Majesty Review 7/5-7/12

[scott mencer]

This was our first trip with NCL and here's our thoughts.

 

Food was OK service was awful.

 

Ship was very dirty.

 

No hot water 3 nights no water at all one night in the shower.

 

Kenny Byrd was excellent for the couple of nights he preformed the rest of the entertainment was awful. The guy who played in the Polo lounge was referred to as street bum because of the way he dressed.

 

The cruise directior really needs to retire.

 

Bar service was bad on the sundeck on deck 8 and in the theather I think mostly because we had purchased soda cards.

 

I realize this is an old ship but for it to be so dirty is uncalled for, we;ve sailed other cruise lines and have never seen a ship this dirty. Many people were saying no more NCL.

 

Overall experience was poor.

[njhorseman]

I still can't understand how people can judge a cruise line and say "never again" by its oldest ship, which has been sold and will be leaving the fleet shortly. The ship isn't up to the standards of any company sailing from North America...that is why it is leaving. Were they unaware of the nature of the ship they booked?

 

Other than that, there is no excuse for a ship to be dirty...but...that is a complaint I have never heard about the Majesty, so it surprises me. I know it doesn't have modern facilities, and yes, there definitely have been reports of water problems in some of the cabins, but dirty? I'm surprised. Any areas in particular?

 

PS: A question for the OP. you have made three posts on Cruise Critic, which were:

 

(1) Bathrobes don't fit because I am 6'2" 340 lbs.

 

(2) My ship caught fire. (But I did get a free cruise out of it)

 

(3) This post about the Majesty

 

You say you've been on other cruises...but all you've posted are negatives about three. Why not comment about cruises that didn't go wrong?

[Philly Steve]

Just curious, how did NCL address your cabin water issues?

[ce2000]

I don't care if the Majesty is leaving the NCL Fleet. There is no excuse for the ship to be dirty and not maintained, if they are still selling cabins on this ship. Do you think the people that have booked their first NCL cruise on the Majesty will come back to NCL if these conditions persist?

[njhorseman]

I don't care if the Majesty is leaving the NCL Fleet. There is no excuse for the ship to be dirty and not maintained, if they are still selling cabins on this ship. Do you think the people that have booked their first NCL cruise on the Majesty will come back to NCL if these conditions persist?

 

 

Did you read and comprehend what I said? : " Other than that, there is no excuse for a ship to be dirty...but...that is a complaint I have never heard about the Majesty, so it surprises me."

[rxlowry]

Hmm..we think the food is awesome and the ship clean (we were on in June)..BUT...Kenny Byrd was not that good when we saw him last year. Hope he isn't still there in August when we go back!

[scott mencer]

When there was no water I couldn't get anyone to answer the phone, when there was no hot water they said someone will be right down but no one ever showed.

[scott mencer]

I've been on 15 RCI cruises with really no complaints, the ship catching fire stuff happens, the robe comment was a joke. A dirty ship is uncalled for. Bacon on a step going from the pool deck to the upper deck upon boarding the cruise was something we first encountered. Dirty tables on the pool deck sitting dirty for sometime. I can say I've never been on a dirty RCI ship.

[scott mencer]

4072 mold and scum in the shower.

[njhorseman]

I've been on 15 RCI cruises with really no complaints, the ship catching fire stuff happens, the robe comment was a joke. A dirty ship is uncalled for. Bacon on a step going from the pool deck to the upper deck upon boarding the cruise was something we first encountered. Dirty tables on the pool deck sitting dirty for sometime. I can say I've never been on a dirty RCI ship.

 

I think bacon on a step could also be classified as "stuff happens". I'm RCI Diamond, so I've been on quite a few cruises there too, and if I wanted to complain I could have pointed out plenty of little items that should have been cleaner.

 

What I don't understand is why you even booked the Majesty. There was no way in the world she would have met your expectations, bacon, dirty dishes or not.

[iheartbda]

I don't care if the Majesty is leaving the NCL Fleet. There is no excuse for the ship to be dirty and not maintained, if they are still selling cabins on this ship. Do you think the people that have booked their first NCL cruise on the Majesty will come back to NCL if these conditions persist?

