Just Back from Enchantment...Few Comments

[GMoney]

Just got back today from a lovely 4 day cruise on Enchantment, so I thought I'd post a few comments. Most of the criticisms are nit picks from someone who has spent way too much time at sea...

 

+ I'm really happy that RCI offers 4-5 nighters on Enchantment, and to Caribbean destinations. I could not get enough time off work to go on a full 7 day cruise, and was not at all thrilled about 3-4 nighters on Majesty or Sovereign to the Bahamas. I can't wait til Navigator starts doing 4-5 nighters.

 

+ Itinerary was Key West, Cozumel and Day at Sea.

 

+ I'd only been on E once before, when RCI gave us a free preview cruise after she was stretched. She is still in decent shape, but showing wear. They are doing a lot of maintenance onboard, like resurfacing the outdoor walkways on deck 10 and smaller enchancements in the Solarium. I don't mind maintenance while paying pax are at sea, but the deck 10 work was a pain. Deck access was often restricted, and it was inconvenient. Plus all of the supplies and carpet laying around makes the ship look like a cargo vessel. Do that stuff in drydock.

 

+ The toilet in our cabin rarely worked. Multiple calls to maintenance were never responded to. I heard comments from other pax of similar issues. Never had so many plumbing problems.

 

+ Our deck 3 OV cabin was fine for 4 nights and in a great location. Stateoom attendant was great.

 

+ We arrived a bit late to Cozumel due to a delay in picking up some Cuban boat people lost at sea. I woke at 6am to find the ship in a dead stop, and the ship's small speed boat approaching with the Cubans. At first we thought it was a rescue mission for someone who had gone overboard.

 

+ I CAN'T FRIGGIN BELIEVE THEY DO NOT HAVE RCTV ON ENCHANTMENT!!! *****?!??!?!?! On a similar note, they didn't even show the maps of the ship's location until late the last night.

 

+ A new captain and CD boarded with us. CD was a nice young lady from UK. Lots of energy. A bit loud though.

 

+ It's interesting to see the evolution of Vision class ships. You can see so much of the old Soveriegn class - especially in the small main theatre, but you can also see how they jumped to Voyager class. I love the larger pool area on Enchantment. The Solarium was very nice too, only the pool wasn't filled until Day 3. The Solarium Bar offers great service and was never crowded.

 

+ The gym as a big disappointment, especially when compared to Voyager class. I wish RCI had expanded this when they stretched her. The area is small, and the equipment is limited and outdated.

 

+ My stock credit was posted with no problem.

 

+ We ate in the WJ as opposed to the main dining room. I was very pleased with the food - both the selection and quality, and it's so convenient.

 

+ We ate at Chops one night. It was the typical Chops experience - decent, but not great. Still worth the money.

 

+ Carlos was the concierge, having just recently arrived from Explorer. Very nice, friendly, helpful and hardworking. No hot snacks in the evenings though.

 

+ I forgot about the increased ratio of pierced and tatooed pax you get on 4 night cruises.

 

+ The entertainment was god awful. The comedian on the first night could barely speak. The Charo imitator - Judy Somebody - had a lot of energy, but I thought she was a man doing a drag show.

 

+ I love the interactive blackjack machine they have in the casino. It's a lot of fun and a great way to kill a bit of time.

 

+ Sports programming was a mixed bag. Very little MLB Playoffs; I only saw the game where the Tigers beat the Yankees 6-0. On Sunday we got the FOX sat feed of Giants - Skins and Cowboys - Eagles, followed by the NBC game Steelers - Chargers via ESPN.

 

+ Itinerary is great. I love Key West; just wished we spent more time there. We did sail n snorkel on Fury Catamaran, which I do not recommend. The price was decent, but the crew was a bit incompetent (we spent about 30 min adrift as they tried to get something out of the prop), and the snorkelling was average at best. It was cloudy in Coz, but we got lots of beach time in before the rain began.

 

+ Lattetudes has the best cookies, but they run out early in the evening and the supply is not replenished until the following day.

