Majesty Review - 2/16-23/08 - LONG

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I have just submitted this review to the member review page and some of you may want to read it even earlier as it may take a few days to get screened and posted. Feel free to ask questions - I'll check back regularly.

 

I have always found that the reviews on this site are very, very helpful. The more details the better. This review is VERY LONG, so please feel free to read just the next paragraph and then go from there:

The background is that our family has been on about 15 cruises over the last ten years; this was our 5th with NCL. The single-sentence summary is that we found this to be an outstanding value and an excellent vacation. It’s not a big ship, it’s not a fancy ship, but we are already making plans for a repeat Majesty cruise.

This is a long review, so I’ve broken it into sections, since some areas may be of more interest to some readers than others.

1. Accomodations the night before the cruise / embarkation

2. General comments about the ship accomodations and the public areas.

3. Cruise critic meet and greet

4. Dining

5. Ports

6. Casino

7. Debarkation

 

1. Accomodations the night before the cruise / embarkation

We (my wife, 2 teenage daughters [13 and 15] and myself), live in Massachusetts and chose to drive down to Charleston the night before the cruise. Traffic in the NYC area as well as the Washington, D.C. beltway caused us to be delayed a couple of hours; sixteen and a half hours later we pulled in to the hotel around 4 A.M. Saturday. By then I starting to question the hundreds of dollars I was saving by driving instead of flying...

We stayed at the La Quinta Inn & Suites in N. Charleston. The AAA gives this place 3 diamonds - having stayed at hundreds of hotels, I would be hard pressed to give it 2... It was adequate. The price was less than $50 for the 4 of us (plus tax) and it did include a (limited) continental breakfast. Also, for that rate we could leave the car at the hotel for the duration of the cruise. Overall it was a good value, but I would stay someplace else next time. The cab ride to the pier was ~$30 from North Charleston (plus tip); I called Yellow Cab at 10 for an 11 AM pick up. If you have a party of 4 (or more) bear in mind that most cab companies don’t have vans. We had the Ford Crown Victoria and the ladies ended up with some luggage on their laps for the 25 minute ride to the port.

I would choose to stay closer to the port next time. There are several hotels much closer that also offer a park and stay package. The increase in rate would be partially offset by the diminished cab fare to the port, plus we’d be on our way home that much sooner when we debark.

The cabdriver was surprised that we wanted to be at the dock so early. He said that they would not be letting anyone board and, to avoid having to wait in line to drop people off, he would drop us near the port with our luggage and we could carry it the rest of the way. After reading many reviews on this site I was quite prepared for a chaotic situation. It couldn’t possibly have gone more smoothly. We have never had a better embarkation process! The cab driver dropped us in a vacant lot directly across the street from the security area where folks drop off their luggage - he reminded us to have our boarding papers and passports easily accessible.

We walked about 150 feet to a security person, they checked our papers and waved us through. We walked another 50 feet, dropped our luggage right into the loading “cage” that goes onto the ship (saved at least $5 in porter tipping right there!) and then we stepped right onto the shuttle bus. Not 5 minutes later we were dropped in front of the terminal, walked right into an essentially vacant terminal and were greeted by the most friendly NCL staff ever. “No lines, no waiting...” We singed the papers they give you attesting that you don’t have any norovirus symptoms, handed over the credit card, took the boarding picture, and were on the vessel within 15 minutes of getting out of the cab. So...if you can check the web cam from the Majesty on Saturday morning and they are in port on time, I’d suggest arriving at 11:30 - it was a breeze.

[As an aside, my teenage daughters made us all wear green so that the boarding picture had the ship superimposed on all of our shirts - since we had not planned on buying it anyway, it did make for an interesting effect. We also noticed on some other pictures that dark blues could be a problem - if you may want to buy this picture, don’t wear greens or dark blues...]

On other ships, when they say that the cabins aren’t ready yet, you can often walk down to your room and drop off your carry-ons even if they cabin stewards are still working. As soon as we boarded the Majesty, however, we noticed crew members stationed in each stairwell making sure that folks could not walk down to their cabins until the “all clear” was announced about 1:30. They also had the large “sea doors” shut leading to each of these hallways further ensuring that the stewards could work uninterrupted.

