Just off Enchantment - A frank review

[klever]

I just returned this morning from Enchantment of the Seas' 4-day itinerary from Fort Lauderdale to Key West to Cozumel and back. This is my third RCCL cruise, the first two being the week-long Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises, both on the Navigator of the Seas which my wife and I both loved. We booked this Enchantment cruise a few weeks ago, borne out of a desire to just get away for a long weekend. The ports almost didn't matter to us, although we really liked Cozumel the last time we were there.

 

I'm going to be completely honest here. If you have never cruised before, Enchantment might be an acceptable choice. I'm sure a lot of people thought it was just great. But having been on a Voyager class ship twice, Enchantment was a big disappointment for me. Of course I knew it was smaller than Navigator when I booked it. But I guess I didn't realize how claustrophobic I would feel walking down the stateroom hallway which is barely wide enough to accommodate two normal-sized people walking astride. And while eating breakfast in Windjammer on the Navigator is an intense experience, it does not come close to the level of chaos I experienced on Enchantment's version of Windjammer.

 

OK, so the ship is smaller. We all know that. That really isn't my main complaint. My main complaint is that, for the most part, the service I received from personnel aboard Enchantment was a big disappointment compared to both trips on Navigator. Maybe I've been very lucky to have stateroom attendants and waiters and assistant waiters who were really on-the-ball and seemed to enjoy what they were doing. On Enchantment, many of the people who served us seemed to be going through the motions.

 

On Navigator, my waiter and assistant waiter knew my first name and my wife's and knew that she had sensitivity to certain foods. I remember that every course was delivered with efficiency. The waiters were always within eye- or earshot if we needed them. On Enchantment, our waiter, Devang, would disappear for minutes at a time. His assistant, Floyd, was actually very good at picking up the slack. But it just wasn't the same - or as good.

 

On Navigator, our stateroom attendant was a friendly presence whom we saw often in the hallways. She would come in and ask how we were enjoying our cruise. On Enchantment, we rarely saw our stateroom attendant, Roland. Sure, he was fine at making up the room each morning and turning down the bed at night, but I didn't sense the genuineness that the Navigator attendants exuded. They really seemed to care about us and pleasing us was their #1 concern.

 

Here's another incident worth sharing: on Saturday, rather than go right in to Cozumel, my wife and spent the morning by the pool. There were only a handful of people there - such a relief from the usual wall-to-wall bodies. I went to the woman who was handing out beach towels and asked for two. She said I simply needed to give her my room number and return the towels when I was done with them. Great. The next day, Sunday, we went to the pool again. Again, I went to the person handing out towels, a man this time, but he refused to give me a towel unless I gave him the one from my room first. The only trouble was, Roland didn't leave us any beach towels! That meant that my wife had to schlep back to our room, track down Roland, get the towels from him and then come back down to the pool.

Why was the rule regarding towels different from one day to the next?

 

Next bitch: for some reason, the Captain advised passengers to set their clocks back an hour the night before we arrived in Cozumel (why I'm still not sure). The night we pulled out of Cozumel, we had to set the clocks forward an hour. (I don't recall doing this the last time we were there.) Not a big deal, except that they really should have extended Windjammer's breakfast hours an additional hour to compensate for the fact that everyone's body clock was off-kilter. They didn't, so by closing at 11 am, they were actually closing at 10 am according to the passengers' mental clock. And the closing time is a farce - they actually start removing food about an hour prior to closing so you have to scramble around and grab things before they disappear.

 

Finally, Enchantment is a 10-year old ship and even with its "stretching" in 2005, it looks and smells like a 10-year old ship. Not everywhere, and not in huge, glaring places. I'm talking about the frayed carpet in our stateroom, the bathroom mirrors that had lost some of their "silver" along the edges and the stench that sometimes rose up from - where? The carpeting? The bathrooms? I don't know. All I know is that it was unpleasant as hell and it wasn't just a one-time occurrence. Pretty much every time we walked down the hallway from our foreward starboard cabin to the centrum, we were hit with some variety of odd odors.

