NCL Majesty 3/18-25 Review

[eq302504]

HEYY!! Just got back from Spring Break on the Majesty a few days ago and it was amazing!! I thought I'd give a review from a young (20 year old), first time cruiser.

 

Embarkation-We got to the pier around 11:30 Saturday morning, got all of our luggage taken, our documents settled and our picture taken. We sat in a holding area for maybe 30ish min and then we were on the boat! I was with my boyfriend and another couple and we were a few of the first people on the boat. It was great. We found our room easily, got some food and drinks and enjoyed the first day.

 

Food-The food was pretty good. I'm used to really really bad dining hall food so anything other than that was a very welcome change. We only went to a restaurant on our last night, so every other night we just had the buffet. They always had some type of chicken and fish, and potato and veggie. I definitely ate a good amount on this vacation.

 

Rooms-I had a double room which turned out to be much larger than I expected. I was pleasantly surprised, but I also have nothing to compare it to. The bathroom was fairly large as well, but I had a few complaints in that area. The cold water never really got cold. If I wanted a cold glass of water I had to open the $4 bottle of Evian and get some ice and drink that. Another thing is our toilet backed up a few times during the week. I knew it wasn't our room and it was probably a combination of things, but it took a while for the problem to get fixed. We had 2 beds which were combined into one big bed. The problem here was that even though there was a big mattress covering it, it still felt like there were two separate beds.

 

The Boat-I read a ton of review online about the boat, and they all remarked about how small it is. Well, it is small, but for me as a first timer, it was the perfect size. I'm really bad with directions and get lost easily, so it was the middle of the week before I figured out how to get to my room from different areas. You could tell it was a little older, but that didn't bother me. The pools were a pretty good size and not too cold. We sat in a particular spot on the first full day and that was pretty much our designated spot the rest of the trip. The very top deck was too windy to lay out on in my opinion and there wasn't a ton of room by the pools to lay out. We settled for the pool area even though it was a little smooshed.

 

Service-Amazing. Our favorite server, Nanette, knew our names within the first 5 min of meeting her. We were on a first name basis with a few members of the bar staff and everyone was extremely nice. They all work so hard to make your vacation the trip of a lifetime. I wish I had people like that around me all the time.

 

Ports-Grand Cayman-We walked around for a while, got some food and went to Seven Mile Beach. Once we got there, my boyfriend and I decided to go parasailing. It was sooo scary but I'm glad I did it. My eyes were closed for most of it but when I did open them, I could literally see across the entire island. It was beautiful but very scary. We didnt book it through the ship which let us to set our own time and it was about the same price at 7 Mile Beach.

-Cozumel-Again, after tendering, we walked around, did some shopping, and got a cab to the beach. We went to Playa Maya (Mya?) beach and that was great. It's a bit of a drive (15-20 min) and we kind of wondered where we were going a few times and if the driver understood what we wanted, but when we got there, we were very pleased. We each paid $35 for beach access, a chair, and all you could drink. For $7 more we could have gotten an all you can eat buffet, but we chose not to. It was definitely well worth the money. If you compared the drink prices on the ship to the money spent for the beach and drinks, my boyfriend drank his money's worth within an hour. The water was amazing, there is this big iceberg climbing thing out in the middle which looked fun but I didn't do it. If you like to party, like loud music and great food, make sure you go to Carlos and Charlie's. The food was AMAZING and the atmosphere was so fun. Cozumel was my favorite port

-Key West-I'm underage so we didn't go to any bars, but just walking around Duval St. was a great time. We went to this really great restaurant with fabulous food and HUGE portions. I wish I could remember the name because we got to sit outside in the beautiful nighttime weather. Key West came in a close second as my favorite port.

 

Entertainment-We went to a few shows. The hypnotist was funny, and the "Newlywed, Not-So-Newlywed Game" was really great. Also the singer/piano player in the martini bar in front of the Palace Theater is FABULOUS. He is such a great singer and I really wish I had bought his cd.

 

General-The last full day was rough, cold, windy and pretty cloudy. My friends and I just stayed in and played cards all day. That night was extremely rough. I don't know if it's always that rough going back to Charleston, but it was very uncomfortable. I can't even find words to describe how bad it was.

 

Dembarkation-Sucked. Just wasn't a fun process, seemed a little unorganized. Also, I was VERY surprised they didn't have us go through any metal detectors or put our carry ons through xray machines when we got off.

