Enchantment lovers... a few ???s

[amybear912]

I admit... I was sneaky... My whole family was planning a cruise late this summer and EVERYONE wanted to sail Carnival... everyone except DH and I who would prefer RC....

 

Price point won out... Enchantment 5 day was actually less expensive than the same 5 day on Carnival (same ports too!)... (and we got everyone booked before the fuel increase on RC but not before the increase on Carnival)... :)

 

So now we are sailing Enchantment in late August... I've been looking forward to sailing this ship and now I get my chance... now I have a few questions for all of you Enchantment lovers...

 

1. Solarium... retractable roof, will they keep it in the open position during our cruise? Sailing in August I would hope so, otherwise it could get a bit toasty in there, right?

 

2. Chops... I see on some ships it is $25 and some it's still $20 pp... is this correct? What is it on Enchantment?

 

3. I've heard tales that you can actually tell where they inserted the new center of the ship during refurbishment... I find this fascinating... where is a good place to really notice this??

 

4. Fridges and safes... do all rooms have both???

 

Anyone got a recent Compass from this specific cruise (ports are Cayman and Cozumel)... I checked cruisedailies but they didn't have one for this specific itinerary...

 

Any other great things about Enchantment that I can pass on to the rest of the fam, who are all RC virgins...

[debshomespun]

That's great. All the RC Virgins will fall in love with th eEnchantment!

 

1. It will depend on the captain and the weather. We were on her in Jan. and they kept it closed.

 

2. We didn't eat at Chops, so I can't remember the correct price. Sorry. :(

 

3. It is very diffecult to tell. Up on deck by the pool, it is where the new "bridges" are located.

 

4. All rooms have safes. the interior rooms do not have a fridge. Not sure about the oceanview ones. We had an interior for our B2B, and it was just fine. Plenty of room in it for the both of us.

 

Be sure to not iss the "Quest". It is hilarious, and you will have a great time there! If you have any other questions, ask away!

 

Here are a couple pics of the Enchantment:

[djkk]

Hi, Chops is $25.00. Just went on the 5 day sailing on April 10th. I personally did not think Chops was that great. The service was excellent, but my beef was not exceptional and I did not care for the desserts offered. Just my 2 cents. My friend and I had a great time and enjoyed the ship.:)

[CedarburgCruiser]

Hi, Chops is $25.00. Just went on the 5 day sailing on April 10th. I personally did not think Chops was that great. The service was excellent, but my beef was not exceptional and I did not care for the desserts offered. Just my 2 cents. My friend and I had a great time and enjoyed the ship.:)

 

I am sorry that you did not enjoy Chops, but for my DW and myself this is a can not miss on a cruise. Chops is outstanding. It is a step above the dining room for service and food. It is worth the $25 per person.;)

[Lushpuppy]

That's great. All the RC Virgins will fall in love with th enchantment!"

 

Oh at long last..can honestly, hand on heart claim to be a virgin:D

 

Our first experience will be with Enchantment, so nice to know its a good first time choice.

[aurelius180]

debshomespun,

 

I'm sailing on the Enchantment in October. It's my second cruise and first time on the Enchantment. I believe I read that the Solarium is an adult only area. Is this correct? We didn't have any problems on the Majesty last year but it's a concern of mine. Not that I mind kids but some are not as well behaved as others. Thanks!

[jbrambach]

My DH and I also had a wonderful cruise on the Enchantment. The crew was really wonderful, one of the friendliest we have ever sailed with.

 

Chops was so great that we went back a 2nd time.

 

We also had an interior and no fridge.

 

Do not miss Boleros great mojitos and they will teach you the salsa so you can dance, lots of fun.

 

I guess the solarium roof depends if it is nice out or not, it does get packed when it is not nice out, but it was still tranquil.

 

You made a good choice IMO, the Enchanment is a wonderful ship. Have a great time.

[KelJ]

Hi, Chops is $25.00. Just went on the 5 day sailing on April 10th. I personally did not think Chops was that great. The service was excellent, but my beef was not exceptional and I did not care for the desserts offered. Just my 2 cents. My friend and I had a great time and enjoyed the ship.:)

 

Do you mean April 12th? I was on, and that's the day we sailed from FLL. I hope you enjoyed the cruise as much as we did. Did you attend the Quest?

