Diary - Majesty cruise 9/19 till 9/23

[DutsCruiser]

Disclamer

I'm not much of a review writer so I decided to write down my "diary". I normally so this is somewhat of a learning experience for me. I hope it all makes a bit sence and I apologize for the errors in writing. But English isn't my native tongue as my might have guessed already :D.

 

Saturday, September 17th 2005

This day we got up at 2:15am. We had to get up this early because we had a 7:20 flight to London Heathrow and we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time on the airport. From London we would fly to Miami. The taxi was perfectly on time and of we went to Schiphol (Airport in Amsterdam).

 

Only 10 minutes from our house the weather chanced from almost no rain to an enormous downpour. The taxi started to aquaplane but got grip again about 20 inches from the crash barrier. Since we had plenty time the driver decided to take it slowly from that moment on. After an unplanned detour (driver mist an exit) we arrived at the airport and could proceed to check-in.

 

Our flight left on time and had two hours to get our connecting flight to Miami. Although t two hours is plenty, if you ever fly from Amsterdam to Miami via Heathrow remember that you have to take a bus from terminal 4 to terminal 3 which takes 10 minutes plus you have to walk quite a lot so schedule at least an hour for this.

 

The flight went ok, although, I'm not sure I still love Raymond so much anymore after nine hours of "Everybody loves Raymond" :) The food on the American Airlines flights aren't half-bad for plane-food and in contrast to our last flight to the US we even got our bags on the same flight.

 

From the airport we took a taxi to the Tudor hotel in South Beach Miami. The hotel looks very pretty from the outside and very reasonable (not bad but nothing special) on the inside. The room we got was large and was very complete. The TV didn't work properly but since we didn't travel al that way to watch TV we didn't consider this much of a problem. The hotel is located conveniently in walking distance from Lincon Rd (Shopping) and close to the beach.

 

After we finished unpacking we walked around the area a bit and had something to eat. We returned to the hotel to get an hour rest from the flight but when we woke up again it was midnight and we decided not to go out anymore.

 

Sunday, September 18th 2005

After sleeping for 12 hours we got up, got dressed and went down for the complementary breakfast. And although I really liked our hotel this was really one of the down sides. The breakfast consisted of 2 types of jam, bagels and coffee. The Winterhaven where we stayed in January at least had orange juice. (Winterhaven is also located in South Beach and even closer to Lincon Rd and the Beach but had smaller rooms and was a bit more expensive; although both Tudor and Winterhaven come with my own personal "Good value for money"-recommendation).

 

We spend half the day on the beach in the sun. We enjoyed the great weather and loved the warm water. When I got up to drink something I noticed to guys walking by the shore. One of them was big and walked like he was bodyguarding the other one and the smaller one was playing with is cell phone. After a minute or two I noticed that we wasn't playing but taking pictures of topless sun-bathing females. I immediately warned two women in front of us and the one right of us. The one on the right didn't seem all that bothered by it although she did turn on the stomach when the two guys got closer. The others thanked me several times and put the top back on. My boy-scout deed for the day :p.

 

The rest of the day we used for shopping and saunter Lincon Rd. This really is a beautiful shopping area and very important there are two Starbucks there. Nothing special for most Americans but for a Dutch guy like me who has worked in Ireland for some time I really miss the coffee shops where you actually can get coffee. The dutch-coffee-shops give you a different "high" and that is not my cup-of-tee.

 

After our dinner we went across street from the hotel to check the Internet to see of Rita was going to spoil-sport or vacation. There was no indication of that on the RCCL site so we decided to write an email home and return to the hotel to find out more about Rita on the weather-channel. I can tell you it's very hard if they tell you that the eye of the storm is purple and your TV only has one colour: RED.

 

Later that evening we went out for a walk on the beach but returned to our hotel early so that we would get a good night sleep and would be early at the cruise terminal in case Rita would spoil-sport.

 

Monday, September 19th 2005

As planned we got up early. I made a quick call to RCCL to confirm that there were no changes to our departure but we decided to leave early for port anyway. We arrived at the cruise terminal around 9:30am. This was the first time we were able to get a good look at the Majesty of the Seas. She is a beauty. Although she is one of the smaller ships, by no means is she a small ship.