As I had read on other reviews, you can eat lunch in the dining room, but you’ll have to run the gauntlet of NCL staffers “tempting” you with “...our excellent buffet on deck 10...”. This was actually comical. Upon boarding, they direct you to the buffet; when we asked about the dining room we were told that it wouldn’t be open until 12:30. We took our carry-ons to deck 10, had a small snack, wandered around decks 10 and 11, bought the girls their soda cards for the week, took pictures of the bay and the city, etc... At 12:30 we headed down to deck 5 for lunch in the dining room. About 50 feet from the dining room we passed a staff member who asked where we were going. We pointed to the Seven Seas restaurant and said, “To lunch”. The staff member replied that, “We have an excellent buffet on deck 10...”.

Most amazing, though, was that upon actually getting to the restaurant and asking for a table for 4, the receptionist reminded us that, “We have an excellent buffet on deck 10...”! We were already in the restaurant! The entire time we were there there couldn’t have been more than 5 total parties that managed to make it all the way through the gauntlet to the dining room. I am also convinced that all of us were sat far in the back of the restaurant to keep us away from the sight lines at the entrance - if you can’t see anyone else dining, maybe you should try the “...excellent buffet on deck 10...”.

After lunch the room was available, we dropped our bags and wandered about the ship until the life boat drill at 3:30. One other suggestion at this point - if you are going to be boarding early, bear in mind that you will have to carry your bags with you around the ship until the room is available at 1:30 or so, for some folks that may be a hassle. On the other hand, if you eat in the dining room there are plenty of empty chairs on which to set your bags...:)

Life boat drill was, by far, the easiest we have ever had! Our muster station was A and this meant the we all got to sit in a foreword lounge and listen to, what I thought, were very brief and cursory instructions. (I’m not sure if all the muster stations are in lounges, but they may be). No going outside and standing in lines in the sun; no waiting for the 3 or 4 people who are always 20 minutes late to the drill, etc. It was short, comfortable and easy.

2. General comments about the ship accomodations and the public areas.

We had a category CC outside cabin (611) and were very pleased with the cabin. Having previously had very small interior cabins, small to decent-sized outside cabins and even balcony cabins, we thought this room was very adequate. We particularly liked the closet space (more than on other ships) and the refrigerator. This really made bringing a 12 pack of diet coke worthwhile. One minor note is that the “over the door” shoe holder that we now regard as a cruise necessity only fit well on the outside of the bathroom door and this made shutting this door problematic at times as the metal hooks had to be held down so that the door would shut - an annoyance but worth noting.

Our room steward and his assistant (Herbert and James if you happen to be staying on 6 forward) were the NICEST room stewards we ever had. Soon after the lifeboat drill they stopped by to ask if we needed anything, were we missing any luggage, did we have any special requests, etc. Any time we saw either of them they were all smiles and super polite. The only minor note was when a dessert was removed one morning before we had a chance to eat it. This really wasn’t their fault, we should have probably tucked it out of sight so they wouldn’t think we were done with it. I’d suggest this over leaving a note, as I’m suspect as to how strong some of their reading skills may be...

My wife was very happy with our cabin location on deck 6. Most of the dining, shopping and lounges are on deck 5 and deck 6 had the casino, photo gallery, and more lounges. Deck 7 has the wrap around outside promenade deck which is really a nice throwback to the earlier ocean liners. I would say that any cabin on floors 6 - 9 would allow you move easily about the ship with limited elevator usage. (I could count on one hand the number of times I took the elevator the entire week).

Deck 10 has food both fore and aft. As others have mentioned, the seating area inside the buffet area (in the front of the ship) is quite limited, and there are really not many tables in the open-air section of deck 10 either. I regarded it mostly a place to get a quick snack , but not usually a full, sit-down meal. Bear in mind that there are no trays, so in order to have a “full” meal you would need to make several trips (silverware, salad plate, entree plate, drinks, desserts, etc...). Also, I did see more than one person slip on the wet surfaces surrounding the pools - which you have to walk through or past to get to an open-air table - be cautious.

