Live from Enchanted Princess 7 Day Cruise to Western Caribbean 4/27/24-5/4/24

[2 to Sea]

From there she asked if we liked coffee, which we do, so we stopped at a local grocery store to grab some.  It was great and only a couple of dollars for an iced vanilla chai.  We also had a chance to poke around and compare prices.  This got us started on what people usually eat.

 

in our way to the next stop, she pulled off on the side of the road to show us how cashews grow.  I had no idea that cashews grew at the end of a fruit.  We tried the fruit, which was sweet and tart.  Also learned that if you tried to eat the cashew right off the tree that it will give your mouth blisters.  In the photo below, the fruit is the yellow part and you can see where the cashew comes from at the end of the fruit.

 

In addition, we learned that the only hospital on the island burned down two weeks ago.  The last photo is the temporary hospital set up by the Red Cross.

 

 

 

[2 to Sea]

By the end of the day we had gone to the chocolate factory, rum factory, West End, West Bay Beach, Macaw Market, Rusty Fish recycled art, and a walk on the beach.  Roatán was beautiful and one we hope to return to.

 

[2 to Sea]

Here is one menu from the Salty Dog.

 

[2 to Sea]

For Costa Maya, we booked a trip to see the Chaachoben ruins through Native Choice.  This was a much smaller tour than through the ship.  Our guide, David, was very knowledgeable and enjoyed explaining everything.  This was a slow paced tour and we were able to climb up some of the ruins.  Absolutely amazing.

 

 

[2 to Sea]

Thursday night was the second formal night.  Here is the menu.

 

 

 

[2 to Sea]

The production show on Thursday was Spotlight Bar.  Both of us enjoyed this a bit more than Rock Opera.

 

[2 to Sea]

Final dinner menu in the MDR.

 

 

 

 

[2 to Sea]

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  The entire time on the cruise, the weather was warm and a little humid, which made time by the pool very refreshing.  My husband loves the heat and is usually in the hot tub, but this cruise was warm enough for him to get into the pool.  The inside of the ship was pleasantly cool, but not where you needed to put a sweatshirt on.   I would do this itinerary again.  We were jealous of those that this was their second week or those that were continuing today.  

[Retired-N-Happy]

1 hour ago, 2 to Sea said:

For Costa Maya, we booked a trip to see the Chaachoben ruins through Native Choice.  This was a much smaller tour than through the ship.  Our guide, David, was very knowledgeable and enjoyed explaining everything.  This was a slow paced tour and we were able to climb up some of the ruins.  Absolutely amazing.

 

 

 

One of our favorite tours ever was when we went to Chichen Itza many years ago and we were able to walk to the top.  It was a very slow procedure walking back down sideways in a zig zag method.

[Robkat]

Hi @2 to Sea,

Enjoyed your Live From, as we just got off the beautiful Enchanted this morning as well!  So interesting to get someone else's perspective!  

Our experience was quite a bit different from yours, as we've cruised the Caribbean so much over the years, and we live at the beach in Florida, so for us, the ship is the destination and we don't get off at all.  Hearing about your excursions was interesting.

We also loved Take Five, and ended up there most nights.

Thanks for this fun review!  

 

[BamaVol]

3 hours ago, 2 to Sea said:

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  The entire time on the cruise, the weather was warm and a little humid, which made time by the pool very refreshing.  My husband loves the heat and is usually in the hot tub, but this cruise was warm enough for him to get into the pool.  The inside of the ship was pleasantly cool, but not where you needed to put a sweatshirt on.   I would do this itinerary again.  We were jealous of those that this was their second week or those that were continuing today.  

Muchos gracias for the “live”.  Very much appreciated. 

[DavidsNana]

@2 to SeaThanks so much for this live from commentary and the pictures.  I can't wait to be able to reschedule our cancelled cruise and rebook on the Enchanted or another ship.  The first time we were in Costa Maya, we did the Native Choice tour of Chaachoben and also had David as one of our guides.  They do such a good job.  Glad you enjoyed everything about the cruise.

[kalkal]

How long does it take to disembark.  Would a 10:15 flight out of Ft. Lauderdale be a close encounter?

[EDVM96]

2 minutes ago, kalkal said:

How long does it take to disembark.  Would a 10:15 flight out of Ft. Lauderdale be a close encounter?

Domestic? Even then a bit too close.

[kywildcatfanone]

1 hour ago, kalkal said:

How long does it take to disembark.  Would a 10:15 flight out of Ft. Lauderdale be a close encounter?

10:15 is easy, especially if you disembark by 8am.  We have a 10 am flight our next disembarkation.  

[bandp407]

4 hours ago, Robkat said:

Hi @2 to Sea,

Enjoyed your Live From, as we just got off the beautiful Enchanted this morning as well!  So interesting to get someone else's perspective!  

Our experience was quite a bit different from yours, as we've cruised the Caribbean so much over the years, and we live at the beach in Florida, so for us, the ship is the destination and we don't get off at all.  Hearing about your excursions was interesting.

We also loved Take Five, and ended up there most nights.

Thanks for this fun review!  

 

We will be taking our first Princess Cruise ( our 41st cruise ) on the Enchanted on May 18. For us too, the ship is our destination. We rarely get off. It’s been great to hear so many lovely reviews. We are truly looking forward to it! Take Five could be our favorite too! 

