My first royal cruise -review, reflections and other boring info :)

[Illinoisgal]

We decided to do a quick RCCL trip before our Oasis cruise this fall to get a taste of what to expect etc on Royal. We had a 4.5 day weekend over valentines/presidents day so we decided to do the majesty of the Seas Feb 12-15th. We have sailed 11 times, 10 with carnival and once with Princess.

 

Precruise- We stayed at the Marriott Doral Golf Resort with our points. It sounds so neat online but is just ok. We booked a garden view room with balcony and got a lovely parking lot view from our window LOL. Our a/c didnt work and top of the door is warped so it was almost open at the top, you could see about 1/2 of light. the grounds were beautiful and room was clean. Im so happy we didnt pay the 500.00 per night going rate!

 

i decided that this cruise we werent going to rush for anything. So after sleeping in and out son taking a quick swim in the heated pool we took off to national to return our car. Having been out of Miami before we knew the area looked sketchy but that we were in the right location.

 

Shuttle bus dropped us off at Terminal at about 1pm. I was VERY suprised by how quick Royal has you on the ship! From check in to ship was less than 10 minutes! Definatly an a+

 

We arrived onboard to go to our cabin for the next 3 days 6525. It was a very forward inside but with a cheap quick cruise it was ok. Linda from jamaica was our steward and she did very well. I was dissapointed that they wouldnt put our beds together as there wasnt enough room otherwise , it was Valentines day afterall.

 

Note on cabin- I knew it would be smaller than Carnival but WOW! Hope whoever plans a cruise in these cabins likes the other people alot. We shoved/pushed our luggage under the bed as we decided to forgo formal dining this cruise, so carryons was all the three of us had.

 

We headed upstairs to get some lunch. I never found the Windjammerr to be so packed that we couldnt find a seat, even on embarkation day. We headed to the Cafe and had it to ourselves! Our son had a 3 cheese panini, while I went in search of other fare. I found the honey stung chicken everryone raves about as well as some other options. I just dont get it about that chicken. It was greasy and just tasted like fried chicken, so i didnt finish it. I also got my first taste of a mango Lava flow MMM. Drink prices were a bit high but I knew that because of CC :) If you didnt specify ehat type of vodka etc for your drink you got the highesdt priced one. My husband almost died of shock at his 12.00 margarita.

 

It was only about 68 or so upon embarkation but that didnt stop my son from wanting to swim, so we headed down to change him and went to the pool. It was only he and another boy in the pool since it was breezy and cool. He was in about an hour then started to complain about his stomach hurting. We got him out and he had small red bumps all over his belly etc. It happened once on Carnival too. I dont know if it is something in the salt water of what. I went to the store to see about some alow or benedryl WOW pricey :) I normally always have that kind of stuff but with carryons I was limited on what I brought. On carnival you can buy single pacs of meds but the benedryl was 15.00 for a box. We went to the cabin to see if I could find something that would work out. I really hated the whole towel ordeal. I guess people really like to steal those cheap kinda ratty towels :)

 

Dinner was in the WJ cafe. Was pleased to have service for drinks and the garlic bread yum. William from the Phillipines made my son some awesome stir fry and even went to get some udon noodles for him. The beef on a stick was really good as was the desserts we had. Wee had 2 dinners here and one in the Johnny Rockets which was just ok. they messed up my burger and service was a bit slow, but our serverr was so nice that I overlooked it.

 

I really didnt like how you couldnt eat outside this cruise. Seems the MOTS is really enclosed feeling with low ceilings etc. Cafe and front were pretty warm at times while eating. We had room service the last night while packing- chicken drummies, the dip and a burger and cheese plate for us to share. Dip was Mmmm good, chicken again pretty gross, son ate his burger in 2 seconds to it mustve been ok. I like how they pick up the dishes after you are done eating so the halls arent filled with half eaten food. The pizza was ok, I like Carnivals better but it was still good. I also missed being able to get an ice cream at anytime I wanted .

