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A Big Disappointment

Tortola

The itinerary of this cruise through the Greek islands was great!   A stop almost every day.  One day at sea towards Venice Italy.   However the ship itself needs updating.  Our room was in need of a bit of repair.  The food was mediocre at best.   The activities on board were mid as well.  The cruise left us at a port that did not have transport options (Ravenna, Italy) and we need to pay for a 3 hour bus ride without any notice or alternatives offered.   Bingo was $83 for two players for one game.  It felt like they nickeled and dimed me on every turn.  The servers were quite pleasant.   I felt they were doing their best.  But overall the cruise line was nothing to write home about.  What was advertised for food and drinks was not accurate. The arcade that was advertised did not come close to the sad offering that was actual.

Great itinerary, mediocre ship

Rostock (Warnemunde)

Originally, I chose this cruise because it was on the Brilliance OTS and had a golf course and a solarium pool with steps leading into it as my wife has a bad right arm and is waiting for a operation so being moved to the Enchantment meant no golf and not being able to get in the pool, so she was a bit upset but not the worst thing that could happen.

As it happens, and these events are no fault of Royal's but getting to the ship in Ravenna was a bit of a grand miracle. Firstly there were train strikes in the UK so we had to plan around those only to then get caught up in TFL Underground closure on the line to LHR so had to get on replacement buses with suitcases. Then the flight was delayed by 3 hours due to technical fault (turns out the captains seat belt had snapped and needed replacing), so got to Bologna a 10pm and luckily, found a nice restaurant open around the corner.

On the Monday 29th May we went to Bologna Centrale for our 0905 train to Ravenna (knowing if it was not running Royal had shuttle buses starting at 10am as they had emailed us as we left the UK) and luckily they had re-opened Ravenna that morning. The train was due in on platform 8 but a few minutes before there was an announcement in Italian and everyone disappeared so we followed them to platform 11 where the train had been diverted to and we just caught the train with seconds to spare. It was running slightly late and got later as we went on and got into Ravenna 10 minutes late. I was able to get out of the station and get the tickets for the no.90 bus which was waiting round the corner and we made that with a few minutes to spare. There was plenty room on this bus and I was able to store the suitcases OK but this would not be advisable for anyone with very large cases.

We got to the port for around 11am and I think we beat all the shuttle buses as there was no-one around the ship area at all. It was a 10-15 walk with cases to the ship and we were on it the fastest we have ever been.

So, once onboard, we went straight to our muster station and got the muster drill over and done with and then went to the WJ for lunch. The cabins were open for 2pm and we dropped our hand luggage off and went on top deck for our first drink of the day! As usual the crew were still calling passengers to go for their muster right past 4pm. I still can't figure out why people don't do what we do and get it out of the way then enjoy their first day. I have a bad feeling that Royal may go back to doing this at 4pm and shutting everything down at that time again. I thought the e-muster was one of the better things to come from the Covid era, but that's just me.

We had an interior stateroom on deck 2 towards the back of the ship. I did several Royal-Ups but all were declined and I was told by staff that the ship was full. However, our cabin was clean and tidy and not too far from the aft lifts and was quiet and we never heard any movement, noise or anything so glad we stayed where we were put. I did not choose this cabin, this was given to us by Royal when they changed the ship from The Brilliance. I had booked a interior cabin on deck 8 for the original cruise.

As for the dinning, we went to the MDR every night and yes, it is the new menus, and yes, my wife was able to find something to eat every night. She did have to have the NY Stripsteak on 2 adjacent nights, but she found no issues with that. I can also confirm that all the food was correctly cooked and came out hot. In fact I had to wait for some of the dishes to cool down a bit.

We were on MTD and although the start time was 1845, we were able (by asking nicely) to get in just before 1830 and were out for 1930 most nights (except when we did a tour - more on that later).

We did not bother with Chops Grille as we had been there before and that was just about the only other option other than the WJ which we had lunch at. The WJ was quite small and only had limited choices, but was still OK for what we needed. There was also the Park Cafe for late night Pizza and there was a coffee shop for cake too.

