Very long review of Enchantment of the Seas 5-22-06

[dyin2cruz]

This is a review of our family vacation cruise on May 22, 2006. We cruised on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas. I am a nurse, my husband is an electrician, and we have 2 daughters, ages 10 and 13. We live in Florida and usually vacation in the NC Mountains but decided to try something different. This was our first cruise and it was fantastic! We chose Royal Caribbean over Carnival because of the party rep of Carnival. We like to party, but we also like to have family time and an appropriate atmosphere for our girls.

Embarkation was a breeze, we stayed at Amerisuites in Fort Lauderdale the night before and took their free shuttle bus to Port Everglades (we got the Valuetrips.com rate of $69, worked perfectly). We arrived at about 11:30 and were on the ship by noon. I was totally amazed at the sight of the ship. I have read and studied cruising extensively since booking this cruise and all of the boards say how this is a midsize or even small ship at 90,000 tons. WOW, did it sure look HUGE to me, and SO beautiful.

Day one, we had lunch in the Windjammer while waiting for the cabins to open. We found our cabin 8015 without trouble open at 1pm as promised. We had the Family Interior Stateroom, there is only one on the ship. It is 260 sq feet. It was very nice and situated in the midst of all the grand and royal suites. We had a fridge , robes and slippers. It had the one king bed, a little room off to side with 2 pullman beds that were bunkbed style, a full couch that folds out if you need it to, and 2 chairs with a small table. Everything looked very clean and new. The bathroom had a shower(no tub) with a door instead of a curtain and all designs appeared contemporary. We spent the day on the pool deck and exploring the ship. There were always plenty of chairs around the pool. It had one salt and one freshwater pool, four Jacuzzis and the splash deck. A great pool deck band played great music of the island variety and always seemed to be playing at the right times. We also went to Adventure ocean open house so our 10 year old could check it out. It seemed fun and they invited all the kids back for opening night at 8pm.

Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We went and changed and arrived at 6pm for main seating. We got a table for 4. Our main waiter was Nilesh from India and our assistant was Rodney Pancho. These 2 were amazing all week. The service was great and friendly and they were very attentive and entertaining to both of our girls. At the end of the week, I felt like they were family. All meals were delicious.

After dinner, the girls went to Adventure ocean opening nights. Our 10 year old thought it was ok, because there were only 250 kids on this sailing, the 6-11 year olds were grouped together, so of course the 10 and 11 year olds thought they were too old for the group. Our 13 year old enjoyed the first night and a Scavenger hunt they had. Hubby and I went and donated some money to Casino Royale, We were able to have fun with $40 (betting small) for over an hour and walked out with about 13 left over. Later the Love and Marriage game show was very funny.

Day 2, I will try to shorten this LOOOONNNNG review. Key West. We strolled around town and went to Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum. It was interesting and AIR CONDITIONED. We got back on the ship and hung out at pool deck, belly flop competition- too funny. Formal night was very nice and we noticed that it seemed everyone dressed up accordingly and did not see one violator! Lots of pictures taken tonight. We caught the show that night, a medley of Broadway musicals. It was pretty good, then we turned in, EXHAUSTED!!! We missed the midnight buffet this night.

Day 3 Cozumel, docked!!!!!! We went to Paradise Beach. Very fun. Enjoyed everything. It’s free to get in, then you buy drinks and food. A wrist band for $8 allows you to use their water trampolines, kayaks, snorkel equipment, and water iceberg. Great fun was had by all of us. Our food/ drink bill was 65 +tip. My hubby and older daughter left at 1pm to go to a ½ day fishing trip I had booked for them through shoretrips.com. It was total bust. Caught no fish, only had one bite . They trolled the water the whole time with poles in pole holders, so they didn’t even get to hold the poles!! My hubby asked to stop and drop the lines (like we are used to when deep sea fishing in FL) and the workers said they don’t do it that way in Cozumel. So don’t do that, only bad part of whole trip.

Day 4 Belize. Tendering was no problem, took Belize Best by Boat(snorkel barrier reef and Shark ray alley) also booked through shoretrips.com. Absolutely the highlight of the trip. Professional crew, educated us all about Belize on the 35 minute boat ride out, good instructions for snorkeling, very good attention to safety (very concerned about protecting the reef and the passengers). At the barrier reef we saw: nurse shark, manatee, spotted rays, devil rays, grouper, blue tang fish(Dory), all kinds of other colorful fish and we got to hold a sea urchin. We then left and went to Shark Ray Alley. We got to feed the sharks and rays; we saw a green eel, barracuda, and fed lots of fish too. So very cool for all for us. This trip was much more than cruise ship offered. We then went Caye Caulker and had lunch. On the way back to the pier a dolphin started to swim next to us and they slowed to show us and let us take pics. This company was Ecological Tours, I think they are in the process of changing the name to Wet’n Wild. Guides were Herbert, Carlos and Jermaine. Got back in just enough time to ready for supper, lobster night was yummy!!!!

I was so exhausted I went to bed with my younger daughter, hubby went to casino and bars, older daughter hung out at arcade with new friends. I did get up and go to poolside Dancing Under the Stars party with midnight buffet. I t was very fun, they taught us lots of dances and cruise directors kept the party going, and buffet was good. The best part of the buffet was the ice carvings and all of the beautiful creations and carvings they make with the food.

Day 5 was a day at sea, I slept until 10:30. We all hung out at the pool all day. Great band, sexy legs and tight buns competition (lots of laughs). We had lunch in Dining room, very good as always. After dinner, we had parent’s night out. We sent the kids to Adventure Ocean (our older daughter mainly hung out in Arcade or at pool with new friends). The younger daughter did Rock’n Roll night, they had face painting and Karaoke, she said it was ok. Hubby and I went to make more donations to Casino. Then we went to Adult Karaoke which was an absolute blast, then the Adult comedy show. We did not stop laughing the whole time. Then we all went to bed to get up early for disembarking.

