Sadly, I got back this past Friday from my 2 cruises on Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas. I had a great time. My only complaint would be I wish the cruises were longer. The 3 night and 4 night cruises would be good for people who can't take much time off (I met 1 such person during my 2nd cruise) or can't afford a longer cruise.
The ship itself is in excellent shape. I couldn't find anything wrong with her. I saw a number of times where it's crew performed maintenance on her while I cruised. The ship's crew is excellent. My room attendant did a fine job both cruises. The food was very good and plentiful. I had to show willpower and limit myself to just 1 plate every meal in the Windjammer Café. I particularly enjoyed the Coca Cola Freestyle machines. They particularly rocked. I enjoyed many a glass of PowerAde and liked being able to try out various Coca Cola products I'd never tried before. I didn't watch any of the free shows so, I don't have any idea if they're any good or not. The ship's shops were fine though I didn't really check them out. I'm not into shopping though I did buy myself a ship's magnet and some pens to show I'd sailed on her. The ship's Wi-Fi was unreliable. Twice, I couldn't connect at all and twice, I got bumped off it after I connected. Also, it's more expensive then on other Royal Caribbean ships. I'll be posting a separate blog entry where I'll list the prices for its Wi-Fi. The ship has a nice little gym with 12 aerobicycles, 6 treadmills, 1 rowing machines, various weight machines and a small floor where they hold yoga, pilates and stretching classes. I don't know if they do Zumba. I never met the gym director though I did read his bio and, it sounds like he is very competent. I thought it cool that he's from South Africa. I haven't forgotten Pumba, one of the ladies who works in Grandeur of the Seas spa. She's from South Africa and, she is totally awesome! The ship has a spa but, I didn't try it this time due to its prices. They're not cheap and, I needed to watch the bucks this time.
In regards to the ports of call, I thought they were pretty good. Coco Cay is a nice resort. They have some pretty beaches and offer snorkeling, scuba diving, jet ski riding and parasailing. You can also take a ride on a glass bottom boat. I did that and, I really enjoyed it. They offer a nature walk where they tell you of Bahamian bush medicine. I found it interesting and funny. Funny in that all the medicines apparently had to taste bitter in order to work. You couldn't add sugar to make them taste better. Lastly, Royal Caribbean holds a lunch bar-b-que buffet every time it stops there. I found it a decent buffet. All passengers have to be tendered to Coco Cay. Royal Caribbean has 5 small boats at the island that can ferry/tender people to the island. Their crews were very competent. There are a few Bahamian gift shops on the island where you can buy various Bahamian souvenirs.
Nassau, Bahamas is nice. I did a very good city tour where I got to visit 2 forts, the Queen's staircase and a couple other locations. The Queen's staircase stood out as it's very pretty with a very neat waterfall and plants along the walkway. The other excursion I did was the Discover Atlantis tour. The tour guide for the tour was outstanding. She was funny and know her stuff about the resort. The resort itself is impressive and worth checking out though I don't have any desire to stay there. It strikes me as too pricey. It has a special suite that costs a whopping $25,000 a night with a minimum of a 4 night stay! Supposedly, there is a 6 month waiting list to stay in it. One downside I saw was there were a lot of Bahamians that had their hands out for tips. Some of them were really absurd in my opinion. After I'd finished my Discover Atlantis tour, we had a 15 minute bus ride back to the cruise ship terminal. The driver didn't hesitate to ask for a tip. In my opinion, he hadn't done squat to deserve one versus the outstanding tour guide at Atlantis. Also, I found some Bahamians curt. I visited the Hard Rock Café gift shop there and, they weren't very friendly. I was glad to get my t-shirt and get out of there.
Key West, Florida was very nice. Some of the homes there are stunning with some huge prices to match. It has a lot of history. I did a walking tour of Ernest Hemingway's home and Sloppy Joe's. The guide for the tour was very good. He had lots of interesting information, was friendly and helpful. The tour of Hemingway's home was awesome. A guide at the home gave the tour. She really knew her stuff. I'd highly recommend this tour. It was fascinating. I wouldn't mind going back to Key West some time and seeing some of the sights I didn't have time for this visit.
Miami, Florida was nice. I did a hop on hop off tour there which was good. The location where we got on the bus was convenient as it's at the Bayside Marketplace which is within walking distance of the cruise ship terminal (2 miles I think).
Overall, the 2 cruises were very nice. I would recommend them if you can't get a lot of time off or are short on funds but, you want to do a cruise. Otherwise, I'd recommend you do a longer cruise so, you get the real cruise experience. The 2 short cruises were more party cruises in my opinion which was a little irksome.
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