Enchantment of the Seas Review Bermuda 8-23

[shamrock47]

I am sure I will get flamed for this, and that is okay. To each his own. This is strictly my observations and my experiences, even my wife would have differences of opinion on this.

First, this is our 20th something cruise. We have sailed with Royal Caribbean 4 times. As far as I am concerned, it is probably our last with them. Through the years, we have determined that we prefer Princess. That does not stop us from sailing others when the itinerary is appealing. Lately that has been on NCL in Europe. So we have been on several lines through the years, and have enjoyed them all. This cruise was one for the record books, as they say.

 

Baltimore terminal was fine. The process was a little slow. We noted 45 minutes to get on the ship. No problem.

We had a balcony cabin on deck 7. It was fantastic. On Princess we would have had to book a mini-suite to get a sofa/sitting area. I was impressed. Balcony and bath were very small, but it is a cruise and that sitting area more than made up for it.

We noticed a sign in the room “ice available upon request”. Usually this is in our cabin at our arrival. No biggie. Except that we did not see our cabin steward for quite some time. He also said our robes would not be available until the next day. I was starting to get the feeling that we were not off to a great start.

Life boat drill was at 3 p.m. Fortunately, when we returned from this, our robes were waiting for us. Ice was also in the cabin.

 

The first real problem was the internet. The coupon booklet offered a discount for the internet and off I went to passenger services to sign up. The surprise was that there was no wifi in the cabins. There were some hot spots on the ship that were usable, and the internet café, but not in one’s cabin. This was bad and unexpected. I used the internet café exclusively. I would have preferred to use my own computer in my own cabin at my convenience.

 

This itinerary was what swayed us to RCI. We have been to all before, but it had been a while. I saw no other cruise option that had the ports and number of days.

 

We even made a list of pros and cons-actually comparing our experience with what we have enjoyed on Princess. My wife and I tried to discuss before reaching a conclusion.

Pros:

Sofa/sitting area worth a great deal to be able to sit comfortably

Solarium wish all ships had this quiet-adult area

Schooner bar. Bernie Martini was great. Never had an entertainer that made me want to go back and back. He is off to Las Vegas, I understand. Peter kept the drinks flowing also.

Coffee one might not think this could be a big deal. But the coffee on this ship was usually pretty good.

 

Cons:

Luggage Received at 4 pm in cabin. Never had this before, only heard stories.

Boat drill most chaotic. Did not even take the jackets with us. Lots of yelling.

No ice unless/until requested. It took a long while.

Wifi that I mentioned earlier. Not in cabins. Have had this feature for years on Princess and NCL.

Robes originally, our steward said they would not be ready till day 2 since they had just been used on previous trip. Were able to get those at 4 pm day 1, after all.

Lobster Not sure what they were doing here. Formal night comes along and lobster is on the menu. $24 or so extra. Finally, later in the cruise, they did offer a small portion at no charge.

Mints I guess they save some $$ by foregoing this treat. No biggie-just an observation.

Lotions Pet issue of my wife. She had not packed lotion, expecting to have on board. You know-the spa issued little bottles. Not here.

Attitude. I guess this is the big one for me. They did not seem to want to serve. No energy. You could notice this in cleaning, dining, passenger relations. They did not offer something, or something went wrong, they might say they are sorry, but one could tell that they did not really care..move on, next….

Excursions. Not very organized. Usually one gathers in a public room and leave together or meet at a point on the pier. We found that we had to hunt down our appropriate tour people (ship excursions).

 

Sorry for being so blunt. It has been almost 2 weeks, so I have cooled off from the trip. Made me wonder if I want to go cruising again at all. It was that frustrating. I could not wait to get off the ship. The crowds are not a problem til sea days or weather days that keep all inside. Decks did seem crowded in the pool area. Much of this is hit or miss. I tried to be reasonable in the evaluation.

[WNcruiser]

I don't know why you (or anyone) would get flamed for a review. I like reading everyones different opinions on what they thought. Isn't that was Cruise Critic is for??

 

We have also been frustrated with RCI on the last couple cruises but are trying Allure to test out the new menus and to say we have been on the largest ship in the world!

[luvscruising2007]

I think many of your complaints are petty. Had you done a bit of research before your cruise, you would have known that ice is available upon request, robes are supplied for suites and platinum status passengers and above only, mints disappeared a long time ago, lotion is not supplied in cabins and getting luggage at 4:00 is good, some passengers must wait until after dinner, and wifi is not available in cabin on RC ships, although the newer ships may offer it.

