Enchantment of the Seas

Enchantment of the Seas is an old ship with a seam in the middle. She entered service in 1997 from Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki, the fourth of Royal Caribbean's Vision-class vessels. In May 2005 she was taken to the Keppel Verolme yard in Rotterdam and cut in two amidships, so that a prefabricated 73-foot midsection could be floated into the gap. The job took under two months. It added 151 cabins and lifted her from about 74,000 to 82,910 gross tons. Everything follows from that decision. She is a 1990s hull with a 2005 middle, carrying around 2,250 guests at double occupancy and closer to 2,700 when every berth is filled. She sails short Caribbean itineraries from Tampa.

The case for her rests on glass, scale and price. Vision-class ships were designed around windows, and Enchantment has more natural light than most modern tonnage: a multi-storey Centrum atrium in place of a promenade, glass lifts, the Viking Crown Lounge wrapped around the funnel, and an adults-only Solarium under a retractable roof. She is also easy to walk. Reviewers consistently note that she is simple to navigate and rarely feels crowded, and that the stretched pool deck absorbs a full complement without much scrimmage. Short itineraries keep the fares low, which is much of the appeal.

The criticism is equally consistent, and fair. Cruise Critic gives her four out of five while noting that the ship shows wear, that the decor is dated, and that the last significant refurbishment was in 2017. There are no waterslides, no zip line and no FlowRider. Specialty dining amounts to little more than Chops Grille and Park Cafe alongside the main dining room and the Windjammer. Cabins predate the phone-charging era, so power outlets are scarce and USB points largely absent.

She suits first-time cruisers, people booking a short break rather than a holiday, and anyone who prefers a ship they can cross in a minute to one that needs a map. Passengers travelling for the ports rather than the hardware tend to leave happy. She does not suit families expecting the water parks and climbing structures of an Oasis or Icon-class ship, nor anyone who wants a different restaurant every evening.

This changes how you should read a cabin. On a megaship, proximity is a balance between convenience and noise, because there is always something worth being near. On Enchantment there is less to be near, and the noise is concentrated rather than spread out. The Centrum, the pool deck, the theatre and the Windjammer account for most of it. We rate all 1,142 cabins for quiet and convenience against 62 mapped venues. With fewer venues the quiet scores run higher across the board, so the useful comparisons are between cabins on this ship rather than against a larger vessel. The ones to watch sit directly below the Lido deck or stacked around the atrium.

Browse the deck plan to see how your cabin sits against the venues around it.