Getting Enchanted with Royal Caribbean. Enchantment of the Seas Review 10/27-10/31

[SunshineCruiser24]

Thanks!!! I love the Liberty too and have some really fun excursions planned!!!

[wintercruise1]

I love this review, you are too funny. Good job

[SunshineCruiser24]

Thanks so much! Thanks for reading!

[LilLady]

Loved your review!!! It was very entertaining and informative to read.

 

We are sailing at the end of January on the Enchantment on our first cruise ever. Your review helped to get us super excited (more than we were in the first place) and answered a few questions we were unsure on. DH will definitely make sure not to stick his hand in between closing doors. :D

[SunshineCruiser24]

Definitely don't try to hold an elevator for anyone if the doors are already closing. You'll lose a limb!!

[iheartmarshall]

Finally, to Boleros! Harry Potter trivia! Yes!

 

Except I was too early. They were folding napkins. I sat that out and read my Kindle. At the tail end of towel folding a really obnoxious group came in going "If you're here for Harry Potter trivia, just go home because I'm the ultimate fan!" He apparently even had a Harry Potter tattoo. Oh wow, a tattoo... You must know EVERYTHING then. It was bad enough that they said it once, but he said it a few times. Really now, I enjoy bantering as much as the next person but man.. don't be obnoxious about it. I knew I did NOT want this guy to win.

 

I got my paper and had to pick a "team name", I named myself The Remembrall because I am going to remember what OTHERS forgot about HP, and because I adore Neville.

 

And then, there was a catch. The host said that the questions would be based off the movie verse, not the book verse. Crap.

 

Surprisingly, I was very confident in all of my answers, except the one about how long, according to the MOVIE, had Sirius Black been in jail, which was funny because I JUST watched this movie before the cruise.

 

I would've loved this! I'm such a Harry Potter nerd, it's not even funny.

[iheartmarshall]

My DH and I went on our first cruise for our 10th anniversary and everyone could not believe that I read 5 novels during the week. It was heavenly to me. We have 4 kids that would have been aged 14-3 at that time. Took the kids with us last time (Enchantment) and didn't have a chance to do any reading at all.

 

I finished 4 on my first cruise in May -- it was great! I love to read leisurely but am in grad school so by the time I am finished with school readings and papers, I am exhausted. So, having an entire week to sit on the balcony and just read was amazing. I finished 4 on the cruise and ended up buying and finishing one in the airport on the way home (we had a long layover). I'd do it again just for that.

[CatgirlNC]

After lunch, I packed up and left for the tender boats. You have to go through a scanner to make sure you didn't have anything you weren't supposed to. I don't understand, because everything on the island came from them, it's not like you can smuggle something you're not supposed to have on. Maybe they were afraid you'd try to take home an iguana?

 

Coral is one thing they look for. And I know this because my guy got caught trying to take 3 pieces of coral from Labadee. He was disappointed, but he should have listened to me and not taken it in the first place! :rolleyes:

[S.C.]

Great review!

[jayblue]

Sunshine , I agree with you on the horse carriage rides.

Last year we were on the 3 day Enchantment , with a balcony that

overlooked Nassau .

After we returned from our Nassau excursion , I sat outside on the balcony with a glass of wine,

enjoying the gorgeous weather and the view.

I had just called our dog's boarding facility and was assured that our fur baby

was doing just great. So, I was feeling relaxed and all was well.

I could see that the horses were now in a covered area , so at least they were sheltered from the hot sun. I did not see any water for them.

At some point during my balcony relaxation ,

I became aware of some commotion with one of the horses.

One of the horses had either slipped or collapsed and was down on the ground.

That was horrifying enough.

But, one of the men began hitting the horse to get it up .

I burst into tears at the cruelty and ran into our cabin. My poor husband knew I had been on the phone about our dog, so at first, he was very alarmed.

I explained the horse cruelty and he went on the balcony to check.

He told me the horse had gotten up , but, the whole disgusting abuse ruined my day.

I could not get the image of that poor animal out of my mind.

 

Thank you for the 411 on this. I don't know if you've ever done a post about this in the excursion section, but it's good to spread around to those that don't know how these poor animals are treated.

 

I will admit that I have done a horse-drawn carriage in the past (in St. Louis), but will likely never do so again.

[jayblue]

So, which is better? Carnival or Royal?

 

I liked things from each line. On Royal I like the touch screens they have by the elevators. It'll tell you what's going on and how to get there. I liked the drink package they offer.

 

On Carnival, I like the food better, I like their Miami Vices better. I like the price better, and the bigger cabins. I also like the pens/paper left in the cabin. I like the tear out part of the funtimes, this wasn't in the compass.

 

But essentially, they both offer a very similar product. People like to say Royal Caribbean is above such things as a hairy chest contest, but they had their world's sexiest man contest and I saw a bellyflop contest in the Compass. What is so refined and high class about a ship sponsored game of chubby bunny? The decoration was a little more "grown up" than Carnival, but that's a matter of taste.

