Majesty of the Seas-What is the real story?

[dfishner]

We are on the Majesty last year what it lacks in size Cabins it makes up in other ways. The captain and his crew are awesome we had the best C&A party, ship looks great with the redo, fun ship, good food and great service. We normally do not like ships this size but we had a great time on her and would do it again.

[curley23]

Yes, indeed I will be heading to Atlantis or other casinos in Nassau. The majesty is in Nassau for awhile so I have plenty of time to take care of business.

But it is nice to have a place to toss my chips around at 1am on the ship. LOL! But I do like the other aspects of cruising though aside from the casino hence why I like going on the ships.

Single odds on all the RCCL ships. That really blows. One red X awarded for the casino.

 

Well RCI is not a casino business with a ship built around it. They aren't looking for high rollers, but are glad to take any ones $$ if they think they are one. Yes some pax have won some $$ on the ships, but just like anywhere else there are a lot more losers. All the odds do is take your $$ faster anyway. 7 OUT.

[rolloman]

Hey-I go on that Palm Beach Princess often. Are you local? That ship is on its way out though. They are running on two auxillary engines and it takes 1 hour now to get to the three mile limit. Supposedly the ship is not fixable and doomed. I hear they are trying to figure out how to lease "Sea Escape" which is sitting at some dock doing nothing now.

As for the Lipstick on the Pig boat. LOL! Interesting description. I do like going to ports of call and exploring. It is one part of the cruising experience I enjoy. As well as the food. A solid knowledgeable casino on board is nice to have as well. I won't be sailing again until January. So the Jewel would be out. I do like Cozumel, but can totally handle key west and nassau local itinerary. I can always eat key lime pie. :p

I will have to check out the Belize/Cozumel option on navigator. Didn't look at that one. I didn't consider NCL Sky as I heard the food is HORRIBLE. Food is major breaking point for me when cruising and if it is as bad as they say I don't want any part. I will check out the intinerary though. Have you heard any different regarding that ship's food though? I guess if you could eat in the specialty restaurants but that is a pain if you are sailing with little kids. I think it is rude to bring kids there plus a lot of times these specialty restaurants don't allow them.

Let me go take a look at some more options as you suggested. Thanks!

 

Yes, I live nearby, just a few minutes to get to Palm Beach Port. I can assure you the food on NCL is better than that of RCCL. I have not heard anything bad about food from my people who have been on the Sky, I will give first hand review in a few weeks. I just looked over the sailings for January. This would be my choice in order.:

1. Independence of the Seas 6 day.

2. Navigater of the Seas 5 day

3. Celebrity Century 5 day

4. NCL Sky 3/4 day

5. Carnival Destiny 4 day

[Yo Eleven]

Yes, I live nearby, just a few minutes to get to Palm Beach Port. I can assure you the food on NCL is better than that of RCCL. I have not heard anything bad about food from my people who have been on the Sky, I will give first hand review in a few weeks. I just looked over the sailings for January. This would be my choice in order.:

1. Independence of the Seas 6 day.

2. Navigater of the Seas 5 day

3. Celebrity Century 5 day

4. NCL Sky 3/4 day

5. Carnival Destiny 4 day

Hmmmm. Maybe you have seen me shooting sevens if you go on the princess. I will need to look at your list in addition to the majesty. I see you did not include the 5 day NCL Dawn that goes to cozumel and grand cayman? Do you know anything about this ship?

[rolloman]

Hmmmm. Maybe you have seen me shooting sevens if you go on the princess. I will need to look at your list in addition to the majesty. I see you did not include the 5 day NCL Dawn that goes to cozumel and grand cayman? Do you know anything about this ship?

 

Yeah I remember you shooting 7's...they were all on your 2nd roll LOL..just kidding man. As far as the Dawn goes..the deal is I recommend NCL Jewel, Pearl, Gem and that is it. The Sky is in a different category as it is the Bahamas booze cruise and probably the leader in that regard.

