Enchanted Princess June 1 - 8, 2024

[flhokie]

While I enjoy the day by day live posts, I wasn't able to do that during our sailing, but I wanted to share a review of our recent cruise on Enchanted Princess. This will probably be in multiple parts due to length.

 

Who we are: There were 3 of us cruising. I'm 49 and was sailing with my 79 year-old mother and 13 year-old daughter. We were cruising to celebrate mom's upcoming 80th, my upcoming 50th and daughter's recent 13th birthdays. We've all cruised on Princess and on other lines quite a bit. We primarily stuck with Royal Caribbean when daughter was younger due to the "bells and whistles," but returned to Princess last year. We all actually prefer Princess (including the teenager). My mother has difficulty walking anything more than a short distance so we rented a scooter from Special Needs at Sea. We've used them before and always had a good experience. My mom stayed onboard in ports (enjoyed trivia, etc. on those days). We all had the premier package.

 

Pre-Cruise: We live in Central Florida and drove to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday. We stayed at Home2Suites Ft. Lauderdale Airport/Cruise Port. We had a nice dinner at a New England seafood restaurant on 17th street and drove over to the beach for a short time. The hotel was clean and newer, but we did not like the location. In the future, we'd pick a hotel closer to the port, like Embassy Suites. 

 

Embarkation: We were staying in one of the sky suites so we had a set time to meet the suite experience manager at 10:30. He had a porter unload our luggage and he waited with my mom and daughter while I parked the car. He got us through embarkation quickly and to our suite. Our luggage arrived a short time later. We unpacked and headed to lunch in the dining room. Lunch in the dining room is such a nice and calm lunch option for embarkation day. The food was delicious and we all had the orange soufflé. 

 

Cabin: Our sky suite was on deck 18 and it was amazing! The inside was beautiful and immaculate with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a living room with sofa, dining table and skylight. While the inside was wonderful, the balcony was the best at sea. It was wrap around with a living type area with 2 loungers and a large round lounger with tv. On the other end was a dining table and 2 lounge chairs facing the Movies Under the Stars screen. We've never cruised in a cabin like this before and probably won't again due to cost, but it was well worth it for this special cruise.

 

Rest of Day 1: We got daughter all set for teen club (had pre-registered online so it was quick) and toured the club. We wandered the ship to try to get our bearings. After that, we enjoyed sail away from our balcony. We all loved the playing of the Love Boat horn and being able to enjoy the sailaway party from our balcony without the crowds. It was a great sailaway. That night, we had dinner in Sabitinis (specialty dining on night 1 is included with suites). It was excellent. Last year, we had a not great experience at Sabitinis on Emerald (over 2 hours and no entrees) so we weren't sure we were going to do it this time, but were glad we did. The risotto balls that start the evening are delicious. After dinner, my mom & I went to the show in Princess Theatre. It was a juggler and it was not our favorite show. After that, we played a little in the casino, but it was too smoky to stay longer. Daughter went to teen club, but came back disappointed later in the evening. While there were over 200 teens onboard, very few went to teen club so there were no real activities (didn't have enough kids).

 

Day 2: This was our 1st sea day. We started with the ultimate balcony breakfast (1 is included with Sky Suite) which was wonderful! Our server, Anna, was so lovely. After breakfast, we checked out the shops and then daughter gave teen club another try (still not many teens). Daughter and I went to the pool. We were able to get good chairs thankfully as the deck was so hot you could not walk without shoes or you'd burn your feet. The pools were wall to wall people so they were good for a quick dip to cool off only. We enjoyed watching the different ports on the MUTS screen and had some drinks--she loved her mocktails and I got my dirty bananas. After a while, after a stop to pick up some snacks at International Cafe, it was back to the room to prepare for formal night. We ate in Capri dining room this night and enjoyed it. We had some photos taken and took part in the welcome champagne tower pour and cocktail party. After dinner, mom and I enjoyed beverages at a lounge in the piazza while daughter tried teen club again. She said it was a little better that night--a few more kids. 

 

Next part coming soon....

[canadarocks]

Thanks so much for this. Looking forward to more! 😁

[flhokie]

Since it's back to work tomorrow for me, I'm going to push through to finish out the week...

