Majesty of the Seas 11/21-11/24/08 cruise journal

[ancldaca]

As just submitted on the main review board. Enjoy!

 

Friday November 21, 2008

Miami, Florida

25 46.83N

80 10.69W

Course: ---

Speed: 0.0 Kts

Docked along the starboard side of the ship

Background

I am a 42 y.o. male with a European/South American upbringing and have been living in the U.S. for a total of 28 years. I see myself as a person of refined tastes but do not necessarily live everyday life that way. I consider myself as someone who knows (both by upbringing and then personal experience) what "is good" and what "is not so good". As a consumer, I enjoy and seek out good value which does not mean cheap; there are times when a $50 entree represents better value than a $2.99 fast food meal.

 

My previous cruise resume reads: Renaissance Cruises (1x), Princess (5x), and Royal Caribbean (4x). So, this is my 11th cruise!!! Reviews on cruise critic are as follows: Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas (AOS) on 07/07: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=30616. The Caribbean Princess Western Caribbean on 09/07: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=32829. The Crown Princess Southern Caribbean on 12/07: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=35864. The Caribbean Princess Eastern Caribbean on 04/08: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=40724. The Caribbean Princess 3 night Coastal Sampler on 5/1/08: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=41545. The Adventure of the Seas on 10/12/08: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=47660

 

I booked this cruise only 3 weeks ago as I had to fly to Miami for personal reasons (needed to get some visas for my Panama Canal cruise in January). So, instead of taking Thu/Fri as vacation days I switched to Fri/Mon. This still gave me 2 days to get my personal stuff done (since we arrive early Monday) but also allowed me to take this cruise which will count as my 5th on Royal Caribbean. The next Royal Caribbean cruise, whenever that will be, I will be sailing as a Platinum member of Crown & Anchor which has some nifty ancillary benefits as a cruiser. My round trip from San Juan on American Airlines will also push me into their AAdvantage Gold status. So, all in all, a concentrated bit of ‘business’ all around.

 

Pre-cruise

The Thursday 8:40pm flight from SJU to MIA was packed; in fact, oversold. That doesn’t surprise me as travelers pretty much take it as a given that American will cancel at least one or sometimes 2 of the afternoon flights to Miami and then bunch everybody in a puny 757 at night. And they dare to call themselves a ‘full service’ airline... How the mighty have fallen. Amazingly, we only arrived some 10 minutes late in Miami International. It was a semi bumpy flight a foreshadowing of the cruise.

 

A short cab ride later I got to the Intercontinental West Miami which is located in the city of Doral. It is one of my favorite hotels to stay at since it is upscale without throwing opulence around; I call it quiet elegance. As luck would have it, I got upgraded to my first “balcony” room there. Up until that point I had always had “oceanview” (well... you get the idea). Being a Priority Club Ambassador, also got me a nice little fruit set-up in the room upon arrival which came in very handy since it was already 11pm.

 

The rooms at the Intercontinental are nicely appointed with a pleasing modern design. The coffee maker I had seen on past trips has been replaced by one of those single shot hot water units. Unfortunately, the tea continues to be Lipton (yuk). The high speed internet is easily logged in on ($9.95 per 24hr period but free for the Ambassadors).

 

But the raison d’etre of the hotel are its beds. Be careful!!! These are evil beds. They suck you in and guarantee that you fall asleep quickly. It never fails with me and I have succumbed to their siren’s call many a time. It is, quite literally, the only place in the world I have been able to get a good first night’s sleep other than my own bed.

 

In the morning, I had the Doral breakfast with room service. It is a massive omelet with up to 6 ingredients, served with a breakfast meat, and your choice of breakfast potato dish. The bakery basket also yields several yummy croissants and usually a danish or two which all comes with a variety of single serve glass jars of fruit preserves, butter, etc. A large carafe of hot water for my tea completed the order (but I drank my own tea since - you guessed it - they only had Lipton - yuk). The $25 price tag (tips & taxes included) may seem high but it is fully worth it and I indulge with it at least once on each trip there.

