Writer Brenda Bell based this independent review on her 7-night Bermuda cruise departing from Boston, Massachusetts.

Norwegian Majesty stands out from the crowd by offering exceptional value and a laid-back cruising style, a combination that attracts both veteran and novice cruisers of all ages. While she may not be the newest, nor the largest, ship in the Norwegian fleet, what she does offer is a relaxed, casual atmosphere with appealing itineraries at affordable prices. After exploring picture-perfect beaches by day, passengers enjoy shipboard nights at the nonstop deck parties, where the calypso band doesn't miss a beat, and the specialty drinks -- in coconuts, in pineapples, in two-foot-tall souvenir glasses! -- keep coming.

Why Majesty

• Value: Prices are reasonable and food is plentiful and good.
• Appealing itineraries: Winter sailings offer stops at some of the Western Caribbean’s most popular ports, but Bermuda sailings give passengers four straight days to explore historic St. George without spending a bundle at one of the island’s expensive hotels.
• Relaxed "freestyle" dining: Dress up or down. Choose group seating at a fixed time, or opt for a table for two and dine when you please. Dining options abound, from the intimate Le Bistro to the expansive Seven Seas, and everything in-between.

Who should go
Majesty cruises appeal to an unpretentious, middle-class crowd. They’re good for families, especially during summers and holidays when hundreds of kids are onboard. Couples in the over-50 age group predominate after Labor Day. Caribbean cruises are popular with South Carolinians, and Bermuda cruises are popular with Bostonians and adventuresome types who hop on mopeds and buses as soon as Majesty docks.

Who shouldn't go
A toned-down disco scene and entertainment geared toward an older demographic won't appeal to most 20- to 30-somethings. Nor is this ship for those used to, or seeking, all-out luxury. Few honeymooners and fewer singles are in evidence. And once school starts, the few kids and teens onboard look forlorn.

Heard on the deck (from a Bostonian to an attractive purser): "Wheah did you get that nice accent, deah?"
Her reply: "South Africa. But I'm not the one with the accent."

Hits and misses

• Don't miss: Late-night comedy and game-show takeoffs are always popular.
• Best part of the ship: Sky Deck, Majesty’s topmost deck, where sunbathers head to tan while escaping the bustle of Sun Deck's pools and buffet lines. By night, lounge chairs are lined up for views of the revelry below.
• Best experience: Candlelight dinners at Le Bistro feature a five-course lobster and tenderloin special ($20) and fine wines. Splurge on the pan-seared foie gras ($8).
• Best shipboard activities: Take a yoga class with the tireless instructors ($5; reservations required). Deck parties under the stars are made even better with the versatile Amadeus band -- watch for Elvis.
• Needs improvement: Signage could be better; "Which deck are we on again?" was heard much too often. Also, the cramped spa and exercise areas are overdue for expansion (scheduled for late 2004).
• Activities to skip: The disco and karaoke bars are hit or miss. That said, the '70s night, with men from the audience acting as lip-synching, prancing Village People, is a hoot.

How to meet the captain
It's far easier to get your photo taken with the captain at his champagne party than to have dinner with him. Returning Norwegian cruisers and occupants of owner's suites have first dibs on the captain's table, which may rotate nightly among the ship's restaurants. But any passenger can make a special request at the purser's office and hope for the best -- simply ask at the beginning of the cruise.

Tip: Speaking of the captain's party, go early for the free bubbly.

The ship is casual, but an evening dress code is in effect for all but the buffet-style restaurant. That means no beachwear, jeans, flip-flops, shorts, or T-shirts. Only Le Bistro levies a cover charge ($15 per person; $5 for canceled reservations). Vegetarian and "Cooking Light" (with calorie/carb counts) options are always available.

Four Seasons and Seven Seas (main dining rooms)
The more formal of the two main restaurants, Four Seasons takes reservations for 6:30 and 8:30 PM seatings but is open for freestyle dining at other times. Parties of two will usually be seated at tables for four or six unless guests specify that they want a private table. Décor features saffron-draped windows, soft lighting from brass wall sconces, indigo chairs, and walnut accents. Classic entrées -- roast rack of lamb, poached sea bass -- share billing with vegetarian and low-fat dishes (Vidalia onion risotto with feta cheese). Desserts are ho-hum but plentiful.

Larger and glitzier than Four Seasons, Seven Seas is decorated with chrome columns and the unfortunate mirror-strip ceiling seen in many of the ship's public spaces. The atmosphere is looser and more tables for two make it popular with couples wanting a romantic dinner à deux. The imaginative soups are good (try almond pistachio or sweet-and-cool apple cream). And the custom-cooked breakfasts (miso soup! cheese blintzes! Scotch kippers!) are far from what the bleary crowd in the buffet lines upstairs will find.

