Enchantment of the Seas Anniversary Cruise 2020 March 2020 Disclaimer
In March 2020 Chris and I took a 4 day Mexican cruise aboard the Enchantment of the Seassailing out of Galveston, TX. This was our 5th time to sail
Royal Caribbean but never on such a TINY ship! This floating hotel took us to the following destinations:
Cozumel, Mexico
Progreso, Mexico (due to the fog delay leaving Galveston)
The Enchantment of the Seas... Our home away from home for the next 4 days!
I have been on 17 other cruises prior to this one and Chris has been on 15 (thanks to the Girls Cruise); 10 with Carnival, 4with Royal Caribbean, 2 with Norwegian and1 withPrincess. This blog will include an updated review of theCarnival Dream (and what we have noticed both good and bad since 2017), daily entries of our 5 days aboard, a "Foodies" blog highlighting all of the food options available on the Carnival Dream, a post linking all of the FunTimesas well as an extensive photo review of the ship. Thank you SO MUCH to all my followers... without you the blog would not be as popular as it is today! Be sure to stay tuned as the posts come through over the next few days and weeks.
Once again, thank you for following along! I hope this has helped some fellow cruisers in their planning! Up Next… Liberty of the Seas 3 (with the kids) April 2020
Liberty of the Seas- October 2020
Adventure of the Seas- November 2020 Adventure of the Seas- February 2021
We are true foodies and love trying new things while on a cruise ship as well as enjoying our favorites. TheEnchantment of the Seasoffered a variety of dining options including numerous complimentary dining venues.
I am going to highlight all of the Lido/ Complimentary deck offerings and the Main Dining Room. We did not dine at Chops this cruise as eating was just not our main goal ;) !
Chris and I cruise frequently and enjoy "rating" each menu item from 1-5 with 2.5 being what you would expect from a restaurant on land. We consider a 4.0 to be about standard for most cruise food!I realize that food is VERY subjective but we enjoy reviewing these menu items to help us remember what we do like for future voyages.
RATING SYSTEM
1- awful and would be fast-food level quality (McDonald's or Taco Bell)
2- decent on land offering
2.5- par for land meals (Chili's and Red Lobster)
3- Upscale land restaurant quality
4.0- standard for cruise industry food
5.0- One of the best foods (of the corresponding category) we have ever had Windjammer Marketplace Buffet (Forward Deck 9) This Windjammer was smaller than one we have sailed on with Royal Caribbean. The food was typical buffet food but we were not impressed! OVERALL Rating- 2.5
Embarkation Day Lunch (The offerings were pretty good but overall we were not thrilled with the taste)
Port Day Lunch offerings (I did think it was cute and funny that is was "Latin/ Mexican Food Day" on the day we were in Mexico.) Park Cafe (Aft Deck 9) This is a FREE offering that is open for breakfast, late lunch and late night snacks. It has pizza, sandwiches, soups, hot dogs and even a "made to order" salad bar. This was something we LOVED when we sailed on the Serenade of the Seas in 2015 and this one did not disappoint! The pizza was especially good and the roast beef sandwiches lived up to the hype! OVERALL Rating- 4.0
The pizza changed from day to day but we loved it ALL!
The sandwich and dessert display at Park Cafe. The sandwich offerings changed daily as well but the desserts were pretty much standard throughout the cruise! My Fair Lady Main Dining Room (Deck 4-5 Aft) This was a nice sized dining room for the size of the ship and the service was some of the best we have experienced on Royal Caribbean or any cruise line for that matter. The food was delicious and exquisitely plated for an overall wonderful experience. (We did not dine in the MDR on Night #1 as the fog delay had messed with our eating times and we were just not hungry at 8PM, since we ate lunch at 3:30PM. However, we have the remaining nights menus and options) OVERALL Rating- 4.5 MDR Breakfast Offerings MDR Sea Day & Port Breakfasts We went into this cruise knowing we wanted to eat in the MDR as much as possible, just to try it all and we LOVED it! The service was so fast, we could not have gone through the Windjammer line and found a seat in the time our food was delivered! It was AWESOME! The pastry basket was much better than usual and offered donuts, muffins, croissants and so much more! They were all fantastic!
