Majesty 2/16/08-2/23/08

[heelfan94]

Majesty Cruise

February 16-23, 2008

 

 

This is my account of the Majesty sailing Feb. 16-23, 2008. As some background, this is our sixth cruise and our fifth with NCL. The other cruise was with Disney.

 

We spent the night before our cruise at the Courtyard Marriott in North Charleston. It was fine, and close to restaurants and a great outlet mall. I found out by phone that my daughter was sick (just a bad cold and cough) so that put a quick damper on my mood. To balance it out she was voted the Valentine Sweetheart in her grade at the middle school dance the night before. Life is funny that way. I also found out by voice mail message that my son had his cell phone taken away at school on Friday (he had it out in class, so I understand) and that his teacher had grounded him from it for the weekend. Okay, now we have a problem. I called to tell her that I was on my way out of the country on a cruise ship, and that I needed him to have the cell phone to keep in touch. She tracked him down that afternoon (he was with my father) and took the phone back to him. I explained that I understood if he couldn't have the phone at school next week. Okay, so that's our run of rotten luck for this week. On to better things!

 

 

GETTING TO THE SHIP

 

We were one of two unlucky groups of people who weren't allowed to park in the warehouse adjacent to the terminal. Instead, we parked a few miles (I'm guessing on this) away where they had us pull up in rows and the vehicles were left outside. Not crazy about this. The $110 vehicle storage fee has always seemed a good deal because the cars are locked up inside for the week. After we parked it was over to a little spot where everyone was standing with their carry-on bags. There was no organization when we were there. We got in the car line at 11:15 and it was 12:30 when we got back to the terminal. To me it was a little crazy, but our shuttle bus driver said that BMW (new cars rolling off the assembly line) had first rights to the warehouse parking and that this only happens a couple of times. But I digress. We parked and got on the shuttle bus. The distance back to the port wasn't great but anyone who has sailed out of Charleston knows that traffic is a nightmare. About 5 minutes into the ride over to the terminal one person announced that he left a bag at the pick up spot. He asked the driver if he would go back. The driver (to his credit) said he would have to let everyone vote on it. If we all said yes, he would turn around. Otherwise he was going to drop all of us off and then take him back. The passenger then said, "Well, if it's even still there when I get back." At that point someone said, "We have to let him go back in case it's stolen." So we turned around and headed back. Once there he told us he actually left the small bag in his locked car. Okay, that's a different story from leaving it out in the open for someone to take. Turns out he had a small drawstring bag with his bathing suit in it. At that point everyone was a little ticked off because we all felt like he could have let us go on to the terminal and then go back to his car. So an hour and fifteen minutes after we pulled into the car line we finally made it to the terminal for check in.

 

 

EMBARKATION

 

No one was in the Latitudes line when we got to the terminal (everyone was trying to get on a shuttle bus, so that makes sense ), so we had no wait at all. Once on board the cabins weren't ready yet (although we snuck in and dropped our carry-ons off in our cabin since it was ready). After lunch I made our Le Bistro reservation at the desk in Crossroads.

 

 

THE SHIP

 

The Majesty is just as we left her. Great crew, lots of fun and easy deck plans. This being our third Majesty cruise I felt right at home. I noticed a crane over next to the terminal not long after we boarded. Some work had to be done to the ship and our sail away was delayed a little over an hour. I don't know where to add the part about the kids on our sailing. For the most part all children were well behaved and fun to be around. A young boy (11, maybe?) even held the door for me one day while his friends ran ahead. Someone is doing a good job with him! There was a group of mixed ages that seemed to be very loud and always running and rough housing all over the ship. I have no idea where their parents were. Sun chairs are a problem on the Majesty. I don't like reserving them ahead of time, so the first sea day (Sunday) we were left without a place in the sun. The next sea day (Monday) I went out on deck 8 aft at 8 am and put towels on two chairs, had breakfast, then went out around 8:45. We left our stuff while we had lunch, then back outside. When we left that time I took everything with me. It's the only day I did that. There was an altercation right in front of us when two ladies moved someone's stuff so they could sunbathe. Of course the couple showed up right after they moved it. They hadn't been there in a couple of hours so I can see both sides. Normally I don't like reserving them, but there are so few on the Majesty that you have to be a little aggressive. Anyway, after they had a few words it settled back down.

