My first cruise in February on Majesty of the Seas... some questions

[MissLianne]

I'm going to my first cruise (as an adult) with my fiance. I've been on 3 cruises as a child on RCCL, Norwegian and Disney... but it was longgg ago.

I posted another thread about my travel agent whom I find quesitonable. I generally just book travel myself (cause I somewhat work in the industry) but since it's my first time booking a cruise I went through an agent.

Anyways... my agent had a family emergency and I just emailed him and got an out of office reply. I've been lurking these boards for about a month now... maybe you guys could answer some specific questions?

1) We booked an Oceanview guarantee (it was the cheapest lol)... whats the worst possible deck/area we can be put in and why? We don't care to much if it's near a loud area bc we will probably be up half the night ourselves anyways lol

2) Are the beds essentially two twin beds pushed together? Or are there rooms we can request with kings/queens? My DF is 6 ft 3 285 lbs... so ya hes a big guy lol. We pretty much need a king or queen.

3) Super dumb question (more for the ladies)... is there a blow dryer in the room? I'm not expecting some salon quality one... but a semi decent one? (will save me from lugging my huge blow dryer with me).

4) It's my fiance's VERY first time aboard a cruise? Is there anything I should bring for him? I don't think he gets sea sick (so he claims).

5) Our cruise went down to $249 a person plus taxes. Our final deposit is due in the beginning of December (I believe 60 days in). We are sailing on Feb 12th... we've already left our $100 deposit. We've had several price drops... can someone let me know what the total would be (with port taxes etc?).

6) My fiance prefers to leave cash on our charge account (we did this at Disney a few years ago). Does RCCL do that? Do we let them know ahead of time? He would probably leave $600-$800 USD for the 3nt/4 day cruise. We're Canadian and get charged ridiculous amounts of foreign transactions fees.

7) My fiance does not like a "scheduled" dinner time.... so we're going to opt for My Time dining. I understand you must pre-pay gratuities... when do we do this? Anytime before we leave?

8) We're meeting some friends in Nassau and spending the day at Atlantis... our ship leaves at 5pm. What's a safe time we would have to leave Atlantis to be back in the ship on time? I've been to Nassau before so I know it's not far... but is there a "cut off" time we need to be back on board?

9) Finally, we had the option of doing RCCL's Majesty for a 3 nt Bahamas cruise OR Carnival's Imagination (I believe). At the time RCCL was more and we chose it merely because we wanted to go to Coco Cay... where as Carnival has only a sea day. DF think's Carnival's ship is "nicer"... and still trying to convince me otherwise... PLEASE TELL ME WHY I MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE? RIGHT?

THANK YOU

[cb at sea]

If you don't care about being near a "nightspot", there are really no "bad" OVs....
All beds (except for, perhaps, the largest suites) are 2 bed pushed together. My hubby is large, too, and we've never had a problem. They're amply long and comfortable!
Bring your own dryer, unless hotel (short nosed!) dryers work for you!
Bonine works and is OTC!
yes--you can put cash on your account. do it when you check in!
If you book MTD , you pay the gratuities then,....on RCI, when you book it, you pay for it! Same with excursions, specialty restaurant reservations....anything!
You'll have to be onboard the ship 1/2 hour prior to sailaway from ports....they will remind you as you leave the ship, about what time to return!
I love Coco Cay! If I could go there several times during a cruise, it would be ok with me! You've made a fine choice! That said, Carnivals cabins are larger than RCI's!

[joeyancho]

To answer one of your questions: IMHO RCCL is head and shoulders above CCL. You will love it.

[silentbob007]

The only OV I would be less than thrilled with are the ones on deck 7 that have windows out to the jogging track (and thus let people look in if they so desired).

There's pretty much no way around the bed situation. It is either separate twins or a single queen.

You may have to specify my time dining NOW (if it's not already booked). When you are assigned to it, you will pay your gratuities.

If you are sailing at 5, you'll need to be aboard by 4:30, so you'll probably need to make sure you leave Atlantis by 4 at the latest.

[MissLianne]

Thanks everybody!
This board is GREAT... answered so many of my questions just by doing a search... sorry I just had some odd and ends questions

can't wait! I'm sooo excited... me and my fiance do a countdown every single day.... we're crazy!

[silentbob007]

Waiting for your cruise is part of the fun ... or at least ... part of the way to get geared up for the fun.

[DataStar]

My advice is that whenever you see that the price for your cabin is less than you paid, you should immediately call RCCL or your Travel Agent and get the price reduction posted to your account -- it is NOT automatic. As long as the price is not limited to new bookings, and it's before your final payment date, they should just reduce the amount owed at final payment. If it happens after the final payment date, they give you an On-Board Credit (OBC). Remember that their price model is sensitive, and that a lower price may only be there for a day or less. So when you see it, call and get it locked in. Also be aware that sometimes you will see a better class of cabin at a lower price. On our last trip, we had booked a Junior Suite, but one day I saw that the Grand Suite was selling for less than the JS, so we called, got upgraded to a GS, and got a price reduction. It does pay to watch the prices closely. Finally, make sure you're getting the advantage of savings plans you're entitled to. That includes special pricing in some cases for current military, and ex-military with 2 years or more of active service. Or for emergency workers.

Have a great cruise.

[Meiying]

Originally Posted by MissLianne

8) We're meeting some friends in Nassau and spending the day at Atlantis... our ship leaves at 5pm. What's a safe time we would have to leave Atlantis to be back in the ship on time? I've been to Nassau before so I know it's not far... but is there a "cut off" time we need to be back on board?

We just got off the Majesty this morning. In Nassau you need to be back onbaord at 4:30pm. Since you are not going until February, this may not matter but they are doing a lot of construction on the roads near the port - it took a lot longer than we expected to take the taxi from Atlantis back to the ship. (It's just something to keep in mind just in case their construction moves at the snail's pace like it does where I live!)

[PattyG12]

We were on the Majesty earlier this month and we didn't have to be back on board until 11:30 pm. Wonder what's changed.

As for the hair dryer, the one in the room works well for me but my hair is short.

Cococay is one of my favorite stops!!

You can tell that the crew of the Majesty loves her. Still the best service ever!

[AlanAllyn]

Final Payment is due 70 days before sailing on RCCL. To find the amount you are paying, including taxes, go to RCCL web site and sart to make a reservation. Somewhere along the way, you will get the total cost -- before you have to enter your name and credit card number. (On the 3-day cruise, taxes and fees are &67.21 pp.)

As OP said, if the price has dropped since your reservation, your TA must get the price adjusted; it does not happen automatically.