Enchantment of the Seas Photo Review May 29-June 1st 3 night

[Kdamghani]

I love reading all the photo reviews on Cruise Critic and have finally decided to add my own.

 

I was traveling with my business partner who is also a good friend as we had a conference in Orlando that started Monday night and ended Wednesday night so why just go when required? Why not add a 3 night cruise?

 

We wish our wives could have joined us but having a 11month old on a ship didn't sound like a great plan.

 

Pre Cruise:

 

We arrived the night before the cruise as I always do (always paranoid about missing the ship with a delayed flight) in Orlando.

 

Arrived in MCO:

 

It is always difficult seeing the Disney cruise buses and signs at the Orlando airport as I have always wanted to try a Disney cruise for numerous reasons. I am a Disney vet and have been to Disney World 30+ times and it never gets easier seeing those buses and signs :) .

 

Orlando airport is very easy to get your luggage and get going with your car rental as Disney/Universal/Sea World is so close. It is definitely family centric for sure.

 

We stayed at the Rosen Plaza which was a pricelined hotel close to the convention center. Nothing notable but a clean room and worth the $80 but not worth much more than that. It was starting to show its age.

 

We arrived at around 3pm so we had the afternoon to explore. Not worth doing a Disney park so late in the day so we did a favorite of mine, Downtown Disney (Now called Disney Springs). It is under refurbishment as it is going through a multi year project but the parts that were completed were awesome!

 

The new parking garage at Disney Springs was outstanding! Each row showed how many parking spots were available! Every parking lot should have that!

 

Disney Springs new restaurant, The Boat House - eat inside a beautiful Chris Craft!

 

 

Wanted to buy this for my daughter at the store but it was so expensive!

 

 

After seeing Disney Springs and eating, it was only 6pm so we headed off to Universal City Walk to shop and grab some drinks.

 

 

Around 10pm we headed back to the hotel before heading to Port Canaveral the next morning.

Edited June 8, 2015 by Kdamghani

[Kdamghani]

In my opinion it is by far cheaper to rent a car while cruising out of Port Canaveral. There are shuttles from the airport that are $20 per person each way (Plus gratuity). That in and of itself is a good price but if you arrive early or decide to stay afterward, a car rental is by far the cheapest and best option.

 

We headed over after breakfast to Port Canaveral and arrived at Park n Cruise around 10:15am. Park n Cruise saved us $20 in parking (Total $40 instead of $60 at the port parking). They were very friendly, we waited about 25 minutes for a shuttle and were on our way to the Enchantment!

 

Cruise Terminal 1 was beautiful and appeared like it was built minutes before our arrival. The porters were very friendly and we were on our way to security.

 

 

I got in trouble for taking a picture of the security area but managed to press the button before being talked to about the no picture zone. The security is much easier than airport security, no shoes come off, no belts, no coats, etc. A breeze.

 

 

The check in area was huge and much different than in Port Everglades while sailing on the Oasis a couple years back - it was one large check in counter vs a U shape counter, it seemed efficient and totally adequate to handle the Oasis when she arrives later this year.

 

 

Plenty of seating and digital signage in the terminal while you wait to board the ship:

 

 

We arrived after boarding began due to waiting for the shuttle from our off-site parking. We waited in the Gold line for C&A members which moved much slower than the general check in. We watched people in the general line at the end move through twice before we were assisted. This is simply an observation, not a complaint as we were only in line about 15 minutes. After a quick check in, we headed to the ship!

 

 

[Kdamghani]

Staterooms weren't ready until 1:15pm as always on embarkation day, you head up to the Windjammer. Surprisingly, it was 11:55am and the Windjammer was closed! I have never seen the buffet closed on embarkation day at crunch time! (Keep reading for the reason why) There was a large line forming so we checked the opening times for the Park Cafe in the Solarium which said it opened at noon. We arrived at noon and it didn't actually open until 12:30 and there was no line for the full 30 minutes we waited. We waited in the Solarium while overlooking the Disney and Carnival ships that were in port with us.

 

After waiting for the Solarium to open, we saw that the USPH (United States Public Health a department of the CDC) had boarded the ship and were doing a VERY thorough inspection. There were about 5 officers following around the inspector that was inspecting the Park Cafe frantically writing notes and looked very stressed out. (The USPH inspection was likely the reason for the Windjammer and Park Cafe delay)

 

We personally watched the USPH officer check food temperature, refrigerator temperature, look through all food in the glass coolers, as well as inspect most of the silverware, plates, and cups. Wow!

 

My friend managed to get a picture (With me in it) of the USPH inspector:

 

 

On our 'Sea morning' to Nassau I rode the elevator with the Hotel Director who was with the USPH officer and I asked how the inspection went. He said it went flawless, just a couple points dinged for an exposed pipe in one of the galleys. He said the Enchantment normally gets inspected twice a year and they haven't been onboard for 14 months so this time they did an extra careful inspection and he said he was proud of his staff. Congratulations to the staff!

