“The library is on Deck 7 — no, Deck 4,” I was told, as crewmembers of Royal Caribbean International’s Majesty of the Seas worked to replace their accustomed information with that for the new, extensively renovated ship.
Launched in 1992, Majesty is the third ship in Royal Caribbean’s Sovereign class to be refurbished, with Monarch of the Seas renewed in 2003 and Sovereign of the Seas in 2004. Majesty’s $36-million-plus renovation is a further demonstration of the company’s determination to establish consistency across the fleet and to put fresh, beautiful tonnage in the shorter cruise market.
“It is so important to have really good product out there for the shorter itineraries, especially for the first-time cruiser,” Lisa Bauer, senior vice president of sales, told agents. “We get our highest satisfaction ratings from first-time cruisers and we want to keep pleasing them.”
Majesty has resumed year-round, 3- and 4-night cruises from Miami after a 28-day makeover that required intense around-the-clock efforts by nearly 1,000 workers, although a soft renovation had been completed last year.
The work was done in phases, so the 950 crewmembers could start training in the new areas without waiting for the entire job to be done.
The changes are impressive, with new furniture, carpeting, drapes, lighting, galleys, casino gaming equipment, storefronts, dining and entertainment, added to the ship.
Among the areas that were transformed are the guest suites and staterooms; casual dining areas; the main dining rooms; the Majesty Day Spa and ShipShape Fitness Center; the Adventure Ocean youth area — adding the teen-focused Fuel Nightclub and Living Room lounge; conference rooms; the pool deck; the theater and Casino Royale. In addition, the Viking Crown Lounge, Centrum shops’ façades and other primary public areas all have been modernized. Majesty also has an all-new onboard entertainment lineup.
The ship’s new casual dining concept, the Windjammer Marketplace complex, builds on the line’s Windjammer Café concept with Asian, Latin, Mediterranean and American areas. New to the Royal Caribbean brand is the Compass Deli, which features a sandwich bar, daily soups, made-to-order salads, paninis, crepes and energy drinks. Guests now can choose to eat in Sorrento’s Italian pizzeria or enjoy the burgers and shakes of Johnny Rockets.
Also new to Majesty is Café Latté-tudes, featuring Seattle’s Best Coffee, next to the Freeze ice cream parlor. Rounding out the culinary offerings, the renamed Starlight and Moonlight dining rooms have new décor from the walls, column and seating upholstery to plush new carpets and drapery.
The expanded Majesty Day Spa and ShipShape Fitness Center has been relocated one deck lower, to the space previously occupied by the On Your Toes Nightclub and Adventure Ocean venues. The new spa has 10 new treatment rooms, a relaxation area, and a beauty salon with a barber station, manicure and pedicure stations and a teeth-whitening room.
Majesty of the Seas is the first Royal Caribbean ship to have the new virtual Elemis SpaBar. Using interactive technology, guests have access to the techniques for their own skin types, as well as explanation and analysis of beauty products available for purchase onboard. In the ShipShape Fitness Center, stationary bikes and a new aerobic floor have been added to accommodate spinning and diverse fitness classes.
Even the entertainment is fresh and very attractive. “Signed, Sealed and Delivered,” Royal Caribbean’s newest theater production, is on board, featuring the music of Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Tina Turner, among others. The line’s signature Latin bar, Boleros, located at the forward end of the ship, has dancing along with the very popular mojitos and caipirhinas. The Schooner piano bar has been brought up to par with upgraded décor, including new carpeting, chair upholstery and window coverings. Likewise, Casino Royale features new cabinet, window coverings and upholstery, as well as a completely refurbished bar.
Majesty’s suites have new wall linings, cabinets fixtures and fittings; standard staterooms were spruced up with new mirrors, wood cappings and decorative rails. All guests will have Wi-Fi access — to the tune of more than 6,000 antennas — and additional room at the vanity desk, thanks to new flat-screen televisions mounted on the wall. Bathrooms have been outfitted with new hardware.
Benefiting from Royal Caribbean’s new bedding program, Majesty’s new mattress frames are designed to prevent sagging under the nine-inch-thick spring mattresses. Mattresses have separate two-inch-thick micro-fiber pillow tops that unfold to lie on top of each other to create a queen-size, gap-free mattress. The new bedding includes 220 thread-count cotton-blend sheets, micro-fiber pillows, duvets with cotton-blend covers and bed skirts and colored bed scarves at the end of the beds to protect the duvet.
The ship’s new expanded conference center is very impressive and has a new multimedia system and softer furnishings.
The new space for young cruisers Adventure Ocean is now more colorful and teens on board now have their own Fuel Nightclub, plus an indoor lounge called the Living Room and an outdoor one, the Back Deck.