Just cruised on Majesty of the Seas - any questions?

[kcbookworm]

Just returned Sunday from 5 nights on Majesty of the Seas visiting Key West and overnight in Havana.   We did a car tour with Havana Cars and RC excursion to the La Zorra y el Cuervo jazz club.  It was an incredible trip!   Any questions???

[cruisinagainDnR]

Hi! We are booked for a similar cruise in June but only a 4 day. The excursion plan you did sounds exactly like what I was thinking of doing! Although, I am looking at Havana Memories for the day tour due to the good Trip Advisor rating and the offer to include professional photos for a small, additional fee. The questions I have would be 1) Having been on Jewel OTS, Adventure OTS and Enchantment OTS, I am anticipating a more laid back atmosphere on the ship than most of the larger vessels. I noticed this with Enchantment and our most recent Jewel cruise. Did you get that feeling from Majesty? 2) How was the flow of the ship as far as lines in the Windjammer and crowds on the pool decks? 3) Was the MDR as good as I have heard? The last cruise we did (on Jewel) we felt the MDR was a bit of a letdown from previous cruises. The service was (as always) excellent but the quality of the food was lacking IMO. 4) What did you think of the Jazz club in Havana and all of Cuba in general? I have been curious about Cuba for a long time and am hoping there is no change in our itinerary based on recent announcements. and 5) What did you think of the Majesty overall? Would you cruise on her again? Thanks!

[kcbookworm]

6 hours ago, cruisinagainDnR said:

Hi! We are booked for a similar cruise in June but only a 4 day. The excursion plan you did sounds exactly like what I was thinking of doing! Although, I am looking at Havana Memories for the day tour due to the good Trip Advisor rating and the offer to include professional photos for a small, additional fee. The questions I have would be 1) Having been on Jewel OTS, Adventure OTS and Enchantment OTS, I am anticipating a more laid back atmosphere on the ship than most of the larger vessels. I noticed this with Enchantment and our most recent Jewel cruise. Did you get that feeling from Majesty? 2) How was the flow of the ship as far as lines in the Windjammer and crowds on the pool decks? 3) Was the MDR as good as I have heard? The last cruise we did (on Jewel) we felt the MDR was a bit of a letdown from previous cruises. The service was (as always) excellent but the quality of the food was lacking IMO. 4) What did you think of the Jazz club in Havana and all of Cuba in general? I have been curious about Cuba for a long time and am hoping there is no change in our itinerary based on recent announcements. and 5) What did you think of the Majesty overall? Would you cruise on her again? Thanks!

1) More laid back, but mainly because the age demographic on the ship was lot older than on my most recent cruise on Symphony in January.  There was lively entertainment in the clubs, Centrum, and theater - and the usual pool party stuff like sexy man contest.  We stayed away from the pool during those times by choice and found quieter places to sit in the sun.  The Schooner Bar was busy all the time and was a fun place to hang out. 

2) The flow was good.  The pool deck got busy because there is only the one pool so it was always busy.  The Windjammer was busy as usual but I feel like I got around there faster on Symphony. 

3) We only ate in the MDR room twice and the food was very good actually.  while the service was good, it was not exemplary like we have experienced on Symphony and Oasis.  Our other 3 nights were Chef's Table (which was amazing!!!), Sushi Making Class (delicious and fun - highly recommend), and Windjammer after a long day in Havana. 

4) The Jazz club was outstanding !!!  It is very small and crowded so be prepared, but the energy and music were fantastic.  My heart was racing the whole time!  We chose an RC shore excursion because we wanted the round trip transportation.  It was very efficient on a large tour bus.  We got lucky to sit at a front row table by the stage.  As for Havana - I cannot say enough good things about the city and the people.  The city is very clean and safe and people would just come up to us to chat and ask how we were enjoying their country.  When we went up deck right after sunrise when we had just arrived, I was actually moved to tears by the sight of Havana.  I know that sounds cheesy, but it I really did feel that way.  My husband and were both like "holy crap we are in Havana!". 

5) Majesty overall was well kept and clean, but is definitely dated.  I was on Majesty in 2005 and were like wow this is so big!  Because back then it was!  My husband has never been on a ship that size and was a little let down when we did a self tour after boarding.  But after we got used to it, it was so nice to get anywhere without a long walk.  And you could always find a quiet place to sit.  I like the long decks along the railing where you can walk and look the ocean.  The larger ships with the neighborhoods and such don't have places like that where you can just look at the ocean and walk along the deck.  We would cruise on another small ship again.  We are looking at a small ship for a future Alaska cruise because they can get closer to the glaciers.

