REVIEW: Enchantment 1/21/08 to 01/26/08(my first and rather long)

[Ardrossin]

Went with DW and 2 DD's, 12 and 9. Flew from Buffalo to Ft Lauderdale via Cleveland on the morning of the cruise. Saved about $1000 by not flying out of Toronto. All on time, landed at 12:20. Took a cab to the port, $22.40 for all 4 of us. The ones who purchased transfer from RCI for $25 p.p. were still waiting for their ride when we left. Cabbie was speaking in french on the cell phone to a buddy about his girlfriend. When he hung up, I started speaking french to him. The look on his face was priceless. Check in was super quick, we were in our rooms (2 adjoining o.v. on deck 4 midship) by 1:10.

 

Scoped out the ship, lunch at Windjammer was very good. Little bit of sun and swim, then off for dinner at My Fair Lady. We ate there 4 out of 5 nights. The food was incredible !!! Choices were great. If you can't find something on the menu that suits your taste, you're either too picky or not hungry. They have the main menu posted outside the dining room each day. My DW is a Canadian Certified Chef (red seal). She commented that the food is some of the best she has ever eaten !!! Service was second to none, with Mihai (hw), and Rico (asst.).

 

Day2, Sea Day: At breakfast in the Windjammer, this guy about 50 yrs old was losing it on the staff. I mean he was snapping, yelling how incompetent they were and that he demanded to speak to the manager and they would be fired if they didn't comply. Found out later that he was demanding that they reserve a section of about 8 tables in one section solely for the use of he and his friends, and he wanted them NOW !!! He didn't get them, so he says he is NEVER sailing with RCI again. To him, I offer a hearty "Thank YOU !!!":D Spent the day poolside, great tunes and drinks. HERE"S A HINT FOR BEER DRINKERS: Order the big cans of Fosters. Tastes great, is 25 ounces. Twice the size of the other regular beers, only $1 more. Formal night, very well done. Again, food was awesome !!! Show was a guy by the name of Kevin James who won Star Search in the 80's. A little kitchy, but great voice and got the audience into it. Lotsa motown stuff.

 

Day 3: Belize. Tenders flowed starting at 8:30, we were on the 3rd tender out, and were on land by 9:45am. Had previously booked a tour for cave tubing online with Major Tom. He was waiting, and away we went. There was also another couple with us, who for one reason or another had booked but were unable to pay there. They take cash or traveller's checks, so I wonder if the people only had Cred Cards?? Anyways, Major Tom tells them "Its ok, when you get back home, just go online and pay with Pay PAl. No worries.". They kept apologizing to him, but he would hear nothing of it. He just told them to have a good time. That to me says loads about the guy and his operation.The trip itself... Highly recommend it !!! Take waterproof disposable cameras for the trip, and tie them to your life vest. The scenery is amazing. Just be aware that the drive to and from takes an hour each way, so the whole trip takes about 4 hours. Still la couple hours back at the port to shop and look around. Last tender to the ship was 4:30. Ate that night at the Windjammer. Food was very good. Played a bit at the casino, took home $80.

 

Day 4: Cozumel. Woke up and we were docked. Went to Chaakanaab Park for some R&R and Royal Dolphin Swim, also booked online. The place is very well organized and clean, food is a tad pricey, but whatdya expect. With the money I saved booking online, I was still ahead of the game Did a little snorkeling off the beach, then into the Dolphin Swim. You can take your own waterproof cameras in with you, but they also have a guy videoing and photoing you during the session. It truly is a unique, once in a lifetime experience. Afterwards they pressure you into buying the video and photos. $55 for the video, and with the 4 of us they had taken about 25 photos. They wanted $270 for the whole thing. Truth is, alot of the pictures are not that great, not only because I'm fairly ugly, but because in alot of them you are squinting or have your eyes closed and cheeks bulged out because you are holding your breath. Told them I only wanted 2 photo's of the DD's and the video. Next thing I know, the price is now $130 for all photos and the video. Less than half price from 2 minutes previous. Wound up getting the video, 2 photo's of the DD's, and a souvenir squeeky stuffed dolphin for my 9 yr old for $74. Then whipped out the coupon for 10% of what I paid for the Royal Dolphin Swim. It was a promo before Xmas. The whole souvenir thing cost me about $25 out of pocket. Back to the port area for some souvenir shopping. Typical Mexican market stuff of "Hey meester, come into my store, good deal for you today". Didn't pay any more than 40%-50% of the original price for stuff, or wheeled a 2 for 1 deal. Midnight seafood buffet was good.

