Live-- Enchantment of the Seas 8-night SE Coast and Perfect Day: March 25- April 2, 2022

[DragonOfTheSeas]

 

Join us as we set sail on the Enchantment of the Seas for the 4th time tomorrow.  The last time we sailed Enchantment was in March of 2012 before she left Baltimore. 

 

This will be our first cruise since March of 2020. We were on a scheduled B2B on the Grandeur of the Seas when cruising stopped.  We completed the first cruise, a 12-night Southern Caribbean cruise.  We were turned away from all but 2 islands and the Maryland Governor closed the port of Baltimore.  But he made an exception for the two ships still at sea.  We were very thankful. It was the most unusual cruise we have ever been on, but we had a good time. . . . and there was no Covid on the ship. The second cruise [same itinerary as this one] was cancelled.  Fast forward 2 years and 8 days and we are back!

 

I have been toying with the idea of doing a live thread.  I have done a number of these, and I find I pay more attention to the ship and excursion if I am sharing information. However, there were 2 excellent live threads on the recent Enchantment 2-day cruise [Radio and Rogueperson] and I wondered if there would be any interest.  Yesterday I read a thread by a passenger that had a so-so experience that raised several issues. So, here I am, and I will be sure to look for some of the issues the previous cruiser raised.  

 

 

[alex_drew]

YESSSS!!!  Please do "take us along" with you if it's not too much trouble.  Always love the live reviews and usually learn something new each time!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I joined our cruise roll call and a similar group on the site we can't mention. 🙄 

 

By far, the most frequent comments and questions have been about the pre cruise Covid test.  I admit to obsessing over it myself.  I had a plan A, B and C.  

 

Plan A was to reserve an Antigen test time in our hometown with Walgreens.  The CVS in our community stopped doing the tests.  Test appointments opened 1 week in advance and there were lots to choose from. I asked about the cost for the test.  The clerk told me there is no cost they bill the Virginia Health Department for the test,  

 

 

The test is done at the drive through window. The test took DH and I less than 5 minutes each to identify ourselves, get the swab, for us to use and return.  We were told if we were positive, they call us.  If negative, you get an email.  I got our 2 emails within 30 minutes. 

 

 

Plan B was to do a walk-in test at a Primary Urgent Care today at a city we passed through today on our way to DD house in Maryland. 

 

Plan C was to go to an Urgent Care in Maryland. 

 

 

[Another_Critic]

Sorry, I won't be following you virtually ... I'll be following you physically.  😄

 

I was on the Grandeur 8 night (Feb 20 to 28, 2020) just before you boarded.

 

I've done 3 cruises from Cape Liberty since the restart (Oasis - mid Oct, Anthem - Early and Late Dec).  Now I'm back at my "home" port to sail my first time on Enchantment. 

[CarolRoy]

Dragon:  We will be sailing with you tomorrow.  Please do the live thread.  See you at the M&G.  Carol & Roy

[Stealthdog]

I'll try not to break then the ship when I debark tomorrow.  Have a great cruise!  The staff (particularly MDR) is awesome.

[Another_Critic]

Just now, Stealthdog said:

I'll try not to break then the ship when I debark tomorrow.  Have a great cruise!  The staff (particularly MDR) is awesome.

So you are the person that broke the jogging track (above the towel station) on Grandeur.  😜  

[lovetocruise/diamond]

We will be sailing tomorrow with y’all 😁

[Stealthdog]

18 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

So you are the person that broke the jogging track (above the towel station) on Grandeur.  😜  

 

Sadly i have not been on Grandeur so cant be pinned with that one. 😕

 

And it wasnt me if the water fountain in the gym is still broken! 😜

 

My waiter just said you will have about 1700 passengers on board.

Edited March 24, 2022 by Stealthdog

[Rogueperson]

1 minute ago, Stealthdog said:

 

Sadly i have not been on Grandeur so cant be pinned with that one. 😕

 

My waiter just said you will have about 1700 passengers on board.

Slowly creeping up.

 

It was 1480 on March 5th.

 

Good luck, I too will be following along.  

[robnmac]

Thank you Dragon!  I love the live reviews.  We were on Enchantment in January, and will be on her in a few weeks.  
 

