Majesty - Sept 26 Quickie review

So, this was my 3rd time on Majesty but the last time was 2011. We are Platinum so we've been around the block a bit but nowhere near the history of the diamond +, etc. folks on this board. Traveling was my husband and I and our 2 girls, 4 and 1. We were in a Grand Suite for the first time.

Embarkation:

We arrived early as we usually do, about 10:30am and we boarded just after 11am. All in all, easy peasy.

Day 1:

Pretty typical day 1 - lunch in the WJ, standard burgers, hot dogs, etc. no complaints. Muster was easy and quick - apparently they now do a "make-up muster drill" at 6:30 for those that "miss it". No idea what this entails but we saw it in the compass. Rooms were ready promptly at 1pm and luggage was soon after.

Day 2: Coco Cay

We did the full day beach bed rental and it was fantastic! When you get to the island, there is a open-air transport that takes you to the area where the beach beds and bungalows are. We met the bar tender and then were told we could pick our spot. We opted for #8. It was truly a perfect beach day, great weather, the kids played in the sand, we had 4 liters of water in a cooler to keep us hydrated and the beach bed was comfy and also allowed the sand to brush off easily. We did the fish tacos for my husband and I and chicken tacos for our daughter and sadly enough, I couldn't tell the difference between them when they came. They give you a menu and bring you your food, which is nice, but I would try something different next time. The excursion was great and we would definitely do that again!!

Day 3: Nassau

We have done the Blue Lagoon Island beach day 2 other times before and it's been great. It was very nice again this time with a couple of minor issues. They are expanding at the island so there is some construction going on with loud banging so if doing this be sure to head left off the dock and walk down a ways. This also means that the usual, decent-sized gift shop was a closed and a small one was open on the other side. Most items in there were made in China which was a disappointment as I was hoping to pick up an item or two for my kids but didn't really see anything. They have added a game area as well as sea lions since our last trip. We enjoyed some time on the beach and watched the dolphins swim in the walk-through habitat. One thing we did notice is that the time on the island isn't as long as it used to be. Our excursion was supposed to be 10-2 but we didn't leave the harbor until after 10 and then had to make a stop at Paradise Island so we got to the island just before 11. The boat ride was nice though. By the time we found a spot and got settled, it was time for lunch and then we watched the dolphins for a bit before the 1:45 call for us to head to the dock to grab the ride back. It really is a nice beach but we'd love to be there a bit longer.

Day 4: sea day

This was a nice, relaxing day. We took the kids to an area outside Adventure Ocean where they could play with toys and then spent the afternoon at the pool. The new Splashaway Bay area for kids was great! The kids loved it and it was nice to have an area just for them. We watched the belly flop competition, ate lunch at the poolside barbecue and had a great day.

Debarkation

We decided to walk-off with our luggage and headed down about 8am. I fully expected a big line but it was pretty crazy. The line went all the way around deck 4 and up on to deck 5. As we got about halfway through the line, an employee noticed my seapass card hanging around my neck and escorted us out the roped off area and to the front of the line. I had no idea that was a suite perk but it was very nice especially with our kids. We were able to get off the ship and through customs in just a few minutes.

Food:

