☀️🌴 Semi-live Enchantment of the Seas! Florida, Nassau, CocoCay. Jan 26- Feb 3 (Solo)

[She Sails Away]

Hi, everyone!

I'm back on RCCL at the end of January. Can't wait. It's been a rough year and there's a lot going on right now, health-wise, with various family members. This will be a wonderful break from reality. (Though I have to work while on board, it won't be too bad.)

We are sailing on Enchantment of the Seas out of Baltimore. Port stops are Orlando, CocoCay, and Nassau. Eight nights!

First time on Enchantment, first time out of Baltimore, first-ever port stop at Orlando, and fifth solo cruise.

 

I blogged last year about my first ever solo cruise on Odyssey, then on Allure. I was a little uncertain about solo cruising then and still finding my way into the experience. I'm not uncertain anymore. I love cruising solo and go into it with confidence and happy anticipation.

 

There are still things that challenge me as a 55 year-old solo traveler.....staying in the hotel alone the night before always bothers me. I get a little worried getting into a taxi. Anxiety can creep into such situations a bit. But those are small things. Cruising solo is awesome, and for those who are tempted to try it--do it! I love making my own schedule, not having to compromise, not inconveniencing anyone if I stay up late or get up early. I love being at sea and exploring new ships and ports! I am happily married with a husband that does not like cruising very much and can't travel right now, but who likes to hear about it all. Sending photos and texts home to my family is lots of fun. 

I have found that as a solo cruiser, even though I mostly keep to myself, opportunities pop up all the time to meet people and eventually explain that yes, I am traveling alone. People are always so surprised and immediately intrigued! Sometimes I can see the wheels turning as someone realizes that cruising solo is an option they've never considered.

 

I don't know what to expect on Enchantment, but I picture this cruise as being very laid back and peaceful. I picture being a lump in a lounge chair, or possibly asleep by the pool. (Maybe shamelessly eavesdropping on conversations nearby.) . But I'll also be walking, swimming, hitting the gym, exploring port, things like that.
 

I basically want to sail away from 2022 and not look back. You know?

I'll be blogging away when the time comes! See you then.
 

[MJ_]

Just did my first cruise on Enchantment out of Baltimore and fell in love. I was that lump in a lounge chair on 10. Enjoy your cruise!

[FireFishII]

Thanks for posting.  I have thought about Solo but don't like the price. My husband teaches so he can only take the summer for cursing while I want to travel more. It maybe in my future. I have traveled before.  What I hate is to eat alone unless I have a good book. I look forward to your blog. 

[Vagolferbob]

Sounds like a great trip, did a similar itinerary last jan and will be back on board in April. Keep us posted on cruise director, new menu and shows in theater.

[She Sails Away]

Well, here we are, the day before the day before. Packing has begun. The cats are duly anxious at the sight of the suitcase. I will have to double and triple check that I don't pack a stowaway animal and end up at the airport on the news.

 

We are expecting tons of rain in the morning, so if the drive to Atlanta was not exciting enough, we get to add that into the mix.  But that's okay.  My husband is dropping me off, which makes it so much nicer when I get home--I hate that slog to the netherworlds to reach my car, and airport parking is the pits here. In general, Atlanta Airport is a bit of a circus. We were just on the news for someone shooting a gun at the security checkpoint---again. No one was hurt, thankfully, but this just seems to keep happening. 

 

In any case, I am packed and mostly prepared. My last cruise was in September, so of course, we needed Covid tests and all that crazy, stressful stuff. This is my first cruise since those requirements went away....and as a result, I keep thinking I forgot to arrange my Covid test. There's that moment where your heart skips a beat because you forgot something vital, you know? Like, you're whole trip won't happen because you forgot something fundamental. AGH. But no Covid test, no nothing. Whew. RCCL recommends bringing your vaccination card, so I will, but sounds like no one will need to see it.

 

Speaking of packing. I was reflecting today on how that's changed as I've grown older. I used to literally toss clothes into a bag--any bag--and GO. The most important item was my swimsuit. Not anymore. I am 55, and somehow, it has become necessary to pack all these OTC meds and comfort items...those things alone take up half my carryon. And my suitcase must have wheels. When did that happen? HOW did that happen? I still think of myself as thirty, but that's becoming a bit of a stretch. Still bringing the swimsuit though, and the gym clothes, and looking forward to the perfect day at Coco Cay, the walking trail, the activities, and lots of gazing out at the sea. A sunshiney getaway is just what I need right now!

