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

Profile and Photo Tour of Liberty of the Seas

Liberty of the Seas was one of the first ships profiled on Beyondships. The ship had just come out of the shipyards and Royal Caribbean had brought her to the Cape Liberty Cruise Terminal on the Jersey side of New York harbor to show her off and for some pre-inaugural activities. In May 2007, she was the world’s largest cruise ship - a title she shared with her sister Freedom of the Seas - - and her size was impressive. In addition, her décor was somewhat more subtle than her sister and thus more relaxing at least to my eye. Captain Herman Zini who was in the process of bringing out the ship spoke with pride about Liberty during our interview.




Earlier this year, Liberty went through a major refit during which a number of enhancements and improvements were made. Accordingly, it seemed like an appropriate time to travel to Miami and revisit her. Moreover, during the time since I was last on her, the Beyondships’ profiles had become much more comprehensive and it would enable me to get the material I needed to do a profile of Liberty that was as comprehensive as those for the other ships on the site.



One of the first things I noticed about Liberty was that she no longer felt very big. After sailing on Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, which are about a third again larger than Liberty, she no longer felt vast. Rather, it seemed a comfortable size.



Another question in my mind was how the service would be on Liberty. All of the ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet had contributed crew members for Oasis and Allure. Had all the good people been cherry-picked away for the line’s two new flagships? I was relieved to find that they had not. The service was quite good, friendly and professional.



The new enhancements blended well into the existing ship. The Cupcake Cupboard looked like it had always been part of the Royal Promenade and no one seemed to notice that the barber shop was missing. The outdoor movie screen in the pool area provides a focal point and is colorful at night. While its placement is not ideal for viewing, its location is about as good as it could be given where the pools and the hot tubs are located.



An addition to the programming onboard is the Dreamworks Experience. This entails having the characters from Dreamworks animated movies participate in various onboard activities such as parades and children’s breakfasts. The ship has also been equipped with 3-D technology so that the movies can be shown in the main theater. The children onboard seemed to enjoy the Dreamworks programming and it does not intrude into the adult world except that one may occasionally encounter Shrek when walking through the public rooms.



In any event, you can see for yourself what Liberty of the Seas is all about - - the new Liberty profile with copies of daily programs, menus and other information is at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-LOS-Profile.html The comprehensive photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-LOS-tour-1.html

Majesty of the Seas - - Profile and Photo Tour

All cruises are not the same. At one extreme, there are 100 day around the world voyages. On the other hand, there are short get-away cruises touching at a few not to distant ports. The former tend to attract experienced cruisers who are more mature and more affluent. The latter is primarily the province of young people who are often sampling cruising for the first time.

For the major cruise lines that focus on a younger crowd, the short cruise market presents a not insignificant opportunity. If young first time cruisers like the experience, they will probably come back and try a longer cruise.

In recognition of this, Royal Caribbean spent some $36 million re-vitalizing Majesty of the Seas in 2007. Majesty was one of a trio of cruise ships that revolutionized the industry in the early 1990s. These ships were the first purpose built cruise ships to rival in size the great ocean liners of the past. After that, the door was open to bigger and bigger cruise ships.

By today’s standards, Majesty is a relatively intimate cruise ship. However, I was impressed when I went aboard her at how nice she looks. Her interior design is no longer revolutionary but it is not dated either. In fact, the central atrium still seems to shine. In addition, Royal Caribbean has added an array of casual dining venues including a Windjammers Marketplace, a Sorrento Pizza, a Johnny Rockets and a Compass Deli. These allow the guests to have choices like on the newer RCI ships, albeit on a smaller scale.

Not surprisingly, Royal has deployed Majesty to do short cruises to the Bahamas from Miami. Having made such an investment in her, it only makes sense to put her in one of the most competitive short cruise markets.

Beyondships profile of Majesty of the Seas is at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-MJOS-Profile.html and the multi-page photo tour and commentary is at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-MJOS--Tour-1.html

Photos of Cruise Port Southampton and Independence of the Seas

This week we are going beyond the ships themselves and looking at the cruise port of Southampton, England. Now, few people set out with the goal of spending their vacation/holiday in Southampton. However, it is Britain’s primary cruise port and so cruisers often spend time there before or after a cruise.

While Southampton is not a tourist destination, it is tourist friendly. There are a variety of hotels and places to eat. In addition since Southampton is the large shopping center for southern England, it has lots of stores ranging from traditional high street stores to vast modern shopping malls.