 

Am I being too picky? Is this like a Rolls Royce driver suddenly forced to drive a Hyundai and expecting the same kind of ride and reliability? I don't think so. I don't think it's too much to ask for consistency of service, whether one is sailing on a new, gigantic ship or a smaller, 10-year-old ship.

 

It puzzles me why there should be such a difference in service between these two types of ships. Is it because the 4-day cruises on older ships are cheaper and attract less well-heeled travelers? I sure hope not.

 

There were many good things on this cruise, too. The entertainment was, as always, top-notch. The food quality was as good as ever. The people working in the Shops at Centrum were all excellent. We had a couple of really great waitresses at Chops, Niki from Croatia and Amy from the Philippines.

 

I will definitely sail RCCL again, but I learned my lesson. The next cruise I book will be on a Voyager class or larger ship, on a 7-day or longer itinerary. (Oh, and never from Fort Lauderdale, too. Miami is much easier and more efficient.)

[vacation fool]

Wow, I was on Enchantment this past Jan and about the only thing i seemed to experience the same as you is about the stateroom attendant. I don't even remember his name. Not friendly ,not what I was used to. But then again there was a 6 yrs gap since my last cruise and I have never been on one of the mega ships so maybe thats the difference? I did not notice any worn areas or smells. The cabins are small, 122 sq ft, and yes i was in an inside so when we were in the room i was claustraphobic but not anywhere else on ship. We did not eat in the diningroom once as we ate at Chops Grille 2 nites (where they did know our names) and that was wonderful. The other 2 nites we ate in the Windjammer and had mediocre staff people there. But that did not bother me at all. I would not hesitate to go on her again if i get a good deal. :)

[The Big Booper]

...........On Navigator, my waiter and assistant waiter knew my first name and my wife's and knew that she had sensitivity to certain foods. I remember that every course was delivered with efficiency. The waiters were always within eye- or earshot if we needed them. On Enchantment, our waiter, Devang, would disappear for minutes at a time. His assistant, Floyd, was actually very good at picking up the slack. But it just wasn't the same - or as good. ............

 

There is another thread here discussing the job(s) of the head waiter. One of the posters on that thread is a former ship's employee. Per the discussion there, the main job of the head waiter is to keep his section running smoothly by properly training his staff and supervising his section during the dining hours. It sounds from your post that the head waiter was letting his people slide; you should have pulled your head waiter aside and told him of your problems with the so-so service.

 

Go find that thread and read thru - a facinating look at life behind the scenes.

[curley23]

Are you being picky?? I think so. We had Roland and were forward on deck 4 as well. Probably talked to him at least 4-5 times each day. Our cabin was immaculate. as we have learned on other cruises, check pools towels in cabin BEFORE going to the pool. Alot of times they are not back from laundry when cabin is made up. Have had same thing happen on Explorer, AOS, MOS, Serenade. all you have to do is ask. At the pool they should give you a towel and you have to give it back. Have never had them tell us we can't have one, unless they are out as well. Usually they will give you the time they will be ready. (sometimes if you get to know the cabin attendant when you first board, you can get them to give you 2 extra to keep in room just in case) It does help sometimes to be the one to break the ice. Roland has been there 10yrs and we have had him twice. He is just a little quieter than some others, but the service was certainly there. I don't remember any bad smells.

 

As far as dinner, again it might pay to be a little inter active instead of just waiting for someone to kiss your behind.

 

The time change in Cozumel is because they are in Central time zone. Some cruises will go by ships time, and some will actually go by the time zone. An hour shouldn't hurt anyone.

 

As far as Kaos in the Windjammer, all it takes is a little common sense, Everyone usually wants to eat an hour, or hour and a half before the ship lets you off in the port of call. Adjust your schedule accordingly, or better yet go eat in the main dining room, and avoid it all together. We like the dining room on certain days and you can still have all the food you want, just ask for it.

