rccl-enchantment18

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: Jeffrey Velez
Email: jeffreyvelez@hotmail.com
Age: 24
Occupation: Accountant
NumberOfCruises: 7
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Enchantment
SailingDate: August 6, 2000
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
Cabin: 2582/I
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 100
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 100
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 25
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 15
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService:
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 50
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 100
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 50
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 50
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 100
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 Nov 2000
Time: 11:05:15
Remote Name: usr5-dialup29.mix2.boston.cw.net
Remote User:

Comments

Before I give my review, I would like to thank cruiseopinion.com for this great website. I had originally
made reservations to go on the NCL Norway on August 5th for their 7 day cruise, but then I read the
reviews on this website and quickly changed my mind!! After reading the not-so-great reviews about the
Norway, I cancelled those reservations and booked a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment Of The
Sea!

I cannot say enough great things about this cruise!! It was my 7th cruise and by far the best cruise I’ve
ever taken. My previous 6 included 4 cruises on 2 different Big Red Boats, a 3-day cruise on the NCL
Leeward, and a 4-day cruise on the Disney Magic (You can also read my review of the Disney Magic at
this website!!) This was also my honeymoon and this was the first cruise for my wife and it was just a
wonderful week on the Enchantment!!

Ok, here’s my review:

This was the best cruise EVER!!! The food was excellent!! The service was great!! The activities were
fun!! The evening shows—Well, 5 ½ of the 7 shows were great!! I’ll let you know every detail you ever
wanted to know, and if you still have questions, you can email me about this review or my Disney Magic
review at jeffreyvelez@hotmail.com. I look forward to any questions that come my way and will be more
than happy to answer them!!

Let me start with arriving in Ft. Lauderdale. We made our own flight arrangements because we were
flying from Orlando because we went to Disney World first, but we were flying home to Boston after the
cruise. When I booked the cruise, I forgot to do one thing!! I forgot to make arrangements to get to the
ship from the airport!!! OOPS!! First, I went to the RCI representative that meets everyone at the gates,
but he told me that he couldn’t bring us there and that we couldn’t buy tickets from RCI to get to the
ship. I was kinda upset that he wouldn’t help us, but it wasn’t much of a problem because the ship is only
a couple of miles away, I could even see the ship from our gate at the airport!! So, we took a taxi to the
ship and it only took less than 10 minutes to get there and it only cost $10 for my wife and me to get
there!!

Now to the embarkation process, I’ve heard so many stories about how awful this process is!!! I didn’t
think it was that bad!! You go into this place, and they give you a number and they also have you fill out
a couple of forms while you wait. It took them about 15-20 minutes to call our number, so we ran to the
front of the line, and they finally let us through only to sit in another room!!! In this other room, my wife
and I only waited about 5 minutes before they called us because we went through first. After they called
us, we went into the 3rd and final room where we waited in line!! This time it’s the line where you give
your tickets and get your keys and stuff like that. We had to wait probably about 10 minutes in line, but
the line moved quickly and the process was easy once we were there. Just make sure you have all your
papers filled out and you have your I.D. ready!!! Finally, after that was done, we grabbed our stuff, went
up the escalator, and stood in another line while we waited to get our pictures taken!! I didn’t mind
getting that picture taken because I liked the attention, but the photographers are out of control on the
cruise and I’ll tell you why later.

So, we finally walked onto the ship and when you take that first step and take that first look at the
Centrum, it is truly breathtaking!!! It spans from the 4th floor all the way to the 8th floor and it is just a
beautiful sight. We quickly found out where to go and went to our outside stateroom. Our room was on
the second floor and it was room number 2582. It was nicely located near the elevators so we were
always very close to getting anywhere.

Now, let me tell you about our stateroom. It was a beautiful room, it was a bit small, but it was just big
enough to fit everything. You walk in, and the first door on your left is the bathroom. The bathroom is
small!!! You have this shower that you barely have enough room to stand in, but it’s good enough!!
They have a dispenser that has coconut-scented shampoo and I loved the smell of it!!! The toilet in the
bathroom is something else!! I swear that if you put your suitcase on top of the toilet and accidentally
pressed the flush button, it would suck it through somehow!! In other words, it’s very powerful!! The sink
is nice and it has a medicine cabinet to put all your stuff in!! ONE IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE
SHOWERS!!! There is NO COLD water in them!!! When you go to take a shower, there are two water
settings—HOT & SCALDING HOT!!! I never understood why we didn’t have any cold water in the
bathroom, but we didn’t!!! It’s funny too, because when you mention it to others on the ship, they react
like they thought it was only happening to their shower!!

