My Majesty Review - 9/20/08 to 9/27/08 Phila to Bermuda

[cruiserkelli]

This was my first Norwegian cruise but my 40th cruise overall. Most of my cruises have been on Chandris Fantasy (many moons ago); Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. I’ve also sailed Carnival; Disney Cruise Line and Princess. I will say, that based on some of the very negative and nasty reviews I had read here before I left, I was very apprehensive about whether I was going to enjoy this cruise. I tried to forget those reviews and have an open mind and I’m glad I did. As a veteran cruiser, I can honestly say that this cruise ranked right up there with some of the best, for many reasons. With that being said, here is my review:

 

I was traveling with my mom, step-dad and best friend in 2 cabins. We were very lucky to get the upgrade call the day before we left and for a very reasonable fee, we were upgraded from the Category DD (larger outside cabin) to the Category AB mini-suite. What a great thing! I highly recommend these cabins and will probably book the same accommodation on our next cruise on the Majesty. It is well worth the money…not just for the extra space and much larger bathroom but for all the special treatment we received.

 

We arrived at the port about 11:30am (we arrived by limo-van and were dropped off right at the door of the terminal) and got in line. Once they checked our ID and tickets we were directed to the line for suite guests (and I think Latitude members). We were checked in immediately but it took a few minutes because we had been upgraded so close to departure. They didn’t have our correct cabin information so it took a little time to get it all straightened out. We were then directed to the Concierge desk to be greeted by Florentina. Again, she didn’t have us on her list so she had to go double check to make sure we had the correct keys. Once she was finished we were escorted onto the ship by Shayne, a sweet girl who took my carry-on from me and took us to Deck 9. The doors to the cabin hallways were still closed, so she took us to the Royal Observatory so we could sit and wait while she checked to see if our rooms were ready. She kept checking back and then took us to our cabins when they were ready. Someone told her that passengers weren’t allowed in the cabins yet and she told them it was okay because we were “VIP’s”. Wow! What great service! Wow! I was considered a “VIP”! I have to say, I’m at the “Elite” level with Celebrity and the “Diamond” level with Royal Caribbean and I’ve never been treated as well as I was on this ship, just because we were in a mini-suite. We had a problem getting into our room; neither of our keys worked…(oh no!…maybe we weren’t really upgraded!). Shayne went down to the Reception Desk to try to get our keys fixed but she said we had to go down in person. While there, they gave us the correct colored keys also, silver - so staff would be aware that we were in a suite. My mom went down and changed her key for silver also. Once we dropped off our carry-on bags, we went to lunch in the Seven Seas dining room. After several attempts to direct us to the buffet, we were persistent and they finally escorted us to a table where we had a very tasty lunch. We then had an excellent sailaway with our Cruise Critic friends!

 

Continued below.....

[cruiserkelli]

Now, on to the most important aspect of a cruise…the food. I have to say, in response to another reviewer who said the food tasted like “cafeteria food”, I don’t know what kind of food she is used to eating but the food on the Majesty was very good. It wasn’t as gourmet as Celebrity but it was certainly better than Carnival and on par with Royal Caribbean and Princess. We were not disappointed with any of our meals. For breakfast and lunch, we were able to eat in the “Concierge Lounge” which was in Le Bistro. We never made it there for lunch but the breakfast in there was in itself worth the cost of the upgrade! The first morning I had the “Crab Cake Eggs Benedict”…heaven on earth! I figured I’d be eating that every day, until the morning that I tried the “Fruits de Mer en Brioche” which was pieces of lobster and scallops on squares of toast, topped with poached eggs and a citrusy, yummy sauce. I then alternated between these 2 breakfasts for the rest of the week. Awesome! I found all of the food on board to be excellent. The burgers and dogs at the grill were the best I’ve had on any cruise (the burgers were the thickest I’ve seen); the potato salad at the buffet and grill was the best I’ve ever had (except for my grandmother’s homemade). The French bread was excellent and I ate it almost every night! Dinner at the Pasta Café was very good, though portions were a bit small. Dinner at Le Bistro was very good. Had the steak and paid the extra $10 for the lobster so I had a very nice surf and turf. We never ate in the Four Seasons as we didn’t want to dress up but the food is supposed to be the same as in the Seven Seas, where we ate 4 of the 7 nights. One night, we ate out on deck, getting food from the buffet and grill. It was so nice to eat dinner under the stars! Lunches (most days) were eaten outside from the grill or buffet and twice (on rainy, rough days) from room service.

