2014 Majesty or Celebration

[jojo67]

Hi, Not been on for a while, but find ourselves considering Thomson again for a cruise next year and hoping for some advice. We are looking at booking a 2 week b2b and our options are either Majesty covering Adriatic Explorer and Aegean Classics with 2 adults and 15 year old in a suite and the other 2 children (17 & 15) next door in an outside plus on deck 9 or Celebration covering Crimean Discovery and Ancient Wonders in 2 suites. We have only sailed with Thomson on Dream, just after she came into service, so not a great experience due to various technical issues, but we were very happy with the product Thomson offered. We have cruised with P&O, but all agree that during the summer months, our Thomson cruise felt more of a holiday! Happy to give up our balcony on P&O for that 'holiday' feeling. So my question is of the two ships and two itineraries, which would you choose? Celebration works out a little cheaper for 2 suites, and it's classed as Platinum?? But I think Majesty itinerary appeals a little more. Grateful for any advice.

[Sailaway487]

Hi, Not been on for a while, but find ourselves considering Thomson again for a cruise next year and hoping for some advice. We are looking at booking a 2 week b2b and our options are either Majesty covering Adriatic Explorer and Aegean Classics with 2 adults and 15 year old in a suite and the other 2 children (17 & 15) next door in an outside plus on deck 9 or Celebration covering Crimean Discovery and Ancient Wonders in 2 suites. We have only sailed with Thomson on Dream, just after she came into service, so not a great experience due to various technical issues, but we were very happy with the product Thomson offered. We have cruised with P&O, but all agree that during the summer months, our Thomson cruise felt more of a holiday! Happy to give up our balcony on P&O for that 'holiday' feeling. So my question is of the two ships and two itineraries, which would you choose? Celebration works out a little cheaper for 2 suites, and it's classed as Platinum?? But I think Majesty itinerary appeals a little more. Grateful for any advice.

 

I'm considering the exact same as you at the moment. Itinerary wise for me, the Majesty itinerary wins as it has less days at sea, plus the Adriatic itinerary is stunning.

 

However, feedback regarding Majesty isn't brilliant, complaints regarding it being overcrowded, small spaces, disappointing show lounge etc. Whereas if you liked Dream, despite its problems in 2010, you will probably like Celebration. The ships almost like a smaller version of the Dream, well laid out, spacious cabins and yes, has been upgraded (although really just a normal small refurbishment that was probably necessary).

 

So ship-wise, Celebration, but itinerary Majesty, mainly for the Adriatic and one less day at sea (although Celebration calls at Santorini, my favourite port).

 

Don't think I've helped much there, but these are the two cruises I'm considering for next year too. At the moment though, the price for Majesty it much too high, particularly for a ship that seems to have some flaws.

[Julessmiles]

If I was choosing purely on Itinerary, I would go for Adriatic however I haven't been, nor would I want to go on the Majesty from what I have read and I am still reading about it!!!

 

We love the Celebration & have done the Ancient Wonders last year & are re-doing this year along with The Crimean Discovery. The Ancient Wonders is a lovely itinerary and if you have never been to Istanbul before, it is a 'must see' city - we went with 2 teenagers and they loved it but they also loved the Adriatic Itinerary when we did that!

 

Is there anything specifically you can pinpoint or would like to know about the particular itineraries, bearing in mind you are travelling with teens?

[Scarey Mary]

Celebration definately for us.

 

We didn't like the layout of the Majesty and the cabins.

[jojo67]

If I was choosing purely on Itinerary, I would go for Adriatic however I haven't been, nor would I want to go on the Majesty from what I have read and I am still reading about it!!!

 

We love the Celebration & have done the Ancient Wonders last year & are re-doing this year along with The Crimean Discovery. The Ancient Wonders is a lovely itinerary and if you have never been to Istanbul before, it is a 'must see' city - we went with 2 teenagers and they loved it but they also loved the Adriatic Itinerary when we did that!

 

Is there anything specifically you can pinpoint or would like to know about the particular itineraries, bearing in mind you are travelling with teens?

 

At the moment the itinerary is winning but the ship isn't. So I'm currently trying to research more about the ports. As a family of 5 the more ports that are DIY possible is important, an excursion in every port would be too expensive. An itinerary that would also allow a couple of beach days would appeal to my daughters, we all love to swim in the ocean! We will be booking a suite and an outside plus on Majesty so hopefully that will mean cabins of a reasonable size, and the itinerary is port intensive so apart from the one sea day each week, I can't see us spending much time during the day on deck. The food reports for Majesty all seem quite good & at the moment we would qualify for a free drinks package. So I guess I would like to know which itinerary would be easiest to DIY &incorporate a couple of good beach days :)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Hi Jo,

 

I haven't been on Celebration for a while, but we did the Adriatic Explorer on the Spirit, which of course is the same layout. It really is a fabulous itinerary. We haven't done the Aegean yet, but it is on my wish list.