Important to note here that we did not eat in the Main Dining Room at all on this trip. Our 1 year old was teething and our 4 year old was feeling picky this week so we opted to skip it. We typically only do the dining room on one night as a change of pace and then a specialty restaurant one night but since there is no nursery on the Majesty, our options were a bit more limited. I do know that we could have had room service deliver us food from the dining room but the timing just never seemed to work out. We ate in Johnny Rockets on Day 1 and got a 20% discount (we didn't know about that ahead of time) and the waiter did not charge us for our 4 year old. He said he has kids at home and doesn't think it's right to charge $6.95 when they don't eat much. We would certainly have been fine paying but it was a nice gesture. We swung through Compass Deli on one occasion but didn't see anything that really stood out to us (not big roast beef fans) so we didn't go back. Although, it was listed in the Compass that the Compass Deli was open from 7-9am for breakfast for those in Suites, we tried it one morning but when arriving at 7:15am, we found the door still locked so we gave up on that one. That brings me to the Windjammer. I've always found the WJ to be just fine and didn't agree with others that criticized it as I find if you walk in with the appropriate expectations, you can always find SOMETHING. However, on this trip, we were disappointed - especially at breakfast. Other than the omelet station, the food was below average at breakfast time. Thank goodness for fruit and yogurt. The "hashbrowns" (this always cracks me up that they call tater tots hashbrowns :) ) were burnt to an inedible crisp on all but one day. The bacon was stuck together in one giant mess and the pancakes, while edible, were stuck to the pan most times. Lunch and Dinner were definitely better - I'm always a fan of create your own pasta and stir-fry nights. I was very disappointed in the lack of seafood options though. When seafood was available, it was definitely lacking. Also, with the kids, we often had to do "afternoon snacks in the WJ" for their dinner, as they are not used to eating as late as 6:30pm. We were not thrilled to see a taco bar as the primary menu on all 3 days. A little variety would have been nice. This did not ruin our cruise by any means but definitely made us long for the food back home.

Room:

The room was fantastic - clean, updated and with nice amenities along with the biggest cruise ship bathroom I'd ever seen. I'm sure I've been under a rock but nonetheless, we were pleased. Tons of storage throughout the whole room. The balcony had 2 chairs, 1 larger table, 1 smaller table and 1 lounger. We had champagne and a fruit plate waiting for us (neither of which we ordered). Is this normal in a GS? We also had a few other "treats" left for us throughout our trip. We had a fruit, cheese and cracker plate one day and a dessert plate on another day. Our suite attendant, Joni, was great and always made it a nice place to come back to. We tipped him accordingly. Anyone that hasn't done a GS, do it, even if it's just once as the perks were really nice. The priority tender to Coco Cay was great and all the little extras were icing on the cake.

Overall

We had a great time and despite a few negatives, would do it all again. In general, the staff we encountered at Guest Services, Suite attendant, JR, etc. were all great. They two managers in the WJ were fantastic too -one of them took a liking to our two girls and greeted them by name each time. He also made them balloon animals and my 4 year old thought he was awesome. :) The only negative comment on service was that the first two days in the WJ, I don't think I had one person come to our table to clear dishes or see if we needed anything. Finally, on day 3, we started to notice someone would occasionally pick up dishes but no one ever offered to get us a drink or see if we needed anything. Again, not a major deal but just something I noticed that was very different from our experience in the past and even from Navigator just last year.

Let me know if anyone has questions!

I forgot to mention that we had Voom for free because of when we booked (before they changed it to not-for-free on Majesty) and while we didn't use it a ton, whenever we did, it seemed to work fine, no issues and honestly, it was faster than we expected it to be.

So, this was my 3rd time on Majesty but the last time was 2011. We are Platinum so we've been around the block a bit but nowhere near the history of the diamond +, etc. folks on this board. Traveling was my husband and I and our 2 girls, 4 and 1. We were in a Grand Suite for the first time.

 

Embarkation:

We arrived early as we usually do, about 10:30am and we boarded just after 11am. All in all, easy peasy.

 

Day 1:

Pretty typical day 1 - lunch in the WJ, standard burgers, hot dogs, etc. no complaints. Muster was easy and quick - apparently they now do a "make-up muster drill" at 6:30 for those that "miss it". No idea what this entails but we saw it in the compass. Rooms were ready promptly at 1pm and luggage was soon after.

 

Day 2: Coco Cay

We did the full day beach bed rental and it was fantastic! When you get to the island, there is a open-air transport that takes you to the area where the beach beds and bungalows are. We met the bar tender and then were told we could pick our spot. We opted for #8. It was truly a perfect beach day, great weather, the kids played in the sand, we had 4 liters of water in a cooler to keep us hydrated and the beach bed was comfy and also allowed the sand to brush off easily. We did the fish tacos for my husband and I and chicken tacos for our daughter and sadly enough, I couldn't tell the difference between them when they came. They give you a menu and bring you your food, which is nice, but I would try something different next time. The excursion was great and we would definitely do that again!!

