Majesty Review - long (sorry)

[GrannyJ]

We just got off the Majesty this morning and had a great time! Wonderful trip, wonderful ship. Calm seas the entire way (first time I've ever got off a cruise and haven't "swayed" for a few days).

We are Floridians so we drove to Miami, arriving about 10:30 a.m. Very little port congestion, found a good parking place in the garage, easy check-in and we were on the ship at 11:00 a.m. Headed up to lunch at the Windjammer. Luggage was there within an hour. We were late departing as they were waiting for some passengers. It was interesting to watch the police boats chase off other boaters as no boats are allowed in the cruise channel when the cruiseships are in port, for security purposes. We followed the Carnival Fantasy out and followed them to Nassau.

CABIN: We were on deck 2 (lowest category - we're thrifty...inside cabin..OK, we're cheap) and our room was shabby -- torn upholstery with the foam coming through, torn bedspread and stained carpet. Since the ship is going into refurb soon, I think they're letting things go a bit. It was very clean however and certainly didn't detract from our enjoyment at all, as we're pretty go-with-the-flow folks. Tiny, tiny cabin, especially since there were three of us, and not a lot of storage space (I brought too much stuff, as usual), but we made the best use of what space we did have and got along just fine. Yes, the showers are very small and you will become intimately familiar with the infamous shower curtain. The bathrooms need better ventilation as they turn into a steambath even with a short shower. If you keep the bathroom door open, the whole cabin becomes a steambath. Beds were firm and very comfortable. The cabin was a little warm at first but the air conditioning finally caught on and then it was comfortable for the rest of the cruise. I did bang my head on the upper bunk several times the first night. It's almost like I would forget it was there, lean forward to get something off the lower bed and WHAM!!! goose egg time!! Nobody to blame but myself, however. Our cabin steward was very nice but I had the hardest time getting pool towels. He'd take all three used pool towels and only leave one fresh one, so I'd have to go track him down. That happened the first two days. He took very good care of the cabin, though, and my granddaughter loved the towel animals (first time I've ever seen one made into a scorpion).

POOLS: Two small salt-water pools (water temperature perfect) and two fresh-water jacuzzis (ahhhhh...). At least one pool was open 24 hours a day. Don't like the new towel policy, though. They don't just hand pool towels out willy-nilly. You have to sign for them and sign them back in or bring one from your cabin. Then you have to exchange it for a fresh one. Supposedly, if your cabin doesn't have the number of pool towels at the end of the cruise that it had at the beginning, you'll be charged $20 per towel. A small annoyance, no big deal. Plenty of deck chairs; didn't see any of the infamous chairhogs.

PUBLIC AREAS: Very well kept up. Lovely decor. We took the stairs a lot because the elevators were very slow in coming. I think my legs will stop hurting in 2005 or so...
The ship was very easy to find my way around. The showroom was great - good sightlines.


STAFF: with a couple of exceptions, very friendly and helpful.

FOOD: Yum, yum, yum from the first day's lunch to the last midnight pizza. I've heard a lot of complaints about the food, but I thought it was wonderful. Of course, ANY meal that I don't have to shop for, cook, prepare, serve and clean up after would be wonderful. I ate so much, I was afraid they'd have to bring a forklift to get me off the ship. We had first sitting this time because of the young'un with us and I'd probably not do that again. It was difficult to get ready for a 6:00 dinner because I was so wiped out after a day ashore. First night, we ate in the Windjammer because we didn't want to get dressed up and I was astounded how good the food was and what a variety! Second night was formal night and we did get gussied up for pictures and enjoyed our meal in the dining room and meeting our table mates. Service was not overly attentive (my husband had to ask 3 times for coffee) and our waitress was efficient but not very personable. The assistant waiter was a cutie, though, and the maitre d' (Dario?) was gorgeous -- looked like a movie star. Whew! We had been spoiled on two previous cruises by having waiters who were a riot and really made the meal fun. Food was very good. The third night we ate in the Windjammer again as we had been in CocoCay all day and I had to have a nap in order to survive the evening. BIG MISTAKE: I had assumed (my mistake for not checking) that it would be a meal like night one, but it was hotdogs, coney sauce, french fries, tortellini and cookies. Yuck. Thank goodness there was a midnight buffet. Fourth night, it was back to the dining room for another lovely meal. We did all breakfasts and lunches in the Windjammer. Absolutely no complaints about the quality of the food.

MIDNIGHT BUFFETS: Let's say I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I DO like to eat.

FELLOW PASSENGERS: Delightful!! I met many wonderful people from all over the world. The children were fun to talk to and I didn't see one instance of anyone misbehaving. Everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives. We really enjoyed our table mates. I've read so much on these boards about rowdy teens, disrespectful and out-of-control children and rude passengers...they must be on the other ships, because I didn't see any on the Majesty. Just a bunch of happy people determined to pack as much fun as possible into five days.

ENTERTAINMENT: Wellll, the first production show was pretty lame (Wild West something). I missed the second one, so can't judge it. The Love and Marriage show was fun, as was Majesty Quest. I wandered in and out of some musical performances -- nothing outstanding but enjoyable. We thoroughly enjoyed the last night's show -- the comedian was hilarious.

