Majesty of the Seas 12/24-12/17- Review with Pictures

Hello Everyone! (Please note I typed the wrong date and now I can't change it, it should say 12/24-12/27! I promise I haven't discovered how to travel back in time!!!))

I just woke up from my post-cruise nap. We left the Majesty of the Seas bright and early this morning.

I am going to start on my review. It will come in pieces as I am looking to gather my stuff for the review and doing some things around the house today. There are some elements that I've borrowed from other CC members so thank you for the ideas!!

Some Background- My husband and I are 27, this was our 7th Royal Caribbean cruise (DH went on Carnival a lot as a child). We live in South Florida. We traveled with what ended up being 9 other people for a total of 11. My mom, mostly her friends with their husbands, and one 17 year old. We did travel with some rule breakers. :D

Overall I had a great time- I am truly easy to please. With that said we did encounter some bumps in the road. I was a little worried because I saw quite a few negative reviews in the weeks leading up to the trip.

SO DH and I woke up and headed over to my mom's house (5 minutes away from ours) around 10am. We brought this much. One pink shoe bag, one garment bag for our nice clothes, and one large suitcase for everything else!

After loading my mom & her boyfriend's junk, my CRV looked like this...

This became a problem when we left the ship this morning. Let me explain that we set up a gift-exchange with our group and one entire bag was filled with gifts. My mother doesn't understand "simple & small."

So we made our way down to the port in about 45 minutes. Not bad timing based on where we live. Pulled in to the parking garage and found a spot on the first floor directly next to where we needed to enter the building.

Unloaded the 3 tons of bags and walked over to a porter. As we walked up to him he said with a Jamaican accent "well mon, don't think you can go on this cruise- Santa needs all his elves tonight, it's Christmas Eve."

He said this because of my green Christmas hat and holiday get-up I had on. We laughed and handed off our bags to him. He promised that he would take care of our bags as long as I tell Santa to bring him something good that night! Deal made :)

We went into the terminal and they had not yet started the security checkpoint process. We waited not 2 minutes and they opened up the metal detectors. Went through the check-in process in a matter of minutes.

We were escorted over the the "priority boarding" area. Which wasn't a room this time, but the space behind the ID cameras and the round couches by the restrooms and escalators. There were only 10 other people in this area- so they let my mom and her BF in with us. (I have a picture of this- but it's on my mom's camera, oh well!)

We waited 5-10 minutes in this area and then were allowed to board. I literally stepped on to the ship at 11:33am. I had my phone in my hand, this is why I know! I was greeted with the following Gingerbread Village & Centrum Christmas tree.

We headed up to the Windjammer to find seats. As we entered they sent us to the back of the Windjammer/ front of the ship. We found a nice window seat and sat at two different tables. Other parts of our group were checking in and we wanted to be sure they could sit near us.

There was only one couple in there before us so it was great being able to get some lunch without any crowds. Piled my plate with the daily pasta (always a good fall back), Honey Stung Chicken, mashed potatoes (my other fallback favorite) and some broccoli. I added that for color and well, healthiness too!

We were here for a while. The ship wasn't filling up that fast. It was well over an hour before I felt we needed to move to allow other people to sit and eat.

DH and I walked around the ship taking pictures of the various rooms and venues. I was very impressed with the Schooner Bar. Not sure if it was the layout or what. It appeared to be the biggest SB I had been in. I loved the ample window space and lots of open seating. DH and I relaxed here later that weekend.

After we toured the ship we decided to check in to our room. We always take an inside room for many reasons. We love the pitch black for sleeping at any time of the day, we love the price (we were able to take 5 cruises this year, had we been in other rooms it wouldn't ave worked out so well), and we love the quietness that comes with it. So here is our Deck 2 (2141) Category Q.

I was pleasently surprised with the room. I have heard that Sovereign class cabins are the tiniest but had no issues with the room size. (I honestly can't remember the size of my room on the Sovereign 11 years ago.) When it's just the two of us I don't understand why more space is needed. Rather than unpacking we kept the suitcase on the floor and used it as the "closet."