 

After eating, our staterooms were ready. We were able to snag an Oceanview for a great price with $150 OBC to split. We chose stateroom 3586 which is in the 'new' section of the Enchantment and the rooms looked very nice, especially the bathroom.

 

We were VERY disappointed on how dirty the windows were in our stateroom which were not cleaned (Inside or outside) the entire time we were on the ship. The only thing that wasn't up to par on this ship were the windows were so dirty everywhere onboard, not just our stateroom. I don't recall a single window onboard that was cleaned. On other Royal ships, especially the Oasis & Brilliance, every window was perfect.

 

 

For those who are curious about the letter in the staterooms about the Gold Crown and Anchor offers that are loaded onto your Seapass card, see below:

 

Edited June 8, 2015 by Kdamghani

[cajuncowgirl13]

I love photo reviews!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[amyphil]

Thank you so much, for the review...the photos are lovely...keep the narrative and photos coming.

 

My husband and I will be going on a three day cruise, in July, and your review is so helpful. If you still have the daily compass(s) could you post them...would really appreciate seeing them. Also, great to see what C & A members now get.

 

 

Amy

[Wilson]

Yes, thank you for the review.

 

Also interested if you or anyone has recent 3 night Cruise Compass' they can share. Recently off Navigator and we are still shopping our 2016 cruises and decided to take a long weekend cruise this Sept. with our adult sons on Enchantment.

[splash_in_the_water]

nice review so far...we were on just a month ago...miss her already ;)

[splash_in_the_water]

Yes, thank you for the review.

 

Also interested if you or anyone has recent 3 night Cruise Compass' they can share. Recently off Navigator and we are still shopping our 2016 cruises and decided to take a long weekend cruise this Sept. with our adult sons on Enchantment.

 

I think I still have ours from a month ago...I could probably be talked into snapping pics or scanning them tomorrow if you can wait....

[cincicruisers]

Great review, can't wait to read the rest.

[Kdamghani]

Unfortunately I never save any Cruise Compass's so I do not have any to share.

 

So after exploring the room, we headed to explore the ship and head to the muster drill.

 

 

After the muster drill, we headed straight to the sail away party but found ourselves on deck 10 aft to enjoy the departing view from Port Canaveral. We missed the party but enjoyed a very uncrowded viewing area.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kdamghani]

 

 

 

Some Day 1 observations:

• The enchantment was smaller than I imagined, not tiny by any means but I havn't traveled on such a small ship in years. It was noticibly smaller than the radience class
  
• The ship was VERY clean (Aside from EVERY window being obnoxiously dirty)
  
• The ship felt fresh and new even though it has been a while since refurbishment - some of the furniture was showing its age based on style not condition
  
• The ships officers were very visible all over the ship and very friendly
  

[Kdamghani]

We woke up around 8am and headed to the Windjammer. I noticed I was more impressed with the Windjammer food on this cruise than previous cruises.

 

After breakfast, we watched Nassau approach slowly from the bow for around an hour or so and relaxed while waiting for the C&A welcome back event. The weather was perfect the entire trip.

 

At 10:45am we headed to the Viking Crown Lounge for the welcome back event and were there a couple minutes early. We had a great seat overlooking the pool deck and we were approached by Millie, the guest services officer who was very friendly and pulled up a chair and we began chatting. Topics were family, life at sea, are you sick of Nassau and CoCo Cay yet, etc.

 

We were blown away with her friendliness and she later called down to our stateroom and offered us a free Chops grille invitation for the next evening. We couldn't believe it. After sailing so much and getting used to the cutbacks and added costs (Its a business, I get it) this gesture made our vacation something extra special. We felt rewarded for being loyal to Royal and this was unexpected and awesome!

 

We made sure to make a personal attempt to thank her for her kindness and were successful at finding her again.

 

I visit Chops on every Royal vacation but decided against it this time because I was traveling with my friend and not my wife but managed a Chops visit after all!

 

After the C&A event, we headed to lunch at the Windjammer as we docked into Nassau and were greeted by the Disney Dream, Carnival Fascination, Norwegian Sky, and Carnival Ecstasy.

 

 

 

 

We watched people get off the boat while eating lunch and soon joined them around 1pm (An hour after we docked). I always love pulling into Nassau and seeing the ships and Atlantis in the background. It was a busy port day, all berths were full.

Edited June 8, 2015 by Kdamghani

[amyphil]

Kdamghani....too bad about the compasses but love the review

 

Splash in the water.....would really appreciate it if you could scan your compasses

 

Amy

[theredwoodguy]

We got off the day you embarked. We had a conversation with our Assistant Waiter at dinner one night and he said that they were expecting to have a health inspection soon as it had been over a year since they had one. I guess he knew what he was talking about!

