Just back from N. Majesty, 8/14

[Lisa63]

What a wonderful time we had! Weather was good, other than our bumpy ride to Bermuda courtesy of Irene. Service was spotty, yet the dining room service at dinner was almost always top-notch. Breakfast and lunch service in the dining room was less so, as expected. We were pleased with the food -- we ate in the dining room five evenings, and one time each in the buffet and Pasta Cafe. My husband continues to rave about the Pasta Cafe. It was a nice change of pace from the regular dining room.

 

We were in Cabin 725, located on Promenade Deck. Although the outdoor promenade was directly outside our windows, we never heard a sound. Nor did we hear any noise from the cabins next door. As far as looking in from the promenade deck, we tried it and it was possible only if a light or the TV was on and only if you got very close to the glass. The cabin was comfortable for the three of us (myself, DH, and 11-year-old son) and in an excellent location.

 

Entertainment was very good. The highlight for us was Elvy Rose, who we first saw on Seaward back in 1992, and who has gotten better each time since. The house band, Rama 111, was amazing. We loved their Big Band tribute.

 

Bermuda was wonderful. We spent most of our time in St. George. We walked to Fort St. Catherine (great history!), had a day at the beach (Tobacco Bay, great for kids due to the shallow and clear water), and took the NCL-sponsored carriage ride (nice, but not really worth the $, IMO). We also took the Bermuda Island Tour, which was a 5-hour bus tour around the islands with several stops along the way. We had 1/2 hour at the Dockyards -- not enough time to eat, unfortunately, but enough time to get a feel for the area.

 

We also spent some time with CC poster cgal and family. Very nice people and we enjoyed their company.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions.

[dean8844]

welcome back lisa tks for the great review and the pin the majesty is old like me lol but still a great ship

 

Dean :D

[fabnsab]

I am glad you had a good time.

 

I am deciding between the Majesty and the Dawn for Sept 25th. My hubby is interested in knowing if there were any Texas Hold'em tournaments on board like they have blackjack and slot tournaments.

 

TIA

[Lisa63]

fabnsab, my husband says he saw several Texas Hold'em games, with about 6 or 7 participants each. Not sure if there were any tournaments, though.

 

Dean, me too. :) I'll mail the pin to you tomorrow or Tuesday so you'll have it before your cruise.

[cgal]

Hi all!

 

We just arrived back home today from the best family vacation ever! Am so very grateful for the boards, the tips and encouragement from Lisa and getting to meet her and family on the ship, and the staff at NCL Majesty.

 

The trip was for our ten year anniversary and since we have been a family for ten years (husband adopted my son and little one was born 9 months from the wedding :eek: ) decided the whole family should be in on it.

 

Teen son had an awesome time, he raved about the teen crew and said it was the highlight of his trip getting to meet others in the teen crew including some very pretty girls :rolleyes: He is also looking like an Othello Chip as he is dark on his back side and light on the front from many hours of snorkeling :P

 

Little son was a bit nervous and a tad seasick on the way out to Bermuda but did warm up slightly to Kids' Crew even if it was just to sit in the room with them and read his book (not a very social kid) He really missed home but did have plenty of fun on the beaches and the waiters were incredibly patient with him and helped him find his regular favorite: soup and ice cream (6/8 days). Guess that is like fire and ice? He also lost his tooth while on the ship and was visited by the Bermudian toothfairy-he loved that!

 

Bermuda was incredible, we definitely plan to visit again and check out more sites. We mostly hit the beaches and used the incredible bus and ferry system. We did not do any shore excursions but rather did everything independently and stayed well within budget. Did find out it was cheaper to take a taxi to Tobacco Bay than the mini bus for four people: $6 vs $8.

 

Will be posting our pictures soon and will leave a link for that when I do. Have to get back to reality as school starts tomorrow for little one and I am a little behind on sleep as I was too excited to sleep during the trip :) I also want to do a post cruise weight measure tomorrow to see if it's true you put on 5 - 10 pounds. I ate what I wanted when I was hungry and found so much great food on the ship. Four Seasons was our favorite restaurant but we ate at Seven Seas a lot too and enjoyed it just about as much aside from the increased noise level based on it being bigger Buffet was hit or miss and the grill at Pizza San Marco was great! Pasta Cafe very nice but glad we didn't have our children with us as the tables were smaller and less food varieties unless you are a huge pasta fan. Never tried Le Bistro. Room service was ok, just used it for breakfast first and last days. No bagels :( Stopped for one on the way home today as I had been missing them. (Unless the dining room had them?)

 

So much fun, so little time to type it all...ask any questions. Am glad to relive it again and again...until we can do this another time!

[kendelq]

Hello ladies! Great cruise huh? I just posted my review and then realized you had already started the thread :-)

 

Anyway, back to reality.....

