Majesty of the Seas March 9-12,2007 Being as it had been 6 years since our first sailing on the MJ ,we were eager to be back onboard to see all the changes. Stepping onboard ,we at once noticed the fresh colorful carpets ,drapery and fresh paint throughout the ship.
FOOD(and plenty of it!!) Heading straight to the Windjammer Marketplace for a quick lunch, we were excited to see the addition of not only Sorrento's Pizza, but Johnny Rockets and the Compass Deli. We really liked the way Johnny Rockets was set up . On the MJ, you get the look and feel of the original diner. The only drawback that we noticed(and was confirmed by the staff there) was that it is hard to find .Both Johnny Rockets and the Compass Deli get little use because not too many passengers know they are there(upstairs from the Windjammer). What a shame! Sorrento's Pizza has great daily specialty pizzas (i.e. Hawaiian, Sausage, Veggie, etc) in addition to the daily standards (pepperoni, cheese and margarita).No charge... The Compass Deli serves sandwiches, quesadillas, paninis, crepes, salads and soup .All food here is included in the cruise fare, except for bottled drinks ($3.50 for Snapple or bottled waters). Johnny Rockets is like stepping back in time to the 1950s......Jukebox pumping out old time songs and the wait staff stop what they are doing to do a little dance for you. Very entertaining! Hamburgers, fries, onion rings, desserts.etc........all you can eat for a $3.95 service charge....Drinks are additional (milk shakes not to be missed!!). The Windjammer Marketplace had a quite extensive makeover. Instead of the single buffet line, it is now divided up into stations that each had its own variety of food. There was an Asian station, a pasta station, a Mediterranean station, a salad station, desserts,etc. No one would ever go hungry in here. Something for everyone, whether they choose to eat here for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just a snack. Deck 5 is where the Shops on Board are located, which include Seattle's Best Coffee. They serve (for a nominal fee) several coffee and tea drinks, (hot and cold). With each beverage purchases, you are offered a pastry (complimentary) to go along with it......they offered cookies, muffins, scones, danishes, etc)....... Right next to Seattle's Best is Freeze ( an ice cream place).Not your ordinary ice cream shop, but one where you pick your flavor ice cream (approx 6-8 flavors) The flavors they had were vanilla, chocolate, strawberry ,pistachio, key lime, rum raisin, and banana)..After you pick your flavor, you choose what toppings (wet or dry or both) to mix in. They offered such toppings as gummy bears, nuts, candies, fruits, etc).Prices start at $2.95 and up. There are two newly improved dining rooms on deck 3(Moonlight) and 4(Starlight). Wow is a word that comes to ones mind when entering either venue. The colors were quite elegant and the updated changes were most welcomed.All new curtains ,carpeting and seating. You could tell RCCL put a lof of effort into these rooms. As always, the top notch dining staff could not do enough for you. Always ready to make sure you had enough to eat and drink and eat and drink some more!! Ready to please the most demanding guest and always with a smile on their face.
Bars and Lounges Viking Crown Lounge (deck 14) is one of the best places on the ship to get an "aerial" view of the pool deck and the surrounding water. We love the VCL on all the RCCL: ships, but here it appeared to be under used. Maybe it was because of the way it was set up with no active bar area. There is a bar but it was not manned. When we placed an order the waiter would disappear behind a closed door and later reappear with our drinks. Perhaps they prepare drinks in a back room?? Who knows? We felt kind of bad for the guitar player who was performing basically to an empty room. I overheard a staff member say people usually show up one hour before closing to get a night cap. The VCL does have an area set aside for cigar smokers (perhaps that's why no one else uses this part of the ship?). Anyway, they do have air purifiers up there and they do appear to work quite well. Boleros (deck 7) is a Latin themed bar with live music. This place get quite lively with people doing the salsa,rumba,.etc....fun to watch even if you don't participate. Be sure to try a Mojito.it is the signature drink in here. One thing they don't have(that other ships do) is Dueling Pianos. But since the Latin band plays later, it is not a big deal. Schooner Bar(deck 5) seems to be of the most popular bars on the ship .Always hopping and drinks flowing .Lets not forget the piano man...he always had a crowd around him singing along. Love the nautical look in this bar. Perfect for a ship. Spectrum Lounge (deck 8) is more of a club atmosphere. RCCL really enforced the age minimum here. They had Quest, the 70s show, Karaoke, etc .Every night had something going on in here. Pool bars (deck 12) were always busy and very handy to those just relaxing in the sun. Even though, they were busy, there were plenty of staff working behind the bars or strolling along the pool area so one did not even have to leave the comfort of their lounge chair. The one location we did miss was the Champagne Bar. It was taken during the refurbishment. It was missed by several others we spoke to.