[mac1_131]

We too were pleasantly surprised by Majesty. There cabins were nice and we had a great time!

[Old Timer Cruiser]

Don't expect to stretch out in your cabin, they are on the small side. But they are kept very clean and as long as I have a clean bed I'm happy. We ate in the MDR every night the food was great and the service was better. We ate lunch and breakfast in the Windjammer everyday, as kcbookworm said it gets busy but you can always find a seat. There are no tables around the pool and if you don't smoke don't go on one side of the ship, they have way to much smoking area. I enjoyed the Majesty but you could tell it was getting old. The entertainment was super except for the ship singers and dancers they were more amateurish. I don't think I would go on another small ship I like space. But to get to Cuba it is worth it.

[kcbookworm]

5 hours ago, Old Timer Cruiser said:

Don't expect to stretch out in your cabin, they are on the small side. But they are kept very clean and as long as I have a clean bed I'm happy. We ate in the MDR every night the food was great and the service was better. We ate lunch and breakfast in the Windjammer everyday, as kcbookworm said it gets busy but you can always find a seat. There are no tables around the pool and if you don't smoke don't go on one side of the ship, they have way to much smoking area. I enjoyed the Majesty but you could tell it was getting old. The entertainment was super except for the ship singers and dancers they were more amateurish. I don't think I would go on another small ship I like space. But to get to Cuba it is worth it.

I basically agree with all of that LOL.   We always cruise in a balcony cabin, but went with a deck 3 outside view on Majesty - we had a porthole LOL.  The room was also very small, but were in there so little.  We were off the ship more than on with a full day walking around Key West and a full day, evening, and half day in Havana.  Totally worth it as transportation to Cuba! 

[cruisinagainDnR]

Thank you very much for the response! I always wonder about ships and destinations that I haven't experienced yet! We are really looking forward to this cruise. I am quite excited about the ship because I think it has character being older and I always feel like, no matter what, a day on a cruise (any cruise) beats a day at the office hands down! I am super psyched to visit Cuba as well! Everything I have read talks about it being a little like stepping back in time! Thanks to everyone for all of the information!

[kcbookworm]

On ‎4‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 7:56 AM, cruisinagainDnR said:

Thank you very much for the response! I always wonder about ships and destinations that I haven't experienced yet! We are really looking forward to this cruise. I am quite excited about the ship because I think it has character being older and I always feel like, no matter what, a day on a cruise (any cruise) beats a day at the office hands down! I am super psyched to visit Cuba as well! Everything I have read talks about it being a little like stepping back in time! Thanks to everyone for all of the information!

Oh yes any day on a cruise beats a day at work no matter the ship!  Havana was definitely a step back in time.  It was truly an amazing experience. 

[Houndfish]

Deck 9 has big cabins

[cruisetmc]

Which night was formal night?  Or was it replaced with a white night?

 

 

[Houndfish]

I think it was the night after Havana. 

[kcbookworm]

On ‎4‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 7:34 PM, cruisetmc said:

Which night was formal night?  Or was it replaced with a white night?

 

 

There are themes every night and 1 formal night:

Night 1 Casual

Night 2 Formal / 50s and 60s attire

Night 3 Casual / 70s Disco attire

Night 4 Casual / Caribbean attire

Night 5 Casual / 80s attire

[Houndfish]

1 hour ago, kcbookworm said:

There are themes every night and 1 formal night:

Night 1 Casual

Night 2 Formal / 50s and 60s attire

Night 3 Casual / 70s Disco attire

Night 4 Casual / Caribbean attire

Night 5 Casual / 80s attire

The above is the posted policy. On our cruise day 2 was in Havana and day 3 was formal/white attire. I packed according to the posted policy and did not bring a jacket as I was going to be spending time ashore and not visiting the mdr.

[kcbookworm]

10 minutes ago, Houndfish said:

The above is the posted policy. On our cruise day 2 was in Havana and day 3 was formal/white attire. I packed according to the posted policy and did not bring a jacket as I was going to be spending time ashore and not visiting the mdr.

These are straight out of our cruise compasses the week of April 8th.   We never pack based on theme nights because we have no interest and my husband didn't even pack a jacket for formal night on this cruise.   For the April 8th cruise, our schedule was as follows:

Day 1 - depart Fort Lauderdale

Day 2 - sea day

Day 3 - Key West

Day 4 - Havana

Day 5 - Havana until noon

Day 6 - disembark in Fort Lauderdale

[Houndfish]

41 minutes ago, kcbookworm said:

These are straight out of our cruise compasses the week of April 8th.   We never pack based on theme nights because we have no interest and my husband didn't even pack a jacket for formal night on this cruise.   For the April 8th cruise, our schedule was as follows:

Day 1 - depart Fort Lauderdale

Day 2 - sea day

Day 3 - Key West

Day 4 - Havana

Day 5 - Havana until noon

Day 6 - disembark in Fort Lauderdale

Our 2nd day was in Havana, day 3 was a sea day prob the reason for formal nite being on the 3rd day. Our schedule was day depart day 2 Havana day 3 sea day day 4 Nassau day 5 disembark Ft. Lauderdale.

