Majesty of the Seas ~ Group Cruise ~ July 21-25, 2008 Since this was a group cruise, the majority of us stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay the night before and took the shuttle over to the pier at 10 AM. We were pleasantly surprised that the charge was only $5 each and the service was promptly on time. Of course we were the first batch of folks to arrive so early which made boarding even easier. About 11 AM or so the boarding process started, getting us on the ship by 11:30. Because we boarded so early, our staterooms were not quite ready. That didn't phase us as we all were planning on going to the Windjammer anyhow as soon as we boarded. This was the first time I had been on MJ since the refurb and having been on Sovereign since she was refurbed, I knew what to expect. The Windjammer looked wonderful, the food was better than I had remembered, and the service exceptional. I quickly noticed that Sorrentos is upstairs in the middle instead of the side as on SV which made much more sense as well as give more room upstairs for seating. Once we checked out Sorrentos, we scoped out Johnny Rockets which also was in a different spot than on SV. Boy was I happy to see that! It definitely had more of the "big ship" look that you see on VY and FR class ships. My only complaint in the dining experience is the coffee! Not being one to like Starbucks or the like, their coffee fleet-wide is just too strong for me. I could not wait to get back to a simple Maxwell House cup 'o Joe, but figured I'd have to survive with just a few sips for now.

Our staterooms were ready around 1 PM. We quickly scurried down to the eighth floor which I had booked for our group even though the staterooms were partially obstructed. Again I was pleased that you can still see a great deal even though the bottom of the lifeboats is blocking the view. For the staterooms as small as they are, boy was I happy that they had removed the bolsters I remember having in my stateroom last year on SV even after its refurb. The beds were harder than I remembered as well but I definitely slept like a log on them every night and never had a complaint! You just can't get better than sleeping at sea for a great night's rest. Of course we didn't have ample space; in fact there was hardly any space to store everything. Thank heavens I knew that going in and was prepared to just live with it. The one thing I wish they would remind people to bring is an extension cord or outlet strip since there are only two outlets in the room. With plugging in all the electronics, it got to be quite confusing what was charging now and what still needed to be charged!

More kudos...my C&A coupons were on the bed as well as my welcome back gift. WHOOPEE!!! I have had instances in the past where it took a while to get these, but this time it was spot on. I quickly took the booklet apart and figured out which ones I would use and which ones I could give away to people in my group. Loved the number of casino coupons for Diamond members! Read more