 

Day 3: We were in Cozumel. We went to the suite breakfast in Crown Grill which was great. Then daughter and I headed into Cozumel. We took a taxi to the downtown area where we wandered through the stores and visited the old town square. At the recommendation of a shop employee, we walked down to LaMonina for some snacks. It was a very cute restaurant--we chose to sit downstairs where the tables are on the sand or a seawall. The food was good and the views were wonderful. We then took a taxi back to the port and shopped a little before getting back on the ship early afternoon. 

 

That evening we had the 360 dining experience. WOW! What a great experience. All 5 senses were involved in an interactive dining experience with 6 courses paired with drinks/wines. They had special non-alcoholic drinks for those who can't or don't drink that were paired as well. We were all blown away. Since she was 13, daughter was able to participate and thoroughly enjoyed it (and ate every bite). After dinner, she headed to the teen club and I went to the Enclave to relax a bit (included with Sky Suite) and then watch Movies Under the Stars from the balcony.

 

Day 4: We were in Belize. We had breakfast delivered to the room and picked up cinnamon rolls from International Cafe (daughter does not like cinnamon rolls generally, but she's obsessed with the ones on Princess). We then joined our Princess excursion for Altun Ha ruins and city drive. We got on a tender quickly which took about 25 minutes to shore. Once in the port, we were directed to meet our tour. We boarded a charter bus for the hour drive to Altun Ha. Our guide was wonderful. She pointed out a lot of sights and provided information about Belize on the ride to the ruins. We spent about an hour and a half at the ruins. It was VERY hot, but they did their best to get us in the shade whenever possible. After the ruins, we stopped for a Belizian lunch beans & rice, chicken and coleslaw on the way back (it was very tasty). We chose this excursion because we wanted to see ruins, but didn't want to spend all day or many hours in the sun/heat. It worked out very well. Back in port, we did some shopping before catching a tender back to the ship. 

 

Back onboard, we relaxed for a while and then had dinner at Catch by Rudi. It was fantastic, especially if you like seafood. We all had different starters (shrimp ole, crab and avocado tower and cioppino). Two had the chilled seafood extravaganza---fantastic, fresh seafood. After dinner, mom and I went to a production show which was great. Daughter went to teen club---was getting better and better (I think this night was the mocktail making competition). 

 

Day 5: We were in Roatan. I had been to Roatan once before, 25 years ago---boy has it changed. We wanted to do the sloths and monkeys so we booked privately with Daniel Johnson's Sloth and Monkey Sanctuary. We had to walk up stairs to the port gate and down a hill. The guides were waiting from all private tours (they can't pick up in the port if they are not contracted with the cruiselines, but they can drop you off back in the port). We were paired with 2 other women from our ship and given a driver. The driver took us to the iguana encounter 1st. We hadn't planned on doing this, but added it when getting checked in. It was fun and work the extra $10 per person. We held a baby iguana and fed/petted large iguanas and saw tarpon down on the dock. They then took us to the sloth and monkey sanctuary. We checked in and paid for our tour. Once our number was called, we went into the sanctuary and everyone got to hold a sloth and take pictures (you took your own photos--no photographers/expensive packages which was nice). We then went into the monkey enclosure where they jumped all around and all over us---was actually a lot of fun. They then took us into a macaw enclosure where we were able to have a macaw on our arm for pictures. Our tour included a reef snorkel so we then went to the snorkel boat. The boat took us out about 5 minutes to a shallow part of the reef. We had a guide who led us along the route to where the boat picked us up. He was great--helped a little girl who was afraid to snorkel and took my daughter's camera down to the lobster den for up close video. After the snorkel, we were driven back to the port. After a little souvenir shopping we headed back to the ship. I went to the spa for a massage which was very nice and daughter watched Barbi on the deck tv for our room.

 

Our dinner that night was ultimate balcony dinner (included with sky suite). We had our wonderful server from breakfast again. They set up the table with a beautiful flower arrangement. Before dinner started, a photographer came to take pictures. Then, we had a wonderful (and perfectly timed) dinner. We scheduled it for 5 pm to go along with our sailaway from Roatan. Throughout the dinner, the sunset got more and more beautiful. It was a wonderful evening! After dinner, daughter went to teen club for a bit before going to the 80's party on deck. I went to the party for a while and then watched more from the balcony. 

