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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Alexander Marquez
Email: Prnz61marq@aol.com
Age: 38
Occupation: Medical Tech.
NumberOfCruises: 7
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Majesty
SailingDate: 9-5-99
Itinerary: Labadee,Ocho Rios,Grand Caymen,Cozumel
Cabin: 1034B
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 87
CabinQuietness: 70
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 98
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon: 85
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland: 85
GoodForFamilies: 85
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff: 85
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess: 90
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon: 85
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram: 85
MedicalFacilities: 85
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 80
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 15 Sep 1999
Time: 15:00:27
Remote Name: spider-te052.proxy.aol.com
Remote User:
Comments
This was a vacation we had planned for sometime. This was my seventh cruise and my wife's
first. I wanted to pick a
ship that was very popular. The Majesty of the Seas from Royal Carribbean. Overall, the
trip on this majestic ship was
worth it. We had a huge cabin with balcony. The food was very good at dinner. The main
thing was we rested and felt
relaxed. Let me tell you a little of the things that happened. The day of our cruise we
were dropped off by my brother
at noon. We were so excited yet nervous. To our surprise there were a lot of people in
line to get on the ship. The
lines went fast for Royal Carribbean had many of thier customer Representatives working to
make the lines go fast.
We were on the ship in less than 30 minutes. The trip to our cabin was filled with
anticipation. We had booked a type C
cabin but were upgraded to a B cabin. When we opened our cabin door, my wife started
crying for it was huge. It had a
living room and the balcony was huge. The whole cabin was the biggest I had ever
experienced and made a difference
in not feeling all crammed-up. Our only complaint was that right over us was one of the
entrances to the kitchen on the
Windjammer cafe. Every night we would hear commoitons from that corner of our cabin. It
didn't let us sleep in peace.
But we didn't let it ruin our trip. We just left the T.V. on and that helped to blurr out
the noise. Our first day at Sea was
Spectacular. With the Ship leaving port and out to Sea, my wife and I were in heaven! We
ate at the Windjammer cafe
that day. The lunch was very good. And dinner that night was four stars! The service was
great the first few days but
then for French night(Friday night), we waited too long for our food and the waiter was
not pleased at hearing me ask
for 4 lobster tails. He told me they were tight on that item and he would do his best. He
brought me the four plus 3
more that were left over! I was lobster taied out! Overall the dining room sevice and food
at night was a highlight of this
magnificent ship. The Islands were beautiful in their own way. Labadee was very quiet. The
actual Island was too small
of an area for so many of us. The ship sold out at 2700. The beach area was very crowded.
But our 10 minutes on a
banana boat ride made my day! To see my wife's face filled with happy-panic was worth a
thousand pictures. By the
way, we took like 11 rolls of 36 exposures thoughout our fun trip. Jamacia was uneventful
if it were not for Dunns
River's Fall. We took a Taxi to the falls for $20(payed each $6 to get in). That is one of
the most beautiful sites I have
ever experienced. My wife and I climbed up on our own(somewhat dangerous). We had a blast!
It took us about 35
minutes. We then rode to one of the areas where they sell things and walked back to the
ship. I don't recommend
excursions. Too expensive when you can do it on your own. Just be careful and use common
sense. Grand Caymen
was crowded. We went shopping right off the port where the tender left us. We had fun
getting t-shirts and just seeing
all the beautiful stuff they sell. Not very much time to do stuff that day. The ship gave
you only like 5 hours. Cozumel
was great. We rented a jeep for $40 and rode around the island stopping at a few bars that
run along the beach. They
are very spread out from each other so the crowds were not there. This was breath-taking
and picture taking! Here my
wife and I enjoyed our short time breathing in the fresh air of peace and beauty. Our
overall experience was good. We
were very sad to come back to Miami to Reality. Royal Carribbean gave us a trip to
remember and we can't wait until
our many pictures come out. To relive our moments of fun and relaxation on the Majesty of
the Seas!
Name: Carol Shipley
Email: ckief1@jcpenney.com
Age: 29
Occupation: Recruiter
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Majesty
SailingDate: Sept. 5, 1999
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
Cabin: 5517
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 100
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 100
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 100
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff: 100
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 100
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff: 100
EntertainmentLounges: 100
WheelchairAccess: 100
ExerciseFacilities: 100
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon: 95
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 100
MedicalFacilities: 100
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 100
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 99
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 21 Sep 1999
Time: 09:24:28
Remote Name: jcpfw2.jcpenney.com
Remote User:
Comments
My husband and I just arrived back from our cruise! What a wonderful experience. This is
my 3rd cruise and my
husband's 2nd. We both enjoyed it immensely. Well, let me begin with my review. First of
all, we planned this trip back
in March, so we had 7 months of anticipation! I found out that I was pregnant in May, so I
was a little worried when this
happened. I didn't know how well I would adjust to the swaying of the boat (with morning
sickness), but just to let all
pregnant women out there know...it was great! I think the movement of the ship actually
made me feel better, plus not
to mention all the food you can eat...all the time! Our cruise was during hurricane season
and thankfully, we didn't
have any problems whatsoever with the weather. The seas were actually very calm and the
movement of the ship was
hardly noticeable.
