Enchantment of the Seas Reviews

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We really enjoyed our cruise - wonderful ship, excellent service by the staff, comfortable accomodations. My husband and I were on the Enchantment for the 12-night Eastern Caribbean cruise that left Baltimore on January 14, 2013. This is only our second cruise - the first was on Holland America for the Alaskan Inside Passage cruise, so our observations are from cruise neophytes. Embarkation: We're really pleased that Royal Caribbean sails out of the port of Baltimore as this is very convenient for us. We used the Airport Shuttle to pick us up from our home, deliver us to the cruise terminal, and pick us up after the cruise. So easy! Embarkation was straightforward. I had attached our RC luggage tags before leaving so we dropped off our luggage at the carts outside and headed into the terminal. The first line was for security - walk-thru scanner and X-ray of any carry-ons. Be sure to let them know if you have wine in your luggage as they want to check it. Wine and champagne only - no liquor allowed in your luggage. Then we stood in the line for our cabin type (about 30-45 minutes) and checked in. Then, zoom - right to the ship. There's a stop to get your photo taken then up the long ramp. You arrive on Deck 4 and you can go anywhere you like, but cabins weren't ready until around 1:00. We headed to the Solarium and enjoyed a delicious roast beef sandwich and light dessert. Stateroom: We had a balcony stateroom (#7084). Very roomy with a sofa and lots of storage, flat screen TV, hairdryer in a drawer. The balcony is on the smallish side but really a nice luxury. A little annoyed that passengers are allowed to smoke on balconies. The smoke drifts over and forced us inside several times although I think our neighbors were trying to be considerate when they knew we were outside. The bathroom is small of course and our shower had the dreaded "fondling curtain" that clings to you as you shower. Two outlets at the desk to recharge electronics. We used one for a small electric clock (I like to see the time at night) which gained a minute or two each day. They don't want you to leave items charging when you're not there. Our room attendant unplugged ours if we were out. There is a safe, but it's pretty small. It fits the iPad and my Kindle and DSLR camera, but the bigger camera wouldn't fit. It operates with a number keypad to open and close. Enchantment: Our trip was post-rehab and everything looked fresh. New carpeting, flat screen TVs, and a bright Centrum with pretty lighting displays all made for a pleasant voyage. The jogging track on the top deck was nice although it was often closed when windy. The promenade deck on Deck 5 was open all the way around just once. They seem to block off the ends to do maintenance. I liked the touch screens around the ship to tell you how to get places. Everything seemed to work well. Food: We ate at the Windjammer buffet for breakfast and lunch and a few dinners. The food there was kind of hit or miss. Breakfast offers scrambled eggs, omelets, bacon and really good sliced ham. Nice selection of sweet rolls, muffins and croissants. Coffee was good. Stay away from the cardboard-like pancakes!! Lunch and dinner offered meat dishes like stir frys, pork chops, sliced roast beef, barbecue, salads and desserts. Some of the desserts were excellent (cheesecake, chocolate cakes) and some not so good (mousse and nougats seemed to have no flavor). All had a nice presentation. We could usually find a table for two and the wait staff was excellent keeping tables clean and bringing coffee and drinks. My Fair Lady Dining Room. We chose the My Time Dining option and I set reservations online before we left, but adjusted them each day as needed. The food there was really good with a lovely presentation. Pasta dishes were nicely seasoned, the salmon dishes were flavorful and perfectly cooked. I'd recommend the fruit "soups" as appetizers - really a nice fresh start to dinner. Desserts were really good - the Chocolate Sensation was great, Warm Chocolate Cake was nice, Kahlua cake was delicious. Wait staff excellent! We had Hemant and he was terrific! The dining room is a much better choice - the food is much, much nicer than that of the Windjammer and the service is great! We had a table for two, near a window as I had requested and we had the same table and waiter throughout. Really lovely to watch the sunset while dining. Entertainment: We attended only one show the last night, but wished we had attended more. The comedian was really good and the singing talent was great. Most nights we enjoyed the bands in the Centrum (Evergreen Trio and Shine) and watched the dancers. A pleasant low-key way to enjoy the evening. Several movies: Bourne Legacy, The Amazing Timothy Green, Dark Knight Rises, Hope Springs, Premium Rush. Don't miss the "Captain's Cake Decorating Contest". Captain Gus and the Hotel Captain square off to decorate cakes. Lots of laughs! Ports: British Virgin Islands (Tortola) : We took the RC excursion to The Baths at Virgin Gorda. A speedy catamaran boat ride to the island and then a bus trip to the Baths. A short hike down the hill took us to the shore and then a walk through the boulders. You have to be able to duck under rocks and scramble over some rocks a bit, but the water is no higher than knee deep. A pretty place and worth the trip. On the boat ride back