 

One otherr food note is the WJC layout. LOVE IT! It makes finding what you like so much easier and you dont get stuck behind 10 slow salad makers.!

[Puffinater]

Thanks for the info. We are looking at the Majesty for a four day prior to our Oasis cruise.

[Illinoisgal]

After dinner we headed to attend the Adventure Ocean sign up and show. There were only a handful of kids ( 3 or 4) so they didnt have a show, just filled out the forms and such. We attended since it was our first Royal cruise and our son has Aspergers, a form of autism. He wanted to go for a bit so we took him from 8-11 that night.

 

Hubby and I proceeded to walk around a bit and stopped at Schooners for a drink. This would become our favorite place to hang out. It was so nice as it was smoke free and had a wide variety of seating arrangements. Suzian and Sude( its really Sudahaskar or something close) were so awesome. There was a table of 5 or six behind us that were having a good time and what not so while hubby was in the restroom I sauntered over and asked what they were doing, saying they were having way too much fun and being loud. They invited me to sit down, so we got to chatting. It was Suzians birthday so they all had just done a shot. Im a very lightweight drinker but somehow I got coerced into doing one lOL. We had such a goos time. Graham the piano player from England is by far the best ive heard on ANY cruise. He is only 22 and so talented. he got a good tip and drink from us. I would go back again just to hear him play and sing.

 

about the only thing I didnt like about the bar was how it got really loud when the shows got out. Many peoplee walked through talking laughing etc and made it hard to hear.

 

Upon pickup at AO "moose" told us we probably wouldnt make CoCoCay due to the weather so to come back in the am to get a revised schedule. He was right. I was bummed out, but what can you do. Even Linda said this was the first time in 3 years she had been sick. We love the motion and slept well.

 

Todays weather made it so no one wanted to be outside. It was windy cold and not pleasant at all. We headed for Nassau early but couldnt dock until 7:30 since the docks were full. Ive been there a billion times so wouldve prefered the credit from missing Coco and spent the day at sea vs docked. I know Im crazy but i really love being rocked to sleep. hubby and I got off for about 45 min. It was so windy and choppy waves were coming up over the walls at the dock. the only thing open was senor frogs and Dunkin Donuts so we headed back to hear more of graham.

 

The next day at Nassau the weatherr was a bit nicer, I think it got up to 69 or so, much better than at home. We went to the zoo, the fort then Atlantis on our own. they moved the ferry dock from Paradise Island since last time we were there.

 

We went to the comedian and he was prertty funny, then to the quest. I wish it wasnt on the last night when you have to get up early. We laughed a bit but didnt know why it is so hush hush. Seems like most have done it so much they had everything needed, or maybe our group was morre subdued?

 

We had prepaid our tips so Im glad I didnt have to mess with all those envelopes and such! We picked up our son from AO and went to bed , had to get up 5 hrs later.

 

Debarkation was so quick and easy!! Off in 5 minutes with self debark. The paperwork gustapo is pretty funny. they stopped us 3 times in the same hall to make sure we had our paperwork. there was no where else to come from so why stop us repeatadly?

 

All in all the crew were fantastic. the ship was kinda small and boring for us, but the weather had alot to do with that?

 

Being carnivalled out for a bit it was nice to have something new to do etc. Here is a rundown for those interested in comparing the two.

 

 

Carnival wins at- having fun smaller ships. We missed the waterpark/slide area for our son.

Beds and cabins- much more comforable and larger.

Bathrooms- much larger more storage etc.

Auto tips added- seems much easier, you can always tip extra if you want to.

Towels- large and in your cabin fresh daily, very nice.

More food available in the off times, plus the sundae bar and 24 hr ice cream.

 

 

Royal- Embarkation and Debarkation- so quick and easy. It was much mroe relaxed and not having cheaters leave when they arent supposed to and clogging up the lines helped.