 

As C&A Diamond members, we have had all types of cabins, from GS to lower inside. there is a difference whether you think there should be or not. I am not saying that the service should still not be excellent on the lower price cabins, but there is. We have learned that when you book a low price cabin, you may need to do a little extra on your part up front and make a new friend right off the bat.

 

Sorry to rant a little, but i do not like all the negativeness all the time. If you want to be a complainer, go on NCL, or Carnival then you can complain all uo wish.

[Bonnie Voyager]

Our Enchantment experience was quite the opposite of yours. We sailed on Enchantment a few weeks before you. My most recent cruise before that was a few months ago on Freedom of the Seas. I have also sailed on Voyager-class ships several times and while the larger ships are my favorites, I found Enchantment to be....enchanting! :D We had excellent service everywhere we went on Enchantment. That is just the luck of the draw though. You can have bad service anywhere, even on the larger ships. Enchantment may be smaller than the megaships but she is by no means a small ship. I loved the layout of Enchantment and felt the flow of traffic was very nice and I never felt as if I was in a crowd or that there were any areas that were claustophobic (at least not for me ;) but we were in the back of the ship and perhaps the hallways were wider there than in the front corridors where your cabin was). As far as the time change in Cozumel, that is always at the discretion of the Captain. I think it makes things easier for the ship to change to "island time" at least it makes it easier if you have an early excursion to make and you are not sure what time it actually is (was that an hour ahead? or an hour behind? ;) ) unless the ship and island time are the same. We changed to island time on Enchantment too but a couple of months ago on Freedom the ship stayed on ship time in Cozumel. No big deal, but I just had to keep reminding myself what time it actually was so I didn't miss the ship at the end of the day. I never thought about how it affected dining in the Windjammer though as we always eat early and it has never mattered about the time change. It does stink how they have no consistency about the towel exchange policy. But we have had that issue on every RCCL ship! We don't usually go to the pool though, so it doesn't really bother us. We take the beach towels from the cabin on our shore excursions and hang the damp towels in our bathroom when we return and our room steward replaces them for us each night. I have also noticed a "sewer" smell on just about every ship I've ever sailed on at some location or another. Fortunately for me it's never been near my cabin! On Enchantment we were in an aft/corner cabin on deck 7. It was in nice shape and no smells in the area. I know the smells you mean though! I've smelled that smell on brand new ships too! I think it must be a casualty of cruising. When they deal with that much sewage there has to be issues somewhere along the way. It must have been awful to have to smell it throughout your cruise! Our cabin decor was in good shape. The bedding, of course, was practically brand new and was awesome. The sofa was older and looked like it was about 10 years old but it was clean and comfy. Most of our balcony furniture was brand new. We had 2 lounge chairs, 3 regular chairs and a medium-sized table. All but one lounge chair seemed almost brand new! The old one was VERY old. I saw the cruise director in the hallway one morning and joked about them short-changing us one new loungechair and when we returned to our cabin after dinner and shows that night our one old chair was gone and in it's place was a brand new lounge chair still with the plastic and tags attached! Now that was service! :D Well, anyway, to make a long story short I think the problems you experienced on Enchantment are more the result of luck and timing than choice of ship or length of cruise. I was also on the 4-day itinerary on Enchantment and had a completely different experience than you had. I can't say enough positive things about our trip. But, if I had had your servers, or had to smell the smells you endured I would probably feel differently myself. But the problems you experienced could happen on any ship. Hopefully they won't happen to you again though! Happy sailing!

[HB Cruiser]

We just got off Enchantment July 21st and our experience was completely different. Staff was top notch and very accomodating. EVERYONE spoke to us when walking by.

