By Ryan McDaniel
Princess Cruises' newest ship, Enchanted Princess, joined the fleet in late 2021 as the latest in their Royal Class line.
This the first Princess ship featuring the cruise line's fully integrated MedallionClass service. This technology helps take your cruising experience to the next level.
I had a chance to sail on Enchanted Princess during one of the first voyages and was able to explore what this ship has to offer. A few features stood out as unique, impressive or otherwise not-to-be-missed.
Check out the five best things about Enchanted Princess.
Princess Cruises' newest ship, Enchanted Princess, joined the fleet in late 2021 as the latest in their Royal Class line.
This the first Princess ship featuring the cruise line's fully integrated MedallionClass service. This technology helps take your cruising experience to the next level.
I had a chance to sail on Enchanted Princess during one of the first voyages and was able to explore what this ship has to offer. A few features stood out as unique, impressive or otherwise not-to-be-missed.
Check out the five best things about Enchanted Princess.
Good Spirits at Sea
This venue, located just off of the bustling Piazza on Deck 5, is more than your humble cruise ship bar. Two to three times a night you can enjoy a show as mixologists take you through crafting any number of signature cocktails. Good Spirits takes its concept from the TV show of the same name, which follows cocktail chef Matthew Biancaniello around the globe in search of drink creations uniquely connected to fascinating destinations.
Sip a Loch Ness Martini, a Sandia en Fuego, or a Bangkok Mule after learning the stories of their origins and seeing how they are made. Each specialty drink at Good Spirits at Sea is served on a coaster featuring the drink's recipe so you can snap a picture and recreate your favorites at home!
This venue, located just off of the bustling Piazza on Deck 5, is more than your humble cruise ship bar. Two to three times a night you can enjoy a show as mixologists take you through crafting any number of signature cocktails. Good Spirits takes its concept from the TV show of the same name, which follows cocktail chef Matthew Biancaniello around the globe in search of drink creations uniquely connected to fascinating destinations.
Sip a Loch Ness Martini, a Sandia en Fuego, or a Bangkok Mule after learning the stories of their origins and seeing how they are made. Each specialty drink at Good Spirits at Sea is served on a coaster featuring the drink's recipe so you can snap a picture and recreate your favorites at home!
Sabatini's Italian Trattoria and Crown Grill
These two specialty dining restaurants distinguish themselves far beyond all other dining options onboard Enchanted Princess in terms of both food quality and menu selections. These eateries have become Princess staples and favorites among cruisers.
Even as cover prices for specialty restaurants seem to keep climbing, the cost of these venues is still quite reasonable -- especially compared with what you might pay at a deluxe Italian restaurant or steakhouse on land.
Sabatini's Italian Trattoria offers a five-course Italian dinner, starting with a house appetizer and moving through an antipasto, soup/salad course, pasta course, main and dessert. Options vary from mushrooms to seafood to veal. The signature "Rocher" dessert is both an impressive sight and delicious.
Crown Grill is the quintessential steakhouse featuring juicy and delicious cuts of all kinds, as well as quality seafood and sumptuous sides. The twist is that steaks are served with specialty salts; Hawaiian Black Salt, Applewood Smoked Salt, and Himalayan Mountain Pink Salt. These add a new dimension and flavor to the experience. Crown Grill also features my favorite dessert on Enchanted Princess: The Triple Chocolate Treasure.
These two specialty dining restaurants distinguish themselves far beyond all other dining options onboard Enchanted Princess in terms of both food quality and menu selections. These eateries have become Princess staples and favorites among cruisers.
Even as cover prices for specialty restaurants seem to keep climbing, the cost of these venues is still quite reasonable -- especially compared with what you might pay at a deluxe Italian restaurant or steakhouse on land.
Sabatini's Italian Trattoria offers a five-course Italian dinner, starting with a house appetizer and moving through an antipasto, soup/salad course, pasta course, main and dessert. Options vary from mushrooms to seafood to veal. The signature "Rocher" dessert is both an impressive sight and delicious.
