Enchanted Princess in Grand Turk
When sailing on a medallion class ship like Enchanted Princess, you have an option of either having your medallion sent to you pre-cruise, in which you pay a fee for the postage, or you can pick it up at the port. If you have the medallion sent to you your status is green line which means you bypass the check-in desk. If you pick it up at the port you are blue line and go to the desk. In my experience of having done that both ways there are enough green line people that if you go blue line it doesn’t take very long to get to and through at the desk because so many other people bypassed it.
heated ceramic chairs in the enclave at the spa
On the Enchanted Princess we boarded in Fort Lauderdale through the green line for people who had their medallions sent to them ahead of time with friends in the blue line for people who didn’t. The lines were separated before the door into the port, combined as you come in, and then separated where you either go to a desk for blue line or a kiosk for green line. Their line moved toward the door before ours started moving, but once ours moved we got in the door first. At the time we went inside there was no line in the building for blue and a rather long one for green.
one of many shops on the ship
They finished at the desk before we got to a kiosk, but the ship hadn’t actually started boarding yet so we were all sent upstairs to wait with boarding group 3 cards. So it made no difference at all in the speed of getting on the ship whether we had the medallions ahead of time or not. The blue line did build up while we were waiting in the green line though so if we had been just a bit farther back we would have gotten through before them, but probably not enough ahead to make any difference on the assigned boarding group. It didn’t seem to take people any longer at the desk than at the kiosk either. The only difference seemed to be that the desk scans the boarding pass and the kiosk scans the medallion. If you don’t like lines at check-in or waiting in the terminal to board arriving later after the lines of people who got there before the door opened have cleared and after the ship has actually started boarding often means you can just walk right in without much of a line. It would not have worked for the people boarding on the second leg of our back-to-back on this cruise though. Somebody had gun-shaped cigarette lighters in their carry-on luggage, which stopped the boarding process for 2 hours while security searched for what they thought were guns. Travel hint: don’t bring gun-shaped anything anywhere!
mini golf
Enchanted Princess is the 5th of Princess’ Royal class ships, launched in 2021. It holds 3660 passengers in 1830 staterooms and over 1340 crew. The ship is 1083 feet long, 126 feet wide, has 19 decks and a maximum speed of 22 knots. Actually since there’s no deck 13 it really only has 18 decks, of which the 3 lower are not areas where passengers have access. Even on deck 4 passenger access is limited to the medical center and tender embarkation areas. Deck 19 hardly counts either being just a small area with a very strange mini-golf course that is just random holes in the green with no set places to start or finish the course and no marked spot to putt for any of the holes.
internet room for people who didn’t bring their own device
When I took my first cruise on Princess a few years ago the time spent on a prior P&O cruise was added to the loyalty points. My husband booked our Enchanted Princess cruise through Priceline, who didn’t know about that cruise, so he had to talk to the loyalty person onboard to get those points added to his since this was his first time on Princess. From her we found out that from 2017 on Princess no longer includes cruises from P&O. Since that cruise was taken in 2016 he was still allowed the points. The reason is because that was started when Princess bought out P&O and it was just between the two of them, but after Carnival bought Princess they phased it out because Carnival has way too many cruise lines to share points between them. Instead of having a special function for past-guests as they have when I’ve sailed Princess before, this one invited people on their first Princess cruise to an event just for them. Not many people attended, but some of the guests who did won really good prizes. If you’re sailing Princess for the first time and they invite you to that event it is well worth attending for the chance to win one of the prizes.
Piazza
The central area of the ship from deck 5 to deck 7 is called the piazza. It is open in the middle through all of those decks, with fancy stairways between them. The floor in the center of deck 5 is host to a variety of activities. It has seating areas and is surrounded by a cafe, gelato shop, a couple bars, and a candy shop. The next two levels above have balcony-type hallways overlooking deck 5 on the inside and shops, bars, or eateries around the edges.
