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

[555]

1 hour ago, dogm said:

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.  

I think you mean Dec 19th.

[latebloomer56]

On 12/3/2022 at 2:40 PM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

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.

Now I'm craving my twice baked goat cheese souffle, love this even though it's so rich. Was thrilled in Oct. this was still on the menu.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

16 hours ago, Fa-Li said:

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.

Thank you!

 

we did use that bar several times, only because of its proximity to the buffet.

 

The area was lovely, a small squarish pool, pretty crowded on sunny days, quite a bit of seating (chairs with tables) in the shade. Few loungers. The pool seemed to always be in the sun (when it wasn't raining) - not something we enjoy at all. I saw many sunburned people....

 

The last two days it was too hot to sit in the more enclosed areas (sofas), so tables closer to the pool (but still in the shade and with more air moving around) were better. Lots of people reading, playing games, cards, etc. I sat there reading a book as well. Some people don't even ask if you want to share your small table with them. An older guy came over and sat at my table without even asking.

 

There were very few kids on this sailing, but I have seen a couple of preteens in that pool. I don't believe it has an age restriction, but I mostly saw adults only in it.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 12/3/2022 at 1:57 PM, MissP22 said:

Great review. 

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

yes, they had some kind of a chocolate celebration during the last day lunch at the buffet. Complete with rose petals. 🙂 All sorts of interesting chocolates and desserts at the back of the buffet.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

The next day we were in Grenada - also a port we'd never been to before. The weather was once again super rainy, but after a little while we decided to hop into a taxi and head to the beach. We picked the closest one.... Upon arrival (a huge traffic jam all the way to the beach, rain all the way) the driver pulled up to the beach so we could see for ourselves whether we all wanted to get out. None of us did (about 10-11 people), so back to the ship we went.

At least there was a small mall area where people could shop, eat and get a drink if they wanted to. We looked though a couple of stores, some very cute touristy stuff like shirts, hats, magnets, etc. Some expensive, some not.

A lot of people walked around town close to the port - shopping for spices and whatnot.

 

 

 

better luck next time, right?

[MissP22]

7 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

yes, they had some kind of a chocolate celebration during the last day lunch at the buffet. Complete with rose petals. 🙂 All sorts of interesting chocolates and desserts at the back of the buffet.

It was nice to look at but they all tasted similar to me. Maybe it was just because I was over eating so much during the cruise. 

[MissP22]

17 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Some people don't even ask if you want to share your small table with them. An older guy came over and sat at my table without even asking.

Strange guy.

Usually people ask if it's OK to sit down as you might have been expecting someone. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Happy Thanksgiving in Grenada!!!

 

 

Our son ordered Winter Citrus Supreme, but didn't like it, so we finished it for him. 🙂

 

 

The pate was great.

 

 

Seafood martini (not pictured) was great. 🙂

 

Since I don't care for either turkey or ham on TG, I ordered seafood. It was great! Very flavorful.

 

Gnocchi in parmesan sauce were simply fabulous! My husband ordered two helpings, but I stole one of them. I had all the intentions of just trying one or two gnocchi, but they were amazing.

 

 

Kiddo ordered a VEGAN plate, despite my protestations. He likes veggies, but I had a feeling he wouldn't like this dish. I was right.  I ate all of it. I was concerned that the sauce would be too gingery, but it was more on a nice cranberry side.

 

Sugar Free Strawberry napoleon - it was ok.

 

Apple pie sans cinnamon - we didn't enjoy it.

 

And as usual: a customary follow up visit to the buffet after MDR dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

These ones were very yummy:

 

these ones weren't:

[Itchy&Scratchy]

13 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

It was nice to look at but they all tasted similar to me. Maybe it was just because I was over eating so much during the cruise. 

yeah, I should have said "interesting looking". 🙂 I wasn't tempted to try them.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Next port was of our absolute favorites: Bonaire! What a magical place. After driving through some very desert like areas, we arrive at Sorobon Beach at Lac Bay ($5 pp taxi).

