Majesty - Sadly, some parts of her are tired

[lcccbeloeil]

My husband and I were on the Majesty last week on the 4-night to Nassau, CoCo Cay, and Key West in a Junior Suite.

We had a wonderful stateroom attendant named Dyre Ortiz. He was attentive, so nice, and very helpful. Our bed was rock hard and he managed to get it softer by putting down a double mattress pad and five duvet interiors under our sheet.

The stateroom was large and we had a bathtub (yay!). We don’t take baths, but the extra room for a shower was very welcome.

First let me say that I know this is a fairly inexpensive short cruise, and an older ship.

Like everyone who cruises, there are things we liked, things we loved, but this cruise had a fair number of things that made us wonder about RC.

 

If this had been our first cruise, I think it would have been our last on Royal Caribbean. If we judged the whole fleet by the Majesty, then we would have switched to another company. Here are the reasons:

- Our bathroom smelled like a sewer for the whole cruise (nothing could be done about it).

- Our toilet blocked on the first night (very late) and it took maintenance 90 minutes to come (someone on the previous cruise kept flushing wipes… the toilet in the next cabin completely overflowed onto their carpeting).

- The sliding glass door threshold was so old and bent that closing and opening the door required a lot of effort (see photo).

- The “white” balcony chairs are now gray, dirty, and worn (see photo). Ditto for the table.

- The curtains had parts missing (see photo).

- On the Key West day, I looked for a bathroom on Deck 4 before leaving the ship. Every single toilet in the women’s bathroom was blocked and full of excrement. My husband told me to try the men’s while he stood guard. They were even more full of you know what. I wretched. I told an employee and he just stood there, thanked me, and then told no one.

- The bed was rock hard. Some might love that, but we didn’t.

- Our fridge had a huge crack down the middle of the door. Didn’t affect the temperature, but that just isn’t up to RC standards.

- The upholstery on our orange couches was threadbare.

- Our cabin’s carpet was worn.

- The carpeting next to the stairs in the pool area was a tripping hazard. It was no longer glued down so it kept flipping in the wind. I flipped it back down and a bar server just laughed and shrugged his shoulders. Par for the course on Majesty, I guess.

- The white sides of the ship and where the anchor goes in were rusty. Usually we’re proud to take a photo with the ship’s name (see photo... I cropped myself out of it).

 

- The noise coming from the pool deck right above us was considerable until about 2 a.m. (we like to sleep with the door open). Deck-chair moving and pool-deck vacuuming start at 5 a.m.

Oh, and we missed CoCo Cay.

Well, you get the idea. We knew going in that this was a smaller, older ship. But, we weren’t prepared for how tired parts of the Majesty are.

As I said before, if this had been our first cruise, we would have assumed that some of the other RC ships were as in bad shape as this one, with less attention to detail than we have come to expect. We had encouraged some friends and family to come along with us - some who had never cruised before. We’re always touting how great RC is. We were relieved they all said no.

[lcccbeloeil]

Gee, I followed the size restrictions for photo attachments, and you can hardly see anything.

[ChipLondon]

I would be a little tired as well if i had put in the same amount of service that her Majesty has. Sure this ship is not in exactly the same condition as she was when she first sailed. However I think she is well maintained and for the price paid for her current cruises, you would not find a hotel of a better standard on land. :)

[Paulxyz2004]

I would be a little tired as well if i had put in the same amount of service that her Majesty has. :)

 

Are you talking about the British or the otS one?;):D:rolleyes:

[MADflyer]

It is interesting how two people can come away from the same experience with such different impressions.

 

I was on Majesty in November and went away telling everybody how amazingly well maintained she was for a ship of that age.

 

I was just on the 3 night and could not believe how well the crew handled everything from having a return passenger event and top-tier event on such a short sailing. We missed Coco Cay also and I left that experience thinking how incredible it was that they converted to a sea day so quickly and efficiently.

 

My expectations were low and maybe that is why I came away with such a fantastic impression. I 'upgraded' to a SO right before sailing and my particular cabin was in excellent condition, while 'dated'

 

I can understand that if I had booked a suite, my expectations would have been high and I would as well find the issues with such worn accommodations unacceptable. That suite needs a deep cleaning and touch up.

[FLACRUISER99]

Gee, I followed the size restrictions for photo attachments, and you can hardly see anything.

Please read this about posting photos, you want to use the method in #2. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=25174746&postcount=2

[kurukthemal]

We were on the Majesty last summer and no question she shows age. However, I think the price points should be more around amenities and perhaps most are giving RCI a undeserved pass.

 

If I go to a Motel 6, I very much expect the room to clean and well kept. I expect the chairs to be in good condition, as the curtains, etc. What I don't expect is a duvet cover, a dining room serving me filet mignon, etc.

 

Majesty is an older ship, yes, but the staterooms should be maintained and operating functionally. If that cannot be done, then RCI needs to retire her.

 

Low price point should be amenities, not condition of the ship.

