First time Cruiser - Majesty Review (long!)

[bumbles]

We just returned from the Majesty of the Seas. We sailed from July 4 through July 8 and had a great time. There were four altogether in cabin 7012 - hubby (43), me (38), DS (12) and DD (10). I would not put four of us together in a cabin again. This was our first cruise so I have really have nothing to compare it to, but I found the Majesty to be a beautiful ship with a great staff. And if she’s the bottom of the line, I can’t wait to see what the other ships hold in store for us.

 

 

EMBARKATION - Embarkation was a snap. We had stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami the night before ($21 taxi fare from airport to hotel) and took a taxi over to the Port at 10:40. We arrived at the port at 10:50 ($7 taxi fare). The porters took our checked baggage as soon as we stepped out of the taxi and were very pleasant. They checked our documentation (they wanted the booklet – not the cruise ticket or passports or anything else) right before the escalator. She also told us it would be easier if we just carried all our luggage right off the ship instead of having the porters handle them. We decided not to use that advice since we had an excursion booked on the return to Miami. We waited for about half an hour in the lobby with about 25 other people. Upon boarding, they’ll x-ray your carry-ons. Then you’ll go to a long check-in counter that’s broken out by deck. Decks 7-10 are the first as you enter. There was no one ahead of us so we gave the agent our documentation and a credit card and were allowed to access the gangway. Again, there was no one ahead of us so all four of us had our sea pass photos snapped and then a welcome aboard photo done. We headed to the soda card station and bought one each for the kids. They were also offering wine packages (very subtly on this deck) and there was an adventure ocean rep. It is mandatory for anyone under 11 to have a wristband with their muster station number on it. The stateroom doors were closed until 1 pm but we snuck in a side door (we were on the promenade deck) just so we knew where our cabin was. We respected the 1 pm check in time and didn’t show up again until after that time. We went into the dining room to find our table (table number is printed right on the sea pass card). We headed up to the Windjammer for the buffet lunch, and by 12:30 we had our bathing suits on and were swimming in the salt water pools. There was a man trying to sell wine packages on this deck as well who was much more aggressive than the others we saw. He said that it would be the only time we would be able to order wine. When we told him we had brought our own for corkage at the table, he said that everything had to be given to him beforehand so that it is ready for us. I looked at my husband and shook my head. That was certainly NOT what I had previously read in the forums. We decided not to believe him. We headed to the pools. There were very few people in the pools and I was certainly glad we had packed our swimwear in our carry-ons. Our luggage was in our stateroom by 2 pm (thanks to the kids who had headed back to the room to see if it was ready at 1:30!) They leave the luggage by the central elevators on your deck and you have to bring them to your stateroom. We then asked the kids to head back to the pool (or somewhere other than the stateroom) so that we had room to move around and unpack.

 

 

CABINS - We had a standard ocean view on Deck 7, which had its plusses and minuses. It was small but the only times we ran into issues was on formal night when we were all trying to get ready at the same time. We allowed the boys to go first and then they headed down to the champagne bar and enjoyed a martini (my son had some kind of virgin apple martini served in a martini glass). My DD and I then had a little extra room to move about. The muster was held on this deck, which meant we didn't have to use the elevators or the stairs when the mass exodus occurred after muster. Everyone on Deck 7 got early debarkation tags (green). We had a safe in the closet and a hairdryer in one of the desk drawers. Deck 7 was convenient to EVERYTHING. You didn't mind taking the stairs if you wanted to go to the Windjammer. This deck has the promenade around it. It's the only deck that has an outside deck that goes completely around the ship. This was great because we would tuck the kids in, take our after dinner drinks and go sit outside our cabin and talk about the day in the warm ocean air. We could get up in the morning when we were arriving in port and head out to the front of the ship to be one of the first ones to see it. It also had the library, which we used quite often to play a game of cards or some other board game with the kids. CONS - The promenade blocks some of the ocean view. There are people and workers outside your cabin so shades needed to be drawn most of the time. The closet was much more spacious than I had envisioned and accommodated all of our shoes and clothes. There is a general lack of shelf space for shorts and undergarments. I thought the over the door shoe holder was a godsend as well as a laundry bag to shove all the dirty clothes in. Our beds were set up as a double and there were two pull down berths over us. I can't tell you how many times I hit my head on those darn things. Do read ALL the information that is left in your cabin when turndown service is done. It will tell you what is needed for the following day - when to debark, what is needed to do that, where to meet, etc.

