Enchantment: A first time cruisers impressions

[spub]

Where to start?

 

This was our first cruise (which was won through a raffle by my wife :D ). We really did not know what to expect, but thankfully, found a wealth of knowledge on this board.

 

We flew down to Ft. Lauderdale a day early, and checked into the Bahia Mar at 10:30 am. We spent a great relaxing day on the beach, had a few drinks (go to Blondies, the only reasonably priced bar on the tourist strip), got up the next morning, had breakfast (a little place next to the fire station) and headed for the port. If you take nothing else away from this, take my advice and go a day early. It gives you time to acclimate and not feel rushed.

 

Once at Port Everglades, I was amazed at how efficient check in was. We filled out all our forms on line (another must) got in the set sail line, and never stopped moving until we were on board. I would say the whole process from the time we got in line, until we were standing at the Windjammer Cafe was about 20 min. The airports could certainly take lessons from these people.

 

We got on board about 12:00, so after a few drinks and a snack, our room was ready. We booked an ocean view room, and were worried about its size. No worries :D . It was plenty of room for two people. It would be nice to sit on your balcony after a day at the pool, but it is definatly not a necessity. We put our clothes away, and went back to the pool for the rest of the afternoon. The Enchantment is a beautiful ship. We were taken by the diversity of the public areas, the bars and the amount of choice of where and when to eat.

 

We attended the first "introductory" show, and then walked the ship to get our bearings. They do make it awfully easy to find your way around, as there are deck notations in the elevators, and a deck map on every deck right ouside of them.

 

Dinner was a little rough the first night, as it seems they were getting everything in place and settled, but it was again, no problem. We were very lucky, and had great table mates (hello Evi, Diane, Steve and Karen). Our waiters were attentive and professional. The food was very good, especially on lobster night, and Anthony (our waiter) even found us seconds. The dinning room was beautiful, but we only had dinner there, as we had room service every morning and ate at different places for lunch.

 

Boleros is a great bar. Latin themed and always lively. I even picked up on a drink that was new to me (a mojito) which I plan to offer at my bar this summer. When we wanted a little quieter atsmophere, we would go to Schooners. This was the only place (the rear of the ship) that we were ever aware of movement of any kind. To speak to that. We were really concerned about sea sickness, to the point of borrowing dramamine from my sister in law, and buying sea bands before we left. As it turned out, it was all for naught. We never felt the slightest bit queasy, and any ship movement was negligable.

 

The disco (the Viking Crown I think, on deck 11) was a riot. We caught the first wave of spring break (I would say a fifth to a quarter of the passengers) and these kids were great fun to watch. They all drank like fish, but were never out of line or a problem in any way. The view of the pool deck at night from your seat is beautiful.

 

We stopped at Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. Disembarking and re-boarding were smooth as could be. We booked both our shore trips on line, and were off the boat with no delay. We did lose an engine on our tender to shore in the Grand Caymans, but that just added to the exitement of the ride ;>.

 

Since we are really beach people, we booked the beach and lunch excursions at both places. We were never bothered by anyone in Jamaica for anything. Having read some comments about the peddelers there, I feel I must say that if you stay in town, you should expect this, as this is how they survive. But if you get away to the beach, you will have a great relaxing time. We go to Negril every year, and it is the highlite of our year for us.

 

Grand Cayman was just beautiful. The water was amazing and beach was perfect. If I had one issue, it would be that there is soooo much money there that you do not get a real native feel.

 

Our last day was at sea. It was quite windy, but if you get up early and check out where it is comming from, you can find a spot that is fairly protected. We found that the best place on windy days is just under the Viking Crown, on the pool side of the rail.

 

A funny note on chair hogs. We did not see a lot of this, but the one day we did, it was a riot. A group of about 12 chairs had been sitting for about an hour and a half, no people, just towels. Three girls came out and said the heck with this, and moved three towels off the chairs for them. Two seconds later, another group of girls came over and asked about the remaining chairs. The first girls told them they had just been sitting there for more than an hour. At that, the other girls took all the towels and put them in a pile and took the seats. About 30 minutes later, you could see the people that held these chairs wandering out in groups of two or three trying to figure out what happened :eek: . What a bunch of maroons :rolleyes: .

 

A couple of things. Bring sunscreen. I don't care how well you tan (I'm a seasoned tanner with permanent tan lines :D ) and I needed at least a 15 most of the trip. Make friends with your cabin attendent. I was suprised to find we had no fridge in the room (I guess balcony and up do) so we needed ice for our bedtime beers. We bought a bucket of beers every day before leaving the pool, and left a note with a couple of dollars saying we needed lots of ice. We always returned to two full buckets of ice and ice in the ice bucket. If you can, and don't have a lot of luggage (we had two carry-ons and a garment bag) take the Travel-lite option when dis-embarking back at port. You will get tags (ours were green) but don't put them on your luggage. You will be called with the first group (White, Biege1 and Biege2).

 

That's all I can think of right now, but if you have any questions you can ask here, or e-mail me (sloanepub@sbcglobal.net).

 

Thanks to all here whose information made this trip a breeze.

[crusinmama06]

Congratulations on winning the trip. That's awesome! So do you think you'll go back on another cruise?