[BND]

We board on 2 Apr.  We're doing the Optum proctored home test but plan to make a Walgreen's appt just in case.   CVS has made it really difficult with their sudden unannounced changes.  I read where there are 1600 on the current cruise.

[MrFunInTheSun]

Thanks for bringing us along!

[cliftoncruiser]

My DH and I will also be sailing with you tomorrow.  This cruise was a lift and shift from Grandeur in March 2020.  I have sailed both ships and love the smaller ships.  Looking forward to your live review.  I always enjoy learning the experiences of others particularly when it is a ship or port that I use.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I am so glad so many of you are sailing along.  😁 Please feel free to add any and all information.  

 

Yes, I see that numbers are slowly rising.  I expected that with the recent easing of covid restrictions. I think they are trying to find the sweet spot for passenger numbers versus number of staff and services they have to provide. [ i.e. serving in the Windjammer] 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

34 minutes ago, cliftoncruiser said:

My DH and I will also be sailing with you tomorrow.  

DH and I love the town of Clifton.  We both grew up in Fairfax County.  [Vienna and Oakton]  

[sunny days]

I will be following. Thanks for doing this.

[DELTABLUE]

Dragon...So glad you decided to do this!  You know that I'll be hanging on your every word.  That last cruise we did together, Grandeur 3-7/19-20, was surely one for the books!  Had worried that we'd be kicked off somewhere or other but thrilled to hear that we were being grandfathered in and allowed to return to Baltimore, after the port had been closed.  In case you have not been keeping score, you'll have been away from the sea for 749 days!  I'll be boarding when you leave so my time away will be 757 days!!! ACK!!!!!!!!!  Can't wait to return and will enjoy via your wonderful observations until my time comes on 4-2-22.

[Allisin]

Please do the live thread. I was on Oasis in Oct and Enchantment in Feb. Will be with you tomorrow for b2b on Enchantment. Hope to see you there!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We originally booked this itinerary [for the cruise that was cancelled 2 years ago] because it visits Coco Cay.  That is still our motivation for this cruise.

 

I will give details on the various port stops.  However, here is an overview of our plans:

 

In Charleston we plan to ride the free downtown shuttle, the Dash, to the city market and just walk around.   

 

In Port Canaveral we have booked the ship's shuttle to Cocoa Beach.  

 

At Coco Cay we have reserved a daybed at Breezy Bay at Chill Island and the balloon. 

 

In Nassau we have reserved a day pass at Margaritaville.  

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Our check in time is 11:30 am.  We will be heading to the port in a couple of hours.  RCL has sent us at least 3 reminders not to arrive early.  So, we feel they will be checking passenger time slots. 

 

We are sailing in JS-8144.  When we booked this cruise, we decided that if we had to quarantine in our cabin at least we would have a balcony and space to move around.  Of course, that is not how they do it. But we did not know that then. 

 

One plus is the double points bonus promo. This 8-night cruise will give us 32 points. We should get a crystal block on this cruise. 

 

Our favorite feature of the Enchantment is the pool deck.  She is in the Vision class. which are the smallest and oldest ships.  However, Enchantment was cut in two and had a middle section added.  The downside of this is that there are more passengers, and some public spaces are crowded. The upside is a good-sized pool deck for the size ship. 

 

 

 

PS--I just got another text to remind me to arrive at my designated time.  OK--I get it. 🤣

Edited March 25, 2022 by DragonOfTheSeas

[Rogueperson]

7 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

 

One plus is the double points bonus promo. This 8-night cruise will give us 32 points. We should get a crystal block on this cruise. 

 

 

They did not have the blocks on my cruise.  They left me a note with information to fill in to have it shipped to me.  It said 6-8 weeks for delivery, so who knows.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

9 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

They did not have the blocks on my cruise.  They left me a note with information to fill in to have it shipped to me.  It said 6-8 weeks for delivery, so who knows.

That would be fine with me. They are very heavy, and it is one less thing to pack on the way home.

[Fshift]

12 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

They did not have the blocks on my cruise.  They left me a note with information to fill in to have it shipped to me.  It said 6-8 weeks for delivery, so who knows.

We are at 10 weeks and counting still haven't received ours. I am planning on calling at 12 weeks.

[Fshift]

4 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

That would be fine with me. They are very heavy, and it is one less thing to pack on the way home.

Dragon - love your live threads-will be following