 

I have absolutely no complaints about the food or the service. Service in the Seven Seas ranged from okay to excellent. But honestly, we were on vacation...we didn’t cook it, serve it or clean it up so what is the big deal if we waited a few minutes in between courses or if the soup came out before the appetizer?? I felt bad for the servers…it must be so hard for them to keep up with the constant turn-over of tables and who’s on the soup course or salads and who is on the entrée course. I give them so much credit for getting it right most of the time…what hard workers! For the past reviewers who ragged about the service…SHAME ON YOU!!! I didn’t see one employee slacking off…they were all running their butts off trying to please their guests. Every night at dinner we had a different server and every one of them worked hard for us and each of them apologized for something at some point. I told each of them with a big smile on my face…”Don’t worry about it…we’re in no rush…we’re on vacation….take your time.” I can’t tell you how much that meant to them and it helped them relax and us as well. Kindness and a smile go a long, long way.

[cruiserkelli]

More comments on the service as there were many negative reviews from other people. This was one of the nicest crew ever. From our escort onto the ship (Shayne) who would greet us by name every time she saw us; to the Cruise Director John (“Drop your Pancakes!”) Ibrahim; to Sam Fedele the comedian; to the hostess for Seven Seas who remembered us…this was the friendliest, finest crew of any cruise we’ve been on. Special mention goes to the lovely restaurant stewardess Nashly who patiently and tenderly assisted an elderly gentleman in line in front of me at the buffet one afternoon. She explained each item on the buffet and what it had in it; filled his plate and offered to escort him to his seat. He told her he was going down to deck 4 and she told him she’d take him wherever he needed to go. I didn’t know her or the man but I sought her out later and thanked her for her kindness to him. I said if he had been my grandfather I would hope someone would care for him like she did. She said it was “from her heart”. What a beautiful soul!

 

Bermuda was wonderful as usual. Of course we didn’t dock at the main dock because they had to move the lifeboats for a drill so we were at the far dock in St. George but we were able to get a taxi and go to Hamilton with no problem. Had some rain on Wednesday but the rest of the time in Bermuda was beautiful.

 

We had some rough weather on the way over to Bermuda and then on the way home the captain worked hard to get us away from Tropical Storm Kyle and 2 low pressure systems…he did a great job…although it rained heavily, with thunder and lightning, the seas never got as rough as on the way over. I felt safe and secure the entire time and that says a lot as I have pretty big anxiety issues. The Majesty is a sturdy ship, for sure.

 

The best, best thing I can say is that out of my 40 cruises (on new and old ships) this cruise had the best air conditioning of all. I am always warm and bring an oscillating tower fan in my luggage because my cabins have never been cool enough. Not even in a Junior Suite on the brand new Liberty of the Seas! But Mini Suite #921 on the Majesty was awesome!! It was the coolest cabin I’ve ever had…to the point where we even were turning the thermostat up at times!

 

We did the Pub Crawl…that was fun! We saw the Liar’s Club show, which was hysterically funny and the “Fountains” show by the cruise staff is not to be missed. Whoever thought of that show was brilliant! I have never seen anything like it. Whatever you do, don’t miss it! Sam Fedele, the comedian was great and very friendly and approachable. The ventriloquist was also excellent. Megan the singer was very personable and an excellent hostess of the “Karaoke” one night. She really got everyone involved. We had a very nice dinner on the last night with our Cruise Critic friends. Our group was 22 strong and the Seven Seas staff handled us with no problems.

