We're leaving for our first cruise next Friday and was wondering if I could get some feedback.
(1) We are taking the Enchantment of the Seas and I've seen and heard aboaut the changes made to the ship. I've been trying to keep up on reviews since she went back to sea and haven't seen anything since her repositioning. Any comments on her would be appreciated.
(2) I recently read when taking a caribbean cruise to book a cabin on the port side of the ship. Can anyone tell me which side of the ship is the port side?
(3) Lastly, we will be going to Ochos Rios and Grand Cayman. I was wondering if we were to take shore excursions that were only a couple of hours for example from the cruise line, can you take a second shore excursion sponsored by them on the same day?
1. Sorry don't know anything about Enchantment, but it sounds.......enchanting...
2. LEFT is port (port four letters left) STARBOARD is right (five letters RIGHT) just playing around, I know starboard has seven letters.
3. Ocho Rios is a beautiful place. Walking up the Dunns River Falls is fun, been there a couple of times. We've done the Sting Ray City Tour in Grand Cayman. I was skeptical before going on it, but it was very cool. The sting rays are very friendly, eat from your hand, and not dangerous if you follow directions. BUT I don't know that you could get anything else in. Two excursions would be fairly exhausting, unless one of them was laying on the beach which you could do at Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman.
When you are in Grand Cayman, leave some time to walk around the city because it is very interesting to see this banking center's architecture. Also see the parliament building. You can spend part of the day at the beach (check with the cruise staff such as the entertainers, waiters, pursers) as to the beach that they go to. Some of the hotels will let you use their beach but you need to check further on this.
Thanks Lost Cajun. I'll have to remember port is 4 letters and starboard is "5". Also, thanks for the ideas about what to do. We are also a bit unsure about the stingrays. One of the things I want to do in Grand Cayman is to go to Seven Mile Beach.
Fred --
I never really thought about checking out the architecture but I have to admit when I was in Europe, it just amazed me how beautiful things were. I also hadn't thought to ask the entertainers, etc. -- Great idea. Thanks again.
I would highly recommend Seagrape Beach on 7-Mile Beach on Grand Cayman. It has a bar right on the beach, lounge chairs and a restaurant. There is not a hotel nearby, so it is never very crowded.
Debbie:
I think your question was could you go on two excursions on same day at the same stop? I believe you can; you'd have to make sure there was enough time between excursions for catch the shuttle or get to the meeting place for the second excursion.
Feeding the stingrays is an exciting and fun excursion. We did that at Grand Cayman. One word of caution I believe from the tour guide, if/when you hold the "food" for the stingrays to smell, eat, be careful or you may have a "hicky" to explain to others!
Lostcajun, thanks for the reminder how to differentiate between the port and starboard side! That helps!
My family was on Enchantment in August after the refurb.
I can tell you that ship is in outstanding shape and the crew was fantastic. It was our first cruise, and we had a blast. There is plenty to do - and with the added size - you never feel crowded - especially up on the sun deck with two pools + a splash pool area that atracts the children.
I was not a huge fan of the way the Wind Jammer was set-up. Everything is in a circle pattern - so there really is not defined start or end points to food lines. I was constantly worried about the impression of "cutting" in front of people - but I am not really sure how you could tell.
My best advise is to eat more toward the "off hour" in the Wind Jammer is possible. We found the later lunch, or "snack" to much quieter and easier to navigate around.
You could probably put two shore excursions in a day but I question whether you'd want to. A cruise is a good place to just wind down and relax.
We don't even plan excursions anymore. We get a taxi and ask the driver where he'd go. We have yet to find one that didn't ask us questions about what we like and then take us to something wonderful.
I have to agree what Marian wrote.
Its your vacation, donīt plan too much.
In the caribbean itīs the best and cheapest way to take a taxi that drives you around.
They have taxi dispatchers in every port close to the ships and they can give you advices.
You can prepare yourself watching the shore excursion on the special channel on tv in your stateroom and than decide what you would prefer.
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