Enchantment 12/15-12/20 Verdict is still out....

[wdwfamily]

Another passenger on the Enchantment 12/15-12/20.

 

After a rough start getting to the airport (should have been there in under 90 minutes but due to weather it too us 7 hours...yes, you read that right!) we finally arrived into FLL 12/14. Stayed at the Courtyard Marriott (great!) and headed to the terminal about 10:30. We were on the boat within an hour or so.

 

ROOM: had adjoining balcony rooms on deck 7 (4 kids, DH, myself and inlaws). Room numbers were 7580 and 7578. Rooms were fine, nothing great but they were clean. Room Attendant was Fitzroy and he did an OK job.

 

FOOD: we have food allergic children and DH. Had been advised weeks ago that the WindJammer would not be a safe place for us to eat because of cross contamination. We did give it a try on day one and got the kids and DH a hamburger as it was brought out from the kitchen. The next day we stopped in for breakfast and DH and the "allergic" two were going to have boxed cereal and fruit. Went to get the girls their fruit and saw a woman use the tongs from the fruit to "move" her omelet. Decided then that it wasn't worth the risk and ate the rest of our meals in the main dining room w/ the exception of one room service meal.

 

We didn't have a bad meal and found dinners to be wonderful. Our server in the dining room was Ronald from the Philipines who did a fabulous job. Daniel was our Head Waiter and he too went above and beyond to make sure we were accomodating. We did have one "bad" server at lunch one day and heard a lot of people complaining that their server was rude...am thinking they might have also had this woman!

 

PORTS: obviously we didn't stop at Grand Cayman. Not RCL's fault but it was still disappointing. Jamaica was nice but too short. We did the Coyoba Garden/Dunn Falls tour. Dh and oldest son climbed the falls as we felt that they were too dangerous for our younger ones. This was a little disappointing as the kids met the minimum age for this tour so we had to assume that the average 4 year old could participate. Our children hike constantly through some extreme terrain but this was out of their league. The younger 3 ended up playing on the beach.

 

The duration of this port was also disappointing. We were off the boat a total of 5.5 hours. I know they cut it short because of problems with the ship but still, we feel like we sailed 5 days to spend 5 hours off the boat and it wasn't worth it.

 

ACTIVITIES: CD was great and his staff was as well. Activities were poorly planned and executed for the most part. We went to a bunch of them and most started late. Also didn't feel there was enough "family" activities. Yes, there is AO but thats not the same as spending quality time with your children :) Evening shows that we saw we did enjoy.

 

ROCK WALL: Oldest loved it, Youngest was pretty upset w/ the guy holding his rope. He wasn't paying attention and my son wanted down. He was actually in tears because he was so scared (the wind picked up while he was up there and he didn't feel safe). It took my husband and I yelling to the guy to get him to pay attention to my son.

 

ADVENTURE OCEAN: Kids loved it & staff was great for the most part. Had a few complaints from the kids that the staff wouldn't listen to their side of the story if they got in "trouble". I guess my youngest son got in trouble for bumping into something by accident when another child lost their footing but the staff only saw my son bump into it. My son tried to tell her what happened but she didn't care to listen. A few of the other children validated his side of the story when we were at the pool later in the day so I was quite annoyed that he was sent to time out for nothing. I did talk w/ them about it and he did go back but kept his distance from that teacher.

 

DISEMBARKMENT: Not sure how we got "stuck" w/ the long lines but we did. Our color was annouced about 9:20 and it took well over an hour to get off. The lines were pretty long and bagage was set up in a spot that was hard to get to w/ the lines. Once we were out though we grabbed a cab and headed to the airport. Everything went downhill from there as Boston had a snow storm and from the time we go the the airport until the time we arrived home it was a total of 15.5 hours (and that includes a lost bag!)

 

SEAS: We did have some rough seas especially on Sunday. After talking with my brother who is a ship captain, he wondered how much of the "rocking" was because of the mechanical issues that boat was having and whether something was up with the stabalizers (or something like that). He had all sorts of questions and explained how everything worked but honestly, I was too tired to even listen to it!

 

Overall we had a good time but the verdict is still out as to whether we will give them another try. I was bored during the day and felt as if there weren't enough things to do (not a pool person or a casino/bar person). MIL thinks I might like one of their bigger ships so maybe we'll try again....we'll see!

[jaxon41]

So sorry for your airline travel problems -- must have been tiring and frustrating. You are a good trooper. I feel so lucky to have cruised Enchantment just before all the problems started with her, and had no idea they were continuing. Knowing the problems have been there since November 15th or so, one would think that missed ports due to recurring problems would result in some sort of obc or compensation to the pax.