Just a heads up: This may be a bit of a dull blog, because I'm not in a giant, two-floor suite, I don't have the Key or a genie, I don't drink--(no unlimited beverage package for me), and I'm not much of an eater, so no UDP for me, either. Just the same--I'm going to share what I share and see what I see. If anyone has any specific questions about Enchantment, I'll see if I can find the answers.  I am most definitely a people watcher, and I love to have fun.

More soon....gonna sift the clothes in the suitcase and check for cats.

[She Sails Away]

PS: Our itinerary: Depart Thursday from Baltimore. Two sea days (Friday and Saturday,) then Port Canaveral, Coco Cay, Nassau, and then two sea days, and then we're done.

 

Universal Studios on Sunday for me (booked the shuttle through the ship), a beach day at Coco Cay, and not getting off the ship in Nassau.

 

Hang onto your hats, because some of us ladies in the cruise Facebook group are planning a crochet-meet-up later this week. Try not to get too excited!

 

More soon.

[brienc]

I'm really interested in your experience sailing out of Baltimore! That's really close for us, and we've talked about trying it out (but never have). 

[She Sails Away]

48 minutes ago, brienc said:

I'm really interested in your experience sailing out of Baltimore! That's really close for us, and we've talked about trying it out (but never have). 

I'll share all the details!

[She Sails Away]

I've arrived in Baltimore, where it is freezing cold and pouring rain. I bought some snacks at the airport and I'm in my hotel room having them for dinner. Our flight was extraordinarily bumpy for the last 30 minutes coming into Baltimore. The captain warned us ahead of time it would be that way and when he hit the "buckle up" button, he wanted the flight attendants to sit down pronto and stay there until we were on the ground. So they all ran back to their seats and buckled up and asked us to just hang onto our cups and cans and wrappers and things because they had not had time to collect trash yet.

 

I'm amazed I didn't get air sick because it really was extremely bad for a long time. I was busy watching the end of Die Hard, so I guess I just tuned it all out. Thankful to be here safe and sound.
 

The royal Caribbean app is fully loaded with all the activities for the whole week and I've been browsing around. So much live music to choose from every day. And they have something for everybody! I've been looking through the menus as well. Little bit limited on vegan and vegetarian things, but I have no doubt there will be food all over the place and I will not go hungry.

 

my boarding time is at 11 AM tomorrow so I'm planning to take the 1030 shuttle bus back to the airport and catch a cab from there. The other, more obvious choice would be to get Uber, but I weirdly don't feel very safe riding an Uber by myself and I always look for a public taxi instead. Splitting hairs, I know. In any case looking forward to boarding the ship tomorrow. Stay tuned for all the excitement!

[Neesa]

Yay! Following along. Glad you made it safe and sound. Music pun intended to my ears about all the live music. I derive much joy from live music, I had been deprived of it on our last two sailings, was slim pickings. 

Looking forward to your adventure!!

[Ampurp85]

Glad you made it safely. Be weary of traffic. Wait times for Uber or taxing from the airport might be a wait.

[She Sails Away]

Beautiful day in Baltimore this morning. The rain is gone and it's sunshiny out there but very cold of course. The weatherman has stressed repeatedly that the wind will be severe today especially out on the water. So we will see where I end up for sailaway but I'm not afraid of a little wind and cold. There's nothing like a good sailaway.

I have the usual email and text from Royal Caribbean stressing to please arrive at my arrival time and not earlier. I actually think I'm probably gonna arrive about 10 minutes late but hopefully that's not a problem.

 

This hotel has worked out well. I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn BWI airport. They had a free shuttle back-and-forth to the airport. Very nice room that ran about $150. About 10 minutes from the airport. In the lobby, they have a very limited selection of snacks and drinks you can buy, and for an extra charge you can get a grilled breakfast made to order such as eggs or toast or whatever.