 

Your complaint about service is legitimate and there is no excuse for poor service. I am sure you made your displeasure known at guest services or to the Head waiter.

[shamrock47]

Sorry, but I did not do a ton of research before booking the cruise. I no longer feel the urge to pore over all the data. We had enjoyed RCI on previous cruises, and expected to do so on this one. Petty or not, it is an observation. I bet we are not the only ones that experience the frustrations that are the cost savers of cruise lines.

 

Maybe if I had put "IMHO" in the text the previous reader would not have taken offense. I knew this was a no win review.

 

As far as letting the cruise line know, I did so by the survey provided. I did not make a scene at passenger relations or a similar act.

 

RCI should be informed that their cuts are noticed and not appreciated. Cruise Critic readers should be informed by direct comparison as I tried to do.

[pepsicruiser]

You get on a ship at lets say about noon with 2000 plus others giving a total of about lets say 6000 pieces of luggage and 4 hours later you receive your luggage and you think it is unreasonable lol. They tell you it may be a while to get your ice for your smuggled alcohol and yucky used robes and they come in less than 2 hours and thats not good either. Hmmm...I'd say you are a little unreasonable. JMO

 

I do agree with you when you feel the staff was not giving you much attention. Thats not good.

[sail2sea]

No flame at all but has it been a while since your last Royal Caribbean cruise? Perhaps things have changed since? Because everything you mentioned is pretty standard with Royal Caribbean these days. Some are in fact better than average. Luggage in the cabin by 4pm. that was good. I read it several time to make sure you didn't mean 4pm the next day.

[chiquita cruiser]

Hello - I would not worry about being flamed. Everyone is entitled to an opinion especially since you paid for it. I have to say that we too have been a bit disappointed with RCI on our last few cruises. These were ships on which we had cruised before and we did notice slight discrepancies from previous cruises with a similar itinerary and on the same ships. We had several poor service issues, some directly related to personnel We have also begun to cruise with Celebrity as well and absolutely love the way those ships are run. To be fair, once a legitimate issue was taken to RC Guest Services, it was addressed, however, the issues should not have happened and yes, it did seem that boarding and disembarkation were somewhat chaotic and not well executed in view of the fact that RCI crews perform these duties on a routine basis.

 

With all that said, cruising is a great value for your dollar and we will continue to cruise as long as we are able. We might try other cruise lines, just because of itineraries.

Happy Cruising Friends,

C

[Ren1216]

I'm sorry that you were displeased with your recent cruise. I can understand your disappointment, we all hope to have a wonderful time while on vacation, myself included. I appreciate that the opinion you have shared is personal, you are certainly entitled to that and there ARE some people who will find value in it. However, I do think you are probably correct, I expect that your review is not going to be well received. As some have already pointed out (not so nicely) that much of what disappointed you are things that most here are either accustomed to or at least informed of before stepping onto a RCI ship (internet, ice, robes, lobster, mints, luggage delivery time, etc). Most here on CC know these things..... because..... they spend time pouring over these boards. We tend to forget that not everyone does.

 

Maybe another line would suit you better. I have not yet tried Celebrity but it seems to me that most who do are really happy with their experiences (which I think you also said was the case for you -- correction, it was PCL and NCL that you tried). Then again, maybe you have become disenchanted with cruising and it's just time to try a whole different type of vacation. Where ever your next journey takes you, I hope that it leaves you with more pleasurable memories. Best of luck.

[cruiseguy4567]

The Enchantment is getting refurbed in December and adding pervasive wi-fi.

 

Sailing on her in February and always looking for reviews. The stated issues don't seem to be a big deal (especially after my last cruise on Carnival). Surprised to hear about no lobster night and the problems with excursions.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Like you, I am a regular Princess cruiser who sailed on the EnchAntment, on the sailing following yours. Whlle I noticed the missing mints and no ice, that was only something I noticed, not what I would classify as a complaint. i knew not to expect lotion, and agree that this should be included although the quality of lotion in ships and hotels is not usually very good. We loved the entertainment including Bernie Martini who we went to every night as well, the captain and cruise director, the open spaces on the ship particularly the pool decks where you never had problems finding a lounge chair and the overall service Pretty much everywhere which I found to be excellent. Agreed that the lobster dinner was the weakest of the dining room meals. We treated ourselves to the Chops filet in the dining room on the last night of the cruise to go with the garlic prawns on the dining room menu, and it was one of the best filets we have ever had. And one of our favorite foods was the Tutti salad bar at lunch in the dining room!

