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Our First Cruise... C+ by
Chris R from Orlando, FL Sailing date: May 2013Pros: Room and Staff were top notch Cons: Food was merely okay, drink package has flaws, entertainment lacking This was my me and my wife's first cruise ever, despite living in Florida (the land of Disney and cruise ships). We decided to take this cruise to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.
Overall, I had a hard time deciding between a "Good" or "Average" rating.
One of the worst parts of our trip was the "premium beverage" package that we purchased for $440 ($220 per person). I'll mention it here as I don't think it fits comfortably into any of the sub-categories below. The package (a fairly new invention by Royal Caribbean) allows the holder to essentially pre-pay for all beverage purchases on-board. No more shocking "Sea-Pas" invoice when you get back home with $10 margaritas, and $5 draft beers. Instead, you pay before hand and drink all you want.
My wife and I, while not heavy drinkers, didn't want to be concerned about the price of this drink or that drink. We just wanted to have a fun, all-inclusive kind of experience. So, we purchased the "premium beverage package". We also pre-paid our gratuities for the same reason.
The biggest hang-up came when trying to order non-alcoholic beverages: specifically soda. RC has a system of using two, self-service soda fountains for soda drinks. They want you to purchase a special soda mug that unlocks these fountains. My wife and I, having already purchased the end-all, be-all of beverage packages (and being assured by RC that the package included all lesser packages) were shocked to be informed that all our soda would need to come from a bar... not a soda fountain. Bars don't open until 11, 12 or later... depending on where you are in the ship.
We complained to Guest Services and after about 15 minutes of pleading our case were provided with a free fountain mug under the strict guidelines that we NOT mention this to any other guests and in the future we purchase the soda fountain package in ADDITION to the premium beverage package.
Given that this package is so new to RC, I'm hoping that this kind of thing gets "fixed" in the months to come. Ship QualityThe ship is not massive, by modern standards and some of the furniture and decoration is dated. None-the-less, I never experienced any cleanliness issues and everything was in good order. Dining/FoodOverall, we were disappointed by the food on RC. Maybe our expectations were too high or this was just a bad cruise/ship. The end result was the same: lack-luster.
The My Fair Lady Dining Room's food quality was okay. The Windjammer Cafe (the buffet location on Enchantment) served about the same line-up for each breakfast and lunch we attended - the quality was always less than we had hoped.
Chops Grille's fare was quite good. However, you have to pay $30 each to eat at this specialty restaurant and, I guess, its what I expected to be eating at dinner every night (without having to pay more than what I had already paid). Stateroom QualityMy wife and I loved our room - always clean and well-kept, it was lovely. We opted for a room with a balcony and I don't regret the extra we paid for a moment. Our own private views while sailing, arriving or departing ports of call, was one of the high-lights of our trip.
Our attendant, while soft-spoken and shy, did a great job on everything we asked of him - with one exception.
When arriving on board, we noticed that our fridge was empty with the exception of two diet coke cans. Our attendant said he would "take care of that". On the last day of our cruise, we noticed that the fridge was now full of bottled-water and various sodas - like a hotel mini-bar.
What surprised us is our sea-pass account was charged for emptying the fridge, when we never touched it. Apparently they had missed what the previous cruisers had removed and thought to tack it onto our bill?
I called RC customer service, but they can't do anything about it for a few days. Hopefully all will be fixed. Ship Staff QualityEveryone we met was friendly and willing to help. Some staff wasn't well-informed about some questions we asked, but everyone was happy to try. Entertainment & ActivitiesThe musicians throughout the ship were great, but the "Broadway quality stage shows" were lacking the Broadway quality. Again, this may be a tempered expectations situation, given that this was our first cruise. None-the-less, we were disappointed.
