20165

16 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Have you ever considered MSC Yacht Club?  It is more aligned with what The Haven sounds like.  We could have stayed in the Yacht Club all seven days and remained content.

 

The Retreat on board Summit is not a self-contained enclave.  It does have one jacuzzi, but it can be windy up there.

Luminae is wonderful.  And nosh options in between meals in The Retreat Lounge are impressive.  Summit has been beautifully updated.  The lower passenger count is a plus.  We are rebooked on Summit for next year.

 

i would share a link to my Live, but I am not sure how.

We had a really bad experience with MSC last year, albeit not in the yacht club, but my wife swore we would never spend another dime with that line...

We are leaning toward the Summit especially after reading your post, thank you.  We did enjoy silhouette a lot and we werent even in the retreat.

thanks

We are considering the Summit out of PR in November and are concerned about the age of the ship and the Retreat amenities.  We havent been in the retreat on celebrity, but have been on Silhouette, non retreat,  which we did enjoy very much.  Smaller ship so not as many people, and very few kids given they dont have all the bells and whistles as the new ships.  Water slides, kids pool areas, etc.  However, we have also been on NCL in the haven and it was wonderful.  We rarely left the area, but it had a pool and jacuzzies which i dont think exist in the retreat, at least not on Summit.  Please tell me im wrong about that, but i didnt see any in the pics, just a sitting area, bar and snack area.

So we are trying to decide if we want an older ship with less people and probably better service, or a newer ship, NCL Getaway, and spend most of the time in the haven.  

Thoughts?

We just got off of Enchanted and it was absolutely one of the best cruises we have had.  Details in the the review i posted last week.  So, on to our next cruise and we cant find a princess ship that meets our dates and or cabin requirements the first week of November of this year.  So that leaves Celebrity Summit southern Caribbean going out of Puerto Rico, Penthouse suite, or the NCL Getaway, Haven Penthouse suite, western Caribbean going out of New Orleans.  

Any comments on if you couldnt go on princess, you would choose one over the other?  We have been on Both lines, although those are pretty old ships.  We have been on Celebrity Silhouette which is similar to the Summit and really liked the smaller size.  However, we have also been on getaway and loved the Haven.  Anything that may make one a better choice over the other.  Again, we are trying to get as close to the Enchanted experience as we can.  We had a S5 front premium suite on that ship.

thx

10 hours ago, takevtr1 said:

Can I please jump in with a few questions.

Quick background - first time on Princess - sailing Enchanted Princess soon (keeping the actual sail date private) - but have sailed most other cruise lines before.

• Regarding the Enchanted Princess out of FLL, any idea what deck we board on? And the location? (mid-ship, aft, forward etc.)
• I have some nice OBC from my travel agent. Can this be used in the casino? If so, how?
• I have the plus pkg, so no free specialty dining. I want to reserve in advance of sailing but it wants to charge me for the dinner, BUT we want to sue some of our OBC to pay. I heard you can get a refund once on the ship and they will remove the charge and then use the OBC, BUT, they won't refund the dining charge but only give it back as OBC which I don't want/need. Any way around this?

Thanks very much - I may have follow-up questions.

Mitch

 

To answer your first bullet, i believe we boarded on deck 5 and there were two different entrances open that we relatively close. One on each side the atrium. 

Cant answer question 2, we didnt have any on board credit, but the money we used in the casino did go on our onboard account so i assume your credit would go toward that.

Not sure what cabin category you are in, but if you have a suite, i would just have the concierge do all of your reservations.  We had no problems getting in wherever whenever we wanted.  We did book one restaurant online prior to the cruise, but if we had it to do over, we would have just had the concierge do it all for us once we boarded and will do that next time.  There was no reason to stress about it pre cruise if you have access to the concierge.

