Ron Lord

Age: 47
Occupation: Project Manager
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Ship: Majesty of the Seas
Sailing Date: April 11th, 2005
Itinerary: Bahamas

This was my first cruise and my wife's 3rd. I did not really have high expectations, but wow, was I wrong on that. Everything about Royal Caribbean is first class. We booked our rooms online and not only got a great price, but also got to pick our stateroom and book all of our shore excursions. Absolutely no problems there. About 2 weeks before the cruise, we received a booklet from RC with our tickets and all the boarding information, all of it correct.

We arrived at the ship around 12:30 the day of departure and had no problem finding a parking spot in the garage across the street. The porters checked our luggage (of course they wanted a tip, I gave them $2) we went inside to check in. Check in process was super efficient, all of the attendents were friendly and knew exactly what to do. My wife, who is a Canadian citizen, was concerned that she had to surrender her US green card to the check-in people. However, she did get it back at the end of the cruise with no problems. Next stop was security and boarding photos, this was one of the fews times on board that we had our photo taken. Contrary to some of the reviews, the photographers do not hound you. As we boarded the ship, we did see the dinner wine packages for sale, but there was no pressure to buy. We simply walked on by and headed up to deck 11 for lunch in the Windjammer. A tip for lunch, go past the first buffet line towards the bow of the ship and you will find a much less crowded line on
the other side.

This was the only lunch that we ate on board and it wasn't bad. I had Mahi-Mahi and my wife had the beef. Both were basically buffet quality, although they did have some nice salads and sides. After lunch we toured the ship for an hour or so while we waited for our bags to show up. They were waiting for us at around 2:30, so we took the time to unpack.

I was pleasantly surprised at the room, it is small but very well laid out. We had plenty of room to store all of our clothes in the drawers and closet. We had an outside room on the 2nd floor and the view out the large porthole was fantastic. Bathroom was small but very clean and it served the purpose well. We found plenty of hot water for showers, the only thing that was strange is that there is no vent or fan in the bathroom so it steams up pretty bad. One time I left the door open when showering and the steam set off the smoke alarm!

We spent some time at the pool, which was always buzzing with activity. The pool waiters and bar staff were super efficient, we never had a problem getting a cool drink while relaxing poolside.

We had all of our dinners in the Maytime dining room and I found them to be one of the highlights of the cruise. Our wait staff was fantastic, very friendly and eager to please. The food was top notch, I really enjoyed the smaller portions that they served, since it allowed me to eat an appetizer, main course and dessert, something I don't normally do. If you like large portions, no problem, simply order another one! I was surprised at the variety and quality of the food, granted, it was not 5 star, but very close to what you would pay $100+ for a couple in a good restaurant. We found the wine selection to be good and reasonably priced, we did enjoy a bottle each night with dinner.

We caught a show after dinner, it was a song and dance review that wasn't too bad. After the show we checked out all the lounges, our favorites were the Viking Crown and the Schooner bar. We didn't find much activity in any of the lounges on this cruise, I guess there were not alot of partiers aboard.

The next morning I woke early and watched the captain bring the boat into dock at Nassau. My wife woke up about and hour later and we enjoyed a sit-down breakfast in the Mikado dining room. Food was OK, but the service was fantastic.

After breakfast, we went onshore. Nassau is not really a fun place to go unless you like getting hounded to take a taxi, get you hair braided or buy junk. From the moment you enter the port terminal you are bothered by all sorts of natives trying to get you to buy something. What a pain. After a few minutes of that, I had enough and decided to check out the Hard Rock Cafe with a friend of mine while my wife went shopping. We sampled the local beer, Kahlik, which I found very enjoyable. Too bad they don't export to the US.

We took the Yellowbird shore excursion at 1pm, which was a hoot. Cruising through the bay while drinking free rum punches on a sunny day was the life! We ended up on a tiny island that had a lighthouse, a bar, a beach and restrooms. That's about it. We enjoyed a few more Kahliks while relaxing on the small beach. There was a stingray farm next to the beach, and my wife was happy to be able to see a stingray so close. We departed the island much too soon, and were soon dancing and drinking more rum punch on the way back to the ship. Watch out, those things really sneak up on you!

Tonight was the formal night, it was nice to get dressed up for dinner. I enjoyed a duckling while my wife had the filet. Both entrees were stunning. After dinner was the captain's recption, they give you a free glass of champagne and you get to meet the captain. Pretty neat. We didn't stay to see the show, as we were wiped out from the day's partying, but our friends said it was quite good.

Third day was Coco Cay. What a beautiful island! My wife and I left the ship at 8:30 and found a secluded beach were we spent a few hours relaxing before it got too windy. We then moved over to the more protected main beach, where I did some snorkeling. Not too much to see, I saw a few schools of fish. I didn't go out very far, I think the more interesting stuff was farther out. We took the jet-ski tour at noon, that was a blast! It was very rough so we spent more time in the air than the water! Our tour guide was very friendly and explained the history of the islands that we visited. She also broke the group into slow and fast riders, so you could go fast or slow depending on your comfort level.

We made it back for the end of lunch, which was very good. Ribs were fantastic and I also had a hot dog with chili and saurkraut which would rival any NYC dog. We took the tender back to the boat at around 3, very rough and it was hard getting off the tender as it lurched about. However, the crew was there to catch us as we tumbled down the gang plank!

Once again we had dinner in the main dining room, another fantastic meal. Afer dinner we checked out the casino, I played some video poker and picked up a few bucks. The show that night was the singers and dancers from the first night doing 80's songs. Once again, not too bad.

My wife went to bed after dinner and I decided to stay up for the chocolate buffet. This was the only disappointment of the cruise, and it was really no fault of RC. The problem was the people, everyone was pushing and shoving, grabbing everything in sight like they hadn't ate in days. Sheesh! I picked my wife a few goodies and left to the serenity of our cabin, far away from the chocolate savages..

The last day was spend in Key West, which we have been to several times. Everyone on the ship has to clear immigration in Key West, which was a quick, easy process. Of course, there were 3 people that they had to page because they didn't show. I guess this is pretty typical. We were able to depart the ship at 11am., which wasn't too bad considering we arrive one hour late.

On Key West, we rented a pair of scooters and toured the entire island. We visited the beaches, the southern most spot of the US, the Key Lime Pie factory, and ended up at Sloppy Joes. I used to like Sloppy Joes, but this time the place was packed with families. I think Hemmingway would be rolling in his grave if he saw his favorite haunt filled with screaming kids!

My wife did some shopping while the boys did some more bar hopping. We visted Hogs Breath, Billies, and Capt Tony's, all pretty neat and unique establishments.

Dinner as always was great, tonight we gave our wait staff their tips. We gave cash, but you can charge it to your room. We think it is a little more personal to give each waiter an envelope with a thank you on it. Our waiter was very good, he spent time talking with us about his family in Bulgaria and how it is to live and work aboard the ship. Very interesting. And I almost forgot to mention that the wait staff does a little show each night! Dinners really were the highlight of the cruise for my wife and I, they really go all out for these.

Our last day we pulled into Miami at around 7am and we were off the ship and headed home by 9am. The departure was very easy and efficient as every thing on the cruise was.

I have to say for a $400 cruise, Royal Caribbean really knows how to make you feel like a million bucks. Great time, great people, great ship!

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