 

My friend Juan picked me up and we went around town taking care of a series of personal visits/purchases which were the original reason of my coming into Miami in the first place. We started out west and worked our way slowly to downtown Miami before lunch.

 

For lunch we went to a seafood restaurant called Garcia’s. It is a two story structure with a fish market in the front. As we were walking in, two employees were pushing in two crates of fresh seafood. I thought that bode well. We sat upstairs in the bar (but they also had two ‘decks’ and two indoor dining sections).

 

As an appetizer I ordered the fish ceviche which was well prepared but I found lacked salt and had a slightly bitter aftertaste, probably from machine cut onion. As the entree I went for the daily special which was a lobster/shrimp/crab mixture in a creole sauce served with a side of white rice and ‘amarillos’ which are fried ripe plantain. It was a great tasting dish whose sauce (tomato based with onion, green & red pepper, some spices, and green peas) never tried to overpower the absolutely gorgeous seafood pieces that bathed in it. I am very glad Juan took me there; very recommendable.

 

Embarkation, stateroom & ship

We crossed the bridge to the port at around 2:10pm. Apart from the Majesty of the Seas, a Carnival and NCL ships were also tied up. Across from us was The World.

 

I entered the registration area at around 2:20pm and 8 minutes later was done with the TSA check as well as registering. At 2:32pm I got to the twin lines set up for taking your picture and activating your Seapass. This moved a bit more slowly but I stepped onboard about 10 minutes later. Fortunately, you board on deck 4 which happens to be the deck my stateroom is located on.

 

I immediately found my oceanview cabin #4558. With the bravado gained of six cruises in the last year and a half I promptly stepped into my cabin and - was shocked!!! I had completely forgotten how small the cabins were on this class of ships.

 

The two beds configured as a queen are against one wall and from the edge it’s another two and quarter feet to the other wall. Between the foot end of the bed to the desk area, it’s another foot. The desk area and closet plus the standard head complete the cabin. The shower is tiny but functional; however, the shower curtain suffers from repeated amorous symptoms and will indeed cling to you at all times.

 

Wow!!! How we have gotten spoiled. I remember how amazed I was when I shared a cabin with my brother on a 7 day Caribbean cruise on the Monarch of the Seas (sister-ship) back in the mid 90’s. I think I would have trouble sharing this cabin now that I have cruised on the AOS, as well as on the Crown and Caribbean Princesses. Those inside/oceanview cabins (let alone balcony and Jr. Suites) were palatial in comparison!

 

Ok, size apart, the cabin is in great shape. Pretty amazing considering it goes through 2 sets of guests weekly. Everything works, is clean, and there really is barely any sign of serious use that I can see. A few smudges at the desk’s woodwork, a seriously replaceable telephone number tag, one larger smudge by one wall, signs of use on the ‘night table”, and the tiniest chipped paint on the bathroom door are about the only things I could spot. A flower print, two wall mounted lights, a 13” flat screen TV suspended high in a corner, a small coffee table and the desk’s chair complete the furnishings and decoration.

 

Again, considering the size, storage is adequate. The closet is small but has 4 usable shelves (the fifth has the safe) plus 25 hangers. Three people, if they wouldn’t kill each other for the lack of space first, easily can store all their things for a 3 or 4 night cruise. The desk has 3 and a half usable drawers (the top one has the hair dryer). There’s some small shelves for knick-knacks behind the mirrored door on the desk and the top of the desk mirror unit on the desk can also accommodate things. The “night table” has a fair sized surface and easily accessible storage below. I suppose one could use the window’s ledge as additional storage and have seen other people do it (well, you can see that when in port and having another ship in front of you).

 

The Majesty of the Seas is one of the oldest ships in Royal’s fleet. However, it was drydocked two years ago getting a $40,000,000.27 makeover (exact figure as per the Captain). I know they are different lines and all that jazz, but this ship reminds me a lot of the Grand Class Princess ships. Those that have cruised them, will recognize the central atrium type of architecture even down to having the specialty coffee shop and the duty free shops in the area.

