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Just off Enchantment 8/24 Sailing


Cayman1

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I just wanted to post some of my opinions and thoughts about this cruise and ship. I am not very good at putting reviews together so I am going to highlight my opinions in bullet format.

THE GOOD

1) Enchantment is in the process of receiving the new bedding. They already placed the new pillows, bed skirts and comforters in the rooms. They are just waiting for the duvet covers and mattresses to arrive on the ship to finalize them.

2) The shops on board were very nice and appeared to be more of them then the Radiance class ships which has a very similar setup. The stores themselves appeared to be bigger as well. This may or may not have something to do with the stretch.

3) The tables and pool area in the adult section was very nice. I personally like them better than all the other ships that we have been on. It just made for a more relaxed atmosphere. Nice touch!!!

4) We stayed in a Royal Family Suite and the layout and balcony was GREAT!!!! Very useful when having a family of 3 with the in-laws. The balcony was HUGE. It must have been 200-250 sq. ft. regardless of what the brochures say. It had 6 chairs, 2 lounge chairs, 3 small side tables and still enough room for an outdoor table with 4 chairs.

5) Having the Windjammer at the front of the boat was a nice change. It is like the Spa and Windjammer on this ship were flip flopped. We enjoyed many meals sitting there watching where we going.

6) We got on and off the ship in record time. From the time we walked through the doors of the port, checked in and boarded the ship, it was only about 10 minutes. From the time we walked off the ship, got our luggage and went through customs, it was only about 15 minutes. I was amazed. Port Everglades has their crap together and is very organized compared to Miami.

THE BAD

1) As mentioned above, we stayed in the Royal Family Suite. I was very disappointed with the decor and styling of the room. The bathroom and furniture were very aged and outdated. I thought that they would have refurbished all of this during the stretch but I guess not. The bathroom was full of the 1" x 1" tiles that we had when I was 10. Yes, 1 inch, not 1 ft. Everything was very worn and needed some attention. I guess I was expecting something more along the lines of the Grand Suite bathrooms that we had on the Radiance. Especially at the price of this room. I was also VERY disappointed that all you get in the room for TV’s were tiny little 12" or 13" ones. Spending $4400 on a 4 night cruise, I expect at least a 19" TV.

2) Room service was not very accommodating, that was when you could even get in touch with them. Most of the time you got a busy signal or a recording asking you to hold which you would have to hold up to 20 minutes at times. Some times after waiting that long, it disconnected you.

3) Some genius decided that they wanted to shut down the front pool, hot tubs and splash deck for the entire cruise. They were adding some design to the deck of the front pool and could not have the water on in the area. The deck turned out like crap and smeared the design and colors into one another. Obviously they will have to redo this. These were the pools located towards the front of the ship, closest to the Windjammer. They did leave the middle pool and hot tubs open which needless to say where slammed full being short one pool. This was about the only thing for my 2 year old to do on the ship and something we all looked forward to and every time we went by there she would break down crying because she wanted to play in the splash deck. This angered me. We had to change our paths for the remainder of the cruise so we did not have to pass by this anymore.

4) This ship lacked restraunts, bars and nightlife that we have been used to on Radiance and Voyager Class ships. With the stretch, this put the Enchantment close to the same size as the Radiance so the potential is there. The casino was also much smaller then the other ships we have been on.

5) The Future Cruise Consultant on board lacked enthusiasm. She was not very helpful nor did she appear to be very knowledgeable. The shopping guide was also a little off. I just don't think she was very good at public speaking as she kept stuttering and going in circles not making sense.

As I stated above, these are just my opinions and comparisons of the ships we have been on. All in all I would have to say that I would never sail on Enchantment again. Not necessarily because of THE BAD items but more due to the short cruise time. We have only been on 7 night cruise prior to this and this one was way too short. You combine that with THE BAD list and that is enough for me to try one of the other ships.

I think Liberty will be next for us. :)

 

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask and I will help where I can.

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The childrens splash area was shut down the entire cruise??????? If I would have paid $4400 for a 4 night cruise with a 2 year old who looked forward to that, I think I would have complained big time. Did they offer you anything because the pools were closed? Does this happen often where they close things for the entire cruise???

 

How was the food in the dining room?

