Brief Majesty of the Seas Review..

[Redsfan]

We were on the Dec 18th sailing, and below are just a few brief points from our cruise. It was our second on RCI, last year being Freedom. We were not expecting a lot seeing this was a short 3 nighter:

 

Weather was horrible in the Bahamas. This of course is out of the control of RCI, but weather did not help things. We skipped Coco Cay due to high winds which was a given as winds were extremely strong. 2 days in Nassau sucks, but we wanted to do a beach day one of them at Melia but because of the high winds and clouds just walked around town for a bit. Locals were fine, just one of the blah kind of port visits because of weather. What we found though was that there was no visibility of our CD, can't even recall his name. Poolside activities were mostly cancelled without notice that I was aware of, which was understood but no idea if they were even moved inside or anything.

 

Food. Not impressed. We are fussy eaters but expected a bit more variety than what we found. Found the food very salty, not very warm and very pedestrian. Sent one of our daughters steaks back it was very raw. Johnny Rockets was okay, but they screwed up my simple order and took a while to cook the food. Other than that it wasn't horrible, dessert was pretty good. Did not like the selection at windjammer at all. Food didn't seem fresh, and found it really difficult finding anything to eat on board. Lines not bad though, Sorrento's was actually descent and liked having the freestyle coke machines.

 

Entertainment. Didn't make the 70's show as one of our other daughters was feeling motion. Other than that the comedian was pretty funny, but his last night adult comedy shtick was at 11:30pm which is stupid if you ask me as embarkment is next day early morning. Other than that, no poolside entertainment, not much else happening outside of the boring trivia, etc. At that, few if any people even came out for the trivia nights. Karaoke was a bit hit as always though. The $500 bingo game had thousands of people turn out, and even though cut off was 5:15pm they allowed throngs of people to join in, and made a killing of course. The game ran into the 6pm dinner seating making us late for dinner, and as a result couldn't make the 7:30pm 70's show. When did RCI stop doing a later night repeat of their early shows? Never seen this and what a waste for those like us stuck at a 6pm seating and having to rush through dinner to try to get seats.

 

Hot tubs..yep, still "close for maintenance". They can't even put up a sign that is grammatically correct, lol.

 

Staterooms and cleanliness. As always, top notch. Wish the other service end of our cruise was as good.

 

Casino my vegas credit. Even being confirmed prior, it took 2 days for the casino to get the okay for our credit which was half way through our last night on board. Not a deal breaker, but why have such promotions if guest relations has no clue how to step in and help out?

 

Now don't get me wrong with the next part. I understand being a Miami cruise there will be a great deal of Spanish speaking guests, but every announcement from shows to anything else were given in 2,456 different languages. Bit of a killjoy if you ask me which made anything drag on forever. Even half the comedy and juggling acts were done in spanish and english. Maybe this is normal, but have sailed out of Miami 3x, and never seen this before.

 

Embarkment was amazing. We got to port around 10:30am, parked at the Port, on board and at windjammer by 11am!

 

Overall we had a fun cruise, and the issues outside of weather were out of control of RCI. Activities were lacking, saw nothing of even staff or the CD outside of shows.

[Tralynn222]

Thanks for the review. We'll be on her in January. Hoping for good weather but as you stated, that's just one of those things that cannot be controlled.

 

You stated the hot tubs were closed for maintenance. Was that for the entire cruise? Please say it isn't so.

[Redsfan]

Thanks for the review. We'll be on her in January. Hoping for good weather but as you stated, that's just one of those things that cannot be controlled.

 

You stated the hot tubs were closed for maintenance. Was that for the entire cruise? Please say it isn't so.

 

yes they were and were leading up to for about a month or so I believe.

[Redsfan]

oops, forgot to mention the beds were the worst I have ever had on a cruise...may as well spent 3 nights in a prison, lol.

 

Honestly have lost vision of the RCI experience compared to our Carnival cruises. Whether or not this was a 3 nighter, would leave options open to try Carnival again, just didn't see the reasoning to spend more $$$ on our first two. I understand we may need to sail a premium ship to see the differences and if this is the case...but not seeing it

[Twibes]

How was disembarking? Do you recall the times people were able to get off... trying to swing a crazy 9:30 Miami departure after a Majesty cruise soon.

[monctonguy]

I was on her in November...hot tubs were all closed then for maintenance as well..lol

 

I had no complaints...from food to drinks to weather to the room. I don't do the shows usually so can't comment on that.

 

We were off the boat around 8:10...at the airport around 8:30 I believe....did the self dis-embark.

 

I would be worried about a 9:30 departure.....boarding would start at 9ish..and you have to clear security lines. Everything would have to work out perfectly for you....