Crown Grill is the quintessential steakhouse featuring juicy and delicious cuts of all kinds, as well as quality seafood and sumptuous sides. The twist is that steaks are served with specialty salts; Hawaiian Black Salt, Applewood Smoked Salt, and Himalayan Mountain Pink Salt. These add a new dimension and flavor to the experience. Crown Grill also features my favorite dessert on Enchanted Princess: The Triple Chocolate Treasure.
The Enclave
This is Enchanted Princess' thermal spa located within the Lotus Spa on Deck 5 forward. You'll pay a fee to use this amenity, if relaxation during your cruise is your primary aim, it is certainly worth it. You can purchase either a day pass or a full-cruise pass for The Enclave.
The dominant feature of this venue is the thalassotherapy pool, essentially a large whirlpool. The pool is flanked on two sides by thermal loungers and on one side by experience showers (Rain Shower, Tropical Rain, Cold Mist and Siberian Shower). Just off the main room with the pool, showers and loungers, you'll find three thermal rooms -- the Hammam (a Turkish steam bath), the Caldarium (an herbal steam) and the Laconium (a dry sauna).
The Enclave is a serene environment, even with the jets running in the thalassotherapy pool. With warm ambient air and gentle music playing, it's a cozy place to spend an afternoon -- or even the majority of your cruise!
This is Enchanted Princess' thermal spa located within the Lotus Spa on Deck 5 forward. You'll pay a fee to use this amenity, if relaxation during your cruise is your primary aim, it is certainly worth it. You can purchase either a day pass or a full-cruise pass for The Enclave.
The dominant feature of this venue is the thalassotherapy pool, essentially a large whirlpool. The pool is flanked on two sides by thermal loungers and on one side by experience showers (Rain Shower, Tropical Rain, Cold Mist and Siberian Shower). Just off the main room with the pool, showers and loungers, you'll find three thermal rooms -- the Hammam (a Turkish steam bath), the Caldarium (an herbal steam) and the Laconium (a dry sauna).
The Enclave is a serene environment, even with the jets running in the thalassotherapy pool. With warm ambient air and gentle music playing, it's a cozy place to spend an afternoon -- or even the majority of your cruise!
So many hot tubs and pools!
The pool is always a hot spot for most cruise lovers, especially on sea days. On many ships, you have to battle the crowds for even a chance to be within sightline of the pool. And forget finding an open hot tub. On Enchanted Princess, it's a different story. There are four pools and nine hot tubs onboard -- and that doesn't even count the thalassotherapy pool in The Enclave or the hot tub in The Sanctuary.
The Sky Pool, the ship's main pool, is typically full by mid-morning on sea days, but you're not necessarily out of luck. Check all the way aft on Deck 16 at the Wake View Pool, a small infinity pool, or all the way forward on Deck 17 at the Retreat Pool, an adults-only pool area. As for hot tubs, you'll rarely have to ask, "May I join you?" to a group already enjoying the bubbles. This is because there are three hot tubs around the Sky Pool, four more one deck up overlooking the pool and another two overlooking the Retreat Pool.
The perfect way to end a day cruising is sitting in a hot tub at the Sky Pool in the evening watching a film on the big screen, as part of the ship's Movies Under the Stars program.
MedallionClass technology
Princess Cruises is proud of the MedallionClass technology, now fully integrated for your whole cruise process on Enchanted Princess. The innovative tech has been in the works for a long time, and the cruise line has good reason to be proud. The features of the program have great potential to truly enhance your cruise experience.
So what is MedallionClass?
Well, it's an integration of three things: 1) MedallionNet, Princess' onboard internet, 2) Medallions, quarter-sized discs that replace your traditional sea pass card and 3) the MedallionClass app, which pulls the other two features together.