We found the food there to be OK; lines were sometimes a bit long. The aft of deck 10 has the pizza, barbecue and ice cream stations. The food here was also fair, although there are more open air tables in this area and it’s a great, reasonably quiet place to sit and have a snack and look out over the wake of the ship.

On a more positive note, the hot tubs were actually hot! Most cruise ships have luke warm water in the hot tubs and people seem to enjoy camping out in them for hours and hours. These hot tubs were hot, refreshing and seemed to have a regular turnover of users because of this. I did not swim in the swimming pools, although my kids seemed to enjoy them. Again, since it’s a smaller ship, there are no slides, swim-up bars,etc. There is actually a permanent stage that is set up over part of one of the pools that limits the available space for that pool. If you’re going on a cruise to get in some swimming this is not the ship.

I personally did not find the drink selling folks to be “in your face”. They’re no better or worse than on other ships - a polite “no thank you” sent them on their way.

Deck 11 was an enjoyable place to spend some time, but be warned that it may often be closed at sea days due to high winds. My wife was amused by the sign that said, “Open Deck - closed”. This happened for parts of a couple of our sea days and this causes deck 10 to become extremely crowded. Most of the deck chairs are on deck 11. On the days and times that deck 11 was open it was also fairly crowded, but like a crowded beach, you just have to politely pick your way around the chairs until you find either an empty chair or two or a space where you could squeeze in your chair. There is often a pile of chairs still unclaimed near the center of the deck and you just have to find someone to help you disentangle the one(s) you want. Be warned that we did see some smokers on parts of deck 11 and gentle reminders to not smoke in that area were not received well...

As I mentioned earlier, deck 7 is a great place to walk around the ship in the open air. This was rarely crowded, though the joggers did have to bob and weave around the more leisurely passengers. Also, there is a sign that there should be no early jogging (before 8 AM if I remember). There are a few deck chairs here, though they are often claimed early. I did see one couple dragging a pair of chairs from one side of deck 7, through the stairwell, and onto the other side so that they could sit in the sun. It’s a great place to sit in the sun and relax (and there are no drink waiters bothering you...).

The show lounge is the size of the “secondary” lounge of many mega ships. It really surprised me that many people would choose to sit ten or twenty rows back in a gently sloping space (translation - you probably can’t see well if you’re more than 3 rows back), when there were almost always seats up front along the sides of the stage. Since the stage is almost totally round and sticks out into the theater, these seats still gave a great view and were still available 5 minutes before show time. The “featured” shows were mediocre at best. My daughters got to know one of the dancers during the week (it was the last week of his contract and they had asked him to fill in during the day as a teen counselor). This guy basically told the kids that the routines were really old and tired and dated and even the dancers had little enthusiasm with them any more. If you’re looking for great entertainment, this isn’t the ship.

The juggler was excellent (Hilby, the skinny German juggle boy). He happened to have his teenage son joining him on the cruise for the week we were there and my kids chatted with him and his son a few times - he was a genuinely likable guy. His performance is clever, amusing and entertaining. There was nothing unique about it - every part of his repertoire has been done by others at some time or other - but he carries it off very well and was certainly the highlight of the entertainment.

The singer (don’t actually remember her name) and the comic (also a forgettable name) would probably have been booed out of a lounge or night club. She wasn’t even mediocre and he was downright bad. Several folks I talked to later said, “Even I could have been more entertaining than that guy!”. Feel free to skip the comic and the singer, don’t miss the skinny German juggle boy.

The ladies in the family did go to karaoke one night. We had read ahead of time that the song selection was weak but they felt that the list was certainly adequate. The screen was facing the audience and the singer had to sing with their back to the audience as well (there was no other monitor) which was not what they were used to.

My wife and I made it up to the disco one evening. They kick out all the kids under 18 at 11 PM and have some NCL personnel walking through to check. The music and dancing were OK. The dance floor doesn’t really accommodate more than 10 or 20 people, but it was a nice way to spend a an hour or so when my luck had been running cold at the casino.