 

We also thought Baltimore was a breeze...easy to find, quick check in and we arrived around 11, so expected a short wait. Then it was on and up to the Windjammer for honey stung chicken..yum!

 

We loved our cruise and Would not hesitate to sail on her again. I can't think of anything I would file under the area of "complaint"!!!

[jakenashleysmom]

No flaming, but I found myself re-reading your post to find your "complaints". After seeing the :(, I assumed you had a horrible cruise. It seems your pro's outweigh your con's (imho). The Enchantment is one of my favorite ships, so I may be biased!

 

It seems most of your issues were resolved....ice, robes, luggage, and lobster. I suspect the price point for this cruise was way lower than a Princess cruise, therefore you get what you pay for? Like I said, no flaming....this is your opinion and you are entitled to it. But I feel that if I were to go on a cruise and these were my only complaints, I would be very happy!:)

[bplazo]

Receiving luggage at 4:00 pm is great on any line and as far as ice being requested I think that it is a good idea because on our last cruise we had it every day but never used it and I think that it is because I read in a review one time were someone used it as a barf bucket and since then I prefer to not use the ice.

[spookwife]

Sorry, but I did not do a ton of research before booking the cruise. I no longer feel the urge to pore over all the data. We had enjoyed RCI on previous cruises, and expected to do so on this one. If your last trip with Royal was even as recently as six months ago, you should have researched anyway. the climate has changed and it changes rapidly. hell they changed policy WRT the Concierge Lounge and suites after I had booked a suite based on said policy.

 

As far as letting the cruise line know, I did so by the survey provided. I did not make a scene at passenger relations or a similar act. Too Little too late. if you were displeased by a specific individual's attitude it should have been address right then and there.

 

RCI should be informed that their cuts are noticed and not appreciated. Cruise Critic readers should be informed by direct comparison as I tried to do. They do read CC and do pay attention to any customer satisfaction surveys.

 

 

 

 

I was in EN to Bermuda back in May and I was charmed by the staff and their attitudes, smiles etc. lemme ask you a question.. getting the robes back, and a day earlier than you were told is a CON?! how so?!

 

we had a suite, and our cabin was literally a cross from the crew elevator where the luggage came up.. they did not even have to step OUT of the elevator to place it by the door. still didn't get it til almost 5. Frankly 4 pm is pretty dang good.

 

WRT the drill: life preservers are clumsy and burdensome for the elderly and the very young ( and the intoxicated) I understand the decision to allow them to be left behind..even my husband the Naval Officer is okay with it. the important thing is to know where the muster station is as there is always the possibility that you will be nowhere near your cabin should the need arise to do so. can't do anything about rude/oblivious passengers who do not take the drill seriously.

 

Lotion: okay so yeah that's nickel and diming( as is ice) all you need have done was make the request. Mints/chocolates have been missing from pillows in the land based hotel industry for decades. Suites still have them and quite honestly, half the time we were too stuffed to eat them.

 

Lobster: again, cost cutting and to many not a big deal. the grand old days of very fine dining when everyone 'dressed for dinner' are LONG gone and as such so has the experience.

 

WiFi: this is something I personally cannot wrap my head around so any opinion I may express is seen as arrogant/rude to the crowd that cannot live without it. you're on a cruise to an exotic locale for pete's sake.. can't facebook wait?! ( and this form a person who spends 18 hours a day on the interweb playing FB apps)

[JMG]

We were also on the 8/23 cruise. We were in a Jr suite. We left home and allowed time for traffic but the trip was without incident so we arrived at the pier at about 10:15. Our check in was a breeze. Seating in the waiting area was done by categories. Since we are also Diamond, we were in the first row to be boarded. Our wait was because boarding did not start until 11:30 and we were fine with that. As soon as boarding started we were amoung the first to board. We headed straight to the Pool Bar and had our first drink to celebrate. We got a table in the pool area to park our carryons and took turns going to the Windjammer for lunch. I would sit with our carryons while DH strolled around checking our dining room table location and other stuff. When I took my stroll I noticed that our checked luggage was waiting to go back to our stateroom. At about 1:45 the doors opened to the staterooms and our luggage was waiting for us. Obviously, by getting to the pier early our luggage was at the front of the pack so by 2pm were unpacked and ready for our cruise.