If you have no personal experience with this ship, how can you make such a statement based on the OP's one post? I'm assuming that since you made no mention of any other posts.;)

 

Sometimes a ship can be dirty, and not for a lack of the crew not trying but rather keeping up with some inconsiderate pax.:( What I saw was completely different with crew members always cleaning, polishing or shinning up something. and never saw anything I would consider dirty. When the casino was closed while in Bermuda, all the carpeting was steamed cleaned. I also saw another person checking for carpet stains in other areas and spot cleaning them.

 

As far as maintaining the ship, that was very much in evidence last year so unless she is not bing mantained now, things must have changed in a year's time. There were huge rolls of carpeting being loaded and the day we were disembarking, they were replacing at least one of the floor to ceiling windows on deck 5. On another cruise, all the benches around the pool area were being sanded and a new finish put on. Almost as soon as she's docked, there are men out there painting the hull.

 

Anyone who thinks one cruise is representative of a whole cruise line is very naive.;)

[*Wink*]

I was on her in May.. and the previous 2 years.. All 3 times on Majesty I never felt the ship was remotely dirty. Of course she shows her age and she needs some updating desperately, but the new owner will have to take care of that.

 

The hot water issue is ongoing and needs to be dealt with. We've been lucky to never have a hot water issue.

 

If you're referring to Denny as the CD, well, I disagree. I thought he was warm and funny.

 

The entertainment is macheesy to some, but not to all. But we all know the saying... "You can't please everyone... "

[sottovoce]

I don't care if the Majesty is leaving the NCL Fleet. There is no excuse for the ship to be dirty and not maintained, if they are still selling cabins on this ship.

We have one person's opinion that the ship was "dirty." Based on the rest of his or her posting, I'm not convinced. Majesty was clean and service superb on our two cruises on her.

[mew1]

I can not speak about now but in Sept last year she was ship shape, I have complete confidence in NCL and the ship staff, I am going again in Oct. before I traveled her the first time I read bad reviews, yes she is OLD, ships age just like we do. I was surprised and happy to say I did not agree with the negative and had one of the best cruises ever. In all fairness, why don't you book the Epic, it will be a brand new ship, with lots of bells and whistles then write a review. Read the thread about favorite NCL ships, interesting.

Take care and sorry things weren't right for you.

Mew1

[CruisnGram]

I was just on the Majesty two weeks ago so feel very qualified to comment. Not to say that your experience was not your experience, just giving mine.

 

This was our first trip with NCL and here's our thoughts.

 

Food was OK service was awful.

 

We felt the food was excellent as was the service. And extremely friendly staff that bent over backwards to help you. What exact issues with service did you have?

 

Ship was very dirty.

 

We found the ship to be exceptionally clean and well maintained. Constant painting and cleaning going on all week.

 

 

No hot water 3 nights no water at all one night in the shower.

 

One of our 4 cabins had hot water issues also. I do believe that is a problem on this ship that's not being addressed. I think that it's a big problem that they are nursing along till she leaves the fleet. I think that the problem cabins should not be sold or sold at a reduced fare letting people know of the water problems in those cabins.

 

Kenny Byrd was excellent for the couple of nights he preformed the rest of the entertainment was awful.

 

Agree that Kenny Byrd was great. Disagree about the rest of the entertainment. The shows in the theatre were phenominal. Did you see those?

 

The guy who played in the Polo lounge was referred to as street bum because of the way he dressed.

 

Didn't see him so can't comment.

 

The cruise directior really needs to retire.

 

Shona? She was the best CD we've ever had, on any ship.

 

 

Bar service was bad on the sundeck on deck 8 and in the theather I think mostly because we had purchased soda cards.

We had no issues with bar service at all. They were prompt to ask if we needed a drink but werent bothersome if we said no thank you.

 

I realize this is an old ship but for it to be so dirty is uncalled for, we;ve sailed other cruise lines and have never seen a ship this dirty. Many people were saying no more NCL.

 

Again, that was not our experience. Could you please specify what was so dirty?

 

Overall experience was poor.

 

Sorry about that. Our overall experience was excellent.

 

CG

[CruisnGram]

When there was no water I couldn't get anyone to answer the phone, when there was no hot water they said someone will be right down but no one ever showed.

