Our 1/13 Majesty Cruise aka "Did She Get Her Necklace?"

[osiebosie]

Well, ya'll, we're back. We had a wonderful cruise out from Charleston. We drove from near Nashville, Tennessee one day early to spend some time in Charleston. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Riverview and did some shopping and eating and sightseeing. Great city!

 

We loaded up the car on Saturday morning to drive to the ship. We chose, this year, to drive to the docks. Last year we did this exact same cruise, and chose a hotel that would let us park our car there for the duration of the cruise. On disembarkation day, we found ourselves standing in the cold rain waiting with a crowd for the hotel shuttle, so this year we just decided to drive and park in the warehouse.

 

The parking is $105. But your car is parked in a warehouse. We had just washed it, and were glad to have it parked out of the weather. But, when we got back to it, some seagull, probably Jonathan Livingston Seagull, had pooped on it!!! :( Oh well. It was drivable. And, we got to our car at 8:45 a.m. on disembarkation day. We chose not to self-disembark, and were still out at a good time. But we were on deck 8, and were the second group to get off after self-disembarkation.

 

I digress.

 

After parking, we rode the shuttle to the registration building. A short, entertaining ride. We walked in, and there was a fairly long line. It was around noon. We stood in line for just a few moments and when we rounded the curtain, a woman asked us if we had sailed on NCL before. We had, and we said so. So, we got shuffled to the Latitudes line, which only had three couples before us. We were on the ship shortly after that.

 

WARNING!! The ramp to embark and disembark in Charleston is very, very steep. There were many seniors having problems. Embarkation/disembarkation in Charleston is on deck 5, making the ramp very steep. The disembarkation at ports is on deck 2. Much easier.

 

Well, we found our way to our cabin, 895. Someone else is in my cabin right now. It's not the largest cabin we've ever been in. In fact, it is the smallest I can ever remember. But, it was cozy :p !! When we walked in, there were two beds. Not really a problem because they pushed them together for us, but with us having the same last name, I was sort of surprised to see two separate beds. Anyway, our steward, who was really great, pushed them together for us. However, we got to keep our separate covers which was sort of weird, but nice because DH couldn't pull my covers off. It seemed to be either too warm or too cool in the cabin. We couldn't find that just perfect temp. But we would adjust it accordingly, and the temp would adjust quickly in the cabin. The window is partially blocked, but not very much.

 

The hair dryer is really great for bald guys! So I called the purser's desk, and asked if they had another one. They did, and I just went and signed for it. It was better than the one in the bathroom, but still not as good as mine at home. But since I have very short hair, it worked okay and I didn't have to pack the one from home. You can also sign and get extension cords and irons. At least, that's what the form said.

 

When I went to use the safe, there was a problem. It just wouldn't work. And of course, DH thought I was doing something incorrectly, so he had to show me up :rolleyes: . But, he couldn't, because I was right and it wouldn't work. Ha, ha! So I called and reported it. They sent a guy about an hour later, and he said it needed batteries. He went to get some, but the door still wouldn't work. So, our safe just got a whole new door. It worked perfectly after all of that.

 

I was disappointed that there was no interactive tv in the cabin. We could not check our account balance, order room service or excursions, or even purchase movies. The "live" tv show is CNN, and I can only watch that for a few minutes. We really wanted to see what the weather was doing back home (so we could gloat), but CNN's weather is pitiful. The other "live" show is ESPN.

 

But, we did watch alot of movies. We saw some we had seen, and a few we hadn't seen. Someone did complain that the "children's" movies were on at really odd times, and they were.

 

Eating.

 

We did a lot of that. We didn't miss a single meal! We ate breakfast in the dining room and at the buffet. If you want a nice hot omelet or fried eggs, go to the buffet. The grits are really good in the dining room; don't know about at the buffet. The bacon was always crispy in both venues. I can't say much good about the toast, so I went for the english muffins, which were not hard like the toast. They only offer strawberry jelly and orange marmalade at the buffet. I don't like either. One day I asked for honey, and the server was kind enough to go get me some in a bowl, but we dropped it in the hand off. It landed, believe it or not, upright, but she got me some new anyway. In the dining room, I asked for grape jelly, but was told there was only strawberry and orange. However, we ordered room service one morning, and I got apple jelly. ??

