My Photo Review Of My Enchantment Cruise Of March 13, 2015

[Yuridog]

Thanks for taking the time to post about your experiences. It has been enjoyable reading about your adventures!

[cruiseapril]

Great review and photos. Looking forward to Nassau review.

 

We enjoyed the Enchantment last year. Good cruise.

[bigque]

Thanks for taking the time to post about your experiences. It has been enjoyable reading about your adventures!

 

Thank You :cool:

[bigque]

Day 2 – Nassau

On this day we slept in a little longer as we were not scheduled to arrive in Nassau till 11:30 PM and not to depart till midnight! This was also good for one of the newbies on the trip as she needed a little extra rest because I forgot to mention previously that after leaving Port Canaveral and getting out to the open seas we went through the rest of day and through the night on some pretty rough seas. The ship was really rocking from side to side and you had to catch your balance a few times. On the 1st night they actually closed off the outer decks with the exception of the pool deck. One of my newbie friends got a little seasick from all the “Motion In The Ocean”! She took Dramamine, and wore a sea band on each wrist. It was rough going for her but she made it through the night.

We did breakfast in the Windjammer and then I ventured around the ship for a little while as well as watching us pull into Nassau, while the ladies went back to the rooms to get ready for the day.

 

There were a total of 6 ships in port on this day!

 

 

 

[bigque]

It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the 80’s. We had no plan excursions for the day, so this was just going to be a walk around town and then back to the ship to enjoy the less crowded pool deck. My DW and I had been to Nassau before and did a tour of the island and the newbies decided that they did not want to do a tour. The ladies had attended the “Shopping in Nassau” presentation in the theater and was looking forward to searching out some of deals that was mentioned there. They were disappointed however as just about every shop from the presentation was closed due to power outages in those shops. It seemed kind of funny that those particular shops were closed when there was shops right next door that were opened. I don’t know if the ones that were opened were running on a generator or what. We ventured over into the “Straw Market” and it is what it is…hundreds of booths of cheap gifts and souvenirs. I did by one wooden craft of a small bass with two hands on it (I’m a bass player) that I haggled down from $150 to $50 even though I think I could have went a little bit lower. All in all we walked around for about an hour then went back to the ship. The Newbies had planned to get a taxi after lunch on the ship to go to Atlantis but they never did go back out. Nassau it what it is…you either like it or you don’t. This was our 2nd time there and if we ever take this cruise again we have decided that we will just stay on the ship and chill on this day.

 

With Miss Universe Bahamas 2014

 

After getting back on the ship we changed and went and had lunch in the Windjammer and then hung around the pool for the rest of the day till it was time for dinner. After dinner on this formal night (Review up above) and after my clinic visit, I went to bed for the rest of the night and the ladies did various activities around the ship. We had planned to go back off the ship to Senior Frogs in the evening but did not due to my illness and the ladies did not want to go back out there without me.

Nassau – Me – C / The Ladies – D (Mainly because of the closed shops)

 

Up next – Day 3 – Coco Cay & Chops

Edited March 23, 2015 by bigque

[bigque]

Also, if anyone has any questions at all, please ask and I will answer to the best of my knowledge! :cool:

[amyphil]

Nice review, Mike...thanks for posting...photos are great. My husband and I are going on the Enchantment, in July....looking forward to it.

 

Do you, by any chance, have copies of the compass for the three days. Also, I thought there was a light food offering on the pool deck on sail away day and a light buffet on the pool deck on the day the ship arrives in Nassau?? Any info on this??

 

Thanks, Amy

[LuCruise]

We didn't think it was rundown but just old and worn showing it's age and yes we did have a wonderful time. What we thought of the condition of the ship in no way had an effect on our enjoyment of the cruise other than me getting sick! :( We actually like the longer cruises, but this time we wanted to just take a short weekend cruise to put in between our last cruise and our next cruise in October. You are right they do go by pretty quick and I am ready to go on the next one already!

Glad you are enjoying the review. More to come! :cool:

 

Oh my gosh...somehow I missed the post about you being sick. I am so sorry you felt so awful on the cruise. You're a strong trouper for going through it and yet still having a good time.

