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


She Sails Away

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So cool, I love that. Albeit we are on the west coast when there are launches if the clouds aren't thick we run outside like little kids and watch it, what a sight to behold! Never gets old. 

I'm impressed you are doing Universal today, the weather is going to be perfect I believe. Is it a Royal shuttle that is getting you there? I'm with you in spirit, you are braver then I. Have fun and I wish for you an amazing day!

It was cool seeing our Old Glory flying on the ship, I have only seen it once before. You Go girl, have a blast......standing by for pics!! 

 

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35 minutes ago, She Sails Away said:

Yep, definitely doing the ship shuttle… In our Facebook group a lot of people shared that they're renting cars today and doing their own thing. I was too nervous about running into traffic and not being able to get back to the ship on time. Pictures tonight!

By the way, this makes me happy. I was hoping you would do that. Going it alone is to stressful, one accident and it's Sunday...just no. I didn't want to say anything previously so as not to make you nervous. Great choice your going to have a terrific day! I appreciate you making me feel better, I was hoping 🫰🫰you opted for the shuttle. To stressful otherwise. 

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Spent the day at Universal. No big surprises here, it's a touristy theme park that's super crowded and expensive. Didn't matter to me, this is exactly what I was in the mood for today. I enjoyed myself very much and now we're on the bus on the way back to the ship.

 

The shuttles all arrived around 930 this morning. I counted seven shuttles to take people over to the Kennedy space Center. There were four additional shuttles to take people either to universal or Seaworld. We piled on the bus and we were all given a wristband to help identify us when we came back. The bus was not full. We left close to on time. We stopped at Seaworld first and dropped off a family and then 10 minutes later we were dropped off at Universal. The ride was just over an hour. Of course this is Sunday and there was very little traffic until we got close to the park.

 

we arrived just before 11 and this gave us six hours to explore the park, which is exactly what was advertised. We were told to be back in that exact same spot to meet the bus at five.

 

Here's something I find quite interesting. There was no head counting of people on the bus or getting off the bus, there was no cross check of your name against any kind of list, they just let you off at the park, told you to be back by five, and counted on you to do that. When 5 o'clock rolled around, we pulled away. Nobody driving this bus has any clue if anybody got left behind. So I guess if you're a person or family that took too long to get back to the bus, you're going to be calling an Uber. 
 

I think it's great they did that but I feel a little anxious at the same time, because it's almost certain that some people took their time getting back to the bus and were shocked to find it gone. It's an hour drive back to the port and we are supposed to all be back on board by 630.

 

We are in port today with a few other ships, but they are too far away to get a good look at them. One of them is the Wonder of the seas, and one is an MSC ship that's very big. I know this because we drove past them on our way out.

 

I enjoyed the drive to the park. Of course we drove over multiple bridges and saw lots of sea birds, pelicans skimming the surface of the water, and I saw two alligators in little bitty ponds beside the freeway.

 

Lines were long at the park and six hours was plenty of time to see everything I wanted to see. Can't wait to get back on board and eat! I haven't had anything since breakfast. Tonight is the Bengals game and I'm a Bengals fan. They are showing it poolside but it's also available in our rooms.

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Food in Windjammer has been okay... just OK. They have an incredible variety every day, but the food is either bland or it comes off of the hot serving plate quite cold. Or both. Desserts have been surprisingly bland. And I've mostly been stumbling across the random item that is surprisingly good, like tonight it was a chicken empanada.

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I am glad today you did what you wanted at Universal. I also agree that the desserts aren't flavorful or sweet and most of the food in the WJ/MDR is bland.

My mother is obsessed with Spongebob and my grandmother Betty Boop. I laughed pretty hard as I brought my grandmother that plush and my mother the backpack under the sponge shaped one in your pictures.

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9 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I am glad today you did what you wanted at Universal. I also agree that the desserts aren't flavorful or sweet and most of the food in the WJ/MDR is bland.