Le Bistro
Situated next to the coffee bar and having no windows, Le Bistro seems like it must have been an afterthought, but step inside and you’ll find a cozy, intimate setting with cream-colored walls, framed landscapes, scarlet club chairs, and candle-lit tables. French-inspired food (seafood timbale, escargots in garlic butter, mille feuille of sea bass with tomato concasse) is a step up in quality and presentation from other shipboard fare. Dining alone? Treat yourself here.

Pasta Café
Tucked away in the Royal Observatory and enclosed by a sweep of windows, this bow-fronting restaurant and lounge has a hideaway feel. The brief menu offers grown-up Italian dishes (carpaccio with bitter Italian lettuces; rigatoni with grilled shrimp, leeks, and garlic) alongside kids' versions (pasta with plain tomato sauce). Emerald carpeting, marble-topped café tables, live piano music, and a circular bar make this an appealing late-night venue as well.

Café Royale & Buffet
Come as you are, pretty much when you feel like it, for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks (the chewy chocolate cookies are worth a special trip), dinner, and a themed midnight buffet (the fajitas are standouts). Also not to be missed: The special food stations on deck, including cooked-to-order omelets and waffles and Indian curries with hot nan. When inclement weather deters dining on deck, Café Royale and the Royal Observatory downstairs offer indoor seating.

Other dining options

• Piazza San Marco: Even after a full day of noshing, someone always wants French fries at 2 AM. Find them at this 24-hour grill, along with hot dogs, burgers, and pizza.
• Coffee bar: Everyone winds up here sooner or later, ensconced in an oversized leather chair or window seat, reading, playing cards, napping, and enjoying libations and lattes.
• Room service: In addition to breakfast and children's menus, sandwiches, pizza, fruit and vegetable plates, and desserts are available 24 hours a day.
• Wine & Cheese Bar: Though hard to find -- it's in a room off the Rendezvous Bar on Deck 5 -- the afternoon wine and cheese tasting offers socializing, and wine at $3 per glass.

Best dining

• Dish: Meat is what this ship does best, and Le Bistro's filet mignon, gilded with foie gras and truffled veal jus or napped with bernaise sauce, hits the spot.
• Dessert: Most of the pastries have a mass-produced taste, but the tangy citron tart and baked apple in puff pastry with vanilla bean sauce are exceptions.
• Restaurant: Four Seasons earns high marks for its traditional décor -- the classiest on the boat -- and agreeable ambience (it's smaller and quieter than Seven Seas).

How to…

• Get a table for two: Tables for two come surprisingly easy, especially after 8 PM. Simply ask the maître d’ for one. (In Seven Seas, avoid the ones near serving stations.)
• Celebrate a birthday/anniversary: Special occasion packages (cake, singing waiters, the whole nine yards) are arranged at the reception desk upon embarkation and throughout the cruise (minimum notice: 24 hours).
• Change seating: Seat changes are not an issue with Norwegian's "freestyle" dining system, which allows passengers to dine at fixed seatings or at their leisure (which most prefer).
• Dress for formal night: You'll see everything from Sunday best to ball gowns to cocktail dresses. Suits (or sport coats) and ties work for men. Tuxes are few and far between.

Tips:

• Having an impromptu cocktail party in your cabin? Order a canapé platter ($16 and up) from room service.
• Most tables for two in Seven Seas are near noisy serving stations. Ask for a table on the elevated section around the grand piano.
• Do not, repeat, do not miss the deckside barbecue, featuring succulent pork ribs smoked homestyle on a barrel grill. They go fast.
• Though reservations are recommended for Le Bistro, small parties can often be seated without reservations, with little or no wait, after 8 PM.
• Skip dessert before the midnight Chocoholic Buffet, where chocolate fantasy sculptures preside over a lavish spread of chocolate confections of all kinds.

Built in 1992, Majesty is the second smallest boat in the Norwegian fleet. Basic cabins are a tiny 108 square feet and are decorated with serviceable blond-wood furniture and comfortable beds with tired-looking fabrics. Superior cabins (145 square feet) are worth the premium. At 235 square feet, suites feel palatial by comparison, and are equipped with bay windows, marble bathrooms, walk-in closets, and sofa beds in living areas. There are no cabins or suites with balconies.

Cabins for guests with disabilities
Majesty has only four handicapped-accessible cabins, and all are superior oceanview cabins located amidships on Deck 7. Bathrooms are relatively spacious and well-designed, with roll-in showers, grab bars, and shower chairs.

Tips:

• Unless you like being awakened at 8 AM by stewards eager to clean your room, be sure to insert the "do not disturb" tab in your door before retiring.
• Likewise, oceanview cabins on Promenade Deck face the wrap-around jogging track.
• Check the deck plan to select cabins sandwiched above and below other cabins. Avoid those located beneath high-activity areas, such as the kitchen on Deck 5.
• If your room is truly unsuitable, the reception desk will try to accommodate a change to another room in the same or a better category.

