Enchantment OTS: 8/28-9/2 review plus comparisons to NCL

[cruiser82]

I just got back from the August 28-September 2 2006 cruise on the Enchantment OTS. This was my second RCCL cruise; my first was 5 years ago on the Majesty OTS. We usually cruise NCL and I "talked" to some people here who wanted a comparison between the two lines so I’ll try to do that throughout and add some more at the end of the review. Traveling with me were my mother, sister, cousin, and two family friends. My mother and I were staying in the Royal Suite (8514) and the rest of the group were in inside cabins on deck 2 (2019 and 2029). I’ll try to give an overview of the main components of the cruise to prevent this review from being too long (although it probably will be anyway) and try to answer any questions you guys have. Overall we had a great cruise.

 

Pre-arrival: The trip started out pretty badly. I hate gum and I’m one of those people who always check the ground and seat to make sure I don’t step or sit in it and somehow I ended up sitting in a fresh wad of neon green chewing gum at the airport. My sister spotted it as we were getting up to board the plane and we were able to get most of it off in the terminal but my mom got the rest of it off once we were on the plane using some rubbing alcohol pads that I packed in my carry on at the last minute (my sister took a picture of this and I’ll add it to my webshots page once she uploads her pics). As if that wasn’t bad enough, once I received my luggage at FLL I discovered that it was cracked on both corners at the top. I have one of those hardside suitcases so they must have really been throwing the bags around for it to get cracked. I went to the baggage office and filled out a claim form and was told to turn it in at the Airtran office at BWI once we returned home. Getting a taxi to the pier was easy; it was about a 10 minute ride and I think it cost about $15 for four of us with our suitcases.

 

Embarkation: I was scared that this would be chaotic to us after doing freestyle cruising but it was very smooth. We got there around 1:30pm so we probably missed the morning rush. Since my mother and I were in a suite we were hoping that everyone in our party could go in the priority check in line with us because I think that’s how they do it on NCL but we were told that they couldn’t. It was interesting to see how the representative interacted with us; she forcefully told my sister and cousin that they had to get out of our line and go to the regular check in counter and wasn’t very friendly, but when she looked at the Set Sail pass for my mother and I and saw that we were in the RS her face instantly became softer and she kindly welcomed us on board, put her arm around me and complimented my necklace. Check in took all of 2 minutes while they collected our Set Sail pass, credit card and passports and gave us our Sea Pass. After that we took our embarkation picture (which we ended up buying because it was one of the few group shots that we all liked) and boarded the ship.

 

The ship: I felt that this ship was a good size for us because I get confused easily and always end up disoriented on cruise ships and that didn’t happen nearly as often as it has in the past, and as we were traveling with several first time cruisers it wasn’t so big that it was intimidating. It was always clean and the décor was nice; I feel that NCL sometimes goes a bit overboard with all the bright colors but it was very neutral and tasteful on the Enchantment. The Orpheum theatre was very nice and the seats were much more comfortable than the NCL ships I’ve been on. The dining room was lovely as well, we were lucky enough to have a table near the bottom of the staircase (table 422) so we had great seats for the dining room entertainment.

 

The room: As I mentioned earlier, my mother and I were in room 8514 which was the Royal Suite. I’ll focus on our room but if anyone has questions about the inside cabins that the rest of our group stayed in I’ll try to get the answers from them. This was a beautiful room and it really made our cruise enjoyable. I was planning to sleep on the sofa bed and let my mom have the main bed but once we got to the room and saw how huge the bed was we decided that we would share it and there was probably enough room there for a third person to sleep comfortably. The balcony was a good size and had two lounge chairs with a table between them and a dining table for 4. The divider didn’t provide as much privacy as they do on NCL but it was private enough. We were also right next to the bridge and were often able to see the captain and other bridge officers on the bridge and my mom was even able to have a couple of chats with them. We received hors d’oeuvres two or three nights and had a complimentary bottle of Moet waiting for us on embarkation day. Our room allowed us access to the Concierge Lounge which my mother went to a lot but I only went a couple of times when I wanted a soda. It was a nice area and the concierge Julian was very friendly and was a very capable host. Cotton balls, cotton swabs, Neutrogena lip balm, a mesh shower sponge, lotion, shampoo and shower gel were provided in the room. There was also a way to control the volume of the in room announcements which was better than having to open the door to hear them from the hallway which is what we had to do on NCL. We also received Crown & Anchor coupon books and picture frames. I am also pleased to report that there were no bedbugs.

