From RCI to NCL?? Help!

[GoodAsGold]

Same here.

 

We feel the same way. Once was enough for us. NCL never again!

[Smurphy]

I agree . . . find another ship! She was small, dirty, and falling apart. When we sailed to Bermuda we were not expecting the brillance of the the Freedom of the Seas or any other bigger, newer ship. We were, however, expecting cleanliness, friendliness, and activities -- none of which we found. I would categorize that ship as a glorified ferry, and nothing more. Very little to do during the day and at night. Please consider a different ship.

[regg1216]

We have done 1 NCL cruise and will never do another. Look at Baltimore it's a great port to sail out of and closer than Bayonne. Both RCCL and Carnival both sail from here now.

[PattyW]

I can't attest to the Majesty, but we loved our cruise on the Dawn last year with our children (ages 2.5 and 5). Freestyle was wonderful for our family - we ate in specialty restaurants every evening; never stepped foot in the main dining room. We loved the ability to set our own dinner times and choose our style of food (asian, italian, tex-mex, etc) and so did the kids. NCL's kids club starts at 2, so you and your husband could have a dinner for two a couple of nights without paying for a sitter. Anyway - just another perspective on NCL.

[slotaddict]

We have done 1 NCL cruise and will never do another. Look at Baltimore it's a great port to sail out of and closer than Bayonne. Both RCCL and Carnival both sail from here now.

 

 

The Carnival Pride just moved to Baltimore - I did a Mexican Riveria on the Pride in November - a lovely ship - good food - good crew.

[alonzo14]

I have sailed on both Royal carribean and NCL three times. I sailed on NCL the first time on an older ship, then two of the newer ones. I do not recommend the Majesty for reasons already posted here. I agree about trying to sail out of New York if possible. The new ships have enhanced they're lido buffet restaurants. They are no longer like a cafeteria. NCL's ships are not built like RCCL but they are nice in my humble opinion. NCL now charges for all their specialty restaurants. The cheapest is 10.00pp most in the 10.00 -15.00 range except for one or two. We thought the main dining food was good. The new ships offer a variety in dining that RCCl does not have. We thought the entertainment was adequate. If an NCL ship sailing out of New York has an itinerary you like I would give them a try. I would just consider the saving you would have over Royal Carribean.

[candhmama]

Our first 3 cruises were on NCL and we enjoyed all of them, the third was our least favorite and most of that had to do with freestyle dining. We were on a ship that was not built for freestyle and it was our first experience with it. But we didn't have much problem getting a table, we just always ended up at a table for 2 and dh and I really enjoyed dining with other guests and getting to know them and our waiter. For you with a 2.5 yo, freestyle might work better for you. We enjoyed our NCL cruises, just not the freestyle. I haven't been on this particular ship so I can't comment on that. We would definatley consider another NCL cruise if the price couldn't be passed up, we just prefer RCCL now.

[qualtek]

I'd also like to really encourage you to look at Carnival. I've never sailed on NCL but I have been on Royal Caribbean. You can't beat the value of a Carnival Cruise. They have lowered their prices and have great deals right now. I read an article on a finance site (I own some Carnival stock) that said that Carnival has lowered their prices in order to increase bookings in this economy while RCL has decided to forgo more bookings fpr maintaining higher rates.

 

You will not get a rock wall, or flo rider, etc., but you will get great value for your money. I have read many times on this board that Carnival's food gets rated higher than NCL and RCL.

 

As for the Pride out of Baltimore, this sounds like a good choice. The Pride is one of my favorite ships. It is from the Spirit class of ships. While not the newest class of ships it is neither the oldest class of ships. The spirit class ships have my favorite layout and I like it better than the Conquest Ships (the next newer class). While the differences do not keep me from the Conquest class ships (going on the Freedom back to back this year in fact), when I'm on a Spirit class ship There are things I appreciate. One is the back of the ship on the Lido deck. It is so wonderfully open. I can always get a chair there and I feel closer to the ocean. You can also still get the 24 hour pizza - LOL

 

Good Luck.

