Majesty Mini b2b 4/28 - 5/5

[prc]

Majesty of the Seas Mini b2b 4/28-5/5

 

Background

My wife & I are both 45, and devoted RCI fans. Our 21 yr old daughter is in her third year at Florida Tech, and our 18 yr. old son joined the U.S. Coast Guard last fall. I always warned my wife that when the nest was empty she better be prepared to keep a suitcase packed at all times!

 

We had found time for a quick 4 night getaway on the Splendour back in February, but 4 nights goes by so quick, that it was already time for another! With my wife’s birthday coming up, I looked at the schedules, and saw that the Majesty would be on CocoCay (weather permitting) on her birthday. CocoCay is probably our favorite spot on earth! Our very first cruise (on the Sovereign) stopped there in 2001. All since then have been to the western Caribbean, and we both have longed to return to CocoCay.

 

Booking with MBNA Points

It looked like it was time to cash in a few MBNA points…50k for a free 4 night ($1000 max value). While I was on the phone with C&A, I decided to book the 3 night prior, and make it a mini-b2b (2 chances at Cococay!). Unfortunately, there were no common available rooms of any oceanview category between the 2 sailings. The C&A reps made booking, b2b’ing, and using the MBNA points all effortless. In case anyone is interested, for the 3 night, I booked an oceanview cabin on deck 8 (slightly obstructed but cheaper) and paid via MBNA CC. A few days later I e-mailed a $50 coupon code and it was credited back to my CC within 48 hours. For the 4 night, I booked and told them of my intent to use the MBNA points. The C&A rep told me that I could book any room on the ship, even suites, and they would just deduct $1000. I chose a superior oceanview, as the drive-out price would be just over the coupon limit. I called MBNA and requested the certificate, and asked for its number over the phone, so that I could let C&A know. The coupon itself did not arrive before the final payment date (which was only a week after booking), so I had to place the full amount on the CC, but as soon as it arrived, I faxed a copy to the C&A-MBNA desk, and the $1000 was credited to my CC the next morning!

 

The Plan

Continental from IAH to FLL (much cheaper for us than MIA) on 4/27 evening flight

Free shuttle to 1 night prior at the LaQuinta FLL on 26th in Hollywood

Larry’s Limo to Port of Miami on 4/28 at 10am

Majesty OTS 3 night

Majesty OTS 4 night

Alamo shuttle to MIA to pick up a car on 5/5

Continental from FLL to IAH on 5/5 late afternoon

 

Assumptions and Pre-conceptions

We knew what to expect on the Majesty. We have been on a Sovereign class vessel before (the Sovereign herself…pre re-fit) and are perfectly aware of its offerings and the size of accommodations. 3 & 4 night cruises can be somewhat less impressive than 7 night or longer trips, but we believe that the biggest factor in having a successful cruise is ones attitude. We are not looking for a “5 star” week, but a fun getaway for ourselves. For a change, we are not planning on using the dining room this trip, and we are not taking formal clothes, and do not plan on attending the Captain’s reception. We do love the DR, and we love to dress on formal nights (I think my wife looks gorgeous in sequins), but this time we want to do things a little differently. We may like it, we may not.

 

Day 0 – 4/27 - IAH to FLL

Our flight was on time and uneventful. We arrived in FLL and picked up our bags. We called the LaQuinta Inn & Suites on NW 26th Ave. and their shuttle van with trailer was there within 10 minutes. After a 10-15 minute (traffic) ride to the hotel, we checked in, and the room was great: clean, spacious, friendly staff, all in all, I think we picked a winner. We called out to a great little Italian place for dinner (Sal’s) which was wonderful, quick, and very inexpensive. Highly recommended!

 

Day 1 – 4/28 – Boarding the Majesty

Larry’s Limo was right on time (actually 20 min early). Great car, great driver. We arrived at the port about 40 minutes later, at 10:30. We checked our bags and proceeded inside. There were 3 weddings onboard this trip, so we had to wait for all of that to clear before we could board at around 11:30. Check in was quick and painless. We were in room 8072. For anyone wondering, the deck 8 rooms on the Sovereign class are very obstructed, but this room is located in between lifeboats and was barely obstructed at all.

Entertainment was a comedian named Don Barnhart (funny), and the cruise director was Jimmy Rhodes.