I totally get how it's worth it to take a shorter cruise as a quick get away.

[call619]

Thanks for the review.

 

Go Panthers!

[bigque]

Nice review, Mike...thanks for posting...photos are great. My husband and I are going on the Enchantment, in July....looking forward to it.

 

Do you, by any chance, have copies of the compass for the three days. Also, I thought there was a light food offering on the pool deck on sail away day and a light buffet on the pool deck on the day the ship arrives in Nassau?? Any info on this??

 

Thanks, Amy

Hey Amy. Sorry I didn't save the compasses from this cruise. No food offering on pool deck at sail away and they did have food on the pool deck prior to arriving in Nassau! :cool:

[jayblue]

one of my favorite experiences is enjoying other first timers on a cruise and seeing their reactions and excitement. Thanks for posting.

 

like!!!

[CruiseCrazyCouple0611]

Hey, love the Panthers jersey Mike! Thanks for the review. We will be sailing her on April 13th. We typically like the smaller ships because we feel we get more personal service. We can overlook some of the dated or lovingly used decor as long as we can just relax and have a good time. Like many of those that commented about their disappointment of RCCL's choice not to serve lobster on formal night, we too wish they would. One dish that I feel is really good is the cod. As long as I can get that, I'm a happy girl. We have done Chops and we're not impressed. To each his own though. The love and marriage game as well as quest are always fun. Ours is a 4 day so we get to go to Coco Cay. This is really the selling point for me. I love the private islands for relaxing. We probably won't get off in Nassau this time as,we have been there many times. That is strange about the shops not being open. Sorry you didn't feel well. I'm glad you were able to make the most of it. Booking during Spring break can be a challenge. At least it's free entertainment! We went on a Carnival cruise once during that time and I have never seen so many kids waste their parents money getting wasted. LOL. We hope you have a much better experience in October. Thanks again. We look forward to reading more!

i

[monctonguy]

Great review and pics...

 

Makes me really look forward to getting back on her one last time in next month before she leaves for Miami next year!!

[bigque]

Great review and pics...

 

Makes me really look forward to getting back on her one last time in next month before she leaves for Miami next year!!

 

Thank You! :cool:

[bigque]

Hey, love the Panthers jersey Mike! Thanks for the review. We will be sailing her on April 13th. We typically like the smaller ships because we feel we get more personal service. We can overlook some of the dated or lovingly used decor as long as we can just relax and have a good time. Like many of those that commented about their disappointment of RCCL's choice not to serve lobster on formal night, we too wish they would. One dish that I feel is really good is the cod. As long as I can get that, I'm a happy girl. We have done Chops and we're not impressed. To each his own though. The love and marriage game as well as quest are always fun. Ours is a 4 day so we get to go to Coco Cay. This is really the selling point for me. I love the private islands for relaxing. We probably won't get off in Nassau this time as,we have been there many times. That is strange about the shops not being open. Sorry you didn't feel well. I'm glad you were able to make the most of it. Booking during Spring break can be a challenge. At least it's free entertainment! We went on a Carnival cruise once during that time and I have never seen so many kids waste their parents money getting wasted. LOL. We hope you have a much better experience in October. Thanks again. We look forward to reading more!

i

Thank You! Those Panthers will really need to step up there game this year with the roster they currently have. I hope they do more in the draft! :cool:

[bigque]

Day 3 – Coco Cay

Well this will be my second time going to Coco Cay and it looks like it will be 2 for 2 for making it there. After the 1st night of the cruise on rough seas, I didn’t know what to expect by the time we were to get to Coco Cay on Sunday, but it was smooth sailing the night before and smooth sailing to Coco Cay. We are not generally beach people but we like the spending the day at Coco Cay. We went down to get on the tenders at right about 9:00 as the newbies and myself had reserved time on the Wave Runners at 10:00. Small crowd waiting to get off at that time and the tender didn’t even fill up before we took off. It was also a good time to go if you wanted to scout out the place of your choice to spend the day. Walked a little ways and decided upon a spot under some trees. Coco Cay has nice sandy beaches but I don’t think it is great for swimming in the water during this low tide. You could walk way out and the water never even got to waist level. No problem for me though because I don’t spend a lot of time in the water anyway. The excitement for me is doing Jet Ski’s. The Jet Ski excursion here and on Labadee is a guided excursion but it still lots of fun especially if you like to open it up and go full speed (Which I do). I was #1 behind the lead guide so I was able to go as fast as the Jet Ski could go which in this case was 45 mph. I have been on faster but this was ok. They take you pretty far out and you get to travel a good distance during the hour and if you are in the group of fast jet ski’s you get to do a lot of good maneuvers as you follow the wake of the lead guide. Now I do believe RCI charge a bit much as a driver ($95.00) and have done It for cheaper on beaches at other ports, but I had a blast doing it on Coco Cay nonetheless!

