The Majesty through the Eyes of a Teen

[Evil Jeremy]

As a holiday surprise, my dad took my sister (11 years old), and I (14 years old) on the “Majesty of the Seas” from “Royal Caribbean”. I read almost a hundred reviews, both good and bad, about the ship from people who were on it, but none of the reviews gave me what I wanted: How the ship is for a teen going on it”. So, I wrote the following review for those parents out there who want to take there kids on this ship.

 

My step mom, my sister, and I got out of our car at about 2:30, bought a soda, and waited for my dad to park. We waited nearly half an hour before we found out that our dad was waiting for us inside of the terminal. So, we got into the line to board at around 3:00PM. Amazingly, it only took us about 20 minutes to get on the ship from there, and we ran to the Windjammer to eat a late lunch. Now, I am going to break down each portion of the cruise through my eyes.

 

Food: The Majesty had some of the most diverse food that I have ever seen in one location. I do not recommend the dining rooms for any meals, as the service is slow and the food is not the best. However, in the front of the ship, there are a number of ways to fill your stomach. The first is the “WindJammer Café”, which is a “Sweet Tomatoes” style buffet. The food there was amazing, and it is perfect for all of those kids out there who like to sneak desert while their parents are getting a tan. Upstairs of the Windjammer is the “Sorrento’s Pizza”, which serves some of the best pizza-by-the-slice that I have ever had. Open from Noon – 7PM, and then again from 9PM – 3AM (except on the final night of the cruise, when it closes at 2AM), you can get as much pizza as you want, when you want. Behind the pizza place is “Johnny Rockets”. I am only going to say 2 things about the JR on the ship: It retains the quality of the JR’s on land, and it is really funny watching their staff (try to) dance. On the other side behind the pizza place is a deli, but I never tried it. For the kids who like Ice Cream, there is a machine giving the sweet stuff by the pool from 11AM to 6PM. This is all I have to say about the food on the ship.

 

Theatre Productions: I loved the ship’s theatre, called the “A Chorus Line” theatre. On the first night of the cruise, a comedian, named “Steven Scott (I think)” preformed for us. I honestly have never laughed more at a live performance of anything before than I did with his jokes, some of which involved his parents, a broken car radio, the music from “The Godfather”, and the Spanish to English learning videos for kids. On the second night of the cruise, the staff preformed “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered”, which was a well choreographed but disorganized mix of modern day songs. I say it is disorganized because one moment I was watching people dancing to the classics from the 70s, and 1 minute later, they were performing “I’m a Survivor”. Made no sense. The other show that they preformed for us was “Boogie Wonderland”. This show was actually impressive. It was just like the previous show, except all of the singing and dancing stuck to one theme and era, the one with the best music ever. About ¼ of BW was about the music of “ABBA”. The theatre itself is impressive, and there are waiters and waitresses ready to serve you drinks for your performance.

 

Teen Activities: All of the activities for the teens are based out of “Fuel”, the teen center, and after 11PM, a nightclub. We (the teens) all had a blast. “Fuel” is located right next too the sports deck, so we have easy access to play basketball (Note to future teens to ride the ship: DO NOT KICK THE BASKETBALL AT NIGHT!!! Ours should still be around the Florida Keys. Don’t ask.). At night is when the fun begins for us teens. With activities like Dodge ball tournaments and poolside parties, not to mention the plasma showing movies all the time in “Fuel”, this place is heaven for teens.

 

Rooms: The rooms are nice. I really don’t have much to say here, except that I enjoyed the movie channels they had on board to watch at night.

 

Excursions: CoCoCay, which is the island privately owned by “Royal Caribbean”, is ok at best. There are teen activities that are free there, such as vollyball and a BBQ. Key West is just a place to waste money and see a gigantic pole saying “Cuba in 90 Miles”. Our ship did not stop anywhere on our second day, since it was Christmas.

 

 

 

Well, this is all I have to say for now! I will add more to this as I write it down! Hope this helps people with kids!

