2011 B2B on Enchantment & Key West trip

Our next trip after my trip to Yellowstone and Hawaii with my grandson in June of 2010, was a back to back on Enchantment of the Seas out of Baltimore. We love cruising out of Baltimore - it is easy for us to drive to and the port is efficient so embarking and disembarking is swift and easy. But the ships that can do Baltimore are a precious few.

Baltimore from the ship at sunset

Our cruises out of Baltimore:

• NCL Crown (just once) - Sold to Fred Olsen Cruises
• Grandeur of the Seas 2007, 2013, 2018, 2019 - ship was moved out of Baltimore in 2020
• Celebrity Mercury in 2010 (just once) The ship was sold in 2011
• Enchantment of the Seas 2011 (twice)
• Carnival Pride twice in the fall of 2011 (after this cruise)

Enchantment is the same configuration as Grandeur, but Enchantment was "stretched". Which in this case anyway means that more cabins were added but there was no additional room added at any of the restaurants or the theater or any of the public spaces. So the ship is much more crowded.

Enchantment of the Seas in the Caribbean

Getting Ready To Go

We had a disagreement to begin with about suitcases. I had been using my mom's little red carry-on bag, but it was only good for about 10 days. The first time we took the big black bag, they wrenched the pull-up handle off and I thought it was way too heavy when packed and did not want to travel with it where it had to be moved by either of us. The kids gave me a slightly smaller and more manageable brown bag. Bob thought that had been given to him. He thought I should take the black bag and he would take the brown bag.

Well I gave in. I used the black bag and put everything in it except my computer and my medicines. Bob used the brown bag, a hanging bag and also a carry-on bag. After we got back, Bob admitted that I was right. That bag is too heavy when packed.

Bob was packed by Tuesday 4 January 2011. He took a wind-up alarm clock. He tested it before we left to see if it would work. The last time he took one, it went crazy.

Thursday 6 January 2011 after respiratory rehab, I got my list made and got the clothes out and put everything except shoes and underwear in the black suitcase and shut it.

7 January 2011

Throughout Friday I was rearranging the packing to include the shoes and underwear. Some stuff I decided not to take and put back. I did the computer bag and put all the stuff in it that is usually in my pocket book. That is until it was time to leave and pick up the rental car when I took my wallet (which has my driver's license in it) out of the computer bag and, as I usually do, I stuck it in the center console.

We got a blue Ford Focus with a Maine license plate from Avis. Because I took my big water battle out of the car and also my big hat, I thought I had forgotten and left my wallet in the car. Most of my cash and my credit cards were in it. I did have my passport and about $55.00 in cash. When we got home, Bob found my wallet where I had left it in the room with the copier when I had gone in there to copy the luggage tags.

Bob bought us each a special $5.00 water bottle that can be washed in the dishwasher and is supposed to have no bad chemicals and be a one-hand operation. However it is too big to go in the side pocket of the computer bag and I had no room for it anywhere else. Although it has a ring to hang it from, I have no place to attach it to. And it takes me two hands to drink.

Anyway the black bag when packed was almost too much for Bob and it didn't have the normal roller bag handle - just a strap to pull it with. He put it into the car Friday night because he was afraid it would snow and be difficult to handle.

8 January 2011 - Embarking

Saturday we got the rest of the luggage in the rental car and after I finished checking email, I turned off and unplugged the modems and TVs and the satellite receivers and Bob turned down the furnace and turned off the water and turned on the alarm. We were underway by about 8:50. We went up Route 4 instead of going by Croom Road because of fears about the weather. Varying amounts of snow were predicted, and we did have some snow showers. No problem.

I did not take any pictures on the way up. About the time we were getting to the airport, Bob asked me how much the car cost, and I told him it was $46 - that there were no $20/day rentals anymore. He was annoyed at the price, but it is still cheaper to rent a car and drive it up and take a taxi to the cruise terminal than it is to pay $15/day for parking. But it isn't as much of a deal as it used to be.

Even if we drove up and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, the parking would still add up to more than the rental car (if my figures are correct) because we still have to figure in the cost of the hotel room. At $15.00/day it would be $315 for a 21 day cruise. Parking at the hotel would be free for 7 days and $5.00/day for the other 14 days ($70) plus the cost of the hotel room. The actual cost of the rental car, plus the taxi from the airport to the port, plus the tip for the bus driver from the rental car place to the airport was $91.00.