 

As far as the towel policy is concerned, I think it works like this. If you ask for towels, they take your cabin number. If you ask again, you must return the other towels prior to your receiving your new ones. Maybe they did not change the policy, maybe you did not follow it properly. I heard them several times telling passengers that should they ask for more they MUST return the others.

 

Sorry your experience on this ship was not what you wanted. Matter of fact our last Voyager class ship (Mariner) was like your experience on Enchantment, not very personable at all.

 

Tim

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks for the honest review. I don't know if I could go on a smaller ship now either since we have been on the Mariner. I have been on the Sovereign and had the cruise from you know where. People have different experiences, I hope your next one is better.:)

[Host Kewlguy]

We've been on Enchantment three times as well as two Voyager Class ships and a Freedom Class ship and would go back on Enchantment tomorrow if we had the chance. But thanks for your review. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Although we've had the complete opposite experience on Enchantment.

[skyking]

As a mainly Voyager class cruiser I LOVED THE ENCHANTMENT. Great service, friendly staff etc etc....The gripes you make are just that gripes. Sounds like you spent more time comparing ships, although you knew Enchantment would be a totally different experience. You have a good idea sticking to Voyager Class ships.

[TravlGrl]

Thanks for an open and honest review of your experience on Enchantment. It seems that some folks here would rather only hear the good things, then chastise posters who had something less than positive to say.

 

I did not think you were being picky, didn't see you as someone who expected anyone should kiss your behind, and didn't see any lack of common sense in your behavior. If you want to complain, do it. People here don't like to hear negative things about their favorite cruise ships, but life isn't just a basket of puppies and kittens all the time, and yes, cruises are not always perfect.

 

You're the only person who had your experience, so tell it like you feel it.

[johnjen]

I just returned this morning from Enchantment of the Seas' 4-day itinerary from Fort Lauderdale to Key West to Cozumel and back. This is my third RCCL cruise, the first two being the week-long Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises, both on the Navigator of the Seas which my wife and I both loved. We booked this Enchantment cruise a few weeks ago, borne out of a desire to just get away for a long weekend. The ports almost didn't matter to us, although we really liked Cozumel the last time we were there.

 

I'm going to be completely honest here. If you have never cruised before, Enchantment might be an acceptable choice. I'm sure a lot of people thought it was just great. But having been on a Voyager class ship twice, Enchantment was a big disappointment for me. Of course I knew it was smaller than Navigator when I booked it. But I guess I didn't realize how claustrophobic I would feel walking down the stateroom hallway which is barely wide enough to accommodate two normal-sized people walking astride. And while eating breakfast in Windjammer on the Navigator is an intense experience, it does not come close to the level of chaos I experienced on Enchantment's version of Windjammer.

 

OK, so the ship is smaller. We all know that. That really isn't my main complaint. My main complaint is that, for the most part, the service I received from personnel aboard Enchantment was a big disappointment compared to both trips on Navigator. Maybe I've been very lucky to have stateroom attendants and waiters and assistant waiters who were really on-the-ball and seemed to enjoy what they were doing. On Enchantment, many of the people who served us seemed to be going through the motions.

 

On Navigator, my waiter and assistant waiter knew my first name and my wife's and knew that she had sensitivity to certain foods. I remember that every course was delivered with efficiency. The waiters were always within eye- or earshot if we needed them. On Enchantment, our waiter, Devang, would disappear for minutes at a time. His assistant, Floyd, was actually very good at picking up the slack. But it just wasn't the same - or as good.

 

On Navigator, our stateroom attendant was a friendly presence whom we saw often in the hallways. She would come in and ask how we were enjoying our cruise. On Enchantment, we rarely saw our stateroom attendant, Roland. Sure, he was fine at making up the room each morning and turning down the bed at night, but I didn't sense the genuineness that the Navigator attendants exuded. They really seemed to care about us and pleasing us was their #1 concern.