everyone was treated to a cup of Rum and CocaCola. We arrived back in time to do some shopping in town. Antigua: Not our favorite place. Hoards of taxi drivers descend on passengers once you arrive and throughout the day. We walked up to St. Johns Cathedral for some photos. It was once a beautiful church but it's in bad shape now and under restoration. We returned to portside and forged our way through the taxi hawkers to do a little shopping, but quickly returned to the ship. St. Maarten: Very nice island. We took the RC Island Tour bus excursion and really enjoyed this. It takes you on a loop around the island and crosses the border to the French side. The tour bus stops in town for you to do some shopping and visit the vendors at the marketplace. Be sure to do some bargaining as the price goes down as you walk away. It's an interesting place with all the signage in French. Back on the bus and the tour returns you to Philipsburg. The driver let us off close to town for shopping and we walked about a mile back to the ship. St. Thomas: We took the RC tour to St. John which involved a short boat ride over to the island, an open air tour bus takes you on a loop around the island and stops at several of the beaches and overlooks so you can spend a few minutes taking photos and enjoying the beach. We enjoyed this trip and the driver had some interesting and funny commentary along the route. You arrive back at the dock and have about an hour to do some shopping before boarding the boat back to St. Thomas. It's about a mile walk to Charlotte Amalie (water taxis are available) for shopping. We were here 30 years ago and it was much more crowded and noisier than I remember. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Our favorite stop of the trip. This area of San Juan is really pretty. There are two old forts within walking distance - San Cristobal and El Morro. Both are worth the visit to see the old battlements and learn a bit about the history of the island. Take a few minutes to look down the side streets to see the nicely maintained houses with the colorful fronts and decorations. The ship was only here for a few hours - 8 am to 1 pm and I wish we had more time here. Long lines to get back on the ship - this was the only port where we had to show a photo ID to get back onboard. Labadee, Haiti: First I need to say we're not beach people, so Labadee wasn't so great for us. Royal Caribbean has put a lot of money into making this into kind of a beach/amusement park. There are zip lines, a children's water play area, cabanas (which cost extra), and some nice beaches to relax on. It's just for Royal Caribbean so the only people here are the passengers and the attendants and merchants. Lunch is served at a large pavilion - chicken wings, ribs, salads and cookies. When we arrived all the beach chairs are stacked up with guys standing next to them. If you want a chair you have to ask and then they expect a tip. They all work for Royal Caribbean - why not just set the chairs up when the ship docks. I could have done without Labadee. Debarkation: Easy! We got instructions the night before and filled in our customs form for purchases made during the trip. We did most of our packing the night before. On debark day, the Windjammer opened at 6 am (super crowded!) so we had breakfast there. Back to our room to finish packing and when they announced that we could leave, we stood in line to debark. One last ding for our Seapass and we were off the ship to Customs. That was quick too. My only complaint was the Baltimore Cruise Terminal - we had to wait outside once we cleared customs. It's January, raining and cold. They did have overhead heaters, but they really don't help much. I don't understand why we couldn't wait inside for our shuttle to arrive. This isn't a problem if you parked here, but there were a lot of folks shivering outside waiting for their ride home. Some nits: The Park Cafe in the Solarium is nice, but really fills up at lunch. Also, people "reserve" the chaises with towels and items so that means none are available. Most were left like that for hours. The music in the Windjammer is way too loud. It's already a noisy place and loud rock/pop music doesn't help. The big TV on the pool deck was usually tuned to loud MTV pop videos. I think less than 10% of the passengers even knew who the musicians were. I'd like to see the Main Dining Room menus posted for the whole trip so I can plan what nights I want to go there. Please, RC, ban smoking on the balconies! Smoke drifts all around, spoiling a very expensive cabin upgrade for non-smokers. Please pause the movie during announcements. We were at a critical point in a movie where plot points were explained, but missed the whole thing. Also, please offer a TV news station other than Fox News. CNN International was okay, but another US news station would be appreciated. Luggage: Only one of our two suitcases arrived with most of the luggage. My bag was nowhere to be found - not a good feeling as the ship pulls away from the dock. After 6 pm they said there was no more luggage to be delivered so I asked our room attendant (Renato) to check for me. He finally found my suitcase and delivered it to our room around 7 pm. No one knows why it was late - it still had all the tags on it and looked fine. Really had me worried though, trying to imagine what I'd need to do without it! Next time I'm keeping my bags with me when I board.

