Dawn T.

The guest in each stateroom must be over 21 to consume alcohol and that includes wine. Your kids cannot pack wine or champagne in their carryon but the adults who are over 21 can pack wine or champagne in there carryon but each you can only bring two (2) 750ml bottles of wine or Champagne per stateroom.  

I wanted to give a few thoughts on my recently completed Royal Caribbean cruise on Majesty of the Seas, departing from Tampa on August 20 for 5 nights, sailing to Costa Maya and Cozumel.    This blog was a TREMENDOUS source of information and helpful tips for a RCI newbie so THANK YOU!
First, we had an AWESOME time.  Probably the best vacation we have taken as a family!  We are still talking about the cruise and the people we met a week later.  
Embarkation: We got to Tampa the night before (thank RC Blog for that tip) and stayed at a hotel about halfway between the port and the airport.  Arrived at the Tampa Port at around 10am.  We parked in the official deck across the street.  I got lots of great parking tips, but went with the deck for convenience and that it was covered and secured.  Believe me, I'm the guy that always looks to save a buck, so thanks for the other options that were given.  Took about 30 minutes from arrival before we could board the ship, so not bad at all.  Tampa Port could probably use a refresh, but everyone was friendly and helpful and the process seemed under control.
The ship/stateroom:  I know Majesty of the Seas is an old ship, perhaps the oldest in the RCI fleet, but it showed us a great time.  I think RCI has done a great job keeping it clean and updated to the best of its ability.  In some areas (Viking Lounge), the carpet looked dated, but otherwise I thought the ship was in great shape.  It doesn't have the bells and whistles of the newer ships, but it made up for that with service and hospitality.  Our room was small, and again, I knew that going in.  But the four of us (51 yr old Dad, 49 yr old Mom, 17 yr old son and 10 yr old son) made the room work for us.  The key was putting our stuff away and storing suitcases, which was a switch for us because we usually just live out of a suitcase when we travel to a hotel.  What also helped was buying and using magnetic hooks (another tip from this blog!) to hang up clothes to dry and be out of the way!  We had room 2506, which is a porthole room.  Decks 2 and 3 on Majesty have portholes for oceanview.  The room had plenty of spaces to store our luggage out of the way and 2 fold-down beds for our boys.  The bathroom was small, but very clean, and honestly, had one of the best working showers in terms of pressure and constant flow of hot water.  One indulgence I give myself on vacation is extended shower time and this one didn't disappoint.    Our stateroom attendant was solid and anticipated our needs. We asked for ice the first night and never had to ask for ice again!
Activities/shows:  Again, I know Majesty is a old ship, without the Flow Riders, water slides, Central Park, etc, but there was plenty to do and see while on board.  Our Cruise Director was Patricio Honores, who I believe has been on some bigger RCI ships.  He was great!    We did trivia, scavenger hunt, relaxed, used the pool, wife had a spa treatment, exercised, watched the incredible blue ocean, went rock climbing and shopped while the ship was at seas on Tues and Fri.  We also made sure to be on the deck when we sailed under the Tampa SkyWay Bridge and when we sailed away from Costa Maya and Cozumel.  We  saw the headline show each night.  This cruise didn't have the regular Majesty shows (Boogie Wonderland), we had featured guests for entertainment.  The comics were excellent!
Excursions:  In Costa Maya, we did a trip to the Chacchoben ruins via The Native Choice (thank you RC Blog for the tip) and also had a lunch with a Mayan family during the same excursion.  Extremely well done and it was great learning about Mexico history and visiting with a current Mexican family.  The family enjoyed it.  In Cozumel, we followed the advice of Matt and other RC Bloggers and took a trip to Paradise Beach via taxi.  It was great!  Snorkling, paddle boarding, kayaking, and the ocean inflatables along with great food and drink in a terrific and scenic location.  Paradise Beach is lovely.  I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a beach escape.  
Dining (and drinks):  This really made our trip memorable.  The food was really great on our cruise.  The Windjammer offered such variety, Sorrentos pizza whenever we wanted, soft serve ice cream, Compass Deli for snacks as well.    We got a Coke beverage package for one of our kids, and we ended up buying a 10 drink card on Thursday when that was offered.  We didn't get the alcohol package because we knew we were going to be off the ship most of the day for 2 of the 5 days.  The main treat was the dining in the Main Dining Room (for us, the Moonlight Dining Room).  Our server was named Made, from Indonesia, and he was truly spectacular.  He welcomed us, made us feel like family, was charming and engaging, all the while providing outstanding service.  The food was excellent.  I'm not a foodie, but I thought the food was a clear cut above a nice chain restaurant, with plenty of choices to satisfy everyone.  Both my sons tried dishes they had never had before, and that made it fun as well.  But again, the service from the RC team is what made it so enjoyable!
Overall:  As I said, this was a fantastic vacation.   We loved cruising and I personally think it is one of the best values in a vacation because of everything involved.  We took a Disney cruise 5 years ago, and RCI matched Disney on most items, except the Dream was a newer ship than the Majesty, so the rooms were bigger and ship had more bells and whistles.  HOWEVER, the cost of  this 5 night Western Caribbean cruise for FOUR was the SAME as the cost for just ONE person to have taken the 3 night Bahamas Disney cruise!    If anyone has any doubts about the Majesty due to its age, I would put those aside.  Yep, it doesn't have all the latest, but it is a great ship and if it fits your itinerary and budget, I wouldn't hesitate to book it.    We became huge cruise fans and Royal Caribbean fans and look forward to our next cruise.
MANY thanks for Matt and the RC Bloggers for the tips and info along the way.  This is a fun community and I am glad I discovered it - it made our vacation so much more enjoyable!