 

+ I'm not a Carnival fan, but I don't look for chances to bash them either, but we saw 2 of their ships along the way - Inspiration and Holiday. What a disgrace. Tiny vessels that Carnival has clearly given up on. They don't even bother to keep a fresh coat of paint on them anymore.

 

+ No early self debarkation on E. We did Diamond debarkation and were off around 830 or so. Inga, the Loyalty Ambassador, is so nice. She's off to Monarch later this week.

[GRAD]

thanks for all the updates. I'm actually goin on the same cruise in september (it will be my first cruise ever!).

 

I guess for Cozumel we should just hang around the beachs then?

 

just wanted to say thanks for the insight, and if you have any other tips, please do share!

--grad

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Enchantment. I may try this ship in the future but with the Navigator moving to the shorter cruises, I may not!!!:)

 

The comment about Carnival is not just in their older ships. It's fleet wide. The Triumph docked next to us this past December in San Juan. She had just recently been drydocked and her port side was streaked with rust all over the ship. Carnival just does not do a good job in maintaining their fleet.

[piercetc4]

thanks for the review- we just did this same 4 nighter in sept- your review made me laugh- a dry wit always does....lol

we like the interactive black jack too- unless someone who doesn 't play like we do sat down and we lost....

noticed same about the holiday and inspiration-

our dinner at chops was really good

our toilet had its moments also-

comedian was decent

did not notice any work being done while on our cruise......i agree that it should be done while in dry dock-

thanks again for the funny review...:)

[logan1_2000]

we did the 4 nighter back in February--had booked it more than a year in advance, before the stretching was even announced!--and we had a wonderful (though not perfect) time, so I appreciate updates to keep in mind when I make recommendations to others.

 

Love the tattoo and piercing observation!

 

oceanview cat. F's all the way forward on deck 7 were very nice. look into them next time any of y'all book the enchantment.

[mommabean]

This reminded me of something I forgot to put in my recently posted Enchantment review. We had toilet toubles, too. Sometimes it flushed sometimes it wouldn't for nearly an hour. I never called about it though. I just waited and flushed it when it was ready to go.

 

But our meal at Chops was one of our best meals at a restaurant...other than the Ritz. That would be hard to beat.

[Host Kewlguy]

This reminded me of something I forgot to put in my recently posted Enchantment review. We had toilet toubles, too. Sometimes it flushed sometimes it wouldn't for nearly an hour. I never called about it though. I just waited and flushed it when it was ready to go.

 

But our meal at Chops was one of our best meals at a restaurant...other than the Ritz. That would be hard to beat.

 

We had the same toilet troubles on Enchantment also back in September. Chops service on Enchantment was not even in the same stratosphere as in Oceanliners on Constellation. It's a totally different class of service.

[Jsme]

We were on the Echantment back in March and had a wonderful cruise.

 

I feel lucky to post I had no problems with my toilet. That would stink.

Sorry to hear so many did have this problem.

[mommabean]

We had the same toilet troubles on Enchantment also back in September. Chops service on Enchantment was not even in the same stratosphere as in Oceanliners on Constellation. It's a totally different class of service.

On second thought, our service in Chops wasn't the best. But the food was absolutely perfect.

[mommabean]

Who did that? :o

[newtoboard]

Just Back from Enchantment...Few Comments

 

More details? We're going on that trip in January. I'd love more information if you have it. No one seems to review the Enchantment too often!

 

Thanks

[GMoney]

Just Back from Enchantment...Few Comments

 

More details? We're going on that trip in January. I'd love more information if you have it. No one seems to review the Enchantment too often!

 

Thanks

 

Anything specific you are looking to know? I'm waaaaaay too lazy to write a full review. :D

[piercetc4]

our chops dinner was great and the service was great also- i don't remember the names of those who took care of us but they were outstanding.........we eat in nice steak houses here and the service on enchantment was superior- i don't mean outback steak house or a chain type restaurant.....lol :)

[mommabean]

Just Back from Enchantment...Few Comments

 

More details? We're going on that trip in January. I'd love more information if you have it. No one seems to review the Enchantment too often!