 

I am not loyalty driven, I am price driven. For the right price, I will sail RCI again. For the right price I would even sail Norwegian! I didn't notice any glaring differences that enhanced or compromised the quality of my cruise. I think this "Royal Vs Carnival" mentality that's rampant on this board is very silly. It's like comparing Minute Maid to Tropicana. They're both juices, they both taste like orange juice, they're essentially the same product under different names, they are more alike than they are different. The clientele is very similar. I don't really pay attention to what people are wearing, but nothing sticks out in my mind as overly silly or sorely inappropriate.

 

I do have to say, both private islands are nice but given a choice, I would take Half Moon Cay!

 

This was very well written! You should consider writing part-time, even if it's just cruise reviews.

 

I am glad that you had such a great time, despite the daunting circumstances. If I had to share a room with anyone that called hogs in their sleep, I would consider grabbing my pillows and covers and moving to the Solarium.

 

I look forward to your next review (if it hasn't already been posted).

[thephantomsgirl]

Just wanted to say I really loved your review! You have a great writing style and it was fun to read.

 

I'm toying with booking on this ship while the current promo is running so I'm scoping all the reviews.

 

Thanks so much!

[SunshineCruiser24]

Thanks!! How sweet!!

[mariocart123]

I 💙 ur pictures

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[SunshineCruiser24]

Thank you!!!

[DreamingBig1]

Awesome trip report! Very funny and was very entertaining. It's better to go through life with a sense of humor.

 

I am with you on the cruise lines. I think its important to try as many different things in life as possible, and not be beholden to one thing. We do look for price, but we also look for a different experience. I have been on 3 different cruise lines on 3 different trips. I am trying another cruise line next December. So far Royal has been our favorite. Have not tried Carnival.

 

Looking forward to your next trip report.

Edited February 3, 2015 by DreamingBig1

[littlej]

Wow Sunshine, that's probably the most fun I ever had reading a review here! As long as you're still hopping on this thread, I'll tell you! It took me a few days to finish (secretly reading at work, shhhh). I actually dreamed about it last night, lol.

 

I'll be on the Enchantment for the first time, and alone for the first time, in March. Thank you SO much for all the great details, I'm so looking forward to it! Seriously, your upbeat, relaxed attitude mixed with a truly readable style, fantastic. If not a book, have you started a blog? I'd read it.

[SunshineCruiser24]

Thanks so much you guys!!! You will have a great time. I have cruised solo once and I had a blast. It has its draw backs, but there are major pluses too.

[SunshineCruiser24]

Awesome trip report! Very funny and was very entertaining. It's better to go through life with a sense of humor.

 

 

 

I am with you on the cruise lines. I think its important to try as many different things in life as possible, and not be beholden to one thing. We do look for price, but we also look for a different experience. I have been on 3 different cruise lines on 3 different trips. I am trying another cruise line next December. So far Royal has been our favorite. Have not tried Carnival.

 

 

 

Looking forward to your next trip report.

 

 

The prices are really comparable especially with Royal's never ending BOGOHO. next year I may try NCL. I'd like to take my little cousin and his mom on their first cruise next year. He's six :-) the mother might go overboard though. That'll be a trip report worth reading.

[Brandywine_101]

Ah, Nassau! We were the second in port, next to the Norwegian Pretty Flower On The Side.

 

 

 

There looked to be some kind of Bahamian Navy ship in port. I assumed that's what this was.

 

 

It's hard to see, I waited until I was a little ways away to take pictures, but there were people lined up in uniform, it appeared to be military, but who knows. You can also get a better look at the Norwegian Pretty Flowers on the Side.

 

 

 

It was a bright beautiful day and I had shopping on my mind. The "mission of the day" was to find something really nice for my mom. She's very special and wonderful and I just love her so much! I wanted something nice and uncheesy and Bahamian. I was writing a tall order, because I realize I was in the cheap made in china junk capital of the bahamas.

 

I made my way down the pier. At the port exit there was a few little "shops" that weren't open yet, an information stand, and a band that beat their drums whenever they saw tourists approaching. It was kind of funny, I watched them as I waited in line at the infromation booth for a map. They'd get really excited and play their music, but as soon as the passengers moved on, they'd stop until they saw someone else walking over.

 

I got a map, and then waded through the hair braiders and independent tour operators. It's a little jarring to suddenly have all these people trying to sell something to you, I imagine the experience was amplified because it was early and there weren't a lot of cruise guests there yet so when one wandered by it was like they all descended at once. Calls of "Pretty Girl! Braid your hair?" and "Ma'am! How about a horse ride?" "You have plans today? Shops don't open for another hour!" all kind of blended together.

 

As an aside, I've read stories about the horses being mistreated and they don't look like the most well fed comfortable horses and I've read that a horse died in the street while working from mistreatment. If this is true, I don't know, but I will not be taking one of those rides ever. I don't judge those who do, really, because everyone has to make their own choice but this is just not a business I can support. Plus to pull ME is animal cruelty in itself. :D

I seriously LOVE your style! You need to write books. Youre really good. I think you're brave and beautiful. Never change. I hope at the end of this story the boyfriend wises up, if not its HIS loss!!!

[SunshineCruiser24]

Thanks. So sweet!!