The two device plans are harder to calculate because there can be greater variance on-board.  Based on what I have have captured in the past, the two device plan on-board is often $18.99 per device for Surf and Stream, full voyage.   That's $37.98 for two devices total.

Consequently getting it for $19.99 total including two devices in the cruise planner is pretty close to the 50% off on-board prices they are suggesting in the cruise planner and a very good deal.  Just make sure you only apply it to one person.  If you select both people when checking out you are actually buying two, two device plans for a total of four devices.

For an upcoming 9 night cruise with my friend's daughter I am buying it at this price and saving $115 versus on-board using D+ discount.
 

I would jump on that one!!!

Not sure about the D+ discount factor (you have to wait for @twangster to chime in on that one) but it is never $19.99/day for 2 devices.  I would grab it now and then cancel it later if needed.  

I just wanted to thank  @danv3 for thanking @Matt. This post prompted me to check the price of my January 2019 Brilliance 4-nighter.  I originally booked a 2B balcony because the JS price was $900 more.  After reading this post, I checked my price.  The JS price had dropped and was almost the same price as the 2B/4B balcony category.  I got a JS for a little less than $100 more than my original 2B price!  We are so excited!  Love those Radiance class junior suites!

@Lovetocruise2002, I thought I would add my experience on pricing for the Mariner.  I booked near the end of April (2-1/2 months ago) for January 2020.  We are doing a B2B with a 3-night/4-night.  Original price difference between a balcony cabin and a junior suite was $800.  I wanted to book the balcony, but my husband insisted on the junior suite.  So I booked the junior suite.  I checked my prices yesterday.  The balcony cabin for both cruises has increased $700 total.  So, now the balcony price is almost what I paid for my junior suite.  The junior suite price has increased about $600.  These days, I always find that I get a much better deal by booking as early as I do.  ☺️  I was surprised to see that much of an increase in only 2-1/2 months though.  

Hi @InfoNrs629!  We have cruised with our 2 kids on Disney many times.  Freedom was our first cruise on Royal with the kids.  They were 12 and 16 at the time.  We have sailed on Freedom twice since then without the kids.  It is a GREAT ship!  You and the kids will have no trouble finding things to do.  The shows and ship amenities are wonderful!  A junior suite is a great choice for 3 people.  The extra space in the cabin, walk-in closet and full tub in the bathroom are great.  I have actually sailed in a grand suite on the Freedom as well, and we loved it.  I guess I would have to decide if the extra cost is worth the amenities that come with a full suite.  If the cost isn't necessarily a consideration, then I would probably go with a full suite.  Whatever you decide, you should have a wonderful trip!