 

Disembarkation was a breeze. Having the “VIP” status gave us priority disembarkation directly from the Four Seasons restaurant and right off the ship. Our luggage was in a separate area and easy to locate.

 

I can’t say enough about what a wonderful time I had on the Majesty! Even though she is an older, smaller ship without all the frills of the newer, bigger ships; you will certainly get more than your moneys worth if you go with an open mind, patience and the desire to have fun! Please feel free to ask me any questions as I’ve tried to cover everything but probably left some stuff out. You can email me at cruiserkelli@yahoo.com or ask me here.

[2country4u]

hey cruiserkelli, thanks for the great review.we will be sailing the majesty on christmas this year,it will be our first cruise with ncl.after reading your review it gets me even more excited.thanks again for the awsome review,any pointers or things we must try?

[mag]

Nice review, like a breathe of fresh air compared to all the snobby complainers. We love the Majesty too.

[BonnieVA]

I have to say, in response to another reviewer who said the food tasted like “cafeteria food”, I don’t know what kind of food she is used to eating but the food on the Majesty was very good. ...it was certainly better than Carnival. We were not disappointed with any of our meals. I found all of the food on board to be excellent. The burgers and dogs at the grill were the best I’ve had on any cruise (the burgers were the thickest I’ve seen); Dinner at the Pasta Café was very good, though portions were a bit small. One night, we ate out on deck, getting food from the buffet and grill. It was so nice to eat dinner under the stars!

 

I have absolutely no complaints about the food or the service. Service in the Seven Seas ranged from okay to excellent. But honestly, we were on vacation...we didn’t cook it, serve it or clean it up so what is the big deal if we waited a few minutes in between courses or if the soup came out before the appetizer?? I felt bad for the servers…it must be so hard for them to keep up with the constant turn-over of tables and who’s on the soup course or salads and who is on the entrée course. I give them so much credit for getting it right most of the time…what hard workers! For the past reviewers who ragged about the service…SHAME ON YOU!!! I didn’t see one employee slacking off…they were all running their butts off trying to please their guests. Every night at dinner we had a different server and every one of them worked hard for us and each of them apologized for something at some point.

 

I couldn't agree w/ you more based on our June cruise. Also, the veggie burgers at the grill are really good too. But the service & attention was almost perfect.

[blitheone]

Okay, Cruiserkelli, as a kindred spirit hotchick, you're saying I won't have to bring my fan? (Although, I'm used to sleeping with the balcony door open so that the ocean sound lulls me to sleep, so maybe I'll bring it for the white noise, since, if we do manage to get our window open, it'll involve some sort of expensive damage...)

 

Such joy you have brought me! Lobster at breakfast (we're also in an AB) and good air conditioning---yay!

 

Janet

[Host Kewlguy]

Excellent review. We also enjoyed the Majesty two weeks ago. Florentina was great. John the cruise director will be back on the Dawn when he returns from vacation in December. He's a great guy and very talented.

[cruiserkelli]

Okay, Cruiserkelli, as a kindred spirit hotchick, you're saying I won't have to bring my fan? (Although, I'm used to sleeping with the balcony door open so that the ocean sound lulls me to sleep, so maybe I'll bring it for the white noise, since, if we do manage to get our window open, it'll involve some sort of expensive damage...)

 

Such joy you have brought me! Lobster at breakfast (we're also in an AB) and good air conditioning---yay!

 

Janet

 

Hi Janet!

Your post made me laugh....this is probably the only way I'd ever be considered a "hotchick" so thanks for that! LOL!! I'm usually considered the chubby, middle-aged (oh I so hope to live til I'm 90) Italian chick. HAHA!! I am always hot and I always have a fan on my cruises, from a little hand-held fan to my current oscillating tower fan (which I bought at Walgreen in Key West last year on the farewell cruise of the Zenith). My friend and I were in the AB #921 and it was awesome! When I would walk up to the door, I could feel the cool air coming out under the door! Now, by the same token, my mom was in #907 and her room was comfy but not extra cool like my room. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she had an unobstructed view (and the sun could shine freely into her room). We, on the other hand, had an entire lifeboat in front of our window which took the brunt of the sun beating down during the day. It also afforded us some extra entertainment....in the form of the multiple maintenance men who were working in the boat throughout the week. My mom even stood in our window and waved at one of them....I'm sure it made his day! I didn't mind the fully obstructed view as I could go to my mom's cabin or outside for a good view...and it was worth the trade-off for the excellent coolness.