I was happy to see that the TV was at the foot of the bed on the wall. I have seen some people's rooms in which the TV was at the head of the bed. Causing people the lay backwards in bed to watch TV.

I checked out the TP situation. We definitely had TWO-ply in our cabin.

At this point DH decided it was naptime. He ALWAYS takes a nap on the first day after lunch and before Muster Drill.

Thank you so much for posting this thread. I'm anxiously waiting each next installment. The text and photos are great!

You're really whetting my appetite for when we sail on her in just 11 days!

I will comment specifically about the Schooner Bar picture you posted. Yours makes it look much roomier than other pictures I've seen online. Since I'm sailing on this cruise after having sailed on the Oasis of the Seas, I'm concerned about generally feeling cramped, and I'm happy to see pictures like that which show the ship to have areas that feel more open.

Thanks for the review, great pictures. We had a room with the TV at the head of the bed. I wonder why some rooms are like that. Next time I book an inside on the Majesty, I'll definitely remember try to get that room.

Can't wait to read and see more. My wife and I are thinking about doing a 3 or 4 day cruise on Monarch or Majesty for a small winter getaway.

So as DH was napping I was talking with my mom- there was one room in between ours. I wandered back over to my own room and watched the RCTV offerings. I like watching the Sovereign Dry Dock, Eagle Class building Documentary, etc. I heard someone at my door, I peered out and saw no one. Went back to watching TV and heard someone again. This time I opened the door and I see a little boy, about 5 or 6, standing there. He pokes his head around my side and peers in to the room. He yells "Hey Dad! This room looks just like ours." The father was embarrassed by his son being on the nosy side. I just laughed and told him not to worry. They were in the room between my mom and I.

Then Rodolfo our steward came over to the door and introduced himself. As he walked up he greeted me by name and asked if Mr Smileyperry was around right now. I pointed to the bed. He laughed and told us if we need anything not to hesitate to ask him no matter what time it was.

A couple minutes later he came back to the door and handed me some gingerbread cookies. Unfortunately, at one point I went over to my mom's room, came back to find the gingerbread must have gotten up and ran away. I followed the trail over to the bed... something was telling me DH wasn't really asleep anymore!

At the end of the cruise DH and I were discussing Rodolfo. He was quite possibly the BEST steward we have ever had on a cruise. Very friendly, very helpful, never intrusive, always greeted us by name- even when he was off the ship and saw us walking around.

We decided to try some of the snacks from the Compass Deli. I had heard they serve many things that the Park Café on Oasis does. We were eager to find out.

A sampling of what they offer.

We ended up sitting in this area. Between Compass Deli & Johnny Rockets, somewhat hidden. If you go past the counter at the Deli and hang a right after the 1/2 wall. Comfy, Quiet, and relaxing!!

I had a Cheese Panini AKA Grilled Cheese sandwich. DH had a Tuna Melt.

Here's a peek at the panini and my elfish outfit.

We relaxed up there for a bit. No one seemed to realize there were eats back here today. It was great. We could see out the top windows of the Windjammer, we could see down in to the Windjammer, and we could talk without having to yell.

We had late seating dinner so this was a snack to hold us over until 8:30pm. We normally don't eat that late. We traditionally do MTD on ships, but because there were 11 of us they couldn't accommodate it very well. We decided to check out our table after this to make sure it would sufficient for 11.

Then we went walking again. The pools were decent sized, although the ship lacks hot tubs (there are two- but that's not enough). There were NEVER issues with chairs by the pool. Perhaps because it was a 3-day and 2 of the days we were in ports.

DH then decided to go to the gym to work off the food he would be eating later that night! I chose not to partake in such un-vacation-like activities.

Enjoying the review so far :)

Love cheese panini's ;)

great start

Great start! I'm sitting here warming my desk at work and waiting for more. ;)

We ended up sitting in this area. Between Compass Deli & Johnny Rockets, somewhat hidden. If you go past the counter at the Deli and hang a right after the 1/2 wall. Comfy, Quiet, and relaxing!!