[dondiane]

Thanks for your review, its nice to hear what teens really think about the cruises they take with their parents or grandparents. Hope you had a wonderful time

[Disneynutbsv]

Thanks so much for posting! Even though we are on a different ship, I think the teen areas would be similar. I forwarded this to my 17 year old as its our first cruise:)

[99florida]

Nice info and for a 14 year old writing this from an educators view, this is qute impressive.

 

You must attend a very good school or have an outstanding English/writing instructor. Lucky you!

[TexCruise371]

Thanks for the review!

[truffles2]

I certainly did not know that Majesty has a Johnny Rockets:confused:

Thanks for your review.

[metsfan1968]

Great job on the review. I love this line:

 

Key West is just a place to waste money and see a gigantic pole saying “Cuba in 90 Miles”.

 

Nothing against Key West - just a great line.

[Disneynutbsv]

I would love to hear her perspective on things as my dd is also 11:) She's been asking me a million questions!

[Mac777daddy]

Thats funny about the food. I read several other comments that said WindJammer is less than desirable to eat at that going to the dining room is the way to go. I am for all types of food but the last thing I want to do is go to a place for a good meal then say man we could have eaten somewhere else that was better.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

What a great well-written review. It is so thorough and one of the most complete I have read about Majesty. It is especially interesting because it is written by a teenager for teenagers, but will be very helpful to parents who have teens and are planning a cruise.

 

I so totally agree about the production show "Signed, Sealed and Delivered," a hodge podge of songs that tries to please every age group while probably pleasing none. I am 64, but have written to RCI on customer suggestion forms at the end of every cruise that the production shows simply MUST choose more contemporary music, at least in one production show. Trying to please both septegenarians and the Hannah Montana set just won't cut it.

 

RCI probably doesn't have many cruisers such as I who played bass guitar in a nu-metal band (Limp Bizkit, Korn, Def-Tones style) at the age of fifty-two and played bass in a traditional blues band too. (Of course, my pleas about music choices have gone unnoticed:o )

 

Keep up the good work with your reviews. Yours was so refreshing. It was cool to see Majesty through a teenager's eyes and not just my own fuddy duddy eyes.

[FL_Cruiser64]

Thats funny about the food. I read several other comments that said WindJammer is less than desirable to eat at that going to the dining room is the way to go. I am for all types of food but the last thing I want to do is go to a place for a good meal then say man we could have eaten somewhere else that was better.

 

I've been on several RCI cruises, different ships and different times of the year. The WJ food was never less than desirable. Sure once in a while your meat is a little to done but that's the beast of a buffet anywhere. Meat keeps cooking through after you take it off and having meat lay in a heating area keeps cooking the meat.

 

If you show up at 10, 10:30 or 11 for breakfast than youyr food may be a little overcooked (depending how popular the item was and how often it was refilled in the trays).

 

For buffet style the WJ Marketplace is not bad at all. I have eaten much worse in sit down dinners in a regular landbased restaurant.

 

Reading a few of your posts it seems to me that you were only on one cruise before (Disney) and you weren't really sure what to expect. I also read that you take the negative posts at a higher value than positive posts (thus your question in one of your posts "where to file a complain while onboard").

 

To enjoy your cruise you have to know what cruising is all about. The one thing which is the most important thing is that you will be cruising with 2000 to 3000 other people coming from all sorts of social lives, different heritages and different races. And you also have to understand that a cruise line (regardless on which cruise line you are going) is serving all those people with food and entertainment. I have yet to be on a cruise which was perfect. You take the small imperfections in stride and enjoy the majority of the cruise.

 

Focusing only on problems will prevent you from enjoying your cruise.

[FL_Cruiser64]

I certainly did not know that Majesty has a Johnny Rockets:confused:

Thanks for your review.

 

They added one in the refurbish last January.

