Anyone just off the Enchantment..???

[mitaxi]

Sailing on the Enchantment in 5 days...aware there has been some electrical problems, changes in the itinerary recently etc..... so if you just sailed on her, how was your week, any problems??.. .getting nervous....:confused:

[mitaxi]

Anybody???...unpacked yet....

[the4ofusandallourfriends]

We just got off the Enchantment.

 

Our itineary was changed last minute and flipped around so the ship could sail at a slower pace.

 

Then....the day we boarded they told us our Mexico day would be shortened...the tendering process was horrible. It took us 2 hours to get to shore even with #2 tender tickets. In 8 cruises this was the MOST disorganized tendering process ever.

 

On the way to Belize a crew member fell seriously ill. The ship was turned around back to Cozumel to drop him off. Belize was cancelled.:(

 

We ended up having a day at sea and then a day at Coco Cay.

 

Otherwise, it was a good cruise. I'll write more later.

[firecatgirl]

Just got back and we had a wonderful time and so will you :D The tendering in Cozumel wasn't that bad. They didn't open both sides do to the rough seas I guess but just if you know you are going to be tendering get there early. The line to get tickets was on deck 5, the line was way back in the casino very quickly.

 

Have a great cruise :D

[doxiegal]

We just got off the Enchantment of the seas. It was a very disappointing cruise to say the least. All other cruises we have been on have been great. This one did not measure up to par. First the flipped flopped Itinerary. We had to change our plans for Cozumel. Then upon boarding we noticed the air conditioning in our room did not regulate itself. Twice we asked maintenence to fix it. Both times they thought they did. But they did not. It was like living in a ice box for 5 days. They had no other rooms they could offer us. It was so bad we had to turn the shower on hot and let it run about 10 minutes just to warm the room. Then the horrible tendering in Cozumel. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get off the boat. Then we skipped Belize due to a medical emergency. That really was a bummer, as that was the only reason we took this cruise. We found out later almost everyone we talked to felt the same way.And to top it off, our waiter in the dining room, we preoccupied with something else for most of the cruise. He forgot to bring our salads, and side dishes on a few different occasions. Forgot to give some in our party menus to look at. And on the last night, he could not remember what each person ordered, and began auctioning off food. This was our 6th RCCL cruise. And we have never had so many bad experiences on a cruise ship. I will say the ship was beautiful, and the staff was fantastic. They did an excellent job, given the circumstances. Will I sail on RCCL again. Of Course. Will I sail on Enchantment Of The Seas. I'm not sure. But I will not let one bad cruise ruin it for me. Even with the problems we experienced on this cruise. We still had a great time.

[Bases5]

. Then upon boarding we noticed the air conditioning in our room did not regulate itself. Twice we asked maintenence to fix it. Both times they thought they did. But they did not. It was like living in a ice box for 5 days. It was so bad we had to turn the shower on hot and let it run about 10 minutes just to warm the room.

 

 

Sounds like the got the AC working.

[doxiegal]

Yes, they fixed the air!!! The air conditioning worked fine in all areas. (except our room) Up by the shops and photo gallery. It was really cold. But in the other areas it was fine. They still are having the electrical problems. The ship is not running at full speed. That was how all the problems happened.

[Corvette Guy]

This was the worst cruise experience Ive ever had....THE WORST

 

Everything about this cruise went south.

[Bases5]

I am sorry for all you guys that had a bad experience. I hope this was a anomaly and not a trend. My dw and I are not big fans of the mega ships and we did a lot of research before selecting our cruise. By far Enchantment was the best by all the reviews we read and people we chatted with. Maybe with the recent issue there have been a lot more upset passengers and it takes its toll on the staff. Our upcoming 4 day cruise is very short in nautical miles and should not be a problem making all the ports. The cruise that the folks are on now received e-mails telling them of scudded change.

 

Did you get any kind of compensation for the missed port.

[mitaxi]

 

Did you get any kind of compensation for the missed port.

 

I would also like to know this...

 

and am sorry your cruise didn't go better...

[sherriandshane]

This was our first RCI cruise after having a really good time on another cruise line. We had heard how much better RCI was and frankly we didn't see it.

 

But specifically on the Enchantment our itenirary was reversed due to the electrical problems which wasn't that bad although somewhat close to departure and some had to scramble to change excursions.

