Majesty to Bermuda review 6/26/ - 7/3/05

[Tomct]

NCL Majesty to Bermuda 6/26 - 7/3/2005

 

My apologies for taking so long, but we've been real busy, and I finally just had to get it done prior to our land based trip to Cape Cod at 6 am tomorrow, or actually, this morning.

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation:

 

Smooth!!! My favorite was the greeting we received immediately upon entering the terminal, from Iryna Radko from the Ukraine. She offered us some punch and juice, where her charm and personality got our cruise off to a good start, as we kidded her about giving us some Rum Punch. As it turned out, we constantly ran into her throughout the week, including nightly at the theater, the martini bar, towel duty at the gangway, etc. She was everywhere, and aside from the key management staff, she deserves plaudits as our “Superstar” of the week.

 

The Ship:

 

Having only experienced the mega ships Star and Dawn, the Majesty certainly presented a different environment for out 5th cruise. It’s next to impossible to compare them, as so many other factors impact our cruise enjoyment including the itinerary and traveling companions. We did have a few environmental issues within our group of 7 cabins, but prompt action by staff was very impressive.

 

Ship Management:

 

Having been selected to have dinner with the Captain, Hotel Director etc. at Four Seasons, along with 3 other couples, it was certainly a pleasure to meet and dine with Captain Paul von Knorring, a great opportunity for us to see a little different side of him. Our Concierge, Carlos Zarate, was an awesome asset for our family, as he was on top of anything we threw his way, from a dinner reservation, some environmental issues, our disembarkation, and even after we had left, the location and mailing of my daughter-in-law’s eye glasses. The Hotel Director was the key to taking our cruise “over the top”, and we are very thankful for his support and friendship. Frank Hasenwinkel is right there with the best we have seen, including Klaus (Lugmair) and Armando DaSilva). They always seem to exceed our expectations, which are now getting higher and higher.

 

 

Restaurants:

 

Since LeBistro is one of our top three restaurants on land or sea, it is no surprise that we were treated to another fantastic dining experience. It took place on Monday, and was the “official” on board celebration of our 40th Anniversary, the main “excuse” for the cruise. The Pasta Café on Saturday night was a surprising treat, as the few looks we took at the daily menu did not excite us, but the facility presented another opportunity for our entire group to gather with a reserved table, on our last evening on board, an official birthday celebration for one of our guests, with some unofficial recognition for another birthday, anniversary, and two high school graduations. Everything was delicious, and the staff was outstanding. The space limitations at the buffet do not allow for a fair comparison with the Dawn, as our “little ones” sure liked their own buffet line on the Dawn. I’m not a big buffet fan, and also try to eat light at lunch, so I often went to San Marco for a hot dog, fries, or a burger for lunch. It was a big hit with the young guys for a late night snack area. Breakfast and Dinner at the Seven Seas was outstanding, and we also enjoyed a dinner at Four Seasons. The size of Seven Seas provided the flexibility we needed with our dining group variations ranging from 2 to 15, especially since we ate early.

 

Entertainment:

 

Given the space limitations compared to the Dawn, the show experience was very good. Fred Klett may be the funniest stand up comedian any of us have ever seen or heard, Rudi Macaggi was good, the show band outstanding, and the production company also very good given the small, round stage. Their last show was terrific, as was the standard, moving, NCL farewell. Our favorite NCL pop band is the Ironics, followed by Modal Magic, so were a little disappointed in Amedeus. The guitarist (Fabio) also put on some great shows. Ricky Matthews was great in his role as Cruise Director, his energy is endless!

 

Kid’s Krew:

 

The staff as a whole was outstanding, the activities entertaining and creative, as the grandkids had a great time. Their 6 - 9 counselors led by Daisy (Dee Ann) and Pickles were awesome, and the kids loved them. They even debuted a new show on Wednesday night, and it seemed to go off without a hitch. My grandson wanted to go to all the available sessions, and attended most, while our 6 year old, going on 18, wanted to hang with the adults some of the time. Both of them enjoyed this Kid’s Krew experience over the Dawn, mainly because of the staff, as they did miss some of the physical features of the Dawn like the slides, pool, and Kid’s area.

 

 

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

 

Chocolate Buffet - I don’t have a solution, but holding them at night is just not as impressive as those held during the day. It was very disappointing to the kids who looked forward to it with great anticipation, not to mention some of the adults. Only a few of us attended, including the 8 year old, but the long waiting line did him in, and by the time we got inside, he was falling asleep. We carried a few items back to our rooms, but it was just not the same.