 

I have to wonder why you got no help with this. Once we complained, they couldn't do enough to try and fix the problem. Even to the point of tearing the whole bathroom apart while my brothers were out of the room for a few hours. When it was improved, but not completely fixed, NCL was more then generous with compensation for the problem.

 

Did you pursue the issue? What did you do when no one showed up?

 

CG

[CruisnGram]

I've been on 15 RCI cruises with really no complaints, the ship catching fire stuff happens, the robe comment was a joke. A dirty ship is uncalled for. Bacon on a step going from the pool deck to the upper deck upon boarding the cruise was something we first encountered. Dirty tables on the pool deck sitting dirty for sometime. I can say I've never been on a dirty RCI ship.

 

4072 mold and scum in the shower.

 

Flame me if you will, but after reading all that you have posted, I think you decided that NCL is not for you and from that point on, everything upset you.

 

Sorry, but I don't find a piece of bacon that was missed when the employee's were scrambling to get the ship cleaned and ready to board new passengers (in an extremely short period of time) means that the ship is dirty.

 

I also saw first hand the crew constantly cleaning tables. Yes, the cleaners make their rounds and if someone gets up and leaves right after they've been through, the table may remain uncleaned for 15 minutes or so. But never longer then that and again, I wouldn't classify that as meaning the ship is dirty.

 

Regarding the bathroom, the ship is old and yes, some of the grouting is discolored. Mold it's not, but it is discolored green. As far as scum...again, I'm sorry but I'm finding that hard to believe. I've never been in any cruise ship bathroom that had "scum" and I don't think I've ever seen anyone else on CC say that either.

 

I'm really sorry that you didn't enjoy your cruise and even sorrier that you didn't realize the age of the Majesty before you sailed. I do hope that you enjoy all of your future RCL cruises.

 

CG

[delilah630]

We have just returned from the Majesty today also. I realized this is very subjective because I have been reading the info about the Majesty from the last few weeks. We were in room 909 our shower was wonderful. Very hot water!! We thought the staff to be very friendly and helpful. Our pull out bed in the room was not the greatest and the cabin steward suggested we use a roll a way and he would fix it up to the couch. This turned out better than the sleeper. We enjoyed every meal that was served. We did find Four Seasons to be a little quiter than the Seven Seas. I felt the Ship is being maintained for what she is. One day sitting on the deck they were painting the Hot Tub. I did think that the carpets were always being clean. The only area I could say was a little messy was the buffet area. But, eveyone in bathing suits, wet and food, can make for some clean up. We got chairs on deck 10 and 11 and never had a bar problem. I feel bad that you have had some of the problems that you did, but we enjoyed our cruise and if we could do it again tomorrow we would....just a little better weather on Monday and Tuesday!!!! Also, it was great to see the other Cruise Critic posters while on the ship. Thanks to all!!!

[lyndyb]

I've been on 15 RCI cruises with really no complaints, the ship catching fire stuff happens, the robe comment was a joke. A dirty ship is uncalled for. Bacon on a step going from the pool deck to the upper deck upon boarding the cruise was something we first encountered. Dirty tables on the pool deck sitting dirty for sometime. I can say I've never been on a dirty RCI ship.

 

While I have to admit to feeling a little apprehensive that maybe the Majesty isn't being maintained as well as she has been in the past in the last few months she's in NCL service, I will hope for the best - and what I'll take out of this is -- oh good, they have BACON!! I can overlook a lot if they have bacon. :)

 

As I've said in other posts, what bothers some people won't bother others. I'll just hope my standards are lower than the OP's. Guess I'll find out in October - and dream of bacon in the meantime.

[LemurCat]

I was on the same cruise. While I wouldn't say the ship was dirty, she is definitely showing her age and it's pretty far from graceful. Stuff is just flat-out worn out. Part of the issue seemed to be more the people on the ship other than the ship itself. I've never seen so many plates of food left in non-food-service areas. I get that people are on vacation, but c'mon folks, if you aren't eating at a table, don't shove you're plate of half-eaten food under a deck chair. You wouldn't do that on your own deck, would you?