Due to the fact that Southampton was - - and still is - - an import seaport, it was heavily bombed during World War II. Consequently, much of the city dates from the post-war period. However, I was surprised to find how many historic properties still exist. Indeed, Southampton reportedly has the most amount of medieval city walls in England.

Southampton is also not far from a number of places of interest including Stonehenge, the Isle of Wight, the naval museums at Portsmouth, Salisbury cathedral, and Winchester. A little further away but still within day trip range is the metropolis of London and all it has to offer.

My photo tour of Southampton begins at http://beyondships.com/Ports-Southampton-1.html

One of the ships that sails out of Southampton is Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. Now the world’s second largest cruise ship, Independence has modern lines but with a hint of the style of traditional ships, especially in the bow area. This lends itself to photographs and I have now added a page of photos of her taken in Florida and in Southampton to the Independence of the Seas section of Beyondships. It appears at http://beyondships.com/RCI-IOS-Photos1.html

Profile and Photo Tour of Oasis of the Seas

Oasis of the Seas is a historic ship. The mere fact that she is so much larger than any passenger ship before her by itself is enough to ensure her a place in history. However, what is more important about her is that she brings a revolutionary approach to cruising.

With regard to size, she is 220,000 gross tons. Before Oasis entered service, the largest cruise ships were approximately 150,000 gross tons. Thus she is about half again larger than her biggest predecessor. She is not much longer or taller than other ships and thus the difference in size is primarily due to the fact that she is much wider than previous ships.

The cruise experience on Oasis is something new and different. It builds upon what Royal Caribbean has done with its Voyager and Freedom class ships but is a quantum beyond that. By organizing the ship into sections, each with a unifying theme, Royal allows passengers to have several different experiences. One can stay in one of these “neighborhoods” and soak up that experience or one can move between them having several different experiences a day. In some ways it reminded me more of Disney’s Epcot theme park than the experience on other ships. Moreover, like the Disney park, it is operated efficiently and with sophistication, making good use of technology.

This is not to say that Royal has done away with everything that made cruising a good fun experience. The daily program still contains many traditional cruise ship activities - - those that are not only fun but which afford an opportunity to get to know your fellow passengers. In addition, management has placed an emphasis on personal service and the crew is friendly.

Oasis was not built to be a transatlantic express liner. However, her nautical qualities are too often overlooked. When you look at her bow on, one sees that at the waterline she has a slim bow that tapers back rather slowly. This is an efficient form for cutting through the waves. She also has a relatively deep draft - - 30 feet, which when combined with her width and low center of gravity makes her rather stable. Indeed, if one is in the Central Park area of the ship, much of the time it is easy to forget one is on a ship inasmuch as there is so little movement.

I had the experience of sailing on Oasis in the morning and then on another modern ship in the afternoon and was surprised at the amount of motion in the afternoon sailing. Oasis had disguised the fact that the sea was actually rather rough.

Beyondships’ profile of Oasis of the Seas is at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-OOS-Profile.html : The multi-page photo tour begins at: http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-OOS-1-tour.html
Next week, we talk with the captain and hotel director of Oasis.

Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas (photos and guide)

I believe I have discovered yet another Royal Caribbean. There is, of course, the vacation experience offered on the giant mega-cruise ships that the line has become particularly noted for. On those ships, there is a vast variety of amenities and features as well as almost non-stop entertainment. Then, as I wrote about last month, there are the relatively smaller ships such as Grandeur of the Seas. They do not have all the features of the bigger ships but, at least on Grandeur, the crew really knock themselves out to ensure that the passengers have a good vacation. Both the large ships and the smaller ships have a Royal Caribbean flavor but they are much different vacation experiences.

What is surprising is that there is yet another type of vacation experience under the RCI Crown and Anchor emblem. Jewel of the Seas is one of four Radiance class ships built for Royal Caribbean in Pappenberg, Germany. Most of RCIs ships were built in Finland and they are very good quality ships but the craftsmanship on he Radiance class ships is impressive. This is true not only in the ship’s interior but also extends to her hydrodynamic hull and advanced propulsions system. She can move along at more than 25 knots, which is quite fast for a cruise ship.

At 90,000 gross tons they are larger than the Vision class but also significantly smaller than the line’s giant ships such as Voyager of the Seas. It would be wrong, however, to think of Jewel as a mini-Voyager class ship or as a large Vision class ship.

What makes the Jewel experience unique is the refinement of the product. Yes, she has the trademark Viking Crown Lounge and rock climbing wall. However, she also has a beautiful covered pool area, touches of marble and wooden inlays. Moreover, even though she is larger than the largest Vision-class ship, Enchantment of the Seas, she carries fewer passengers. This means more space per passenger.

