Enchantment 12 night review

[sara mom]

Review of my 12 night Enchantment cruise. A little background...the travelers were my 66 year old father, myself, and 4 year old daughter. Most people on the ship would remember us by the 'girl with the red shoes'.

 

 

We drove down the day before and stayed at the Sleep Inn that ran a service that shuttled customers to and from ship- this was great. We booked this through 123stay or stay123 dot com. This reduced the stress of getting to the ship on time/parking. Remember…if you are leaving your car parked for 13 days….hide any valuables that you leave in your car!! I saw at least 1 car at the port parking with a broken window and one at the hotel.

Day 1- embarkation, easy! This was my first RCI cruise and I would say the processes on both lines are similar. Toured the ship with my father and 4 year old. My daughter was amazed at ship (in my opinion….too bad it wasn’t the Pride….that’s a beautiful ship). Toured Adventure Ocean and my daughter did not want to leave. She loeved the foosball tables and wii’s, but those were for the 6-8 year olds. But outside AO there is a foosball table, but regular size so smaller kids could not see the ball. Went to see the comedian in the Orphium…not bad. My daughter sat through it J

 

Day 2-Deck 9 closed- there was ice. Rough seas, but that would be expected. Went swimming in the Solarium from 12-2 when they allow kids in on bad weather days. Warning about the pools- All of them tend to be hot or cold, never really in between. The reason being that some people like hot water, some like cold…or that was what was explained to me. Captain’s Party…met some great people. Meet and mingle this day too. Formal night that night and family disco in the kids section…great fun!!!!

 

Day 3- Bathing suits out by 11am in the outdoor pools!!!!!

Day 4- Labadee. It rained. We had considered renting a cabana if any were still available, but so glad we didn’t. Adventure Ocean is on land this day…lots of water balloon tossing in morning session. There is a small water spray park that kids can play in with parents around- great fun. Note- there were 70 kids under the age of 18 on this trip. On the occasions I would use AO onboard, there were between 1 and 5 kids max in the 3-5 group. That was wonderful!! I understand the current cruise (xmas week) has 500-700 kids on board (UGH!!!) Kids were treated so well my staff on the ship. Our Head Waiter (can’t remember his name but he was from Romania) always made sure my daughter had a shrimp cocktail at dinner.

 

 

Day 5- Semana- My daughter and I did the Cayo Levanto tour. I would recommend this to anyone. Beautiful beach! Beach chairs were included. Small shower in the am, but nothing that would ruin our day!

 

 

Day 6- San Juan- We spent the day doing our own thing. Took the free trolley to Fort San Cristobel. Very interesting. Afterwards, we walked back down to the ship. Tried bungee jumping and the rock wall. For dinner, my dad and I went to Chops. I was a bit skeptical, but ended up loving it and would pay to go again. Warning- the dinner the next night in the dining room is disappointing. Show this night was a gentleman who had a few hits in the 60’s. Often times he would say “if you are over 45, you will remember this.” Well, I am not 45 and I did not care this show.

 

 

Day 7- St Thomas- Took a taxi to Magen’s Bay. Loved it!!! Lots of fish that were foot biters, but I got use to it. It tickled more than anything. Best beach for a young child…calm waves!

 

 

Day 8- St Marteen- dad, daughter and myself did the Butterfly Farm and Marigot Tour. It was good. We live in a city that has a butterfly experience at the local play museum and near Niagara Falls, Canada that has an amazing butterfly experience. For someone who has not ‘walked with butterflies’, it would be a great time. Shopping in Marigot….just the same shopping as where the ship docks, but on the other side of the ocean. Tour guide was good and showed us where they filmed “Speed 2”

 

 

Day 9-Tortola, B.V.I. Best of Tortola tour. OK tour. The beach that they took us to at the end (on Atlantic Ocean side) was great. Lunch was included, and it was worth it. I had the grilled mahi mahi.

 

 

Day 10- Spent time in the sun until 1pm when it started to get a bit chilly.

Rest of the days…casino and reading time! Rough seas day 11. Drawers kept opening/closing during the night.

 

 

We did self check out…loved it! Off the ship by 7:30, on the shuttle by 8, and on the road by 8:30!

[bionicman97]

Thanks for the review :)

[dixieva]

Thanks for your review.

 

Can you tell me how you got from the ship to Cayo Laventado beach? I'm assuming you did the ship excursion. We're considering doing this in March and I'd like to know if you got on a ship tender to go to the beach or was it a locally owned speed boat kind of thing? I've heard it's a rough ride to the beach and wonder what you experienced.

 

Thanks!

[sara mom]

Cayo is a tour through the ship. The only way you can get there is by the ship's tour. Semana was our only tender port. It took about 15 min by boat to get to the small island. This beach shares an island with a resort (which you can not use). My dad took the Discover Semana tour and decided not to try a beach on the main island because of their lack of public resources (sewer, etc). I did hear of people who took a taxi to a beach that started with an R (sorry, don't remember the name). They enjoyed it, but never had to use the 'facilities'. For the taxi, it was $20 per person both directions.

 

Cayo had restrooms!

[dixieva]

So you were on a ship's tender boat to get to Cayo? I know the ship tenders take you to the tender pier but wasn't sure about the beach trip. I'm not sure we could go if you have to get there by a smaller speed boat kind of thing. My 80 year old sister will be with us and might have trouble getting on and off a smaller boat.

 

Thanks so much!

[wvufan]

Hi Sara Mom,

 

I never did get the chance to thank you for the medallion from the gift exchange. Please tell me more about it here or email me at bobrisher[at]suddenlink[dot]net

 

Twas a great cruise and we are looking at repeating it in early 2012.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[Caleo]

Thanks for the review, we're contemplating the 11 night that mirrors this one next November on the Explorer....the only thing that is holding us back is the weather...decisions, decisions!