"LIVE" from Enchantment of the Seas- Bermuda/New England - May 17, 2012

[ready2sail40]

smalltimecruiser, I am boarding with you on Friday.....are you ready? Of course we are lol:D

[Water709]

We as a family are also sailing on Enchantment this friday 5/25! We are hoping the weather is a lot better by then because here in PA we are having dismal rainy days so far this week. For the first time ever my husband and I and adult daughter will be staying in a JS!! We've never even had a balcony room before! Our grown son and his girlfriend are also sailing with us in an inside cabin one deck below us. We are all very excited about going -- I booked this trip last September! Is there a meet and greet scheduled for this sailing? I am so enjoying reading how the Enchantment cruise is going for the current passengers!

[mesci14]

I will, will just have to figure out how to do it. Just tried it as an attachment, but it was too big.

 

 

 

I'm in a basic outside cabin on deck 4. No walkin closet, but ample storage space at least for a solo.

 

Roy

 

 

Thank you! We are really enjoying your posts! Enjoy!

[Dett]

We as a family are also sailing on Enchantment this friday 5/25! We are hoping the weather is a lot better by then because here in PA we are having dismal rainy days so far this week. For the first time ever my husband and I and adult daughter will be staying in a JS!! We've never even had a balcony room before! Our grown son and his girlfriend are also sailing with us in an inside cabin one deck below us. We are all very excited about going -- I booked this trip last September! Is there a meet and greet scheduled for this sailing? I am so enjoying reading how the Enchantment cruise is going for the current passengers!

 

We are on the May 25 sailing. We have a very active roll call that you need to check. No M&M since cruise is only 6 days. We have several I things planned so check us out.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1469239&page=26

[rafinmd]

At 2pm May 21 the bellyflop contest was just ending on the Enchantment of the Seas between Bermuda and Boston when the Cruise Director announced there had been a medical emergency and we would need to clear the decks later in the afternoon for a patient evacuation by helicopter.

The process of clearing the deck soon began and at 2:20 I headed for the Viking Crown Lounge. Deck 10 had already been closed off from entry and as the ice sculpture demonstration ended that deck 9 was also closed off. At 3PM the Captain came on the PA system and announced that the ETA of the helicopter was about 1 hour. By that time all guests had been cleared from the outer decks, all furniture had been stowed, and fire suppression teams were putting hose lines in service as a precaution.

 

The transfer took place on deck 10 port, above the space between the Oasis Bar and Windjammer Private Dining room. The helicopter arrived about 3:50, and dropped a guide cable to the crew stationed below. Then a basket was lowered, with the crew using the guide cable to controll the landing of the basket. The patient was wheeled out from the Adventure Ocean landing and secured in the basket, which was then lifted into the helicopter. The operation ended about 4PM with the helicopter heading back to Massachusetts with the patient, and finally the disassembly of all the precautionary equipment.

 

Privacy concerns prevail of course, but Keith Williams did seem optimistic in his showtime remarks about the outlook for the patient.

 

While this is not a regular posting, I will nevertheless conclude with a parting shot. Today’s operation involved the coordinated efforts of a number of people, but it started with the people on the ship. Today cruise ship crews train constantly to assure the safety and well being and today I witnessed the effects of that training. The LEAST we can do in return is to give them 10 minutes of our cooperation and undivided attention at the start of each cruise.

 

There are 9 photos posted at http://baltoenchantment.wordpress.com

 

Roy

[sept10dsm]

Thank you for all your posts and keeping us all 'on board'! I witnessed an evacuation on an Alaska cruise a few years ago and on the same cruise another taken by one of the lifeboats to shore. Have a great time in Boston! Any rough seas with the TS south of you?

[jigger]

Nice !!

[rafinmd]

Thank you for all your posts and keeping us all 'on board'! I witnessed an evacuation on an Alaska cruise a few years ago and on the same cruise another taken by one of the lifeboats to shore. Have a great time in Boston! Any rough seas with the TS south of you?

 

No rough seas on this leg, but it is quite foggy as we approach Boston.

 

Thank you! We are really enjoying your posts! Enjoy!

 

The room service menu is now posted at:

 

http://baltoenchantment.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/rsmenu.pdf

 

The day started quietly. I was up at 5, and on deck at 5:15. The scandisplay had sunrise after 6 but the conditions told me that was impossible, and my GPS indicated 5:15. At 5:30 there was still no sun under the thick clouds; I finally saw evidence of it through a small bright spot about 6. What was lacking in sun was offset by a very comfortable temperature and very little wind. I finished my 5-mile (21-lap) walk on deck 10 about 7:30.