 

The food: I enjoyed the food on this cruise, especially the Prime Rib, Caesar salad, Brownie Madness and vanilla ice cream. There were a few nights when nothing on the main menu appealed to me so I had to order from the alternative selection list but there was always something I liked somewhere on the menu. Everything I had in the dining room was delicious, but the buffet was hit or miss. I only ate there for lunch on embarkation day and breakfast when we were in Cozumel and I think the pancakes had been sitting out for too long because they were hard as rocks. My sister and cousin preferred the selection of the buffet over the dining room menu but my mom and I liked the ambiance of the dining room. I really liked the lemonade in the buffet and on the pool deck; it made a very pleasant change from just water and iced tea on NCL.

 

The itinerary: During the welcome aboard show the cruise director made a joke about how no one knew where we would be going and it wasn’t too far from the truth. The itinerary changed several times from the time we booked the cruise to the sailing date and the final itinerary included stops in Cozumel and CocoCay and two sea days. I completely understand that the itinerary is always subject to change, especially during hurricane season, but it was a bit of a disappointment because we wouldn’t have picked this itinerary. Coz started out and ended badly but the stuff in between was good. To make a long story short, our taxi to the excursion ran out of gas, the driver didn’t know where to drop us off, and we were about 30 minutes late for the excursion (Fiesta party boat and beach break). Luckily, my mother speaks fluent Spanish and was able to talk to the driver and tell us that the driver called the people in charge of the excursion to tell us that we had car trouble and were on our way but we still didn’t feel like the guide would wait for us when we were already so late. We made it there in the end and had a great time. We weren’t able to do more shopping after the excursion because we only had about 10 minutes before the last tender boat left for the ship so we had to get on that one. It was supposed to leave at 6:30pm (crew were supposed to be on the ship by 6pm) but we were held up by one of the cruise ship employees who didn’t get to the tender area until about 6:45 and then kept running back and forth presumably to do more shopping because she had bags in her hand by the time she finally boarded around 7pm, which was the time the ship was meant to be leaving Coz. My mom was seriously worried that the ship would leave without us and everyone on the tender boat kept giving that woman dirty looks. We think the woman was the one who does the talks on shopping in the ports, I don’t know her name. I didn’t get off the ship at CocoCay because I don’t really do any beach activities but from what I heard from the people who did get off was that the beach was a disappointment, there wasn’t a band or anything for entertainment, and the shops and activities were expensive. Also, we heard some rumors that 4 passengers were arrested in Cozumel and that one of them had to be left behind. Three were arrested for fighting in a bar or something and one was arrested for abusive behavior towards his female traveling companion. Again, these were just rumors so I don’t know if there is any truth to them.

 

The entertainment: I went to all of the shows except the magic/comedy show. I enjoyed Stage to Screen (as I knew I would!) and also liked Can’t Stop the Rock, both performed by the RCCL singers and dancers. I also spent some time in Bolero’s and enjoyed listening to the music and people watching. The casino was nice as well, smaller than the NCL ones I think, but nice all the same. I completely forgot about Quest, but one of the cruisers in my party went and said she enjoyed it. We played one session of Bingo ($35) but didn’t win. My sister enjoyed the pool deck activities (belly flop contest, Mr. Sexy Legs, etc) but it was usually too hot for me to be out there.

 

The Demographics/Attire: There were people of all ages on this cruise from the very young to the very old. We were told that there were about 400 kids on board but it didn’t seem like there were that many, and they all appeared to be well behaved. For those interested in dining room attire, I observed that for the most part people followed the suggested dress code but by the third day people were wearing jeans (the dress code didn’t say they weren’t allowed) and some of the teens and young children were wearing shorts and athletic clothes. Fellow passengers were very friendly and we enjoyed talking to them. I think I ended up at the wrong pool bar for our roll call meeting but I was lucky enough to meet one of the women when she recognized me later that day.