[extractfairy]

We are sailing 5/31/08 and I can hardly wait anymore! DH and I have sailed on the Mariner before and are really trying to make sure we have it in our heads that we can't compare the two, just appreciate it for the different ship that it is! It doesn't sound like that will be hard to do considering all the wonderful reviews. This will be my 8 year olds first cruise and I can't wait to see her little face! I have a few questions if anyone wouldn't mind giving some info:

• Are there alarm clocks in the rooms?
  
• Can anyone describe the video game room? I am having a hard time deciding whether or not to give my child charging priviledges - would she need it for this?
  
• Want to hang something on the door for my aunt/uncle's anniversary who are sailing with us - what will stick? (magnets, tape, etc.?)
  
• Does anyone know if this ship has dect phones? Otherwise I will be bring walkie-talkies.

Thanks so much for any input!

[marle7]

Chops is $25.00 per person and in our opinion is not to be missed.

 

There are no alarm clocks in the room.

 

If I recall, the safe is an older one that needs a card to open it rather than a code.

 

The Solarium is adults only, and I saw that being enforced during our time on her. I think the roof was open in February when we were on her as we had great weather, but it will depend!

[amybear912]

We definitely won't miss Chops or Quest... did both on Mariner last year and loved it... Chops was only $20 when we went so I thought I would check before letting everyone know...

 

another question from one in our group... Hold 'Em tournament onboard???

[marle7]

There was a Hold Em tournament and a blackjack tournament when we were aboard. No slots tournament, but this was on a 4 night cruise.

[love_cruisin]

We are sailing 5/31/08 and I can hardly wait anymore! DH and I have sailed on the Mariner before and are really trying to make sure we have it in our heads that we can't compare the two, just appreciate it for the different ship that it is! It doesn't sound like that will be hard to do considering all the wonderful reviews. This will be my 8 year olds first cruise and I can't wait to see her little face! I have a few questions if anyone wouldn't mind giving some info:

• Are there alarm clocks in the rooms?
  
• Can anyone describe the video game room? I am having a hard time deciding whether or not to give my child charging priviledges - would she need it for this?
  
• Want to hang something on the door for my aunt/uncle's anniversary who are sailing with us - what will stick? (magnets, tape, etc.?)
  
• Does anyone know if this ship has dect phones? Otherwise I will be bring walkie-talkies.

Thanks so much for any input!

 

 

The video room was a bit lame but it has some basics...from what I can remember: 2 driving (the same) games, a shooting game, a simulation of jump roping game, a couple prize games, air hockey...I may have missed a couple but there isn't much more than that.

 

Don't know about dect - we used walkie talkies a few times. Overall they worked fine w/out much interruption.

 

Someone else asked about the fridge - we had a balcony room and that did have a fridge. We stored our own water bottles in there. And for the safe - bring an old gift card, you need a card w/a magnetic strip but you can't use your room key.

[bambidrummer]

We are sailing 5/31/08 and I can hardly wait

• Are there alarm clocks in the rooms? No alarm clocks its vacation!
  
• Can anyone describe the video game room? I am having a hard time deciding whether or not to give my child charging priviledges - would she need it for this? Game room has about 4 games she would like. Better to spend the money on the kids club at night. My 10 year old loved the game gagaball. He played only $25 in the game room.
  
• Want to hang something on the door for my aunt/uncle's anniversary who are sailing with us - what will stick? (magnets, tape, etc.?) Not sure RCI has their own signs they put up for a fee. Some spring breakers had home made signs up.
  
• Does anyone know if this ship has dect phones? Otherwise I will be bring walkie-talkies. Bring walkies if you want to spend time with your family. I spend a lot of time walking in circles looking for DS and DH.

Thanks so much for any input!

 

Recommend last day at sea to watch the belly flop contest. On past cruises I had not. This time we did and it was a blast.

[bambidrummer]

Stayed in room 3040 and 3540 on different trips both had windows neither had refreig. We brought our plug in cooler. We kept it under the desk. There was a slot tournament the first day.

[djkk]

Kelly(KelJ), I just checked my papers and we sailed on April 10th and returned on the 14th. Enchantment, right? We did go to Quest and it was fun! On the Mariner and Navigator people were divided into teams by seats, but on the Enchantment people formed their own teams which meant many more teams. My friend and I helped a couple sitting ahead of us. It was a girls only cruise and we enjoyed every minute! Diane

[KelJ]

Do you mean April 12th? I was on, and that's the day we sailed from FLL. I hope you enjoyed the cruise as much as we did. Did you attend the Quest?

