New to RCI, need Majesty info

[gopher's girl]

Hi!

Have cruised before with Princess, looking to try RCI with friends in February on a 3 night cruise on the Majesty, I have read a bit on these boards, but am looking for some more advice please...

 

1. Cabin - the Majesty of the Seas - I hear she's all refurbished, which is fun. Don't want to break the bank so can anyone tell me what the best locations are for insides, outsides, and are there any balconies on this ship?

 

2. Dining - Since we're probably traveling as a small group (6-8), will we be able to ask to be seated together in the dining room? Any thoughts on seating time?

 

3. Any tips for flying into/cruising out of Miami?

 

4. Any must-dos on this ship?

 

THANKS for you help!

-gg

[Tralynn222]

1. Cabin - the Majesty of the Seas - I hear she's all refurbished, which is fun. Don't want to break the bank so can anyone tell me what the best locations are for insides, outsides, and are there any balconies on this ship? The higher the deck the better and I like to book midship.

 

2. Dining - Since we're probably traveling as a small group (6-8), will we be able to ask to be seated together in the dining room? Any thoughts on seating time? I saw tables as big as 10 seaters, you should have no problem being seated together.

 

3. Any tips for flying into/cruising out of Miami? We drive to port so no advice on flying into. Cruising out of is a piece of cake. We've never had any trouble on embarkation. We usually arrive by 11:30 and are on the ship and eating lunch by noon!

 

4. Any must-dos on this ship? You absolutely MUST relax and enjoy!! (Never let the little things upset you)

[gopher's girl]

Thank you Traci!!

[mikensuenfl]

We've traveled on her 10-15 times. Going again in 3 weeks. Keep in mind she is old and small compared to the other ships (we just got off the Liberty - which we loved).

 

Cabins - small but adequate for the short trip. We like high and mid-ship (not great to be high in rough weather, tho). We usually book an inside cabin on Deck 8, usually 8550. The reason - the lifeboats hang outside the Deck 8 windows, but 8550 has a clear view between 2 of them. Not all the cabins have an obstructed view, but you get a good rate for these cabins. Otherwise, we book inside on Deck 4. Outside cabins are just slightly larger. The junior suites at back of ship in corners are really nice size and have a huge balcony. We have friends who try to get these cabins. They don't tend to get seasick like we do, so they don't mind the back of the ship. (We've never gotten sick yet and have been on a total of 27 cruises.) The refurbishing of the ship was wonderful and the new beds and bedding are great.

 

Dining - as soon as you get aboard, go to the dining room on 4 (where you come in) or 3, depending on where they are doing it, and ask to see your table and, if you want really really great service, ask to switch your table to the Head Waiter named Jacob. He is great. We've been sailing with him for years now. And getting everyone seated together is no problem. Get everyone's booking number and call RCCL or your travel agent if you used one and have your group linked. But be sure to go to the dining room right away and make sure you are all together. We were on the Majesty last summer with our son and his family and did as I said above. As for the seating, we prefer the late seating so we don't feel rushed coming back to the ship and dressing for dinner. Second seating can be hard to get if you don't arrange it at time of making your reservation to cruise.

 

Miami - if you've never been there, you might want to arrive a day or two early or stay over. A tour of the Everglades is always interesting as is a tour of Miami Beach. South Beach has been renovated and appears in a lot of movies and TV shows now. As you sail, watch off the port/left side of ship. Across from the ship is the former site of the Goodyear Blimp's winter landing site, heliport and seaplane port. Now the Children's Museum and the Parrott Jungle are the buildings you see. Once the ship is moving, you will be passing a series of bridge accessed/gated islands. One of them is Star Island were Barbara Walters grew up and where many famous people have homes. Very very rich area. Further along you pass Fisher Island where Oprah Winfrey has a condo (on the starboard/right side of ship). They out to sea.

