Enchanted Thanksgiving 2022 Southern Caribbean review with patters, menus, and pics of food

[rocklinmom]

Thank you for posting the menus and food pics!! 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

9 hours ago, nwnittany said:

In general, have you been in shorts and T-shirt every day ? 

absolutely!

We travel from Atlanta, so we always start out in at least a sweater and pants (the weather is always different in Atlanta this time a year - ranges from 35F to 75F) and sometimes winter jackets and hats, but by the time we get to FLL or MIA - it's shorts and t-shirt time. And then you go further south. And it only gets warmer. 

 

The only place we encountered while cruising that wasn't very warm was Cozumel in December (once). We usually cruise in November and April (school breaks), and it's always lovely.

 

The last two days (sea days) were unbearably hot and humid for me, but DH and DS managed to play ping pong on Lido for a couple of hours straight in that weather.

 

We always bring a sweatshirt/sweater with us for theater and MDR use, and this time we had to use them in the theater as it was a bit chilly. MDR, though, had a pleasant ambient temperature every night. The buffet is very chilly during dinner time in the bistro area, but once you go further down to the end - it's much warmer. During the day on hot days the buffet's AC is working overtime, but barely manages to keep it cool, especially close to both ends when doors to the outdoors keep opening every 10 seconds.

[FantasiCat]

I’m loving the menus and food pics! Excellent review.

[one.new.island.a.year]

47 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

.We always bring a sweatshirt/sweater with us for theater and MDR use, and this time we had to use them in the theater as it was a bit chilly. MDR, though, had a pleasant ambient temperature every night. The buffet is very chilly during dinner time in the bistro area, but once you go further down to the end - it's much warmer. During the day on hot days the buffet's AC is working overtime, but barely manages to keep it cool, especially close to both ends when doors to the outdoors keep opening every 10 seconds.

Thank you for this! Super helpful to know what to pack. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

I am so happy you all like my review!!! It means a lot to me!

 

So, let's take a break from food for just a moment and talk about entertainment (major theater productions). Prior to this cruise, we had seen the same old and tired Princess shows many times and weren't ever too impressed or excited about them. We've always cruised with Princess for food and sometimes the itinerary instead.

 

Well, it all changed on this cruise. My guess is Princess is really trying to appeal more to the whole family (and not just the older demographic) and somewhat younger cruisers like us (mid 40s).

 

We didn't see the first night's comedian or the Celine Dion and Elton John tributes, and we have also opted to skip "Heart of Music" with Solomon Jaye. He may have been very good, but we were afraid that it would be the same old style singing with songs from a generation or two before us, and I have a difficult time already with dragging DH and DS to the entertainment venues as it is.

 

We absolutely loved the Rock Opera! Even my DH loved it. It was great, the song variety was great, some from Queen and Freddie Mercury, some from the Greatest Showman musical, etc., it was energetic, visually great, and all that. We showed up around 9 pm and the theater was full, so we had to sit all the way to the left and front - not at all good seats, but that didn't preclude us from enjoying the show.

 

5 Skies was quite interesting - a musical set in a video game. I thought it would appeal to my 11 yo who is addicted to video games, but he was just meh about it. I loved it, though. DH was ok with it. Much better and more modern dancing and choreography was definitely a way to my heart. And the concept was new.

 

DH chose not to see the Spotlight Bar show, and he regretted it. It was wonderful! Fast paced, lots of dancing and singing, and not from a previous era, but not ultra modern either. It was a good mix of different genres and styles.

 

So, these three shows were much more in line with offerings from RCI and NCL, and I for one was very impressed with the effort and the result.

 

We also went to see "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" with the guest tenor Isaac Matthews, because I was under the impression that he was going to do a lot of Freddie Mercury/Queen songs, like he did during the Rock Opera show. He would have been very good at it and we would have loved it. But I was wrong. He had one Ed Sheeran song and a bunch of other stuff that was mostly unknown to me. We could have skipped it...

