Enchanted Princess

10 days on Enchanted using a mobility scooter

Enchanted Princess – March 10-20, 2025 One day prior to this cruise we drove to Comfort Suites Fort Lauderdale on Federal Highway. It was in a very high traffic area and didn’t have a fast food restaurant that I could walk to. I did walk next door to 3 Sons Brewing Company and got a delicious chicken sandwich to take back to the hotel for dinner. Next time I would plan to go there to eat in and try one of their brews. The next morning we ate at the included buffet breakfast before heading to the port at 9:15. We entered from 17th Street which made it very easy to drop off our bag at berth 2 and to park in the Heron parking structure. By 10 a.m. we boarded the ship and headed directly to the Princess Live café. Unfortunately the coffee machine was not working so we got some bottled water and settled in at the Princess Live lounge. We watched the safety video and got the medallion up and running with some help from the Ocean Front staff. At 11:30 we dropped off our carry on bags in our cabin and headed to the Amalfi dining room for a lovely beef tenderloin plate and glass of wine. Glad we got there early. Passengers that arrived later had to wait a while to be seated. We spent the afternoon unpacking and enjoying our balcony. At 5 p.m. we headed to the Platinum and Elite Lounge for musical entertainment and drinks. Still full from lunch, we made a meal from the chicken wings, veggies and dip, fruit cups and cheese and crackers. That evening we had fun at I’ll Take Trivia for $100 then listened to some tunes with DJ Doza. A great first day. We were in a handicapped accessible cabin. The room and the balcony were both spacious. The only complaint I have is that the room only has a chair at the desk. On the Grand class ships, the accessible balcony cabins have a small table and barrel chair also, making it easy to have coffee and pastries in the morning or watch a movie in the evening. I ended up moving the balcony table into the cabin most days. We had the plus package and throughout the day I took advantage of this getting bottled water, San Pelligrino, coffee, tea, Coke Zero, Sprite Zero and once a frozen drink called Black Forest Freeze. Over the course of the evening, we usually ordered 3 drinks each. We like the Plus package because I never have to think twice before ordering a drink I want or trying something new. Who knew I would enjoy a Sour Apple Martini? The weather was nice for much of this cruise, however Princess Cays was cancelled due to high winds. We spent many hours on our balcony reading and relaxing throughout the cruise. At the ports we got off at St. Maarten for a mudslide at Sharky’s, had a nice quiet lunch at Sweet Cane, a quaint restaurant in Port Zante at St. Kitts, and finally had beverages at Seven Restaurant in Tortola. We found the Enchanted Princess very enjoyable. The Vista lounge, Crooners, Crown Grill lounge, Princess Live and the Double Down Bar were all easily accessible. We already knew from experience that the pool deck, World Fresh Marketplace and piazza are too difficult to navigate a mobility scooter during the busy hours. We enjoyed Gigi’s by Alfredo and O’Malley’s for our two casual meals. Even though we went to O’Malley’s at 4:45 p.m. for dinner service that started at 5:30 it was already jammed. Shout out to our favorite waiter Louis for spotting us and finding someone already seated that would share their table with us. The Killarney Stout Stew and Drunken Mussels were delicious and we had a great seat to enjoy set one of the band A Pint of Plain. We found the entertainment on this ship to be varied and fun. Some of the best shows included Strings of Rock, Robbie Printz at the laugh lounge, Reggie Rice, and a Prince tribute by Kwayme Micheal Remy. Cruise Director Alejandro Tortorelli really stepped it up by entertaining us prior to the Princess Theatre shows and by having two fun comedy shows featuring himself, Captain Raffaele di Martino and the activities director Papisito. On the last sea day I still had $30 of onboard credit so I ordered an indulgence Seafood Salad for $24 ($28 with the service fee) at the dining room for lunch. It was delicious but at that price I probably could have ordered it at my favorite seafood restaurant at home. At the end of the cruise we did the walk off disembarkation and were headed home by 7 a.m. Another great cruise in the history books!

Another Successful Princess Cruise

Recently cruised on the Enchanted Princess for 10 days (1/29/25 – 2/8/25). We departed from Port Everglades and the planned stops were: Princess Cay, St Thomas, St Maarten, Antigua, St Kitts, and Grand Turk. Note: Grand Turk was cancelled due to high winds. We had a sea day followed by Nassau added as a replacement stop. We have cruised 20-ish cruises across multiple lines We booked an inside guarantee cabin with the standard package. Our cabin was assigned on the M Marine deck forward just above the bridge and 1 deck below the Lido. It was a good location with easy access to the pool and food. Overall: We determined 10 days was the right length of cruise for us. At 7 days the cruise still felt new. By day 10 we were ready to disembark. The ship was very clean and the staff consistently attentive and polite. Our fellow cruisers were older than I anticipated. I would guess the median age was 75. We are late 50s so were clearly some of the younger people on the ship. My guess is this was because it was a 10 day cruise and working people may not get that many consecutive days off. There is no public access to view from the front of the ship. You either need to have a front facing cabin or pay to be in the Sanctuary. I enjoy watching the ship come into and leave the harbor. No arrival/departure viewing for me this cruise from the bow. Bring cough drops and some type of cough medicine. About day 6 the massive, uncovered coughing began and was spreading. Food The food was outstanding. Although we had booked main dining room reservations prior to embarkation, the time never seemed to work for us. We ate 8 dinners in the World Fresh Marketplace (buffet) and 2 dinners in the main dining room. The service in the main dining room was very rushed and took A LONG time. We were glad to have our meals at our own time and pace in the buffet. The main dining room menu is mostly offered in the buffet and the buffet includes a lot of additional choices. The pizza and chicken sandwich served poolside were very good. Pools Through Cruise Crutic I learned about the FREE Retreat adult-only pool on Sun Deck 17 forward. It is tucked away and I needed to seek it out. It “looks” like a private pool for some guests but it is accessible to all. It is just in front of the for-fee Sanctuary area. I enjoyed sea days here. I am up early and every day watched the same folks arrive on deck about 7am to reserve their lounge chairs next to the main pool. In my experience I always found a lounge chair available but I was not looking for a chair in the direct sun near the pool. Entertainment The dance band and electric violins in the atrium were good. The Irish singer duo (now left ship) were excellent. The rest of the music entertainment was very sedate background music. There were only a few comedy shows. In June 2024 while on the Grand Princess in Alaska it was announced that Princess was making a commitment to adding more comedians and branding it “Laugh Lounge.” (The logo and introduction are copied and modified from their sister cruise line Carnival.) I anticipated more comedy. I hope Princess continues to invest in this comedy entertainment. ALL shows were standing room only and some folks could not get in. Lots of game shows and trivia. Movies under the stars were good. We watched 2 or 3 of the movies.

