found out that Gerald will still be on Enchanted in October when we are back for New England and Canada!

 

Dinner was delicious. I had an appetizer that I can’t remember…I want to say it was fried goat cheese? I’ll post a photo. Along with that I had French Onion soup, beef short ribs, and a cheese plate for dessert. Bob had gyoza, Asian salad, fish and chips, and I think apple pie. I should have written it down. I figured the photos would jog my memory, but I must be older than I thought!

 

After dinner we went down to Guest Services to get Bob’s medallion fixed. I know it doesn’t really matter, but when I booked, his Captain’s Circle number was incorrect. I didn’t realize the mistake until our medallions arrived in the mail and his was blue. My CVP fixed it on the booking, and onboard they were able to fix the color. That took no time at all and they were very nice about it. Once that was fixed, we went to Crooner’s to listen to the violin duo. We hung around there until about 9:00p and then went back to the cabin for the night.

[bassmk]

[canadarocks]

Wonderful review and pics so far! Thank you and looking forward to more! 

[mistyPA]

We were on the same sailing. Good to know that you were able to book Sanctuary, we wanted to, but didn't go as we anticipated none being available. We should have tried. We will make certain we try when we sail next year.

 

Also, that light was like having the sun shine on you at 2am when going to the bathroom. You had the good sense to say something to your cabin steward, we didn't but will next time. It's a good idea, but they could have done it a whole lot more subtly.

 

Look forward to the rest of your review!

 

[bassmk]

1 hour ago, mistyPA said:

We were on the same sailing. Good to know that you were able to book Sanctuary, we wanted to, but didn't go as we anticipated none being available. We should have tried. We will make certain we try when we sail next year.

 

Also, that light was like having the sun shine on you at 2am when going to the bathroom. You had the good sense to say something to your cabin steward, we didn't but will next time. It's a good idea, but they could have done it a whole lot more subtly.

 

Look forward to the rest of your review!

 

Definitely always try! But when I say we went IMMEDIATELY when we boarded? I mean we practically sprinted up there the split second our feet were on the ship, and the line was so long already. I think the loungers go much faster than the cabanas, but I should also mention that on the day we had our cabana, the place was half empty. I think people reserve them and then either cancel or just never show up. I saw the reservation book and every single cabana was booked, but more than half were empty on the actual day. Same with loungers. Always go up and at least get on the waitlist if they're already sold out. 

 

That light was crazy. I didn't know if he could fix it or not, but I knew I had to ask. I was willing to rip the bulb out and deal with the consequences later! I made a note not to forget painter's tape from now on. Absolutely horrible.

 

Thank you for reading! I should get another chunk done tonight after work.

[mtnesterz]

31 minutes ago, bassmk said:

That light was crazy. I didn't know if he could fix it or not, but I knew I had to ask. I was willing to rip the bulb out and deal with the consequences later! I made a note not to forget painter's tape from now on. Absolutely horrible.

We were also on your sailing and continued the following week. Thanks for posting pictures. Reminders of the trip are fun to view.

One thing you might want to attend in the future the little get togethers. In the Roll Call, I mentioned getting together in the morning by the IC for coffee and chat. I would have loaned you my roll of tape had I known. But wherever or whatever time of day these little get togethers take place, it's nice to meet people and share tips. 

Edited May 23 by mtnesterz

[bassmk]

3 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

We were also on your sailing and continued the following week. Thanks for posting pictures. Reminders of the trip are fun to view.

One thing you might want to attend in the future the little get togethers. In the Roll Call, I mentioned getting together in the morning by the IC for coffee and chat. I would have loaned you my roll of tape had I known. But wherever or whatever time of day these little get togethers take place, it's nice to meet people and share tips. 

I'm sure we saw you guys at the IC some mornings! I'm always all gung ho about the get-togethers before the cruise, and then when the time comes I chicken out. 🤣 I'm trying to do better!

[chubbypiggy]

22 hours ago, bassmk said:

 

Embarkation, Saturday, 4/20:

We took Lyft to the port and arrived around 9:45a. I knew that was too early, but I just couldn’t wait any longer.

 

Do you remember how much you paid for the Lyft from FLL airport to port?  Did you have to wait long for the Lyft to come?  How long was the ride?  Thank you.

[bassmk]

8 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

Do you remember how much you paid for the Lyft from FLL airport to port?  Did you have to wait long for the Lyft to come?  How long was the ride?  Thank you.