 

Day 3: Nassau

We have done the Blue Lagoon Island beach day 2 other times before and it's been great. It was very nice again this time with a couple of minor issues. They are expanding at the island so there is some construction going on with loud banging so if doing this be sure to head left off the dock and walk down a ways. This also means that the usual, decent-sized gift shop was a closed and a small one was open on the other side. Most items in there were made in China which was a disappointment as I was hoping to pick up an item or two for my kids but didn't really see anything. They have added a game area as well as sea lions since our last trip. We enjoyed some time on the beach and watched the dolphins swim in the walk-through habitat. One thing we did notice is that the time on the island isn't as long as it used to be. Our excursion was supposed to be 10-2 but we didn't leave the harbor until after 10 and then had to make a stop at Paradise Island so we got to the island just before 11. The boat ride was nice though. By the time we found a spot and got settled, it was time for lunch and then we watched the dolphins for a bit before the 1:45 call for us to head to the dock to grab the ride back. It really is a nice beach but we'd love to be there a bit longer.

 

Day 4: sea day

This was a nice, relaxing day. We took the kids to an area outside Adventure Ocean where they could play with toys and then spent the afternoon at the pool. The new Splashaway Bay area for kids was great! The kids loved it and it was nice to have an area just for them. We watched the belly flop competition, ate lunch at the poolside barbecue and had a great day.

 

Debarkation

We decided to walk-off with our luggage and headed down about 8am. I fully expected a big line but it was pretty crazy. The line went all the way around deck 4 and up on to deck 5. As we got about halfway through the line, an employee noticed my seapass card hanging around my neck and escorted us out the roped off area and to the front of the line. I had no idea that was a suite perk but it was very nice especially with our kids. We were able to get off the ship and through customs in just a few minutes.

 

Food:

Important to note here that we did not eat in the Main Dining Room at all on this trip. Our 1 year old was teething and our 4 year old was feeling picky this week so we opted to skip it. We typically only do the dining room on one night as a change of pace and then a specialty restaurant one night but since there is no nursery on the Majesty, our options were a bit more limited. I do know that we could have had room service deliver us food from the dining room but the timing just never seemed to work out. We ate in Johnny Rockets on Day 1 and got a 20% discount (we didn't know about that ahead of time) and the waiter did not charge us for our 4 year old. He said he has kids at home and doesn't think it's right to charge $6.95 when they don't eat much. We would certainly have been fine paying but it was a nice gesture. We swung through Compass Deli on one occasion but didn't see anything that really stood out to us (not big roast beef fans) so we didn't go back. Although, it was listed in the Compass that the Compass Deli was open from 7-9am for breakfast for those in Suites, we tried it one morning but when arriving at 7:15am, we found the door still locked so we gave up on that one. That brings me to the Windjammer. I've always found the WJ to be just fine and didn't agree with others that criticized it as I find if you walk in with the appropriate expectations, you can always find SOMETHING. However, on this trip, we were disappointed - especially at breakfast. Other than the omelet station, the food was below average at breakfast time. Thank goodness for fruit and yogurt. The "hashbrowns" (this always cracks me up that they call tater tots hashbrowns :) ) were burnt to an inedible crisp on all but one day. The bacon was stuck together in one giant mess and the pancakes, while edible, were stuck to the pan most times. Lunch and Dinner were definitely better - I'm always a fan of create your own pasta and stir-fry nights. I was very disappointed in the lack of seafood options though. When seafood was available, it was definitely lacking. Also, with the kids, we often had to do "afternoon snacks in the WJ" for their dinner, as they are not used to eating as late as 6:30pm. We were not thrilled to see a taco bar as the primary menu on all 3 days. A little variety would have been nice. This did not ruin our cruise by any means but definitely made us long for the food back home.

 

Room:

The room was fantastic - clean, updated and with nice amenities along with the biggest cruise ship bathroom I'd ever seen. I'm sure I've been under a rock but nonetheless, we were pleased. Tons of storage throughout the whole room. The balcony had 2 chairs, 1 larger table, 1 smaller table and 1 lounger. We had champagne and a fruit plate waiting for us (neither of which we ordered). Is this normal in a GS? We also had a few other "treats" left for us throughout our trip. We had a fruit, cheese and cracker plate one day and a dessert plate on another day. Our suite attendant, Joni, was great and always made it a nice place to come back to. We tipped him accordingly. Anyone that hasn't done a GS, do it, even if it's just once as the perks were really nice. The priority tender to Coco Cay was great and all the little extras were icing on the cake.