 

Cabins are basically located forward and midship while the dining rooms are located aft. Bolero’s could be seen as a type of Explorer’s lounge with a ‘do all’ type of concept. Activities are held daytime, the C&A activities are there, and nighttime it’s a latin inspired dance club.

Of course, the critical lack of balcony cabins on this class of ships will quickly doom these beautiful ships from Royal’s fleet into their lower priced subsidiaries.

 

 

12:13am

26 14.74N

79 12.78W

Course: 80

Speed: 8.5 Kts

 

The rest of the day has flown by quickly as is so usual of the first day on a cruise. At 4:15pm we held our muster drill and luckily our side of the ship had the shade. It was a quick and fairly painless affair and most passengers actually did not crack jokes, etc. Strange...

 

After muster I went topsides to enjoy cast off. However, we were delayed some 45 minutes. Sort of a shame, because it was dark as we pushed through the navigation channel into open waters. Still, that feeling of being underway that first day is the best. The pool party was well attended and I noticed considerably more people on the pool deck than I have been accustomed to in recent cruises. But, it makes sense. With such a dearth of balcony cabins, people are basically forced to go outside.

 

But, it also allowed me to get a better feel for this cruise’s demographic profile. With 2000 passengers on board, one can only talk in generalities and exceptions obviously abound, but, here’s my take: very few seniors, most passengers between 20-50, a good number of families, and quite a few foreigners. Certainly more than I expected. Mostly from Latin America and truly from all over it. I recognized many familiar accents: Argentinean, Venezuelan, Colombian, Mexican, Brazilian plus a good number of Central Americans and Caribbean guests around. Also heard French, Italian, and some German. This foreign aspect really isn’t something I expected. I would have thought that they would cruise more on the 7 day cruises rather than 3 night ones.

 

I then committed the single most stupid thing I said I would never do again on a Royal cruise - I bought the soda sticker. Why? Why oh why do I keep doing that to myself... Oh well, I guess I just helped myself a bit since I’m a shareholder now. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll drink more than 3 sodas per day for it to be worth it.

 

I went to dinner at 8:30pm in the Starlight dining room. Again, my 4th floor location is excellent since the Starlight is on this deck. There was a huge line to get in on the starboard side so I peeked around the corner to the port entrance - which was completely empty with waitstaff standing around wondering if guests were going to show up at all... I was escorted to table 108 which is a ten top. I was joined by one more couple; we had plenty of space to spread out!

 

Service at first was spotty to say the least. After half an hour I had to let the waiter know I’d like some diet Coke since no one had bothered to take a drink order. The other tables seemed to get quick service.

I ordered the caprese as an appetizer (safe choice IMO as I’m still aghast of food taste on Royal; please see previous reviews) which was ok. I then had asked the waiter to bring me the penne pasta as a pasta course and then the leg of lamb. The leg of lamb was part of the Signature menu, one I had read about since it was designed for Royal by a Michelin 3 star rated chef. Inquiring about that brought blank stares by both the waiter and the assistant waiter.

 

Needless to say, the concept of a pasta course was foreign for my wait staff so the pasta and the leg of lamb were served at the same time...

 

The penne pasta was a tasteless mess with overcooked pasta, completely dried out chorizo, onion, peppers, and corn with some kind of unidentifiable whitish roux based sauce! The lack of seasoning was again very evident, and I keep asking myself why do I subject myself to Royal’s culinary offerings?

 

The leg of lamb on the other hand, was a very nice dish. Savory, well prepared, and accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. In my mind, the best way to compare it to would be: “this is what regular Princess menu items taste like”. I think I will stick only to the signature menu from now on - for my own sanity...

 

The leg of lamb also proves the original point I made on my Adventure of the Seas review of 07/07. The galley purposely under-seasons dishes. What a shame! I think I will write to the Chaine des Rotisseurs whose shield is proudly displayed in the dining room. Their reputation takes a serious hit if their logo is associated with the swill that Royal generally serves its guests. Hmmm, since I’m a shareholder now, I think I will write a letter to the corporate F&B head that “I now employ”...

