melmar02

We were gifted dinner at Chops on Enchantment, and we thought the petite filets were pretty tasty - tender and well seasoned. The mushroom soup and crab cake were great, too. Did the fact that the meal was free make a difference? Maybe. But we all agreed the sides were just... eh.

I agree with @luv2sail, I would feel trapped in an interior. We also spend quite a bit of time in our cabin. It seems everyone in my family needs a place to go every afternoon on a cruise that is just us - no people, no din from across the bar, no flashing lights seeping into our view. My autistic daughter especially needs time to reset, and the balcony gives us one more place to go when we're having quiet time. Plus, DH is up around 4:30 every morning, even on vacation. Poor guy might have an "accident" if we didn't have room to spread out a little and have a space further from the bed for him to read than what's offered in an interior. ? Bottom line, we would hate being in an interior and to be honest would wait until we could swing the balcony or *gasp* take a land vacation.

There isn't a limit. Enjoy!

We homeschool so we schedule our vacations for when things are usually less busy. I guess it would be easier academically to take kids out of school at the beginning of the year when it's mostly review as opposed to the spring when they're learning all new material though.

I didn't get an exact date, but he told me 6 weeks about a week ago.

We cruised the first week of September, and I was surprised at the number of kids on board. They weren't overrunning the ship, but there were always a lot in Adventure Ocean when we dropped off and picked up my kids.

I just got off Enchantment on Wednesday. The letter from our concierge said both Diamond Plus and Pinnacles were welcome in addition to the suite guests. I was worried it would be crowded since the lounge is really small, like 30 chairs small, but it was really empty for the 5 days we were on. The Diamond Lounge overlooks the Viking Crown, and from what I could see, it appeared pretty empty too. As a side, Jorge was amazing! We're really sad his contract is up in about 5 weeks, because we'll be back on Enchantment in May. We're crossing our fingers that his contract gets extended on this ship!

We added two! May 25, 2020 on Enchantment to Cozumel and Jan 24, 2021 on Jewel to Key West, Nassau, and Cocoa Cay.

Does her ID have your address on it? You could email a scan of her driver's license. Maybe a bill?

Other shots from around the ship. I think that's all, folks. If you have any questions about the ship, I'm happy to help.

Our towel animals from this week. MIL's birthday cake, Jack the rabbit, Bruno the bear, Tusks the elephant, Fred the ?, and Kong the primate of some sort.

Final thoughts on the cruise The two br suite is still the right call for our family. With our just off enough sleep cycles we really like having a place for the early risers to go so the rest of us can continue to sleep. This set up also give our autistic DD a place to decompress in the afternoon by skipping around the living room with the tv on while an adult takes a nap in a bedroom with a door to close out the noise she needs to make. The forward GT suites on this ship have a bit of a weird design at the entrance of the cabin. The narrow hall has three doors that all open into the hall along with the make up vanity chair all before you get into the open living room. This means when entering the room, if anyone stops to go into the bedroom, put something in the closet, or drop something off at the little counter, everyone else has to come to a complete stop and wait. There's no wiggle room especially if someone is sitting at the counter getting ready. The interior of the ship is pretty well maintained. If you looked hard, you could find an issue. For instance, there was a little rotting of the wood at the bottom of our living room window, one of our balcony doors wouldn't lock (our room steward said maintenance had looked at it and couldn't figure out how to fix it), and the metal brackets that held the rail the exterior window cleaner runs on were all really rusted. However, all the decor and public spaces were just as up to date and clean as Liberty was in September. They were actively painting railings while we were in port. I didn't think the outside looked too bad; she just looks like she's been in the water 20 years. The beds were the best we've had on our four cruises. Liberty's seemed like camping mats compared to Enchantment's. No sagging, and a middle of the road level of firmness. We all slept well. I've read several reviews that say the service is a level above on this ship. With the exception of a couple of really stand out crew members, it just seemed like the same good level of service we've had on every other Royal ship. Jorge the concierge will get a huge mention in our survey. Yopi our room steward was good, but we had an amazing room steward back in September who set the bar higher for everyone else. The MDR service was really slow, and I do think that part of that is how the room is set. It seemed all the 2 and 4 tops were together and and all the 6+ tops were together. It was hard for our waiters to keep up with the 12 top to the right and left, us, and the other big table or two in our vicinity. The head waiter was working hard to help, but it was just too much. MIL asked for salsa in Chops at breakfast on day one which they didn't have, and we didn't eat breakfast there again until the last day. Our waitress apologized over and over, as she had made sure salsa was there for MIL days 2-4 and just thought we weren't coming back again on day 5. It was nice that she made a note and was prepared for MIL's special request, even if we weren't there. MDR breakfast service seemed like it was used as training for the assistant waiters - we didn't see any waiters. It really showed at times. Food, subjectively of course, seemed better on Liberty. They really like raw onions on this ship, and meats in the WJ were overcooked every time we ate there. The kids liked AO on this ship even though it was smaller. That's a bonus in my daughter's eyes anyway. They went every morning session except for the day we were in Cozumel. Overall we had a wonderful time - enough to book that short 4 day back on Enchantment in May. Since it's just going to be me and DH, I'm sure it will be a completely different experience as far as our activities go. We're looking forward to the late night shows and quest that we just don't get to when the rest of the family is with us. 102 days to go!