 

I will also warn you that the air conditioning was hit or miss in other areas of the ship....which didn't bother me that much as I could always return to my private frig....er, cabin. One night, it was sweltering in the casino, which was a money saver for me as I spend way more money when I'm not sweating. They said they were doing "maintenance". My advice to you....It never hurts to bring that fan and it certainly is great when you don't have to use it for cooling purposes (I usually have to pack it in my husband's suitcase because he always has tons of room and for some reason, I don't...it must be a girl thing). I also used my fan at night for the white noise so it did still serve a purpose. Let me know how you make out! Have a ball!! Kelli

[cruiserkelli]

hey cruiserkelli, thanks for the great review.we will be sailing the majesty on christmas this year,it will be our first cruise with ncl.after reading your review it gets me even more excited.thanks again for the awsome review,any pointers or things we must try?

 

 

Hey 2country4u!

Thanks for the complement! I have to tell you....make sure you get to the Fountains show. It is unique and hysterically funny! I've never seen this show on any other cruise line. I had heard about it but having never been on an NCL cruise, I didn't know what it was and I'm grateful for that because it made it way more funny. If you've been on NCL then you already know. They had it on the last sea day at the end of a crew talent show. The Liars Club show was also very funny and there was a great comedian on board as well (Sam Fedele, but I don't know how long he'll be onboard). Hope you have a great time....the crew is wonderful. Take care! Kelli

[cruiserkelli]

Mags, BonnieVA and kewlguy;

Thanks for the kind words. It certainly is nice to know that there are others out there who appreciate the Majesty for what she is and aren't afraid to say it. She is an older ship with some flaws but what she lacks in bells and whistles, she makes up for with charm and warmth. Can't wait to sail her again. Kelli

[CruisnGram]

Thanks for the great reveiw and all the good info Kelli. We just booked the Majesty for next June. Had a hard time deciding between the Majesty and the Dawn (which we just took to Canada/New England) and settled on the Majesty because we live 1/2 hour from the port.

 

If you woudn't mind I do have a couple questions. One of our group has booked AB 907, your mom's room. They would actually prefer that the beds be seperated into two twin beds. From what I've been able to determine, some AB's have double beds that cannot be seperated. Do you happen to know if 907 has 1 or 2 beds or if the 1 can be seperated?

 

Also, you mentioned not being docked at the main dock in St. George. Is that normal for the Majesty, or was it just on your trip? Was the dock convenient to the town of St. George? My dad uses a scooter for mobility and is hoping that he will be able to just ride off the ship and go into the town of St. George without getting on buses etc.

 

Glad that you had a wonderful trip and all of the great info is really appreciated.

 

CG

[Ronni G]

Also, you mentioned not being docked at the main dock in St. George. Is that normal for the Majesty, or was it just on your trip? Was the dock convenient to the town of St. George? My dad uses a scooter for mobility and is hoping that he will be able to just ride off the ship and go into the town of St. George without getting on buses etc.

 

Hi there -

 

From what I was told by a fellow cruiser last week, the Majesty is docking at the main dock - Ordinance Bay - for those on the 9/27 cruise.

 

Ronni G

[rebeljohn]

Enjoyed your review! I found that the service/crew on the Majesty was the BEST we have ever encountered on a cruise ship. We thought the food was good too.........Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[racerqueen3]

Majesty to Bermuda…9/20/08

Let me start by telling you all that this was my first NCL cruise, but my 37th since 5/86 and I am not in the travel business. We are Celebrity/RCCL people!!!.....some of the reviews I read prior to sailing made me wonder why I was making the mistake of sailing w/NCL and esp. on the Majesty….I am glad I tried her for myself!!!!!