 

Disembarkation: Again, as we’re used to NCL we weren’t sure how we would like non-Freestyle disembarkation but it was a breeze. We were going to enquire about whether we could take our luggage off the ship ourselves because I thought I read here that it was possible to do that but in the end we just put our luggage out and let them take it off the ship. I think we were off the ship by about 8:45am and again had no trouble getting a taxi. Once we arrived back at BWI I took my luggage and claim form to the AirTran office to see what they were going to do about my cracked suitcase but I was told that they didn’t have a loaner suitcase to give me to put my stuff in so I could leave my suitcase there and they couldn’t repair it on site so I have 10 days to bring it back for them to send it to their repair center to have it fixed. At this point I’m not sure what I’m going to do because BWI is about 40 miles away so it’s not exactly convenient to go there again. My mom also found out that one of the things on the bottom of her suitcase that prevents it from tipping over is broken and now it won’t stand properly so she’s mad at AirTran now too. The problems we had with our luggage combined with the chaos and unorganized operation of the AirTran desk at FLL made us seriously consider not flying them again.

 

Overall: All of bad things that happened over the course of this vacation had nothing to do with RCCL so I didn’t let that ruin my cruise experience. This was my 5th cruise and my next one is in December with NCL so I’ll be back on more familiar territory but I was very happy cruising with RCCL and hope to do so again soon. Thank you to everyone who answered my questions prior to departure and I hope this review will be helpful to others while they plan their cruise on the Enchantment!

 

Comparison to NCL: I’ve made a few references to NCL during this review but I have a few final things to add. I will say that the main difference for me was traditional versus freestyle dining, and while I would be happy to do both I think I have to give the advantage to (and I can’t believe I’m saying this…) traditional. I really enjoy getting dressed for dinner and even though I wasn’t as dressy as some other people it was nice to wear skirts and dresses since I’m normally very casual. I know that I can still do that on freestyle cruises, and I will, but it’s not the same when I’m making an effort to look nice for dinner and the people at the table next to me are wearing shorts and t-shirts. I think C & A does more to recognize and reward its members than NCL’s Latitudes in the sense that they seemed to have more member discounts in the coupon book and we received picture frames. I also liked how the Cruise Compass could be separated to fit more easily into a pocket or purse. I think the entertainment on this cruise was comparable to the Jean Ann Ryan productions I saw on the Star but better than the NCL production company shows I saw on the Spirit and Pride of America. Before this cruise I thought I would enjoy RCCL but would still look to NCL first when planning future cruises but now I’m not so sure. I think it will ultimately come down to price and itinerary, and based on some early research I’ve done for our next family cruise in summer 2007 RCCL has better itineraries and better prices than NCL. I would be happy on either NCL or RCCL but if someone were trying to decide between the two lines I would say that of course each cruise line has little things that make them unique and while I might prefer one lines little things over another it wouldn’t be the deciding factor in determining a cruise, but the differences in dining options would be. NCL has more dining options because they usually have two main dining rooms plus the buffet and Blue Lagoon type restaurant, in addition to at least four specialty restaurants. As I’ve said before I’ve only been on the Enchantment and Majesty OTS so I’m not familiar with the dining options on the other classes of ships. I thought there would be more of a noticeable difference in non-freestyle disembarkation but from my experience it just seemed that with NCL I could stay in the room a little bit longer because we tend to leave around the 9:30am-10am time frame. I prefer NCL’s system of gratuities ($10 per person per day automatically charged to your onboard account) over RCCL’s because even though we did the pre-pay vouchers we still had to put them in the envelopes and hand them to the appropriate person which seemed to defeat the purpose a little bit, if that makes sense.

 

I’m sure I’ve forgotten things so if you have any questions just ask and I’ll try to help! I didn’t use the spa or go to Chops so if you have questions about those I don’t think I’ll be able to answer them, but hopefully someone else will be able to. Pictures of the Cruise Compasses and other documents, in addition to pictures of the room can be found on my webshots page under 'RCCL Enchantment OTS Compasses, etc'.

[mommabean]

Welcome back. I've wondered how your trip would go.

 

We also had luggage problems on one of our cruises. We flew Alaska Air to Vancouver. They lost my husbands bag for a day on the way out and completely tore off the expensive Victorinox handle on the way back. Luckily in MIA we had our own car parked and dumped his stuff in the trunk and left the suitcase there. It was returned to our home repaired much sooner than we expected.

 

So, how did you like Eulalee? I'm assuming she was your room steward.

 

If you missed Julian's karaoke on the last night in the concierge lounge, you really missed a show. ;) I sure did enjoy that guy.

 

I enjoyed the entire experience on that ship and would like to sail her again. I'm think a 4 nighter during Spring break if my husband will go for it. (OK? Donato?)

 

I don't do sun either but I really like Coco Cay and wished we had gone there instead of Belize. I will load up with #50 sunscreen and put on my sunscreen shirt and go snorkling or walking or chicken watching. I do like to window shop at the straw market but have no desire to buy stuff.