 

Our guest magician's luggage was lost, so Jay Mattioli had to scramble some entertaining stuff up from his carry on luggage. I would say he definitely succeeded - we liked his show, even though it was very short on equipment. It was fun and entertaining.

 

We didn't see Jeff Burghart's comedy show - we were tired after a day in Bonaire, and DH and DS thought that they may not be impressed with the impressions if they don't recognize the subjects.

 

I am pretty sure the smaller musical venues had wonderful shows and other people enjoyed them very much, but we opted not to go. We didn't want to be crammed into small spaces after getting covid on our last cruise.

 

All in all, we were very happy with the new direction and contents of the entertainment offered on Enchanted Princess.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Back to the day by day review. 🙂

 

Dominica was our next port. It rained all day. We didn't get off the ship.... 😞 It was our first time in Dominica and we were really looking forward to it, but it literally rained, stopped, rained, stopped, rained, stopped every 10 minutes, and we really don't like rain.  A gorgeous island which we hope to see again some day.

 

By the time the ship was ready to leave, it finally cleared up and we took some beautiful photos:

 

 

 

We were in some industrial part of the port and that part looked unattractive. There was nowhere to walk around and maybe shop. There was another cruise ship all the way to the right a mile or two away, and other passengers mentioned that that's where they "parked" before and it was much better.

Edited December 3, 2022 by Itchy&Scratchy

[MissP22]

Great review. 

Did they have the cake display the last day in the buffet?

Edited December 3, 2022 by MissP22

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Day 4 St Thomas dinner desserts

I forgot to include with my previous post:

 

Each dinner dessert menu had about 3 different items (at the top) and then Princess Favorites. Princess Favorites are supposed to stay the same, but didn't. Princess Love Boat Dream showed up every day, but the Cheesecake flavor changed. Also, Brie and Fruits stayed the same, but the middle of the dessert menu changed every day - sometimes a cobbler and a creme brulee, sometimes a bananas foster and something else, etc. Sorbet flavor changed every day - I remember lemon, blueberry, raspberry, cranberry, mango...

 

I had  the Traditional cheesecake that day and it was very good, but I had to ask for extra berries (not sure this qualifies as extra - in my book what's below is just regular):

 

DH ordered a chocolate and caramel tart, but wasn't too impressed by it.

 

 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

OK, so this next post is going to be a hodgepodge of a couple of menus and random buffet dessert offerings from the day above:

 

 

DH says this cake was pretty good:

 

 

I think these are the sugar free grapefruit tarts.

 

 

 

Coffee shop menu next to the International Cafe (I think the same menu is at the Horizon bistro coffee spot and maybe the one by Princess Live):

 

 

 

Since we had OBC to burn through, I had a latte every day - something I don't do at home at all. I tried Chocolate Cookie Latte, Butter Pecan Latte and Vanilla Bean Latte (all iced) - all were very good (and very sweet), but unless you tried them side by side, they all tasted the same. When I tried Vanilla Bean Latte and Chocolate Cookie Latte side by side, I could definitely tell the difference.

 

I also tried a Chocolate Mint Cappuccino hot, and it was good, but very little mint. At home I use sugar free Coffee Mate Peppermint Mocha creamer and it is my favorite - it has a much more pronounced mint flavor than Princess'.

 

Unfortunately, the only sugar free syrup they have is not flavored. But we only cruise twice a year, so I overdose on sugar on every cruise and hope that it doesn't push my A1C into oblivion. Pssst, it does.

 

We didn't try anything from the left side of the menu:

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

If you see a White Opera cake during your sailing, please promise me you will try it. It's exquisite. 

 

 

 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Dinner in Dominica... I don't know what happened, but I apparently only took a picture of the divine Double Baked Goat Cheese Souffle. It is my favorite. I get two... Next time I'll get three. In 2019 Princess decided we didn't want or need this appetizer on Regal. I was very upset.

