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Enchantment of the Seas August 15, 2016

baileymouse
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baileymouse

baileymouse

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Good morning!

 

My family & I boarded yesterday. So far it's a great cruise!

 

We flew into Fort Lauderdale the night before. We stayed in a Holiday Inn Express in FLL and it was fine. The next day we were picked up by Jiffy Jeff and I must say his service was excellent! We really enjoyed his commentary going to the cruise port. We arrived at the port at noon and embarkation was much easier than my last cruise. Cruising from Fort Lauderdale took forever to get us on the ship.

 

This is my daughter's first cruise. Being that she's 13, I was afraid that she would be a little blasé about everything. However she seems truly Enchanted. She did go up to the teen club but there wasn't anybody ther, so she decided to stay with us. That was fun.

 

The Windjammer was extremely crowded. They had to tell people to vacate the table so that other people have you down. After getting on board we did go to the Windjammer, got a little something to eat, and sat outside. After that we explored the ship. Everything is clean and neat. It took a long time to get our luggage but the ship was full.

 

My daughter and I have the Royal replenish package. Our only minor, and I do mean minor concern was that the cups weren't in our room and we had to ask for them last night. Not a big deal at all. Our shore Excursion tickets were waiting for us, and I went up to the desk to buy another tour and that was quickly handled. I did notice that the customer service desk is always busy.

 

We are in room 7558. Nice balcony room with a lot of useful storage. I'm surprised by how well the room storage was planned out.

 

Last night we had dinner in the dining room. It was the Mojo menu, and I went with the Mojo pork chop. My husband had salmon, my daughter had chicken breast. All 3 of us had Fish Filleted for an appetizer. Mine was made without shrimp due to my allergies. Everything was delicious. Our waiter, Marian, and our assistant waiter, Igor, were spot-on. My daughter is in awe & feels like royalty. The recommended carrot cake was also extremely good.

 

We loved the Solarium & wish the pool was open all night! We met the sweetest newlyweds in the hot tub, Chelsea & Andrew, and had fun speaking with them.

 

Side note: DH is having heart palpitations trying to keep a watch on DD. She's 13 but looks at leat 16, and he's glaring at every guy who looks at her, haha! :D

 

After dinner we decided to catch the entertainment. Latin Jams in Boleros was first and then it was Cabaret Jazz with the Royal Caribbean singers & Enchantment of the Seas band. One young woman was truly outstanding. I think her name was Julie or Juliana, I will check. The martini of the day was supposed to be fig but my husband asked for it in R bar & in Boleros but they were out of the ingredients. He had a delicious chocolate martini instead.

 

We walked up on deck late last night. It drizzled a bit & we saw lightning over the water. DH wanted a snack so we went up to Park Café where he ate the world's worst nachos, lol. He also had a mortadella sandwich. I had a Napoleon square & a bit of coffee. We came back to the room & passed out.

 

We just pulled into Nassau & it's raining but should clear up. Probably going to Melia today. More later.

 

Btw, Voom works so much better than the old system. Even my old tablet is doing fine with it.

 

Forgive any typos, this is a small, 4 year old tablet. :)

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TigerLady

TigerLady

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Good morning!

 

My family & I boarded yesterday. So far it's a great cruise!

 

We flew into Fort Lauderdale the night before. We stayed in a Holiday Inn Express in FLL and it was fine. The next day we were picked up by Jiffy Jeff and I must say his service was excellent! We really enjoyed his commentary going to the cruise port. We arrived at the port at noon and embarkation was much easier than my last cruise. Cruising from Fort Lauderdale took forever to get us on the ship.

 

This is my daughter's first cruise. Being that she's 13, I was afraid that she would be a little blasé about everything. However she seems truly Enchanted. She did go up to the teen club but there wasn't anybody ther, so she decided to stay with us. That was fun.

 

The Windjammer was extremely crowded. They had to tell people to vacate the table so that other people have you down. After getting on board we did go to the Windjammer, got a little something to eat, and sat outside. After that we explored the ship. Everything is clean and neat. It took a long time to get our luggage but the ship was full.