Service- Ive always had good on CCL but this ship had an amazing crew.

Buffet- so much to choose from and the layout is a winner. Good breakfast variety. wish they had more free drinks like CCL though.

Captain- was really outgoing and fun.

Social hosts etc- it was nice to hear only a few announcements per day! And not in your cabin is so nice. They have realized we can read and know what is going on! Having designated waiting areas for debark was nice too. The stairs and such werent clogged with people.

Atmosphere- people seemed more friendly and didnt trash the place like Ive seen some on CCL do. plus I Didnt witness one person treating crew like vermin which was nice.

[Illinoisgal]

Thanks for the info. We are looking at the Majesty for a four day prior to our Oasis cruise.

 

no problem any questions just ask.

[IWORK2CRUISE]

Glad you had a nice time.

What was the reason that your beds could not be placed together ? Just curious.

[maureencruiser]

Hello, Just a quick note about the Benadryl- I injured myself in Jamaica and wanted to put some Neosporin or something on my foot. They did not have that in the store (this was the Freedom). Later, I really hurt myself and had to go to the medical center on a ship for the first time and what do you know? In the entrance to it, they have a vending machine where you can get small foil packs of Neosporin, like 2 tablets of tylenol, advil,benadryl,etc for like 50 cents. Someone else who wasn't in as much pain as I was might be able to give a better accounting of what they had, but, now that I know, I will always look there first....Maureen

[39august]

You really didn't get a "feel" for RCI's overall product as you were on one of the oldest, smallest ships. I'm sure Oasis will blow you away. Seems a balanced and fair review. Just saying you could have gotten a better "feel" on a newer, larger ship. The cabins are larger on Voyager, Freedom and Radiance class ships.

[Illinoisgal]

Bummer thanks for the news Maureen. usually I have all that but.... LOL the time I needed it.

 

I work2crz- She said she could do it but with our son having the pull down bed she said it would be pretty much impossible to get around. She left the bed down the whole trip otherwise he wouldnt have had a place to really go while we were in the cabin. WHen I was packing etc everyone had to be on the beds. Not for clautrophobic people for sure .

[silentbob007]

Thanks for sharing. :)

[KellyMae]

Enjoyed your review. Particularly the food related stuff. hehehe. Thanks a bunch.

[Illinoisgal]

You really didn't get a "feel" for RCI's overall product as you were on one of the oldest, smallest ships. I'm sure Oasis will blow you away. Seems a balanced and fair review. Just saying you could have gotten a better "feel" on a newer, larger ship. The cabins are larger on Voyager, Freedom and Radiance class ships.

 

 

oh I know but it really will help in knowing what to expect for oasis:) Like how the cabin actually had more than one plug in WOW and that the shower curtain, my old nemisis, would once again rear its ugly head. we only had those few days otherwise i wouldve loved to try a bigger ship. It was a nice suprise not to see so neon and so much flashy decor.

We did have a good time and the few things I didnt like are fleet wide such as the towel check out and beds but now I will be prepared :)

[Illinoisgal]

Enjoyed your review. Particularly the food related stuff. hehehe. Thanks a bunch.

 

 

I love food LOL. Everyone always talks about that when talking about carnival Vs royal. I found the buffet food at least to be verry good, minus that nasty chicken lol. The omelettes were much better on Royal and pancakes with fruit Mmmm

[depplep]

Majesty isn't even in the same league as the rest of RCCL, you are so gonna love Oasis!

[Illinoisgal]

Also forgot to mention it was so cold and windy that the late night deck party etc was moved inside. No music or fun just the late night food :( Boring that way but what can you do? Mother nature isnt playing nice lately

[RascalAnn]

oh I know but it really will help in knowing what to expect for oasis:) Like how the cabin actually had more than one plug in WOW and that the shower curtain, my old nemisis, would once again rear its ugly head. we only had those few days otherwise i wouldve loved to try a bigger ship. It was a nice suprise not to see so neon and so much flashy decor.

We did have a good time and the few things I didnt like are fleet wide such as the towel check out and beds but now I will be prepared :)

 

We are going on the Monarch in a few months. Can you explain to me about the towel checkout? We always sail on Princess. 1st time on RC

[John Henry on CC]

We are going on the Monarch in a few months. Can you explain to me about the towel checkout? We always sail on Princess. 1st time on RC

You get your beach towels on the pool deck.

 

There will be an attendant. You hand him or her your SeaPass card, s/he swipes it, and gives you your towel(s).

 

You return it the same way.

 

If you don't, they have you. They'll put a $20 per towel charge on your account.

[Illinoisgal]

Majesty isn't even in the same league as the rest of RCCL, you are so gonna love Oasis!

 

 

I know cant wait!!!

 

I also forgot that we didnt have hot shower water as others at the weirdest times?? I had it as hot as it would turn which shouldve burned me to death

[QTMichele]

Glad I'm not the only one who didn't love the honey stung chicken. :) Thanks for taking the time to write this. :) We're a family of 5 who's in-laws just moved to the Orlando area. I'm very interested in the ships that have the shorter length cruises, but have been a little worried that the older/smaller ships would be, well, older and smaller. Sounds like you had a good vacation overall though. :)

[RascalAnn]

You get your beach towels on the pool deck.

 

There will be an attendant. You hand him or her your SeaPass card, s/he swipes it, and gives you your towel(s).

 

You return it the same way.

 

If you don't, they have you. They'll put a $20 per towel charge on your account.

 

 

Thanks John Henry! That sure is different from Princess. Our room steward put one for each of us each day in our cabin and I asked him to keep me an extra one in our cabin for me each day and he did! Thanks for the info so I will know what to do.

[QTMichele]

Thanks John Henry! That sure is different from Princess. Our room steward put one for each of us each day in our cabin and I asked him to keep me an extra one in our cabin for me each day and he did! Thanks for the info so I will know what to do.

 

Royal Caribbean used to do this - wish they hadn't changed it. :( It wasn't all that bad checking out the towels, but try to remember to get fresh towels the day/evening before a port day so you don't have to run up and switch out before getting off the ship.

[boaterette]

That was so boring I feel asleep twice just reading it. Just kidding.:D I love RCCL. But with the ships you will have been on it is like comparing a motel six to a hilton. Thsoe two ships are not even in the same league. I have been on the Monarch which is a small ship several times. They just don't compare tothe big ones. Have a wonderful cruise and thanks for sharing this one with us.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Thankyou for sharing.:)

[klingoncruiser]

Nice review, thanks.

[cantw8togo]

Royal Caribbean used to do this - wish they hadn't changed it. :( It wasn't all that bad checking out the towels, but try to remember to get fresh towels the day/evening before a port day so you don't have to run up and switch out before getting off the ship.

 

We just exchanged them daily rather than returning them too. Less chance of foul up with the sea pass acounts if you don't have multiple towel check-outs and check-ins. It was still a hassle to be constantly aware of where your towels were though.

 

N.

[MrsPete]

If you didnt specify ehat type of vodka etc for your drink you got the highesdt priced one. My husband almost died of shock at his 12.00 margarita.

Yep, lots of places do that! I just about died when I had a $15 margarita in Las Vegas. It wasn't oversized or anything. Outrageous!

In the entrance to it, they have a vending machine where you can get small foil packs of Neosporin, like 2 tablets of tylenol, advil,benadryl,etc for like 50 cents. Someone else who wasn't in as much pain as I was might be able to give a better accounting of what they had, but, now that I know, I will always look there first....Maureen

Hey, that's great information. I've never had need to go to the medical area.

Glad I'm not the only one who didn't love the honey stung chicken. :)

I've never quite understood the wide-spread love of that chicken either.

 

Thanks for the review! It's always nice to read a good one with plenty of details.