Thawing Out from the Majesty...

[rsquared11]

Just got back from the 4-night Majesty last week. I didn't realize when we boarded that we would be taking an Alaskan cruise, but we made the best of it. I can try and answer questions if anybody has any.

 

Positives: The food was great as always. It was my first time cruising out of Miami, was very impressed with how quick we got on the ship and off. This was the first cruise I have been on where I can actually remember the cruise director (Ricky Matthews). He was a riot. Shows were good. Key West could be the greatest place on earth. We got to recconect with Suziann, a bartender that we have had before and got to know really well. Liked the folks we sat with at dinner (only the second time we've had strangers, the other times we were with a group) and will probably stay in touch with one couple. The fact we spent the afternoon with them on the pub crawl in KW probably helped.

 

Negatives: We missed Cococay again. Second time in a row I've missed it. The can't build a dock there, so this is going to continue to be a problem apparently. Nassau was fine, I didn't feel threatened or anything, but it has gotten a little less appealing since my first trip there. Its on the way to becoming a "day at sea" for me. The non smoking cigars in the Viking Crown Lounge really hurt my feelings. Some of my best memories from other cruises were nightcaps up there with friends, cigars and drinks. To top it off, there is a big humidor up there now, just to rub it in. Obviously, we didn't spend a lot of time outside on the deck watching the world go by due to the wind/temp. There is nothing like having a picture at the southernmost buoy in Key West decked out in sweatshirts and jeans! I don't let negative picky stuff bother me on a cruise, so its not like any of this bothered me.

 

As I said, I can try to answer some questions the best I can. We had a blast and can't wait to head out again!

[daybreakbds]

crazy question but did you know it was going to be cold when you left? i only ask because if you did not what the heck did you wear????

[tiggerman101]

I feel a little guilty for still having a bit of a tan left over from my December Majesty cruise. I did a cruise over Christmas last year. We sailed from Jacksonville the day a cold snap came through. We all had to run to the store and buy some fleece sweatshirts, etc on the way to the port.

[crismess]

We were docked next to you in Nassau (I was on Monarch).

 

We too missed Cococay on Tuesday, but we were able to go back on Thursday. Was sad to see most of the hammocks are gone and the island is looking a bit, well, rough.

 

We ended up, as a result, spending an extra 12 hours in Nassau which didn't really seem to suit anybody.

 

Viking on our boat was home to many cigar smokers the night of Nassau. They've banned it on Majesty?

 

We barely spent any time on the outside decks, and we chain-smoke while drinking. The weather was incredibly cold. We spent most of the time up in the Viking Crown.

[amybeth4]

Wow I'm surprised about the Viking Crown. You could smoke cigars there last Feb. I walked in there one early afternoon and commented on how it completely stunk of cigars...maybe they just can't ventilate it well. (PS I'm not anti-cigars, although they do freakin' STINK...but smoke 'em if you got 'em, because I smoke ciggies...) :)

[JTJ]

I live across from PC on the B. River and my birdbath has 3 inches of ice in it. Very unusal for being next to a river. I'm sure the FOS pax leaving today had something different in mind when they booked their cruise.

[wendiebear]

We have this booked for august. will be our first cruise, we are staying in balcony suite and any tips or adice you could give for first time cruiser for this ship would be great!

 

We are both smokers also.

 

I booked the balcony as i heard of smoking restrictions and i understand you can smoke on your balcony also.

[Pumbaamd]

Friends of ours are currently on MJ. They also missed Coco Cay.

R & D

[NewToCruising09]

I'll be on the Majesty next week...I really hope we get to experience Cococay!!! This is our first cruise to the Bahamas.

When do they know if they can tender in Cococay?

[crookedhalo]

I'll be on the Majesty next week...I really hope we get to experience Cococay!!! This is our first cruise to the Bahamas.

When do they know if they can tender in Cococay?

 

On a three night trip, there is only one shot @ Cococay:( If it is too tough to tender, they will start making the announcement around 8 in the morning (if not the night before). On my 2008 SOS trip, which was a 4 nighter, they started announcing first thing in the morning, it was very depressing cause you could see the island:( But since it was a 4 night trip, the captain made another attempt on what would have been our sea day and we were successful and enjoyed a nice, relaxing day on the beach:D

[newbiecruiser09]

On a three night trip, there is only one shot @ Cococay:( If it is too tough to tender, they will start making the announcement around 8 in the morning (if not the night before). On my 2008 SOS trip, which was a 4 nighter, they started announcing first thing in the morning, it was very depressing cause you could see the island:( But since it was a 4 night trip, the captain made another attempt on what would have been our sea day and we were successful and enjoyed a nice, relaxing day on the beach:D

 

Same thing happened to us last APril. Missed CocoCay Tuesday (they announced about 7:30am) and had a sea day and then we made it on Thursday (which was supposed to be a sea day).