 

The electrical problems didn't seem to hinder anything unless the had something to do with the tendering. Yes the tendering was that bad. We waited over an hour after picking up our tender tickets for Cozumel and for us coming back to the boat from Cozumel was horrendous. We floated alongside the ship for 30 to 45 minutes.

 

Tendering at Coco Cay was a mixed up crazy mess. No directions where to go or where to line up. At one point we were stuck where 3 lines converged and some people were skipping the lines altogether because they came down to the floor on the elevators. No one with RCI seemed concerned with organizing it. Being that this is their private island you'd think things would run smoothly.

 

Everything just seemed poorly organized from a transportation standpoint all the way around. But I think the thing that bothered me the most was skipping Belize. I understand medical emergencies and would want them to do everything possible if it were me too. However, I as well as others felt RCI should have made some effort to make up for skipping the port. They made no offers for credit, discount any prices, have a happy hour on drinks, or anything really. On the contrary the captain really came across as smug basicly saying "These things happen". I just hope we can get our refund from our excursion we booked independant of RCI.

 

To end on a positive note they did a wonderful job of keeping people entertained. The cruise director Mark was very funny and his staff did everything they could to inject some fun into the trip.

 

Hopefully your experience will be better.

[mkca]

What room number were you in that had the A/C problem?

[Bases5]

Again I'm sorry for your hassles.

I have cruise with lots of lines and missing ports is more common than you would think. I book private excursion also and the first question I ask is what happens if the ship does not make it to port.

Most will give you a refund. I bet there thinking was since they replaced Belize with Coco cay that there was no need for compensation. By there cruise package they don't have to either but usually they give something for better PR.

I'm glad some of your cruise was OK.

How was the food in your opinion?

[yj2cute]

I've been on the Enchantment 4 times and just booked my 5th for next month. She is my favorite ship. I am sorry to hear about the recent problems. I've had nothing but excellent service and good times on that ship. However, of course, there are times when things aren't perfect. I know all attendants and servers aren't the same. I just think the EOS is having a bad run at the moment. I'm sure RCI is doing everything they can to make things go smoothly. However, I'm sure everyone is aware that no port is guaranteed, it says so right on the contract. And if they actually replaced the missed port with another port, why would you expect compensation? As someone said, missing Belize due to a medical emergency should not bring any complaints at all. If it were you, you'd expect the same treatment and I think that just human compassion would prevent any grumbling about that. The tendering does sound horrible, and I'm lucky, I've never tendered on the EOS and what you went through doesn't sound fun either, but these things DO happen, just as the captain said, it's really not the norm.

 

I say all this to say to the upcoming cruisers, not to worry, it's a great ship with a great crew and they'll do everything they can to give you a great experience. Happy cruising.

[mitaxi]

 

I say all this to say to the upcoming cruisers, not to worry, it's a great ship with a great crew and they'll do everything they can to give you a great experience. Happy cruising.

 

Thanks....I picked this ship BECAUSE of all the previous wonderful reviews, and so wanted to sail on her.....not concerned changing ports (have had it happen before).. if AC isn't perfect, I wil sleep on my coveted corner aft balcony,...lol....

[shelbylook]

Thanks....I picked this ship BECAUSE of all the previous wonderful reviews, and so wanted to sail on her.....not concerned changing ports (have had it happen before).. if AC isn't perfect, I wil sleep on my coveted corner aft balcony,...lol....

 

I bet there's room for more than 2 on that balcony!!:p

 

I feel bad for the cruisers of the past few sailings. It seems most of the complaints are about missing ports and itinerary changes. The comments regarding the ship itself, the staff, and service have been for the most part favorable. That's what I care about. If we miss CocoCay or Key West, I will not complain about it. I'll just enjoy the ship and all it has to offer. Afterall, I'm going on a cruise!

 

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences.

 

Cathy

[mitaxi]

Cathy - we will make room...:D

[Glama]

We just got back last night. This was our third time on Enchantment, and I can tell you there were alot of happy people on that ship. BUT, it was one of our best cruises, minus the port changes and skipping Belize (which honestly, totally stank, but understandable). Mini review:

 

Flew in 2 days early, on Saturday. Had THE BEST time in FLL! Went to Cafe Blue fish then Howl at the Moon on Saturday night, had a total blast at HATM, everyone who goes to FLL should try to stop in there. Rented a car and drove to South Beach the next day (feeling a bit hungover, I might add). Gorgeous day, 82 degrees, had lunch at the Pelican near the beach, back to hotel to be lazy around the pool, then back to Cafe Blue fish that night for the best Pomegranate martinis I've ever had.