 

SHIP: loved everything about her….her size was perfect…being small she held the rough seas very well…she was older but I found her to be well maintained and most charming

 

CABIN: 907...upgrade..from larger outside…size was perfect…the bed was most comfortable…the bathroom was a great size…loved all the windows in the living room area and the window in the bedroom area…the attendants were excellent, kept the ice buckets and towels refreshed often…first cabin that was an excellent temp…I am always warm and can never get a cabin that gets cool enough, but this cabin was perfect and we did not have her as cold as she could be set....have had the FAMILY suite and JR suites on RCCL Explorer, Majesty and Voyager and a SKY suite on the Constellation as well as several balcony cabins but have never had one cool enough for me…I keep the AC @ 69 at home and heat at 63 during the day and 58 at night, so you know how important COOL is to me…my husband wears 1-2 flannel shirts most of the time esp. in the winter

 

FOOD/SERVICE…free style is for us…..don’t know how the servers managed in the dining rooms, since they were always turning the tables over as soon as they were cleaned…if you have 2 seatings, you know there will be 2 rushes and be able to control serving at each tables…sometimes we got our courses in the wrong order, but who cares….someone cooked it, served it and cleaned up after we were through and IT WASN’T ME!!! The serves kept on apologizing for this but we just smiled and said….WE ARE ON VACATION AND ARE IN NO HURRY!!! ….we wait for food when we go out to eat in NJ so what’s the issue if we wait a few minutes for such an outstanding meal when we are on vacation?....as for flip flops in the dining rooms, I couldn’t tell you what people were wearing and I didn’t care!....what you wear has no impact on my vacation or meal whatsoever!!!....one night we ate outside and we were so comfortable in our dressed down clothes but eating dressed up food!!!!

 

ENTERTAINMENT….usually don’t do the shows, but the cruise director JOHN, was the best...don’t miss SAM the comedian and esp. SYLVIA the ventriloquist….don’t miss the crew talent show that was one of the finest ideas ever!!!!

 

OVERALL…. I’m at the “Elite” level with Celebrity and the “Diamond” level with Royal Caribbean and found this service to be far superior…everyone was so friendly yet remained professional….we have already booked the Majesty for next year and are sorry she is leaving the fleet….we are sailing the EXPLORER on 12/12 from Bayonne and I am sorry we are not going on the DAWN from NY…..I am sold on NCL after just 1 cruise!!!....we did not dock at the main dock, but they explained they were doing maintenance—we found out/witnessed them working on the lifeboats and I am comfortable knowing the life boats are fit to run GOD FORBID if needed

 

We met up with the Cruise Critic group and want to thank MARY for doing a wonderful job in organizing everything!!!! We also had dinner on the last night and they had no problem seating/serving 22 of us in the Seven Seas.

 

 

If you want charm, cleanliness, excellent service and outstanding service, give the Majesty a try…and don’t forget…she’s the only one offering 3 overnights in Bermuda!!!!

[Rockwife]

We'll be sailing Majesty in a few short months and splurged for an AB as well.

 

You covered the dining and embarkation suite perks nicely, but could you describe the other suite perks? I understand there are supposed to be flowers and fruit in the cabins? What kinds of snacks were offered?

 

Thanks again! I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself and treated the crew so nicely. They must have loved you. :)

[dwdwnurse]

Hi Kelli - Thanks for the great Majesty review! We have not sailed with NCL since 1994 (have sailed recently with RCI) and are looking forward to it! In fact, we leave for Port Canaveral (Freedom of the Seas) 5 days after we get back from the Majesty.

 

We are interested in going to Elbow Beach and Horseshoe Bay Beach - did you do any of these? If so, how did you get there? Also, did you use the bus for any transportation?

 

Thanks again!

[jzerocsk]

I mostly agree, but I caught that "Fountains" gig on TV the next day (it was part of the staff talent show, actually) and while there were a couple of chucklers, my wife summed it up best when she looked up from her book about 10 minutes into it and said "This is *STILL* going on?"