[rolloman]

I can elaborate on the Jewel, Pearl, Gem. On these ships, it seems they took what was working on Carnival and RCCL and incorporated those along with their own innovations (Bowling Alley, deck high indoor movie screen, Bliss Lounge). I had a great time on the Pearl and if you ever get a chance you should check it out. Next year I am excited about Oasis and Epic, its great to live in Florida and hop on any ship at any given time!

[cer10lee]

DH and I sailed Majesty in May '09; everything was marvelous! Just sailed again in August, and noticed food in WJ was not as good.

 

The dining room is excellent; the staff is great. We had an issue with the new pool towel policy, but that is not the fault of the Majesty; Royal Caribbean changed the policy. Guest Services is not very friendly or customer oriented.

 

The ship is old, we had an OV on deck 8. You can def see wear and tear in the bathrooms. Common areas on the ship are nicely maintained.

 

I do love the itinerary of this ship. We did the 4 day, Nassau, Coco Cay and Key West.

 

Go, have fun. But if I had to, I would go with Navigator, or another line.

[Yo Eleven]

Yeah I remember you shooting 7's...they were all on your 2nd roll LOL..just kidding man. As far as the Dawn goes..the deal is I recommend NCL Jewel, Pearl, Gem and that is it. The Sky is in a different category as it is the Bahamas booze cruise and probably the leader in that regard.

Crazy! LOL! Seven out!

 

I can elaborate on the Jewel, Pearl, Gem. On these ships, it seems they took what was working on Carnival and RCCL and incorporated those along with their own innovations (Bowling Alley, deck high indoor movie screen, Bliss Lounge). I had a great time on the Pearl and if you ever get a chance you should check it out. Next year I am excited about Oasis and Epic, its great to live in Florida and hop on any ship at any given time!

Well you got me to checking out NCL. I only want a 4-5 nighter max for a January getaway. There is the NCL Dawl but when I read some comments on this travel site I kept reading how the food is dull and boring and not enjoyable. Similar comments that I heard in general from other cruises with the exception of yours. I guess you savor garbage. HAHAHA! Just kidding. There seems to be a LOT of folks that like the majesty but there are some that despise it. I know the Majesty may not be the "perfect" ship but since I am not getting over 60 percent saying the cruise is a worthless piece of crap I will have to still keep this ship as a potential booking. I am still looking elsewhere at this time but I haven't found reason to axe the majesty just yet.

[Yo Eleven]

DH and I sailed Majesty in May '09; everything was marvelous! Just sailed again in August, and noticed food in WJ was not as good.

 

The dining room is excellent; the staff is great. We had an issue with the new pool towel policy, but that is not the fault of the Majesty; Royal Caribbean changed the policy. Guest Services is not very friendly or customer oriented.

 

The ship is old, we had an OV on deck 8. You can def see wear and tear in the bathrooms. Common areas on the ship are nicely maintained.

 

I do love the itinerary of this ship. We did the 4 day, Nassau, Coco Cay and Key West.

 

Go, have fun. But if I had to, I would go with Navigator, or another line.

Thank you for your input here but it does throw me for a loop though. After reading words in your post such as "marvelous" "excellent" "great" and "love" you state in your closing that you would suggest the Navigator or another line. Are you saying that the second time you went on the majesty that things changed so much to the worse that the boat should be turned into a coral reef now?

[mjm1204]

I'm giving NCL a try next... have you seen their suites? I really like the ones that have the bedroom right in front of floor to ceiling windows...

 

NCL has the best casino program (think they have some affiliation with Harrahs) out there and they do cater to gamblers.

 

I won't cruise for less than 7 days so I can't help you there. :p

 

If cruise to Bahamas screw the Atlantis and head over to cable beach to check out the crystal palace casino... they remodeled the resort and wanna know how it looks :D

[Yo Eleven]

I'm giving NCL a try next... have you seen their suites? I really like the ones that have the bedroom right in front of floor to ceiling windows...

 

NCL has the best casino program (think they have some affiliation with Harrahs) out there and they do cater to gamblers.

 

I won't cruise for less than 7 days so I can't help you there. :p

 

If cruise to Bahamas screw the Atlantis and head over to cable beach to check out the crystal palace casino... they remodeled the resort and wanna know how it looks :D

Man I love this site. I feel like a tennis ball. Going back and forth. Now I hear NCL has the best casino program and they cater to gamblers. I had pretty much written off the NCL Dawn cruise but now you got me thinking about it.

