Majesty Review 7/5-7/12

[*Wink*]

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?

I've cruised her 3 times in the last 3 years. Each cruise was about a year or so apart, the last one being almost 1.5 years. She was just like I'd remembered, if not better. Honestly, this May's cruise was the best of the three but they were all excellent.

 

I agree with the comments about the buffet area during busy times. You are right that it is hard to keep up on dirty plates and the like during peak hours. But I always noticed a crew member walking up and down the Lido deck picking up dirty dishes.

 

The beds on our first 2 cruises, 3rd and 6th decks, were quite comfy, but on our most recent one, the mattresses were hard (deck 8.) I knew better to ask for an egg crate on embarkation day, but I didn't take my own advice and try the mattress out after getting to our cabin. So it was too late to get one the next day. So do a test and then you'll know. All in all, I got used to the mattress and slept comfortably for the week.

 

I think you'll still really enjoy Her Majesty just like you did before. I'll look forward to your thoughts when you return.

[lyndyb]

XSnowman99, I'll be anxiously awaiting your review when you return from your cruise - we go out on Majesty in October. As others have said, we're going on the cheap (cost to us after NCL BOA card discount will be $1250 total for 2 for an Oceanview Superior) and chose in part for cost and for the length of time in Bermuda - so I believe our expectations are realistic. That said, those expectations include A/C and running hot and cold water.

 

I'm a little nervous that Cchrisee recommended staying away from the 6th floor ... would that be the Majesty Deck? If so, is that the deck with the major water and AC issues?

 

Ah well, it's just a week and provided the ship stays afloat and I return alive, we'll survive with stories to tell. Sometimes it's the bizarre stuff that makes a vacation memorable in the years to come - so long as you have some good moments!

[LemurCat]

I was on 4, cabin 4151 was the specific cabin with the AC issues. Every cabin in our block (way aft, interior cabins) had the hot water issue. We joked that my folks could either have semi-chilled air or semi-chilled water but not both.

[lyndyb]

Thanks for posting that information, Lemurcat. I guess unless someone happens to post that was in 632, the cabin we're booked into, I'll consider this a Mystery Cruise ... it'll be a mystery whether we'll have AC, hot water, cold water, etc. I know the problems are the exception, rather than the norm and am hoping for the best - not going looking for problems and hoping none find me.

 

In a sick sort of way, if you're lucky enough to know some problems may exist and then find you aren't affected, you can sometimes wind up feeling like you won the lottery. Best of luck to everyone in the cabin lottery!

[LemurCat]

Thanks for posting that information, Lemurcat. I guess unless someone happens to post that was in 632, the cabin we're booked into, I'll consider this a Mystery Cruise ... it'll be a mystery whether we'll have AC, hot water, cold water, etc. I know the problems are the exception, rather than the norm and am hoping for the best - not going looking for problems and hoping none find me.

 

You'll have them. The question is whether or not you'll have them in the quantities you want. ;)

 

In a sick sort of way, if you're lucky enough to know some problems may exist and then find you aren't affected, you can sometimes wind up feeling like you won the lottery. Best of luck to everyone in the cabin lottery!

 

And you have to keep in mind that the crew is constantly working on these types of issues. What might have been an issue for us could have been completely resolved. So yeah, I guess it is a mystery cruise. :p

 

The best advice I can give is to be polite but firm if it's really impacting your cruise and the crew will do their best to alleviate if not fix the situation. The ship is what it is. It's not going to turn into the Gem overnight.

[merrysunshine74]

I took this same cruise with two other people. To be clear, we have traveled all over the world, this was my third cruise, and as one poster above said, we did it for 1. the convenience of the port, and 2. because it was an AMAZING deal. We'd read the negatives and were sufficiently prepared.

 

My two cents:

 

- The ship was small, but very nice. I saw one guy whose sole job it seems was to keep the stairs vaccummed and the handrails polished.

 

- Our beds were super comfortable - a nice surprise. Loved the extra-warm comforters.

 

- Entertainment was GREAT! Kenny Byrd made a special point of talking to my son, taking pics with people on Deck 10 when he was off duty, etc. Jane Powell was this amazing singer with a deep, powerful voice. The ship's dancers/singers were great.

 

- We were pleasantly surprised by the food. We ate in 4 Seasons every night.

 

- Service was wonderful. Guys @ the coffee bar remembered my name from my first visit AND even greeted me by name when they were in port and off-duty. I was very impressed.

 

- The biggest negative was the relentless pushing of the bingo and other things for sale, even during free activities. It got so annoying. It was like, okay, we get it. For this reason alone, we likely won't travel NCL again. Everything was a HUGE sales pitch.

