NCL Majesty 10/11 - 10/18 Canada/New England Review

[TomAndJane]

My wife and I have been on seven total cruises with this being our fourth on NCL so we are familiar with the FreeStyle concept and we love it. With that said here goes the review.

 

Embarkation: Philadelphia and NCL really have their act together. We arrived at the port walked right in, showed our pre-registration papers and they took our pictures. We sat in rows of chairs for about 10 minutes and they started calling up on board. Simple and easy!! Great job.

 

First Impression: The NCL Majesty is one of the older/smaller ships that NCL has but she is still beautiful. It is very easy to find your way around. Once on board we found the restaurants, Royal Fireworks, etc. Word to the wise: The Majesty has three sets of two elevators that are very slow. We did not use the elevators all week. Just used the stairs.

 

Rooms: We had a Outside Cat E room that was 109 sq. feet. By far the smallest room we have ever had. It had two closet doors and 5 drawers (2 in closet and three in dresser) to store our items. We managed to store every thing and the suit cases fit nicely under the bed.

 

Staff: The room stewards were fantastic. Every thing we needed or wanted was provided for. The wait staff and bar staff were also very good. We did see a couple of arguments in the Seven Seas where one young gentleman told the head waiter in our section “ I can’t do this, I can’t work for you” and we also saw one young lady crying her eyes out. I just feel it is like all other work places, you will have disagreements. St Hugh, Nigel and Eunice provided great service in the Seven Seas and we had them as servers several times. Some thought there were several trainees on board because the Head waiters would always have to tell them what to do (i.e. - Fill the water glasses, etc.) Also, if you see Nanette (bar waiteress), tell her Tom and Jane from the Spirit said hi to her. She is sweet person that is very attentive (we first met her four years ago on the Spirit and she is still the same and was very thankful that we remembered her).

 

Restaurants: The Majesty has several places to eat. The Seven Seas and Four Seasons are the main restaurants, the Le Bistro, Pasta Café at night, the Pizza Place and the Buffet. We ate most of our dinners at the Seven Seas and Pasta Café most evening and the food was very good. We had Le Bistro one night and that was good as well. We did have a couple of lunches at the Pizza place because it is so hard to pass up the smell of a grilling hamburger..haha. We did have breakfast a couple of times at the buffet and this seem to be an area where a lot of people complained.

As stated, the Majesty is not really set up for FreeStyle and the buffet shows it. It is small with an Omelet/Waffle station outside and the regular buffet food inside. It has very limited seating with an overflow area downstairs in the Royal Observatory or outside.

 

Lines: Although we never experienced the lines, a lot of people complained about having to stand in line for Breakfast/Lunch or Dinner. We have learned from FreeStyle that if you go to dinner when every one else wants to, you have to wait (just like at a restaurant on Friday Night) so we went to Breakfast before 9:00 a.m. and dinner usually after 7:00 pm (unless we had reservations) and NEVER had to wait in line.

 

Getting on and off: This was my only issue and it wasn’t a big one because I was on vacation. Because of the places we saw: Halifax, Bar Harbor, St. John and Boston (in that order) each time we came back to the U.S. we had to clear immigration. So in Bar Harbor, we stood in line on the ship to clear immigration then in line to get a tender ticket. In Boston, stand in line on the ship to clear immigration and then in line to get a pass to get off the ship. This cut down the time we had in each port…

 

Entertainment: Wonderful. There was a band called TruLife playing at the sail-away party. They were so good we saw them several times throughout the week. The comedian shows were excellent, the English guy who sings was o.k. and there was a gentleman playing guitar in the Polo Club (six aft) that was good as well. This is the only ship where I have seen the main theater is at the back of the ship. It is small but adequate.

 

Wildlife viewing: I like areas in the front of the ship that has windows where you can see from side to side looking for wildlife. The Majesty has the Royal Observatory but is not a place that you can really sit and look for wildlife because most of the time, people are eating in there (buffet overflow or Pasta Café). So I just put on my gloves, ski cap, hoodie, jacket and went up on deck 11. We saw dolphins most days and whales going into Bar Harbor and out of St. John.

 

Disembarkation: Another great job!!!!!!!!!!