We stayed at a hotel the night before so we went from there to the port and with tip it was $11. I would imagine the wait at the airport would be short since rideshares usually are nearby, and if I had to estimate, it would probably cost $20 or less with tip.

[bassmk]

At Sea – Monday, 4/22

We woke up at the decent hour of 7a and Bob did a little bit of work. Normally I would never allow such foolishness on vacation, but he does a set of reports every Monday and it takes 15 minutes at most, so…I SUPPOSE I can look the other way. LOL We decided to have breakfast in the dining room with Gerald. I’m almost certain I got Eggs Benedict, but I have no recollection what Bob got.

 

After breakfast we went down to the Piazza to sit in the little gazebo-type area to read and scroll. Bob got espresso from IC, which he did a lot during the week. He really liked it. (He also said the coffee in the buffet was shockingly good! Not as good as home, but sometimes the buffet coffee can be rancid.) We did the morning trivia they had after the Zumba class and it was fun. I got 16/20 on this round. Fun fact about me: I am a trivia queen. I don’t know why I know things, but I know a lot about a lot. Don’t ask me where I parked my car or to do math, but I can easily tell you off the top of my head that Buckingham Palace has 78 bathrooms.

 

Once we’d had our fill of the Piazza, we headed up to Princess Live to get Bingo boards! I love me some cruise Bingo. Bob and I joke about the iPad Bingo they have on Princess. You don’t even have to keep up with it, you just sit there until the device calls Bingo for you. We call it “Invalid Bingo.” Perhaps a bit insensitive, but apt. Anyway, I bought a bunch of scratch offs as well, so while we waited the hour for Bingo to actually start, we listened to the art auction and I scratched. I actually won $25! It was the 5-for-$25 scratcher package so YAY for breaking even! LOL In the actual Bingo game, I was 2 away from winning the blackout game. Womp womp. One of these days I just know I’ll hit it big!

 

So the art auction…are any of you on here into that? Bob and I must be cretins or something because we don’t get it. We’ve decided it’s totally bogus. I heard some conspiracy theory somewhere that buying art is just a form of money laundering. Some of those paintings looked like Lisa Frank folders (any fellow elder millennials here?) and one of them sold for more than $16,000. My flabber truly was ghasted. That’s just my (our) two cents, and I leave room for the possibility that I’m too uncultured to understand.

 

By now it was lunchtime so we went down to O’Malley’s. It was packed, but there were two seats down at that part of the bar that was a low-top. We got the onion ring tower appetizer, Bob got fish and chips, and I got the burger with bacon and bourbon onions. Delicious, definitely would recommend. We were able to watch everything that was going on in the Piazza while we ate, and about halfway through the meal, the TV theme trivia started! This one I got 19/20…I got tripped up on Gray’s Anatomy. I knew all the rest of them no problem. (I’m also a huge TV junkie.)

 

After some gelato, I went to a wine tasting. Bob went with me, even though he doesn’t drink. I always enjoy wine tastings and I do learn a lot, but they typically confirm what I stay in denial about…my palate is crap. LOL I just cannot taste the notes they say I should taste. I still like wine, but I’m no connoisseur. I’ll drink pretty much anything you give me.

 

Back to the cabin to rest for a bit, and then we cleaned up for dinner. We had reservations at the Crown Grill, and we were so excited. The food and the service there are always beyond amazing. For appetizers we got steak tartare and scallops, Bob got a salad and I got French Onion Soup. For our entrées Bob got the ribeye with creamed spinach, and I got the filet with asparagus and bone marrow roasted potato. Just thinking about it right now is starving me to death. 10/10 would recommend and will get again. For dessert I got crème brulee cheesecake, Bob got the apple/rhubarb cobbler, and our server insisted that we try the Warm Chocolate Mousse Trifle. It was phenomenal, but we couldn’t finish it all.

 

We got extremely full, and we attempted to walk around a bit since it was formal night, but we quickly decided to head back to the cabin and wallow in our gluttonous shame. We were very tired since we didn’t take our usual sea day nap! We read/scrolled until about 9:30 and then called it a night.