 

- A close runner up - our toilet did not work for 3 days. This means I had to take an 8-year-old down the hall every time he needed to go to the bathroom. Yes, even in the middle of the night. The reception people were super, super nice about apologizing, but that was it. They did nothing until we had complained (nicely) several times. 3 days is just unacceptable. We also had the dreaded sewage smell in our room the entire trip.

 

We have learned in years of traveling to have fun, laugh at the bad stuff, and keep a great attitude. We got a terrific deal, we had fun, it was all good. Celebrity Cruises have spoiled us for any other cruise line, though, and I think we will stick with them in the future. NCL (management - not individual crew members) just does not seem to care about anything but selling $60 electronic bingo machines.

[elruth]

We really liked the Majesty and we had just been on the Pearl AE cabin 3 mo before. ( our first NCl cruise ) I thought the food on the Majesty was even better than on the Pearl and the service better! I will say we paid a high price for an AB and I did have to ask for something to make the mattress a bit softer. They don't have the fabulous linens that other NCL ships have. ( we were on the Star in May ) HOWEVER I have warned posters re: cabin 912. I think that was the cabin number. I remember telling Cruisin Gram that that cabin has such serious water problems.No hot water was an ongoing issue and we had to run the water for at least 5 min before it got warm much less hot. The bathtub and flooring had what looked like mold ( black ) around it but I know it wasn't mold. ( still not a pretty sight when you are paying that much for the cabin ) We must be pretty easy to please as we did call a few times re: the no hot water and they really didn't do anything about it. We just lived with the fact that we had to run the water for at least 5 minutes. I never thought to ask for some kind of comp ( free dinner at Le Bistro or whatever ) because I figured it was the luck of the draw. I thought the ship was always tidy and didn't look as if she were on her last legs. The crew was so nice.

 

I thought Denny was a great CD. Kind of a dry sense of humor. We thought the entertainment was great in the theatre. Especially enjoyed the piano player/ singer ( can't think of his name ) who played alot of Elton John.

[lyndyb]

Sorry - duplicate and couldn't get the quote function to work right - I'm obviously stupid tonight!

[lyndyb]

- The biggest negative was the relentless pushing of the bingo and other things for sale, even during free activities. It got so annoying. It was like, okay, we get it. For this reason alone, we likely won't travel NCL again. Everything was a HUGE sales pitch.

 

- A close runner up - our toilet did not work for 3 days. This means I had to take an 8-year-old down the hall every time he needed to go to the bathroom. Yes, even in the middle of the night. The reception people were super, super nice about apologizing, but that was it. They did nothing until we had complained (nicely) several times. 3 days is just unacceptable. We also had the dreaded sewage smell in our room the entire trip.

 

 

It seems to me you lived up to your name, merrysunshine! I have to tell you 3 days of a non-working toilet and I'd be having a pretty darned difficult time continuing to complain nicely.

 

Maybe we should all get badges that say "Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested, but thanks for asking". :0

[merrysunshine74]

It seems to me you lived up to your name, merrysunshine! I have to tell you 3 days of a non-working toilet and I'd be having a pretty darned difficult time continuing to complain nicely.

 

Maybe we should all get badges that say "Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested, but thanks for asking". :0

 

 

Ha! Well, the way my mom and I look at it (she was with me), things like this shouldn't ruin a trip. We ended up laughing a lot about it. At one point the toilet started to flush, then it wouldn't stop flushing! I was like, "Everyone, quick GO TO THE BATHROOM NOW!!!" LOL

 

It's all about attitude - no sense in having the trip ruined over it. We're letting our travel agent take it up with NCL - she was appalled.

[ce2000]

We have learned in years of traveling to have fun, laugh at the bad stuff, and keep a great attitude. We got a terrific deal, we had fun, it was all good. Celebrity Cruises have spoiled us for any other cruise line, though, and I think we will stick with them in the future. NCL (management - not individual crew members) just does not seem to care about anything but selling $60 electronic bingo machines.

 

Hi merrysunshine, I agree with you regarding Celebrity, it is my favorite line also. Have you been on the Solstice yet, if not give it a try as soon as you can, it is a great experience and different than any other ship that I have been on. The lawn games on real grass, the glass blowers, etc.

[merrysunshine74]

Hi merrysunshine, I agree with you regarding Celebrity, it is my favorite line also. Have you been on the Solstice yet, if not give it a try as soon as you can, it is a great experience and different than any other ship that I have been on. The lawn games on real grass, the glass blowers, etc.

 

Haven't heard of it, but I will look it up - thanks for the tip!!