 

I paid for my room using my Royal Caribbean visa and the employee helping me lit up and said she will be on Oasis  of the Seas next month and can't wait.

I spent the morning catching up on work so I will have that much less to do over the next couple of days. Repacking my bags and getting ready to go. Very excited!

 

[She Sails Away]

[She Sails Away]

[She Sails Away]

[She Sails Away]

Onboard!
The ride back to the empty Baltimore airport was uneventful and I quickly found the long line of taxis sitting there waiting for somebody to come along. The ride to the cruise port took about 15 minutes and cost a little over $40 in cab fare, plus tip.

 

My giant, somewhat intimidating driver never asked me which cruise line or ship I was on, so I assumed we were the only ship in Port today and I was right about that. It is a cold grey day so everybody is inside wearing their coats.

 

boarding was easy. I arrived at five minutes after 11 and I was on board by 1130. Just as I was stepping onto the ship the smell of sewage hit me. It hit me so powerfully I thought for a moment the guy in front of me had an accident in his pants. It was quite bad. It's faded inside but it's very prevalent in the centrum area. I'm hoping that will pass once we get out to sea.

 

it didn't take long to explore the ship. Yes, she is small and dated as I knew she would be, but she is in very nice condition and has beautiful touches and lovely art all throughout.

 

I did muster drill, then got sandwiches and coffee at Café latitudes, but discovered that all of the sandwiches have mayonnaise on them, which I am allergic to. I came up to the solarium for a salad and pizza and pretty soon this place filled up. There's not a single table available in sight. Just for kicks I did take a peek in Windjammer and my goodness. What a zoo. There was literally not one single seat to be had, not even the single seats barstool style facing the windows. And even though all of the tables were full there was tons and tons of people wandering around filling up their plates so I have no idea where they intended to sit.
 

The pools are currently empty and being scrubbed or worked on in someway by several crewmembers down in their depths working with some sort of tools. There is one hot tub on deck bubbling away just daring anyone to get in it but it's awfully cold out there and nobody is jumping in. Down here in the solarium, the two indoor hot tubs are chock full of people.

 

My lunchtime salad was crisp and fresh and made to order, and the pizza is hot and delicious. If you like your pizza extra cheesey and extra greasy, this is the place for you.

 

Rooms are ready (1 pm!)  but I'm in no hurry to get down there and start the unpacking process. We have a full schedule of events today, including shopping, free gaming lessons in the casino, trivia, a comedian this evening, and of course tons of live music. I saw the Schooner bar and it is beautiful, though it was occupied by two parties of three women each and they were all just shrieking at the top of their lungs and slamming down the drinks.
 

So far the most beautiful place on ship is the spotlight lounge on deck six. It is just gorgeous and it's right at the end of the ship so you have lovely views looking out.

 

[Ampurp85]

I am glad you made it safely without too much delay. It was cold in Miami when we boarded last week and people had on full down coats, yet people like me(not me) from the Midwest, were already in pools

The sewage smells must be synonymous with older ships. I'm on Grandeur, it looks very similar to Enchantment, and the sewage smells is pretty bad. I wil say your casino looks quite refreshing and with more and better machines.

We also have something in common: mayonnaise makes me ill, not quite deathly like veal, but enough to cause a bad reaction. It is the main reason I can't ever eat the already made sandwiches. They look good but it's always mayo on them.

[She Sails Away]

[She Sails Away]

[She Sails Away]

[Ampurp85]

That couch blocking your walkway make me think of my chair being in the corner blocking the closet. The rooms on these old ships are funny.

[She Sails Away]

Well my room is cozy and clean. Yes it's small, but I expect that from an interior cabin and I don't mind. Plenty of drawers and a small closet but plenty of room for one person. The bed is quite low to the floor and that took me by surprise. I couldn't slide my suitcase underneath.
 

My one complaint for the first time ever is the bathroom. The shower is ridiculous. Like beyond ridiculous. I am a short, small person so I'll be fine, but any normal size person trying to shower in this thing would spill water all over the floor and bump their elbows and knees constantly.

 

you know how, when you're on an airplane and you go to the restroom, and shut the door, and there's the toilet taking up half the space and then there's that floor space in front of the toilet? That's about the size of my shower.