11 hours ago, mistyPA said:

We were on the same sailing and after 22 cruises it was the best cruise for me. We had a row of balconies where we had the dividers removed and made good use of the balconies. Absolutely loved the Retreat Pool. We were Premier which was great. We dined at Rudi's, Crown Grill (staff was amazine, Pub, Gigi's and Santorini our MDR and everything was great. Simply, the best, most relaxing vacation in a long time. We just booked the 10 day 4/9/25 we liked it so much!

The premier package was wonderful for us.  Drinking Johnny Walker Blue for about $8 per glass and Caymas at the crown grill for about $9 a glass was great.  Also, the wine tasting was very good on this cruise as well.  They had about 7 sommelier present each variety of wine and it was pretty informative.  We have been to others on other lines, but they took a more serious approach on Enchanted which was nice.  

1 hour ago, nini said:

 

Sadly, Princess is closing the "Churchill's" smoking lounges and transforming them into arcades.

 

Yep, already done. I went in there and you can still smell the cigars.  

9 minutes ago, Crown Cruiser said:

20165:  Were you invited to tour the bridge through the concierge or did you request a tour?

we got a letter in our cabin, i think tuesday moring, for a tour at 10am thursday.  Definitely didnt ask given i didnt think they did those anymore and i think the letter referenced a suite perk. 

Enchanted Princess
April 20-27, 2024
Suite B102 S5 Premium forward suit

We've been on over 30 cruises, and the Enchanted ranks among the best so far, albeit as the priciest single cabin we've ever booked.
A bit about us: we're in our early 50s and were avid cruisers before our kids came along, primarily with Princess (before its Carnival days) and Holland America. With our kids, we leaned towards Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. Now that our children are in college and less inclined to join us, we've been exploring Celebrity and returning to Princess to find our favorite for future trips as a couple, while building loyalty status.

This recent cruise was booked somewhat spontaneously at the end of February, and we set sail on April 20th. The best accommodation available to us at that time was a premium suite (S5) on deck 11, forward cabin B102, featuring a bedroom with a large picture window overlooking the ship’s front and a separate living room with a balcony. It was spacious, and though forward cabins tend to have some movement, it wasn’t bothersome for us. Despite its distance from the Concierge lounge, the extra walking was probably good for us. We've had similar suites before, like on the NCL Getaway, but Princess's seemed more expansive with higher ceilings, even accommodating my 6'3" frame despite the sloped ceiling.

Before cruising, we stayed at the La Meridien hotel near the airport, a great choice given its proximity to the port and its appeal to business travelers, ensuring it wasn't too crowded on the weekend when we stayed. The on-site restaurant was excellent, especially for fans of tequila and Latin cuisine.

Boarding was astonishingly swift—the quickest we've ever experienced. We were on the ship in less than 10 minutes after arriving at 11 AM, thanks to the efficient Medallion system, which streamlined everything from room access to ordering services, despite initial difficulties navigating the app. Our suite was ready for us to drop off our luggage almost immediately, although the usual setup was completed around 12:30 PM.

Although we faced issues booking dinner reservations through the app pre cruise, the concierge was very helpful in securing our desired times. We tried booking a cabana at the Sanctuary, but initially found them sold out. Surprisingly, by 4 PM the same day, we were offered a cabana for any of our preferred days during the cruise, likely thanks to our suite status so we choose 2 of the 3 sea days.

We dined at all the specialty restaurants, including the remarkable 360 experience, and would happily search for that lemon pasta recipe! While the other specialty restaurants were included in our premium package, the offerings would have been worth additional payment. The Main Dining Room (MDR) provided decent meals with no wait, thanks to a separate section for suite guests.

Our ports of call included Princess Cays, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas. Since we've visited these before and it was a last-minute booking, we opted out of excursions, choosing instead to briefly explore and then enjoy the nearly empty ship pools.

The onboard entertainment was mostly comedians, which we preferred over typical Broadway-style shows. All performances were enjoyable, particularly a memorable duo.

The ship itself, launched in 2019, was well-maintained and easy to navigate after a short period. The bridge tour, likely another suite perk, was a highlight, with personal introductions by the captain.

