Talking with the Captain of Enchantment; Chops Grille Review

This week, some of the members of the senior management team talk about what makes Enhantment of the Seas work.

First, we have Captain Gus Andersson, the master of the vessel. Captain Gus clearly enjoys his role. He can be seen out and about in the passenger areas of the ship, walking about and keeping his eye on how things are going and also participating in light-hearted activities such as a cake making competition. His announcements from the bridge inform the guests of the usual nautical information such as the ship's position and the weather but also about places of interest the ship is passing and some relevant history. The announcements always end with “words of wisdom” - - little sayings that elecit a smile but also have a lesson embedded in them.

Enchantment is Captain Gus' first permanent command. However, his resume includes expereience as an officer on several Royal Caribbean ships. Especially noteworthy is that he was First Officer on the team that brought Allure of the Seas into service. I sailed on Allure's maiden voyage and was struck by how incredibly motivated the crew of that ship was.

Micael Landry is the Hotel Director on Enchantment. One of the few American hotel directors in the cruise industry, his experience in hospitality includes both land-based hotels and ships. On Enchantment, he is in charge of the ship's largest department including such things as the dining, the entertainment and the accommodation. Like Captain Gus, he is not one to hide in his office. Rather, he too gets out and about amongst the guests and passengers. His forays are low key and designed to ensure that the operation is running smoothly.

Snezana Katic is the Guest Relations Manager. Included in her area of responsibily is management of the Guest Relations Desk. Equivalent to the reception desk at a hotel, the Guest Relations Desk is where passengers go when they have a question or a problem. On too many ships, the attitude of the people manning the desk is quite defensive. They seem to regard questions and reports of problems as a personal criticism. This, of course, is not very helpful.

On Enchantment, the Guest Relations Desk is just the opposite. The people behind the desk are friendly and endeavor to be problem solvers.

Enchantment is now 15 years old, which makes her approaching middle age. Yet, she still provides a good vacation experience and has a legion of followers who sail on her regularly. I asked these members of the senior team why that is. Their answer is posted at: http://www.beyondships2.com/enchantment-of-the-seas-interview.html

In addition, this week we have my review of the Chops Grille on Enchantment. Chops is Royal Caribbean's urban-style steakhouse. The menu of this specialty restaurant is the same on each of the Royal Caribbean ships that has a Chops. However, just as the same brand of restaurant can differ in different cities, so do the Chops. The review is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/enchantment-of-the-seas-chops-grille-review.html

Enchantment of the Seas Photos and Review

Two weeks ago, I returned from a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas. Enchantment is not the newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet - - she entered service in 1997 and was extensively refurbished in 2005. She is also not the largest ship in the fleet although she is significantly bigger than RCI's other Vision class ships - - the result of the insertion of a 73 foot section into her midsection during the 2005 refit. Still, she is nonetheless capable of providing a very nice cruise experience.

In some ways, the cruise experience reminded me of how cruising used to be before the turn of the Millennium. Although some very good things have happened to cruising since then, some things have also gotten lost along the way. Take Enchantment's theater for example. In the 90s, the primary entertainment venues on ships were changing from show lounges to theaters. On Enchantment, the theater still has traces of its show lounge antecedents with large padded chairs and comfortable arm rests. They are like living room lounge chairs. In addition, the room has a bright, roomy atmosphere.

The activities onboard are traditional cruise ship activities. There are the captain's reception and past passenger receptions, trivia contests, cooking demonstrations, enrichment lectures, bingo, etc. You also have Royal Caribbean staples like the Quest game and the Love and Marriage game. Although the newer ships have the same or similar activities, the scale of Enchantment makes these events somehow more intimate.

The entertainment could also be described as traditional. Like the cruise directors of old, Cruise Director John Blair seemed to be everywhere and not only took on the role of emcee but also performed a concert of Neil Diamond songs and gave an enrichment lecture. We had two production shows by the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers during this eight night cruise. Three of the singers also did a cabaret concert and displayed impressive strong voices. During the course of the voyage, we had two stand-up comedians and a comedy juggler. I enjoyed Carl Banks' performance the most. It was an adult show but did it relied on clever material rather than four letter words for the humor

I like to watch big screen movies. Enchantment does not have a big movie screen. But using a large gauzy backdrop that was designed for the stage shows, the staff has improvised a big screen in the theater that works quite well. On it, they showed a series of recent releases each afternoon and on various evening after the stage show. I thought this was very clever and showed initiative.

Food is always a big part of cruising. Enchantment's main dining room, the My Fair Lady Restaurant, is quite charming with a décor themed after the musical of that name. Service at dinner was very good as was the food. Breakfast and lunch (sea days only) was good but the service and food was not as consistently good as dinner.