With these, you use your Medallion and your app together to pay for drinks or specialty dining, access your stateroom (from yards away as you approach), play group games or order food and drinks from anywhere on the ship. The technology tracks where you are located on the ship to give servers your location, so they can deliver your order right to you.
So, if you're lounging at the Retreat Pool on Deck 17 and don't want to make the journey down to Deck 5 for your favorite drink from Good Spirits at Sea, just order it on the app and they'll deliver it to you!
You can also use the app to connect with and locate your travel companions, make reservations, place bets in the casino, watch movies and take part in all sorts of other onboard activities. The caveat is that, as of this writing, the integration can be a bit clunky and the adoption by crew on board is not 100 percent. But I believe that these issues will be smoothed out in time with new iterations of the app and broader usage across their entire fleet.
Enchanted Princess has a few more gems for you to check out beyond this top list. For example, Gigi's Pizzeria is definitely one of the best pizzas at sea, the gym on Enchanted Princess is everything fitness enthusiasts will need to get in their daily workouts, and gin lovers will gush over Take Five, the jazz club specializing in gin cocktails.
For even more that you can enjoy on Enchanted Princess, check out our special video features of this exciting new ship.
The pool is always a hot spot for most cruise lovers, especially on sea days. On many ships, you have to battle the crowds for even a chance to be within sightline of the pool. And forget finding an open hot tub. On Enchanted Princess, it's a different story. There are four pools and nine hot tubs onboard -- and that doesn't even count the thalassotherapy pool in The Enclave or the hot tub in The Sanctuary.
The Sky Pool, the ship's main pool, is typically full by mid-morning on sea days, but you're not necessarily out of luck. Check all the way aft on Deck 16 at the Wake View Pool, a small infinity pool, or all the way forward on Deck 17 at the Retreat Pool, an adults-only pool area. As for hot tubs, you'll rarely have to ask, "May I join you?" to a group already enjoying the bubbles. This is because there are three hot tubs around the Sky Pool, four more one deck up overlooking the pool and another two overlooking the Retreat Pool.
The perfect way to end a day cruising is sitting in a hot tub at the Sky Pool in the evening watching a film on the big screen, as part of the ship's Movies Under the Stars program.
MedallionClass technology
Princess Cruises is proud of the MedallionClass technology, now fully integrated for your whole cruise process on Enchanted Princess. The innovative tech has been in the works for a long time, and the cruise line has good reason to be proud. The features of the program have great potential to truly enhance your cruise experience.
So what is MedallionClass?
Well, it's an integration of three things: 1) MedallionNet, Princess' onboard internet, 2) Medallions, quarter-sized discs that replace your traditional sea pass card and 3) the MedallionClass app, which pulls the other two features together.
With these, you use your Medallion and your app together to pay for drinks or specialty dining, access your stateroom (from yards away as you approach), play group games or order food and drinks from anywhere on the ship. The technology tracks where you are located on the ship to give servers your location, so they can deliver your order right to you.
So, if you're lounging at the Retreat Pool on Deck 17 and don't want to make the journey down to Deck 5 for your favorite drink from Good Spirits at Sea, just order it on the app and they'll deliver it to you!
You can also use the app to connect with and locate your travel companions, make reservations, place bets in the casino, watch movies and take part in all sorts of other onboard activities. The caveat is that, as of this writing, the integration can be a bit clunky and the adoption by crew on board is not 100 percent. But I believe that these issues will be smoothed out in time with new iterations of the app and broader usage across their entire fleet.
Enchanted Princess has a few more gems for you to check out beyond this top list. For example, Gigi's Pizzeria is definitely one of the best pizzas at sea, the gym on Enchanted Princess is everything fitness enthusiasts will need to get in their daily workouts, and gin lovers will gush over Take Five, the jazz club specializing in gin cocktails.
For even more that you can enjoy on Enchanted Princess, check out our special video features of this exciting new ship.
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