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It's funny how people perceive things differently. Fortunately I don't have little children and I avoid the sun so the pool area was of no real interest to me on my enchantment cruise on 8/14. I saw kids playing in the splash area but it was just a trickle so I assumed this was what it was supposed to be. One pool was being renovated.

 

I met Susanne the loyalty ambassador and thought she was very sweet and knowledgeable. Yes, she was quiet and soft spoken but whenever I saw her speaking I thought she did a fine job. She found me the most desired cabin on board the Brilliance of the Seas on the cruise I scheduled through her which is the JS corner after 1100. This was to be a phantom cruise for us to be changed when we saw fit but now I want to keep this cruise as scheduled thanks to her smart booking.

 

The night life was great during our week. There were shows, bars, the casino - all very active. I wanted to find a quiet place in the Viking Crown Lounge since it is usually the more subdued area on RCI ships and to my surprise, when I walked in, this is where the big dance parties are held on Enchantment. Well, there is another area with a lot of dancing - Boleros. But that is Latin style dancing - very fun to watch if you don't know how to do it.

 

I never watch TV on board so TV size is insignificant to me.

 

I thought our GS category room was great with a beautiful updated bathroom - no mosaic tiles in that bathroom.

 

I admit I was put on hold by room service once when I called to let them know they could pick up my dirty dishes. After about 60 seconds on hold, I hung up and recalled and was promptly attended to.

 

We ate in Chops one night since it is available on this ship. The Windjammer has long hours. And the pool area also has pizza, burgers and hotdogs available at all hours of the day and night. No, there is no Sea View cafe that is on the Serenade. I didn't miss that.

 

I'm sorry your time wasn't a nice as mine. I have just submitted a review to cruise critic that I hope will be published soon. If I had to cruise with little kids, I'd probably stress more over the little things. I enjoy traveling so much more now that my kids are older to grown. They know how to entertain themselves now if they even go with me at all.

 

Our 20 year old did go with us this time and had a friend with her. She spent her time trying to recruit the best food service employees for her place of employment - the Ritz Carlton - since she is a food and dining trainer and interviews prospective new employees. She really wanted Ismail from the dining room to sign on but then it dawned on her that most cruise ship employees don't have visas or green cards or whatever it takes to work in the USA.

 

One day you, too, won't have to worry about having a 2 year old whining about having no splash pool availability. That would ruin a trip for me, too, most likely.

 

And it's funny, I have no desire to go on the Liberty or Freedom like you. The extras that they have, that the Voyager class doesn't have, is of no interest to me.

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I consider myself a newbie since the only other cruise I've taken (Nordic Empress) was 9 years ago. I am really looking forward to the Enchantment so thanks Mommabean for lifting my spirits back up about it! My kids are going with (their first cruise) but they are 17,15 and 11 so hopefully they won't be whining about the kiddie pool. :rolleyes: How late is the Windjammer open at night? One midnight buffet? Are there snacks served at midnight in other locations when there isn't a midnight buffet? (I know about the Solarium-I mean different stuff on trays or with waiters). I just seem to come up with more and more questions. My DH thinks I'm obsessed. He's probably right!! :D

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I consider myself a newbie since the only other cruise I've taken (Nordic Empress) was 9 years ago. I am really looking forward to the Enchantment so thanks Mommabean for lifting my spirits back up about it! My kids are going with (their first cruise) but they are 17,15 and 11 so hopefully they won't be whining about the kiddie pool. :rolleyes: How late is the Windjammer open at night? One midnight buffet? Are there snacks served at midnight in other locations when there isn't a midnight buffet? (I know about the Solarium-I mean different stuff on trays or with waiters). I just seem to come up with more and more questions. My DH thinks I'm obsessed. He's probably right!!

I don't know how long it takes for CC to post new reviews. But be on the look out for mine. I mentioned that it was my best cruise yet.

 

I only ate at the Windjammer for lunch when we got on and a couple of times for breakfast with my daughter. She ate there with her friend a few more times for breakfast and would stop in sometimes for a piece of fruit in the evening. The cruise compass says that the Windjammer is open until 9pm so if you get there before that, you can stay and finish. They food is just being cleared away a 9. The only waiter service after that would be in Chops which is open until 10 but requires reservations.