Jewel is a quieter, more cosmopolitan Royal Caribbean. In some ways, she is reminiscent of the style of Royal Caribbean’s sister company Celebrity Cruises. Indeed, Celebrity’s Solstice class is derived from the Radiance class. Still, her style is distinctly her own.

The Beyondships Jewel of the Seas profile page with copies of menus and daily programs from the ship is at http://beyondships.com/RCI-JOS-Profile.html The comprehensive photo tour and commentary begins at http://beyondships.com/RCI-JOS-Tour-1.html


Next week, Captain James MacDonald and Hotel Director Robert Taggart will add some inside views on Jewel of the Seas.

Talking with the Captain and Hotel Director of Grandeur of the Seas

One of the nicest things about Grandeur of the Seas is the friendliness of her crew and that extends all the way up through to the senior management of the ship.

Captain Rune Johnsen lives outside of Trondheim in Norway when he is not at sea. It is far enough away from the city so that he does not have to worry about crime and being on guard all of the time. This fits with his open, people-friendly personality.

I spoke with Captain Johnsen about the nautical aspects of Grandeur of the Seas - - her seakeeping qualities, propulsion etc. However, we also discussed the type of atmosphere that he seeks to create not only on the bridge but in managing the entire ship. His thoughts appear at: http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-GOS-Johnsen.html

Sanjay Kumar is the Hotel Director on Grandeur. When he was growing up, he had a great passion for cooking and that led him to the hospitality industry. After obtaining his degree, he worked in five star restaurants in India and then came to Royal Caribbean as a chef. Then he switched over to hotel management.

Sanjay took on the tough question of how does Grandeur remain popular in a line that is known for its mega-sized ships with all of their facilities and amenities. His answer appears at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-GOS-Kumar.html

Grandeur of the Seas Profile and Photo Tour

I confess that I was somewhat skeptical when I booked my cruise on Grandeur of the Seas. Because she is much smaller than Royal Caribbean’s more recent ships, she would not have all the features and amenities that make a cruise on a Voyager or Freedom class ship so entertaining. Then, there was the fact that she was 13 years old. Ships such as the QE2 sailed on much longer than that but I wondered how well Grandeur had been kept up.

Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. It is true that Grandeur does not have a Royal Promenade or an ice rink but what she lacks in hardware she more than makes up in software. The officers and crew seemed to put an extra amount of energy into everything that they did. As a result, the service was very friendly and the entertainment/activities very good.

The ship has also been well-maintained. She was re-furbished in 2007 and was clean with no visible signs of wear. The public spaces were well-laid out and decorated in a tasteful contemporary manner.

As a result, I was very pleased with my cruise on Grandeur. To get a feel for her yourself, the new Grandeur of the Seas section of Beyondships starts at http://beyondships.com/RCI-GOS-Profile.html The photo tour and commentary begins at http://beyondships.com/RCI-GOS--tour-1.html

Inside Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas

Independence of the Seas has a lot going for it. She is currently the largest cruise ship in the world, a title she holds along with her sister ships Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas. She is full of entertainment and dining venues and has both traditional and innovative outdoor facilities such as a surfing simulator. Just as importantly, the crew is engaged in a near constant effort to entertain the passengers with parades, singing and dancing waiters as well as the usual set of shipboard activities such as trivia contests and bingo.

The ship follows Royal Caribbean’s style of cruising. This style was developed serving the American market. Consequently, the décor, the informality and the emphasis on activity all reflect the country where Royal Caribbean first achieved success.

Recently, however, Royal Caribbean announced that Independence of the Seas’ first summer season sailing out of Southampton, England had been so successful that the ship would be homeported there all year in 2010. What makes this so surprising is that the vast majority of passengers traveling on Independence have not been vacationing Americans but rather British.

When I was onboard Independence, I had the opportunity to talk with Captain Arnolf Remo, Hotel Director Darren Budden and Cruise Director Allan Brooks about Independence and her success in Britain. The resulting article appears at: http://beyondships.com/RCI-IOS-article-UK.html Also, to see what Independence of the Seas looks like, there is the photo tour beginning at http://beyondships.com/RCI-IOS-tour.html

Serenade of the Seas Photo Tour and Commentary

At the turn of the Millennium, Royal Caribbean had come up with two rather excellent but quite different designs for cruise ships. The first was the Voyager design, which premiered in late 1999. It was for a megacruise ship of more than 130,000 tons, which have the line the space to include amenities such as the Royal Promenade and the ice skating rink, which had never been seen on a cruise ship before. Its large size also lent itself to economies of scale as the design could accommodate large numbers of guests.