My mother is obsessed with Spongebob and my grandmother Betty Boop. I laughed pretty hard as I brought my grandmother that plush and my mother the backpack under the sponge shaped one in your pictures.

How funny!

I collect those Loungefly bags and thought Spongebob was perfect! 

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Well today I finally made it to the main dining room. And of course I'm kicking myself for not getting there sooner. I've had one excuse after the other but now I see that the good food is here.
 

It started off a little bit awkwardly because there was a long line of people waiting to be seated for breakfast, and the host asked me if I minded sitting with another family. I said I'd rather sit alone and she pushed back pretty hard and said if we sit you alone you're gonna have to wait a while and I don't know for how long. I said OK fine I'll share and I said it as nicely as possible. She looked at the group behind me, an elderly group of four people who were listening to the conversation and who looked alarmed at the thought I might be foisted upon them. Just then, a server came up and  told me to follow him and he went and sat me at a table for two in a quiet corner of the dining room filled with empty tables. So I'm not sure why there was a push for me to share a table. 
 

I got a made to order omelette with spinach, tomato and cheese, toast and a hash brown and it was super hot and fresh and just wonderful.

 

 

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Today was a mixed day. Started off great. I had a lovely breakfast in the main dining room, and then I went to the communal puzzle table and worked on a puzzle for a while, which probably sounds like the most idiotic thing possible to do on a cruise ship, but I loved it. And as a sidenote, the little puzzle library here has six puzzles and between all the passengers on the ship all six have already been smoked through. A nice lady joined me and we worked a long time.
 

We docked at Coco cay. Oasis of the seas is here and she got here about an hour ahead of us so by the time our gangplank went down, thousands upon thousands of people had already flowed out of Oasis and filled up the beaches. I'm sure that wrecked some plans for a few people but it didn't bother me as I did not intend to go outside today.

 

I lounged around all morning and enjoyed being lazy. I went up to the spa when they were giving out complimentary massage tasters and no surprise, ended up booking a massage for the afternoon.

 

Most everybody was off the ship today, because when I went to name that tune, there were four tables total playing the game. To my horror, Martha was there. I avoided eye contact and hoped she would not decide to join me and maybe get the other two tables to join us so we were all just one big team that wins by default. But she didn't, so that  was good. Name that tune was fun… The theme for the day was classic rock. I won a nifty Royal  Caribbean clippy thing.

 

Later I made myself get off the ship to just get a few photos of both of the ships side-by-side. When I came back, my heart started pounding really hard to the point where my watch sent me a little alarm. It was at 107 and it stayed at about 94 for a couple of hours. it was not pleasant and I was trying hard not to panic. But it did not feel good.  It doesn't happen to me often but when it does it's usually from hypoglycemia or from being dehydrated. I really think I was just dehydrated so I started pounding water. I had an acupuncture appointment at four so I made sure to tell the doctor all about it. The acupuncture session went terrific and by the time I left my heart was nice and quiet and beating normally again.
 

today I told the acupuncturist that my mom is not in good health and we believe she may have lung cancer. We are waiting for her to be scheduled for a biopsy but it's not looking good. She had breast cancer five years ago and this is most likely a reoccurrence. Of course I scheduled this cruise months before any of this happened and I almost didn't even come, but she's not gonna have a biopsy till I get back and my sister is with her right now so everyone encouraged me to come. My dad told me to take a break and enjoy it because they will need me when I get back.
 

Anyway. We talked about that for quite a while and I talked about her symptoms that she's had and one of the worst ones is fluid retention. She's on a strong diuretic and heart medication and all kinds of things. He showed me an acupressure point that I could use on her  twice a day and he says it will help with her fluid retention in her lungs. I'm definitely going to give it a try. The acupuncturist is great… Not that I have any frame of reference, as I've never tried it before. I have a health condition of my own that is getting out of hand and I wanted some symptom relief since my specialist can't do much for it. And it really has helped. 
 

