Impressed
Enchanted Princess Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
Contributor Level:
Staff Captain
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 23
Helpful Votes: 401
14 Night Caribbean Islander (New York To Ft. Lauderdale)
Sail date: November 05, 2022
Ship: Enchanted Princess
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: E522
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
Wonderful cruise. I am very impressed that Princess can provide this experience for so little money. I like all cruise lines and will sail with anyone but Princess is clearly the leader in my experience. I will let you know how our upcoming Celebrity goes. The ship was not full, about 85% I think I heard. So experience would not be as good if it were full.Embarkation
We stayed a few days in NY. Our hotel was in Mid-Manhattan very close to the Manhattan terminal but unfortunately Princess leaves from the Brooklyn terminal. There is a ferry that goes from Wall Street to Red Hook where the ship is but we ended up taking an Uber (went over the Brooklyn bridge) for about $40. Got there about 11am. Long winding lines to get through the metal detector at the terminal took about 40 minutes. There were 3 detectors but one is reserved for handicap or those who developed a limp after seeing the long line. If you are Platinum or Elite, there is no special line till you get through the metal detector, then you walk right on the ship so don't expect any priority boarding from Brooklyn.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We've been on quite a few cruises on various lines since Covid so I think I am qualified to judge and Princess has the best food so far (got a Celebrity coming up though). Breakfast buffet didn't really change but they probably have 100 different choices so unless you are on a World cruise, you never have to repeat a breakfast meal unless you want to. Didn't see eggs benedict much though. Lunch buffet was awesome. Lots of different foods every day. Had Fish and Chips that was as good as I have had anywhere, even the Brits loved it. Bulgogi (Korean fire beef) was amazing, Baja fish tacos, every day there were several dishes that excited me. Dinner did not have the same food as the MDR but had a great lineup and sometimes better than the MDR. One night they Prime Rib. The best thing about the buffet is it never closed between meals. Unlike other lines where the buffet is closed for hours in the afternoon, Princess is always open. It would be scaled back but always several choices for a hearty hot meal when you come back from an excursion at 3pm. Definitely better buffet than RC, Carnival, MSC, and near Disney quality. Salty Dog burgers etc was just OK. The pizza is the best at sea in my opinion. We got pizza at a highly rated place in NY and Princess' was almost as good. If Princess could keep the crust crispy, it would be perfect. The MDR did not disappoint. Typical menu as other lines but better quality and taste. Got lobster 2 nights. Only had one bad meal. It was Macadamia crusted Mahi-Mahi and it was too tough to eat. My wife's was excellent. If mine was Mahi-Mahi it must have been the tail of one. Otherwise the food was as good or better than other lines and much better than RC. My only complaint was that I like my steak pink with no blood but if I ordered Medium Rare it was too rare, Medium was well done. Deserts are Princess' strong point and if you see the "Chocolate Journey" symbol on the menu, order it! I was really impressed with the food temp in the MDR and Buffet. The hottest I've ever had it on a cruise. Sometimes you had to let it cool before eating. Enchanted figured this out. Princess has the medallion that knows your location and you can order food and drinks and they will bring it to wherever you are sitting. I tried it twice. Once worked perfect but the other time they never delivered it but charged me anyway. Probably best to avoid frustration and just ignore this feature.
Gelateria
They charge about $2 for one scoop and $3 for two scoops including tip. It was like good ice cream but not the real gelato if you have ever had the real stuff. Tip is you can get it for free in the MDR and often the soft serve machine on the Lido is broke so they will serve gelato for free there.
Onboard Activities
Not Princess' strong point but always plenty to do around the ship. Loved their educational seminars with Port info etc. Loved that they didn't try to push you to their excursions or stores. The Cruise Director Jodi met an elderly veteran on board who turned out to be John "Chickie" Donahue who wrote the book Greatest Beer Run Ever which is and now a movie starring Zac Efron. She asked him to do a Q&A for the guests and he told us his whole story.
Entertainment
Princess has stepped it up with their production shows. We only got 3 in the two weeks but they were really top quality. My wife could not stop raving about them. The theater is nice but get there early cause it gets packed. Comedians were clean, they had a senior comedian who gave a growing old routine that was well received by the senior crowd.
Children's Programs
Only 11 kids on this cruise.
