We live in Florida about 70 minutes from Port Canaveral so we have cruised to the Bahamas on Monarch of the Seas many, many times as well as several other Royal Caribbean ships. This was our first cruise on the Monarch replacement ship, Enchantment of the Seas.

We boarded about 1pm which is unusual for myself and my husband. We just happen to be running late that day. When we got on the ship we went to the buffet area and it was bombarded with people. There were no seats available and many trays of food empty. We noticed a large number of young ladies, 15 year olds, and found out later there were 380 of them onboard celebrating something. We ate a small plate of food each and went out to the pool area, having packed our bathing suits in a beach bag to change into until our room was ready and suitcases delivered to it. When we saw the pool area, which was mobbed with people, we decided to grab a drink at the bar and peruse the ship. We stood at the bar for about 15 minutes and saw the 2 bartenders wait on everyone around us but never acknowledging us. I could understand the mistake if they were crowded but the bar only had a few people standing at it.

When we finally got our drinks we went to the Solarium area. I expected something similar to the Jewel of the Seas but was greatly disappointed. There were many small bistro type tables and chairs and many less leisure chairs to relax in. The pool setup made it appear closed in and was blocked by walls and the 2 saunas. This made just about every view from a lounge chair quite annoying. We had expected to spend a lot of time in this area since our children are in their 30's and we love the peace and quite we are used to in the Solarium on other ships. We ended up leaving this area and never going back. This was probably one of the top disappointments for me. Read more