 

As regards the Majesty, we liked it. Yes the cabins are a bit small, but fine if you chose plus cabins. The entertainment was surprisingly good and the food was certainly better than the Dream.

 

I know some don't like the Majesty (Marmite ship:rolleyes:) but I can recommend it, as I think would Berwyn & Jackie :)

[Julessmiles]

Just looking at the itineraries and the following would be easy to DIY:

 

Koper; easy to wander around the town. I seem to remember there were locals swimming in the sea from a shingle area/beach

 

Venice - amazing place, wonderful sail-in & out; easy to DIY; we used Vaporettis for travelling around (water buses). We managed to pre-book tickets which were slightly cheaper.

 

Dubrovnik - we did a lovely boat trip here; the 3 Elaphite Islands where we swam from each stop, had lunch & they sailed us the walls of Dubrovnik so we could see them from the sea; great family day out but I believe It is also easy to DIY in Dubrovnik.

 

Kotor again, amazing sail-in & out. Easy enough to get off & wander around the local town or climb up to a church at he top of the hills/mountain. We did a trip to Perast & Budva here where we could have swam in the sea.

 

Corfu - very easy to DIY to Corfu town. Could also catch local buses from the town to beaches but we just wandered around the town; caught a bus from the port to the Old Town

 

Ag Nik - we did Spinalonga from here; great trio with time on the beach after in Elounda. There is a small town beach somewhere in Ag Nik or you may be able to get a local bus to Elounda where there was a nice town beach. Ag Nik is nice to wander around too.

 

Bodrum - small beach not far from where the ship docks; we did a morning gulet cruise here as we have visited Bodrum lots of times before but very easy to walk into & we stopped off at the town beach after & had a lovely swim there. Nice town to wander around with a lovely harbour area with all the gullets. They did do a transfer boat from the ship to the harbour but it is easily walkable and nice to walk through the town!

 

Kusadasi - we did Ephesus from here but you can get a Dolmus (small local bus) to the nearby Ladies Beach - we might do that this year.

 

Athens; must see the city - we took the Thomson transfer bus into Athens & did our own thing - other people take taxis or go by the metro but we didn't have a very long day here so took the easiest option.

 

We haven't been to Kalamata or Zadar so can't help with those. Will look at the other itinerary now

[Julessmiles]

Now Celebration - we love this ship; can't really fault it apart from a lack of space on sea days on deck in height of season if you like to be near the pools. Great for teens - usually quite a good mix of ages onboard without being over-run by children!

 

Istanbul - very easy to DIY using trams to get into the main "tourist area". Amazing city; think it has to the the loveliest we have visited - so glad to be going back this year!

 

Lesbos - haven't been; will be this year - think we are hoping to find a beach & have beach day here!

 

Santorini - we missed out on this as it was too windy; no tenders working that day or cable cars - we went to Patmos instead & spent the day at the town beach; lovely. Check with others re DIY

 

Marmaris - you could easily get a Dolmus to Icemeler & spend the day on the beach there; we cycled all around the bay which was great fun & had a couple of hours in the sea. There are beaches in Marmaris within walking distance but they seemed to be taken over by the bars & hotels & full of sunbeds. You could probably stay there for the day providing you buy drinks there; that's the norm in Turkey!

 

Haven't done the Black Sea yet but don't think Constanta is particularly special although there is a beach nearby; not sure how safe it is to get there on your own - don't think it is walking distance though.

 

Sevastopol is more an area of historic interest; does sound interesting though.

 

Mykonos is easy to DIY - you can wander around the town where the tenders go straight to & there was a very small town beach; I have read that you can get to another beach very nearby too.

 

Obviously 3 days at sea on this one!

 

Hope this has been of help to you ;)

 

Jules

[Julessmiles]

Just realised, we did do Kalamata last year on the Celebration! This was a tender port and we walked approx 1/2 mile where there was a nice long beach. We found a Taverna on the beach & she said as long as we bought drinks, we could use the sunbeds. We stayed there for the day & had a lovely time swimming - I was dreading the bill at the end of the day as there were no prices anywhere but it was so reasonable for the drinks!

[gillhalfpint]

Cheers. That is a great help for us as we are doing a lot of the ports for the first time.