The buffet restaurant, the Windjammer, is located at the forward end of the superstructure. This initially confused some of the guests who, familiar with the larger Royal Caribbean ships, headed towards the back of the ship. The room offers great views but was always too crowded for me. I found a better alternative to be the light meal venue in the Solarium, which offers pizza, burgers, sandwiches, salads and desserts. Another nice room underneath the retractable glass roof that covers this pool area.

A dining venue that I found myself going to several times was Cafe Latte-Tudes. This is a specialty coffee bar that also sells Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I am not a coffee drinker and while I did indulge one afternoon in some ice cream, what drew me here again and again was the pastries. The muffins and cookies were excellent and better than anywhere else on the ship.

At this time, Enchantment has one specialty restaurant - - the Chops Grille. This is a steakhouse with a sophisticated urban atmosphere. The food is good quality and it provides a change of atmosphere from the main dining room on a longer cruise.

I booked this cruise late on a guarantee basis. As a result, I was assigned an inside cabin on one of the lower decks. It was clean and surprisingly large with with a surprising amount of storage space. The safe and television were older models but worked well. There was an initial problem with the telephone set but that was remedied before the ship sailed.

Enchantment sailed from Baltimore, Maryland. The rationale for basing a ship in Baltimore is to attract people who live in the surrounding area. However, I was impressed in talking to my fellow passengers at how many were not from the Maryland or mid-Atlantic region. There were quite a few from the mid-west and many from Canada. A large percentage of the passengers were repeat passengers. Thus, it was something more than the convenience of proximity that drew people to this cruise.

The itinerary was an interesting one. First, the ship sailed to Bermuda, where she spent two days. Then after a sea day she was in Boston and then in Newport, Rhode Island. This allowed passengers to have the island experience of Bermuda, the history and sophistication of Boston and the unique resort atmosphere of Newport. Thus, it was not a single vacation experience but a combination of experiences.

The weather throughout the cruise was good. We experienced a rain storm one night but the seas were calm. As a result, there was no real test of Enchantment's seakeeping abilities. She ran smoothly throughout.

I have re-done Beyondships' profile of Enchantment, adding copies of daily programs, information leaflets distributed onboard, and menus. http://beyondships.com/ENOS-Profile.html In addition, the photo tour of the ship has been updated and expanded. http://beyondships.com/ENOS-tour.html Finally, there is a new photo essay showing Enchantment in each of the ports of call she visited during this cruise. http://beyondships.com/RCI-ENOS-Bermuda.html

Photos of Norwegian Gem and Enchantment of the Seas

Sometimes when I am on a cruise, there will be another ship that is doing the same, or almost the same itinerary.  This gives me the opportunity to photograph that ship in a variety of locations, doing different things.  This week, I have posted two photo essays resulting from such coincident itineraries.

The first shows Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas during a Bahamas cruise.  Enchantment had sailed from Baltimore, where she is homeported to Port Canaveral, Florida.  Then she sailed to Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas, Coco Cay, and the next day to Nassau.

I was on Norwegian Gem sailing on a similar itinerary out of New York. Of course, Norwegian Cruise Line ships do not call at Royal Caribbean’s private island.  However, Norwegian’s private island is next to Royal’s and so with a telephoto lens, it is possible to get photos of ships calling at Coco Cay from Great Stirrup Cay.

The Enchantment of the Seas photo essay is posted at http://beyondships.com/RCI-ENOS-Bahamas.html

A few weeks later, I was on a Bermuda cruise as was Norwegian Gem.  As a result, I was able to record Gem’s cruise.  The Gem photo essay is at http://beyondships.com/NCLGem-Photos-Bermuda.html     

Looking at Enchantment of the Seas

In 2005, Enchantment of the Seas was cut in two and a new 73 foot midsection was inserted. This raised her gross tonnage from approximately 70,000 tons to over 80,000 gross tons. As a result, Enchantment is one of, if not the largest cruise ship to be expanded.

While the fact that such a large ship was expanded this was is interesting in itself, what is more important is what the expansion did for the ship. For one thing, it allowed Royal Caribbean to re-design the main pool area. Not only were the pools re-done but an interactive computer-controlled splash fountain was added, whirlpools were added including one cantilevered over the ship’s starboard side, a new bar area was built and two spectacular suspension bridges were created on each side. In addition, the interior public spaces were revitalized and new features added including a specialty restaurant and an art gallery.

Enchantment’s public spaces have a tasteful contemporary look. Except in the casino, there is no neon or bright lights, nothing of the theme-park. In many respects it resembles a good quality modern hotel.

My profile of Enchantment of the Seas is at http://www.beyondships.com/ENOS-Profile.html and the photo tour and commentary begins at: http://www.beyondships.com/ENOS-tour.html