 

Overall

We had a great time and despite a few negatives, would do it all again. In general, the staff we encountered at Guest Services, Suite attendant, JR, etc. were all great. They two managers in the WJ were fantastic too -one of them took a liking to our two girls and greeted them by name each time. He also made them balloon animals and my 4 year old thought he was awesome. :) The only negative comment on service was that the first two days in the WJ, I don't think I had one person come to our table to clear dishes or see if we needed anything. Finally, on day 3, we started to notice someone would occasionally pick up dishes but no one ever offered to get us a drink or see if we needed anything. Again, not a major deal but just something I noticed that was very different from our experience in the past and even from Navigator just last year.

 

Let me know if anyone has questions!

Thank you for your review....

Did you get an email the week prior asking you to board by deck number. We did on Enchantment same sail date.

What did your bungalow look like and where was it located?

Yes, we enjoy our GS too.... they are nice for cruising...

No, we did not get an email about boarding by deck. I got one last year on Navigator but not this time.

Our beach bed was on South Beach right next to the bungalows. It was a large bed on a wood frame with four wood posts and white curtains tied to each post that you could un-tie for shade or privacy. There was a bamboo-style roof. The bed itself was 4 large, white cushions that were sort of wedged together in the frame and it slanted up at the head. The material of the cushions was great because the sand brushed right off. There were also 2 floating beach mats and 2 loungers included.

No, we did not get an email about boarding by deck. I got one last year on Navigator but not this time.

 

Our beach bed was on South Beach right next to the bungalows. It was a large bed on a wood frame with four wood posts and white curtains tied to each post that you could un-tie for shade or privacy. There was a bamboo-style roof. The bed itself was 4 large, white cushions that were sort of wedged together in the frame and it slanted up at the head. The material of the cushions was great because the sand brushed right off. There were also 2 floating beach mats and 2 loungers included.

Thank you so much for sharing.... some are convinced they are located just to the left of the tender ramp... which was the old place and these new ones are different... but, unless you know where they were, I think they are hard to find. We could see them from the floating bar. Glad you had a great time...

We like MJ but seem all the GS are booked when we want to go...

Right, definitely not in that area. It was a several minute tram ride around the island to get there. It's not far from the floating bar.

I think you were in the cabin next to us. I was in the most aft GS on the Port side of the ship.

I heard your kids on the balcony a few times (not bothersome at all, so do not worry, but I heard them talking).

Joni is a great room steward.

Room:

We had champagne and a fruit plate waiting for us (neither of which we ordered). Is this normal in a GS?

Treats, yes, but exact kind is unpredictable.

Embarkation:

We arrived early as we usually do, about 10:30am and we boarded just after 11am. All in all, easy peasy.

Thanks for taking the time! This will be our 4th time on Majesty, but the first time on her out of Port Canaveral. We had a great embarkation out of this terminal with Freedom, so I was hoping Majesty would be even easier. I wasn't sure what time to arrive at the port as we are get on as early as possible people. I might be stuck with what ever the first hotel shuttle is.

I was surprised to see there were A LOT of people that were already checked in when we got there. In previous cruises, when arriving at 10:30, it's not that busy. However, despite the number of people, there were no lines, check-in was super fast and they were well-staffed.

We barely sat down when they started boarding, it was great.

Enjoy your cruise!

We were also on this same cruise. The weather was great nearly the whole time, kinda lucky for this time of year.

We were also on this same cruise. The weather was great nearly the whole time, kinda lucky for this time of year.

Yes, we were incredibly lucky especially when you consider Matthew hit the following week. It's always a gamble this time of year but I thought it was beautiful.

Did you have to pay for everyone or just one person? We are going in February. I am alright paying $125, but $250 seems a little steep for 2 of us.