SeaWalk with and without a person on it
The Lido deck has a SeaWalk feature which has a clear floor extending out over the edge of the ship so people can see the sea below. You can also see the lifeboats many decks down. It’s a bit of an odd sensation walking over it and looking down through the glass. It feels quite different when walking the same way the ship is traveling vs the opposite direction. The Lido deck also is home to the buffet, several pools, lots of hot tubs, and a couple of poolside eateries (pizza and grill). There are several premium (in other words pay-extra) eateries around the ship as well as the ones that are included in the cruise fare.
main pool deck and movie screen
There are also other pools, one at the back of the ship and one in the adults-only retreat area – and one in the thermal suite, which is called the enclave and costs extra. There are hot tubs near all the public pools as well as some extras not near any pools and in the pay-extra-to-be-there sanctuary area. A couple of the hot tubs on the deck above the Lido have lifts so they are accessible to people in wheelchairs who can’t get in or out on their own.
accessible hot tub
The Lido pool and some other areas of the deck had the usual group of selfish chair hogs who put their towels and things on all the loungers first thing in the morning and leave them there all day whether they ever actually use those chairs or not. Meanwhile the ship has tiny signs saying saving chairs is not allowed and that the crew will pick the unattended things up, but as is usual on cruise ships everywhere they never do. So if you ever want to sit in a deck chair occupied only by towels with no people who belong to those towels anywhere in sight just do it – but not if the people are actually in the vicinity in a pool or hot tub or something. Only if they are truly not around. They don’t own those chairs whether they think they do or not. At various times on various cruises I’ve sat in a towel occupied chair for hours and so far whoever put that towel there has never returned while I was there. If they did happen to come back if they say anything just thank them for the towel they put on the chair for you. They can’t legitimately complain about it since saving chairs is supposably not allowed on any cruise ship anywhere.
more chairs occupied by towels than by people
The chair hogs weren’t the only selfish people onboard. One day someone went around stealing the decorative magnets off a lot of people’s cabin doors. Sadly the cabin steward said that happens a lot. For anyone who is confused about this, things on or around cabin doors belong to the people in that cabin. Door decorations are not like the ducks that people hide around the ship for other people to find. So don’t take other people’s stuff!
table in the Amalfi dining room set for afternoon tea
There are 3 different dining rooms on Enchanted Princess, but people can eat dinner at any of them. They just need to either make reservations or wait for an available table. Per a Maitre’d that may change in the future to one for set time dining, one for my way (anytime) dining and one that has a mix. You have to take the right elevator or stairway to get to the dining rooms because the galley blocks access from other directions. Two are accessed from the middle of the ship and one from the rear stairs/elevator. Only one of the dining rooms offered breakfast and lunch to any passenger who wanted to eat there.
Churchills Arcade
All of the other Princess ships I’ve sailed on kept all indoor smoking confined to a fully enclosed cigar lounge called Churchills, which kept stray smoke from permeating the rest of the ship. On Enchanted Princess Churchills is an arcade. At first while the ship was docked it seemed like they had removed indoor smoking entirely. That was not it though. Once the ship was underway and the casino got busy people were smoking there. The casino is wide open to the rest of the ship so the smoke spreads. Sometimes all the way through the piazza, the ship’s 3-deck high central area which besides the previously mentioned activities and places is also right next to the casino. Definitely a step in the wrong direction for Princess.
casino
We got the lowdown on the new smoking policy from one of the officers onboard. He said it’s not only this ship. They just changed things a couple cruises prior to ours. Princess is trying it out to see how it goes. It’s possible that they may go back to non-smoking casinos in the future if enough people are unhappy the way it is now. If they get enough complaints maybe someday they will at the very least add doors on the casino to keep the smoke contained. All of the people we talked to were seriously unhappy about that change. Not one of them liked it. People who otherwise would have used the casino stayed out because they couldn’t stand the smoke. Makes it a lot less likely we will book Princess again any time soon. Open casinos spreading smoke everywhere are the reason we quit sailing Carnival years ago – though somebody on this ship said Carnival now has some newer ships with closed-in casinos that keep the smoke contained. We may give Carnival another try sometime to see if ships like that actually exist.
acrobat show in the theater
Entertainment on the ship included comedy and music as well as theater shows and movies. There’s also a spa and fitness center, kids club, and of course pools and hot tubs. The piazza, which as previously mentioned is the central area of the ship and open several decks high with fancy stairs between the levels, is a hub of activity. Besides having shops, bars, and eateries all around it, the floor at the center of the bottom level hosts quite a variety of activities. Sometimes they have dance classes or music performances there, other times things like a vegetable carving demonstration where galley workers made fancy creations out of fruit and veggies, or competitions where passengers can participate like giant Jenga, egg drop, or paper airplane contests. They sometimes host disco or ballroom dances there too. At times the entertainment was provided by random talented passengers dancing in the open space while the actual cruise ship entertainment there was just music.