 

We ate lunch mostly at the grill in the back of the ship. They have pretty good hamburgers. A few times, they pulled out the huge grills, and grilled ribs and chicken. Both very tasty! I have to say, the pizza was a huge disappointment. I love pizza, and don't cull many, but I did on the Majesty. They just were not good. We also ate lunch a couple of times in the dining room, and it was always good. Plenty of food.

 

Dinner was in the dining room most nights. It always amazes me when I read or hear about people complaining about the amount of food they get, meaning it's not enough. Good grief, how do they do it? We were stuffed every night! Anyway, the dining room food was good; we had no complaints. The service was good, maybe a little slow ocassionally, but nothing worth getting my panties in a wad over. We noticed that sometimes when we left the dining room, there was a long line. We always went between 5:30 and 6:00 and never had any problems getting in.

 

We ate once at the Pasta Cafe. We really like it there. We wanted to go again, but couldn't get in. It's really much more romantic there, except for the howling door ;) !

 

We also ate at Le Bistro once. If you go at 5:30 or 6:00, or, I am sure, sometime in between, you go for half price. We are early dinner eaters anyway, so we went at 5:30. The food was good, but, I have to say, I've had better in a specialty restaurant on another ship we sailed last year. But it cost much more, so, again, no complaints at all. Actually, DH went on and on about the cream of mushroom soup (egghh) and how wonderful it was. I do believe he could have just ordered three bowls or so of that soup (egghh) and ate only that. He loved it! And the escargot...

 

We had an awesome Cruise Critic Meeting. We met with three staff members: the hotel director, the assistant hotel director, and, aack, I am not quite remembering the title of the third person, but it was something like the activities director (but not the cruise director). They answered all of our questions, and gave us great insight on the interior workings of a cruise ship. We had a great group supporting Cruise Critic on this cruise, complete with professional name tags! If you are cruising soon, I encourage you to go to the roll call boards and find your group. Get a meeting going with the ship if it's not already in the works. It's always fun to keep running into the Cruise Critic people you know. We kept running into the same ones over and over! :)

 

We had the best weather possible. Only the last day at sea was overcast and cool, and there were little or no sunbathers. Since it was so warm in Charleston when we left, we were in sunbathing weather right off the bat. It was great! I have a great tan which is fading into the cold rain of Tennessee. Boo hoo.

 

For the first time in my life, we rented jet skis in Grand Cayman. We never do excursions. So, in GC, we were walking to a beach and passed the jet ski place. We've always talked about it, and I'm not getting any younger, so we went for it. We were originally going to go for an hour, but chose a half hour instead, with snorkeling afterwards. Good choice. Anyway. We rented a two-seater for half an hour, snorkel gear, and a locker all for $85.00. Of course, DH drove the jet ski, while I hung on for dear life!! After I kept screaming in his ear that I was going to fall off, we switched places (without turning over!!) and I got to drive. Wow!! I satisfied my need for speed!! The water was a little choppy, and so we bumped around a lot, but it sure was fun! I got up to 30 mph! Snorkeling was good, too, but there weren't very many fish. I find that as I get older, I am less excited about getting way deep into the ocean with animals that are totally in their element in the water while I am not. So we didn't snorkel out too far. But it was fun anyway!

 

In Cozumel, we rented a jeep with a hole in the bottom of it (so they can just spray it out with water for cleaning??) for $65.00 and drove around the island. The view on the other side of Coz is spectacular, and there are several bars and beaches. You really can't swim in the ocean on that side since it is so active, but it is glorious to see and I got some great pictures. We were glad to see the island coming back quite a bit after we were there last year and saw the hurricane devastation. There were ten ships at Coz the day we were there. Two were docked with us, for a total of three, and all of the rest had to tender (poor things!). We shopped a little, and I got my grandson-due-in-March the cutest Carlos and Charlies onsie!

 

In Key West, we docked in the base area of the port, so we had to take the trolley in. It's not a bad ride, as it goes quickly and the drivers are great tour guides. All we did in Key West was shop. And, yes, I found my necklace still waiting for me at the same little jewelry shop. Did I buy it this time? You bet your bottom dollar!! Ladies, if you see it and want it, buy it. You may never get there again. I was fortunate.

 

All in all, it was the perfect cruise for us. Both of us being business owners, we really like to relax a lot, and we did on this cruise. We heard the singer once, and he was good. We made the comedian once, and he was good. Other than that, we always tapped out fairly early at night. All of the good stuff, shows and kareoke (sp?) and parties were late at night, so we missed it. I just fizzle out around 9:00 or 9:30. Even drinking coffee. Something about sleeping on a cruise ship.