 

The Solarium opens again at night at 9:30pm until 4am. No tray or waiters though. But if you consider room service - waiter service:) - you can get that any time.

 

And actually between lunch and dinner in the Windjammer is what they call "snack service" between 3:30 and 5pm.

 

It's impossible to run out of food on board. You can get food somewhere at sometime if you are flexible. You can just take something back to the room for later from the Windjammer if you want to. Fruit, cookies, bread if you want a little snack for later. Even little panini sandwiches can go in your refrigerator if you have a minibar in your room. I'd be glad to drop a sandwich in a cup and put it in my ice bucket if I thought I'd be desperate for food. :) You won't be that desperate though.

 

I meant to go try the bungee jumping but completely forgot - I was too busy.

 

If you like champagne you can get that for free at various times, too. The captains reception, the art auction etc... or for those who are a repeat cruisers - the welcome back reception at which there are other free alcohol beverages served - wine or rum punch I think. Oh, I even got free Tom Collins to drink at the capains welcome aboard party. All you want - servers are roaming everywhere - along with free hor doerves, too. :) More food! Ugggg... too much sometimes.

 

Your kids are a great age for cruising. Just don't let them refuse to go to the kid's program on the first night. My youngest daughter insisted she didn't want to go when she was 13 - first time cruising. She was a little bit shy. We told her that she was going anyone just once and if she didn't want to go again after that she didn't have to. She ended up meeting a couple of girls that night and had some nice friends for the duration of the cruise. They didn't just hang out at the program but hit the shows together, too. She checked in with me often and her limits were clearly in place.

 

When is your cruise? It would be nice if both outdoor pools were ready by then. But if not, you'll have fun anyway. I've been on majesty of the seas twice and both times it was only one or the other pool that was open. Never both. It was odd because we'd go to bed and they'd switch pools at some point during the night. So, it wasn't a repair job.

 

I've actually read people complain that the ice cream machine on a Voyager class ship wasn't working so their trip was ruined. They were promised ice cream and darn it, they expected to have it. Maybe I'm just glad to be on a ship away from the real world so I'm easy to please. :)

 

I almost forgot - There was one midnight buffet and also one midnight pool party/barbeque. And the regular food at the Solarium is still served at those times.

 

Go ahead - be obsessed about your cruise - it's fun to think about it and anticipate what it will be like.

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I can't wait to see your review! If you see it's been posted and think about it, please send me an email at lekjf@yahoo.com to let me know it's been posted. I've already told my kids that they need to check out the kids program at least once. Especially my 11 year old son (oldest two are girls). He needs constant activity and he'll drive the rest of us crazy if he doesn't go there a couple of times for something different to do. :) Do you feel it's safe for the kids to be on their own? I think the girls will stick together and I don't plan on letting my son wander alone. It will either be the two girls by themselves or all three of them together when they aren't with us. Still makes me nervous but I haven't heard anyone say they've had problems with their kids being by themselves. LOVE champagne (and Tom Collins and Margaritas and wine and rum punch and.....well I think you get the idea!) We are C&A members so I am really hoping they have a reception on the cruise. I've called RCI about it and they said no because they only have them on 7 night cruises. I know you've told me different so I'm just going to keep hoping. We sail 10/28 and are going to Ocho Rios and Georgetown. Having a really hard time trying to figure out what to do in Ocho Rios. Really only want to do a 2-3 hour beach visit but don't know which one to go to that is clean, safe, etc. The Jamaica board isn't much help but I keep trying there.

 

Any other suggestions or details are greatly appreciated. I'm addicted to this site!

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Your girls will be fine on their own together as long as they know your rules. If your oldest one is trustworthy then the younger one will be fine with them, too. You just need to be aware of the quest on one late night during the cruise. If you don't want them there, be sure you have them with you that night.

 

I don't think they would allow the 11 year old to come and go as he pleases from the kid's program, although I'm not sure since I never had a child this young with me on a cruise. I would hope they wouldn't let him wander on his own. Once you are in your room and you get the ship figured out, you will be able to tell what your son can and can't do on his own. You or your girls will probably want to walk him to where he should be though.