Again, Bob refused to listen to me and he would not take the luggage to the ship first. So we got out of the car and turned it in and then had to walk across the width of the garage and across the lobby to get the bus to the airport. Bob couldn't do the two roller bags as he had thought he could do. I couldn't do his roller bag with the way he had his other bag on it. So I took his bag and my computer bag and walked as well as I could. I had to stop and gasp for breath a couple of times. I finally got to the lobby and just sat down there exhausted. Bob had already loaded the bags he had (big black bag, his hanging bag and his carry-on) onto the bus and he came back to me and chivvied me along. The bus was waiting for me he said.

Everyone on the bus got off at the Southwest terminal, and then we went to pick up people to go back to the rental garage. He unloaded us fairly near the taxis. We got a good taxi driver who knew where the cruise ship terminal was, and he also knew how to get luggage tags. I didn't have the luggage tags. I left our luggage tags in the copier. When we got back we found them there along with my wallet.

Bob thought I should go get the luggage tags but I did not see any reason why I should do that. I was still resting up from the walk with the luggage. So he took the papers and did it, and I drank some water. Then we gave the luggage to the longshoreman people and Bob did not remember that we had to tip them and was annoyed when I told him to. Since I put it down to get out of the cab, I also left the very expensive $5.00 water bottle in the taxi - I was pretty sure that was inevitable given my experience with water bottles. If it can't be attached to me somehow, I will put it down and forget it.

I wanted a wheelchair but the wheel chairs were not supplied until after you checked in. We had to show our passports and then go through a security scan (Bob beeped) without a wheelchair. This of course included taking out the computer. This time I managed to keep from having the ball of the trackball roll off across the terminal like the last time.

We checked in very quickly and I snagged a wheelchair as we were about to board the ship when I hardly needed it anymore.

Centrum

Lounge from balcony in the atrium

The wheelchair person said that our rooms on deck 3 would be open at 1300 and it was 1230, so after a long wait for the elevator, we went up to deck 3 where our room was.

Art in the stairway near our room

But the notice on the board said they weren't open until 1330. I gave up the wheelchair and sat on the steps. It got to 1330 and I needed to use the bathroom and was hungry. They were telling people that to use the bathrooms they would have to go to deck 6.

I went up to deck 4 and checked on our table (we have a table for 8 which is good), and used the bathroom there - I knew they would have bathroom next to the restaurant. The main restaurant was not open which it would have been on NCL..

We got into our room and there is even less room in the bathroom, less storage and less clearance at the foot of the bed than I remembered. (On RCCI ships of this class, if you have the bed together, one side of the bottom of the bed is right up against the cabinet with the TV in it.

Our cabin

This means that the person on that side has to leap over the end of the bed to get to the bathroom.

TV pulled out of the cabinet

And it is also hard for the room steward to make the beds.) We did manage to store all the suitcases under the bed this time. Also there seem to be no bow camera (I found out at the Cruise Critics meeting the next day that it was not working) I do not understand the maps where it shows the ship' progress either - they are too small to see anything on.

We went up to the Windjammer Cafe and the food wasn't very good and there were crowds of people of course. I got spaghetti and couldn't find the cheese. It wasn't as good as an ordinary cafeteria, and it was also harder to find things as it was disorganized.

My lunch - spaghetti with no cheese

We sat with some people from Toronto and they drove down because they said they couldn't get a direct flight and would be very expensive in the bargain. They and many others have stayed at the Holiday Inn Express where they have free parking for 7 days

Ship Model - locations for Deck 8

Anyway, we took the elevator up deck 5 to the boat drill which was outside on the promenade deck but we didn't need to take the life preservers with us. We checked in and stood in formation like good children for the announcements. Afterward Bob went down to the room and I.went to see about the internet.

Computer Cafe

There is no one to help you in the computer cafe. I logged in there and set my name and password on their computer and the next step is to take my computer to a hot spot and log in and pick a payment plan.

Our bags all came. Bob's suit bag came first - the guy rapped on the door and left it outside. So Bob said the others should be around, and he went out to the elevator lobby where the bags were being left and found them.

Someone said this morning that someone put their bags in their room, but they were the wrong bags.

We unpacked, but we really don't have very much storage space and the space in the bathroom is tiny.

Bob cannot put his shaving gear let alone the toothbrushes anywhere in there. So far we figure that we have left two items behind (my wallet and Bob's toothbrush) and lost one item en route (the water bottle)

Bob in the bathroom (reflected)

In order to put the hanging things in the closet, you have to stand and thread the little metal button on the end of the hanger into a slot. It is hard to see and above my head, and I just couldn't stand there and hang my dresses up, so Bob had to do it for me.

