Majesty or Monarch 4-day?

[YOWmom]

We are looking at booking one of these 4-day Bahamas cruises at the end of March and trying to decide between the Majesty out of Miami or the Monarch from Port Canaveral. We've been keen to try Royal Caribbean for a while, and I know these are among the oldest and smallest of the fleet, but with two small kiddies this is the best we could manage in terms of a quick getaway without them :) Any thoughts?

[amybeth4]

The differences are pretty minor. The Majesty was dry-docked more recently but I don't know that you'd REALLY notice much difference on the Monarch. They really keep their ships up well.

 

You have to decide the two most important things - cost of flying to Miami vs. Port Canaveral, and whether you want a day in Key West or at sea.

 

Food-wise, the Majesty has Johnny Rockets, Monarch doesn't. Monarch has the "Jade" asian section of the WJ, Majesty doesn't.

 

Other than that, I don't see much difference, so I'd go with cost and that day at sea/Key West thing. Normally I LOVE a day at sea and sorely missed it on the Majesty, but I ended up loving Key West, where I"d never been before.

[tahqa]

Oldest, but strangely not the smallest. Legend of the Seas and Splendour of the Seas are both a wee bit smaller. :D

 

Anyways, all things being equal I would probably do the Majesty over the Monarch since the Majesty's four night cruise includes all the same ports as Monarch's plus it throws in Key West. If, however, you prefer sea days over Key West then you'd want to do Monarch.

 

Majesty has a Johnny Rockets and Monarch has the Jade Grill (sushi and hot rock). Other than that the ships are practically identical.

[John Henry on CC]

We are looking at booking one of these 4-day Bahamas cruises at the end of March and trying to decide between the Majesty out of Miami or the Monarch from Port Canaveral. We've been keen to try Royal Caribbean for a while, and I know these are among the oldest and smallest of the fleet, but with two small kiddies this is the best we could manage in terms of a quick getaway without them :) Any thoughts?

 

I prefer the Majesty.

 

Both ships have WONDERFUL crews who work hard to make sure that your cruise is excellent.

 

The Majesty's refurbishment is more recent and more extensive.

 

The public restrooms (an odd thing to mention, I guess) are particularly nice now.

 

The Deck 11 eateries are a marvelous addition: Compass Deli (no charge for food), Johnny Rockets ($4.95 pp for all the food you can eat) and Sorrentos (which Monarch has, too).

 

At the Compass Deli, you can get panini and crepes that are out of this world

 

They are identical ships in their structure, but the Majesty's upgrades make her the better choice, IMO.

 

You may also want to price airfare to Miami and Orlando, to see if there is a major difference for you.

 

The Port of Miami is also considerably closer to Miami Airport, and even to Fort Lauderdale airport, than Port Canaveral is to Orlando airport, so figure in land transportation, too.

 

:)

[PattyG12]

Another vote for the Majesty. If you have to fly, it's just a hop from the airport to the port. Also, I like the port intensive Majesty. Port Canaveral is an hour from the airport which is too long for a 4 day cruise. Also, I don't think I want a sea day on the smaller ship.

[newbiecruiser09]

I would also say see what airfare and ground transport cost as well as the cruise cost to help decide. Hubby and I did Monarch last April w/o kids and this year are taking the kids on the Majesty. We really liked the relaxing sea day when we were by ourselves but did not know how the kids would like the sea day (since no flowrider, mini golf etc) and opted for Majesty and Key West. I think you will love whichever you choose.

[czcruiser13]

I was just on both within the past month and my vote would be for the Majesty because of the stop in Key West.:)

[yogimax]

Miami is a whole lot easier to get from the airport to the pier. $25 flat fee for a taxi.

[YOWmom]

We are booking on Majesty tonight - thanks so much for all the great tips! As it turns out, the cost of cruise plus air worked out to be pretty much the same, so the above advice was most helpful. A couple of additional deciding factors that swung it in favour of Majesty were a) the fact that apparently the Majesty has safes in all rooms and Monarch doesn't... AND b) flying into Miami means that I get a whole afternoon to shop at Sawgrass Mills before the cruise :)