We did not spend any time at the spa and gym, but we did walk through to take a look. I would say the “gym” is what you would expect at a Holiday Inn - a half dozen assorted machines with video monitors. Across the hall is a small (probably 12 feet square) room with free weights and mats as well as the private massage rooms. There was a big crowd the first afternoon at about 5 PM for the “free drawings”. Well, all but one of the “free drawings” was a discount on some spa treatment (“oooh, look, Aunt Judy won 30% off her next dermabrasion..."). Only the last person actually “won” something (a free pedicure). I would not waste my valuable cruise time on this sales gimmick.

The photo people actually did a very commendable job. Since the ship is smaller, and many people chose not to dress up for dinner, the photographers usually had no lines at all. Also, you can ask to see the digital image right after they take the picture and have them take several more until you have one you like - this only makes sense for them as well since they have no reason to print a picture that you’re not going to buy later. Since we were actually on an NCL ship one time that that had the ultimate package deal (For $149 you can have every picture they take all week of you and your family - we came home with more than 70 8X10’s...) my wife asked about this. The very cordial photo guy said that occurs when they are changing companies and the “old” company has to use up all of the stock (paper, chemicals, etc...) by the end of the contract, so they offer great incentives to buy lots of photos. Not the case this week however - even though we bought more than 10 8x10’s, the best my wife was able to negotiate was several porthole frames and a photo album thrown in for free. It never hurts to ask, but try and wait to buy all your pictures at once to give you more leverage.

We got to know one of the shore excursion folks, as he went with us for our SCUBA dive in Grand Cayman. The shore excursion worker (Michael from Calgary, Canada) was able to “tag along” as an “observer”; no doubt one of the perks of the job. He did tell us that the current crew on the Majesty is rather dysfunctional and is having a lot of interpersonal issues. He had been with NCL for a half a dozen contracts and this was his least enjoyable. We honestly did not see this animosity amongst the crew.

We had a billing problem on Thursday evening and the reception desk was not very helpful. Since I have an air card for the laptop (it accesses the Internet via a cell phone signal), as soon as we neared Key West we could log on and check emails, etc. (I wasn’t about to pay the obscene on-board prices for Internet access). I happened to pull up my credit card statement and saw pending charges from NCL Pearl, NCL Canada, etc... that were very odd to say the least. I immediately went to the reception desk and they told me that this was an on-board credit problem and that desk would not be open again until the next morning.

The next morning the on-board credit desk did listen to my complaint. First, they had to remove a $100+ plus charge from the Spa (which we had never been to). Then, they told me that money advanced via the casino (more on that in the casino section) often “shows up” under various NCL categories (Canada?!) as a pending charge, but it would all be sorted out at the end of the cruise. I did find out something that I had either forgotten or never knew - IMPORTANT STUFF HERE - when they put a pending charge on your card, they automatically add 20%!! So... since I had been advanced $6,500 in the casino (again, see the casino section for an explanation) they had actually put a hold on my credit card for $7,800 for that advance, etc. For folks that are close to their credit limit, this could put an abrupt end to their spending when they figure they still have credit available... These on-board credit folks were not very congenial nor helpful to say the least. The good news is that, within a week of our return, we were billed the correct amount and the pending charges were removed. But it always pays to check your bill regularly. Some cruise lines give you a copy halfway through the cruise - this does not happen on the Majesty.

3. Cruise Critic Meet and Greet

We had our meet and greet on the first sea day (second day of the cruise). I strongly suggest this if you haven’t already started to organize one. This is our second consecutive cruise where we’ve gone to the meet and greet and it’s excellent. Not only do you have a chance to meet fellow critics, you have a chance to chat with the senior officers (including the captain) for essentially as long as you want. I want to particularly thank our organizer (and I’m embarrassed that I can’t remember his name) for getting name tags and T-shirts for everyone! What a great touch! My wife and I were able to talk for a while with the new captain of the Majesty. He had only been on board for 3 weeks. He was genuinely interested in our first impressions and he freely told us that he felt that morale was a concern. He had recently stated at a staff meeting that first and last impressions were critical - my wife had commented that on our other cruises we had often noticed a real decline in attitude and congeniality amongst the staff on debarkation day.

