zwosh

We have been living our lives this whole time and hadn’t gotten COVID. Then we went on a cruise and got it. I do think being on a ship or on land makes a difference. We play, we pay, I guess.

Hi! We got off of an 8-night on Enchantment on Friday morning. My husband tested positive yesterday (Sunday) and my daughter today (both symptomatic). My other daughter and I are just waiting. I’m curious how many others have tested positive right after sailing. We have avoided it until now and have been very careful. You let your guard down to have a good vacation and boom.

Hi all! This is our first cruise. We wanted to do an easy vacation after moving back to Maryland a few months ago. We’re about an hour from Baltimore, so Enchantment it was! We are on night 7 of an 8-night cruise. We really love this ship. We were looking for a relaxing vacation and we found it! My husband and I have found that relaxing on the pool deck or deck 10 are what we really needed. We have done some trivia and we go to watch karaoke. We have been enjoying Giles in the piano bar (Schooner’s) and just walking around the ship at night. We’ve been to all the headliner shows in the Orpheum as a family and we’ve all thoroughly enjoyed all of them. We could be doing the classes and the game shows and such, but we’re really enjoying our chill time on the deck. Our girls are 11 and 13 and they are having an absolute blast with all of the new cruise friends they’ve made. There may not be all of the bells and whistles of the bigger ships, but we are having a ton of fun and also chilling out. It’s been an amazing family vacation so far! We would definitely sail this itinerary again… Baltimore, Bermuda, Coco Cay. Other details: Husband has the Refreshment Package (which includes Starbucks beverages and Frappuccinos on this shop because there is no standalone Starbucks). Nobody else has a drink package. We’ve ordered mocktails and such and I’ve tried them with no problem. There aren’t any bracelets or anything like that. I brought a covered cup with a straw that I use for water, iced tea, lemonade, or whatever comes out of the juice machine. Highly recommend doing that. The kids haven’t cared one bit that they don’t have the soda package because they just go get whatever drink comes out of the juice machine whenever they want. (The teen club which is sort of their HQ is right above the Windjammer where all the drinks are.) We brought two bottles of wine onboard and have only had one so far. Not that we aren’t drinkers (we’ve bought a few drinks) and have done mocktails (all the calories without the fun haha) but I knew if we got the alcohol package I’d be trying to make it “worth it” and would suffer the consequences the next morning. All of the staff are amazing and our steward knew our names from Day 1. Inacio has been awesome! I was really worried that we had late dining because I booked the cruise late. We were able to call a week before the cruise and switch to My Time Dining. But guess what? We went the first night and haven’t been back. It was great, but there is so much (surprising!) variety at the Windjammer plus the ability to have multiple desserts LOL that we have just been going there. We went to Horseshoe Beach in Bermuda. Do not buy the $39 “excursion”! It’s $7/person when you get off the ship. Super easy! Bring cash. They use American money. Also, the shops close very early (even with our ship in port overnight on a weekend!). If you want a T-shirt, get it before 5 or you will end up with a shirt from a pub near the ship. Very cool, but if you didn’t eat there, you may not want a shirt from there. Perfect Day at Coco Cay: Oasis OTS got there a couple of hours earlier than we did, so a lot of the chairs were taken. We ended up first getting chairs by the beach but after we went in (wasn’t great for beach fun swimming because there were no waves and there was a lot of gross seaweed and rocks and stuff) we moved to the pool. We didn’t do the big waterslides (it was $140 pp for our sailing and we would’ve all had to buy tix because they aren’t 14) and my girls had so much fun doing everything else that they didn’t miss it. After seeing the number of stairs to the top of that thing, I’m not sure I would’ve done it more than once anyway LOL!). Here’s some stuff you definitely want to bring with you: - pump hand soap - hoodie - magnetic hooks (I already have a second set of these in my cart for next time LOL) - more tank dresses/coverups than you think… easy to just throw on so you can go to eat #1 Observation: NOBODY CARES WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE. Please just be comfy and enjoy your time and get your tan on! Happy cruising! Feel free to ask me any questions and I’ll do my best to answer. I was so stressed out before we came but all of those stresses are gone!

Hi all! We are on our first cruise right now and I wanted to put this into the universe for future searchers. I read everything I could on here before the trip, so I thought it might help someone. There is no standalone Starbucks on Enchantment of the Seas, so when you go to Cafe Latte-tudes, you can get Starbucks drinks, including Frappuccinos, with your Refreshment Package.

Just to add for those trying to learn more or figuring out their chances or trying to figure out the algorithm lol... First-time cruisers, here. We booked an Ocean View room on Enchantment around 60 days out from our 6/16 sailing. We received our RoyalUp invite on 5/20. I didn't read the email until later and after researching everything here, I placed 4 bids on 6/7 (all at a few dollars over minimum, considered "weak") for Ocean View Balcony, Jr Suite, 1 BR Grand Suite, and 2 BR Grand Suite. Owner's Suite was also an option. At the time, I did a few fake bookings and it said everything was sold out except the 2 BR GS. I received notification yesterday (6/9... so 2 days later and 7 days out from sailing) that our bid for the Ocean View Balcony was accepted (!!). The others now all show as "expired" and I am unable to place any bids, including for the Owner's Suite. Minimum bid on OVB was $350 pp. I bid $360 pp. It was definitely a "bargain" compared to if I would've done it when I booked. I am so thankful because now that it is closer, I really started getting worried that we were going to regret not having a balcony (we have two girls, 11 and 13, so all four of us in one room for 8 nights...). I'm actually starting to get excited now vs. being anxious.

Thank you so much, Mary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was the exact post I needed! My girls are 13 and 11, but the 11 y.o. will be 12 a couple of weeks after we sail and I can't imagine her in the younger kids club or without her sister! She also looks older than my actual teen and is taller than me. I will be extra nice and ask if she can play with the big kids. Thanks for this post! It made me feel a little bit better that they might be flexible.

Hi! First-time family cruisers here! My husband and our girls (11 and 13) and I are leaving on Enchantment of the Seas from Baltimore (we live near there) on June 16. We have two days in Bermuda. We just want to spend a relaxing time at the beach and browse a few shops. Would someone please tell me what we need to do to get to the beach? I've searched the forums and people have said their favorite beaches, etc., but I just need to know what we are supposed to do once we get into port. Sounds pretty basic but I'm freaking out a little bit. Can we walk? Is there a trolley or taxi? Are there bathrooms? Food? Do we need to bring a towel? What else should we bring? How do we pay for services? Is everything credit card? I just don't want to be overwhelmed then make a poor choice when we get there and then find out we should've done something differently. We aren't big vacationers so I really have no idea what to expect. Yes, we did already do our Bermuda Travel Authorization. As much detail as possible is greatly appreciated. I'm getting really stressed about this part of the trip. Thank you so much!!!!! Michele