Majesty from Charleston, SC

[erby2283]

Earpiemom - If you loved Disney, than I think you may be disappointed with the Majesty but that's just my opinion. The Majesty was my first cruise ever last November so I have nothing to compare it to, but I LOVED it. It is a smaller ship but for the money, it was well worth it. If there are ever any last minute specials, I would take it again in a heartbeat.

 

Have you checked out the Norwegian Jewel? It's a brand new ship, doesn't set sail until August and they have great specials. You would have to fly or drive to Miami, but interior cabins for the 11/13 sailing are as low as $569 pp! I'm booked on the 11/6 sailing of the Jewel (I liked the itinerary better - it alternates between East and West Caribbean).

[Needtobecruisin']

pamm - are you planning to drive down the day before and get a room for the night...if so, have you already booked a room..thanks

 

Yes as a matter of fact, we are planning on driving down a day early and spending a little time in Charleston. And yes, I have already made a motel reservation. I checked with one place and they were already booked up so I figured I had better go ahead and reserve a room.

[earpiemom]

pamm - if you don't mind me asking, did you get a good rate for the room for the night before and are you planning to park at the hotel or park at the port...thank you so much for the information...with having a 1 year old at the time of cruising, we think it would be much easier to do the approx. 5 hour drive to charleston vs driving to florida...

[SCDockman]

Let's see if I can remember all the questions...Yes, the underwater cameras worked above the water. It was bright and sunny in Cozumel and overcast for part of the day in Grand Cayman and the pictures above and below water came out good. You just drop off the whole camera and they recycle it after the pics are developed. I could email you examples if you're curious. As far as the pool, there are two pools and two hot tubs. The pools don't have slides and were approximately 15 ft x 20 ft. Most people lied out in the sun on the deck above/surrounding the pool or stayed in the hot tubs as the pool was rather cool (to me). It's filled and drained from the sea daily.

A couple more things came to mind: On one of the days, they have a gold/silver chain sale at $1 an inch. On our cruise, it was so popular they did it twice. My wife got a bunch of bracelets and necklaces for relatively cheap prices. Also, they usually have a sale on souveniers at the end of the week. When it comes to disembark, we chose to do it ourselves. If you lug your suitcases down to the 2nd deck yourself, you get off the ship first, sent out by decks. We were off the ship, through customs, on and off the trolley, in our car and on the way home 20 minutes after they told our deck it was our turn.

[Needtobecruisin']

Earpiemom: I was able to reserve a room for $56.99 for the night. I don't think that is too bad. Another person that has been on this same cruise told me that Mt. Pleasant is really close to the pier and recommended the Red Roof Inn. So I went with that. As far as the parking is concerned.......uh, I don't know!! It would be great if we could leave the car parked at the hotel but I doubt that would be an option. Hope you will join us on 11/12. :)

 

SCDockman: I would love to see your photos. My e-mail address is Love2Tawk@aol.com.

[Needtobecruisin']

Thanks for the photos SCDockman. They are great. We really enjoyed seeing them. I will have to buy one of those underwater cameras just in case we decided to take a dip.

 

Thank you also for the information on area hotels. I checked with the Holiday Inn Riverview and they are a little more pricey than the Red Roof Inn. For the extra amount the H.I. charges as opposed to the R.R. Inn, it would be about the same to leave the car at the pier and pay their parking fees. I believe it would work out about the same. Thanks anyway.......it never hurts to check! :cool:

I think I remember seeing somewhere on here "things you need to pack for a cruise". Any idea where I can find it?

[thegoodlife247]

i have a question about getting off the ship in key west. do you have to go through customs there? what is that like? then do you do it all over again in charleston? any help would be appreciated.

[jsaadat]

We too are looking forward to a shorter drive from Atlanta to SC verses Atlanta to Miami !!!!! We sailed last month from Ft. Lauderdale and it took us 13 hours to get there and 13.5 to get back becasue of all the traffic, wrecks and construction on 75. Sure miss living in FL when it comes to cruising.

 

This will be our longest cruise ever (10 days). I remember 20 years ago when we took our first 3 day out of port canaveral........ what a blast. Then we really went out on a limb and did the 4 day.... then a 5 day........ this is going to be a blast.......... we have never sailed on a holiday.

 

Thanks for all the comments about Charleston.......... its helping everyone.

 

J

[bpear1600]

i have a question about getting off the ship in key west. do you have to go through customs there? what is that like? then do you do it all over again in charleston? any help would be appreciated.

 

Immigration not Customs. It took several hours to clear the ship on my cruise which was the first out of Charkeston in 2003. I'm sure it's better now.

 

It was done by decks from top to bottom and people were cleared individually.

[Needtobecruisin']

We too are looking forward to a shorter drive from Atlanta to SC verses Atlanta to Miami !!!!! We sailed last month from Ft. Lauderdale and it took us 13 hours to get there and 13.5 to get back becasue of all the traffic, wrecks and construction on 75. Sure miss living in FL when it comes to cruising.

 

 

Wow.......13 or 13½ hours is sure a lot of driving. 4½ or 5 hours to Charleston sounds a lot better to me!!

 

Hope you have loads of fun on your holiday cruise.

[SCDockman]

You don't have to go through customs in Key West. However, if you want to go ashore, you DO have to take the trolley. The ship docks at the former Navy pier, which is way out on the end of the land (naturally). For security reasons, they don't allow you to walk to and from the ship there. On the pier, there are several trolley trains that take the cruisers to their destinations. The excursion people got off the ship first, so you have to wait for them to get onto their trains. We didn't sign up for an excursion, but we wanted to go into town. We waited 10 minutes or so in line, then got onto the train. It was free, but tipping was allowed. The driver gave you a rundown of the history and pointed out landmarks along the drive (15 minutes or so), then dropped you off at a central location downtown. They tell you what time the last train leaves downtown for the ship when you arrive. The trains arrive and leave every 5-10 minutes from the central station and we found it very easy and convenient to use.