 

My daughter and I have the Royal replenish package. Our only minor, and I do mean minor concern was that the cups weren't in our room and we had to ask for them last night. Not a big deal at all. Our shore Excursion tickets were waiting for us, and I went up to the desk to buy another tour and that was quickly handled. I did notice that the customer service desk is always busy.

 

We are in room 7558. Nice balcony room with a lot of useful storage. I'm surprised by how well the room storage was planned out.

 

Last night we had dinner in the dining room. It was the Mojo menu, and I went with the Mojo pork chop. My husband had salmon, my daughter had chicken breast. All 3 of us had Fish Filleted for an appetizer. Mine was made without shrimp due to my allergies. Everything was delicious. Our waiter, Marian, and our assistant waiter, Igor, were spot-on. My daughter is in awe & feels like royalty. The recommended carrot cake was also extremely good.

 

We loved the Solarium & wish the pool was open all night! We met the sweetest newlyweds in the hot tub, Chelsea & Andrew, and had fun speaking with them.

 

Side note: DH is having heart palpitations trying to keep a watch on DD. She's 13 but looks at leat 16, and he's glaring at every guy who looks at her, haha! :D

 

After dinner we decided to catch the entertainment. Latin Jams in Boleros was first and then it was Cabaret Jazz with the Royal Caribbean singers & Enchantment of the Seas band. One young woman was truly outstanding. I think her name was Julie or Juliana, I will check. The martini of the day was supposed to be fig but my husband asked for it in R bar & in Boleros but they were out of the ingredients. He had a delicious chocolate martini instead.

 

We walked up on deck late last night. It drizzled a bit & we saw lightning over the water. DH wanted a snack so we went up to Park Café where he ate the world's worst nachos, lol. He also had a mortadella sandwich. I had a Napoleon square & a bit of coffee. We came back to the room & passed out.

 

We just pulled into Nassau & it's raining but should clear up. Probably going to Melia today. More later.

 

Btw, Voom works so much better than the old system. Even my old tablet is doing fine with it.

 

Forgive any typos, this is a small, 4 year old tablet. :)

 

Enjoying your review, as we have her booked for October, and have purchased the Voom package as well. Have a blast..

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baileymouse

baileymouse

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I bought the regular Voom surf package and so far so good. Facebook uploads have gone through pretty smoothly. Today I made a wifi call & it worked.

 

Yesterday was day two, Nassau. I was afraid that it wouldn't be a good day for the beach because it was raining in the morning. As we pulled into Port I was surprised when the rain came in, but it cleared up and the day was great. There were five ships in Port yesterday so it was very crowded. All of the other ships left much earlier and we were the only group that stayed until 11.

 

Since we had the whole day in Nassau we decided to have a leisurely breakfast in the dining room. My daughter is loving the dining room service. I thought the eggs benedict were very good and my husband has enjoyed everything that he's ordered. He's a big eater even though he's tall and skinny, and we hate him for it, only kidding. He gets a big fruit plate or he gets smoked salmon and then he gets eggs with it and he's been very happy.

 

We had decided to go to The Melia Beach Resort. We got off the ship and proceeded out to find the number 10 bus. The bus didn't take off until it was full, but it is really a bargain. A 1.25 get you anywhere on Cable Beach. Our driver let us off where we needed to go, we walked over to the Melia and I bought our tickets. It included towels. They are still handing out old information sheets that stay non-motorized water sports equipment is included but it's not. You get the use of the pools and the ocean and you get towels but that's it.

 

I still think it was a bargain. The beach was gorgeous & the pools were great. Food is very expensive, so plan ahead on that front. We stayed out until 3:30. Then we took the bus back. My husband decided to walk around Nassau and sightsee while my daughter and I went back to get ready for dinner. When we finished he came in and then we were able to go upstairs for dinner.

 

My husband found the library but there was no time for me to go out and see it. I wish I had, being a librarian myself I'd like to visit other libraries when I'm on vacation.