The other design was the Radiance class design, which first saw service in 2001. This design was also for a large ship but at 90,000 tons, much smaller than the Voyager design. At the same time, capable of doing 25 knots, it was a much faster ship. It was more traditional in its interior but very well laid out with the use of large amounts of glass enhancing the public spaces. In sum, it was an eloquent design that pointed in something of a different direction than the Voyager design.

Serenade of the Seas is the third of four Radiance class ships built for RCI between 2001 and 2004. Her modern sleek lines are immediately appealing. Her interior is delightful. In many ways, she is a significant milestone in the development of the traditional cruise ship design. Although she has many of the signature Royal Caribbean amenities, it is a different experience.

Recently, Royal Caribbean has focused its attention on developing the Voyager class, which gave rise to the Freedom class and which is the ancestor of the forthcoming Oasis class. Thankfully the Radiance design has not been abandoned. RCI’s sister company Celebrity Cruises is developing the Radiance design with its Solstice class ships.

My profile of Serenade of the Seas is at http://beyondships.com/RCI-SOS-Profile.html. and the photo tour and commentary begins at http://beyondships.com/RCI-SOS--tour-1.html.

Independence of the Seas Photo Tour and Commentary

I found Independence of the Seas to be an exciting ship. She is packed with things to do and the entertainment and activities are non-stop. Thus, even for a person like me who is not particular oriented toward sports and physical activity, I found that there was a lot to do.

Independence is Royal Caribbean’s newest ship. Royal Caribbean likes to build them big and reap the benefits of economies of scale. For the moment, Independence is the world’s largest cruise ship, a title she will hold along with her two sister ships until Royal Caribbean brings out Oasis of the Seas later this year.

Although she is big and carries a lot of people, I never felt over crowded. Yes, there are parts of the ship that can get busy - - the buffet, for example - - but there are also parts where one can be by oneself. This is probably due to the fact that there are so many amenities on the ship that the passengers are well-distributed. It is also a credit to management for planning the activities with good passenger flow in mind.

Independence is based most of the year in Southampton, England although she spends the colder months in the Caribbean. As a result, for most of the year, most of her passengers are British. While the overall experience remains the American-style cruise that Royal Caribbean is famous for, there have been a few alterations to the menu and to the entertainment to make the British guests feel more at home.

In the final analysis, the reason Independence appeals to different cultures is because it provides an entertaining cruise experience. With rock climbing walls, a skating rink and an indoor shopping/dining/entertainment boulevard (complete with a parked car), it is not a traditional cruise experience. However, it is fun.

My profile of Independence is at http://beyondships.com/RCI-IOS-Profile.html and the photo tour and commentary starts at http://beyondships.com/RCI-IOS-tour.html.

Captains Interviews: Carnival Splendor and Explorer of the Seas

The primary objective of Beyondships is to give people a feel for the various ships profiled on the site. To do this, I like to present the views of the people who actually run those ships in addition to the photo tour, menus, daily programs and other information presented on the site. I think it helps give more of the human element of the experience. This week we present conversations with the senior officers of two popular ships: Carnival Splendor and Explorer of the Seas.

I met with Captain Giorgio Pagano, Master of the Carnival Splendor, and seven of his senior officers in the ship’s Robusto Bar. It was a free-flowing exchange with the various officers supplementing what each other was saying. Since Splendor is a new ship, the conversation focused on the construction of the ship and how she was brought into service. On a ship that reportedly cost half a billion dollars, it was a much more involved process than simply turning up at the shipyard on the delivery date and taking the keys.

The second item is based on a conversation that I had with Captain Erik Standal (top photo above) when he was Captain of Explorer of the Seas. (He has since gone on to command Explorer’s sister ship Navigator of the Seas). Captain Erik is a great source of information and there is already interview with him on the site about Explorer and some of his comments are included in the photo tour of Navigator.

Explorer sails year-round from New York harbor (Bayonne, New Jersey) and in this conversation we discussed Explorer’s ability to handle the winter weather in the northeast. We also talked about his approach to actually driving one of the world’s largest ships. Finally, we discussed emergency rescues at sea.

My conversation with the officers of Splendor is at http://beyondships.com/CarnivalSplendor-interview.html. While the article about Explorer is at http://beyondships.com/Explorer-Standal-2.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