Forgot to mention how we got off the ship. The gangways still weren't working, so they connected the ship to the dock with the little metal gangways like you use in port. We exited on deck one, walked across the dock, and entered the terminal through a side door right into the luggage area.

Nothing is required. We keep our tetanus boosters current - you never know what you might step on at the beach.

We were escorted off the ship by Joege and made it to our car around 11:00am. We dropped MIL off at Hobby airport, and she decided the fare change of $200 to move up her flight wasn't worth it. I called the hotel to see if we could check in early, and they said they could have the room ready in an hour. It was noon, and we were going through major cruise food withdrawals since we hadn't eaten in 5 hours. Off to Chuey's by the hotel! We're a predictable bunch - offer Mexican food and we'll take it every time! We checked in, unloaded the luggage, and told the kids we were taking a nap. 2 hours later, and here we are. This room is set up a little different than the other 2 br suites we have been in at this hotel. The previous rooms have felt backwards. Now the master suite is actually a master suite with the bathroom inside it. The second bathroom is accessible from the main living space, and they put the two doubles in the smaller bedroom. This leaves a lot of dead space in the master bedroom (they could put in little seating area), but it feels like it should in my opinion. Final thoughts on the cruise to come a little later when I'm staring at a washing machine.

There was just an announcement that the gangways aren't working "due to the weather". We're here...but trapped onboard. ?

Pulling up to the terminal now.

Last night ended with two rounds of trivia in the Schooner Bar accompanied by two grapefruit habanero daiquiris. The first was all grapefruit, so I ordered the second one extra spicy, and it was perfect. We didn't want a long dinner, so we went up to the Windjammer for a quick bite and then went back to the room to pack. The kids were interested in heading to AO, but by the time we finished filling our suitcases they were ready for bed. We all called it a night. This morning we woke up to fog. We brought our carry on bags to Chops for breakfast because the ship was still moving, and that's our departure lounge. As soon as we were seated the announcement was made that the port was closed and we were dropping anchor. We would be delayed for at least 2 hours and everyone could go back to their cabins if they wanted. However, the anchor was back up by the time we finished breakfast. The captain said we were coming into the berth at a reduced speed, and it would be about an hour and 45 minutes before we docked. MIL's flight isn't until 3:00pm. She was going to try to catch a 1:00pm flight instead, and now that we're moving again, she can still probably make that happen. We have no real plans for the rest of the day other than a little laundry at the hotel. But, for now we are comfortably spread out in our room, where we can finally see land, waiting for the announcement to go back to Chops.