Enough about the bathroom and on to the rest of the room: There’s a nice big closet as you walk in on
the right, and then there is a good size vanity with a big mirror and more cabinets for other stuff. It also
has a 13 inch TV to watch. Our room also had a small couch and table and then it had two twin-size
beds that convert into a king. This room was perfect!!! The window was a good size and it was nice to
look out everyday. The curtain in the room is amazing because when you cover that window during the
day, it makes the room pitch black!!! We had just enough space for our clothes in the drawers and the
closet, and the suitcases fit perfectly under the bed!!! One note about the room: BRING A CLOCK!!!! If
you care at all to know what time it is during the night or whenever, bring a clock because they don’t
have one in there!!! As I noted, there is a TV in the room, this TV has different channels as you cruise
along!!! One night, we were watching Letterman, and then all of a sudden, it was gone!!! Oh well!!! But
the TV also has a good selection of movies that aren’t on video yet, and the movies are edited for all
audiences!!! The TVs also show the previous night’s theatre show!!

Ok, now concerning the food. The food every day and night was great! It was delicious, and it was
always well-presented!!! For breakfasts, we usually ate at the WindJammer Café. It was a buffet style
breakfast, and it had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, homefries, French toast or pancakes, oatmeal,
grits, assorted cold cereals, pastries, and assorted fruit. There was also an omelet station in the café
and you could get omelets made to order!! The breakfast food in the café was as good as it gets!!

Now, we did go to the My Fair Lady dining room for breakfast one morning, and I don’t recommend it!!!
There’s nothing wrong with having breakfast in there, but the service is slower, and the menu is
basically the same!! Besides, it’s nicer in the café because you have a beautiful view of the ocean!!

ONE NOTE ABOUT PANCAKES!!!!!! On the menu, they have three types of pancakes: buttermilk,
blueberry, and banana. That sounds great, doesn’t it?? Well, the morning we went to the dining room,
my wife ordered the blueberry pancakes, and I ordered the banana pancakes. Now, when you picture
blueberry pancakes, don’t you imagine nice big blueberries in the pancakes??? Well, we were in for a
big surprise, and if you’re in the mood for blueberry pancakes, you’ll be surprised too!! We got our
pancakes, and the blueberry pancakes looked like plain, buttermilk pancakes!! So, we had the waiter
come over, and we said, we didn’t order buttermilk pancakes. He said, no, those are blueberry
pancakes!! We were shocked!!! He said there’s not actually any blueberries in the pancakes, they’re
actually blueberry flavored pancakes!!! BLUEBERRY FLAVORED??? What’s that all about??? Would
you order a blueberry pie and expect just a crust that was blueberry flavored?? Well, that was my only
big complaint with the food on the Enchantment!! But my wife was kind of upset, so one of the first
things she did when we got home was make herself blueberry pancakes!!!

Lunch was good, but we rarely ate it!!! I think we had lunch once or twice because by the time we
finished breakfast, it would be around 10:30 so we usually ate enough breakfast to last us till dinner!! If
we were hungry before dinner, there were snacks provided in the WindJammer at around 4:00 and
there was cookies and ice cream there!!

Dinner was always great!! We had an excellent waiter and an excellent assistant waiter!! We even had a
table for two on the second floor of the dining room!! We had table #101 and our waiter was Salim
Hasan from India. He was great, he’s been there since the ship set sail in 1997!!

Every night, dinner had a different theme. There were two formal nights in the dining room, and the rest
were casual nights. I don’t think some people understood what casual night was even though they
explained it in the daily Compass!! Casual means don’t wear shorts, but you should see the number of
slobs that came to the dining room looking like they just came from the pool!!!

As for the food at dinner, it was always really good, and there was always enough of what you wanted!
One night, there was shrimp cocktail, and each order only had 6 shrimp! Well, our waiter kept bringing
us more shrimp until we told him we had had enough! The menu had plenty of variety, and there was
always steak, chicken, and salmon on the menu just in case someone didn’t like the rest of the menu!!
On three of the nights in the dining room, all the waiters would dance around and sing a song! It was fun
to hear all these people from over 40 countries try to sing O Solo Mio on Italian night!!