 

Overall Impression: Although the Majesty may have a few issues it is still a beautiful cruise ship with wonderful staff. So if you are wanting the amenities that come with bigger/newer ships will you be disappointed? Maybe. If you want a cruise where the ships staff try and take care of your every need will you be happy? Probably. My wife and I had a great time and look forward to many more cruises in our life time.:)

[AFAMILY]

Thanks for posting a very detailed review. Glad you had a good time.

 

Happy Cruising! :)

[franma]

Hi Tom and Jane. It was wonderful to have met you and many others who were on board. This was our 16th cruise, but first on NCL. I sort of knew what to expect from reading these boards, but was generally disappointed in a few areas, enough so it may make us reluctant to sail NCL again.

 

First the good points: Embarking and disembarking in Phila. was wonderful, much easier than some others we've done. Food and entertainment were good. The room was small, but adequate (outside cabin on deck 6). The room stewards did a great job keeping it clean. Most of the staff we met were pleasant and helpful. The ship itself is old, but well-maintained.

 

Now the negatives: Waiting in lines for breakfast and dinner...One night it was about 40 minutes until we were called. The service in the dining room, particularly Seven Seas was very inconsistent. For example, untensils were missing from the table, one morning no one ever got a spoon for coffee. Our friend ordered ice cream for dessert and it sat on the serving area so long it was half melted (literally) until it was served to him. We would be asked several times whether we wanted anything from the bar, but nothing else. Even the last morning, when one would think they would want to get you in and out, we waited for entry, then the food. Believe me, I am a very patient person, and we weren't in a hurry (it's vacation after all), but this was beyond reasonable. There were many people grumbling, even those who had sailed NCL before. They said this was not typical of the line.

 

Even when we had made reservations in Four Seasons one night, when we got there we were told to wait in line to go up to the desk. It didn't make sense to us. What was the point of a reservation?

 

The last night we went to the Pasta Cafe (reserved) and did have very good service and the food was good as well.

 

We tried to make reservations several times, but were told they only had 5:30 and 8:30 for the next night. Apparently people call at 7 am or so to get the times they want...not a good system. Free style does not work well on this ship, at least that's what we found.

 

We understand that there were a lot of trainees on the ship which would account for the service I suppose.

 

Another area when we were frustrated was in the first port of Halifax. We had arranged for a private tour. However, we couldn't get off the ship until ALL the ship's tours did. Consequently we lost about an hour or so of out tour, which we had to pay for anyway...something is wrong with this system. In all of our cruises we have never run across this problem.

 

We thought we would have a problem in Bar Harbor as well, but fortunately we just made our tour on time, thanks to being on a deck that was called early enough. We had asked at guest relations whether we could assure our getting off the ship in time, but they were not able to help.

 

There were a few other things that we were not happy with, but those were the major ones. It did not give a good impression of NCL. My husband has a suggestion that if indeed it is a "training" ship, let people know about it ahead of time, and maybe reduce the price and people will not have the expectations of a certain quality of service.

 

As I said most of the staff were hard working and we appreciated their efforts, but at least on this ship, things did not run smoothly especially in the dining areas. Just be aware of this if you plan to go on Majesty. Not one of our better experiences, but we made the most of our cruise.

[TomAndJane]

Fran and Marty,

 

It was nice meeting you and getting the chance to spend some time with you both as well as with John and Marilyn. We could tell that you were a little frustrated about your cruise when we saw you again the last morning. As you mentioned, you were not the only one that had issues like this. We met a couple of prior NCL cruises at the airport and their first words were "This is not NCL and not Freestyle 2.0'. They experienced some of the same issues you, Marty and your friends experienced.

 

Guess Jane and I were lucky with the service and the lines at the restuarants. Glad you were still able to make the most of your cruise.

 

Keep in touch,

 

Tom

[clotheshorse]

Tom and Jane,

I am happy that you were able to enjoy your cruise, however I can't believe that we were on the same cruise. This was our 7th cruise, having sailed previously with Celebrity, Holland America, RCL and even Norwegian. Although our last cruise with Norwegian was before they implemented the free-style cruising.

