Brian

Age: 31
Occupation: Retail Management
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Ship: Majesty of the Seas
Sailing Date: June 6th, 2005
Itinerary: Bahamas

My girlfriend and I decided on a shorter cruise as our first (3 day 4 night) and narrowed the trip down to the Majesty of the Seas. The three ports of call; Nassau, Coco Cay, and Key West ended up being a good variety of culture, views, and shopping. We let Royal Caribbean select our flight, which is great since they take you to and from the airport and less for us to worry about.

Our flight landed around 9 a.m. (ship left port at 5 p.m.) and we easily found the Royal Caribbean representatives near the baggage claim area. The only odd thing about it was you left your luggage curbside and were handed off to a few different agents until you reach another curb waiting for a bus. We ended up being ushered into a building to wait 15 minutes for the bus after waiting on the curb for a few minutes.

The terminal to the ship in Miami was very self explanatory. Just have your Bahamas registration card ready (lines 1 and 14 print and sign), if your travel agent didn‘t give you one you can get one while walking through the terminal. The registration desk was fast and informative, if you have questions now is the time to ask them! This is where you sign up for your onboard spending account (we used credit cards, probably the easiest form to use) and are issued your Sea Pass card. The card will show your dining room name, time, and table. Credit cards are the easiest to use since you have to sign for every purchase anyway and your statement is put on your door the morning you leave and you’ll never have to go to the pursers desk. Entering the ship took us almost a half hour. Supposedly, the picture machine that takes your picture as you enter the ship (information placed on your Sea Pass card for entering and exiting the ship for identification) broke down.

As much as I had studied the decks for the ship I became disoriented in the Centrum when we first stepped aboard. When you first board you can sign up for Champagnes, Wines, or soda drinks. The book that RC sends you gives you the list for the Champagnes and Wines. Neither one of us chose the drink option, water, ice tea, and lemonade are free throughout the ship and we never went thirsty (or hungry!). The soda and water in your stateroom will be charged to you if you do drink them. We were asked politely if we wanted to sign up for these options, they were not pushy. If you have not signed up for excursions in advance I would suggest signing up as soon as the excursion desk opens the first night.

We spent the afternoon getting to know the ship and watched from deck 11 and 12 as we sailed out of Miami. Servers will hit you up for Pina Coladas or the drink of the day constantly as well as the photographers that are at your every step around the ship. Let them take your photograph as much as you can, as annoying as it is you don’t have to buy anything. Our only bad experience with them is when we went to get our formal dinner pictures. The photographer had taken four shots of us with one setting, I did not like two of the shots. They tell you to take all of your photos to the desk when you are ready to purchase. The guy said I could get a free fold out frame with the Majesty on one side, and he quickly stuffed the top photo in the frame. As he started to add things up I told him I didn’t want two of the photos (one of which had my girlfriend blinking). The man rudely explained that if I didn’t buy all the photos I couldn’t get the frame and the picture of the ship, I spent a lot of money for the photos and the guy basically said it was my fault for the photos. One piece of advice, buy only one set of the prints. You can go online to Royal Caribbean’s web site and get the release form from the photographer to take the photos to get them copied elsewhere (and much cheaper).

The best time to eat any meal at the windjammer is when they first open. Breakfast was fantastic and offered a great variety of food. It becomes crowded though after 8 a.m., but was virtually empty when they first open at 7. The ice cream machine is located on the starboard side of the windjammer on deck 11 (facing front of ship, the right hand side). There are cones available, but many people were taking bowls up there, hey, it’s free! There is more seating toward the front of the ship as well as upstairs where the sports bar is. The sports bar is where the pizza is, it tastes like frozen pizza, but isn’t too bad. We practically lived out of the Windjammer for breakfast and lunch. The lunch menu changes daily and the food was always very good.

The pool. Yes, the water is salt water. The good thing is that it was very warm! They give you towels in your room for the pool, but there are also bins located around the pool that have extras. Just remember if you take you towel from your room to bring it back or you will be charged for it. Amazingly, for as small as the pools are they were never too crowded. Mostly kids and teenagers used it.

The staff (for the most part) were very nice and helpful. Our stateroom attendant always knew our name and was always genuinely nice to us. There were a few individuals who weren’t so nice, but it was the minority amongst the 800 or so crew members.

The ports. Getting on and off the ship was always easy. Just remember to have your Sea Pass card ready as you have to put it into the machine when you come and go each time. Don’t forget also to bring your photo ID. It was needed in Nassau and Key West.

Nassau was beautiful, granted, most of the city seems to be at poverty level. They are very happy and upbeat people, though they thrive off of tourism and will do anything to get your money. We had a gentleman run up and shove a bracelet on my girlfriend’s wrist unexpectedly. He kept saying they were free, but I knew better. He quickly asked us for a “donation”, I dug for a few singles, but accidentally brought out a five as well. He practically ripped my money from my hands as he ran off.

The straw market was not as glamorous as you would think. Most of the goods are knock-offs or novelty items that you will find even in the states. A few of the vendors offered hand-crafted items, but there is very little to choose from. The women are very pushy. My girlfriend grew very tired of the women saying, “Come here pretty lady, let me braid you hair!” over and over. I’ve shopped in Mexico where they barter, the women here seem to act offended if you do not take their initial offer and cut down their price. They are very good at what they do, so don’t feel bad to barter down and get what you want. The market itself is just a building where vendors are stuffed together very tightly. The aisles are barely narrow enough for one person and the vendors will heckle the whole time you walk by their items, it’s a bit annoying, but it is their way of life. There are a few nice vendors there, though the majority were very pushy and somewhat rude.