[cajuncowgirl13]

Disney Dream is a beautiful ship!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cajuncowgirl13]

I want to hear your review on chops :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kdamghani]

I want to hear your review on chops :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'm excited to share. Something super unique happened. Coming later

[AlexanderBeetle]

We were VERY disappointed on how dirty the windows were in our stateroom which were not cleaned (Inside or outside) the entire time we were on the ship. The only thing that wasn't up to par on this ship were the windows were so dirty everywhere onboard, not just our stateroom. I don't recall a single window onboard that was cleaned. On other Royal ships, especially the Oasis & Brilliance, every window was perfect.

 

It's funny, for a ship so well kept to have the window issue it does. We were on in October and noted the same thing. Everything else was visibly clean and well kept for a ship this age but the windows didn't look like they had been cleaned in quite some time :)

 

Loving the review. My wife and I are reliving our Enchantment cruise from last year.

[John&LaLa]

Curious why you parked your rental instead of doing a one way.

[Kdamghani]

Curious why you parked your rental instead of doing a one way.

 

A one way is $20 each way per person which was $80 for the two of us. If we parked the rental, it was only $40 with off site parking. Since we were doing a conference at the tail end, doing a longer rental saves money vs a 3 day rental on the price per day.

 

Also flying in if we did a shuttle, we would have flown in the day before, had to shuttle from the airport to hotel, skip sightseeing unless paying for a taxi (The airport to Disney is about 40 minutes each way so a taxi bill is $$), and then shuttle back to the airport to catch the shuttle to the port.

 

The way I see it (At least in my head) we saved about $100+/- by doing the rental car and parking it including the cost for gas.

 

Hope that helps

[Kdamghani]

Normally I like to have all of my to-do things booked before I leave home but I was traveling with a buddy who was more last minute and wanted to play it by ear. That was just fine.

 

We decided to look for scooter rentals despite Royal Caribbean not recommending it. Once we left the gates of the pier, we were hounded by Taxis, hair braiding, and other things to do. We looked for the scooter rental area and were whisked away to an area with about 5 different scooter rental vendors who were way overpriced. We haggled for a while with the one closest to the ships (DO NOT USE THEM) and they wouldn't let us rent the 'New' ones for the price agreed upon and had the two we were about to rent all torn apart. We waited about 45 minutes for them to fix the units and I was already getting cold feet but my buddy had faith in their 'fixes'. I told them we better not break down and they assured me that we wouldn't and just call them if we have any trouble. They also demanded a 'big nice tip' when we get back. We got our bikes and our 90000 year old helmets and were on our way.

 

Long story short, we got stranded and none of the phone numbers they gave us were working - out of service, disconnected, etc. I was livid. I left the scooter and rode back with my buddy and told them to go fetch their piece of junk.

 

We got our money back and went to the next scooter booth and haggled with them and got new scooters that worked great. We were also haggled for tips before we even left which puts a bad taste in my mouth. Side note: I will tip you if you don't ask and if the service is good. If its bad or you demand it, I will not tip you.

 

 

We had a great time on the scooters and rode around the island. We stopped after about 30 minutes at a beach and jumped in the ocean, it was great!

 

 

Along the way:

 

 

We had no agenda and it was great! We rode around to different beaches and stopped at a bar right overlooking a bay which was breathtaking and had a delicious bahama mama.

 

 

We had to get the bikes back by 6pm (We had them from 2:15 to 5:45). We made it back right on time and wanted to run to the ship to grab dinner. We were haggled for tips, they demanded them in a very rude way. We got our deposit back and I gave them $1 which was more of an offense. It wasn't my intent but they literally only helped me by handing me a paper map of the island. I would have tipped more if it was casually mentioned, not expected and in a harassing way.

 

We rushed back to the ship to change for formal night, ate dinner quick, stopped by guest services to thank Millie for the free Chops the next night in person.

 

After dinner we headed by Taxi ($4pp for a group) to Atlantis and walked the aquarium which is free after 6pm and hit the casino. Blackjack was hot this trip! I walked away with over $500 between the ship and Atlantis.

[Kdamghani]

 

 

Earlier we got to watch the Disney Dream leave. Was very cool to be able to see this up close and the power these ships have.

 

 

 

[Kdamghani]

We took some pictures of the ship at night. We got back with 15 minutes to spare after grabbing the photos.

 

 

 

[splash_in_the_water]

Kdamghani....too bad about the compasses but love the review

 

Splash in the water.....would really appreciate it if you could scan your compasses

 

Amy

 

alright, I'll give it a whirl at some point tonight....so I have to find them, make sure I can still scanner.....if I can't you'll get super high-res pics.....or just regular pics...i'll make it legible

[John&LaLa]

Sorry, I was referring to a one way car rental. Last one I did was under $30 from Budget