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We work to plan family vacations that are interesting for my husband and myself (50+ year olds) and also fun for our children (who are in their 30s) and their children (2-one year olds, 1-three year year old, and 2-five year olds). This year we selected Enchantment of the Seas, out of Baltimore, mostly because we thought a cruise would be easy for the younger children and only 3 of our party would be required to fly. So a year in advance, we booked 3 grand suites, one for each family, two of these suites adjoined. All 11 of us took a "pinky" swear to hold these dates. Next time I would definitely purchase the "cruise insurance", there were some iffy moments. Leaving from Baltimore was as easy as noted in many reviews. They were especially helpful with the luggage, picking it up from our cars before we parked. Parking was $15 per day and it took 2 cars and one truck to get all of us and our luggage to the port. We had a ton of luggage, 6 adults and 5 children require a lot of clothing and other accessories when cruising for 9 days. Luckily there is no luggage limit on the Enchantment! Suite guests are now permitted to bring 2 bottles of wine or champagne, unfortunately we packed this extra wine in our luggage and this caused a delay in bringing our bags up to our suite. My husband had to go to deck 1 and retrieve them. We should have just carried it on through security. For our cruise there was a problem with the sea pass cards and when we arrived at our suite we couldn't open the door. Our card was replaced quickly. As we boarded the ship the first people we saw were the staff from the children's Oceans Adventure programs. They put arm bands on each of the children so they could be easily identified and they explained the programs they offered. We then headed off to the Windjammer for lunch. Throughout our entire cruise, the Windjammer is the only area on the ship that ever seemed crowded. We circled until we found a couple of tables and checked out the food. We have vegans, vegetarians and children who mostly like french fries and pasta with butter in our group and everyone found things they liked to eat. For beverages the kids liked the fruit punch and milk and I was happy to find that unsweetened iced tea was available. We did not purchase a soda package, but the family with the most kids did purchase a juice package. We did purchase 17 bottles of wine to accompany dinners and it turned out to be 5 too many. We carried those 5 bottles home with us. We all thought our suites were wonderful with enough storage space for that ton of luggage we brought with us. We had requested "pack and plays" for two of the suites, they fit nicely and were in great condition. My daughter brought a small folding cot to expand the sleeping areas in their suite. This worked out beautifully and the kids actually argued about who got to sleep on the cot. Our balconies were huge, but the dividers could not be removed, we had hoped to create an outdoor space for the children and that was not possible. We loved the suites and all of the perks that came with them, the robes, nice bathroom soaps, the special seating at shows and the afternoon cheese and dessert trays. But the best perk of all was the concierge's lounge with cocktail's before dinner, the snacks and breakfast foods and that amazing coffee machine. We visited the lounge every single day (sometimes twice) of the cruise. Reyno(our concierge)scheduled our excursions and Cabanas on Labadee. He made it all so easy. We enjoyed My Fair Lady dining room for many, many (breakfast, lunch & dinner)meals. Because there were so many of us and we had 2 one-year olds we always had a table to ourselves. We thought the food was good and they adjusted quickly to our special needs (vegetarian offerings and buttered pasta). One of our 1-year olds likes hard boiled eggs and lentil soup and they had it ready for him every night. As soon as we arrived at our table Jay our waiter had fruit salad ready for the all of the children. My five-year old grandson preferred the Windjammer and my daughter discovered that they put out salsa, guacamole and chips in the afternoon. This was a huge hit with out group! But mostly we found the Windjammer crowded and difficult to maneuver. I used the gym one morning and a treadmill was immediately available. It was a great experience working out as you look over the ocean. My daughter-in-law took a spin class and found it challenging but excellent. She thought the instuctor was outstanding and pushed the group very hard. We played bingo twice, the bingo "caller" was great! He worked very hard to make the game entertaining, as we lost every game. To communicate on the ship we brought walkie talkies(that were recommended in another review) with us, each family had one and we had fun using them during the first part the cruise. They worked everywhere on the ship and even at the ports. We tried to attend the shows and events every day. The Magic Show (David Haines)was amazing and then we followed up with "how the magic happens" lecture, also very good. Do not miss this show,some members of group did and they still regret it. It was great for the kids too. We enjoyed the production shows and Tony B. too. The last day of our cruise was on Superbowl Sunday and the final show was moved to 2:30 in the afternoon. It was fantastic! The reason I mention this is because we thought Tony B. was an outstanding addition to this final show...we enjoyed him there actually better than during his show and saw what an enormous talent he is. The final show included the Royal Caribbean dancers and singers and at one point they launched huge balloons over the audience. It was an exciting and fun show and of course the kids grabbed balloons. There were late night comedians that were promoted as "adult" shows that the 30 somethings in our group attended and enjoyed. We thought that RCI-EOS did a great job with the Superbowl. It was broadcast live in multiple venues and in all staterooms. In the Orpheum theater they provided football stadium type food.. hot dogs and chips etc. I thought this was such a nice touch. We watched the Superbowl in our suite, but ran down to the Orpheum to see the half-time show on the big screen. So fun!

