Live from the Enchanted Princess 02/28 - 03/10

[hllwdcruiser]

There are so many Live Froms going on right now so I will keep this one brief - I’ll give updates and hope to be able to answer all questions. 
The ship is beautiful. The crew clapped as we got onboard and we felt a sense of excitement that we haven’t felt since we were cruise newbies. 
The crew have told us that tomorrow is our “Graduation Day” and no masks will be required except in the theatre and casino. Crew will continue to have to wear masks. 
Churchill’s still has a no smoking sign out front so I am assuming it is the same for the Casino. 
We just finished our muster drill in our cabin and are heading down to our muster station to get that out of the way. 
Then we have to go get Steve’s app fixed - he was all green on mine and his medallion is working but he was yellow on his phone and he keeps getting that dreaded white screen…..

We will probably grab a bite to eat at GiGi’s since that is our embarkation lunch tradition (Alfredo’s) on the Royal class. 
More Later!

[MissP22]

Let us know if most people are masking in the show lounge and casino. 

[Turk1]

Can you also check and see if Amalfi DR is open for passengers for dining at night? Another thread had mentioned that it is used for Crew dining.

Thanks

[Host CJSKIDS]

Have a wonderful cruise. Bon Voyage!

[hllwdcruiser]

So Marcus,, our cruise director, informed us  that masks are optional from today onwards. 

I would say it’s about 50/50 as far as the mask wearers vs the non mask wearers. 
We are currently sitting at Good Spirits. Just learned that you can’t get the special drinks until 5 so we are patiently waiting….In the meantime Steve treated himself to a Dirty Banana. Our Bartender tonight is Jo (Joaquim) 

[hllwdcruiser]

Some people have been interested in the cabins with the slightly larger balconies on the Sun Deck. We had the same cabin on the Sky Princess back in 2020. This time we were moved from a prime location on the Dolphin deck to an undesirable location. We changed it to this tried and true cabin. It was a downgrade so we were given some onboard credit. It is very high and forward so luckily we are not prone to sea sickness. We love being so close to the Retreat Pool. 

 

 

[hllwdcruiser]

2 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Have a wonderful cruise. Bon Voyage!

Thank you!

[hllwdcruiser]

4 hours ago, Turk1 said:

Can you also check and see if Amalfi DR is open for passengers for dining at night? Another thread had mentioned that it is used for Crew dining.

Thanks

Amalfi is open. Santorini is.closed for crew. Keep in mind that Amalfi is all the way aft on Deck 6. 

[hllwdcruiser]

5 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Let us know if most people are masking in the show lounge and casino. 

Will do

[hllwdcruiser]

Masks are optional and no longer mandatory. I would guess that less than half of the folks in the theatre at the 9 PM show were wearing them. 

For those of you concerned about the new lax protocols, now may not be the best time for you to cruise. 

 

Comedian Steve Moris performed tonight - we found him very funny.

There are 2033 passengers onboard - the most since Enchanted hit the seas. 

 

The service has been phenomenal  until we went to dinner in the Amalfi dining room. The line to get in snaked up the stairs and once seated, it took over an hour to be served our main course. It took over 2 hours to finish the meal.The couple seated next to us gave up and actually got up and left before their dinners were served. I think they went up to the buffet.

 

The waitstaff never stopped running and trying with there usual cheerful, eager to please attitudes. It certainly wasn't their fault. They may be having a difficult time adjusting to the higher number of passengers. Perhaps it is time to open up the Santorini dining room.

 

Princess Cays tomorrow. 

 

We are so happy to be back on a cruise. Nothing is better than this. 

 

[MissP22]

6 hours ago, hllwdcruiser said:

Masks are optional and no longer mandatory. I would guess that less than half of the folks in the theatre at the 9 PM show were wearing them. 

For those of you concerned about the new lax protocols, now may not be the best time for you to cruise. 

 

Comedian Steve Moris performed tonight - we found him very funny.

There are 2033 passengers onboard - the most since Enchanted hit the seas. 

 

The service has been phenomenal  until we went to dinner in the Amalfi dining room. The line to get in snaked up the stairs and once seated, it took over an hour to be served our main course. It took over 2 hours to finish the meal.The couple seated next to us gave up and actually got up and left before their dinners were served. I think they went up to the buffet.

 

The waitstaff never stopped running and trying with there usual cheerful, eager to please attitudes. It certainly wasn't their fault. They may be having a difficult time adjusting to the higher number of passengers. Perhaps it is time to open up the Santorini dining room.

 

Princess Cays tomorrow. 

 

We are so happy to be back on a cruise. Nothing is better than this. 

 

OMG ! What time did you arrive for dinner? 

[MissP22]

Were the taco and Barreto stands open at Princess Cays?

Any Mardi Gras party scheduled for tonight in the Piazza?

[dweidensaul]

21 hours ago, hllwdcruiser said:

So Marcus,, our cruise director, informed us  that masks are optional from today onwards. 

I would say it’s about 50/50 as far as the mask wearers vs the non mask wearers. 
We are currently sitting at Good Spirits. Just learned that you can’t get the special drinks until 5 so we are patiently waiting….In the meantime Steve treated himself to a Dirty Banana. Our Bartender tonight is Jo (Joaquim) 

Good choice on the boozy milkshake.  Enjoy the "Butterfly" at Good Spirits later.  It's great.

[dweidensaul]

15 hours ago, hllwdcruiser said:

Masks are optional and no longer mandatory. I would guess that less than half of the folks in the theatre at the 9 PM show were wearing them. 

