WONDERFUL 1st Cruise
Written: Jul 30 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great service; Great food; Great Value
Cons: Too short
The Bottom Line: Where else can you go on a all-inclusive vacation (food, room, entertainment, activities, & travel) for less than $100/day/person. Eat like a King and live like one too.
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| dboules's Full Review: Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas |
Let me start by saying that I was very worried that I would be sea sick while on this cruise. I'm happy to report that I never even thought about taking any Dramamine!! You could not feel the boat moving with the exception of when you were at the back of the boat, you could feel the vibration of the boat's motors.
We took a 3 night 4 day cruise leaving Miami on June 28th, 2002. Our ports were Nassau and Royal Caribbean's private island Coco Cay. The check in process was so smooth; the airlines can learn some lessons from the cruise industry!! We checked in around 12:30 in the afternoon, went on-board and ate some lunch, learned our way around the boat and relaxed. We left port around 5pm on Friday and off we went to Nassau. We had late seating and dinner was WONDERFUL. Each meal in their dining room had a chicken entree, fish entree, beef entree, pasta entree, and a vegetarian entree. The food was VERY good and the service was excellent. That evening we wandered around the ship and happened upon one of their musical shows. It was really a surprise to both my husband and I how good the show was. We had originally planned to skip the shows, but decided to stop in and see. From that night on you could find us in the theater after dinner enjoying their shows (musical, illusionist, ...).
We did not schedule any ship excursions while on this cruise as we like to go at our own pace. In Nassau we enjoyed shopping along the port (great liquor deals). The boat was so close to the shopping district, that we came back to the boat for lunch. We did take a boat ferry to Paradise Island and went to Atlantis. It is a amazing resort and we didn't see but just a tiny bit of it. We did enjoy their casino, and their amazing aquariums. That night was formal dinner night so we opted to return to the ship early to relax and get ready. Dinner that night was wonderful! We enjoyed getting dressed up and seeing others as well.
The following day we were off to Coco Cay. It is a small island and the boat anchors out off the island and ferry boats carry passengers back and forth. Construction is still underway on this island. The beach directly ahead was crowded. The snorkeling (we brought our own equipment, but rented vests) was OK. The vest was a must have as it is a little choppy as compared to typical caribbean snorkeling. The fish were far and few between and you have to pass over sea grass to get to deeper waters. This is something I HATE. We did wander around the island and found the far end of the island had some hammocks available and we laid around, talked, drank the CoCo Loco (special island drink) and enjoyed ourselves. We returned to the boat a little early as we had reservations at the on-board spa. This is what I will change next time I cruise. The spa is priced exactly like a upscale resort, high. I did enjoy my seaweed wrap and massage, but won't return next time. I think I will do the yoga classes or work out in the gym though. That was our last night on the boat. Where had time gone! We were already dreading leaving this life of being pampered.
If you must get off the boat quickly to catch a early flight, let the staff know and they can change your departure luggage tag color. Departure is a long process as your trying to disembark 2700 people all going through customs in a timely manner. When we left the US Customs only had 4 agents working. So it did take a while. This is the perfect time for last minute pictures and relaxing in some out of the way location on the boat.
Lessons learned:
Get a outside cabin. We loved our little port window and it was so nice late at night to return and sit by the window and look out! Get a cabin in the middle of the ship. This is supposed to be the smoothest place. We were in the middle and never once did we have issues. We heard others complain about hearing the dropping of the anchor or the vibration of the motors. Board early on the day of departure. This gives you time to learn your way around and enjoy the services available to you. We were very surprised that drink prices were not outrageous. We drank beer ($5 for a LARGE Fosters oil can sized beer), Pina Colida ($5.25) and the Coco Loco (in special take home cup; $5.95). These prices are cheaper than many local restaurants. The only thing is things add up much faster than you anticipate. We also bought a soda card and probably won't do that next time. You have to go to a bar to get a soda and it is just not worth it unless you drink a lot of soft drinks. One other thing we will probably do different is a early seating on the dinners. By the time we finished dinner it was after 10pm and we missed several activities going on while we were eating. Weather wise we had rain each day on our trip, but it didn't stop us from having a wonderful time.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
dboules
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Member: Diana
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 3 members
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