 

 

THE STATEROOM

 

Okay, our first Majesty cruise we had a CC cabin. Our next cruise we had an AB Suite. This cruise we had an E cabin. I thought the CC was small! This one is tiny. I knew that going in but seeing it for the first time is still a little bit of a shock. Once in and settled the cabin was fine. Our cabin # was 897. I noticed a Cruise Critic magnet down the hall from us. I hope you all had a great time! Two light blue pool towels were in our cabin that need to be here when we disembark, and you can also sign the blue and white striped towels out on the pool deck. Our room stewardess this time (Lorna) is the best one ever, and we've had some really good ones along the way. She called us by name before we even introduced ourselves. She brought in a refrigerator without being asked (champagne that we didn't drink on the first day), showed up at my cabin one late morning to explain she couldn't vacuum because I had my camera batteries charging in the only outlet and made cute towel animals for us. I'm trying to figure out if she can come back home with me. We had a note on our door on Monday afternoon saying our carpet wasn't up to NCL's standard, and it needed to be replaced. We were supposed to call and let Reception know when would be a good time. I called Tuesday morning when we were leaving for Grand Cayman on the tender. When we came back a few hours later nothing was done. We went to a late lunch and came back and our beds, dresser, desk, refrigerator....everything was out in the hall and they were working. It took about an hour and it was really nice to have brand new carpet.

 

 

FOOD

 

In general the food was a problem on my cruise. Sunday, aka Lobster Night, aka Dress Up Night was okay. I don't eat lobster so I always get the Beef Wellington. The beef wasn't tenderloin. I'm not sure what the cut was. It was so so. This is our third cruise with the same menus so maybe I'm too critical. Anyway, the lobster was apparently fine. For dessert I ordered Chocolate Mousse Cake, from the Cooking Light section. It was a flourless chocolate cake - very dense and certainly not cooking light in any way. It was super rich and I only ate two bites. It was delicious, just not what I ordered. I think they were out of the mousse cake. I've had it on two other cruises and it was excellent and hard to think of as "light" fare. The highlight of the Lobster night menu was the spring roll appetizer. It was yummy. Le Bistro was good on Monday evening. I always have the Filet/short rib entree and it was good. I only had the mushroom soup to go with it, and chocolate mousse for dessert. I had a problem with the mousse. It was spongy instead of fluffy. It was a problem on the Majesty one time before. Tuesday evening I had the coq au vin and it was okay.

 

Overall quality and presentation were the main issues for me. By the last two days there was no more individual butter. It was cut up from blocks in the chilled bowls. Nothing wrong with that, but it just amplified my opinion of the food service overall. The buffet (Café Royale) was not good at all. The stations (pasta, stir-fry and deli) were very good, I thought.

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

The first night was Can't Stop the Beat, a great singer but I can't remember his name and a short comedy routine. The second night was comedian John Pinney who performed in the Royal Fireworks lounge. My favorite night of entertainment was the Skinny German Juggler (that's not the exact name). He was hilarious.

 

 

DISEMBARKATION

 

There is a table set up on deck 5 to pick your color luggage tags on Friday morning. I've never seen this on an NCL ship before. You can also choose Express, which was heavily pushed on our group. You just take the tags you want with the corresponding time to leave. I picked yellow which was scheduled to depart at 9:30 am. No one checks your time or asks you to fill anything out unless you choose Express. We were ready about fifteen minutes early and decided to try our luck with leaving before our color was called. It was no problem at all, even though we were told the day before that our luggage wouldn't be ready before our time. Off the ship with no problems and outside to wait on the shuttle. We got one right away. There was a long wait to unload back at the distant parking lot, though. It was an unorganized mess. Parking was a real issue for us.

 

OUR RATING

 

3.5 out of 5. This cruise is a great bargain and it is wise to keep the price you paid in mind. I love the Majesty and would sail her again any time.

[BonnieVA]

I'm glad you summed it up in your final sentence ... "I love the Majesty and would sail her again any time." Pros & cons indeed but you would do it again.

[hateswaterloves2cruise]

Thanks for the review. We are in a E category in May to Bermuda and I am concerned about the size. We usually get a balcony and like to sit out and just relax on it. Is the room so small that if we go back to just chill we will be too crowded? I have to make final payment this week so I might consider changing if that's possible. Thanks.:)

[Cosmopolitan]

Thanks...nice, balanced review.

 

We haven't cruised the Majesty so I enjoy reading the reviews.

[xsnowman99]

heelfan94: Thanks for the review. If you would be kind enough, I have a LOT of questions regarding the Majesty. DH (age 71) AND MYSELF (age 53) are set to sail on 4/12. I truly do not want to spend my week 'learning' wat to do/not do. This is sort of a spur of the moment adventure for us after several months of overwhelming stress. A little info on us--this is our 8th cruise. 7 on Windstar line (Windspirit and Windsurf) and 1 on Holland America Maasdam. We prefer the smaller ships, but sometimes just getting away is what is the most important. I KNOW this will be a different experience from Windstar.