 

Here's another incident worth sharing: on Saturday, rather than go right in to Cozumel, my wife and spent the morning by the pool. There were only a handful of people there - such a relief from the usual wall-to-wall bodies. I went to the woman who was handing out beach towels and asked for two. She said I simply needed to give her my room number and return the towels when I was done with them. Great. The next day, Sunday, we went to the pool again. Again, I went to the person handing out towels, a man this time, but he refused to give me a towel unless I gave him the one from my room first. The only trouble was, Roland didn't leave us any beach towels! That meant that my wife had to schlep back to our room, track down Roland, get the towels from him and then come back down to the pool.

Why was the rule regarding towels different from one day to the next?

 

Next bitch: for some reason, the Captain advised passengers to set their clocks back an hour the night before we arrived in Cozumel (why I'm still not sure). The night we pulled out of Cozumel, we had to set the clocks forward an hour. (I don't recall doing this the last time we were there.) Not a big deal, except that they really should have extended Windjammer's breakfast hours an additional hour to compensate for the fact that everyone's body clock was off-kilter. They didn't, so by closing at 11 am, they were actually closing at 10 am according to the passengers' mental clock. And the closing time is a farce - they actually start removing food about an hour prior to closing so you have to scramble around and grab things before they disappear.

 

Finally, Enchantment is a 10-year old ship and even with its "stretching" in 2005, it looks and smells like a 10-year old ship. Not everywhere, and not in huge, glaring places. I'm talking about the frayed carpet in our stateroom, the bathroom mirrors that had lost some of their "silver" along the edges and the stench that sometimes rose up from - where? The carpeting? The bathrooms? I don't know. All I know is that it was unpleasant as hell and it wasn't just a one-time occurrence. Pretty much every time we walked down the hallway from our foreward starboard cabin to the centrum, we were hit with some variety of odd odors.

 

Am I being too picky? Is this like a Rolls Royce driver suddenly forced to drive a Hyundai and expecting the same kind of ride and reliability? I don't think so. I don't think it's too much to ask for consistency of service, whether one is sailing on a new, gigantic ship or a smaller, 10-year-old ship.

 

It puzzles me why there should be such a difference in service between these two types of ships. Is it because the 4-day cruises on older ships are cheaper and attract less well-heeled travelers? I sure hope not.

 

There were many good things on this cruise, too. The entertainment was, as always, top-notch. The food quality was as good as ever. The people working in the Shops at Centrum were all excellent. We had a couple of really great waitresses at Chops, Niki from Croatia and Amy from the Philippines.

 

I will definitely sail RCCL again, but I learned my lesson. The next cruise I book will be on a Voyager class or larger ship, on a 7-day or longer itinerary. (Oh, and never from Fort Lauderdale, too. Miami is much easier and more efficient.)

 

Just this past week we cruised on Empress. We're the opposite. While we preferred the smaller vessel than last one (Explorer) we noticed the odors as well, but the odor was stale urine that kept coming up from around the commode. The cabin boy tried fumigation, but it kept coming back, so we ended up with a 15% discount offer on our next cruise.

 

But, lessons were learned. We too noticed the claustrophobic feelings, especially in the cabin. We grew accustomed to the couch in the cabin on both Grandeur and Explorer, but alas, it wasn't there on Empress.

 

I find it interesting how larger ships please people better than small ships, but the only thing we really like about the smaller ships is that it is easier to find the people we meet onboard. They seem to have that personal feeling about them. For me, being on a voyager class is like being on an aircraft carrier again, when compared to being on a destroyer.

 

I'd hate to think what a Freedom class feels like, but one day I know we'll end up being on one of them!

[Host Kewlguy]

I'd hate to think what a Freedom class feels like, but one day I know we'll end up being on one of them!

 

Freedom Class is just Voyager Class on steroids.

[libertybelle41]

Thanks for your honest opinion. I enjoy reading all reviews..."The good, the bad and the ugly".