 

Most of the morning was pretty quiet, resting up from the fatigue of the last few days. I did spend some time catching up on computer things and discovered that I am not a rock climber. I did get about half way up the wall but am past the stage in life where I’m suited to that kind of work.

 

Timothy Calvert gave a 1PM presentation in the Orpheum Theater on “The Great Cruise Liners of the Past”, talking about many of the great ships in our history including 3 legendary ships I have been on, sailing on QE2 and SS Rotterdam and staying on the Queen Mary.

 

After the lecture the belly flop contest was ending and I saw perhaps the last dive along with the announcement of a medical emergency. The last thing to happen before the deck was cleared for the evacuation was an ice sculpture demonstration next to the pool.

 

When I got back to my room after the evacuation it was time to prepare for formal night. We had my first ever Crown and Anchor “welcome back” party (on Enchantment last year I was not “back” and my January Jewel cruise was too short). This was apparently a big party with about 1200 C&A members, roughly 620 gold like me, 220 platinum, 100 emerald, 200 diamond, 55D+, and 2 pinnacle.

 

After dinner the featured entertainment was the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers with Stage to Screen, a presentation of music that made the transition from Broadway to Hollywood, including West Side Story, Little Shop of Horrors, and (appropriately for a ship based in Baltimore) Hairspray.

 

Being somewhat lazy I do most of my internet posting from the Champaign Bar on deck 4 (can hardly wait for the ‘pervasive wifi’ promised for the December drydock). Today’s parting shot comes from my visit there to go online last night. My usual cruise line of choice is Crystal. Since I will be sailing with them 39 days this fall this trip was what fit my wallet and my schedule at the moment. There is nowhere else I’d rather be right now but some things can make me a bit “homesick”. The band in the bar played “What a Wonderful World” which is played on every Crystal sailaway and that is one of the things that sets off my homesickness. The same thing happened to me last summer on an Arctic cruise and I found the best remedy was to change the song a bit, so here goes:

 

“I’ve seen stormy seas, great howls of wind, all from the comfort of Enchantment of the Seas. Houses of many colors and pink sandy beaches. Heroes working bravely for all our safety, and I think to my self, what a wonderful world. Oh yea.”

 

Roy

[sept10dsm]

Glad to hear seas are fine! Hoping for good weather in Boston for you! Thanks again for all the time you take to keep us informed!

[colby cruise]

Glad to hear seas are fine! Hoping for good weather in Boston for you! Thanks again for all the time you take to keep us informed!

Unfortunatly it's pouring in Boston, hope it clears up for the visit by the Emchantment!

[sept10dsm]

Unfortunatly it's pouring in Boston, hope it clears up for the visit by the Emchantment!

 

Yes I just saw the green on the map on the Weather Channel. Well, hope it clears. I'm not sure when they dock but keeping the fingers crossed on at least the rain to slow!

[superduper123]

Roy,

Enjoying reading your updates!

[mare73]

Enjoying this review - thanks! Also, the menu and compass copies are an added bonus. I'll be sailing this itinerary in August so I feel like this is a sneak-peek.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[ikirumata]

This is so wonderful of you to take time out of your vacation to do this!

 

I did notice that the Fisherman's Platter (lobster) was gone from the formal night menu as well as the chicken wings from the room service menu. Im hearing that this may be fleet wide. *sniff* another end of an era *sniff*:(

[BettyPC]

Great review. This sounds like an interesting trip - not sure I can get my husband away from the "sun" though. Thanks for taking us along!

[vavasmom]

Fisherman's plate with lobster tail is 2nd formal night which i don't think has happened yet

 

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[emelvee]

Fisherman's plate with lobster tail is 2nd formal night which i don't think has happened yet

 

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

2nd formal night was last night...2nd full sea day. No lobster tail on the menu.

[smalltimecruiser100]

We as a family are also sailing on Enchantment this friday 5/25! We are hoping the weather is a lot better by then because here in PA we are having dismal rainy days so far this week. For the first time ever my husband and I and adult daughter will be staying in a JS!! We've never even had a balcony room before! Our grown son and his girlfriend are also sailing with us in an inside cabin one deck below us. We are all very excited about going -- I booked this trip last September! Is there a meet and greet scheduled for this sailing? I am so enjoying reading how the Enchantment cruise is going for the current passengers!

 

We have a roll call for this cruise. Post!!!!

 

Sorry Dett already mentioned it!

[smalltimecruiser100]

Missed asking my question.:eek:

Is there a "sky Bar" poolside. I only saw on the deck plans Island Bar.

[rafinmd]

I was up at 5AM but the repeated blasts of the fog horn had prepared not to see much after sunrise. We seem to have been 30-60 minutes past our arrival presumably due th the overnight fog. We tied up about 8:15 and were cleared to go ashore about 8:45. US citizens had no re-entry formalities but others had to meet with Immigration officials in the Spotlight lounge.

 

Boston has a rich history but I tend to think of it in educational terms. My brother and his son (my nephew) both were graduates of Harvard University, and I spent several weeks at an Actuarial course at Northeastern University. I had booked a tour to Lexington and Concord but learned about a month before the cruise that my brother (from Iowa) would be in town for his 50-year Harvard reunion. I boarded MTA’s Silver and Red lines to Harvard Square and did some shopping at the campus store, arriving about 10:50 for our planned meeting at Widener Library. While waiting I happened to notice an ironic connection. The library was dedicated to a graduate who perished on the Titanic, a gift to the University from his widow. The library overlooks what is known (or at least was 50 years ago) as Tercentenary Theater, a massive lawn that is filled with chairs for the graduation ceremony. Hopefully there is also some good news for us in this. The legend is that it never rains on the graduation, which will be Thursday, our last sea day.

 

We spent some time at the Museum of Natural History, a goal of Roger’s significant other, mostly looking at a collection of very delicate and ornate glass flowers. These flowers (I believe 8000 pieces) were ordered from a German father and son team as tools for teaching botany and are incredibly detailed.

 

A buffet lunch was served in a tent on the Harvard campus. There was no lunch program per se, but the marching band did come by and perform for about 20 minutes. Sometime during the lunch the morning’s drizzle became more of a steady rain. I left Adrienne and Roger about 2. I had planned to stop by the Northeastern Campus on the way home but between the limited time until our 3:30 all aboard and the rain went straight back to the ship, arriving about 3.

 

I was a bit surprised that the Walk for Wishes was scheduled for a port day, starting at 3:45. About that time Captain Andres reported that all were on board and we would be leaving soon. As we walked the ship backed slowly away from the terminal. With the rain, the walk was held on the Promenade deck, 4 laps cutting through the Orpheum Theater lobby. There were only 14 walkers; I hope a number of other people who didn’t walk made donations.

 

The evening entertainment was a comedy and magic show by Timm Metivier. There was also the Quest at 10:30 and a late night comedy presentation by Joseph Yannety at 11:30, both after my bed time.

 

Today’s parting shot actually starts with last night’s show. The first of the programs featured in “Stage to Screen” was West Side Story and on this trip it brought back special memories. The movie is just past it’s 50th anniversary. How do I know that? I saw the movie in Boston the week I was here 50 year’s ago for Roger’s graduation. It’s amazing how sometimes history, trivia, nostalgia, and coincidence all come together.

 

Roy

[emelvee]

Fisherman's plate with lobster tail is 2nd formal night which i don't think has happened yet

 

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Fisherman's Plate, with lobster tail, was offered last night (Day 6)

[emelvee]

OP has spoiled me by posting the Compasses...but hasn't posted today's Compass yet.

 

:mad:

 

(just teasing...I appreciate you taking the time to upload the Compasses, Menus, and post throughout the cruise!).

[rafinmd]

Someone asked a few days ago about Ice. Good news! She is on board until August

 

2nd formal night was last night...2nd full sea day. No lobster tail on the menu.

 

The fisherman's platter was on the menu last night leaving Boston. Not a formal night but still on the menu.

 

Missed asking my question.:eek:

Is there a "sky Bar" poolside. I only saw on the deck plans Island Bar.

 

The Island Bar (Now named the Oasis Bar is pretty close to poolside. There is also a Pool bar by near the center (port to starboard) of the ship next to the Windjammer. Thumbnails attached.

 

OP has spoiled me by posting the Compasses...but hasn't posted today's Compass yet.

 

:mad:

 

(just teasing...I appreciate you taking the time to upload the Compasses, Menus, and post throughout the cruise!).

 

I don't know why today's compass doesn't show up. I posted it and will have to check when I have faster, cheaper internet to see what's wrong with the link. In the meantime it is available as an attachment on a post on the main blog just after the post about Boston.

 

OK, Just fixed the link. You can see it now the regular way.

 

Roy

[JMG]

Definitely appreciate your review and the Compass and menu postings. We will be doing this cruise in August. Hving this info is great! Thanks!!!

[emelvee]

Got today's Compass now. Thanks!