There were plenty activities and I did take part in 3 pop quizzes and yes, I won all three so have some new highlighter pens and things.

They also did the Quest (Or Crazy Quest as it has been know for a few years) for the first time since Covid. We ere on team 6 with some young Americans and we won it!

The next night was Battle of the Sexes and I would imagine there to have been loads of complaints about this as all started well with the balloons but they had a section where you have to ask the opposite sex a question and they had to ask you one back without actually answering it, and you could not ask the same question twice. One bloke tried to be clever by asking the women various maths questions and they tried to derail him by asking questions such as if he had certain body parts and how often he used them on his wife etc (if you get the picture). Things got a bit heated. Never had a Battle of the Sexes contest like this before. Personally I though things went a bit too far, but I don't think anyone was too offended.

The ship was starting to show its age a bit and a bit of paint here and there would not have gone a miss, but the ship was clean and tidy and was better than some of the newer ships we have been on, so not bad in all.

I missed the sail away show as it was on at 1915 and we were at MTD. I have seen all the entertainers recently I think they were all on the Jewel in 2021. There was Gary Williams who did Frank Sinatra et al. There was the old guy who did the spinning plates routine and there were 2 shows by the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers which I had also seen before, but still enjoyed none the less. And yes, Diamond Plus (and it now actually says this on your sea pass instead of Diamond+ which was pain for anyone to see in the dark) were given seating upstairs in the middle back of the theatre along with Pinnacle and Suites, so I was glad to see this perk has not been removed). Although I normally only use them if its a comedian who's on or if there is too much to see upfront. If its a music show like the Beatles (which there wasn't this time) then I usually get a seat in the first 3 rows.

The ports of call included Koper in Slovenia and the main town was just a short walk from where the ship docked and there was a lift that took you right to the main street. It was nice to have a little walk around in the morning before getting back on the ship for lunch.

We then had a day a sea and then we arrived at Messina in Sicily. It was going to be hit and miss depending on Mount Etna, but she was quiet so all was well. We had a lovely walk up to the Cathedral and sat outside in a nice restaurant with a coffee for a while before slowly walking back to the ship.

Next day we had a tour to the Vatican. I can tell you that we have been to Rome loads of times, sailed into Civitavecchia loads of times too and also had several city breaks there and done everything except get inside the Vatican due to massive queues all day. We had seen the cruise ship tours on previous cruises and thought that this time we would just pay the price (which wasn't hat bad as I had some OBC to use up) and they did also give us a nice meal which was 3 courses with a jug of wine thrown in, so got to see the Gardens, The Sistine Chapel and the insides of the Vatican and have a nice coach ride afterwards past the Colussium. So I would say this is one tour well worth the money as trying to do this yourself would probably prove very difficult with the time limits involved.

BTW we got back to the ship earlier than expected and managed to get a table in MTD straight away!

Next was Livorno for Pisa and/or Florence. We had been to both before and climbed the tower back in 2008 so just took the free (yes free) shuttle bus to the city centre and did some shopping. We had the bus all to ourselves coming back so that was fun!

The last port was Villefranche and we had been there too before and only had 6 hours so got the tender and took the train to Nice. The train only costs a few Euro's each way and only takes a few minutes to get to Nice as there is only a tunnel between the 2 stops. You can also go to Cannes or Monte Carlo, but with everyone having to be back on board by 1pm there was not enough time for those towns this time.

Last day of the cruise we pulled into Barcelona and had breakfast - I don't know what it is or why it is but every cruise on the last day they cannot get your order right in the MDR - I asked for the Express Breakfast with some toast, ketchup and mushrooms as extra and after a long time they came back with just the toast and mushrooms. I gave up!

Got off the ship at around 0900 and took our own cases off as we were staying in Barcelona for 3 nights. Queued for a Taxi as we were not in a rush and it cost 20 Euros to our hotel which was right at the very very top of La Rambla De Catalunya (that's the part that goes north of the main square) so the price was about right.