 

We have the 6 p.m. seating for dinner. We've been extremely fortunate with excellent wait staff. They had our wine waiting and chilled, everything was set up beautifully, and Marian, our waiter, made wonderful dinner suggestions. Last night was Saffron menu night. I had a chilled banana & rum soup with Tahitian vanilla, scallops in an herb butter sauce, and the most amazing beef tenderloin. DH had escargot, the beef tenderloin & lobster ravioli. Marian knows my husband likes variety & keeps bringing us extra dishes to try. DD had a grilled chicken salad appetizer, some of the scallops, and linguini pomodoro. For dessert my husband & I both chose the chocolate souffle, and DD had a brownie, cookie & ice cream combo.

 

After dinner my husband wanted us to go back into Nassau. We walked around the town, looking at different buildings until after dark. We haven't been to Nassau since 2000, and it was nice to see it again.DH had a great conversation with a local artist and enjoyed learning more about the local economy and arts. DD stayed in to read for awhile. She has some sunburn & I think she needed the downtime.

 

Later in the evening we went to see the Love & Marriage show. I had seen it once before but my husband has never seen it and I thought he'd enjoy it. He did, but I noticed they're using the same questions that used three years ago. Some of the people on stage look like they knew all the answers. The newlywed couple won. They were adorable. The show went on a bit too long & we missed being on deck for sailaway. We walked around Deck 10, watched Nassau fade, and then he wanted to go back to Park Cafe for a snack, haha.

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baileymouse

baileymouse

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Day 3, Coco Cay! I got up later than usual today, at 7:45. Usually I'm up much earlier because of work. We grabbed a quick breakfast and then got our stuff together to go. I didn't bring any money and I'm glad I didn't. I really didn't like the overpriced souvenirs on the island. When I looked I said I'd rather buy something on the ship.

 

The tenders are an efficient means of transportation. Ahead of time I was afraid I was going to be seasick because I had gotten sick on a whale watching cruise last year. However, this was very smooth and I didn't have any issues. I couldn't hear any of the announcements because of the engine noise but it didn't matter.

 

I had bought the snorkeling Excursion for all 3 of us. I had been snorkeling in Cozumel on my last cruise, but this was a first for DH & DD. They loved it. We didn't see too much because a storm had churned up the area & they red flagged the more distant spots. I did see a sting ray & some interesting fish.

 

I ditched my snorkeling gear after about an hour because I wanted to swim without it. I think I enjoyed that much better, although the water is so salty I did want to keep my eyes covered. We have Speedo goggles with us that I had bought in a bulk pack at Costco. That worked out very well. The water is gorgeous but the beach is she'll & rocky, so you might want to bring Aqua shoes.

 

I had to laugh at the seagull Invasion. Right before lunch was served, the birds all showed up and started to caw. There's a sign saying not to feed the birds but the birds help themselves. If you leave your plate unattended even for a minute they will swoop down and grab everything. I also saw them take things directly off of people's plates as they were holding them. They seem to go for the more carbohydrate filled meals with lots of french fries, things that they can carry easily.

 

Lunch was mostly different barbecue food. I didn't have the hot dogs or hamburgers. I chose a piece of the brisket, a piece of cod, and the ribs. I also took a piece of corn. The ribs were good, the brisket and cod were very good, but the corn was terrible. I am spoiled by some really great sweet Jersey corn this year. My daughter got one of those drinks in a pineapple and she enjoyed it.

 

By 2 o'clock I was completely overheated and feeling dehydrated. I decided to head back to the ship. My daughter decided to come with me. My husband stayed. It felt great to take a shower and get a cool drink. DD & I went to check out Cafe Lattitudes where she found her favorite: red velvet cupcakes. I tried a piece of the Wonka pie. It's very sweet.

 

Now we're relaxing & waiting for DH to come back.

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baileymouse

baileymouse

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We're looking forward to Key West tomorrow. I signed us up for the Trolley.

 

Tonight has been a blast. My daughter hit the 10.00 sale and picked up a shirt & 4 bracelets. When we arrived back in our room we had a Sea lion towel, and it was wearing my daughter's sunglasses!