We couldn't see the sail-away because the bow camera was not working, but I went up and out on the promenade deck and found we were just about ready to go under the Key Bridge,

Going under Francis Scott Key bridge

Key Bridge

so I went out on deck and took photos of it and the sunset

Sunset

Skyline

and the skyline and also Fort Carroll- there's nothing on the island anymore except the old lighthouse - no trees and no other structures at all.

Fort Carroll

Old lighthouse on Fort Carroll

Bob thinks that there weren't any other structures there to begin with, but I thought there were other walls, but I can't find any of my other pictures to show him.

We watched the first part of the New Orleans game, but had to go up to dinner before it was finished. We are at a table for 8 - an older couple from Allentown PA (Jean and Sam), a younger couple from Springfield MA (Barb and Vinny) and for a long time the other two seats were empty. Finally Carmen and Chris who are the dance instructors from Australia came and sat at our table. It was very noisy and hard to hear people on the other side of the table.

We both had the

Spinach salad (94 calories)

which was OK, and then Bob got the

"Vitality" menu sea bass (405 calories)

and I got the

Vegetarian quesadillas

There were only two slices and no sides - I was still hungry. I should have ordered the prime rib which looked really good. So I made up for it with two desserts

Low calorie blueberry peach cobbler with ice cream

which was OK and a

Strawberry Pavolova

which was delicious.

After dinner we came back to the room and watched the Colts and Jets, but was too sleepy to stay awake to see who won. There is no way to program the TV with sleep timer or to go on in the morning. I've been able to program the TVs on other ships.

Sunday 9 January 2011

The alarm clock went off at 7 but we lay in bed until about 7:20. The dining room opens at 7:30. I got dressed and was ready to go, but Bob shaved and then showered first. So we didn't get to the dining room until about 8. We find that the breakfast and lunch in the dining room has turned into a mini cafeteria. At breakfast you are told to go and get your own cereals and fruit from the buffet bar, and at lunch it is salad and pasta that you are supposed to get for yourself. If I wanted to go to the buffet, I'd go to the buffet. I do not want to walk around with a plate in my hand. I want someone to serve me.

Steam off the Gulf Stream

Anyway, we had breakfast. Bob did the cereal bar and found that they did not have skim milk although they said that they did, and the 1% milk was in those juice cartons that you drink with a straw. Useless for putting on cereal. If you try to squirt it out of the straw hole it dribbles all over the table.

We came back to the room but didn't find out that the Jets won until it was time for the Ravens game because Fox News was the only channel we could get and all they were talking about was the shooting in Tuscan of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. I took the computer and went up to the computer lab. One of the employees plugged it in under the desk and I had no problem logging on and picking a package. Other people came in and did not see or understand the directions. I tried to help them. I spent some time with a lady from NJ who had two sons that were chiropractors.

Top of the centrum

When we wanted to go to the Cruise Critics Meet & Mingle which was on deck 11, we found that the elevators (the ones that were supposed to go to 11) would not go any farther up than 10, and then would immediately go back to 9. So we had to walk up. I complained and was told that some kids had been riding the elevators last night and they had disabled elevators that went up to the Crown Lounge so they couldn't do that, and had forgotten to turn it back on!!!

Cruise Critics reception

We had a group photo taken, and there was a raffle which we didn't win.

Cruise critics meeting photographer

We also missed a trivia. We did get the little neck wallets which Bob swears blind that he never used before (and won't use now). I'm not sure myself whether he did or not. Of course he has pockets in his clothes - he can just put his door key card in his pants pocket.

At lunch Bob did the salad bar, and I got cream of chicken soup which wasn't very creamy and just had some squares of meat in it. Then I had an

Openfaced steak and egg sandwich

(which was messy to eat) and a

Strawberry napoleon

(which had maybe 5 strawberry halves in it).

It is getting warmer

Steam off the Gulf Stream

and we can see the steam coming off the water that means we are in the Gulf Stream. The steam happens when the warm water meets the cold air

After lunch we had Progressive Trivia which means (we found out) that every sea day we will have trivia with the same people on our team. We were told to pick a name for our group, and the other three people were from PA, so I suggested "Mason-Dixon". The activities person thought that was our names, but of course it wasn't. Someone else had Snowbirds.

Anyway it was a really hard trivia and we only got 7 out of 20 right. They wanted to know who invented the safety pin and who did the Nintendo Wii. Also the flower of China, the first Spice Girl to leave the group and what kind of music Ronnie Scott played. We did know that Bill Clinton's middle name was Jefferson, Princess Diana's maiden name, what HTML stood for, and how many chambers the human heart had.