 

 

DINING in the formal dining room. We had second seating at a table for 8 with great tablemates - only one couple besides us showed every night. Service was excellent. Food was very good. The first night, since it was July 4th, had a special American menu, the second night is the formal night with more upscale dishes, third night is Italian themed and fourth night Caribbean themed. I had the tenderloin, shrimp scampi, tagliatelle and salmon. I did not care for the onion soup but everything other than that was very good including desserts. Escargot was excellent. We had brought our own wine for two of the nights (unhidden in our checked luggage) and were charged corkage only once. We also ordered espresso after every meal and it was brought to us without charge. I thought there would be one for anything other than coffee.

 

 

DINING in the Windjammer tended to be crowded during lunch. We are early risers so finding a breakfast table was never a problem. Breakfasts were always the same. Lunch menus varied a little. Always plenty to eat. I thought the chilled peach soup was delicious. The Pizza at the Mast Bar was edible. The kids enjoyed it, but it was the microwavable kind (for quick turnaround I suppose). If you're looking for gourmet pizza, don't look here. We went to both the midnight buffet on Tuesday and the chocolate buffet on Thursday, but didn't eat anything since we had just finished eating. It looked good though.

 

 

KIDS - There were not too many kids that were 9-12 on the cruise the days we sailed, but my kids did go to the Adventure Ocean program. They enjoyed it. My son (the less social of the two) went every day and would even forego lunch one day so that he could get to the program. He really exerted his independence on the trip and we allowed him to. The only stipulations we had was that he had to come with us to the formal dinner, do the excursions with us and that he had to let us know where he was at ALL times. We devised a system with clothespins with our names on them and pieces of paper with the different areas of the ship on them. Whenever we went somewhere we’d put our clothespins on that area. It worked out well. My son, upon permission of the staff, opted to go to the 9-11 year old program since he had just turned 12 and he at least knew one other person – his sister! Our daughter started going to the program but then said that they wouldn’t do all the scheduled activities. Instead they’d take a vote and play the Nintendo system they had in the room. She opted not to go for the last few days and hung out with us. The kids really enjoyed the formal night. They both got very dressed up (suit & tie for him and long gown for her) and I think they felt very adult. They made very good conversation with the other couple that ate with us that night. All of the photographs came out very good. WORD OF CAUTION: Beware of the arcade. We allowed the kids to charge to our Sea Pass cards. We verbally gave them a $50 spending limit – but set no restrictions through the cruise line. My son went through this in one night at the arcade. Since he swiped the sea pass card through the machine, he was unaware how much he had spent. Thus, he received a lecture (parents never truly get a vacation) and a valuable lesson about how credit cards work. He did not spend another dime (through his own perseverance) for the rest of the trip.

 

 

SODA CARD – We bought the soda card for both of the kids and it turned out to be a really good value. The price was $4 per day every day of the cruise plus a 15% gratuity. So it was $18.40 for each kid for the entire cruise. The kids used it mostly to get pineapple juice throughout the day. Juices and sodas would have cost $1.50 each with a 15% gratuity normally. They easily had more than four drinks per day. Virgin frozen drinks were not included with the card.

 

 

PORTS OF CALL – Nassau was not a very nice place and the only time we were off the ship was to go on a snorkeling excursion with Stuart Cove’s. We really enjoyed this excursion (booked independently). The coral was not very colorful but there were TONS of fish. The shark experience at the last stop was awesome. Coco Cay was beautiful. We liked everything about it. The weather was gorgeous – plentiful chairs – great BBQ buffet – very relaxing. We snorkeled later in the day and found the water to be murky near the shoreline, but when you got further out the snorkeling was pretty good. Again, the coral was not colorful but the fish were plentiful. There were jellyfish in the water - white so it was hard to see them. None of us were stung so I don’t know if they were the stinging kind or not. I know I touched at least three or four with various parts of my body. Snorkel vests had to be worn. They cost $6 at the snorkel stand and can be inflated/deflated to your level of comfort. The lines for the tender going back at the end of the day were long and uncovered. There were many, many sunburned people after that day. We also wanted to buy something at the stores there but did not bring cash. They wouldn’t allow us to use our Sea Pass card for merchandise, but they did in the bar. I tried a Coco Loco but with the heat and the blaring sun, it was warm and not very refreshing (plus it wasn’t mixed very well so my first sip from the straw was straight rum!). Key West was a bust. We were starting to get really tired by this point of the cruise because we were constantly doing something. We got off the ship to do our shore excursion, which was supposed to be the Key West Regatta. We were supposed to learn how to sail a catamaran and then race against another team. However, there were not enough participants and were told that only after we debarked. They offered us the option of just sailing in its place. I asked if we could learn how to do it and actually participate in the sailing. She said yes, but that’s not actually the way it worked out. We went back to the excursions desk after the trip and asked for a partial refund because we were quite unhappy with the excursion – it was supposed to be interactive and turned out to be very boring. The excursion desk partially refunded our money without argument. We didn’t do anything else in Key West. We had set up an excursion to the Everglades in Miami upon our return (which was awesome). This meant we were the first ones off the ship. We had NO problem with debarkation at all. You will need your sea pass card any time you exit the ship and a picture ID at Nassau and Key West. (Kids will only need their sea pass card – no picture ID or birth certificate.) Also when the ship gets to Key West everyone will have to go through US Immigration. If you’re a US citizen, you’ll need to go to Deck 7 – Blue Skies Lounge with your sea pass and passport/birth certificate; If you’re not a US Citizen, you go to Deck 8 – Paint Your Wagon lounge with your documentation (enter from the forward entrance – not the aft). Everyone (even if you don’t plan to get off the ship) has to go through immigration before anyone can leave the ship. We had a few that didn’t show up but it was only 15 minutes or so before they were cleared.