 

How terrible that your Cozumel cab had a break down. And who was at the dock that made it so you were tendered? Usually the Enchantment gets the dock. Were you there on the wrong day due to the storm or something? After being threatened with a cat. 1 or at least 5 - 10 inches of rain here in Miami we got a whole 1 1/4 inches of rain and not even a toppled banana plant. We and Cozumel have had enough of hurricane messes.

 

My husband also ordered the prime rib and wasn't so crazy about it. But everytime he orders it anywhere he isn't happy with it so I have no idea why he continues to get it. Did you get any huge lobster tails? I posted a photo of my tail somewhere at this forum.

 

Did you go to the schooner bar and see James Barr? He does a lot of Elton John and Billy Joel so if you like that type of music you would've liked it. Otherwise you might not have. Bolero's was a fun place to people watch, wasnt' it?

 

As usual, I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do or see it all.

 

Now I think you need to try a voyager or radiance class of ship. They are both really special in their own way. I don't think I have any desire to try a freedom class since they only added on things that don't interest me. I've been on Navigator and Serenade and they each have their own special features that I really like. I'd sail again on Majesty and Enchantment though, anytime.

 

Did you use all that RS space? With friends and family visiting, you may have really made use of it all.

[Kteacher]

Thanks for the review:) I'm traveling on the Enchantment next April ( different itinerary ) for the first time, and I enjoyed your pictures. If you cruise again on an RCI ship with a stop at Coco Cay you should check it out- there are lots of shady places!

[cruiser82]

Hi mommabean! This was the first time I've had luggage problems, sat in gum and had our itinerary change so there were a lot of firsts on this trip. I think our room steward was Eulalee; I only saw her briefly as I caught the end of her showing my mom how to work the lights and stuff and then again as we were leaving for dinner the last evening. She was nice though, my mom enjoyed the chats she had with her.

 

We did miss Julian's karaoke, but we did get to hear him sing happy birthday to an older gentleman in the concierge lounge. Does that count? lol

 

I wear SPF 50 too but still managed to get a tan. I guess I should be happy that I didn't burn because my sister started to peel by the third day. The Majesty OTS got our position at the dock in Cozumel but we tendered into the pier near the shops in what I think was the downtown area (I don't know which pier it was) which meant we didn't have to get a cab to shop, so that was good. My cousin ordered the lobster tail and it looked big to me but I'm not sure how it compares to others since I don't eat seafood. I usually only eat prime rib (or any kind of steak really) several times a year so whenever I have it it's usually delicious since it's been so long since I last had it.

 

Unfortunately I didn't make it to the Schooner bar. To be honest, I didn't realize it was there until we met there on the fourth day for bingo. I do like Elton John so I'm sure I would have enjoyed James Barr. I usually don't get to do all the things I wanted to do either, like Quest :(

 

I'd definitely like to try a Voyager or Radiance class ship. I've actually only shortlisted those categories of ships for our cruise next summer if we go RCCL.

 

We didn't utililize all of the facilities of the room, but that's usually how it is with us. We didn't use the steam room (I wanted to but just didn't get around to actually doing it), I think my mom only used the jacuzzi once, we didn't use the bar area, we only used the piano for pictures and I think I only used the dining room table once. We did use the living room area to watch movies and read, and we used the balcony as well. It's a great room for entertaining though, we just didn't use it to its full potential :( Maybe next time!

[tw67]

I was also on this cruise and I haven't had time to put a review together yet, but wanted to add a few things to Niya's review!

 

I was in 8012, the new "Family size outside stateroom". There were 4 of us, but it sleeps 8! I loved it, it was great, 2 bathrooms, and Concierge Lounge! Julian is wonderful! More about that when I do my review! If anyone has questions about this room, please ask and I will try to answer!

 

I think the "shopper" I can't remember her name either, was late getting back on to the ship in Cozumel was because she was waiting for a diamond ring to be made for a passenger who was going to propose on the ship, and it was taking longer than it should have.

 

Niya, if you think most of the 400 kids were well behaved, you must not have seen my kids much! My kids spent most of their free time in Adventure Club. We wanted them to eat with us, but to be honest they liked Windjammer, and then went to Adventure Club. That gave us from 7-8:30 with Julian, and then dinner at 8:30 alone! Adventure Club was great, but I wish that the hours were later. We have done Disney and Carnival with our kids, and I think their hours were later. We did pay most nights until midnight, so I guess for 2 kids, $10 an hour for peace of mind isn't a bad thing!