 

I found the service to be top-notch and the food mediocre-to-terrifying. Didn't eat at Le Bistro (I have little interest in French Cuisine), mainly in the less-dressy dining room. I had the misfortune of being seated almost every night facing a bussing station and yet another pile of half-eaten food until I politely asked to have the table re-set so that particular view was out of eye-sight. The food in the dining room was far-to-middling. I never had the 8 oz. sirloin because every time I ordered it I got a cut of beef that should have been ground up for chuck - fatty, veiny, tough, and generally unappealing. The buffet was just .... bizarre. I don't know who decides on these menus but there seemed to be little flow or cohesion as to what's on them on any particular night. And I would have given my right arm for a decent pie or cake. The baked goods (with the exception of the bread) were pretty dismal. If I didn't know any better (and maybe I do) I'd suspect they were trucking in pallettes of danish from the local Costco.

 

(And I found the bacon to be stringy and not crisp. But that's my personal preference and I don't hold it against NCL.)

 

As for the water situation, we rarely had COLD water in our cabin. Even with the shower cranked all the way down, it was still pretty close to scalding. My folks were in the cabin next to us. They had their choice of cooler water in the shower or barely working air conditioning. They also had a major pipe leaking just outside of their door until maintenance took the ceiling panels down and did some mending. There seemed to be a good bit of this going on all over the ship, as there were three or four other leaks (outside the casino, by the coffee bar, on 7) that we noticed. Call me nutty, but things like that make me especially wary of situations like Legionnaire's Disease. Anyway, the staff was great about doing what they could about the situation (including gifting my mother with wine), but ultimately the situation was way over their capabilities. It seems as if the ship is being held together with puddy and duct tape and beer buckets to catch the drips.

 

The beds were a disgrace. I think the prisoners at the county lock-up near me get better mattresses. Maybe they should sell off the bedding inventory to Sherriff Joe Aout in Arizona for his Tent City. My first mattress was about three inches thick. The second (as I had mine replaced) was about five inches thick. There were no more mattresses after that. Our stewards were more than happy to provide a mattress pad, and an extra down comforter to try to give it a bit more padding, as well as their sympathies.

 

I can assure you they are still painting the ship, as most days our cabin had the delightful aroma of paint thinner wafting through it. It brought me back to my days of working through college in the paint shop of a fasteners factor. Sadly, it wasn't strong enough to produce a decent high.

 

And ahhh .... Marcus Dagel ... "the guy who played in the Polo lounge" ... with a voice finely honed by three packs of unfiltered Marlboros a day and a trachyotomy. (No disrespect to anyone living with a trach, just that this guy was freakin' terrible.) Yeah, he was less than impressive and a bit strange. And not in that delightfully ironic way, in that creepy, sleeping in a VW van kind of way. The ship's company was very good, though I felt they butchered some of the arrangements. That's to be expected, I guess, considering they were doing revues and not full shows. But the company is extremely hard-working, earnest, and a delight to watch.

 

The casino just flat-out sucked. And this isn't sour grapes because I lost. The selection of slot machines is archaic. I haven't seen some of those machines since I was a kid sneaking into the AC casinos. The selection of low-limit slots was terrible. I detest how NCL runs their slots tournaments (you have to win your round plus knock get on the leader board to advance -- I played two rounds, finished second in both, and by my score should have advanced but didn't because I didn't win the round).

 

We didn't have a single problem with bar service. In fact, service all around was good-to-excellent. We had a great cruise. But this ship ... geez ... it's like trying to make a cross-country drive in an '88 Plymouth Voyager with the floor boards rusted out, no AC, and the tailgate held down with a bungee cord.

 

And before I get a lecture ... yeah, I knew it was an older ship. That didn't scare me. I've cruised on older ships before -- the Sea a couple of months before she went out of service and CCL's Celebration shortly before she was sold. Neither of them compared to the mechanical/HVAC/plumbing/bedding issues we experienced on the Majesty. Like I said, we had a great time, but this ship is like that faithful dog that's been in the family for ever. You can wash it, groom it, put a new collar on it, but the dog is still old.