 

We went to tonight's magic show. It was ok, not my cup of tea & I nodded off. After that it was time for the 70s dance party which was oodles of fun. Good thing we went: DH ate 3 entrees at dinner! It was Italian night, Pimiento. He had the eggplant parm, lasagna & chicken marsala. I think his favorite was the lasagna. He is bottomless!

 

There's always so much to do. I wish I had watched The Race out by the pool. They keep showing Batman vs. Superman, which I found boring & disjointed.

 

We caught the Belly Flop competition, too funny!

 

More tomorrow :)

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baileymouse

baileymouse

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Day 4 - Key West

 

Woke up early to get ready since we were in the early departure group. If you have shore excursion tickets you get off the ship more quickly. That worked. The immigration process was quite simple: they lined us up, looked at our passports, and we were done.

 

The hop-on, hop-off Old Town Trolley was pretty good. One driver had trouble with his PA system and we couldn't hear anything, but we got off near the Hemingway House.

 

We loved the Hemingway House. My daughter is cat obsessed (in a house with 6 rescue cats, 1 rescue dog how could she not be?) and was happy to pet all the different cats. The history was interesting and the house is great to see. I took a short video of one of the bathrooms to put on a Mid-Century Modern Kitsch board on a certain social media site because the flooring was a wild yellow & black combination.

 

The Hemingway House is apparently the most popular place to get married in Key West. I just wonder if the cats attend the weddings.

 

After that we walked around, visited the Six-Toed Cat Cafe for iced coffee & smoothies, then my husband wanted to go to Johnson's grocery because someone told him the homemade conch salad was good. It was!

 

We then walked up to Duval and I bought a stronger sunscreen. We went to Caroline's for conch fritters, then we walked down to the Mile Marker 0 spot for pictures. After that I made my husband walk to the Public Library because that's what librarians do while on vacation. It's a good place to charge your phone, get guest internet access and use a bathroom if you're in the area. The library staff are all pleasant. My husband had a hilarious conversation with the police officer on duty about the police on duty in my library.

 

We walked back up to Duval and caught the Trolley again and did the rest of the tour. Then, when we got back to Mallory Square, we did some shopping. My husband bought a bunch of t-shirts and my daughter hit the Heavenly Couture store for a cheap dress. I think my daughter got the biggest laugh from all the roosters running around. They really can't tell time and crow whenever they feel like it.

 

We tried the Key Lime Pie on a stick and well, I would have been happier with regular key lime pie. It doesn't need chocolate!

 

Once back on the ship I showered while my husband hit the Ben & Jerry's, then the pool. He came back and changed and we all went to the final night of dinner. I didn't tell him or my daughter about the waiter parade ahead of time, so they were surprised & entertained. Our waiter, Marian, sang O Sole Mio and he has a very nice voice. Last night's dinner was the Basil menu. My husband and I both had the smoked duck appetizer and the cod. Truly outstanding. My daughter had linguini pomodoro. I was surprised she didn't pick the chicken cordon bleu. Dessert was baba au rhum.

 

We went to the Centrum after dinner to see the parade of flags. That was great! Loved seeing all these beautiful faces smiling and dancing while holding all those flags. If only it could always be this way, with people from 75 countries getting along and having a great time together.

 

We attended the 9PM Stage and Screen musical show. The singers & dancers are very good. One singer in particular (Julie?) seems to be able to switch back and forth from sultry jazz to Broadway style tunes with no problem. I would be surprised if she doesn't have a good musical future.

 

We went over to the photo gallery and picked out a small set to buy, mostly because my daughter really wanted them. She looks great, of course she wanted them, haha. I put together envelopes for our stateroom attendant, our waiter and our assistant waiter, and dropped them into the box at the desk. I also hit Cafe Lattitudes for a decaf cafe mocha.

 

Then it was back to the R Bar to listen to more music. I was exhausted so we went upstairs, took a final look off of deck 10, and went to sleep.