 

Or would you rather just tell me to forget the NCL cruise for now and take Majesty which stops in Nassau in order for me to check out the Crystal Palace for ya? Which is it gonna be? :D

[mjm1204]

Man I love this site. I feel like a tennis ball. Going back and forth. Now I hear NCL has the best casino program and they cater to gamblers. I had pretty much written off the NCL Dawn cruise but now you got me thinking about it.

 

Or would you rather just tell me to forget the NCL cruise for now and take Majesty which stops in Nassau in order for me to check out the Crystal Palace for ya? Which is it gonna be? :D

 

 

How about a NCL cruise that stops in Nassau? ;)

 

 

The specialty restaurants on NCL are fine dining.. they're for families (there may be an exception). You know most of the ships have about 10 restaurants? I have heard negative reviews about their MDR but not the specialty restaurants...

 

I don't know of many that would dispute NCL having the best casino program :rolleyes:

 

Just look at their suites... then check out their casino... their craps tables have odds!

[Yo Eleven]

How about a NCL cruise that stops in Nassau? ;)

 

 

The specialty restaurants on NCL are fine dining.. they're for families (there may be an exception). You know most of the ships have about 10 restaurants? I have heard negative reviews about their MDR but not the specialty restaurants...

 

I don't know of many that would dispute NCL having the best casino program :rolleyes:

 

Just look at their suites... then check out their casino... their craps tables have odds!

Well I did just look at the NCL Bahamas cruises but their four day only goes to Freeport/Nassau/and their private island. I will not be the only one going on the cruise but with a group that will have a couple of rugrats joining us. I am totally cool with this cruise going to Freeport AND Nassau, but what is there to do in Freeport? Yes I can go to the casino and all, but I am not the problem. How do I sell Freeport and Nassau to the group?

Key West was an easy sell along with Nassau. But I don't know if they will care for the iternirary on the NCL Sky. Looks like we would have to eat specialty for certain on this one though so we don't throw up. LOL! I saw this review here for the food on this ship.

 

Dining/Food

 

If you want to lose weight than it is for you. The food was terrible, on top of the poor service. Either it took forever to get or the wrong order came out. Now they are willing to have you wait another hour to bring you more cold food. The buffet was the same burnt or under cooked hamburgers, cold hot dogs. The best part is in the buffet open late you get to eat what the can mix together from the day. One day they must have had a lot of hotdogs left over because they mixed them in with a whole lot to stuff. Eating in a mess hall is better. Eat well before you get on and bring MREs. Room service is the same too food will be cold and soggy when you get it.

 

Here is another interesting review.

 

Stateroom Quality

 

Poor condition. Furniture is worn and dirty. The pull out bed was so worn out the mattress was about four inches thick. My little girl said it was too uncomfortable. Oh, she was right I slept on with the braces poking me in the back. Would have been better off sleeping on a cot. The carpet worn and dirty. The bedding was dirty also; request clean comforter because of black spots all over it never did get one.

 

and another....

 

Pros:Nassau

Cons:Blood on pillows

 

I must say that overall I was very displeased. It started when we got to our room and discovered that our lights were burnt out! We were on the Sky in room 6010. After we realized we had no main cabin light we moved on to the bed where we discovered BLOOD stains on the pillows. Actual streaks of blood all over our pillows. There were black stains with yellow rings as well on our bed cover. After this discovery we immediately went to the reception desk to complain and ask for an upgrade, which did not happen. The receptionist, who was very kind, said he would get our room a full set of new linens and fixed lights. When we returned to the room it was already being worked on. We were doing well until the next day when we realized that the pillows had been FLIPPED OVER, so that now the blood was on the underside of the pillow, hidden from view. This made us investigate the covers, and yes, much to our dismay, the covers and been flipped and turned so that the stains were now on the underside next to the foot of the bed. Not only that, they had never fixed our cabin lights, so we had to leave the window open for decent lighting. TERRIBLY DISAPPOINTING. We then enjoyed a day of rain on our first island right after a brush fire, so our excursion was plenty of dead trees and very, very wet. our second island was a pleasing day out. We were very happy with Nassau and Atlantis Resort. Sadly, and mush to our sadness, the third island, Great Stirrup Cay, was canceled due to morning thunderstorms, which was the island where we would spend the most of our day with the offered excursions. We had saved most of our money to enjoy all of the excursions the last island would offer only to have that day completely canceled. To be completely honest, after finding blood on my pillow and not having it taken care of after complaining, only to find it flipped over!, I will never be on another Norwegian Cruise, nor will I ever tell and friends or family to go on one.

 

and another....

 

Never Take This Cruise Sailing date: Apr 2009

 

Pros:Breakfast and Lunch Buffet

Cons:No Service, No Space, Bad Food in Evening meals

 

We have been on several cruise lines and multiple cruises. This is by far the absolute worse cruise ever! There was virtually no service in either the staterooms or in the dining areas. They never cleaned the staterooms. The stateroom was so small you literally had to crawl over someone to get to the bathroom. The people in the dining rooms would not wait tables. They got thier tips whether or not they watied tables so they would not. It took a minimum of 2 hours to eat dinner due to no service. Food was improperly cooked. The people at the service desk was not interested. The bed was broken. In the dining room, the formal night , lobster was tiny bits in some heavy butter sauce over overcooked pasta. THe ship itself was very nice. THe service was horrible and the staterooms were a joke.

 

and another:

 

We boarded the Norwegian Sky on August 29. Our first impression of our balcony stateroom was that it was slightly smaller than we are used to. This was our 10th cruise - 8 w/Princess and 1 w/Royal Caribbean so we are not first time cruisers. The storage in the room is awful. No drawers and a very small closet. Also the refrigerator is stuffed full of alcohol which leaves no room for your own items. We had to ask twice to have everything removed as my husband and I are non drinkers. The toilet was not very sanitary even after the room steward had cleaned it. There was also a strong smell of urine constantly emanating from it. Our next experience was the food. Over the 3 days we ate in the 2 of the diningrooms (Crossing and the Palace) and the buffet. The food was just "ok". The buffet is set up horribly and people were constantly bumping into eachother. However, we did enjoy the freestyle dining option. The pools were small and overcrowded. All the children were in the "adult only" pool and whirpool tub. The deck entertainment consisted of spanish/latino music blaring from the speakers. It only catered to the South Beach Miami crowd, which seemed to be 80% of the ship. The best part of the cruise was the comedian - Tim Kaminski. We caught all his shows. Definely a must see. Also the dancers are quite good. Only saw one show though. Deck 7 has an awful sewage smell around the whole deck. Especially at night which was when my hubby and I like to walk the deck. We will probably not cruise w/Norwegian again.

[Pitbull1130]

Ship is fine though standard cabins are tiny.

 

 

Agree, I've been on the ship twice this year. Good for a 3-4 day cruise, if you are looking for brand new and big then look at a 7 day cruise.

[My2Kitties]

Was on her in Feb and yes she is an older ship with small cabins...but we loved the cruise, the food and the ports...you can feel the vibrations and there is that funky extra floor on half the ship but that is what makes it...at one time they were the grandest of ships...

my 25 yo DD and I stayed in an oceanview on the promenade deck and yes it is small...but we managed...its only for four nights...

ENJOY!

[Yo Eleven]

Was on her in Feb and yes she is an older ship with small cabins...but we loved the cruise, the food and the ports...you can feel the vibrations and there is that funky extra floor on half the ship but that is what makes it...at one time they were the grandest of ships...

my 25 yo DD and I stayed in an oceanview on the promenade deck and yes it is small...but we managed...its only for four nights...

ENJOY!

You loved the food. This is a good thing. Thanks for your review.

[cer10lee]

Thank you for your input here but it does throw me for a loop though. After reading words in your post such as "marvelous" "excellent" "great" and "love" you state in your closing that you would suggest the Navigator or another line. Are you saying that the second time you went on the majesty that things changed so much to the worse that the boat should be turned into a coral reef now?

