We decided that it was time for a quick Cruise out of Miami! Living in Miami made this an easy one for us. While there are many options, there aren’t many that really line up great with taking an 11 year old out of school for an extended period of time. After a lot of searching, fact finding, and viewing other websites, we decided to take the three day cruise to the Bahamas. The cruise left Miami at 6 PM on a Friday and returned at 7 AM on a Monday. If we really hustled, no school would be missed! However, we decided to pull Junior out of school early and start the experience early, as well as stay late and get breakfast in Miami Beach. Today, I’m happy to share with you the full Enchantment of the Seas review. This is a cruise ship owned and operated by Royal Caribbean.
Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas Experience in Review
Needing a three day trip was the key to deciding between several cruise ship options on the weekend that fell on the Super Bowl (more on that later.) The prices varied a bit but wasn’t going to be a factor. Let’s face it, cruises are usually a decent value, especially when we were fresh off a trip to St. Thomas that went very wrong. Word to the wise, don’t stay at the Ritz Carlton in St. Thomas. Read my review if you want to learn exactly why I tell you that. (Luckily, like Bahamas, I did not need my passport stamped in St. Thomas.)
There were several options on the Enchantment of the Seas as far as accommodations, but we ended up choosing the best one (other than the Presidential Suite) and were very happy with it. It was everything we needed, and more. It had an ample bathroom, a bed, and a pullout couch that our friendly host, Chrisanto, was very good at operating. He showed up every night and made sure the little man was ready for bed and pulled out the bed for him so we didn’t have to, which was a nice touch since we didn’t figure out how to operate the thing! There was a curtain that could be closed which separated the bedroom from the pull out couch, so it provided a bit of privacy for anyone looking for that. There was also a bar area and a makeshift closet which wasn’t planned very well, but it sufficed. The way we saw it, the room was nothing more than a place to crash and leave our luggage behind as well as shower and change when needed.
Lastly, there was a deck. It had a table and two chairs, as well as two lounge chairs. It was spacious, and seeing the port, land, and sea was something that added to the experience. We didn’t use it much other than to look out the window when we arrived at various ports, but it was nice having the windows and not being holed up in the middle of the ship.
The cruise ship itself was dated. I didn’t expect a new, luxurious boat or anything like that, so I wasn’t particularly mad at this. Being my first cruise, I didn’t know what to expect. It was a bit of weirdness at first since it felt like I was going back to college from time to time to eat and drink in an assembly hall type deal full of juice machines and all sorts of self serve items. It was a bit of a jam when you wanted something, and overall people are complete savages when they are trying to feed themselves, so it wasn’t a great experience. The food was very mediocre and far from healthy. Sure, there were salad bars, but about every other option on the ship from the dining hall to the room service was fried.
Enchantment of the Seas Ship Details
- The gym was adequate and served it’s purpose. No complaints there.
- The arcade was very dated and had only about 3 games.
- We didn’t use the children’s day care but it was there and looked like it was safe
- The spa had a problem with serving my 11 year old. We had to leave due to that and not enjoy any services. That’s never been a problem before, but I guess everyone has their own policy.
- The pools were there. I’ll stress, we didn’t get in them – too much Spring Break crowd in there swapping spit and spilling drinks for me. I’m normally a pool person versus beach person but this pool wasn’t my jam.
- There are shops on the ship. You can buy about anything you need or forgot, albeit at very inflated prices.
- The casino looked fun, but my son couldn’t get in, so I walked it a lot but never sat down and played. They had a variety of table games and slots that I know from Vegas are legit.
- The “Chops Grille” restaurant was the one we frequented twice. It was a surcharge of $35 per person and I believe a little less for the minor, but it was well worth it. It provided privacy and better service and food when compared to the college style slop line.
The ship had a lot of entertaining going on when we were there. We found that a lot of fun, even if so much for just the people watching aspect of the ordeal. There was a comedian, an art auction, and some match making games. Everyone who participated had a good time by all accounts.
The ship had bingo. We won! It was highly organized and a good time. We just wish there were more games than just one. It was a good time.
With the Super Bowl being played on Sunday night, the ship had numerous viewing destinations, which was expected. What we did not expect was the fact that there was not a regular broadcast, (probably due to international waters rights and contracts) so we didn’t get Joe Buck’s take on what turned out to be one of the great Super Bowls of all time, as well as we missed out on the best part – the commercials! Oh well, I’ll have to Google them.
Royal Caribbean Destinations on This Cruise
CocoCay
This is a private island owned by Royal Caribbean. It was fun! They had their own beach and plenty to do in the gorgeous weather. Loved being there for every single minute. Of course, the drink package transfers over to the island and you can drink to your heart’s content. Just watch out for the sun, it can get you!
Nassau
This was a great stop for us. While we didn’t find much to do other than Atlantis, that’s all we needed. Waterslides, a lazy river, a casino, and good eating was all welcome. This does come with a price tag, but it’s well worth it for a full day of entertainment. Like everything else on the islands of the Caribbean, the service was horse shit. However, we figured things out and tried to stay calm.
Everything from screwing up drinks to taking way too long to do routine tasks really ate at us, but again, we bit our tongues and just tried to enjoy every minute of the vacation. I highly recommend Atlantis. We took the last two hours of our day trip to Nassau to walk around and didn’t find anything other than run down beach bars. In that sense, it reminded me of Red Hook in St. Thomas, where we found the glorious watering hole Duffy’s Love Shack. We tried Senor Frogs, but it was full and didn’t look like it was super kid friendly, and then stopped at another bar next to Fat Tuesday’s. We also briefly stopped by the Bearded Clam to get a shirt, but the sizes were all a mess so we kept walking. After getting some ice cream from a street vendor, we boarded the ship and prepared for the Super Bowl.
About Tim
Tim Schmidt is an Entrepreneur who helps companies grow their online business. A firm believer in creating great content, he founded AllWorld.com to empower world travelers. You can also find his work published at the Huffington Post, Social Media Today, and many other online journals. His latest claim to fame is having his footage of feeding giant crocodiles in Costa Rica featured on Animal Planet. Visit his official site to learn more about him.
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