As you know, I recently completed a short 3-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas. This was the latest of many cruises aboard Majesty, the first of which I took in 2004…..my very first cruise. The ship has been updated over the years, and frankly, looks pretty good for her age. That said, if you need a flowrider, zipline, or 20+ restaurants, to enjoy your cruise, then you might want to think about another ship. If you enjoy a few days away, good service, great people, and great views of the ocean from a Viking Crown Lounge that they don’t make this way anymore, then Majesty of the Seas will be a great cruise for you.

Departing Miami - One of my favorite sail aways

Departing Miami – One of my favorite sail aways

I’ve done full reviews of Majesty of the Seas before, and not so much has changed that I need to do another. We booked a Superior Oceanview Stateroom on deck 9, which was almost ideal. It was bigger than most of the other staterooms I’ve booked on Majesty, and deck 9 was just about a perfect spot. Just 2 decks up to the pool, and 2 decks down to muster and 1 more down to the shops, casino, etc. You can read my prior reviews here.

However, I will offer a few thoughts in comparison to my recent Enchantment of the Seas cruise, which is the other Royal Caribbean 3/4-night Bahamas market ship, sailing from Port Canaveral. First, if the vessel itself is your primary concern, Enchantment is a newer ship with more amenities, including specialty restaurant, Chops Grille, as well as Park Cafe, and one of my favorite pool decks in the fleet. Royal Caribbean elite Diamond and higher members will appreciate that Enchantment has both a Diamond Lounge, and a Concierge Lounge for Suite guests as well as Diamond Plus and Pinnacle guests. Nice crew, nice service, fine ship.

Majesty will offer a more traditional experience where you take your meals either in the dining room, or the Windjammer Buffet. Though there is a Johnny Rockets onboard as well as Compass Deli which I highly recommend. There are no bells and whistles. What you will get is a ship populated with great crew, and a totally different vibe than Enchantment. The Miami influence is apparent in a higher percentage of Spanish-speaking guests. Better yet, the Boleros Lounge actually features a band that plays Latino music as opposed to a DJ if you’re lucky in the Boleros on Enchantment. This may not matter to some, but I happen to like Latino influences, and especially the band in Boleros which was excellent on this Majesty cruise.

Another big difference is the itinerary. For the 3-nighters, Majesty does 8am to 5pm in Coco Cay and same hours in Nassau. Enchantment does noon until midnight in Nassau, then 8am to 5pm at Coco Cay. I’m really indifferent about that, but on the 4-night cruise, you get a sea day on Enchantment, and a day in Key West on Majesty. Can you guess which one of those I favor? Key West is just about my favorite place ever, so Majesty wins the itinerary argument for me.

All in all, we had a really great, if short cruise. Majesty of the Seas still has it. I’ll have the 3-night onboard newsletters scanned in and available on my Miscellaneous Cruise Info tab by next week.

-MJ, November 1, 2013