Royal Caribbean International
Majesty of the Seas Cruise Review
Bahamas

Christi Engle

My husband and I went on this cruise (our first) for our 10th wedding anniversary. It was a great experience overall. We booked about a year in advance and I had tons of time to study up and read reviews, etc. We flew down a day early (Sunday) to Miami and stayed at La Quinta--I got the room for $50. from www.Priceline.com. The hotel was adequate. Not great, not horrible, but adequate for one night prior to the cruise. I would highly recommend going a day early in case your flight is delayed or you choose to get bumped--no worries getting to the port on time.

We arrived at the Port around 12:40 or so and were on the ship within about a half hour. The line wasn't long and moved quickly. We boarded the ship and went to our state rooms--our luggage was ready in a timely manner, but I heard others who arrived later complaining that it was taking too long to get luggage. (The cruise line tells you it could be as late as 7:30 p.m. until all your luggage arrives). The staterooms were SMALL (there was no room around the bed on three sides) but adequate and comfortable. We had a bottom-of-the-line inside cabin (#2623) and it was on a corner. We heard absolutely NO noise from neighboring cabins.

The ship was recently dry-docked so everything was updated and it looked very clean. The crew on cruise ships work really hard to make it a comfortable experience for you. We didn't see much of our stateroom steward but when we did, he was friendly and took great care of our room.

The food was great. My husband and I didn't have anything we didn't love, except the steak I had. It was cooked to perfection, but was still tough. Other than that, all food was great. We sat at a table with 2 other couples and had late (8:30 p.m.) seating. We usually left the dining room around 10 p.m. The waiters were very good, but our assistant waiter did most of the work and we tipped him accordingly. Speaking of tips, they gave us the option of leaving their suggested amounts on our Set Sail card (which gets charged to your credit card account), OR paying your people directly through envelopes, OR using the envelopes but dropping them off at the Guest Relations desk. I for one appreciated the options.

Our port stops included Nassau Bahamas, Coco Cay, and Key West. I loved all three, but the Straw Market at Nassau was disappointing and hot and stinky as a recent poster described (see Nicole who sailed Majesty on Aug. 10th for an accurate description). Coco Kay was great, but I won't lie--PACK SOME BABY POWDER. CHAFE IS NO JOKE. My husband and I both had an issue with this and you'll want to bring your own powder instead of paying the $4 for the mini bottle that the cruise line charges. After being wet at Coco Kay (we Kayaked which was GREAT, then snorkeled, which wasn't), well....trust me on the baby powder thing.

Anyway, snorkeling wasn't all I expected it to be--we only saw some fish, nothing exotic like I expected. Next time I will try snorkeling in Key West by the living coral reef.

Overall, the cruise was awesome. Not too long, not too short (we left 5 and 7-year old sons at home) and I would do it again in a second. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at jbcyengle@mchsi.com.

Bon Voyage!!