[The Big Booper]

If the Freedom class is a Voyager class on steroids, then a Genesis ship is............??:eek:

[Merion_Mom]

If the Freedom class is a Voyager class on steroids, then a Genesis ship is............??:eek:

 

.........a by-product of Chernobyl. ;)

[Merion_Mom]

We've been on Enchantment three times as well as two Voyager Class ships and a Freedom Class ship and would go back on Enchantment tomorrow if we had the chance. But thanks for your review. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Although we've had the complete opposite experience on Enchantment.

I agree with Tony. :)

[dfishner]

Thanks for the honest review, most do not like to see negative reviews. I am glad to see that you made a decision to stick with the Voyager class which is a ship that you do like..So far we have only sailed Radiance and Jewel of the seas and we love that class of ship. We went on the Majesty of the Seas and were not sure we would like it since it was smaller but we really enjoyed ourselves. The cabins are the same size of the Enchantment and once we got over the shock of the size which lasted all but five minutes we were fine. We would not hesitate to take MOS again or try the Enchanment. Thanks again for your honest review it helps keep things balanced.

[boingy300]

We actually had our first cabin steward complaint, similar to yours on the AOS. He barely spoke to us, but would talk at length to the people down the halls. They loved him, we had to hunt him down. We've never had a complaint (nor are we demanding). WE pre-tipped, they didn't. We pre-tipped this upcoming cruise as well, and leave extra if warranted. IF it happens again , we will stop pre-tipping. We compared notes with our neighbors and found they did not pre-tip. MAYBE it was just a fluke, maybe not.....we'll know after this cruise. I appreciate your honest review. It won't change my excitement about going, but it will be interesting to reflect as we sail in Nov. I have NEVER had a good experience in Windjammer on any ship! I cannot stand that place. Rushed, cold food, dirty handles-yuk! Give me the dining room- a padded chair, soft music, and an herbed cheese omelette...............ah , I'm already there...............

Karen

[RevSmith]

good morning,

thank you for your honesty...you really had better stick to the bigger ships...try the Freedom class ships you may like them even more than the Voyager class ships, as the voyager class is starting to get old and might start getting those smells soon too.

Me I'll stick with the smaller more romantic Vision and Radiance class ships...I love the idea of seeing the sea all about you...I love that on Enchantment everyone knows my name and the quality of service has always been superb (I've been on here more than 10 times), I love the creaks and groans late at night as you lay in bed and the seas are a little rough. I love chops, and the CL and Julian. I have also traveled on the voyager and freedom class ships but can quite honestly say Enchant is my favorite thus far. As you can see we all have different tastes...I suggest you go back to the bigger ships it's what makes you happy.

[cruisinisforme]

Well I am a huge fan of the voyager class ships and by far prefer them, but nonetheless I have now been on the enchantment three times and have quite the opposite to say. I find the staff on the enchantment wonderful and so friendly and look forward to seeing them again. You cant compare the enchantment to any voyager or freedom class ships, they are so different.

 

I think the problem is those voyager class ships are quite addicting, I know I love them and I am going to miss the lack of them on the east coast soon. They offer so much to do and see on the ship and the smaller ships do not have as much to do, but I knew this booking the cruise and was not disappointed, just went at it with a different attitude.

[klever]

Thanks for all the replies. It's interesting to read different peoples' expectations and perceptions of the same ship.

 

To the person who accused me of being a complainer: I only complain when something is not right. As I said, we had a great experience on NOS - twice - and that was my basis for comparison when we went on Enchantment. Enchantment simply didn't measure up. That was our experience. Others on board may have had the opposite. This forum is about sharing experiences and that's what I did. If you don't like negative opinions, go to the Happy Happy Joy Joy Everything's Just Swell Cruise Board. :)

 

To the person who described the towel policy at the pool: On Saturday, when everyone was in Cozumel, I was able to give my cabin number to the towel guy and get two towels. That's why I didn't check the stateroom for towels before heading our to the pool on Sunday. On Sunday, the policy was completely different, i.e. exchange room towels for new ones. Again, it's the inconsistency of service that bugged me (and the fact that

there were no beach towels in my stateroom).

