Majesty of the Seas Review! 2/6

[Jes0814]

Hello all! I am just off of the Majesty of the Seas for the 2nd time and I have a review! :)

For some background info, I am a 17 year old female from Illinois and sailed with my mom. We don’t go to the dining room unless there is something extraordinary on the menu and we don’t so many activities onboard. We had an owner’s suite and were on the 3 Day cruise to Nassau and Coco Cay out of Miami.

Thursday 2/5:

We left Illinois on a 3:10 flight to Miami International Airport. We arrived at 7:00, yet weren’t off the plane until 7:30 because we had to wait for a gate. We carried on all of our luggage so we were in the cab and at the Hotel Intercontinental by 8:00. We were originally going to go to Hard Rock Café/ Bayside. Once we got settled into our room, we were exhausted and went to the Hotel Bar. We ordered delicious Baked French Onion Soup and split a Margarita Pizza. It was quite pricey, yet it was nice to just relax and not have to worry about walking around at night/ finding our way to the restaurant. We ended the night laying in bed and falling asleep to the new episode of Burn Notice. Sadly, we fell asleep during the first 10 minutes and we still have to watch that episode!

Friday 2/6:

Cruise Day! We woke up and left the room at 11:15. We were in a cab by 11:25 and were at the Port of Miami by 11:35. We got thru check in right as they were letting the people get onto the boat. Since we are Diamond members, we got to cut in line and were one of the first people on the boat. (The line was already very long) As soon as we boarded, I got my soda package before the line got long and got my Sea Pass card punched for my lanyard. (Quick side note: Our cards were gold this time because we stayed in a suite..Must be a new thing!) My mom is a workout guru and made me take the stairs the entire cruise! Yep…I didn’t take the elevator once! We entered the gangway on Deck 4…We walked up to the Windjammer and got a table next to the window. The food was quite under par and nothing really floats my boat, yet I had Pizza from Sorrento’s and a 3 Cheese Panini from compass Deli….Make sure you go to Compass Deli..Not a lot of people know about it and they have great sandwiches and crepes! After lunch, we walked deck 11 and 12 and went down to deck 10 at 1:00. We got into our room (1520) and it was a nice size. The 1st cruise on Majesty we were in the royal Suite..Yet with 4 people. We unpacked the little clothes we brought and headed up to the gym for a workout. The gym was a standard size, about 12 bikes total and 4 treadmills, plus weight equipment and a specialty floor. We then went and checked out our dining room table in Moonlight Dining Room ( Deck 3).

We walked around the ship and at 3:00 we went to the Port and Shopping Show for Nassau. The Port and Shopping Guide was very friendly and energetic…her name is Jeannette Zinn. The show lasted for about 45 minutes with the raffle at the end. We them reported back to our stateroom to prepare for the lovely Muster drill at 4:30. The lasted for about 20 Minutes and our “muster station guide was a RC dancer who was very funny and full of life. I believe his name was Craig. We had Main Seating Dinning and when we looked at the menu, nothing seemed to be worth going for so we went to the Windjammer for dinner at 7:00. Between 5 and 7, we meet our stateroom attendant, Madonna McIntyre, who was very good yet didn’t always clean up plates (We had received a chocolate strawberry plate, which neither my mom nor I like, so we left it uneaten and it was there the last time we left the room to depart the ship. We also received a bottle of Korbel and Evian…My mom doesn’t drink so we gave it to our neighbors whose grandma was celebrating her birthday. We then placed our bottle of Evian in the nice bucket of ice! Windjammer dinner was okay…I had “Create your own pasta” and salad...I was surprised to see that there was no Ranch dressing…so I settled for Caesar…(By the way, I am not complaining) We then enjoyed the ice cream of the day: Strawberry! We went down to the port and shopping desk to get our VIP card and the port and shopping club book. We went back to the room and settled down and eventually fell asleep.