 

And do realize that they let kids play in the video room with their sea pass - no quarters are used in the video games. So, if you don't want anyone to run up a huge bill, don't link the kids seapass to your charge card - especially your young son's seapass. Maybe you already know this. But I don't think it has always been this way.

 

You will have the welcome back party I think. I've read that even the Enchantment 4 night cruisers have it. I don't know who would be behind it on each individual ship but it sure seems they have overridden that RCI rule when you are sailing on the Enchantment.

 

Unfortunately I didn't sail the same itinerary as you so my reviews of the ports won't be as interesting to you. We did the 5 night - Key West, Cozumel, Belize trip.

 

And James Barr won't be the piano player in the Schooner Lounge since his last day on board is Sept 7th. But they are sure to have someone good. I haven't heard a bad piano player on a ship yet.

 

With 2 months to go until you cruise, they should surely have the pools in good repair again...one would hope. :)

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Thanks to everyone who posted comments about their experiences aboard the Enchantment. We're taking the 5-nt. cruise 9/11 and appreciate your input. This will be our 24th cruise (18th on RCI) but we haven't sailed this ship since it was stretched & we're looking forward to checking it out.

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Don't get me wrong... there are a few things that disappointed us about this ship/service but by no means would I deter anyone from trying it out. I feel everyone should try all the ships at least once in order to form you own opinion.

I made this post to basically point out the few things that stood out to me, both good and bad. The splash deck only being a problem for this cruise and only being a problem because our daughter is so young.

As far as the room I was just expecting more luxury with it for the amount of money that we paid. Keep in mind that we paid $1,100 per day for 5 people. That is an average of $220 per person per day. Our Grand Suite on Radiance was cheaper than that. I also think you can get the Owners Suite for the same price or slightly less.

The ship had many little features that we thought were nice but like I said, I am not much of a review person so I did not go into all of the details on the small things both good or bad.

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One more thing that I forgot to add. The couch in the room had been urinated on by a previous cruiser. It stunk to high heavan. We had to place multiple towels down on it just to be able to stand the smell. We informed our cabin attendant about this and she said the would put in a order for them to shampoo it. Well while we were there, it never happened. Not sure if previous passengers informed them of this as well or not. Again, not what you would expect from a room that we paid so much for.

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One more thing that I forgot to add. The couch in the room had been urinated on by a previous cruiser. It stunk to high heavan. We had to place multiple towels down on it just to be able to stand the smell. We informed our cabin attendant about this and she said the would put in a order for them to shampoo it. Well while we were there, it never happened. Not sure if previous passengers informed them of this as well or not. Again, not what you would expect from a room that we paid so much for.

 

Are you serious?:eek: That is totally disgusting. I would have kept calling until someone came to clean it, especially since you spent so much money on the room. We leave for our first cruise in 9 days but reading all the posts, I feel like a pro! Thanks for all the tips and info. I can't wait to go!

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We were on the Enchantment sailing just before the OP, 8/19-8/24. They alternated working on the splash pool and other little pool. They were only closed during some hours - seems like when we were in port. The other middle pool was always open. My kids prefer the chlorinated pool over the salt water one so that was fine. I did notice that the splash area only had a few little squirts coming out of the center bubble. It looked like water should have been squirting out of the floor and side areas as well so I don't think it was working completely. The kids still had fun there.

 

We were also in a RFS. We were mid-ship so didn't have the huge balcony but I absolutely loved the room configuration, closet space, 2 bathrooms, bathrobes. It was the best! I didn't notice the tile though the toilet did keep stopping up! Maintenance was prompt in taking care of it.

 

I'm still expecting someone to come by and offer me a mango tango and pick up my towels and fold them into a monkey for me!

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islandsforme,

 

We were up towards your end of the ship in a GS in the hall behind you - not on your door side. (the cruise prior to yours though) There must be an intermittent problem with the plumbing up there because that was the only occasional problem with out room. It wasn't really that the toilet stopped up. But on several occasions it just did nothing when we pushed the button. Sometimes it lasted for a half hour or so and then out of no where, the flush just started working again. I never called about it. Oh, and our shower was VERY slow to drain. That didn't bother me either.

