I just returned from a four day Royal Caribbean cruise. It was a blast! The ship departed from Ft. Lauderdale and stopped in Key West and Cozumel. I’ve updated the gallery with photos but plan to add more soon.

Departure

I left Houston early on Thurdsay, January 26 and arrived in Ft. Lauderdale by 11 am. Carrie Zollner arrived about the same time so we found each other and took a cab to Port Everglades where Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas awaited. The check in process was quick and we were on the boat and ready to relax by noon.

Our first mission was to find some lunch and we had no problem finding food on the ship! The Windjammer restaurant provided a variety of cuisines and more food than one could ever care to eat.

After lunch we were off to find our rooms and explore the eleven decks of the ship. My room was on deck three alsmost in the back of the boat. I though for sure they’d put me in the engine room, but I was happy to find that no coal shoveling was required. Carrie’s room was on the much more convienent seventh deck.

While exploring we managed to cover just about the entire ship. We found the My Fair Lady dining room where we had dinner each night, the Orpheum Theater, the Viking Crown Lounge where we ended up each night after dinner, the fitness center and spa, the rock climbing wall and the trampolines. Then there was the Solarium and the pool decks where we spent a lot of time as well. At one point we were trying to find the outside deck on level five. From the map it looked like there was a deck across the entire back of the ship, so we asked a staff member, “where is the outside deck?” He pointed out the doors just behind him to what was obviously the deck going around the ship! We had a good laugh!

After the whirlwind tour of the ship it was about time for the muster drill, or as I called it, the fire drill. We were required to get our life jackets and head to our “muster station”. It is quite humorous to see everyone walking around the ship with life jackets. I hoped there would be an ensemble playing out on the deck in tuxedos as we waited (Titanic reference there), but there wasn’t, so we had to amuse our selves in other ways.

The captain finally dismissed us from the fire drill and we headed to the top deck and the bow of the ship as we left port. This is where we were to meet the rest of our group. The view was beautiful and we were able to watch the sunset against the Florida skyline.

Our group had a welcome cocktail party in the Viking Crown Lounge on the top deck before dinner. I was able to meet a lot of people I didn’t know and see those that I did know in our group. After the cocktail party we were off to the My Fair Lady dining room for dinner during the second seating.

The menu each night was quite extensive and we enjoyed three courses. Dinner lasted about two hours and we went directly from dinner to dancing. There were several lounges with live and DJ music and we usually hit each of them each night. The music varied from Mo Town, Jazz, and Salsa to dance party from a DJ. It was a lot of fun to bounce between the clubs until early morning.

Key West

Friday morning came a little too early after dancing the night before, but we awoke to the port in Key West. After breakfast, Carrie and I made our way off the ship and found the Fury Catamaran that would take us snorkeling. The weather could not of been any better and the water was beautiful.

Our catamaran captain took us seven miles off shore to a reef. The water was a little cool at first, but a little swimming warmed me up quickly. I was able to see lots of fish including parrot fish and a few barracuda. The trip back to shore was quite adventurous. The wind was very strong making for some rough seas and a rocky ride, even on the 65 foot catamaran. A few of us found that the top deck kept us dryer and somehow wasn’t a rough of a ride. Others found hanging off the back of the boat and feed the fish better :-)

Once we returned to shore, we had a short time to walk around Key West before having to board the ship at 1:30. We left Key West at 2:00 and headed south towards Cozumel.

Before dinner we went to the Captain’s reception. Carrie and I had our picture taken with the Captain and we were told that we were on the cruise video with the Captain!

Cozumel

The ship arrived in Cozumel around 10:00 am. Hurricane Wilma destroyed the docks back in October so we had to wait for tender boats to take us to shore. At first the process seemed to take forever and we weren’t sure if it was even worth it to get off the ship. The skies were somewhat overcast, rain was threatening and the island still looked a little torn up form the storm. Luckily the tenders started moving more quickly and we were able to get off the ship around 1:00.

Our plan was to take a taxi to Paradise Beach for a relaxing day in the sun. While looking for the taxi stand, Carrie and I took a wrong turn and came across a Jeep rental. The taxi fare was going to be $10-$15 each way, so we decided that $44 for a Jeep was worth it since we’d be able to see other parts of the island.

With our Jeep top down we headed toward Paradise Beach where we enjoyed a drink and nachos before having to duck out of the rain. Some of our friends that rented mopeds also pulled up soaked from head to toe. We decided today wasn’t a day for the beach and luckily we did have the Jeep, so we drove around the island and found the beautiful west side of Cozumel.

The west size of Cozumel did not even compare to the east side where our ship was anchored. We turned a corner at the tip of the island and the view was amazing. The waves were huge! The water was turquoise! It was beautiful. We stopped a few times to take pictures and enjoy the view, but we mostly just drove along the coast with the wind in our hair and sunny blue skies above our heads.

We left Cozumel at 7 pm and headed northeast towards Florida. That night was filled with the usual dinner and dancing!

The Last Day at Sea

Sunday was our last full day on the ship and we were at sea all day. It wasn’t easy to find an empty chair on the pool deck, but we managed to find a few in the Solarium and then moved to the main pool area after lunch. It was really nice just relax all day.

Our group managed to control one of the four hot tubs the entire day. At one point we managed to fit 30 people in the hot tub! It was also nice that we could order Corona by the Rubbermaid bucket full; 24 or so at a time!

As the pool-side band finished their last song, our hot tub group decided that they should keep playing. So we shouted, “ENCORE, ENCORE!” The band decided to stay for one more song, which emptied our hot tub so that a conga line could start. Little did we know that our friends sitting in the lounge chairs were ready to take over the hot tub once we left! It was really funny!

Sunday night, Carrie and I went to the Chops Grill, which is a restaurant on the ship separate from the main dining room. We had a great table with a window looking out on the ocean. The food at Chops was much better then the main dining room. We both had a salad (with yellow tomatoes, which I’d never had), a filet, sauted mushrooms, creamy spinach, Shiraz wine and bread pudding for desert. It was a wonderful meal in a beautiful restaurant.

After dinner we met the rest of the group in the main dining room. After a group picture and a brief stop to hear some pretty bad karaoke, we headed to our usual dance spots. I think we shut down the Viking Crown Lounge a little after 3 and I finally got to bed around 4!

Going Home

Morning came way too early on Monday. I had to get up a little after 7 so I could pack and be ready to leave the ship. We stayed on the ship pretty much until they demanded we leave and headed to the airport. My flight wasn’t until 6 pm and luckily there were quite a few others that Carrie and I were able to hang out with at the airport. So we played cards and tried to rest as much as possible.

This trip was a blast! I had a lot of fun and would love to go on another cruise. It was great to share the cruise with so many old and new friends. Going home is never easy after so much fun. I guess it is time to start planning for another great trip!