 

Since deembarkation was somewhat delayed we had to wait until 11:00am before we could check-in ourselves. During this time we waited and overheard a conversation that one young couple from Canada was robbed at a hotel pool close to the hotel we stayed in. I felt very sorry for them but fortunately I saw them later on the ship having a good time so they did get on their cruise at least.

 

This was our first cruise we were able to use the "set-sail" facility on the RCCL site. It didn't safe us much time compared to the previously used online registration. Especially since I'm a non-US resident and had to walk to from one and (Set-Sail was in the back) to the US-customs (begin again) to the onboard waiting line (in de back again). We were onboard around 11:45.

 

As soon as we got onboard we started exploring the ship. Since we only had been on two voyager class ships the majesty was a totally new experience and again she is not a small ship. Smaller yes but not small. Our cabin was small. We had booked an inside cabin since this was an "in-between" cruise and we were somewhat on a budget. But we just couldn't wait for our next cruise in January that long. And yes I do consider myself very very lucky to be able to do this, even on a budget, many people I know can't afford one cruise and I'm lucky enough to be able to do two in one year.

 

Most of the ship we found to be in an excellent shape. Here and there you could notice her age but overall you couldn't tell that she had almost done 1000 sails. Around 16:00 we returned to our cabin to get our lifejackets for the muster drill. We put them on and went to muster station 3 at deck 7. When we arrived a lot of cruiser were already waiting and by the time shorn was blown everybody was already at the muster station.

 

After the muster drill the captain made an announcement that we would not be able to visit Nassau because of Rita. The port was closed and instead we would get a sea day for the cost of Gran Bahamas where the water was calm and the weather good. Also the captain announced that we could not leave for yet because of a computer malfunction. It wasn't until 10:00pm that we left and by that time the beautiful weather had already changed into rain.

 

We visited the onboard Internet cafe so send and email to our family at home to tell them that all was great and we hadn't been effected much by Rita.

 

During the voyage the sea was quite rough. Fortunately we didn't get seasick. In fact accept for the funny walking we didn't even notice it that much.

 

Somewhere that evening our cabin steward came to bring us our gold member value booklets. We got them for the 7+ night rather then for the five nights we booked. Not sure this is normal or not but we were happy with it. We didn't see or cabin steward again for the rest of the cruise.

 

In the evening we went to the "Welcome aboard". This was supposed to be a show by the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers but due to the ships movement we got the Comedian Steve Bruner instead. He was real funny and every accessible even for people like me who's native tongue isn't English.

Tuesday, September 20th 2005

We didn't bother to get up real early because we had a sea day. Around 9:00am we were finished to visit the Windjamer Cafe for our breakfast. Which was way better then what had had for the last two days. During our breakfast the captain announced that the port of Nassau had reopened and that he had sailed full spead all night to still be able to make it to Nassau. He apologised for the rough sea at night but to be honest I slept so good, I never even noticed it.

 

We arrived at Nassau around 11:00am. It was fun to sea the ship arrive at a port. On our previous cruises when you opened the curtains you were already docked but now we could witness the hole procedure. We already had been to Nassau once and it isn't one of my favourite islands. Therefor we only visited the island for a few hours. While we walked on the beach at Nassau the Disney Wonder arrived at Nassau also.

 

When we returned we tried to check our email (webmail) again but it was to slow. I could get my webmail client to display any mail I had but building up the "send email" screen was to slow. This has probably something to do with my choice of webmail client also but overall it was slow.

 

In the theatre we watched the "The Beat Goes on". A real nice show with singing and dancing and a lot of costume changes. At the pool deck a barbecue late night buffet was available and people were filling plates like they hadn't eaten all day. There were some real nice ice sculptures; real works of art. The people that weren't eating were dancing and having a great time. A very nice night.

 

Because Cococay is very close by we didn't leave until 11:00pm. Which gave us a beautiful view of Nassau by night. We did consider to go back to the Island in the evening but since I already had read on the board that Nassau is pretty much closed in the evening we decided to stay on board.

 

Wednesday, September 21st 2005

Cococay is a tender port. The ships stays away from the island a lot further that they do at Labadee. When the tender arrives at Cococay our first thought was that it was very similar to Labadee. And this turned out to be true for the most part. Cococay looks a bit more men made that Labadee but it's a real beautiful island with tons of activities.

