A Majestic Adriatic Cruise

[dorlor]

Just back from Adriatic Explorer on Majesty. Just some basic thoughts to get info to you .

What a wonderful time we had. A lovely ship and what wonderful ports of call, every one a gem. Usual Thomson flight out and back and quick transfer to the ship. The check-in however seemed to take ages. But we got aboard in before 1p.m. Delyth was convinced she would suffocate and die when we got to the cabin as we'd never had an inside before. But what a lovely surprise it was. Plenty of room and lovely cool air coming from the A/C unit. We had an inside plus on deck 4 midships. Luggage arrived before us . Our cabin stewards Mashuri and Julia were excellent, cabin always spotless and tidy. In the cabin the bathroom is the main place you can tell her age, The small square floor tiles that have been replaced. The bathroom is not big but large enough to shower and dry in.

Public areas were nice, lovely bars and lounges. Everywhere spotless including the toilets in the public areas. It was a bit of a shock going to the one in Airport on our return.

Food was good to excellent, they did have problems at times in the Cafe Royale buffet with temperatures. Cool baked beans not nice 1st thing in the morning. Also there was not enough room inside to sit when busy. On Venice day everyone and his dog was up early and we found people were going downstairs to the Royal Observatory lounge to eat, including the staff. There are stairs down to it inside the buffet. Other times we ate in the 2 waiter service restaurants and service was prompt and food hot. We went to the A La carte Bistro on the Tuesday and it was excellent. So good infact we booked it again for the last night. Had a lovely time both times. We were in there 2.5 hours the 1st time. And that was not because service was slow but because we were having such a good time.

 

Entertainment was good, but the theatre lets the showteam and audience down. The ceiling is low both over the stage and the audience and makes it feel closed in. The circular stage does not seem to be such a problem but I think it's the backstage facilities as they did not seem to nip on and off and do as many fast costume changes as usual. Also the floor in the place is almost level so if you have someone large in front of you, you have difficulty seeing. Steve, the pianist who played in the Polo Club and Rendezvous Lounge was excellent and we spent many evenings listening to him and missed several shows.

 

Problems :- Apart from occasional food temperature problems and the theatre space , already mentioned, we had none. But we spoke to several who had cabins at the rear on deck 4 and were getting a lot of vibration. We could feel it on sea day when they did the port talk in the theatre and that was on deck 6. We could not feel anything particular in the rest of the ship. there apparently was a queue at reception complaining about cabin sizes from some of those in standard cabins.

As has already been reported the pool area was busy and overcrowded, especially on sea day. But it did not bother us as we don't do pool. It was also busy on the top Sky deck with the sun worshippers.

Also if you are in both the Polo Club and Redezvous bar and are sat too close to the Royal Fireworks or Jubilee Lounge and there is something going on in them you do get interference with the sound carrying through.

 

Berwyn

Hi Berwyn

Its taken me till now to come back down to earth. We had a great time on the Majesty. I think we may well met in front of the lift ! We were deck 4 midship (odd no.s!) and were thrilled with our inside plus cabin. On previous posts i had asked about hangers in the wardrobe, within 2 minutes of Anna showing us the cabin she brought a dozen more ! The beds were very comfortabel and we hardly knew we were moving. We loved the entertainment in the Fireworks and Jubilee. Couple of small niggles - lack of somewhere to make your cuppa by the machines and lack of space on deck for the deck party. We ate breakfast & lunch on deck 10, good choices but yes sometimes the food wasnt very hot. We ate every night in the Four seasons, great service and WONDERFUL food. Lobster thermidor ! & some fab fish dishes. The waiters were great. Have to say the drinks were pricey but hey we were on holiday ! Your photos are great. I havnt got the facility to put photos on the computer, it was lovely to see yours. All the best.:)

[Cymro1953]

Hi Berwyn

Its taken me till now to come back down to earth. We had a great time on the Majesty. I think we may well met in front of the lift ! We were deck 4 midship (odd no.s!) and were thrilled with our inside plus cabin. On previous posts i had asked about hangers in the wardrobe, within 2 minutes of Anna showing us the cabin she brought a dozen more ! The beds were very comfortabel and we hardly knew we were moving. We loved the entertainment in the Fireworks and Jubilee. Couple of small niggles - lack of somewhere to make your cuppa by the machines and lack of space on deck for the deck party. We ate breakfast & lunch on deck 10, good choices but yes sometimes the food wasnt very hot. We ate every night in the Four seasons, great service and WONDERFUL food. Lobster thermidor ! & some fab fish dishes. The waiters were great. Have to say the drinks were pricey but hey we were on holiday ! Your photos are great. I havnt got the facility to put photos on the computer, it was lovely to see yours. All the best.:)

 

 

Hi, glad you had a lovely time like we did. The cabin was so much nicer than we expected. Very smooth ride on the ship, even in that little bit of rough weather coming out of Venice. I think we have never been to a buffet, (ship's or hotel), that hasn't had food temperature problems. Lovely food in all the restaurants.