Crown Grill Bar
Activities also take place in other areas of the ship. Many of the bars have live music, especially in the evening. There are different things scheduled throughout the day like port talks, games, trivia, lectures, classes, or spa events. Besides the Piazza and the main theater, events often take place in the Vista Lounge at the back of the ship, Princess Live near the center, or occasionally in other places.
desserts at the buffet
The main food venues on the ship are its very extensive buffet and 3 dining rooms, but there are other places to find food as well. Some are free like the pizza, burgers, and ice cream by the Lido pool, or sandwiches and pastries at the 24-hour café. Others cost extra like specialty coffee or tea, pub food, or anything at the premium restaurants which include a pizzeria, Italian food, seafood, and a steak house.
weird art seems to be a requirement on cruise ships
The ship gives off an elegant vibe in the overall styling. Artwork mainly consists of pictures. The stairways have paintings of different sizes and styles. Some are nice, others odd or abstract. The hallways around the staterooms have photos. Each deck has a unique theme from various places around the world. These include Canada, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands, Asia, and Europe. The port side of each deck where all the cabins have even numbers sticks with the theme, but on the starboard side where rooms have odd numbers there are occasionally odd photos from a different area of the world on some decks. This is the first cruise ship I’ve seen that did not have any odd or ugly statues among the ship’s artwork. It did not have any statues at all.
hallway art
Princess’ medallion class ships have a wearable medallion instead of the usual cruise ship card. Besides boarding, these do everything the card other ships have does like open your cabin, allow you to make onboard purchases, and scan you on and off the ship – all with no fumbling around looking for a card. You can wear it around your neck on the string it comes with, but it is way more convenient in a waterproof bracelet – available from Princess onboard or pre-cruise or cheaper from Amazon.
medallion in a waterproof bracelet
These medallions also do other things like the useful yet somewhat creepy stalking feature where you can locate any of the people listed as shipmates in your princess app. You can’t stalk random people, just the ones who have approved of you as a shipmate. It’s really handy when people want to find each other. You can turn that feature off if you don’t want anyone to know where you are, but then they can’t find you if they need to. It’s so much easier getting on and off the ship or buying things when you don’t have to look for a card and the stateroom unlocks itself as you approach. With a bracelet you can even wear the medallion while swimming, snorkeling, and in the pool or hot tub. I’m really going to miss that medallion next time I cruise on a ship that uses cards.
mini-suites have 2 TV’s and a full-sized couch
The staterooms are nice, though the basic rooms are somewhat small. Mini-suites are quite a lot bigger and well worth the upgrade if you can afford it. People can opt for twice daily cleanings or just once. The little computer pad device by the stateroom door that unlocks it when your medallion approaches also has little spots you can touch to indicate if you want privacy or if you want your room serviced. Besides room cleaning, other things you can get from your steward include daily filling of an ice bucket, or when you first arrive a bathrobe or extra hangers.
gym
One thing this ship lacks is any sort of view lounging room. There’s no observation room with windows and places to hang out and relax, nor is there a glassed in solarium with deck chairs and pool or hot tubs. On this ship all the pools and hot tubs are outside in the sun. Even a deck chair with any shade is a somewhat rare find, though they do exist if you know where to look. There are several groupings of furnishings running down deck 7 across the main aisle from various bars or lounges that sort of belong to the adjacent venue, yet work as a somewhat separate place to sit and relax, but not an actual room for that purpose. Some people use those areas to play cards or other games. There are many bars with furniture and tables that work for hangout areas as well.
self-serve guest laundry
Princess ships have self-serve guest laundries, which is always a bonus since so many cruise ships don’t have them – especially when taking a long cruise. It’s a lot cheaper than sending laundry out for the crew to wash and a lot easier than washing things by hand in the cabin sink. Enchanted Princess has one on each of the main passenger cabin decks, all near the back of the ship, pretty much on top of each other from one deck to the next. There are quite a few machines in each as well as irons and a soap vending machine for people who didn’t bring any. The good thing about them all being close to each other is that it is handy to go up or down a deck if all the machines on your deck are full. The bad thing is that if your room is near the bow they are all on the other end of the ship.
Enchanted Princess ship model Christmas tree ornament
Enchanted Princess is a nice ship and we enjoyed our cruise. They had ship model Christmas tree ornaments in one of the ship’s shops, which is the one thing I always look for there.
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