 

We found out a few days before the cruise that we were upgraded from a Junior Suite to the ROYAL FAMILY SUITE!! HOLY COW! I thougth we'd get an upgrade because I saw that they were only offering JS guarantees a week before the cruise, and knew they didn't have any left. My evil plan worked, we changed our OV booking to a JR. Suite, and landed an awesome upgrade. The cabin was beautiful, and we invited my cousin who was staying in a quad to share the cabin with us. It worked out wonderfully! Tons of room, and it was the "meeting place" for the 8 of us who were traveling together. We loved that cabin!

 

Crew on the ship were great. Man, RCI pours strong drinks! People in our party sucessfully smuggled alcohol, won't get into logistics, but it was clearly not disguised and all of it was delivered in checked luggage. Our luggage was delivered at 1:30pm!! He said "congratulations, you are the first to get your luggage". Bonus! Room steward was excellent, Lulalee or something like that, from Jamaica.

 

On embarkation day, they were jackhammering the tile floor near the pool. Ugh, not a relaxing way to start, so as soon as our cabins were ready we headed to the suite and hung out there until Muster, which was quick and efficient.

 

Made it to dinner 3 nights out of 5. Lots of jeans, every 15th person entering the DR had jeans on, no problems. Food was pretty good, service was great except on formal night where it took an hour and 1/2 to get our entree. They served lobster on the last night of the cruise, on the "fishermans plate" which also included shrimps. Our waiter, Dennis, just kept bringing lobsters to the table.

 

Since the itin was reversed, we hit Key West first, it either poured rain or misted continuously all day. It was supposed to be a sea day, and in retrospect I guess I'd rather walk around KW in the rain than have a rainy sea day. Spent a good amt. of time having bloody mary's at Sloppy Joes, then went to the Flying Monkey, love that bar! Overall, a fun day with friends, albeit the crappy weather.

 

Cozumel tendering SUCKED. We had VIP tender tix because of the suite, and it still took us over an hour to get on the tender. Whatever, we tried to make the best of it. People were actually fighting in the line, it was not pretty. Enjoyed our day in Coz at Paradise Beach (great food, great drinks, great service!!!!), then Carlos and Charlies, which in my opinion has gone DOWN hill since they rebuilt. We could not sit there for 3 minutes without someone trying to sell us something, pictures, shots, balloon hats, more shots, more pictures, more food, more drinks. We'd tell them "no thanks" and not a minute later someone else would come and try and sell us something. Gone are the crazy days of CnC's, and I MISS THAT STAGE, lol! Tendering to get back to the ship was a cluster you know what. Waited in line for an hour, sat on that tender for 1/2 hour watching bad Mexican Soap operas on the TV. So, our day in Coz was diminished by a total of 2 1/2 hours of tendering. YUCK.

 

OK, so that night we went up to the deck party, and heard from other pax that we were skipping Belize because of the medical emergency. I've been to Belize two other times so it didn't really bother me, and at this point, I was craving a sea day anyway, so no biggie for us, we shrugged it off and knew we'd make the best of it. Other pax that we talked to said that the ONLY reason they booked this Mon-Fri 5 day cruise was because of Belize. You can go to KW and Coz on any 4 nighter over a weekend and not sacrifice a whole weeks worth of vacation. Talked to a young couple, this was their first cruise ever, and they were really sad. Another man at the bar said "this cruise has gone DOWNHILL since the minute I stepped onboard". I knew that the ship missed KW just 2 weeks ago, and gave everyone a $200 cabin credit, so hoped they would compensate somehow, NOPE, nothing offered at all. Still, I knew it was part of our contract, so didn't get upset and had a great sea day despite the jokes about trying to cave tube in the kiddie splash zone.

 

Next day, Cococay, tendering again. I liked Cococay, but what I did NOT like was the fact that they didn't give us any breaks at all on mats and other rental equipment, etc... $10 to rent a mat at a beach where we weren't even supposed to be kinda rubbed me the wrong way. RCI could have given people free use of stuff like that, because of the circumstances, but....whatever. The place was expensive ($80 for 6 minutes of parasailing), and RCI profited pretty well off their Cocoloco drinks and rental equipment.