The only downside was the small and smoky casino, which was crowded and left our clothes smelling of smoke—thankfully, suite perks included free laundry.

Disembarkation was as smooth as embarkation, facilitated by suite privileges and ending in the concierge lounge.

In summary, this was possibly our best cruise yet, setting a high standard against which we'll measure future experiences, especially in comparison to Celebrity suites.
 

just got off Enchanted yesterday and on formal night i would say maybe 5% were formal, tux, formal dress, etc, 40% jacket and tie, nice dress, 40% jacket no tie, nice dress, the rest maybe slacks and polo, casual dress.  my guesstimate.  only thing i didnt see is shorts...

15 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Good to hear.  We are on again in 2 weeks and hope it's the same.

Our 'theory' is that the weather isnt terribly hot yet, maybe mid 70s when we left Ft laudale so maybe they run the heat in some areas or dont have the air cranked up yet.  Maybe in the summer months when its constantly hot, the temp is more consistent??  Anyway, not the end of the world, you have a great cruise.  This has been one of the best for us and we have a lot under our belt.  Im going to write a review when we get back tomorrow.

11 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Yeah, we were in 4 weeks ago and the inside public spaces felt good and our room was cool as we like it.

If my room wasn't cool, I'd be all over them to fix it.  

Our cabin in nice and cool.  Just seems to be the public areas / Elevators.  We ate at the MDR last night and it was warm.  Not terrible, but was warm and with the movement of the ship, my wife was getting a bit seasick. 

40 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

they are the same size as the sky, people are just crowding on them and not showing elevator etiquette at all. 
 

there are some warmer areas but I have found that on every ship on the higher floors. I just try and get through those areas quickly. 

In regards to etiquette I agree that there has been some rudeness around the elevators but given we just came of a MSC cruise, people on this cruise have been wonderful.  So refreshing. 

2 minutes ago, F355c5 said:

Heat rises

Yea, i get that, but even on the lower decks in around the elevators its hot.  Ive heard several comments about the elevators not being air conditioned but i dont know if thats true.

Been a wonderful trip for us, but that would be one ding i give them on my review when i get back.  Elevators are hot and crowded.  They also seem smaller than other ships we have been on.  

3 hours ago, martinitime1 said:

Curious how the temp on the ship has been? Cold, Warm, just right? We like warm to just right, hate over conditioned air.

we have found it to be too warm in  lot of areas. Elevators and the waiting areas around the elevators in particular.  Once you get to the lower decks around the main lobby area it seems to be cooler and a more consistent temp. 

7 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

The saving grace of tonight has been Kerrie and Erin!  Nothing like making great friends on board who live in your town. 
they rock!

Did they give you a new room?  Ship seems full so im curious if they had one available.

1 hour ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Today was another amazing day so far.  The crew in the Sanctuary are top notch.  It seems the best of the best are up there and  Gritsana, Dewi and Joaquin as well as the others really are making it the perfect place to be. 

 

Played TV theme song trivia with Kerrie and Erin while hubby was in the gym and we did well, but 17 right out of 20 didn't win.   4 teams had 20 out of 20.

 

 

Now you have me curious who you are. We were in the middle cabana close to the hot tub.  And agreed, great service all day.

1 hour ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Well ordering from the app didn't work well today. Ordered, who then preparing and then delivered. I don't see an egg sandwich and cappuccino in front of me! 

agreed.  Ordered a irish coffee over an hour ago and no show.  I would like my drink credit back though so we are using that chat feature in the app.  That is pretty cool, been using that a lot and they are pretty responsive.

We are on enchanted now and i will say, there is a lot of shade in the Sanctuary, but im sure you will find some sun, however, if you are looking for a chair directly in the sun, i dont think you will have a hard time in the regular areas. There are a lot of chairs especially on the deck above the main pool.  

