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Enchanted Princess Cruise Review

JimDavid

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 21

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

14 Night Caribbean Islander (New York To Ft. Lauderdale)

Sail date: November 05, 2022

Ship: Enchanted Princess

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Enchanted Nov 22 Review Back home from the Nov 5-19 Enchanted from NY to Caribbean to Lauderdale: So my assessment - I was very pleased with the cruise compared to our first post Covid in March 2022, which was a transatlantic on the REGAL. On the March Cruise, we missed three ports, had terrible Medallion service (received a refund) and the food was not Princess standard fare. I would rate The Enchanted an8.5/10. Food is very subjective so we'll never agree on what is good or bad....we prefer MDR dining and flexible dining so most of our dinners were taken there at delightful shared tables with fantastic British folks, fellow Canadians and a few Americans. We stayed away from political chat despite the timing of the American vote. However great chats on many other topics - Our table was usually the last to leave the MDR (Capri). We did a few breakfasts in the buffet (they make great omelettes). These were on mornings we had to leave early for a tour or slept in. We thoroughly enjoyed GiGis (3 or four lunches) and International Cafe is always a favourite for most lunches. The coffee service at the International was great every morning. I must say the MDR menu was one of the best I've had in recent cruises. They changed up the mains although I did notice there were not as many selections overall. I only saw escargot once but had the onion soup a few times. It was almost as good as the Crown. This is the first cruise in 25 that we did not do a specialty restaurant. We also forgot to ask about the wine makers dinner and the chef’s table. We had the deck burgers and fries twice – they are great!! Except for Sailaway I found the Bar service fast and friendly. I do not like ordering drinks on Medallion so I made the extra effort to go to the nearest bar. Our two bars of choice were in Vista for the Elite Receptions and the one on Deck 7 near Princess Live. Ronnel in Vista was our favourite bar host and Quiet Collin on 7 was very efficient. We did find the 9:30 shows in Princess lacking compared to past cruises and were usually tired by the time we were out of dining. I have a tendency to doze even if the music is loud (which it was). However, we didn't enjoy the offerings as much as other cruises. We don't do trivia or bingo so avoided Princess Live. The Enrichment lectures were great and also did the Cooking demo on the final day. Our only disappointment came on the first day with a late Sail Away from NY and the Bar Service that day. We did not try the Retreat Pool or any other pool because we do not swim but were disappointed we could not get a Sanctuary time. There are still quite a few chair hogs near the pools or people are just to lazy to remove their towels when finished. We did not do any High Teas and forgot about the Wine Tasting. Our Room Steward, Arthur on Riviera, was one of the best. We did not do the Casino except for our 2 organized slot pulls, but certainly noticed the smoking and yes it did affect the area outside a bit. The ship was probably the newest we've ever sailed on but our preference is a smaller ship. Next two cruises are on the Coral and Grand. It certainly will be a bit of an adjustment to go back on the Coral after ten years. We did NOT contract Covid (tested again this am) so I think we are out of the woods on that issue. So kudos to all the staff including Officers for a great 2 weeks. We usually choose our cruises based on itinerary and this one did not disappoint.