Also, their karaoke was never more than an hour long. Personally, I've never been to a karaoke bar that tried to fit all their singers in in one hour. If everyone's enjoying themselves, why cut it off?  0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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  Top 5 Vacations by
Brett R from Cumberland, MD Sailing date: Mar 2013Pros: Wide Variety of Activies to do Cons: Someone died on our cruise The ship is very clean on the inside and is well planned. For my first cruise it was a delight and an eye opening experience. CoCoCay is a must. In the morning you could not tell of the clear water, but by mid day you could see the picturesque views anywhere you stood. What I really enjoyed were the personalities of all the crew members, especially the cruise director. I am sure he does the same routine over and over for all the trips, but he made my stay feel like we were wanted. We are already considering our next cruise with Royal Caribbean. Dining/FoodThe food was over my expectations. Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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perfect holiday vacation by
A Traveler from La Plata Maryland/ D.C. Sailing date: Dec 2012Pros: days at sea Cons: need to add innovation to the choreography in the shows- great time was had by all Ship Quality
Dining/Food
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Ship Staff QualityCLinton and Marat at table 118 did a fantastic job. Great partnership between these two! Entertainment & ActivitiesNeed to spruce up the choreography to add innovation and a few new dazzling moves 3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Too many Children by
Rich P from Pennsylvania Sailing date: Dec 2012Pros: Wonderful crew Cons: children all over the ship UNattended I had just started to write a summation of what should have been a very nice cruise to the Caribbean.. When I went ahead and read some of the not so nice reports written by cruises with Young children. Hmmm, you must have been on my ship not enough activities for YOUR children.. Maybe yours were the ones that ran through the ship screaming, and got on the elevators and pushed all the buttons and then jumped off.. Maybe yours were the ones that were up in the windjammer unsupervised taking more food than three people could eat and then just leaving it. Or just maybe yours was the THREE year old out on the dance floor in everyones way at 2 AM there ARE Cruise lines that cater to YOUNG children, Royal Caribbean does it s best to and has many activities for children, BUT if you want on one of their ships with Your Young children please take advantage of the ships activities and treat them like CHILDREN not little adults or maybe just leave then HOME !!! We really dont like YOUR children on OUR cruise. Ship QualityGreat Ship Re-done Looks Great !! Dining/FoodGreat Food.. top rate chef's Stateroom QualityThere are hairdryers in the dreawer Ship Staff QualityVERY friendly Entertainment & ActivitiesGreat Shows Top Rate Children's ProgramsKEEP THEM HOME 7 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Great cruise on a smaller ship by
A Traveler from Jessup, MD Sailing date: Sep 2012Pros: Port close to home Cons: This time of the year ran into rough seas for one day After traveling on the Royal Caribbean Allure, I was not expecting much from this ship. It was a pleasant surprise. Common/public areas were very well maintained, clean, and inviting. The crew/staff made this cruise a great experience. The ship is small and older but was a great deal for us. A lot to do daily. Only one day of bad weather on the last sea day. Felt seasick for a few hours but the weather cleared and I was ok. However, it could have been worse because this time of the year, rough seas are a high probability. Ship Quality
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Stateroom QualityOlder staterooms. Need some refreshing. Wish there was a refridgerator, flat screen with ability to order room service, check bill, pay bill etc. Would have been good to have an IPOD dock too. Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
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A great trip! by
Colin B. from Allentown, PA Sailing date: Sep 2012Pros: The staff on the boat were great and the ports were very inviting. Cons: Halifax was more 'Americanized' than I expected but still enjoyable. The Enchantment was a good ship, a little old now but still in good shape and plenty of room for the people on board. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodThe food was top-notch in the dining room. The Windjammer cafe food was good but sometimes heat lamps just take the quality out of food. Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff QualityThe staff were all very friendly and helpful. Everyone smiled and said 'hello'. Entertainment & Activities
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Great Cruise by