 

The hallway in front of my room is nice and lemony smelling, and my room doesn't have much of an odor of any kind, but boy the bathroom definitely has a pungent sewage smell to it. I think if I keep the bathroom door shut all the time I'll be OK but I'm not looking forward to showering in there.

 

[She Sails Away]

Well day one is in the books. It was a very good day.

 

Just to get a couple negatives out of the way for those considering cruising here in the future. The sewage smell hung on in the centrum/atrium and Boleros all day long. We were supposed to have lots of live music in the atrium all day and that did not happen but there were still tons and tons of people hanging out in the middle of that cesspool smell. I avoided those areas all day.

 

The ship has some really lovely corners and nice lounges and the furniture looks updated and clean. My bed and my couch for example don't have any holes or worn spots in them and the carpet looks very nice.

 

Sailaway was fun. It was freezing cold and windy and dark and cloudy, but as we sailed away the clouds parted and the sunset came out and it was really all very beautiful. We approached a bridge slowly and this huge cloud of seagulls floating on the water all rose up and flew away at the same time, and then we sailed under the bridge and that was really fun. Quite a crowd gathered to watch that. There was some guy walking around on the pool deck blatantly smoking pot. There was not a single crewmember on deck to see him doing this, but who knows if it would have been addressed.
 

Throughout the afternoon walking through the hallways, I would often walk through a big cloud of pot smoke. So I think this is just a thing on cruise ships now. It has been obvious on the last few cruises I went on with Royal, and I thought it might be something that would go away, but now I think it's just here to stay. I think that if the smell of pot bothers me, I need to not cruise because it's definitely going to be on board.
 

Once we started moving, the music started rolling and it was all just really really good. I had an iced coffee at Café latitudes and a big piece of cake from Windjammer. My bag arrived around 4 o'clock this afternoon and I spent some time in my cabin unpacking and talking to my husband on the phone. I was determined to eat in the dining room tonight, which is not something I normally ever do on cruises… I normally always eat dinner in the buffet. But my dining time is 530 and I just couldn't get hungry in time. So I did end up going to the Windjammer this evening.  It was Tex-Mex night and I had nachos, which were incredibly spicy. Topped it off with some ranger cookies. 
 

I went to the spotlight lounge which is just the most prettiest area on the whole ship and settled in for some entertainment. First up was name that tune, and the theme was songs with colors in the title.

 

Then this happened: The lounge is largely empty and there are tons of empty seats. An older lady comes up to me and points to the chair next to me and asks if that chair is taken. I said no and she asked do you mind if I join you? I said no go right ahead. I introduced myself and thought to myself, here is a nice older lady and we're going to be friends.

 

Her name is Martha and she started chatting to me and within seconds I could see that she was wildly racist. 

 

Then she says, "we need to get some more people to join us so we can increase our odds of winning." Then she actually starts looking around and waving her arms at random groups of people, beckoning and asking them to come join us. I was like what the heck. I didn't want to be around her and I certainly didn't want a huge group of strangers coming over.

 

so there's a couple at a table in front of us. An older guy and a young girl. The girl is slamming down the drinks and batting her false eyelashes at this guy like crazy and sending out signals like mad that she wants to go back to the room. Martha leans over and gets their attention and says, "do you mind if we join you?" And indicates herself and me.

 

I was like, oh no you didn't… And the girl refuses to look at Martha but is clearly pissed. Then she freezes Martha out while the old guy says over his shoulder, sure, come join us. Martha gets up and bustles away and plops herself down next to these two and is very clearly an unwanted third wheel. She looks back at me and I said, "I'm good, I'm just gonna stay right here."

And you know what Martha did then? She looked DISGUSTED AT ME. she even shook her head.

 

I was like look lady, you crashed my party what is the deal you racist person. But I was glad to be disentangled from her. The game started and at some point, Martha's husband came to the lounge and found her and came and sat down next to her, so then there were the two of them being pointedly ignored by the couple on their date. Eventually the husband left but Martha stuck around.

 

We played name that tune and it was all big fun and then when it was over, Martha, still being ignored by the couple, came back up to me and asked how I did. I said I got 16 right and she said that "we" got 17, and then she said see you around.