[Eng23]

Hello Redsfan. I was also on this past weekends Majesty sailing. I agree the weather was a major downer for this cruise but like you said no way is that Royal Caribbean's fault. By the way the CD's name was Carlos and the only time I saw him was at the C&A welcome back party.

 

I pretty much would echo your comments with the exception of the food. I had no issues with my food or the service in the MDR or other places on the ship. I'm not very picky about food so that's probably why plus food is very subjective to discuss any ways. I felt there was just enough activities planned so you would not be bored but there was a definite lack of outdoor activities even when the weather cooperated for a few hours. The only show I caught was the late night comedy show the last night. The comedian was ok but nothing spectacular.

 

My biggest concern was the hot tubs. I have to wonder why the hot tubs have been closed for maintenance for so long? When you encounter the kind of weather we had the hot tubs would have been nice to use. I know Majesty is older and is going in for repairs and upgrades next year but why would you not fix the hot tubs? It's not like you need a dry dock to fix a hot tub. I also had a minor plumbing issue in my cabin, but one quick call and maintenance was on the spot to quickly fix the problem before it became a bigger problem requiring a lot of work.

 

While in Nassau I ventured off the ship a couple of times and had no issues with the local people. I travelled over to check out the new Margaritaville on Paradise Island. I mainly just wanted a t-shirt from there but I stayed for lunch a few drinks. The staff was friendly, the drinks were cold, and the food was what you would expect at a Margaritaville. I had a Cheeseburger In Paradise and it was good. The place is nice and new and also has a pool with a swim up bar. To get there just take one of the water ferries you catch outside the port area, the ferry landing is right next to Margaritaville.

 

I also went to the Fish Fry on Sunday. I stopped at Twin Brothers and had the conch salad. It was very good. Otherwise it was just some window shopping in downtown and back on the ship.

 

All in all Majesty is still a good choice for a 3 nighter and knowing the changes around the corner for the ship it should be better later next year. Cheers!

Harold

[monctonguy]

No C&A welcome back party on my cruise on Majesty(that I knew about or was notified about)....so I guess there are always things that don't work out or go smoothly....

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

yes they were and were leading up to for about a month or so I believe.

 

Hot tubs have been closed since October 30th. I guess is they aren't going to do anything with them until refurb.

[jamon]

Does the Majesty have a diamond lounge with the usual drinks???

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

Does the Majesty have a diamond lounge with the usual drinks???

 

They don't have a dedicated lounge. They use the Viking Crowne Lounge. IMHO it is a yawner. We were there once, total of 5 people there. We went to the Schooner Bar and used our vouchers there instead. The Schooner Bar is a lot more lively.

[polymedia]

The worst cruise I was over on was on Majesty last December. Cold and windy weather. There's just not enough to do inside under those conditions.

 

I've opted for a larger ship from that point on and will continue to do so in the future.

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

The worst cruise I was over on was on Majesty last December. Cold and windy weather. There's just not enough to do inside under those conditions.

 

I've opted for a larger ship from that point on and will continue to do so in the future.

 

We always loved the smaller ships. But we too are opting for the larger ships for that exact same reason. When the weather is bad it's nice to have a promenade to go to.

[Redsfan]

How was disembarking? Do you recall the times people were able to get off... trying to swing a crazy 9:30 Miami departure after a Majesty cruise soon.

 

we did self embark which I believe ran 8:15am or so up until 8:45am. The earliest disembark time I cannot recall for sure but think it was around 7:30am perhaps? Scattered times throughout the morning as well. Not so sure I would test a 9:30am Miami departure, traffic could be a bit hairy getting out of port and up to the airport I would think. Best case you get off around 7:30am, get luggage and through customs 8:15? Dunno...

[fallin2415]

No C&A welcome back party on my cruise on Majesty(that I knew about or was notified about)....so I guess there are always things that don't work out or go smoothly....

 

There was the party the second night in the spectrum. We all (3 cabins) got invite cards that were put in our rooms.

 

Overall, I was disappointed with the cruise. I know staff cannot control the weather, but they could have compensated for the lack of activities and almost all excursions being canceled the second day with adding more activities on board, having a bad weather happy hour drink special...something, anything, to acknowledge that we had to spend two days in tourist trap Nassau. There were few apologies when things like excursions were canceled. The second day, the morning was filled with drills for staff and there was ONE poor man handling the excursions desk with a long line because of it.

 

My last time on the Majesty I was impressed with the food and the service at dinner and I felt both were lacking this time around. The service wasn't any better than in a chain restaurant back home and the food was hit or miss: some nights there were many options I wanted; others I wished I would have skipped MDR.