 

The raspberry panna cotta was decent and the cappuccino was charged separately. He he. I got too used to ordering it without an extra charge at Portofino’s all week on the AOS - of course, it’s included in the price there.

 

I almost forgot. Our service improved considerably after our waiters saw me taking pictures of the dishes. I guess that, coupled with my menu questions and asking for a pasta course made them think I’m some kind of food critic. Ha ha! Tomorrow I’ll take paper and pen along and make notes on each dish. Yes, sometimes I can be a wee bit evil!!!

 

After dinner I decided to walk around a bit. The pool deck, as expected, was completely deserted and the winds were cold and strong. In fact, the ship has started moving a bit. The Wheelhouse bar was only about half full but the casino seemed packed. I ended up going to Bolero’s a bit and the Latin Kings (from Colombia) started playing at around 10:40pm. Bolero’s was well attended and the band played quite the sampler of latin dance music: salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, etc. and the dance floor filled up with every song. The latin crowd seemed more dressed up, the americans more dressed down; don’t crucify me, I’m just an observer...

 

The ship is moving a bit as we have 10 foot waves outside. I love it!!! I’m sure I’ll sleep like a baby.

 

 

 

Saturday November 22, 2008

At sea

25 49.78N

77 42.29W

Course: 105

Speed: 9.0 Kts

Cruising the Bahamian waters

10:15am

Just returned from breakfast and a little walking around. Our stop at Cococay was cancelled due to maritime conditions. Well, there’s white caps all around us and the waves were clearly big as I could see them through my porthole so no surprise there.

 

Instead, we’ll be having a day at sea (which I enjoy more anyway) and then - WOW - an overnight in Nassau!!!

 

Let me tell you, the crew is looking forward to it. They need to work harder during the day today, but to a man, their eyes lit up when I mentioned the overnight and each of them looked forward to a night in town!!! So, it’s a treat for them too.

 

I went to the Windjammer for breakfast. Interestingly, here it is set up with a stations concept like the Horizon Court on Princess. It really works so much better this way. I had my usual smoked salmon. Well, not so usual. On Princess’ 3 night I took, they didn’t have smoked salmon. Maybe Royal spends the budget that it otherwise saves in seasonings on breakfast smoked salmon? Ha ha.

 

After breakfast, I went outside to the pool. It was very windy (we are having a steady 25 kts wind) which led to something funny in my mind anyway. Few chair hogs. The wind just tore the hogs’ towels away!

 

Since I needed a haircut anyway I went and got a little trim. The guy did a decent job considering that we were still rolling a tad. If any engineers are out there, why don’t you invent/design a gimbaled hair cutting station for cruise ships? I’m sure you’d get a juicy contract from Steiner!!! Hey, if a Segway can keep a person standing straight on 2 wheels, then surely similar technology could be used to negate some of the ship’s sway on board. The only problem I can think of is that you’d be sitting in a chair that’s stable while the room is moving around you. Ok, maybe it needs to be a fully gimbaled hair cutting room rather than individual chair platforms.

 

12:35pm

At 11am I went to the Captain’s Q&A at the theater. It was announced over the PA but not included in the hastily re-printed activity calender for today. Not many people showed up but it was an interesting hour or so. Turns out that the Majesty had a mayor dry dock 2 years ago, so that would explain why everything is in such good shape. However, there is some ongoing work going on. For example, they are currently replacing the carpeting in the theater in bits and bursts. I saw several rolls of carpeting tied up on the promenade deck.

 

Talking about the captain, this one is a lot of fun. His name is Bjorn Broch Johansen and every time he does an announcement, he throws a little joke into it. For example, at the noon announcement, he told us that we were now “cruising comfortably 10,000 feet above the ocean floor” and that it helps to have water for his ship to float better... Furthermore, he explained that now would be a good time for those seeking the famous lobster colored tan to go outside.

