Enchantment...needing a shot of energy!!

[Flonightey]

I just got off the March 14 sailing of enchantment of the seas. I am a frequent and loyal Royal Caribbean cruiser and this was my third time on enchantment.

 

My intention of this is not to complain but see if other people are sharing my opinion. Overall I found the ship to be in "tired "condition. Did this really affect my vacation – no! However this is the first time on a Royal Caribbean ship I could actually say that a vessel was worn down and in need of drydock/repair in my opinion.

 

I stayed as a solo cruiser in an interior cabin on deck three. Pretty close and convenient to the elevator in the front of the ship. I haven't stayed in an inside cabin in quite some time however even in my wildest memory I cannot remember a smaller bathroom then this one on enchantment. Even considering multiple cruises on Majesty and the smaller ships. Now obviously it size has nothing to do with its repair or needing updating however at 5'9" I never remember a bathroom but I could not even sit on the toilet with the door closed! Thank God I was in the cabin by myself!

 

The perks of the Room did include small but effectively place flatscreen TVs on the walls. Comparable to other Royal Caribbean ships, the bedding was wonderful! State room attendant was nice enough a few little towel animals and anything I needed was attended to immediately.

 

I also found quality lacking in the sense of cleanliness especially evidenced in the windjammer. My cruise was at the tail end of spring break and there were a lot of young folks there but I'm not sure more than usual...However I really did not see anyone making crazy messes I just saw the messes on the rug, chairs and around the serving area. Leading me to believe that the problems were not attended to as they occurred. (not that they should've occurred at all!)

 

Another place that I saw significant items in need of repair where the common bathrooms. It seems like everyone I went to the doorknobs were literally falling off in the stalls and the locks were all in various levels of malrepair. Again nothing that ruin my vacation, nothing that upset me, more just a general observation of something that I really have not seen on Royal Caribbean cruise ships.

 

Despite all of the above, we had an absolutely wonderful time on our three night cruise! The cruise director was simply fantastic and truly is a great leader for this ship. We went to chops the first night which was wonderful yet very very desolate. We did my time dining for the remaining two evenings and had a wonderful experience with the Great head waiter waiter and assistant waiter.

 

If anyone has any questions about the ship I would be more than happy to entertain them to the best of my ability! I certainly will be visiting enchantment again. As a diamond member I truly do appreciate the diamond lounge on enchantment as opposed to majesty and the smaller ship.

 

My next venture will be enchantment's sister vision of the seas on memorial day weekend. :-)

[Aquaman#1]

I was on Enchantment last August, and I enjoyed this ship more than others, for some reason! Windjammer did seem really congested, like the layout didn't work well. I was on Jewel last April, and Windjammer seemed to flow easier on it. But otherwise, I didn't notice anything that really caught my attention.

[LMaxwell]

at 5'9" I never remember a bathroom but I could not even sit on the toilet with the door closed! Thank God I was in the cabin by myself!

 

 

Why am I not believing this part? No one would argue any RCI standard inside cabin to have a large bathroom, and I'm not the smallest guy, but I really don't believe your claim on this.

[cruiseclues]

Thank you for your straightforward review. Did you visit the Park Cafe? :):):):)

[Flonightey]

Why am I not believing this part? No one would argue any RCI standard inside cabin to have a large bathroom, and I'm not the smallest guy, but I really don't believe your claim on this.

 

The toilet was placed at a angle and literally the outside knee- closest to door was touching the door.

 

I mentioned it because Im interested if all the bathrooms on the interior/ocean view cabins are like that. Ive never seen a RCCL bathroom with that layout...

[Flonightey]

Thank you for your straightforward review. Did you visit the Park Cafe? :):):):)

 

Park Café was good. Disappointed in that some of the items- particularly the soups were the same as were in Windjammer--where on the bigger ships Oasis/Allure they are different menu items...

 

Consistently good though and a tasty roast beef sandwich with the mustard relish!

[mommabean]

The toilet was placed at a angle and literally the outside knee- closest to door was touching the door.

 

I mentioned it because Im interested if all the bathrooms on the interior/ocean view cabins are like that. Ive never seen a RCCL bathroom with that layout...

 

I've had interior and ocean view rooms on this ship. I'm 5'8" tall with a 34 inch inseam so my legs are long and I have no trouble sitting on the angled toilet with the door shut. Now if I had braces on my legs and had to hold them straight out, maybe I'd have an issue shutting the door.

 

I've never heard this about any bathroom on any ship in the fleet.

 

Gina

[karena1]

We love Enchantment!! Just off her end of Feb and thought everything was great. Did not think she needed "energy" at all. Everything was clean and well maintained for a ship that old. Enchantment is one of my favorites and we keep hoping she will take the place of Majesty when then retire her.

[Teacherloves2Cruise]

We love Enchantment!! Just off her end of Feb and thought everything was great. Did not think she needed "energy" at all. Everything was clean and well maintained for a ship that old. Enchantment is one of my favorites and we keep hoping she will take the place of Majesty when then retire her.

 

 

I agree with the OP. Just got off of the ship and many areas, especially our stateroom bathroom were old and tired. Full review to come later.

