Majesty Review - 5 day Cuba, Key West and Cozumel

[kskelley40]

Just a short review of our 5-day Cuba cruise

A little background first - this was a last minute cruise offered by our Casino TA 2 weeks before sailing. Only cabin available was an inside on deck 2. Used to balconies or suites so this was definitely different. Flew to Tampa from Atlanta. Had a driver from "Super Shuttle" meet us at the airport for ride to pier.

 

Embarkation - Platinum status

Arrived at the pier at 10:30. No lines for Platinum. Small lines for general. Sent to the priority lounge to await boarding. Had time to sit down before they started calling groups. Was in the Windjammer having our first drink at 10:50!

 

Muster - outside on deck 7. Just the usually inconvenience but not bad. Skies were overcast so not too hot. Pool was empty.

Cabins were ready at 1 pm.

 

Inside cabin 2063 - small with only 4 drawers for clothes and small closet. No mini fridge. It had 1 King bed with 2 Pullman beds. We decided to open one Pullman bed and used it for storage all week. Helped with our stuff but made getting out of bed on one side tricky. TV was in a weird location - behind the bed. So had to turn around to watch TV or use the mirror on the cabin door. Not a bad cabin for such a short cruise. Could not stay longer in it due to the lack of storage space.

 

MDR - ate there only once. Did not like the big tables that you share so skipped it the other 4 nights. Did not have "My time dining" since it was not available last minute. Food and service was very good! Steak was the best I have had in a long time.

 

Ship - yes it is small and a little older but looks great. Crew was constantly cleaning and took pride in their ship. Very friendly and helpful crew. Would sail on her again in a bigger cabin.

 

Windjammer - sometimes there are 2 areas open - on those days not too bad crowd wise. Never really busy though. Food tasted great - temperature of the food could always be better. But the service was excellent. Never a dirty table, crew came around offering drinks, desserts, bread etc.... Good selection also and theme nights. Hardest to find a table was at breakfast when we arrived into the ports late. But we just went outside.

 

Pool - we only had 1 sea day not counting embarkation day so if you did not go into the ports, the pool was empty. On sea day, the pool started filling up around 10 am. Chairs started getting scare right around the pool but away from it there were plenty. Only saw a couple of chair hogs and the pool attendants/lifeguards took care of them after about an hour.

 

Entertainment - while we did not go, heard a lot of good comments about the shows, comedians etc... (we are not "show" people) We did catch the replays on the TV and enjoyed them. TV stations in the cabin are lacking as usual. Casino was quiet on this cruise until the shows let out. Never bad though. Was always able to find a seat at a poker table. I vape so had to sit in smoking section - but smoke was not bad. Could not tell I was in the smoking section at all. Might had been heavier in the corners of the slot machines, but if you were just walking through - smoke was not an issue.

 

Ports - Key West, Cuba, Cozumel. We did not get off in Key West or Cozumel - been there, done that. But Cuba was fantastic.

There were several seminars and discussion groups at the start of the cruise to answer any questions regarding Cuba, Customs, Money etc... but it was a breeze!

 

Booked a ship excursion and was off the ship by 7:45 am. Breezed through customs, got our passport stamped, exchanged money and we were off! Nice excursion - Old Havana Walking Tour. Really gave us the background and history of Cuba without being political. Had 4 hours after the tour to explore on our own, shop and grab lunch. Food was amazing and not expensive. Had a big combo platter and 3 beers each for $40 including tip. Found some charros at a sidewalk stand that were filled with chocolate or condensed milk - FANTASTIC!

 

Getting back on the ship was easy too - except it started storming. Had to halt boarding for 15 minutes because the ship was rocking too much. The crew came out with cold washcloths, water, and warm pool towels to give us since we were wet from running to the terminal. Did not take our alcohol we purchased because they said no room to store everybody's. Not sure if this was the case at every port but we got to hold on to our Cuban Rum.

 

Disembarkation - we had a 12:30 flight so was not in a hurry to get off. Breakfast at 6:30 was empty. Started filling up around 7. Heard the first announcement for self-carry around 7:30. We waited until 8:30 and they were on tag number 12 by that time - we had 3.

Getting off was quick. There was a line but it kept moving. Bags were easy to find and then to the custom line....it was long but moved quickly. Customs was nothing - said hello, asked if we bought anything and Have a nice day!

 

Taxis - could not really see any taxis outside of the terminal. So we grabbed a shuttle to the airport. We were fortunate as we were the last 2 they were waiting for. Those in the van said they had been waiting 20 minutes for the van to fill up. Not sure if I would do a shuttle again but it worked out this time.

 

That's it....quick, condensed review. If you have any questions, let me know and I will try to answer them.

 

One note - make sure you fill out your packet the cruise line sends you before you get to the pier. It really speeds things up during check in. You will get your Visa at check in- $75 per person billed to your cabin. Take it to your cabin and fill it out later - do not need it until you arrive in Cuba.

[bulldogmommy]

Thanks for the review, we leave Saturday on the Majesty. Cannot wait to see Cuba!

[Crazy planning mom]

Excellent review! Thanks for sharing. Cuba is on my bucket list.

[SilkySal]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review! We are with a group of 13 on the Majesty this October and are very excited to experience Cuba!!;p:cool:

[cbtravel1]

Excellent review

[Maggie North]

Thank you for the review....leaving for 4 day KW & Cuba on Majesty on Saturday! All great tips and info!

[watson61]

Thank you. Great review. I definitely want to do this cruise.

 

 

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[sharktums]

Thanks for the review.