 

Linda

[WOWJr1]

What I would do is look for some of the Live from threads by Radio as I know he has done at least one Live From thread of Norwegian Majesty complete with pictures. He usually gives fair, in depth, commentary and you would be able to see for yourself.

 

I agree. Radio is an experienced cruiser who goes on several cruises a year and has traveled on all the mainstream lines. He likes RCCI. He liked his first Norwegian Majesty cruise (Baltimore to Bermuda), so much so that he booked a second one to the Bahamas (the one linked to by the poster I am quoting). Radio's Baltimore to Bermuda cruise was essentially the same itinerary the O.P. is looking at except for the departure city. His "live" day-by-day reports for that cruise can be found here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=796248

 

His CC review of the cruise is here:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=43998

 

As for the poster who said most of the Majesty reviews have been negative, what I am seeing is they are highly variable with the more recent ones actually being more positive than the older ones. This may have to do with some Freestyle 2.0 changes that were made in the past year. Don't trust me: Go to the Reviews section of CC, select Norwegian Majesty, and check it out for yourself.

 

The people who give the Majesty a positive review all seem to have one thing in common: They understood ahead of time what they were getting so their expectations were set appropriately. Cruisers who book the Majesty expecting it will be just like the glitzy modern ships built in the past 5 years are often disappointed.

[cruiselife4me]

DON'T do the Majesty. It's like going back in time. Once you've done modern cruise ships on RCCL you're not going to like it. (I haven't cruised it but was told repeatedly by a sister.) I did love the Jewel though!

[mikepmcm]

As for the poster who said most of the Majesty reviews have been negative, what I am seeing is they are highly variable with the more recent ones actually being more positive than the older ones. This may have to do with some Freestyle 2.0 changes that were made in the past year. Don't trust me: Go to the Reviews section of CC, select Norwegian Majesty, and check it out for yourself.

 

The people who give the Majesty a positive review all seem to have one thing in common: They understood ahead of time what they were getting so their expectations were set appropriately. Cruisers who book the Majesty expecting it will be just like the glitzy modern ships built in the past 5 years are often disappointed.

So what you're saying is to book with low expectations and you won't be disappointed. Most people want to be wowed, papered and entertained on a cruise vacation. So as long as the OP isn't looking for any of this she should be O.K.???? With all of the options out there why take chances with your vacation?

[mikepmcm]

As for the poster who said most of the Majesty reviews have been negative, what I am seeing is they are highly variable with the more recent ones actually being more positive than the older ones. This may have to do with some Freestyle 2.0 changes that were made in the past year. Don't trust me: Go to the Reviews section of CC, select Norwegian Majesty, and check it out for yourself.

 

Also so the OP needs to understand where WOWJr1 is coming from, he's booked Norwegian Majesty to Bermuda in June. I know that when I booked her I had a tendency to read only the positive reviews (you know looking through rose colored glasses.) I wish I had read more of the negative reviews because many were spot on. I agree you should read the recent reviews, all of them!

[WOWJr1]

So what you're saying is to book with low expectations and you won't be disappointed. Most people want to be wowed, papered and entertained on a cruise vacation. So as long as the OP isn't looking for any of this she should be O.K.???? With all of the options out there why take chances with your vacation?

 

I'm saying look into the product and make sure it's what you are looking for (i.e., appears to meet your expectations). If not, don't buy it. Any ship and itinerary has the potential to disappoint if one does not do this. A good example is Oasis of the Seas. There is plenty of "wow factor", but there are also lots of people who say they doubt they would enjoy cruising her due to her size and the number of passengers. Different strokes for different folks.

 

In my case:

 

1. I've cruised multiple times and I am not looking for rock climbing walls, flo-riders, or exotic night life.
   
2. The cruise leaves from a port located a 30 minute drive away - no flying hassles or expenses (this was a biggie).
   
3. The ship docks in beautiful Bermuda for 3 days while most others stay for 1, 2 at the most (also a biggie).
   
4. Notwithstanding other comments here, reviews from cruisers a LOT more experienced than I have been very complimentary about the level of service they received from Majesty's crew.
   