Also we are in a suite and although i dont know if that gives us priority, but we put our name on the waiting list that was almost 2 pages long when we boarded and a little before 5, we got a call that we could have any days we wanted. 

we also boarded this morning and i have to say, that was an unbelievable experience.  Arrived at 11, on the ship by 11:15.  Incredible.  How can princess do that so well??  Well off to a good start.  We put out name on the waiting list for a cabana and just got a call to say we could have it whenever we wanted. My wife had to ask the lady on the phone if she heard that correctly...  We choose 2 of the 3 sea days. hate to jinx it but everything seems to be going right.  Very impressed so far. 

Denied on our Enchanted sailing tomorrow, 4/20.  We have a S5 and were bidding on a S3 and S2 aft owners and penhouse suites, max bid amount but didnt get either.  Ship my be very full. Oh well, s5 Forward suite will do just fine although one day i do want try one of the large aft balconies... 

16 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Starting my live from today as tomorrow we are heading over to Fort Lauderdale to stay at The Hotel Maren on Fort Lauderdale Beach again to start off our vacation.  Hey, why not start a day early?!

 

So looking forward to being back at sea and on a ship that I haven't sailed on before.  I'm sure I will love the Enchanted as much as I did the Sky, especially since Crooners is on this ship.  Hopefully I will be doing my live report Sunday from the Sanctuary, which many know is one of my favorite places on a ship. Also really looking forward to a few dinners at The Catch by Rudi.  

 

 

See you on board tomorrow.  We leave this afternoon from NC. Looking forward to it. Our first princess cruise in over 20 years.  Yes, before carnival acquired them so it will be interesting to see the changes.  Fingers crossed its somewhat the way we remember because we sailed princess pretty much exclusively pre kids and it was wonderful.    

1 hour ago, NavyVeteran said:

Just because a cruise is sold out doesn't mean that bids won't be accepted. I don't have the links but some people have reported accepted bids on sold out cruises.

A sold out cruise does not mean that all of the cabins are sold. They are limited to a certain number of passengers in each muster station. If a lot of cabins have three or four passengers (which could happen with current promos), they could sell out while still having empty cabins. In this case, they certainly would want to accept bids to move people to higher categories and leave lower category cabins empty instead.

We are on enchanted princess in 2 days and made the max bid on a couple cabins, but nothing so far and given we sail saturday, im guessing its not going to happen. It has also been sold out for some time.  I agree thats its possible to get upgraded on a sold out cruise, but they are probably few and far between. 

21 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

I don’t know how Princess does it, but when we sail from Galvestonbwe are always on the ship between 10:20 and 10:30.  So nice to walk straight on.

Well, thats great, and then not so great when we disembark.  Our flight is at 2:30pm so im guessing that if passengers are getting on that early, we are going to have to get off really early so fingers crossed they offer the check luggage option on our cruise next week or we will be lugging that stuff around for a couple of hours.

Great info everyone, thank you.  And that is quite a bit earlier than what we have experienced with other cruise lines of late.  I dont think we have ever arrived much before 11:30 given we wait until the last minute to check out of the hotel which is usually 11 and then go to the port so usually on the ship around 12:30ish.  

The hotel we are staying at on friday has a checkout of 12 and we were debating on waiting until that time to leave for the port, but based on this info, i think we are going to leave earlier. Maybe around 10:30.  thx again

We sail this saturday and have been debating on what time to get to the port.  We are thinking about getting there early to get our luggage in queue so it will hopefully get to our cabin early afternoon, but are also not excited about waiting around the port until they allow us to check in.  Our last cruise, not princess, our luggage didnt arrive until after we sailed which made for very casual dinner attire for that night...  

Some other things that may factor in.  We are in a suite so does that play into the luggage delivery priority?  Also, i think there is a separate waiting area in the terminal for suite guests, Port Everglades, so that might not be too bad if they allow us in. If we did go early, it would be around 10:30 so hopefully they will allow us in the lounge at that time?

Thx in advance for the info.