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Sorry this post is a detailed review of the Royal Suite.  Wont let me change the title

Port Baltimore - 10+ - seamless embarkation and debarkation.  We did the TA for Bermuda (we called to get the confirmation a week prior to the cruise and they did it on the phone immediately) and our tests the day before (in Canada at Shoppers).  No issues boarding at all we we onboard within 15 minutes of arriving at bag drop. We did self check out so took our bags off  - walked off in 15 minutes , customs waived us through.

Ship - Shes old and should be sold/scrapped or refurbished.  That said they do their best to maintain her and she is IMMACULATE.  Rust is apparent but she is over 20 years old so no amount of paint is going to help unless they do a full refurbishment. But if you need pristine and fully loaded this isnt your ship.

Room - Royal Suite - massive space, clean, no wear and tear but decor is dated.   Jacuzzi had rusty jets so did not use, balcony needed a good scrub.  But a glorious spot to unwind and have our own oasis on the ship.  Bed was roomy and comfortable. Balcony was a good respite to relax, enjoy the sea and read.

Food - Skip WIndjammer - awful, inedible, cold trough food for the masses.  MDR was barely passable for the one lunch we had - servers were dialing it in.  Room service (lobster dinner night) was delicious and arrived hot and quickly.  Chefs table - amazing  - great food, wine flowed, Waiter/Sommelier was very entertaining - the best we've been to.  Chops - get the all you can dine special and work your way through the menu -  this was amazing food, service and saved our dining experience on the ship.

Entertainment - comedian was ok - repeated a number of nights so we only went the once.  Stage show was only on last night and we missed it as we enjoyed our lounge instead.  Not much on other than trivia/name that tune, Towel/napkin folding and obligatory pool events (bellyflop) - not much for kids on this ship - much older crowd.  Bands were amazing - enjoyed them in the centrum each evening.  We stayed away from the casino save for one morning and we won enough to pay off our onboard account which was nice.

Concierge Lounge - an oasis, nice light breakfast, lunch options for light snack and pre dinner appetizers/cocktails flowed from 5-8 each evening.  Noemi, the concierge could not do enough for us - she was amazing!

Diamond Lounge - great location above the Viking lounge - had similar food to concierge lounge - seemed well attended

Spa - pricey with limited specials - didnt bother.

Loyalty perks - only thing they did was an enmass, one warm glass champagne in the theatre - took all of 20 minutes.  Agenda was Singer, intro to officers on stage, and announcement of most points onboard.  Not very intimate or special compared to other ships where we were in a lounge with more interaction and face time.  They have work to do to interact more with loyalty guests.  Officers could drop into lounges in evenings for example (as past cruises).  

Bermuda is a lovely spot with reserved, polite people.  Read up on the culture before you go as it is different from the carribbean.  Lots of sites, beautiful homes, good public transportation and great dining on offer.  Beaches are pristine.  We will return for a land stay.

Overall a very relaxing cruise.  Happy to answer any questions you have.

Room was huge.  Everything in the room was well maintained with no signs of wear or damage but decor is a bit dated - think 80s brass.  Bathroom was incredibly roomy -   The shower was amazing!  The jacuzzi jets were very rusty so we didnt use the tub. Shame the piano didnt have an autoplay feature so we could enjoy it (given we dont play). Only fault was that the balcony needed a good scrub down (glass cushions on chairs were grubby - we used pool towels on the chairs and the deck was stained - not sure if scrubbing would help it or if it needed to be refinished).  Balcony is larger than standard but not as large as RS on other ships - more than sufficient space and it was our favorite spot to spend time on sea days relaxing and reading our books.  Our steward, Lucas, was fastidious almost to a fault.  At times we felt we were more on his schedule than he on ours - but he was incredibly attentive and room was very clean, did the cute towel animals and kept everything well stocked.

Not bad news. We will be in Bermuda after all! Your feedback is very helpful.

You have confirmed it likely isn't worth going to Hamilton or St George on Monday. 

Maybe we will just relax at port on day one if we can't find a taxi. 