 

But in my review - who knows how long they will take to post it - I couldn't give everything a 5+ rating since a few things like that were perfect and the 5+ is supposed to mean perfection. And since everything didn't get a 5+, that meant I couldn't give the entire cruise a 5+ and be totally honest. To me, every single item would have to be 5+ in order for the cruise to be 5+. Although really, I felt like it was 5+. Maybe there is still room for improvement and my next cruise WILL be even better if that is possible - and a 5+ it might receive.

 

It must be hard to keep those toilets going through all the time. I had a really bad toilet on the Serenade and we did have to call maintenance several times - it would sound like a water fall rushing and never stop. Late at night it got annoying.

 

I did notice that kid's splash area was just trickling but kids played in it anyway. I thought maybe it was supposed to be that way. I never saw a light show at night out there like they publicize either. That must not be functioning when the kid's pool isn't working. The kids looked like they liked it as it was. It would have been nice to see a light show but it didn't affect my cruise enjoyment.

 

It is fun to come back you your room and see what animal has been created for you each night, isn't it? Were any of your animals wearing your glasses? I thought my glasses looked better on the animal than they do on me.

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We are on the 9/25 sailing and are going to Coco Cay instead of Belize. Was there any word on why this change was made? I believe it is only for a few months.

Originally they were saying that the change was made because of safety reasons. There are a lot of tourist robberies there. It's a rough city and going out on your own isn't recommended.

 

I called Royal Caribbean about this because I thought it was weird that they would change all of the port stops AFTER mine but not the few that were still going up until my cruise. They said that the captain would decide on a cruise by cruise basis if he was going to stop there but that they couldn't guarantee what port might be substituted. As it turned out we all went there and none of us that I know of got robbed. :)

 

I had really hoped that they would take us to Coco Cay instead. I've been there twice and would gladly go again. I like it there. As for Belize, we just ate at a restaurant on the dock after a 15 minute tender ride. I didn't have any desire to go on an hour or more long bus ride to an excursion that would probably be hotter than I cared to experience. And then have to drive all the way back and take another 15 minute tender ride.

 

Coco Cay has a tender that takes just a few minutes to get you back and forth and is relaxing with plenty of easy options for excursions or just hang out or hike on your own.

 

Who knows why they really changed Belize. It's not the greatest port although I'm sure that once you get out there and do something it's fun.

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I was hoping to see something new, like Belize, but Coco Cay is fine with me. When we first booked it was supposed to be Belize and I looked over the excursions many times and couldn't decide because we also didnt want to spend that much travel time. My DH is really looking forward to just relaxing on a hammock in the shade. He'll be in seventh heaven the whole day on Coco Cay. I was just curious if there was ever a definitive answer.

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You are right. There were many disappointed children. They were looking forward to the splash pool. I don't consider that 'whining.' The ship was beautiful. However there were many discussions, overheard on board, about the absence of the cruise director, the usual activities (there was one around the pool each day), etc. The entertainment was very good. We've been on many different cruises. Large and small ships. The atmosphere on the Enchantment just didn't seem to be the usual 'cruise' atmosphere. The staff didn't seem as friendly. Not to say there weren't many friendly people. There were. But overall, I would say it seemed most just wanted to move us all along. And the fact that the splash pool was so dangerous the day they actually decided to open it, really was negligent. Especially being it was reported and, for all intensive purposes, ignored.

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Sue,

 

For the kids club, it will be up to you whether to allow your 11YO child to sign themselves out of the club. When you register him/her, you will need to sign a form for this privilege. We did not allow our 10/12YO this privilege. Only because we did not want them wandering around looking for us. We usually had a time when we would come get them, or, we also had walkie-talkies and they woud call us when they were ready. Typically, they would go up after dinner, and we would come get them for the shows. Then, they would go back for GaGa Ball. (A game played only on RCI as far as we know.)

 

Also, be advised that there is a Scavenger Hunt that you will also have to give permission for them to participate in. We allowed this, but when we found out that they were put into teams, and then allowed to have free rein of the ship unsupervised, we put a stop to that immediately. We discovered this when we encounterd our DD in the passenger hallways with her team. The counselor told us that the kids were suppose to stay in certain areas. (yeah, okay. All kids listen.)

 

The kids did have a great time with all the activites and made new friends.

 

Enjoy,

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