 

After exploring the island we decided to go snorkelling. We had never snorkelled before so we waited for a brief instruction and after that went to the water. Getting your flippers on in the water was already so much fun that I was already happy that I did this "shore excursion". The first few meters I couldn't sea a thing but further from the shore the visibility increased and I saw beautiful fishes. An amazing sight. I found the jellyfish somewhat frightening because I had heard they could sting and I wasn't about to find out if this was true or not.

 

Sometimes I got so excited to watch the fish that I forgot I had a snorkel to stay above water and I must have drunken at least a gallon of water (not something I recommend; :eek:!)

 

We visited the shipwreck but this was somewhat of a disappointment. I didn't expect to find the titanic but this was only a small part of the bow and a few canons. We couldn't find the plane but also didn't try real hard to find it because we were already getting tired from the swimming.

 

Back at the beach we enjoyed the barbecue lunch and found ourselves a sunbathing spot. We bought one of the Island drinks, (which was much better than the ocean water I had before) and relaxed in the sun.

 

At that time it was announced that due to Rita we wouldn't be able to visit Key West and that we would now get a sea day near Gran Bahamas has the captain had original announced when he was under the assumption that we could not visit Nassau. We were disappointed that we didn't go to Key West but we did already take this in to account when we booked the cruise. Cruising during hurricane season can do this to you.

 

By the end of the day we strolled the straw market and returned to the ship. The evening show was now "Boogie Wonderland" a mixture of 60's and 70's songs. After the show we went to see what was described as "you wont believe what people would do for a keychain". This was great fun and afterwards we returned to our cabin to check on Rita at CNN.

 

Thursday, September 22nd 2005

Again we didn't bother to get up real early since it was going to be a sea day. The captain had found a spot where the weather was great but I didn't "use" much of it because at 1:00pm there was another show in the theatre and after that there was "Captains corner".

 

The show was a juggling show. The performer had some great tricks and also had a great sence of humour. The "captains corner" was a meeting with the Captain, chief engineer, hotel director and the cruise director (Warren Allen). This was every informative and a great opportunity so find out more about what happens behind the scenes. A few of the facts I remember are: a ship could sail through a hurricane area. It would be damaged but nut to the extent it would sink. There is only 7 meters below sea level. The rest (35 meters) is above sea level.

 

They also showed a video that had previously been aired on the Travel Channel about the Voyager of the seas. I was I had the piece of video; would have been a real great marketing tool for warming up friend and family for cruising. This little trivia moment did make me decide to buy the video "Voyager of the Seas: Building the World's Largest Cruise Ship". I had already bought it almost twice on earlier cruised but found it to be too expensive. Even with the 5% coupon I still think it's to expensive but I am glad I bought it.

 

After that I packed our bags again and prepared for leaving the next day. I paid on other visit to the Internet cafe to try sending an email (webmail) again but again it was to slow. I'm really glad I had the coupons for this. At least for the two last attempts. Oh; b.t.w. I still have a lot of vouchers left (10% off spa or salon service, bingo "buy one get one" credit, complementary wine tasting, Photo "Buy one get a 5"x7" ship foto" credit, casino "buy 10 get 2" credit, Casino "$5 match play" credit, 10% discount on 2nd bottle of wine, Ben and Jerry's 25% discount and the Seattle's best coffee 25% discount). I have two booklets and willing to divide them under 3 people (more would become to expensive). Email me (dutscruiser –a-t- itmon –d-o-t- nl) which ones you want and I'll do my best to send them asap (but expect at least a week (maybe two) before you have them).

 

For dinner we went to the Windjammer cafe as we had done the hole cruise (we didn't want to bring so much luggage for such a short vacation) but this night it was a lot busier than the other nights. Who would have guessed.. it's pay night... I didn't want to tip a waiter that hadn't worked for me but I also didn't want be stingy so we made the decision to tip the two waiters in the Windjammer cafe that served us the most. We also tipped a girl behind the buffet counter that had stopped us a few times to make conversation and did a few of the little extras that makes you feel special on a cruise ship. Al three of them were somewhat surprised but really appreciated the tips.