Disembarking was horrible. We were in the VERY first group because of our cabin being right there with all of the fancy suites, they also called Travel-Lite for those carrying all of their own luggage. The group must have been near 800 people. It took over 1 and ½ hours in line to get off. But hey, It was great vacation and we got over it pretty quick!!!

The Enchantment is a gorgeous ship and looks brand new. I would recommend her to anyone.

[mommabean]

This is the exact same itinerary I will be doing in August. Your review wasn't too long. It was good.

 

Funny thing about us Floridians. We all go (or shall I say went) to NC for vacation. I wish we had discoverered cruising when our kids were younger. We are now hooked. Maybe one day we will go to NC again. Maybe not! :)

[dyin2cruz]

Thanks, you will have so much fun!!!:)

[sailinglisa]

Dyin - I had Nilesh as a waiter last October. Isn't he just the best? We wanted to take him home with us!

[dyin2cruz]

Yes, I kept feeling like I losing my best friend when we said goodbye. He had just found out his wife is pregnant with their first child, only about 2 months along. So nice!

[piphigoddess]

Thanks for the long review. We 're going in August and it's great to hear others having a good time on the ship.

 

We too are Florideans and my family always took trips to the mountains in North Carolina too. Maybe because the beach is so close we take it for granted. But I do enjoy snow skiing. (I have to differentiate because some florideans will ask "how do you get the boat up the mountain?")

[cruisebabe43]

Thanks for the great review! We will be doing this same itinery at the end of July. We were wondering about the condition of the ship since the re-fit. Glad to hear she is as good as new. We just can't wait.

[dyin2cruz]

They could have told me she was brand new and I would have believed it!!!

[hayesktrm]

Can you tell me some of the activities they had for your 13 yr. old? I am hoping mine won't be too bored with the club. Did they group the 6-11 year olds because there were only 250 kids on board? I have a 9 yr. old and we will be cruising in the summer so I am hoping they don't do that.

 

Did you take cash or credit card to Paradise Beach? Anything else I should know about Paradise Beach?

 

Did they only have one formal night and all the rest just regular nights? What did others wear those other nights?

 

So glad to hear that one pool isn't salt water. Can the kids use that pool?

 

Can we buy a pre-loaded card for the arcade? We went on a couple Disney Cruise and were able to do this.

 

Did you eat at Chops? If so, how much was it and what was the dress code?

 

And lastly, is there a place you can get soft serve ice cream?

 

Thanks for answering all my questions...we leave in 3 weeks, 1 day and are so excited.

[dyin2cruz]

1. Yes, they only grouped them because they were too few. Our 13 yo old enjoyed some of the activities, not alot. She did make friends and had a good time. We allowed her freedom to go where she wanted as long as she told EXACTLY where she would be, such as pool or arcade or teen disco. If she changed places she had to come tell us before hand. We checked on her and she complied or she would have lost all freedom, but she is very good anyway.She didn't venture away from us on her own really until the last 2 days. I think she had to get comfy with place and so many things to do together. One night they had family disco hour and they both got to come to adult disco in Viking Crown longe and dance with us on dance floor. They played alot line dance songs and got everyone involved. As for 12-14 yo activities, they had scavenger hunts - big hit, name that tune, rock climbing challenge, a couple of dinners, karoake, and poker tournament to name a few. You can add arcade money from your sea pass account to your arcade account in the arcade or by inserting cash.

2. Cash or credit is accepted, they add 20% service charge to credit card payment. We took cash and left it in our beach bag with our other things and it stayed safe all day. I asked about lockers, they did not have any. Our waiter assured us our things would be safe and they were. Bring water shoes for everyone as the sand in the water also has lots of rocks, but water is clear and beautiful.

3. Only one formal night on Key West night. On other nights just not jeans or shorts. My DH wore dockers and polo shirts, I wore pants or capris with nice top. Some (very few) wore jeans or shorts and I don't know if anybody cared. We sure didn't. Everyone we met looked like they were having a good time and were very friendly.

4. yes, kids can use fresh water pool, it's right in front of pool band too! Great for jammin while watching the kids.

5.see above

6. We actually had reservations for Chops, but canceled because the food in the dining room and the service were both out of this world!!! Chops had a few things we would have liked (like veal chop!) but we couldn't part with our regular wait staff we grew to like them too much!!! It was 20 per person if you did go and you could wear anything, just not jeans or shorts. I believe it said "smart casual".

7. Soft serve is by the windjammer on the pool deck and everyone walks around with a cone all the time. Our girls must have had 4 a day at least!!

And one more thing, We got towel animals every night!!!Have a blast! Debbie

[cruisinisforme]

Glad you liked the enchantment, while I a partial to the voyager class ships, I love the enchantment and have already rebooked for next year

[tw67]

Thank you soo much for your review. We are booked on August 28 in the outside family stateroom on deck 8. It is about the same size as yours was, but with windows, no balcony. You really had robes and slippers??!! I am so excited. Our cabin can sleep 8. Did you see this cabin at all on your cruise??

 

We have heard that our ship is not very full. We will have a 3 and 8 year old with us. If the ages are put together, my 8 year old will be thrilled because he always likes playing with kids older than him (of course the older kids might not be thrilled!!)

 

Thanks so much for the post!!

[hayesktrm]

Thanks for all the answers! My DH is very excited about the soft serve ice cream.

[lojill]

Great review

[jillybabes]

Another Floridian checking in...Great review, we have to wait til January for our Enchantment experience. Glad you had such a great time and now you are hooked:D ! Later, Jill:cool: