Gary
Age: 42
Occupation:Manager
Number of Cruises: 12
Cruise Line: Norwegian
Ship: Norwegian Majesty
Sailing Date: July 23rd, 2006
Itinerary: Bermuda
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Majesty Cruise Review
Bermuda
Gary
After returning from my Norwegian Cruise Line Majesty
cruise I decided to write this review. Some of you have been scared to
death by the reviews you have read. This will be a long review because I
want to address some of the comments and add my personal experience.
This is my 12th cruise and is my 4th with NCL.
RUST: This is a ship that has sailed to Bermuda for the last 13 years
(even before NCL bought her). This part of the Atlantic is really rough
on these ships and we had sea spray as high as Deck 9 on our return
(hence the dirty windows). For those of you concerned about the windows,
they were cleaned in Bermuda and in Boston (while people were on shore).
The paint issue, I personally observed five painters painting the ship
just about every day (including life boats). If you look closely on the
Sun and Pool decks, you will see new paint at the bow and stern. I also
witness two painters at the top of the stack stripping paint for a new
coat needed there. Basically 511 crew members are hotel staff, which
leaves about 100+ for maintenance and everything else. This ship is in
pretty good shape for such a small staff and its age. People are
basically only talking about the top two decks where the rust is more
noticeable. The rest of the ship looks fine and painting is something
ships do all the time. What really matters is the ship is very clean and
has good Center for Disease Control ratings. The hand sanitizing that
NCL does should be done on every line and prevents virus.
CREW: Excellent! This is one of the friendliest and happiest crews I
have ever seen. This is a small ship by today’s standards and the crew
is like a family. I didn’t find one crew member who didn’t want to help
or try to please you. Here is an example; the longshoreman damaged a new
suitcase I had during the loading process. I told a nice young woman
named Carolene at the Pursers Desk, she said “let me see what I can do”.
Within 24 hours the suitcase was back in my cabin and was repaired to
its original condition. I asked if I could pay for the repair and was
told it was not necessary. I was then told by Carolene “We on the ship
we try very hard to make things right for our guest”. This was the total
attitude from the Hotel Manager Alexandra down though her staff.
POOL DECK: Yes, this is a narrow pool deck and the pool area gets a bit
crowed during sea days. However, I never had a problem finding a deck
chair and they have a great sun deck on the stern (back) located on Deck
8 under the pizza and burger area. They also have a deck above the pool
that had plenty of chairs. I didn’t find too much “saving of chairs”
because this too was addressed during the “rules” presentation. Late one
night I saw the pool staff inside the empty pool and hot tubes with
brushes cleaning. I have no clue where the dirty pool stuff came from in
these reviews. These pools were cleaner than my community pool.
KIDS: Considering this was a July 23rd cruise we had a lot of kids.
During the life boat drill, the “rules” were explained to everyone
considering children. On the first day each passenger received them in
writing and we had no problems with kids. What ever issue that occurred
with kids in the past was non existent on our cruise.
FOOD & SERVICE: The food was good on the buffet and pretty good to very
good in the dining room. The deck barbeques were very good. This ship is
not a five star restaurant and if you want one, you should pay for it.
Most people will find the food to be fine and eating in the dining room
is always better. They have good prime rib, fish, and the fresh breads
are very good. The glasses for the ice tea and juice are small on the
buffet but not in the dining room. You can take several glasses or some
people brought large glasses for the buffet area. The mixed drinks are
more pricey than usual and not a lot of specials were offered. I think
it is because the casino and shops are only open for a few days during
the Bermuda cruises (NCL has to make money somewhere). They did have rum
punch all you can drink for free (one hour) and the normal past cruiser
cocktail party. The beer selection is very good including Kirin and
Fosters. Beer runs between $4 and $5 depending upon brand and includes
tip. Pasta Café (no extra charge) was better than on other NCL ships and
is a change of pace. Le Bistro (extra cost) is always good and is a
higher dollar meal. We had the surf and turf and paid $20 each. It was
our anniversary and we didn’t mind paying for higher end food. The
buffet area has limited seating (less than 200 seats) the Royal
Observatory (Pasta Café) is open for overflow (stairs at the end of
buffet port/left side) and they have plenty of tables. So, don’t waste
time walking around looking for a table (go downstairs). In port this
was not an issue because so many people were off the ship. Something I
hadn’t seen before was the dining room (Seven Seas) open at noon during
embarkation. Usually, you have to eat on deck and the dining rooms don’t
open until the first night. The service in the dining room was
excellent, plenty of staff and I never waited at all. I only saw one
time where people waited and that was because they were trying to seat
everyone on formal night during prime time. If you don’t like or want
something in the dining room ask for it. Also, some tables have comment
cards on them, these are to rate your servers. I used them several times
and the cards help the crew get promotions and cash service awards. They
can also be used to make other comments for improving food or service.
BERMUDA: This is why you take this cruise! This place is beautiful and
very quite. You have no street vendors, no hassle and everyone is
friendly. The Majesty docks at the best spot in St. Georges and
everything is right there. You have three beaches within a 10 minute
walk of the ship or a $3 mini bus ride. If you want to eat ashore use
the $5 lunch voucher that NCL provides. You can get $25 per person for
lunch and you will use it all. We ate at the Carriage House for lunch
which is around the corner from the ship. The bill for three at lunch
was $78 plus tip. We used the $75 from NCL and paid the difference.
Bermuda is expensive, but you can eat all your meals on the ship. The
transportation system is very good and you can go all over the island
(bus or ferry). The helmet dive is excellent and so is Captain Jerry’s
Sail and Swim. The cove for swimming is really cool and Jerry will give
you a lot of info. To get to Tobacco Bay Beach go straight off the ship
north, though the middle of town, to Coot Pond Road (up over the top of
the hill). This is a very nice beach, with several beach areas and has a
beach bar and bathroom (busy in the mornings) this place is great for an
evening swim before dinner. If you continue to the right, you go about
another 100 yards and you hit Fort St. Catherine Beach (if you take the
bus, you get dropped here). This is on the northeast corner of the town
of St. George (below the old Club Med hotel). This is very nice spot,
with Fort St. Catherine dominating the skyline behind the beach. This
beach has banana boats, bar, and a dirty bathroom. In front of this
beach you will see Black Beards Restaurant on the hill. If you walk
about 10 yards you will see a sign for Achilles Bay Beach (between the
restaurant and the fort). This is a small but nice beach that is hidden
from most people. The water is really nice and it has beach chairs for
rent. I couldn’t believe that people didn’t see Achilles and missed it.
My advice is take reviews with a grain of salt. If you go planning to
have a good time you will. This ship is perfect for Bermuda and saves
you a lot because you don’t pay the high cost of food or lodging on the
island.