 

Day 6 - We were in Costa Maya and did a ship's excursion, All Inclusive Beach Break. We met the tour in the port and boarded a coach bus that took us to the beach club. The seaweed was all over the beach and very smelly. They had someone raking it in the area we were in, but there was only so much they could do. The beach was rocky with lots of tripping hazards. People came by continuously trying to sell stuff. After about 3 hours, we got a taxi (included with the tour) back to the port. The taxi ride was scary (speeding down dirt roads, weaving around cars & almost hitting a motorcycle). The port area was so crowded you could barely walk. The shops were much more expensive than other ports so we grabbed a couple souvenirs and headed back to the ship. We agreed that we'd probably stay onboard if we ever return to Costa Maya. 

 

This was the 2nd formal night. Before dinner, we had pictures taken. We ate in the Capri Dining Room. Service and food were excellent. After dinner, we saw Rock Opera which was fantastic. After the show, daughter went to teen club for a party and we went to the gelateria for a specialty dessert (included with premier).

 

Day 7: Final day/sea day. We did the suite breakfast in Crown Grill. After a special event for sky suite guests, we went to the shops to make final purchases (they had a big sale going on), to the photo gallery to select the pictures we wanted printed (we each got 3 prints with the premier package) and then to Ocean Terrace for a sushi lunch (included with premier). We weren't thrilled that it was a set menu with only a spicy roll--my mom can't do spicy, but the food was good. Daughter then went to meet up with friends and go to the pool while I did some packing. 

 

We had dinner at Crown Grill which was great. Our server was so much fun and the food was delicious. After dinner, daughter went to teen club and then swimming with friends. Mom and I finished packing and I wandered the ship, getting a final dirty banana. 

 

Day 8: We ordered breakfast to our room and I ran down to get daughter final cinnamon rolls from International Cafe. At 8:15, our suite experience manager picked us up and walked us through disembarkation. Even with waiting for elevators, wheelchair transfer (ship personnel take you 1/2 way and then port staff take over) and backups at customs, we were in our car by 9 am. 

 

Final Thoughts- We had an amazing cruise with many special memories. The ship is beautiful and we found that we really like the layout of this class of ships. 

 

Despite the slow start, the teen club ended up being a lot of fun, with new friendships made. I know many say Princess isn't for kids/teens, but daughter really prefers Princess to Royal Caribbean/other lines (more activities and more involved staff). 

 

The service was top notch! We did not have any bad service experiences the entire week which says a lot for Princess. 

 

The food was excellent! The quality and presentation were always spot on. Definitely do 360 if you can.

 

The sky suite was amazing (wish we could do it all the time, but it was a 1 time time very special occasion thing)! It was so easy with the scooter too--really accessible. The suite experience manager is a wonderful perk of the suite too.

 

We're already looking for another Princess cruise. 

 

Feel free to ask any questions!

[wallyj]

Hi @flhokie, I did not see you mention visiting the concierge lounge that suite passengers get access and I have heard they usually have an evening gathering with alcoholic drinks and sometimes different ‘themes’. Did the suites experience manager not organize these evening events on your sailing or you were not interested in attending?

 

You review mentions having dinner in the Capri dining room, but I assume you were seated in the ‘reserve class’ section which should have had more personalized service and an extra entree/special?

 

I was on Enchanted last month and also had the Premier package. At Ocean Terrace they had no problem substituting the spicy tuna roll for California roll, which is just imitation crab, avocado and cucumber. If you are on another ship, with Ocean Terrace, ask if they will do this. Unfortunately on Sapphire, they do not do substitutions because the sushi is not made to order in front of you like on most Royal class ships. 

 

I enjoy Princess, but can only dream of booking the Sky suite.

 

Thank you for your review.

Edited June 10 by wallyj

[Scottdalfonso]

This was great info. We are doing our first Princess after 6 RC cruises, we have a 12 yr old and actually decided to make this our first adult only cruise because we were worried he'd be super bored. We are hoping we really like the cruise (and everything we have seen about this ship has been great) and then maybe we will book it again for next year when he's 13 and would probably enjoy the teen area a little more. 

[flhokie]

9 hours ago, wallyj said:

Hi @flhokie, I did not see you mention visiting the concierge lounge that suite passengers get access and I have heard they usually have an evening gathering with alcoholic drinks and sometimes different ‘themes’. Did the suites experience manager not organize these evening events on your sailing or you were not interested in attending?