This is a great idea, no matter which ship you choose!  On our first Royal cruise with our kids, who were 12 and 16 at the time, we sailed on the Freedom in July 2010.  Rob and I had an ocean view balcony, and we put the kids in an inside room across the hall.  It was $100 cheaper than having all of us in the balcony.  It is wonderful to have the extra space, two closets and two bathrooms with 4 people.  We have also taken the kids on two Oasis cruises.  On the first one in June 2012, we had the last ocean view balcony aft and the kids had the boardwalk balcony across the hall.  That was about $800 more (I think) than having all of us in the OV balcony.  It was so nice having the extra space before, I decided it was worth it.  Plus I got to experience the boardwalk balcony myself.  On the second Oasis trip, our youngest son graduated high school and took 2 friends, so that one was a little different.  We had an ocean view balcony, a Central Park balcony and a boardwalk balcony.  I don't think you even need actual connecting rooms to do this.  The kids just have to be "near" you.  Our kids were directly across the hall on the two trips with just the 4 of us.  My suggestion is that you consider this when pricing your trip.  You might even be able to get a better deal with 2 cabins if you book a balcony and an inside (but not necessarily on the Harmony).  ?

Our excursion today is The Butchart Gardens. 
The tour is marked as 3 1/2 hours but the gardens are 45 minutes from the port so we would only have ~2 hours in the gardens. 
Our bus driver took us through a public city park on the way out of town.  Here we saw many wild Peacocks walking around.  

More on this park later.
The bus ride is about 45 minutes to The Butchart Gardens.  Our driver provided some history and facts about the area and Butchart Gardens.  The original owners purchased the land for a limestone quarry as part of the family business to make portland cement.  While traveling in Europe an eagle broke into a bird enclosure and killed all the song birds.  Word made it to the Butcharts while in England so they diverted and went to Germany to acquire some unique small birds only available in Germany.  Arriving back into England a day late from this diversion they missed their ship back to America.  They would have to take the next ship a week later.  The ship they missed was the Titanic. 


There are seven gardens within the overall facility.  This is called the sunken gardens and it was the old Limestone quarry from the business.



The Ross fountains were added later by a grandson who assumed the gardens as the Butcharts grew older.




There is a merry go round for the kiddies. 















This Sequoia seedling was planted in 1934.


The rose garden has a seemingly endless variation of roses.



























This brings us back to the start with the same picture but with a spin.

With that our time was up and we headed back out to the bus parking lot.

Hi, Sarah!  I will try to help a little.  Cruising is an awesome way to vacation.  It is affordable, they take you places, and you can do as much or as little as you want!  You can be casual diners and still eat in the main dining room.  You can also eat in the WIndjammer (the buffet) at your leisure.  I have never eaten dinner in the Windjammer, but have ventured up there during dinner hours.  It is never busy.  I would think the VOOM would be good on all ships you are considering, especially on Harmony, as it is newer.  IMO the added value of the Oasis class is worth it.  I have sailed on Oasis and Allure, but my first trip on Harmony is this September.  I don't think you can make a bad choice between these three.  Harmony has the most bells and whistles because it is the newest.  I guess it would come down to price, itinerary and proximity to the departure port if I were choosing.  If you choose Oasis class, be sure to book your shows in advance.  No matter what you choose, I'm sure you will have a fabulous time!

Here are some more photos as we made our way down Endicott Arm.

Photo intensive post coming up. 
As much as I try by dumping picture after picture into this blog there are no words or mere photos that can adequately capture the beauty and how you feel when experiencing Alaska live.  This will serve as my feeble attempt because it was a pretty incredible morning.  Just understand these photos don't do it justice. 
I had a prime spot at the very front of the bow as we approached Dawes glacier.  I hardly noticed the rain.

But it was time to let someone else have a turn.  Sharing is caring.  I made my way through the crowd and grabbed a shot of the glacier including my new best friends.

