Let me preface this review by stating that we had our first cruise experience back in 1987 on our honeymoon aboard the Song of America.Overwhelmed by the experience we quickly reserved a holiday aboard the new Sovereign of the Seas in 1988. Since that time, we had been lured by a few Princess and Carnival cruises based on price and a subsequent return to RCI aboard the Grandeur of the Seas where we came to realize that RCI seemed to exceed other lines in the same class. After the birth and adoption of our children, it was everything Disney from the theme parks to the cruise lines. August 28th of 2009, my wife and I decided to celebrate our anniversary by scheduling a three-day cruise. We contemplated this decision for weeks given that we had experienced a very negative three-day trip aboard another cruise line several years back and received consistent negative feedback from others regarding three and four day itineraries. We did not want to leave our children for anymore than three days or spend an exorbitant amount of money and really wanted the basic amenities and conveniences that cruising had to offer. After reading most of the reviews in Cruise Critic and posting questions in the BLOG, we decided to sail on the Majesty of the Seas with some apprehension and an understanding that you get what you pay for. We were mis-lead. The Majesty of the Seas exceeded our expectations in almost every category from embarkation to dining experiences. Even with the 2007 refurbishment, the ship is aged by today's standards, however, the progressive original design and attention to maintenance was every bit as beautiful and comfortable as our cruise on the then four-month old Sovereign of the Seas. The dining options were more than adequate and the food was very enjoyable. The staff was the consistently excellent-rated team that we had always come to expect from this cruise line. (We were fortunate to reunite with the head waiter from our honeymoon cruise) Coco Cay was another pleasant surprise. We had visited this island in 1999 aboard the Grandeur, however, RCI has completely developed this into a little paradise of its own. The shipboard entertainment was satisfactory although, I prefer live performances over some of the karaoke-ish pre-recorded track acts where the ship's orchestra and hired comedian were outstanding. I have spent ten-fold the amount of this cruise on three-day Disney Cruise Line and other seven-day itineraries with some cognitive dissonance. We were so pleased with this experience that we inquired into seven-day itineraries aboard the Voyager, Freedom, and Oasis-class vessels. At the end of the day, I will gladly accept the savings to forgo dolphin shows, water parks, skating rinks, surfing trays, carousels and putt-putt golf for the simple things of what cruising with Royal Caribbean was and will always be to me.