 

Must dos - Coco Cay on a good WARM day is great swimming and snorkeling (there's a sunken plane and parts of a ship), but February may be too cold. Still, you can laze in the sun and enjoy the BBQ and music. Lots more for kids to do too.

 

See the shows on the ship and have a blast.

Mike and Sue

[mikensuenfl]

Be sure to go see the Quest (an adult scavenger hunt) and the Love and Marriage game. They are very very entertaining and you'll get a lot of laughs.

Mike and Sue

[realtorron]

My DW and I will be making our 5th cruise on that wonderful ship. The day before you cruise arrive in Miami and visit Bayside marketplace. Lots of colorful shops and food. Arrive at the ship around 11:00Am, Be the 1st to board. Don’t go to the Art auction, Do go to all of the shows, Don’t take the elevators except on the morning you go to CocoCay. Don’t blow the whistle on your lifejacket. Do sample ALL of the different rums available at the many different liquor stores in downtown Nassau. Don’t miss the party as you sail away at midnight from Nassau. Much more to say & do. :)

[Latvish]

Make sure you go to the International Belly Flop Contest (my event) and the Men's sexy legs contest.

 

And as said before don't miss the QUEST.

 

Flights out around 1 should be no problem. Its a quick ride to the airport.

 

But do go a day early and we enjoyed staying on South Beach and walking the streets and shops

[PSCruiser]

Rooms - as you probably know, Majesty has some of the smallest cabins afloat. Was on recently, and had an OV on 6, while my brother had an inside on 4. While these are both shown at about the same size (120 ft sq), my OV was significantly larger. The big differnce is that we had about a 3 ft space to walk at the bottom of the bed, while the inside had the bed tight against the bathroom. Don't know if this is a general situation, but the websites of a few online TAs give you the exact square footage for individual cabins, not just a general number, so something you might want to check on as it made a big difference. Also, a quirk of this ship is that almost all insides a parallel with the length of the ship, don't know if this matters.

 

Dining - don't wait till you sail. Get all your booking numbers, call RC, and ask to have them linked for dining. By the time you are on may be too late to have your group at the same table.

 

Miami - has excellent cab and van service between airport and port, should have no problem as long as your flight is on time. If you arrive a day or two ahead and want to rent a car, use Thrifty - when you return the car to the airport you get free shuttle to the cruiseport. Don't use Enterprise - they stopped their free shuttle.

 

Must dos: if you have snorkel gear, bring it - $26 just to rent at CocoCay. Lunch at Coco Cay and Carib. poolside buffet better than most. Try the Asian items at the Windjammer (miso soup for breakfast!) All dining room dinners were very good. Stuart Cove snorkeling at Nassau (rare chance to snorkel with sharks). Comedian shows were great on our cruise. If you book an inside, try a bit of lounging on the promenade deck instead of the pool. Saltwater pool - you'll float great! Try the Compass Cafe deli for an afternoon snack. Soft serve at the pool.

[lacruiser]

We'll be on Majesty this time next week!! :D :D

 

Anyone have any input about what an OV on Deck 3 is like?? The deal was too good to pass up, but we've never sailed that far down. Close to the water line??

 

Oh well -- as long as there's some light coming in...:p

[geniseg_2000]

I wouldn't miss Johnny Rockets. The food is very tasty but the entertainment is worth the $3.95.

[gopher's girl]

WOW - so many helpful hints. I wonder why I waited so long to try a new line. Every time I hear the RCI commercial theme song I get pumped! Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you!!

-gg

[firefly333]

I agree mostly with mikensuenfl, except it must be a typo, she says to get one of the unobstructed views on deck 8, best value, but says its an inside cabin. Its a category "I" which is considered a OV.

 

Sovereign is the twin and these are all obstructed, some more than others. I have one that is 25% obstructed, which to me is just fine. The OVs on decks 2 and 3 are port holes and deck 7 there is a jogging track which goes around the cabins, so at night people can see in, but some like that level because you can go out and walk and have a view outside your cabin.