[xsnowman99]

Ok...after reading all of this, I am wondering if I should just stay home....no hot water or scalding water...no ac....thin mattresses....ARGHHHH

 

Having been on Majesty last year, we are aware that it is a small ship and not "shiny and shimmery"...one of the reasons we like her and not one of those floating Disney's. I would agree there is no excuse for dirty anywhere...dirty in buffet?..well, I saw all of that last year. there are only so many servers and they can only clear so fast. People are so frantic to 'eat' that they have no patience if they have to look for a table to start. Me...well, I am not a fan of buffet's in the first place. So, I went to the restaurant for lunch. Problem solved

 

No hot water will be an issue for me...but, I will just wait and see before I panic. Hopefully, we will be fine. Now AC...that COULD be a serious problem for me.

 

And mattresses...I am very confused. The one we had last year was fine. Not my fluffy one from home..but, I cannot float on a ship and be served at home either. We stayed in a superior ocean room last year...just going for the ocean room this year (109 sq ft). I am sure this is going to be a transition for us, but, all we do is sleep, shower and dress. Have they stripped all the mattresses and replaced them with extra thin ones?

 

I will report when we return. We leave on 8/26 from Baltimore. These reports as we all know are subjective. We had a nice trip last year out of Charleston..perfect? no...but, what vacation is?

[cchrisee]

Ok...after reading all of this, I am wondering if I should just stay home....no hot water or scalding water...no ac....thin mattresses....ARGHHHH

 

Having been on Majesty last year, we are aware that it is a small ship and not "shiny and shimmery"...one of the reasons we like her and not one of those floating Disney's. I would agree there is no excuse for dirty anywhere...dirty in buffet?..well, I saw all of that last year. there are only so many servers and they can only clear so fast. People are so frantic to 'eat' that they have no patience if they have to look for a table to start. Me...well, I am not a fan of buffet's in the first place. So, I went to the restaurant for lunch. Problem solved

 

No hot water will be an issue for me...but, I will just wait and see before I panic. Hopefully, we will be fine. Now AC...that COULD be a serious problem for me.

 

And mattresses...I am very confused. The one we had last year was fine. Not my fluffy one from home..but, I cannot float on a ship and be served at home either. We stayed in a superior ocean room last year...just going for the ocean room this year (109 sq ft). I am sure this is going to be a transition for us, but, all we do is sleep, shower and dress. Have they stripped all the mattresses and replaced them with extra thin ones?

 

I will report when we return. We leave on 8/26 from Baltimore. These reports as we all know are subjective. We had a nice trip last year out of Charleston..perfect? no...but, what vacation is?

 

 

We just got back from the Majesty a few weeks ago. I did not encounter any of these probelems nor did the rest of the group we traveled with. The biggest problem we had was the rough seas. We had a superir stateroom on the 3rd floor bed and water both were funtioning. I think the goal is to stay away from the 6th floor. Also if you eat at off peak time I do not think you will run into dirty plates. In fact when we ate at lunch on the poolside, soon as a put my plate down someone was there to clean it. As far as the staff goes, they all rotate, they are not just assigned to the Majesty so they do the same work regardless on what ship they are.

 

Basically the moral of the story is you get what you paid for. You are going to Bermuda on the Majesty for cheap, if you want quality go on RCI and pay an extra $400 and spend less time in Bermuda. People will find faults in anything.

[LemurCat]

And mattresses...I am very confused. The one we had last year was fine. Not my fluffy one from home..but, I cannot float on a ship and be served at home either. We stayed in a superior ocean room last year...just going for the ocean room this year (109 sq ft). I am sure this is going to be a transition for us, but, all we do is sleep, shower and dress. Have they stripped all the mattresses and replaced them with extra thin ones?

 

Nope, I just got a bad draw on that one. My folks were pretty content with their bedding. My sister's wasn't great, but it wasn't foam-mat level uncomfortable.

[ce2000]

LemurCat, I hope that you did not see anyone who had never sailed with NCL before. It may be hard to get them back on another NCL cruise after this.

[LemurCat]

LemurCat, I hope that you did not see anyone who had never sailed with NCL before. It may be hard to get them back on another NCL cruise after this.

 

You'd be surprised. My first NCL cruise was on the Sea, which was an old, cranky ship as well. We didn't realize it until after we'd gone on a brand-new CCL ship though. It's hard to really judge unless you have something to compare the experience against. It certainly didn't deter us from cruising again, much less cruising NCL, as this was our 3rd.

 

It will, however, deter me from taking an older ship in the future though. I'd probably cruise NCL again, just be a little more wary of my ship selection.