For those of you concerned about the new lax protocols, now may not be the best time for you to cruise. 

 

Comedian Steve Moris performed tonight - we found him very funny.

There are 2033 passengers onboard - the most since Enchanted hit the seas. 

 

The service has been phenomenal  until we went to dinner in the Amalfi dining room. The line to get in snaked up the stairs and once seated, it took over an hour to be served our main course. It took over 2 hours to finish the meal.The couple seated next to us gave up and actually got up and left before their dinners were served. I think they went up to the buffet.

 

The waitstaff never stopped running and trying with there usual cheerful, eager to please attitudes. It certainly wasn't their fault. They may be having a difficult time adjusting to the higher number of passengers. Perhaps it is time to open up the Santorini dining room.

 

Princess Cays tomorrow. 

 

We are so happy to be back on a cruise. Nothing is better than this. 

 

2033 passengers is only 73 more passengers than the 2/8-2/18 cruise.  I don't think your passenger count alone is what overwhelmed them.

[Buckeye10640]

49 minutes ago, dweidensaul said:

2033 passengers is only 73 more passengers than the 2/8-2/18 cruise.  I don't think your passenger count alone is what overwhelmed them.

We sailed end of Nov for 10 days with 1800ish passengers. Never had a line for the MDR, but we always had reservations around 6pm. Wonder what has changed.  

[hllwdcruiser]

12 hours ago, MissP22 said:

OMG ! What time did you arrive for dinner? 

I wrote a long response yesterday and somehow it got lost in cyberspace. Hopefully, this one will go through. 

Our reservations were for 6:40. We met some people at the pool yesterday who ran into the same issue in Capri. Their reservations were at 7 and they had to skip dessert to see the show.

Ah well, I’m sure the kinks will eventually be worked out. 

 

We were particularly uninspired by the menu in the MDR so we made reservations at Sabatini’s for tonight. We haven’t eaten there in years, but I’ve been inspired by the recent rave reviews on this forum so we are giving it another go. 

 

I’m super excited that we got selected for the Winemaker’s dinner tomorrow night and we have reservations at Bistro Sur La Mer on Thursday. So hopefully, when we finally go back to the MDR on Friday, service will be a little swifter. 
 

Speaking of the Bistro…We have a long port day on Thursday at St Thomas so I requested to be seated at one of their outside tables. The hostess told me that they don’t serve out there because it is too windy. I asked her if they do if the ship isn’t moving, but she seemed noncommittal.  
Perhaps this Al Fresco dining thing looked better on the drawing board than in reality. 

 

We had a glorious day at Princess Cays today. We found a place in the shade on the right side - all the venues there are still completely closed but it was good exercise to walk to the left for our drinks. It sure couldn’t hurt because I think we may have a few extra pounds to work off! We’ve never been on the Cays with so few people. It truly felt like a private island. 
 

We gave up on the barbecue years ago and returned to the ship for a buffet lunch. Food is subjective, but we have found everything we’ve had so far,  from the MDR to the buffet, really, really good. 
 

I’m sitting on my balcony right now as I write this. I’m keeping an eye out for those elusive flying fish. Our friend from Barbados said we have to try some fried flying fish when we are there. I never even heard of it before but apparently it is something we shouldn’t miss. 
 

it’s 5:15 and I’m feeling a little less full - that means it must be time to eat again!

Thanks for reading along - more later!

[hllwdcruiser]

Just a side note on the mask wearing. Very, very few people are wearing them onboard. We never received the notice that @Host CJSKIDS received on the Regal. I’ll ask around to see if anyone else did and will check out the theatre and casino tonight. 

[hllwdcruiser]

3 hours ago, dweidensaul said:

Good choice on the boozy milkshake.  Enjoy the "Butterfly" at Good Spirits later.  It's great.

[hllwdcruiser]

6 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Were the taco and Barreto stands open at Princess Cays?

Any Mardi Gras party scheduled for tonight in the Piazza?

I didn’t see any stands or food trucks but didn’t really explore the left side too much except to get drinks at the bar. 
I haven’t been down to the Piazza tonight but there wasn’t anything there this morning for Mardi Gras. 

[texas680]

We’re sailing in a few weeks and DH is hoping Churchill’s will reopen for cigar smoking.  Would you please check/ask if it’s reopened or will soon for smoking since the mask changes took effect today?

[Jeal]

Thank you for the video of the cabin. It looks like a great balcony. 

[Donyb]

We'll be boarding on the 10th so I am enjoying going along with you on your cruise. We were on the Enchanted in November and really loved it.  We also had some issues of slow service in the MDR, but we couldn't fault our waitress. She was always running and did her best. 

[First time princess]

On 2/28/2022 at 4:21 PM, hllwdcruiser said:

Some people have been interested in the cabins with the slightly larger balconies on the Sun Deck. We had the same cabin on the Sky Princess back in 2020. This time we were moved from a prime location on the Dolphin deck to an undesirable location. We changed it to this tried and true cabin. It was a downgrade so we were given some onboard credit. It is very high and forward so luckily we are not prone to sea sickness. We love being so close to the Retreat Pool. 

IMG_0650.MOV 216.81 MB · 43 downloads  

 

 

IMG_0650.MOV

Great video I am having withdrawals lol from just getting off Ruby princess last Friday , your video reminded me of the wonderful time I had 

[EllieinNJ]

Hope you're having a great time.

[JF - retired RRT]

2 hours ago, Donyb said:

 

Double post strikes again.

Edited March 2, 2022 by JF - retired RRT