Royal Caribbean reverses course on ditching oldest ship

Gene Sloan | USA TODAY

On second thought, we think we'll keep it.

That's the word this week from Royal Caribbean, which says it's putting the kibosh on plans to say goodbye to its oldest ship, Majesty of the Seas.

Scheduled to be transferred to Spanish line Pullmantur in April, the 23-year-old vessel instead will remain with Royal Caribbean to sail short cruises to the Bahamas out of Port Canaveral, Fla. The ship currently operates short cruises to the Bahamas out of Miami.

Royal Caribbean says the 2,350-passenger Majesty will undergo a massive makeover before moving to Port Canaveral that includes the addition of water slides, family Jacuzzis and a pool-side movie screen. Majesty also will get several restaurants that appear on other Royal Caribbean vessels including an Izumi Japanese eatery and the Sabor Taqueria.

When Majesty returns to service, it also will feature free, fast Internet for passengers -- a relative rarity in the cruise business.

"Our short itineraries have been very popular," Royal Caribbean president and CEO Michael Bayley says in a statement accompanying the announcement. "With these exciting new features as well as unprecedented fast and free unlimited Internet for guests on Majesty of the Seas, we are stepping up our game and offering a phenomenal short cruise adventure for our guests."

Unveiled in 1992, Majesty is the last of the once-groundbreaking Sovereign class vessels in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Often called the first modern megaships, they were the largest cruise ships ever built at the time of their launch and featured the first multi-story atriums with glass elevators at sea and a then-revolutionary entire deck devoted to balcony cabins.

For a deck-by-deck look at Majesty of the Seas, click through the photo tour at the top of this story.