Cheddar Cheese Grits- 4.0 Chris liked these a lot!
Huevos Rancheros- 3.0 These were nothing special but were tasty!
Crab Huevos Rancheros-5.0 Holy Smokes Batman! Where have these been my whole life! These were the best breakfast food we had on this cruise... or any cruise I can think of! Do yourself a favor... order this! It is a Daily Special on Sea Day #1.
Pancakes- 3.5 These were good and rich!
Made to Order Omelets- 4.0
These were great and I love that I can order them the way I want and not have to stand in line to get them! (The waiter did say that these take a little longer than other things on the menu but we had time most days! But do know this going into ordering an omelet!)
MDR Lunch Offerings MDR Sea Day Lunch (Sea Day #1) This has the BEST menu overall of any days and any cruise lines... In my personal opinion! Tutti Salad Bar- 4.5 I LOVE this so much! My favorite thing Royal Caribbean does in the MDR. The Mushroom Soup- 4.5 For whatever reason, this is ALWAYS delicious and never disappoints!
The Berrimundi Fish- 3.5 Chris really enjoyed this more than the previous time. The flavor was wonderful!
Tomato Risotto- 5.0 This is my favorite thing I have ever had on a cruise ship! The flavors are to die for and the seafood on top is just superb! This is why we even go to the MDR on a Sea Day!
Banana Cream Puff- 4.5 Once again, this one NEVER disappoints!
MDR Dinner Offerings Night #2 (Formal Night)
Formal Night Menu
Seafood Vol-Au-Vent- 4.5
Another RCCL favorite that never disappoints!
The flavors of all of the different types of seafood on top of the crispy pastry is just amazing!
Lobster Bisque- 5.0 This is a GO-TO Staple for me and it was so, so good!
Roasted Beef Tenderloin- 4.0 This was something new for me but Chris orders it EVERY time. This was such a tender cut of meat that I could cut it with my fork! The flavor was spot on too!
Creme Brulee- 4.0
This was so good, as usual!
Carrot Cake- 4.0 Chris was not as impressed as he had been on previous RCCL cruises!
MDR Night #3
Arugula and Radicchio Salad- 3.5 CHRIS ordered this! Say, What? But he actually ate it all and said he liked it... for a salad!
RCCL Famous ESCARGOT- 5.0 This is another STAPLE for me when cruising RCCL. And Royal Caribbean offers this EVERY NIGHT!
Seafood Cake- 3.0 This was not as good as I remember it being but was tasty!
Lasagna Al Forno- 3.0 I ordered this as an appetizer side (You can do that with ALL pasta dishes) and was so glad that I did. It just was not as good as I remember!
Roasted Chicken- 3.5 Chris was not too impressed but he did like the sides that went alongside of them!
Chicken Cordon Bleu- 4.5 Chris really enjoyed this!
Creamy Wild Mushroom Risotto-4.5 I was told at a Q&A one time that this is the same recipe that is served at Giovannis (The Italian Specialty restaurant on Royal Caribbean ships) and since then I have ordered it EVERY TIME because Giovanni's Mushroom Risotto is good enough to... SLAP YO' MAMA! And this one was just as good! ORDER IT! ORDER IT!
Creme Brulee- 3.0 I was so full from the above that I ate 2 bites... Maybe! But it was still really good!
MDR Night #4
Fried Calimari- 4.0 This was a great appetizer and for whatever reason, our waiter, Chris, brought our table and the neighboring tables multiple orders without us asking. They were good enough to eat the 2-3 shares we received from him.
Cream of Mushroom Soup- 4.0 This is always a hit with us on Royal Caribbean and this time did not disappoint!
Prime Rib- 4.5 Chris loved this and said if he could have, he would have ordered a 2nd!
New York Strip Steak- 4.0 This was a very good steak but it didn't wow me, like I wanted it to!
