Back from the Majesty - 7/10 - 7/14 - Trip Report

[MonaCK]

I had, overall, a wonderful time on this cruise. As a seasoned cruiser, I thought I'd try to give an objective review on what I thought of this ship and the cruise itself.

 

pre and post cruise

 

We rented cars from Alamo - both for pre and post cruise - as we flew into FLL and decided this was the most economical way to get 3 people to and from the airport. It also allowed us some flexibility to go out to eat at Bahama Breeze post-cruise, which was a must have for me for this trip. It was economical and pretty easy to do. Alamo provides a shuttle to and from the seaport to their location offsite at MIA.

 

We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott for both pre and post cruise - the same one - downtown not far from the Bayside Marketplace. If I had to do it again I might do my post cruise in Fort Lauderdale instead of Miami.

 

the ship

 

Yes, she needs a refurbishing. Yes, the carpetting is dated, and my friend noted a slight bad odor in some of the hallways, particularly in the morning. But since I have a bad sense of smell, I didn't have any issues with odor at all.

 

I have been on the Sovereign 2 times - both times in the early 90's back when she used to actually sail for 7 days. Since Majesty is a sister ship, I felt right at home here, which kind of surprised me. I can't remember the exact layout of Sovereign, but I know that I had no issue - at all - acclimating to Majesty. I was also worried that I would feel "deprived" because my last 2 cruises had been on Voyager. Not so. The ship felt just right to me. I can't wait for the refurb - I'm sure that it's going to make the ship more beautiful than it already is.

 

the cabin

 

We found out the week before we left that we had been upgraded to an Oceanview. It was the first time in -many- moons for me that I had been in an outside cabin. For the price I payed for the cruise, having the outside cabin was a bonus for us. is it something that I would pay for? I don't know. But it was kind of nice having natural sunlight in the cabin.

 

the food

 

Some good, some bad. I've always found that RCCL desserts are not my favorite, but that's because I'm pretty particular on what kind of desserts I like. Not enough peanut butter selections for me. But that's my issue, not the cruise lines.

 

It was insane that it took 45 minutes for them to cook our eggs in the dining room in the morning, so we had subsequent breakfasts at the Windjammer and were much happier. After 2 mediocre lunches at the Windjammer, we switched to the dining room, and again were much happier. Dinners were grand, and Jerome our waiter and Caslov our assistant waiter were both -great-.

 

so in summary, I recommend:

 

Breakfast at the Windjammer, lunch & dinner in the dining room.

 

Ports of Call

 

I don't like Nassau. So I wasn't off the ship very long here. Cococay was a washout, so we didn't even dock. I love Key West, but made the mistake of going out in the morning when it was supurbly rainy, instead of waiting for the afternoon when the sun finally came out.

 

I wasn't on this ship for the ports of call -- my intention from the very beginning was to relax on board ship while everyone else went ashore.

 

Enteratainment

 

Entertainment was alright. There was a pretty good comedian/magician on on Wednesday night. And as always - Love and Marriage Game show as well as Quest were the highlights of the cruise. I will say nothing about Quest other than to say that it's amazing what people will do for a silly RCCL keychain... I spent way too much $$ on Bingo, but that's part of what a cruise is all about.

 

Drinks/Soda

 

Okay - here is a new "trick" that I don't like. Not really having a menu of drinks... advertising drinks that require you to buy the glass, with no discount for not getting the glass. Seriously not cool. I was ablle to still get the drink of the day discounted without a glass... as well as a pina colada. But they give the souvineer glass by default now, and it makes for some really expensive drinks. Don't like it at all.

 

Soda card purchase was great for me as always. Found that the wait staff is more than willing to refill our mugs (or bring us glasses if we didn't have our mugs with us). They always did it with a smile. I had some of the wait staff remember me by name even though I didn't get much more than soda from them.

 

Cruise overall

 

Overall, I had a blast. Was it the best vacation I ever had? No. Was it the worst? Absolutely not. My friend got sick on the second day (NOT Gastro - she had an abcessed tooth), so that was a bit of a bummer. But other than that it was a great girls getaway for me. I will say this -- usually a 4 day cruise is a tease for me, but for some reason (and maybe this is because I went without my husband and just with my friends), it seemed like just enough time for me. I was not upset to be getting off the ship.

 

Oh - and the ship was sold out. I don't like sold out ships... it made for really really slow elevators.

 

Would I go on the Majesty again? I think I'd wait until after the refurb.

 

Any questions? Feel free to ask :)

[realtorron]

My DW and I sailed 3 times before and am set to go again in Feb after the rehab and are soooo looking forward to the upgrades. :p

[wolfcathorse]

Who was your captain?

[MonaCK]

uhh... I'll have to see if I still have any of the paperwork, but i"m honestly not sure off the top of my head who the captain was. If I still have any of my compasses, I'll let you know.

[collegekid]

Thanks for sharing the great review! We're thinking about trying a 4 night on the Majesty next summer. How was the cabin size? And, how was the pool area? With a sold out ship, was it difficult to find a lounge chair?

[MonaCK]

Hi there!

 

Cabin size is -small- but even with my friend being laid up for part of the trip, we did not feel that we were on top of each other. The outside cabin is only 5 SF bigger than an inside cabin.

 

We also had -no- problems getting a lounge chair by the pool area - even on the day where we missed cococay. Obviously, days when you're in port it's easier to get a chair as most leave the ship.

 

The only problem I had with it being a sold out ship was the elevator issue. Hopefully the elevator problem is something that will be addressed in the refurb.

[beachrus4]

Hmmm... I was on the Monarch of the Seas 2 weeks ago. First of all, they would put non-drink of the day drinks in the souvenir glass. Second of all, when I said I did not want the souvenir glass, they told me it's the same price with or without it with the drink of the day or not. I was told this on 2 occassions in 2 different bars. Strange they have different rules on different ships and that I would hear this from 2 bar sources. I didn't want the souvenir glass, and still had to pay that extra $1. :mad: Okay, I guess it's just a buck, but now I hear they are inconsistent on the policy on different ships. OH well, don't sweat the small stuff!

[MonaCK]

Beach: It seems to me that hte pricing is a bit inconsistant. For some reason, when ordering the same drink with a friend, she got charged $6 when I got charged $9, and we didn't realize it until long after we had left so we didn't say anythign about it.

[wolfcathorse]

MonaCK - does the name Capt Manolis Kasselas ring a bell? I just want to update the date on my current captain thread.