[pltag]

Key West could be the greatest place on earth.

I think you're right!! :D

[rsquared11]

We did have an indication it was going to be a little chilly, but not as cold as it ended up being. We actually left NC on Sat. to stop and visit friends in GA and FL, so we had packed separately for that. We tossed a lot of cold weather clothes from that bag into the cruise bag when it looked like it was going to stay cold. We did see a lot of people on the ship walking around in the same sweat shirt they had worn for the entire four days! I had a couple of half-zip sweatshirts I kept wearing.

 

The cigar thing shocked me too. We got up there and saw the humidor and I thought everything was as normal. They have rigged a little "cigar bar" next to the aft pool bar. It looked like four or five plastic tables and chairs with some extra deck ashtrays around it. I finally figured out where it was on the last day, but it was so cold on the pool deck that it wasn't really an option (and the aft pool bar was closed most of the trip).

 

Crismess - the funniest thing about getting off the boat in Nassau was the first thing I saw was the ship photographers in heavy coats, gloves, hats and hoods and they were still freezing. The wind tunnel effect of being in between the two ships was amazing.

 

Cococay - Funny story, the first time I missed it I had no idea we would. I was with friends on that cruise who had missed it on their last trip (they are now 0 for their last 3). As soon as we got off the boat in Nassau I looked at my wife and and told her there was no way we were going to Cococay, judging by the wind and waves. When our waiter (Auturo - cool guy by the way) mentioned at dinner to "cross our fingers", I knew we were shot. Captain Per said "he would try his best" that night as well, and i told my wife they already had the backup compasses on the press. In talking to my friend yesterday, he said all three times he's missed no crew member had ever mentioned it the day before. The did shoot some video for the in-room tv's of one of the tenders trying to make it out to the ship. When the entire nose of the tender went under, I felt like Captain Per made a wise decision!

 

wendiebear - there are obviously a lot more experienced cruisers than me on here, but I can at least tell you what we do. A lot of this is small, but it does help us. Try to get embark early, 11:30-12:30. That way you can get lunch and more importantly, walk the ship. That's good on the smaller ships and was a lifesaver when we were on the Mariner. It always helps to figure out where you are early, saves frustration later. Also, go ahead and go to the dining room and find your table. That helps save some stress that night as well. You can't go to your room (they were not a small as I thought they would be) right away, may as well spend some time exploring In Nassau, either plan a ship excursion or go to Atlantis would be my best advice (along with don't let anyone braid your hair!) In Key West, get off the boat as soon as you can and take a good camea. It's beautiful. We did the pub tour here, which was a lot of fun. If you can, do the express departure. If you pack small enough to carry everything off, you can walk right off the ship at 7:30 and not have to wait for luggage. All in all, don't let little things bother you!

[NewToCruising09]

Ours is a 4 night cruise, is there always a sea day? As far as I know the itinerary is Nassau -> Coco Cay -> Key West, then back to the Miami port.

[onyourtoes]

Just got back from the 4-night Majesty last week. I didn't realize when we boarded that we would be taking an Alaskan cruise, but we made the best of it. I can try and answer questions if anybody has any.

 

Just one question. Sorry if this was asked already, but how long did it take to get from Miami to Alaska:)

 

I've been on Majesty 6 times and I love that ship. I have been taking longer cruises lately, but think I'll go back on Majesty next year.

 

I'm glad you had a good time, despite the "cold" weather.:D

[Capecodbeachfront]

CoCoCay and Key West were the selling points to me.

Missing CoCoCay seems to be very common. Makes you wonder which way RC makes more $$$$.

Do the other cruise lines also have to tender to their islands? I WILL consider the other cruise lines if they avoid the tender issue.

[mad-dog74]

We were on the same cruise.... we definitely had a good time, but it was the coldest Caribbean cruise we've *ever* been on. Instead of pool bar sales, this voyage made its money on selling sweatshirts! I bet there were not 10 people who braved the pools all week... the hot tubs got a little use.

 

As far as missing CocoCay, that did not bother me. Even if we had of stopped, it would have been too cold to enjoy the beach and water activities. I did notice the night before that Ricky Matthews did not even mention CocoCay like he did Nassau and Key West. My only complaint, is that I felt like on our 'day at sea' there were not many activities planned.... I don't really consider a 'watch seminar' an activity that you would want to attend!!!! We were with another couple and it seemed like we spent a lot of that day looking for something to do. The evening was a blast though (great show, newly-wed game, quest). We definitely liked the action and activities better on the larger ships, but I did not miss the crowds at all. It was never crowed... even at sea for a day. We felt the food, service, etc. was just as good on Majesty as any other RCCL ship. We had the best room attendant ever (deck 9)... Imade... from the Phillipines. Instantly we learned our names and would yell at us going down the hall. Even ran into him on the streets at Key West and he stopped to talk to us.