More to come….:D

[Jes0814]

Saturday 2/7:):)

Ah…the 1st full day of the cruise and Coco Cay day! We woke up at about 7:30 and headed to the gym. While we were working out, we could see that we had dropped anchor, yet while we were watching the tenders make their way to the boat, we knew that nobody was getting off. The tenders were really rocking and it simply looked unsafe. As we exited the gym, we heard the announcement that it was too unsafe to tender and we were going to be headed for Nassau, arriving at approx. 8- 8:30. The Cruise Compass was revised and ready by 9:45. We had left the gym at around 9:00 and heard up to the Windjammer for breakfast. The Windjammer was packed, yet we found a table in the back. I got a delicious egg white omelet and fresh fruit. There were many selections, yet my grandma’s favorite cheese Danish was MIA. They had cherry and lemon however, and many other selections. The crew was very friendly everywhere we went and we had no bad experiences thus far. We were originally planning on attending the diamond and gemstones seminar at 3:45, yet it was not printed in the revised cruise compass so we assumed that it was no longer going to happen. After breakfast, we went down to the jogging track on deck 7 and walked over a mile. We had already started making our way towards Nassau and the wind at the forward of the ship was strong! My mom lost her hair band and when we came around the corner, her hair was all in her face. We went back to our room and made our way up to Johnny Rockets for lunch at around 1:00. There was around a 10 minute wait, yet it was worth it. Our waitress was Maya from Peru and she was a great dancer J. My mom ordered the St. Louis Burger and I got the Chicken Club sandwich. We split the Oreo Sunday and the food there was good as usual. We then headed back the room to watch some tv and both of us fell asleep from 2-4:30. I guess that’s what a full morning of activity can do to you followed by watching TV!

We didn’t even bother to check the menu in the Dining Room because it was formal night and we never go to the dining room. We went out onto the balcony that could and stared at the water. My mom had been reading a book since Friday and she wanted to finish it by dinner time. We headed to deck 4 at around seven o’clock and we waited in the library and she finished it at around 7:45. She then dropped the book in the library for future cruisers to enjoy. We then went to talk with the port and shopping guide at her desk to ask her about her seminar that was not listed in the compass. She had told us that it had then moved to the main centrum. We then headed up to the windjammer and I had the pasta and yummy garlic bread! The Ice Cream of the Day was Vanilla and there were many toppings to enjoy. As we were in the Windjammer we were pulling into Nassau and all we saw was the light of other cruise ships and it was a very awesome sight! We ended up back in our room and fell asleep at around 10:30.

[Jes0814]

Feel free to ask any questions!

[phabric]

Have enjoyed your review. We will be going on the Majesty Easter weekend.

 

How much was the soda card?

[Jes0814]

The soda card cost $4 a day for under 18 and $6 a day for adults. You are also charged a 15% gratuity. I am 17 so my card cost $14.76.

[Jes0814]

Sunday 2/8

Since we arrived at Nassau at night, we woke up at around 7:15. We got dressed and headed down to the gym for our morning workout. As we were looking out the window, we didn’t see many people getting off the ship. After the workout we had a delicious breakfast in the Windjammer. Once again I got the egg white omelet with fresh fruit and an english muffin.

We decided to get off the boat at 9:00 and had to town so we could walk around before the shops opened. While walking through their cruise terminal, many locals tried to tell us that all of the shops were closed because it was a Sunday and they wanted us to instead go on scooters or taxi rides and horse and buggy rides. However, since we went to the port and shopping show we knew that this was a lie and continued to walk into the main street and Nassau. We walked up and down Bay Street and some shops were opening at around 9:30. I was very excited for Del Sol because I love the color changing hair accessories and the nail polish. However, when we got into the store, It was almost completely empty! There were no hair things, the nail polish rack was empty, they only had about 6 shirts in odd sizes and the lady working there was very snotty. We did have our coupon for the free tote bag, yet we also purchased things (2 shirts and 2 lanyards). She did not want to be there, yet all of the men working there were quite friendly. (We had a much better experience last time we were there in October.) There were many raffles going on this day at different jewelry locations. The diamonds international raffle was that 11:30. The Venetian Jewelers raffle was at 12:00 and the Effy Raffle was at 1:00. Since we had time to spare, we went to many of the jewelry stores as they opened to see their selection and compare prices. I had gone into Effy jewelers to check out a brand called Diversa, which is jewelry that is magnetic and can change the pendant into two separate necklaces. Up I will turn 18 in August so my mom bought me a really cute five heart diamond pendant that goes from a circle of hearts to the a row of hearts. By the time the transaction was complete it once 11:15 and time to go to the diamonds international raffle. When we got there, Jeanette was there and we had a nice conversation. They were raffling off a diamond and sapphire necklace. While we were going from store to store, we had dropped off our raffle tickets. Jeannette had a employee from diamonds international drive name and surprise! It was me! I was so excited that the name called was my own and I was shocked because I never win anything. We still had ½ hour before the next raffle so we stopped at a local burger king to use the bathroom and to get a bottle of water. By that time we left burger king, we arrived at Venetian jewelers, who was giving away a five Ct. Midnight Sapphire. We didn’t win this time and we then went exploring the town to get our free jewelry thanks to our port and shopping book. We then went down a small alley where there were many local restaurants and people. We found a small Internet café that had calling to the states for only 25¢ a minute. We called home and the phone call only cost us $2.00. We then headed back to Effy jewelers for the 1:00 raffle. They were raffling off a cute sunglass pendant. While waiting for the raffle, my mom looked at the matching earrings to the necklace she had just bought me and after trying them on, we knew we had to get them. We didn’t win the raffle; however, since we were probably the best customer of the day, they gave me the same necklace they had just raffled away.

