Getaway on The Majesty of the Seas
Written: May 10 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Everything you need in one place.
Cons: Short getaway!
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a great way to travel and relax, this is it!
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| merlot's Full Review: Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas |
If you have never been on a cruise before I highly recommend you try one. I always thought that cruising was something that my husband and I would not like...then we tried the Carnival Holiday out of Los Angeles for 3 nights about 2 1/2 years ago. It was great. We had a wonderful time. I have wanted to go back and try another cruise line for comparisons sake but with 2 young children cruises aren't the top of our vacation priority list.
Then in January my mother in law called. She talked to my husband and told him that she had won a trip through work. Her choice was a resort in Arizona or a 3 night Bahama's cruise. She then told him that it was my choice because she was taking me on the trip with her! I was absolutely stunned! Once the shock wore off I tried to learn everything I could about the ship and our itinerary so I would be prepared for my once in a lifetime trip.
We sailed on the Majesty of the Seas. This is one of Royal Caribbean's ships, at the time she was built she was one of the largest to sail. Since that time (about 15 years ago) other ships have surpassed her in size and amenities, but don't let that discourage you, she is plenty big enough and has enough to keep you busy for your entire cruise.
The Majesty of the Seas sails out of the Port of Miami. She sails two different itineraries. The first leaves on Friday evening and sails to Nassau, Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean's private island) and then heads back into Miami Monday morning.
The second sailing begins Monday evening and goes to Nassau, Coco Cay, Key West, and back to Miami on Friday morning.
We took the 3 night sailing to Nassau and Coco Cay and for first time cruisers, or people just looking for a quick weekend getaway, this is a great trip.
The Port
We took a transfer from our hotel to the Port of Miami early Friday afternoon. Because we were traveling with a large group (500 people) we were able to do our ship check-in at the hotel. This went very smoothly and very quickly. Fill your forms out ahead of time and make sure you are organized and this will go very quickly for you also.
Once we arrived at the Port of Miami we went right in to the Royal Caribbean terminal. There are lots of signs that will direct you to your ship. There are photographers who take your picture in front of a backdrop of the ship. There is also a photographer who takes a picture for your Sea Pass card (more about those later) so that each time you leave or re-board the ship they insert your card and your picture comes up. This is an added security measure.
The Ship
You will board the ship on deck 4. This also happened to be the deck our cabin was on which made life easy for us. The pursers desk and shore excursions desk are also located here.
To the left of where you enter is the Centrum. This is a large open area that is quite beautiful. There are glass elevators that will take you up a few floors within the Centrum. The Centrum is also the location of all the shops, the salon, and the entrance to the dining rooms.
There are two dining rooms (The Maytime and The Mikado) and the Majesty of the Seas. We ate in the Maytime and it was very nice. There are large tables, booths by windows, and a few small tables. The idea behind cruising is to dine with other guests. We were seated with 2 other couples. You dine at the same table with the same people each night. Lunch and breakfast is open seating. You can go at any time and sit at any table.
For dinner there are 2 seatings. The first is at about 6 PM while the second seating is at 8:30. On our first cruise we had the early seating and found that you are really pressed for time to get ready for dinner by 6 each night. We missed sunsets, had to hurry back from shore excursions, etc. We all had wished we did the late dinner seating.
On this trip we were assigned to the second seating as part of the group deal. I liked having the 8:30 dinner because it gave us more time to do the things we wanted, but by 8:30 I was pretty hungry. There is plenty of food available round the clock on the ship, so make use of that feature.
There are many other areas of this ship....there is a great kids section called "Adventure Ocean" where you can drop your kids off and they are supervised and given plenty of activities to do. I peeked in the room a couple of times and the kids seemed to be having a great time and there were plenty of activities.
There are teen areas, discos, bars, lounges, a library and an internet area. Many of these areas I had the opportunity to peek into, but we were so busy we didn't spend much time in these areas. We spent no time in the Teen area.
There is an area called the Viking Crown lounge that you must visit. It sits at the top of the ship overlooking the pool area and the ocean. There are 360 degree views from here. It's a great place to have a cocktail, sit and enjoy the view, read, or just people watch.