 

I would say most of the passengers were seniors, but there was a really good amount of middle aged and young parents on the Majesty. There were a couple of babies who were dolls that I got to drool over while waiting for the birth of my first grandson. There were maybe 30 kids, ages ranging from around 8 to 12 on the ship. We caught a couple of boys towards the end of the cruise in the elevator pushing all of the buttons. Not the best idea, since the elevators are not going to satisfy your need for speed, and half of them weren't working anyway. So it was a good mixture of ages on the ship. We sat alone in the dining room the first couple of nights, and after that we requested to sit with others. We both enjoy meeting people, and met some very interesting folks. Freestyle seating is okay with me, but I really do miss building the rapport with the wait staff you get with traditional dining. I can go either way on a cruise ship; it wouldn't be a deciding factor for me.

 

Enough for now. I am sure I will think of something I left out to tell all of ya'll, but if so, I'll pipe in later and let you know about it.

 

Shay

[silkhair1]

Sounds like you had a great time!!!!!

[mush71]

That necklace was meant for you. I am happy you got it. :D

[osiebosie]

We did have a wonderful time, thank you! And, I love my necklace, but it doesn't shine the same as in the tropics...

 

Shay

[osiebosie]

We did have a wonderful time, thank you! And, I love my necklace, but it doesn't shine the same as in the tropics...

 

Shay

[osiebosie]

We did have a wonderful time, thank you! And, I love my necklace, but it doesn't shine the same as in the tropics...

 

Shay

[osiebosie]

ooops.

 

Shay

[Cosmopolitan]

osiebosie ~

 

Enjoyed your review.

 

Good to hear the necklace was still there:)

[electricron]

It's always a pleasure to read a honest review, with both what was good and what was bad. Sounds like you had a great cruise.

 

Ramps to gang planks are never the correct size, in Charleston they're too short and very steep, in Houston they're way too long. You would think the civil engineers who design them were half drunk when they put ink to paper, or that they were making a pratical joke. Never-the-less, thousands of passengers use them sucessfully every week.

[cjcjohio]

Thanks the review and all the info, I'm glad you had a good time.

I have one question...

Do the have bathrobes??? Usually they have thick terry cloth bathrobes.

Thanks

Colleen

[osiebosie]

Colleen,

 

We did not have bathrobes. We didn't ask for them, so I don't know if that is a possibility or not.

 

Our cabin was SO SMALL... How small was it? It was SO SMALL that there was no room for bathrobes!!!

 

Just joking, but, no, there were none.

 

Shay

[angeljt]

We did have a wonderful time, thank you! And, I love my necklace, but it doesn't shine the same as in the tropics...

 

Shay

 

Glad you had a good time and you were able to find your necklace.

Nothing shines like in the tropics!!!

Jackie

[cjcjohio]

Shay,

Thanks for the quick reply.

Colleen

[Welove2cruise2]

Thanks for a great review! We love the Majesty! We're hoping the prices will drop, and we'll be trekking down to Charleston to board her for a week in March; otherwise, we'll be on again for the Boston-Bermuda run!

[Holg]

WARNING!! The ramp to embark and disembark in Charleston is very, very steep. There were many seniors having problems. Embarkation/disembarkation in Charleston is on deck 5, making the ramp very steep. The disembarkation at ports is on deck 2. Much easier.

 

I did this cruise a couple years ago with my parents and other family members.

 

After the embarkation picture was taken, we stepped out of the registration building to board. When my mother, who was 76 as the time, saw the ramp mentioned in the OP she stopped dead in her tracks.

 

I looked and saw the handicapped entry way that was level with the pier. I asked a crew member if we could emabrk there and they let us.

[osiebosie]

Good to know there is a hc entrance. There were no signs indicating so.

 

I work with seniors, and I know how stubborn they can be and how independent they want to be (who wouldn't?). They don't want to admit they cannot do something. There was an elderly man in front of us climbing the gangplank, er, ramp. Bless his heart, he huffed and puffed and slowly made his way up. When he was almost there, he had to stop, and we were able to go around him. I asked him if he was okay, and, of course, he said yes, but it was obvious he wasn't.

 

I think it would be nice if they had a couple of wheelchairs waiting in the area before climbing the ramp. When we took DH's mom on this same cruise last year, she fussed a bit, but made it up to the top. But it was hard for her. I don't know if that would be NCL's area or the ports.

 

Shay