[FL_Cruiser64]

As a holiday surprise, my dad took my sister (11 years old), and I (14 years old) on the “Majesty of the Seas” from “Royal Caribbean”. I read almost a hundred reviews, both good and bad, about the ship from people who were on it, but none of the reviews gave me what I wanted: How the ship is for a teen going on it”. So, I wrote the following review for those parents out there who want to take there kids on this ship.

 

My step mom, my sister, and I got out of our car at about 2:30, bought a soda, and waited for my dad to park. We waited nearly half an hour before we found out that our dad was waiting for us inside of the terminal. So, we got into the line to board at around 3:00PM. Amazingly, it only took us about 20 minutes to get on the ship from there, and we ran to the Windjammer to eat a late lunch. Now, I am going to break down each portion of the cruise through my eyes.

 

Food: The Majesty had some of the most diverse food that I have ever seen in one location. I do not recommend the dining rooms for any meals, as the service is slow and the food is not the best. However, in the front of the ship, there are a number of ways to fill your stomach. The first is the “WindJammer Café”, which is a “Sweet Tomatoes” style buffet. The food there was amazing, and it is perfect for all of those kids out there who like to sneak desert while their parents are getting a tan. Upstairs of the Windjammer is the “Sorrento’s Pizza”, which serves some of the best pizza-by-the-slice that I have ever had. Open from Noon – 7PM, and then again from 9PM – 3AM (except on the final night of the cruise, when it closes at 2AM), you can get as much pizza as you want, when you want. Behind the pizza place is “Johnny Rockets”. I am only going to say 2 things about the JR on the ship: It retains the quality of the JR’s on land, and it is really funny watching their staff (try to) dance. On the other side behind the pizza place is a deli, but I never tried it. For the kids who like Ice Cream, there is a machine giving the sweet stuff by the pool from 11AM to 6PM. This is all I have to say about the food on the ship.

 

Theatre Productions: I loved the ship’s theatre, called the “A Chorus Line” theatre. On the first night of the cruise, a comedian, named “Steven Scott (I think)” preformed for us. I honestly have never laughed more at a live performance of anything before than I did with his jokes, some of which involved his parents, a broken car radio, the music from “The Godfather”, and the Spanish to English learning videos for kids. On the second night of the cruise, the staff preformed “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered”, which was a well choreographed but disorganized mix of modern day songs. I say it is disorganized because one moment I was watching people dancing to the classics from the 70s, and 1 minute later, they were performing “I’m a Survivor”. Made no sense. The other show that they preformed for us was “Boogie Wonderland”. This show was actually impressive. It was just like the previous show, except all of the singing and dancing stuck to one theme and era, the one with the best music ever. About ¼ of BW was about the music of “ABBA”. The theatre itself is impressive, and there are waiters and waitresses ready to serve you drinks for your performance.

 

Teen Activities: All of the activities for the teens are based out of “Fuel”, the teen center, and after 11PM, a nightclub. We (the teens) all had a blast. “Fuel” is located right next too the sports deck, so we have easy access to play basketball (Note to future teens to ride the ship: DO NOT KICK THE BASKETBALL AT NIGHT!!! Ours should still be around the Florida Keys. Don’t ask.). At night is when the fun begins for us teens. With activities like Dodge ball tournaments and poolside parties, not to mention the plasma showing movies all the time in “Fuel”, this place is heaven for teens.

 

Rooms: The rooms are nice. I really don’t have much to say here, except that I enjoyed the movie channels they had on board to watch at night.

 

Excursions: CoCoCay, which is the island privately owned by “Royal Caribbean”, is ok at best. There are teen activities that are free there, such as vollyball and a BBQ. Key West is just a place to waste money and see a gigantic pole saying “Cuba in 90 Miles”. Our ship did not stop anywhere on our second day, since it was Christmas.

 

 

 

Well, this is all I have to say for now! I will add more to this as I write it down! Hope this helps people with kids!

 

I really don't believe that you are 14. :D Your writing is absolutely stunning for a 14 year old. Wow.