There were 3 midnight buffets during the week. Of the 3 buffets, one buffet was actually in the kitchen,
the other one was by the pool, and the last one was in the dining room. The one in the kitchen was
amazing because you got to go in the kitchen and see everything and just see how big the kitchen is!!
The pool side buffet was during the night we had a toga party!! The toga party was a lot of fun and the
food at the buffet was really good!! The buffet in the dining room was out-of-this-world!!! The food
looked amazing, it was all carved into interesting things!! The buffet in the kitchen had two lines, one
line you could just go through to look at the food and take pictures, and the other line was to actually
eat the food!! For the dining room buffet, the buffet opened at 11:30 for pictures, and then at 12:30,
you could eat the food!! The dining room buffet was breathtaking. There was an Eiffel Tower made out
of chocolate. There was a sculpture of a man and woman from the movie ‘My Fair Lady’ that was made
out of shortening. There were a dozen or so ice sculptures, and so many more awesome things to look
at.

Now for entertainment: I found that there was always something fun to do, and if there wasn’t, there was
always the hottub to go in, or you could always go swimming! During the days at sea, there were plenty
of activities: pool games, gambling in the casino, art auctions, bingo, line dance classes, and
horseracing. The pool games were fun, but there weren’t enough of them. There would only be pool
games for about a ½ hour in the morning and that would be it!! As for the casino, DON’T DO IT!!! You’ll
never come out ahead, so don’t try!!! They have these machines where you can put quarters in so that
you can get other quarters to push off the sides, but you’ll never come out ahead!! TRUST ME!!!

The pool games were fun even though there weren’t enough! On the second day of the cruise, they had
a Mr. Sexy Legs contest. There were six categories to be awarded for, and I won one of the categories!!
There were categories like Mr. Hairy Legs, or Mr. Non-Hairy Legs!! Another pool game was a belly flop
competition which I was smart enough not to enter!! It was fun but painful to watch these people jump
into the water!!

As for the art auctions, my wife and I never went to them! And, as for bingo, we never went to that either,
but we did hear that on the last day, the bingo jackpot was for $8,000!!! Yes, eight thousand dollars!!!!
The line dance classes were fun, but sometimes, so many people went to them that there wasn’t enough
room for everyone, so take my advice and don’t try dancing with bare feet or with sandals because you
will get stepped on!!! Horseracing was also fun!! People were going nuts when it came to horseracing!
On the first day they had it, they sold the horses to the highest bidder, and people were paying in
excess of $300 for these horses. The reason was because on the last day, there would be an owners’
race, and the owner who won would get the jackpot. The jackpot for that race was $1,800!!!

As for other things to do during the day, there was swimming and the hottubs. First of all, GOOD LUCK
getting a deck chair!! Personally, I didn’t care too much because I already had enough sun from the
previous week, but it was kind of annoying to not be able to get one!!

Now there are two pools on the ship: the main pool, and the solarium pool. Mostly children and their
parents used the main pool. It was also used for the pool games, and the main pool is where the reggae
band would play. It is a very, very busy area. There were tons of children in the pool and hottubs at the
main pool, but there is relief!! The solarium pool is great if you like a more quiet area. The solarium is
more for adults, and there are signs restricting kids under 12 from using it. For the most part, we didn’t
see anyone under 12 so it made the solarium quite pleasant!! One day, my wife wanted to go to the
solarium, and I wanted to go to the main pool, so we went to the main pool. After 3 minutes of being in
the main pool, I was getting kicked and splashed by tons of children, so we quickly went to the solarium
after that!!! It was much quieter and much more relaxing.

As for the evening entertainment, it was spectacular!!! On Sunday night and Wednesday night, we had
a comedian who was the funniest!! His name is Michael Dean Ester and he’s been on the Conan
O’Brien show! He was funny, and he was also very clean!! All performances in the evening are made so
that the entire family can go!! On Monday night, there was a show put on called Sweet Dreams that was
ok! On Tuesday, there was a singer named Hal Frazier, but we chose not to go because it did not
interest us! On Wednesday, there was a variety show that started off with Michael Dean Ester again. He
was very funny again, and we enjoyed him very much. After him, there was a singer named Terri Bryant.
After listening to her for 5 minutes, we, along with many other people, decided to sneak out while she
was singing!!

Also on Wednesday night, they had the Not-So-Newlywed game!! This game was so funny! Three
couples were picked for this, and everyone was grouped by length of marriage: 0-2 years, 2-25 years,
and over 25 years. Everyone picked a ticket, and then they would call three tickets and that’s how
people were chosen for the game! I’m glad we were in the audience as opposed to playing the game
because I wouldn’t have wanted to answer the questions they were asked!!!! DO NOT MISS THIS
SHOW!!!

