Enchantment of the Seas - Feb 19th - Not starting out well. Key West canned & delays

[cpq]

Start News:

 

Well, after arriving to the port at 11 AM (I didn't get the phone call from RCI about delayed boarding due to Noro) everyone finally got on the ship around 1:30 - 2:30 PM. We were told rooms would originally only be ready at 3 PM.

 

At 2:45 they let us know the rooms would be ready at 4:00 PM. Come 4:00 PM, they announce they rooms aren't ready, but we can drop off our items in the propped wide open rooms (security?) and proceed to the muster station drills.

 

After the re-scheduled muster station drill at 4:30 PM, the captain just let us know due to high winds, we would be leaving Baltimore Harbor late.

 

As of 6:00 PM, we were just told the earliest we can leave Baltimore Harbor is 12AM (midnight) tonight, otherwise, 7 AM tomorrow. Oh, and Key West is officially canceled as a port.

 

Insult to injury after the 'perfect storm' of problems is to "Make up" for an entire lost port, we get to stay a few hours later in Nassau and Port Canaveral... Really? Also, still waiting for normal room items like the C&A booklet and other things to be delivered to the room, seems like the Casino, and all stores will be closed tonight as well, since we're unable to leave the port.

 

So much for my own pre-paid plans in Key West...

 

 

Start Rant:

 

I can understand the Norovirus decontamination was crucial, but according to RCI, they started alerting people on Feb 16th to arrive to the port late. I never got that phone call.

 

Regardless, the bigger point is, if they knew 3 days back they would be taking on a very large disinfection job, why weren't there back-up crew, or a local clean-up crew hired to help clean the ship? Unprepared for today would be an understatement for the ship, the port we were crammed in for hours, and RCI as a company.

 

 

The rooms were only able to be entered past 4:00 PM, at which time more than 1/2 the rooms on the ship weren't finished. Most with unmade beds, and endless amounts of dirty linens littering the halls. Random employees who you could tell were stressed and rushed explained they "weren't house keeping" and worked on a different part of the ship, but were making beds, etc.

 

 

I feel bad for the first time cruisers I've talked to who now expect this as the norm...

 

Maybe I just didn't expect the above after booking this cruise because of the 2005 'huge renovation' done to the ship, which actually got me to book this vessel instead of the proper EoS.

Hoping things will get better, we'll get out of here tonight at midnight, and really hoping RCI gives us some type of compensation for the mess of today, past a 'sorry' and 'better luck next time' per se.

 

 

[Aquahound]

It sounds like you are off to a rough start. I hope it gets better from here. Try to make the best of it and enjoy every minute. You paid for it, so you might as well try.

 

Too bad you aren't pulling in here (KW). Your delays certainly don't have anything to do with the weather here. I won't say anymore because I don't want to rub it in. What was the pre-paid excursion?

 

Good luck with the rest of your cruise.

[alexkrn46]

Hope your cruise improves,we have been on ship after an outbreak no fun.

[reallyitsmema]

Sorry things aren't starting out very well but if the winds down there are as bad as they are here in MA, I wouldn't want to be sailing anyways.

 

Hope things improve soon.

[cpq]

Too bad you aren't pulling in here (KW). Your delays certainly don't have anything to do with the weather here. I won't say anymore because I don't want to rub it in. What was the pre-paid excursion?

 

Good luck with the rest of your cruise.

 

Sailing / Kayak / Snorkel combo from a non-RCI company. Called and left a message explaining, but their policy on the printout pretty much says I'm out of luck. :rolleyes:

 

Not too depressed over it, it's the risk you run when booking with a non-RCI tour company, but has always has been cheaper / worked out for me, at least when the boat made it to said port... :o

 

Definitely isn't your port, it's due to the fact there's a 50% chance we'll be leaving almost 16 hours late, and 50% chance just 8 hour delay, leaving at midnight, just isn't enough time in the itinerary at this point, due to the Noro disinfection delay snowballed with high winds in Baltimore.

 

I'm not too worried, I just see hallway after hallway of cruisers lamenting. I'm here solo and vacation a lot, so I'm out 1 ticket for one exploration. Some families I talked to are much worse off.

