Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Majesty Cruise Review
7-Day Western Caribbean Cruise Itineraries

George Mouzon

My wife and I are experienced cruisers. This was not our first cruise on the Norwegian Majesty. We cruised the Western Caribbean on the Norwegian Majesty in spring 2005. The trip was delightful and was a major reason for taking this Eastern Caribbean cruise.

Embarkation was done smoothly and professionally and with very little problems. We boarded early and it rained after we boarded. Our luggage was finally delivered a few minutes before we sailed. Our luggage was soaked and we had to hang all our clothes in our cabin to dry. It took several days to finally have all our clothes dry. The Norwegian Security staff checked the luggage, as they should have in a Post 9/11 era. However, it would appear that the only thing they were interested in find were bottles of alcohol passengers were wanting to bring on board. They would call people down to security and have their bottles removed from their luggage. It didn’t involve us but it was clearly a humiliating experience for the passengers.

We had an outside standard cabin. It was unbelievably tiny. The only thing you could do in our stateroom was to lie in the bed. If one person was dressing, the other person had to be in the bed. I have to commend the stewards. They were very friendly and helpful but terribly over-worked.

The ship is showing her age and is in very bad need of repair cosmetically. A lot of the windows had leaks and were corroding from the inside. I would say around half the windows could no longer be cleaned. The carpets were worn and needed replacing. The wooden rails had large pieces missing and in immediate need of repair. Because there weren’t enough deck chairs, people were hoarding them, which resulted in a number of territorial battles for them. The deck chairs are very old and most of them are in bad need of repair. Rust was everywhere. There was a piece of the upper deck railing that was rusted through and a wonder that some one didn’t cut themselves on it. It makes me wonder how sound the ship really is.

The food is something that most people look forward to on a cruise ship. I lost 9 pounds on this 15-day cruise because of the food. Breakfast must have sat for sometime because I never had any hot food for breakfast. Everyday, I had cereal and milk. They ran out of milk the last two days of the cruise and only had powdered milk. Lunch and dinner were worse. They always gave the dishes different names to keep the international tone but they were the same dishes every day. Any beef dish was so tough that it could never be cut and chewing was not possible. Lobster was served one evening and it was little more than a piece of rubber. Most people ordered something else. I couldn’t believe it but in the Seven Seas restaurant, they actually served macaroni and cheese as a main entrée twice. The chicken was always baked chicken with a different name. If it weren’t for the chicken, I would have starved. The deserts have always been a highlight of a cruise ship. For this cruise I would have to rate the deserts poor to fair at best.

I felt insulted by the crew. The ship was infected with the Norwalk virus. The crew would never tell us or admit to it. We were held on ship at several port of hours before we were allowed to disembark because of the virus. The crew would only say that they were not allowed to discuss that but when we were in town, the shop keepers would tell us that we were on the ship with the Norwalk virus and that 3 people had died on the ship. The ship announced that while we were in one port, all electricity would be turned off for a Coast Guard requirement. I have never heard of this requirement nor had anyone else. Why the crew could not be honest and tell us what was going on is a mystery to me and I found it insulting. The crew would not allow the passengers to get their own food in the food lines. A crewmember would have to spoon out what ever you wanted. When asked why they were doing this, the answer was, “They were spoiling us.” The crew would all but force you to have your hands sprayed with germ solution. A number of people would have to put their trays down and go to the end of the line because the germ solution would leak onto the trays with food. Tables were at a premium to eat your food. There were always people wandering around looking for a table to eat at.

If you enjoy the pool or sunbathing, you would enjoy the activities. The other activities involved crafts of folding napkins and beadwork. There was a dance group but the instructor was removed from the ship at the first port. There were a number of activities headed by other passengers. I think it is rather sad that passengers have to organize the ship’s activities. I must admit that I do enjoy trivia. However, it was always done in an open bar in the shopping area so you had to contend with the smokers and people were always walking by answering the questions out loud. Trivia was the only time I remember ever seeing a staff member of the crew. There was no or very little interaction between crew and passengers. I’m not really a gambler but they do have a free pull slot machine. However, it was never working and I never got a free spin. If you drink, the bars were always manned and always had everything needed that they could charge for.

If you do not use the ship’s excursions, you are treated like a third class citizen. At one port, all the passengers that had the ship excursions were released from a different exit from all the other passengers and they were released before the other passengers. If you require a wheelchair, be sure to bring one of your own. The ship will provide one for you while you are on the ship but they will take you the end of the ramp at a port and dump you out. The wheelchair cannot leave the ship.

I truly enjoy cruising and will in the future but I will never go on Norwegian Cruise line again. Norwegian Cruise Line have gone to the corporate world and it appears that all that matters is saving and making money and passengers are not the main concern.