 

You found my favorite spot on Majesty !!! Thanks for the review & I'm glad that you had a great trip. :)

While DH was having "fun" at the gym, I wandered the decks. We eventually met up at the Mustard & Ketchup Station around 4:15! It was a chilly day outside, but not while waiting at the Muster station. We were in direct beaming sunlight. I was wearing my elf hat and it warmed up rather quick under there. After mustering for what seemed like way too long we were finally released.

We found my mom and her BF and then a few of her friends. We snagged a good spot for sail away. It was a beautiful evening. We were the last ship out because Royal's terminal is at the back of the cut.

I ordered a drink for sail away- Mai Tai. Yum!

Off we went a while after th 5pm sail away we were supposed to have. The sun was setting while we sailed away which was nice. It got rather chilly as we went. It doesn't help that I foolishly wore a tank top with no cover for sail away!

Here is DH, me, and my mom. Yes, we are wearing the same shirt.

Here are some shots of Miami & Miami Beach.

Pretty sure that's the Carnival Liberty!

Up tomorrow morning:

Never ending Dinner

The Holiday Show

Christmas Day

PS: Thanks bionicman, Im "borrowing" your stretch it out over a few days format!

nice review, but this is really an old ship

nice review, but this is really an old ship

....and a great ship. :)

We will be sailing on Feb 7. This is our first Cruise. The food at Compass Deli looks good. Is Compass Deli and Johnny Rockets resturants that you have to pay? We are not sure what is included in the meal plan. Thank you for sharing the pictures with us.

nice review, but this is really an old ship

Old does not mean bad my friend. If old meant bad, antique dealers would be out of business and classic cars would all be gone.

Perhaps you should spend a weekend on the "old" ship? Might find out that you're happily wrong. :)

We will be sailing on Feb 7. This is our first Cruise. The food at Compass Deli looks good. Is Compass Deli and Johnny Rockets resturants that you have to pay? We are not sure what is included in the meal plan. Thank you for sharing the pictures with us.

I believe that Compass Deli is included at no extra charge.

Johnny Rockets has a cover charge... $4.95 per person, I believe. The cover charge there includes almost everything on the menu except for the milkshakes; those are extra.

We will be sailing on Feb 7. This is our first Cruise. The food at Compass Deli looks good. Is Compass Deli and Johnny Rockets resturants that you have to pay? We are not sure what is included in the meal plan. Thank you for sharing the pictures with us.

Compass Deli is free (well, included). There were many other wraps and things I only took a picture of the one display. There were also soups and cookies and things. Just before you enter the Compass Deli there is also a Sorrento's pizza station upstairs in the windjammer. I found that a lot of people missed out on those upstairs options.

The only food you have to pay extra for is Johnny Rockets and the optional upgraded steaks in the Main Dining Room.

So after the very chilly sail away we went back downstairs to change for dinner and freshen up. We had 8:30 dining in the Moonlight Dining Room for 11 of us. Unfortunately I left my camera in my room during dinner this night, so the pictures are all on my mom's camera. I may run over to her work at lunch to get those pictures form her. (I am off from my full-time work until Jan 3)

There were huge lines to get in to the dining room. Even My Time Dining had very long lines. I personally think thats because there were many first time cruisers and most didn't pre-reserve times.

Every made their way to our table. I read through the menu-

I am well aware that this might be too small to read clearly. I have a larger version if anyone is interested in the menu. I am not sure if this is their regular first night menu because we had a special holiday menu on night two.

It was nice to see a few different things on this menu. I was disappointed that Sopa de Tortilla was not offered. This is my standard first night appetizer. I settled for Spinach Dip & Pumpkin Soup instead. My main course was Potato Gnocchi. I believe that everything on the menu was ordered at our table. Again, these pictures are on my mom's camera. Our appetizers came out rather quickly and then... we didn't see our main course until AFTER 10pm. This was a bit irritating because we were hungry when we showed up for dinner. As I looked around many of the smaller tables, lets say 6 people and under, were leaving the dining room because they had finished dessert. The only people that were left were the large tables. They were all waiting for their meals as well. So I can't necessarily say it was bad service, but that they aren't the best at serving large groups. Our waiter was very nice but seemed overwhelmed with the amount of work. He was serving our table (11), the table to the left of us (12 and a baby), and a table on the other side of the serving station (10).