 

In yet another example that leadership comes from the top, his crew all are basically genuinely happy in their functions. He jokes but runs a tight ship. I can see that at all levels. It’s a departure from Princess where the Italian Captains tend to be undeniably gracious hosts but the work attitude is... a bit lacking and the crew often just mimics their managers.

 

After the Q&A, I stopped by the lobby area where the cooking demonstration was going on. I didn’t know whether I was going to laugh or cry as I was watching the preparations going on considering my experience with Royal's culinary offerings...

 

I’m now starting to rethink my strategy for dinner this evening. With our overnight Nassau stay, I could now head ashore and eat a good meal there. On the other hand, I also did promise myself to eat in the main dining room all three nights since I hadn’t done that on Royal since my Monarch of the Seas cruise back in the mid 90’s. Could I be such a masochist? On the other hand, are my critiques of Royal’s food justified if they tend to be based on their buffet offerings? Sure, I had a lunch in the dining room on my 07/07 AOS cruise and dinner last night, but all my other meals on board have been Portofino or the buffet. I think I’ll bite the bullet but will order of the Signature menu as a hedge on the regular stuff.

 

2:34pm

I had lunch in the main dining room. I arrived fairly late, at around 1:40pm and was seated by myself. Around me I could hear lots of Spanish and Portuguese.

 

Because I wanted to have tea at around 4:30pm-5pm I purposely ate “light”. First, the Vietnamese Calamari salad which had chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, julienne carrots, and calamari of course. The barely noticeable dressing had some cilantro and was faintly sweet. Not quite my cup of tea but I knew that going in. At least it was a healthy dish. The calamari was butter soft, almost mozzarella like in consistence.

 

I then had the jambalaya which was exactly 1 cup in size served in a soup dish. The seafood was placed on top of the rice. I had to add about 10 dashes of Tabasco to give this dish some taste.

 

The idea of eating ashore tonight is now really screaming to be taken up in my mind...

 

The desert was nice. It was called the B52 Melt. In reality, it was sort of a moist almond cupcake served warm. Nice dish and it saved the meal. They probably should serve this with a desert fork, but I managed.

 

Well, nothing to do now until dinner. I will probably camp out somewhere and play with my new toy, the Kindle from Amazon.com. People have been asking me about it everywhere they see me. Although I have had it in my possession for only a tad more than 24 hrs I loooove it. It’s small, light, and I can read the type well in both direct daylight as well as in the shade!

 

10:21pm

25 04.79N

77 20.46W

Course: ---

Speed: 0.1 Kts

Yes, we are docked in Nassau and this ship is so powerful that it is able to drag the whole island with it at a speed of a tenth of a knot!

 

I ended up moving from location to location but yes, read basically all afternoon and early evening. I think I also fell asleep a bit just before getting ready for dinner because I still feel a bit sleepy. Not feeling too well right now. I know I now have a cold and it’s just a matter of time until I catch the full brunt of it.

 

In fact, I excused myself before desert. Dinner was ‘bizarre’ to say the least. First, the escargot had some funny looking and odd tasting foam on top, while being lukewarm at best. My dinner companions also mentioned this. I think one the fun things about these tasty morsels is the fact that you are battling the hot oil. In keeping with my ‘order at least one dish off the regular menu’ concept, I also had the Caesars salad which was horrid, having been bathed in some unremarkable and unidentifiable dressing. The beef from the Signature menu however was good with a well seasoned peppercorn sauce; I made a full mess when I attempted to fork the small tomato and it sent all its juicy innards spraying on the table to my left.

 

One thing that totally caught me off guard was the dress of my fellow passengers and probably the only time advise on cruisecritc has failed me. People were really dressed up on this voyage. I thought people would dress down but I was in the distinct minority having dressed with slacks, a very nice long sleeved shirt, and an uber-elegant sweater. I suspect that the advise given by my fellow posters on the boards would be good the rest of the year. However, on this voyage at least, formal was in big time. Maybe it had to do with the upcoming holidays because the photographers were working overtime in the atrium with long waiting lines. I suspect, this close to the holidays, families were taking the opportunity to get that annual formal family picture which then goes into the Christmas cards and what not. I felt very bad for having ruined the atmosphere a bit for everyone else (even though I was still dressed very smartly in any case).

