Enchantment of the Seas Review
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This was our first cruise in about 6 years, so we're definitely not frequent cruisers. In short, we had a great time and hated getting off the ship Friday morning.
We flew into Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday (Aug 12 - cruise begins Monday), rented a car and stayed at a Hampton Inn near FLL for 2 nights. It was very nice, breakfast included. Drove to Miami Sunday morning on A1A and spent a couple hours at the new Frost Science Museum (hint: if you're a member at another similar museum (Franklin Institute in Phila for us), you'll probably get in free). Very nice museum and spectacular views of Miami and Miami Beach from the upper levels. Sunday afternoon we went to a baseball game at Marlins Park, then returned to the Hampton.
On Monday, we drove the Alamo rental car to Miami International Airport (MIA) (once again we drove on A1A, not much longer time than I-95 because it was morning rush hour) and dropped it about 10:30 AM. Alamo/National/Enterprise has a free shuttle from MIA to the Port of Miami, which is a really nice feature. Embarkation process was quick and easy and I think we were on the ship around 11:30. Wandered around a bit and had lunch in Windjammer -- it was probably the most crowded of any of the meals we had there, because that's what everyone does when they board. Stateroom (7540) was available at 1:30...
Cabin Review
Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
Loved the room! Surprisingly spacious and comfortable. Of course the bathroom is a little tight. Shower worked fine; excellent water pressure. Only drawback is drinking water wasn't cold, so you might want to keep a cold bottle in the refrigerator. Bed was very comfortable. Room was quiet; I think it was above one of the lounges, but it certainly wasn't a loud one. The room is quite close to the elevators, so I thought we might get a lot of foot traffic, but I didn't notice any. Our stateroom attendant (Pac) was very nice and kept the room up beautifully, including a couple towel animals the last two nights. Loved having the deck - first cruise we didn't have an interior stateroom -- might not be able to go back. Deck 7 was a great location - only up 2 to Windjammer, the pools and the Freestyle (soda) machines, down one to Centrum shops, down two to Orpheum theater and three to dinner (My Fair Lady) (might be only 2 if you're on top floor restaurant). Never used elevators except when reporting to Orpheum on level 5 with luggage on last day. I would definitely pick this room again...and we were assigned it from GTY.
Port Reviews
Miami
We went to the new Frost Science Center, I think it just opened in May 2017. You can easily spend a couple hours there. Nice exhibits and beautiful views of Miami and Miami Beach from the upper levels. If you happen to be a member of a participating science museum elsewhere (Franklin Institute in Phila for us), you may get free admission.
Also went to a Marlins baseball game at Marlins Park. Don't worry about sitting in the heat; the stadium has a retractable roof that is closed during heat and/or rain. Its actually a bit on the cool side. Hint: Since the Marlins don't draw very well, you can usually find inexpensive tickets on StubHub or the like before you leave home. Also, the stadium is in a city location and most of the parking is in one of a few Marlins related garages. Again, you can get a space in these garages by getting tickets on StubHub or the like (we used StubHub for our seats, VividSeats for parking). I think parking is $25 if you drive up (and if space is available), but often less if you do it in advance. Look online to see which garage is closest to your seats. For example, our seats were on the first base side, so we bought parking in the First Base garage. When you buy parking in advance, it is for a specific garage.
If you have to drive between Miami and, for example, Fort Lauderdale and you have some extra time, I'd recommend driving along the beach on A1A, rather than I-95. Much nicer experience.