 

Ricky Matthews was memorable, and although I did not meet him, Captain Per was memorable also. His announcements were funny. I did remember that he started vacation after the cruise.

 

All in all, all cruises are memorable.... so was this one.... for the CCC-COLD!!!

[JanineM]

We sailed on Monarch four times in 2009 and got to CocoCay three out of four times ... that's a pretty good batting average in my mind! ;)

 

Just wanted to note that so people don't think that it is always missed. In fact, we've only missed it twice in seven attempts over the past three years.

[jmf123]

CoCoCay and Key West were the selling points to me.

Missing CoCoCay seems to be very common. Makes you wonder which way RC makes more $$$$.

Do the other cruise lines also have to tender to their islands? I WILL consider the other cruise lines if they avoid the tender issue.

 

Royal Caribbean has recently built a pier for Labadee and Disney Cruise Line has it's own for their private island, Castaway Cay. These are the only two that don't require tender service.

[Capecodbeachfront]

I had read where a lot of people do like Disney's Castaway vs. the other private islands. Knowing you were actually going to get to use the island would be a plus in my mind. BTW my TA never really mentioned the "only if the seas are calm" part of the private island. Guess I filled in the blanks without asking further questions.

[Capecodbeachfront]

Back to your offer to answer questions...

My cruise appears to be fully booked.

How "crowded" did your cruise feel?

You had no "mini bar" overcharges?

Do you think I could book a Nassau excursion once off the ship or should I pre-book?

Basically I'm asking if there are booths offering tours on the dock? Thanks.

[bluegirlum]

Back to your offer to answer questions...

My cruise appears to be fully booked.

How "crowded" did your cruise feel?

You had no "mini bar" overcharges?

Do you think I could book a Nassau excursion once off the ship or should I pre-book?

Basically I'm asking if there are booths offering tours on the dock? Thanks.

 

I think Nassau is one of those places where people go on their own, so you probably can book once on board. There are good tips on the Nassau forum. We also just used it as a "sea day." We got off the ship and walked around town for about an hour, but we mainly hung at the pool that day.

 

As for the private islands, the very first cruise I went on was Princess. Our first stop was supposed to be Princess Cays. We couldn't stop because of high seas. I think it's pretty common. I don't think there's any sinister intent--really just looking out for our safety.

[rsquared11]

We were completely booked as well and it never felt that crowded. Really the only time I have ever felt cramped on a cruise is by the pool and obviously that was not a problem this time.

 

I did not use the mini bar at all. I will say drinks have gone up in price anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar since July 08.

 

You can book excursions on the boat (we booked our Key West trip the day before) but if its one that has a limited time and service (parasailing for example) then the earlier the better. There are people (plenty of people) waiting for you as soon as you step off in Nassau that will braid your hair, take you on a tour, rent you a scooter, etc. My personal preference/opinion is not to do anything short of ride in a cab that I didn't book on board. Half the fun of Nassau is riding in a cab, it makes NYC look tame.

 

As far as Cococay goes, I didn't mean to make it sound like you will never make it. I am now 1-for-3, which if you follow baseball you know that will get you a pretty good contract! I have also tendered in the past with no problem at Labadee (though they have the dock now) and Grand Cayman.

 

onyourtoes - I thought I drove to Miami and found out different as soon as I stepped out of my car!

 

I know a lot of people quite wound up over the food. Everything I ate was fine, just as good as I remember it.

[newbiecruiser09]

My personal preference/opinion is not to do anything short of ride in a cab that I didn't book on board. Half the fun of Nassau is riding in a cab, it makes NYC look tame.

 

The other "half the fun" is walking through the windy streets with scattered sidewalks with all the cars whizzingby! Hubby & I walked to the Queen's Stairs and back last April. We felt particularly "at home"( we're from the DC area) when we passed the car with the gunshot holes in it! (but the walk was mostly very easy)

[tekmnky]

I had read where a lot of people do like Disney's Castaway vs. the other private islands. Knowing you were actually going to get to use the island would be a plus in my mind. BTW my TA never really mentioned the "only if the seas are calm" part of the private island. Guess I filled in the blanks without asking further questions.

 

Don't be misled thinking that docking instead of tendering is a guarantee to make the port. I've cruised Disney several times (and yes, Castaway Cay is fantastic) and have had 2 occassions when the ship couldn't dock at Castaway Cay due to either high winds or rough seas. And once we sailed doughnuts in the ocean waiting for a second chance to get to the dock after an aborted attempt - we finally made it about noon. I've also missed making it to Nassau due to rough seas and wind (Majesty, Nov 2008).

 

Tendering is a hassle and probably does increase the potential for missing a port (I've only made it to Grand Cayman 3 out of 6 times), but docking doesn't offer a guarantee.