We took the Nassau/Paradise Island tour. The guide was nice and told us a lot of history about the island. When you reach either of the forts or Atlantis the driver will park and let you walk up to the areas with your group while he stays with the truck. We had 15 minutes at each fort and 30 minutes at Atlantis, which was about all the time you needed anyway. At Atlantis you can walk into the main building (under the Rotunda) and walk into the dining area and see the aquarium under water. Walk out any of the doors at the main level and walk all the way around the building.

I’m a big Hard Rock Café fan, the one in Nassau is located on Charlotte Street just off of Bay Street. The best way to shop in Nassau is by using the map that they give you in your stateroom. They also will offer coupons near the pursers desk on deck 4 at every port.

The next port was Coco Cay. We left the ship on the second tender. Beware if you sit on the top deck of the tender as sea gulls tend to gather overhead (people like to feed them from the windjammer café) and may add to your suntan lotion. Though sitting on the top deck (and the side along the ship) offers you a great photo opportunity of the ship anchored in the water. I would suggest sitting on the bottom deck on the way back as you will bake in the heat and the bottom deck is first to go back on the ship. The island itself is easy to navigate (signs posted) and has many bars. The island will have a BBQ lunch usually around 11:30. It also has a mini straw market, though you’ll probably have enough of that by the time you get to Coco Cay. It offers the same stuff on a smaller scale. Be wary if you go to any of the beaches, there are stingrays in the water as well as jelly fish, just keep you eyes open. The stingrays will usually swim away quickly, but may startle you yourself if you’re not aware of their existence.

We signed up for the snorkeling excursion, which is at your leisure. If you have never snorkeled before be warned, they do not offer much in the way of instruction and guidance. They basically tell you how to put the equipment on and where you can snorkel and point you to the beach. My girlfriend had never done it before and found it to be a difficult and basically a disappointing experience. I had prior experience at it, but still had some difficulty, as their equipment isn’t all that great, as well as the waves that crash as your head and force you to bob in the water. Once you are out around the area surrounded by rocks the water becomes clearer underwater and you can begin to see fish. It was a great experience for me. I do recommend that you wear a t-shirt in the water as the sun will burn your back and the backs of your arms very quickly. The sun can be very deceiving in the Caribbean.

Key West was also a very nice port. We took the conch train / shipwreck historeum / aquarium combo tour. The train (or trolley) tour was very informative and gave you a glimpse at most of the highlights of Key West. The shipwreck tour was a bit cheesy, but did tell a lot of history and offered you a chance to climb the tower to see your ship and over the city. The aquarium is a must see in Key West. It is very small, but does house a great variety of fish. We were also able to walk the whole city in search of our favorite sights and all the shopping. The Hard Rock is on Duval street closer to the pier. Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville is also on Duval further into the city. The city is full of t-shirt and trinket shops, though it seemed like most of the shops had the same merchandise (and plenty of offensive spring break clothing) so you’ll have to shop for a bargain.

All of our ports were early, so we booked our excursions early as well. This was great, except we missed out on some of the nightly things that happened on the ship. Many of the activities go on to the early hours of the morning. They allow 18-20 year olds to drink beer and wine on the ship when not in port, so most everyone is slow to wake in the morning.

You can feel movement of the ship, but it was generally not too bad. We did encounter rough seas the night we left Key West. The tropical depression Arlene was on the other side of Florida and was sending us some rough weather. The boat felt like being on a train and had some heavy movements side to side, but only short moves side to side. We had to take the hangars off their hooks in the closet since they were rattling all night.

Leaving the ship was a process. Your bags must be set outside your stateroom from 7 pm to midnight sometime. So, you’ll be forced to carry clothes for the evening, next day, and something to sleep in, as well as items for the bathroom as you leave in the morning. We had to sit in the Chorus Line Lounge until our color was called. The process took nearly two hours since the baggage claim belt “malfunctioned”. Leaving the ship from deck 4 was quick (have your Sea Pass ready as well as your customs form) all the way through the baggage claim. Watch the televisions above to see your color flashing on the screen. Customs was also very quick, the guy basically looked at the form and said, “Thank you”. The worst part was when you went outside to find a ride to the airport. The only two buses they had parked for “Miami International Airport” were actually charters for somewhere in Alabama. We could not find a bus for Miami after waiting several minutes and ended up taking a cab to the airport since our flight was about an hour away. I’m sure this was not a normal occurrence and our color was called last, so I’m sure we would have had to wait a little longer for the buses.

All in all a great experience for our first time. If it is your fist time be sure to read as many articles as possible about your ship and your destinations. Learn as much as you can to avoid any surprises as there is so much happening on the ship. Get to know your ship before you board. I cut and pasted the decks from the RC website and printed them out which helped us navigate (although there are maps posted everywhere by the main stairs.). Once you get to know the basic places, everything else will fall into place. Another piece of advice. You can send out mail on the ship (box by the purser’s desk) as well as buy stamps at the purser’s desk. We wrote out our post cards in our state room and mailed them out on the ship. Though there is a post office in Nassau and Key West as well.

Get out there!

 

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