majesty-royalje070598

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: Jennifer Errion
Email: forgap@panther.gsu.edu
Age: 46
Occupation: Educator
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Majesty-RoyalMajesty
SailingDate: 7/5/98
Itinerary: Boston - Bermuda
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 70
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 98
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 98
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess: 100
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 98
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities: 95
ShipCleanliness: 98
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 21 Jul 1998
Time: 13:13:27
Remote Name: 168.14.24.40
Remote User:

Comments

We booked this cruise in celebration of my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Because my mother is in a wheelchair and my parents live in the Boston
area, this was the most convenient cruise to take. Embarkation was very efficient and the cruise line was very accommodating in getting all the disabled
passengers (and their families!) on board with a minimum of hassles. The ship is totally handicapped accessible which was a huge plus to us. We were
unable to book a handicapped cabin for my parents but because my mother has limited mobility, they were very comfortable in a regular cabin on deck
four. We prearranged a shower chair which was a big help.

We boarded during the lunch hour and food service was available in the dining room and on the top deck. The cruise staff made a real effort to maximize
our excitement and anticipation. Leaving the port of Boston was very scenic.

The ship is beautiful. This was our second voyage on this particular ship, the first when it was owned my Majesty Cruise Lines. The ship rarely feels
crowded and you can always pick out the level of activity and noise that suits you. Our cabin was compact and efficient. My sister and her family had a
quad which was surprisingly spacious. I expected them to be packed in like sardines but they had no complaints. They also had a mini-refrigerator in their
cabin. The cabin stewards were wonderful! We had one night of rough seas leaving Bermuda and the stewards seemed to take on the sick passengers as
their personal responsibility. My sister received unsolicited chipped ice and saltines!

The food on the ship was varied and surprisingly good. Our entire family is culinarily sophisticated so we didn't have really high expectations. Most meals
were very good. Appetizers were the most inventive part of the menu. We had some really ‘stinker' entrees when we didn't take our waiter's advice! All
the menus had vegetarian choices (mostly good) and spa cuisine choices (mostly bland).

St. George in Bermuda was a gem of a port. The village is small and the whole area is accessible by foot. The ship berth is in the center of town and
becomes the focal point for the town's activities. Hamilton is a short bus, ferry, or cab trip. The whole island can be seen in the 3 ½ days you have in port.
There is very little abject poverty.

We booked two excursions: Sea Kayaking and Snorkeling at Castle Point. Both were wonderful trips and showcased the natural beauty of Bermuda:
aquamarine seas, pink sand beaches, technicolor fish!

The entertainment on the ship was beyond our expectations. I can live without the Las Vegas type shows but they also had an R & B singer, Jane Powell,
and a comedian, Rich Purpura, who were both marvelous. They were the highlights of the cruise!

Ship activities were varied and there was always something to do. My only criticism was that there was absolutely no ‘brain food'. I would have liked some
talks from naturalists about Bermuda flora and fauna....perhaps some history of the island or a lecture about the many shipwrecks around the island.
There were also no planned activities for the late teen set. My niece and nephew are 19 and 17 - too old for the ‘teen' activities and too young for the
‘single' activities. Perhaps the cruise staff could plan some college age events.

All in all we had a wonderful time and would not hesitate to take this cruise again. NCL has fallen into a nitch market - most cruisers were from the Boston
area. They could entice immediate repeat customers with a change in itinerary next year!

Name: Bob Lynch
Email: rlynch0527@aol.com
Age: 57
Occupation: Clerical
NumberOfCruises: 22
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Majesty-RoyalMajesty
SailingDate: November 27, 1998
Itinerary: Nassau-Key West 3 Day
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 75
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 75
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 80
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 75
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 75
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities:
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 80
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 80
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 02 Dec 1998
Time: 06:51:58
Remote Name: 24.92.0.22
Remote User:

Comments

This cruise was a Thanksgiving week-end, three day trip to Nassau and Key West. The ship was full and the passenger complement consisted of a
number of families with children of every age, including infants in arms in the dining room. The Majesty is to be taken out of service in January and
lengthened adding 100 more feet to the length of the ship and approximately three hundred more passengers.

There is much that is beautiful about this ship. It sparkles inside with a fine use of wood and light throughout the ship. There are no teak decks outside
however and the flooring on the outside decks is in bad need of repair since it is coming up and peeling in many places.