5. The price was attractive.
   

[WOWJr1]

Also so the OP needs to understand where WOWJr1 is coming from, he's booked Norwegian Majesty to Bermuda in June.

 

Yes I have (details as to why in another post).

 

I know that when I booked her I had a tendency to read only the positive reviews (you know looking through rose colored glasses.) I wish I had read more of the negative reviews because many were spot on. I agree you should read the recent reviews, all of them!

 

My initial tendency was to read only the negative reviews since - like plenty of others - I had heard mostly bad things. It was the reviews of long-time cruisers like Radio which caused me to give Majesty another look. This one was also influential:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=46825

 

Frankly, I've never been on a perfect cruise. I can give you a long list of annoyances (and worse) from every cruise I've sailed. But on every one of them the good times have substantially outweighed the bad and I've had a marvelous vacation. Enough so that I keep cruising!

[nps001]

I've never sailed RCL so I can't compare. But I did notice that you have been on Celebrity. I found a "wow, that price is too good to pass up" cruise on NCL. While I've never had a bad cruise, I wouldnt repeat it again--even at half what I paid for it---less than $500 for 2 in a suite for a 3 day cruise.

 

The old addage, you get what you pay for was certainly true.

[big al]

Hi Everyone!

 

I’m turning to my Cruise Critic friends for your help again!

 

In the Pittsburgh area today, we had a high of 20 degrees, so after the baby & hubby went to bed, I turned on the internet to kill a little time before turning in myself.

 

We’ve been on 3 cruises so far (1 Celebrity & 2 RCI) and we’ve been hooked. I actually got pregnant on the last one (yay!!) and obviously we haven’t gone since, but this year we are really itching to go again. Since we are repeaters and get the coupon books & small gifts, we’ve always looked at RCI or Celebrity. I’m afraid to fly and it adds a huge hassle and expense, so I keep watching cruises out of Bayonne, but frankly, the prices so far have been less than enticing – especially since I’d be paying third person price for a 2.5 year old. The 3rd person rate is great if you get a suite or balcony, but we are economy insiders and the price for our son would basically be about $100 less than us. Before anyone gets their dander up, yes, yes, I know, he’s a soul, blah, blah, blah. OK, I accept it and I can justify it by saying if we keep going on cruises, once he’s 16 and eating enough for three men, it will have balanced out us paying $700 for probably 5 gallons of milk, 3 bananas and a bowl of mashed potatoes! But that’s beside the point. Here is my question – I “cruised” onto NCL’s site and to my great astonishment, we could take a cruise out of Philly for close to the price of one of us on RCL. Can anyone give me an opinion of NCL and if there was any reason why you wouldn’t “jump ship” to another line? The ship is the Majesty that I was looking at. We are active, but I can definitely live without the rock wall, ice skating and flo riders! I think I would miss the promenade but in this economy, I really can’t justify thousands extra so I can stroll down the middle of the ship and have pizza at midnight.

 

I really know nothing about NCL and plan on doing some research, but I wanted to see what you all thought. I am going to put something on the family threads too, but basically here I just want to know what my fellow RC’ers think of NCL & the ships, the Majesty mostly.

 

Thanks! You guys have been great in the past and I’m sure you will be again!

 

Cruisinaround-The NCL Majesty is VERY small and cabins are tight.....we have cruised NCL 4 times,RCI 9,Carnival 5,so we've been around...I LOVE the NCL specialty venues on the Sun,Dawn & Sky,which we cruised 2/13-16....for $10-20,it is a steal....the Majesty cannot compare to any RCI ships-she's just too small....when it comes to vacations,I prefer to cough up a few extra $$ and go with safer choices..unless you go on the newer NCL ships out of Miami,stick w/RCI....

 

Big Al

 

P.S.-AT a little over 40,000 tons,the Majesty is 75% smaller than any RCI ship and 100,000 tons smaller than those w/ice-skating rinks or flowriders....