Edited April 5, 2014 by kurukthemal

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

The Majesty is a beautiful ship and one of my favorites in the fleet. She's 22 years old!! Expect to sail an order ship when you book her, and realize it's a shorter cruise to the Bahamas. The crew is great and we still enjoy ourselves tremendously while onboard...and we've had over 30 sailings on her. We also had Dyre last year in the Royal Fam Suite and enjoyed him.

 

I definitely agree about the sewer issues, that is unacceptable. But it's actually a problem on most of the ships now...at least in my experience.

[marci22]

We were on the Majesty last summer and no question she shows age. However, I think the price points should be more around amenities and perhaps most are giving RCI a undeserved pass.

 

If I go to a Motel 6, I very much expect the room to clean and well kept. I expect the chairs to be in good condition, as the curtains, etc. What I don't expect is a duvet cover, a dining room serving me filet mignon, etc.

 

Majesty is an older ship, yes, but the staterooms should be maintained and operating functionally. If that cannot be done, then RCI needs to retire her.

 

Low price point should be amenities, not condition of the ship.

 

I agree. But on these boards, people will complain about the state of the ship at some length and then say at the end, "but I would have no hesitation booking/sailing this ship again". They say that all day long. So imo, Royal has no incentive to update anything.

 

I have been sailing on RC since 2005 and there are some ships that I just don't have interest in sailing on. Majesty, Monarch (when it was in service) Grandeur and Rhapsody. Just too many complaints about these ships for me to waste my time and money. Some people will say they love these ships and that's what keeps them in business I suppose. btw my neighbor sailed on Majesty a few years ago and she was very disappointed and she is not the picky type. Of course she had a nice time, but she said she wouldn't sail that ship again.

Edited April 5, 2014 by marci22

[NemoCrownie]

We were on the Majesty last summer and no question she shows age. However, I think the price points should be more around amenities and perhaps most are giving RCI a undeserved pass.

 

If I go to a Motel 6, I very much expect the room to clean and well kept. I expect the chairs to be in good condition, as the curtains, etc. What I don't expect is a duvet cover, a dining room serving me filet mignon, etc.

 

Majesty is an older ship, yes, but the staterooms should be maintained and operating functionally. If that cannot be done, then RCI needs to retire her.

 

Low price point should be amenities, not condition of the ship.

 

AGREE!!! We were on the Legend in February, post refurbishment. Except for a new bathroom and carpet, our cabin had not been touched. Cabinetry didn't match, finish was totallynworn off, desk door over the fridge wouldn't shut (by several inches). Routine maintenance, repairs, replacement isn't being done even during refurbishment. Additionally, the decline in the quality and variety of food is noticable. It was not a cheap cruise. We loved the staff and other passengers and had a fantastic trip but the extent of the cutbacks and overall maintenance do have me looking at Princess, Celebrity and HAL now. That was an 11 night cruise so length of cruise has nothing to do with it.

 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tablet using Tapatalk

[MADflyer]

AGREE!!! We were on the Legend in February, post refurbishment. Except for a new bathroom and carpet, our cabin had not been touched. Cabinetry didn't match, finish was totallynworn off, desk door over the fridge wouldn't shut (by several inches). Routine maintenance, repairs, replacement isn't being done even during refurbishment.

 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tablet using Tapatalk

 

To generalize on refurbishments is incorrect.

 

While the hump balcony I had just after the Cadiz revitalization on Serenade had not had much done except for changing out the bathroom floors and showers along with new carpet throughout, a new type of balcony flooring that does not age like the old materials and the flat screen TV's, the cabin was still in really good shape.

 

On the 2 sailings I have had so far on Vision, post revitalization in Cadiz, they completely re-did the JS, OS and GS's that we had. They were completely new and total renovations.

 

I will be interested to see if the new Dyson hand dryers that were installed in all public restrooms throughout the ship actually are working when I sail with her again at the end of the month. They were in place, but not working in November.

[lcccbeloeil]

Thanks for the photo info FLACRUISER99.

 

The employees were great on board the Majesty of the Seas. No complaints there (except maybe 90 minutes and four phone calls is a little long to wait for maintenance at 1 a.m. when all I wanted was to go to bed). But, we came away thinking that, in Royal Caribbean's eyes, this ship (and everything this ship encompasses from staterooms to toilets to entertainment) is not worth the effort to keep it in line with RC's high standards.

 

How many people will never sail again on RC because this is the only ship they know and they have never experienced the superior accommodations, entertainment, and public areas found on their other ships?

 

We just thought that Majesty of the Seas is not a good example of the luxury experience cruising can be. I would actually expect more even from a discount cruise line.

 

And public toilets that don't flush and are being used as nothing more than outhouses and open pits to poop in - and no one was doing anything about that!! - is totally unacceptable.

[Cruising89143]

We were in Miami in a few weeks ago for a cruise. We passed the MJ while she was docked at POM. Her exterior looked very rough. She needs a good coat of paint. A lot of rust. I was surprised that RCI was allowing her to look this bad.