Glad you like the photos, thank you.

 

We all need to walk round in Cruise Critic T shirts so we can spot each other :D

 

Berwyn

[Tay Dee]

Hi all - thanks for all your contributions . . . . we're off on Majesty a week today (yiipppeee!!) 19 October - so, having read all the views on this thread will now be going more informed but still very open minded.

Looking forward to the Adriatic and what sounds like hidden treasures such as Koper, Split and Kotor

 

Anchors away!

[barnowl1950]

Have a great time :)

[Cymro1953]

Hi all - thanks for all your contributions . . . . we're off on Majesty a week today (yiipppeee!!) 19 October - so, having read all the views on this thread will now be going more informed but still very open minded.

Looking forward to the Adriatic and what sounds like hidden treasures such as Koper, Split and Kotor

 

Anchors away!

 

Hi, the ship is lovely and the staff are wonderful. Especially J.D and Oleg in the Redezvous lounge. Oleg is a bit stiff and Eastern European at first, but once he gets to know you he relaxes abit. J.D is ex destiny and is a wonderful genuine man. They nearly had to drag us off the ship kicking and screaming down the gangplank. As soon as we were home we were trying to work out how we could get another cruise on her next year , considering we already have a 2 week one booked on the Dream for May.

 

All the ports are fantastic, there is not a bad one among them. The only disappointment is we do Koper on a Sunday and only the cafes and the ice cream shop are open.If they did venice first and then Koper, we'd be there on a weekday. I think Venice is the same no matter what day you went there.

 

Berwyn

[dorlor]

Hi all - thanks for all your contributions . . . . we're off on Majesty a week today (yiipppeee!!) 19 October - so, having read all the views on this thread will now be going more informed but still very open minded.

Looking forward to the Adriatic and what sounds like hidden treasures such as Koper, Split and Kotor

 

Anchors away!

Have a wonderful holiday. Im so jealous ! We had a fabulous time and the ports are lovely. Love the Majesty. :)

[kruzseeka]

 

The only disappointment is we do Koper on a Sunday and only the cafes and the ice cream shop are open.If they did venice first and then Koper, we'd be there on a weekday. I think Venice is the same no matter what day you went there.

 

Berwyn

 

Yes it is a pity that Koper is so quiet on Sunday - I know you did the caves trip (we'll try that next time if we go again) but if you repeat this itinerary (I'm sure you will!:D) you could try a DiY excursion to Piran. It's an interesting ride giving you a good look at Portoroz on the way (you could get off here for a while too if you wanted to). Piran is a super resort on a peninsular with a great cafe culture. Much more lively than Koper and lovely promenade walk too. It's only about 3€ each way - we go just after 9 o/c and are back early afternoon so can spend a little time strolling around Koper too. We think it makes a good day out.

[Tay Dee]

Hello all - thanks for your info' and Bon Voyages . . . just wondering what an average coach transfer time is between Corfu Airport and Corfu Port??? One of our crew members is not so clever on coaches - so the shorter the time the better.

 

Splice the mainbrace

Tay Dee

[kruzseeka]

Hello all - thanks for your info' and Bon Voyages . . . just wondering what an average coach transfer time is between Corfu Airport and Corfu Port??? One of our crew members is not so clever on coaches - so the shorter the time the better.

 

Splice the mainbrace

Tay Dee

 

20 minutes. :)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Hi Berwyn, Glad you had a good time. I was a bit unsure about the Majesty, but you have made it sound really good. Love the photos :)

 

I'm just looking at Canarian Flavours (it is what I suggested ages ago - no Agadir!!)

 

Feb 1st-8th works out at just over £700 each for a week in an outside plus on deck 3/4 - pretty good and much less than the brochure. I shall have to investigate the finances, but I think that is quite a bargain!

 

Can you recommend the best cabins in that area?