What is also helpful is introducing yourself to the hotel director, the dining room director, etc. On both of our recent cruises we definitely noticed that these folks took a special interest in us if we saw them later in the week - perhaps they recognize the importance of critics!

4. Dining

I am personally ambivalent about freestyle dining - I’m not sure that the benefits outweigh the liabilities. But... you can make this work for you to get the best of both worlds! On our first night we made dinner reservations in the Four Seasons for 5:30 (they generally don’t make reservations between 6 and 7). We had a very good table waiter and bus girl (Nigel and Irene if you happen to eat in the Four Seasons). We asked to have them again the next night, also at 5:30. During that dinner, the maitre d’ (Oscar) stopped by and asked if we’d simply like to have a standing reservation at Nigel’s table each evening. We said that 5:30 was a little early - could we do 6:30. He said that they prefer not to take reservations between 6 and 7, but he could put us down for 7 each night. This was a perfect compromise! If we were going to be ashore or eat somewhere else, we just called the restaurant and moved or canceled the reservation; otherwise we had our standing table. We NEVER waited for a table for the entire cruise, and, by the second night, my wife’s cappuccinos and the girls’ diet sodas appeared on the table almost as soon as we sat down.

We never ate dinner in the Seven Seas or the Italian restaurant. The girls’ friends who did eat at the Italian restaurant were not very impressed and the daily menus that we saw did not entice us enough to go there. The food at the, “...lovely buffet on deck 10...” was OK as was the food at the barbecue/burger/pizza station at the aft of deck 10. Average, edible, but nothing to write home about. The food in the dining room for breakfast and lunch was better, but not outstanding. We often had to remind the server to bring by the pastry tray and, as others have mentioned, the breakfast menu doesn’t change at all (except debarkation day where they have an abbreviated menu that omits such things as the eggs Benedict, etc..). Lunch was average to above average.

Dinners were good to very good. I am amused that other reviewers commented on the portion size - if it’s good order 3 more! I had no problem with the size of the portions and I’m sure that it makes sense to serve smaller portions to a crowd who may not have tried many of these foods before. We each would typically order 2 - 3 appetizers, a soup, a salad, 2 entrees, etc. I felt that the portion size allowed me to have 6 - 8 courses without getting stuffed. (My wife was rather put out that I did not gain a pound all week...)

One other important reminder - feel free to order one (or two ) desserts to take with you. The waiter will gladly get you a plate with a cover and a set of silverware so that you can enjoy your dessert in the comfort of your cabin later in the evening (or even the next day...).

We did feel a little rushed when we ate early (5:30), that was probably the trade off for not having to wait in line - they also want to try and turn over your table by 7:30 or so... Most dinners ran about 90 minutes which we thought was fine. A good pacing for 6 - 8 courses. Occasionally we ran closer to 2 hours, but that was our choice to linger over after dinner drinks, a cheese and fruit plate, coffees, etc... The lobster (from the Caribbean) was certainly the same as New England lobster (we’re from Massachusetts) and is only half a lobster tail, but its not bad. I don’t believe that we ever had a “bad” course of any kind.

We had dinner at 9 PM on Thursday (Key West day). This was one of the best meals all week since the service was great - most folks were either still ashore or had eaten in Key West - the dining room was practically vacant.

Regarding dress code, the Four Seasons absolutely enforced their no shorts, no jeans policy for dinner. That’s the extent of it. My daughters commented that, not only was I the only male wearing a tie, I was almost the only male wearing a dinner jacket most nights. The typical dress was a golf shirt with chinos. We enjoy dressing for dinner and did not feel out of place, but you certainly could get through the entire week without a jacket or tie and not feel even a little out of place. By the third night I thought it odd, but flattering that the hostess was greeting us by name as soon as we arrived even though we had not given her our names - she commented that she remembered us because we always looked so nice for dinner....