I have been very happy with my past experiences, save this one and would highly recommend cruising as the utmost vacation. My hope in writing this review is not to slam Norwegian, my letter to them will take care of that, but I hope that someone who may be planning a cruise will see this letter and look to another cruiseline for a true vacation experience.

Normally on a cruise I would look forward to an excellent dining experience. This would include food that was served promptly, congenially and hot. This was for the most case not so on this cruise. I travelled with a party of six and we were all very happy if the food was served hot. I soon found that sending the food back was an exercise in futility.

The choice of Reggae music for a New England, Canada cruise I foung to be just one more point of poor planning for this cruise. I have loved the Reggae music on my Caribbean cruises, but given the destinations of this cruise along with the average age of my fellow passengers, I found this to be totally careless planning.

The fact that we arrived in Halifax on the Canadian Thanksgiving was yet another case of poor planning. We did not book an excursion on that day, thinking that we could just walk about the town, and found that the town was shut down for the holiday. Surely, the cruiseline could have re-routed the cruise to avoid this melee.

Lastly, there were quite a bit of passengers, including myself and my fellow travelers, who were upset that the Phillies play-off games were not broadcast. We met with Brett, the cruise director in hopes of resolving this issue and found his manner to be extremely condescending. Again, an instance of poor planning as this was a cruise that left from Philadelphia with a great number of passengers coming from the city or surrounding areas.

In the end, I felt that this ship was not much better than a freighter, it was just a means of transportation.

I will never sail Norwegian again, and will not recommend it to anyone.

[TomAndJane]

Every one has their opionion of what they experienced and I just expressed mine. Sorry you had such an unenjoyable trip.

[*Wink*]

 

Another area when we were frustrated was in the first port of Halifax. We had arranged for a private tour. However, we couldn't get off the ship until ALL the ship's tours did. Consequently we lost about an hour or so of out tour, which we had to pay for anyway...something is wrong with this system. In all of our cruises we have never run across this problem.

 

 

Sorry your experience was disappointing. I can understand your complaints and your frustration. We've sailed her twice, and have been very lucky in that our experiences were opposite yours. One thing I wanted to mention to those who may read your post is about the tours you booked privately.

 

We, too, have never done a ship excursion and have always booked our tours ourselves. We simply tell the staff member our situation, and they let us wait with the folks that are leaving at a specific time. Yes, we have to explain often to various staff our tour situation, but they always have let us go. You may have encountered some newer people and therefore were given wrong information.

I just wanted folks to know that we've done it, and to be persistent. Honestly, we were met with no resistance.

 

Like you said before, Majesty was not built for freestyle, and she has been sold. So I hope you'll give NCL another shot before making up your mind. :)

[LaurenKP]

My husband and I were also on this cruise, our 5th in as many years, but our first with Norwegian. Let me begin by saying any cruise is a great vacation, and we are happy we went. However, we were very disappointed with many aspects of the ship. First of all, the hot tubs were anything but hot. We were the first ones in on Saturday before we even had the life boat drill. Luckily the temperature was in the 70s and we were still docked at the pier, so the hot tub was ok. Later that afternoon, we asked several people on the pool deck as well as the people at the Reception Desk if they could make the water hot. It soon became obvious that 80 degrees was considered the best they could do. Once we set sail, the "hot" tubs were far too cold to get in. As the week progressed, we noticed a few people here and there brave enough to try but all said it wasn't hot. When we booked the cruise, one of our first questions was whether the pools were heated since we saw they were both outdoors. We were told yes, so we booked the cruise. Well, the pools were not heated, and I never saw a single person in the pools. This was extremely disappointing.

 

Halifax was a mess. I knew before we went, thanks to these message boards, that it was Canadian Thanksgiving, so I was prepared. I still did not understand why they did not go to an American port that day. Debarkation was a mess. People who booked excursions on board the ship were late and had their excursions cut short. If you did not book with the ship and had a tour planned, you were late if it was an early tour. We got off a long time after the set time we thought we'd be in Halifax. I can't remember the times anymore, but I know many, many people were upset.