 

I hung around for the next event in the lounge which was majority rules. That was a really fun game show. After that, there was a short break and then they started karaoke. 
 

Here's a question. If you're on a cruise ship and you want to call somebody to talk to them on the phone, do you do it in
A: your cabin

or

B: the middle of a packed karaoke lounge while someone is singing at the top of their lungs?

 

Yes that is exactly what happened. I can't imagine that the guy on the phone could hear anything the other person was saying, and why on earth. Time and place, buddy. And a karaoke lounge in full swing is not the time or the place.

 

Anyway… The singers were all terrific. I lasted about four songs and then I was ready for bed. I took one last wander around the ship and caught the tail end of some live music in the atrium which was really good. There's a long line of people in the solarium getting pizza and several people at Café latitudes getting coffee and ice cream.

 

we have two days at sea coming up and they should be very enjoyable. More soon.

[She Sails Away]

[Ampurp85]

Lol I always find it funny when there are racist people on a cruise. Like really?!!!! I had a prejudice lady sit next to me on the hop on, hop off in Key West. They seem to not to have any sense of awareness.  Also people seem to be okay with that smell when they are drinking and partying.

[She Sails Away]

Let's play a game: Gross or Not Gross?

 

i'm in the Windjammer at lunch making a salad at the little salad bar. There's a lady next to me with an empty plate. She spoons a little dressing onto the plate, puts the ladle back, sticks her finger in the dressing on her plate and then sucks it off her finger, decides she doesn't like that dressing, and then repeats the process over and over. So she's sucking her finger, shaking her head, and then grabbing the next ladel. And then the next one and then the next one. Gross? Or not gross?

[She Sails Away]

[She Sails Away]

Well we're coming to a close on our first full sea day. It was a beautiful, gorgeous day. Quite chilly and windy, so the pools were closed, but still a beautiful day to be out looking at the water and walking around. They did open the solarium pool to everyone today so that the kids could swim.
 

The outdoor hot tubs and the indoor hot tubs were full all day long every time I walked by. The sewage smell came and went in the centrum.

 

there were lots of traditional activities today, trivia and live music and line dancing and stretching classes and things like that. They had a good chunk of family activities in the centrum today and that was nice to see. The whole place was packed with kids having a great time.

 

I wasn't feeling terrific today so I got breakfast at Park Café and mostly did my own thing all day. I had ordered room service for this morning and put my card out at midnight last night and the card was gone this morning but the breakfast never came. I called real service and did not get an answer.

 

 On a sidenote, I got an egg and cheese muffin sandwich at Park Café. Got halfway through it and discovered that the egg yolk was super runny. Pulled the bread off planning to just eat the bread and found lots of egg shells on top of my egg.

 

there is a communal puzzle table next to Café latitudes so I went there and joined a couple that had just opened a puzzle from the library. We chatted and got to know each other and took the puzzle way too seriously for quite a while. Then I shopped the shops, took a couple of walks around the walking trail up top, eventually got lunch and took it to the Viking crown lounge to eat. What a beautiful spot that is. At some point today we had dolphins swimming alongside us and jumping in the air! I had to work for a couple of hours this afternoon so that made up some time.

 

there was a crown and anchor event today and I went for just a few minutes and then decided I didn't want to stick around for the whole thing. They had started congratulating all of their new pinnacle members and such and giving awards to people who were hitting their zillionth cruise and what not.

 

I listened to lots of live music in the Centrum today, watched everybody running around having a big time at the family festival, and things like that. Didn't spend much time in my room. My room steward made my room up around 1 PM. I thought about going to the main dining room for dinner but I could not find one single thing on the French menu that I really cared about. Came to windjammers and had another salad for dinner and will hit Ben & Jerry's later. 
 

all in all a good day, other than that lady being gross at lunch licking her fingers and touching all of the salad ladels, but I think that's just something you're supposed to expect these days. I certainly wasn't going to say something, I didn't want to be punched in the face and you just never know these days. I did see a crewmember notice what was happening and they were headed over when I walked away from the salad bar, so maybe they were getting ready to replace the ladles.

