1st time cruiser - Majesty questions

[kart94racer]

Leaving Saturday to cruise on the majesty. Anybody have any tips for a first time cruiser.

[retiredAF]

Our first and only cruise so far was on the majesty last year. We learned a lot from this site and I would say the some of the best things we learned were:

1) pack only half of what you think you need

2)bring an over the door shoe organizer for all of your small personal or bathroom items

3) Take things in stride...you will enjoy your vacation so much more!

Have a great time, we can't wait to go again!

[heelfan94]

I have a review up on this board if you'd like to read about the Majesty. My tip for a Majesty cruiser would be to stay flexible with your plans. Lots of different things can happen to adjust your itinerary and there's nothing you can do about it, so go with the flow. You'll have a great time. Be sure to let us know how it goes. Have a great cruise. :)

[heelfan94]

Our first and only cruise so far was on the majesty last year. We learned a lot from this site and I would say the some of the best things we learned were:

1) pack only half of what you think you need

2)bring an over the door shoe organizer for all of your small personal or bathroom items

3) Take things in stride...you will enjoy your vacation so much more!

Have a great time, we can't wait to go again!

I would like to defer to this poster. :o

 

Very well said. :)

[Leafpeeper]

A first cruise is always exciting. If you like the Majesty, just think of all the huge new ships you can explore.

 

We are heading out on our second NCL cruise on NCL Star in early February. One thing you should enjoy on NCL is dining when you want and having lots of choices of places to eat rather than one dining room and one buffet. We are going to try the Japanese, French, Italian, and so many other restaurants on the Star.

 

There is a movie theater on the Star, which is something we really enjoy on sea days--popcorn and all. The last time I went to the movies was onboard NCL Dawn. The movies were more current than the recently released DVD's.

 

Hope you enjoy sailing somewhere sunny and warm. We may try sailing out of Charleston some winter when we are driving down to Florida. South Carolina's seacoast is incredible, and Charleston is so lovely. One of our favorite islands is Hilton Head.

[retiredAF]

Thanks heelfan94.. :)

[kart94racer]

Thanks for the info guys. I cant wait. How good are the shore Ex. in grand caman and cousmel? do you guys have any suggestions

[Don Haynes]

I have never had a bad shore excursion. Book what interests you most, whether snorkeling, scuba diving, the beach, and/or the sightseeing/shopping tours. You'll love both islands.

[osiebosie]

We don't do shore excursions. Nothing against them, we've done one in all of our many cruises, but we prefer to do things on our own. Never had a problem with getting back to the ship in time. Why don't you do a shore excursion at your first port, sort of get the hang of things, and do the next port on your own? We usually rent our own vehicle and take off on our own tour, or we get a taxi (haggle price first) and hire them for the day. We've said to the taxi driver, "take us to the best snorkeling spot," and when we get there, you can see the snorkeling group out in the ocean. Most likely, our's was cheaper. And, we can leave when we are done. Then go do something else.

 

Let them take all of the pictures of you they want, but don't buy any until the end of the cruise. That way you won't spend alot of money on pics.

 

Be sure you have planned for the tips.

 

I'm not sure, but I think the safes on Majesty use a magnetic card. Do NOT use your room key for this. Grab a Wal-mart gift card, or any Kroger gift card, or any store's, and use that instead. Hide it in your cabin.

 

Relax. If you don't do it all on this cruise, you can cruise again!

 

If you are flying, tie something onto your luggage that will identify it absolutely as your own. Even if you're not flying, do this.

 

We bring binoculars.

 

Watch for flying fish. Not with binoculars.

 

Sit out on deck at night.

 

Be sure you have gone to the roll call boards to see who is sailing with you.

 

Have fun. I'll be on the Majesty with DH on January 13th!

 

Shay

[hotspur]

Leaving Saturday to cruise on the majesty. Anybody have any tips for a first time cruiser.

The seating area in Majesty's buffet is quite small. If you can't find a table there, walk down the stairs to the Observatory Lounge and you should find plenty of tables there.

 

If you choose to breakfast at the buffet, be sure to check out the "action" stations just outside the entrances to the two buffet lines. You'll find freshly-made waffles, omelets, fried eggs, etc., there. Also, do the same at lunch, where these stations have soups, Indian dishes, deli sandwiches, and the like.

 

Majesty's theater is relatively small, and posts can block sight-lines. If you are planning to attend an evening show, try to get there early to get a good seat.

 

There is an open seating area with deck chairs at the stern of deck 8. This is the best alternative to the deck above the pool area for outdoor seating.

 

If you're looking for a nice indoor spot to sit and read on a sea day, try the Observatory Lounge.

 

There are sometimes interesting choices to eat at the Piazza San Marco at the stern of deck 10. If you like scones, strawberry jam, and cream, get to the buffet early during afternoon tea (they may call it something else). The scones disappear quickly.

[Tomct]

hotspur just nailed some of my hot spots, but worth repeating;

 

My "must see/do" list is as follows:

 

Familiarize yourself with the ship with an early tour. As familiar as we were with cruising on our 5th NCL cruise, we were sorry we missed the Pasta Cafe/Royal Observatory until the last night. We had checked the menu one night, but it didn't seem that attractive. What we found was they changed the menu each night, and it was great, but we also missed some spectacular views you could experience daily from their bar/lounge area. We wished we had found it early on the cruise. By the way, we were told they can always make up a pasta and sauce dish for someone not crazy about the menu on any given day.

