Live from the Majesty of the Seas - July 20, 2012

[LBumb]

bon voyage

[FlorenceItaly]

BON VOYAGE!!!! Excited to follow along as we will be sailing her in November. We've sailed her previously, but, it's been a few years. We love this itinerary, and got a great deal on an OV guarantee. We booked about a month ago, and they assigned our room right away. Deck 5, very happy! Like you, this cruise will put us at Emerald.

Thanks for doing a LIVE REPORT!

[haywardwis]

Hope you have a good time, we sail out on Monday!!!

[CosmoLover]

I just got off the Majesty this morning! I felt the ship turning at around 5 am this morning, it woke me up...the ship is lovely, we had a blast. We were on Deck 4, right by the elevators by rooms 4589, 4591, 4592, etc. I will get to writing a review soon once I finish unpacking. We were in the Starlight Dining room for MDR.

 

One suggestion for Coco Cay- we took the first tender at 8am. We had the whole island to ourselves until 9:30 when the swarms of other early risers started coming ashore. I thought we had the best spot, if you walk toward Captain Willies beach (across from the Wave Hut and by the VIP deck) there is a giant tree. We sat right under that tree and has a great breeze in the shade until 2 pm or so. We had at least 3 people try to sit next to us because it had the best shade.

 

Enjoy!

[Jayfo]

I wanna go!!!! :(

 

Enjoy your cruise!!!!

 

Love the Majesty!!! Love it's itinerary more!!! If they replace her in 2014, which ship would take over & will it be the same itinerary??

[Daghis]

There you go:

Thank you for the shots of us sailing off into the distance. I can't wait to look at them again when I get home.

 

I'm sorry for not getting on and posting last night. The ship's Wi-Fi wasn't cooperating. I have more notes that I'll be writing up featuring lots of highlights including cabanas, dinner, the casino, a nightcap at Johnny Rockets, and more! Suffice it to say that it was a very pleasant day.

 

Now after being rudely awakened by the noise of the anchors being dropped this morning off the coast of Coco Cay, we're getting ready to head off the ship soon to visit our cabana and explore the beaches.

 

I'll post more later... Wi-Fi permitting, of course.

[dacsmom]

Thank you for doing a live review. I have been on the Monarch and really want to try the Majesty too. Key west and CoCo Cay are favorites. I cannot wait for the rest of your review. Have a great trip.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

I just got off the Majesty this morning! I felt the ship turning at around 5 am this morning, it woke me up...the ship is lovely, we had a blast. We were on Deck 4, right by the elevators by rooms 4589, 4591, 4592, etc. I will get to writing a review soon once I finish unpacking. We were in the Starlight Dining room for MDR.

 

One suggestion for Coco Cay- we took the first tender at 8am. We had the whole island to ourselves until 9:30 when the swarms of other early risers started coming ashore. I thought we had the best spot, if you walk toward Captain Willies beach (across from the Wave Hut and by the VIP deck) there is a giant tree. We sat right under that tree and has a great breeze in the shade until 2 pm or so. We had at least 3 people try to sit next to us because it had the best shade.

 

Enjoy!

 

Hi! We've stayed in those cabins many times...4591, 4589, etc. Can I ask who your cabin attendant was?

[CosmoLover]

Hi! We've stayed in those cabins many times...4591, 4589, etc. Can I ask who your cabin attendant was?

 

I think her name was Martha or Margaret? Nice Haitian woman. We saw her maybe twice the whole trip, we didn't spend much time in the room.

[Daghis]

Here's what I wrote up for yesterday.

 

First, check in was very fast. I had hoped we would have gotten to the port before 11, but we got there a little bit later, at about 11:10. I was very pleased that there were no lines and we got checked in in about five minutes and headed right onto the ship with no waiting whatsoever.

 

We shopped by the Explorations desk to ask about the cabanas at Coco Cay. We were told that they were available to suite guests first and then to the rest of the passengers on a waiting list. We signed up for a 4-person cabana. After dinner, we stopped back at the Explorations desk and found that everyone on the waiting list got a cabana! Yay us!

 

Before the muster drill, we hung out at Viking Crown Lounge and had an informal Meet & Mingle with a couple other Cruise Critic members (hello!).

 

And then it was time for the muster drill. I've gotten spoiled by being on ships that have electronic mustering. It was a bit unnerving standing there while they called out cabin numbers that hadn't been checked in. What was bad about it is that they were yelling them out while there were announcements going on. By the time they finished, they directed us to listen to the announcements, but they were now repeating everything in Spanish which didn't do me much good. We then got the standard instructions about the life vests and such, and then we were dismissed.