[MGilly]

The first three RCCL cruises we took were on Voyager class ships, and the fourth was on the Vision, a much smaller ship. It was delightful, just the same. We are booked on the Enchantment for a cruise this fall, and I have to admit that I'm a little discouraged about it. But just because it's shorter than a seven-day cruise!

 

We've always had a great time on RCCL cruises, and yes, there will, of course, be differences in the service you receive, because people are different! We've had cabin stewards who were visible ALL the time and some who we saw only on the days of embarkation and debarkation. We've had waiters who hovered over us and anticipated our every desire and some who seemed to think dinner was meant to last for three hours. We've always brought our towels to the pool, so we never encountered problems there. We've had terrific cruise directors and one (no longer with RCCL) who was really annoying - had him on two of our cruises!

 

A cruise is really what you make it. When things don't go the way you'd like, DO something about it! Or just laugh about it! Maybe I'm naive, but I'd rather make lemonade out of lemons than complain about the lemons.

[newbeestl]

Thanks for the review. It was good to read one with a bit of honest complaining in it. Just helps me to know what to look for! :D

 

Everyone is different. I would venture to guess you would like 7 day or longer cruises on BIG ships better then short cruises on small ships. Perhaps though, you just had a string of bad luck on the Enchantment. Lots of people on there. Some are going to get shafted here and there. :o

[big al]

I just returned this morning from Enchantment of the Seas' 4-day itinerary from Fort Lauderdale to Key West to Cozumel and back. This is my third RCCL cruise, the first two being the week-long Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises, both on the Navigator of the Seas which my wife and I both loved. We booked this Enchantment cruise a few weeks ago, borne out of a desire to just get away for a long weekend. The ports almost didn't matter to us, although we really liked Cozumel the last time we were there.

 

I'm going to be completely honest here. If you have never cruised before, Enchantment might be an acceptable choice. I'm sure a lot of people thought it was just great. But having been on a Voyager class ship twice, Enchantment was a big disappointment for me. Of course I knew it was smaller than Navigator when I booked it. But I guess I didn't realize how claustrophobic I would feel walking down the stateroom hallway which is barely wide enough to accommodate two normal-sized people walking astride. And while eating breakfast in Windjammer on the Navigator is an intense experience, it does not come close to the level of chaos I experienced on Enchantment's version of Windjammer.

 

OK, so the ship is smaller. We all know that. That really isn't my main complaint. My main complaint is that, for the most part, the service I received from personnel aboard Enchantment was a big disappointment compared to both trips on Navigator. Maybe I've been very lucky to have stateroom attendants and waiters and assistant waiters who were really on-the-ball and seemed to enjoy what they were doing. On Enchantment, many of the people who served us seemed to be going through the motions.

 

On Navigator, my waiter and assistant waiter knew my first name and my wife's and knew that she had sensitivity to certain foods. I remember that every course was delivered with efficiency. The waiters were always within eye- or earshot if we needed them. On Enchantment, our waiter, Devang, would disappear for minutes at a time. His assistant, Floyd, was actually very good at picking up the slack. But it just wasn't the same - or as good.

 

On Navigator, our stateroom attendant was a friendly presence whom we saw often in the hallways. She would come in and ask how we were enjoying our cruise. On Enchantment, we rarely saw our stateroom attendant, Roland. Sure, he was fine at making up the room each morning and turning down the bed at night, but I didn't sense the genuineness that the Navigator attendants exuded. They really seemed to care about us and pleasing us was their #1 concern.