 

Sorry this was really long, if you have any questions about the Majesty, feel free to email me at eq302504@ohio.edu and I'd be happy to answer any questions as best as I can. I'll definitely go on another cruise, but I think I'll wait a few years so I'm of age and have more money. I'd also probably stay with NCL but definitely a bigger boat and a different itinerary. I think that's about it! Happy cruising!:D

[tstruth]

Thanks for the great review. I am am going on my first cruise in April on the Majesty. I can't wait. If you have any advise as what to do or not do, I would appreciate it.

When you went to the shows, did you have to make a reservation or show up early to get a good seat? Also, how long was the tendering process in Cozumel?

Thanks:)

[Ralphinsc]

Do show up early for the shows if you want a great seat. You can't call to reserve seats if that's what you mean by reservation. The cruise line also discourages saving seats in the theater and ask that passengers with children not sit in the front row. I don't know about her tendering, but for us Cozumel was a tough tendering spot. The tenders are huge but they take forever to load and unload. We waited over two hours to get off the ship, largely due to the fact that we didn't get tickets early and didn't book an excursion. For Cozumel, I would reccomend getting a tender ticket ASAP or booking an excursion to get off the boat. You do get more time there than any other port though. Cozumel would of been my favorite stop if my wife wouldn't of had such a bad time. I think the pushy salespeople and the atmosphere at Carlos and Charlie's turned her off. I didn't mind the sales pushes and Carlos and Charlie's was my promise land, LOL! Good review from eq. How was the age makeup of your cruise? More college students or a generally older crowd?

[kabrse]

Thank you all for the great information. I am going on my first cruise in 2 weeks and I am still learning new things about cruising. Do you have to get "tickets" to get off the ships at port. If so where and when do you get your tickets!

[embradley]

just got off the Majesty today *my first cruise* and pretty much agree with everything they have written. You do have to pick up tendering tickets before tendering *if you do not have an excursion through the ship*. We only had to do this in Cozumel since we had an excursion booked through Grand Cayman. You pick up the tickets at Crossroads on deck 5. My group was the very first people to get the tickets *got to the desk 20 minutes early* and they call by your ticket number. It still took a while to get off to Cozumel but not as long...maybe 45 minutes max. You will HAVE to show up early at the shows to get a good seat *esp. if it is in the palace theatre b/c of all the columns in your way* usually 10-15 mins early would work. Cozumel was also my fav spot and we did go to Carlos & Charlies and had a WONDERFUL time!! *we joined the conga line and got 4 free shots of tequila!!:D* Key west was also great..Fat Tuesdays had awesome drinks!! I will post a detailed review later so look for it!

[AndrewM]

What I like most about your review is how genuinely accepting you are of what problems may come your way, be it lack of cold drinking water or a backed up toilet.

 

As we get older and more jaded to cruising, I've noticed that my wife and I have become a little more critical and more demanding about what we get out of our cruises. Thanks for bringing that feeling back that I remember after I got off my first cruise.

[eq302504]

Aw! AndrewM that was so nice of you to say! Thank you! That's just how I try to live my life. I'm thankful that I even have the opportunity to even go on a cruise, or any vacation for that matter, and I really just think you have to roll with the punches and take things as they come. One or two little mishaps here and there aren't going to ruin my trip and I wish that is how more people saw it. I read so many reviews where it seemed as if people were complaining about the little things, and I vowed I wouldn't do that.

 

As for the tendering off the ship to the ports, I think its a great opportunity to take pictures of the shore, the water, the boat, and the other cruise ships. We didn't really mind them at all, but the lines at the END of the day for the last tender were a little rough. Make sure you get there a little early so you're not standing in a HUGE line in the hot sun.

 

The age makeup of my cruise was very diverse. There were about 200 college kids on spring break, a decent amount of couples in their 30s and 40s, couples with their kids, and a pretty good amount of seniors as well. However, I didn't see many of the seniors except at the shows in the theater. I think some of them just stayed there all night and watched every single thing. About the shows, DO NOT show up late. You will get a bad seat and you wont enjoy yourself as much as you would if you had a better one. If you get there maybe 10 min early, get a drink at the martini bar, and go in, you'll be just fine.

 

I've already gotten a few emails from cruisers, so like I said in my initial post, feel free to email me at eq302504@ohio.edu if you have any questions!!:D