 

 

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[rum & monkey]

Sailed last August on Enchantment and some cabins have been redone and some not at that time. We booked it last minute and wound up with an inside on deck 2. The cabin had a sewage gas smell coming from the bathroom shower. We went straight to guest services and they told us that because we were docked and the tilt of the ship that can happen but they would send maintenance up to flush the line.

 

Maintenance came and the whole cabin then smelled of bleach that it was an instant headache in the room so we left the room, did the muster drill, watched sail away from an upper deck, and had some cocktails before going to the room to change for dinner. The smell was back so we went back to guest services and they sent maintenance again. Again bleach smell and then the sewage smell was back after the show. Complained again and we were told there isn't another cabin available but to check in the morning.

 

Checked in the morning and they said they would have a room ready by 1:00 that afternoon. We watched docking on Nassau and the first one off went in an ambulance (we figured we got their cabin). After a day in Nassau we got back on and they helped move us. New room, new problems.

 

New room had been redone cosmetically and looked great and had a window, same deck. Let them know we were very happy. I had already taken a shower when we moved into the room and we got up early the next morning to go to the beach on Coco Cay so no shower until we came back on board. As soon as we got back on board the ship lost power (still in dock) and there was no power for over an hour. We were at the pool having a drink when the power went off. All is good though because the registers for the bars are on emergency power. Cannot use the restrooms but you can buy a drink. We stayed outside by the pool until the power came back on.

 

Then the shower in the new room. Turned it on and nothing but brown was coming out of it, I let it run for a while before I was quick enough to think to grab my phone and video it. I figured they would never believe me after getting moved from one room with bathroom troubles already.

 

So back to guest services and I let them know it was our last night and I did not want maintenance, nor did I want to move again (3 nights, 3 different cabins is not enjoyable to me) but that they need to be aware and fix it before the next passengers get on and that we would just use the fitness center showers. Then I showed him the video (several minutes of brown) he asked if we could wait a minute and came back within a couple and let us know they wanted to give us back 30% for a future cruise (we asked for nothing I am sure had I been irate with them it would have been more). At the time I thought it looked like rust but everyone that has seen the video thinks it was sewage, I still don't know but I can definitely say that parts of the Enchantment do need to be overhauled. The hotel manager even made a comment on our first room that it should be completely redone.

 

You put any ship out to sea like that and you are going to have problems pop up (hotels do why would a ship not). To me it is how they handle it if I am going to get upset or not about it. They were courteous and did what they could but deck 2 definitely had some plumbing problems but I'm not sure if that is something they address in a refurbishment or not.

Edited March 20, 2014 by rum & monkey

[SECdawg]

As you can tell from my signature we consider Enchantment our home away from home. In February I did not think looked too worn. They were re-doing part of the deck 10, but only had small sections closed each day. My husband is 6'2" and my son is 6'4". I have never heard them complain about the toilet. Now the shower is another story. Even though I am only 5'3" I complain about the shower. We love Park Cafe and find ourselves eating most lunches there now. The thing that keeps me coming back is the crew. I board her next Friday and can't wait.

[Teacherloves2Cruise]

As you can tell from my signature we consider Enchantment our home away from home. In February I did not think looked too worn. They were re-doing part of the deck 10, but only had small sections closed each day. My husband is 6'2" and my son is 6'4". I have never heard them complain about the toilet. Now the shower is another story. Even though I am only 5'3" I complain about the shower. We love Park Cafe and find ourselves eating most lunches there now. The thing that keeps me coming back is the crew. I board her next Friday and can't wait.

 

 

I had no issue with our cabin's toilet (2055) other than the loose seat but the shower was the smallest I have been in on 10 cruises. Hoping to write up a full review tomorrow.

 

 

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[mommabean]

Boarded EN today. In room

7666 for the first time in 7 years. I was freaked out for the first time in all my cruises. The carpet appeared to have not been vacuumed in a week. Hair, lint balls, food crumbs and chips on floor. Sofa had food crumbs on it. Stateroom attendant claims she vacuumed and didn't see it. Someone else came to clean after I called. Feeling a bit weird about it all and we haven't even sailed yet. Feeling grimy actually. :( Balcony has rust holes but that doesn't bother me. I'm just noticing everything now like the taped up cutout on the wall. If this was my first cruise experience, it would be my last.

[LMaxwell]

Boarded EN today. In room

7666 for the first time in 7 years. I was freaked out for the first time in all my cruises. The carpet appeared to have not been vacuumed in a week. Hair, lint balls, food crumbs and chips on floor. Sofa had food crumbs on it. Stateroom attendant claims she vacuumed and didn't see it. Someone else came to clean after I called. Feeling a bit weird about it all and we haven't even sailed yet. Feeling grimy actually. :( Balcony has rust holes but that doesn't bother me. I'm just noticing everything now like the taped up cutout on the wall. If this was my first cruise experience, it would be my last.