Did you have to pay for everyone or just one person? We are going in February. I am alright paying $125, but $250 seems a little steep for 2 of us.

Are you referring to the beach bed? If so, only one person needs to reserve it and it's good for up to 6 people. You'll get a single ticket in your stateroom but when you arrive at the beach area, you give them the ticket and they ask who is in your party and they wristband each person, up to 6. You don't even all have to be on the same reservation.

Thank you for the review! We recently went on the 3 day to the Bahamas on the Enchantment. I had a hard time choosing between The Enchantment and The Majesty for our cruise in November. I went with The Majesty so we can have a day in Orlando before cruising. We are diamond members and have been on the Majesty a few times. I have two concerns I hope you can help me with answers. I have read many reviews that is a party cruise and I worry about the crowds and rowdy folks. Did you have any issues with the crowds being out of control? Also can you tell me anything about the renovations the pool deck?

Thank you for the review! We recently went on the 3 day to the Bahamas on the Enchantment. I had a hard time choosing between The Enchantment and The Majesty for our cruise in November. I went with The Majesty so we can have a day in Orlando before cruising. We are diamond members and have been on the Majesty a few times. I have two concerns I hope you can help me with answers. I have read many reviews that is a party cruise and I worry about the crowds and rowdy folks. Did you have any issues with the crowds being out of control? Also can you tell me anything about the renovations the pool deck?

We chose the Majesty because we wanted to do a couple of days at Disney, so I understand. I would say you can tell the difference between the clientele on a 7 day vs. a 4 day but having done short cruises on Enchantment and Majesty in the past, it seemed pretty typical of a short cruise. I didn't feel it was a "party ship" but then again, we were also back in the room about 8pm each night as we have young kids. Therefore, I can't speak to what the late-night crowd was like. During the day though, all seemed pretty typical. We never felt unsafe or thought anyone was inappropriate. Didn't have to cover the kids eyes or anything. :)

The pool deck is definitely different. There are technically still 2 pools but I would say there is a "main pool" which I don't think changed and then there is a walkway that connects the two sides of the deck, followed by a couple of hot tubs and then the kids water area (Splashaway Bay), which there are 2 separate sides of. After that, there is another much smaller pool. The bar is down by the main pool. The other end has the movie screen. We took the kids to Splashaway Bay twice so I'd be happy to give you more details about it. You didn't mention kids so I'll spare you the details unless you'd like them, then I'm happy to share. The smoking section is a lot bigger than you'd expect as it basically encompasses the entire one side (starboard I believe). We made the mistake of sitting on that side once and despite all of the smoking containers being confined to a small area, you are permitted to smoke anywhere along the wood railing (which is most of that side) - we asked someone on the pool staff. The BBQ area is on the port side. They supposedly added "family hot tubs" but I didn't bother to read the signs to see which were which (nor did I get in a hot tub at any point) and I have no idea what the difference would be.

Oh, they also updated the lounge chairs - but not the upright ones along the sides, those are still the old style.

Hope that helps - let me know of other questions.

Thank you so much for sharing.... some are convinced they are located just to the left of the tender ramp... which was the old place and these new ones are different... but, unless you know where they were, I think they are hard to find. We could see them from the floating bar. Glad you had a great time...

 

We like MJ but seem all the GS are booked when we want to go...

Cabanas are to the left. I thought you figured that out by now. ;)

Thank you for the review! We recently went on the 3 day to the Bahamas on the Enchantment. I had a hard time choosing between The Enchantment and The Majesty for our cruise in November. I went with The Majesty so we can have a day in Orlando before cruising. We are diamond members and have been on the Majesty a few times. I have two concerns I hope you can help me with answers. I have read many reviews that is a party cruise and I worry about the crowds and rowdy folks. Did you have any issues with the crowds being out of control? Also can you tell me anything about the renovations the pool deck?

The 3-day Majesty can be quite different than the 4-day. We were just on the 3-day on Sept. 30 and there were several large groups of young singles who were enjoying some sort of package deal that included unlimited drinks. Walking down the hallways to our cabin felt like we were in a college dorm, with young people lingering outside their cabins and yelling at each other down the hall.

Thank you for your review.