Monday, December 10^th:

Monday was another day at sea.  We started off with room service bringing coffee and juice, and followed that up with a 1.5 mile walk on the Promenade Deck.  After breakfast at the Seven Seas ( I tried the yummy Eggs Benedict for the first time), we took a dip in the pool on Deck 10.  The pool was rather cool, but nice enough to swim in.  We also tried to get in the hot tubs, but the water was way too hot.  Our hot tub at home ranges from 100-102 degrees, and I am certain that the hot tubs on the ship were at least 105 degrees.  The kids in the hot tubs and pools were very well behaved.  I was pleasantly surprised by this.  Apparently most of the children (very few in number…maybe 30 of them) were all home schooled.  I really think that kids that are home schooled are much better behaved than most children.  It’s probably because their parents must take an active role in their lives to make home schooling work.  Monday afternoon went by quickly.  I don’t really remember that we did too much other than hang around deck 10 and watch Cuba go by.  I did not know that Cuba was mountainous …hmm. 

In the evening we went to the Honeymooners/Anniversary Party, which was part of the package we purchased.  When we arrived, the room was set up “Chapel Style” with rows of chairs facing the front of the room.  Well, I am a social person, and that just was not going to work.  I turned Walt’s and my chairs around and everyone else followed suit.  We ended up making a circle of 8 couples and talking about how long we had been married and just enjoying each other’s company.  One of the couple’s was a minister and his wife and they were absolutely delightful.  They purchase the anniversary package on every cruise, whether it was their anniversary or not, and said that this was the best party they had been to.  Part of the party is champagne (all you can drink in an hour…lol), cake (which everyone took a big slice back to their rooms), and a free photo.  The champagne and cake were good, but the poses the photographer put us in were hoakie.  Next time I will tell the photographer what I want. Overall, we had a fantastic time at the party.

After the get-together we went to Le Bistro for dinner.  Le Bistro is the up-charge restaurant aboard the Majesty.  As part of the anniversary package, we received dinner for two with a bottle of wine.  We decided to have a Chardonnay since Walt doesn’t like, perhaps hates, red wines.  I don’t remember what Chardonnay we had, but it was pretty good.  Walt ordered escargot for an appetizer, and yes I actually tried it.  It was not as bad as I thought it would be, probably because of all the garlic butter on it.  You could have told me that I was eating mushrooms and I would have believed it.  Escargot is not bad, but it is not something I care for either.  So, I guess I will not order it in the future.  For dinner we had the rack of lamb and it was phenomenal!  It was the best lamb I have ever had.  Our waiter brought the rack out and carved it up table side.  After dinner, the wait staff brought over an anniversary cake and sang “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”  Of course I started crying and the whole restaurant saw it.  I can’t help it.  I love Walt so much and that song always gets to me.  On our next NCL cruise I will definitely do the anniversary package for all the perks.

After dinner we went to the Palace Theater to see the Blackstreet Boys.  They are comedians and dancers, and were absolutely hysterical!  I liked them so much that I bought their dvd.  Since we were diving the next morning, we went back to our cabin after the show.

-Lisa Lounsbery

Walt and I took a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Majesty starting December 8^th.  This was our 2^nd cruise, and after the miserable experience aboard Holland America we decided to change cruise lines.  We picked NCL specifically for the “Freestyle Cruising” experience, and we picked the week of December 8^th because we did not want to be around 700 kids ever again on vacation (with that many kids, odds are that there will be problems).  NCL’s Majesty was a logical choice for us since it departs out of Charleston, SC.  It’s a 7 hour drive from Knoxville to port, so we decided to give the Majesty a shot.

Cabin:  We were in cabin 710 near the bow on the Promenade Deck.  This cabin is a category CC, and had ample storage and room to move around.  The room was not huge, but it was more than adequate for our luggage and 2 sets of diving gear.  There is room under the bed for suitcases, our oversized luggage did not fit under the bed.  The room décor is all pastels.  The cabin includes 3 chest of drawers (one in the closet), desk, 2 chairs, small closet, mini refrigerator, tv, the worst hairdryer ever invented (I will never forget mine again), and a small bathroom (shower, no tub).  The bathroom is small.  Walt is 6’5” and was able to use the shower without bending his knees due to the adjustable shower head.  Anyone over 6’5” would definitely have issues in the shower.  Walt and I thought our cabin was great and our room stewards were fantastic. 