Apple Pie a la Mode- 4.5 This was a new dessert for us to try on Royal Caribbean. Chris liked it a LOT!
Vanilla Ice Cream- 2.0 Let me tell you... It was NOT Blue Bell!
OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THE FOOD
Royal Caribbeandid an amazing job with the service in the Main Dining Room and the food was superb in the dining room as well. The Windjammer was lacking, even for a buffet, in our opinion but the Park Cafe made up for that. We enjoyed the food on this cruise but it was not our main goal.
We like to choose our favorites from the trip! Kellie
Favorite Appetizer-Escargot
Favorite Entree- Beef Tenderloin
Favorite Dessert- Creme Brulee
Biggest Surprise- Crabcake Eggs Benedict
Biggest Disappointment-Windjammer overall
Chris
Favorite Appetizer-Calamari
Favorite Entree- Chicken Cordon Bleu
Favorite Dessert- Apple Pie a la Mode
Biggest Surprise- Breakfast Overall
Biggest Disappointment-Lunch in MDR
We love cruising and EATING on cruises. We use this blog as means for us to know what to order on future cruises and it is fun to look through and get our mouth watering while we are dieting!
We woke up around 8:30AM and both of us had slept better
than the previous nights. As I mentioned
in a previous post, the beds were HARD... but not the hardest we have slept on while
cruising with Royal Caribbean. INSIDERS INFO- Royal is notorious
to having hard beds! It is a crap shoot but if you’re lucky, you’ll get a good
one that is softer than the floor.
We got ready for the day and then went to the My
Fair Lady Dining Room for another full-service breakfast. The service
was not as fast as the previous days, but we did not arrive until after 9AM so
we figured it was due to the lateness of our arrival. The food was superb once
again.
No matter the cruise line and no matter the ship, there is always repairs to be made! Thank you Royal Caribbean for keeping your ships "ship shape".
By mid-morning we headed down to Deck 5 to walk the Promenade
and get a video of the promenade area. During this time, the Cruise Director
came on the speaker to let us know that some of the crew members would be
testing the life boats for the next hour or so.
The officers and crew getting ready for the Life Boat drill! We had never seen this done on a moving ship and on a sea day! It was neat!
We were able to get a
time-lapse video of the starboard side of the Promenade deck, but we
were not able to walk all the way around the promenade deck as we had
hoped!
The time-lapse of the PORT side of the Promenade!
We learned there were 5 different service dogs on board. There is a even a space for the dogs to relieve themselves on the Promenade deck. It is very interesting!
The calm before the storm... The seas were almost as if they were glass around 10AM.
These were very calm seas! It made for a PERFECT Sea Day!
My FAVORITE view EVER!
The crew was working on the something with the life rafts so this was blocked off!
This was the best view I could get of the wake since the VERY BACK was closed. This was still absolutely PERFECT! I cannot get enough of this!
We love Sea Days!
Another great picture taken from the Promenade deck!
After we explored the Promenade Deck we went back up to
the Lido
but couldn’t find Richard, so we found a spot at the Oasis Bar, mid-ship Lido.
We met another nice bar tender from Jamaica who was on his very last day of his contract. He had been with RCCLfor nearly a decade and had left his wife and
girls too many times to count. He told us about his 3 little girls and just
thinking of leaving my kids for more than a week at a time makes me cry so
much. And he has had over a dozen contracts and did just that… left his family MANY
TIMES! He was tearing up as he was telling us the stories. It makes you really appreciate the crew members that serve you non-stop
for the duration of your cruise. Thank you, Crew Members. Thank you so much!
The Oasis Bar on the Lido Deck.
#TeachersonBreak
We then went up to the Viking Crown Lounge for a bit but
realized that there was not any bar service and other service, so we decided to
go to Boleros on Deck 5. We met some more wonderful and friendly crew
members at Boleros and we stayed there for over 2 hours. One of the
officers was in Boleros and we talked to him for quite a while about the
cruising industry and he was very impressed with the amount of information we
knew. It was great talking to him about the various brands and cruise lines he
had worked with. This officer had his wife on board working as well and he
called her “the tax collector”. It
was so hilarious!