 

Thanks

 

There are loads of reviews about Enchantment under the reviews link at the top of the page. My August review was recently posted along with some others.

[yogimax]

Glad they have a new cruise director. We sailed on September 25th and the cruise director (who shall remain nameless) was a wealth of non-information

[wolfcathorse]

Anything specific you are looking to know? I'm waaaaaay too lazy to write a full review. :D

 

Oh P-U-L-E-E-Z-E, GMoney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You know I need the NAME of the captain! Was it Capt Gunnar Oien? And when did you start your cruise.

[Merion_Mom]

Just got back today from a lovely 4 day cruise on Enchantment, so I thought I'd post a few comments. Most of the criticisms are nit picks from someone who has spent way too much time at sea...

 

+ I'm really happy that RCI offers 4-5 nighters on Enchantment, and to Caribbean destinations. I could not get enough time off work to go on a full 7 day cruise, and was not at all thrilled about 3-4 nighters on Majesty or Sovereign to the Bahamas. I can't wait til Navigator starts doing 4-5 nighters.

 

+ Itinerary was Key West, Cozumel and Day at Sea.

 

+ I'd only been on E once before, when RCI gave us a free preview cruise after she was stretched. She is still in decent shape, but showing wear. They are doing a lot of maintenance onboard, like resurfacing the outdoor walkways on deck 10 and smaller enchancements in the Solarium. I don't mind maintenance while paying pax are at sea, but the deck 10 work was a pain. Deck access was often restricted, and it was inconvenient. Plus all of the supplies and carpet laying around makes the ship look like a cargo vessel. Do that stuff in drydock.

 

+ The toilet in our cabin rarely worked. Multiple calls to maintenance were never responded to. I heard comments from other pax of similar issues. Never had so many plumbing problems.

 

+ Our deck 3 OV cabin was fine for 4 nights and in a great location. Stateoom attendant was great.

 

+ We arrived a bit late to Cozumel due to a delay in picking up some Cuban boat people lost at sea. I woke at 6am to find the ship in a dead stop, and the ship's small speed boat approaching with the Cubans. At first we thought it was a rescue mission for someone who had gone overboard.

 

+ I CAN'T FRIGGIN BELIEVE THEY DO NOT HAVE RCTV ON ENCHANTMENT!!! *****?!??!?!?! On a similar note, they didn't even show the maps of the ship's location until late the last night.

 

+ A new captain and CD boarded with us. CD was a nice young lady from UK. Lots of energy. A bit loud though.

 

+ It's interesting to see the evolution of Vision class ships. You can see so much of the old Soveriegn class - especially in the small main theatre, but you can also see how they jumped to Voyager class. I love the larger pool area on Enchantment. The Solarium was very nice too, only the pool wasn't filled until Day 3. The Solarium Bar offers great service and was never crowded.

 

+ The gym as a big disappointment, especially when compared to Voyager class. I wish RCI had expanded this when they stretched her. The area is small, and the equipment is limited and outdated.

 

+ My stock credit was posted with no problem.

 

+ We ate in the WJ as opposed to the main dining room. I was very pleased with the food - both the selection and quality, and it's so convenient.

 

+ We ate at Chops one night. It was the typical Chops experience - decent, but not great. Still worth the money.

 

+ Carlos was the concierge, having just recently arrived from Explorer. Very nice, friendly, helpful and hardworking. No hot snacks in the evenings though.

 

+ I forgot about the increased ratio of pierced and tatooed pax you get on 4 night cruises.

 

+ The entertainment was god awful. The comedian on the first night could barely speak. The Charo imitator - Judy Somebody - had a lot of energy, but I thought she was a man doing a drag show.

 

+ I love the interactive blackjack machine they have in the casino. It's a lot of fun and a great way to kill a bit of time.

