Day Five: Bahama Cruise

Miami, Florida: We awoke to find Majesty pulling aside the terminal in Miami. We headed to breakfast and then to our disembarkation staging area, the Schooner Bar. Disembarkation was a pain, not just because of the reality that the vacation was over, but the fact that it seemed very unorganized. We were tagged for disembarkation at 8:15-8:30 and we headed into the line at that time, but the overflow of the “Express Check-Out” spilled over and backed up all of the color tag disembarkation.

Once we hit the gangway, we proceeded to the baggage pick up area. Seemed like an eternity for the bags to arrive. When they did, my wife’s new suitcase looked like it took a long fall off the side of the ship, folded like an accordion with multiple tears in the fabric and the frame cracked. Note to self, next time use priority and carry the suitcases off yourself, faster disembarkation and you are responsible for your luggage. Finally we cleared customs without a problem and headed to the car.

Final step was to pay the outrageous $20 a day parking for the garage at the port and hit the road for the long drive home. The GPS took us a different route home, this time passing the Miami International Airport. The traffic was still horrible and intense but we made it through and arrived home in one piece.

Overall the trip was fantastic. The Majesty was much more then we anticipated and we were not disappointed. They staff onboard was wonderful and our stateroom attendant Arthur went out of his way to make sure we were taken care of.

The ports we visited were very interesting. Despite living in Florida for over ten years, this was my first trip to Key West. The city was very quaint and had a lot to offer. For those that like to drink, there were enough bars to keep from getting bored. Nassau was not quite what I had envisioned, the British culture is evident throughout the island. Atlantis was phenomenal, would love to stay there some time and really experience their amenities. Finally Cococay, what a great island. I thought it would be too commercial and fake but I was wrong. Look forward to going there again and snorkeling the wrecks and reefs that are easily accessible to even the most novice swimmers.

The overall experience lived up to the reputation of Royal Caribbean International. It was much better then our previous cruise and has restored our faith in the RCI brand. We look forward to traveling with them in the future. Thanks to Jamie Silva of the Executive Guest Relations team of Royal Caribbean for getting this set up and ensuring we would have a great time and helping to put the past behind us.

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