It is quite a walk over the bridge into the city by foot. We have done it when visiting by ship for the day when you have no baggage, but I would not recommend it in the heat of summer with cases.

All in all it has been a very good cruise (the first one of 5 we have done since the start up after Covid that we did not need a test for although I had a printout of my NHS app just in case) and the crew and staff were very nice and helpful and the ship was pleasant to be be on and although I had seen the shows before, they were still nice to re-watch as they only lasted around 45 minutes so there was plenty of time to do other things too.

Enchantment Ravenna to Barcelona

All in all, an enjoyable 7 days cruise in the Mediterranean for the cost. The process of getting on and off the ship proceeded quickly and smoothly. The ship was clean and in good condition. What we were especially impressed with is how attentive and caring the staff was. We wanted to especially thank Roman, the drinks server at The Centrum, who was professional, fantastic, and delivered wonderful, enjoyable service; looking forward to seeing you in a hire position on our next cruise as you deserve it. The personnel and cabin steward (Bagus) were helpful and cordial. The food was tasty, plentifully, delicious, and came in a wide variety as it was a different theme every day. My friends and I ( most of us had never been on a cruise before) ate less frequently in the formal dining room since we preferred to eat whenever we felt like it rather than waiting for a certain time to be served.  We had an unforgettable experience and intend to go on more cruises with Royal Caribbean in the future.

Childhood friends reunion 

One of our friends had been bumped from a scheduled cruise by a charter 5 years ago.  Between additional charter bumps , better pricing for just making a new booking and Covid they finally landed on this cruise.  We have a group of friends who travel in a pack and as soon as one family booked, we ended up a group of 36 going on this cruise.  We originally were booked on Brilliance but then the new speed rules went into effect and low and behold we were on Enchantment.  No problem we booked for the ports not the ship.

We flew into Athens 2 days early and stayed at the Electra Palace in the Palatka district of Athens.  We could not have asked for a better hotel. We toured the Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, viewed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, had dinner a local restaurants. To our benefit, Athens weather in May is very pleasant. We have had other friends visit in July and they said the heat was terrible.  It was almost cool at night and the day we visited the Acropolis it was cloudy and in the 60s to low 70s.  To top off the pre cruise events we had a welcome reception at the hotel (our group paid for it) in the shadow of the Acropolis. I highly recommend the Electra Palace for a couple of days precruise stay.  It is about 45 minutes from the airport and about 30 minutes from the cruise port depending on traffic.  Luckily one person in our group is an expert on transfers and all of our transfers were prearranged on private busses.

We showed up to the port to board Enchantment about 12:30 pm and were on board by 1:30 pm.  The boarding process at the Piraeus Terminal was smooth.  My wife and I were in an aft Junior Suite.  Most of our group was near us on the 7th deck with one couple next door.  The cabin was a nice size with plenty of closet space for my wife and I.  The junior suite bathroom with tub is large for a ship cabin.  The aft balcony was large and we hosted parties of 6 to 8 several times throughout the cruise.  When we booked the cost of a Jr. Suite was only $200 more than a balcony and that was well worth the money.  The small difference was probably because we booked on Brilliance which has far more junior suites than Enchantment, lucky us.

Gede was our cabin attendant and he was amazing.  Because we were in a Jr. Suite, we still received twice a day service.  He kept our ice bucket full and at least 4 clean wine glasses in our room. I use a cpap and he had the extension cord in the room within an hour of our arrival.  He made sure to contact us every day to see if we had any extra needs.  In addition to the prepaid tips, we tipped him extra because of the excellent service.

Another member of our group worked with Royal to get us all seated near each other.  For the most part Royal did a good job.  We then proceeded to drive our servers nuts by switching tables almost nightly among the group.  As a group we made sure to tip extra so the servers understood we would take care of them.  We all had prepaid our tips also because we got in ahead of the most recent daily tip increase.