We have eaten at some of the very finest restaurants in the world (in Paris, Honolulu, LA, Montreal, Boston, NYC, Orlando, etc..) and clearly this is not haute cuisine, BUT...for people to compare it to a local chain restaurant is unfair and untrue. The food was good, tasty, and well presented. If you expect Chili’s or Applebee’s, you’ll be very pleasantly surprised. If you expect 5 star dining - well, you didn’t pay for 5 star dining!

We ate at the Bistro one evening (the kids were off doing their “kid thing”). My wife commented that, if it were just the two of us all week and if the menu actually changed daily, she would gladly pay the upcharge to eat there every night - it would absolutely be worth it. Yes, the everyday dining experience should be that nice (and the veteran cruisers will tell you it did used to be almost that nice), but it’s not. Our meal was excellent, the service was excellent and we had a wonderfully leisurely meal that lasted at least two and a half hours. If you do eat here, be sure to tell the staff that you don’t want a table outside the restaurant! The overflow tables are out there, beside the windows on the fifth floor walkway. I commented to my wife that it would be like having dinner in a mall - there is a constant parade of people going by - not the least bit romantic and not what you’re paying extra money for, that’s for sure.

5. Ports

We had been to all three ports before, so we did have an idea of what we wanted to do in each one this time.

Grand Cayman - We almost never take the cruise line shore excursions, but the NCL 2-tank dive was reasonable, compared to the on-line prices for something comparable and because GC is a tendering island, this would get us off the ship with the first wave. We did a wall dive first (down to 100’) and then did a shallow dive with the stingrays. Definitely worth the money - the dive masters and the crew were excellent and we had no problems at all. By the way, this dive states that you not only have to be certified, you also have to have had at least 25 open water dives - the NCL shore excursion guy at the desk actually checked our log books to be sure. Needless to say, we were the only passengers booked on this excursion, although there were a handful of other divers on the boat. A little shopping after the dive and then back on the tender.

Bear in mind that you will almost certainly not have time to go ashore, get back to the boat and then go ashore again and get back to the ship a second time- in many ports you can run back to the ship for lunch, to drop stuff off, to get the camera you forgot, etc.. Not so in GC.

Cozumel - We decided to go to Chanknaab National Park (we had been there 4 or 5 other times). This is a $10 cab fare (up to 4 folks in the cab) and takes about 15 minutes to get there. The girls said that they’d be interested in the dolphin encounter and we were early enough to sign them up for the 12:00 class (NOTE: if this is something you’re interested in, remember that “their” 12:00 is not “your” 12:00 - the ship’s time (Eastern Standard Time) is an hour ahead of Cozumel - so be clear on when the class will start.)

That left us with a little less than 2 hours... a short walk down the beach and we met up with an old friend, Eduardo Rodriguez, who works at the second scuba dive “cabana” on the beach. We had gone diving with him a year earlier, and, while he probably didn’t remember us, we certainly remembered him fondly.

The girls have been SCUBA diving a few times after taking “resort course” preparation in the morning and then diving in the afternoon (they’re not certified yet). Eduardo had taken them diving with us last year and had no problem reviewing their skills for a while and then taking them diving again this year - it’s a very shallow dive (25’) and takes about 80 minutes. My wife went with them this time and I enjoyed my book on the beach as I still had some water in my ears from diving the day before. This is a GREAT deal - it cost us $40 per person including all the gear! (Ignore the sign on the shack and tell them that you’ve read that they could do it for $40 each....). Even if you just go snorkeling for a while, the rates here are very reasonable and it’s a great place to relax for a few hours.

It does cost about $12 per person to get in, but if you do the dolphin thing (anywhere from $99 - $149 per person depending which class you choose) they figure they’ve got enough of your money and you’re park entry fee is included.

The kids did enjoy the Royal Dolphin Swim (the pricier one, including the Sea World thing where the dolphin pushes up on your feet and you go sailing across the tops of the waves). They’ve got this program down pat and I didn’t hear anyone complain that they didn’t enjoy it.

After Chanknaab, we took the cab back to town and shopped for a couple of hours (actually, they shopped, and I schlepped all the stuff back to the boat and then met them in town later...). I feel that Cozumel probably has the best shopping of the three ports. Having been here a half dozen times, we generally get the best buys about 2 -4 blocks back from the main drag in some of the smaller shops. More so than Key West or Grand Cayman, this is an island of haggling - don’t feel the least bit self conscious about haggling on the price of anything - from hair braiding to jewelry.