Another favorite location was the Wind Jammer Cafe. This is at the front of the ship and also provides breathtaking views. While in the Wind Jammer cafe you can see the sunset (awesome) and dine buffet style.
There is plenty of seating and you will receive plenty of attention from the staff here. This is a great place to dine and people watch.
The ship is about 15 years old but really shows no signs of wear and tear. She is in great shape. There are people constantly cleaning and polishing areas of the ship. When we were in port at Nassau there were people scrubbing the outside of the ship.
The Rooms
Carnival boasts that it's rooms are typically bigger than other cruise lines. If you've ever been in a Carnival room you might not believe that is possible. When we entered our room on the Majesty of the Seas the first thing I noticed was that it is a little smaller than the Carnival room we stayed in previously.
The room comes equipped with 2 single beds that can be pushed together to make a Queen size. There is a small bathroom with a shower, a desk with mirror area and 2 side cabinets for storing things, a closet with shelves, a corner table unit between the foot of both beds and a small nightstand table. Although the rooms may be small you need only ask yourself one question, how much time will I be spending in my room? For us the answer was not much! We were in there pretty much for sleeping and a few moments to rest and get our things ready for the next excursion. For us the room was plenty big enough. The fact that it had a fairly large window was an added bonus.
The Food
If you have never been on a cruise before, expect to eat, and expect to eat a lot! There is plenty of food available.
Room service is available 24 hours/day free of charge. You will need to ask your cabin steward for a menu. There is pizza available in the Mast Bar almost round the clock, I noticed they also had hotdogs. The Windjammer buffet area serves food almost round the clock also. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are available in this area and if you just want a quick little snack I advise going up there and helping yourself.
We dined in the Wind Jammer one evening because we were not thrilled with our dining room table mates. They weren't a whole lot of fun, not very talkative, etc so we opted to dine in the Wind Jammer and enjoyed that much more. It was the same menu as the dining room for dinner, served buffet style which was nice.
The food in the dining room is fairly good. For some reason I remember Carnivals food as being better, but this was good. Dinners are served in themes with the first night being Venetian night (I had the pasta served with Italian Sausage), followed by the Captains Gala Dinner ( I had the New York Steak) and the last night was International night (Turkey, Mahi Mahi, and Prime Rib). You order from a menu starting with an appetizer (Strawberry Bisque, Chilled Pear Soup, Garlic Soup, Oxtail beef broth, Onion Soup), followed by a salad, your main course, and then dessert (Tiramisu, Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte, Brownies, Cherries Jubilee, Cheesecake, and Bananas Flambe are what I remember).
The Service
The service on Royal Caribbean was outstanding. Our room was kept clean immediately, we were greeted by our cabin steward by name each day, he always had the room stocked and clean.
Our dining room waiter was also efficient and friendly. The assistant waiter may have been new because she was a little slow at getting refills and things like that. The wine steward was knowledgeable and efficient also.
Everyone we encountered was very friendly. I had a massage the first night and it was wonderful. Of course after the massage they try and sell you a $100 worth of product which I didn't care for, but I guess that comes with the territory. The spa offers massages, hot rock massages, facials, and many other treatments. There is also a salon where you can get your hair done if you really want to look nice for formal night.
Ports of Call and Shore Excursions
•Nassau, Bahamas: There are so many things that you can do here. Take a taxi ($4/person one way) out to Paradise Island and wander through the Atlantis Hotel and Casino. Go shopping in Nassau where you will find the straw market and many duty free jewelry shops, make-up, and fragrances.
You can also take any of the water excursions. There are boat ride tours, snorkeling, scuba diving, etc. Or you can take the Pirates and Dungeons tour which takes you to Fort Charlotte and Fort Fincastle and then on a tour of the Pirates Museum. We did this tour, it was interesting but next time I'd rather play in the water all day.
•Coco Cay: I can't say enough positive things about Coco Cay. When my mother in law had been here 6 years ago it was mostly brush. There were no beach chairs and not a lot to do. Royal Caribbean has put extensive work into their private island. We were the only ship here today and it was awesome.
There were plenty of beach chairs (some in the shade), hammocks, and even a few secluded areas where you could get away. We opted to snorkel here since the excursion price allowed you to use the equipment all day. Head out to the deep area for prime fish viewing, go all the way to the buoys to see the Eagle Rays and Barracudas.