Makes sense to have formal nite on a sea day.

[cruisetmc]

Thanks for the information.

 

[ober134]

I read a review on a different board yesterday. They urged to only use a cruise line tour in Havana. They claim they were ripped off and approached by "beggars". Can you address this based on your personal info. Thx

Edited May 3, 2019 by ober134
Completed a sentence for clarity

[kcbookworm]

3 minutes ago, ober134 said:

I read a review on a different board yesterday. They urged to only use a cruise line tour. They claim they were ripped off and approached by "beggars". Can you address this based on your personal info. Thx

That was absolutely not our experience!  We walked all over Havana alone in addition to our private company car tour and always felt safe.  When we have visited other Caribbean islands, we were often approached by locals to sell something or ask for money.  So the first time a Havana citizen approached us, we were like "oh boy here we go" ... instead the locals loved to strike up a conversation, answer questions, and ask how we were enjoying their country.  Then they would say have a nice day and walk away!  My husband wore his Kansas City Royals ball cap and many men came up and said "Yay Royals!  Tough luck last season!  Do you live in Kansas City?".   We never saw any beggers or anything of the sort which was very different than other islands we have visited.  I am curious what board you saw that comment on so I can check it out!

[Houndfish]

In Nov 18 on a ship tour I was approached by one well dressed young man asking for money. I said no gracias and he went on his way. Never felt threatenedvat all. When I went into a store to by some rum a guy came up to me and said I could by it cheaper at a non gov store. I said no and he moved on. Much different than other Caribbean ports

 

[Houndfish]

3 minutes ago, kcbookworm said:

That was absolutely not our experience!  We walked all over Havana alone in addition to our private company car tour and always felt safe.  When we have visited other Caribbean islands, we were often approached by locals to sell something or ask for money.  So the first time a Havana citizen approached us, we were like "oh boy here we go" ... instead the locals loved to strike up a conversation, answer questions, and ask how we were enjoying their country.  Then they would say have a nice day and walk away!  My husband wore his Kansas City Royals ball cap and many men came up and said "Yay Royals!  Tough luck last season!  Do you live in Kansas City?".   We never saw any beggers or anything of the sort which was very different than other islands we have visited.  I am curious what board you saw that comment on so I can check it out!

Same ecperience, went back out at night when crowds were way down and felt totally safe. Night offers a very festive atmosphere. What other Caribbean port would you consider walking around alone at night? Can't think of many.

[ober134]

Kcbookworm... It was posted on a private cruise group on a popular social media. We are booked in October, and that was literally the first negative report I've seen about Havana, and we've done a ton of research. I was hoping it was a single isolated situation, and that recent political chatter hadn't changed things

[mac1_131]

I only ran in to one and he was in the dang cathedral. I told him to go away that was the end of it. Didn't see any outside, my guess is they don't tolerate it.

[Shortygreyhere]

Thank you for offering to answer questions. Do you remember how long it to to leave the ship/go through customs when you arrived in Havana? I am asking because I signed up for a free tour (I will tip well:-) that leaves from the port area at 9:30. My ship arrives in port at 7am, but I have no idea what to expect in terms of how long it takes to leave the ship.

 

Thank you!

[kcbookworm]

6 minutes ago, Shortygreyhere said:

Thank you for offering to answer questions. Do you remember how long it to to leave the ship/go through customs when you arrived in Havana? I am asking because I signed up for a free tour (I will tip well:-) that leaves from the port area at 9:30. My ship arrives in port at 7am, but I have no idea what to expect in terms of how long it takes to leave the ship.

 

Thank you!

Customs was very easy and the line moved fast.  We were off the ship and standing in Havana in 20 minutes.  We read people saying it took an hour or more so we booked our car tour for 10:00 am.  We got off the ship so fast that we walked around Havana for an hour on our own before it was time to meet our tour guide.

[Houndfish]

If you get off the ship before the ship tours leave you will breeze thru. We went on a ship tour and to wait to leave the ship based on our tour time. Customs & Immigration were busy but moved right along. Short wait at the Cadeca prob 30 minutes after we got in line.