 

Here's another incident worth sharing: on Saturday, rather than go right in to Cozumel, my wife and spent the morning by the pool. There were only a handful of people there - such a relief from the usual wall-to-wall bodies. I went to the woman who was handing out beach towels and asked for two. She said I simply needed to give her my room number and return the towels when I was done with them. Great. The next day, Sunday, we went to the pool again. Again, I went to the person handing out towels, a man this time, but he refused to give me a towel unless I gave him the one from my room first. The only trouble was, Roland didn't leave us any beach towels! That meant that my wife had to schlep back to our room, track down Roland, get the towels from him and then come back down to the pool.

Why was the rule regarding towels different from one day to the next?

 

Next bitch: for some reason, the Captain advised passengers to set their clocks back an hour the night before we arrived in Cozumel (why I'm still not sure). The night we pulled out of Cozumel, we had to set the clocks forward an hour. (I don't recall doing this the last time we were there.) Not a big deal, except that they really should have extended Windjammer's breakfast hours an additional hour to compensate for the fact that everyone's body clock was off-kilter. They didn't, so by closing at 11 am, they were actually closing at 10 am according to the passengers' mental clock. And the closing time is a farce - they actually start removing food about an hour prior to closing so you have to scramble around and grab things before they disappear.

 

Finally, Enchantment is a 10-year old ship and even with its "stretching" in 2005, it looks and smells like a 10-year old ship. Not everywhere, and not in huge, glaring places. I'm talking about the frayed carpet in our stateroom, the bathroom mirrors that had lost some of their "silver" along the edges and the stench that sometimes rose up from - where? The carpeting? The bathrooms? I don't know. All I know is that it was unpleasant as hell and it wasn't just a one-time occurrence. Pretty much every time we walked down the hallway from our foreward starboard cabin to the centrum, we were hit with some variety of odd odors.

 

Am I being too picky? Is this like a Rolls Royce driver suddenly forced to drive a Hyundai and expecting the same kind of ride and reliability? I don't think so. I don't think it's too much to ask for consistency of service, whether one is sailing on a new, gigantic ship or a smaller, 10-year-old ship.

 

It puzzles me why there should be such a difference in service between these two types of ships. Is it because the 4-day cruises on older ships are cheaper and attract less well-heeled travelers? I sure hope not.

 

There were many good things on this cruise, too. The entertainment was, as always, top-notch. The food quality was as good as ever. The people working in the Shops at Centrum were all excellent. We had a couple of really great waitresses at Chops, Niki from Croatia and Amy from the Philippines.

 

I will definitely sail RCCL again, but I learned my lesson. The next cruise I book will be on a Voyager class or larger ship, on a 7-day or longer itinerary. (Oh, and never from Fort Lauderdale, too. Miami is much easier and more efficient.)

 

Klever-Wow,we felt the same way! Having sailed recently on the AOS,Mariner,and the Freedom last November,we also opted for a short quick getaway cruise on the 4 night EOS in April.We had a JS,which was OK,but not nearly as nice as the other 3 ships...service for us was fine,but my main problem was the entertainment factor.....we just were so used to the Royal Promenade and Ice-Show,that we found ourselves a bit bored.We hung out at Boleros(my wife is from Peru,so she loved it),or the Schooner Bar...and that was about it.....again-nice ship,Chops was great,but next 4-5 night cruise ,we'll do the Navigator....

 

Big Al

[RCCLNYMETS41]

My family went on the Enchantment last year. It was our 10th with RCI.

Been on Sovereign, Majesty, Monarch, Voyager, Enchantment & Radiance. Booked on Jewel for this November. Radiance was our favotie experience. Our Enchantment experience was nice; however, it seemed to be missing that intangable "WOW" factor. Even after the stretch & updates, it still showed its age. My only real complaint was that they added more cabins with the stretch, but the public areas were not expanded, so, for example, the Windjammer was very crowded at all times.

I am looking to buy the model of the Enchantment of the Seas that they sell in the onbord shop. THey did not have them available when I sailed. DOes anyone have one that they would be willing to sell? It is the only one that I am missing from my cruises.