 

Wow (in the wrong way) indeed. Not good. Glad they got it cleaned up for you but that's not way to start off a trip. It just puts a damper on the mood. IIRC you are a pretty seasoned cruiser and so likely already know how to get this remedied, and not that you should have to spend your vacation time this way, but maybe inform the hotel director or head of housekeeping about this and that their ship is starting to get a bit of a bad rep going around. Here's to hoping things improve and remain better the rest of your trip.

[cruiseapril]

Hi- Just did a review of the Enchantment's March 17-21 cruise. We were pleasantly surprised to see how nice this older ship was (we had been on the Sovereign some years back.)

 

Our cabin was very clean- granted the Oceanview bathrooms are small, but my sister and I had no concerns except for the size of the sink shelf (much too small.) Our bathroom was clean with plenty of towels. We had a good steward.

 

Maybe they cleaned up the ship- as we didn't notice any messes.

 

We've been on all of the major cruise lines and certainly feel the Enchantment measures up to some of the fancier ships-considering her age.

[Teacherloves2Cruise]

Boarded EN today. In room

7666 for the first time in 7 years. I was freaked out for the first time in all my cruises. The carpet appeared to have not been vacuumed in a week. Hair, lint balls, food crumbs and chips on floor. Sofa had food crumbs on it. Stateroom attendant claims she vacuumed and didn't see it. Someone else came to clean after I called. Feeling a bit weird about it all and we haven't even sailed yet. Feeling grimy actually. :( Balcony has rust holes but that doesn't bother me. I'm just noticing everything now like the taped up cutout on the wall. If this was my first cruise experience, it would be my last.

 

Sorry to hear that. Our room, inside deck 2, felt the same way.

[kccrzr]

Unfortunately, a lot does depend upon which cabin you are in.

 

We have been on Enchantment twice in the last 6 months. The first time, we were in an aft JS and it was great; no issues at all. The second time we were in cabin 7608 and it was quite depressing - carpet pulling away from the wall, gouges in the wall itself. If I hadn't known better I would not have guessed it was the same ship.

 

Cabin 7608 was also quite loud; we could hear the band playing in the centrum - luckily, they were a very good band. :rolleyes:

[temple1]

I was on Enchantment last August, and I enjoyed this ship more than others, for some reason! Windjammer did seem really congested, like the layout didn't work well. I was on Jewel last April, and Windjammer seemed to flow easier on it. But otherwise, I didn't notice anything that really caught my attention.

 

Strange, we had the opposite feeling about the WJ between the 2 ships. We were on Enchantment and Jewel back to back in November. We were in a balcony on Enchantment and liked the set up with all the shelves for storage. The cabin felt clean and fresh. She seemed more fresh than Independence did in December.

[mommabean]

Wow (in the wrong way) indeed. Not good. Glad they got it cleaned up for you but that's not way to start off a trip. It just puts a damper on the mood. IIRC you are a pretty seasoned cruiser and so likely already know how to get this remedied, and not that you should have to spend your vacation time this way, but maybe inform the hotel director or head of housekeeping about this and that their ship is starting to get a bit of a bad rep going around. Here's to hoping things improve and remain better the rest of your trip.

 

 

We ended up having a great cruise in spite of the uncomfortable relationship with the stateroom attendant. I tried to get her beyond it but she seemed unwilling - wouldn't crack a smile.

 

The hotel director did approach me very soon after sail away and made a sincere apology for the condition of the room. He commented that had it been a first time cruiser they would have thought that was their standard. Being the first blip for us in over too many cruises, I understood.

 

I'm sure the executive housekeeper learned of the problem but it went unspoken between us. The deck supervisor seemed unhappy according to my husband. We never saw her again after early the second day. It may have been a reflection on her management ability.

 

I will say I've been on this ship 6 times since last June and every other room and attendant has been perfect. I was surprised that walking down a hall I was called by name from a distance. It was my December stateroom attendant.

 

Some of my favorite people work on this ship. One of my favorite cruise critic couples was also on board which made the time even more fun.

 

I'll go back for more, soon I hope. :)

[CruzTigger19]

We were in 7666 last September with no issues, which is why we re-booked it for this May; hopefully the issues you encountered will not be repeated;

 

Thanks for posting!

[mommabean]

We were in 7666 last September with no issues, which is why we re-booked it for this May; hopefully the issues you encountered will not be repeated;

 

Thanks for posting!

 

 

I'm sure it won't happen again. Since 7666 is down it's own little hall to the left it was just apparently overlooked for some reason.

 

The last time I was in the room I was a relatively new cruiser. I had no idea what the difference was in rooms. The aft Junior a Suites on Enchantment are definitely smaller than the ones on the side. They can't even fit the dresser along the wall across from the foot of the bed as is the usual placement in a JS. It is closer in size to a D cabin. I saw our friends JS on the side this cruise and there is a major difference to me.

 

I will give up a larger balcony and closet in order to have a full size JS. On a 3 or 4 night cruise I find no advantage to a larger closet either.

 

In fact, I came home and released a mid aft cabin on another ship. I will book afts no more.

 

My only problem now is that I have 1100 booked in RD for Alaska and there are no rooms to switch to. I would gladly change to a starboard JS forward of the hump if I knew who wanted to trade. I should probably check the roll call for volunteers. :D