 

p.s. Cheryl - I put on 6 pounds :rolleyes:

[cgal]

Hi Kendelq,

 

Just read your review, very nice. I think my son, despite many warning may have been part of the last night hooligans. He was good most of the week, but the last night the kids were trying to make it last forever. He was quite sad when we told him he couldn't go see any of them on Sunday, he made a lot of good friends. He was not with the more obnoxious crowds, I was always checking them for him, but did catch him hanging outside the boardroom the last night.

 

You will be mad...I lost 3 pounds! Guess it was all that walking to bus stops, to my hubby's room, and to the beaches! Also, opted for the stairs as often as I could instead of the elevator. I did eat A LOT! Mostly fruits and veggies though. I agree with your chocoholic review. It was OK, did like the carvings and designs but the actual food was nothing special. We got in line at 10:50 so got in early.

 

Great to share reviews!

~Cheryl

[kendelq]

Cheryl - LOST 3 pounds?!! Boy, I am mad - LOL...jealous is more like it! I even used the fitness center and took an aerobics class. I ate a lot but not so much fruit. Ashamed to say I had dessert at lunch and dinner...can't really complain that I gained weight. It's fruits and veggies for me the next couple of weeks. :)

 

Sounds like your son was among the kids having fun - not acting inappropriately. I did see a group of kids outside the boardroom and in the library. They were having a good time, not out of control - not to worry! The kids I am talking about had chairs rolling around, were swearing loudly etc...

I think it's neat the kids all make friends on the ship. The night we had dinner at le bistro, there was a 12 year old girl next to us that couldn't wait to finish dinner so she could meet up with her friends. She was cute :-)

 

Anyway, you're right, neat to hear other's reviews :-)

[Lisa63]

Now that you mention it, I do remember some teens near the library the last evening. I was in there finishing my book before I had to return it, and three teens zoomed in there -- one was on a chair, one was pushing, and the third opened the side door. Cheryl, your son was not among them. :)

[cgal]

Lisa, That's great you were another set of eyes to see if my son was in the obnoxious groups, I kept "spying" on the groups too to see if he was taking part. We had talks each night and I quizzed him thouroughly on what he did and who he was with. Seemed he was in a better behaved group. It was really nice to have had lunch with you and the boys did get to "hang" out a little at the pizza party. Andrew didn't participate, but did do some drawing with Marty-that was about the extent of his "socializing with others". It was nice for my DH to have your DH to talk to as he is a lot like Andrew and struggles with socializing with others.

 

Kendalq, If you worked out during the cruise then you probably put on new muscle! I am not a fan of workouts so didn't do anything, but did walk around deck 7 a few times. My son was a lot like that girl you described, each meal we were successful in getting him to he would spend the whole time clock watching waiting for us to let him go with his friends. One night he made plans to eat with the teens but we made him eat with us too, so he had TWO dinners! He wants to go again soon, but my DH and I are thinking of a cruise just for us two next time.

 

We really lucked out weather-wise in Bermuda. I had actually wanted to sail the week before but our room category was sold out-and it was cloudy and rainy that week...so it was providence for me to be on the Majesty this past week.

Almost done our journal and picture album, will post that link soon, it's fun to relive everything. We really miss Bermuda and the staff from NCL. It was a drag to have to play the role of food prep, cook, server, and dish washer this week back. We had never felt so spoiled as we did on the cruise-even our honeymoon was simple as we stayed in my DH's vacation home in CA near Yosemite, very nice, but nothing like getting 24 hour service ;)

 

~Cheryl

 

Lisa, meant to exchange emails and the board still will not let you contact i believe...here's mine: cagrules@yahoo.com

 

Have a great week, at least it's a bit cooler :)

[NewEnglander]

Sounds like you all had a great trip !! Welcome home !!

 

I'm off to check out Kendelq's review ...

 

By the way, was there a BBQ aft at the San Marco Pizza area the day you sailed out from Boston ??

[basketballmom]

The BBQ tends to be whenever they feel like it. On our first Majesty cruise, it was the afternoon sailing out of Bermuda. On our last Majesty cruise, it was one afternoon on a sea day. I preferred it the afternoon out of Bermuda. The BBQ is also pretty good!

[cgal]

The BBQ was on the way out of Bermuda, it was delicious. It was down-pouring and thunder and lightening when we left Boston so we could not have had a BBQ and the band had to play inside as well.

[pathubia]

Cheryl, thats right, you left in the middle of that storm!!!!

 

I am praying for clear skies on Sunday!!

 

Patty

[Lisa63]

It was actually kind of cool with the thunder and lightning in the evening, as the ship rocked us to sleep. :)

 

Unfortunately, it meant missing sail-away, but this was a neat experience.

[Dolphins]

Glad they had a Big Band theme night. Hope they have one on the Crown to Bermuda.