[Schplinky]

I think a family who wants more activities might enjoy Liberty or Freedom. There is more to do and they have scrapbookig and other family classes.

[piphigoddess]

We just got off the Sovreign OTS this morning. My husband and I second the lack of family activities, especially for children between 4 and 6. For a 3 day weekend family trip we didn't want to leave our 5 year old in Adventure Ocean (especially with the 3-5 age group which did preschool activities my 5 year old wasn't interested in; like the Dora Talking Kitchen for an hour).

 

I'll post a longer review after Christmas (or later this afternoon if I get bored). I will say that the weather was great! And that's from someone who lives in Florida where it's still 75-80 degrees everyday this time of year.

[Tabby98]

I was also on this cruise... was a little disappointed about not going to grand Cayman but we totally understood it was for everyones safety. We too, felt like Jamaica was way to short. By time we got off the boat and stood in our line to get to our excursion, we only have about 2 hours at the beach (it was supposed to be 3 1/2 hours). This again, was not RC's fault, my friend and I were placed in the wrong line by the jamicain excurision people and then we were place on the wrong bus, we kept being bounced around like a ping pong. Other than this and the really rough water on sunday, we had a really good tim!! I really enjoy Mark the CD, he was our CD last year on Sovereign. The quest and Love and marriage game were hilarious..That poor newly wed couple. Anyway.. already looking for one for next December..

 

Hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

 

Tabitha

[terri23]

mass market cruise lines may not be the best choice for high maintenance families. better luck next time.

[wdwfamily]

mass market cruise lines may not be the best choice for high maintenance families. better luck next time.

 

"High Maintenance"????? We certainly are not that. A few family activities, regardless of the size of the ship and whether or not it is a "mass market" would have been nice.

[andy1962]

mass market cruise lines may not be the best choice for high maintenance families. better luck next time.

 

wow, So rude

[HurricaneSally]

I'm still trying to figure out why it is so wrong to move your omelet (which you obviously haven't touched) with the fruit tongs. Can somebody enlighten me?

[terri23]

"High Maintenance"????? We certainly are not that. A few family activities, regardless of the size of the ship and whether or not it is a "mass market" would have been nice.

 

Sorry if you were offended. Food allergic children (a tough challenge for you, I'm sure!), little children whose excursion activities must necessarily be limited, "trouble" in AO, freak out on the rock wall, boredom (on a cruise ship!), and last but not least concern about the rough seas all add up to high maintenance IMHO. Did I mis-read something? If so, my apologies. Maybe you will have more fun with a different vacation option and/or when the kids are a little older. You admittedly didn't enjoy your trip - or, at best, "the verdict is still out", so what's rude about wishing you more fun on your next (maybe different) vacation? Your screen name seems to indicate that you favor WDW anyway - at least there (especially if you stay in a condo), you have better control over the foods your kids are exposed to.

 

Sheesh people.

[HurricaneSally]

Sorry if you were offended. Food allergic children (a tough challenge for you, I'm sure!), little children whose excursion activities must necessarily be limited, "trouble" in AO, freak out on the rock wall, boredom (on a cruise ship!), and last but not least concern about the rough seas all add up to high maintenance IMHO. Did I mis-read something? If so, my apologies. Maybe you will have more fun with a different vacation option and/or when the kids are a little older. You admittedly didn't enjoy your trip - or, at best, "the verdict is still out", so what's rude about wishing you more fun on your next (maybe different) vacation? Your screen name seems to indicate that you favor WDW anyway - at least there (especially if you stay in a condo), you have better control over the foods your kids are exposed to.

 

Sheesh people.

 

I agree, staying home would have been easier and probably more fun.

[veryhotred]

I'm still trying to figure out why it is so wrong to move your omelet (which you obviously haven't touched) with the fruit tongs. Can somebody enlighten me?

 

The family has food allergies and probably are allergic to eggs, thus the tongs for the fruit were cross contaminated with eggs. When someone is allergic to eggs, even the slightest touch of eggs can affect them and could cause a reaction. I am sure the lady who did this did not do it on purpose but to someone with a food allergy it can be potentially dangerous. My son is VERY allergic to penicillin and if I saw something had been touched with penicillin and then knew my son may touch it, I would avoid it too as he could die. It is that serious.

[veryhotred]

As far as RCI, took my kids, 6 & 7, on the Sovereign last May and they LOVED IT!! It seemed there was always something to do, more than we could do in a day. They loved AO, we had to tell them at times they had to stay with us..lol..like port days. My dd participated in the talent show and the pirate show too. I just recently took only my dd on the Enchantment and again, she loved it! We were always doing something, participating in AO, talent show, pirate parade, something was always going on. I cannot imagine going on another cruise line as there is an abundance of things for kids to do on RC. The staff on RC is fabulous and we have never had a problem! By the end of day one they knew my kids' names. I am not saying your claims are not true, just saying my story, a great one! We will continue to sail on RC as we have had nothing but great success all around!!!