 

Thanks for the review. You probably helped a lot of parents who will go on the Majesty with teenagers.

[volleyballmom87]

Thanks so much for posting! Even though we are on a different ship, I think the teen areas would be similar. I forwarded this to my 17 year old as its our first cruise:)

 

My 17 yo had a different experience. She invited her BFF on the trip. She is 17 years 9 months old and the BFF had already turned 18. DH couldn't go to the 18yo stuff and the 18 yo was excluded from teen stuff so they were left to find things to do themselves and had no way to meet others in their age group except hanging out at the hottubs at night which they did not discover until the 3rd night.

[KarinaGW]

Thats funny about the food. I read several other comments that said WindJammer is less than desirable to eat at that going to the dining room is the way to go. I am for all types of food but the last thing I want to do is go to a place for a good meal then say man we could have eaten somewhere else that was better.

 

Bear in mind that the OP (wonderful review, btw) is 14 and his commentary was it is slow and the food isn't as good.

 

First, the Dining Room is not supposed to be an in and out affair, it is supposed to be a more relaxed event. Possibly, the OP (and for that matter, others of the older persuasion) isn't used to or just doesn't like the more leisurely pace.

 

 

As to the second, the cooking style in the MDR is a more "gourmet" style (style, I said, not quality....down, boy) where the Windjammer is a more egaliterian variety as well. Kids go through phases of likes and dislikes. When my 19-yo was a kid, he ate anything you put in front of him from whatever cuisine we were eating. Around 11-12, he went on the all chicken tender all the time diet. And, pretty much every cuisine has some kind of chicken thing that worked to a greater or lesser extent. A couple years back, he (hallelujah) became a normal eater again. Possibly that explains the OP's dislike for the MDR food....or the chef was having a bad day.

 

But, like everyone else, I echo the praise for the review and the thoughtfulness and care with which it was written.

[Fury1995]

Wow Jeremy! You really ought to consider submitting this review to Cruise Critic for the review board.

 

Well done. Glad you enjoyed yourself.

 

After reading your post, I find myself double checking my spelling and punctuation.:D ;)

[Merion_Mom]

Does this mean that I'm not allowed to correct his spelling and grammar? ;)

 

Congratulations, Evil Jeremy! Excellent communication from an early teen! :D

[pittfanusc]

thanks for the info.very helpfull

[Happy ks]

What a pleasure to read the perspective of a young teen. All I get from asking my teens is "it was OK". :rolleyes:

 

I know they have a good time because they are always eager to go again, but they would never admit that to us.

 

Interesting about the food, coming from an older person (parent) like me, I prefer the food and service of the dining room. I have to say that just about every meal I've ever had in a buffet, no matter what cruise line or land buffet, has been a bit of a disappointment. I guess there are some of us who do prefer quality over quantity, service over a fast paced meal. But, then again, I'm not anxious to get going to the next event and don't actually mind the company of my spouse and don't have a burning need to meet other people our own age. If it happens, great, if not we're content with each other.

 

Thanks for writing your review, it was refreshing to know what teens are really thinking :)

[stanze5]

As a parent of a 12 (almost 13) year old girl, I really appreciate your point of view. I have been searching this board for months trying to find a teenager's insight into the Majesty. We sail on January 21 and this is very encouraging and helpful! Thank you and kudos to your parents for raising such a well spoken son. I would like to hear your sister's views too.;-)

[lauren0309]

Thanks for your review. I'll have to show it to my 15 year old son. He's concerned about meeting other kids since he usually cruises with his brother who won't be going with us this time.

[Evil Jeremy]

Thanks for reading the review. I am currently writing some new parts of it which should be added later tonight. And thank you for the compliments about the writing and grammar of the review. I go to a great private school, and the great education there, coupled with the fact that I like to create fanfictions for television shows, I am a great writer for someone my age.

 

Also, someone mentioned a few posts back that I should submit this to the "Cruise Critic review board". What exactly does that mean?

[Bargeo]

Great review.....and very nice job writing it.