[jst4fun715]

We too took our first cruise ever (although we had to pay for it:p ) on the Enchantment in 2001. We found it to be a great ship and that was before the stretching. We have since been on two Radiance class ships and have loved them as well. Of course, it might be hard to find one that we didn't like! Glad you had a good time. Are you hooked now???

[Bandmanken]

spub - Thanks for a great review. My family and I go on the Enchantment in just 16 days and can hardly wait! Hey - can you tell me where the best spot is to be during sail-away? Is there a helicopter pad on the front of the ship available for this? No one seems to answer this question for me on any of the threads that cover the Enchantment. We have the early seating for dinner, so we will be cutting it close with a 5:00 departure time. We are going to Ft. Lauderdale the day before, as well, and staying at the Hyatt Pier 66. I am glad to hear you had a great cruise!

[spub]

Bandmanken-

 

Anywhere on Deck 10 is good for sailaway. All open railing, great views. No Helicopter pad.

 

 

spub - Thanks for a great review. My family and I go on the Enchantment in just 16 days and can hardly wait! Hey - can you tell me where the best spot is to be during sail-away? Is there a helicopter pad on the front of the ship available for this? No one seems to answer this question for me on any of the threads that cover the Enchantment. We have the early seating for dinner, so we will be cutting it close with a 5:00 departure time. We are going to Ft. Lauderdale the day before, as well, and staying at the Hyatt Pier 66. I am glad to hear you had a great cruise!

[spub]

jst4fun715-

 

My wife is hooked :D . I'm not sure, just for the fact that we go to Jamaica every year for 9 days, and the additional cost of this might be too much. It is tempting though.

 

BTW We're in Cleveburg :eek: .

 

Kirt

 

 

We too took our first cruise ever (although we had to pay for it:p ) on the Enchantment in 2001. We found it to be a great ship and that was before the stretching. We have since been on two Radiance class ships and have loved them as well. Of course, it might be hard to find one that we didn't like! Glad you had a good time. Are you hooked now???

[addie]

Which beaches did you go to? Was there snorkeling? Were there any charges involved? Did you take taxis?

 

We are taking this cruise this weekend, and would love to spend all day at the beach, but unsure about where to go.

[newshipmate-uk]

Hi Thanks for the review it's great.

 

I see you went to the disco. What was it like? what sort of music do they play? Off on the Enchantment of the sea next week and was just wondering as only young and like a good dance....

 

Was it the same most nights or did they have different themes each night. Was the dj one of those that use the microphone all the time or was it more music based? I hear it's where most of the off duty crew hang out is that true.

 

Sorry for all the questions. Looking forward to the cruise and sure there will be lots for us to do :D

[spub]

addie-

 

Go to the RCI site, find your cruise, and check the shore excursions. We did both the beach breaks with lunch. In Jamaica we were on Shaw beach, in the Grand Caymans we were on 7 mile beach. There is a charge for both of these, but it's not too much.

 

Kirt

[TheWog]

Glad you had a great time. Our second cruise (our friend's first) was also on the Enchantment going to the same ports you did. We too had an incredible time and would sail her again in a heartbeat. We were even on her pre-stretch.

 

Bandmanken -

 

We too stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66. I don't believe there is a helipad you can be on. There used to be an observatory up front, but think it was taken over for kids club space during the renovation.

 

I would say deck 10 port side is a great spot. You can have a view of all the condos as you leave port. They yell and wave and blow whistles and flash lights at you as you leave. You can also see the activity down below as well.

[TheWog]

Hi Thanks for the review it's great.

 

I see you went to the disco. What was it like? what sort of music do they play? Off on the Enchantment of the sea next week and was just wondering as only young and like a good dance....

 

Was it the same most nights or did they have different themes each night. Was the dj one of those that use the microphone all the time or was it more music based? I hear it's where most of the off duty crew hang out is that true.

 

Sorry for all the questions. Looking forward to the cruise and sure there will be lots for us to do :D

 

I know they had theme nights last year. 70s night (first night) was a riot. CD staff came out all dressed up. It was pretty djish and was a good time.

[newshipmate-uk]

:) sorry

[newshipmate-uk]

oops really sorry seems to have posted the message 3 times!

[spub]

newshipmate-uk-

 

We didn't go to the disco every night, so I'm not sure how much it changes up. They did have an "Almost the Village People" night though :eek: .

 

The DJ didn't seem too talky to me, just when he had to keep telling people that there were no drinks allowed on the dance floor.

 

I also didn't notice the off duty thing. Could be, but I don't know.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

 

Kirt

 

Hi Thanks for the review it's great.

 

I see you went to the disco. What was it like? what sort of music do they play? Off on the Enchantment of the sea next week and was just wondering as only young and like a good dance....

 

Was it the same most nights or did they have different themes each night. Was the dj one of those that use the microphone all the time or was it more music based? I hear it's where most of the off duty crew hang out is that true.

 

Sorry for all the questions. Looking forward to the cruise and sure there will be lots for us to do :D

[Merion_Mom]

I don't believe there is a helipad you can be on. There used to be an observatory up front, but think it was taken over for kids club space during the renovation.

Bungee trampolines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bandmanken]

spub and TheWog - Thanks for the info! Just impeatiently counting the days to stepping aboard the Enchantment!