 

You review mentions having dinner in the Capri dining room, but I assume you were seated in the ‘reserve class’ section which should have had more personalized service and an extra entree/special?

 

I was on Enchanted last month and also had the Premier package. At Ocean Terrace they had no problem substituting the spicy tuna roll for California roll, which is just imitation crab, avocado and cucumber. If you are on another ship, with Ocean Terrace, ask if they will do this. Unfortunately on Sapphire, they do not do substitutions because the sushi is not made to order in front of you like on most Royal class ships. 

 

I enjoy Princess, but can only dream of booking the Sky suite.

 

Thank you for your review.

There were gatherings planned by the suite experience manager in the concierge lounge. We attended 1. The location of the lounge in relation to our suite was challenging for my mom to get to with her scooter so we didn't go often.

 

We were on the reserve side in Capri. One night my mom ordered the special entree and said it was very good (a fish dish). The service the first formal night was good, but it was excellent the 2nd formal night. 

 

Thank you for the information on Ocean Terrace. When she gave us the menu she told us it was a set menu with no substitutions. They were extremely busy so maybe that's why, but I will definitely keep your information in mind for next time.

[flhokie]

7 hours ago, Scottdalfonso said:

This was great info. We are doing our first Princess after 6 RC cruises, we have a 12 yr old and actually decided to make this our first adult only cruise because we were worried he'd be super bored. We are hoping we really like the cruise (and everything we have seen about this ship has been great) and then maybe we will book it again for next year when he's 13 and would probably enjoy the teen area a little more. 

Last year our daughter aged up to teens at 12. She's very tall and mature for her age and she had done the teen program on Royal Caribbean previously. Had she not aged up, I don't think she would have gone to the kids club much (big difference from a 7/8 year old). She immediately fell in love--they had fun activities each night (and sea day), not to mention the room is great with skee ball, foosball, music they can select, comfy chairs/couches, video games, etc. We were surprised on this sailing that more weren't taking advantage of it, especially with so many teens onboard, but more did start joining in. Enjoy your cruise!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

14 hours ago, flhokie said:

Day 6 - We were in Costa Maya and did a ship's excursion, All Inclusive Beach Break.  We agreed that we'd probably stay onboard if we ever return to Costa Maya. 

you should consider going to a PAYG Mahahual beach club with a much better beach and much cheaper offerings. 🙂 We were on the same cruise with you and went to Blue Kay which we visited several times before.

 

 

Here is my report and pics:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2988353-what-is-the-best-pay-as-you-go-resort-in-costa-maya-mahahual-beach/#comment-67495283

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2988353-what-is-the-best-pay-as-you-go-resort-in-costa-maya-mahahual-beach/#comment-67497083

 

It cost us $40 taxi roundtrip for 5 people and $46 + $6 tip in food and drinks, and we had a much better time, no trip hazards and hardly any seaweed. We'll go there next time we are on Enchanted and the same itinerary (next May).

 

The below average beach break excursion through the ship is also discussed in the same thread. 

Edited June 10 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

7 hours ago, Scottdalfonso said:

We are doing our first Princess after 6 RC cruises, we have a 12 yr old and actually decided to make this our first adult only cruise because we were worried he'd be super bored.

Princess has been my 13 year old's son favorite cruise line since he started cruising at 3, and he doesn't even do kid's or teen's club. Now that Princess is running the 3rd and 4th person in the same cabin free promotion, it's a no brainer to take a kid with us.

We do it regardless of the promotion, of course, because we can't imagine vacationing without him. 🙂

[Scottdalfonso]

5 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Princess has been my 13 year old's son favorite cruise line since he started cruising at 3, and he doesn't even do kid's or teen's club. Now that Princess is running the 3rd and 4th person in the same cabin free promotion, it's a no brainer to take a kid with us.

We do it regardless of the promotion, of course, because we can't imagine vacationing without him. 🙂

Nice. Yeah our kid doesn't even do the kids club stuff either. He is sailing with us in July on Royal and trying out MSC with us in December, since he's already missing school for the one in December,he couldn't do the Princess in Aug\September. So we thought it was a good time to try one on our own. I know I'll be saying "oh man, he woulda loved that, oh he would want to do this..." the whole week, BUT it will be nice to enjoy the adult areas of a ship for a few days.