 

Shallow water as far as an eye can see:

 

 

 

 

caution: the floor is sandy, but after stepping on something sharp, I decided to wear water shoes.

 

Most of the area is just a wild beach without amenities - you can get away from the crowd. If you want the bar and amenities, you have to stay close to the bar.

$10 per chaise (wifi is included and is pretty good). Arrive early (too bad our ship arrived at noon) if you want one in a shade. They roped off a large area with chaises for Enchanted Princess excursion. A very short excursion - they arrived much later than we did and left much earlier than we did. And must have paid a lot more than we did.

 

a gorgeous sunset back on the ship:

 

Many houses had fences made out of cacti: sturdy and sends a clear message. 🙂

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Italian themed dinner on Bonaire night:

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed Peach Bellini soup very much - again, served in a bowl. Delicious!

 

DH enjoyed Prosciutto, minestrone soup and italian salad.

 

DS ordered spaghetti and meatballs and LOVED it:

 

 

Mushroom lasagna was very enjoyable (I enjoyed it even though I don't like red sauce all that much):

 

 

 

Shrimp and scallops were good, but I didn't like the vegetables.

 

DH ordered stuffed chicken and it was surprisingly good:

 

 

 

 

 

The trio wasn't all that. Our kid ate the chocolates, I tried eating the gelato sandwich (very awkwardly). Tiramisu was ok. Not even sure if anyone ate the pistachio muffins.

 

Lemon merengue cheesecake was mouthwatering and worth every bite! Everything about it was amazing! 10/10 would order and enjoy again.

 

[MissP22]

28 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

yeah, I should have said "interesting looking". 🙂 I wasn't tempted to try them.

I find that Princess desserts are more show than taste. Occasionally you'll find a few that are exceptional. 

Great photo's. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

A visit to the buffet post dinner revealed this lovely Mimosa cake:

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Next and final port: Curacao... What a lovely destination!

Our first time there I didn't do enough research and we went to some Pirate Bay beach bar and left underwhelmed.

Last time we went to Blue Bay beach and loved it. Entry is $12 per adult and $6 per kid, free wifi, beautiful beach area, lots of chaises and palapas. $40 taxi each way.

So, we also headed there this time and we weren't disappointed. We left in the morning when it was still raining, but when we got to the beach, we got the biggest palapa (more like a large gazebo) at the end of the beach, and a little while later it cleared up and we enjoyed a lovely beach day.

 

the last one in this photo:

 

 

We hand fed all sorts of fish some bread we brought with us from the ship

 

 

Lots of wildlife this time:

 

We got to enjoy seeing some kind of a hawk pull a fish out of the water and eat it over the course of the next 2-3 hours on the beach:

 

 

 

Mikey the iguana (seems like an appropriate name for it)

 

 

this crane was much smaller in June when we were there last time. It grew a lot!

 

[EatonDoolittle]

Since this is a food focused review,  I wonder if you recall if the Salty Dog Grill was open on embarkation day for lunch.

 

Or perhaps someone else knows.

TIA

[Itchy&Scratchy]

10 minutes ago, EatonDoolittle said:

Since this is a food focused review,  I wonder if you recall if the Salty Dog Grill was open on embarkation day for lunch.

 

Or perhaps someone else knows.

TIA

I don't, but the patters would probably list it as open if it was. 🙂 We really enjoy the buffet on embarkation days. With all it offers, it would not be in our best interest to go to a more of a fast food place. 🙂 A quick snack or a burger on a different day - yes.

 

We did enjoy the pizza place next to it on other days. The pepperoni pizza is pretty good, especially if your kid is hungry and there are still 2 hours till dinner and you just came back from the beach.

[violetli02]

30 minutes ago, EatonDoolittle said:

Since this is a food focused review,  I wonder if you recall if the Salty Dog Grill was open on embarkation day for lunch.

 

Or perhaps someone else knows.

TIA

Per the first-day patter it was not open for lunch on the embarkation day.

[EatonDoolittle]

15 minutes ago, violetli02 said:

Per the first-day patter it was not open for lunch on the embarkation day.