 

I went to the piano bar every night to see James. He was the BEST!!! He had a great sense of humor! He kept calling my 3 year old "mini me" because he has red curly hair. He pulled my son up to his bench one night and let him sit there for part of a song.

 

We did get to Cococay. The weather wasn't great. My 3 year old wasn't cooperative that day, so I let my husband and 8 year old snorkle and do the slide, while I layed on a mat in the water, and kept checking in on our 3 year old in Adventure Club. He didn't want to go in the water, only wanted Adventure Club, and then when it closed, he sat in a hammock and almost napped for an hour or so. Cocolocos (sp?) are great!

 

I heard about a newlywed couple on the 3rd deck had security at their door one night or early morning, and in Cozumel when a man got off the ship he was yelling about wanting to divorce his wife, and was carried away.

 

We had a great time with the people we had met on Roll Call. They were some of the most fun people we have met on a ship yet!

 

I will post a review when I catch up on laundry!!

 

Terry

 

 

 

 

[CAT GIRL]

I was wondering what, if any alcohol was stocked for your bar in

the RS. When I was there in 2003 they stocked 4 bottles of various

liquors. Also, the soda in the fridge were free. We were told this

on the first day but then were billed for them on the final day. They

did take if off the bill after I disputed it.

But, the room is lovely. It totally changed the "feel" of the cruise

because I didn't really want to leave the room. Also traveling with

dear MIL kind of hampered what could have been a truly romantic,

magical cruise. I wish it would have been just me and DH.:) It totally

spoiled me.

[cruiser82]

Hi Terry! It was nice meeting you and your family on the cruise and I'm glad you guys had a good time. I'm sorry I wasn't able to meet up with all the roll call people on embarkation day, we were at the wrong pool bar! We saw you at dinner videotaping the Adventure Ocean pirate show at dinner but we couldn't spot your child(ren).

 

I look forward to reading your review :)

[cruiser82]

CAT GIRL, there wasn't any alcohol in the room other than the complimentary bottle of Moet that we had on embarkation day and the room attendant told us that the sodas would be billed at the current bar price. Maybe they stopped providing free soda and alcohol in the room because they were available in the concierge lounge?

 

I can see how the room could be romantic for couples, especially with the mirrors above the bed and jacuzzi!

[phillychick]

Hi everyone. I was on the cruise with Terry & Niya & had a great time. Loved your review. I had dinner every night in the dining room because I love being catered too. We were at table 111, 2nd level toward the back. Our wait staff, Gede (waiter) & Toar (Asst), were the BEST. I've been on many cruises & usually have great service from one or the other, but these guys worked great as a team (I made sure the head waiter, Cecelia, was aware of this). & I tip my hat to them because every night they'd have people coming in 15 minutes and 30 minutes late & were never frazzled. They were so attentive that one night we mentioned that our ice tea was so strong that it might *put hair on our chests - lol*. Toar of course said he would get us a different pitcher but we said it was fine. But, the next night, he made sure the tea was *just right* & it was. We enjoyed meeting everyone at roll call (hello Terry, Ron & kids; Barb from Boston; Danelle & Bob (say hi to Greg & Dee for us & did Greg like his key chain - lol). Sorry we didn't catch up with you Niya. We spent every night at the Schooner with James Barr. He was the best & we met some nice people there too (Bob & Fran; Dorothy & Nelson). Hey Bob & Fran: Walking in Memphis & Piano Man!!! We went on the best excursion, The Mexican Cuisine Workshop, while in Cozumel. We prepared a complete Mexican meal & enjoyed it during 5 hours open bar. Javier & Luis, you're the best!!

 

The only disappointment was not making Key West which is the reason we picked this ship & itinerary. Damn Ernesto. Not only did he distrupt our cruise but our flight home was delayed 2 hours because he wouldn't leave the NE area.

 

We were on the tender with the couple who were escorted off the ship in Cozumel. I don't know if they were newlyweds or not but he was nasty. The names he was calling his wife were absolutely horrible & at one time security had to put him in a head lock to stop him from going after her. At the pier he acted very strangely & he was put on a stretcher & placed in an ambulance. He either had to be on some kind of drugs OR he wasn't taking his meds.

 

I had a great cruise & I met alot of great people. Thanks everyone.

