I went on Enchantment of the Seas for the Aug. 23 2007 voyage from Fort Lauderdale. I took a taxi from FLL (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport), a much better airport then MIA, and arrived at the ship 15 minutes later and about $20 down. Got out, handed the bags over and headed into the terminal where we joined a line moving at a moderate speed to go through security. Passed through security after 15 minutes, and then headed out to check in where we waited for about 10 minutes, got the sea passes, and headed up the escalator to where they get our photo (no line) and headed on to the ship and down to deck 3 where we were told that the cabin would be ready in 5 minutes. We then headed up to the Windjammer Cafe, to walk in and find the place a complete disaster. There are people everywhere, vying for the few tables available for less than a second, and fighting the masses to get to the food. I decided to eat any of the food, as the flight was a little rough and my stomach still needed to settle, however my mother did try the food and said it was okay. After this short lunch we headed down to our inside cabin and found it finished, but all the others around it not- oh well for five minutes. The cabin its self was nice and at 149 sqft, small for three or four people to fit but we all managed. The cabin had all the basics we needed, hairdryer, soap etc. For the hairdryer make sure you plug it in the second you enter if you plan on using it the next morning as it needs time to charge or something, because we didn't and my mom found out the hard way the next morning. It will also stop you from having anger at the slow to respond people to fix it, as we had problems with our clogged shower, and hairdryer both of which took several calls to get fixed. Besides those two things, the cabin was great for us, as we wanted to try to save money by choosing an inside, which was good on a short jump like this one. Another great thing was the fact that there was a separation curtain from the beds and the desk for the 3 o'clock naps for the toddler so you can make sure they are ok but still read or watch TV while they sleep. We put our bags down, and ran up to the explorations desk to reserve our excursions we had decided on not pre-reserving due to the chance of missing them due to Hurricane Dean. The line was ok but became huge and moved very slow so 35 minutes later we have our tickets and head down to the cabin to sit for a while. After much pleading by my 3-year-old sister went up to the pool for a quick swim before the shopping tour show. The pool was nice, but nothing special that I had thought that they did during the lengthening. The splash pool was nice for kids 5 or under, but the kiddy fun fountain thing next to the pool bar was a disappointment as it was not working correctly, and was not that exciting as they made you believe. After the swim and some ice cream, we got changed and headed down to the shopping tour. the show was nice but not that helpful as it was all the same- Diamonds Intr. Tanzanite Intr. 14k gold, etc. basically all the other things you would find in any other Caribbean port. The fun part was the giving out of stuff just throwing some fun souvenirs into the crowd. After that, we went to the lifeboat drill, which was shorter than expected, and back through the crowd to the cabin to just lay down for a minute. My mother went to sleep and my sister tried too, but did not so I took her to explore the ship and get some food she wanted. We went to browse the shops, nothing special there, usual cruise stuff- cigars, alcohol, perfumes, jewelry, and logo wear- and finally made our way all the way aft to the solarium cafe where the much wanted hamburgers and fries were. The cafe is closer to the Centrum elevators so take those if you are going. We got to the cafe, got our food and then went on an adventure to go to the only place where food is allowed and where there is AC on the ENTIRE DECK, the Windjammer where we found closed for dinner prep. This was annoying. All three sections of the Windjammer with seating were closed, and we ended up on some high bar stools which made me nervous with the 3 year old. We ate our food, which was good but not great and then headed back down to the cabin to see if the mother unit was awake and functioning and ready to decide where to eat dinner. By this time, however my little sister was melting down. She woke up at four that morning to go to the airport and had an exciting day, and she was tired despite the fact she refused to nap. Due to this crankiness, we decide to eat in the now opened Windjammer Cafe. The food was good with several things that were great, especially from the Jade section (Asian food). Following some problems, we all went down to the shops, blow of some steam and a tad of dough and went down to the cabin for a good nights sleep.