 

We wandered around for a bit until sail away, then watched as the Carnival ship passed by and then it was our turn!

 

We then headed back to the cabin to get changed for dinner. Early seating was at 6:30 and that's also when My Time Dining began. We had My Time Dining and were seated at a large table with eight others.

 

For those who may be curious, they do offer smaller wine packages for these shorter cruises. They had 3 bottles for $81 and 4 bottles for $108, both with an extra 15% gratuity of course. We decided to sign up for the 3-bottle package and enjoyed a nice Pinot Grigio during dinner.

 

A note about the pacing of dinner. I'm learning that I don't really like sitting with others as much. A few of the other diners ordered three appetizers. This meant that after all of us had finished our first appetizer, everyone had to wait for them to have their second appetizer delivered, consumed, cleared away, and then continue to wait while they enjoyed their third appetizer. As a result of this extra time, we missed most of the Welcome Aboard show.

 

Next up was some time in the casino. During my play this evening, I discovered that several of the machines were set so that they required a "hand pay" (instead of just cashing out with a ticket) at just $250. By comparison, regular casinos in the US typically have this set at $1200. Several times I was lucky enough to sit and wait while they brought me my money. I ended up the night about $350 up. :D

 

We went to the Viking Crown Lounge for a 10:00 PM scheduled Friends of Dorothy meeting. No one else showed up that we could tell were there for that. Of course, with the only notice for the FoD meeting being on the community board in the library, it's not surprising that others might not have even known about it.

 

Lastly, we had problems with the internet service onboard last night. The login pages weren't working right. Although we did manage to connect long enough to select a package, we were unable to connect to the internet and do anything. It's working much better today, though, and I was able to chat with DH this morning and that was nice,

[maui4me2]

SOOOO excited to read your posts!! We head out on the Majesty next Friday! And especially excited to read about the cabanas; we wanted to get one but couldnt find any info on the RCI page. We are in a GS so hopefully we will get one! Its gonna be hot hot HOT!! Have a wonderful time!! :)

[cirman52]

Do you think the FOD meetings are commonly held in the Viking Crown Lounge ?.

[Gordo]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We look forward to reading about your cabana are anxiously awaiting the rest of your review.

[Daghis]

Do you think the FOD meetings are commonly held in the Viking Crown Lounge ?.

It looks so. The sign that was in the library appears to have been there for a while as though it's more or less a permanent fixture on there.

[Daghis]

So, today was Coco Cay.

 

 

We headed leisurely over to Coco Cay after a bit of a struggle to have breakfast in the Windjammer. It was packed in there, and we finally found a table outside of Sorrento's (meaning, outside on deck 12 closer to the pool). Breakfast was otherwise decent, but I didn't have much because it was soon going to be lunch time at Coco Cay.

 

Once we arrived, we headed over to the Cabana Club to check out our cabana.

 

 

After signing in, we were led over to our cabana where we immediately started to chill out and relax.

 

 

 

(Many thanks to Alexander, the bartender in the Cabana Club, for taking these photos.)

[Daghis]

As we arrived in our cabana, they brought over a fruit plate...

 

 

and an ice chest with four 1 liter bottles of Evian water and a bottle of champagne.

 

 

Before too long, since we had gotten there around 11, it was time to check out the buffet. The Cabana Club has its own private buffet area, including chicken, steak, and shrimp on the grill.

 

[Daghis]

Pictures of the food at the buffet...

 

 

 

 

 

And grilled food available...

 

[Daghis]

From our cabana, we had a great view of the Majesty of the Seas, anchored off in the distance.

 

 

The Norwegian Sky, who had left Miami shortly after us, was anchored nearby, probably at their adjacent private island.

 

 

After lunch, we decided to walk around Coco Cay a bit and explore. I was surprised to find that there was a suntan spray area...

 

 

which led to a machine where you could purchase a 60-second spray of suntan prevention.

 

[Daghis]

After wandering around Coco Cay for a bit, we went back to our cabana and relaxed. Bryan read a couple chapters in his book while I napped. It was so relaxing to sit there in the shade, listening to the sound of the waves and feeling the breeze through the cabana's bamboo walls.

 

Around 2 PM, we decided to head back and beat the rush to the ship. On the way, we got another good view of the ship.