When we arrived in Miami, we didn't have much of a wait before entering the ship (maybe 10
minutes). As soon as we
got on, we went to our cabin. Got settled in and then we went exploring. My husband could
not believe how big this
ship was. So, we went to the Windjammer Cafe for lunch (I was getting hungry), and that
was our first encounter with a
line. I think it was about 1pm and we were waiting in a really long line to get our lunch.
It wasn't too bad, but we waited
a good 20 - 30 minutes. After eating a wonderful lunch...buffet style, we went walking
around the ship. The ship is in
very good shape, even though other cruise reviews say that it's showing it's age. I think
it might be showing its age, but
when you think about having 2,600 passengers every week and all the spills and mishaps
that will happen...I think the
ship was in good condition.
Our first day at sea was very relaxing. We layed by the pool and got in a couple of times.
I didn't really enjoy the sea
water pools - I prefer fresh water, but when you are hot, any water feels good. The ship's
activities are fun, we went on
a tour of the bridge and basically did what we wanted to do.
Dining - dining was a special treat in the main dining rooms. They really treat you with
special care and our waiters
were very good, Ilyas and Tenent. They were both from Iran and very hospitable. We had a
table of 8 and most of the
couples were older than us, but we had a wonderful time with them. The food is very good
and there is always
something for anyone's appetite. We ordered several different desserts and appetizers and
it was wonderful. I love
tasting new things and I had some really interesting experiences. :)
Shore Excursions - We did not use the ships excursions, I felt they were over-priced, so
we did our own itinerary and
we had a blast. Our first stop was Labadee, Haiti. It was my favorite island to just relax
and lay under a palm tree and
take a nap. The island is very pretty and scenic. We really enjoyed this day. We tried the
snorkeling, but there wasn't
anything to see. So, if you want to snorkel there...we don't suggest it...you'll be
disappointed. Our next stop was
Jamaica. This was our least favorite island. I wasn't able to climb the Dunn's River
Falls, so we went shopping in town,
instead. The ship will charge you to ride a bus for like 5 minutes into town - you can
easily walk and pay nothing. But,
we went shopping and didn't find anything great. We found the quality of things was
lacking and I would be leary about
buying anything name-brand. After shopping, we went back to the ship and enjoyed the rest
of the day at the pool.
There's not much to see in Jamiaca. Our next stop was Grand Cayman. This is one of our
favorite islands, the
snorkeling is wonderful and my husband was able to scuba-dive. He isn't certified but he's
always wanted to try and
they have a 2 hour session for you to learn about scuba and then go under the water with
an instructor. He was able
to see a lot of things and really enjoyed this part. I stuck with the snorkeling and had a
great time. We went shopping
in Georgetown and found some liquor reasonably priced, so we purchased that and that was
it. Oh, let me stop by
saying that we had to ride a tender to the ship on most of the excursions. This was the
only thing that we felt was
disorganized. There were really no instructions on what to do and the lines were crazy
trying to wait for a tender. They
don't give you much time on Grand Cayman, so we wanted to get off the ship right away and
we weren't able to go
until 2 hours later. So, we were a bit disappointed but we actually had plenty of time to
see everything we wanted and it
didn't ruin our day. The next stop was Cozumel, Mexico. Cozumel is very pretty and we
decided to rent mopeds to see
the island. This was a blast. We had a lot of fun driving around the island and exploring
on our own. We found a
deserted beach and parked the mopeds and went swimming. It was a lot of fun. After driving
around the entire island,
we went shopping and found some t-shirts for family and friends. If you want to do some
serious shopping, Cozumel is
the place to do it, since they have tons and tons of shops.
My husband and I were discussing the itinerary and we felt that they should reverse the
order of stops. We thought
they should do Labadee, Haiti last, b/c it was such a relaxing island and it would have
been nice to have that as our
last island to tour. But, I don't know how easy it is for them to change direction of the
cruise! :) Let's see, what else?