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Cruised on the Enchantment on 1/5. This was our 2nd time on the Enchantment (and probably the last since the ship is being replaced by the Grandeur). Day One - Left home in NJ around 10:30 and arrived at the port around noon and the line to get in the terminal was very long. Apparently, there was an outbreak of Noro on the previous cruise and they were disinfecting the ship. Since we had a Junior Suite -- Cabin 8116, we went to priority check-in. Took about 5 minutes to check in and we were on our way to the ship. Loved the new Centrum. Christmas decorations were still up and looked very festive. Made our way up to the new Park Cafe. There were only about 3 other couples there. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch (great roast beef sandwich and made to order salad) and they actually gave you a bag of potato chips! After lunch, checked out the WJ -- it was packed. Guess most people didn't realize the Park Cafe was available. Too cold to be out on deck, so we found our way to our stateroom. Since we had a JS on our previous cruise, we could see that there this cabin had definitely been updated. There was new carpeting, new large flat screen TV, new coffee table and completely new bathroom. Wonderful improvements. The only odd thing IMHO is that the towels are now on a bar at the rear of the bathtub/shower. If you didn't aim the showerhead correctly, your towels got wet. Muster drill was at 3:30 and it was very short and sweet. You now have to get your name checked off by the muster team -- so don't hide in your cabin. Stopped in the bar in the Solarium where DH got the beer cooler bag. Pretty good deal -- you get the cooler bag and 8 beers. After that, you take the bag to any lounge, they fill it and one beer is free. Luggage was very late arriving. At 6:30, we went out in the main hallway and saw our bags had finally arrived. But -- no one in sight to deliver them. We retried our own luggage and took it to our stateroom. We always avoid the MDR on the first night since it is a hassle with everyone trying to find their tables. We made a reservation at Chops for 8:00 p.m. Prior to dinner, went to the Viking Crown for a couple of adult beverages and we had the entire place to ourselves. There was a playoff game in progress, and you could watch it on the big screen through the windows. Great picture. Dinner at Chops was fabulous. The filet melted in your mouth. Very few people dining there that evening. Large portions with the side dishes being served family style. Day 2 - decided to try Park Cafe for breakfast. Again -- hardly anyone there. They have a nice menu with breakfast sandwiches, fruit, pastries yogurt, cereal and a bagel bar with a lot of toppings. I especially liked the premade cups with fruit, yogurt and granola. Still a little cold out on deck, so we played some trivia games (very popular on this cruise), checked out the on board shops and wandered around the ship. Lunch was at the WJ. It was just ok. They did have staff at the buffet serving you -- you told them what you wanted, and they put it on your plate. Apparently, there were taking extra precautions because of the Noro the previous week. By Day 3, you were able to serve yourself. Watched the playoff games later in the day. Since the cruise was out of Baltimore, there were quite a lot of Raven and Redskin fans on the ship. Happy Raven fans -- disappointed Redskin fans. It was the 1st formal night. Again -- no one in the Viking Crown. We had My Time Dining and had premade a reservation for 8:00. Arrived at the MDR, promptly were seated at a table for 2. We were right in front of the service station and were bumped into quite a bit by waiters. Our waiter and assistant were ok. New menus are ok -- some good / some bad. DH was disappointed when he was told there was no escargot. They were serving scallops instead. Tried these -- not good. Day 3 -- FINALLY warm weather. Were able to secure a seat at the pool. Pool games going on and by around 11:00 it most chairs were taken. Spent the majority of the day sunning, relaxing and reading at the pool. Went to MDR for dinner and got seated at a different table than the previous night. This time -- great waiter and assistant. Our waiter, Geraldine always had a smile on her face and made recommendations on the best things to order. Assistant waiter, Roana, was also great. These girls had quite a number of tables, but everything we ordered arrived very quickly and was always hot. After dinner -- tried our luck in the casino. Turns out it wasn't good luck. However, I did win a price in the raffle for a free entry into the Blackjack tournament. Since neither of us plays Blackjack, we gave the entry away. Day 4 -- First port of call -- San Juan. Arrived in San Juan around 2:00 and they were letting people off the ship around 2:30. Walked around town a little. Checked out a few shops and the Sheraton (quite a