Embarkation went very well with check-in beginning at least at 11:00 am and boarding beginning promptly at 12:30 pm. Repeat cruisers who are
members of NCL's Latitudes are allowed to board at any time after checking in and do not need to wait until the 12:30 boarding time.

Cabins are small but adequate for shorter cruises. The difficulty, however, is that this ship does seven day Bermuda cruises throughout the Spring and
Summer and after lengthening will then do ten day cruises through the Panama Canal. I would not want to be in my cabin which was one of the larger
ones (837 on Queen's Deck) for much longer than this three day cruise. Veteran cruisers probably need to be aware that almost all of my cruising
experience has been on Holland America where the cabin sizes are generous throughout the ships.

I found the food adequate and commensurate with what I paid for this cruise. In quantity as well as quality, it was not memorable but it was adequate
and I constantly reminded myself that my per diem on this cruise was about $115 per day. At that price, this ship and its amenities are a good deal. No
one will go to bed hungry and most people will be very satisfied. The dining room when the ship is full is very crowded and don't anticipate any private
conversations. Someone will always be close enough to listen in on your conversation. Dining room staff work hard and are friendly and efficient. My
waiter indicated that the whole crew was stressed-out as a result of the summer Bermuda cruises and in need of some respite. The four day cruise
departing upon our arrival on November 30th was only half full and the crew was looking forward to some relief from a full ship.

Nassau is Nassau and on the Saturday we were in port for eight hours, there were eight ships in all with some 15,000 cruisers descending on the
island. The Majesty arrived by 730am and left promptly at 400pm. Key West is wonderful and the shops were all open even though it was a Sunday.
The ships arrived at the pilot station at 12:00 pm, docked by 12:45pm and left promptly at 700pm for Miami. I did not take any of the excursions
offered at either place. This cruise has the nice quality of spending as much of the two days and three nights on the water, cruising. I recommend the
itinerary and hope that when NCL drops out of this itinerary, someone else will pick it up. If you like being on the water and not at some dock, you will
like this three day cruise.

Entertainment on board was very acceptable. The ships company provided the entertainment in a review fashion on two of the three nights and they
were quite professional and entertaining. Lounge musicians were fair.

All in all, this cruise was a good buy for what we paid. The ship is large enough and soon to become larger. It needs a better place for eating meals off
the buffet, a larger pool area, and a larger dining room with tables further apart. The first few hours out of Miami were considered by some to be
rough but I thought the ship took the seas in the Gulfstream quite smartly. Some however reported they were ill.

In its niche, there is nothing wrong and a lot right with NCL.

Name: Joseph T. Davis, Jr.
Email: Bubbad2u@home.com
Age: 56
Occupation: Self-Employed
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Majesty-RoyalMajesty
SailingDate: December 18, 1998
Itinerary: Nassau, Key west
FoodDiningRoom: 50
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 80
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 75
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 75
CabinQuietness: 60
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 99
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 79
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 80
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 89
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 80
EntertShowLounge: 75
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 79
CruiseActivities: 75
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 10
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 65
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 88
Stabilization: 70
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 75
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 23 Dec 1998
Time: 07:19:51
Remote Name: 24.4.252.178
Remote User:

Comments

The Norwegian Majesty is a very clean ship, with many good qualities. One of the very best services that we received was that of
our Cabin Steward, Harris. We didn't give him a 100 rating because no one is perfect, but he was close to it, therefore a 99. Our
cruise was enjoyable except for the following instances of lack of service or lack of consideration by staff. 1. On Sunday night
lobster was on the menu, and at our table of eight, one lobster tail was about half the size of all the other orders, and as it always
happens it was given to the largest person in the party. When he requested another he was told after a trip was made to the
kitchen by the waiter that he should have ordered two lobster tails originally, at the beginning of the meal, it was now to late.
When the Maitre D' was informed of this, he could have cared less, and nothing was undertaken to resolve this matter. 2. Usually
on a cruise, our party enjoys having a drink in our stateroom while we are getting ready for our evening out or possibly just
relaxing in the afternoon after a tour. On the Norwegian Majesty you are forbidden to have any liquor in your stateroom, whether
you attempted to bring this aboard or purchased it at their ship store! When we attempted to make a purchase at the ship's
store, we were told that our purchase would be delivered to our stateroom at disembarkation. There is a big difference here than
on, let's say, Royal Caribbean Cruise line. 3. Disembark? It is probably not much different than many cruise lines. Out of your
cabin by 8:30 am, find a place to sit until 9:30 am and have the announcement made that if certain passengers who have not
settled their account would not come forward and do so, than no one would be allowed to leave the ship. The major problem
though would be for people who may be allergic to cigar and cigarette smoke. All areas for waiting are filled with smoke. 4. This
last problem is, in our opinion, the worst. We are from Richmond, Virginia. Our flight was on Delta. We left Richmond and flew to
Cincinnati Ohio, and from there to Miami. Not to bad for a flight that could have taken four hours, but took six. The return to
Richmond was different! We disembarked about 9:30 am, and had a scheduled flight to New York, JFK at 12:40 p.m., where we
would then catch a commuter back south to Richmond, the city we had flown over about 2 hours earlier. That only added about
an extra 750 miles to our trip. Still, not to bad except that the flight to New York was delayed by about 40 minutes in leaving
Miami, so we were routed by Delta from Miami to Atlanta and then on to Richmond. Now we think that would have been the
correct direction to travel in the first place, especially since there were several departing flights from Miami to Atlanta earlier. We
arrived in at home in Richmond about 7:30 p.m. about 11 hours after we left our cabin at 8:30 in the am. Oh, by the way, our
luggage did make the trip to New York, JFK, that extra 750 miles, and sure enough did miss the connecting commuter flight
back south to Richmond. Took those bags about 33 hours to make it home.