 

Martini Clinic - There were several problems with canceling the advertised clinic when there apparently were not enough customers. We made our choice of activity at that point, at the expense of taking part in other events like the Blackjack tournament in the casino. We would have been content to share the bar with regular customers, and the group may have grown once others saw what was going on. Actually, I did not like that location, as I think it would have been very distracting under the circumstances, as customarily it seems the closeness of the Star Bar makes for a “tighter” group, and lots of fun. Given it was held in the “hallway”, it seems they could have done a better job of advertising it, with some signage the day of and or the day before. If they could promote it to the point of attracting people to the Observatory or Rendezvous Bar, the environment would seem to be better. Wherever it’s held, “marketing” is the key. My CruiseCritic.com friends seemed to have made this a very popular event on the Dawn, and the Star Bar is not an easy place to find on your first full day at sea.

 

Piazza San Marcus - The food variety there makes it a popular spot, day or night, so much so it makes it difficult to just grab a hot dog, burger or fries as I‘ve been accustomed to on the Dawn.

 

Safes - I do not like the idea of the room key opening the safe, as a lost key card “could” lead to someone not only entering your room, but accessing your safe. I prefer the customized password.

 

 

Itinerary Overview and Highlights:

 

Onboard, the group as a whole generally kept the bar staff busy, and took advantage of the beer helmet deals. One of our guys won the Blackjack tournament, taking home $500 and a couple of large paintings. Other activities including Bingo, the Salon, the Internet Café, the Disco, and a couple late nights of cards, once on the deck, and once in the Library of all places, as there was a shower going on outside, and no other places could be found.

 

Upon our arrival in St. George’s, our group split into 3 groups. We took a 4 hr. taxi tour which was a great way to get a perspective of Bermuda, and to see some of the scenic highlights. Since it was a niece at home that had arranged the tour with her friend, he would not take a penny for his efforts. His been in the taxi business for a long time, and gave us a great tour. Two couples played golf at Belmont, and had a great time. The rest, including our grand kids, took the walk to Fort Catherine’s Beach, and had a beautiful day. At night, most of us made it down to the street festival, highlighted by the Gomby Dancers.

 

The next day we took taxis to Clearwater Beach, built on the grounds of the former US Army base. Our cabbie had driven by there, and we noticed it was very quiet, had a snack bar, and a nice playground for the kids. After dinner, 8 of us took cabs to the Swizzle Inn for their famous Rum Swizzle. We were really surprised how good the food, and of course enjoyed the Swizzle. The rest of the group took the bus to Hamilton for some shopping and the street festival. They did not like the rush hour timing of the trip, as the bus stopped at nearly every stop, and the bus was hot and crowded.

 

Thursday was another split day for the group. We went with the grandkids to the Aquarium, and St. John’s Bay beach. It was a perfect day! The Zoo and Aquarium was a single admission, and the numerous fish tanks were among the best I have seen. The large tank had a diver enter the tank to feed the fish, answer questions, and provide helpful and interesting info. The short taxi drive to the beach was inexpensive, and the kids got to enjoy a beautiful afternoon on a pink, sandy beach. Others had a great day snorkeling to the rear of Tobacco Bay. From the beach, they swam around the coral reefs and saw some nice fish, but then left the area to the right, and found some spectacular snorkeling not far away. Our 3rd group went off on a snorkeling excursion from the ship, and were very disappointed. The boat took them to a new location for them, and they too were disappointed. Our last group, with the teenagers. Went shopping in Hamilton, and left loads of cash there, making up for those of us who purchased T shirts and trinkets.

 

Our last morning at St. George’s was mostly cloudy, the only day not sunny with low humidity. A few went on the glass bottom boat which docked next to the Majesty, and they too were disappointed. There were not too many decent sightings, and a few “there’s some” but they never saw they through the bottom of the boat. I took a walk around town, visited St. Peter’s for the first time, a few gift shops, etc., as did some others. Some had planned a last dip in the warm waters of Bermuda, but passed because of the weather.

 

Sail Aways:

 

Both sail aways were spectacular, though leaving Boston there was a haze from the very hot and muggy day. We got on board, took a quick look at our cabins, and headed topside for some drinks and food at the buffet. After lunch it was time to for a quick tour of the ship, and our visit to the theater for the start of the safety drill. It ended with a visit to the Promenade for a brief look at our assigned lifeboats, and then it was then time to hop in the pool. Whoa!!! We forgot it was the cold Atlantic sea water, and close to numbing, but still better than the 90+ degrees from the hazy Boston sun. we had decent weather on the way down, and smooth sailing in the ocean. Arrival at St. George’s was as good as advertised, as we were top side starboard to see the approach to the cut, and the town crier and other locals out there to greet us.

