Royal Caribbean International
Enchantment of the Seas Cruise Review
Western Caribbean

Ken Trock

Web Site - The Royal Caribbean website can be confusing to use. For example, I’m reasonably sure I took all the proper steps to book an excursion only to turn out that the system never took it. My wife and I were traveling with my bother and his wife and we thought we booked our dining together for the early seating. Again confusion; Mary and I were actually waitlisted for that slot.

Crew - No problems here. Once onboard all of the issues mentioned were easily taken care of. In fact, the crew members we dealt with were nothing but helpful. If I didn’t know better I’d say that our particular voyage was the most important they’ve ever served on. And they run an efficient ship. There are only 3 or 4 passengers to each crew member. Actually I’m told most cruise lines are like this; they have this down to a science.

Ship – I haven’t been on a cruise before so to me the Enchantment of the Seas looked awesome. I understand they enlarged it by literally cutting it in half, putting a new section down the middle and reattaching the 3 pieces. Like they say it’s a floating hotel. The food was excellent. The rock wall was accessible and enjoyable as was the fitness center. Good shows in the theatre. As large as the upper decks are, when half the ship comes up to sun on a day at sea it’s going to get crowded. And don’t make the mistake I made of opening your eyes without wearing goggles in 1 of the swimming pools. That hurt like heck.

Excursions – Our cruise covered the Western Caribbean. This included stops at Key West, Cozumel, and Belize. The trolley ride thru Key West was actually entertaining and informative. We took the dune buggy excursion in Cozumel where we drove the vehicles. That was a fun day snorkeling, doing a little shopping, and being provided with an authentic Mexican lunch on the beach. Hurricane Wilma really did a number on that island. In Belize City the Mayan ruins are a LONG bus ride from the pier. The ruins are a sight to see but in my opinion unless you’re actively interested in that subject matter you try something else. You can also visit ruins in Cozumel.

Summary – This cruise was a good bang for the buck. Royal Caribbean seems to cater to a younger, wilder crowd. For example we couldn’t find a game of bridge, even at the specified get together time. But this was still a good time. I would consider cruising with them again.

Lastly I want to give a shout out to the customs agent who, in a post 9/11 world, showed some discretion and allowed the 2 of us, absolutely American citizens, back in to Ft. Lauderdale at the end of the trip. Let’s just say our papers weren’t completely in order.