FREQUENT HOLLAND CRUISER BACK FROM RCL

[mamaofami]

We sailed on Majesty of the Seas on NYE to Key West and Cuba. I was worried about my cabin which I was told was tiny, but it turned out to be roomy enough. It was all redone and had lots of built in draw space and closet space. More than any of the cabins I've been on.There was a couch, a small coffee table, an additional chair. The beds had to be made into twins because one person would have had to crawl over the other to get out to use the bathroom. That said, once separated, there was a night table between them. Our friends had a lower grade cabin and it was really tiny.

 

Food: Really not as good as HAL. Sometimes my food came raw and sometimes too well done, but the servers were very accommodating about replacing the food till it was cooked correctly. we were warned not to order steak, but my husband did and it was a very good fillet mignon. Lobster tails were tiny, but good. I ordered a second and it was bigger and delicious. But, overall the food and menu wasn't great. Limited selections for the MDR and menu tended to repeat the same items in only 5 days.

 

Entertainment.. Except for one comedian the shows were nothing to write home about and pretty misable.

 

Ship. The ship is old, but has been redone and looks nice, but not as nice as HAL's ships.

Boarding and getting off the ship was a very long process, except for the ports we visited which were Cuba and Key West.

 

Our friends chose this ship and cruise because it was over NYE. The eight of us had lots of fun, but I think I'll return to HAl. I already have a New England cruise booked for September.

[kazu]

Thanks for the comparison Mamoafami

 

Very insightful and much appreciated 🙂 

 

 

[SetAnOpenCourse]

I concur with the OP.  I cruised on Majesty once, and twice on RCI.  It was fine, and they sail from Port Canaveral as well as Tampa.  They have a full promenade on some ships, but not as nice as the teak decks on HAL.  As HAL changes I expect RCI to become an increasingly viable option.

[Mtn2Sea]

Thanks for the comparison.  How did you like Havana?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home

 

Thank you for comparing the 2 cruise lines.

[mamaofami]

We loved Havana. The old city is filled with the most incredible architecture. However, the streets aare cobblestone and some have very large pot holes. The sidewalks also have potholes and one has to be very careful walkng. We used Fertours and our guide was very knowledgable and spoke perfect English. People in Cuba receive about $20 to $30  salary per week.

 

Deck 7 on Majesty was a walking deck with chairs out, but not as many as Hal. ALso, forgot to mention that the service was really excellent from everyone we encountered. The pool area was a nightmare scene for me and I wouldn't even consider going. SAo many people and kids and loud loud music. Did I mention loud music.

Edited January 6, 2019 by mamaofami
adding comments

[Divi]

We did a family cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas last March. We have only cruised HAL and have no interest in changing that.

That said, it was a great cruise for our family. The cruise director, Elvis, was amazing and the crew was wonderful. It worked out perfectly.

However, the food was ok but repetitive. There were not enough public bathrooms. We had dinner on the upper level of the MDR but had to go down one deck for a washroom.

Having only cruised HAL, I assumed all lido decks had retractable roofs, not!

We don’t live where cruises are easily accessible and we have to plan our vacations. We are happy that we have found something that suits us. 

 

Edited January 7, 2019 by Divi

[crystalspin]

I too tried RCI last month -- 14-day TA on the Rhapsody otS. I was pleasantly surprised! It was nearly as good as HAL, with differences. The crew is more international (from more countries); the My Time dining host did not want or attempt to put us at larger tables with strangers; the attrium was a center of activies such as dance lessons and live music; no Crows Nest, although there was a upper deck lounge, it did not have the view. Dr'spin contributes that he thought the buffet self-serve for breakfast was much faster. We only ate lunch (in the buffet or at all) the first day; I was not impressed with the offerings for lunch but the breakfast was tasty if repetitious. The MDR for dinner had good food with the same experience I've had on HAL of either multiple starters and entrees that I want, or nothing that sounds appealing! The waiter (and obviously the chefs) were just as happy to bring half of an entree as a starter, or two starters -- something I learned on CC and had done on the Zaandam last summer.