I called the customer relations desk and asked if I could buy a drink card and pay for cranberry juice. They said that there is absolutely NO cranberry juice anywhere on this ship. Not in the dining room, not in the Windjammer and not at the bars.. [This later proved to be wrong - the bars always have cranberry juice,] They said if I wanted cranberry juice that I should get off and go to a store and buy some. Bob is against doing that, so I don't know. Maybe I will take the shuttle into town and see.

Tonight was formal night and it was a little quieter. I had

Escargots

(a little salty) and Bob had two shrimp cocktails, but he said the cocktail sauce was kind of thin and not very good. Then he had

Bob's salmon

which I think he liked and I had

Filet of beef

which was good. He had ice cream for dessert and I had the

Bittersweet chocolate soufle

After dinner Bob went to the show.

Towel dog

Tomorrow we arrive in Port Canaveral and I want (without much hope) to be able to see the Canaveral lighthouse

===10 January 2011==

This morning the alarm clock went off at 7 (which is earlier than we get up at home). Bob did his shaving first and then put the shaver to recharge. as there is no plug in the bathroom to plug it in. The only plug in there is 220.

We got up to breakfast at 7:45. Taking a page from the book of the guy at breakfast yesterday who asked for Eggs Benedict which was not on the menu, I asked for poached eggs on toast and got them.

My poached eggs on toast

Bob asked for two pieces of bacon because yesterday he got a whole plateful. This time he got about 6 pieces plus some sausage, and then when he ate one, they tried to give him more. They were out of orange juice - not that it matters to us as we don't drink OJ

We ate with a young couple --the guy is a policeman in D.C. in the 7th district. I noticed that I could see land. Bob says, "That's on the wrong side of the ship". I said "I don't care - it's land". So Bob concluded that we got there early and were just fooling around until time to come in. We saw two little Navy RIB boats with guns manned come around the ship

Coast Guard

After breakfast I went out on deck to take pictures of coming in to port. First there were a lot of shrimp boats,

Shrimp boat with green starboard light running light

Shrimp boats off Port Canaveral

Approach from the Atlantic

Shore

We passed Jetty Park which is a very popular recreational park in Brevard County. One of this park's best-loved features is the 1,200 foot Malcolm E. McLouth Fishing Pier - open 24 hours, paved, lighted, equipped with fish-cleaning tables with running water and fully accessible to the physically challenged. People use this pier even in the winter when the weather is not suitable for swimming

Fishing pier

Jetty Park has a 4.5 acre family beach with its designated areas for swimming and surfing

Metal detecting on the beach by closed life-guard stand

We went in between the rock jetties,

Danger sign on the Jetty

Jetty Park from the channel

Riprap wall lining the channel in the winter

it has a recently renovated and expanded building on the boardwalk houses an air-conditioned refreshment center and a bait and tackle shop. There is also a big playground.

New building in 2010

Another red CG boats (also manned with a guy with a machine gun on the bow).

Coast Guard escort

Shrimp boat heading out

We passed some marinas with their associated restaurants and bait shacks (I was on the port side).

Sunrise marina sign

Fishlips Waterfront Bar and Grill

We passed a cargo ship being loaded and the SunCruz casino boat.

SunCruz casino boat

Rusty's Dock and Dine

I saw the two bridges over the canal (both painted blue - different towns paint their bridges different colors). The RR bridge was open and there were red and white range markers on one side.

Blue Bridges over the canal

Fuel tanks - diesel and gas

Marina fuel dock

Next was Monarch of the Seas

Monarch of the Seas

and a Disney ship which I was told has not yet done an initial voyage.

Disney ship - maybe Fantasie which was new when we sailed on her in 2013

I zoomed the camera to take pictures of what I thought might be the Canaveral launch pad towers. I couldn't see the lighthouse (I know it is dwarfed by the towers)

NASA building

We turned around in the turning basin, and I went back down to the room. Bob wasn't there. I said I would meet him at trivia at 10. So I made my way up to the Spotlight Lounge. He was there looking at them trying to attach the boarding ramp

Attaching the boarding ramp

There were only the two of us at trivia until another lady named Eleanor came. She was born in about 1917 and her younger sister is 92 and her older sister is 101. She does a lot of Elderhostel.

I said let's just do oral trivia - read the question and we will answer and you can say who is right. About half way through a man joined us and he was able to answer the question about how many dimples a golf ball had - he ran a golf shop. We all got luggage tags.

We stayed there and talked to Eleanor for awhile. Then we went to the Solarium and got pizza.

