NCL Sky or RCI Majesty of the Seas

[LoveyHowell]

We have to be in Miami this fall for a conference and are looking at tacking on a 4 day cruise (Mon - Fri).

 

We've narrowed it down to NCL Sky or Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas.

 

Both go to Nassau. Each has a stop at their own Bahamas Island. NCL goes to Freeport. Royal goes to Key West. The itinerary is a toss up for me, not a big deal either way.

 

Prices are similar now for either one. I've never been on either ship and don't normally do cruises shorter than 7 days but this time frame works for us.

 

Can anyone who has been on both share comments?

[mcatmcat]

I did the sky once and it was my only NCL ever. I rather sail with NCL than carnival but I believe sky is super super bad in my opinion to the point that I don't care it to the majesty.

I have sailed a few time onboard the majesty from interior to ocean view to a surprised grand suite and I really liked it

[Cruzaholic41]

I've been on both ships numerous times. I recommend Majesty for several reasons. One, Majesty's itinerary is much better due to going to Key West instead of Freeport. Two, Coco Cay is better better laid out, has far more swimming beaches and far more bars than Little Stirrup Cay. Three, Majesty is a much better maintained ship. RCI does a better job at keeping the old gal looking beautiful than NCL does.

 

Both ships have tiny rooms, but Majesty's are more comfortable.

 

Sky's only advantage is specialty restaurants and standard balcony rooms.

 

If you choose Majesty and are not staying in a suite, I highly recommend booking a deck 9 cat SO room. The rooms are much bigger and have a couch.

[tahqa]

Sky's advantages:

- Full size basketball court

- Outdoor dining for the buffet

- Better buffet food

- Marginally larger cabins

- More balconies

- Freeport stop

 

Majesty's Advantages:

- Better MDR food

- Better desserts

- Easier to get around ship

- Better Centrum/Atrium

- Better pool deck

- Rock climbing wall

- Key West

- Coco Cay

- Cheaper drink packages

 

This is all subjective and based on my experience (Monarch instead of Majesty, but basically the same ship). My wife and I found the buffet to be better on Sky but MDR better on RCL. We didn't really ever find a dessert we liked on the Sky. Majesty has a much better ship design and Sky just felt like it was too difficult to get anywhere, especially to the dining rooms. The one thing that we really really liked on Sky was the outdoor dining for the buffet. Other than that we felt that the Majesty/Monarch has it beat in terms of ship design.

 

We also prefer Coco Cay over Great Stirrup Cay (NCL's island). Great Stirrup Cay feels like a gravel quarry to me, it's very industrial looking outside of the beach areas. Which makes sense because NCL bought it from an oil company. GSC is larger than Coco Cay but Coco feels more like a tropical island. GSC has more variety in their cabanas, but they're up on top of a grassy ridge and kind of distant from things. Coco's cabanas don't have electricity or fans, but we enjoyed them better than GSC's. Again, this is just our opinion.

 

So, for us Majesty would be a clear winner over NCL Sky. NCL Sky and GSC weren't horrible, but we prefer RCI in this case.

[laedw]

My niece is planning a Thanksgiving cruise on NCL Sky and another is planning a Thanksgiving cruise on Majesty. Based on this thread, I think I am going to go with the Majesty sailing. I sailed on her years ago and enjoyed the ports especially Key West. I am unfamiliar with NCL but judging from the above reviews I'm not sure I would enjoy GSC. By the way, what is there to do in Freeport?

[tahqa]

I've been on both ships numerous times. I recommend Majesty for several reasons. One, Majesty's itinerary is much better due to going to Key West instead of Freeport. Two, Coco Cay is better better laid out, has far more swimming beaches and far more bars than Little Stirrup Cay. Three, Majesty is a much better maintained ship. RCI does a better job at keeping the old gal looking beautiful than NCL does.

 

Both ships have tiny rooms, but Majesty's are more comfortable.

 

Sky's only advantage is specialty restaurants and standard balcony rooms.

 

If you choose Majesty and are not staying in a suite, I highly recommend booking a deck 9 cat SO room. The rooms are much bigger and have a couch.

 

FYI -- Coco Cay is Little Stirrup Cay. NCL's private island is Great Stirrup Cay. :D

[tahqa]

My niece is planning a Thanksgiving cruise on NCL Sky and another is planning a Thanksgiving cruise on Majesty. Based on this thread, I think I am going to go with the Majesty sailing. I sailed on her years ago and enjoyed the ports especially Key West. I am unfamiliar with NCL but judging from the above reviews I'm not sure I would enjoy GSC. By the way, what is there to do in Freeport?

 

There is the usual tropical island activities like snorkeling, going to the beach, getting your drink on, etc. But because the cruise port there is next to the shipyards everything is just a little further away.

[Tony0812]

We have to be in Miami this fall for a conference and are looking at tacking on a 4 day cruise (Mon - Fri).

 

We've narrowed it down to NCL Sky or Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas.

 

Both go to Nassau. Each has a stop at their own Bahamas Island. NCL goes to Freeport. Royal goes to Key West. The itinerary is a toss up for me, not a big deal either way.

 

Prices are similar now for either one. I've never been on either ship and don't normally do cruises shorter than 7 days but this time frame works for us.

 

Can anyone who has been on both share comments?

 

OP, not sure if you have decided yet or if you have booked, but just to add my .02;

 

My wife and I went on the Majesty last September and took with us a couple that was celebrating their birthday.

 

The couple had only ever sailed on NCL as the wife and her entire family works for NCL. You can only imagine how much convincing it took to get her to try Royal.

 

The fact that there are no balcony rooms was kind of a bummer. But the single greatest downfall was the customer service that we experienced. We have sailed on many Royal cruises before and have always had GREAT service. We were actually on the Allure the month before! Not sure if maybe it was because we typically do 7 nights and this was only a 3 night cruise. Either way, the service was truly Horrible on the Majesty. So much so, that we are now booked on our first NCL cruise this year...

[Pumbaamd]

GSC has more variety in their cabanas, but they're up on top of a grassy ridge and kind of distant from things.

Is that one of the "ridges" that covers a landfill?

R&D

[Cruzaholic41]

FYI -- Coco Cay is Little Stirrup Cay. NCL's private island is Great Stirrup Cay. :D

 

Ah crap - you're right. Sorry bout that. :o

[LoveyHowell]

Reading reviews for both goes from 5 star to 1 star. Great time to worst cruise ever. So who knows? We'll probably wait until time gets closer and flip a coin or see if one has a major price advantage over another. I know they are both older, medium size ships but a few extra days on any ship in the sun versus going back to work sounds good

[American Bear]

Sky's advantages:

- Full size basketball court

- Outdoor dining for the buffet

- Better buffet food

- Marginally larger cabins

- More balconies

- Freeport stop

 

Majesty's Advantages:

- Better MDR food

- Better desserts

- Easier to get around ship

- Better Centrum/Atrium

- Better pool deck

- Rock climbing wall

- Key West

- Coco Cay

- Cheaper drink packages

 

 

We agree with much of your list except for Coco Cay, which is the worst private island of all the cruise lines. NCL's Great Stirrup Cay is far superior.

We like Key West slightly more then Freeport.

Because both have pluses and minuses, we'd pick the less expensive cruise!