 

We actually started cruising with HAL, then Princess, then we tried NCL, Carnival and RCI. When we book we are often amazed by the price. We actually are paying less than when we first cruised. The reason we originally booked HAL was because HAL was significantly less than RCI at that time. Okay...yes, we also noticed cutbacks. (We did get shampoo...because of being in a JS. ) But given the price of the cruise, particularly compared to past cruise expense, we could not complain. Being Diamond we did get access to the Diamond Lounge which makes it easier on the wallet.

Shore excursions...we only did one in Newport which was a tender port and yes, it was not readily apparent where we should wait for the excursion to start. We pretty much figured that since Newport is not a weekly cruiseport for all the lines that staffing was an issue here.

We had also read that Lobster night would be the 2nd formal night. We were able to get extra lobster without any problem.

We felt we got very good service from the staff. We had 2 WOW cards that we could complete if any crew member did a super job. We turned in both cards praising our cabin steward and waiter.

We have rebooked the EnOS for 12/15 because it was a gret price and we are very curious how they are going to make the changes in the ship and where they are going to add those extra specialty dining rooms. Baltimore was also just way to easy for us to access so we could not resist.

 

So sorry that this cruise disappointed you and hopefully your next cruise will prove to be much better.

[loudbmw]

Thank you for your review - we were on the same cruise and experienced pretty much the same things as you. Having cruised many times with RCCL I guess I am just used to some of the issues (cutbacks) you had so they didn't bother me too much. Once I mentioned that we wanted ice in our stateroom it appeared twice a day for the rest of the week.

 

I to am also am used to sailing newer ships with wi-fi in cabins. The Enchantment is scheduled for refurbishment later this year so he wi-fi issue should improve.

 

Cruising still is a great value and if it takes some minor cutbacks to keep the pricing down, I'm all for it.

[ryano]

You actually got pretty lucky if you had all your luggage by 4pm. i have not had that happen yet. Generally comes sometime shortly after sail away on the cruises ive been on. One cruise, we didnt even have it by first dinner seating time. That was ok and not a big deal to us.

 

Lobster night is always the second formal night and only available on cruises 5 nights or longer. The upcharge lobster is available on all caribbean sailings I think though.

 

Pillow chocolates were done away with a few years ago unless you sail on Oasis or Allure. Its a cutback. I dont know how much truth there is to it but someone reported RCI saved a million dollars + a year by doing away with these and most people threw them away anyway.

 

Ice is available by request. A recent change and not that big of a deal. Once I have requested it, it seems the ice bucket is always replenished at least twice a day.

 

There is no excuse for poor service and attitude. Thankfully, I have yet to experience this on any RCI sailing.

 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion and I thank you for your honest review but personally, I dont see anything you are complaining about bad enough to make me want to stop sailing with RCI.

 

I hope you can find a cruise line that meets your expectations :)

[jaegan2]

I was a little worried when I started to read your "bad" review since I am sailing in a few weeks. Sorry to say - I did start laughing when it took you 2 weeks to cool down before you began complaining about the mints. Sorry - you are certainly more than entitled to your opinion be it good or bad - I read both - yours did make me smile although I am sure that was not the intent.

[yj2cute]

I just came off the Enchantment's 8/31 sailing. And while you're entitled to your opinion, I think your list of cons is a bit far reaching. I don't get why ice being available upon request is such a big deal. Why should the cabin steward spend time getting it if the passenger doesn't want it? Once you request it, you get plenty of it. Mints are the other thing that were often not wanted by the customer, so if cutting those out will keep my cruise fare low, then great. Lobster has always been available once per cruise on every cruiseline I've been on. As others have stated, getting all of your luggage by 4 pm is very good and if you expect it earlier, I think your expectations are a bit high. I thought the staff was excellent. Never had anyone tell me no or act like they didn't want to be helpful. Again, maybe your expectations are too high.

 

The one thing I do agree with you about is the muster drill. If yours was anything like mine, it was indeed the most chaotic, unorganized drill I've ever experienced. Cruise staff yelling out cabin numbers as a roll call. It was the most ridiculous thing I had even seen. But after that, the cruise was great. Good luck with your future cruises.