 

I'm happy to have another line (with different itineraries) to enlarge our choices, but I'm not leaving HAL, either! (As you can see in my signature, we are also trying Princess...)

[rafinmd]

Welcome home.  I sail RCI fairly frequently because they have a great selection of itineraries out of Baltimore and find the Grandeur OTS (twin of Rhapsody) very comfortable.  The Majesty has a lot of fans, possibly because it was a first ship for many, but it's one of their ships I would be least likely to sail as it is a bit smaller than their next 2 classes of ships but carries quite a few more people.

 

I don't see a lot of RCI over others in my future as some of the changess old timers don't like about HAL are also being done by RCI on steroids.

 

Roy

[erewhon]

Thank you for reporting your experience on the Majesty of the Seas.

[doone]

Thank you for your review.  I have never sailed RCCL and won't as I feared a lot of of what you experienced on your cruise, plus those ships are so big, for me it's just not cruising anymore.  I am on the K'dam in March and I am nervous that is going to be too big for me, we shall,see......

[mcrcruiser]

Thanks for your review 

 

 We have been on 81 cruises & most of our cruises have been on Celebrity & then RCCL . When we started with Celebrity we enjoyed a well diversified & pleasing  menues .Ahi tuna was available for lunch  as a example .As time went on Celebrity & RCCL  made many changes to their menus  as has other cruise lines to cut their food costs . good for the cruise lines & not good for the customers   .

 

 The above being said ,we also live near to the San Diego & San Pedro cruise terminals  to drive to them . That is huge especially that I am now 80 years old . We don't like the hassles of flying  & our last flying trip to take 2 HAL cruises is this March for one month to Florida 

 

 Since  RCCL pulled out of the California market &  Celebrity rarely ever s\cruises from Calif ports ,we have focused on HAL & Princess cruises . We have 6 new cruises booked & 2 are on HAL Koningsdam &  one on Rotterdam from Florida ports  .Now both HAL & Princess  do many cruises from  our 2 California ports ;which makes it very convenient for us . 

 

 Back to comparisons ,if we were to cruise with either RCCL or Celebrity  ,we would only choose their newer ships . With Celebrity it would be their Soltice class ships only & not the new edge at it's ridiculously high prices . With RCCL only their Quantum class &  Oasis class vessels . Contrary to popular belief those mega ships are very well organized  for the pax flow for embarkation  & debarkation & while on the ships .Additionally ,the food is much better on their larger ships  .In fact on the largest of RCCL  ships you don't even know you are moving unless you look at the ocean 

 

 With about  27 million cruisers per year & growing there is a cruise line for every one . for us it is HAL & Princess . We find that HAL generally fits  us evewn a bit better than Princess .HAL is more like Celebrity * Princess more like RCCL because their ships are generally larger . The only problem are the diversity of itineraries . We have done more than once & in the case of Alaska 5 times to places we can cruise from the 2 California ports . Thus ,because we love to cruise &  we redo many of the same itineraries & thus stay aboard while in port to enjoy the many ship amenities 

 

 To sum up there is really no bad cruise & any cruise is what each individual makes of it ,for their personal enjoyment 

 

 

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for posting your comparisons.

Welcome back.

[Hobcat]

Thanks for your review mamaofami.  We have booked the same ship & itinerary for this April.  Your info is very helpful in our planning process.

[Aquahound]

Thanks for writing about your experience and your opinions of RCI and Majesty.  Do understand though that Majesty doesn't really reflect upon the whole of RCI anymore.  RCI is almost like 2 cruise lines in themselves...Sovereign Class (Majesty) through Radiance Class, and then Voyager Class through Oasis Class.  It's Voyager Class and up that have the great entertainment and all the "wow" factor.