On Thursday, there was a show called Flashback, it was a review of the past 5 decades. Flashback was
ok, but the highlight of that show was a comedian/magician named Craig Stone who put on an excellent
show. Friday night, we had a ventriloquist by the name of Ronn Lucas. He’s been on such shows as
Night Court, and he has performed for President Clinton. Ronn was also very, very funny. On the last
night, they Craig Stone perform again and he was extremely funny again. Then they had a farewell show
that was sad because we were leaving the next day!!

There were a few other games to play at night. One game was called Novelquest. This game is only for
adults, and it’s basically a scavenger hunt for items that you or your teammates are wearing!! This
game is very funny and very embarrassing!! You will be asked to bring up other people’s clothing and
things like that!!! It’s fun though!! There’s also Karaoke on two nights, and that’s fun because some
people are really good, some people are really bad, but funny, and then there are people who think
they’re good, but they’re not!!!!

Overall, the entertainment was great, so my advice is to go to it!!!!

Other little things: Something I thought was cool is that the rugs on the elevators change every day!!
There are nine elevators on the ship, and the rugs on each elevator tell you the day of the week!!! Well,
by midnight of every evening, you’ll always notice that the rugs have been changed to the appropriate
day!! No one ever saw the people change it, but it was always changed right on time!!

On the last couple days of the cruise, they will try to sell you a ‘cruise in review’ video. Let me tell you
what is on that video. It’s 17 minutes long, even though they tell you it’s a ½ hour long!! Eight minutes of
the 17 minutes are showing all the activities you did on the ship. You’ll see cameramen on the ship
during activities, and they’ll record the entire activity. BUT, they compress your entire vacation into 8
minutes and show you it. The other 9 minutes is basically a long commercial showing all the rooms on
the ship. They charge $24.95 for it, and it’s one of those things that if you don’t buy it you’ll regret it, but
if you do buy it, you’ll regret it!!

The photographers also need to be mentioned!! I found that the photographers on the ship were a bit
much sometimes. On the first night at dinner, a photographer and a guy dressed up like a pirate walked
around and took everyone’s picture! They didn’t even say a word to anyone, they just walked up next to
you, the pirate posed next to you, and the picture was shot, and they were off to the next person!! I
found it to be very inappropriate and just plain weird!! My wife and I had plenty of pictures taken, but we
didn't buy any of them because none of them came out that great!!

To quickly summarize the ports of call, overall, my advise is to just stay on the ship and skip getting off
because I think that there is nothing great on the ports of call. Our first port was St. Maarten. The ship
doesn’t actually pull into a port. Instead, it drops anchor and you need to take one of the life boats to
shore. It’s not that bad; there’s always a boat going back and forth and it only takes about 10 minutes to
get to shore or back to the boat. As with all the ports of call, the islands are very poor and people are
always harassing you to buy something from them!! There weren’t any shops that interested us there,
but if you want to buy jewelry, then you might enjoy this island!

For our excursion, we chose to go to the Pinel Island for some snorkeling! Let me tell you, it wasn’t that
great!! You walk about ½ mile to a bus which takes you on a 20 minute ride to the other side of the
island. The bus ride was actually interesting because you get to see most of the island. The island has
been badly damaged by hurricanes over the years and you can clearly tell how bad it is!!

Once you get to the other side of the island, you take a boat ride for about 10 minutes to get to Pinel
Island and then you get your equipment and they teach you how to use it and then you can start
snorkeling. When we went, the water wasn’t that clear and you couldn’t see much unless you swam very
far out which gets very tiring!! Overall, I didn’t like this excursion at all and I wouldn’t get off the ship to
see St. Maarten again!!

At St. Thomas, we went on the Kontiki Party Boat. This excursion wasn’t that great. We went on this boat
that was to bring us to some island, but we made two stops on the way there. Each stop took about 20
minutes so that they could put more people on board! It really felt like a waste of an afternoon. Once we
got to the island, it wasn’t that nice of a beach, and it would have been better to just stay on the ship
and enjoy the pool there! As for St. Thomas, it was a little better than St. Maarten, but we only saw a
little bit of it!

Our last port of call was Nassau. Now, I’ve been to Nassau 6 times, and I think it is really an unsafe place
to be!! When we got there, we decided to walk around Bay street and go in the shops. It wasn’t that bad,
but I just feel unsafe there! For our excursion there, we went to Blackbeard Cay. It was a nice beach and
you could play volleyball or just relax and go swimming there. The only thing I really didn’t like was that
we took a boat over to the island that definitely had some problems. First, the driver couldn’t seem to go
over 5 m.p.h., also, I think the boat was leaking oil or something into the ocean!!