Immediately after my acupuncture, I had a perfect day at Cococay massage special. It's a really long massage with a mini facial at the end. They normally do Swedish massage but that always makes me sick, so I asked for a hot stone instead and they let me have it for just a little bit extra. My massage therapist was terrific and I made another appointment with her for tommorow.

 

I didn't get out till after seven so then it was a dash to Windjammer where I loaded up and then had Ben & Jerry's afterwards. Surprisingly there's not much going on tonight. I think they want everybody to end up in the casino. Last night there was quite a bit going on, one event after the other, designed to keep everybody up till midnight. Not so much tonight.

 

There were two Princess ships anchored by their little teeny tiny island next to ours and it was really a lovely day. Lots of people utilizing the sundeck and pool today as well.

 

The app had several little mistakes in it today, nothing to get excited about, but several things were off.

 

oh! Exciting news… Today the sewage smell in my bathroom went away. It did resurface in a big way in a random pocket of the ship near the dining room and the Schooner bar.

 

Going to call it a night pretty soon. Sneak peek at tomorrow's menu (Italian Night) and a few photos.

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Did you eat that tomatoe? Gees, even when I smile and say hold the tomatoes, that one comes out..... every time. 

Coco cay, my biggest takeaway every visit is just because you can doesn't mean you should!! Especially when an Oasis class ship is there, adding another makes the Island just to full. Our last visit the Island was just dirty, debris in the sand (bottle caps, cigarette butts etc. I thought come on Royal, if you say it can handle it, then handle it. I mean I get over it and enjoy my day, but especially if you are the second ship seeing all those people, searching for even two chairs together...it's a tiny bit daunting. 

It's nice to hear about your enjoyable and successful massage visit. I always say I'm going to do it....and then never do it! The upsell at the end turned me off years ago on DCL and I have yet to give it another go. 

FYI, I have a puzzle passion. I purchase beautiful puzzle pictures and do them for hours. They calm me, center me. Then I frame them, let's just say they are all over my home. Sometimes I make kiddo stop and do them with me, they always start out in silence, but after the pieces start finding a home, the conversation flows, sometimes it's pretty deep! Quality time on steroids!

Prayers up for your mom, I'm sure that you will be a great help after this recharge for yourself. I wish you comfort in these difficult days ahead. It's great you can come back with a hands on relief technique, I'm sure she will love it dearly. I wish for you tons of strength and a positive outcome. 

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Oh my goodness, those are beautiful! Love that... so colorful and pretty. What a great way to save. My husband bought a really beautiful puzzle for us recently and some puzzle glue and said we're going to do the same thing. You've inspired me!
 

Thank you so much for prayers for my mom. She is a kind, sweet and generous person, and to see her struggling is hard.
I feel like no matter how old our parents get, or us for that matter, it's still a shock when we are reminded of our mortality.

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55 minutes ago, Neesa said:

Did you eat that tomatoe? Gees, even when I smile and say hold the tomatoes, that one comes out..... every time.
 

 

It's nice to hear about your enjoyable and successful massage visit. I always say I'm going to do it....and then never do it! The upsell at the end turned me off years ago on DCL and I have yet to give it another go. 

 

DCL is really bad with the upsell. I mean so bad. But honestly, the worst upsell experience I had was on Odyssey. I have skipped the spa  on many cruises because of this, but I'm relieved to say it has not been an issue so far here. Perhaps because I'm buying the services. I'm sure their products are lovely but $69 for a tub of hair cream? No thank you. 

 

I did not eat the tomato! And yes, those things make a colorful side item so I guess that's why they always find their way onto the plate. Not a tomato person much, so no thank you.

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I'm also a puzzle fan, but I've never tried framing one (maybe that's next!). We love to get Dowdle puzzles from places where we've traveled. It's a nice small memento of fun vacations! https://dowdlefolkart.com/

We got this one for the kids for Christmas as part of the way we told them about our upcoming Alaska cruise

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1 hour ago, Sweety said:

I have Thomas Kinkade and Anne Lee  puzzles glued and framed around my house. People always tell me they find the puzzles relaxing. It's a great hobby to have. I buy puzzle glue by the case.  Sending healing prayers for your MOM. I had breast cancer twice. I am well.