 

We also spent our pre-cruise at the Ft. Lauderdale Grande Hotel & Yacht Club & it was wonderful. It was right across the street from the pier (free shuttle service), was one of the water taxi stops (had a WONDERFUL meal at Charley's Crabhouse) & great beds!! Highly recommended.

 

Barbara from Philly

[patpav]

Hi Cruiser82. We had the Royal Suite in 8/05 for our sailing to NE/Canada. We loved the room too. Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

 

Patty

[mommabean]

Barbara,

 

You enjoyed a lot of the same things we enjoyed on our cruise in August.

 

We had a blast in Cozumel with Javi and Luis at the Mexican Cuisine excursion. Wasn't that the best?

 

And this is the last week James Barr will be on the ship. I wonder who will replace him.

 

We had Cecelia as our head waiter but we were downstairs. Was your Cecelia the one who is married to the head waiter from India? She wasn't especially friendly. She didn't visit us until the end of the week and then she hung around when we started telling her her own life story on board which we had found out from some people at lunch who sat in her husband's section at night. She was amused that we knew so much about her. She had hair that was pulled back in a tight braid.

 

Have you ever been to Key West before? If not, I understand your disappointment. There is always another time and you can look forward to that.

[PVDCruiser]

Great review! I'm glad you had fun!

[phillychick]

Barbara,

 

You enjoyed a lot of the same things we enjoyed on our cruise in August.

 

We had a blast in Cozumel with Javi and Luis at the Mexican Cuisine excursion. Wasn't that the best?

 

And this is the last week James Barr will be on the ship. I wonder who will replace him.

 

We had Cecelia as our head waiter but we were downstairs. Was your Cecelia the one who is married to the head waiter from India? She wasn't especially friendly. She didn't visit us until the end of the week and then she hung around when we started telling her her own life story on board which we had found out from some people at lunch who sat in her husband's section at night. She was amused that we knew so much about her. She had hair that was pulled back in a tight braid.

 

Have you ever been to Key West before? If not, I understand your disappointment. There is always another time and you can look forward to that.

 

How many shots of tequila did you have? I only had one but my friend had 2 while others, along with Javier, had 3!!

 

I didn't realize that James Barr was leaving the ship. Someone mentioned that he wasn't going to sign another contract but I assumed his contract didn't end for a couple of months. He really was very entertaining & had that great British dry sense of humor!!

 

Sounds like the same Cecelia we had; long blonde hair tied back in a braid but she was very friendly & stopped by our table every night, usually just to say hi & asked if we needed anything. We had alot of little kids in our section & she spent most of the time helping them & their families out.

 

No, I've never been to Key West & that's why we booked the cruise. I guess we'll just have to sail again :D

 

Barbara from Philly

[mommabean]

Barbara,

 

I only had one shot of tequila near the end. They offered more. But I had already had more than my share of Margaritas. :)

 

Cecelia did come by one night to pour the wine that we brought on the ship (another topic) and she didn't charge us the corkage fee. I did notice that she seemed to spend most evenings at the same tables. Maybe they had kids and we didn't notice. She and her husband have none yet - let's hope not since they both work on board. We did get her to talk a lot the other night we had her there. So, 2 visits out of 5 nights wasn't too bad.

 

You even had different RC singers and dancers than we had. The ones on our ship got off with us and another cast came on board.

 

James Barr said he was leaving on Sept. 7th. I think he may be one of the people that said they were going to try to get on board the Liberty when it starts cruising. Although I can't say for sure because we talked to a few people on board that said that when their contracts were up that's what they were going to try to do. It's hard to keep track of them all. I do remember that our asst. waiter, Ismail, said that is what he was going to try to do.

 

We only live 3 hours from Key West and have been there countless times, mostly in the 70s and 80s prior to when the cruise ships moved in. That's when it was all hippies on bikes. It's different now. At least they still have the Kino sandal store. Now you have a good excuse to book another cruise. Like we need excuses. :)

[tw67]

I asked him what his plans were, and told him I was going to post it on Cruisecritic! He is on the Enchantment until November sometime, and then he is going back home, and not getting on another ship! He is giving it up to start a company doing event planning!

 

I thought that he was wonderful, and I loved sitting at his piano every night! It also helped to be with my new friends there!!

 

I didn't get my review done yet...I will try again later in the week!!!