 

When I got back to the cabin, the elephant that escaped from my Adventure of the Seas cruise showed up on my bed! Sort of like those stories of people moving across the country and their dog showing up one day again. He was guarding my Crown & Anchor present which was the embroidered baseball cap.

 

Sunday November 23, 2008

Nassau, Bahamas

25 04.79N

77 20.46W

Course: ---

Speed: 0.0 Kts

Docked along the port side of the ship

2:15pm

Had a nice, albeit shortened, day in Nassau. After an “early” rise at 8am, I had breakfast in the Windjammer. Well, I got my food at the Windjammer but ate upstairs in Sorrentos. You overlook the whole buffet area from there which is fun for some people watching.

 

At 9:15am sharp I was dockside where our Forts & Pirates Tour was supposed to meet and we all left the area at 9:30am sharp.

 

We were first escorted through a separate entrance into the port shopping building and walked toward our air-conditioned bus outside on the street. From there, our driver took us to Ft. Fincastle. This little fort is located right by the port and overlooks the center of the harbor. It is really small and offer quite a few photo ops for that required “me with the ship in the background” type picture. Of interest to me was the Queen’s Staircase. It is a chasm carved out of the hill’s limestone by slaves to provide a more direct route to the fort. You sort of have to see it to understand the pain and suffering cutting this staircase and the chasm must have brought on the men that cut this out.

 

We then boarded the bus and went to Ft Charlotte where a separate cover charge of $5/adult was charged to enter it. I went inside and took a quick look around. This structure is actually 3 forts put together. Fort Charlotte is the most eastern one, Ft Stanley in the middle, and Fort D’Arcy on the western end. But it is all one continuous building. In any case, here, there were more old rusty cannons to see and a few displays here and there. The most interesting part, for me, was looking at the carved graffiti on the fort’s walls by soldiers stationed there. It was a boring assignment since the forts never fired a shot in anger, so these guys just carved their initials all over the place. Some, were quite elaborate.

 

Finally, we went to the Pirate museum. Here, we were led by a guide through a series of rooms depicting truer aspect of Caribbean piracy. Forget the Black Pearl and Capt. Jack Sparrow and any other Hollywood movie you may have ever seen! For example, the ships were small and nimble in order to be faster than the ships they were trying to rob. The Queen Anne for example was only about 120ft long but carried 22 guns (they were mostly smaller caliber - 3 lb shots) and about 90 men for boarding purposes.

 

I thought it was very relevant considering all the piracy that is still going on in the world today (Somalia, Asia, individual cruisers in the Caribbean and Central America, etc.). Piracy, after all, is nothing more than thievery but on water. Nothing glorious or romantic about it.

 

The only thing I did not like about this tour is that we started off with our own guide and next thing I knew, like 30 other people joined us and I couldn’t hear a thing from the guide. In order to take pictures, I went to the back of the group at which point he could barely be heard - especially in the exhibits that had audio-visual components to them.

 

After the Pirate Museum our tour was officially over and you had to make your own way back to the ship. Basically, you just walk a few blocks past stores, etc. which is the whole point of them leaving you there. Since it was Sunday, many of the smaller stores were closed.

 

Feeling sick, I didn’t want to take a cab outside of town for local seafood and instead tried to find something around me. I settled on a place called Da Junkanoo Shak which was well attended by locals on their lunch break. The conch fritter were awesome (especially the very piquant mayo-ketchup mixture), the fried conch so-so (fried calamari do the trick better), while the chicken lunch special was tasty.

 

Once back on board, I paid off my shipboard account (surprised to find a $100 on board credit which would have been ok for a 7 night cruise this reservation was originally but I think wrong for a 3 night one).