That is wonderful news. So happy for you. And thank you so very much. ❤️

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1 hour ago, brienc said:

I'm also a puzzle fan, but I've never tried framing one (maybe that's next!). We love to get Dowdle puzzles from places where we've traveled. It's a nice small memento of fun vacations! https://dowdlefolkart.com/

We got this one for the kids for Christmas as part of the way we told them about our upcoming Alaska cruise

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Love that!

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We are in Nassau this morning. We docked around 730. Carnival Paradise was docking right beside us, and we have since been joined by Navigator, the Disney Wish, and Carnival Liberty. Some people got off the ship but quite a few stayed, and the pool is being well utilized. I got in right when it opened and had it to myself for a while, then a really nice lady got in and we hung out on the side of the pool and shared cruise ship reviews. Soaked in the sun a while and it's been great but I really have to go work for a few hours now. Next challenge will be to select just the right window to sit next to. 😀

 

returned to the main dining room for breakfast this morning and got the same push to sit with other people even though there was no one else in line and I would have to walk up to a table already seated. Again a server came and rescued me and stuck me at a table by myself, just a two top. I looked around and counted several couples sitting at eight-tops by themselves. So either they didn't want to share tables either, or you only get asked that if you're by yourself. I'm not sure what the problem is other than maybe they don't want to take on the workload of clearing and resetting tables for just one person? And there's nothing wrong with asking me, but both times I've gotten an irritated look when I said no thank you  

 

Anyway breakfast was terrific. Swimming was great. It's been fun listening to all of the ships test out their horns as well.

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I'm really enjoying your blog -- and your pictures are fantastic!  My husband and I were on Enchantment in 2018, and I was amazed by the see-through floor in the Casino -- have you seen it?  It's on the forward end of the Casino, I think.  I loved the "stretch" portion of Enchantment as well; the really cool walkway is so pretty :-).

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1 hour ago, IRMO12HD said:

I'm really enjoying your blog -- and your pictures are fantastic!  My husband and I were on Enchantment in 2018, and I was amazed by the see-through floor in the Casino -- have you seen it?  It's on the forward end of the Casino, I think.  I loved the "stretch" portion of Enchantment as well; the really cool walkway is so pretty :-).

Yes! That see through floor is fun! It has all the fake fish under....I saw a few folks tiptoe over it this week, laughing nervously. I need to get a picture 

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Today was a good day. We had an amazing sunrise and it was fun watching everybody dock. I jumped in the pool at nine and swam and all that stuff I already mentioned, and really enjoyed the outdoors for the morning.
 

Activities, as far as planned activities, were quite light today. You were mostly on your own for the day. Of course a lot of people got off the ship for quite a few stayed on board so it was a day of people in the pool, in the sun chairs, playing board games and cards and reading books all around the perimeter of the sundeck, things like that.

 

I noodled away the morning and then it was lunch in Windjammer, which oddly wasn't quite as crowded or chaotic as usual, although I did see an elderly gentleman shaking his head in an exaggerated show of disgust at some crewmember and I can't imagine what that was all about.

 

I had to work for a while, then I was at the puzzle table with my new puzzle friend. Then I FaceTimed my husband and walked him around the ship for a little bit. That was fun. Then I had my final acupuncture session. I highly recommend the acupuncturist on board. He is amazing. Remember how I said yesterday there were some glitches in the app as far as scheduling? Quite a few things were off. It turns out that one of the things mistakenly scheduled for the wrong time was one of his informative free seminars introducing people to what acupuncture can do and what's involved. So he had this seminar set up and of course nobody came because nobody knew. Which is a shame.