[PattyG12]

I just saw a couple minor inconveniences dealing with chocolate and ice. The only really bad thing I saw on your "review" was poor service, which is not acceptable. However, if you felt that way, a short trip to guest relations should have fixed it. I'm sorry you had such a terrible cruise. I probably won't cruise with you because we've found we really like Royal. Enjoy your next Princess cruise!

[royal girl]

No ice or robes in your cabin and you realized then that your cruise was already off to a bad start?? No lotion or mints?? :eek: Two weeks to cool down?? Oh, please.

 

We were on the Enchantment in August and it was one of the best cruises we went on!

 

Everyone is entitled to thier own opinion, but your complaints are just too petty. Life's too short to be upset over no ice, robes, lotion or mints :rolleyes:

[cooncat_mom]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise - when you plan for a vacation, you want to get the best out of it. We've also sailed the Enchantment, and loved her. I think one of the important things when planning something like a cruise is knowing what it is you want from it. When DD and I cruise, we really don't want perks - we want a clean room; friendly, but not overly attentive (ok, we're odd :D) staff - and on our sailing they were wonderful; edible food (we're not foodies:o); places for a good view (the Enchantment's deck had a great spot where it felt like the laundry room dryers vented out. Made sitting on the deck during the winter SO comfy!) and a good itinerary. While I didn't pore over the boards, I did enough checking to know the Enchantment is an older, smaller ship which we prefer. It sounds like you would be much happier on a ship that offers more personal service. I'm not flaming you - we all have our own wishes for vacations. In fact, what we prefer keeps us away from the "higher end" lines and suites on ships with suite perks. BTW, if you love lobster you may want to check out itineraries that include Portland ME. Both Celebrity and NCL are buying fresh lobster when they port there since there's a surplus at the moment! Thanks for your review - I hope your next cruise is better!

[BillOh]

I don't know why you (or anyone) would get flamed for a review.

 

 

Are you kidding? (I am) On this board any more you get flamed for saying you will get flamed. That said, I'm capable of reading any review and figuring out what is important to the OP and then applying it to myself. Having been on all class of ships EXCEPT the Vision class, I read this with interest and I have a friend going on Enhancement of the Seas (joke from another thread) while I'll be back on Allure Some of the cons the OP gave are pretty trivial (to me) Ice upon request, but you did get it upon request. I never use to get ice at all until I stopped getting the soda package and getting the water package. It does waste time and money to give something to people that they don't use, so upon request works for me. Robes take laundry time at turn around day and I wouldn't be using mine before 11pm anyway, so I'm good. Baggage doesn't arrive till 4pm? Again, expectations, Dinner is casual the first night so I have everything I need until later in the day. (I get late seating usually) No internet in cabins means nothing to me as I go on a cruise to get away from it, but I realize many people don't have that luxury.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info ...

[poncho1973]

I'm going to say that everything on your cons list EXCEPT POOR AND UNENTHUSIASTIC SERVICE are merely what we called "First World Problems" here on the internet.

 

I've stayed in some really nice hotels and the lotion (which as a dude... I don't actually use, but my wife does) has either been crap or stank like old lady flowers.

 

You got the robe and got it early... yet it made the con list????

 

Next time you cruise, drop me your address and I'll mail you an entire bag of mints, really good ones. I've never seen "lack of mints" on a con list. Especially, ones that were probably nasty before they got cost-cut.

 

Not wearing your life vest to the muster was a con?

 

 

 

I'm being extremely hyperbolic here, but this is like that Kim Kardahoweveryouspellit comparing her days-long marriage & divorce to someone beating cancer.

 

If you have a horrible cruise that is so bad it requires you to "cool down" and probably never cruise on a line again... I'm looking for real, solid instances of poor service:

 

Raw food

Dirty rooms

Mouthy staff

Drunks fighting

Misplaced luggage

Watered-down drinks

Guests blowing ciggie smoke in your face

Misplaced kid in the programs

Lousy shows

Items stolen from your room

Crew negligence

[spookwife]

I don't get why ice being available upon request is such a big deal. Why should the cabin steward spend time getting it if the passenger doesn't want it?

 

I have to laugh..we actually had to tell our steward to NOT fill it up twice a day( in a suite) as it was literally 2 days before we even realized he was doing so in the first place. it was a complete waste of his time in our particular case.