Princess won us back with this cruise!

We have cruised 11 times, all with Princess and had a terrible experience on our 10th cruise on the Crown Princess to Alaska. (Don't ever sail on the Crown Princess!) We cancelled future cruise plans, but then were lured back with some onboard credit. So we gave it another chance, and the Enchanted Princess did not disappoint! First, the service was spectacular! It was very clear that this is a well run ship with happy employees who treated us like gold - consistently, everywhere. Every restaurant, every bar, our room steward, everyone. Very impressive, great leadership was evident here. The service in The Catch by Rudi was especially fantastic, and reminded me of what you might experience in a 5-star restaurant in NYC. The food was very good, with lots of choices onboard. There are up charges now for places like Alfredo's, the Ocean Terrace, etc. but we purchased Princess Premium, so it was all included. We loved it. The buffet was also excellent, fresh, delicious, and with many choices. We never got tired of it. The entertainment was among the best we've ever experienced. The Cruise Director was amazing and got us interested in the entertainment. We stopped going to shows a long time ago because they are typically pretty mediocre on board, but we listened to Allie and went to every show, and they were amazing! There were singers and dancers, who were Broadway quality, and we really enjoyed the three different shows they put on. There was also authentic Irish music at O'Malley's every night and we didn't miss a night. The "Walloping Boys" are fabulous, definitely check them out! Thanks to the leadership, service, food, and entertainment, we are back on track as loyal Princess cruisers! We highly recommend the Enchanted Princess, no matter its destination.

Xmas cruise with tips for fellow Brits

We've travelled with P&O for the 2 previous Xmas cruises & fancied a change. Our travel agent suggested Enchanted Princess out of Fort Lauderdale with flights to Miami & then a hotel pre-cruise. This review is mainly written to help fellow Brits. Transfer from Airport to Fort Lauderdale Hotel – very well organised using WhatsApp & airport wifi. Watch out for resort/amenity fees at the beach front hotels in Fort Lauderdale – ours was approx. $50 a night! No idea this charge would be levied and they wanted to hold $100 per night on the credit card. Food prices/meals have gone up in price similar to the UK – nothing is cheap anymore. Uber reliable for short journeys. Cruise check-in quick – but asked for proof of ESTA (never been asked for this before); luckily we had a print-out. Check in/sail times much earlier than Europe – all aboard by 2pm! No kettle in the cabin & no boiling water – only hot water urns for making tea! Lots of Xmas t-shirts/hats/headwear worn. Lots of cabin doors decorated. Not as dressed up as European cruises, even on formal nights. Saw everything from shorts & t-shirts with baseball caps, to full Xmas outfits, to sparkles/sequins & tuxedos. So, if struggling for luggage space, could dress more casually & not look out of place. There were 2 formal nights & 1 dress to impress night on our cruise. Special menus on Xmas Eve & Xmas day, but no Xmas table decorations/crackers. Santa visited at 5pm on Xmas day and gave kids under 17 a generic present in the atrium. In port for Xmas day – rather than a sea day. No Xmas presents for adults. Lots of Xmas themed activities/events. Self-service laundry $3 per wash & $3 per tumble dryer – did dry the whole load. Soap etc $1.25 (we brought washing pods from home). Buy tokens in the launderette. USB charger on bedside lamp with EU & US plugs in cabin – so either adapter will work Liquid hand soap, body lotion, shampoo & conditioner combined and body wash provided. Wifi on the ship super fast Bought a USA add-on for the mobile phone in the UK & this was a good purchase as the return transfer from the ship to the airport used text rather than WhatsApp Have to leave ship much earlier than Europe – last time slot to leave was 9.15am. Very efficient & ran ahead of schedule. Chaos outside trying to find pre-booked transfer. Miami airport has very limited seating & facilities before security – need to do a trip/excursion once leaving the ship – nothing to do at the airport. Virgin opened the desks at approx. 2pm for the 5pm flight and so had to sit with luggage before this. Lots of seating, shops, eateries after security. Cabin – vibrates – a lot! Right above the smoking area. Balcony exposed and if it rains, balcony gets wet!