Short Majesty Xmas Cruise Review

[jsaadat]

We have cruised approx 20 times, this was our first “Holiday” cruise. We were enticed by the opportunity to finally get a longer cruise with out having to take 2 weeks off of work.

 

All in all, it was a very nice cruise because we simply love cruising. I am pretty sure that others on this voyage were not so happy. The seas were rough 5 of the 10 days and we only had a couple of days with sunshine. I felt bad for the first time cruisers. Because of the age of this ship, its definitely lost its glamour and it is rumored to be heading over seas the NCL’s sister company Star/Orient cruise lines……. which would explain why they are not fixing/upgrading anything on the ship. This ship is small with practically no space around the 2 small pools to lay out. You have to go up a deck to use a lounge chair. Although this cruise had hundreds of kids on board because of the holiday… my guess is that it would not me a real family friendly ship any other time. The kid’s club folks did a great job with our 12 y/o and all the other kids. Our 17 y/o teen was board to death (which ended up being a good thing because she spent her time with ol mom and dad…… and we loved it). Daily activities on board were poor to say the least almost like they had never done them before. If you liked Bingo and Art Auctions you will be happy with the activities. Otherwise this ship really lacks in things to keep you busy,,,, . Most of the activities were geared to making NCL $$ which I have no problem with. Wine tasting (no one showed up) was $15 per person Sushi was $10 per person.

 

 

Dining:

 

Ship is to small for “Freestyle Dining” and most had to wait over an hour for dinner in either of the 2 dining rooms. This was very very upsetting!! You can make reservations for the dining room if you want to eat at 5:30 or 9:30. Food was fair to good in the dining rooms………. The service was FANTASTIC !!! If you can get William(India) and Katrina, Joel and Catalina or Komang and Judith as your waiters/assistant waiter you will be happy.

 

The Le Bistro specialty restaurant ($15 PP charge $20 PP of you want surf and turf) was very very good. I don’t like to pay just to enjoy a good meal on a ship……. but it is worth every penny to get a MUCH higher quality meal.

 

A hidden secret is at the front of the ship on deck 9, a reservation only (although we walled right in 3 times) wonderful specialty pasta restaurant. There is no Extra charge and it’s a great change from the dining room.

 

Buffets: Forget it, worst we have ever tried. But out side on the pool deck you can get some decent omelets, waffles, for breakfast and pasta for lunch. Also good hand dipped ice cream on the pool deck.

 

Deck 10 Rear of ship has 24 hour Pizza, Hamburgers, Hotdogs and French fries. Only down fall hear was watching them pour oil on the dogs and burgers to cook them on the grill. Fries were also drenched with oil.

 

Ports

Cayman: Rent a car and drive to Rum Point or go see the stingrays

 

 

Belize: Take Boat or plane to Caye Caulker for a nice relaxing day

 

 

Roatan: Grab a scooter and explore the island. Do Canopy tour near the west end.

 

 

 

Cozumel: Rent a car and drive around the island. Windward side although still battered is still wonderfull.

 

 

 

 

Great Stirrup....... surprisingly good snorkleing, nice swimming.

 

 

 

 

Now the benefits of a small ship.

 

• You can still get to know the crew and also other quests in this non-mega environment.
  
• You can get on and off the ship rather quickly while in port.
  
• You don’t have to walk 2 miles to get a drink, eat or go to a show.

 

Would we sail on this ship again……. No. Would I recommend this ship to future cruisers ?…… Yes. I recommend it for first time cruisers that want a good price and don’t want all the glitz of a mega ship that can DRIVE to either Boston or Charleston to embark.

 

 

 

J

[skm]

Thanks for the info jsaadat, we will be sailing on the Majesty in Feb. This will be our 1st cruise, and we wanted a small ship to kinda introduce us to cruising. Also it's plus that it's out of Charleston, which is only 11hr from us. New york would have been alot closer, but there was NO WAY I'm ready to deal w/ that. SKM

[Lisa63]

Thank you for the review. It was balanced, and a good read. I agree completely about the Pasta Cafe. We loved it last summer, and my husband is looking forward to returning. He was surprised by how good the food was there -- he had been expecting something more casual.

[planetcadillac]

Thank you for the review. It was balanced, and a good read. I agree completely about the Pasta Cafe. We loved it last summer, and my husband is looking forward to returning. He was surprised by how good the food was there -- he had been expecting something more casual.

You will have a good time on the ship. We sailed December 10th right before the holiday cruise. We were actually originally booked for the holiday cruise but too many family members bitched about us being away on Christmas Day so as a compromise we switched for the week before. Definately a different experience from what I have seen. The week before was far more sedate with few kids and mostly couples 40 and up. There were virtually no singles (unless they were travelling with family or in a similar type of group) and few younger couples under 40. However it was a good enough mix and everyone had a good time.

 

As for the Pasta Cafe, it indeed is a hidden jewel. We stayed in the suites on 9 on the port side and our room was mere steps from the entrance to the Pasta Cafe. So it is no surprise that we ate there alot and loved it. We like to eat early usually 530-6 take in the 730 show and any other shows that follow. Some in our group of 6 dropped off and retired to bed while the night owls continued on past 10. It worked out well because we never had a problem eating early and the earlier of the two shows (usually 730 and 930) were much easier to get into.

 

We thought the staff was one of the best aspects of the entire trip. Of course we stayed in a suite with concierge and I am sure that almost guaranteed good service. Plus cruising on December 10th is a transition time (why the rates were excellent) and it tends to be a bit quieter.