A Traveler from PA Sailing date: Jul 2012Pros: Relaxing - easy to get to and from dock in Baltimore Cons: Could have more time in Bermuda Very nice and the expansion was definitely a great addition to an already beautiful ship. Plenty of food and entertainment choices, as usual with any Royal Caribbean ship. Outstanding service by staff members everywhere. Ship QualityThe size of this ship is a nice size - not small by any means holding 2,600 passengers, but also not an enormous size that you are overwhelmed to navigate around the ship. Dining/FoodFood was very plentiful and great. Dining room had very nice ambiance with grandeur lighting and furniture. We did the My Time dining schedule which is a nice addition to the convenience of dining times. Of course, the Windjammer is always an option for any mealtime or just for snacks any time. Stateroom QualityI think the staterooms could have a better system for closet an d drawer space available. The small sofa area seems to be a waste of space. Everything was kept clean and orderly, but the layout could have been better utilized since there was some wasted space. Ship Staff QualityEverywhere you went on the ship the entire staff was always pleasant, smiling, greeting you, and always asking about your stay and if you needed anything. Couldn't be any frendlier! Entertainment & ActivitiesVariety and overall quality of options is good. However, we did see the one headliner show on the past three cruises we were on with Royal Caribbean. The comedians were great, as usual. 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Bermuda 5/2012 by
K Singh from Northern VA Sailing date: May 2012Pros: What we liked most --- just going to 1 port, having extra time in Bermuda Cons: no hairdryers/iron in bedroom the ship was really nice. it was easy to navigate and find our way around. ship was also very clean, well maintained. Ship Quality
Dining/Foodthe typical cruise food, lots of options. nothing really wowed me, but i definitely didnt starve neither! we never ate at the dining room because our dining time was 830pm, we were always hungry before that. we mainly ate all or our meals at the wind jammer. Some of our favorites were make your own pizza, key lime pie, oatmeal raisin cookies, mexican corn salad, make your own stir fry, the vegetables were really Delicious!!!! Stateroom QualitySuggestion - Pack your own hair dryer!
Otherwise, we had an inside stateroom, which was nice. interior rooms do make it easy to sleep the day away! after i woke up i always turned on the tv or 1 light to keep me up, before falling back to sleep, it is Very dark when the lights go out! Ship Staff QualityThe staff are all so friendly, and not because its their job. Royal Carribean definitly seek out "people persons" to staff their ships. It really shows when you talk to the staff. Which is really nice to be around such friendly people on vacation Entertainment & ActivitiesThe late nite adult comedy shows were Really funny. we watched 3 comedy shows 4 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Cruise, not a family friendly boat, by
A Traveler from Newark Sailing date: Apr 2012Pros: suite with balcony and friendliness of staff on board the ship Cons: lack of family friendly activties The Cruise was nice and relaxing, but besides the kids club and the arcade, there was nothing for kids to do when it was rainy or windy. And we had two full cruising days on the boat with bad weather. The indoor pool was for adults only. They should have allowed the kids to use it in bad weather for designated hours. I have heard larger ships have more activities and areas for kids, just be aware.There was plenty for adults to do at all times. But the average age on our cruise was probably 65 years old. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodThe soups and salads were excellent, but any seafood dishes had very small portions of seafood with a lot of other filler foods on the plate. For instance the scallops in pasta were so small they were almost pea sized and there was only about 6 of them in a large bowl of pasta. Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activitiesneed more family activities, not just bingo and casino tournaments and dance parties Children's ProgramsThe kids club was excellent but only a tiny area of the ship. My son got bored there after only an hour, each time he was there. There is only so much you can do in a small room for each age group. I can't imagine if there was a lot of kids. this cruise there was only 20. The week before they had 400 and 800 kids the week before that. The kids club could only accommodate about 10 from each age group at a time, and that was pushing it. 3 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Good cruise by
A Traveler from Annandale,VA Sailing date: Mar 2012Pros: Staff Cons: Food was bland, entertainment was not kid friendly most of the time We weren't impressed by Royal Carribean. We had sailed Carnival before and it was superior to the Enchantment of the Seas. Ship QualityThe ship was clean but aging. Dining/FoodThere were a lot of choices in the food but the flavor was truly bland. Service was nice in the dining rooms but room service took 45 minutes or more. Stateroom QualityRooms were okay. There was no water in the bathroom one night and a lot a banging going on. Ship Staff QualityStaff was excellent. Entertainment & ActivitiesI thought the entertainment was overall not great. There were many nights of vulgar comedians such as John Joseph. These type of comedians should be listed as adult only. I expected Madagascar themed entertainment but that is false advertisement for only one ship. Children's ProgramsThe kids just played games. There were no crafts or gifts. 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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