Anchored at Coco Cay

 

 

 

You can see the next Island Over which is the private Island for NCL

 

 

[bigque]

After the excursion we sat for a little bit and then went to get a little lunch. I have read mixed reviews concerning the BBQ lunch on Coco Cay but my first time on Coco Cay I enjoyed it but unfortunately this time I was not able to eat because of the illness I talked about earlier. I was feeling much better (Obviously if I was riding a jet ski full throttle) but as far as food at this point I would take a couple of bites and then did not feel like eating anymore. I had no appetite. The ladies enjoyed everything they had. There was hot dogs, burgers, bbq ribs, chicken and all sorts of side items. I know that the food is prepared on the ship and brought to the island but I don’t think time and logistics would even allow for grilling on the island for something of this magnitude. That is a lot of food to prepare in addition the food that still have to be prepared for dining on the ship. I did taste the ribs and potato salad before I could not eat anymore of it and I think it was tasty. If I had my appetite I think it would have been a spot on lunch! So we sat at a picnic table near the food to eat and afterwards headed back to our spot on the beach. There was a band playing music that was also pretty good. They even took some request. When we got back to our spot we ordered the traditional Coco Loco drink from the server walking by and it was tasty. He didn’t skimp on the alcohol he put in it. It was a very relaxing day sitting in the loungers on the beach, people watching and enjoying the day.

One thing people always seem to want to know is which is better, Coco Cay or Labadee. Having been to both I think I kind of like to both equally. They both both have Jet Ski’s which I enjoy and being to walk off the ship vs. taking a tender is not that big of deal to me. Sure the vendor area on Labadee has some very aggressive folks but we just walked looking and kept it moving no matter how much they called out to us. I give a slight edge to Labadee because we enjoyed our day in our hillside cabana, beign waited on by an attendant all day and being able to enjoy the upgraded lunch. Because we did not do a cabana at Coco Cay however is the reason I said they I pretty much like both places equally.

Dinner For the night???? LOL!

[bigque]

Oh I fort to add the grades for Coco Cay:

 

Coco Cay – Us – B+ / the Newbies – B+

BBQ Lunch – DW – B+ / The Newbies – A

 

 

CHOPS:

We reserved to eat at Chops on the last night, more so to let the newbies try different things on the cruise so they can get an overall impression of the different venues available to them. As for us this would be our 3rd time eating at Chops and the 1st time with the new menu. Dinner at Chops on Enchantment was $30.00. Were seated and greeted by our waiter who turned out to be very personable and friendly. He actually mad out pretty good in the tip at the end because I tipped him as well as the newbies even though I told them they did not have to because I was doing it. It was just that they liked his service so much they wanted to give him a tip also. After being seated and ready to order, we received the obligatory sales pitch for the upgraded dry aged 16oz NY Strip Steak ($19) or the 20oz Porter House Steak ($20 or $22 I believe). We declined.

 

Here is what we ordered:

Me – Lobster bisque soup / Colossal Shrimp Cocktail / Crispy Goat Cheese Salad / 9 oz Filet Mignon / Red Velvet Cake

DW – French Onion Soup / Caesar Salad / Veal Chop Parmesan / Sugar Free Ice Cream

Newbie #1 – Shrimp Cocktail / Crispy Goat Cheese Salad / Braised Short Rib of Beef / Chocolate Mud Pie

Newbie #2 – Dungeness Crab Cake / Caesar Salad / Lobster Bisque Soup /Braised Short Rib of Beef Chocolate Mud Pie

 

They bring to the table an assortment of vegetables – The “New Tater Tots”, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus and one other vegetable which forgot what it was. They also bring each person a pretzel bread roll with some type of garlic butter.