 

[bassmk]

[canadarocks]

Lovely photo of the two of you, and of the food! 😀

[canadarocks]

I totally agree with you about the art auctions. I firmly believe that 99% of the attendees are there for the free "champagne"! 😝

[weregoingcruising]

20 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

I totally agree with you about the art auctions. I firmly believe that 99% of the attendees are there for the free "champagne"! 😝

Or shills to up the bids.Lovin your detailed report with excellent pictures.

[bassmk]

1 hour ago, canadarocks said:

Lovely photo of the two of you, and of the food! 😀

Thank you!

[bassmk]

1 hour ago, weregoingcruising said:

Or shills to up the bids.Lovin your detailed report with excellent pictures.

Now that could be. Even shills winning the bids to make folks think they’re worth that much. Bc there is NO. WAY. I took this pic on the sly bc I was afraid I’d get in trouble…THIS “SOLD” FOR 5 FIGURES. 

[mtnesterz]

4 hours ago, bassmk said:

So the art auction…are any of you on here into that?... I leave room for the possibility that I’m too uncultured to understand.

I don't think you are uncultured. I think you are discerning.

Like what you like, not what someone tells you is likeable, collectable or important.

Yes, we enjoy the auctions and neither of us drink alcohol. 

Edited May 24 by mtnesterz

[sunviking90]

Great review and pictures so far! Thank you for sharing.

Buckingham Palace has 78 bathrooms? You ARE a trivia queen!

[Lady Arwen]

Totally enjoying your review and your pics are wonderful!  We’ll be on Enchanted in August and this makes even more excited!  Thanks so much.

l

[bassmk]

San Juan – Tuesday, 4/23:

Up early again at 6:45 and had breakfast in the buffet. We took our time eating and then went back to the cabin to get into swimsuits for our Sanctuary cabana day!  We spent the entire day up here, lounging, reading, scrolling, napping…it was glorious. Bob and I both have crazy, hectic, chaotic jobs, so vacation time is for pure slothfulness. The cabanas in the Sanctuary are the perfect way to do that. The staff is so attentive and nice, the loungers and other couches/chairs are comfy, there’s plenty of shade…it’s pretty much the ideal way to spend a quiet, restful day.

 

It POURED rain at one point, and under the cover of our cabana, we stayed pretty dry. It didn’t last very long, and after it cleared up, they brought around the afternoon tea! We both got coffee and some “picky bits.” We spent the entire day up there, from about 9:45a-4:45p. It was really hot, but I mean…it’s the Caribbean. We expected that. But if you were on that sailing, you know that day was H O T. We were parked next to Mardi Gras, so occasionally I’d get up and wander over there to see what was going on because we could hear them at times.

 

For those who are curious, a full-day cabana rental is $220, and I’ll post photos. (I didn’t make note of the cost of loungers or the cost of a half-day cabana rental, sorry!) They set you up with a bowl of fruit, some snacky things (nuts, raisins, etc.), and some alcoholic beverage options to stock the refrigerator in the cabana. We opted to get mostly non-alcoholic beverages. I got a bottle of Prosecco, but also a mix of regular water and seltzer instead of beer, wine, or liquor. There’s a menu of food options, and at lunchtime they take your order for that. There’s a hot tub in the Sanctuary area and two restrooms.

 

When we’d had our fill of relaxation (I’m not sure what time the Sanctuary “closes” but we weren’t the last ones out, even at 4:45), we went back to the cabin to clean up for dinner. We ate in the dining room with Gerald again. We sat at the same table every time we were in the dining room, and that was nice. Reserve Class dining doesn’t have a set time or table, but it’s small, so if you get to know the waitstaff and want to be in their section, they’re happy to accommodate you.

 

Bob loves escargot, so he had that as an appetizer, and I had the goat cheese souffle, which was about the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten. As entrees, Bob got the lamb chops, and I had beef wellington.  We couldn’t finish our desserts, but we shared both the crème brulee and some kind of chocolate mousse cheesecake-y kind of thing.

 

The evening trivia was 80’s movies. It was HARD, even for me! I thought I’d sweep this one because my mom was a movie buff when I was growing up, and I saw EVERYTHING, even if maybe I shouldn’t have. LOL (For example, I saw Poltergeist and Vacation when they were brand new and I was about 4 years old.) Part of the trivia had photos from the movie with the faces/heads removed, and while some were obvious (Dirty Dancing) some were annoyingly difficult. I was so mad at myself after the reveals for a few of them! My score on that was 13/20, and I should have made note of what the winner got, but I remember it being not as high as the winners of other trivia games. It was so hard, y’all. But so much fun!