[Needtobecruisin']

SCDockman: Once again.........thanks for some great info!! :D

[erby2283]

We lucked out when we got to Key West. My boyfriend is Russian and since they clear all the non-U.S. Citizens first, we were one of the first off the ship...Guess he's good for something :0)

[Needtobecruisin']

Sounds like you lucked up Erby! For some reason, it seems that we're almost always bringing up the rear. :rolleyes:

[Needtobecruisin']

I'm sailing again in just a few days and opting to fly to Miami, so the 5 hour drive to Charleston isn't so appealing any more. They'd probably have to offer an Eastern Caribbean itinerary for me to even consider. I'd give Wilmington a shot if they did decide bring in cruise ships, as the 1 hour drive would be much more appealing!

 

Hi MizzCard. Wondering how your cruise on the Voyager went? Would love to read your review!

[MizzCard]

I'm back from my Voyager cruise. Had a great time and the ship is beautiful. I have to admit I prefer the smaller ships. I'd rather deal with 1700 people vs. 3000! I'm waiting on pricing for an Eastern Cruise for next year.

[MizzCard]

You don't have to go through customs in Key West. However, if you want to go ashore, you DO have to take the trolley. The ship docks at the former Navy pier, which is way out on the end of the land (naturally). For security reasons, they don't allow you to walk to and from the ship there.

 

It wasn't like that for us...we docked at what I thought was a little shopping area and walked down the pier. I remember sitting up on deck hoping I'd see my son make it back to the ship on time.

[Needtobecruisin']

I'm back from my Voyager cruise. Had a great time and the ship is beautiful. I have to admit I prefer the smaller ships. I'd rather deal with 1700 people vs. 3000! I'm waiting on pricing for an Eastern Cruise for next year.

 

I sure am glad you had a great time and returned home safely. That really is a beautiful ship. I have a strange feeling we just might like a smaller ship better as well. Seems like all we got accomplished on the Voyager was walk, walk, walk....trying to get to all the different shows, dinner, etc. because the ship is so big. Since the Voyager was our first and only cruise so far, I am really curious to see what a small ship is like.

[MizzCard]

The Majesty is going to be a shocker for sure compared to VOS. I wasn't too keen on the layout of the Majesty, as you traveled more through the cabin corridores to get to some of the public areas.

 

Know what you mean about walking, walking, walking on the VOS. I was a little disapointed that the pizza place was no where near the pool deck, and if you wanted a burger, you'd have to pay at Johnny Rockets.

 

I think you'll enjoy your Majesty cruise, it'll be very relaxing. Key West is the best port!

[Needtobecruisin']

The Majesty is going to be a shocker for sure compared to VOS. I wasn't too keen on the layout of the Majesty, as you traveled more through the cabin corridores to get to some of the public areas.

 

Know what you mean about walking, walking, walking on the VOS. I was a little disapointed that the pizza place was no where near the pool deck, and if you wanted a burger, you'd have to pay at Johnny Rockets.

 

I think you'll enjoy your Majesty cruise, it'll be very relaxing. Key West is the best port!

 

I agree with you. The cabin corridors seem a mile long on the Voyager. And no matter which end of the ship you are on, you find that you NEED to be on the opposite end! LOL

 

Glad you said that about Key West. My brother has just now booked his first cruise for his family for August and one of the ports they will visit is Key West. He was saying how much he has always wanted to go there and was asking me about it. I told him I didn't know anything about Key West but whatever he wanted to know or needed to find out about cruising to just come to good old Cruise Critic!! Everybody here has been so friendly and helpful to me. :)

[erby2283]

Really, you guys liked Key West? That was my least favorite port. Maybe it's b/c I am a non-drinker, non-partier person. The town was pretty, I just didn't think there was a whole lot to do.

[Needtobecruisin']

Hmmm, we don't party or drink either. Are we going to be bored in Key West? Might have to take a tour or something. :cool:

[MizzCard]

Really, you guys liked Key West? That was my least favorite port. Maybe it's b/c I am a non-drinker, non-partier person. The town was pretty, I just didn't think there was a whole lot to do.

 

We found a quaint little restaurant with out door dining. The atmosphere was superb and the weather outstanding! Granted, we ordered a bucket of Corona's (there were 5 of us) and shared a couple slices of Key Lime Pie after dinner. Non drinkers could do the same with iced tea. You gotta make your own fun!

[Charlestongirl]

We are going on the NCL trip out of Charleston too, there is one in December we are taking. I am pretty happy since I live here, no driving 5 hours to Florida for their closest port. Not it's such a bad drive, but this is going to save us a lot of time and money!

I am glad to find this thread, I was wondering about the ship too. I was bummed about not taking RCL as they had a rock wall. I've been wanting to do that for a long time!

If you guys have time in Charleston, go to Market Street and check out the heavenly smells of the Charleston Candy Factory! MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[adbnva]

terry and pam we live in martinsville va. this is our 1st cruise in years on ncl. we are booked on the majesty 11/12/05. is that your cruise? more i read the better it sounds. we are going down a couple of days early to see charleston. we went on 2 cruises our of wilmington. 1st probally 15 yr ago on celebrity to bermuda. nest probally 8 yr ago on small ship shich went bankrupt after 9//11. it's rough seas coming into wilmington. it was a wonderful port to leave from and a 5 hr easy drive from mville. we thought they would have more cruises but no. adbnva