 

 

Once aboard, I remembered that the Compass Deli was featuring crepes today, so we decided to check them out. They had savory crepes:

 

 

and sweet (dessert) crepes:

 

 

I had an Asian Style crepe

 

 

and a Chocolate Mousse crepe.

 

 

Bryan just had an ice cream crepe.

 

 

They were all very yummy. In fact, I went back for a second chocolate mousse crepe a bit later in the afternoon.

[Daghis]

We chilled out for a while after having the crepes.

 

I want to note a few things about the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. First, they are great.... in the mornings. As the day goes on, they start running out of more flavors. By the time the evening comes around, at least half of the choices aren't available. I think it would be better if they refilled the machines at least once more during the day. Otherwise, I did enjoy using the machine when I could find something I wanted to drink, of which I have had several choices including Fruit Punch Fanta Zero, Strawberry Minute Maid Lemonade Light, Diet Barq's Root Beer, and others.

 

We stopped by the main dining room to pick up a bottle of wine so we could enjoy it later on. After several minutes, they returned with a nice Chardonnay that I enjoy (Aussières Blanc), and we took it over to the Schooner Bar and asked them to hold it for us until we returned after the show.

 

Dinner came a bit later in the evening, and we went to Johnny Rockets tonight. It was very yummy and quite satisfying. I really enjoy going there on Royal Caribbean ships. :)

 

Then it was time for the show. Tonight was a comedian/juggler. He was okay and somewhat entertaining. I did enjoy the 45 minutes or so, so I'm glad I went.

 

After the show, we went back to the Schooner Bar where we anticipated listening to guitar music, but the guitarist never showed up. That was a bit disappointing. But, we did get to have our wine and pleasant conversation, so that was very nice.

 

Before we knew it, it was after midnight. We headed up to the pool deck to check out the white dance party. Lots of people were dancing by the pool and having a great time. By the time we made it at 12:30 AM, the buffet that they had set up was already being taken down. Oh, well... I wasn't hungry after all the food anyway, so no big loss to me.

 

After that, Bryan went to bed and I played in the casino for a bit, basically remaining about even with where I was.

 

And now it's finally time for bed. I'm sleeping in tomorrow (today) as I have no special plans for Nassau.

 

Talk with y'all soon!

[FlorenceItaly]

FANTASTIC LIVE review!!! The pictures are wonderful too. Thanks so much for allowing us to vacation with you. I appreciate you taking the time, money and effort. We've done longer cruises, and I was worried 4 nights would be too short, but, I think it is going to be just fine.

Thanks again!

[newcruisergal]

Great live review, thanks for sharing!!! We sail August 20th, cannot wait!!!

[Daghis]

I'm trapped and I can't get off the ship!

 

They took away the gangway due to the weather currently in Nassau. It's currently raining with scattered thunderstorms. I suspect it's also windy and that's why they removed the gangway due to the weather. Dave, the Cruise Director, said that when the weather gets better, they'll return the gangway. So, we're not sure what we're going to do. Although I had considered staying on the ship here in Nassau, I didn't think that it would be forced to be that way.

 

I'm sure the weather will clear up eventually, but if it's going to be rainy today, I'm not inclined to walk around much. So, we'll see what happens.

 

Meanwhile, I'm starting to think about food. If Bryan can get ready soon enough, we may get a bite for breakfast, otherwise we'll wait until noon for lunch.

[megr1125]

Nice report so far!!

 

Did you think that the cabana was worth it? We loved ours on Labadee! Just out of curiosity....is there a curtain between the 2 sides??? You had the part that is facing the beach, yes? And then others were in the side facing the water?

 

Hmm...might be fun with a lot of people....though I sort of preferred the individual ones on Labadee that had space between them!

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!!

[Daghis]

Nice report so far!!

Thanks!

 

Did you think that the cabana was worth it? We loved ours on Labadee! Just out of curiosity....is there a curtain between the 2 sides??? You had the part that is facing the beach, yes? And then others were in the side facing the water?

 

The two sides of the cabana are one cabana. Half of it faces out toward the water while the other half faces inward to the Cabana Club area. No curtain in between.

 

Hmm...might be fun with a lot of people....though I sort of preferred the individual ones on Labadee that had space between them!

 

I'm looking forward to trying to get a cabana for our group in October, but that'll be on the Freedom of the Seas, so it may be harder to get one or two for us.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!!

Thanks! I'm going to try, if the weather will let up!

 

They did reopen the gangway, so that's good progress at least. I hope it clears up some, though, as I didn't bring an umbrella.