 

As for St. John, I guess it was our fault. Every cruise we have been on has advised us to change our clocks to match the shore time. Well, not this time. We had planned well in advance what time we wanted to be at Reversing Falls. We got off the ship and saw we had plenty of time, so we decided to walk. We had a lovely walk, got to the information desk in plenty of time, only to find out we were exactly one hour too late. St. John is on Atlantic time, and we were on Eastern time. We were so upset. Had we known this, we would have jumped in a cab or hopped on a bus and could have been to the Reversing Falls on time. Like I said, I guess we should have known, but it just did not occur to us that we were not on the same time as St. John. Seems pretty dumb.

 

Customs in Bar Harbor and Boston were a pain. Perhaps putting those two ports together would mimimize that hassle a bit.

 

Finally, back to the ship. We knew she was an older ship and not set up for Freestyle Dining, so that was fine. Our issue was that they seemed so completely understaffed. Breakfast one morning took an hour and a half. That is absurd. We found that we preferred the Four Seasons restaurant for dinner. Corina, the hostess, was wonderful. She was so friendly and made us feel so welcome. We missed not having the same wait staff for dinner, so she filled that void!!

 

We enjoyed all of the entertainment. I preferred the scaled down Majesty singers and dancers to the big Las Vegas type shows on other ships. Rochelle, a Majesty singer was absolutely wonderful, such a talent. I thought the comedian was funny, the ventiloquist was fun, and the singer from the UK was good as well. They were all quite nice when you saw them around the ship all week.

 

All that said, the only bad weather was a bit of rain in Halifax, so compared the the October 18th sailing, we have nothing to complain about.

 

Again, I am glad we went. I agree that this cruise should have been more heavily discounted. By the last week it was, but Norwegian says they don't adjust their price or give on board credits when the price goes down. Maybe next time, we will just book a week or 2 before!!

[*Wink*]

Just to let folks know, there are threads that talk about the hot tubs on Majesty not being very hot. A few comments on the threads below also explain the pool water.

 

It's unfortunate the above poster was given wrong information which was the base for them making a reservation. This is an important lesson. Cruise Critic has way more accurate information than any agency and often NCL itself.

 

In the search engine I put the words "majesty" and "hot tub." Quite a few threads popped up. Here's just two of them.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=693495&highlight=majesty+hot+tub

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=679781&highlight=majesty+hot+tub

[booklady26]

I wonder why you guys had to clear US immigration/customs at every US port.

 

I was on a very similar itinerary last week on the Caribbean Princess and the only time we had to clear US immigration was when we returned to Brooklyn when we disembarked and that was on the pier after we retrieved our luggage. It took about 1 minute because the pier is set up much like international arrivals at any major airport. There are probably 20 or more immigration officials waiting to clear returning passengers and the process goes very smoothly.

 

By the way, our cruise also played island music which I found kind of funny. When we started heading back to NY, I commented to my husband that you know we were headed south because a Jimmy Buffett song was playing.

[iheartbda]

By the last week it was, but Norwegian says they don't adjust their price or give on board credits when the price goes down. Maybe next time, we will just book a week or 2 before!!

 

If the price goes down before final payment, they will adjust the price. They even adjusted it for us when it said "for new bookings only". :)

[TomAndJane]

LaurenKP,

 

The dailys stated to stay on ship time and they made announcements that morning. Sorry you missed the Reversing Falls.

 

TomandJane

[LaurenKP]

AWinkler, thanks for the link to that great review. I do wish I had known about the hot tubs; however, let me emphasize that any cruise is a great vacation. We really did enjoy ourselves and agree with everyone about the staff being terrific and the ship being well taken care of. I don't understand why they just don't fix the hot tubs!!!:)

[*Wink*]

AWinkler, thanks for the link to that great review. I do wish I had known about the hot tubs; however, let me emphasize that any cruise is a great vacation. We really did enjoy ourselves and agree with everyone about the staff being terrific and the ship being well taken care of. I don't understand why they just don't fix the hot tubs!!!:)

You're welcome. I felt for you being told by your TA that the hot tubs were actually hot and the pool would be heated. I admit that I used to listen to TA's and NCL about what's offered, but after being told wrong so many times, CC is the only reliable source in my book. I'm sure you'll be better prepared for your next cruise.. hopefully with a hot hot tub!!