 

The second day, we wound up forging our own path and getting a tour with a non-RCC guide since everything else we wanted excursion-wise was canceled. The man took us to all the main sights but also helped us sample local fruit and check out things off the beaten path. We had a fabulous time the second day despite the weather and excursion cancellations.

 

Another note: guest services told us the hot tubs were closed because of a pump issue. We went and touched the water with a hand and it was swirling and warm. With the bad weather, those hot tubs were needed...

[Redsfan]

There was the party the second night in the spectrum. We all (3 cabins) got invite cards that were put in our rooms.

 

Overall, I was disappointed with the cruise. I know staff cannot control the weather, but they could have compensated for the lack of activities and almost all excursions being canceled the second day with adding more activities on board, having a bad weather happy hour drink special...something, anything, to acknowledge that we had to spend two days in tourist trap Nassau. There were few apologies when things like excursions were canceled. The second day, the morning was filled with drills for staff and there was ONE poor man handling the excursions desk with a long line because of it.

 

My last time on the Majesty I was impressed with the food and the service at dinner and I felt both were lacking this time around. The service wasn't any better than in a chain restaurant back home and the food was hit or miss: some nights there were many options I wanted; others I wished I would have skipped MDR.

 

The second day, we wound up forging our own path and getting a tour with a non-RCC guide since everything else we wanted excursion-wise was canceled. The man took us to all the main sights but also helped us sample local fruit and check out things off the beaten path. We had a fabulous time the second day despite the weather and excursion cancellations.

 

Another note: guest services told us the hot tubs were closed because of a pump issue. We went and touched the water with a hand and it was swirling and warm. With the bad weather, those hot tubs were needed...

 

glad it wasn't only us...I have had two not so good RCI experienes and no need to remain loyal to the brand after this cruise

[JTBCruiser]

We sailed the Majesty in Oct, good time but would not sail on her again. Four days was too short. WJ was OK but we had great service in the MDR and found the food good to meet our tastes. Hot tubs were open but no jets, it was better than no tub. Entertainment was not the best but we didn't sail to watch the shows, it was good just to be away. We really enjoy RCI so far but I wouldn't judge them by the Majesty. Small ship, not a lot to do but it was a relaxing cruise even if only for 4 days. :cool:

[jeanigor]

Thanks for the review, we will be sailing on the Majesty in two weeks and I like to have realistic expectations before a cruise.

[finz2u]

WOW, Redsfan, you certainly had a different experience than I did on the Majesty. We were on for the New Year's cruise. Hot tubs (and jets) were working fine. The cd was amazing and threw the absolutely best New Year's Eve party.

 

The WJ did not seem crowded at any time we visited and I really thought the layout (with a front and back buffet area) was ingenious considering this sailing had over 2600 passengers --- no lines. Food in the main dining room was good, even the beef, which sometimes on a ship can be an adventure. Again, food preferences are so personal, but I never understand how people say they can never find something to eat on these ships. And service was excellent and attentive.

 

Our weather was good so we did get to Coco Cay. But, I noticed that the cruise compasses had consistent events scheduled throughout port days (trivia, sports competitions, a movie), and the casino stayed open in the Bahamian ports.

 

I did miss a centrum bar and centrum seating that you find in the radiance class. And I did miss the triangular poppy seed rolls at dinner, but we loved the ship so much we booked for next New Year's.

 

To each his own, happy sailing in the future, whatever cruise line you choose.

[Redsfan]

WOW, Redsfan, you certainly had a different experience than I did on the Majesty. We were on for the New Year's cruise. Hot tubs (and jets) were working fine. The cd was amazing and threw the absolutely best New Year's Eve party.

 

The WJ did not seem crowded at any time we visited and I really thought the layout (with a front and back buffet area) was ingenious considering this sailing had over 2600 passengers --- no lines. Food in the main dining room was good, even the beef, which sometimes on a ship can be an adventure. Again, food preferences are so personal, but I never understand how people say they can never find something to eat on these ships. And service was excellent and attentive.

 

Our weather was good so we did get to Coco Cay. But, I noticed that the cruise compasses had consistent events scheduled throughout port days (trivia, sports competitions, a movie), and the casino stayed open in the Bahamian ports.

 

I did miss a centrum bar and centrum seating that you find in the radiance class. And I did miss the triangular poppy seed rolls at dinner, but we loved the ship so much we booked for next New Year's.

 

To each his own, happy sailing in the future, whatever cruise line you choose.

 

Appreciated, thanks. As always there will be differing opinions on any cruise, even those on the same. Unfortunately our experiences with RCI have not been much different than Carnival, and both boats we sailed had their own issues. Understood all lines have issues and we could find the same with Carnival, just disappointed with our last one.

 

Cheers