 

We did not have any gripes at all really. We ran into the usual things occasionally, difficulties finding a table at peak times around the buffet, trouble finding enough lounge chairs on the top deck at peak times for all of us in one place but those are easily overlooked and expected.

 

It is true that the ship is smaller and older so it did not have the depth of activities one might be accustomed to finding on the newest mega-liners. However for most people, including us, it was a vacation and we were quite content with having nothing to do if the situation arose. lol

 

I am sure I will be beating a dead horse by saying this, but a successful cruise is alot of what you make of it. Expectations plays a huge role in whether you will enjoy a particular cruise or not. The Majesty has always been somewhat controversial in that it has received generally great reviews but there have been some instances of negative reviews. Cruisers can do themselves a favor by adequately researching the cruises that they want to take, prioritize the meaningful things that will make a cruise successful for you, and go on a cruise with appropriate expectations for that cruise. For example do not book a transatlantic crossing on the QM2 in April and expect to be able to sit out on deck all of the time. Likewise if you decide to take a cruise on NCL which does Freestyle Cruising with open dining options it does behoove you to be aware of peaks and valleys in the dining room.

 

Sometimes you just have to chalk stuff up into the 'sh*t happens' category. While waiting at the Purser's Desk to pay off some of our account (we brought some traveller's checks) a woman in front of us was complaining to the staff that she was being charged $4.00 for a bottle of Evian water that she apparently did not use. (Note if you do not want to use the water/beverages provided in the room and worry if they will be charged to you ask the steward to remove them...end of story...) Well, earlier in the cruise at the debarkation points and tour group gathering Evian water was sold to passengers in the identical bottles that were used in some of the staterooms. Apparently this woman placed a half-empty bottle on the same counter as the other drinks and another bottle that had been provided in the room. All I can imagine is that some hapless steward mistook the half-empty bottle as being used in the room and charged the room for the bottle. Of course she was charged twice and made a quite legitimate inquiry about it. However the stink was that this was 8AM in the morning of debarkation and of course it was NOT the time or the place to start an unncessary row over a rather minor thing. I couldn't help but eavesdrop and also found out that she had planned on Express Debarking which was to have occured at 730AM (it was 815AM by this time) and the person was complaining about that as well. To my knowledge the $4.00 charge was removed but you know it was the principal of the thing. If one is doing to do Express Debark check your bill the night before!!!

 

Well enough about that we had a great time and would sail Majesty again. Although we likely won't for a while simply because we have every desire to sail on the Queen Mary 2 and plans are underway to book that cruise. Good Luck and have fun!

[BeachBumMama]

I love the Majesty, my favorite small ship, and the best staff there is. Thanks all for posting, glad to see she's still going strong. I want to sail her to Bermuda again before she leaves the fleet.

[Annie B.]

I have to agree with jsaadat reveiw. I was on the ship during Christmas and did alot of research so I did not expect to much from this ship. But there was way more seniors on the ship then I expected. That is why the last show comedy show was 10:30 instead of midnight I guess. We had a great time but there needed to be more activities during the day and at night. If you walked around after 11:00 there would be only a few people still up. I never seen so many people playing cards on a ship before!!! Overall had a great time just could not recommend this ship to anyone under 60.

[frogfuzz]

We are sailing in Feb. W. Caribbean, Small ships ok with us like the less crowd and quiet. Not thrilled over this ship but only a 4 hour drive so going to try it.

 

Couple questions please:

The hour wait for dinner do you have to stand there and wait or do you return at a later time. This would really stink ,imho.

 

Is there any point in taking a long beaded gown for formal or are short , chiffon type dresses more worn.

 

Thanks

[tigerlilycruiser12]

Been on the majesty about 8 times. I have lost count. It is my favorite small ship and the crew is wonderful. From someone who lives in Boston, easy to get to and hassels boarding. Bermuda is a favorite of mine. Can't beat the price for a 7 day sailing to Bermuda.

 

Marie

[Bberry]

As far as the wait for dinner...it really depends on what time you plan to eat. We arranged a set dining time because there were 8 people in our party and my Dad is in a wheelchair. We never had to wait more than 5 minutes (although we ate at 9 PM). Keep in mind there are window seats in the area outside the dining rooms on deck 5. Most people just sit here- or in the comfy chairs in this same area until they call your name. After the first night, Toni, the hostess (a wonderful girl) greeted my husband by name whenever we checked in at the hostess stand. This was at the Seven Seas dining room at the back of the ship. Several nights we didn't have to wait at all. You can also arrange an early set time to eat...5 PM or 5:30 I think.

 

As far as long beaded gowns. We saw A LOT of them on the optional formal night. Keeping in mind that we sailed during the Thanksgiving Holiday. On other nights there were still lots of chiffon and very dressy dresses and suits for the men. BUT, there were still plenty of polo shirts and Dockers and capri pants and blouses as well. We took lots of casual clothes and my Mom commented that had she known so many people would "dress up" she would have brought more of her really nice clothes. She likes that, but personally I like to be more casual. That's what's great about freestyle.

 

Have a great cruise!

[frogfuzz]

Thanks Bberry.

 

I keep forgetting we are going to be there Valentines day so I bet the beaded dress wont be out of place. Hey I got a 300.00 dress for 24.99 so gotta get my money's worth out of it :D .