"Live" Enchanted Princess, 26 Days, Nov 12th to Dec 8th, Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale (+ Madrid Pre-Cruise)

[dockhl]

We are staying at the H10 Madison and watched a huge proPalestinian demonstration for 1+ hours last night from our balcony! Stirring, and very loud 🙂

 

This AM the streets around the hotel will be closed for the women’s marathon (?)…some race, from 8-12. We’ll get to the port a little later than we wanted, maybe, but it is all good! We’re getting on the ship today! See y’all soon .

[LACruiser88]

We are onboard!!!  The flight from Madrid was on-time and went by very fast.

 

We arrived at the terminal at 2:25 and we were in our cabin in 5 mins!  Easy-peasy. 

 

 

Once we arrived in our cabin we were met with a few surprises.  We were going to the IC for a quick snack, but no need for that!  It's nice to have friends onboard.

 

 

 

The view from our balcony.

 

 

 

[LACruiser88]

 

 

 

 

[Ombud]

@LACruiser88 I noticed it said a '72 hr turnaround.' Does GS provide laundry tokens in case I need something quicker? I pack light (22" carry on)

[LACruiser88]

2 minutes ago, Ombud said:

@LACruiser88 I noticed it said a '72 hr turnaround.' Does GS provide laundry tokens in case I need something quicker? I pack light (22" carry on)

I don't know???  It has been our experience that GS has charged us for tokens when the dispenser was broken.  I'll let you know if I find out something different.

[LACruiser88]

Here are the passenger counts for this voyage:

 

Blue-          971

Gold-          533

Ruby-         289

Platinum-  716

Elite-           771

 

Total=        3,280

[Ombud]

Interesting! Really even. Expected more Elite / Platinum then Blue

[LACruiser88]

31 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Interesting! Really even. Expected more Elite / Platinum then Blue

I believe there are many Europeans on this leg.  The TA will have a much lower number of Blue and Europeans.

[LACruiser88]

While Debbie was unpacking, I went up to the Sanctuary and reserved our spots for the 7 day crossing to Ft Lauderdale.

[CruzeQueen2]

@LACruiser88 Bon Voyage! Thanks for taking us along. What a beautiful welcome to find in your cabin. Lovely way to start. 💖 Enjoy

[1emerald1]

Looking forward to your comparison of the Enchanted to the Discovery!

[LACruiser88]

 

 

 

 

[WisCruiser2]

6 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

Here are the passenger counts for this voyage:

 

Blue-          971

Gold-          533

Ruby-         289

Platinum-  716

Elite-           771

 

Total=        3,280

I notice the passenger number is almost 400 less than full capacity (assume not many 3 & 4 passenger cabins filled). Will be interesting to see how that compares with the count once in the Carribean.

[LACruiser88]

Arriving in our first port, Le Seyne/Toulon.

 

[LACruiser88]

@Ombud  After returning to the ship today, Debbie went to do some laundry.  One of the machines "ate" her tokens.  She went to GS and they gave her replacement tokens and a couple of extra tokens.  She asked if there was a charge for the extra tokens, the reply was "No, you are Elite."

[LACruiser88]

Today we went on our private tour to St Tropez and to two wineries.  The drive to St Tropez took around an hour.  Due to it being end of their season and a Monday, 98% of the town was closed.

 

It was still interesting to walk around and see the shops, restaurants, and hotels which, by the way, are far out of our travel budget.  It is truly the playground of the rich and famous!

 

 

 

 

We tasted (and bought) wines at two separate wineries.  The wines and the experience were exceptional!

 

 

 

At Domaine Saint Marie, they were very generous and we tasted through six wines.  Luckily, I was not driving! 

 

 

Our second stop was at Chateau Minuty, an extremely beautiful property owned by four generations of the Matton-Farnet family.

 

 

 

The on-site family chapel.

 

 

Our purchases from today.  The collection has started!  The Rose's will be great Sanctuary beverages on our way to Florida!

 

 

This was the second consecutive year that we have toured with Frank Lavagne, owner of All In Marseille Provence Tour Company.  He is fantastic and we highly recommend him!

 

His contact info:

 

allinmarseilleprovence@gmail.com

 

FB: allinmareseilleprovence

 

 

[Ombud]

2 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

Our purchases from today.  The collection has started!  The Rose's will be great Sanctuary beverages on our way to Florida!

Nice!! Any issues getting wine onboard? 

[LACruiser88]

12 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Nice!! Any issues getting wine onboard? 

None whatsoever.  Rose's are chilling in the frig!  🍷🍷🍷

[vickie_bernie]

Found out today there a few hundred workers doing jobs around the ship especially jobs that are out of site of passengers.  Some from head office too.  They would all be given a blue card.  Even when I am working as a guest entertainer I get a blue card and every cruise it is blue.  Even though as a passenger, as I am this voyage, I have almost 1000 days.  

 

 

 

 

[LACruiser88]

We just ran into the Loyalty/Event Host, the cut-off for the MTG Luncheon for this voyage is 811 sea days.  We just missed it.

 

Btw, she said for the TA it will be a higher number.  The TA is now sold out. 

 

[dickinson]

3 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

@Ombud  After returning to the ship today, Debbie went to do some laundry.  One of the machines "ate" her tokens.  She went to GS and they gave her replacement tokens and a couple of extra tokens.  She asked if there was a charge for the extra tokens, the reply was "No, you are Elite."

When we were on the Enchanted September 2 I went to Guest Services to ask for laundry tokens (because of something I read on here) and they gave me a few at no charge.  Apparently it is only on some ships because I have read on here of other people on different ships who were refused.

[Crystabel]

3 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

@Ombud  After returning to the ship today, Debbie went to do some laundry.  One of the machines "ate" her tokens.  She went to GS and they gave her replacement tokens and a couple of extra tokens.  She asked if there was a charge for the extra tokens, the reply was "No, you are Elite."

Consistently inconsistent. 

[Ombud]

Thanks @LACruiser88 and @dickinson. Good to know it's like the Emerald, Majestic, and Royal Princesses. Its actually cheaper for them for me to do my own plus I've got new clothes i want done in cold water

 

Yes @Crystabel. I can't count on something being fleet wide. (Experienced differences on vegan menu variety -- Enchanted Princess was a good one with 6 main dishes each night but less variety than the Emerald Princess which has an 18 night menu rotation)

 

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by Ombud
Typo

[NoWhiners]

3 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

@Ombud  After returning to the ship today, Debbie went to do some laundry.  One of the machines "ate" her tokens.  She went to GS and they gave her replacement tokens and a couple of extra tokens.  She asked if there was a charge for the extra tokens, the reply was "No, you are Elite."

 

Had the same experience on Island this week. When we boarded, none of the token machines were working. Went to the front desk and asked for some to get us started and they gave me 4! Then later, when the machines were working (sort of), we paid for 4 laundry tokens, got 2 washer/dryer, 2 soap. Went to the front desk and they exchanged the soap tokens for washer/dryer. The front desk has been very helpful.

 

We are only platinum.

[LACruiser88]

Hi guys. What bar are you at?  Couldn’t see you!  Anxious to say hi?

 

@Marshyone  Tonight we were at the Crown Grill bar before dinner.  Btw, I'm only posting here on the "Live" thread.