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT and STAFF – We thought the Beat Goes On show was wonderful. It started off a bit hokey but by the time the show was over everyone was laughing and cheering. It was a lot of fun. The Love & Marriage show was NOT fit for kids nor was the Majesty Quest. They went with us to the Love & Marriage show because they wanted us to be picked as contestants (boy, I’m glad we didn’t volunteer for that!) The magician on the final night was very funny, but the comedian he was paired with was not. We didn’t care for the DJs by the pool nor the house band Neptune’s party. Karaoke stunk as there wasn’t a very large song selection and not very much participation. There was a salsa band in the Blue Skies lounge that was very good. The On Your Toes disco was hopping but the dance floor was small. The staff was all very good – my son’s sea pass card stopped working so he couldn’t enter the cabin. He went to the Purser’s desk by himself and got it reset – no problem whatsoever. We asked about future cruises and the woman there seemed like she had something better to do and was not interested in selling us another cruise. We asked a few questions and after a few minutes realized she didn’t really want to help us (she didn’t even make eye contact with us) – so we left. That was the only bad experience we had. The waitstaff in the dining room and the Windjammer were excellent. I felt bad that they made them sing and dance in the formal dining room. How humiliating! Some of the waitstaff got into it, but the rest looked like they didn’t want to be doing that at all!

 

 

GRATUITIES – If you want to pay on your sea pass card, the documentation that was left in your room said that you would have to fill out the sheet and bring it to the boxes by the purser by Wednesday midnight. We chose to pay in cash and they delivered gratuity envelopes to our room. We handed our envelopes out personally on Thursday. We paid the stateroom attendant more than what the recommended amount was as well as our waiters. They all did an excellent job!

 

 

GAMBLING – We’re not big gamblers but we played the slots in the Casino. They were very tight, and we went through $70 in less than ½ hour playing quarter slots. You are allowed to take up to $2000 out on your sea pass card in cash without a fee. We also played bingo on Family Bingo day and were surprisingly close a number of times. We also played again on the last day because they had to give away the final jackpot. The prize was over $2500. They give you punch out cards and it is $35 for five games with 6 cards for each game. On family day, you’ll get an extra card for each one of the games for a child to play.

 

 

GENERAL INFO – Elevators are slow to come and many times the people that have pushed the button to get an elevator have taken off long before the elevator gets there…but the elevator still stopped because it had been called. We used the stairs more often than not. The formal night was very formal for the second seating anyway. I saw very few women in pants with a majority in long dresses. The gym was acceptable – a few treadmills, bikes, stairclimbers – some free weights, some weight machines. There’s a steam room and a sauna in the women’s locker room. I used only the treadmill, the bikes and the ab machines. They were not state of the art, but I was glad to be able to get a little exercise on the trip. There’s ping pong, shuffleboard, basketball (which was always busy) and a rock climbing wall. I was under the impression that Deck 12 had a running track, but this was not the case. The rock wall prevents the deck from going around the entire ship. Outdoor running was only available on Deck 7 from 10 am to 10 pm. Because of the heat, many people were still running at 10 pm around that deck. Internet access is 50 cents per minute and is located on Deck 4 next to the purser’s desk.