Service and Staff
This was the ship's first Caribbean itinerary after months in Canada, so the Filipino crew was excited for warm weather. They all seemed happy and worked so hard. They seemed to be fully staffed and trained with a few exceptions. In the MDR you normally would get out between 60 and 90 minutes. One night when sitting at a large table it took over two hours. The assistant waiter was the main issue. He was new, did not speak English and was incompetent. I prefer assigned time and table but Princess only does My-Time dining so we had different wait staff every time. Most were good, some great.
Ship Quality
Cleanliness was great. The design was different. There was no Promenade deck to walk around the ship, I missed that. There were several small theater type venues, but they are too small to hold the events they put in them. Maybe half the size for the number of people who wanted to attend. I doubt the architects who design these new ships ever cruise. But overall it was fine and I would sail this class again.
Cabin / Stateroom
We booked an inside but bid on an upgrade for a deluxe obstructed balcony. The minimum bid is $200 pp. I bid $210 and got it. I didn't need to up the bid because there were lots of empty deluxe obstructed view cabins. The room size was nice, shower was a little bigger than average but still small, the balcony was small but not as tight as some new ships like NCL Breakaway. You could sit facing out without your knees hitting the glass. The view was not horrible. The lifeboats take up a lot of the view but you can still see out above them to the distance.
Ship tip
Learn how to use the medallion app before sailing. Learn the layout of the ship. Don't trust the medallion food or drink delivery service. If you really want something, get up and get it. Check your account. We got charged $10 for a drink we never ordered.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
I found a free walking tour app for old town. It turned out you had to buy a subscription to use the GPS feature but I just combined it with my Maps app and it worked out. It was great to read about the history of each location as you saw it. Seemed safe to walk around and no vendors pressuring you.
Walked to Great Bay beach. Rented chairs and umbrella for $15. My tip would be to not let your wife agree to the first vendor who wants you to sit at their location. Walk down the beach and check out other locations, some chairs are more comfortable than others and less crowded, etc.
We almost missed the ship! Took the public ferry to Nevis Island for $12.50 pp each way. Then a taxi $10 to Pinney's beach. Everything was great, expected to take the 3pm ferry back but when we arrived back at the dock they said the 3pm wasn't running anymore and the next was at 3:30 (our fault for not verifying first). The ferry ride takes 30 minutes, the walk to the ship about 10 minutes and the ship sails at 4:30. It could still work except the ferry operators work on island time and the morning ferry left about 15 minutes late. Plus lots of people around so it looked like the ferry would be full. We were stressing but made it back with 10 minutes to spare. Tip is to buy your return ticket in the morning. They will tell you not to so you can be flexible but you don't want flexibility, you want a guaranteed time and seat.
Walked to Vigie beach. It was a 15 minute walk if you hustle. Beach was nice but water not very clear. Took a taxi back for $12. Went through the markets near the ship. The vendors were chill, no pressure. The prices were crazy high though.
Our favorite port! Great island vibe. We took the water taxi to Klien Bonaire. There is a yellow stand when you get off the ship selling tickets for $25 pp roundtrip. Then walk a little to Karl's Bar to get the Caribe water taxi to the small uninhabited island. The beach was white powder sand and water was the best we ever experienced. The taxi will take you up current and drop you off so you can drift snorkel back to the beach. Warning! do not venture into the brush behind the beach. We took a little walk to see what was there. Got maybe 50 feet and looked at a hermit crab and lizard then noticed we were covered with mosquitos. We ran back and dove in the water but in the 2 or 3 minutes we got about 20 bites each.
This is a Dushi (local term for wonderful) port! Took a cab to Mambo beach. It was $7 pp each way but only if you get a group. $30 for two people. This is a man-made beach with a breakwater. The water was not very clear. Snorkeling was only good if you go outside of the rock breakwater. Lot's of people. Rented chairs for $15. Again, walk the beach to find an area you like. Get there early to get a front row. I would say it is good for kids since no waves but lots of Dutch people who smoke and use the beach as their ashtray so maybe not good for kids.
Taxi to Eagle Beach $15. Just used our towels and laid on sand. This is always listed as one of the best beaches in the world. Large wide white soft sand beach. Calm (pretty) clear water. Best pictures ever.
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
We were staying the night in order to get cheaper airfare the next day. After debarkation, took an uber $15 to the airport and rented a car $35. Drove around and went to a few beaches and walked around Lauderdale beach downtown shops. Fun day. Stayed in an Air-bnb room.
Disembarkation
Debark time was 9:20 we were let out about 8:50 and walked right out, no waiting.