 

As far as myself, this was the 1st time I could eat a little more that I have been eating since the illness. I really enjoyed the shrimp cocktail which was the largest shrimp I have seen in my life other than prawns. The lobster bisque soup was not to bad but I did not eat it all. The crispy goat cheese salad was very delicious even though I was use to having the cheese in crumbles this had a big round fried goat cheese on top. I ordered my steak medium well but it actually came out well done. At the suggestion of the waiter I had it butterfly cut because he said he would be more tender this way since I wanted it Med Well. Do not never let them do this to your filet mignon. I have always had it cooked med well and it was always tender and flavorful. This butterfly cut seemed to zap the flavor from it when cooked and to me it wasn’t nearly as tender as I have had in the past so I did not enjoy it like I usually do. On the new menu as a lot of you know now no longer have the rock salted baked potato and now have the “Tater Tots”. I am a meat and “BAKED” potato guy and if I am to continue to eat at Chops in the future they will need to bring back my potato and a good T-bone would be nice also. Now about the new cheesy tater tots – What we received was nowhere as big as pictures I have seen. As a matter of fact what we received we just a little larger than the regular tater tots you would buy in the store or maybe the size of a small shot glass. The cheese in them gave them flavor but they are not something I would want with my steak dinner. I tried one just to see and one was good enough for me. The ladies on the other hand enjoyed them and thought they were good. To each his own I guess! The pretzel bread was served fresh and warm and it was delicious. I didn’t care for the garlic butter they served with it however. One other thing I miss is the sauces and sauce reductions they use to offer for your steaks. My desert was the Red Velvet Cake and it was good as it has always been in Chops but I just didn’t think it had a fresh baked taste but rather it had a taste like it had been frozen and then thawed but as I said good nonetheless and I enjoyed it being that Red Velvet Cake is my favorite cake. Once again I could not eat everything I ordered because my appetite had not completely returned.

 

The DW enjoyed Chops but missed having the Lamb Chops that usually ordered in Chops which is no longer on the new menu. She said the French Onion Soup was very good as was the salad. She really enjoyed the veal chop (but mentioned throughout the meal about missing her lamb chops) and that thing was huge! She really liked the pretzel bread including the butter. The sugar free berry ice cream was delicious she said.

More of the same with the newbies as far as the pretzel bread and salad. Newbie #1 has never see such large shrimp and was really WoW’d by it. Newbie # 2 was not really impressed with the Dungeness crab cake but she said it was alright and she liked how the asparagus was cooked and taste. The both immensely enjoyed Braised Short Rib of Beef. It was plenty big and said it was cooked to perfection, very tender and at the right temperature as ordered. They also thought the chocolate mud pie was to die for! All in all the newbies thought Chops was great I was glad for them that they had no previous experience to compare it to so they could enjoy it for what it was as a 1st timer. For them Chops did not disappoint. Will I do Chops again….at this point I do not know. At the $30 price maybe, at $40…I just don’t know unless some of things I miss are put back on the menu.

Chops Dinner - DW – B / Me – C / Newbies – A

Chops Service – All – A+

 

Before we were served our food, I noticed through the windows that the sun was setting so I thought I'd shoot out real quick and take a couple of shots:

 

Sunset At Sea with Carnival ship in the background:

 

 

Up Next Debarkation! :(

Edited March 24, 2015 by bigque

[Buffettphan1]

Great review!!! Did you find it crowded with collage spring breakers?

[bigque]

Great review!!! Did you find it crowded with collage spring breakers?