 

There was the usual hard push to come to the port shopping chat, buy diamonds and upscale jewelry in the store, things like that. I did get to meet the captain today and he's about 7 feet tall.

 

beautiful sunset tonight.

 

all in all a very laid-back day and we have another one on the books for tomorrow.

 

[She Sails Away]

I only walked through three clouds of pot today. Two of them before 9:30 in the morning.

[She Sails Away]

[Curt From Canada]

Following with much interest.  My soulmate and I plus 3 friends are on Enchantment in March.  We will be the ones monopolizing the dance floor.

We love sailing out of Baltimore.  Small but fit for purpose departure areas ... and definitely quick to the ship.

Have a blast ...

Curt from Canada

 

[She Sails Away]

Second day at sea. It's been a bit slow. I got up to see the sunrise which was just amazing. It's been a beautiful day and it's warmed up considerably. The pools were open and full all day long. I did lots of walking, got my hair done in the spa, had lunch in Windjammer. Lots of family groups at tables around the edge of the pool playing rummy and card games and things like that, lots of people reading books, tons of people in the sun loungers on the top deck taking naps. The poolside bar stayed completely full all day long.  At 1:30, they had the worlds sexiest man contest but I didn't stick around for that. I feel like if you've seen one of those shows, you've seen them all, LOL. 

The afternoon was all about reading and napping, and then I watched a lively dance session in the atrium. It was led by Moe, the activities Director, and the atrium was completely packed with people shoulder to shoulder dancing away and having a great time. There was a couple of ladies at the communal puzzle table working a new puzzle and when I went to join them they were quite unfriendly and I got frosted out so I left. I sat with a group of three ladies traveling together and we chatted a while and they were super friendly
 

Tonight is British night for the menu.
 

I went to the gym in the afternoon and met a lady who was there for the second time that day and she said, "honestly, I'm just trying to find things to do to fill up the day." She said it was their 1st cruise and they were bored to death as they are not gamblers or drinkers. And she said she was quite disappointed in the quality and portions of food.

 

Her main complaint was that there wasn't enough to do. I started to tell her about the Oasis Class ships and she cut me off with, "we're never cruising again."

 

Went to tribond trivia this afternoon in the Schooner bar and it was completely jammed, standing room only. I had a tiny table with two seats to myself and eventually someone came and dragged the other chair away. Still lots of people left standing. Everybody got every single answer right, too!(except for me.)

 

Lots of shopping available today and all of those special sales they like to do, from $10 fashion accessories to high-end jewelry. There's a show tonight called Can't Stop The Rock. I have yet to go to a show so I guess I'll go check that out. All in all, a slow day, but that's what sea days are all about. It really was a beautiful day and the perfect day to be outside. Saw lots of exhausted kids this afternoon but at least they had a full day of finally getting to be in the pools and in the splash zone. 
 

Tomorrow is my busiest day. I have booked the shuttle over to Universal Studios and will frantically run around the park seeing as much as I can see in the time we end up with there. Then the ride back to the ship and I want to catch the tail end of the football game. Bengals fan here!

[She Sails Away]

[She Sails Away]

PS: the gentleman who cut my hair this morning is now belting out karaoke in the atrium and he's killing it.

[asquared17]

loving your pictures and live blog!!

also martha??? best that you are disentangled from her, indeed!! i thought i was reading @Ampurp85’s liveblog for a hot second 

[She Sails Away]

[She Sails Away]

I am loving the carvings made out of fruit that show up in the wind jammer in the evenings. Such artistry!
 

Tomorrow night is Mexican night. I will probably get back from my trip too late to go but here's the menu.

[She Sails Away]

[She Sails Away]

Good morning from Florida. Accidentally caught a shot with the sun and the moon in it at the same time

[She Sails Away]

I couldn't sleep well, for some reason my room kept getting way too hot. That has not been an issue so far. I would get up and turn the air down and then it would be too cold and then it would be too hot and so forth and so on. We began the docking process at 6 AM and of course all the shuddering and vibrating woke me up but that was OK. I went up deck and I'm so glad I got up there right when I did. Not only did I see a beautiful sunrise but there was a huge unexpected surprise! A tow boat drifted by our ship carrying the Space X rocket.