Well, the room was comfortable but small. We managed just fine - we were hardly in there
but everytime we returned to
our room, it was always clean and straightened up. One night, the room beside us had the
tv blarring, so we called
security and the problem was taken care of in no time. I was very impressed on how they
handled that. The cruise
director was wonderful - he has been the best I've ever cruised with. I think his name was
Jeff Arpin. He was like a
comedian and would say the funniest things. The last day at sea was a nice relaxing day.
We went to the pool, walked
around the ship and relaxed. We didn't have a problem finding a pool chair but it did get
crowded in the middle of the
afternoon.
Disembarkation - we thought we would be off the ship in an hour, well, it took 2 hours
before we were finally off. I'm not
sure what the hold up was but we had to leave our rooms by 8am and go wait in one of the
lounges or the pool deck.
We chose a lounge b/c of the heat, but we waited for a good 2 hours before we were off the
ship. I think everyone's
patience was wearing a little thin. We were tired, bored and we didn't really want our
vacation to be over, so everyone
was a little on edge. But, finding our suitcases was not a problem and we were off to our
home.
We had a wonderful time and I don't think the few negative things I mentioned put a damper
on our cruise at all. We
think we are going to try the Grand Princess next year, my husband likes the really big
ships! :) But, we will also have
an addition to the family and we will have to think about a good cruise line for kids,
too. The Majesty had a lot of
families on board. I was amazed at how many children we encountered but we didn't really
see them in the evenings,
just during the day around the pool. I would recommend this ship for families and for
honeymooners. There's so much
to do that everyone can find something to suit their needs. Oh, and the honeymoon game
they play is hilarious. It's
really funny. Overall it was a great experience and I recommend cruising to anyone!
Name: Kristen Kuhlmann
Email: kristku@taylorwoodrow.com
Age: 38
Occupation: Executive Assistant
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Majesty
SailingDate: 9/19/99
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
Cabin: 6046/F
FoodDiningRoom: 79
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 83
DiningRoomService: 79
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 89
PrivateIsland: 87
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 87
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 94
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 04 Oct 1999
Time: 17:54:20
Remote Name: mail.taylorwoodrow.com
Remote User:
Comments
There were four of us travelling, me and my husband and two children ages 5 and 4. I chose
this particular ship for
two reasons, we had sailed on her sister ship in 1992, Monarch of the Seas and we had
sailed this itinerary on
Celebrity's Zenith in 1994. My oldest son was 10 months old and I was pregnant with my
second son. I thought this
itinerary would be nice to do while not being pregnant. Pricing was also a consideration
since I was able to get a
great price for the children.
We booked our cruise last April and counted down the days until our departure to Florida.
We did not use the
air/sea program as we had frequent flyer tickets. We departed Los Angeles on Friday as a
safeguard against any
problems with the airlines or weather. We certainly did not want to miss the ship and this
provided us with time to get
acclimated to the time change. (I found a great hotel in Florida on the beach for a great
price.) We rented a car for
the few days in Florida through Hertz and learned when we turned in the car that Hertz
provides free bus service to
the pier (that saved us $20).
Our embarkation went very smooth. We arrived around 3:00 p.m. There were no lines to speak
of. We were on
board within 15 minutes. Upon boarding the ship we were greeted by the Adventure Ocean
Club staff (kid's club)
and were informed of a meeting at 8:00 p.m. in the Cinema. We found our room and then went
exploring the ship.
My husband and I were familiar with it since we had cruised on the Monarch years before.
It was fun watching the
children’s expressions as we went from deck to deck.
We had Main Seating in the Maytime Dining room. This was probably our biggest
disappointment with the cruise.
We felt that the service was lacking and the food was mediocre. It wasn’t until
Wednesday, Caribbean night, that we
felt the food was anything special. Our service was fair. When you are dining in a fine
restaurant you expect the
little added touches such as having your breadcrumbs taken care of, etc. We ate most of
our meals in the dining
rooms only using the Windjammer Café twice. Our experience with the Windjammer Café was
unremarkable.
We were also very disappointed with our wine steward. We chose a wine the first evening
that we were familiar with
and he tried to steer us to another wine which was about $12 more. Our second bottle of
wine a few nights later
proved to be a fiasco. We provided him with the bin number and name of the wine. He
brought three bottles before
he got the right one – we had finished our dinner by the time the right bottle of
wine arrived at our table. Also during
the first few nights the Wine Steward presented us with opportunities to purchase items.
The first night was
champagne tasting for $9.95 per person that was being held on Monday. The second night he
came by selling
champagne and Millennium glasses and a third night he came by selling something that I
don’t remember. I felt this
was inappropriate at dinner especially since there were three children at the table and
the other family did not drink
alcohol.