 

Anyhow, we had a great cruise despite all the mix ups. We enjoyed Julian in the concierge lounge very much, even though we only made it there twice. The free drinks and snacks were plentiful and yummy.

 

They need to come up with a better taxi option upon debarkation in FLL. We just stood in the road and hailed a cab, and people that were standing there were not happy with us. But what do they think is going to happen? Taxis are not going to just stop for you unless you hail them. RCI wasn't helping anyone grab a cab, you are on your own. Tampa has a much better system, FLL should take note.

 

Again, found the crew to be wonderful, from the Purser, to the bartenders, wait staff, cabin stewards, social staff, etc... Josh was very entertaining! Marc is always so full of energy, but for goodness sake, you'd think they could come up with some new questions on the Love and Marriage show, same questions, same answers, etc... RCI must know that they have tons of repeat cruisers, it's funny the first time, but the second, third, and fourth time just is too predictable. We had a great time at Quest, congrats to team #2 who won! You deserved it!

 

Oh, the two nights we were at the disco, it was dead. No one on the dance floor, disappointing, considering we told our travel mates how much the disco rocked. I think we just hit it a couple of bad nights, I heard the first and second nights were packed.

 

Casino didn't pay out for us this time, go figure. :rolleyes: We won a few hundred last time we were on the ship and hoped for a repeat performance. The roulette guy sucked! No personality, paid the wrong people, so we just spent (lost) a little bit of money and moved on. He was the only crew member all week whom we didn't instantly like.

 

Overall, a great cruise, with MANY upset fellow passengers.

 

I'll answer as many questions as I can!

[Glama]

OH, and the AC worked fine, actually, it was freezing in our cabin! The only time it wasn't on was after Cococay, until sailaway time. It wasn't broken, I think they just turned it off while we were anchored. :)

[doxiegal]

Our a/c did not regulate. We were in cabin 2141, by the second day, we should have just switched cabins with my parents who were in 2125. Their air worked fine. I wanted to switch but my hubby did not. We were already 2 days into the cruise, and he was afraid switching cabins would screw everything up. So we just stayed put. But like the other poster said the only day we were not freezing was when we were in Cozumel and Cococay. I do feel the captain could have offered happy hour, or free round of drinks or even onboard credit of some sort for the inconvienence of not stopping at Belize. I agree with the other poster " I thought he was kind of smug "" about the whole thing. Taking me to Cococay was nice, but it does not make up for Belize. I've been to cococay 4 other times. If I wanted to go there, I would have booked a cruise with that in the itinerary. If the ships electrical problems had been properly fixed before this cruise. Most of the problems could have been avoided. We would not have had to flip flop the itinerary, and would have made it to belize on the 3rd day. That was why most people were mad, cause we missed Belize.

[megr1125]

we're on for a B2B in a month......i really don't care where we go as long as we go!! Hopefully it will be fine.....i'd like to at least get to Coz and Cayman since we skipped them in 2005 on Navigator.......

 

But, as long as we go someplace....i'm fine with...we're in an aft JS so i hope all the stuff works!

 

if anyone has any pix to see pls let me know! thanks.....

[mitaxi]

we're on for a B2B in a month......i really don't care where we go as long as we go!! Hopefully it will be fine.....i'd like to at least get to Coz and Cayman since we skipped them in 2005 on Navigator.......

 

But, as long as we go someplace....i'm fine with...we're in an aft JS so i hope all the stuff works!

 

if anyone has any pix to see pls let me know! thanks.....

 

I leave in 4 days.. also have an aft JS... will bring back some pics..

[megr1125]

I leave in 4 days.. also have an aft JS... will bring back some pics..

 

 

oh that would be swell!!

[Glama]

The crew member who had the emergency was the cabin mate of our DR waiter. 35ish, massive heart attack. It must have happened just after we set sail from Cozumel. There were so many rumors floating around about what happened, several people were saying that a woman fell off the 8th deck onto the 7th deck, did anyone hear that?

[mommabean]

we're on for a B2B in a month......i really don't care where we go as long as we go!! Hopefully it will be fine.....i'd like to at least get to Coz and Cayman since we skipped them in 2005 on Navigator.......

 

But, as long as we go someplace....i'm fine with...we're in an aft JS so i hope all the stuff works!

 

if anyone has any pix to see pls let me know! thanks.....

 

There are some Enchantment pics in the link at the end of my signature. We had a great time.