 

 

Terry

[mommabean]

That's odd. James Barr must have changed his plans. He told me Sept. 7 was when he gets off and Julian in the concierge lounge told me he would be getting off in November. I guess they are entitled to change their plans especially if they are still needed.

[tw67]

Julian is off on Sept 7th! He will be getting married during his time off, and will be visiting with his kids.

[mommabean]

Well darn. Julian must have been forcing his drinks down my throat for him to turn me around like that. I could have sworn it was the other way around.

 

Julian mentioned seeing his kids but he didn't mention a wife so I didn't ask. I never heard about the upcoming marriage.

 

As for me and my memory. I do remember that at one point on the ship while talking to Julian that I couldn't remember the name of that place where you throw your money away. He said, "you mean the casino?" He was right. I remember that whole conversation now, but I just couldn't come up with that word right then and there. :)

 

I still could have sworn that the dates were as I remember them. Did Julian mention ever wanting to work on the Liberty of the Seas? I know there was someone other than my asst. waiter who mentioned that.

[tw67]

Well darn. Julian must have been forcing his drinks down my throat for him to turn me around like that. I could have sworn it was the other way around.

 

Julian mentioned seeing his kids but he didn't mention a wife so I didn't ask. I never heard about the upcoming marriage.

 

As for me and my memory. I do remember that at one point on the ship while talking to Julian that I couldn't remember the name of that place where you throw your money away. He said, "you mean the casino?" He was right. I remember that whole conversation now, but I just couldn't come up with that word right then and there. :)

 

I still could have sworn that the dates were as I remember them. Did Julian mention ever wanting to work on the Liberty of the Seas? I know there was someone other than my asst. waiter who mentioned that.

 

Yea, I had that same problem with drinks being forced down my throat!! We found out about Julian's finance because I think that she is a purser on the Majesty (I think!). They only get to see each other every other week while Enchantment is in Ft. Lauderdale, and Majesty is in Miami. Due to Ernesto, Majesty was in Cozumel when we were. The big joke was that we had to tender in and give the pier to Majesty bacause Julian made a deal with the girlfriend! He said that when his vacation is over, they should both be back on the Enchantment.

 

btw....interesting note for you....when we left our stateroom on Saturday morning to get breakfast and wait for our luggage tags to be called, they were replacing all the bedding on our side of the 8th deck (not sure about the other side!). Everyone was carrying mattresses down to the worker's elevator! I thought you would find this interesting!

[mommabean]

Yea, I had that same problem with drinks being forced down my throat!! We found out about Julian's finance because I think that she is a purser on the Majesty (I think!). They only get to see each other every other week while Enchantment is in Ft. Lauderdale, and Majesty is in Miami. Due to Ernesto, Majesty was in Cozumel when we were. The big joke was that we had to tender in and give the pier to Majesty bacause Julian made a deal with the girlfriend! He said that when his vacation is over, they should both be back on the Enchantment.

 

btw....interesting note for you....when we left our stateroom on Saturday morning to get breakfast and wait for our luggage tags to be called, they were replacing all the bedding on our side of the 8th deck (not sure about the other side!). Everyone was carrying mattresses down to the worker's elevator! I thought you would find this interesting!

 

Hey, I DO remember hearing about his girlfriend now. I remember the part about her working on the Majesty now that you mention it because I told him how much I like that ship. And I remember he said that she didn't have a job dealing up front with the guests - it was mostly behind the scenes. But still - no memory about a wedding soon to occur.

 

I remember the last night Karaoke by Julian though. I can never forget that. ;) What fun!

 

My bed was really comfortable. I remember wondering if it was new or old bedding. The mattress was much thicker than any I've ever had on a RCI ship before. When I checked it for bedbugs it appeared perfect and clean. But I would hope an old mattress would appear that way. If I had to wonder if it was a new mattress, it probably wasn't. It should be obvious when it happens.

[Anselon]

I just got home from a cruise on the enchantment. And James was definatly one of the highlights.

 

I was very impressed with his wit and style (so much that we tipped at least 20 a night and bought his CD).

 

There is a song by Elton John that is sparsely known called "Somewhere out of the Blue" that I would love to hear him perform. Would any of you perhaps have a way of contacting James?

 

 

Thanks!

[phillychick]

He is wonderful, isn't he? I had such a great time in the Schooner. I did ask him if he had a website & he doesn't. Does the CD list an address? If not, try sending him correspondence via the cruise line. Hopefully they will be able to get it to him.

 

Good luck.

 

 

Barbara from Philly