I will check on the possibility of the day pass.  We may do that instead if space is available. Or we can always relax on the empty ship😊   we like quiet tucked away places away from the maddening crowds so horseshoe is likely a no go this trip

We are arriving st 330 pm on Sunday full day on labour day and leaving day 3 at 1230.  

Not sure what we have time for on Sunday.  May just see if a txi wants to do a quick 3hour tour with quick stops at the drawbridge lighthouse and horseshoe for pics.   How long would those take round trip?   Open for suggestions as it's an awkward time to arrive

Bigger issue is the Monday.  We had planned to ferry to st George in the am then travel by ferry to Hamilton for some shopping/exploring. But not sure what will be open?  Does anyone know what's open on the Monday and if it would be worth the trip?  If not should I look into pompano for a day pass?

Day three we will wander the dockyards. 

We are thinking of going to horseshoe for a quick dip and walk on the day we arrive @330pm.  

planning on staying for an hour max.  Is this doable via the shuttles? Will they be around that late for return?  Will the beach be wrapping up for the day by the time we arrive?   We plan to do st George and Hamilton on day 2 and stick close to the dockyard on departure day.   

That's too bad. She did a really nice tour. We took it pre COVID.  Her horses were very healthy and well cared for.  She stoppedby her farm and went her goats  sheep and lambs.  She's a lovely person.  

Check your roll call. We coordinated a group for the glow worm sail and one of the ladies coordinated shared ride home to the royal docks.  You might be able to do the same. Otherwise you should likely arrange a prebooked taxi as it's pretty quiet for transport at night

We were on a cruise to Bermuda from Boston. Seas were so rough on the prior voyage the Halifax pilot stayed on the ship and flew home from Boston next day. We are from Halifax so we got chatting to him when we boarded. He was so lovely. Said it was a very rough night and lots of folks using the little bags. 

Our cruise was like glass.  Early October So it really does depend on mother nature 

3 hours ago, Colonialdame said:

We actually have made our list.  Fortunately we will also have the luxury of a Concierge on this cruise and will email her as we get closer to our sailing date.  I’ve always tried to be a  do it yourself kind of person, but asking our Concierge make reservations is the best option.  Thanks for the reminder!

This is very helpful. Same boat here. We got the UDP and could only book first night so will try the concierge as we will also be in a suite so that's a great option!

Does anyone know if enchantment offers a lunch in chops on embarkation day? Hoping to maximize the UDP ☺️

On 3/26/2022 at 1:49 PM, Ashland said:

We have found lobster only on the 2nd formal night on RCI...but that may vary according to your experience. We like to order a side of just the lobster tail with our meat option and they always bring the whole dinner...what a waste.

On a recent cruise our maitre d stopped by to chat us up and asked if we were looking forward to lobster the next night. I mentioned offhandedly I don't normally order it as it's always too salty but being from the maritimes I do love lobster. Next night when our steaks came we got a big platter of specially prepared lobster with no salt added for the table! Completely unexpected! 

We had a lot of envious looks from nearby tables. Lobster was perfect!

That staff got a very nice tip at the end of the cruise!

11 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Yesterday was DH birthday. He spent the day at Cocoa Beach and I bought him Ron Jon swag. We had dinner in Chops. 
 

I have read rumors that the mushroom soup was no longer available. Here is irrefutable digital evidence to the contrary. 
 

 

Chops is delicious but it’s a lot of food. . . And that was before the desert. 

 

 

We got an amazing udp price for our cruise in Sep so we went for it!  We plan to try embarkation lunch if offered and work through the menu in chops for dinners.  Hoping to do chef's table one night as well.  Will have to do a bunch of walking each day to work it off! ☺️

Enjoying the report so far. We were going to be on the April 2 with Delta but we had to postpone. We are now sailing Sep 2 to bermuda. Looking forward to your live stream!  

I love a kir royale but have to expressly ask for Chambord. They have a tendency to sneak cassis (cheaper) instead. 

Thanks for the great pics and review of chef's table. I thinks we will definitely give it a try on our Sept cruise!  

2 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

Coffee Issues.  Had them again.  I just can’t do this right for some reason.

 

I made the first cup fine.  Spilled a little coffee grounds on table.  Put the filter cap on, forgot to put a filter in.  Caught it, put paper filter in, screw that up somehow, and just plain failed my second cup.

 

Also, had an issue at breakfast that I will expand on later.

Have you ever tried a french press?  It may be easier. Just coffee water press and pour. 

Cocculine by boiron is my Go to motion sickness prevention. It doesn't knock you out and you can still have a drink as it is a herbal remedy. Under $20 Canadian google it as I believe they deliver. For Canadians shoppers will order it in for you. 

17 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

Day 1 Recap.

 

i have already booked Chef’s table, so you see that later.  The person who sold that to is turned out to be one of the head wait staff.  Fiery lady named Maria. 

 

Can't wait for the chef's table report!  

21 hours ago, BND said:

Last time we cruised from there in 2019, I think it was $15/day.  It might be as much as $18.  Honestly, we just pay and don't really notice.  Car is very safe.  The Cruise MD port is fenced in and is only open on days when a ship is in.  We live just over an hour away so we always drive and park.  I have never heard of anyone having any issues there (or any port we've parked in).

We sailed during the riots a few years back. Local told me docks are very safe as it is federal. So criminals stay away as it is penetentiary vs regular jail. Not sure if it's true but we had no issues. 

5 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

I think Dobby suspects something is amiss.

 

 

Dobby is believed to be a chihuahua yorkie mix. Thats what the rescue claims.  I have not spend the 150 bucks for a DNA test yet.

Very cute!  He looks to have some Scottish terrier in him. Maybe papillion with those ears?

6 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

As some of you know, my belief is that the one major flaw of all the cruises i’ve taken is that the coffee is bad across-the-board. Princess, Celebrity, Carnival and royal Caribbean are the same.

 

on my last cruise on the Brilliance, I may have perfected my experiment with the aeropress. So we have packed two of them as well as coffee. I am not willing to bring a grinder on board for fear of losing it. So I do the unthinkable. I have pre-ground my coffee. As any real coffee drinker can tell you, You’re supposed to grind your beans right before you brew it.  But because I can’t I have to pregrind it.

 

I am mathed this out.  Ideally my wife and I will drink 2 cups of coffee per day. Since today does not count, And the last day we can delay coffee as we are disembarking, I need supplies for 44 cups of coffee.  

 

That’s a lot of coffee. This is in fact more than a pound of coffee I am bringing with us.

 

 

Totally relate to this!  I always thought the coffee onboard tastes like it  is made with used filters☕

Great posts so far. I wonder if the embarkation lunch will be in mdr for our Sept cruise. That would be amazing 🤩. 

Can you also let us know typical time for evening shows?  Want to schedule dining times around it. Thanks!

3 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

I have Chef's table already booked.  However, on the official deck plan, the room in the MDR does not exist like it does on Grandeur, which is a little worrisome.  My best Chef's table was on Grandeur of the Seas.  Brilliance has a separate room too, which was awesome.  In fact, it was a waiting room AND dining room  combo (there's a picture of it in my Brilliance live thread).  My suspicion is that we will have it in Chops, as this Chops is bigger than Grandeur due to its lack of Giovanni's.  Or maybe, it might be set up in that conference room that's next to Chops.  We shall see.

Thanks rogue. Let me know your experience as we are foodies. You're right about grandeur. That chef's table is one of the best meals I've ever had! And the wine was flowing freely!  

We are sailing in September on eos. Can you tell me if the chef's table room still exists on deck four?  We had a great experience on grandeur but the one on freedom was about forty plus people in the windjammer big disappointment noisy and they were really stingy with the wine. Only quarter to half glass pour.   

We also have an option for lunch/dinner chop for entire six night cruise for 144 pp. Chops is hit and miss. How is it on enchantment? Don't want to commit and it be a miss.