Hello from NCL Majesty!

[San10s]

We are on our way back to Boston after a wonderful six days on the Majesty. We had terrific weather (only a small shower first thing on Wednesday morning while in Bermuda) both on the way down and while in Bermuda. As a matter of fact, it has been down right HOT! :eek: Temps were mid to high 80's everyday in Bermuda. Right now the Captain just stated it was 76 outside......which is very comfortable.

 

I don't have a single complaint (other than I ate too much :D ) and the crew and staff have been wonderful. The seas down were calm and only for a little while last evening during the Chocoholic Buffet was there enough motion to make walking a little more challenging.

 

To those of you waiting for us to arrive tomorrow.....Bon Voyage. You will have a fabulous time. Please try and find my money that I left in the casino! :rolleyes:

 

I will write a full review upon our return.

 

Judy

[dizneydawn]

Thanks for the mini review! Will look forward to your full report. Did you bring back any menus by chance?

[Tomct]

I've been busy of late trying to plan a June 26th cruise to Bermuda, and keep going back and forth as to taking the Majesty or the Crown. We live in Connecticut, about halfway between each. It will be a family group cruise, maybe 8 or more cabins, and many will be on their first cruise, others only have been on a large ship like NCL Dawn.

 

We've leaned toward the Crown because of the 3 stop itinierary, but have also considered the Majesty, one reason being it's a little cheaper.

 

One thing I noticed for those who may want the cheapest available cabin, is they are 108 sq. feet. Anyone been in one of them?

 

I would love to hear comments from someone who has been on both. I understand the Majesty will going in for some cosmetic "surgery" over the winter.

 

Any related comments would be appreciated.

 

thanks

[suemac]

I have stayed in one of the 108 sf cabins on the Majesty. Yes, it is small but it is very functional. There is plenty of closet space and I was always able to put my luggage under the bed. The bathrooms are the same size no matter whether it is the 108 sf cabin or the 145 sf cabin. I am a big fan of the Majesty and have sailed on her eight times to Bermuda.

 

I have never been on the Crown so I cannot comment on that. Personally, I like to dock in St. George for the entire time. There is plenty of public transportation to get you around the island. They offer bus passes for about $25 which can be used for the 3 1/2 days you are there. These passes can be used on the busses and the ferries. St. George is so quaint and is just a joy to visit.

[Welove2cruise2]

Hi Tomct

 

We have been on the Majesty four times, and obviously enjoy it very much. I would love to try the Crown (just for a change of scenery!) and I think I might like the 3 ports (well, two out of the three) for a change of pace. I think you will be happy with either ship -- I've heard some great things about the Crown (she's very cute -- was behind us in St. George's for one day); I hear the pool is small, but beyond that, I'm sure you'd be happy with either ship! I can't understand why the Crown is more expensive -- I believe it's older than the Majesty, and a little smaller.

 

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful cruise!:D

[regal2]

i have never sailed on the crown. i have sailed on

the majesty from boston to bermuda 6 times.

the black falcon terminal in boston is a lot easier

to get to and the traffic is not bad on a sunday morning. it cost $80 to park in the garage across the

street from the terminal.

i like st. georges where majesty docks because of the

quiet village atmosphere and close proximity to the

beaches and shops. a 3-day pass on the bus will take

you on a beautiful trip along the roads of bermuda to

many atractions. the ticket is good on the ferries to.

i have visited the aquarium,gibbs hill lighthouse,

royal dockyard maritime museum,crystal caves just to

name a few. the snorkeling is great to.

never had a bad trip to bermuda. enjoy which ever the

ship you decide.

[mmceachn]

Tomct

I am about to take my third cruise to Bermuda on the Majesty.

In my opinion the Majesty is perfect for a first cruise. Better hurry up though

because I hear she is being retired year after next.

As others have mentioned, the high speed ferry/bus system makes St George

accessable to the rest of the island and the ship. The local beaches, St Catherine's and Tobacco Bay are a twenty minute walk or a five minute taxi ride away. The local beach taxi cost two dollars per person each way when

we were there last year and stops right in Kings square where the ship docks.

The Majesty is easy to get around, the crew works well together and we found service to be excellent.

There are two pools on the top deck which is nice and deck 7 has a nice walking jogging track that goes all around the ship.

I have stayed in the 108 sf

cabins on deck 8 twice and found them to meet our

needs just fine. Couldn't bring myself to spend extra money for a few more s/f of space when we were hardly ever in the cabin.

We really enjoyed Lebistro on the Majesty as well, small but great service.

We saw the Crown docked in NYC when we were on the Dawn last June.

Appears much smaller than the Majesty with only one pool.

Having sailed out of both Boston and NYC I think that Boston is an easier port to get to by land or air and parking is a little bit cheaper than in NYC

I won't go into details about the ship because others have done that very nicely, but please let me know if you have a specific question

Good luck with your decision

[Intrepid]

Hello to all you Majesty veterans,

We are booked for the 10/24 cruise to Bermuda on Deck 3. Has anyone either bunked there, or perhaps have any information? DH and I are excited as the date nears, and would love to hear any information. Judy, we look forward to your review!