 

Got up early this morning after a bad night's sleep. I am not sure if it's my husband's snoring, my own anxiety - I'm not usually an anxious person but I'm worried about my pets and I'm starting a new job very soon - or just being worried about having everything ready. I was up and out before they got up. I had breakfast and lots of coffee, then headed over to get my ordered pictures. I'm desperately trying to stay away from the Next Cruise desk, lol. I am on Majesty in December for a weekend birthday cruise for a friend. I also have Anthem booked for my anniversary next June.

 

I made one final stop at Cafe Lattitudes for a latte and I'm now sitting on Royal's computers, using up the last of my internet access. We're back in cell phone range but it's much easier to type on here!

 

Quick thoughts:

 

The Freestyle machine on Deck 6 was out of order for the entire cruise. Of the two machines in the Windjammer area, the one on the left didn't read my cup half the time and seemed to malfunction quite a bit. The one on the right was fine.

 

Wondering if there's supposed to be a print hanging above the couch in our stateroom (7558). There isn't, just a couple of rivets in the wall.

 

I still wish the Solarium pool stayed open later. It would have been nice to have after-dinner dips.

 

Loved so much about this trip. Enchantment is a lovely ship and the crew is great. Michele the Cruise Director was pretty funny, Mauricio his assistant was a hoot, and the Captain was a gentleman. Our waiter and assistant waiter were outstanding and I am going to be sure to mention that in our review.

 

I can't really comment on the teen program because my daughter never went. While she loved the cruise, I think she would have been happier with her bestie along.

 

I keep wishing I could talk my own bestie into going, but she & her husband tend towards seasickness and are terrified.

 

It doesn't look like anyone bought any of the art.

 

I want to stay!

 

I am bringing home the Cruise Compasses and will scan them at work sometime next week.

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debnbret

debnbret

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Day 4 - Key West

 

Woke up early to get ready since we were in the early departure group. If you have shore excursion tickets you get off the ship more quickly. That worked. The immigration process was quite simple: they lined us up, looked at our passports, and we were done.

 

The hop-on, hop-off Old Town Trolley was pretty good. One driver had trouble with his PA system and we couldn't hear anything, but we got off near the Hemingway House.

 

We loved the Hemingway House. My daughter is cat obsessed (in a house with 6 rescue cats, 1 rescue dog how could she not be?) and was happy to pet all the different cats. The history was interesting and the house is great to see. I took a short video of one of the bathrooms to put on a Mid-Century Modern Kitsch board on a certain social media site because the flooring was a wild yellow & black combination.

 

The Hemingway House is apparently the most popular place to get married in Key West. I just wonder if the cats attend the weddings.

 

After that we walked around, visited the Six-Toed Cat Cafe for iced coffee & smoothies, then my husband wanted to go to Johnson's grocery because someone told him the homemade conch salad was good. It was!

 

We then walked up to Duval and I bought a stronger sunscreen. We went to Caroline's for conch fritters, then we walked down to the Mile Marker 0 spot for pictures. After that I made my husband walk to the Public Library because that's what librarians do while on vacation. It's a good place to charge your phone, get guest internet access and use a bathroom if you're in the area. The library staff are all pleasant. My husband had a hilarious conversation with the police officer on duty about the police on duty in my library.

 

We walked back up to Duval and caught the Trolley again and did the rest of the tour. Then, when we got back to Mallory Square, we did some shopping. My husband bought a bunch of t-shirts and my daughter hit the Heavenly Couture store for a cheap dress. I think my daughter got the biggest laugh from all the roosters running around. They really can't tell time and crow whenever they feel like it.

 

We tried the Key Lime Pie on a stick and well, I would have been happier with regular key lime pie. It doesn't need chocolate!

 

Once back on the ship I showered while my husband hit the Ben & Jerry's, then the pool. He came back and changed and we all went to the final night of dinner. I didn't tell him or my daughter about the waiter parade ahead of time, so they were surprised & entertained. Our waiter, Marian, sang O Sole Mio and he has a very nice voice. Last night's dinner was the Basil menu. My husband and I both had the smoked duck appetizer and the cod. Truly outstanding. My daughter had linguini pomodoro. I was surprised she didn't pick the chicken cordon bleu. Dessert was baba au rhum.

