Enchantment Update / my trip summary (12/15-12/20)

[kf4zra]

Figured i would put a few people'e minds at ease.

 

i just got off the enchantment yesterday. got on the boat in about 15 min at 1130a on 12/15. got off the boat and to the street in about 15 min. very easy on and off.

 

Electrical problems- i did not see any other than propulsion. the lights and AC worked fine. the AC could have been colder, but i like to sleep when its downright chilly. i would say it was about 70F in our interior cabin. you could watch the propwash at the rear of the boat and definately tell that the port propeller was running full speed and the starboard was only running at about half speed. this is why we had to leave Jamaica by 2p. we did have some incredible views of the mountains of cuba earlier in the cruise.

 

we did miss grand cayman due to ocean swells. the wind was blowing directly into port causing swells that made it dangerous to operate the tenders. we did get about $12 in port fees credited back due to this. i have been there before, so i wasnt too concerned, plus i will be there in feb. we cruised at less than 10 knots to jamaica from there.

 

jamaica was awesome. i took a private tour with Javia Shaw, from Knowjamaica.com. Javia was very professional, and took us to some out of the way places that you would normally never see. we got to try saltfish (government fish provision) and yams (not sweet potatoes, these were some sort of vine) from a friend of his on the side of the road on the way to Bob Marley's Mausoleum. we also stopped at a Rastaman's place (i cant remember the man's name tho) in Fern Gulley and got to see all kinds of Jamaican herbs, fruits and plants. The Rastaman was very friendly and let us eat some jamaican "grapefruit" it looked like grapefruit, but tasted like oranges. we also got to try some fresh sugar cane, and he hacked open a coconut for us to sample as well. the rastaman gathered all of these plants from the island, he put on a very informative presentation.

 

i was a bit upset by the shopping in jamaica since i expected to be buying from jamaicans. the only people in the shops were rude and pushy indians (people from india) if i wanted to buy from pushy indians, i could have easily done that from home. as far as cuban cigars are concerned, i did not see a real one in any shop in jamaica. they were ALL counterfeit. every merchant tried hard to convince me otherwise, but the labels were wrong, the boxes were lacking authentic markings, and there were incorrect tax stamps on the boxes. the cigars also were of poor quality, and did not have the correct "triple cap" that cubans have. another dead giveaway was that they were selling for $5-$10. real cubans have enough demand that they dont have to discount them, and generally sell from $18-$30. needless to say, i will have to continue to get my cubans from canada.

 

the ship was great albeit a little slow necessitating an early departure from jamaica. Javia Shaw, from knowjamaica.com was an awesome tourguide. i thought about renting a car, but after riding through the mountains with Javia, i know that renting a car would have been a very bad idea. the roads are poorly marked, in awful condition and the only rule of the road is whoever is biggest wins. Javia used his bus to advantage and provided us with the best tour we have ever taken. I cant recommend him or his Mom, Marva Shaw enough.

 

Oh yeah, they did have lobster on this 5 day trip. i have the pics to prove it.

 

if you have any questions about the trip or my tour with Javia, lemme know and i will do my best to answer.

[familycruzer]

Thank you for the update. I will be cruising on EOS in just over two weeks.

[Jay Bee]

Thanks for the info, kf4zra. Did you happen to hear any reliable update (perhaps from the Captain's Corner) on the date of the repair?

[kf4zra]

I didnt manage to make it to the captian's chat, so i dont know when it will be fixed. this captain just started with our cruise, and perhaps doesnt know as much about the problem as the former captain.

 

i would strongly recommend that nobody miss "The Quest" and the "love and marriage" game shows. they were both outstanding.

 

and i cannot recommend this guy enough

 

[ChoosinCruisin]

The part required to fix the generator will arrive from Italy the second week of January and the repair will take three days to complete. The passengers will not be aware of the repairs during that sailing. (Direct from Captain Ban)

[Ardrossin]

Gonna be on EOS Jan 21 - 26th 2008. Hopefully they will have things back in order with propulsion. I have sent an e-mail to RCCL asking of the likelihood of the itinerary being changed for this cruise. If so, we've got some shore excursion manipulation to do. As of yet, no reply e-mail.

 

Riddle me this....would it not be to RCCL's benefit to go public and address the issues instead of letting rumor and innuendo permeate and possibly damage their image? Would seem to me to be a public relations no brainer. Keeping it hush hush almost makes it look like they are hiding something.

 

Not slaggin', I guarantee that I'm gonna have a blast no matter what shakes out! Taking my 2 kids (9 and 12) on their first cruise, and they're pumped !!! Do they still sell the big cans of Foster's on the ships? Had 'em last year on Majesty.

[kf4zra]

they had them last week.

 

i was a little bummed, they were supposed to have a free tasting of Royal Ale on departure day. i went to the schooner bar, at the time listed, but was told they were out. they pointed me over to a table about 100ft away in the centrum that was selling the beer.

 

hmmmm, you are out of the free stuff, but that guy over there will gladly sell me some? felt a little fishy to me.