 

We are in Cabin 722. I understand that it is the jogging 'trail' deck. I am not sure this is a bad thing? I guess we just need to be sure to keep curtains pulled if changing clothes.

 

The 'specialty' restaurants--does one pay a surcharge for all of them except for the main dining rooms and the buffet? Are they worth it? Do you by any chance know the cost for each of them? When do you place your reservation? At embarkation or during the cruise?

 

I was a little troubled by your review of the sun chairs. My one reason for picking a cruse was to sit in a chair, sun and read. It sounds like this is gong to be an issue unless I rise and shine early and stake one out?

 

I did read somewhere that even though they suggest the buffet when you arrive on ship, we can go to the restaurant?

 

I was very interested in your parking issues. We are from Virginia and will be driving in. It sounds like maybe we should see if there is a hotel that has 'park and stay' that has a shutte.

 

Thank you in advance for any information you can offer. I am looking forward to this new adventure.

[heelfan94]

Thanks for the review. We are in a E category in May to Bermuda and I am concerned about the size. We usually get a balcony and like to sit out and just relax on it. Is the room so small that if we go back to just chill we will be too crowded? I have to make final payment this week so I might consider changing if that's possible. Thanks.:)

Really, once I was settled in the room it was fine. Depending on the price difference I might change to the bigger one. There were none available when I booked. The smallest one is 108 sq. ft. and the larger ones are 145. The extra 37 sq. ft. is your moving around room and would have been nice, but the small one worked fine. I always walk around and look in cabins while the stewards are cleaning them, and I would advise anyone to do the same thing if you can.

[heelfan94]

heelfan94: Thanks for the review. If you would be kind enough, I have a LOT of questions regarding the Majesty. DH (age 71) AND MYSELF (age 53) are set to sail on 4/12. I truly do not want to spend my week 'learning' wat to do/not do. This is sort of a spur of the moment adventure for us after several months of overwhelming stress. A little info on us--this is our 8th cruise. 7 on Windstar line (Windspirit and Windsurf) and 1 on Holland America Maasdam. We prefer the smaller ships, but sometimes just getting away is what is the most important. I KNOW this will be a different experience from Windstar.

 

We are in Cabin 722. I understand that it is the jogging 'trail' deck. I am not sure this is a bad thing? I guess we just need to be sure to keep curtains pulled if changing clothes.

 

The 'specialty' restaurants--does one pay a surcharge for all of them except for the main dining rooms and the buffet? Are they worth it? Do you by any chance know the cost for each of them? When do you place your reservation? At embarkation or during the cruise?

 

I was a little troubled by your review of the sun chairs. My one reason for picking a cruse was to sit in a chair, sun and read. It sounds like this is gong to be an issue unless I rise and shine early and stake one out?

 

I did read somewhere that even though they suggest the buffet when you arrive on ship, we can go to the restaurant?

 

I was very interested in your parking issues. We are from Virginia and will be driving in. It sounds like maybe we should see if there is a hotel that has 'park and stay' that has a shutte.

 

Thank you in advance for any information you can offer. I am looking forward to this new adventure.

Deck 7 is fine. Just keep your curtain pulled, especially if you're dressing. People seemed to walk/run pretty much all day long.

 

There are only two specialty restaurants on the Majesty. The Pasta Cafe on deck 9 has no surcharge, but it's small and you need a reservation. Le Bistro carries a surcharge (ask at the reservations desk about discounts, ie half price on certain days and times) and is well worth the money (normal charge is $15 per person). You can only make reservations at these two places one day in advance. So if you want to dine there on Tuesday evening, make the reservation on Monday morning. There are two main dining rooms with no surcharge, Seven Seas and Four Seasons and they have the exact same menu each night. Four Seasons does not allow jeans in the evening, but Seven Seas does and it's also larger. The buffet on deck 10 is always available and you can wear pretty much anything there.

 

Deck chairs...you just need to take the towels that are in your cabin when you get there and find a spot you like. I would suggest deck 8, just above your deck, all the way aft. You won't have to be up with the chickens, just don't wait until after lunch.

 

On embarkation day, you can have a nice lunch in Seven Seas instead of the buffet. They won't tell you this as you board, so it's on deck 5 aft. It's nice and quiet in there.

 

Parking shouldn't be an issue by the time you get there. It was only supposed to be our group and the next that has to park away from the terminal. You can certainly find a hotel with a shuttle over the pier. Lots of people do that.