In conclusion, I loved this cruise and I think RCI is the best cruise line I’ve ever been on. I love the days
at sea, and I do not think I will get off the ship much at the ports of call in the future. I wish that instead of
going to Nassau, RCI would take us to their private island, but that’s my opinion!! If anyone has any
questions, please feel free to email me!

Name: Lori Martini
Email: lmartini@lakelandchamber.com
Age: 38
Occupation: Convention/Tourism
NumberOfCruises: 7
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Enchantment
SailingDate: 11/19/00
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
Cabin: 8552
FoodDiningRoom: 89
CruiseDirector: 79
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 79
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 79
DeckService: 89
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService:
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 80
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 80
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 89
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 89
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 29 Nov 2000
Time: 14:03:57
Remote Name: tamqfl1-ar3-178-214.biz.dsl.gtei.net
Remote User:

Comments

We arrived around 1:00 p.m. to board the Enchantment of the Seas. We were a party of four. My
husband, 17 year old daughter, 15 year old son and myself. Actually, this was our second time on this
magnificent ship. We sailed on her a year ago as well but this time we were leaving from Fort
Lauderdale verses Miami. This was our first time in the new facility at Port Everglades. Embarkation was
handled a little different than in the past. We came in and sat in a waiting area (which was fine since my
husband had to go park the car in the garage and take the shuttle back to us. It’s the same garage that
we park in when we sail on HAL.) Right before he got back, (about 15 minutes) a RCI employee came
over to us and went through our documents. Then we were directed to go to another room where we
showed the processed documents to another RCI person at a desk. After processing there, we were
directed to another desk where they had our supercharge cards waiting. Not saying that these changers
were better or worse, just different and really no big deal. We were just happy to be there and going on
vacation.

We entered the ship and went straight up to our suite. Last time we had a cabin on deck 7. This time we
opted for a suite on Deck 8. It was very nice. Plenty of room for 4 people and the balcony was even
larger than ours on deck 7. We headed up to the Windjammer and got some lunch being that our
luggage had yet to arrive. The ship was just as I had remembered it. Very nice. Public areas are well lit
and graciously appointed. Lunch in the Windjammer was just about what I expected. Windjammer meals
are basically the same throughout the week but food is not a highlight of our vacation. It was fine.
Served its purpose. After a quick lunch we headed back down to the room to unpack since it had started
to rain & on deck activities were out of the question. Our luggage still had not arrived (no big deal, I just
like to get it out of the way and on with the fun) so we turned the tv on. Yes!!! There was football. My
daughter groaned at the sight so my husband and I decided to go see if we could find a public tv that
was perhaps a little larger to watch our team play. We ended up in the bar area of the casino. A wall full
of televisions. It was great and as the game progressed, fans from different teams descended upon the
area to watch too. It was fun even though our team lost. After the game was over it was time to get our
lifejackets and head out for the muster drill. This was handled very well and was the least time
consuming drill we have ever experienced. Great job by the staff to do what needed to done and send
passengers on their way.

Back to the cabin to drop off the lifejackets and the luggage was there. Unpacked, stowed the luggage
under the bed and now that the rain had ceased, up to the deck for the sail away party. Being the week
of Thanksgiving, the ship was not only full, it had loads of families on board. Even though the ship was
to capacity as far as children go, we never experienced a problem during the cruise. Actually it was quite
nice to see all the families about.