I went back under the cover of deck 4 to get out of the rain so I could change to a different lens.

There were more 'growlers' as the senior officer on the helipad called them when the chucks of ice (glacier) are a certain size.

The blue color comes from hundreds of feet of ice compressing and squeezing the oxygen out of the ice.

With the sun now coming and going it dramatically changed the colors of the glacier, growlers and cliff walls of Endicott Arm.  Here two different arms of this glacier meet.  Where the glacier has been rubbing down the wall of the rock face it grinds off pieces of rock that form the dark strips that can be seen on top of the glacier.


Everywhere I turned there was something that caught my eye.

We had reached our closest approach to the glacier at approximately 1 mile.  From here the Captain began to slowly turn the ship in a clockwise circle.  There isn't a bad spot to be, except maybe in the casino, the pub or a restroom.

From here I ventured up to deck 12.

A polar bear had emerged on the ship roaming around with the ship photographers.

With the first 90° of a turn complete the ship was sideways across Endicott Arm and the views in direction we had come from was pretty impressive.

As impressive as the glacier may be, I was equally impressed with the cliff faces of the rock walls of Endicott Arm surrounding the ship.  It was truly awe inspiring. 

The deck 12 sun deck above the Sky Bar was a popular spot for a quick selfie.


























With that it was time to leave.  We began our departure back down into Endicott Arm.

It never hurts to consider other options. 
My only NCL experience is so long ago it's not relevant any longer.  When I've looked at NCL in the past, before becoming Loyal2Royal, my research led me to a couple of conclusions. 
By and large the experience is more similar than not.  The devil is in the details.
Free at sea isn't really free, it's bundled into the cost.  Any time I narrowed it down to a specific ship and sailing then compared costs the age old proven rule came to light - nothing in life is free.  That's for me and my purchasing habits.  I'm sure for some people the bundles work out for them.  Once in a while you can find a deal that is an outlier.  It seems people point to these like they are rule but any time I priced out an exact sail date it was never one of those outliers. 
Mini-suites in my research led me to conclude it's just a slightly bigger balcony cabin.  Not really a suite and shouldn't be compared to a JS on Royal. 
When looking at NCL there are great variations from ship to ship.  You really need to focus on one ship and reviews for that ship.  While Royal's fleet has evolved and you can clearly see that evolution from class to class, NCL ships are more random.  In some cases they acquired a ship when another company went broke mid-construction so they started with someone else's design and adapted it to NCL on the fly.  They've also experimented more in design so it isn't an evolution so much as "... and now for something completely different" .   There is nothing wrong with that, but those experiments haven't always worked out so well.  Turns out there is a reason no other cruise line tried some of them.
NCL internet packages don't work for me.  There are many people who love to completely disconnect when cruising.  For those people the internet plans on any line are irrelevant.  I could never work from an NCL ship like I can on Royal.  Like the ship design, internet across the NCL fleet is wildly different from one ship to the next.  The newer ships have decent internet but the older ships have really bad internet.  250 free minutes of really bad internet is just really bad.  They've simply made no attempt to modernize internet across the fleet like Royal did in 2013. 
As far as loyalty programs, for my needs Royal is still tops but that is what I look for in a loyalty program.  I've sailed five lines.  I suppose had I never tried any other line I'd be further ahead compared to where I am now but I am where I am.  In the end it hasn't stunted my advancement in C&A that much.  Competition is a good thing.  It keep Royal in check.  Please sail other lines.  Every time someone doesn't book Royal it lowers demand and causes Royal to lower prices (or keep them from increasing).  That's a good thing and I thank you for taking one for the team.
A cruise is what you make it.  If someone gave me a free cruise on NCL's worst ship I'd still have a great time and not because it was free, rather because I don't do bad cruises.   

while we haven't cruised on NCL yet ( looking into it) , my humble opinion is your 50th birthday is a big deal man!    I'll hit that milestone this year myself.    With that in mind, i would tend to lean more towards having a great time on a familiar line that you're already comfortable with.  This helps to avoid any whoopsies in case NCL just isn't for you.    Save the NCL cruise for another time when it wouldn't be as big of a deal or tarnish the memories of your 50th if something was out of sorts.     

@JLMoran -- I thought of you when I saw this.

I agree with @twangster.  I would choose Brilliance too.  I have sailed both Brilliance and Vision.  Brilliance is a little bigger and the cinema, in my opinion, is a nice option.  Love those glass elevators with ocean views.

On Oasis and Allure, we were in a JS and were able to make reservations for the week in CK with no problems. We made them the first night for the entire week.

In a loft suite on Oasis (sky class) I couldn't make reservations one night until later in the evening.  I don't know for sure but I suspect that some folks in JS who might have experienced what I did might perceive that to be a JS shun when in reality it's just that it fills up and prime reservations fill up.  That happens in the restaurant business, on land or at sea.
We were fine for the first couple of nights but once everyone 'found' CK that is when the 'problem' occurred.  We just took the 8:30pm reservation and went to Izumi for something to tide us over.  The suite concierge informed us to make reservations for the week next time which is exactly what I did next cruise on Allure. 
I overhead a guest complaining that elevators favor deck 17 like it's some sort of magic floor.  Totally unfounded in my experience on multiple ships as a guest on deck 17 but people will project and perceive what they want to even if it is completely unfounded.  Deck 2 guests received the same 'privilege' - it's the end of the line so no place to go but down from 17 or up from 2.   
Visit CK on the first day and try to make them for the week.  Don't assume or read too much into anything.  If they specifically tell you JS can only make reservations the day of that would be interesting to know so report back, but at least try and don't assume just because someone else couldn't get the exact reservation they wanted that the sky fell on them (sky class that is, pun intended).
 
 

What @WAAAYTOOO is what I've heard as well. However, on Oasis in January no issues booking the entire week in CK. Can't really report from a JS view on Harmony.
As mentioned already, best bet is to head up to CK when getting on and make your reservations. It also can help being flexible with times each night if needed.

@Dawn T.....I have also heard the same as @WAAAYTOOO. Seems that you cannot make online reservations to CK with Oasis class ships but you can with Anthem. Also, as Raye has mentioned, there are reports that JS guests have trouble getting reservations some nights. Hopefully that is not the case for you. I would wander up there on embarkation and see what they say. Pinging @CGTLH and @bellemiche because I know they stayed in a JS on Oasis class before. 

Just go up to the Coastal Kitchen and make them directly.  I have heard mixed results from JS guests being able to make dinner reservations for future nights.  Apparently some ships only allow “day of” reservations. My guess is it has to do with how many Pinnacle members they have aboard on a given sailing.  Worst case scenario, you would have to make reservations each day for that evening.

Love the Brilliance.  We have done the 4-night to Cozumel for the past three years in January.  We have it booked again for 2019.  Awesome ship.  I also recommend the valet parking in Tampa.  It is only an extra $5 per day.  It is totally worth it.  When you return, you give them your ticket at the valet stand and they bring your car right up to the curb in probably 5 minutes or so.  Love the movie theater onboard too.

We have been on 20 RCCL cruises and have been on Eastern, Western and Southern Caribbean.  We are lucky to live in Central Florida and to date we have only cruised from Florida ports.  I like to pick different ships and different ports, but we have also repeated ships and ports.  I typically book 18 months to 2 years out to get the best prices and the cabin that I want.  We are starting to finally branch out of the Caribbean next year.  In 2019, we are doing a cruise from Sydney, Australia in March, and the Canada/New England cruise in October.  We are talking about Europe for 2021.  Onboard we are lazy cruisers.  I am there to relax.  We will see shows on the bigger ships, but typically not the smaller ones.  No trivia, bingo or things like that.   The ship is always one of the destinations for me.  

Love the Brilliance.  We have done the 4-night to Cozumel for the past three years in January.  We have it booked again for 2019.  Awesome ship.  I also recommend the valet parking in Tampa.  It is only an extra $5 per day.  It is totally worth it.  When you return, you give them your ticket at the valet stand and they bring your car right up to the curb in probably 5 minutes or so.  Love the movie theater onboard too.