 

As someone pointed out in my review, the main thing to remember is that I would book this cruise again in a heartbeat. The Majesty is wonderful and it sounds like she's well suited for you two. Have a great time. :)

[heelfan94]

I'm glad you summed it up in your final sentence ... "I love the Majesty and would sail her again any time." Pros & cons indeed but you would do it again.

I'm glad you caught that, Bonnie. It sums up my feelings perfectly. :)

[hateswaterloves2cruise]

Really, once I was settled in the room it was fine. Depending on the price difference I might change to the bigger one. There were none available when I booked. The smallest one is 108 sq. ft. and the larger ones are 145. The extra 37 sq. ft. is your moving around room and would have been nice, but the small one worked fine. I always walk around and look in cabins while the stewards are cleaning them, and I would advise anyone to do the same thing if you can.

Thanks for your quick response. I guess I will check to see if there are any bigger ones and how much. I know the last time we were on the Dawn I looked into one of the interior rooms and was surprised at how small it was.

[CruisinTrip]

My wife and I joined two other couples for a week of fun in the sun aboard the majesty. It was our second cruise. Our first was a larger ship out of Miami on Carnival cruise lines.

 

I was worried about how small the Majesty is before the cruise, but it turned out great. The smaller size means that the crew gets to know you that much better. The service was great.

 

We sunbathed on the aft end, deck 11. We never had a problem finding chairs. Embarkation and disembarkation were much easier than our first cruise. I would absolutely go on another cruise with Norwegian and out of Charleston, SC.

 

On the excursions, we did Stingray City in Grand Cayman. It is one of the coolest things that I have ever done.

 

In Cozumel, we did the ATV Jungle excursion to see the Mayan Ruins. While I am glad I did it, I would not do it again. It was a very rough trail and a lot more work than I wanted on a cruise excursion.

 

In Key West we did our own Excursion which consisted of eating, drinking, and shopping on Duval Street. The cruise ship was docked at Navy Pier and the Cruise Line had arranged for free transportation to and from Duval Street aboard the Conch Train, so there were no worries about getting to and from the ship.

 

Have a great cruise .

[mooseII]

My DW and I were also on this cruise (hi everyone form the Meet and Greet!) and we parked right across the street in the Republic Parking lot at 1 Cumberland St, which is literally .07 miles from the terminal, (no, I didn't misplace the decimal point) easily within walking distance. The cost was $12 a day, with NO hassle ($84 for the week.) It is a 5 story parking garage, and I can't believe anyone would pay the $110 to park even farther away, outdoors after waiting an hour or more. There is no sign that says Republic, but the ticket does when you enter. EVERYONE should be parking here, we literally walked on and off the ship to our car.

[heelfan94]

My DW and I were also on this cruise (hi everyone form the Meet and Greet!) and we parked right across the street in the Republic Parking lot at 1 Cumberland St, which is literally .07 miles from the terminal, (no, I didn't misplace the decimal point) easily within walking distance. The cost was $12 a day, with NO hassle ($84 for the week.) It is a 5 story parking garage, and I can't believe anyone would pay the $110 to park even farther away, outdoors after waiting an hour or more. There is no sign that says Republic, but the ticket does when you enter. EVERYONE should be parking here, we literally walked on and off the ship to our car.

I had no idea there was another parking option and this was our third time in Charleston. We even drove up and down all of the streets killing time before boarding Saturday. Thanks for the heads up.

[mooseII]

I had no idea there was another parking option and this was our third time in Charleston. We even drove up and down all of the streets killing time before boarding Saturday. Thanks for the heads up.

 

No problem. I had heard there was another option, went to the yellow pages online and made a few calls. The lot is literally right there, but has no signs, so I can see how people miss it. If they had a decent sized sign I'm sure they would get a lot more business from the ship.

[heelfan94]

No problem. I had heard there was another option, went to the yellow pages online and made a few calls. The lot is literally right there, but has no signs, so I can see how people miss it. If they had a decent sized sign I'm sure they would get a lot more business from the ship.

I would definitely use them, and I will now that I know about it. :)

[hateswaterloves2cruise]

My DW and I were also on this cruise (hi everyone form the Meet and Greet!) and we parked right across the street in the Republic Parking lot at 1 Cumberland St, which is literally .07 miles from the terminal, (no, I didn't misplace the decimal point) easily within walking distance. The cost was $12 a day, with NO hassle ($84 for the week.) It is a 5 story parking garage, and I can't believe anyone would pay the $110 to park even farther away, outdoors after waiting an hour or more. There is no sign that says Republic, but the ticket does when you enter. EVERYONE should be parking here, we literally walked on and off the ship to our car.