 

P.S. DH and DS don't like it. More for me, right?

 

 

 

The mushroom soup was great - very much liked by DH and me. DS hates mushrooms, so he was complaining the entire time we were enjoying our soups, saying that he could smell the mushrooms...

I think DH also had the scallop app - it was good.

 

I also had the tenderloin (medium) - amazing (sans Romesco sauce), and DH had Trout (very nice).

 

DH also loves gnocchi, so he ordered them as well. They were in a tomato sauce with chunks of gorgonzola cheese (which is just like blue cheese). Yeah, no. No go. Awful. No.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

let's talk about drinks, man....

🙂

 

We are not big alcohol drinkers. I would say - we don't drink ever. Maybe, a cocktail or two on a cruise. Not a day. Like, total. 🙂

 

Since we had some non-refundable OBC, we decided to try out a couple of cocktails. I ordered a Midori Sour at the Wakeview bar:

 

It looked fantastic. It tasted horrible. Nothing like Midori Sours I had years ago and on my previous cruises. I love Midori Sour and it's my go to drink for that once a year occasion. 

 

So, the next time I ordered Dunes (also Midori based) at the Salty Dog bar before being seated at the Santorini.  You can look at the drink recipes on the app (click on Order and then look through the beverage categories and individual drinks) and choose what you like best. 

 

Looks the same, right? But Dunes was simply amazing. The next day another Dunes was made for me by the same bartender, and it was quite a bit more on the pineapple side. The following day it was right again.

 

DH ordered a Georgia Tea and really liked it. No photo.

 

Some random dude order a Dark and Stormy (rum based, I think) while I waited for my Midori sour and I snapped a pic:

 

 

We bought a soda and mocktails package for DS, and he loved getting all the mocktails. His absolute favorites are Key West cooler (passion fruit based) and Zero mojito. He also tried Sunshine Daquiri which was good and came with a brain freeze. He was not brave enough to try Strawberries on Fire (strawberries with jalapenos) - doesn't like spicy.

And, of course, he drank all the sodas. Coke products only. Turns out, adding limes and mint to a regular Coke makes it uber tasty.

 

Key West cooler ($5.50) - really really good, more sour than sweet. The adult version of this drink is called the Ultimate Cooler ($10).

 

 

What we really LOVED about this cruise is that room service is FREE (some food items have a price, but a lot of snacks and dishes are free), so if you have a drink package, you can just order the drinks to be delivered to your room or location for free. You can choose on your TV who is ordering (make sure it's the person with the drink package or else) and then order away. During busy times, however, it takes about 30 minutes, but you can order several drinks at once so you don't have to do it again.

 

Hint: don't order the Sunshine daquiri to be delivered to your room. It will be completely melted on arrival. Also, Zero Mojito was not available to order on TV, and it wasn't on the bar menus. But it exists, and it's great.

 

Another hint: when your kid orders himself some drinks while out and about on the Lido deck, the waitress will only ask for the room number. It will then get charged to an adult without the drink package. You will then have to go to the GS to remove it.

Waiters at the buffet were a lot better at this - you tell them the kid has a package, and they don't charge it to an adult.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Loving the foodie photos, and living vicariously thru your cruise!

"Some random dude....'  Somehow that cracked me up!!!    And,  "uber tasty"!!!

 

I think it was a Dark and Stormy we tried at the resort on Seven Mile Beach that we went to on one cruise.  Not my ususal, but it was great!   I will have to try more of these.

 

Is it just me, or are these maybe the new 'tweaked' menus that I think some have posted about?   This has been mentioned in a couple of threads a few weeks/months ago.

 

Thanks again for your great posts!

[macaroni]

The food in the MDR has been excellent. Best we have had on any ship recently. We are in Capri with charlamane and his wife Leia….take their recommendations. Great service!