 

We thought about going to Crooner’s, but it was packed and there were no seats, so we went down to the Piazza and could still hear and sing along. We also listened to the band playing at O’Malley’s. That’s a great addition to Enchanted. When we were on in October 2022, that area was the Salty Dog pub, and it was fine. The food was good but there was nothing else to it. Having the Irish band play is really cool. They play Irish tunes but also other popular songs in an Irish band style. That place was always very packed, but there’s plenty of seating around nearby in the Piazza where you can still hear and participate.

 

Bob wanted something sweet, but not anything heavy like gelato or a treat from IC, so he ordered a virgin Miami Vice. I think that scratched the itch for him. I was still so full I didn’t even have room in my “dessert stomach.” LOL We were back in the cabin reading and scrolling in bed by 9:30.

[bassmk]

[bassmk]

St. Thomas – Wednesday, 4/23:

Yet again we were awake at 6:45! We did our usual routine of getting breakfast in the buffet, and then back down to the cabin to digest and decide what we would do for the day while Bob’s phone charged. We’ve been to St. Thomas several times, so we decided not to get off the ship this time.

 

The IC and a double espresso were calling Bob’s name, so that’s where we went. He had some work stuff come up, so while he answered some emails, I read my book. We liked sitting in that gazebo-type area in the Piazza. We could always find a place there to sit and observe. Also while he was working, I went over to guest services to check on a weird charge I couldn’t figure out on my folio. Turns out it was from the wine tasting…they charged me when I signed up and then inadvertently also charged for Bob, even though he didn’t participate. They happily took it off, and I thought that was nice of them.

 

We wanted pizza for lunch so up to Gigi’s we went. I had some kind of caprese salad and a fancy burrata/truffle pizza, and Bob had a calzone. I was shocked to see actual chunks of truffle! Usually it’s a drizzle of truffle oil, but not this time! I might even say it was a bit too much. I LOVE truffle flavor, but this was a whole lot. I wound up picking off about 1/3 of them. But man, it was a good pizza. Bob loved his calzone, too, but he’s a pizza hound. He loves any and all pizza.

After lunch we went up on deck to look out at St. Thomas. It really is a pretty island, and the port area is cool with all the boats anchored and docked. I saw some big cruise ships docked on the other side of the island, and I wondered if one of them was the behemoth Icon of the Seas. I took a photo, but I couldn’t tell for sure. We also wanted to get some dessert in the buffet. We love that little area with all the pastries. Bob is a sucker for cookies, so he detoured there several times during the week. We did some more walking around, some sitting and reading, then went back to the cabin for a nap.

 

After an EXCELLENT, very long nap, we decided to sit on the balcony while leaving St. Thomas. There was a big group of stragglers, and we guessed it must have been a late excursion. I think I saw that there were several ships in port that day, so I wonder about traffic. It also appeared that there was some kind of medical evacuation maybe. I saw a stretcher and a wheelchair come on board with an ambulance on standby. I saw someone wheel out some luggage, but I guess I got distracted and missed if anyone was actually loaded into the ambulance. I hope everything was okay in whatever that situation was!

 

Tonight’s dinner was at The Catch by Rudi. We’d eaten at Rudi’s Sea Grille on Mardi Gras back in 2021, so we knew we were probably going to enjoy The Catch. It was really delicious. Everything there is a bit silly and quirky, so that added to the experience. I can’t wait to take my parents there in October. As an appetizer we shared whipped feta with “ratatouille” (as an appetizer it was non-traditional, with olives and pine nuts in it), I had a crab cake, and Bob had calamari. As entrees, I got the Triple S Platter, which was shrimp, scallops, and salmon, and Bob got the Catch of the Day, which was a choice of 4 different fish. He chose red snapper I think. For sides we got ratatouille (traditional version), parmesan fries, roasted fingerling potatoes, and garden greens. The garden greens were not a salad, it was roasted bok choy and spinach. Very delicious. For dessert Bob had the pavlova, and I got crepes Suzette. Excellent, 10/10 would recommend, can’t wait to do again.

 

Of course, as we are wont to do, we overate and were entirely too full, so we went back to the cabin to wallow. It was about 8:15 so we watched some Always Sunny on TV, then read/scrolled until a decent bedtime. Overall, it was a great day.