My wife and I ate every night but one in the MDR.  I have to say the food was mediocre at best.  I understand its hard to get food to everyone in a large dinning room at the right temperature but I have to say, the only thing all week that was hot was the French onion soup and the only item that was really cold was the ice cream.  Everything else was sort of lukewarm. I know there is no lobster night in Europe, but they called >30 count shrimp Jumbo for the one main shrimp dish.  Some nights the shrimp cocktail shrimp were bigger.  The menu selection was fine, it was the presentation and temperature of the food that was off.

The only night we did not eat in the MDR we had the Chef's table.  Edwardo the head waiter for the Chef's table was amazing.  The food and wine paring for the Chef's table was some of the best food I have every had on a Royal ship and that includes an amazing dinner with had at 150 Park on the Allure in February.  The cold appetizer were cold. The hot dishes were hot.  The steaks were perfectly cooked for each person and the range was from blue rare to well done.  When you see this level of excellence in a specialty event it really makes you wonder why Royal does not do better in the MDR.  

The reason our friends and ultimately my wife and I choose this cruise is because we have never been to Greece or any of the ports.  The cruise started in Piraeus, Greece and stopped at Mykonos, Crete, Zakynthos, Kotor, Split and ended at Ravenna. 

It was very cool and windy the day we were in Mykonos and our excursion to Delos scheduled through get your guide was canceled.  A bonus, Get Your Guide canceled the day before and refunded our money immediately where as the people who had a similar excursion through Royal did not find out until the morning we arrived they were not going to Delos.   We wandered around the town and then hired a cab for a 2 hour tour of the island.  After the tour we went back to town for an amazing lunch at Nikos Tavern.  

On Crete I scheduled a scuba dive at the Elephant Cave through Vacations to go while my wife did the Crete north to south though Vacations to go.  My wife had an amazing time on her tour.  Omega Divers of Crete was the provider for my dive.  They picked me and my 2 dive buddies up at the port and took us to the dive shop.  Omega Divers had excellent equipment and provided us with everything.  It was about a 30 minute boat ride to the dive site.  The one thing I learned from this dive trip is I never need to dive in 18 degree C water every again unless I have a dry suit.  Even with the 7 mm wet suit I was very cold.  This is not the fault of Omega Divers, they did warn us about the cold water and I had been tracking water temperature for a couple of months so I know what the temperature was, but I had never actually dove in water this cold.  I am glad I did the dive and I would again if the water was a few degrees warmer.

On Zakynthos we did an olive oil and wine tour through Royal.  The olive oil was amazing and the local wine was very good.  I would like to return to Zakynthos to explore the Island more, I think it is has more to offer than what is described in both the Royal and outside tour providers information.

Our sea day was needed after flying to Athens from Kansas city, a whirlwind tour of Athens, and 3 ports in a row on Enchantment.  We attended the captains talk and then spent the day by the pool or in the casino or with friends on our balcony.  We enjoyed Enchantment on the pool day.  Sure it's an older ship but we are still on an amazing cruise and there is plenty of room to enjoy the sun and friends. 

Kotor was one of the most amazing ports we have ever visited.  The views are breathtaking.  We scheduled an boat tour of the bay, a visit to Our lady of the Rock, the submarine cave and the blue cave through  Get your guide.  The tour was operated by Montenegro Submarine and Boat Tours and they were amazing.  Nikoli and Andre were great boat operators.  The boat was well maintained and the provided constant information about the area.  The boat tour was about 3 hours which left plenty of time to walk around the old city on our own.  We had an amazing lunch at Cesarica in old town.  The one thing our group agreed on was that we need to plan a future trip to Kotor to enjoy more of Montenegro.

After Kotor, Split was anticlimactic. It is a more modern city surrounding the  runes of the Diocletian Place.  We did have some of the best calamari ever at Fife. The stop at Split was only 7:30 to 3:30 so we could not take any long tours out into the country side and we had not reserved any excursions in advance.  We used the bus tour at the port for 20 euros each that gave tour of the modern city of Split then a 45 minute walking tour of the Diocletian Palace.  If you have nothing scheduled this tour is fine.