 

After a full day of shopping, we headed back to the ship and, after climbing the stairs from deck one to deck 10, I was exhausted. We headed up to compass deli for a light lunch. After lunch, about 2:00, we walked around the ship and did another mile on deck 7. Not as windy because we were docked! By the time we went back to the room, it was around 5 and I took a shower to get ready for dinner. Nothing good to me on the dinner menu, so once again we went to the Windjammer. I had turkey and Onion Soup…the best soup I had thus far on the cruise. The ice cream of the day was Vanilla again. We had used the $10 intenet credit to print our boarding pass for Monday’s flight. I had also gotten a Virgin strawberry daiquiri with my mom’s free bar credit. We ten packed our bags for the next day and settled into bed for our last night at sea until August:(

[phabric]

Thanks for the information on the drink card.

 

Is there a Bar-B-Q area where they cook hot dogs, and hamburgers or are they precooked for the Windjammer as my DH loves hot dogs.

 

Did you have to pay for the coupon book from the Port and Shopping talk. Is it worth the cost? We did not get a book last time we were on RCI but then we don't go to the Port and Shopping talk.

 

We plan on doing Johnny Rockets on formal night, it will be our first time.

[Jes0814]

Thanks for the information on the drink card.

 

Is there a Bar-B-Q area where they cook hot dogs, and hamburgers or are they precooked for the Windjammer as my DH loves hot dogs.

 

Did you have to pay for the coupon book from the Port and Shopping talk. Is it worth the cost? We did not get a book last time we were on RCI but then we don't go to the Port and Shopping talk.

 

We plan on doing Johnny Rockets on formal night, it will be our first time.

 

Sadly, I did not see any hot dogs in the Windjammer but Johnny Rockets had them.

 

We did pay for the port and shopping club book ($25) We believe that is well worth it because there are many coupons for almost all ports in the Caribbean and the book is good for all year long. In addition to that, there are many onboard benefits, such as 2 for 1 drink of the day, Free mini treatment with the purchase of a reg. treatment in the day spa, free scoop of ice cream with the purchase of another scoop, etc. In Nassau with the shopping guide, you can get a free collectible coin, free Tanzanite studs, free 1/2 ct. gemstones, free tote bag form Del Sol, and many free gifts with other purchases. We got well over $25 back in merchandise and you can usually get a book of you do not go to the show at the port and shopping guide desk, which has hours posted in the cruise compass. Hopefully you will have jeanette Zinn, who is very friendly and helpful.

 

Have a great time!

Johnny Rockets is always a good alternative for dining!

[mrefer13]

We've been on this ship 2x and wil be on it again for a b2b in Sept. Jes, you have a talent for writing. I enjoyed your critique of your cruise. How was the shopping? Were many cruise ships in port the same day you were? We don't care too much for this port, but your shopping (and winning!!) sounds like fun. Was it difficult for you to find the shop?

 

Also, the "gold card" you were issued, did you happen to notice anyone else having the same card?

 

How as the debarkation? We had an awful ordeal on the Independence in Dec. It was a mess! Did you and your mom use the diamond lounge?

 

Last year when we opted to skip the formal dining, there were tablecloths on the tables in the Windjammer. How about this time?

 

Again, very informative...glad you had a good time!