Solarium pizza

Eleanor wanted a napkin but couldn't find one. Then we went into the main buffet area and got a cookie.

Bob swore we were on the ICW but I know that we could not see the ships from the ICW, so I tried to find a map of the area. I went all the way out to the entrance of the building - down two flights, and no map. But they said it was the Banana River and the Indian River (where the ICW is) was inland. I had been told that there was a local bus which seniors (over 60) could ride for 60 cents, but I didn't feel like finding it.

They keep saying the BY LAW we have to carry a government issued photo ID when we go ashore. I don't think there is any such law. They may have decided that people will not get off or on the ship without one, but I don't think there is any LAW about it. Just like they said that you could not bring any food or drink off the ship or on the ship. I don't believe that you could not have water and actually the signs on the pier (which the signs also said 'no photos') were pretty specific about what could not come back on the ship and water was not mentioned..

Back at the room I downloaded pictures and took a nap. We went to dinner and I had a

Crab cake appetizer

which Bob said they should be ashamed to serve anyone from Maryland, apple soup,

Lamb chops

Pina Colada "Tart"

(it said tart, but it was pie). Bob had New England Clam Chowder,

Salmon

Apple pie a la mode

One of the guys at the table asked for hot chocolate on ice cream - meaning an ice cream sundae. They gave him a cup of hot chocolate with a scoop of ice cream in it.

Bob has decided not to go to the show this evening - he has gone back to the room to watch Bill O'Reilly.

Towel elephant

Our towel animal tonight was an elephant.

We left late in the evening - it was too dark to see the lighthouse which is no longer active.

Nighttime

Tuesday 11 January 2011

Breakfast in the dining room sometimes has skim milk and sometimes does not. My thought is that they put milk at random on the trays, and sometimes there's 1% and sometimes not. Sometimes there's skim and sometimes not. Sometimes all there is is whole milk

This morning Bob ordered two pieces of bacon and got 3. I didn't order any bacon so he gave me one of his.I ordered the quiche but it was too much to eat, so I only ate half of it. I've taken to getting a banana too which they take half the peel off so that the banana is resting on the remaining peel half, and then slice the banana so you can pick up pieces with a fork. But if I order anything else to eat with the fork, I have to keep the fork as we only get one at breakfast.

Casino on a sea day

The bow camera is still not working. They still disable the elevators that go up to the Crown Lounge on deck 11 in the evening and forget to change that so that you can't count on being able to get up past deck 9.

The flowers on the tables in the dining room have appeared somewhat wilted (I'm not the only one who made that comment). But the one on the breakfast table today appeared fresher

Fresh flowers

We went to regular Team Trivia and played with our Progressive Trivia team. We got 10 right and the winners had 11. The three other people are from Allentown area - Lenny who owns a restaurant and his wife Marion and their friend Cindy - Cindy's husband doesn't play. When we go up the central elevator we have to walk through the pool area to get to the cafeteria which is called the Windjammer. There was a band there and people were partying now that it has gotten warmer.

Pool party

We don't much care for the food in the Windjammer. There was such a long line and the seating took so long for the dining room that we tried it again. It still seems disorganized.

Lunch

They have spaghetti but no Parmesan cheese for instance. The little sandwiches squirt their filling out when I try to eat them. Also by the time I have got food my back hurts so bad I can hardly bear to go and get something to drink.

Prisms in the Centrum make rainbows

Overhead mirrors in Centrum

We did progressive team trivia and got 10 out of 24 for total score of 17 which is within 2 of the top. Then I went swimming. Bob told me to go to the Solarium pool because there are no kids jumping on you there, and I did. It was HOT salt water, but not too hot for me to get in. The only problem was getting the salt water out of stuff afterwards. Bob stayed in the room and watched TV.

We didn't to the cocktail/champagne party that we were invited to. Maybe we should have done - I'd have asked about cranberry juice.

Yesterday I had 2 appetizers and a main course and it was too much, so today I had 4 appetizers and no main course and it was still too much. I had potato soup with hot pepper in it,

Vanilla and berry soup

(Bob had that too) and

Crab and shrimp salad appetizer

Beef and veal tortellacci

and I couldn't finish the pasta Bob had salmon. He had

Coconut pineapple cake

and I had three thimble sized chocolate things for dessert.

Chocolate trilogy

The supervisor was going to inspect the room tonight, but Bob had changed into his PJs and she wouldn't come in. We got a towel monkey which is hanging from the center of the curtain rod across at the foot of the bed.

Towel monkey

Tomorrow we go to Key West.