Ravenna had just been devastated by 20 inches of rain in 36 hours so the public transportation was still recovering.  Royal had set up bus transportation to Bologna since the train from Ravenna to Bologna was not in service.  Luckily our group had scheduled our own private bus to Venice where we connected to a water taxi to the Palazzo Veneziano hotel.  This was another amazing hotel right on the water in Venice.  We had about 18 hours in Venice and we made the best of it.  We took a gondola ride, visited St Marcos Square, had Gelato (2x), pizza, and Chianti. The hotel was amazing and I wish we had more time there.

The next morning we had a water taxi to the airport and sadly flew back home to Kansas City.

I would sail again on Enchantment.  We liked the smaller ship after sailing on Allure in February.  Sure the décor is a little dated but it brought back memories of our first cruises on Majesty. The shows in the theater we all great except for the first night which was some guy making shadow puppets with his hands, that was 20 minutes of our lives we will never get back.  The ships musicians were excellent and there was plenty of entertainment in the evenings and sea days to keep us engaged until we went to bed. All of the staff we interacted with were very friendly.  The bartenders were all very engaging. Breakfast in the MDR was much better than the dinners in the MDR.  The pool attendants did enforce the 30 minute rule on lounges so there was usually no problem finding lounge chairs.  Compared to Allure there were a lot more service staff around the pool taking bar orders.  My wife and I are diamond so along with the port intensive cruise we did not purchase the drink package at $75 per day.

Amazing port intensive cruise with a group of 36 friends

Kona (Kailua Bay)

I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the cruise itself was OK.  I say surprised because 2 Royal cruises were on last year were pretty bad.  On this cruise food in the MDR was ok, not great but acceptable.  A couple of misses but in general OK. I was concerned that they removed the always offered items however we were always able to find something.  I even thought the coffee was OK.  

 Food in Chops was quite good, we did lunch there.  I think they are overpriced for dinner.

Crew was friendly, service was very good.  I liked the show we went to.  The excursion team was excellent.  Much better than any other Royal or Celebrity ship I have been on. I was also happy with the excursions.  One glitch was the team was a bit disorganized for the first port of call but that was all fixed by the second.  Also loved the talks they gave on the ports we were about to visit.

Cruise director and bartenders were very good.

I also thought the ship was in decent shape.

We had an Ocean View cabin midship.  It was one of the smallest cabins we ever had however it worked for us.  The only thing I missed was a small refrigerator.  However, the room attendant brought ice every day. She was very good.  She informed us day one that they only made up the cabin once a day and asked whether we wanted morning or evening.  It worked out OK.

If we had not gotten sick would have been very happy.  But we got sick and a lot of other PAX also got sick, not COVID but something.  Unfortunately,  I think on any long cruise you have to expect to get sick.

It is of course beyond Royal’s control however the weather during the crossing was poor.  A lot of rainy days.  I didn’t factor this into the ratings.  I found it amusing that a few sparrows hitched a ride from NJ to Europe.  I saw the birds on deck a number of days.

Everybody got sick

Montego Bay

This cruise was pretty inexpensive compared to other Royal Caribbean cruises. The ship was well kept along with great service from the crew. It didn’t seem there was a lot to do in the Bahamas, Grand Bahamas was a little shallow on activities unless you like water activities. Bimini also the same, the best island was Coco Cay which is a day on the beach, sandwich bites from food shacks, a large swimming pool with a swim up bar, over crowded. A balloon which gave you a nice view of the island for 10 minutes. And a slide through the tube into a swimming area. The shows were excellent but the Royal caribbean singing group when they sang as a trio or more the song turned irritating, but as soloist they were great. The large pool diamond screen which they play movies and musical videos needs to be replaced. I want to honor our room stewardess Floyd was outstanding and our dining waiters Oscar and help continued to be the best of servers.. I was surprised the ship did not have a special line for Diamond and above members. Also there were no controls on the kids running up and down the halls

Baltimore to the Bahamas 

I have never been treated more poorly by individuals who were supposed to be providing me with a service. The security on the ship is absolutely abysmal. There is zero care or concern for the safety and well-being of guests, there is flagrant misuse of authority and absolutely unbecoming conduct by several higher ranking crew members. 

