Enchatment of the Seas? New to Cruising and here :)

[firecatgirl]

DH and I are thinking of going on a cruise late this fall/early winter. We are looking at 2 different Cruise lines (NCL and RCCL) but I really think I like the NCL better maybe because it's a new ship BUT everyone has been telling me Royal Caribbean is superior. Really confused.

I found a cruise out of FL for the times that would work for us and it's on the Enchatment of the Seas.

What did you like/not like about the ship?

Is the staff friendly/accodimating?

How expensive are the drinks? (maybe a stupid question sorry)

How is the food? DH is super picky but plain but I like food with a lot more flavor and options. Neither of us are seafood eaters if that makes a difference.

Is room service 24/7 and is the menu a good variety of foods like Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/Apptiezers/Desserts?

We do want a room with a balacony just because we don't always want to be around other people. I've seen some real pics online (not from the cruise line site) and they really look well worn. Are there some rooms that are better than others? I was looking at JS and Superior Oceanview Suites and real pics of these?

I did have them send me brouchures so I can't wait to get them. We do have to fly assuming it would be to Florida.

Ok I'll stop rambling now. Thanks for any help.

 

[Gayle V]

Welcome aboard Firecatgirl,

Well I can't give you any personal experience of the Enchantment, as we've not been on her yet. We are booked to sail her in November. But we have sailed RCI ships several times so I can offer some general information.

Room service, on all our Royal Caribbean cruises has included a limited list of items, something appropriate for each kind of meal. During limited hours (dinner time) you can also order the same items that are offered in the dining room. Unfortunately every time I've ever wanted to order a real "meal" in the cabin, it was NOT the dinner time, so have only experience their room service sandwiches, and morning Danish and coffee. Very good. The RCI site says room service is available any time of the day or night.

About the food in general on RCI, it is usually very good. I don't rave about it like I would about meals on Celebrity, but I totally expect to be very pleased with the food in November. Remember whenever you order a meal in the dining room, if for some reason you don't like it, just send it back. Your waiter will be very happy to bring you anything else on the menu. Do not hesitate to say something. The wait staff really does want to please you.

About the dinner menu, there are usually 5 or 6 entre choices at dinner. Usually only one of those is likely to be seafood.

BTW- I've never found any Royal Caribbean staff that was anything less than friendly and accomodating, whether it be waiters room steward, or purser's deck.

Well as for being a bit worn, you have to remember that the Enchantment is an older ship, but I wouldn't expect it to be too bad, as it just had a refurbishment a few years ago. During that they actually cut the entire ship in half and inserted a new 70-some foot long section in the middle. And they spruced up the rest of the ship too. (They made a Travel Channel TV special about it. It was very interesting veiwing. They still run it on cable once in a while, so if you have cable, look for it.)

Also, Royal Caribbean has been replacing the bedding in all their ships over the past year with some kind of special mattresses. I don't know if the Enchantment has been done yet, but I think they were supposed to be done with the whole fleet by May.

Still overall the style of the ship's structure will likely be more like an older ship. You're not going to find an ice rink, nor a inside street, like on the big new ones.

About the drink prices: sorry, I don't drink much so don't remember. Try asking that as a sepearate question.

{Actually anytime you post a question here on the board you will likely get more specific, and faster responses to just one question at at time. I've noticed that general questions don't get much response, and multiquestion posts don't either, and usually some of the questions get totally lost in the shuffle.}

Well, you've noticed I'm not helping much in making a choice between NCL and RCI. After 15 cruise, we still haven't tried an NCL so all I have to offer is hearsay on them. People seem to like RCI's food better overall.

The big difference in the two cruise offering will likely be the dining styles. Royal Caribbean continues to have the tradional fixed meal times, along with lido buffet and some alternative venues, while Norwegian now has their "freestyle" dining. If you want an explanation of "Freestyle", well I won't retype it, just take a look at this other thread where I have a post that explains it. Look for my post:

<http://www.cruise-addicts.com/forums/read.php?24,1188397,1204322#msg-1204322>

 

[Libby]

We'vw been on the Enchantment about a dozen times and love her. It's small enough you get to know the crew and staff - and you're treated very well. The food is good, not 5 star, but I've never sent anything backi.

She was completely refurbised 2 years ago when she was stretch and had a middle section in, so I don't think you'll find worn and tired areas that you're concerned about.

The pool deck is wonderful - lots of room and the appearance is beautiful at night with many colored lights all over the place.

We enjoy enjoy the Jr. Suites - but I'v never heard complaints about the other state rooms.

I hope you chose the Enchantment and to and have a wonderful time.

 

[firecatgirl]

Thank you both so much!! I really appreciate all your help.

I found some better JS pics thru yahoo and I'm gonna assume the first ones I saw were much older.

 

[kasey]

We were just on the Enchantment the week of May 7-12th and it was wonderful!! We were in a JS, aft and it was nice & roomy, the beds were comfortable & the balcony plenty big. I thought the staff was some of the friendliest I've encountered. I've never cruised NCL so I can't really give you an objective comparision.
Drink prices varied, I think the drink of the day specials were around $5, the fancy foo-foo drinks around $8. You can save a bit by asking for your fancy drink in a plain glass rather than the souivener glass. Although, I did get one souviner glass & it was really nice, real glass not the cheapo plastic ones.

 

[cruisebuddy]

Sorry to poo poo your trip, but out of all of the ships I have sailed on RCCL, the Enchantment was my least favorite. There was something about the fung shui of the ship or something. I just didn't like it. The only thing I did like about the ship is the bar in the center of the pool deck.

Don't get me wrong, the cruise was fine, I'm talking about the ship itself. We've sailed RCCL almost every time and will continue to. Just not the Enchantment.

 

[SUNNYDAY]

we have sailed on the enchantment and out of all the rccl ships she was the cleanest. the service was excellent. the food was good celebrity does surpas in the quality of food and the presentation. but the food was good. unfortunately i never stayed in the upper catagory cabins that you are hoping to book so i cannot help you there, but the drinks were reasonable in the bars expect for the fancy drinks. they have times during the day that they promote drink specials in the bar for about 3.99. If i remember correctly.i did sail on ncl but only on the older ship which is no longer sailing. i am sure that they will also provide you with a grat cruise experience ncl has broadway type shows as headliners. and the food is comparable to rccl.