This was our 4th cruise with NCL, the first on the Majesty. NCL does a good job in several areas. The night time entertainment on the deck is a definite plus. Almost every evening was spent on deck being entertained by the staff and just enjoying a party scene. My husband went to almost every show and he enjoyed them all. They weren't first class but they were enjoyable.

The embarkation and disembarkation were handled smoothly and efficiently. There were plenty of activities to keep anyone occupied for a week.

The cabin was kept spotlessly clean by Appolonio. He was friendly, efficient, and always there when you needed him and invisible when you didn't.

We felt that the September 11th tragedy played a part in some of the less than expected areas of the cruise. The number of wait staff seemed to be less than on other cruises. The ship itself was in need of a little spit and polish, here and there. Some of the carpeting in the halls is sorely in need of replacement. Sometimes the deck towels were nowhere to be found for the entire morning. Unfortunately, they were obviously dirty towels that had been refolded. There were never enough chairs on the pool deck. When people tried to eat from the Cafe Royale, out on the deck, they had to scrounge around for a chair. Many times people were standing at tables, or sitting on the floor, trying to balance a plate and eat. I asked a deck attendant about this. He said that many chairs were damaged or needed repair so they were removed. And never replaced. One other thing that we noticed was the number of people boarding the ship at reduced prices. We found out that the cruise was offered for $300.00 per person, no airfare included. Our group paid 1100.00 to 1300.00 almost 8 months in advance. Some of the people on board were very upset that they paid so much for something that a great many others paid so little for. But I am sure that the ship was seriously underbooked and NCL felt they had to try to fill it up. It was almost filled to capacity and most of the passengers seemed to be from Puerto Rico. They really did get a great deal.

This was our first cruise with NCL where freestyle dining was in effect. We did not like it. We felt that the staff did not have the time or energy or incentive to treat their guests to the kind of attention that we had become accustomed to. They are so busy clearing and setting up tables that they seemed to be run ragged by it all. It is much better in our minds to have two seatings at set times. That way the staff can set up all the tables before each seating and have the time to devote to their guests at dinner. They definitely were not as attentive and seemed to be under a great deal of stress. The work load is tremendous. One other aspect of freestyle cruising is the tipping procedure. We felt that they were deducting too much for the amount of service we experienced. We had it reduced to $7.50 per day per person vs. the $10.00 they recommend. It was still too much upon reflection.

Unfortunately we felt that the food quality also has suffered. The menus selections are limited and oftentimes the food was served lukewarm or even cold. We were never asked if we wanted coffee or tea. If we asked for it we could tell that it was inconvenient for them to have to serve it. The buffet was adequate but uninspiring. Often the same dishes appeared more than once. Breakfast in the buffet was the same thing over and over. The scrambled eggs were always runny. They do offer made to order pasta dishes for lunch. This was delicious and I'd recommend it over the other items in the buffet line.

I am afraid that NCL is in serious trouble. We have always enjoyed cruising with NCL in the past but have decided that we will not ever cruise with them again.

In addition to my other comments.

This is not the fault of the cruise line but I want to mention it in order to prepare anyone who has a flight scheduled to leave out of San Juan through Northwest Airlines.

We arrived 2 1/2 hours prior to our flight to check in. We STOOD in the check-in line for, I kid you not, 5 hours. Northwest had three flights leaving within 30 minutes of each other. They had 3 people manning the counter. These people moved very slowly. Our flight was delayed almost two hours, this was just because there were so many people waiting to be checked in.

If you aren't flying Northwest you should be fine. But if you are, be ready to have very sore feet and tired legs. This was the biggest botch-up I have ever experienced.