One of the Best Cruises We Have Been On
Enchanted Princess Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 43
21 Night The Best Of The Mediterranean (Barcelona Roundtrip)
Sail date: September 30, 2023
Ship: Enchanted Princess
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 months ago
Review summary
This was a great cruise. The ship was fantastic, the staff, food, entertainment and activities were all great. Having never visited this part of Europe the itinerary gave us a number of places to sample. We enjoyed everyone of the ports. The cruise is fairly port intensive, we were tired (in a good way) by the end of this cruise. We would definitely go back to any of these ports again. We really enjoyed the Enchanted Princess and have another cruise booked on here in February next year in the Caribbean.Embarkation
Embarkation was easy. We were in-line for about 5 minutes to pick up our medallion. After getting our medallion we were directed to a waiting area, where we needed to wait for about another 10 minutes before we could board the ship. We went immediately to our room and dropped off our carry on luggage. Of course the elevators were busy, so we simply walked up the stairs. Our room was ready and we met our cabin steward Mark. He was very nice and asked if we had any special requests/needs. Our luggage arrived a couple of hours after this.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We primarily ate dinner in the main dining room. They had a great selection each night, however the menu did repeat itself over the 21 days. The portion sizes were reasonable and the service was timely. The servers were very friendly and went out of there way to ensure we received everything we needed to enjoy our meal. Most of the time we are fairly early, around 5:30. On the evenings we are later we did find the service to be a little slower, however not unreasonable.
The buffet was very good. There was a great selection of food at all meals. We especially liked the healthy corner. Most of the times it was easy to find a table, however there were a few mornings (mostly sea days) were the buffet was quite busy.
We really enjoyed the International Cafe. The servers there were friendly and efficient and quickly learned our habits and anticipated our coffee and tea orders and were able to call us by name. The food there is excellent. They have a great selection in the morning, I particularly enjoyed the Chia puddings, Muesli bars and fresh fruit. I would have appreciated more healthy choices in the evening e.g. salads and/or vegetables.
Sabatini's Italian Trattoria
We had a great meal at Sabatinis. The waiter clearly explained the menu items and options. The food was delicious and plentiful. It was my own fault, however I did find I over ate the evening we ate at Sabatini's. We will definitely eat there again on our next cruise.
Onboard Activities
We really enjoyed the retreat pool and hot tubs in that area. It was quiter in this area than the main pools.
I used the fitness center and jogging track. The fitness center is well equipped and was generally not overly busy. I did notice that many people didn't clean the equipment before and after use, however that's not totally unexpected as this happens in the gym I attend at home. A number of fitness classes are offered at an additional fee, I didn't attend any of these.
I tried a few new things this cruise e.g. afternoon tea and ballroom dancing lessons. Both of these were very enjoyable and a lot of fun.
We did the fitness dance class (Zumba) in the morning. It was well done and the instructor provided clear directions. It was done in the Piazza and was quite crowded.
My particpated in a few of the officers vs guests challenges. She really enjoyed these.
My wife really enjoyed karaoke. There were a number of good singers who participated.
In summary all the onboard activities we did were great, fun and well organized.
Entertainment
The production shows were excellent. I really enjoyed Rock Opera and was able to watch it a few times over the 21 days. The other production show Spotlight Bar was good. The singing and dancing was good, however some of the music didn't appeal to me.
There was a lot of music throughout the ship which was well done. They had music/DJ later in the evening in the Piazza, which ended up being very loud. We generally like to end our evenings sitting quietly at the International Cafe, however were unable to do this given the other activities going on in the area. We simply found a quiter place to relax at the end of the night.
Connor Bogart was a guest entertainer, he is an excellent vocalist and entertainer.
Cello 2 Cello were great, they played a variety of music and threw in a bit of humor. We really enjoyed listening to them.
There were a few comedians who were quite humorous. Keith Bender had a pretty good show in the Princess Theatre, he also did a set in the Vista Lounge which we thought was quite crude and didn't appreciate. We recognize that although it didn't meet our taste others would find it entertaining.
Taffy Spencer was very entertaining. He is a comedian/magician.
Shelley Ann was an excellent vocalist. She did one performance, it would have been nice to hear her again.
Overall we really enjoyed all the entertainment on the cruise.
Service and Staff
Our room steward Marc was great. He quickly learned our routine and the best times to take care of our room. He was very friendly and helpful. I got locked out of the room near the end of the cruise as my medallion stopped working. He helped me out to get this resolved.
Staff at the International Cafe were great. They were able to manage the large crowds in the morning efficiently. My coffees were always made to my liking.
In general the staff in Buffet were good. Sometimes it was hard to order coffee and water, even though I thought I had gotten their attention they seemed to get distracted and never came over to get our order.
Ship Quality
We found it easy to navigate the ship and most areas were quite clean. The occasional toilet in the common washrooms were out of service. I couldn't tell how long it took to have them repaired and returned to service.
My wife stated in one of the women's washrooms the toilets were overflowing and people were still using them.