 

Leaving Bermuda was a sad time, but also very interesting watching the crew ready the ship, return some lifeboats they had been using during the week, the arrival of the Pilot Ship, etc. and then the exit of the harbor through the cut. The locals were again on the rocks to wave good bye!! The sail home was a little rough, but not bad for the veterans. Some of the rookies were a little off their game, and not too comfortable that Friday night. The rest of the time was smooth sailing, and we had a few showers both late evenings. Both days were typical tropical days, lots of clouds, some sun, but very warm. We returned to Boston on time, and disembarkation was a few minutes later than they had announced, but very smooth, and we were in our car at 9:00 am.

 

 

I’m sorry it took so long, and also apologize for not being here for the next two weeks to ask questions. I’ll get back to them on 8/15 or so, but if you have questions, please ask, and in some cases there will be others to give you a hand.

 

 

We had a great time on the Majesty, we love FreeStyle, and hope to make another voyage on her before she leaves us. Our next cruise will hopefully be on the Jewel. Our sincere thanks to all that helped us prepare for this family cruise, we took full advantage of the information available from this GREAT resource!!

[jebridan]

Thanks for the review. We hope to sail the Majesty next August. What were the "environmental issues" you experienced?

[Tomct]

Just back from vacation, sorry about the delay.

 

The biggest problem we had was with the A/C, Deck 3, mid ship. We had seven cabins in all, and none of them were everr what you would say is "cold", though some were better than others. Also, one of the cabins had a missing grate over the exhaust area in the ceiling. I did not learn of it until near the end of the cruise, and it was replaced within a few minutes of notification. My theory was that the grate would provide more dispersal of the cooler air, but it did not seem to make a difference. As for the A/C, I'm guessing it was a Location thing, as I haven't heard of many other complaints.

 

Most of us had problems "adapting" to our safes. Our cabins could be accessed with your room key card, though it took a couple of days to get everyones working. At least one cabin opted to use the "credit card" option, but using your credit card defeats the purpose, somewhat, as you then must carry or "hide" your credit card. Many of the problems related to one card working and the other not. Eventually, Security came to our room, and fixed the problem.

 

Another problem was another "location" issue, as my daughter's room was located next door to where "Room Service" phone calls were answered, 24 x 7. It was annoying, but maybe not as bad as it may sound. The phone could be heard ringing more at night, but other than being annoying, I don't think it cost her or the kids any sleep. I wish I knew of a site focused on "cabin" reviews, where you could (easily) key in your ship and cabin #, and read about your cabin characteristics.

[CRUIZNUZ]

I cruised with Carlos Zarate on the following week, 7/3-7/10 and I actually mailed your daughters glasses as Carlos asked me to when I returned to Boston. Glad to know they were recieved in one piece.

 

Isn't Carlos a peach? We just love him.

 

Cruiznuz

[Rasputin]

Could I interject a question? My wife booked us on this cruise for October, which just happens to be during the baseball postseason.

 

Were you able to get ESPN and/or Fox broadcasts anywhere on the ship?

 

I ask because I don't want to divorce her unless it's absolutely necessary.

[A Canadian Cruiser]

We cruised in July and the only sports channels were ESPN and when in Bermuda you got a Fox feed out of New York. We did see one Red Sox game only, the week of our cruise. My DH missed having his Red Sox fix.....

[Tomct]

I cruised with Carlos Zarate on the following week, 7/3-7/10 and I actually mailed your daughters glasses as Carlos asked me to when I returned to Boston. Glad to know they were recieved in one piece.

 

Isn't Carlos a peach? We just love him.

 

Cruiznuz

 

Thanks so much for the assistance!! I was curious when he mentioned that he had someone mail them for him. I may have mentioned how we were a little disapointed with a male concierge, mainly because the othe two we have had were terrrific women, but Carlos was absolutely terrific, and I hope we cross paths with him again somewhere down the road.

 

Thanks again, as recovery of the glasses circumvented lots of aggravation, and of course some expense as well.

 

Cruise Critic comes through again!!!

[Rasputin]

We cruised in July and the only sports channels were ESPN and when in Bermuda you got a Fox feed out of New York. We did see one Red Sox game only, the week of our cruise. My DH missed having his Red Sox fix.....

 

Thanks muchly!

[Welove2cruise2]

Thanks, Tom for taking the time to post a great review -- it brings back wonderful memories!!