Dinner the first night was a big let down for us. We had second seating which we prefer since it allows us
to spend the maximum amount of time in port and still get all 4 of us ready. Last year on the ship we had
a second story table right along the balcony which afforded us a sensational view of the entire dinning
room. This time we were escorted to our table on the first floor behind the main staircase. It was a table
for four and it was behind the stairs and in between two serving stations for the waiters. Basically, the
ship was full so they stuck a table and four chairs there. The only view we had was of the back of the
staircase and the serving stations. Gross. The waiter came over and introduced himself, he was very
nice but he knew we were disappointed. We saw our head waiter from the last cruise (Mossimo) and
waived him over. We called him by name and reintroduced ourselves to him. I have no doubt that he
didn’t remember us, I mean how many people do they see in just one week let alone a year, but he
never let on. I told him that we were a little disappointed in the seating location and he took care of it.
We stayed there for the one night only and after that were given a wonderful table for 10 on the first
floor. We inquired to Mossimo about our waiter (Tin) and his assistant (Anna). Tin was on vacation that
week and but we were fortunate enough to see Anna again. They were wonderful. Good service goes a
long way. This time our waiters name was Angie. He was a very likeable young man from Turkey. Our
assistant waiter was very efficient but spoke almost no English. He was very quite but never interacted
with anyone at the table the entire week. He did an excellent job and there was never a empty glass or
breadbasket the entire week. Our table mates were a couple from England, a couple from Holland and a
couple from Canada. Delightful people and we had a truly wonderful time getting to know them and
sharing experiences throughout the week. After dinner every night we would linger at the table just
conversing with our new found friends. There were nights my cheeks just ached from laughing. Very
nice people and I’m so glad that we asked to be moved. I don’t like to complain or raise a fuss but I have
no regrets about this one.

Food - ok, nothing great and maybe not even as good as I remember it from previous RCI cruises.
Cesar Salad was fabulous unfortunately it was only available one evening. Service was great and I can’t
say enough about the waiters, assistants and the head waiters on this ship. They work very very hard to
ensure you get what you want. We are light eaters but really enjoyed the company of the others during
all the courses. We certainly never went hungry.

The shows in the theatre were fine. We attended a few and skipped a few. Everyone seemed to enjoy
themselves at the shows and the performers really had to work hard especially since the seas were
angry and the boat was rocking!! Unfortunately, a cold front was making its way down the east coast
and we were not able to outrun it so the day in Key West, day at Sea and day in Cozumel where cloudy
and windy which made the seas wicked! Loads of people sea sick including my daughter. Sadly, a lot of
the shore excursions were cancelled throughout the week. I’m almost a little surprised that they didn’t
take us somewhere else and skip some of the islands. But once the seas and the winds calmed down
towards the end of the week, the sun came out, the seas got calm and spirits were raised by all. In all
the cruises we have taken, we have never had such rocking. It was scary for the first time passengers
and we tried to reassure some that it is normally not like that at all.

Here is a little on the ports of call:

Key West - We went to the city cemetery. It’s supposed to be a tourist attraction.?! We have heard many
things about the grave markers being very humorous. They say things like "I told you I was sick". We
were there for over an hour but didn’t see anything humorous. It seemed like a good idea at the time but
in reality I felt like I was trespassing on sacred ground. Just as we agreed that it wasn’t quite what we
had anticipated a real funeral procession came into the cemetery. Here we were, tourists with our
touristy looks. I was mortified. We quickly left. Did I mention that it seemed like a good idea at the time?
I’m laughing about it right now but it just wasn’t one of my better ideas! My teens won’t let me forget this
one anytime soon!

Cozumel - Been here done this many times. There were 5 or 6 ships in port the day we were there so we
stayed as far away from the main drag as possible. Add the fact that due to inclimate weather, all tours
were cancelled…. you end up with a whole lot of people in the main shopping district. We went back 10
blocks or so off the beat and path into a neighborhood bakery and a few stores for the locals. It was
very nice. The locals in Cozumel are very good people. After a few hours of this we decided to go to my
favorite eatery on the island. The tiki hut at the Presidente Hotel. We have stayed here many times and
love the atmosphere and the food. We took a cab and enjoyed a few hours watching the waves. I have
never seen them so high at this beach. Even the iguana’s were in hiding. It was now late afternoon so
we dropped the kids back at the ship and we went to Carlo’s & Charlie’s for dancing and tequila. Back to
the ship and a delightful dinner. Tonight was my daughters 17th birthday but because we switched
tables things got confused and they didn’t have the birthday cake we ordered for her. All things
considered, it was fine and we fully understood.

Day at Sea - Seas are high today boy! Very windy and cloudy. We were up late last night so we spent
much of the day in the cabin watching movies and napping. Delightful. We never take time to do this
type of thing at home. Very relaxing.

Cayman Islands - This is usually our last port when we do the western Caribbean. It is our favorite island
but of all the times we have been here we have never just gone to the beach. So that’s what we did. The
water was a little too cold for me but the sun felt soo good. We stayed here until lunchtime and then
headed back to the ship. The kids didn’t want to go to the beach so we let them sleep in late. We all had
lunch and headed back to the tenders to do some serious shopping. This is my favorite island for
shopping. Have a favorite jewelry store here and as usual, they did not let me down. Lovely bobble for
my finger. We always get great buys on Kipling bags here too. For years my husband has worn the
original cologne by Versace. They stopped carrying it in the states 3 or 4 years ago. We were thrilled to
find it here. Some of the shore excursions were cancelled here as well. I feel very bad for the
passengers that have never been to these islands before. We have and really didn’t plan on taking any
of the tours since we have done just about all of them. It was very disappointing for many of the
passengers though. RCI did their best to keep spirits up but they can’t control the weather.