 

We had a busy evening with the entertainment. First a show by someone who did impersonations. Some of them I didn't recognise because they were most likely typical American. Also I didn't care much for this kind of show but most people seemed to like it. The performer did wait after the show outside the theatre to shake some hands which I thought was nice of him. Second was Karaoke and third the late night Adult comedy. Which wasn't very adult at al but real funny. Remember never to show up late for a comedian. Some people did and they were a real nice target for the next few minutes of the show.

Friday, September 23th 2005

The alarm clock was set for 6:00am so that we had enough time was, dress and have some breakfast. This turned out to be a good idea because minutes after we found a table in the Windjammer cafe the room became very busy with people also tried to find a place to have breakfast.

 

After breakfast we returned to our cabin. Put the tip for the cabin steward on the bed with a thank you note and got finished to disembark. We were the last group to leave the ship but this gave us a great opportunity to watch the ship being supplied.

 

After we left the ship, went through border security and customs we took a taxi to the RedRoof Inn hotel. There we couldn't get our room until 2:30 but this wasn't too bad. The weather was great so we sad and relaxed in the sun.

 

Saturday, September 24th 2005

Our flight back went smoothly and we were back home Sunday at 12:30. After unpacking, washing and notifying the neighbours that we were back we crashed on the couch and tried to watch some TV but we were so tired that we couldn't even finish watching a motogp race we had recorded.

 

Now I have to wait for over 120 days again until my next cruise... it's going to be a long wait but with a great new memory.

 

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If you like; the new cruise pictures are also available now. Visit http://pics.itmon.nl/ if you want to see them. Sorry for the webrobot protection.

[cathykb]

You travelogue was quite enjoyable. We are going on the Majesty end of October.

 

Thanks again,

 

cathykb

[JerseyGirl23]

Thanks for the review! Sounds like you had a great time, even though Rita diverted you. Looking forward to sailing the Majesty in December!

[4merlurker]

Thanks for the review! :) If the offer is still good I would be interested in a coupon book. I sent you an email - I would be happy to pay for postage.

 

~Connie

[legalwife]

Thanks so much for the review.

 

It "wet my whistle" for our cruise on Majesty in a couple of weeks!

[DutsCruiser]

Thank you all for the lovely responses... both by mail and in this thread..

 

I'm out of coupons now. The people who will receive them have been notified by email. Remember to send me a mailing address else I can't mail them to you.

 

I'll try to put them in the mail this week/early next week. Could take a few days since I'm in the Netherlands (Europe) and not in the US.

[Michuck]

Thanks for the review - reading it brought back fond memories of past Majesty cruises. She's one of our favorite ships, and will be sailing her again in December. We're fortunate to live very near the Port of Miami, and get away as often as we can on the Majesty for a quick weekend getaway - we leave our office at 2:00 on Friday, and go straight to work Monday morning after disembarking. Glad you enjoyed it!

 

Michele

[firstimer2]

Thanks for the detailed review. We are leaving on MOS next week. Hope the hurricanes are over!!

 

Your English was grand.:)

[RhondaC]

Hey - we were on this cruise with you, and guess what! I'm in one of your pictures!! LOL!

 

In the second Farewell Show picture, I was just in front of you. I'm on the left hand side of the picture, in a pink shirt! :D Wow - I wonder what the odds are? rofl

[DutsCruiser]

Your English was grand.

 

Thank you... I appreciate the compliment..

I hope you'll have a wonderfull cruise without any hurricane problems.

 

Hey - we were on this cruise with you, and guess what! I'm in one of your pictures!! LOL!

 

That's cool. Unfortunately the picture is from the back so I can't see your face. I also checked if I had an other picture that I had not posted hoping for a face but I haven't got one from the farewell show.

 

I would be curious to know if I would recognize you. I'm every supprized that on such a large ship there are always a few people you seem to meet everywhere: from embarkation till deembarkation.

 

B.t.w.:

Just out of curiosity... Does anyone, who watched the pictures, know who the lady in one of the last pictures is. (Picture between the lizard and the snake pictures.. no joke intended). It was a interview with some guy and it seemed to be recorded for a TV station called ATS or RTS. Couldn't make a word of the language. Could have been Spanish or something other "fast-spoken" language. Did I "meet" someone famous without knowing it?