[HurricaneSally]

The family has food allergies and probably are allergic to eggs, thus the tongs for the fruit were cross contaminated with eggs. When someone is allergic to eggs, even the slightest touch of eggs can affect them and could cause a reaction. I am sure the lady who did this did not do it on purpose but to someone with a food allergy it can be potentially dangerous. My son is VERY allergic to penicillin and if I saw something had been touched with penicillin and then knew my son may touch it, I would avoid it too as he could die. It is that serious.

 

If this is that serious, how can you be certain they don't touch in the kitchen of any restaurant. You should only be eating at home.

[time4agetaway]

I understand what it's like to travel with those who have special needs. We went on the Enchantment in the summer and loved it. I hope you enjoyed your cruise anyway. I think there should definitely be personnel there to help avoid cross contamination! (my mom has a lot of food allergies, so I understand!)

[lori450]

I was on the same cruise and it was a quiet one. In fact, I book that cruise to relax and do nothing but work out, read and chit chat. Please do not let this cruise be an indicator of RCI and kids. Try a Voyager class or better yet, a Freedom class ship. My son and I have the very best vacations on these ships. Oodles to do (about 20 x more than Enchantment) and more facilities. Even the Windjammer is set up better and should improve any allergy problems.

[veryhotred]

seems some can say what they want (and their posts remain) while others cannot.. :mad:

[wdwfamily]

Sorry if you were offended. Food allergic children (a tough challenge for you, I'm sure!), little children whose excursion activities must necessarily be limited, "trouble" in AO, freak out on the rock wall, boredom (on a cruise ship!), and last but not least concern about the rough seas all add up to high maintenance IMHO. Did I mis-read something? If so, my apologies. Maybe you will have more fun with a different vacation option and/or when the kids are a little older. You admittedly didn't enjoy your trip - or, at best, "the verdict is still out", so what's rude about wishing you more fun on your next (maybe different) vacation? Your screen name seems to indicate that you favor WDW anyway - at least there (especially if you stay in a condo), you have better control over the foods your kids are exposed to.

 

Sheesh people.

 

Sheesh to you. If you think we are high maintenance then I have to say you need to get a life. I guess in there you forgot to read all my positives but then again, why would you, you just like rudely bash someone. Guess everything in you life is positive because if there was a single negative you would be putting yourself in the category of high maintenance.

 

And yes, we do like Disney and we prefer to stay on property in a non "condo" room and dine in their restaurants (they accomodate regardless of whether you are in a buffet or a sit down....RCI did accomodate just in the dining room, room service or the Solerium....which if you read my post wasn't a problem).

[wdwfamily]

If this is that serious, how can you be certain they don't touch in the kitchen of any restaurant. You should only be eating at home.

 

Thanks for your uneducated advise :rolleyes: Would you like me to put my children in a bubble as well? Maybe DH along with them?

 

There are very few restaurants that won't accomodate food allergic people. In the case of RCI, meals are prepared in a separate area. They were excellent in the dining room and every night our head waiter took DH's order for the next day (kids were a little more basic and we could tell them the day of what they wanted). He verified all the ingredients and would call our stateroom if something couldn't be changed to accomodate him (one night there was sunflower seeds which had a warning label and would it be OK to serve him a wedge of iceberg lettuce).

 

Please don't try to offer advice in situations you are not familiar with and are uneducated on!

[wdwfamily]

As far as RCI, took my kids, 6 & 7, on the Sovereign last May and they LOVED IT!! It seemed there was always something to do, more than we could do in a day. They loved AO, we had to tell them at times they had to stay with us..lol..like port days. My dd participated in the talent show and the pirate show too. I just recently took only my dd on the Enchantment and again, she loved it! We were always doing something, participating in AO, talent show, pirate parade, something was always going on. I cannot imagine going on another cruise line as there is an abundance of things for kids to do on RC. The staff on RC is fabulous and we have never had a problem! By the end of day one they knew my kids' names. I am not saying your claims are not true, just saying my story, a great one! We will continue to sail on RC as we have had nothing but great success all around!!!

 

I did not say the kids were lacking things to do. I said that there were not enough family activities. The talent show was the only "day time" activity that the parents were welcome at. The kids definitely enjoyed the cruise, we all just wished there was something to do together besides the pool :)

 

I was the one that found myself bored. I'm not a huge fan of sitting by the pool reading a book and although I did do the activities that peaked my interest, I was left with too much down time (for me).