few cruise passengers in there). Found a CVS and purchased a few things we forgot to bring. The CVS was packed with passengers. Then went to Senor Frogs for the requisite margarita and nachos. Always a fun place. It was happy hour, so you got an extra shot in your margarita. Since our last trip to Puerto Rico, they seemed to have cleaned up the port area. It is now very modern and clean. However, quite a few homeless on the streets asking for $$$. Back to the ship for dinner. The MDR wasn't very crowded since a lot of passengers were probably off the ship. Got a table with Geraldine and Roana again -- yay. We ended up getting a table with them the rest of the cruise. When you check in for MTD, they did ask us if we wanted the same wait staff. Day 5 -- St. Thomas. When we awoke, we were already docked in St. Thomas. After a quick breakfast in the WJ -- headed off the ship. Took a cab ($5/each) to Marriott Morningstar. We have stayed at this hotel previously and loved the views and beach. Rented chairs for $10/each and spent most of the day on the beach. There is a beach bar where you can get lunch and drinks. Water was warm and beautiful. Stopped and shopped at Havensight on the way back to the ship. I needed to get a new flash card for my camera (paid $10 for a card that would have cost me $5 back home). Did end up getting a beautiful topaz necklace in one of the shops. Bought the requisite souvenir t-shirts and returned back to the ship. Second formal night (there were 3 on this cruise since it was a 9 day trip). Again tried luck in the casino and came out about $40 ahead. Didn't see too many big winners in the casino on this cruise. Day 6 -- Dominican Republic -- Opted to stay on the ship since we weren't sure what we wanted to do at this port. As it turned out, we weren't the only ones to stay on the ship. You needed to take tenders in this port. The few people I spoke to that got off the ship said they walked around for about 5 minutes and came right back. Spent most of the day at the pool. Day 7 -- Labadee. We had reserved a cabana on Nellie's Beach. Got off the ship and were driven in a golf cart to our home for the day. Great cabana right on the water. There was a cooler with ice and 3 bottles of Evian, plenty of towels and 2 floats for the water. Having a cabana was wonderful. We had a great attendant who made sure we had everything we wanted. He would come around and get our drink orders. Labadee didn't seem that crowded until the Independence of the Seas arrived -- then it got crowded. There was a special lunch provided for people in the cabanas (and suite passengers) at Barefoot Beach. Great lunch -- ribs, chicken, burgers, hot dogs, seafood, fruit skewers. There was a very long line for lunch. We had lunch with 2 women off the Independence. The one woman had been on over 150 cruises! She was from Canada and cruised 10+ times each year with many of them being BTB. Lucky her! We then spent most of the day floating on our rafts in the beautiful water. Checked out the shopping area but didn't buy anything. The remaining 2 sea days were uneventful. Played a lot of trivia -- watched the pool games, played bingo (didn't win, of course), napped and relaxed. Embarkation -- very easy and quick. We got off the ship around 9:00 a.m. There was a long line for customs, but once we were through, immediately found our luggage. We were home in NJ by 11:00 a.m. Final Thoughts: We didn't attend any of the shows. Heard that they were not that good. We were going to see the comedian, but after watching part of his show on the TV, decided it wasn't worth the time seeing him. New Menu -- Nice change. The cold soups were wonderful. Desserts were just ok. If you couldn't find anything you liked, you could always order off the "classic" menu (offered everyday). Windjammer -- always found a table (even though the ship sailed full). However, it is the same food every day. They need to mix it up a little bit. The Park Cafe is a great addition for a change of pace. Big screen at the pool -- very nice and good quality. But I don't think they need to run the same tired music videos over and over each day. Enhancements -- loved the Centrum -- the R Bar is very nice. Touch screens on every floor (giving you access to deck plans, Compass, etc.) is great. We did check out our bill on day 5 and saw a mini-bar charge for $22. Since we didn't take anything from the minimart, went down to Guest Services and got it taken off. Two days later when the minibar attendant came to our room to check our fridge, we told him we were charged and never used anything. He did double check and wrote the room number down wrong. But -- there wasn't a hassle getting this off of our bill. I would like to see more of an interactive TV in the rooms. You couldn't check your bill on the TV, there was no map of where the ship was, no room service menu, etc. I will miss the Enchantment -- but look forward to trying out the Grandeur.