The food was low quality and cold. Much of the ship was dingy and felt old. The onboard entertainment was lacking. All of this paled in comparison, though, to finding drugs in our safe! Not only that, WE were harassed by ship security from then on, when all we had done was bring the issue straight to RC to resolve. Follow up with customer service left a lot to be desired-

Avoid at all costs!

I urge everyone reading this to please, steer clear of Royal Caribbean if you would like to have a safe and fun cruise.

Best of luck!

Worst. Experience. Ever. I can’t believe I spent money on this!

I thought by taking a twelve day cruise rather than flying to the southern caribbean would be a good idea.  But what turned out to be seven days on this boat was a bad mistake. This ship is old and very very warm down. Who can afford to take a twelve day cruise old people!. It's very worn-out and in a upgrade despitely. As for the crew they did the best they could do with what they had to deal with. The tables and chairs on deck were well worn out! The food was served cold as best I could describe it. The 2nd day I was 1st in line at the buffet at the wind jammer and the eggs were cold the bacon was burnt ect. Even in the main dining room the food was served look warm at best. There were no broadway shows and the comedians well I was funnier than they we're. A very big waste of money.

12 day is to many 

This was to be another fantastic family cruise - post COVID crap and back together celebrating. What a bomb. Our first cruise (circa 2001 - we have been on 10 cruises since) was on Navigator - I still remember being offered a Pina Colada the minute we hit the entry hall on the ship - "you are on vacation mon .... we've been waiting for you!" Well, this is a fond memory never to be had again. All cruisers in a room are required to buy the same drink package - granted they are of age. If younger, you are REQUIRED to purchase the soda/beverage package if you as the adult want the booze package. At $17 or more per drink, the $800 booze package makes sense of you plan a few drinks/day. Problem for us - my adult child is handicapped and does not/cannot drink alcohol - I was FORCED to purchase the soda package if we were to be able to buy the booze package -- The most expensive 6 Sprites and 2 glasses of chocolate milk EVER! That being said, the waiters/bar folks were not a attentive when they found who had the pre-paid package and therefore, pre-paid gratuities. It paid them better to hustle for the folks paying per drink. Left us walking our way to the bar quite often. I don't drink to oblivion, but I like to enjoy the cocktails in the sun as part of a cruise vacation. I doubt highly I consumed $800 worth. 

The food - while I don't ever look to gain weight, the extravagance of a cruise vacation with its options, portions, presentations is part of the anticipated experience. I do not promote excess or the high volumes of waste likely to have occured in past, however markedly smaller portions should be accompanied by much higher quality -- think tapas dining. Um, no. The food in the dining room was fast food quality at best, inedible at worst and the wait?!? Two hours to complete a meal that was not worth the wait. If there were better options in the Windjammer, we would have gone - sadly the fiasco of a plate line, then a beverage line, then a food line was worse than a middle school cafeteria -- so was the food, blech!

The staff (all disciplines) was tired, lackluster, totally forgettable. There was no above and beyond - until the last day when you were asked to tip above the pre-paid gratuity level. What the Hell for? I cleaned behind my bathroom sink when clearly no one has in years, no one ever called us by name, there were no "good morning," "nice day on the beach?" "would you like some extra water for tomorrow's beach day?" N-O-T-H-I-N-G. 

The ship is aging - very obvious and sad. Much rust visible, FILTHY windows with crumbling seals, deck and rails much in need of wax/polish. Upgrading simple things like balcony furniture would add a level of "Royal." 