 

anyway, we had our final accupuncture session and it was just terrific and we finished up and walked out of the room just as we were sailing away. There's a relaxation room open to clients of the spa that looks out over the back of the ship andr it's just the most perfect view. We all gathered there, myself and the doctor and the spa staff to watch the sailaway for a few minutes. Then I ran up to the top of the pool deck along with a whole lot of other people to watch all of those cruise ships in port together today all sail away one after the other and then we all were kind of side-by-side and then we all just sort of spread out. And all of this was happening while the sun was turning pink and purple and the sun was an actual hot pink ball slowly sinking into the water. It was really something to see everybody sailing along and the sun sank kind of rapidly straight into the ocean and then everybody popped on their ship lights and everything just looked so magical. 

Dinner in Windjammer, I hit the salad bar and they were doing a pasta station where you could choose your toppings and they would stir fry it and add pasta. It was very good. Ben & Jerry's afterwards, some live music in the centrum, and I watched a dance class being led by Moe, the activities Director. A little wandering and then it was back to the puzzle table, which was surrounded by several people. One was a group of four traveling together and everyone was super nice and we were very dedicated to the puzzle. I stayed up way too late because I was informed "you're not leaving." It was all good fun but eventually at midnight we called it quits. I'm in bed now and the ship is really swaying up and down quite a bit.

 

So, a couple of thoughts on Enchantment so far. I booked this cruise for a few reasons. One is that I just wanted to get away… I like to cruise in January as a way of shedding all the hustle and bustle of the holidays and just kind of start fthe year off on a good note. I also wanted to try Enchantment because I wanted to try this class of ship. I was also considering doing a transatlantic on enchantment and I wanted to test it out and see if I would like it for two weeks. So I booked Enchantment for all of those reasons plus the price was right. And I've had a nice time, but enchantment is a one and done for me. It has a lot going for it and it's a perfectly nice cruise ship and cruise experience, it's just not for me. I have figured out through trial and error that I am an oasis class person. That's where my happy space seems to be, on a boardwalk balcony watching the aqua show and looking out at the ocean and being somewhere where it's very busy.

 

enchantment has a lot going for it. But this sewage smell is a hangup for me. It's just not normal and I can't get past it and it's some thing that is encountered several times a day and has been an ongoing problem in the bathroom.
 

There are signs of wear and tear and age and neglect in pockets throughout the ship, and to be fair, there are also extremely nice and beautiful and well cared for spaces and lounges throughout the ship as well. She does have lovely huge windows and the centrum is definitely the focal point of the ship. Also to be fair, I have not gone to one single show so I can't comment on the quality of all that. The staff has been terrific. My interior cabin is extra tiny but comfortable and clean and quiet.
 

My last little hangup about enchantment is the water. There is something off about the tapwater here. First of all if you drink the water in the dining room or whatever it has a faintly slick, kind of slimy taste to it. I mean if you drink a glass of dining room water and then you drink a bottle of water you're going to notice a big difference. And when I wash my hands in the public bathrooms, the water pouring into the sink has a tinge of odor to it, a sort of marine algae kind of smell.  And I may be imagining it, but it seems to me the water has just the faintest of green tint to it. There's just something off and if I was going to sail on enchantment again I would most definitely buy several bottled water packages ahead of time.

 

The pools are small and here and there, the carpets in the hallways and public areas are just worn and a little old looking. That sort of thing. This is a nice ship and it's in very good condition but it could use a little extra love.

 

But overall, as I said, it is a perfectly nice ship it has lots to offer and it is just the right fit for some, just not for me. I found it to be just a bit too quiet and just a bit too small. Even though I've had a nice time and I'm glad I came, I don't see myself sailing enchantment again.

 

Couple more sea days coming up! More photos on the way. Sneak peek at the menu tomorrow night which is "royal night"

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3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Oh my goodness !  That "thing" with the water would be the END for me.  I couldn't help but conflate the sewage smell and the slimy/stinky/off-colored water.  The natural conclusion is not a happy place.  UGH

Definitely. I bought a pre-purchased water bottle package and after not too many glasses of dining room water and park café water, I am strictly on bottled water. Buying several more per day to make up for it.

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