Norwegian Cruise Line
NCL Majesty Cruise Review
 Western Caribbean

Overall grade: C-. Don't waste your money on this cruise that departs from Charleston and travels to the Caribbean!! The ship is old, but clean, and the staterooms are the smallest I've ever had (about 15' x 6') for two people.

There was a bit of rough water, but even when there wasn't, the ship was rocking back and forth and many people got sea sick.

The food was TERRIBLE. Flank steak and spaghetti in the main dining room almost every night. One night I had the "Cooking Light" Orzo dish and it was a bowl full of overcooked mush. The buffet had the same menu items almost every day. The 24 hr/ pizza, hamburger, hot dog place wasn't even good - the hamburger is the worst and we couldn't even eat it. The desserts were not good. There were no "midnight buffets" but they did have a chocolate buffet one night. Get there early because I think all 2500 passengers were there for it.

One night, we made reservations at Pasta Cafe thinking this would be better dining - not so. The lobster tail was mushy, tasteless, without any butter, and the pasta was bland. On one good note, the SERVICE was outstanding in every dining area.

The entertainment was ok - the dancers were good and the singing was good. Do NOT play BINGO! We used an electronic bingo machine which had more cards, and some pull-tab instants, which was supposed to be a "value" at $79. Most of the wins were only $100 - what a rip off!

There is nothing to do on this ship. The weather was cold and only 2 days did they have the small, small pools open. The only two things that were fun was the casino and the spa. The slot machines were fun but tighter than a bulls ass in fly season. The spa was GREAT and we were happy with all of our services - massage, hair, facials, etc.

About the ports, all of the Grand Cayman tours (including scuba, snorkeling and Stingray City observatory) were cancelled. The shore excursion staff knew this before they sent everyone on the tender to the island, but didn't say anything so that passengers could take last minute "island tours" from various local taxis. We were in a port that had nothing, and I mean NOTHING, around it because the hurricane had destroyed everything. They did refund our money for our shore excursions.

The next day we went to Cozumel and had to go into a different pier because of the winds. Downtown Cozumel isn't built back up yet from the hurricanes, and unless you had an excursions booked, you'll end up shopping - and there is not a lot of it.

Key West was the best port, except the US Customs agents were jerks. NCL said that we only had to have our key card and Gov't photo ID (drivers license) to disembark. The customs official became a real ass when I didn't have my passport with me and sent me back to my stateroom for it. This delayed our leaving the ship by about 30 minutes because I had to stand in line again. But Key West was awesome. The restaurants, shops, museums, and sunset at Mallory Square was great!

The embarkation and disembarkation was, for the most part, smooth.

In case you're wondering, the average age is around 60. There were only about 10 families, besides ours, that were on the cruise. The kids club was pretty good. Most of the people lived in South Carolina or the surrounding states. DO NOT PAY FOR AN AIRLINE TICKET TO TAKE THIS CRUISE. You'll be disappointed.

Overall, it's the worst cruise I've ever been on. I've never been on a vacation where I was anxious to get home! Don't do it!