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The Breakers - Newport, Rhode Island
Last week’s photo contest must have been a hard one, since we had only 9 responses. But all were correct!
Congratulations to Ed & Nancy O’Hara of Warminster, PA who were randomly selected to receive a $25 gift card.
Our contest photo was of the Breakers, a magnificent Newport, Rhode Island summer home built by Cornelius Vanderbilt. We took the photo while cruising on the Enchantment of the Seas.
Our Experience on the Enchantment
We (Rachelle and Wayne) boarded the Enchantment of the Seas in Baltimore on May 31st. Since the Enchantment is due for a refurbishment in December, we were afraid that she would be in less than pristine condition. If you are a “glass is half empty” person, you could find things that were less than perfect, such as dings in doors and rails that needs refinishing. However, we were pleased with the overall appearance and condition of the ship.
Enchantment’s Centrum, looking up
The crew was magnificent. They were both efficient and friendly. We were especially impressed when a waiter from another table (not getting tipped by us) came over to our table to show us some tricks. In our view, the crew makes or breaks a cruise so we rate this cruise as a rousing success even though as we will see, there were some shortcomings.
A major issue was the lido buffet area for breakfast and lunch. It is way too small for the number of passengers. Every day, we found ourselves wandering through the room looking for an empty table. We think that when Royal Caribbean stretched the ship and added rooms for an additional 300 passengers, they forgot to enlarge the lido area. Our advice: Go very early or late to the buffet. One positive in the buffet was the Asian station which frequently had Indian food.
Overall, the food was good but not great. Except for the extra cost “Chops”, the beef was fairly tasteless. Chops, on the other hand offered a very good and well-prepared piece of beef. We found that the soups and appetizers were very tasty.
Entertainment was typical “cruise ship” with competent dancers and singers. We had two comedians who had some hilarious moments. There was also a comic-juggler who we had seen an a prior Celebrity cruise so we assume that a major part of his career is aboard ships.
Approaching our dock in Bermuda, located across from the clocktowers.
The ports included Bermuda, Boston and Newport, Rhode Island. Bermuda is one of our favorite islands. However, we were there on a weekend. With Queen Elizabeth’s diamond Jubilee being celebrated, there was lots happening on Saturday. However, they take their Sabbath seriously, so most businesses in the main towns were closed on Sunday (although many in the Dockyard were open). If you are there on a weekend, make Sunday your beach day and Saturday your sightseeing/shopping day.
The Enchantment spent most of a day in Boston. She docks at a commercial dock about two miles for the main historic area so you will likely take a cab or shuttle from the ship. The ship offer excursions to Boston’s most famous sites including a terrific trip to Fenway Park. Our friends went to the “No-Name restaurant at the Boston waterfront and enjoyed Scrod for lunch. Because we had been to Boston before, we took a walk in South Boston which is becoming regentrified.
We had never been to our final port so we called it Newport. Alas, we discovered that it is quite old, in fact, it was settled only 20 years after the Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower. Newport was the summer home to the rich and famous in the “gilded age”. Their magnificent mansions still exist and some can be visited (for a fee). If you want a “cheap” tour of the mansions, take the local #67 city bus. You can get on an off as much as you want for 6 bucks (need exact change). If you have a nice, clear day take the “Cliff Walk”. The scenery is breathtaking.. Don’t worry, you won’t be in danger of falling off the cliff.
Approaching Newport Harbor
The Enchantment sails from Baltimore on 6 night cruises to Bermuda (until October 26th) and 8 night cruises like the one described until August 23rd. She will then have some fall cruises to New England.
Next year, the Grandeur of the Seas will replace the Enchantment in Baltimore. She is just completing a major makeover which includes new restaurants, an outdoor movie screen, aerial entertainment in the Centrum, flat screen TVs and an ipad in every stateroom.
During the early part of 2013, the Grandeur will be doing a Bahamas-Florida itinerary. She will be doing 6 and 7 night cruises to Bermuda from May to November 1st. She will have some more interesting sailings in November and December with 10 night sailings to the Eastern Caribbean.
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