Some of our group decided not to have dessert and left because they wanted to enjoy their evening. I stayed because I like the Key Lime Pie they serve. Yum!

We finally left dinner at a few minutes before 11pm. DH wanted to go to bed, so we went to our room and watched Orangutan Island before falling asleep (we love watching this show when we're on a cruise). Now DH wants a pet Orangutan, I told him NO. But, I am thinking of setting up a day for his birthday in March at either Jungle Island or one of the zoos around here that will let you pet and feed one. Not sure if it's offered, but I thought I had heard of it before.

We ended up sitting in this area. Between Compass Deli & Johnny Rockets, somewhat hidden. If you go past the counter at the Deli and hang a right after the 1/2 wall. Comfy, Quiet, and relaxing!!

 

I've been on Majesty twice and missed this seat both times. Maybe on the 3rd time if that happens, I did see seating back here, but just didn't get to it.

looks like a ship secret

I've been on Majesty twice and missed this seat both times. Maybe on the 3rd time if that happens, I did see seating back here, but just didn't get to it.

Sometimes this area is blocked off by those retractable barriers from either the lower level (Windjammer) or upper level (Compas Deli), but, it is possible to go under or over them. Nobody seems to care. I have also noticed that this seating area is popualar with officers having breakfast or lunch. It is a great 'semi-secret' area. :)

I'm not sure why but I forgot to include my thoughts on the Holiday Show. This was offered at 7:45 on Friday night. Honestly, I wasn't impressed overall. The dancers and singers were very talented. It was too much of a variety show. They sang and danced to numerous songs- some with the holiday theme- some not so much! It just appeared to be thrown together rather last minute. With a little more cohesiveness it would have been pulled off better.

So Saturday morning was Christmas morning. Normally we would go over to my mom's house and we'd spend the day there opening gifts and having a big dinner (DH's family is Jewish so we're lucky in the sense that we don't have to split the winter holidays between family!) It also makes it easy to go on vacation (on years that Hanukkah & Christmas don't overlap) because we don't have to worry about offending anyone.

So we planned to spend the day on Coco Cay and possible rent the Jet Skis with the 17 year old (my mother's friend's son and also my very good friend's brother).

So we ate breakfast in the WJ and as I was walking back to my room I saw that Santa was sitting by the tree handing out gifts to the kids. I went to the line of children and asked the guy checking to make sure the kids were on the "Good List" if I could just get a picture with Santa and that I'm an adult and still love the holidays. He said sure and sent me down in line. As I walked up, his elf asked my name and walked me over. Then I had my picture taken and he handed me a gift. I handed back explaining that I am not a kid, I'm 27. Santa laughed and said I certainly could pass for a kid and made me take the gift!

The photo is blurry because my mother is technologically challenged and had her camera on video rather than photo. I had to extract the picture from the video file.

I opened the gift back in my room and it was a nice olive green and tan messenger bag. There is a small Royal Caribbean logo on the piping.

We headed off the ship via tender on the 1st deck. Although at 10am when we were leaving the line went up to the 4th deck and into the centrum. The line moved quickly because the tenders hold a lot of people.

DH and I took a walk around the island. He had never been there and the last time I was on Coco Cay was 11 years earlier as a Sweet 16 Cruise. Very different from then. We quickly found some beach chairs and laid under the sun until we found the rest of our group. A few people from our group chose to stay on the ship rather than come to the island. It was never crowded, it was cool but the sun was shining high which made for perfect relaxing on the beach temperatures.

DH is easily burned by the sun, so he grabbed the closest thing to him and threw it on his face.

Those are, in fact, my shorts! I offered him the beach towel but he said my shorts were the perfect size to cover his face.

We had lunch, the lines were pretty long but it was a beautiful day so it wasn't horrible. I piled my plates high and chowed down.

We enjoyed the beach relaxing for a little bit longer. Then we used the island as a backdrop for some photo ops!