It is so very sad to read the other poor reviews here, I was hoping it was from choosing a smaller ship this time - chosen for convenience of embarking close to home (no flight) and not wanting to be one of 5,000 passengers. We did not feel special as we did on past cruises, the nickel and diming of everything diminished the experience in so many ways. Coco Cay is beautiful, but the water park should not be an additional cost, the drink packages and then seemingly dismissal by bar staff is not an advantage, the robbery with the photos (really, I know how much photo paper and ink costs), $10 for room service in an attempt to have breakfast in under 90 mins - breakfast was an hour late, cold, poor quality as the rest, no butter/jam for toast and missing the tea <sigh>, the repeated mistakes of putting my drink on my daughter's name and charging for a drink she did not consume and I already paid for kept my eye on our account daily (no worry free vacation here). Corrections had to be made up until the morning of disembarking -- c'mon, really? 

I can say this was so much a disappointment for the 20 of us on vacation that we will not be cruising Royal Caribbean in the near future - actually, probably never again (and money is not a problem for us.....sorry RC). I have been recommended Viking River Cruises --- seriously considering.

No more Royal in Royal Caribbean

Leaving from Baltimore this cruise is on one of Royal's oldest ships in their current fleet, Enchantment of the Seas, invoking ideas that'll be dated, lack activities and in general be a boring ship, I'd say the opposite! This ship has some fun extra details due to its extension back in 2005, offering it's outdoor Oasis bar and a larger pool deck with see through floors to the passing ocean below! Due to the extension, the ship also offers a bigger shopping area, offering a great place to convene and window shop on sea days, not to mention its large casino, nestled right against the lovely and roomy Boleros lounge, with great music nightly. Aside from the slowed boarding and room prep the ship never seemed crowded, even as we sailed on a pretty full ship thanks to the large open areas.

  Our sailing at the end of March came with the added benefit of Norovirus on the sailing previous, leading to an extended process of sanitation throughout the ship, fogging halls and staterooms til 3-4PM on boarding day. Thanks to the Royal Caribbean app and Wi-Fi we used the time to do our e-muster procedures, as well as tour the ship. The process was quick and seamless, letting my friend and I begin our trip as soon as we boarded, save for some light baggage. We explored the boat deck and made quick way to the pool deck bar to collect our drink cups, sad to say due to high traffic with rooms it took a while to collect our cups at any bar, seemingly passed over a few times, but we came back victorious! Cups in hand we spent most of the time waiting at Windjammer, finding a lil nook on the left of the entrance with extra seating as well as Freestyle Coke machines, leading to many a soda consumed.

  Dining onboard the ship was a breeze, we opted for the My Time Dining option in the main dining room, only waiting a maximum of five minutes awaiting seating, even able to ask for balcony table side. Our serving staff in the dining room was sufficient, though a bit of a mess, often packed in like sardines in the clustered tables we also fell pray a few times to missed orders and drinks, not to mention some pushy comments about the ships survey. Aside from the issues our dining was always a treat, great offerings, understanding eating restrictions, I never left the main dining room hungry. With the Windjammer we had some restrictions due to cases of Noro aboard, limiting all servings to crew members at each station, dampening the speed of all in the eatery. Often the Windjammer on this ship filled fast with the center serving tables quickly swarmed at most meal times, with a serving area or two near the opening of the buffet often of smaller bites. Tables were quick to be cleaned was often open to grab on short moment, leaving a good station to report back to upon choosing bites. We had the opportunity to eat at upcharge, Chops Grill, for dinner as we had a treat, the steakhouse was well appointed with lovely appetizers and delicious courses, not to mention dessert. Our server was fantastic, though felt overburdened with how many tables he had, never slow, but seemed stressed. The waiter was fantastic with my dietary restrictions and made sure to offer great alternatives to get my friend and I very satisfied with our window view. The only issue at the time was the wood treated window decorations which creaked heavily throughout our dining, till we heard those fun words Bravo, Bravo, Bravo... it was a fire!