 

+ Sports programming was a mixed bag. Very little MLB Playoffs; I only saw the game where the Tigers beat the Yankees 6-0. On Sunday we got the FOX sat feed of Giants - Skins and Cowboys - Eagles, followed by the NBC game Steelers - Chargers via ESPN.

 

+ Itinerary is great. I love Key West; just wished we spent more time there. We did sail n snorkel on Fury Catamaran, which I do not recommend. The price was decent, but the crew was a bit incompetent (we spent about 30 min adrift as they tried to get something out of the prop), and the snorkelling was average at best. It was cloudy in Coz, but we got lots of beach time in before the rain began.

 

+ Lattetudes has the best cookies, but they run out early in the evening and the supply is not replenished until the following day.

 

+ I'm not a Carnival fan, but I don't look for chances to bash them either, but we saw 2 of their ships along the way - Inspiration and Holiday. What a disgrace. Tiny vessels that Carnival has clearly given up on. They don't even bother to keep a fresh coat of paint on them anymore.

 

+ No early self debarkation on E. We did Diamond debarkation and were off around 830 or so. Inga, the Loyalty Ambassador, is so nice. She's off to Monarch later this week.

Patrick, thanks for a great mini-review, in your inimitable style that had me laughing out loud.

 

BY THE WAY, however, that's EAGLES - Cowboys. :)

[phabric]

Has anybody been on the 5 day Enchantment cruise. We will be on her for Christmas and was wondering when formal night was. We go to Ft Lauderdale, Key West, sea day, Grand Cayman, sea day, Ft Lauderdale, Christmas will be the sea day and we are hoping that is the formal night.

[GMoney]

Oh P-U-L-E-E-Z-E, GMoney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You know I need the NAME of the captain! Was it Capt Gunnar Oien? And when did you start your cruise.

 

LOL I am so sorry. The Captain was Tor Something. Our cruise started on 9/5.

[GMoney]

Patrick, thanks for a great mini-review, in your inimitable style that had me laughing out loud.

 

BY THE WAY, however, that's EAGLES - Cowboys. :)

 

Thank you for the compliment, especially from someone who writes great reviews.

:)

I was so happy to see the Eagles beat TO!

[KAJOKG]

Patrick - A really negative post. Surprised that you had a good time. I truly do hope it was just a lot of nitpicking since I'm going on the ship Saturday. Yours is the first really negative post I've read. Oh well.

[GMoney]

Patrick - A really negative post. Surprised that you had a good time. I truly do hope it was just a lot of nitpicking since I'm going on the ship Saturday. Yours is the first really negative post I've read. Oh well.

 

Well, it's Cruise Critic, and everyone is welcome to their opinion, myself included. I would suggest that you re-read my post. Of the 22 bullet items, 10 of them have positive comments. For example, I made positive references to the following:

 

+ itinerary (twice)

+ cabin location

+ stateroom attendant

+ solarium pool

+ solarium bar

+ stock credit being posted on time

+ WJ food

+ Concierge

+ Blackjack on casino

+ Cookies in Lattetudes

 

So I'm not sure how that qualifies as a "really negative post," (especially after I stated up-front I was nit picking) but I'm not sure I care too much either! :D

 

Have a great cruise!

[just4kixx]

I didn't read it as negative... thanks for your comments and opinions!

 

And yes, the EAGLES certainly are GREAT entertainment! Glad you were able to catch them at sea! :D

 

A~

[KAJOKG]

Patrick - Never said you were not entitled to your opinion....of course you are as is everyone and I value all opinions. Since I have been reading so many positive reports about the Enchantment, your post just dashed some of my high expectations. This is our first RCI cruise and I'm hoping!

[lojill]

We went earlier this year with my family for their first ever cruise and they loved the Enchantment so much they booked another with the Enchantment the very next week for March 2007.

 

I have to admit that was a very good review review and he did point out some great things he enjoyed. Overall he had a great time. I am sure you will have a great time. My family just loved this ship and they range from 30-55 in age.