Dream and Majesty - Why are the prices so low?

[jbobst]

My family and I are fairly new to cruising, and I am thinking about NCL as an option for our next cruise. Our first cruise was on an older (built in 1992) Royal Caribbean ship, and we just finished our second cruise on the Grand Princess.

 

I have two children (5 and 8) and am looking at a family cruise next December or January. The Dream and Majesty have some REALLY good 7 day Caribbean cruise rates. No other cruise lines seems to have a 7 day cruise anywhere close to the price NCL is offering for these two ships. The Majesty is a bit more expensive, but only by a few dollars and still very affordable. However, this makes me a bit concerned that there might be a reason these cruises are so inexpensive.

 

I have done a little research into these two ships and both appear to be pretty old and smaller than the latest and greatest ships out there. However, we really did enjoy our first cruise on the Monarch of the Seas, which appears to be the same age as these two ships and probably close in size (although I think the Monarch of the Seas is quite a bit larger maybe). My biggest "concern" with the little I have read about the Dream and Majesty is that lack of pool options...especially for my kids. They would like to go on a ship with a water slide, like a Carnival ship or the NCL Dawn (at least I think the Dawn has a small kids slide). They also really enjoyed the kids "Whale" pool on the Grand Princess (small splash pool in the kids area shaped like a whale). However, I know they will still have a good time on ANY ship, and the price of the Dream and Majesty sure seem nice.

 

Any thoughts on why these two ships have such low prices?

 

Thanks.

Jeff

[cruiser-dude]

Dream is smaller, older, and leaving from Houston. But - we REALLY enjoyed the cruise, and I have seen nothing but 99% great reviews on her for over 5 months now. Great choice. Great itinerary. Dunno about the Majesty, but I am betting that the same hold true.

[Don Haynes]

While the Dream and the Majesty are almost the oldest ships in NCL's fleet. Both ships have wonderful crews, but lack the number of restaurants and lounges as the newer Freestyle ships. The Majesty also has some of the smallest cabins afloat. The Dream sails out of Houston and the Majesty is sailing out of Charleston presently. This summer though, the Dream will be sailing the Baltic Sea and the Majesty will return to Boston for her Bermuda voyages.

 

Frankly, I like the smaller older vessels. Their small size shortens the walking distance considerably. Both ships are well maintained, if you look hard you may see a bit of rust here and there or some worn carpeting. There is nothing wrong with these ships, however, they aren't new either.

[tumeroll]

Not a lot of bells and whistles on the Majesty. Just plain old fashioned relaxed cruising. The passenger list tends to be a bit older than you will find on Carnival and certainly more subdued. No slides for the kids. But for the price you can't beat it.

[adbnva]

majesty was our 1st ncl cruise n about 15 years. we were disappointed & will never cruise ncl again for several reasons. the food n the dining rm is ok, but the buffet was awful. we do not eat @ the buffet unless we have to, but it was almost better 2 go hungry. our cabin was small!!!! carnival has great bedding, big cabins, better food, & the glory has fish & chips.

[electricron]

Food is very subjective. I was on the Carnival Conquest last week, and the food was hit and miss. The at sea days, they served beef in both the main restaurants and the cafeteria. Delicous! But on the in port days, they served lamb instead of beef! Ugh!

 

I never had filet mignon tougher than the cheapest cut of sirlon steak in my life until last week. Filet mignon should melt in your mouth. Everyone at my table, and there were eight of us, commented on how tough it was as we chewed and chewed and chewed. The very next night, the prime rib was served perfectly.

 

How a chef can cook one cut perfectly and another cut terribly is beyond me, but it happens........

 

The point of this post, don't make judgements about the food based on just one dinner.

[SHINEMAN]

Both are fine ships for all the reasons cited abaove.

However, pols would be a disappointment to kids. If that is very important fuhgetit.