"SAIL-AWAY" PARTY (NASSAU): Not to be missed. The people-watching was sublime. I don't think I've ever seen that many people having such a good time.

KID'S PROGRAMS: We had our 12-year-old granddaughter with us and she had to be pried off the boat at the end of the cruise. She hooked up with a group of other girls and spent every possible waking moment running around with them. The 12-14 year old program was great with disco, karoke, casino night, etc. I would stick my head in the teen's area occasionally and from the sheer volume of the noise, I could tell all was well with the world. I felt very safe letting her wander at will with her friends. I'd see her occasionally and get that little "wave" that says "yeah, yeah I'm fine...now go away and find something to do." The younger children seemed to be having a great time, too.

PORTS AND EXCURSIONS: Having been to Nassau twice before, I knew what to expect. It's probably my least favorite port, but we did a short run into town to show my granddaughter the Queen's Steps, go up in the water tower and buy some souvenirs. Getting off the ship was like running a gauntlet: NO. I. DO. NOT. WANT. MY. HAIR. BRAIDED!!!!! I swear, next time (if there is a next time, I'm bringing some pepper spray.) (Just kidding, just kidding). CocoCay was a riot! Loved the snorkeling (I was able to pick up and look at an "occupied" conch shell and actually touch a stinray. Beautiful fish, too. I thought the inflatable vests were good, as I'm not a tremendously strong swimmer but like to get out in deeper water to snorkel. We had a great time at Caylana's Cove (even if I couldn't hoist my midnight-buffet-butt up on any of the inflatable toys). The lunch buffet was tasty and I enjoyed walking around the island, looking at the chickens.
Key West...well, I love Key West...one of my favorite spots on earth.

CASINO: Smoky, smoky, smoky. Let's just say that I may have left my heart in San Francisco, but I left my money in Majesty's casino. Not much, though, thank goodness. I have to start saving for that next cruise.

GETTING OFF THE SHIP: Painless. Good procedure. Had to wait a long time for our last piece of luggage to roll around, though.

TRIP HOME: Sad, wanted to turn around and go back, but it's nice to be home, though. Sigh..nobody to turn my bed down and make it back up the next morning. Sigh...nobody serving me food. Sigh....wet towels stay on the bathroom floor when dropped there. Back to reality. Cooking, cleaning, laundry.

SUMMARY: Great value, excellent ship for a short cruise. Looking forward to our next one.

[coachk34]

I also just got back from the Majesty last Friday and had a wonderful trip. I agree with everything stated above. Hopefully my review will post very soon.

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Majesty Of The Seas May 24th!!

[shirleygr]

GrannyJ,
Thanks for a great review. I have to say I agree with you about the hair braiders in Nassau. When I went there last summer with my boys, they were relentless. Let me explain, I have very, very short hair, ain't nothing there to braid. My younger son had a crew cut at the time, but my older son had somewhat longer hair and they wanted to braid his! He was not interested at the time (things have changed since then, my goodness what happens to them when they turn 16?) and thought it was very funny. Looking forward to getting back on the Majesty in January. Thanks for sharing.

Shirley
cruising-courtesy-kindness

3-Night Anniversary Cruise on Majesty of the Seas . . . January 7, 2005

Family spring break cruise on the Dawn . . . April 17, 2005

NCL Majesty 11/98
CCL Ecstasy 1/01
CCL Fascination 11/01
CCL Fascination 4/03
RCI Majesty of the Seas 8/03
CCL Imagination 12/03
CCL Fascination 5/04

[GrannyJ]

There was a young man on our cruise who had his hair...for lack of anything else, I'd have to say "braided" -- it looked like he had thick twigs sticking out of his head in all directions. Not dreadlocks. I had to wonder how many beers it took to convince him that this was an "EXCELLENT IDEA". On another cruise, the two guys at the next dining table returned from Nassau with every visible bit of hair braided & beaded, including one guy's armpits. Yes, armpits. And of course he was wearing a tanktop so that the whole room could admire his excellent taste in body decoration. I don't even want to THINK about areas I couldn't see... ouch, ouch.

[kruisinkathy]

Granny J,
Thanks so much for the great review. Our family is so looking forward to our June 21st cruise!
Kathy

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until Majesty of the Seas

Mariner of the Seas 11/2003
Monarch of the Seas 7/2003
Voyager of the Seas 11/2002
Disney Wonder 4/2001
Carnival Ecstasy 6/1995
NCL 5/1985

[shirleygr]

Armpits? YUCK!

Shirley
cruising-courtesy-kindness

3-Night Anniversary Cruise on Majesty of the Seas . . . January 7, 2005

Family spring break cruise on the Dawn . . . April 17, 2005

NCL Majesty 11/98
CCL Ecstasy 1/01
CCL Fascination 11/01
CCL Fascination 4/03
RCI Majesty of the Seas 8/03
CCL Imagination 12/03
CCL Fascination 5/04