[thejoker99]

Adriatic itinerary is perfect for DIY , we did just that on Spirit 2011. Kotor and koper easy to walk around the town and as said there are areas where you can have a dip if you wish. best way to see is use Google earth ! Dubrovnik just catch bus to old city, we got cheap taxi back as we were shattered and hot after the wall walk !! ( it's not that bad really, only it was very hot) again Venice we booked Venice on your own so paid for boat to take us to main drop off area near to St Marks square. NB get there early if you can if its main season- as it gets rammed later in the day ! Ag Nik, Crete, is easy as you dock right in the centre of things , quick walk to beach- there two beaches within short walking distance. Kusadasi we did boat trip but again there is a beach fairly close but I think you have to get a taxi, or you could do some shopping . Athens , Piraeus the port is not a place you can look around, my husband and friend got off the ship but there's nothing exciting to look at, very busy and very hot concrete city so you would need a trip here. Can't help with other destinations I'm afraid. Bear in mind that Greece is now very expensive for goods and drinks, Crete was slightly cheaper. Everybody told us beforehand that Venice was expensive but we did not find this at all, indeed I saw one specific handbag half the price here than it was in Greece . We are doing very similar this year on Majesty- :confused:- not sure as some of reviews are poor. Anyway can't change it but sure it'll be alright as it's the whole experience of a cruise and the ship is only part of it.

[kruzseeka]

I agree totally with Jules summary and advice but here are a few bits I can add;

 

Beach at Kusadasi is a couple of miles away. The Dolmus stops right outside the port entrance - on the same side and costs 1€ to Ladies Beach. It's not a huge area but has a nice beach with beach furniture, a pleasant promenade and lovley cafe culture. We liked it.

 

You can also catch the local bus in Koper to Piran which is really pretty and has far more of a buzz especially if you go on Sunday which we always have. It's an attractive journey through Portoroz as well and is 3/4€. We have three hours in Piran and still had plenty of time to have a wander around Koper when we got back. If you ar interested in doing that I can post details.

 

Santorini too is quite possible to do as a DiY - go to Oia by local bus is my recommendation although i don't think a taxi for four would be too expensive and much cheaper than the Thomson trip. Superb.

 

I'd also suggest the Dolmus fom Marmaris to Icmeler where there is a good beach and hotle facikites if you want a beach day on your middle day. Again easy and cheap.

 

Sevastopol - you can easily do the Panorama independently (but will need to get some local money form the exchange booth when you arrive in Sevastopol).

 

Mykonos is another easy DiY - if you haven't been before I'd say just wander - it's great!

 

We've done Athens by Metro and the Thomson 'On Your Own' transfer. Metro is obviuosly much cheaper but more relaxing and less stressful going with Thomson. There is also a HoHo bus trip from the port gates at about 20€. Definitely would say go into Athens though - Piraeus doesn't have anything in comparison.

 

Also agree do Istanbul, Dubrovnik, Venice, Bodrum as a DiY. You can get a local bus up to Mouse Island in Corfu - really quite interesting and you can sit having a drink watching the planes come in. Also gives you plenty of time to look at the Old Town of Corfu too.

 

Although you can do Spinalonga independently we felt the thomson half-day trip superb and getting the guide's input brought the history to life.

 

 

I think I can locate some posts with details of how we did most of these ports as a Diy if you need more info.

 

Happy planning!:)

[davecttr]

If i was travelling as a couple and had to decide between Celebration and Majesty i would choose Celebration for one reason.

 

the lido buffet is much better than the one on Majesty. Celebrations is a full size dining room in its own right but Majesty's is IMO too small for the number of passengers.

 

Maybe your teenagers will be spending lots of time on their own which may mean they will be using the buffet more often than the main dining room?

[thejoker99]

Hi cruisinlinda I see you did same itinerary on spirit as we did and have also been on Majesty can you allay some of my misgivings about the majesty as we're on in a few weeks and the reviews are not very good overall.

[jojo67]

Thanks Jules for some very comprehensive feedback, thank you everyone else too. I am now leaning much more towards Majesty (especially if both Linda and Berwyn liked it;) I'm off to google earth some of the ports as suggested, and would like to think I might have it all booked by Tuesday!

[jojo67]

I

You can also catch the local bus in Koper to Piran which is really pretty and has far more of a buzz especially if you go on Sunday which we always have. It's an attractive journey through Portoroz as well and is 3/4€. We have three hours in Piran and still had plenty of time to have a wander around Koper when we got back. If you ar interested in doing that I post details

 

Happy planning!:)

 

If you could post details Kruzseeka, that would be great! Thanks.

[kruzseeka]

If you could post details Kruzseeka, that would be great! Thanks.

 

 

Pleasure jojo. :)

 

This is the thread - first post gives you details of the bus trip to Piran. It also has some info on some other ports which may be useful although i think some aren't on the itinerary you're considering.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1645063&highlight=piran+portoroz

 

It's an absolutely fantastic itinerary. ;)

[kruzseeka]

If you could post details Kruzseeka, that would be great! Thanks.