 

Also it's never a welcoming sign, a bit foreboding, to get on a ship that has vomiting bags at every stairway... That part was just a bit unsettling, mostly because it gave some vivid imagery of what must have caused them the need to install sick bags at every staircase! :eek:

 

I'll keep everyone updated, here's hoping we leave Baltimore tomorrow! ;)

[kruzerci]

Why is Key West cancelled if you are supposed to call in Port Canaveral monday and then Key West on Weds :confused:?

[cpq]

Why is Key West cancelled if you are supposed to call in Port Canaveral monday and then Key West on Weds :confused:?

 

Honestly makes no sense to me, but I'm guessing with the amount of families here, many probably booked / pre-paid themselves for the entire family at Disney / Universal. It probably came down to a sophie's choice for the captain of which FL port to ditch, and the less popular one got the can.

 

PS: Have been checking the Key West weather for the last week... :( No need to rub it in, I've been doing it myself unknowingly for quite a while... Checked it last 1PM on my iPhone crammed in the cruise terminal with the rest of hoi polloi waiting to board.

[waterbug123]

Start News:

 

Well, after arriving to the port at 11 AM (I didn't get the phone call from RCI about delayed boarding due to Noro) everyone finally got on the ship around 1:30 - 2:30 PM. We were told rooms would originally only be ready at 3 PM.

 

At 2:45 they let us know the rooms would be ready at 4:00 PM. Come 4:00 PM, they announce they rooms aren't ready, but we can drop off our items in the propped wide open rooms (security?) and proceed to the muster station drills.

 

 

[/b]

 

Tough break. Last week on Celebrity Solstice we could not board until 3pm, and could not access our rooms, even to drop stuff off, until 6pm. They did delay the muster drill til the following morning though, so we wouldn't have to do it while lugging all our carry-ons with us.

[cruisenfever]

Also it's never a welcoming sign, a bit foreboding, to get on a ship that has vomiting bags at every stairway... That part was just a bit unsettling, mostly because it gave some vivid imagery of what must have caused them the need to install sick bags at every staircase! :eek:

 

I'll keep everyone updated, here's hoping we leave Baltimore tomorrow! ;)

If the Captain expects rough seas when you finally do depart, those barf bags will be at every staircase. This is not only on Enchantment, but is standard procedure on all ships.

 

We did the 12/27 cruise out of Baltimore and the barf bags were never removed for 12 days and we did not have NoroVirus on our cruise.

[dixieva]

Sorry that your cruise has been so messed up due to weather and sickness. I live about 3 hours south of the port near Richmond, Va. and our winds today gusted up to 45 MPH-and that's inland. I hate to think how hard it's blowing out on the water.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the staff has been sick also which would explain why it's taking so long to get the ship "turned around" and ready for new passengers.

 

Hope things get better for you soon.

[bearing316]

Sorry the start of your cruise on Enchantment is off to a rough start. Personally, I would be willing to wait the extra hours to ensure my cabin and the ship was clean. It is a small inconvience compared to catching the Norovirus and being confined to my cabin during the cruise with fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. :( I hope we do not have any issues for our May cruise on Enchantment.

 

I saw the cruise critic boards talking about the Norovirus causing a late departure on Enchantment on Friday morning. Since you did not receive a notification, perhaps you may want to update your profile on Royal Caribbean's website. I know a couple people claimed their travel agent's info was listed for a point of contact or it had a home number when a cell phone would probably be best in the case of a itinerary change when you are already at or heading towards the departure port.

 

I hope you are on your way soon. The winds have been very strong today and causing all sorts of issues here in VA but seem to have died down lately.

[Lmack]

I'm sorry to hear about your delays. We're sailing B2B on the Enchantment boarding on Feb 28th. We're hoping they've cleaned the ship really well so we won't experience the delays you have.

 

Do the safe's in the stateroom require a card with a magnetic strip or can you put in your own code?

 

Hopefully you've experienced the worse part of your cruise & from now on, it will all be up!

[wvjohn123]

I was on the cruise that arrived today and IMHO they did a sloppy job with the Noro. About day 8 they switched over to serving food in the Windjammer, but were still having "sidewalk sales" all over the boat of the usual stuff, with people pawing through it. Pointed it out to senior staff and they went "Gee Whiz".

 

We had a good cruise, staff was very friendly but management on the hotel side seemed clueless.

[wvjohn]

 

Do the safe's in the stateroom require a card with a magnetic strip or can you put in your own code?