 

 

CRUISING IN GENERAL (1st timers point of view) – First of all, the time went by too quickly even on the days we were “doing nothing”. Next time (yes there will be a next time) we will pick a cruise that has some sea days since we were in port every day on this trip. We didn’t do everything that we would have liked on the ship (e.g., rock climbing wall). Overall, the cruise was very good but not quite as economical as I’ve heard some people mention. However, we didn’t have to cook, clean or drive anywhere and we could unpack once and still go to different places. Also, you land in areas that are highly commercialized because they are all tourist areas. You don’t get to see the real cultures. We did really enjoy ourselves, though.

 

 

If you have any questions about the Majesty or any of the ship’s procedures, I will certainly try to answer them! This forum provided some great information, and I felt ‘in the know’ even as a first-timer. I’d like to help others in that regard too…so feel free to ask!!

[PhinsAndGills]

THANKS for posting your review! My first two cruises were on the Majesty (the first one being the Key West, CocoCay, Nassau trip you just took...) I liked the "matter of fact" nature of your review rather than a lot of complaining and ridicule that many reviews end up being! THANKS again for positing, I miss the Majesty. Maybe on my Thanksgiving Mariner sail, I'll convince DH to book another Majesty for my grad school graduation... ;)

[EBFURR]

Thanks for the review! Our first cruise was on the Majesty many years ago when she was the newest & best of the fleet. We have been on board 4 times over the years and she is still our favorite. It seems strange to hear her referred to as the "bottom of the line", but we still remember her glory days!

 

You gave a very objective and fair review and I am sure it will help some fellow cruisers out there. Also, it is good to hear that your kids had a great time. They are not of the "dreaded kids" variety that you read about so much on the boards and you are to be commended for that!

 

As far as kids in their age range go, ours liked the Majesty, but loved the Mariner, which we have been on twice. The kids and teens areas are very large on the Mariner (bigger than the older Voyager class) and are very well run. You may want to consider Mariner for your next cruise.

[dyanna72]

Thanks for the great report. Family & myself will be sailing her on Aug 22nd with great anticipation for our 1st RCCL cruise.

 

What time did everyone have to be out of their staterooms on day of departure? Final time you had to be off the ship completely.

 

Thanks,

Dyanna

[Eric990]

Thanks! My first cruise will be on the Majesty in just a few days! :D

 

Can't wait!

[bumbles]

I'm definitely looking around for what we can book next year. We'll certainly take the Mariner into consideration. Thanks for the comments on the kids. We work really hard to raise happy, healthy, respectful kids. I wouldn't trade them for the world...well, 99.9% of the time anyway!:rolleyes:

[brianroberts2526]

Nice review; I love the Majesty.

 

BTW:

 

"They leave the luggage by the central elevators on your deck and you have to bring them to your stateroom."

 

I think you just happened upon your luggage before it got to your room. They actually end up putting it on your deck, then to your room. You just caught it early.

[bumbles]

Dyanna72, We were requested to be out of our room by 8 am, but I don't know what time you needed to be off the ship since we were off by 7:45 to get to our excursion. We didn't pay much attention to that.

 

Brianroberts, Thanks for the clarification on the luggage. When we were headed out to dinner around 8'ish, there were still a few pieces of luggage by the elevators. That's why I thought it was self-carry to the room. Maybe the tags had been ripped off or something.

 

Happy cruising to all!

[JerseyGirl23]

Thanks for the review! Looking forward to sailing her in December!

[bankofdad]

Thanks for the review, well done!

 

We've made a last minute reservation to sail on Majesty for an anniversary getaway next month.

 

Can you please tell me a little more about the shark viewing on your tour in Nassau? I love this kind of stuff, and have done similar excursions to this in Hawaii. Can you tell me about the number and sizes of sharks you were able to see? How was the water visibility (wondering about the ability to get good photos and see the action)? I noticed that the Stuart Cove's website lists this as optional. Did you have a lot of participant's on your tour, and did the operator require a minimum number of participant's before they would go to the viewing area?

 

Also, looking at the ship's layout I see there are two dining rooms; one on "A" deck (3) , the other on the "Main" deck (4). Which one did you dine at, and which seating did you have (main or late)?

 

Thanks again for the great review!

[tkubi7]

Thanks for the great review. We are sailing on the Majesty 9/12/05 and your review gave me a much appreciated feel for the ship and activities.

[dyanna72]

BANKOFDAD,

 

When are you asiling Majesty in August? We are going on the 22nd.

 

Dyanna

[bankofdad]

BANKOFDAD,

 

When are you asiling Majesty in August? We are going on the 22nd.

 

Dyanna

 

Hi Dyanna,

 

We're sailing on the 15th, just DW and I, with a one-night pre-cruise at the Hyatt. We are sooooo looking forward to this trip!

[kenandlaura06]

Thanks for the great review!