 

We usually cruise in the month of October during our anniversary, but we wanted to take this cruise as a small getaway while waiting for our cruise this coming October and I did not even think about it being spring break time when I booked it. That being said we really like the October time frame to cruise as there are few kids due to the most part that have not been back in school but about a month. There were a lot of kids on this cruise from college age on down but surprisingly it never really seemed that crowded anywhere on the ship. One night at a party in the Viking Crown Lounge it was exteremely crowded but that was pretty much it. Even on the pool deck there always seemed to be som loungers where you can sit. Will I do a spring break cruise again.....I don't think so but all in all it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! :cool:

Edited March 24, 2015 by bigque

[Buffettphan1]

Thanks for the info!!!

[dixielady]

Oh I fort to add the grades for Coco Cay:

 

Coco Cay – Us – B+ / the Newbies – B+

BBQ Lunch – DW – B+ / The Newbies – A

 

 

CHOPS:

We reserved to eat at Chops on the last night, more so to let the newbies try different things on the cruise so they can get an overall impression of the different venues available to them. As for us this would be our 3rd time eating at Chops and the 1st time with the new menu. Dinner at Chops on Enchantment was $30.00. Were seated and greeted by our waiter who turned out to be very personable and friendly. He actually mad out pretty good in the tip at the end because I tipped him as well as the newbies even though I told them they did not have to because I was doing it. It was just that they liked his service so much they wanted to give him a tip also. After being seated and ready to order, we received the obligatory sales pitch for the upgraded dry aged 16oz NY Strip Steak ($19) or the 20oz Porter House Steak ($20 or $22 I believe). We declined.

 

Here is what we ordered:

Me – Lobster bisque soup / Colossal Shrimp Cocktail / Crispy Goat Cheese Salad / 9 oz Filet Mignon / Red Velvet Cake

DW – French Onion Soup / Caesar Salad / Veal Chop Parmesan / Sugar Free Ice Cream

Newbie #1 – Shrimp Cocktail / Crispy Goat Cheese Salad / Braised Short Rib of Beef / Chocolate Mud Pie

Newbie #2 – Dungeness Crab Cake / Caesar Salad / Lobster Bisque Soup /Braised Short Rib of Beef Chocolate Mud Pie

 

They bring to the table an assortment of vegetables – The “New Tater Tots”, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus and one other vegetable which forgot what it was. They also bring each person a pretzel bread roll with some type of garlic butter.

 

As far as myself, this was the 1st time I could eat a little more that I have been eating since the illness. I really enjoyed the shrimp cocktail which was the largest shrimp I have seen in my life other than prawns. The lobster bisque soup was not to bad but I did not eat it all. The crispy goat cheese salad was very delicious even though I was use to having the cheese in crumbles this had a big round fried goat cheese on top. I ordered my steak medium well but it actually came out well done. At the suggestion of the waiter I had it butterfly cut because he said he would be more tender this way since I wanted it Med Well. Do not never let them do this to your filet mignon. I have always had it cooked med well and it was always tender and flavorful. This butterfly cut seemed to zap the flavor from it when cooked and to me it wasn’t nearly as tender as I have had in the past so I did not enjoy it like I usually do. On the new menu as a lot of you know now no longer have the rock salted baked potato and now have the “Tater Tots”. I am a meat and “BAKED” potato guy and if I am to continue to eat at Chops in the future they will need to bring back my potato and a good T-bone would be nice also. Now about the new cheesy tater tots – What we received was nowhere as big as pictures I have seen. As a matter of fact what we received we just a little larger than the regular tater tots you would buy in the store or maybe the size of a small shot glass. The cheese in them gave them flavor but they are not something I would want with my steak dinner. I tried one just to see and one was good enough for me. The ladies on the other hand enjoyed them and thought they were good. To each his own I guess! The pretzel bread was served fresh and warm and it was delicious. I didn’t care for the garlic butter they served with it however. One other thing I miss is the sauces and sauce reductions they use to offer for your steaks. My desert was the Red Velvet Cake and it was good as it has always been in Chops but I just didn’t think it had a fresh baked taste but rather it had a taste like it had been frozen and then thawed but as I said good nonetheless and I enjoyed it being that Red Velvet Cake is my favorite cake. Once again I could not eat everything I ordered because my appetite had not completely returned.