[Jes0814]

We've been on this ship 2x and wil be on it again for a b2b in Sept. Jes, you have a talent for writing. I enjoyed your critique of your cruise. How was the shopping? Were many cruise ships in port the same day you were? We don't care too much for this port, but your shopping (and winning!!) sounds like fun. Was it difficult for you to find the shop?

 

Also, the "gold card" you were issued, did you happen to notice anyone else having the same card?

 

How as the debarkation? We had an awful ordeal on the Independence in Dec. It was a mess! Did you and your mom use the diamond lounge?

 

Last year when we opted to skip the formal dining, there were tablecloths on the tables in the Windjammer. How about this time?

 

Again, very informative...glad you had a good time!

 

The gold card that we had had the word SUITE printed on it on the top right hand corner...it was pretty big. I saw other people in grand suites in above with these same cards. During the muster drill, I also saw someone with a silver card with Junior Suite printed on it..So i guess there a new type of card for early recognition of suite guests. Other staterooms had the standard off while colored card. However, i am not sure if it is issued to Diamond Members.

 

I am working on the debarkation part of my review tonight. (I have to fit it in my school work ;) Cruise Critic is so much more entertaining then English and history homework!) We did use the diamond priority departure lounge and I'll expand more on this is a soon to come post. We only had carry-ons and it was a lot easier then having to wait for your luggage and even express check-out.

 

On formal night, there were not tableclothes on the tables but, as always, the crew was very friendly!

 

Shopping in Nassau was an okay expierence. As you probably know, as you walk thru the cruise terminal, everyone is trying to sell you something or have you get in a cab for a tour of the island. We were off the ship about an 1/2 hour before many of the shops opened, yet once we got to the main street it was nice to just walk around and look at the cute buildings. Shopping for jewelry was different in everyplace. In Diamonds International, everyone was trying to get you to buy something and they kind of followed you around. Effy was by far my favorite because everything was clean and the employees were very friendly. If you buy the port and shopping guide book, you get about 3 free pairs of earrings, free pendents, and a free water wallet. It was also a nice bonus to win a free diamond necklace:D

 

Since we arrived at about 8:30 in Nassau Sat night, the Monarch of the Seas was there until midnight, the Carnical Imagination was there until about 8 the next morning, and the Regal Majesty was there until about 10:00. We didnt get off until the regal majesty was the only ship left and since they were leaving soon, everyone was back on board and the town was not crowded at all.

 

Happy Cruising!

[Jes0814]

Monday 2/9

Last day on board :o! We woke up at 5:30 and did our final packing/ check the room for anything left behind. The Windjammer opened at 6 am so we were there right away because we were planning on using the Diamond Priority departure lounge. We had to be there before 6:45 so right after breakfast we headed down to deck 4: Starlight dining room: Starboard side. There was already a pretty long line for express checkout, yet being in the diamond lounge means that you get off before them. There were many people (it was opened up to Platinum members as well because of the low # of diamonds members on this particular sailing) entering the priority lounge after 6:45 and many people waited outside of the doors, so they ultimately got off before the ones who had been waiting there the longest. We were cleared at about 7:10 and off the ship by 7:15. We got all the way thru customs, and too the airport, and thru security by 5 to 8! We can thank Mr. Warren, a very fast driving taxi driver with a need for speed! (We were going 80 almost the whole way there!) Our flight was at 11, so we had plenty of time to spare. The Jewel of the Seas had also been disembarking that day, yet there were no extra lines or any other problems to the additional number of people.

Ship Review: Very clean, food under par, great crew (very friendly!) The last night was quite rocky and shaky. The other passengers were very nice (no problems) and there weren’t many other kids on board. I was not upset that we didn’t stop at CocoCay because we had nothing planned and Nassau was like the last time I visited. It is a great cruise for a quick getaway! I am going back on the Majesty this October and am looking forward to it! (Hopefully my mom will let me take the elevator once or twice though!)

[raytownlady]

Thanks for posting your review. sounds like you and your Mom had a good time. We really enjoyed our cruise on the Majesty last year and are possibly thinking about another weekend getaway:D

[phabric]

Did you receive a Crown and Anchor gift?

[Jes0814]

Did you receive a Crown and Anchor gift?

 

Thank you- i forget to mention the gift in my review.

 

We recieved the classic C&A ball cap (2) and I recieved the rc messenger bad. I already have 2 of these bags and we have the hats as well so we gave them to our neighbor on board who had 2 gradnchildren around 10 and 8.