Key West - First, remember to bring your passport and key card! Tight security here because the ship docks at a naval base and they definitely check each person’s photo ID. Having been here a couple of times, we had already done the train tour (the last one of these leaves soon after arrival, so plan accordingly if you’re doing that - I think it’s a great intro to Key West) and some of the other touristy things. This time we simply took our time wandering through stores up and down Duval Street. The ship’s shuttle is very easy to locate when it’s time to get back to the ship.

6. Casino

For starters, we had booked our cruise through the Casino Marketing folks at NCL. For moderate players they offer a discount on your bookings; they used to offer a much better deal, but they’ve scaled back in the last year or so. Essentially we get about 17% off the price of the cruise, plus a few minor perks (free drinks in the casino, etc.). We had a really negative experience a year ago on the Dream (the hostess was horrible, the staff was unfriendly, etc.) and we had relayed this to the casino folks in Miami as soon as we got home.

This time we made sure that we introduced ourselves to the Casino hostess (Brandy) and she introduced us to the Floor supervisor (Daniella, who was working the last week of her contract). Both of these folks could have certainly been more cordial during the week; we definitely have had experienced staff that were friendlier on other cruises. I would concur with other reviewers who have commented that the casino staff as a whole is just not congenial. There was also an issue one night when the one of the craps workers was clearly unsure of the payouts and had to keep getting the approval of the supervisor - this is really unacceptable and it truly slowed the game way down - much to the annoyance of the players.

People have commented earlier about the ability to get money from your Sail and Sign card for play in the casino. The promotional materials state, “Get up to $2,000 per day from your Sail and Sign card.” Norwegian, unlike almost all other cruise lines, does NOT charge a separate fee for this service. So...I decided to see if they really would give me $2,000 a day... First day - no problem. I gambled for a few hours (mostly $5 table games, some Craps, etc.) and then cashed in most of that money at the end of the night. Second day - no problem. Played for several hours and this time I kept the chips to use the next day. Third day - no problem. Several hours of similar play and then I cashed in both day’s chips (roughly $4,000) at the end of the night. Fourth day - honeymoon’s over. After asking for my $2,000, a few minutes later a supervisor came over and apologetically said that they would certainly give me another $500, but since their safe (and funds) are discrete from the purser’s safe - they would like me to start with $500 and I could later get more if I needed it.

I didn’t bother trying to get more money on the remaining days (although I get the sense that another $500 a day would not have been a problem). I felt like telling them, “Oh, I see, I can have up to $2,000 a day as long as I lose it - if I’m not losing (or gambling enough) I get shut off...” I really didn’t want to complain too loudly, however, since I had been able to essentially get a $6,500 fee-free cash advance on my credit card (which, of course, accrues points for more travel...).

Also, people have asked about accruing on board credits for play in the casino. The staff did tell me that every week they see many, many players walk away from the “comp table” the last night of the cruise disappointed that they have not garnered even the $25 minimum comp for their play. The casino was able to combine the play of my wife and I and we were able to get to a total of $33 for the cruise. This equates to roughly $1 for every hour of table play (mostly $5 tables, although it also included at least 10 - 20 hours of craps play, often with $50 - $75 dollars on the felt at a time...). Bottom line - unless you bet a lot, or play for many, many hours or both - don’t expect any casino comp on your bill.

Also, for the blackjack players, they do use the automatic shuffler for the $5 minimum game, BUT if you play $5 blackjack up on deck 10 (in the open air on sea days - this is a nice way to spend an afternoon) they use the 6-deck shoe. That’s an important distinction for the serious blackjack player.

I do want to finish this section by saying that we will certainly book with Casino Marketing again. Factoring in the room discount and the comped drinks (and our $33!), we still made out OK for the week and few other cruise lines offer this service.