[wdwfamily]

I'm still trying to figure out why it is so wrong to move your omelet (which you obviously haven't touched) with the fruit tongs. Can somebody enlighten me?

 

Because my child has an egg allergy and now the tongs were cross contaminated.

 

This type of cross contamination is something that RCI is aware of because they told us in one of their emails that we needed to avoid the Windjammer. The food allergic ones would have been OK if we just stuck to boxed cereal but the fruit just looked so good :) It was away from anything they were allergic to and to be honest, I would never have expected anyone would use the serving tongs from one dish on their own plate so lesson learned there.

[terri23]

Sheesh to you. If you think we are high maintenance then I have to say you need to get a life. I guess in there you forgot to read all my positives but then again, why would you, you just like rudely bash someone. Guess everything in you life is positive because if there was a single negative you would be putting yourself in the category of high maintenance.

 

And yes, we do like Disney and we prefer to stay on property in a non "condo" room and dine in their restaurants (they accomodate regardless of whether you are in a buffet or a sit down....RCI did accomodate just in the dining room, room service or the Solerium....which if you read my post wasn't a problem).

 

If you don't want people to respond to your posts you should ask the mods to lock it immediately after you start it. Or make it multiple choice. This is an open public message board. I think you have proven my earlier point.

[mommabean]

Because my child has an egg allergy and now the tongs were cross contaminated.

 

This type of cross contamination is something that RCI is aware of because they told us in one of their emails that we needed to avoid the Windjammer. The food allergic ones would have been OK if we just stuck to boxed cereal but the fruit just looked so good :) It was away from anything they were allergic to and to be honest, I would never have expected anyone would use the serving tongs from one dish on their own plate so lesson learned there.

 

On Enchantment, they have always had a lot of fresh fruit in bowls in it's own skin, nowhere near the eggs, ready to be peeled by you, that no one can pick up with tongs.

 

The only thing that bothered me on my Enchantment cruise over the weekend was watching the unattended child in the Windjammer pick up the tongs, grab the little round hash brown potatoes with them, and then toss the whole thing back in the serving tray - handles and all. Who knows where those fingers had been and I certainly didn't want her germs all over my food from where she handled the tongs. Too bad some parents are unwilling to assist their children who haven't been trained to serve themselves properly. There was a small plate for placement of the tongs directly in front of the potatoes.

 

Oh well, if that's my worst complaint...I'll survive...as long as I don't get sick from the kid. :rolleyes:

 

I can't blame RCI for the poor manners or inconsideration of others.

[mommabean]

I did not say the kids were lacking things to do. I said that there were not enough family activities. The talent show was the only "day time" activity that the parents were welcome at. The kids definitely enjoyed the cruise, we all just wished there was something to do together besides the pool :)

 

I was the one that found myself bored. I'm not a huge fan of sitting by the pool reading a book and although I did do the activities that peaked my interest, I was left with too much down time (for me).

 

On enchantment:

 

There is ping pong, shuffle board, bungy jumping, a rock wall, a vita course in addition to the pools. My sister, a friend, and I took a CC friend's 11 year old child with us to the art auction on board the Carnival Fantasy and we all had a blast - including the little girl. They are some pretend bidding opportunities and chances for free "art" that can be won throughout the auction. This fun family time is available on all RCI ships.

 

There are behind the scenes tours that children can take part in on sea days. It's fun to see where the singers and dancers get ready.

 

Most ships have karaoke every day which is fun and open to all. I've seen scrapbooking classes on all the cruises I've been on lately.

 

Picture hunting alone in the photo lab can be a challenging and fun family opportunity. I've actually asked kids to take a good look at my face and then offered them $1 to find my picture.

 

I saw many people with children at the welcome aboard Captain's reception. Here, they had a good time dancing with other kids or with parents.

 

Three meals a day alone should allow for 3 or 4 hours of family time.

 

I bet there is also a basketball court on Enchantment (maybe) although I admit to not noticing. Cruises are a good chance for parents to spend some good physically active time with their kids teaching them the importance of fitness especially since most of us tend to take in more calories than usual while on a cruise.

 

The only activities on board that I can think of where children aren't at all welcome - sitting at the bar drinking (including the CL during the evening hours), gaming in the casino, and quest...which doesn't stop some parents unfortunately.

 

One thing I have to admit about myself - I've NEVER been in a pool on any ship. I've NEVER sat by the pool or read a book on a ship. And out of the 4 times I've been on Enchantment of the Seas, I've NEVER been bored.

 

I'm not trying to be rude or critical. I am just admitting that I don't get it. I wish I could do everything I want to do on each cruise but I leave the ship thinking....there's always next time.