 

 

Pleasure Jo. :)

 

This is the thread - first post gives you details of the bus trip to Piran. It also has some info on some other ports which may be useful although I think some aren't on the itinerary you're considering. In this post we only spent a couple of hours in Piran but previously we'd caught a bus just after 9o/c and stayed longer but there is plenty of time to get out of Koper and see something else as well as having a potter around Koper itself. It was a lovley day out.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1645063&highlight=piran+portoroz

 

Here are some pictures of Piran - as you can see it's a promontory and you can walk all round - there are loads of cafes along the waterfont ans it's very attractive.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Piran+pictures&client=firefox-a&hs=kNw&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=tyGGUcu4GcTOObvmgfgM&ved=0CDAQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=610

 

It's an absolutely fantastic itinerary. ;)

[Jakanne1]

Thanks from me also, Kruzseeka, as I am starting to get together information for the Adriatic cruise on Majesty in September.

 

Cannot remember whether I mentioned it but loved the Cesar Manrique Fundacion in Lanzarote and I would not have known about it if I had not read about it on here on one of your reviews. We simply got a taxi from the ship and there was a taxi in the car park at the Fundacion which brought us back to the ship.

 

Jojo67.... I cannot comment about the differences between the Celebration and the Majesty, but have been on the Majesty 3 times and am booked again for September so I must be satisfied with it; and I think the word "satisfied" probably speaks volumes.

 

It is not a luxury ship but the food is good, most of the staff are excellent and it is an easy and pleasant way to visit lots of different countries and places of interest in a short time and in my view at reasonable cost.

 

Can I just point out to you that an outside plus room on Majesty for your teenagers will be fine and the junior suites look good too (but a lot extra to pay). However, you will need to be careful about Deck 9 as many of the rooms have restricted views because of lifeboats and also it is below Deck 10 and you may get noise from there. Others may advise you about the noise problem if there is one but the Thomson deck plans do not show the restricted view rooms. If I remember rightly if you google Louis Majesty deck plans Dolphin Hellas that is where I found more information about cabins. If that is not correct get back to me.

[kruzseeka]

Sorry about the previous double post - only just seen it! :o

 

So pleased you made it to the Fundacion Jakanne and enjoyed it - I find it absolutely amazing - so inspired to create something so unusual and beautiful from......... well nothing really! It's always a bit of a worry recommending anything to others as what impresses one may not impress another so it's always a relief if someone has followed a suggestion and it's worked out well for them. Thanks for letting me know! :)

[jojo67]

Can I just point out to you that an outside plus room on Majesty for your teenagers will be fine and the junior suites look good too (but a lot extra to pay). However, you will need to be careful about Deck 9 as many of the rooms have restricted views because of lifeboats and also it is below Deck 10 and you may get noise from there. Others may advise you about the noise problem if there is one but the Thomson deck plans do not show the restricted view rooms. If I remember rightly if you google Louis Majesty deck plans Dolphin Hellas that is where I found more information about cabins. If that is not correct get back to me.

 

Thank you for that information. Sadly the two suites on deck six don't have a sofa bed, so deck nine is our only option. Also as we want the children next door, this only gives us two options, 918 & 920 or 923 & 925. Looking at the Louis lines decks plans both these suites have obstructed views, although the outside plus cabins don't! If anyone has any info on the degree of obstruction I'd be grateful, looking at pictures the lifeboats appear to hang largely at deck 8 level?? The cabins would seem to sit directly between the two pools, so I assume that would mean some early morning noise from tables & chairs being moved:( Evening deck parties don't worry me so much as I would hope that we would be up there with them ;)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Hi cruisinlinda I see you did same itinerary on spirit as we did and have also been on Majesty can you allay some of my misgivings about the majesty as we're on in a few weeks and the reviews are not very good overall.

Sorry, just seen your post :o

 

As I said in post 6 the itinerary is fabulous.

 

We really liked the Majesty and I would go back on her again. I know some people don't like the layout, mainly no sunbeds round the pool, but that didn't worry us as we are not pool people when we are on a ship. We go on a cruise to see lots of different places. If we want to sit round a pool, we would go to a hotel :D

 

The food was very good and the entertainment certainly better than last week on the Dream.

 

I'm sure you will enjoy it :)

[jojo67]

Thank you for all your advice, we bit the bullet and went ahead and booked Majesty, Adriatic Explorer and then Aegean Classics for July 2014 :) Glad it's all booked & I can look forward to the planning now!

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Thank you for all your advice, we bit the bullet and went ahead and booked Majesty, Adriatic Explorer and then Aegean Classics for July 2014 :) Glad it's all booked & I can look forward to the planning now!

 

I might see you on the Aegean bit next year then!

 

A bit off cruising at the moment though :rolleyes::D

[mtt]

Thank you for all your advice, we bit the bullet and went ahead and booked Majesty, Adriatic Explorer and then Aegean Classics for July 2014 :) Glad it's all booked & I can look forward to the planning now!

 

 

go for cabins on the odd side "do not go on the even side", we had jr suites on the even worst cabin stewards ever, and the noise from the buffet above is bad, trolleys going constantly above, we called them trains it was that bad