 

Thanks, I was just going to go back and check it. 

[macaroni]

Salty dog bistro is open evenings and for lunch on sea days. We had dinner there last night and it was very good.

[EatonDoolittle]

I was asking about the Grill, not the Bistro. The Day 1 Patter says it opens at 11. Appreciate the reminder to look it up. 
 

Unlike Itchy who enjoys Day 1 buffet, I find it akin to a double root canal . 
 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

9 minutes ago, EatonDoolittle said:

Unlike Itchy who enjoys Day 1 buffet, I find it akin to a double root canal . 

it wasn't crowded at all this time. It's usually a zoo, but it wasn't this time, which surprised me, since the cruise appeared to be at full capacity. Perhaps, it's was because we showed up around 11:20-11-30? But we stayed at least an hour if not more.  I am thinking - maybe, because there were fewer kids on it, and some older people like the pace of the MDR and Gigi's for embarkation lunch. I don't care either way (even though I do like Royal class buffets like no other), but DH and DS WANT buffet and wouldn't have it any other way.

 

Speaking of Gigi's:

 

 

We once again didn't go... But I have seen rather long lines to get in around lunch on several days.

 

What we did try again is the gelato, but only one flavor: DS was begging for gelato in a fancy cone. $2.95 for 2 scoops in a cone, fyi.

 

 

Also, randomly taken photos of the offerings at the International cafe:

 

Asian noodle shrimp salad was good.

 

We definitely used IC for breakfast a lot more. Tiny egg muffins were out of this world (they'll warm them up for you) and I also very much enjoyed Egg McMuffins (also toasted).

DS enjoyed donuts in the morning (chocolate glazed and strawberry glazed). He didn't care for the lemon ones (aka rainbow sprinkles on yellow glaze). Too bad they didn't have Nutella filled donuts like on Regal. We were really looking forward to a diabetic coma caused by them.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Dinner on Curacao night:

 

 

 

 

I remember ordering Banana Rum soup, but I don't remember actually getting it.

DH enjoyed a Mexican salad.

 

DS ordered the tropical fruit plate, but didn't actually enjoy it, except for mango. I finished it for him and loved it.

 

Terrine was great!

 

DH ordered the sesame chicken bites. We had them a couple of years ago and I remember not liking them all that much last time. They are ok.

 

Striped corvina wasn't worth it. The fish was so-so, but the potato thingie that came with it was simply atrocious - completely dried out and impossible to cut or bite into.

 

 

 

 

 

Grilled seafood was pleasant, but not impressive. Perhaps, I simply don't like fruit on my shrimp.

 

Now, the prime rib (medium, no jus) was wonderful. Very tender and juicy. A little too pink if you ask me, but still wonderful. But the baked potato that came with it was bad.  It was dry and they forgot to offer any toppings on it. It was a plain, dry baked potato. I liked the green beans.

 

 

 

Grandma's chicken in wine was very good per DH:

 

 

 

 

The carrot cake was the worst my husband has ever had. After one bite he said - we are going for some crepes at the buffet.

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

 

so, after the bad carrot cake, we stopped by the buffet and super-duper enjoyed this cake:

it was exquisite. 

 

And, of course, our favorite nutella crepes.

 

 

 

this cake was good:

[wrongwaywatson]

I had the sesame chicken bites as my appetizer and I enjoyed them! It was a change for me, as I usually order shrimp cocktail.  The Prime Rib was outstanding!  Thoroughly enjoyed it!  I didn't order dessert that night, because I was so full, and they brought me out a piece of carrot cake.  I didn't even take a bite, but my DH did and he said it was bad.

[paradiselivin1]

10 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Next port was of our absolute favorites: Bonaire! What a magical place.

Could not agree more and surprised that they allow large cruise ships. We went about 25 years ago to spend a week diving. It was magical! We did a night dive under the town pier (scary), some shore dives from our hotel and multiple boat dives. I have never seen such an underwater fantasy ~ it was raining fish on us. I pray that it hasn't changed much. It really was a dive spot not to be missed!