 

Day5: Key West. Being Canadian, had to do the customs thing before we could disembark. Ship docked at noon, by 12:25 they were starting to disembark. Very slick process, although we were in the first 20 people in line. No planned excursions, just food, drinks and shopping. Dinner that night......LOBSTER !!!! Mihai just kept 'em coming !!! For dessert, he had noticed my DD's penchant for all things chocolate, and gave her 3 chocolate cakes. Funny, when I picked her up at the kids club at 11pm, she was still wide awake !!! The show that night was a comedian / magician. Too bad its only a 1 hour show, because this guy was GREAT. All age appropriate, and I thought my 12 yr old was gonna fall on the floor.

 

Final Notes: Stateroom attendant "Rachel" was top notch, and incorporated my daughters stuffed toys into the towel animal scenes on the beds. The ship is having NO propulsion or electrical or A/C problems. We hit all ports on time. Itinerary was not changed from when it was booked in Oct. Kids club for the 9 yr old was great. She couldn't wait to get there anytime when we were on the ship. 12 yr old wasn't into it, but I think that it's just because she's 12 going on 20. Bar service on deck was superb. Pizza in the solarium was on par with the stuff we order at home. Never had a problem getting a table in the Windjammer or a couple chairs by the pool. Also found the smokers to be VERY CONSIDERATE !!! THANK YOU !!!! I am quite sensitive to smoke, and even the casino seemed fine.

 

The worst part of the trip....as usual, leaving. Debarkation was quick, we were off by 9:45, at the airport by 10:15. HINT: take the taxi's if you have a group, again about $22.00 for the 4 of us. If you are riding with just 1 or 2 people, there are shuttle vans that cost $9 per person. The guys running those will be wearing white shirts with a red cloth vest with "Shuttle Service" on the pocket.

 

Any questions??

[Jules215]

Thank you, thank you!!...We'll be boarding on Thurs., and it was good to hear you all of your impressions, and that you had such an enjoyable time.

[Lorie]

Thanks for the wonderful review. Glad you had a good time.

[okpoke]

Question about your tender...when did arrive in port? When did the tender start? Did you have to wait hour and 15(you stated 8:30 and 9:45 you were on land) to tender? We are cruising to Cayman and have never tendered..just wondering what to expect?

[KarinaGW]

Question about your tender...when did arrive in port? When did the tender start? Did you have to wait hour and 15(you stated 8:30 and 9:45 you were on land) to tender? We are cruising to Cayman and have never tendered..just wondering what to expect?

 

Apples and oranges. The first picture is fom the ship to Grand Cayman. The second is from the ship to Belize City. Distances are slightly different.

 

 

[Conanc]

Nice review. Thanks for posting!

[Ardrossin]

OKPOKE...They start handing out the tender tix at 8:30. We were in port at about 7am. Once you get your ticket, you don't have to stand in line. You can meander around the ship, and they will announce when your tender number is up.

[mrstay]

Thank you so much for such a positive review. I too am sailing on her this Thursday. I have been faithfully reviewing the boards for the past few months and with so much negative being said, you start to wonder if you made the right choice. I am glad to see that I too will have an awesome trip.

[Ardrossin]

You're killin' me ! You're going to love it. I think some of those people who have been complaining are the type that look for something to complain about. You know the type, if you gave them $1 million in cash, they'd complain that the bills were wrinkled. True, there are legitimate beefs out there, no company is perfect, including RCI. Lack of propulsion or A/C like they had on Enchantment last month is definitely not good. But its been fixed. Other peoples rotten kids, bad weather or heavy seas aren't worth complaining about. You can't change them anyways. Don't like the beef, eat the pasta. By the way, the prime rib is excellent, and always on the menu!!!

[kittymom65]

Thanks for a great review!:)

[vermontvoyager]

Great review of Enchantment.:cool:

We just sailed on the ship for the 1/12 5 night and found the food in the dining room to be some of the best that I have had on a cruise yet.

We had planned on dining only a couple of nights in the dining room but, ended up eating there everynight for except 1 night we went to Chops.

The food and service in the dining room was great and the staff and service around the whole ship was fantastic.

We are planning to book a cruise there again in the fall.:D

Bob:)