 

I think there are about 6 or 8 on deck 8 that have no obstruction and if I remember right they are toward the front. These are the cheapest OVs, so worth getting as they have a big window and a high deck.

[gopher's girl]

Thanks firefly. I was actually checking on here to see how I can tell what is obstructed and what is not... and if I do decide to go for an inside, anything to watch out for? Looks like there isn't too much left on that particular sailing.

[firefly333]

Thanks firefly. I was actually checking on here to see how I can tell what is obstructed and what is not... and if I do decide to go for an inside' date=' anything to watch out for? Looks like there isn't too much left on that particular sailing.[/quote']

 

I did a search on CC using my cabin # 8572 as the search criteria and found the posts about which views are not obstructed. Baring a search for specific cabin #'s you can call RCI and the reps have a listing on the percentage of obstruction on those cabins on deck 8.

 

They used to have deck 2 port holes cheaper and folks complained, so now they put the obstructed as the cheapest OVs, and folks who got guarantees and bumped up to G, deck 2 were then complaining lol.

 

I think you cant go wrong even if the cabin has some obstruction on deck 8, Id still rather have one.

 

Also you can compare the cabin views on Sovereign with the same cabin # on Majesty, plus the 8072 and 8572 are the same..just put a 0 where the 5 is and see what your search pulls up. They are the same views, just on opposite sides of the ship.

 

Insides, just dont get below the pool. Otherwise they will all be the same cabin.

[MattInFLL]

Gopher, we chose to get a SO (superior oceanview) on deck 9, because they are 157 sq feet. Still not huge, but so much better than 120... the price difference was not that much, and worth it in my book. Also, these are also called "obstructed view" but the view is fine.. it's just that the life boats are below, so you don't get a view "down" to the water. But the view "out" is unaffected.

 

Your TA should be able to ensure your reservations are linked with your friends and you are placed at the same table. That said, a good tip to the maitre d' can solve any problem.

 

Since you know Princess - you will not notice a difference in the spa, since they are run by the same company. You will notice a difference in the buffet. Princess runs those cramped (IMHO) Horizon Court Buffet areas, whereas RCI has a really expansice Windjammer Marketplace with so much more choice and room to move around without feeling crowded. Plus the added bonus of Johnny Rockets and the new Compass Deli on Majesty.

 

OH, one other thing - RCI tends to put its most experienced cabin personnel on the upper decks, because those decks contain the most expensive cabins (such as suites).. so if you had a choice of insides, choose decks 9 or 10... the bonus to being lower in the ship (and near the middle) is less chance of sea sickness (if you are prone to it).

 

Service wise I have heard nothing but good things about the crew on Majesty.

 

Have fun!

[Michuck]

As previously posted, the cabins are small, but more than adequate for such a short cruise. DH sail on her quite often - we can see her from our home balcony, and it's just too tempting not to go seeing her sitting there!

 

We always book an inside cabin on Deck 5. Our favorite is 5595. It's near the elevator, one flight up or down to the dining room, 4 or 5 steps up/down to the boutiques, Schooner Bar, purser's desk, photo gallery, and almost best of all, the muster station assignment for this cabin is indoors in the lounge!!!

 

There's a nice little bistro on the upper deck of the Windjammer, that has great baguette sandwiches (just behind the pizza counter to the left). And don't forget to order escargots - the best I've ever had!

 

Even though she's small, The Majesty is one of my favorite ships. There's just 'something about her.'

 

Michele

[gopher's girl]

Thank you Matt and Michele - again, just the information I was looking for and the reason I use these boards :)

 

Now if only I lived in Miami or Fort Lauderdale and didn't have to pay for airfare!!

-gg

[CLQ]

We did a little thread a few weeks ago when we came back from our Majesty 4-nighter. Gave folks a chance to ask questions. Hope it helps here.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=594992&highlight=majesty