[Jakanne1]

Hi Berwyn, Glad you had a good time. I was a bit unsure about the Majesty, but you have made it sound really good. Love the photos :)

 

I'm just looking at Canarian Flavours (it is what I suggested ages ago - no Agadir!!)

 

Feb 1st-8th works out at just over £700 each for a week in an outside plus on deck 3/4 - pretty good and much less than the brochure. I shall have to investigate the finances, but I think that is quite a bargain!

 

Can you recommend the best cabins in that area?

 

We had a deck 4 outside plus on Majesty and would choose one again anywhere on that deck.

 

 

My attention was drawn to your post as we were also looking at this cruise on the same date and I costed it on line on 30th Sept 12.

Basic price. £729

Deck 3/4 out plus £84

Drinks package £69

Cabin booking. £39

Online saving. £382

Total price £1804, £902 each

 

Costed it again 4 days later on 4th Oct and the cabin supplement and the AI had gone up and the total price was £1038 each.. :eek:

 

Costed it again just now and the cabin supplement has gone up again but the online saving is now up to £490 making the total price (from Newcastle) £999 each

 

I suppose if we took off the £199 AI that takes it to £799 and maybe the Newcastle supplement makes a big difference!! I kept most of our bar receipts on our last cruise and added them up and they came to more than £500 for 2 for 1 week :rolleyes:

 

As the deck 3/4 Out plus has gone up so much I thought that there may not be many of those cabins left. We really fancied this itinerary but were put off by the huge price increase and the fact that I think you have to book and pay your deposit before you can choose your cabin. That may not be the case but I would not like to commit to a cruise and then not be able to get a cabin of choice.

 

Anyhow, we decided to wait and monitor the price of the cruise and either decide later or wait until the next year's brochure comes out shortly and book for 2014. Phew.....best get on with some work now!!

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Well, I thought it was me, but when I priced it up last night I'm sure it was £84 supplement for a cabin upgrade, then when I went in after 10pm to take off the extra luggage, the supplement came up as over £90. These prices are a nightmare, they keep going up and down:rolleyes:

 

Our drinks bill on the Spirit was only £220 for the two of us for a week, so wouldn't have AI unless free or cheap. The basic price of the cruise was under £700 (maybe because it was from Gatwick), but OH has got rid of the envelope that I jotted the prices down on, so not quite sure of the exact amount :rolleyes:

 

The other thing was that there were two different quotes depending on whether you join the ship in Tenerife or Gran Canaria. Tererife was cheaper, but Gran Canaria had better flight times.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Just looked again.

 

Basic price now £603 but supplement now £103 :eek:

 

However the on-line saving is now £534 so the total in £1414 (£707 each):rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Jakanne1]

Just looked again.

 

Basic price now £603 but supplement now £103 :eek:

 

However the on-line saving is now £534 so the total in £1414 (£707 each):rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Yes, I just checked it, £735 ea plus the £39 without the AI from Newcastle. Was once told that Tuesday and Thursday were good days for booking as the price dropped mid week. Certainly is with hotels.

[Cymro1953]

Hi Berwyn, Glad you had a good time. I was a bit unsure about the Majesty, but you have made it sound really good. Love the photos :)

 

I'm just looking at Canarian Flavours (it is what I suggested ages ago - no Agadir!!)

 

Feb 1st-8th works out at just over £700 each for a week in an outside plus on deck 3/4 - pretty good and much less than the brochure. I shall have to investigate the finances, but I think that is quite a bargain!

 

Can you recommend the best cabins in that area?

 

Sorry being slow Linda. Were away the weekend. Delyth's birthday and our wedding anniversary. :D Then back in work :(

We had a deck 4 inside plus just forward of the central stairwell.

Those opposite us 426 to 446 port side and 427 and 427 to 447 starboard.

 

The insides were nice and quiet with no vibration. But the outside plus cabins are same size as inside plus.

 

Berwyn

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Thanks Berwyn. Thought you had gone awol again :D

Belated happy birthday to Delyth and anniversary wishes to you both.

Stil trying to decide if it would be a bit naughty to go on one cruise in February and another in April ;);)

[Cymro1953]

[quote name='CRUISIN LINDA']Thanks Berwyn. Thought you had gone awol again :D

Belated happy birthday to Delyth and anniversary wishes to you both.

Stil trying to decide if it would be a bit naughty to go on one cruise in February and another in April ;);)[/QUOTE]

LOl Linda, no still here. Thank you.

Sounds like a good plan to me, we would if we could.

Berwyn