[wrongwaywatson]

I'm reliving our wonderful cruise as I read your reviews!  We also thought the entertainment was good.  Well, except for the first comedian, Quinton Greene.  Skip him if he's on the schedule.  Seriously, several people left early.  Rock Opera was really good.  Very impressed with the singers, dancers and the costumes.  Five Skies, it was different.  I can't say that I liked it, but we were sitting very far left and it is a show that you really NEED to see.  What I could see of the costumes was amazing, so I'm disappointed that we couldn't see.  I really think that seeing it would have made all the difference in the world.    As for Jeff Burghart's comedy show, it was one of the best that we have ever seen on a cruise ship.  We all really enjoyed him!  Very funny.  We also enjoyed the magician, who did a great job for not having his props with him.  He was very personable and we liked him.

Great review!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

2 hours ago, wrongwaywatson said:

As for Jeff Burghart's comedy show, it was one of the best that we have ever seen on a cruise ship.  We all really enjoyed him!  Very funny. 

I have just told my husband that... He replied that seeing a guy who is doing impressions is only good if you know who he is impressing. I told him we already knew the people whom he was trying to impress. It's us!  I got him good, lol.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

2 hours ago, wrongwaywatson said:

Five Skies, it was different.  I can't say that I liked it, but we were sitting very far left and it is a show that you really NEED to see.  What I could see of the costumes was amazing, so I'm disappointed that we couldn't see. 

I agree - it was definitely a VISUAL show.

[MissP22]

I've seen both the Rock Opera and Five Skies and didn't love either. 

After reading many good reviews, such as this these, I'll have to give them both another chance. 🙂

[MissP22]

By any chance did you happen to notice if the food carts were in operation at Princess Cays? 🌯 🌮

[Itchy&Scratchy]

5 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I've seen both the Rock Opera and Five Skies and didn't love either. 

After reading many good reviews, such as this these, I'll have to give them both another chance. 🙂

it's not everyone's cup of tea, so I wouldn't worry about it. Like Celine Dion or Frank Sinatra tributes may not be everyone's cup of tea. You watched it once - didn't like it - I wouldn't watch it again.

 

36 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

By any chance did you happen to notice if the food carts were in operation at Princess Cays?

I did not. We didn't stray too far away from the buffet all the way to the left (looking at the island) where I found a shaded spot for the chaises. By the time we took a walk, everything was already wrapped up, even the bars were closed or closing right in front of us.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

yay, just got an email from Princess that we have reached Platinum status!!!!! Woohoo!

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

it's not everyone's cup of tea, so I wouldn't worry about it. Like Celine Dion or Frank Sinatra tributes may not be everyone's cup of tea. You watched it once - didn't like it - I wouldn't watch it again.

 

I did not. We didn't stray too far away from the buffet all the way to the left (looking at the island) where I found a shaded spot for the chaises. By the time we took a walk, everything was already wrapped up, even the bars were closed or closing right in front of us.

Thanks, especially for the patters. Even though I know what Princess offers, it's nice to see what there now doing currently on the ship.

 

[shipfriend_max]

Thanks, going to read the review! Book on Enchanted Princess the 15th of April, looking forward to it. 😊

[Fa-Li]

Thank you for all this great information, so thoughtfully organized!  I'm getting so excited for our February cruise on Enchanted!

 

I saw that you enjoyed the Wake View bar.  How was the sunbathing space in that area?  Is it an adult only pool?  Crowded or relatively easy to find loungers?  This has been my favorite spot on other ships that have the aft pool and bar, hoping it will be on Enchanted as well.

[dogm]

wow!  Thanks so much for the awesome detailed post!  I really appreciate the time it took to post all of this information.  We will be going on the 18th of December for a 20 day cruise on Enchanted.  This cruise will put us in Elite.  Didn't cruise with Princess for a number of years because their service and offerings slipped.  Have cruised with them the past 2 cruises and I am excited that they have returned to the standard that I always enjoyed.