Saturday, December 8^th: 

Embarkation went smoothly.  We drove into the Port of Charleston (learned to follow the signs and not use our GPS).  We kept our paperwork and passports handy, and that was definitely the right move.  I think we showed our documentation at least 5 separate times before boarding the ship.  The parking charge for the port is $110 in cash, travelers check, or personal check (no credit cards).  After paying, we drove to the luggage tent to drop off our luggage.  You are not allowed to bring anything larger than a carryon on the shuttles to the ship, so only the essentials could walk on with us.  After the luggage drop off, we drove to the car storage warehouse and parked the car and wrote down the location of it.  Then it was off to the shuttle line to go to check-in.  The TSA security area was a bit chaotic.  All the signs indicated to take out all your electronic devices and place them in the bins provided.  Unlike the airports, there were no tables to place your carry-ons to easily get your cameras, phones, etc out.  So, I was on the floor digging for my video camera when a rude TSA employee yelled at me that I was holding up the line.  Those of you that know me know that I began to move at a snail’s pace and apologized for being slow.  TSA really needs tables to expedite this process with tables or not making people take all electronics out.  After security, we made it through the check-in line quickly and had a very nice gentleman with NCL check us in.  The whole process of driving into the port and getting onto the ship took about 45 minutes.

Once on the ship, the crew was funneling everyone to the buffet.  I asked if we could take the stairs instead of the elevator, and they said that was fine.  We bypassed the buffet and went straight to our cabin.  We found the embarkation gift already there.  I purchased the honeymoon/anniversary package for our 3^rd anniversary.  We popped open the champagne and ate the chocolate covered strawberries.  That was a fantastic lunch!  Around 2:30 we went up to Deck 10 to check out the buffet and hang out until the lifeboat drill.  The lifeboat drill was at 3:30, and it was all business.  There were no photographers there taking pictures like on our first cruise.  NCL was all about making sure everyone knew what they were supposed to do if there was an emergency.  The remainder of the afternoon we spent at the sail away party on Deck 10. The Majesty has an awesome Reggae band that played great music on deck 10 daily.

During the afternoon, we had made our reservations for the Pasta Café on Deck 9 Forward for dinner.  We both had the sirloin steak tips with polenta and it was fabulous.  We did see them turn away people without reservations.  I am so happy that I did the research on www.cruisecritic.com boards and knew where we had to make reservations.  After dinner we went to the Palace Theater on Deck 6 Aft to see the show.  The show was a tribute to Broadway and the Blackstreet Boys.  The show was awesome and we looked forward to seeing the Blackstreet Boys full show on Monday night. 

Sunday, December 9^th:

We woke up at 6:30am and walked 1.5 miles on the Promenade Deck.  We went to breakfast at the Seven Seas restaurant and it was great.  We are not fans of buffets, so it was nice to have the option to eat in the dining room.  At breakfast we met, who would soon be known as, “Kosher Guy”.  There will be a separate blog on him later (he really needs his own blog entry).  At 10am we headed to the Frame 52 Disco for Swing Dance lessons with Margaret and Bill.  There were lots of people at the dance lesson and we all had a blast.  We even learned a few new steps.  We found out that there would be a different style of ballroom dance taught each day.  It’s obvious that “Dancing with the Stars” is having an impact on cruising.  We went up on Deck 10 Aft to Piazza San Marco for lunch and to watch Miami pass us by. 

One of the best things we did on a sea day was the Martini Tasting at the Polo Club.  For $15 we got to try 4 designer martinis.  We tasted the Appletini, Cosmopolitan, French Martini, and the Chocolate Martini.  Our bartender did some amazing bar and pouring tricks (see pictures), and even a couple of magic tricks.  It was a fun experience, so much so that we did the second tasting on Friday.  After the tasting we made our way to the Cruise Critic meet and greet by the Topsiders Bar.  Since we all forgot to bring our Mardi Gras beads, it was difficult to find each other.  I had run into Cruisetini and Mama Hao earlier on the ship, so we hung out by the pool for an hour.  I am so happy that I told them what Walt and I looked like on the board.  We returned to our room at 3pm to find our canapés in the cabin.  I had heard mixed reviews regarding the canapés, but I must say that they were pretty good.  We received a letter on the first day that stated when they would arrive, and they were still fresh and cold when we ate them. 

We went to dinner at the Seven Seas on day 2.  It was a formal night optional, so I dressed up and Walt did not.  I like Freestyle, since we can do our own thing.  Since they had both Lobster and Beef Wellington, we got one of each and shared.  Both were fabulous, and so was the pumpkin ginger bisque.  The show was “On the Town” and the singers & dancers were quite good and very entertaining.  I was impressed with how they could leap on stage and not hit the low ceiling.  From there we went to the Royal Fireworks to listen and dance to Amadeus.  They performed songs that we could practice our ballroom dancing to.  My one issue with the Royal Fireworks is that the dance floor is really small.  If there are more than 4 couples, it becomes a hazard to dance.  The dance floor needs to be doubled in size.  We finished up the night in the Royal Observatory for some karaoke, and no I did not belt out a Michael Buble song.  Unfortunately, they did not have “Sway” or “Moondance”.