Another problem we encountered with the bar/dining service was the children’s Coke
program. For $15 we
purchased the Coke program for unlimited cokes during the cruise for the children. The
problem was that in the
Windjammer Café they serve cokes from the can for $1.50 (yes drinks are extra at the
Windjammer Café for all
diners with the exception of ice tea and punch). We could not use the Coke program for
‘canned’ drinks only
fountain drinks which you had to get from the bar. This was a nuisance since you had to
walk to the pool bar to get
your drink when there was a cart right in the Windjammer selling cokes. (Most of the time
at the bar, the bartender
opened a can of coke and poured it in a glass.)
Monday, our first day at sea we found ourselves at the pool with the children relaxing in
the morning. That afternoon
the kids program had a family event. We had a great time enjoying games with the children.
Labadee was our first port of call. The tender service went well. The children
participated in the kids program on the
beach. They made sand castles and hunted for seashells and played games. Unless you are
‘beach’ people, there
will not be much for you to do on this island. My husband sat under a tree while I
searched the tidepools. Snorkeling
was a disappointment from what I was told. Not much to see. Swimming was not good because
the water was loaded
with jellyfish. Fortunately you could see them and if you wanted to venture into the water
you could. We boarded
early and had lunch on ship and enjoyed the pool in the afternoon. You could tell from
others that they were having
a good time enjoying the watersports that you could rent.
Wednesday was Ocho Rios. We chose not to purchase a shore excursion from the ship because
we had previously
been to Ocho Rios. Our main objective was to see Dunn’s River Falls. The
purser’s desk warned us to be careful on
our own. We chose to take a taxi to Dunn’s River Falls. For $20 we had round trip cab
fare to Dunn’s River. The
cab driver was very pleasant. He dropped us off and came back two hours later (the
appointed time), and returned
us to the ship. We paid him for the trip when he returned us to the ship. Dunn’s
River charges an admission fee of
$6 per adult and $3 per children. We saved a lot of money doing it on our own rather than
using a shore excursion.
My husband climbed about 1/3 of the way up the falls (without a guide) with our two boys.
If you decide to do this on
your own, go early. When my husband was climbing with my 5-year old there was no one on
the falls (like the t.v.
commercials), by the time he took my 4-year old, there were around 100 people waiting to
climb. When we returned
to the ship we had lunch and planned to go to town to go shopping when a storm came in, so
we stayed on ship.
Thursday was Grand Cayman and the port we were most excited to see. We had signed up for
the Sting Ray City
excursion, which I had done previously. (This excursion is not to be missed.)
Unfortunately, we were not able to go
ashore as the surf was crashing into the pier and they were not allowing us off the ship.
So three cruise ships
turned around and headed elsewhere. This provided us with an extra day at sea. The kids
club scrambled to put
together some activities and did a great job.
Friday was Cozumel. We arrived two hours earlier due to our extra day at sea. Again, we
headed out on our own.
We rented a car from Hertz who is right at the pier along with Avis and a few other
agencies. We chose a car
because we were able to take our camera, etc. and put things in the trunk out of view. We
paid $35 for a Nissan
Sentra. Jeeps and mopeds were also available. We headed towards Chanakaab and then decided
to go
somewhere less crowded. There are beaches to stop at all along the highway with nice
facilities. We spent a few
hours on the beach and then headed around the island. Fortunately we had a car because it
started pouring (plus
we had air conditioning). The drive was beautiful. We did not stop at San Gervasio ruins
because of the rain and
found out later from our dinner companions that we didn’t miss anything. By the time
we made it to the shopping
district the rain stopped. We parked the car and headed out for shopping. Cozumel is by
far the best shopping stop
on the itinerary. We ate at Pancho’s Backyard. Very good food.
Saturday was our last day at sea. The children spent most of the time in the kids program
and we enjoyed relaxing
by the pool or in the library. We had a bit of excitement at someone’s expense. We
had a medical emergency on
board and an U.S. Coast Guard helicopter did an air rescue. The pilot of the helicopter
earned his wings that day.
Fortunately, the Captain reported that evening that the patient was resting and doing well
in a Key West hospital.
Disembarkment went smooth on Sunday. We found our luggage easily. We had an early flight
from Miami and were
off of the ship and at the airport by 9:30 a.m. We used a taxicab for the return to Miami
Int’l. Airport. There is a fixed
fee of $18 for the trip.
A few things missed. Entertainment in the Show Lounge was enjoyable – not quite to
Las Vegas standards but
entertaining. Hannah our cabin stewardess did an excellent job taking care of two adults
and two children. Each
night she made animals from our towels. The boys looked forward to seeing them each night
and took pictures of all
the animals. Our cabin was on the small size, but manageable. We actually managed to put
everything away in
drawers or in the closet from six very large suitcases!