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To escape the winter we often take a cruise in the Eastern Caribbean, but this time we wanted to avoid flying to the cruise port. We drove for 6 hours to Baltimore and stayed overnight in a hotel that included parking for the duration of the cruise and a shuttle to and from the port of Baltimore. Unfortunately the hotel assigned us a very early 8 am shuttle to the port, where we had to wait for almost 3 hours for check-in in the terminal as we were merely Gold RCI cruisers. Once we were on the Enchantment of the Seas, we were delighted with the renovated ship. We dined in the Windjammer, then by 1:30 pm were allowed into our cabin, where our luggage appeared within an hour. Our ocean view cabin was one of the four created back in 2005 from rooms for navigation. Cabin 7010 is much larger than the average ocean view, comprising the area of a balcony cabin,but with the space, where a balcony would be, added on to the interior space. On the cold days as we sailed down and up the coast we were happy that we had no balcony but had instead a very spacious cabin. Our cabin steward Ali Muddin was wonderful, keeping the room super clean and us comfortable. The service on the Enchantment was superb, whether in the dining areas, guest services, or pool. We found the food in the Windjammer to have great variety and good flavor. My Fair Lady dining room, where we ate all suppers at "my time" dining, offered an extensive menu of nicely prepared entrees. If our table partners were not enthralled with their selections, the waitstaff was happy to bring them something else. Emanuel and Dennis at table 85 were very attentive waiters and tried very hard to satisfy our requests. The nightly entertainment in the Orpheum Theater varied in quality. The magicians David and Abi Haines were fantastic! We enjoyed the comedian Derrick Cameron very much. The singers and dancers of the production shows tried their best with very mediocre material. It appeared that musical selections for the shows were chosen mostly for their cheap copyright fees. One male singer named Chris had an exceptionally beautiful voice, which often was wasted on banal tunes. How I wished that he could have had his own recital of opera arias. I would have liked to hear classical music offered daily in the form of string quartets and vocalists. The talent was there, but the repertoire was lacking. How sad on 3 formal nights that older couples in long gowns and tuxedos had no waltz music from the classical period with which to dance! Instead country western twangs resounded in the centrum. Of the activities on board, I went to a jewelry class, but 2 minutes before the class was to begin, the instructor had already run out of kits. Other people were quite disappointed and complained to no avail. The trivia game involving science was run by a crew member, whose primary language was not English and whose major was not any form of science. His "official" answers were not correct, but it's only a game! Our favorite on board activity was swimming in the balmy waters of the solarium and reading on the highly-contested lounge chairs. Reading on a 12 day voyage would be greatly enhanced, if the ship hadn't eliminated most of the library, now a mere "Book Corner." The best aspect of this cruise was, of course, enjoying the Caribbean ports. The ship's excursion to Tortola's Cane Garden Beach was very pleasant, as the the turquoise waves splashed on the very soft sand. Antigua's Halcyon Cove beach was a beautiful sunny swimming excursion also. On St. Martin only a 15 minute walk turning left from the dock brought us to a nice beach. By the time we reached St. Thomas, I needed a break from the glorious sunshine and nasty sunburn, so I strolled the many jewelry store of Havensight near the dock. In San Juan we really enjoyed the El Junque Rainforest excursion for the lush foliage, waterfall, mountain terrain, and informative guide. Labadee, Haiti was a beautiful private beach area, complete with turquoise waters, swaying palms, many lounge chairs, and barbeque lunch. Returning to Baltimore the seas were rough one evening with what Captain Gus called "ocean motion" caused by a weather system near Cape Hatteras. The rest of the cruise the sailing was exceedingly smooth, and for us near the bow of the ship, nearly imperceptible. Disembarkation was very easy, with one half hour wait in the theater, and quick processing through immigration and luggage retrieval. Our hotel shuttle came as promised on time. We had a pleasant cruise with great service on a beautiful RCI ship, but it obviously did not have the classical music of a Princess or HAL ship, nor the haute cuisine of Celebrity or HAL. A nice vacation for the price.