Cabin / Stateroom
We had a balcony cabin. Overall the room was big enough for the two of us with ample storage space for the two of us. The balcony was just big enough for the two of us. We often used the balcony in the early morning or late evening to enjoy coffee and tea.
Similar to others I found the bathroom and particularly the shower small. Most days I used the shower in the fitness center after my workout. It's a great size, you just need to bring a change of clothes with you.
Ship tip
Take some time to get to know some of the staff. I found most of them very interesting and wanted to ensure we had a fantastic vacation.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
We took a bus from the port to Rome and used the Hop On Hop Off bus in Rome. We were able to see the Colosseum, and Spanish Steps. We also stopped for lunch and had pizza. The food was great.
The Eternal City is incredible and clearly we didn't have enough time to do all we wanted to do. We will need to plan to go back to Rome and spend several days there.
I would say this was one of my favorite ports. Istanbul is a huge city with an incredible skyline. We visited the Blue Mosque, the detail inside and outside the mosque is incredible. The mosque was super busy to get in, but once we were in there was plenty of room.
After this we visited the Basilica Cistern. It was fascinating to visit this historical site. The decorations/carvings on the columns in the cistern are very interesting.
We then went on a river boat cruise of the straights of Bosphorus. The scenery on this cruise was breath taking. This included a meal which was delicious.
Finally we went to the spice bazzar, it was a lot of fun to wander around the bazzar and see all the stuff for sale.
Barcelona is a fantastic city. We embarked and disembarked in Barcelona. We were able to spend three days in Barcelona before the cruise. We stayed at the Hotel Claris. We thought this was a very nice hotel in a good part of the city. They had an excellent complimentary breakfast. We explored the city on our own while we were there. My favorite part of the city was the Rambla. We really enjoyed walking up and down that street. There was a market off of La Rambla called Mercado de La Boqueria. It was a great place to visit. We picked up some fresh fruits, nuts and raisins.
We took an excursion to visit the ruins of Pompeii. Prior to visiting the ruins there was a stop at a cameo factory.
Exploring the ruins of Pompeii was incredible. It was fascinating to see this site and learn about how advanced this civilization had become.
The site was quite busy and we became separated from our guide toward the end of the tour. Fortunately we caught up with him at the designated meeting point.
I would definitely go back to Pompeii again if I had the opportunity.
Girbalter was a good port. We did a bus tour and saw a few of the sites. The bus dropped us of downtown, and we wandered around for a bit and walked back to the cruise ship. It was very low stress.
We did a walking tour of Mykonos. Our guide was very knowledgeable, however there are numerous tiny streets which are almost like a maze. We thought we were going to get lost a few times. Mykonos is a beautiful town with interesting architecture.
We visited the ancient city of Ephesus. It was fascinating to think the apostle Paul and others walked this same ground. We also visited what is thought to be the final home of the Virgin Mary. It was interesting, however it's not clear to me how historians can state the Virgin Mary lived here. Finally the excursion ended with a Turkish carpet weaving demonstration. This to was interesting, however it turned into a high pressure sales pitch to purchase a rug -which I could have done without.
We did a walking tour of old Kotor and then had a drive to Perast, a very nice village. From there we took a short boat ride to Our Lady of the Rocks Isle. Following this we had lunch at a local restaurant, again the food was delicious.
We did the Discovery Family excursion to the ruins of Knossos Palace. This was a fascinating visit and the guide was extremely knowledgeable. We also visited the Cretaquarium, it was interesting to see some of the marine life in the Mediterranean Sea. We had lunch at a local restaurant. The food was delicious, however the wait staff didn't explain what it was we were eating.
We took an excursion and visited the Acropolis, Parthenon, Erectheum and Porch of the Caryatids. There are excellent photo opportunities of the ancient architecture. We also visited ancient Corinth. Again very interesting to visit another place of Biblical significance. Our guide was very knowledgeable.
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy
We took an excursion to Pisa. It was amazing to see Leaning Tower, Baptistery and Duomo. We had a lot of fun walking around the Field of Miracles. I had expected it to be much busier/crowded than what it was. This was a pleasant surprise.
We visited an olive farm where they made olive oil and the medieval city Les Baux de Provence. It was interesting to hear how olive oil is produced. This was a very small producer and the owner was quite proud of her product and the quality of her product.
It was fun to wander around the medieval city. Our guide was excellent.
We visited the ancient ruins of Akrotiri. Again this was a fascinating site to visit. We then were taken to Mt. Prophet Elijah. From there are magnificent views. We were then taken to Fira to explore this town. There are numerous shops and cafes to visit. Unfortunately the power went out for a few hours while we were there and we had a long wait until the cable car was returned to service.
We took an excursion to Rapallo and then Sestri Levante. We enjoyed exploring these towns and spending time in the local cafes and shops.
We indulged in some excellent gelato.
We took an excursion to Corso Umberto. We did a walking tour of this town, which was quite fascinating. We visit the Greek Theatre here which is in remarkable condition. There are numerous stores, cafes etc. to visit here.
Disembarkation
Disembarkation was super smooth. We asked to be in the first group to disembark, 630am. We were off the ship, had our luggage picked up and waiting outside the terminal for our transportation by 640.
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