There is also a bright colored straw market, little huts, where you can buy souvenirs from the locals. They rent these huts on Coco Cay, so there isn't any room to bargain like there is in Nassau.
Ship Activities
Because we were so busy at our ports of call there wasn't a lot of time to explore all the areas of the ship. Unfortunately that also meant there wasn't a lot of time to partake in the ships activities.
The first thing we did after checking out our room was to visit the spa. We wanted to book an appointment for a massage. After standing in line for quite awhile, everyone had the same idea, we were able to book appointments for 5 PM that evening. This meant we missed the sail away party, but it was worth it. The spa prices are expensive, my 50 minute massage was $89, but I was treating myself. My mother in law had the hot rock massage and really loved that. It was about the same price. Of course after you have the massage they try and sell you a bunch of products, I guess that comes with the territory.
The fitness area on this ship is awesome. They have exercise balls, and Ellipse, a few treadmills, stairmasters, and free weights. You can treadmill while you look out at the ocean. The views are breathtaking! If all fitness clubs had this view we'd all be a lot healthier, LOL. Beautiful view and all I still didn't find time to workout.
Each day you will find a "Compass" in your room. This is the schedule of activities for the day. They also include a little pocket card with the times so you don't have to lug around the whole newsletter. You can get extra copies at the Pursers Desk.
We attended the Shopping talk the first night on the ship. While there we won certificates for free jewelry in Nassau. If you plan on doing any shopping in Nassau this talk is very informative. It will tell you which shops are backed by Royal Caribbean's guarantee and where you can get the best deals.
On Saturday night we went to the El Gaucho performance. This performer is from South America and he is hysterical. He did a comedy routine using bolero's that he spun around. The was very entertaining. I am glad we attended this and it's a must if you are on this ship.
We also went to the Love and Marriage game show. A cruising version of the newlywed game. This was hysterical. It's so fun to see people get up there and just embarass each other in good fun.
The ship also has a theater, sans popcorn and concession stands, that plays a different movie each day. While on the ship the movies were The Adventures of Pluto and Nash, Serving Sara, and The Four Feathers. We went to see Serving Sara which neither of us had seen before. The theater is comfortable and not many people take advantage of this feature.
Other activities were music by the pool, dancing in the nightclubs, bingo and gambling in the casino, a champagne art auction (we went just for the free champagne), wacky relays, ping pong tournaments, basketball tournaments, and many other activities. There is always something going on, just check the Compass for times.
Shore Excursions
There are quite a few shore excursions offered on this particular journey. In Nassau you can snorkel, visit Atlantis Resort and Casino, Scuba dive, take the Pirates and Dungeons tour, take a tour of Nassau, Harbor Cruises, Swim with the Dolphins, Stingray Snorkeling, and many others.
There are also excursions on Coco Cay. Snorkeling, Wave Runners, Para Sailing, beach mats, or just lounging on the beach. We opted to snorkel here and I am glad. This was my first time snorkeling and I liked doing it at Coco Cay. Here you can rent the equipment for the entire day for $24. On Nassau you pay for a 2 hour rental. I liked being able to snorkel at my leisure. The rest of the time was spent soaking up the rays. They serve a BBQ lunch on Coco Cay so you don't even have to go back to the ship.
Prices
We had a category G cabin, this was on deck 4 of the ship and had a fairly large window, it was an outside oceanview stateroom. This particular room, when booked early, can be booked for about $389 according the the Royal Caribbean tour book. Of course cruise lines run many, many specials so you can always find cruises at a good deal.
Food and most onboard entertainment is included in this price. You will need to factor in transfers from the airport ($6-10/person), tips (about $12 per person per day for your cabin steward, waiter, head waiter, and more if you want to include anyone else), alcohol or soda on board, and shore excursions.
Final Thoughts
We had a great time on the Majesty of the Seas and I highly recommend this ship to anyone looking for a short getaway to the Bahamas. You will find everything you need here, and more! The only complaint I have is that 3 days just isn't long enough, especially when you're flying in from across the country.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
merlot
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Location: Californina
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