While we were in Boleros the activities staff came
and set up a game of “Giant Pong” on
the dance floor so we decided to participate. We had no idea what this was but
that made it even more interesting! That was… FUN! We did not do well, and both
got out in the 1st round of the game but it was an unexpected fun
event.
This was a game that we would have done better at had we not had the drink package.
Chris playing "Giant Pong" in Boleros! It was harder than we thought it would be!
And it was now my turn! This was difficult!
AFTERNOON
We decided to go to a late lunch in the Windjammer since we had
the 8PM set dining time. Once again, I was not impressed with the Windjammer,
but it worked for what we needed it to. After lunch we decided to go back to
our stateroom to take a mid-afternoon nap.
We woke up at 4:30PM and went to Viking Crown Lounge. By
this time, the cold front we were “passing through” had made its way to us and
it was WINDY and very cold. The Captain had already put the stabilizers to good
use and we were not swaying as much as I would have thought but it was intense
to say the very least.
A view of the very choppy seas from the Viking Crown Lounge around 6PM.
When we got back to the stateroom we realized the ship was on a course that seemed a bit off. Chris thinks the Captain was trying to "skirt" the storm and go around it instead of through it.
EVENING
We spent a few hours in the Viking Crown Lounge before going
back to our stateroom and getting ready for dinner. Even as we were in our
cabin getting ready, we could start to feel the swaying of the ship even more
than before. It was incredibly windy and the ship “was a rocking”.
One last towel animal from our stateroom steward.
We went to dinner in the My Fair Lady Dining Room
at 8PM and once again the service was top notch. I had been feeling so much
better now that I had adjusted back to eating regularly that our waiter, Chris,
brought us additional appetizers and even accidentally brought me 2 steaks. The
whole dining room staff was fantastic, and we enjoyed eating at the set dining
time of 8PM. In fact, we decided we would
try this type of MDR service on our upcoming cruise with the kids on the Liberty of the Seas in April 2020.
Prime Rib... What a great way to end our cruise!
BE SURE TO CHECK BACK FOR OUR FOODIE BLOG! It will have menus, pictures and even some ratings to help you choose what to order!
After dinner we went back to the room to start to pack our
bags and we were falling over getting back to our forward cabin. The seas were
MUCH worse, and the tiny little ship was just swaying back and forth so much.
As we sat on the bed and watched some news, we were close to getting “air” on
the bed. It was so intense.
We left our room to go to the late-night adult comedy in the
Main
Theater and most of the passengers were having a hard time walking down
the hallway, the ship was swaying so bad. As we got to the Main Theater, we were
just swaying back and forth ourselves. In fact, we saw an older gentleman in
the balcony of the Main Theater nearly fall over the railing getting to his seat.
My blood pressure jumped sky high watching him nearly fall over.
This is not a great view but the curtain does show how rough the seas were!
The comedian was the same from the previous nights, which we
found hilarious, but this time he was just not that funny. He may have been
feeling the swaying of the ship as well. We left early to go back to our room
to put out our luggage for debarkation the following morning.
The rest of the night was very shaky, rocky and the ship
just kept swaying back and forth and back and forth. We felt the movement of
the ship more than usual, but this was the lowest and most forward cabin we
have had in many, many cruises, if not our most forward and lowest. This is something
we noticed and something we will remember when booking future cruises. TIP- In our experience, mid-ship is the best room location
and the higher the deck, the better.
We called it a night shortly after midnight, but we could
still feel the swaying of the ship well into the night. In fact, it took me
several hours to fall asleep. Luckily, we are not people who get seasick, but the movement
of the ship keeps me awake most of the time and this time was no different.
It was a great last day on board the Enchantment
of the Seas and a wonderful cruise overall, but it was time to face
reality and get back to “life as we know it”. The life of the “mom and dad taxi and chauffer”.
These kids got to get to practice and games somehow!
Next Up… Easy Debarkation from the Enchantment
of the Seas!