7. Debarkation

In my opinion this is a huge improvement over the “old system”. Those folks who want to pick up their luggage in baggage claim can choose the time that they’d like to debark the ship and pick the corresponding colored luggage tags which are on a table in the reception area on the last sea day. Since we were driving home and we were in no hurry, we chose the latest time available (9:40 AM or so), and tagged and left our bags in the hallway the last night.

The last morning we woke up a little later, went to breakfast in the dining room (noticed the abbreviated menu right away...) and then we had plenty of time to wander the ship before we had to leave. We were able to take a look at practically every cabin as they were being emptied and cleaned. (At least one cabin had missed and entire drawer of clothes and they had been dumped on the floor by the steward...). None of the stewards had any problem with us wandering about and my wife even found a couple of great clothes hangers to take home. There were also several plastic helmets (for selling 6 packs of beer) and plastic ice buckets (probably for holding wine bottles) in the hallways - both of which the stewards said we were free to take if we’d like.

By the time we walked off the ship it was very easy to find our luggage (and a cab) and get a ride back to the hotel. I mentioned to the porter that we would need a large cab (since we drove down, the ladies didn’t leave much at home). He looked at the luggage pile and then said to me, “I’m pretty sure that you’re going to need a truck....” :)

We did not have to wait at any time to debark - it was just as easy as embarkation!

In our hurry to get a cab, I did not listen clearly to the cabby (or he was purposefully unclear). He mentioned that the cost would be $12 each for my wife and I. (I assumed that this was going to be a flat fee and while this seemed low, it was not completely out of line as we had paid $30 for the ride down). It wasn’t until we were on the highway that I looked at the meter and saw that it was running in addition to the $24 initial fee. My $30 ride down became a $50 ride back; my discussion with him after we got to the hotel was less than productive. The lesson here is to be very clear on the cab fare before you leave AND I’d suggest you avoid Airport Taxi.

Overall we had a great vacation. We were fortunate that the rocking and rolling of the ship was minimal and the weather could hardly have been better - the worst weather was high winds that closed deck 11 at times and a few scattered clouds on occassion... This cruise is really an excellent value - we paid about $55 per person per day for a superior ocean view stateroom! The staff was as friendly as any we’ve experienced and the food was good to very good. I’d absolutely recommend this cruise (for the money) to all but the most critical cruisers.

 

~Bob

[heelfan94]

Excellent review. We were on this sailing as well and you covered quite a few bases. :)

[BeachBumMama]

Glad you enjoyed the Majesty, she's my favorite small ship.:) Nice review, thanks!

[Diamonds Mom]

Thanks for the great review. My husband and I are taking this cruise on 4/5/08 and it will be our first, so your review was very helpful. :)

[BonnieVA]

Thanks for taking the time to write all that down! We'll be on this cruise in Nov & you gave many helpful tips. I appreciate it. It's so good to hear all the positive comments coming from those of you who enjoyed this ship & cruise. I was leary a couple moths ago when contemplating booking the Majesty because of all the pans but I'm not so worried lately.

[BonnieVA]

How do we know if there's a CC meet & greet on the cruise we sail on? Would it be mentioned in the "Roll Call" section?

[vp1]

Regarding arranging the meet & greet:

 

Someone in your roll call should contact NCL to arrange for the meet & greet. NCL will almost always set aside a small lounge (with drinks and snacks) to meet and they'll also try and have as many senior officers attending as possible. The roll call member can then post the meet & greet time on the roll call site. Hope this helps.

[Philly Steve]

Regarding arranging the meet & greet:

 

Someone in your roll call should contact NCL to arrange for the meet & greet. NCL will almost always set aside a small lounge (with drinks and snacks) to meet and they'll also try and have as many senior officers attending as possible. The roll call member can then post the meet & greet time on the roll call site. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the review and the info. :)

[BonnieVA]

Regarding arranging the meet & greet:

 

Someone in your roll call should contact NCL to arrange for the meet & greet. NCL will almost always set aside a small lounge (with drinks and snacks) to meet and they'll also try and have as many senior officers attending as possible. The roll call member can then post the meet & greet time on the roll call site. Hope this helps.

 

Yes, it does. Thanks.