The best part of the cruise was the Adventure Ocean Program for the children. My boys
looked forward to going
each day and couldn’t wait to get back to the events (they actually didn’t want
to be with Mom and Dad!) They did
an excellent job of separating the age groups and keeping all ages busy. I found when the
age groups were
together 3-12, the 12 year-olds were patient and enjoyed being with the younger kids (I
think we were lucky with the
group on this ship.) My 5-year old is already planning our next cruise!
Overall, I would recommend RCI and the Majesty. For families, I feel it is excellent, the
honeymooners seemed to be
enjoying themselves and the seniors had plenty of activities to keep them busy.
Name: Jennifer Hankes
Email: jennifer825@hotmail.com
Age: 23
Occupation: news producer
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Majesty
SailingDate: 10/31/99
Itinerary: Repositioning/E. Caribbean
Cabin: 8514-F
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 75
CabinComfort: 80
FoodRoomService: 95
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 92
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 87
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 100
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 89
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 89
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 93
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities:
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 95
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 98
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 99
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 97
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 08 Nov 1999
Time: 01:18:52
Remote Name: gatekeeper.tribune.com
Remote User:
Comments
This was my first cruise, and overall, I think Royal Caribbean, its fleet and staff, made
an excellent impression on me. I
will definitly sail again, and I will definitely give Royal Caribbean another try. My
boyfriend (now fiance' thanks to this trip)
and I sailed on Sunday, October 31st. We chose the 6-night Repositioning Cruise, which
included 2 days at sea, a stop
at Labadee, Haiti, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. The ports were fabulous, and the itinerary
superb. We both felt we had
enough time to relax and explore the ship before the hectic days at port came. Our cabin
was small, much smaller than I
expected, but extremely functional. Besides, we were in it for about a total of 8 hours a
day, and that includes sleep. We
had an outside cabin, which I would definitely recommend for those who feel confined in
tight spaces. I liked the window,
as the view gave me inspiration to get out of bed early in the mornings. Despite what I'd
heard about the Majesty's
condition-- I felt the previous reviews were too picky.
The ship was beautiful and HUGE! We got lost several times, but
there were maps everywhere, and a friendly staff member was always there to lead the way.
Yes, there were a few
places that could use some work-- such as the cleanliness of the pool deck-- but with 2400
people on board... I'd say its
impossible to be perfect! Food-- good. Not gourmet cuisine, but one could always find
something new on the menu to
try out. I especially enjoyed the clam linguine on the last night-- Bon Appetit! Our
waiter, Faustino from Honduras, was
extremely good-natured and fun to be around. The service was good. By the end of the trip,
he knew my name, what I
drank, what kind of salad dressing I preferred, and how I took my coffee. Excellent. We
chose to use the day prior
program, and it was a good choice. We flew in on Saturday, and stayed at the Miami Airport
Hilton the night before we
sailed. We woke refreshed and ready for our trip. Plus, we checked in at the hotel,
instead of waiting in line at the port. I
would highly suggest this approach for travelers. We saw many frazzled and tired travelers
boarding our ship Sunday--
who could have used some sleep.
The ports-- excellent. Labadee-- what a way to relax, floating around on a mat all
day. St. Maarten, great shopping, prices, friendly people, beautiful beaches. St. Thomas;
even better, check out the
jewelry. We can't wait to go back. My only complaints-- though they may be trivial, I will
still voice my opinion. The
photographers on ship tended to be pushy, and the price of the photographs was ridiculous.
Twenty dollars for an 8 by
10 photograph is completely inflated. I would suggest Royal Caribbean re-think their
pricing. On our ship last week-- we
had an unusual number of non-English speaking people on board. I felt, at times, many of
them were wandering without
so much as a clue what to do. The morning we docked in St. Thomas, the entire ship had to
clear customs. We were
about 2 hours late getting off the boat because many of the non-U.S. citizens didn't
understand that they had forms to
fill out. As a result, there were hundreds of people crowded into the hallway waiting to
get off the ship (for more than an
hour). All the while, announcements came over the intercom, looking for non-U.S. citizens
who hadn't cleared customs.
Many of the announcements were difficult to hear, and many came in English. I felt as
though the company could have
handled this better by bringing more translators on board-- so that EVERYONE (English and
non-English speaking)
understands what their responsibilities are. Other than that, it was a fabulous trip. It's
perfect for couples and families
alike-- all ages and cultures. I can't wait to sail again. Good job, RCCL!
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