Bars, lounges, and casino
Sports fans can keep up with their teams on the big-screen TVs in Rendezvous Bar, a popular lounge with a smoking section and live music most nights. (On Boston-to-Bermuda cruises, this is the place to be when any Boston team is playing anything.) The small dance floor in the Royal Fireworks lounge behind the bar draws an on-again, off-again crowd. Pianists rotate nightly among the half-dozen venues. If you're in the mood for "Moon River" and martinis, try the dimly lit Polo Club outside of the casino.

Tip: Feeling lucky? Free lessons in blackjack, roulette, and other casino games are offered shortly after embarkation, with $5 vouchers to get you started.

Swimming pools
Compared to mega-cruise ships, the main pool (flanked by two hot tubs, one for adults only) is, well, dinky, used more for raucous water games than swimming. An even smaller saltwater pool is for adults only. Fresh towels are available on deck (drop used ones in a bin); for beach use, passengers check out towels at the gangway. With two bars, a seemingly ceaseless supply of buffet food, and a multitude of tables where people eat and drink even in rough seas, the poolside deck is the heart of the boat. Deck parties are fun to watch, with dodging waiters pushing exotic drinks such as the Cool Running, a pineapple/banana/rum blend that's long on fruit, short on booze.

Tip: Deck 8 aft offers lounge chairs for peaceful sunning away from the Pool Deck hurly-burly.

Shows
The Palace Theater packs 'em in most nights, with standing-room-only for the 9:30 PM show. Song and dance revues, standup comedy, and game shows such as the Not-So Newlyweds guarantee to produce both cringes and guffaws. If the Norwegian Show Band wears thin, Amadeus and Caribbean Wave offer catchier tunes.

Shore excursions
Passengers can "pre-request" shore excursions online, but arrangements are also made onboard and most passengers wait until then to sign up. The excursion desk is open for extended hours during the first two days at sea to handle bookings. Excursions leave promptly from the designated gathering point, usually just off the ship. Water activities may be affected by changing weather conditions. Cancellations must be made 24 hours prior to 8 AM on the excursion day to avoid penalty.

Weddings and vow renewals
Though official ceremonies take place on land, a variety of wedding, honeymoon, and romance packages help couples celebrate the occasion on the ship. They can be as simple as wine, canapés, and a romantic dinner for two, or a floating extravaganza with the entire wedding party. (Le Bistro is popular for wedding lunches.) And you don't have to be honeymooners to enjoy the deluxe romance package, including massages, body wraps, breakfast in bed, and dinners for two with wine.

Looking for…

• Quietest spot: The book-lined library, with board games and card tables, is usually empty. Those Scrabble games on the shelf are begging to be used.
• Liveliest spot: Hands down, Pool Deck rocks any time of the day or night. People linger at tables for hours, sometimes making it hard to find one for a meal.
• Most popular spot: Everyone winds up at the coffee bar sooner or later, relaxing in a big leather chair or window seat, reading, socializing, or napping.
• Best view: From the uppermost deck, the stars glitter above and the conga lines dance below as the lights of the latest port of call glow across the water.
• Best drink: Make that an icy piña colada with Castillo spiced rum and coconut cream, which bartenders say is one of the ship's most popular.

Spa and salon
Due for expansion in late 2004, the spa is in tight quarters, but the staff is knowledgeable and doesn't oversell the heavenly smelling products. That said, good luck on leaving without buying at least one. To look as rested as you feel, try the "oxygen lifting" facial that uses mild electric currents to rejuvenate skin tone ($169 for two treatments). Even pricier: A body detox treatment that supposedly melts away inches and cellulite.

Fitness areas
Yoga, kick boxing, step aerobics, morning walk-a-mile, abs and buns routines -- all these classes and more are led by the cheerful, tireless sports coordinator. Only yoga charges a fee ($5), and showing up for 12 exercise sessions earns you a free T-shirt. The exercise studio (also due for an upgrade) is small, so come early to avoid being squeezed into the back of the room. Open 24 hours a day, the fitness center also has exercise bikes, stair machines, treadmills, and weight machines.

Tips:

• The 2- to 3-mile fitness walks in St. George offer historical commentary with views of gardens, bays, whitewashed roofs, and pastel houses.
• Sign up for spa deals on the day of embarkation and while the ship is in port (try a $117 facial for $99). Teens enjoy discounts, too.

Gold chains, amber jewelry, designer watches, and liquor are the big duty-free shopping draws onboard (liquor is boxed and delivered to your cabin the night before disembarkation). Art auctions in the Fireworks Lounge include works by big-name artists (Chagall, Dali, Peter Max) as well as lesser-knowns, with far more lookers than takers. Most pieces don't get a bid, but those that do generally bring modest prices in the $200 range.

Tip: For shoppers with no more room in their suitcases, the gift shop sells tiny folding duffle bags ($15) that expand to hold an amazing amount of stuff.

During summer cruises with 400-plus children onboard, Kids Korner is a busy place. The program is free 9 AM–5 PM when at sea; at port and between 10 PM and 1 AM, child care is $5 an hour. (There's no in-cabin babysitting.) A secure deck area offers outdoor play space. Fames, movies, face-painting, and scavenger hunts keep small fries entertained. