MrSchwump

We were recently on the Enchanted, our first time since sailing resumed.  I was very surprised at how lax the dress code in the MDR was.  The only time I did not see men in shorts, t-shirts and ball caps was on formal night.  Then I saw guys with jeans and polo shirts.

It didn't bother me or diminish my enjoyment one bit.  It's just a remarkable change.  Once a few years ago, I wasn't allowed in the MDR because was wearing a short sleeved shirt. 

This seems to fit the new Princess paradigm, the most consistent thing about Princess is their inconsistency.

On 3/13/2023 at 4:22 PM, skents said:

The only problem we had this trip was trying to get off the ship in Ft. Lauderdale.  We always self disembark.  I have never had this issue before, but we could not get an elevator at 7:30 a.m.  Two of the four forward elevators were "reserved" and not available for use.  After 15 minutes of waiting on the other two, which were always full of people riding up to the top with their luggage just to go down, we decided to try the midship elevators. Two of the six were also reserved - the other four were always full.  After 15 minutes, we gave up and carried our luggage down from deck 15 to deck 6.  After that we were in a cab to the airport in less than 10 minutes. 

We used the aft elevators. Only problem is you have to get off on 7 as they only go to Amalfi on 6.
No wait, had to carry bags down 1 flight from 7 to 6. If you can do that it sure beats waiting!

On 3/13/2023 at 10:59 AM, Jay_NH said:

What are your thoughts on the menu's in the main dining room?

Me?  Disappointed.  They had better offerings in the buffet.

Jay 

We ate in the MDR 3 times and that was because of what was offered. I don’t know that the menu isn’t as good as it once was but I found less that appealed to me. 
We really liked the salad variety in the buffet much better. 

2 hours ago, jonbrealey said:

Very interesting and positive thank you. We are first time Princess cruisers this summer and are going on Enchanted in the med, re the insulated cup did you use that just for coffee or for other drinks as well?

 

Thanks,

 

Jonathan

We got the soda package. I don’t know if they’re available with a coffee package. 

We sailed aboard the Enchanted Princess from 2/27 to 3/9.  We visited Princess Caye, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada and Cuacao, which was a late addition after missing Bonaire and Aruba due to high winds. We've sailed with Princess several times and this was our first cruise since 2020.

The Good:

Check in was insanely smooth and easy. We'd completed our prework and were on board by 10:30a after arriving at the port around 10a.

We chose Dine My Way or Anytime Dining....whatever they're calling it now.  We made reservations for the nights we wanted to eat in the MDR and it worked great.  We'd also indicated that we preferred speedier dinner service and it seemed like we didn't linger in the dining room as long as in the past.

We liked the redesigned Princess Live area compared to how it looked on the Regal and Royal. The trivia and other events there were very enjoyable.

The staff was excellent.  Everyone I interacted with was very warm, friendly and genuinely seemed pleasant.  Our steward, Dennis, was perfect!

As always, the deck 17 aft smoking area was the friendliest spot on the ship.  Very comfortable seats and a welcoming, convivial group of passengers!

Disembarkation was also a breeze.  We self debarked and were off the ship by 7:45a and at the airport by 8:15a.  Since this was a Thursday, we were at the gate by 8:40a.

The Bad:

I don't know how they can fix it but the Retreat Pool is windy as hell! Other areas are markedly less windy than the area right around the pool is.  I'm not crazy about the redesigned Retreat Pool area either.  It's harder to move from there to other parts of the ship than on the older Royal class ships.

The music at the Retreat Pool as awful.  It sounded like Andreas Vollenweider performing whale songs; too dreary and atmospheric.  I know this isn't a party zone but something a little more upbeat would have been nice.

I had not noticed this on other Princess ships, but the entrance to the casino had a strong smell of cigarette smoke emanating into the immediate area of the deck 6.  As stated about, I enjoyed the smoking area of the ship, but I found this objectionable.  My wife refused to go to the casino because of this.

I thought the movies shown on the MUTS screen was not a good selection for the passenger group. It was mostly comic book based movies and the passengers were mostly geezers, like me. Maybe that's Hollywood's fault more that Princesses.

Misc. observations:

I usually don't get caught up in the MDR dress code debates but it seems like Princess has given up enforcing any standards the they may have set in their official guidelines.  On non-formal nights, I saw several men in shorts and t-shirts.  One guy was wearing a ballcap with his ensemble.  On formal night there were men in short sleeved shirts and jeans.  This had no bearing on my experience but I was thinking to myself, whoo-wee! some people on Cruise Critic would have a fit over this!

The Salty Dog Gastropub didn't seem to be doing much.  I never saw more than 2 tables occupied.

If you want insulated Princess cups to go with your drink package, get them on the first day you board.  I never saw them after that and a lot of people asked where I got mine.

I spoke in error.  Our port fees for both missed ports were credited to our shipboard account!  I still think a round of grog for all hands would have been appropriate! 🙂

This past week the Enchanted missed the ports of Bonaire and Aruba. If that means Princess didn’t pay any port fees for these 2, should the passengers get a refund?

I’m guessing there’s some proviso in the passage contract that covers this in the cruise line’s favor. Act of god and all that. 
As a gesture of good will it would have at least been nice if the Captain had bought everyone a drink. 
I’ll await responses in my Nomex dressing gown!

We’re embarking on Monday on the Enchanted. It’s still showing as available in my personalizer. 
The price is up a lot! About $16.00/day. 

I got a $9.95 lighter on Amazon with a triple flame that does the trick. I’ve had Xicar and Prometheus lighters and have found the cheap ones to be just as dependable.

3 hours ago, voljeep said:

which areas are those - I thought those area's were limited to cigs...

Back when I last sailed on the Crown, I think it was starboard side amidships. 
There’s a smokers page on a certain social media site whose name shall not be stated that lists smoking areas on all Princess ships. 

3 hours ago, roboref said:

One other thing, you are probably already aware of. You can't fly with a torch lighter….

I bring mine. I pack it and a couple of cutters in my suitcase. 

I have not been aboard the Crown for some time but my recollection of the Speakeasy lounge was that it might double as the ship’s mortuary if needed. Dark and drab. 
I confined all my cigar smoking to the permitted outdoor spaces. 
The selection in the humidor was limited and somewhat overpriced, I thought. I brought my own and picked some up on shore at a reputable tobacconist. 

As long as it’s not Nickleback….

There’s a train that runs from MIA to Ft Lauderdale. 
https://www.tri-rail.com/stations/Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood-International-Airport-at-Dania-Beach

I really don’t care as long as I’m on the boat and that it makes a right leaving Ft Liquordale. 

We booked right after Xmas and did not get the plus or premium pkg. I just got an email that my medallions are on their way and tracking says I’ll have them on Thursday. 
The most consistent thing about Princess of late is their inconsistency. 

I think I picked the earliest possible time, 11a. We’ll still show up at PE around 10:30 and hopefully be on boat by 11:30. That’s always worked in the past. 

All chaise lounges will be claimed by 4:15. 

I used to tip $2/bag at Port Everglades.  Now that I've read this, not any more.

21 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

patters and some of our impressions of the shows.

 

Thank you! Very helpful and interesting!

Thanks for the very thorough review, with Patters and menus! I’ve been looking all over for something like this. Seems like 10 years ago you’d see a lot of good reviews like this with useful info. Not so much anymore. 
We set sail on 2/27 and this was very helpful!

What are the shows going on in the theater now on board the Enchanted? We haven’t cruises since 2020 and hopefully there are some new offerings!

How about smoking night in the casino, maybe 1 or 2 on a 7 night cruise? Wouldn’t that be more fair than an outright ban?

It’s fairly quick too. I bought 100 shares on 12/30. I emailed the info on 1/5 and got my OBC last week. It says to submit the request 3 weeks prior to sailing.

Wrong island, man.