 

Kelly(KelJ), I just checked my papers and we sailed on April 10th and returned on the 14th. Enchantment, right? We did go to Quest and it was fun! On the Mariner and Navigator people were divided into teams by seats, but on the Enchantment people formed their own teams which meant many more teams. My friend and I helped a couple sitting ahead of us. It was a girls only cruise and we enjoyed every minute! Diane

 

Diane,

DUH! I am clearly losing my mind and need to book another cruise!! We sailed on the 14th. Please accept my apologies.

I too liked how they let you form the Quest teams on the Enchantment. We had a blast! Watching the Love & Marriage game was a hoot too!

[Laurie12820]

When tendering back from Coco Cay we were able to see the seams from the stretch.

[acc82]

i want to add that even though there aren't alarm clocks, each room has a phone with a "wake up call" system that is really an alarm clock in your phone. the wake up call isn't a person, but it's a time you set for the phone to ring. that's what we use for our "alarm clock" so we don't miss our excursions.

 

i've been on enchantment pre=stretch and post stretch and it's definately much nicer now. just know that if you get one of the rooms that isn't in the newly added section (and that's the majority of the rooms), your shower curtain is actually a curtain and you don't have a fridge minibar. the stretch put boleros, chops, ben and jerrys, seattles best, and a few other things into enchantment as well as a much improved pool deck. the solarium is where you want to be if you don't have kids. :-)

[Buccaneergirl]

We were on EOS sailing 4/5 and loved her! The pool deck area is amazing and I liked that it did not look like all the other RCCL ships. We had an OV and did not have a fridge and the safe opened with a CC(did not like that). The staff was great! Have fun and I wish I was there!!

[marle7]

i want to add that even though there aren't alarm clocks, each room has a phone with a "wake up call" system that is really an alarm clock in your phone. the wake up call isn't a person, but it's a time you set for the phone to ring. that's what we use for our "alarm clock" so we don't miss our excursions.

 

 

 

True, but that doesn't help when you wake up in the pitch black and want to know what time it is! Those curtains, when drawn, make the room totally dark, even in the morning!

[Morgsmom]

We had an OV room in March and, as always, brought a nightlight rather than leaving the bathroom light on all night long. HOWEVER, because of the outlet configuration, we also brought along a very short extension cord with 3 outlets. Works like a charm for charging Digital camera batteries/cell phone/laptop :eek: , etc. AND for keeping the nightlight on at night.

 

I also do pack a small travel alarm from Target. I like knowing what time it is as well as setting an alarm. I don't like waking to a phone ringing - I find it too jarring. Funny thing is that I woke at my "normal" time anyway.

[Rainmn]

On Enchantment 4/27

• Junior Suite had a fridge. We ignored the sodas and waters they supplied and kept some beers bought onboard and room service leftovers in there.
  
• Our safe opened with our SeaPass cards - definitely.
  
• We knew what the split added but could not see actual evidence/seams. Welding is everywhere.
  
• Quest was great; also played the trivia games.
  
• Hold 'Em and BJ tournaments.
  
• A few kids were in the Solarium after dark. Other than getting pizza, didn't see any there during the day.
  
• No alarm clocks. Do bring an extension cord.
  
• Great time. The hardest thing was what to select from the extensive drink menu. Competitive prices - much lower than major metropolitan areas (and several non-major!).
  
• You will have fun!

[amybear912]

Alarm clocks don't bother me... DH and I sleep like bears at home but for whatever reason, when we cruise, we are always up at the crack of dawn no matter how late we stayed up the night before...

 

Besides, isn't there a channel on the TV that just shows the time??.... we found that invaluable since neither of us owns a watch... also worked great as a nightlight...

 

Regarding the BJ and Hold 'Em tournaments... anyone know how much the buy-in is???

 

I wouldn't use my SeaPass or credit card for the safe... we use either our Costco card or I've even used my reloadable Starbucks gift card.... just about any card with a magnetic strip works...

[veryhotred]

The Enchantment is a great ship!!! I took my dd8 on her with me last December. I LOVED the Solarium! I would head there when dd would go to AO. My dd LOVED AO too!! She had so much fun going to AO even though there were not a lot of kids onboard. Also one of the pools on the pool deck is desalinated. I liked the glass holes on the pool deck that you can stand on and look down to see the ocean, those were cool! The staff was great, esp the dining staff. We were in an ocean view state room and there was no refrigerator.