 

Other things not to be missed are LeBistro at least once, make reservations early!! The Chocolate Buffet, Piazza San Marco for late night snacks; make sure you catch some shows in the theater area - small, but entertainment was very good; though we normally like to vary our dining venues, we found we spent more meals at Seven Seas than we normally do at any one place.

 

We long heard about the great staff they had on the Majesty, and we were not disappointed. It's likely most of them have changed, but I'm sure they have a tradition to uphold, and I hope you enjoy them and the ship as much as we did. We can't compare this smaller ship to the larger ones we have experienced, as there are advantages and disadvanteges to each.

 

Have a great cruise, and I hope we hear from you upon your return.

[Nickymjw1]

I'd say don't book your excursions through NCL. Get off the ship and there will be plenty of excursion vendors right there. Much cheaper, and you won't be stuck with a large group.

 

Grand Cayman I suggest the Stinray tour. I was scared, but once I was in the water with them and got over my initial nervousness, it was wonderful! We used Moby Dick tours, I heard good things about Capt. Marvin also. All they do is the excursions for the ships, so they will have you back on time.

 

In Cozumel we had pre-booked a private tour guide ahead of time. He was waiting for us at the pier. It was wonderful, as it was just him and my husband and me. If you look at the Cozumel message boards, you will find some suggestions for private guides.

 

Lastly, when arriving in Key West, don't wait until the people that are booked through NCL for a tour go through customs. Even though they say they go first, you can get in line with them and no one is checking. Get's you off the ship much faster. You might try this also at the other ports, not sure it works if you are tendering.

 

Lastly, if you are not in a rush to catch a plane upon return, enjoy our last morning on the ship by sleeping in a little, having a nice long (check hours breakfast is served) sit outside if the weather is good, etc. Then when it is time for you to get off, all you do is get off instead if getting in line. Normally they are finishing up debarkation by 10:30am

 

Enjoy, this is a great cruise for a first time cruise. We fell in love with cruising on the Majesty!

[Fredr500]

Two quick comments:

 

1)We booked the haunted Key West tour after getting off the ship, got it for $15 each vs something like $30 each on ship. It was OK, nothing special. I think I've figured out how they get you to take pictures of the energy orbs with your camera as everyone on the walk was getting some.

 

2)In Cozumel don't overlook the cooking class. It includes a full open bar, you cook your own appetizer, main course and dessert. It is then served to you with wine at each course. Afterwards you have 2-3 hours at the beach resort, with the bar still included, along with the buffet if you are still hungry. Everyone on it had a great time. It is one of the undiscovered, different excursions. Highly recommended.

 

Fred

[bakechef]

....and if you have a chance check out charleston, it is one of the nicest ports of call on the itinerary, don't let it be just the departure port, check it out if you can!:)

 

MAC

[retiredAF]

Because this was all so new to us, our comfort level was with the NCL shore excursions. We took the catamaran/snorkeling trip in Cozumel and the pub tour in Key West. We had a great time on the Cozumel excursion and I would do that one again. (Although that cooking class fredr500 mentioned sounds great too!) We really enjoyed Key West pub tour but next time we would do that on our own.

We enjoyed the entertainment on the Majesty although we did miss something's until we realized how much attention we needed to pay to the dailies!:) There was a great piano player in the Polo lounge in the evenings and we had a great time at the "martini clinic".

The staff was wonderful!

[Tomct]

Great tip on reading the FreeStyle Daily, basically your newspaper for the day. It arrives mid evening, so try to review it before you go to bed to see if you might want to adjust your plans for the next day.

 

What I wanted to add was do not be shy about asking Majesty staff any questions you have. Of course there is the main desk where their job is to answer your questions and provide any related assistance you may need. But we like to ask questions of our servers when time allows, as not only is it enjoyable to hear where they are from, and where they have been, etc., but some of them can provide some very helpful hints and tips related to the ship or ports. You'll find some spend very little time in port, while others may lead you to a nice beach, shop, or restaurant. We especially did this on our early cruises, but still enjoy conversation with ship staff.

[kart94racer]

getting ready to throw the bags in the car to start the trip to Charleston! I Have Hardly slept a wink all night. Wife is still In bed sawing wood.

[heelfan94]

getting ready to throw the bags in the car to start the trip to Charleston! I Have Hardly slept a wink all night. Wife is still In bed sawing wood.

Have a great cruise. :)

[Tomct]

Leaving Saturday to cruise on the majesty. Anybody have any tips for a first time cruiser.

 

 

Looks like kart94racer has had some bad luck, as reports indicate NCL has cancelled the next cruise out of Charleston due to mechanical difficulty. I hope the drive was not too long. I recall someone saying to be prepared to "roll with the punches", but this is a "knockout blow". Let's hope kart94racer handles this unfortunate situation as well as can be under the circumstances, as I feel so sorry that this has happened to anyone, let alone a first time cruiser.

[VoyageVirgin]

Heartfelt sorry here. First time and this has to happen. Not going to be pleasant for quite a few folks out there tonight. Be interesting to see how it unfolds. :(

[osiebosie]

Oh, I feel SO BAD for him, and everyone else booked for this cruise.

 

Shay