Jamaica - We got off the ship early and hired a driver for the day. His name was Melvin. The four of us
climbed into Melvins van and headed up the mountain to Bob Marley’s house and mausoleum. This
destination has never been offered by any cruise that we have ever been on but we wanted to see it.
Unbeknownst to us, we were taking the long way up the mountain and it took us over an hour to get
there. But in that amount of time we grew a true respect for this fabulous island. I have previously stated
in reviews that we like Jamaica and in all our travels here have never had a problem. That statement still
holds true. Tourism continues to be the main source of income for so very many of the residents of this
island but if you get away from the tourist areas, I assure you that you will discover an entirely different
side of Jamaica. We saw farmers harvesting yams. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of primary
schools we past and all the children in their matching uniforms. We were amazed at the beauty of their
cattle. Yes, their cows were beautiful! Very different from what we have here in the states. For over and
hour, Melvin was gracious enough to answer all of our questions and we asked many. I commented that
jerk pork was a common fair but in all the times we had been to Jamaica, I’ve never seen a pig. He
apparently took that to heart and when he spotted one he charged over to it thinking that I had never
ever seen a pig before. He also stopped at certain areas just because he knew that would make
fabulous pictures. He even pulled over to the side of the road because he wanted to show us a Venus
Fly Trap. Fascinating! Melvin enjoyed the opportunity to show off his beloved homeland and we
cherished the time and the information he shared.

Soon we arrived at the birthplace of Bob Marley. Primitive is the first word that comes to mind. We were
greeted by our tour guide and the journey began. This guided tour was very informative and our guide
had the ability to tie a B.M. song to everything he talked about. Well rehearsed I might add. His ability to
sing was no comparison to his hero but he gave it his all and we appreciated his efforts. They have
taken very little and made it into a shrine of sorts. I appreciated the simplicity of the environment and
hope it continues to stay as primitive. I was also impressed with the message that they were passing on.
Equality, regardless of race, sex, creed. You get the picture. Glad we made the journey although the
mausoleum was not something I had expected to go inside to see. It is an important piece of their
heritage and they are very proud of it.

Ok, I know you are now wondering…. Cemeteries and mausoleums?!?! This truly is not the type of thing
we normally do. It’s just a fluke!

We stayed at this locations for just over and hour. It was well worth the trip. The countryside on the
island is incredible. Their smoking habits are illegal in our neck of the woods but we just kept a distance.
This was probably the most memorable event for my teenagers and I have no doubt that they told all the
other teens just as soon as we got back on the ship.

Back down the mountain. As I mentioned before, we took the scenic-long ride up the mountain. On the
way back down we went through Fern Gully and it only took us about ½ hour. Oh well, the scenery we
took in was well worth the extra time going up the mountain. Our ship had docked at James Bond pier. It
is not a beautiful pier. In fact the opposite is true but it is a working pier. On the way back down the
mountain we saw the rail system that transfers minerals down to the pier for ocean transfer. It was all
very interesting. Fern gully is absolutely beautiful. So peaceful. We saw a cave that is inhabited by a
local. That is his home. Melvin toured us around a little longer then we headed to the Jamaica Grand
Hotel to their beach. Very nice, have been here before. Back to the ship and yet another sail away
party. Sad though. This is our last sail away party for this cruise. Regardless what I read about the
island of Jamaica., I have a real respect for the island and its people. As with any area that we are
visiting, we must be aware of our environment and take proper precautions but with all that said, I have
no problem visiting this wonderful island many more times in the future. Although my least favorite place
to shop, it is one of my favorites to tour. They are rich in culture and heritage. Nuff said. Tonight at
dinner they came around and sang happy birthday to my daughter. It was nice because it was a
surprise. We had asked for it for the beginning of the week but when it didn’t happen, we just left it
alone. She was fine with that. So she was surprised and all was well.