 

Day 2 – 4/29 – CocoCay (almost)

We did not make it to CocoCay this day, and we could easily see why. The waves were pounding the northern shore, and the tenders could not safely enter the docking area, as per the Captain (Ron Holmes). We had a sea day with the usual activities. The captain announced that they had received permission to head to Nassau early (the Jewell & Millennium were leaving, freeing up dock space), and we would arrive at 6:30 and stay overnight. We passed them both on the way into Nassau, having great views from the Viking Crown. Entertainment was Alturo Shelton, a singer and impressionist. He was very good. The love & Marriage show was great.

 

Day 3 – 4/30 – Nassau

Today we took a trip on the Seaworld Explorer. A fun excursion, but they need to clean the underwater windows! After that we headed into Nassau for our “scavenger hunt”. We has purchased one of those $20 shopping books back in February before Cozumel, and each port we visit, we plan out a scavenger hunt of all the freebees at that port from the book. Yes, I know, unless you are going to spend big bucks at many stores, you could consider this book a waste of money, and the freebees we gather are not worth much, but we have had great times doing this! We plan on seeing how many more ports we can use out of the book before it expires (Dec. 1). Entertainment was the production “Boogie Wonderland”. We enjoyed it. The quest was, as always, hilarious!

 

Day 4 – 5/1 – Miami

Since this was a back to back for us, and we had to change rooms, I had inquired at the purser’s desk many times as to what we should do. This was probably the only negative about the whole trip. Every person you talked to had a different answer, up to and including “well, just get off as normal, collect your bags, and get back on with the new group” Very disorganized. I ended up going up to deck 9 the day before and locating the cabin attendant for our new room (I think I scared him!). He let us bring our bags up to the new room at 8am and leave them there. With the luggage safe, we only needed to get ourselves checked in again. We had to wait in the library until 10, and then were “semi” escorted off and back on. This whole process was basically a confused mess. Anyway, our new room was 9076, a superior oceanview. It is much more comfortable than the std size rooms on the Sovereign class. This room looks out over the lifeboats, so you can see the horizon and sky, but not straight down. The cruise director changed this trip, it was now Edwina Dei, who was the “Bingo Mama” the first trip. I think this might have been a sudden thing, as we spoke later and she said she was very nervous. She did a fantastic job. Entertainment was the production “Viva”. We enjoyed it also.

 

Day 5 – 5/2 – Nassau

Today we went on the harbor tour and Atlantis beach break. The harbor ride was good…not one of the water taxi’s that look like they will sink at any moment. The waves were still big (see day 2), so we could not get to the beach, as it was closed on Paradise Island. We instead went to one of the protected coves within the complex, which was very nice and beautiful. After we baked, we headed to lunch (included), which was ok, than to tour the Digs and aquariums. They are amazing! After our boat ride back to the docks, we wandered Nassau some more. Tonight’s entertainment was Comedic Juggling with Billy Prudhomme. I know this sounds strange, but this guy is fantastic!

 

Day 6 – 5/3 – CocoCay

The highlight of the trip!!!!! We absolutely love this place, and it was a perfect place to celebrate my wife’s birthday. I can’t say enough how we enjoy this island. We headed east away from the main crowds, and had a perfect, quiet spot all day! After lunch (Great!), we walked the trail that runs down the spine of the island to the far eastern tip. All I can say is that this has got to be the most beautiful place on earth! Not a sole around, the scenery, the sounds, fantastic! The entertainment tonight was a comedian named Tom Cotter…very funny guy. Quest & Love and Marriage were very funny as always.

 

Day 7 – 5/4 – Key West

Key West hasn’t changed much since our last visit. I still want to spend a few days here and go to the Tortugas. Immigration was simple, you do not have to wait for the whole ship to clear before getting off. We went to the Pirate Soul & Shipwreck Historeum museums, both were interesting, not great, but interesting. We spent the rest of the day wandering and sightseeing. The entertainment this night was the production show “Boogie Wonderland”, the only repeat in the trip. It was different this time, as earlier in the week we saw one of the female dancers being pushed out of the theater in a wheelchair with her ankle wrapped earlier in the week, so they re-choreographed it.

