Overall, it was a fantastic trip, one that we'll remember forever! It was our first time cruising, and while I had been a holdout for many years, I'm pleased to say we've already booked the next one! The Enchantment has given us a taste for the cruise life - and my hubby loves the fact that he's virtually unreachable for work while at sea. We're sticking with Royal for the next one, taking the kids on the Allure in the spring! Going from one of the smaller ships to one of the biggest...we're looking forward to it!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We arrived at the port around 10:15, by 10:45 we were sipping our first fancy drink and checking out everything on board! Very quick, efficient, and easy to follow embarkation system.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We enjoyed all of our meals, snacks and drinks while on the Enchantment. 3 of 4 nights, we ate in the MDR and tried something new every time. All of our meals were well-prepared and delicious. Our favourite dinner of the trip was at Chops Grille, it was one of the best steak meals we've had at a restaurant! The desserts every night were a wonderful treat, and again, some unique flavours, which we had fun trying. We only used the buffet a couple of times, and although it was hectic on our unplanned sea day, there was always somewhere to find seating to eat our food, if even at the nearby pool deck. Drinks were always a "proper pour," no skimping on alcohol here! My husband became addicted to the little roast beef sandwiches every afternoon to tide him over...I think that's what he misses most since coming home!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We took part in some of the onboard activities, like dance lessons (me) and the belly flop contest (hubby-he was proud to come in 3rd place, lol!). We showed up late to other activities and enjoyed watching others have fun too, like karaoke, trivia & other contests. There was always something to take part in, if you liked, no shortage of "something to do!" And when in doubt, lots of people-watching ;)
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We watched various singing performances in the Centrum, as well as "Can't Stop the Rock" &" Love and Marriage" in the theatre. All were enjoyable, and even when the singing was a little "lounge-like," it was still great fun.
Children's Programs
A trip without our kids, woohoo! :)
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We were very impressed at how quickly our waiters in the MDR got to know us & remember our drink orders and after-dinner coffee preferences! (Shout out to Sunny and Genar!!) They were personable and fun, and we truly felt as though we could've sat all night and ate our way through the menu, if that's what we felt like doing. Although service was speedy, we never felt rushed through our meal. At Chops, we were celebrating our anniversary, and while I applaud those who had the waiters sing to them throughout the cruise, that's just not for me!! In lieu of this, our waiter very sweetly brought out a little dessert with a candle, had the two of us hold hands, look at each other, and said some very kind things about love and relationships. It was unexpected, and quite lovely. In our room, Desmond our steward came and went while we'd be out, and we always had fresh towels at our disposal, and even a few cute towel animals to take pics of to show our kids. We were very appreciative of his great service.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
By the end of the trip, I think I could find my way around fairly easily without consulting the touch-screen maps! It was pretty straightforward, and while an older ship, it appeared to be well-maintained and very, very clean. One of my hesitations about cruising for many years was the worry of getting a tummy bug, surrounded by so many people, but omigosh the Purell everywhere put me at ease, haha! The only drawback (and I'm not trying to stir up an old debate), as non-smokers, the casino is just a no-go for us, as the smoke is just too off-putting.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We didn't expect a big cabin, after reading many reviews; although it was on the small side in comparison to modern hotel rooms, I was pleasantly surprised at the efficiency & use of the space. We were impressed by the amount of little storage areas/shelves/drawers in the room, and we even had hangers left over (and we overpacked!) The bed was comfortable, and we slept well each night. Having the window was great, as we enjoyed watching the water while at sea :)
Ship tip
Take part in some activities, even if you're a little shy - everyone is on vacation, and it's all for fun! I do wish we had've done just a couple of more things (i.e. The Quest game), but some days you're tired out from all the fun :)
**OH!** Please, please, please - use your manners & don't complain about things that are out of anyone's control (I'm looking at you, lady, who wouldn't stop grumbling about the fact that we couldn't make it to Coco Cay. It poured rain all that day anyway!!!)
We spent 2 nights in Miami Beach on our own, prior to the cruise. Fun place to people-watch and take in all of the "entertainment," definitely geared towards adult vacationers.
We booked our own excursion for Nassau, as we had a very long stay in this port (8am-midnight). It was very busy and hectic in the port area, and it felt very strange with the gated barrier area and locals wanting to provide taxi service, etc, on the other side. While it didn't feel dangerous, there were some uncomfortable moments in this port.
This was our first time in Key West, and it was HILARIOUS! There are more people walking around comfortable in their own (body-painted, sparkled & blinged-out) skin than I've seen in one place in a while, and we thought it was great! We wandered around easily at this port, did some shopping, ate Key Lime Pie (of course!) and took in our own excursion here, too. We had a really fun time in Key West and would for sure book another cruise that visited this port!
We did self-carry for luggage, as our flight back to Canada left late morning and we didn't want to risk it. Well, bing-bang-boom, we were sitting at the airport, waiting for the airline desk to open, by 9 am! No problem at all. Our only question was the loop we had to go on, on the ship, with our luggage - it definitely seemed like we walked in a complete circle for no apparent reason. Not a big deal, though. Unrelated to the cruise itself, we did feel like we ended up with the wrong taxi driver, as he was a bit of a maniac on the highway, and then argued with us that he didn't want us to use our credit card for payment. He relented in the end (we had no cash by this point, so...), but it left a sour taste in our mouth at the end of the trip for a time that morning.
You'll love Allure. Awesome ship. Do some research though, you'll need to reserve entertainment on the mega ships. Best to do that before well sailing but it's worth it, awesome shows. Cabbies like cash so they pocket it. Happens everywhere. Good news - now you are Gold Crown and Anchor Society members!
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