Last day at sea. - You know the drill… Get as much sun as possible, horse races, bingo (pot was over
$9000! I think this was due to the nasty weather at the beginning of the cruise - nothing to do but play
bingo!), buy those photos, eat and drink the special of the day. Then get the envelopes ready, pack
your things, remembering of course to save out something to wear home and off to the final dinner. We
love to cruise and honestly never tire of the Caribbean. Have done the Eastern, Western & Southern,
many times and look forward to our next. We always find something new to explore and probably enjoy
ourselves more each time since we don’t feel the pressure to do it all!! Now we are more laid back and
enjoy whatever comes our way.

I have not mentioned our cabin steward, Renaldo. Renaldo did an excellent job. Very attentive and
friendly. Always looked out for our kids and inquired about daily happenings every time we saw him.

If you sail the Enchantment of the Seas, the makings of a glorious time are there. The rest is up to you.
Happy Sailing!

Name: Charles Stepka
Email: Stepmor99@aol.com
Age: 51
Occupation: Grocery Store Management
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Enchantment
SailingDate: 12/3/00
Itinerary: Key West,Cozumel,Georgetown,OchoRiosJamaica
Cabin: 4572 Stateroom
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 10
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 80
CruiseStaff: 20
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 80
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 50
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 10
GoodForHoneymoon: 50
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 50
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 50
GoodForSeniors: 50
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 70
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 70
EntertShowLounge: 70
OverallPortsofCall: 40
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 70
CruiseActivities: 70
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 70
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 60
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 80
Stabilization: 70
ShopsOnBoard: 70
SpaceRatio: 70
OverallCruiseValue: 40
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 12 Dec 2000
Time: 09:01:14
Remote Name: spider-mtc-te014.proxy.aol.com
Remote User:

Comments

The cabin steward was excellent. Our waiter was excellent, he made us feel free to order anything, any
way that we wanted to. When you get to your cabin ther will be canned soda, and bottled water there.
Bring your own, as the price of a can of coke is $1.50 and 1 liter of Evian water is something like $2.95.
The shoreline excursions were mediocre at best. Our first excursion was Key West. We were on a tour
of the streets and old buildings in a trolley. The back of the trolley had plastic sheets for windows. They
were all scratched so they had to be rolled up for people to be able to see. The tour guide's microphone
did not work, so being in the back of the vehicle, we were unable to hear what the guide was pointing to
for us to look at. It was chilly with the windows up, but in order to see anything that was the only way to
go.The trolley stopped to allow people to shop, but I was cold and angry so I walked back to the boat. I
went to the desk to register a complaint. I was told that the cruise director would get back to me. It took
four or five trips back to the desk, over a period of 5 days, to get any sort of reply, at which time I was
told that we would be refunded $18, or one half of our money.When you have spent better than
$2,000.00, $18 was a slap in the face. No apology, just $18. Our next ship booked excursion, day two,
was to be a shopping, snorkeling trip to Cozumel. The weather was mediocre, so it was cancelled.
Privately booked excursions went on as planned. Those people had a great time, while we sat on the
boat. On our next ship booked excursion, day four, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, we were dropped off
at a nice beach for a few hours in the sun. This was the first time I swam in the Carribean. Our next
excursion, day five, was a privately booked tour of Ocho Rios, Jamaica. It was the most enjoyable, by
far, of all the tours. Our guide had nothing to do with the cruise line. He not only told us what to look at,
but he stopped the vehicle, and let us off, to look. He was very personable and patient. When he took
us shopping, he told us to bargain the price, which saved us quite a few dollars. He also told us what to
be careful of, and what to avoid. He made us feel safe, and in Jamaica that is not easy. There are
constant quick-sell artists, and drug dealers pushing you to buy their things. He taught us to avoid them.
Day six was at sea. You began to feel as though you were old merchandise. What you thought should
have been a big party, turned out to be a hurry up and leave. The decks were closed off at certain
places to prepare for the next group of passengers, and everything shut down early. On the last night I
made it quite clear how disenchanted I was with Enchantment oe the Seas. The next morning, when we
received our final bill, I found that after six days of what I felt to be total indifference, I was not going to
be charged at all for my trip to Key West. I didn't find out face to face, I found it subtracted from my bill.
What could have, and should have been resolved the first day, took 7 days, and numerous attempts to
accomplish. It left me with a very sour taste in mouth. To think that $36 and an apology, was so difficult
for the cruise line to part with, after a client had spent almost ten times that, has me looking for a less
greedy, more reasonable cruise line if I ever go on another 'adventure' again. I would recommend other
people to think twice about sailing Royal Caribbean cruises. Look around, shop around, bigger is not
always better.

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