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Age: 43
Occupation: Transcriptions/Construction Owner
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: NCL
Ship: Majesty
Sailing Date: July 4th, 2004
Itinerary: Bermuda

First of all let me start by saying that I found the reviews of the Majesty to be pretty much on the money. My experience was that of "Good/Bad to down right intollerable and life threatening."

Embarking from Boston was one very long line after line, from the drop off luggage line to the wait in line for the next line to clear, to the boarding pass line to the "take your picture line"(which they do not let you pass through even if you don't want your picture taken) then another line through metal detectors, then once in the boat another line so they can swipe your boarding pass. Very aggravating if traveling with a child as they postponed anyone getting on the ship for over 45 minutes due to the gangplank being off kilter. Finally aboard the ship we went to the top of the boat to watch Boston in the distance which was nice. Hungry and famished from waiting in a line from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm we proceeded to the 10th deck grill on the back of the boat, something quick and easy. Food was OK, nothing fancy, burgers,dogs, pizza. Our 8 year old sweetie who we refer to as our grandaughter had motion sickness and could not eat a thing even though we knew she had not eaten all day. Figuring I would take full advantage of room service at 11:00 pm that evening I ordered her a grilled cheese and a roast beef sandwich. They said it would be about 30 minutes as they were backed up. At 12:00 midnight I left my cabin in search of my room service. At approximately 12:20 it arrived. Triple decker sandwich with absolutely nothing on it but a thin slab of mayo and without exageration 1 of the thinnest slices of roast beef on each layer of bread. Basically it was a bread sandwich. At that point I was really annoyed. I left the food outside our room with a note asking them where the meat on the sandwich was. This was obviously not a smart idea, letting your disappointment known as 2 nights later at 12:00 midnight we got a phone call from one of the crew stated "YOU ARE EXPENDABLE!!" We reported this and nothing was done. I actually had thoughts of the 3 of us being thrown overboard or poisioning our food. We did not order room service at all after that and my boyfriend slept everynight with one eye opened ready to pounce on anyone trying to come into the room. So don't complain about anything as no one on that ship who is "in charge of complaints" really cares. I can't say that for the regular waiters/servers/casino staff as they were awesome. The best places to dine on the boat are the Pasta Cafe and the 4 Seasons. Donovan at the Four Seasons was the best waiter!! So accomodating. He asked the chef's to make mashed potatoes for me even though the menu was for roasted only. Service in the 4 Season's is first class. Pasta Cafe was very nice, with a beautiful view and very good food as well as wonderful staff.

My best experience was at the Casino. That crew were top shelf with Jelmar, my waiter making sure I never wanted for another cocktail. The bit bosses were very nice, especially one who I personally call my "Little Chicago Mafia Boss. They were really the friendliest people you could ever meet. The casino Host, Maria was not very informtative. My losses were close to $2000.00 and she said they would not comp me anything as I was not betting $25 per hand all the time. She gave me a card to call NCL but overall was not a bit helpful. But the Pit bosses took care of me and comped me all of my beverages while I played which I was very appreciative of.

Bermuda was very pretty.

We went to the Crystal Caves which was beautiful but no where near worth the $30 they charged us. Very clostrophobic and at one point they had 3 tours of approximately 20 people in the cave at the same time. This left you extremely cramped and uncomfortable.

Tobacco Beach was wonderful.

The kids could walk out very far without going over their heads and the scenery was just magnificant.

As far as the Kids Corner, I personally read great reviews on this board, but we experienced nothing of the sort. Our Erika was bored to death and they pretty much stick the kid in front of the television and put a movie on. I guess their activities are more set toward the 3-6 age range as they did not have a 9-12 like someone mentioned on this board. They just shoved them all together. So I wasn't thrilled about their program at all. We ended up having her go to 1 1/2 sessions at Kids Korner as she refused to go to any more. She's not hard to please so we believed her when she said it was boring.

Their famous Chocolate Midnight Buffet had a line from one end of the ship to the other. I'm sure it was good, but by that point we were tired of being in any line.

The worst food on the ship was their Buffet on deck 10. The poorest excuse for food I've ever seen. We heard numerous people complaining how terrible the food was and could not agree more unless of course you went to the Pasta Cafe or Four Seasons. The 7 Seas in the back of the boat served the same food as the Four Seasons but their was much more rocking in the back of the boat and the atmosphere was not as elegant as the Four Seasons.

If you want to cruise the Majesty I would suggest avoiding the buffet. This ship is not a glamerous ship by any means and they live for tips, which they earned plenty from me betting for them at the casino, which I like to do for my dealers. We had a good size bar bill, which they take their tip out automatically. We felt that their $25 per day for a gratuity was too much and had it adjusted down at the service desk. I can't see paying $25 for a gratutity for our first sailing day when we didn't get on the ship until 5:00 pm that evening and ate a burger and fries on the 10th deck. But let me just say that after we adjusted our bill the day before we returned to Boston, that the steward just threw new sheets on top of our television vs putting on the bed. The stewards are the ones you need to be leary of, not waiters and servers. That phone call one of the crew gave us at midnight was totally inexcusable and for that reason we would choose another cruise line because frankly the staff people at the service desk on deck 5, were so "uninterested" in our threat over the phone by one of their crew that we nearly had our own incident right there behind closed doors, directly behind the service desk.