That is amazing!! I have been researching Charleston and the parking issue for at least 2 months and this is the first I have heard of this parking option. Thank you!!! I must say I was getting cold feet reading the negative comments about Charleston parking and the Majesty in general. This thread has helped a lot. :)

[Stilmo]

We also parked in the 1 Cumberland St. parking garage. Hello to all from the Meet and Greet. Thanks, buzz, for setting that up. You can see the garage from the ship, easy walk with luggage either way, no lines and you get to skip the line waiting for shuttles at disembarkation and walk right out to your car.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise, smooth sailing, met a lot of great people aboard. Our 12 yo really enjoyed the kids program.

[Philly Steve]

Thanks for the review. :)

[xsnowman99]

Thanks so much for all the GREAT information...especially thanks for giving me deck numbers! I am creating a file so I can keep up with all of the practical advice!!

 

Lynn

[Stilmo]

I just uploaded our cruise photos to http://family.webshots.com/album/562604599VGdCSh. We have quite a few shots of the ship itself, many of the Tulum tour (12 yo is studying Mayan culture and teacher's giving her extra credit for photos), and many of the Key West sunset from the Promenade Deck of the ship.

 

We each had our own camera, all photos are represented. I posted each camera in order, did not mix them, so you may want to look at the last few pages also if you don't go all the way through the album.

[BonnieVA]

Thanks for sharing those pictures w/ us.

[heelfan94]

I need to get my pictures up. I took several of the injured smokestack and hoped that some informed posters here could explain what happened. Pieces of it fell all week on deck 8 aft.

[asiandiva71]

My wife and I joined two other couples for a week of fun in the sun aboard the majesty. It was our second cruise. Our first was a larger ship out of Miami on Carnival cruise lines.

 

I was worried about how small the Majesty is before the cruise, but it turned out great. The smaller size means that the crew gets to know you that much better. The service was great.

 

We sunbathed on the aft end, deck 11. We never had a problem finding chairs. Embarkation and disembarkation were much easier than our first cruise. I would absolutely go on another cruise with Norwegian and out of Charleston, SC.

 

On the excursions, we did Stingray City in Grand Cayman. It is one of the coolest things that I have ever done.

 

In Cozumel, we did the ATV Jungle excursion to see the Mayan Ruins. While I am glad I did it, I would not do it again. It was a very rough trail and a lot more work than I wanted on a cruise excursion.

 

In Key West we did our own Excursion which consisted of eating, drinking, and shopping on Duval Street. The cruise ship was docked at Navy Pier and the Cruise Line had arranged for free transportation to and from Duval Street aboard the Conch Train, so there were no worries about getting to and from the ship.

 

Have a great cruise .

 

Sounds like everyone had a great time! We are scheduled to sail the Majesty in April, with a group of friends. My question(s) concern the excursions. Did you use the ship tour of Stingray city? If not, which one do you recommend? AND did you have enough time - considering the time the boat arrived and left? The group consists of 8 adults and 4 kids ( btwn. ages 12-3 yrs) and I just wanted to soak up as much info about the ship and it's excursions. Great ones in this particular section! We all live in Charleston, and the parking was another issue, but now I can rest easy. Thanks!

[heelfan94]

I finally got my pictures up. There are a couple of shots of cabin 897 and then random shots throughout the cruise.

 

[UNCle Don]

Thanks for a helpful review and to those who alerted us to the alternate parking possibilities. I was planning to park in the $110 warehouse for our April cruise, but might want to change plans. From the looks of online information, there are people and signs directing cruisers to parking on embarkation days. Was that how you discovered that the warehouse wasn't available and got directed elsewhere? I'll try checking driving directions to 1 Cumberland St., but, if it's not too late for those who've used that facility to be checking this thread, has anyone tips on how to find that place?

Also, while we've cruised with 6 or 7 other lines, we've never tried NCL or freestyle before. When given a choice, we've deliberately chosen to get traditional seating. I gather the best advice to avoid waiting is to eat early.....? And, since an online travel service offered both OBC and a coupon book, we'll have a coupon book that probably isn't of much interest except for the 2 for 1 meal at a speciality restaurant. Since that 2 for 1 meal at Le Bistro apparently is only good for the first night, I suspect that we should try for reservations as soon as we board. Any tips for that?

Thanks again and Go Heels,

UNCle Don

P.S. - It's probably my ignorance, but I couldn't access your photos via your link.....? I just got one thumbnail.

[Ralphinsc]

The pictures look great! Just i remember it from the photos I took two years ago (link in my sig). But we just weren't lucky enough yet to get to tie up at Cozumel, the pier was still out. Looks like you guys had fun.