Royal Caribbean International
Majesty of the Seas Cruise Review
Bahamas

Lauren Sustic
Age: 40
Occupation: Engineer
Number of Cruises: 3
Sailing Date: April 21st, 2006

As a bachelorette party, I decided to take (11) of my girlfriends on a three day cruise to the Bahamas out of Miami on April 21st. Our group’s age range was 27 to 46, and we were strictly going for fun and sun. So most of my review will be geared toward the group cruiser looking for a party. I couldn’t find any such reviews prior to my trip.

I booked the trip through Royal Caribbean over the phone in January, and chose to have them book a hotel in Miami for the night before departure. The hotel was very nice and the fees included our transfer via bus to the Miami port. Royal Caribbean must get a good deal for this hotel (Radisson), because I tried to reserve it myself independent of the cruise and the price was higher. This was an easy way to do things, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to settle in before boarding the boat. We all reserved our own airfare, which was less expensive than through the cruise and a direct flight from Detroit with most of us together.

We arrived at the port at 12:00 and immediately boarded the boat after showing our identification and tickets. Everything went quickly and smoothly. Between the bus and the boat, it took 20 minutes. Two girls have the same first names, so their reservations somehow were mixed up, but that was cleared up right away at the purser’s desk.

We were all wearing the same T-shirts, which we had made before the cruise. The shirts had “Lauren’s Bachelorette Cruise” on the front and all of our first names on the back. It was surprising how many comments from other passengers we heard about how they liked that idea. Many women of all ages told us they wished they were in our group!

We decided to check our rooms out before the rest of the ship. We had four interior cabins on Deck 2, three girls to a room. Yes, the rooms were tiny, but we knew we wouldn’t be spending much time in there anyway. There were two twin beds below and a bed that folded down from the wall to make an upper bunk. Royal Caribbean had our rooms near each other, which was nice. One special touch – one of our male friends back home ordered a surprise to be waiting for us in our room. We walked in to see two bottles of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. What a way to start a vacation! I would recommend that, if you have a close friend going on a cruise, this is such a nice gesture. I am going to do it myself for someone else! I guess you can just call the cruise line with the date and ship and set it up.

We all packed our bathing suits in our purses, so some of us hung out at the pool until it was time to get ready for dinner and some girls checked out the ship. Yes, the Majesty is old and showing some wear, but it’s still beautiful. The pool was impeccably clean and it’s nice the way it is “stepped”. You can choose to just put your feet in, sit on the second step with water up to your waist, or totally jump in the center. Lots of chairs were available, which was surprising because so many people were on board. Lots of waiters were offering drinks. Of course, we HAD to indulge. After all, it was a bachelorette party and umbrella drinks looked so good. No being stingy with the liquor here; we could definitely taste the alcohol! After one of those, we beer drinkers ordered a bucket of beers piled with ice, which was much more economical than single cans. The service was good and it’s so easy to use those sea pass cards!

Our luggage arrived around 4:00 so we changed and went to Karaoke. It wasn’t very crowded. Two in our group performed and the rest of us danced to distract from the crackling singing. It was a short session, about an hour and lots of laughs.

The first night at dinner in the dining room was casual, so our outfits were short dresses or jean skirts. We chose late seating at 8:00. They sat us at two tables next to each other. In a nutshell, the service was excellent, the food was good, and we met some people around our table that were fun too. I especially enjoyed the appetizers. Every night in the dining room was the same, except for the second night, where apparel was formal. No complaints.

After dinner, we met at martini bar. Why do those martini glasses make one feel so much more sophisticated?!!! We met a few nice couples at the bar, chatted, stayed for one and left. The bartender was attentive and friendly.

On to the disco! Perhaps it was our age range because the music was perfect for us. The wait staff supplied us with ample beverages, but stayed out of our way enough to not interfere. There was a good crowd, but seats were plentiful because such a large number were dancing. There was some dirty dancing going on too, so people watching was fantastic. Most in the disco were our age or younger. I observed that, on land, people can get kicked out of bars for certain things, but it is much harder to get booted on a cruise ship. All in all, the disco was a riot. We stayed until the wee hours of the morning.

The next morning, we awoke to our excursion tickets under the door. We had signed up, on-line, for parasailing on Royal Caribbean’s private island and the floating beach mat. Unfortunately, the envelope slid under the door informed us that there was a mechanical problem and parasailing was canceled. That was a disappointment, especially when we saw parasailers from another cruise line enjoying the activity when we went up on deck 11. Oh well. The weather was absolutely perfect; about 87° and sunny, and we boarded our tender at 10:00. That was easy. Only a ten minute wait and a quick boat ride. I misplaced my excursion ticket, but, on the island, they had all our names written down when handing out the floating mats, so it wasn’t a problem. There were little tiki huts with drinks spaced out well. Hammocks and beach chairs were everywhere. We saw a beach volleyball court. The sand was like talcum powder. Some laid in the sun, walked on the beach, some floated on mats, and a few of us played Baggo, a game much like horse shoes with platforms and bean bags. We were told some cruise ships had the game, but I couldn’t get an answer from Royal Caribbean on-line or over the phone, so we brought our own. Many strangers wanted to play, so it is a good game they should have. We played it on the island and on the ship. We held tournaments and people watched. At one point, most of our group gathered around one tiki hut bar on our stools and joked with the two bartenders. They were lots of fun! I never found a reason to complain about the staff. The service was awesome everywhere.

In Nassau the next day, we shopped and stopped for a beverage every once in a while at the local bars. We were back on the ship for another Baggo tournament at 3:00. Our evening schedule included dinner, karaoke, casino, disco, and then to bed.

The only complaint that I had was disembarkation. It took forever!!! I was on Carnival two years ago for the same cruise itinerary and that only took a half hour to depart. I felt bad for the kids (and their parents) who had to wait in line for almost an hour and a half. I never did figure out why it took so much time. We didn’t get to the taxi outside the boat until 1:00.

I would recommend this for a bachelor or bachelorette party anytime. It is the perfect length of time for fun. Just when we had enough, it was time to go home. We didn’t bother anyone either, with our wild ways. There are mellow places for people to relax, separate children’s areas, and then the fun bars & casinos for the party lovers.

I already booked our next cruise for our honeymoon. What a great way to travel. I can’t wait.

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