 

If you do end up docking at the "alternate" dock, it's only a few blocks from the primary dock at Ordnance Island. If you have mobility issues, just keep right along the waterline which will provide a relatively flat path to the square.

[jzerocsk]

Also, the service WAS slow and kinda weird. No two ways about it. We never once managed to get our coffee/tea before we were finished dessert!

 

On the one hand you're on vacation but on the other hand there might be other things you would prefer doing on your all-too-short vacation than twiddling your thumbs in the dining room, so I can see why people might be annoyed by this. In fact one night we ducked out of the 7:30 show a few minutes early and found ourselves seated amidst a tempest of a particularly frazzled waiter and afew tables of frazzled guests presumably annoyed that they weren't going to make the show! Maybe they should have come earlier but I have a feeling they arrived in what should have been plenty of time.

 

You're right that it cannot be because the wait staff are slacking off - those folks are going full bore and let's not forget they work ridiculously long hours - but something definitely does seem a little bit off somewhere in the process. Maybe the kitchens on the Majesty just aren't big enough to effectively crank out dishes in the freestyle format?

 

BTW did anybody get the frittata at the pasta restaurant? That was totally bizarre.

 

Very fun cruise, though. This was my first cruise not on a "megaship" and we found a lot of reasons to like the little old Majesty. It's very unfortunate that she's leaving the NCL fleet. It's starting to look as though the small ship experience is going to become strictly a higher-end offering :(

[CruisnGram]

Bumping this back to the top hoping Kelli will see it and be able to answer my question about the bed(s).

 

CG

[cruiserkelli]

Bumping this back to the top hoping Kelli will see it and be able to answer my question about the bed(s).

 

CG

 

Hi CruisnGram;

Not sure about the bed in 907. It was together when my mom arrived and she never had a need for it to be moved so she doesn't know if it was 2 twins. I believe that it was 2 twins but I'm not 100% sure of that. According to the NCL website and cruise stateroom dot com; they are convertible beds. Sorry that I can't be 100% positive. Kelli

[CruisnGram]

Thanks for the help Kelli. The website is confusing. I've seen statements that all rooms have 2 lower beds that can be converted to a queen bed. And then I've seen other sites that say that each suite has either a double bed, or two twins. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. :)

 

CG

[craigers]

Thanks for the great review.We'll be on the Majesty for the repo cruise in November.I noticed you had a few cruises on the Galileo.The Galileo was one of our favorite ships,along with the rest of the ships we've been on.We always liked the big globe lights in the back of the ship.The wintergarten was also a nice feature.This was also the first cruise that we took movies. Now that you brought back memories we will have put the tape in the vcr. My wife read your report and loved your optimistic point of view! Don

[cruiserkelli]

Thanks for the great review.We'll be on the Majesty for the repo cruise in November.I noticed you had a few cruises on the Galileo.The Galileo was one of our favorite ships,along with the rest of the ships we've been on.We always liked the big globe lights in the back of the ship.The wintergarten was also a nice feature.This was also the first cruise that we took movies. Now that you brought back memories we will have put the tape in the vcr. My wife read your report and loved your optimistic point of view! Don

 

Hi Don;

Not only are we neighbors (I'm in Blackwood) but we are kindred spirits about the Galileo. I will never forget her....in fact my username on other sites is "Galileogal". I did 12 cruises on her as the Galileo and 3 when she became the Meridian. I cried for days when I saw on t.v. that she had sunk. I was inconsolable....she was my most favorite ship ever....my first cruise love. My most prized posession is a 14k solid gold charm of the Galileo that even has a little "X" on the smokestack and is engraved "Galileo" on the bottom. I wear it on a chain (supposedly the strongest chain my jeweler sells) around my neck and only take it off when having x-rays. I bought it in the gift shop onboard and now it is irreplaceable and priceless to me.