[suemac]

Hi Intrepid,

 

I have bunked down on deck 3 and had no problem with it what so ever. One good thing about being that low is that you are only one deck away from the gangway while docked in Bermuda. It is nice to come back on the ship and only have to go up one flight of stairs as opposed to waiting for the elevator. The Majesty is a great ship with a great crew and Bermuda is a wonderful place to visit.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[basketballmom]

Another vote for the Majesty here. We have sailed her 2x and are planning another final voyage on her in 2006. That will be the last year she travels to Bermuda. Staying in St. George all 3 days is the best. You don't have to guess where your ship is at the end of the day! There is plenty to see and do right in St. George. Plus the Bermuda bus system is one of the easiest to use. I believe the only reason the Crown cost more is because it sails out of NYC.

 

You and your family will love the Majesty. It's a great small ship with plenty to offer. There is plenty of deck chair space, although not enough outside tables. We have stayed in a 108 and 145 sq. ft. cabin and I have to say I enjoyed having more space in the 145 with 3 of us. 3 in a 108 can be tight.

 

Whatever you and your family decide, have a great cruise because Bermuda is beautiful!!

[Tomct]

Thanks for the responses on Crown vs. Dawn. One candidate for our group is a veteran of Bermuda, though not cruising. She has not been there for about 10 years, and spend most of her trips there on the end of the island "opposite" of St. George. Her opinion was that beaches in the St. George area were not up to those on the South side, though I have not looked into them as yet. She would prefer the 3 ports, and has a friend who owns a small taxi business at the other end. We expect to enjoy the beach while in Bermuda, so would appreciate any info in that regard. I have noticed posts above with favorable comments about the beaches in the St. George area, so I'm a little confused.

 

Thanks, again.

[mmceachn]

Tomct

your friend is correct, the beaches on the south shore are the ones with the pink sand that Bermuda is famous for and a little easier to get to from Hamilton than St. George. I do not believe that there are any beaches withing walking distance of Hamilton, but I could be wrong.

There is a bus that goes from Hamilton all along the south shore making stops at Elbow beach, Horseshoe Bay and a couple of others. We took an early bus from St George to Hamilton (about 30-40 minutes) and once in Hamilton switched to a South shore bus for the 15 minute ride to the beach.

Horshoe Bay was wonderful and certainly worth the ride. There is a reasonably priced snack bar and beach chair and umbrella rentals as well.

After a couple of hours at the beach we then caught the bus and continued on to the dockyard, where we caught the last ferry back to St. George mid afternoon.

There is another south shore beach which is a twenty to twenty five minute bus ride away from St George called John Smiths Bay which is very pretty as well.

I have heard that Clearwater Beach is nice as well but have never been there

Perhaps some one who has been to clearwater will be kind enough to post???

Anyone know what the taxi fare to Clearwater is?

The beaches in Bermuda are not real long stretches of sand like in the

Bahama's so the popular ones can get crowded.

If there are children in your family group it may be convenient to have a beach close to the ship that is easy to get to. We would often stroll up to

Tobacco Bay in the late afternoon for an hour or so for a pre dinner swim.

Whichever ship you choose, you will have a good time

[basketballmom]

Tobacco Bay is a small beach but has great facilities, clean and reasonable prices and great snorkeling if you go past the immediate lagoon area.

 

Ft. St. Catherine's Beach is very nice with good snorkeling to the left but the facilities were disgusting (no running water and the toilets didn't work when we were there but some stupid people would still use them) and overpriced.

 

Horseshow Bay is nice with great facilities too. If it does appear too crowded to you, just keep walking to the left and you will find a nice secluded area.

 

The only problem with Horseshoe and other south facing beaches is that there is a nasty undertow at times. Even knee deep it can get you.

 

We also took the Turtle Bay Catamaran tour which took us to Turtle Bay Beach. Very nice secluded beach near the old NASA base. Great tour.

[WoodbushSC]

First cruise was a bust---1,000 spring breakers. Majesty is off limits in my house.

[cruzeluver]

Boy am I a numbskull! Didn't realize the Majesty had already re-positioned to Boston. Guess I won't be driving down to the Chaleston pier this weekend to say "farewell". :(

[Worfiedoodles]

We also took the Turtle Bay Catamaran tour which took us to Turtle Bay Beach. Very nice secluded beach near the old NASA base. Great tour.

 

I'm considering this excursion -- but was a little hesitant because my ds8 is a new swimmer. Do you have to be a good swimmer for this? I'm sure he would be fine swimming to a beach with me and dh, I just wouldn't want it to be a long swim...

 

Thanks for any information!

[Ralphinsc]

Not sure if you were beign tongue-in-cheek here. For reference, look at the original post dates. It was from last year. LOL! Majesty still leaving out of Charleston for a few more weeks.