Excellent weekend get-away
Written: Aug 19 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: service and staff, clean beautiful ship, abundant food, rock climbing wall
Cons: cramped staterooms, too-long lifeboat drill, many photo sessions were annoying, ended TOO QUICKLY
The Bottom Line: Very enjoyable experience with wonderful service and great food.
|
|
|
| jesimone57's Full Review: Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas |
My wife and I decided to leave the children with her sister and have a nice weekend get-away - just the two of us. We chose RCCL and the Majesty of the Seas 3 day package because it offered just that. This was our first time cruise. The ship was built in 1992 and refurbished in 2000.
We booked on-line from the RCCL web site and we were easily able to pick a room and get a good price. We found out later that the 8th deck (Mariner deck) outside staterooms have obstructed views. The portholes look out onto the bottom of the lifeboats. This turned out to be not that big of a deal, but in hindsight it would have been better to get decks 4, 5 or 6 to get a better view.
We arrived on the ship around 2 pm, the earlier you board, the better. This allows one to spend more time on the ship, exploring and eating! By 2 pm, I would say about 20-30% were already on board (maybe more). RCCL says you can board anytime from 2 pm onwards and that the ship leaves at 5 pm. Our ship left the port of Miami at about 5:38 that Friday evening.
You want to hit the buffet (Windjammer Cafe) on deck 11 as soon as you get on board. Your bags will be placed outside your stateroom in an hour or two after they arrive on the ship. I was particularly fond of the ice-cream machine. It was more like ice-milk (not as creamy or smooth as ice-cream) but was actually very delicious. I probably had 20 ice-creams while on the ship.
We spent the first couple of hours just exploring and getting familiar with all the decks and where everything was on the ship. The mandatory lifeboat drill took place at 4:30pm on deck 7. It took way too long because there were some people that did not take it seriously and did not show up for the drill. This caused the whole drill to be rather protracted and drawn-out with some complaints from people standing on the deck in the hot sun, just waiting for it to end.
The seas were very calm that evening as we sailed out of the port and towards the Bahamas. My wife was concerned about seasickness and brought some Dramamine along, but she never used it because the whole voyage was so calm and the ship was so big, steady and smooth. It is a big ship, not as big as the more modern "Voyager" class but with 14 levels (all the way up to the circular Viking Crown Lounge at the top) it feels very big and spacious.
We spent the early morning hours walking around the deck to get exercise and using the rock-climbing wall. I thought it was going to cost us to use the wall - but it turned out to be COMPLETELY FREE! What a wonderful surprise. We had fun climbing up the wall and getting pointers from the instructor there.
Our first port of call was Nassau and we managed to walk all the way to the Atlantis resort - which you can clearly see on Paradise Island on the other side of the bridge from Nassau. It was a nice 2 1/2 mile (about 40 minutes) walk to Atlantis. We seemed to be the only ones walking even though 2 huge ships were docked at the port (RCCL Majesty and Carnival Fascination) with about 4 to 5 thousand people on board between the two of them. The walk was nice and we got to see "some" of the city though it was not too pretty. The view from the top of the bridge connecting the islands is quite nice.
Atlantis is a grand resort ala Las Vegas style with a huge aquarium with many (200) creatures in it. You will be able to see some of the aquarium for free, but to see the whole Atlantis "The Dig" experience you have to pay $25 per person for a view of the "hidden treasures of Atlantis". This will allow you to either go through the exhibit at your leisure or on a crowed guided tour. We preferred to go by ourselves. You'll see some amazing underwater vistas of the ancient Atlantean civilization. Neither my wife nor I thought it was worth the $25 per person admission but hey, what else are you going to do?
The afternoon was spend on a snorkeling excursion. That was beautiful and fun. The waters were crystal clear, and in some spots, the fish were abundant and colorful. The reef snorkeling took almost 2.5 hours - 1 hour actual in water time with 1.5 hours transit time to and from the reef by boat.
That evening we had a great dinner and show in the Chorus Line Lounge and we retired to our cabin early to get some much needed rest. Others on the ship partied hard into the night. This was evident because when went for breakfast around 7:30 am, there were few people up and about. You have your choice each day of buffet style breakfast and lunch or sit-down and order style. We opted for the nicer sit-downs later in the cruise after we found out we didn't have to eat buffet style for breakfast and lunch. That day we were off the Coco Cay for some exploration and snorkeling.
Coco Cay is a very pretty island. The waters are crystal clear and there is much to do IF you like water. By this I mean snorkeling, wave runner, kayaking, swimming, parasailing etc. Otherwise it can be a rather steamy place. There is now an A/C bar that you can hang in if its too hot. We walked down a trail and far away from the crowds and explored the back part of the island. There were only 2 or 3 other people nearby as opposed to the hundreds of other people crowding the beach near the lagoon. We recommend getting away from the crowds and finding your own little slice of paradise on the beach down the trail. You will find deck chairs placed WAY down there by people that wanted to get away like us. There are also some hammocks, as you get farther away from the crowds.
There is a great buffet lunch there on the island. No need to bring water or snacks, we brought both, not knowing what kind of services or food to expect on the island but RCCL has it all covered. There are many places to get a drink and there is an ABUNDANCE of food to eat! Not joking, some people were plain pigging out, but this is just part of the vacation experience.
We managed to see about half-a-dozen rays in the water fluttering away as we approached. They are there, you just have to look for large black spots moving about in the water. In the "made for guests" lagoon you will find a sunken plane, sunken ship's bow and sunken canons to dive on -- all placed there by RCCL for your snorkeling pleasure - very nice and cool. Make sure you snorkel down to where the life-guards are stationed in the lagoon, there are literally thousands of fish congregating around each tower. Thick schools of yellowtail snapper and grunts! Also, stick your head in the sunken plane and you'll also see many fish just hangin' out in there.
We headed back to the ship just as thunderclouds formed overhead and the clap of thunder and flash of lightning could be heard and seen. Everyone has to leave the water when this happens, as it is quite wise and prudent to do so. We live in South Florida and this is a regular occurrence most afternoons around 3 pm or so.
Farewell dinner was somewhat sad as we had to say goodbye to our waiters and staff that we had become quite fond of during the short 3-day cruise. They are all so nice and attentive to whatever one desires. There are envelopes for tipping the staff and I thought it was done very well and discreetly and NOT FORCED upon you to tip them something. They do such a great job and are so helpful you really want to give them a little extra! Our waiter offered us additional seconds or thirds if we desired on ANYTHING on them menu. Fantastic!
The saddest part of the whole trip was that it ENDED TOO QUICKLY!! I realize that many people would want to leave Coco Cay and head back for some more gambling but I for one could have spent a week there sleeping in hammock at night and snorkeling and wandering off into the island. The entire package was lovely and a great value for the money in my opinion. Above what we paid to book passage on the Majesty of the Seas, we only spent $50 more on the ship itself and about $60 in tips for the deserving staff.
I can and will recommend Royal Caribbean’s 3 day get-away on the Majesty of the seas to all.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jesimone57
|
|
Location: Lake Worth, FL
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 1 member
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.