 

 

7:01pm

25 25.37N

77 25.40W

Course: 350

Speed: 15.5 Kts

 

Wow! The Captain sure put the pedal to the metal! I fell asleep earlier and now, I’m in a bit of a rush. After I woke up, I rushed to the promenade to see us pulling out but we had left the dock already. Once past the breakwaters, the Captain took a sharp to to starboard causing the top of the ship to lean to port of course and all the water rushed off the top drenching us below. Well, at least it woke me up!

 

I hung out there for a bit noticing that waves were building so it should move tonight. At least this cruiser is happy about that. I wish stabilizers were outlawed; I want to feel I’m on a ship, not a stable metal box plowing through an ocean. I know, I’m in the minority...

Did some pre-packing, did the tip envelope routine, and now I have to rush to get to the Crown & Anchor cocktail party at Boleros before dinner. I may not always enjoy them from their social point of view, however, one can often pick up a few ‘insider’ tips through a careless comment here or there.

 

Interesting that they should do a C&A event for a 3 night cruise. In fact, I think my experience has been that this 3 night cruise was exactly the same product as offered in a 7 night cruise (well, except the length of course). Whereas Princess’ 3 night cruises on the Caribbean Princess were clearly an inferior product (especially food offering wise), I have found this experience on Royal to be par to my AOS experiences last and this year.

 

11:13pm

26 05.12N

78 16.77W

Course: 287

Speed: 16.8 Kts

 

The Crown & Anchor cocktail party was a well attended affair, filling up all of Bolero’s. A fellow cruisecritic member was the most cruised person with 138 cruises under their belt. Congrats!!! By sheer coincidence, we were seated next to each other by the bar. I want some of those number of cruises to rub off on me!!!

 

Dinner was a hit & miss thing again. What was on the signature menu was a hit (the onion soup and the tempura mahi mahi) while the regular menu item was a miss (some overcooked pasta shells with smoked salmon and mushrooms again under-seasoned). Learned lesson confirmed, if on Royal, eat off the Signature menu; don’t stray or you’ll be sorry...

 

Oh! We were finally joined by 3 of the 7 Caspers we had at our table. A young couple and another solo cruiser. What do you know. People usually skip the last night in order not to tip waiters and these people actually came for the first time this night!

 

Of course, being the last night, we were treated to the song & dance number by the wait and kitchen staff. When the kitchen staff was introduced I clapped politely since they are putting a lot of work into it after all, but was ashamed that the head man responsible for the tasteless food was an Austrian “cousin”. Sigh...

 

My cold has now reached the preliminary Armageddon stage. Tomorrow or the day after, it will bloom into its full nastiness and I will likely spend Thanksgiving in bed... What a bummer. Then again, what better place to get a cold than on a cruise. I pity the poor people close to me on the plane back to SJU.

 

Well, my elephant has disappeared again but a dog has taken his place. He will oversee my final packing which I will do after this entry.

 

Tomorrow morning it looks like I’m scheduled to debark at around 8am, which is nifty considering that is the time you have to leave your cabin. If there is a worse thing than ending a cruise is that you have to wake up at such an un-godly hour to do so. I’ll probably head to the Windjammer real early and then spend the last minutes inside reading.

 

Ok, that’s it. Overall, a terrific cruise given Royal’s culinary limitations and the ship’s architecture (few balconies; tiny cabins). While Cococay got cancelled, the idea of the overnight in Nassau was very appealing for me. It was very cold and windy but that isn’t the line’s fault. Hopefully next time I am in Nassau, I won’t be sick and will be able to enjoy the island a bit more. It looked like a ton of fun and the people (at least those I met), were great!!!

 

See you all again in January 2009 when by sheer coincidence I will cruise one of Princess’ oldest ships, the Island Princess, on my first full Panama Canal cruise!!!

[BadBoysDriveAudi]

Thanks for the memories. While I didn't find the Majesty outstanding, I'd do it again in a heartbeat; especially a B2B like last time. Looks like you took the same Pirate tour as we did on the 3 day trip.

 

A question - do you think that the lack of taste with regard to your meals were a result of you getting sick?