Name: Frank Tyburc
Email: tyburc@mediaone.net
Age: 54
Occupation: High School Teacher
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Majesty-RoyalMajesty
SailingDate: 07-05-98
Itinerary: Boston/St. George, Bermuda
FoodDiningRoom: 87
CruiseDirector: 87
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 88
CabinAmenities: 88
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 88
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 80
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 80
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 90
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 88
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 80
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 80
Stabilization: 75
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 93
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 27 Dec 1998
Time: 19:13:06
Remote Name: 24.128.3.44
Remote User:

Comments

This was my second cruise on this ship. The first last year when was when it belonged to the now defunct Majesty Cruise Line
and the second this summer as a NCL product. The food was not as good this time, as Majesty had used the same food service
as Celebrity does (which is well-known for its great food) But - the food was certainly enjoyable enough. The big differences
coming in the quality of the sauces and soups which were just OK on NCL. The quality of the buffets were similar, though. The
entertainment was a bit better this time (NCL). The comedian, Rich Purpura, was a riot. I almost split my gut at a couple of his
jokes. The lounge singers, Patty and Jose, were fabulous and were easy to dance to and were very receptive to requests. This
was the same twosome as had performed on the ship when it was the Royal Majesty. I imagine that the high rating that they had
earned convinced NCL to keep them on when the ship changed hands. The Majesty is a very nice ship and was a very
comfortable size. It was large enough to have everything that I wanted (save a huge grand foyer/atrium) and still felt very homey.
The only negative about a ship this size (33K tons) is that rough seas can bounce it around a bit. But on two cruises I
experienced only two evenings of the aforementioned bounciness. We took our pills every day and didn't ever get really sick.
Why some people don't take the Bonine type meds to ward off problems is beyond me. However, I took both of my cruises in
early July hoping to avoid rough seas and was mostly successful. I imagine that the Atlantic is a lot rougher in April and in
September. The biggest negative was that the pool was tiny and deck space around it was limited. In addition, the lido deck was
terribly windy while at sea as that deck is pretty open. HAPPILY - both of these problems will be taken care of when the Majesty
gets lengthened (January 4 - April). A second pool and more deck space will added, as will a wrap around to block out the wind.
Hooray! In addition, the whole ship will be refurbished (not that it was shabby). My wife and I took our two teenaged daughters
(who shared the same cabin with us - 4137) and they loved the cruise. I still can't believe that we didn't have even one argument
the whole week!!! I guess that had something to do with the fact that we pretty much let them do their own thing and didn't have
any worries about their safety on board. I recommend this to others with kids. Most of my friends who have cruised with children
have felt the same. In conclusion, I recommend the ship and the itinerary; Bermuda is just so beautiful and clean. The problem
with visiting Bermuda during the summer is that it is so very expensive. The cruise on the Majesty was, although not cheap,
affordable. The cost was less than $900 a person for everything (not counting tips). Not bad! Of course I didn't have to pay for air
as I live in the Boston area and only a half-hour drive of the dock. I am planning a cruise on the Celebrity's Century in February,
2000 to get that great Celebrity food again and to experience a bigger ship (70.6K tons). I sleep with the brochure next to my bed
each night. BON VOYAGE!!

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