 

No, she's not ready for a reef just yet:). Yes, we did notice a difference from May to August. Here's what you need to decide: are you looking for lots of onboard activities, a wow factor and a huge ship with larger staterooms or do you just want to cruise a little and keep this trip more port intensive.

 

I gave "marvelous, excellent, great and love" compliments where they were deserved, i.e. the staff, the MDR etc. I think a cruise is what you make it, Majesty is sirloin, Navigator is filet mignon. KWIM?

[dskdsk]

We have been on the Majesty at least ten times - so convenient for a three nighter out of Miami. Ship is well maintained. Food is actually a little better than on their ships with longer cruises (we have been on the Radiance and Freedom Class ships at least a dozen times, for a basis for comparison). Entertainment tends to be pretty good - decent performers can easily embark or disembark in Nassau and come aboard for the night.

Cabins are amazingly small - IMHO, it is not worth all the extra money to book a suite, but certainly is worth upgrading to the Superior Oceanview Cabin - at least you can turn around. Because the view is partially obstructed, the pricing is only about $30 more than the highest level "tiny" cabin and worth every cent.

[kycruiser72]

YO

 

We were on board the Majesty several years ago. We booked a JS. It was much smaller than the JS on the Liberty but that kinda goes without saying. For some reason I fell in love with the Majesty. Sure it doesn't have the glitz and glitter of the Liberty but it was a really nice (all be it older) ship. I believe since we cruised on her she has been in to dry dock and had some work done on her. I enjoyed the destinations (I had never been to Key West so that was cool). All in all it was a nice trip. There were 4 of us (3 adults and 1 kid) in the JS. It was pretty tight.

[forecruiser]

Our family just got off the Majesty last weekend (9/18 - 9/21) for the quick weekend get away. We have two boys (ages 10 and 8). They LOVED the adventure ocean activities (even tho we weren't really on the ship that much). We absolutely loved the quick trip and had a great time. Yes, the ship was small, but we managed. We had an OV on deck 7. Nice location. We have also sailed on the Navigator and it was AWESOME!!! We prefer the larger ships (have not yet done a Freedom class), but did not mind the 3 days on the Majesty. We thought the food was really good and the service was fantastic. The crew was really friendly. Honestly we did not care for the nightly entertainment, but that was okay too. CocoCay was really fun and we went to Atlantis on Sunday. We booked a room at the Comfort Suites for $200 total for the 4 of us with our AAA discount and got to enjoy all the activities at Atlantis for half the price. It was a really fun day! Whatever you decide, you will be on a cruise, and go with a great attitude and make your own fun. We would definitely sail on the Majesty again for a short cruise. Anything more than 4 nights, we would need a larger ship! Just our opinion!

[farnamcoach]

I love the majesty. Since the Referb the rooms decor is nice and the new beds are very comfortable. Im doing a new years cruise on it dec 28th the casino seems so so to me but being from CT and close to moheagan sun and foxwoods I kinda stoped doing the ships casinos.

[AdMaven]

Majesty JS: (Same size as Monarch)

Two twin beds (can convert into queen-size), sofa bed, balcony and a private bathroom with bathtub. (173 sq. ft., balcony 60 sq. ft.)

[Cancunense]

THE MAJESTY had a 40 MILLION DOLLAR renovation in the beginning, I believe, of 2007 or shortly before...we were on it several times later and we liked it a lot...and we LOVE NEW SHIPS...we cannot stand it when a ship is old and showing wear and tear, but it was not, at all.

Key West is a great port...and the reason we chose it.

[kenevenpar]

The only balconies are Junior Suites and above. With the short itin, the small cabins are not much of an issue.

 

Cabin suggestions:

 

OV on deck 8, obstructed view, usually a great buy.

 

SOV on deck 9, a bit more $, but gives you a little more room and a SMALL couch. Good compromise.

 

Jr. Suite, have seen some great prices lately. Usually, IMHO, not worth the extra $$, but with some of the recent deals, maybe.

 

Good luck! We have been on Majesty many times, and have never had a bad experience. If we lived closer, we'd be on her alot more!

 

Ken