  As we sat at the table the code quickly was looked up via our phones, making the discovery there was a fire aboard, turning out to be in the galley a deck below. We were lucky not have to worry too long, thanks to the words and actions of the captain, not more then ten minutes after alert. Upon addressing our ship the captain informed us what the code referred to and was open about protocols and response to such emergencies and put us at ease. The crew for the most part board was a highlight, very personal able, friendly and a delight to have aboard. Our cruise director was a delight at every encounter, a smiling face, great personality and not to mention excited for her ship, along with crew, especially the talented theater acts.

  The shows aboard Enchantment were just that, enchanting! The musical shows were quite the catchy thing, with two different shows there was a mix of options with their Music through century and their musical myriad offering slices and performances to highlight songs. Can't Stop the Rock was a trip through music from the fifties and forward, with great lil props and superb costume changes through a fun, popular music show, it was my favorite of the two. The musical roundup was quite a mix, from more unknown obscure shows, to the most popular, Chicago and Hairspray. Each mini show during the roundup had a great mix of small sets with nifty props, big props to the Little Shop of Horrors section, that was a thrill! Sadly I didn't attend many of the other acts aboard the sailing but heard great words about the comedy and magician set. The ship was too bumping to see it all, really.

  Attending the spa was a great choice onboard the cruise, the first day offering a tour and test of each service provided, not to mention a giveaway. Sadly unable to win anything, the Spa director offered discounts for just attending and my friend and I got some great sales on massages, big yes. The talented staff made my first massage amazing, with great patience and techniques by the crew helped me melt away any tension I had and make me a big proponent of such services, would definitely recommend the crew and their skills. Even with hands on attention my friend and I were lucky to not catch any sickness aboard Enchantment, unlike some table mates.

  It was not a secret there was an outbreak of Noro aboard our sailing, daily updates, cleaning protocols and attention to handwashing was observed. With the protocols aboard the ship we found no diminishment of fun, save for one excursion, the below decks tour, which had to be cancelled due to chance of spreading more illness, a shame, but can't be avoided with the conditions aboard. All together I found only one account of sickness myself when asking aboard, I fully trust Royal Caribbean to handle incidents aboard the ships and have rarely had issues with the lines response. All proper protocols were followed onboard and I feel they did their best to keep crew and passengers safe. A massive bravo to the crew and line for their response to the outbreak. From the pool deck you'd never think there was any issue.

  The Enchantment has two pool areas, with the dual outdoor pool deck and the covered Solarium, both offering crowds at certain times. The main pool deck was often busy with family and sunbathers, windy days making seating impossible, but pool space populous, with enough room in the fresh water collections. Adults only in the Solarium was a great option as it made the pool rarely busy, offering chances at all times to swim in the large, saltwater, pool with friends, the warm waters really offered a great relief from walking about the decks, the hot tubs a different story. Sadly one jacuzzi tub was shut in the solarium the whole sailing, not helping the to capacity hot tubs throughout the whole ship, I rarely had the chance or desire to soak in the warm water. Fortunately the crowds aboard were great shipmates.

  All over the ship offered a great trip in a perfect time of year, forgoing the slightly dated art and some bad spots the ship maintains a great deal of offerings, clean restrooms, superb staff and a great attention to issues that may occur. I'd highly recommend the ship and line to all those cruising Royal's offerings

Pros

  -Great choices for eateries

  -Superb crew

  -Easy to navigate decks

  -Large pool deck, great adults only pool

  -Great Viewing from Viking Crown Lounge

  -Myriad of choices at eateries

  -Good and fast Wi-Fi service

  -Lots of areas for fresh air

  -Great Spa w/ Gym

  -Amazing and Unique Theater Shows

Cons

  -Lack of waterslides

  -Limited balconies

  -Small Buffet

  -Signs of wear and tear

  -Limited staff in areas

Lovely Shipmates, Great Crew, Dated Ship, Sickness Outbreak, FIRE!

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