[njdevil08]

Thank you for your review. We were considering the majesty for 2009, but instead we think we'll wait until 2010 and do a longer itin. on a bigger ship. Your review didn't seem biased at all and it really summed up a lot of thoughts about majesty. Quick question, would you sail royal again, more specifically the majesty or are you going to be sticking with princess?

[ancldaca]

Well, I think my starting flu could have certainly affected my taste buds yet I was easily still able to pick out some of the more minor underlying tones in the food. However, there was quite a significant difference between the properly seasoned and prepared Signature menu items and the regular menu ones. Ha ha. I am by no means an "Iron Chef" judge caliber type but I have been very lucky that my upbringing was so incredibly varied in terms of properly prepared food that I feel quite comfortable assessing this from time to time.

 

I agree with people that say that food is subjective; however, in order for every person to pass their own judgement (i.e. to get to the subjective part), the dish has to be prepared properly in the first place.

 

I certainly figure I will sail Royal down the line again (that's why I booked this one, so that I'll be platinum for the next one) but, right now, it would be under specific circumstances. For example, a group cruise where one's focus is more group oriented in the first place, or maybe a cruise if teen children are involved due to Royal having more bells and whistles which these would enjoy. Perhaps a very specific itinerary (I like the one leaving out of Panama) or an extreme price drop on balconies in a home port cruising type of set up.

 

With the exception of being disapointed in just a few things that speak to me quite personally, I think Royal otherwise offers a terrific product and do often recomend it to friends and coworkers alike except when I know in advance that they seek some very specific things where I know in advance that they may be disapointed. And often still then do I put in a recomendation but with the proper caveat (and that it is my opinion only - of course).

[Merion_Mom]

Thank you for your review. We were considering the majesty for 2009, but instead we think we'll wait until 2010 and do a longer itin. on a bigger ship. Your review didn't seem biased at all and it really summed up a lot of thoughts about majesty. Quick question, would you sail royal again, more specifically the majesty or are you going to be sticking with princess?

 

njd, I loved my week on the Majesty in September so much that in just 12 days, I'll board her again!

 

She is a great ship with a wonderful crew. The renovations and refurbishment were done VERY well - the Deck 12 eating zones are a particularly nice addition.

[ladylawyer]

njd, I loved my week on the Majesty in September so much that in just 12 days, I'll board her again!

 

She is a great ship with a wonderful crew. The renovations and refurbishment were done VERY well - the Deck 12 eating zones are a particularly nice addition.

 

OMG! You're going to be on the Majesty in 12 days??? Me too!!!! :D

 

ancldaca: Thanks for the great and very detailed review! I enjoyed reading it and feel properly briefed on the ship! :)

[bchalker]

Good job on the review. I do agree about the food in the main dining room. It's ok and you shouldnt go hungery but it reminds me of most ocnvention meals where they feed 1,000 at a seating. After sailing on the Radiance and Freedom class ship we do enjoy the dining at Chops and Portofino.

 

We do like the Majesty for a quick wekeend getaway as we are so close to the Port of Mia and are leaving this Friday for our 4th trip on her.

 

Brad

[FEMH]

ancldaca:

Thank you for the objective, well-written review of the Majesty of the Seas.

We were leaving the Majesty on 11/21, just as you were boarding, after having completed a back-to-back, where I became platinum after the first of the two consecutive segments.

We had very smooth sailing for the first two days (we actually made a stop at Coco Cay on Nov. 15, but did not on Nov. 19). The last several days were very rough. I felt my little pre-fab cabin "creaking" as we rocked, and I was sure it was going to crack off and float away in the ocean. Interesting feeling, I'll admit, since I was in an inside cabin, but nevertheless, that's the feeling I had.

I also acquired a cold on the ship, and was unable to enjoy our evening and next day in Key West like I would have liked.

I will be interested to hear a review on your Island Princess cruise on Jan.3. A group of friends/cousins with whom I travel asked me to join them on this cruise, and I declined, due to it coming too close on the heels of the Majesty cruise (too close for my pocketbook!). Please post a review when you return.