[Jes0814]

Our cruise director was Drew Devine also

 

-I'm thinking that's a stage name! ;)

[Jes0814]

Feel free to ask any questions! I love helping people out!

[Jes0814]

We just booked the majesty for October..

Happy Sailing to all!

[uksimonusa]

The gold card that we had had the word SUITE printed on it on the top right hand corner...it was pretty big. I saw other people in grand suites in above with these same cards. During the muster drill, I also saw someone with a silver card with Junior Suite printed on it..So i guess there a new type of card for early recognition of suite guests. Other staterooms had the standard off while colored card. However, i am not sure if it is issued to Diamond Members.

 

I am working on the debarkation part of my review tonight. (I have to fit it in my school work ;) Cruise Critic is so much more entertaining then English and history homework!) We did use the diamond priority departure lounge and I'll expand more on this is a soon to come post. We only had carry-ons and it was a lot easier then having to wait for your luggage and even express check-out.

 

On formal night, there were not tableclothes on the tables but, as always, the crew was very friendly!

 

Shopping in Nassau was an okay expierence. As you probably know, as you walk thru the cruise terminal, everyone is trying to sell you something or have you get in a cab for a tour of the island. We were off the ship about an 1/2 hour before many of the shops opened, yet once we got to the main street it was nice to just walk around and look at the cute buildings. Shopping for jewelry was different in everyplace. In Diamonds International, everyone was trying to get you to buy something and they kind of followed you around. Effy was by far my favorite because everything was clean and the employees were very friendly. If you buy the port and shopping guide book, you get about 3 free pairs of earrings, free pendents, and a free water wallet. It was also a nice bonus to win a free diamond necklace:D

 

Since we arrived at about 8:30 in Nassau Sat night, the Monarch of the Seas was there until midnight, the Carnical Imagination was there until about 8 the next morning, and the Regal Majesty was there until about 10:00. We didnt get off until the regal majesty was the only ship left and since they were leaving soon, everyone was back on board and the town was not crowded at all.

 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

We were on Monarch that same weekend, and I watched you come into Nassau. The current must have been quite rough as the Majesty had a tug boat pushing against her stern as she backed in. It left large black tire prints on the stern, and I also noticed these on the Norweigan ship that was in port earlier. we also missed Coco Cay on the Sunday and just had a sea day

[Jes0814]

:)Wow! I never knew about the tug boat! That must have been a sight! Was it crowded the day you were in Nassau with all those ships in port? Hope you had a great cruise!

[uksimonusa]

:)Wow! I never knew about the tug boat! That must have been a sight! Was it crowded the day you were in Nassau with all those ships in port? Hope you had a great cruise!

 

No more crowed than usual, the straw market was bearable....just!! Had a great cruise thanks, it was our 14th anniversary cruise, we left on Friday and I didn't tell my wife until our anniversary, Thursday.:D

[wolfcathorse]

Everyone who is in a Grand Suite, Owner Suite, or Royal Suite gets the gold Seapass card regardless of C & A status. The Jr Suite gets the silver on regardless of C & A status.

 

Next time you go to Nassau, walk to the Queen's Staircase, just head towards the water tower, you can get nice pics of the ships in port and of Atlantis up there at Fort Fincastle. Walking the back streets you get the feel of true Nassau. And going up the Queen's stairs is nice excerise!

[Jes0814]

Everyone who is in a Grand Suite, Owner Suite, or Royal Suite gets the gold Seapass card regardless of C & A status. The Jr Suite gets the silver on regardless of C & A status.

 

Next time you go to Nassau, walk to the Queen's Staircase, just head towards the water tower, you can get nice pics of the ships in port and of Atlantis up there at Fort Fincastle. Walking the back streets you get the feel of true Nassau. And going up the Queen's stairs is nice excerise!

 

Thanks for the info and for the advice. I will be sure not to miss that next time we are in Nassau

 

Happy cruising to all!

[ellie111]

Hi Jenna,

I will be taking my 3 kids 13, 14, 17 on the Majesty next week. What shouldn't they miss?

[ellie111]

Another thing, I know you didnt go to many dinners in the dining room, but how were the kids dressed?

[wufang58]

how were the temps? do you know how the water temperatures were there in the bahamas? going feb 23 and would love to be able to get in the ocean; hopefully itll be warm enough.