 

The DW enjoyed Chops but missed having the Lamb Chops that usually ordered in Chops which is no longer on the new menu. She said the French Onion Soup was very good as was the salad. She really enjoyed the veal chop (but mentioned throughout the meal about missing her lamb chops) and that thing was huge! She really liked the pretzel bread including the butter. The sugar free berry ice cream was delicious she said.

More of the same with the newbies as far as the pretzel bread and salad. Newbie #1 has never see such large shrimp and was really WoW’d by it. Newbie # 2 was not really impressed with the Dungeness crab cake but she said it was alright and she liked how the asparagus was cooked and taste. The both immensely enjoyed Braised Short Rib of Beef. It was plenty big and said it was cooked to perfection, very tender and at the right temperature as ordered. They also thought the chocolate mud pie was to die for! All in all the newbies thought Chops was great I was glad for them that they had no previous experience to compare it to so they could enjoy it for what it was as a 1st timer. For them Chops did not disappoint. Will I do Chops again….at this point I do not know. At the $30 price maybe, at $40…I just don’t know unless some of things I miss are put back on the menu.

Chops Dinner - DW – B / Me – C / Newbies – A

Chops Service – All – A+

 

Before we were served our food, I noticed through the windows that the sun was setting so I thought I'd shoot out real quick and take a couple of shots:

 

Sunset At Sea with Carnival ship in the background:

 

 

Up Next Debarkation! :(

 

 

 

The best sunsets are out in the middle of the Caribbean. Beautiful pictures.

Enjoying your review.

[bigque]

Up Next Debarkation

We decided to walk off our own bags on debarkation. We got up early and had a quick breakfast in the Windjammer before going back to the room to get our luggage to depart. Breakfast in the Windjammer seemed almost as crowded as the 1st day and this day. The time for walk off with your luggage was between 7:30 & 8:30 and we were there at the meeting spot (Told to meet at the theater on the 5th deck) at about 7:10 and the line started moving at 7:30 sharp. This was the 1st time we did the self disembark and I really like that. Once the line started moving we were off the ship, through customs and out the door in less than 30 minutes. Fast and simple and I don’t really have anything else to add to it!

Now for some last minute checkout aisle #4 to close out the review:

Yes our room steward Nikki did make towel animals on the 2nd and 3rd day.

 

No we didn’t get any drink package as we usually will have 3 or 4 at the most drinks between the 2 of us the entire day.

Smoking was on the starboard side of the pool deck as well as the outside promenade on the 5th deck starboard side. Unless I walked close to the smoking area on the pool deck I didn’t notice it much when I walked by. I went out on deck 5 and I did not notice a lot of people smoking there as I have seen on this deck on previous cruises I have been on. Where smoke was really noticeable was in the casino. You have really endure it if you spend any time in there. It was especially bad in there when the outside decks we closed off the first night and smokers basically had nowhere else to go but there.

 

Overall we really enjoyed the cruise as I always do since my very first cruise.

 

This cruise was my 4th different class of ship and as of right now I like Freedom class (Specifically Freedom Of the Seas) the best with Serenade Of the Seas running a close 2nd. In the older class category I liked our first cruise on Sovereign Of The Seas better than Enchantment (I guess it’s a first love type of thing)!

 

Cruise Overall – Us – B / Newbies – B

I hope you all enjoyed the review and as I said if you have any questions fell free to ask.

:cool:

Edited March 24, 2015 by bigque

[bigque]

I thought of something I forgot in aisle 4 checkout. "The Park Cafe" in the solarium. We never made it there during the day for lunch but did go late night a couple of times. They had hot dogs and cheese an pepperoni pizza cut into little squares and also some little sandwiches. There was some small deserts and cookies also. It was alright for a late night snack to cure a little hunger and that is about it! As far as pizza I prefer Sorentos over what was offered here!

[CruiseCrazyCouple0611]

Thank You! Those Panthers will really need to step up there game this year with the roster they currently have. I hope they do more in the draft! :cool:

 

Yeah, what's with that? They make some of the dumbest draft decisions I've ever seen. And does Ron Rivera ever get mad? When the Panthers do something stupid, I'm yelling at the tv and he's standing on the sidelines with his arms crossed. Yell, pull somebody by the ear, do something! LOL. It's all good though. Go Panthers!