The next morning we were in Key West. Waking up in the morning we got ready, went up to the disaster called Windjammer, ate a hurried breakfast (due the toddler), and went down to the gangway to meet our tour (Discover Key West Tour, great when you have small children) on the pier. We met the tour and waited another 20 minutes before we were lead to a trolley or Conch Train and had an hour or so tour of Key West. The Tour was nice with a fun and witty driver who had many facts on the island. She was very informative and very good. After the tour, which stopped at all the famous place on the island including Hemingway's House and the most southern point marker, we were dropped off in Mallory Square near the pier where we headed into the aquarium with tickets that were included in the tour. The aquarium was small but nice for little kids. Next, we crossed the street and went in the shipwreck museum (included in tour ticket), which was nice, but not that interesting. A nice part was to climb the tower (for those who go you will see it when you are in the square or on the ship) and look at the view from the top. After the museum, we walked over to some shops looked at some jewelry and then headed to Duval Street to walk on the famous road. The weather was not that bad, but still as always hot, especially for a bunch of Northerners who had just experience a cold spell. We walked the street, got some famous Key Lime Pie, and headed to the LaConcha Hotel for a trolley recommended view from The Top, a famous bar at the top of the hotel, which dates from the 1920's. The Top was nice with great views, but was deserted and we only stayed for a few minutes. There are free bathrooms at The Top so we used those too. Side notes- for those who go take the elevators and press the button with the letters TT. In addition, the hotel is supposedly haunted by an employee who fell down one of the elevator shafts during renovations so if you want to try to see a ghost for free you could try the hotel. We did not see anything, which is ok, as we did not come to see any. After the visit to the hotel, we visited a department store with some fun displays, looked around and headed back to the ship, where we encountered a rather large line to get back to the ship. After finally getting onboard, we just relaxed and walked around a bit, nothing eventful. After we set sail and everything in order, we, for the first time in our cruising history, dropped the toddler off at the kids program, and went to relax at a childless dinner-which was also formal night. Our dinner mates were a friendly multi-generation family from Orlando. The food in the dining room was good, but not what I had expected from formal night. Service in the dining room was very slow, and though are headwaiter, waiter, and assistant waiter were very good; dinner took an hour and a half. I think the problem was with the kitchen and the staff. We left dinner full and happy and went to the buffet, scoped out what they had there, nibbled a little, and retrieved the little one who thoroughly enjoyed her time in Adventure Ocean and did not want to leave. We finally retrieved her and went down to the theater, watched the show, which was very good, and went to bed for our big day tomorrow in Cozumel.

The next morning we woke up, got ready and went to Windjammer, which was again a challenge, ate and went to the Chorus Line Show Lounge to meet for our tour (Tulum Express). It was organized and we only waited for a small amount of time before we went down to get off the ship. Here is where there was an annoyance that I hope RCL will one day resolve. After getting through the card check area, we hit an area where the flow of passengers went to zero. We waited for a minute and realized that photographers were making people wait for pictures. This is where I got the most annoyed the entire trip. We did not want to wait for pictures, as we were not picture people so we just barged through, ignored the photo person trying to make us wait for a photo, and just continued to walk down the pier where I saw another station for photos. This photo station was out of the way of direct passenger flow, but still noticeable to the point where people were getting their pictures taken. In the future, I hope that they not block the gangway but set up out of the way to let people through. After this, we continued down the pier to the ferry waiting to take us to the mainland where the ancient city of Tulum was located. The tickets told us that motion sickness was a possibility during the ferry trip, and motion sickness pills were recommended. We ignored this little tidbit, and stepped on the clean ferry and sat down. Let me say that little tidbit should not be ignored! As the ferry reached the open water, it began to rock like a rollercoaster, raising out if the water at some points and rolling from side to side at various degrees I cannot even describe. After nearly leaving my breakfast on the floor of the ferry, we reached the most beautiful picturesque Mayan Riviera beach resort town I had ever seen called Playa Del Carmen, or Carmen's Beach. After unloading the ferry, we followed the tour leader on a short walk to the buses. We left some of the more resort areas on the way for a minute or two so use your judgment and follow the group, and be careful when crossing the street be very careful as people are 3 times as crazy as Boston drivers if you have ever seen or been near one. We boarded the buses and then we were driven to Tulum. On the way there, the tour leader gave us some basic info of the area. We also stopped for bathrooms on the way THERE which also happened to be a tourist trap like place that sold Mayan and Mexican themed gifts. We bought some objects here, but the place a little suspicious especially their overzealous want for us to use our "fantastic plastic" to buy things. After purchasing some small things with cash, we boarded the bus and continued on to Tulum. we got off at the parking area where there are many stores and hagglers trying to sell you stuff, and continued to the ticket booth where we bought tickets for the tram to the entrance to the archeological site (these are not included). They are $2 for a round trip ride, which