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We left out of Baltimore on the 12 night Eastern Caribbean on the Enchantment. Embarking was a breeze. We got to the port about 11:30 am. We had sailed on Royal Caribbean before so we went to the Gold Memeber line and were walking up the gangway after a 15 minute wait. Had some lunch in the Windjammer and went to our oceanview room on deck 2 around 1pm and our luggage was there. This cruise had a super itinerary that went to Tortula,Antigua, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Labadee, and San Juan. We had great weather and were able to use the two outside pools after about a day at sea. The enclosed Solarium pool was also available but seating in this area filled up quickly. I had noticed on Cruise Critic some complaints about the Windjammer food but we thought it was very good. They did have several items that were repeated at lunch such as burgers, hot dogs, and fries but the passengers were eating a lot of burgers and there was a great variety of dishes available besides these. We went to the My Fair Lady dining room about 7 times but were only impressed with the quality there on 2 nights. The food was ok in the dining room but in general we liked the Windjammer better. I especially like the stir fry. All of the wait staff and room stewards were excellent and there was a good atmosphere amongst the passengers and the crew. Our fellow cruisers were older with an average age probably 65-70 years but it was a relatively active ship. One complaint would be the lacking of seating for some activities that were held in the Centrum or at Boleros, a bar. Most folks came early and waited and it would have been better if some of these activities were held in the larger Orpheum theater or Spotlight Lounge. Also, the tv programming aboard is truly terrible with a couple of movies being repeated and almost no programming available. I know we don't spend a lot of time watching tv on a cruise but you are in your stateroom some on a 12 night cruise and this was by far the worst programming we've seen on a cruise ship. The outside pools were not overly crowded and as we had good weather there was plenty of space in the pools and hot tubs outside. They did open the Solarium roof when we arrived in the warmer weather and that helped the humidity problem in there. The gym was small but adequate. I went 3 three times and it was almost empty twice and a little busy the 3rd time. Entertainment was overall good. They had a good mix with a comedian, three different singers, their own singers and dancers, a magician, and a comedian singer. All were entertaining. Again, the only real complaint would be the lack of seating at some of the day activities such as lectures and dance classes. The ports were great. We took the ships tour to the baths at Virgin Gorda and were glad we did. A very pretty place. Only wish we had more time there. A 4x4 tour in Antigua was good but not terribly exciting. We had a great time on the ships tour to St. Thomas and Magen Bay stop. Labadee was a very nice as well. Royal Caribbean has made it very pleasant there. At all of the stops you are within walking distance of tour info so it seems you can make your own arrangements when you arrive. Not to leave anyone out, Phillipsburg St. Maarten was great. You can take a water taxi right to the main boardwalk, shopping area, and there is a beautiful beach right there. The outside stateroom we had was fine. I believe I would have booked an inside and saved some money since they seem to be exactly the same except for the window. The casino had low table minimums and though we aren't gamblers I would feel comfortable playing their roulette or blackjack. They had a special blackjack table for beginners and many penny slots. We had to sample the Ben and Jerry's onboard and even though it seems a waste to pay for food on a cruise it was delicious and reasonable. Disembarking was easy. We usually carry our own luggage off but this time I had bought a painting I had to carry so we used the regular disembarking process. We were scheduled to leave around 9:15 but got off about 9:50 with minimal waiting outside in the cold for customs. Overall, a wonderful trip. The Enchantment is moving to Port Canaveral soon and we're sorry she isn't serving Baltimore any more.

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