 

In fact, my friends and I were on the last cruise of the Galileo (Philly to Bermuda in Sept. 1989) and we were on the first cruise of the Meridian (April 1990 Ft. Lauderdale to Caribbean). They actually cancelled the Meridian Inaugural 2 times; once in Feb 1990, rescheduled to March 1990 which was also cancelled the day before she was supposed to sail. We had already gotten to Lauderdale the day prior and saw the ship at the port and were so excited; then they sent us home. Finally sailed in April 1990 and we made sure we were the last ones to sleep in our usual cabin and the first ones to roll around on the beds in that cabin on the Inaugural. (We had booked that cabin for both cruises but they upgraded us to a mini-suite on the Inaugural to make up for cancelling the 2 other dates. We protested as we wanted our regular cabin but they insisted; so we went down to our old cabin and jumped on the beds before the guests arrived that were staying in that cabin...we were crazy young girls back then...lol.

 

I have so many wonderful memories of her, I could write a book....my own personal "Love Boat" novel. I loved the WinterGarden Portside! On my first couple of cruises on her, it had beautiful potted plants in that room and furniture that was sort of like wicker....it looked like a cheerful sunroom. I also remember the big globe lights out by the pool. I also loved the little movie theater with the balcony area and the chapel that was on the deck with the pursers office. She was old, small and a bit beat-up but she had a warmth and charm that you just don't find on ships these days. Plus, the Italian dining room staff was the best ever! I miss that the most. I also had a camcorder for the first time on the Galileo and have 3 cruises on VCR tapes. That was back in the day when the camcorder was huge and sat on your shoulder...now they fit in the palm of your hand! Thanks for helping me reminisce! I'm always ready to talk about the Galileo!! Kelli

[cruiserkelli]

We'll be sailing Majesty in a few short months and splurged for an AB as well.

 

You covered the dining and embarkation suite perks nicely, but could you describe the other suite perks? I understand there are supposed to be flowers and fruit in the cabins? What kinds of snacks were offered?

 

Thanks again! I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself and treated the crew so nicely. They must have loved you. :)

 

Hi Rockwife;

Sorry I didn't respond sooner...getting back to the reality of work is a bummer. I really enjoyed the suite and the perks. There were fresh flowers on the coffee table in the sitting area of the suite upon arrival as well as a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket on a pedestal in front of the big bay window. A fruit basket arrived later with bananas, apples, grapes, oranges strawberries, and if I remember correctly it also had a peach. There was a folder on the desk with a paper to fill out for "Suite Treats" that you could order to be delivered every day or you could change them up every day. You could choose from soft pretzels (they were great and came 2 to an order); cheese and crackers; brownies; chips and salsa; potato chips and a couple other things that escape my mind. You could choose 5pm or 10pm for delivery (a mid day or late night snack choice). There was also a paper to customize your fruit basket with the choices I've listed above...so you could just get grapes if you wanted or grapes and bananas. Nice, so hopefully there is less waste.

I do recommend the "Anniversary/Honeymoon" Package you can pre-book for $79. It was a great bargain. Don't laugh, but I bought one my friend and I and kept telling everyone we were calling it the "Bon Voyage" Package as I have a husband at home. Boy, did he look surprised when I told him I bought that package for Mary and I....lol!! It was too good of a bargain to pass up. You got Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries on embarkation (so we had 2 bottles of champagne in our room almost immediately); it also included dinner at LeBistro for 2 (which is a $30 value in itself); plus a bottle of wine with dinner in LeBistro and a $10 credit towards a photo. There was also a honeymoon/anniversary party....obviously, we skipped that...lol!

I always treat crew with kindness...I'm nobody special...just a working class person, not some rich snob who treats people like servants. I work hard at my job so I can go on vacation and they work harder to make sure I have a good vacation. I give them all the credit in the world....they have a very difficult job. I couldn't imagine leaving my family for months at a time. It takes a special person to work on a ship and I appreciate them very much. Thanks for the kind words!! Enjoy your trip and feel free to pick my brain if you need to again. Kelli