was good especially over the face that we had a 3 year old with us for the entire tour, and it was like 100 degrees out-or it felt that way, and we were not up to the half mile walk in that weather. We rode the tram, got off, and walked up some stairs; though there were wheelchair ramps, they were rather steep. At the entrance to the city (a hole in the side of the city wall), the tour guide gave us some basic information on Tulum and the Mayans. Also at the entrance an iguana popped up for a photo shoot from us, so for the kids, and adults it was a special treat to see an iguana 3 ft away in its natural habitat. We entered the city and were immediately struck with a strong breeze from the sea that cooled us down. The tour guide talked some more, and then gave us some time to walk around on our own. There was not much to see as much of the site was closed as a precaution because of Hurricane Dean's unfulfilled prediction of a direct hit on the area, and they were cleaning up the leaves from the paths that had fallen due to Dean. After that short walk around, we took many pictures, left, got on the tram again, and went back to the shopping area, where my mother shopped and I followed with my sister. a word of advise, if you are looking for things at that area to buy, try several stores as they all will sell the same general stuff but at different prices. I.E my mom saw something she liked and went to a second store and got that stuff, two, and half times more for the same price as the first store. After this shopping and a scamming scare from an ATM (it was just broken in the end, but use your judgment on what's safe and what's not), we returned to the bus, Playa Del Carmen, the crazy ferry, downtown Cozumel, and finally the ship. In the terminal, we browsed in the shops a little and made our way down the pier, and into a large line onto the ship. Exhausted we collapsed in our cabin and relaxed. While my mother and sister slept I used for the first time, the crown and anchor lounge (my mother is a member) and the future cruise consultant. I walked in, sat down in the chairs, and looked at some brochures. to my surprise the consultant looked up from his customers and said hello, and after he was done with his customers, asked if I wanted anything, which I answered yes, and then I continued to ask if he could do quotes for future cruises, not only book them. anyway the real purpose of this story is that as a 14 year old, I was shocked that the consultant took me so seriously, and that he gave the same respect as his other 25, 41,and 67 year old customers, not something I get everyday, let alone every year, so that made me very pleased with RCL's service. After the crown and anchor lounge (which is not only for C&A members, and with the library across the Centrum, are good places to find a quiet place to sit and relax besides your cabin), I went down stairs and went to dinner with my sister and mom. The food was good again but service still had something to be desired, and this time I think it was the wait staff. While our dinner only took an hour this time, our waiter made some decisions when it came to my little sister's food. First, he waited until our food had also come out before he gave her her meal, and he was not very fast when it came to the desert of appetizers for her either. After dinner my sister went to Adventure Ocean and my mother and I visited the show, browsed the shops-again, explored the ship, and sat and people watched at the nice areas around the Centrum to sit. Later we picked up my sister and headed back to the cabin where we all went to much needed sleep. The next day was a day at sea. Nothing special was happening, a cooking demonstration, towel animal folding that was very fun but early 9:15, and other classic cruise ship things like art auctions and dance classes. One program took precedence over every other activity, was the talk with the captain and back stage tour of the theater which was also interesting, so if that is your type of thing, do not miss it. Besides that, there were not many truly interesting activities that I heard of. The day at sea was spent finishing exploring the ship and reminiscing on the past few days. We went to dinner again but the waiter still was not that good. Our dinner mates and us talked and when the time came we left the dining room, dropped the toddler at Adventure Ocean again, and continued to go to the buffet eat some more, did some more activities, and went to bed. The next morning we left the ship. The buffet was such a disaster we only got drinks, left, finished packing, left our cabin, and filed into the line in Centrum for debarkation. The line was large but moved quickly until we reached the door where it stopped and we waited for five minutes until it continued. We passed through immigration at a ok speed, and left the terminal for a taxi to the airport. In total, the time from lining up in the Centrum to the taxis was maybe a half an hour so not too bad. Some main advice is: 1) Use FLL as an airport for the Miami, Fort Lauderdale area. on the cruise previous to this one we waited through 7 hours of canceled and delayed flights, annoying agents, retrieving baggage, and walking several miles to get home from Miami. 2) The buffet has many interesting foods, especially at dinner but for breakfast it was a disaster, I recommend the room service or formal dining rooms. 3) Use the ship for excursions especially for long and logistically complex ones like Cozumel, even if they cost a lot, and besides the ship will wait for you. 4) Use the children's area, which are well worth it and included in the price. 5) If your flying time isn't so bad that a mess up would kill the trip, I.E 3 1/2 hours or less by air, to save money try not booking through the cruise line for flights, we booked separate and saved $700. 6) If you cruise in the hurricane season, especially august buy travel insurance. We could have almost lost our stop in Cozumel because of Dean and thankfully might have lost the cruise if a tropical storm that was predicted to form off the coast of Miami did, so if those cases had happened travel insurance would have helped us, also it would have done so if the flights were messed up.