 

Day 8 – 5/5 – Miami & FLL

Disembarking was a breeze. We had gray tags, but took our time getting off, and picked up our bags about 9. The Alamo shuttle was already outside, so they took us to the MIA rental site. I was about # 25 in a line that probably was up to about 80 by the time I was through, (1 hour later), as they only had 2 1/2 people working (3 people, but never more than 2 at a time actually doing something). The manager (I’m assuming) did nothing but give people dirty looks as they commented about the lack or employees, and about his apparent unwillingness to pitch in. Anyway, we took a drive back out to Miami Beach and headed back to FLL. Car return was quick & efficient, just like MCO. The flight home was uneventful (the best kind!).

 

Closing thoughts

This trip was just what we needed. Everything was great, although the b2b procedures were confusing at best. I guess they don’t have too much experience at it, as I can’t see many people doing 3+4. Both our cabins were great, the stewards were wonderful. Food was great, we ate much more than we should. We never did set foot in the dining room, and we actually liked dinner in the Windjammer…it was much quieter, more relaxed, and not so rushed. We sat at the same table every night, and got to know the same staff just as we would have in the DR. They told us that the DR staff work 1 week out of 5 in the WJ, and we had the same people for all 7 days. The one thing we did miss was formal dress and the captain’s reception. My wife used the spa and was pleased with the services, and said that the “hard sell” of products was actually quite soft. I also got a haircut there on the Monday in between sailings, as I ran out of time before the trip.

 

The Majesty, although it is now the oldest ship without a re-fit (Sovereign, Monarch and Empress being updated), is clean, well maintained, comfortable, and provides a great experience. I’m sure I am leaving many things out, but ask any questions.

[GMoney]

That's a great review; very well done. Thanks for dividing it up and making it readable. I've experienced that B2B chaos too, and it's unfortunate. I The folks RCI should be taking care of the most get bounced around and forgotten about!

[prc]

Thanks GMoney. Everyone at the Pursers desk was nery nice and friendly, they just didn't seem to have any experience in b2b's. Like I said, I doubt many people do it on this ship. To my knowlwdge, there was only one other couple, and a man traveling alone. I did not speak to the couple, but I saw that they ended up with all their luggage behind the pursers desk. The man we did talk to, and he was every bit as frustrated as we were. He had also asked and asked, getting the same range of answers as we did. I believe his luggage ended up behind the future sales consultant's desk!

[geniseg_2000]

Thank you!

 

I'm leaving on Friday for the Majesty and can't wait. I'm praying to the weather gods that we don't miss CocoCay Bay.

 

Does anybody know if we can request to leave last? Our flight isn't until 7:45pm out of FLL.

[prc]

You can go to the desk and request a different color luggage tag, but they will still want you off the ship by about 10-10:30 unless there is a delay for some reason.

[wolfcathorse]

For your second part of your trip was it still Capt Ron as master? Did you hear any rumors about Capt Kristofferson going to Mariner, and if true, who his replacement on Majesty will be? I agree about the confusion on B2B's. We just had the same thing happen on Sovereign.:confused: They should include instructions for B2B cruisers on their "As You Depart" sheet you get in your stateroom the last day.

[prc]

Ron Holmes was in command for the second trip as well. As we chose not to attend the captains reception, I heard nothing of any staffing changes.

[motherofthebride]

Thanks for the great review. We leave this weekend and will sail on the Majesty next Monday. My daughter is getting married on board before departure.

 

Can you tell me anything about the Paint Your Wagon lounge? That's where they have assigned her wedding.

 

Thanks again for all the great info.

[lvanp]

Thanks much for the great information. I am looking to book the Majesty B2B next April and decided to go with Deck 8 to save money. It's nice to know a cabin number that might have a little bit less obstruction:D

[prc]

Motherofthebride:

I don't really know anything to say about the Paint Your Wagon lounge. It was the one at the rear of deck 8, and that is where the Quest was held, as well as most kareoke (sp?). It was quite large, with a decent-sized dance floor in the center. Sorry I can't provide more.

 

Ivanp:

To be honest, I really would not have cared how obstructed the room was. With both the 3 and the 4 nite being so port-intensive, we really only give a few glances out the window in the morning anyway. In this room, you can see down to the promenade deck where people are walking, and you can see a qood ways up, with straight up being covered by a platform between lifeboats. looking very far forward or aft was blocked by the lifeboats.

[prc]

Here are some shots of the view out the window from 8072 & 9076