Majesty of the Seas 11/05/04.....Part Dos

[sailinglisa]

First impression of the Majesty was one of casual elegance. No neon....lots of brass and wood and glass. Jennifer and I went to find our room - 9552 - a superior ocean view. Very nicely laid out with a sitting area, two beds, a vanity and a mini fridge. Bathroom was small and functional.....shower had a hand held shower head that was wonderful - good water pressure and the hot water stayed hot and the cool water stayed cool. Headed up to the Windjammer - had no clue that half was open air and half was enclosed. I felt the buffet set up was confusing......I guess I am just used to the set up on Princess. The food was good - some really nice meat and pasta dishes.....breads and rolls and desserts were excellent. Pizza (didn't find this til the last full day) was very very good! I wish the location was easier to find and that the pizza was offered more than just 2 hours a day. Our group got together for sailaway....we had a wine and cheese party on a secluded small balcony just outside the On Your Toes lounge. By this time the skies had clouded up and it was raining off and on. This was to be a theme throughout the next 36 hours. Met up in the Viking Crown Lounge for pre-dinner drinks.......a really nice lounge with great service....but who's brilliant idea to put the Rock Climbing wall behind the Viking Crown Lounge? It totally disrupted the 360 view....who wants to see a gray slab instead of the ocean and skies? After this headed down to the Maytime Dining Room on Deck 3......we were at table 180. Our waitress was Derya from Turkey, her assistant was Alma from the Phillipines. I have been on 11 cruises and they were the best wait team I have ever had (and I've had many excellent ones!) They worked together seamlessly, water glasses were always filled, bread was constantly offered.....they kept the pace even and clued into our mood (we were there to have fun and enjoy the food) and got caught up in the spirit of our table. Derya's recommendations were spot on!

Now, I have heard a lot of grumbling on the boards about how the quality of food on RCCL in general has declined. Being this was my first RCCL cruise, I was only able to compare the food to my Princess, Carnival and Celebrity cruises. I put the quality of the food on this particular RCCL ship as being on par with Princess. Meats were tender and prepared to order. Rolls and desserts were wonderful. Soups were delicious - I really love Princess' French Onion Soup and RCCL's was just a tad better seasoned, but could have used just a little more cheese on the top. I wonder if it was just the chef on this particular ship, but the food was really very good.

Headed off to bed that night with dreams of hitting Coco Cay the next day.

11/6/04 - woke to clouds and rain.....and it stayed that way all day. The Captain did decide to stop at Coco Cay....why, I don't know since most of the day was a washout. Had a hot stone massage and a facial today........oh my goodness, that massage was heaven!!!!! Have to get one regularly here at home! Did our usual predinner drinks in the Viking Crown Lounge and then on to dinner. This was the formal night and dinner was absolutely delicious.....beef tenderloin, french onion soup, salad, rolls, etc. Can't remember the dessert but they were all delicious.

11/7/04 - sunny and gorgeous in Nassau. Being Sunday the shops were only open from 9 - 2. Three of us decided to do the Blackbeards Cay beach and snorkel break. After going to Stingray City in Grand Cayman, the sting ray part of this excursion was disappointing. The sting rays are in a fenced in area - there are only about 13 of them and they have been debarbed. The rest of the time we just relaxed on the island in the water and shade and then headed back to the docks on our tender. Arrived back at the dock, one went shopping and Pat and I headed back to the ship. They have these golf carts that will take you from the shopping area to the ship for free (just tip the driver.) Well, getting onto the back of the court, I whacked my head on the edge of the covering. Needless to say I was a little stunned....got a nice goose egg and a light bruise, but didn't break the skin and didn't suffer a concussion. Went back to the room to rest a little and start the packing process.........then went down and got a pedicure. Back to the room to get ready for the last dinner. Precruise drinks again at our favorite place and then down to dinner. We all wanted to take Derya and Alma back with us. Dinner was very good again....tears all around when we said goodby to them. Went back to the cabin, finished the packing, set the suitcase out and then headed up to the disco for a little while.

11/8/04. Debarkation day........this is where RCCL needs some improvement. We went to breakfast in the dining room at 7:00am. Sat down to a leisurely breakfast thinking there was no way the ship would be cleared before 8:00 as they were still pulling up and tying to the dock when we headed to the dining room. We made plans after breakfast to meet up on deck 4 near my friends' cabin to say goodbye....well we got out of the dining room to chaos.....a long line starting on deck four going all the way up to deck 5.....seems they started calling colors to debark while we were eating breakfast. Just a word of warning......RCCL does not make debarkation announcements in the dining room............we had early debarkation tags and totally missed it. The crew in charge of debarkation were rude....would not answer questions and were dismissive. Our group got seperated and there was no way to find each other in this mess, so we all went our own ways..........did hook up via cell phone later that morning. Once, I did get off the ship, it was going through Immigration check, down to claim your luggage and then through customs........then out to the ground transportation area. Grabbed a taxi to go to the Miami airport. $21 plus tip for the trip from the pier to airport. Checked in at Delta........and got pulled out for the full inspection and works. Just my day, I guess! Made it through without getting thown in jail for anything. Flights on the way home were uneventful and arrived at my house about 8:00 that night - totally exhauseted but glad I made the trip to catch up with my friends.

I really enjoyed the Majesty and RCCL - I realize it was a three day cruise but our service with the exception of one bartender, was excellent. I will be on the Enchantment of the Seas next fall after she has been stretched and refurbished....can't wait to compare the two ships. Before that it is back to Princess and the new Diamond Princess in April.

[Adventurer]

We have enjoyed the Majesty too. TWICE. My only complaint about this cruise is that it is too short, but it's a nice get away. I wouldn't fly to take this cruise because it is so short, but we are lucky to only live a few hours away driving to the port. Because this ship turns around passengers twice each week they have debarkation down to a science. It's hard to even have time for a final cup of coffee or tea before it's time to go on the last morning. Both our cruises on this ship have had us out at the curb to our waiting ride before 8 am.

I'm glad you enjoyed this ship. Nice review!

[wallie]

Lisa great review and thanks for sharing it with us.

Adventurer, When were you on Majesty ? My DD was on the CD staff last summer till mid Sept/04.
EW

[Adventurer]

wallie, We sailed the Majesty 12/02 and 4/03. Great staff both times. 2004 was our year for an April Brilliance cruise and a summer of hurricanes. Looking forward to going back to sea soon.

[cnmiranda]

Thanks for your review. The Majesty was our first cruise and needless to say we are now hooked. Great ship Lots of happy memories, thanks for reminding me