 

We went to the Centrum after dinner to see the parade of flags. That was great! Loved seeing all these beautiful faces smiling and dancing while holding all those flags. If only it could always be this way, with people from 75 countries getting along and having a great time together.

 

We attended the 9PM Stage and Screen musical show. The singers & dancers are very good. One singer in particular (Julie?) seems to be able to switch back and forth from sultry jazz to Broadway style tunes with no problem. I would be surprised if she doesn't have a good musical future.

 

We went over to the photo gallery and picked out a small set to buy, mostly because my daughter really wanted them. She looks great, of course she wanted them, haha. I put together envelopes for our stateroom attendant, our waiter and our assistant waiter, and dropped them into the box at the desk. I also hit Cafe Lattitudes for a decaf cafe mocha.

 

Then it was back to the R Bar to listen to more music. I was exhausted so we went upstairs, took a final look off of deck 10, and went to sleep.

 

Got up early this morning after a bad night's sleep. I am not sure if it's my husband's snoring, my own anxiety - I'm not usually an anxious person but I'm worried about my pets and I'm starting a new job very soon - or just being worried about having everything ready. I was up and out before they got up. I had breakfast and lots of coffee, then headed over to get my ordered pictures. I'm desperately trying to stay away from the Next Cruise desk, lol. I am on Majesty in December for a weekend birthday cruise for a friend. I also have Anthem booked for my anniversary next June.

 

I made one final stop at Cafe Lattitudes for a latte and I'm now sitting on Royal's computers, using up the last of my internet access. We're back in cell phone range but it's much easier to type on here!

 

Quick thoughts:

 

The Freestyle machine on Deck 6 was out of order for the entire cruise. Of the two machines in the Windjammer area, the one on the left didn't read my cup half the time and seemed to malfunction quite a bit. The one on the right was fine.

 

Wondering if there's supposed to be a print hanging above the couch in our stateroom (7558). There isn't, just a couple of rivets in the wall.

 

I still wish the Solarium pool stayed open later. It would have been nice to have after-dinner dips.

 

Loved so much about this trip. Enchantment is a lovely ship and the crew is great. Michele the Cruise Director was pretty funny, Mauricio his assistant was a hoot, and the Captain was a gentleman. Our waiter and assistant waiter were outstanding and I am going to be sure to mention that in our review.

 

I can't really comment on the teen program because my daughter never went. While she loved the cruise, I think she would have been happier with her bestie along.

 

I keep wishing I could talk my own bestie into going, but she & her husband tend towards seasickness and are terrified.

 

It doesn't look like anyone bought any of the art.

 

I want to stay!

 

I am bringing home the Cruise Compasses and will scan them at work sometime next week.

 

Thank you so much for the detailed review. Sailing on the Enchantment for the first time September 26 on the same itinerary. Looking forward to the Cruise Compasses...

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baileymouse

baileymouse

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Will it be Saffron and then Pimento in the MDR?

Would like to hear which one of the menues you enjoyed the most.

 

Every night was better than the last. Mojo, Saffron, Pimiento, and Basil. I think Saffron & Pimiento were our favorites. Everything was outstanding, though.

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ValerieJo

ValerieJo

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Thank you for the great review. We are doing this itinerary and Enchantment for the first time over the Christmas holiday.

 

I do have one question - Did you do the hop on Trolley for Key West through the ship excursion desk or buy the tickets on the island?

 

Thank you again for taking the time to post.

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baileymouse

baileymouse

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Thank you for the great review. We are doing this itinerary and Enchantment for the first time over the Christmas holiday.

 

I do have one question - Did you do the hop on Trolley for Key West through the ship excursion desk or buy the tickets on the island?

 

Thank you again for taking the time to post.

 

We booked at the cruise desk. It was 29 a person. If you book through the cruise line you go through the immigration line first, and I thought that might be an enticement. The Trolley tours are cheaper off the ship - there are two competing companies.

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