 

You use your own code on the safes, which are at eye level, unlike some that are in a corner near the floor!

[RozWazowski]

Tough break ... hope it turns around sooner than expected. The last cruise I was on we only had a couple hours at port and our route had to be detoured because of a hurricane ... those waters were harsh, IMO.

 

Good luck on the cruise and hopefully you'll get a refund on your excursion.

[crusingfools]

I was on the cruise that arrived today and IMHO they did a sloppy job with the Noro. About day 8 they switched over to serving food in the Windjammer, but were still having "sidewalk sales" all over the boat of the usual stuff, with people pawing through it. Pointed it out to senior staff and they went "Gee Whiz".

 

We had a good cruise, staff was very friendly but management on the hotel side seemed clueless.

 

We just got off the ship this morning too, and I must say that after 6 cruises with RCI, this was the worst. I'll write a more detailed review later, but we were told by a senior staff member that the outbreak was bad, but when we met with the hotel director, he completely refused to agree that they had any problem at all. We were also told that three people died on the previous sailing, and one had died so far on our sailing, not due to the noro, so we were told.

When we left port on Feb 7, we had a news helicopter follow the ship as they apparently had an outbreak on that sailing as well....

We saw some very strange sights on this cruise that makes me wonder what is going on with RCI....

 

Also, on Enchantment, the last sailing they had two drug smuggling busts... the accused: CREW MEMBERS....

 

Wow...

So sorry for the people on the ship now - I hope it gets better for you!

[cecelia0613]

OP as one other poster indicated, the barf bags are probably not left over from a norovirus outbreak, rather they are putting them out to handle the rough waters you are about to face this evening when you finally depart.

 

I can tell you this, I live near the Chesapeake Bay and on the water off the Patuxent River and the water here has been very choppy all day and the swells have been bad. I cannot imagine how choppy it is and what the swells are like on the bay. You are probably better off sitting in Baltimore on the ship than you would be trying to get out of the Bay to the Atlantic Ocean. Heck, they probably can't risk taking the ship out and having the swells and wind run it into the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

 

It is still very windy down here in southern Maryland on the water and been that way all day. Hopefully it will subside soon and they can get you safely on your cruising way.

 

As many of us know, this is the risk with cruising in the winter months...you can't control the snows, winds, etc. You just learn to make the best of it.

 

Enjoy the cruise and don't let this delay ruin it.

[time4u2go]

We saw some very strange sights on this cruise that makes me wonder what is going on with RCI....

Like what?

[smalltimecruiser100]

One thing that is different...You may be passing Carnival's Pride in the bay itself. I believe it arrives Baltimore in the morning. If so two cruise ships in the Chesapeake Bay:cool:

[crusingfools]

Like what?

 

By "sights" I mean observations of various things like.... a lot of the very healthly plants in the solarium were ripped up and replaced with rubber mats abruptly one evening, they never washed any of the exterior windows - our cabin window was so dirty you couldn't take a photograph through it... many of the menu items in MDR were repeated in a different "style" the next night... they decided to do major mantenence on deck 1 one night at 1AM that resulted in hours of deafening noise that took, seriously, ten engineers and the chief engineer to determine where the noise was coming from - they even were removing ceiling panels in rooms trying to figure it out (turns out it was somebody removing rust in the engine room with a small jackhammer like device that caused the sound the resonate up the floor.... although they had two self serve ice cream machines, they never plugged them in (even before the noro outbreak).. A senior managment official contradicted the impact of noro of that of other officers that we spoke with.... even though we had no toliet or water service the first night of cruise, we were told that this is an old ship and sometimes that happens..... we then got a letter in the room stating they were doing work on the water supply system and that the water would be off, and when it did come back on, to make sure to run the water for several minutes before using it.... we had visibly dirty linens on one of our beds, and i had to take the sheets off the bed before the attendant would replace them....speaking of the cabin attendent, she left a dirty cleaning rag UNDER the bottom sheet on one of the beds.... debarking in baltimore in winter - they will not allow you to stand inside while waiting for a shuttle or cab, you have to wait outside in the cold ( thank God it wasn't raining).... i know this might sound like a lot of nit-picking, but this is just some of the things we experienced on our cruise, and we are loyal RCI cruisers.....

I know things can't always be perfect, but this was the WORST! IMO....