Sadly we've reached our last full sea day, but fortunately it is beautiful! The seas calmed overnight again. And we were ready to take on the day. DS requested breakfast in the Windjammer. It was breakfast in the Windjammer - not bad, not great, but a good breakfast buffet. We managed to go when it wasn't too crowded. After we ate, the kids hit AO and we all went to the casino where we all made donations to Royal Caribbean. ? We had the Suite Cocktail party at 11:15am, so we used that as an excuse to stop opening our wallets. On Liberty the event was held on the first sea day, which I think I prefer. The officers would see you around the ship the rest of the week and talk to you. There's no real chance for that in this case. The good was on display and self serve as opposed to passed on Liberty. I liked this because I could go back for seconds of my favorites. ? DS wanted a snack when I picked up the kids, so we quietly walked through the Solarium to visit Park Cafe and grab him a slice of pizza. Now DH and MIL are napping and DD is getting her daily dose of RCTV. Ds and I are at the pool, soaking up the last bit of warm sunshine before it's back to 40 degree weather. It looks like a lot of people had the same idea this afternoon - it's pretty packed.

Forgot to mention we saw a turtle from our balcony as we were about to dock in Costa Maya. DD was in heaven!

Yesterday was our stop in Cozumel. We were going to Paradise Beach, so we took our time getting ready and ate breakfast in the MDR. We got off the ship around 9:30am and caught a taxi for 5 to the beach. It's $17 for a cab for 4, $21 for 5 people. We went all inclusive again, but it wasn't worth it this time. The kids didn't eat near as much as last time, and somehow the grown ups didn't drink as much either. We spent most of our time at the pool and everyone had a great time. Around 2:00pm we made our way back to the ship, and got ready for the evening. We had an appointment with Next Cruise at 4:30 pm but no other plans. Mimi's going on another cruise with us! We booked the 7 day on Jewel from Galveston to Key West, Nassau, and Cocoa Cay. For DH and my date-cation we went with something that worked better with DH work schedule. We're taking a 4 day on Enchantment from Galveston to Cozumel. We'll drive down on Sunday, embark on Memorial Day, disembark that Friday which he also has off work. He only has to take 3 days off, so it was a winner for us. After that we went to the suite lounge where it was starting to get a little rocky again as soon as we pulled away from the dock. We went to the Windjammer and we were all stumbling around too much. DH helped MIL get her plate while the kids and I found a table. By the time they got back with her food, DS was feeling queasy. I took him back to the room. The rest of the family decided they didn't want to eat anything, so they were just a few minutes behind us. DD and I ordered grilled cheese sandwiches from room service, and everyone went to bed early again. The first picture is the full moon peeking out from behind the clouds as the sun is rising on the other side of the ship.

We're actually on Enchantment out of Galveston. I think Grandeur is somewhere along the east coast right now? Baltimore maybe? I'm not sure what her secret is, but everytime I have gambled with her, she has won...maybe I'm her lucky charm!

Dinner last night is a bit of a long story. I had been in contact with Jorge, the suite concierge, before the cruise about setting up a couple of surprises for Mimi's birthday. We ordered her some chocolate covered strawberries, and because we were planning on eating in the MDR the whole cruise, he was going to have the wait staff sing her happy birthday on night 1 which was her actual birthday. When we stopped in the suite lounge on night one, Jorge waited until MIL went to look at the food and came over to me to say he had confirmed her surprise song in the MDR. He looked so excited - like my son when we talk about Christmas! Well...it didn't happen. Somewhere there was a breakdown in communication. It really wasn't a big deal as she wasn't expecting it, and she was having a wonderful time. I mentioned it to him brfore we left the ship on day 3, and I emphasized that we were fine that it didn't happen, we just wanted him to be aware that somewhere the wires got crossed. He was so upset and said it was unacceptable (my DH'S favorite saying at the office when someone doesn't meet their commitments) and that he would fix the issue. Again, not a big deal. He called last night saying how embarrassed he was and offered us all complimentary dinner at Chops. We're in! He stopped by during the meal with a bottle of champagne, and then our head waiter stopped by with one of the gifts and gear cakes and had the waiters at Chops sing to my MIL. We thought all of this was above and beyond, and we went to bed with very happy tummies. ?

I think she's pretty cute! Yes, they gave us instructions. DD still got a couple scratches and I was bit pretty hard. They loved it though!

She is loving every minute!