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, kalkal said:

How long does it take to disembark.  Would a 10:15 flight out of Ft. Lauderdale be a close encounter?

 

We did a 9 AM flight this morning after disembarking the Enchanted (agree it was a lovely cruise by the way!).  It actually didn't start out that way but with schedule changes our replacement flights back to Phoenix would get us back in the evening instead of mid afternoon.  Armed with the info that the walk-offs start at 6:30 AM we made the switch to the earlier flight just before the cruise started.

 

It helped that we were in a full suite AND that the suite concierge commandeered an elevator and took us right up to security to swipe our Medallions.  But there were a few others ahead of us so it's doable without this little suite perk.

 

There were no lines at the port elevators (which you must use if both of your hands are transporting luggage), we walked right up to the CBP facial recognition devices and there were no taxi lines either.  Ditto at FLL - we sailed through check in and walked right up to TSA Precheck.

 

So to summarize we walked off with our luggage at 6:30 and were through airport security around 7 well in advance of our flight.  For a brief moment we thought of switching to the 8 AM flight to get home even earlier but we had good seats and didn't want to give them up.

 

We have frequently had flights around 10 from FLL and just used the regular approach of having our luggage picked up the night before and picking it up in the terminal.  FLL is so close that it's not difficult to do.  The only fly in the ointment is if the ship is late getting back.  That happened to us once but the delay was minimal and we were still able to make our flight.  I have no doubt that you will be just fine with that flight.

[arizonaperson]

Anyone onboard this past week find Dr.Pepper onboard at the bars?

[Robkat]

13 hours ago, bandp407 said:

We will be taking our first Princess Cruise ( our 41st cruise ) on the Enchanted on May 18. For us too, the ship is our destination. We rarely get off. It’s been great to hear so many lovely reviews. We are truly looking forward to it! Take Five could be our favorite too! 

Well, you've definitely chosen a beauty of a ship for your first Princess cruise. 

As you can see by our sign off, we've been on many cruises on many cruise lines, and for now at least, we're finding that we're most satisfied with Princess.

No cruise or cruise line "has it all" or is perfect, so as long as you aren't looking for those, we think you'll enjoy yourselves!

Have a great upcoming cruise!

[JGmf]

13 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

We have frequently had flights around 10 from FLL and just used the regular approach of having our luggage picked up the night before and picking it up in the terminal.  FLL is so close that it's not difficult to do.

 

Totally agree.  Disembarkation and cab/Uber travel to FLL is so quick and easy that early flights (as early as 9am) are very doable.  Port Everglades is definitely better than other Florida cruise ports for this very reason.

[Luv2Cruzmyislandtvl]

The cabana rental looks so lovely! I am thinking of booking it for my husband and I. May I ask, how much was the taxi there and back, and what did the food and drink cost? Also, did you bring your own snorkeling equipment? I might need to unless they offer a prescription mask. Thanks for any advice! 😀

Edited May 5 by Luv2Cruzmyislandtvl
Fix

[2 to Sea]

16 hours ago, kalkal said:

How long does it take to disembark.  Would a 10:15 flight out of Ft. Lauderdale be a close encounter?

Yesterday they announced they had all luggage off the ship about 8am and that no one needed to go to their assigned areas anymore.  We walked off soon after and found our luggage.  In addition, we signed up for their bus transport at $19 per person. That took the longest to get all luggage on the bus.  As we left the luggage area, someone was offering $11/person transport.  The airport is only about 15 minutes.  You can ask to be off early with luggage, or walk it off yourself.  Customs was a breeze.  They took a photo and then we were through.

 

I think it would be possible if you are ready to get yourself moving and/or take your own luggage.

[2 to Sea]

14 hours ago, arizonaperson said:

Anyone onboard this past week find Dr.Pepper onboard at the bars?

I forgot to check for a definite answer.  With that said, it is my favorite and I didn’t see anyone with one, nor was it in the app.

[arizonaperson]

5 minutes ago, 2 to Sea said:

I forgot to check for a definite answer.  With that said, it is my favorite and I didn’t see anyone with one, nor was it in the app.

No problem. Thanks for answering.

I’ll keep checking with the live posts. It’s just my own informal survey. Trying to see what ships might have it ,my guess is none of them have it ,as far as Princess cruises goes.

Edited May 5 by arizonaperson

[2 to Sea]

23 minutes ago, Luv2Cruzmyislandtvl said:

The cabana rental looks so lovely! I am thinking of booking it for my husband and I. May I ask, how much was the taxi there and back, and what did the food and drink cost? Also, did you bring your own snorkeling equipment? I might need to unless they offer a prescription mask. Thanks for any advice! 😀

The taxi there was $15 and we asked in advance.  On the way back, we didn’t ask ahead and the taxi charged us $20.  Not sure the difference was our fault or just a different time of day.

 

The prices of food and drinks are posted on their site under menu in pesos.  Divide that by 17 and you will have your US amount.  It was comparable to a US restaurant in price.  There wasn’t a minimum to buy.  They do serve breakfast if you want to get there early.

 

They also provide the snorkeling gear, but won’t have prescription.  Both of us wear contacts and that worked well with the gear.  
 

The website is thecabanabeach.com

 

They have a map of their cabanas online, so you can choose your site.  Princess changed the port day on us after we booked.  I was able to change with them via email with no issues.