[fireman3632]

Sorry for the run of bad luck, let's hope it gets better .... fast! We just sailed EOS on Jan 29 and really enjoyed the ship and what it had to offer. Hope you have an enjoyable sailing and keep from getting sick;)

[dmwnc1959]

Well it's just past midnight and by AIS the Enchantment of the Seas is still pierside in Baltimore.

[dmwnc1959]

I was on the Celebrity MERCURY this past December out of Baltimore and their were barf bags at every elevator lobby and stairwell landing. We hit some pretty rough weather our first full day off the coast of Cape Hatteras that put half the passengers 'down for the count'. As much 'fun' as it was then, I would rather not experience it again. I can only imagine how rough it would have been in the protected waters from*Baltimore to Cape Henry, and the damage it could have done both to the ship and passengers once at sea. I know that doesn't ease the pain of losing Key West as a port of call.

 

I have read several posts in the past on the ENotS and Carnival Pride having extremely delayed departures and arrivals due to bad weather and fog. The rare opportunity to transit almost the entire Chesapeake Bay in daylight is unique. The lowlands and bridges you will pass, most never get to see. *Sunrise is at 6:52am, sunset at 5:49pm for the Cape Henry area of Virginia. You will probably pass the Carnival Pride around 8am just after going under the twin span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge just outside of Baltimore.

 

I truly hope things get better. It is difficult at best to come out from beneath that 'dark cloud' once all the anticipation of your vacation is first met with hurdle after hurdle. The only thing someone can do at this point is close your eyes and count to 100, take a deep breath, and maybe look at some alternate diving tours in Nassau.

 

I look forward to your updated reports on how things go the first few days and hope you do get to enjoy the extended time offered in the ports you do get the opportunity to visit.

[kevinandrenay]

We also returned to Baltimore today. We had a great time. This was our 12th RCCL cruise and thought it was one of the better ones. We went for some R & R and accomplished what we set out to do. We thought the crew did an outstanding job under difficult circumstances. Everyone we met on the crew was very friendly.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems. Hopefully the ship gets cleaned up today and you are delayed for the shorter period of time. Be thankful you are staying back for a little while. The wind can play havoc with the ship and seas. It is better to be safe then sorry. When we left we had some " rough seas " around Cape Hatteras, which we did not think was so bad. At the start of the cruise we heard a lot of people complaining about it and many people were not feeling well because of the seas not the Noro. With the winds today the seas would have been much worse and people would have complained because they did not wait to leave.

 

We thought the crew was doing all they could to control the outbreak. Everywhere we went they were cleaning and sanitizing. They took the salt and pepper shakers off the tables. At the buffet, the crew was putting the food on your plate so everyone did not touch the utensils. They had hand sanitizer all over. I can under stand why some windows did not get washed. The crew was working very hard and being pushed to their limit.

 

I also don't think the side walk sale caused the virus. If they stopped all the activities more people would have complained. There were times I was in the bathroom and people would walk out and not wash their hands. I am sure some people were sick and still left their cabin. I don't think it is RCCL's fault people do not have good hygiene and go out when they are sick.

 

We also lost water one night for a short period of time. The ship is aging and they do have to do unscheduled maintenance every now and then ( It even happens on new ships ). They sent out a letter, did it at night, for only a few hours to minimize disruption. Here in Baltimore main pipes have busted and water has been shut off for days.

 

I did not hear about anyone dieing on the previous cruise but unfortunately it does happen. It probably happens more then we know. Also, the news shows the ship a lot. It is possible the helicopter was in the area because the ship leaves during rush hour and they fly up and down 95.

 

Just remember 2000 + people in a confined space. It only takes 1 sick person to start an outbreak. It can happen anywhere large amounts of people are in a confined space.

I think RCCL did and is doing the best they can to make it a safe vacation for everyone.

All of us passengers can also help by doing a few simple things.

[dmwnc1959]

After the re-scheduled muster station drill at 4:30 PM, the captain just let us know due to high winds, we would be leaving Baltimore Harbor late.

 

Not meaning to hijack the thread but I wanted to share some of the pictures of the bad weather we hit while on Dec. 12, 2010 off the coast of Cape Hatteras enroute from Baltimore MD to Charleston SC. These pictures were take from my balcony. It sounds like you may have encountered something like this with the high winds gusting to 45mpg.

 

*

*

*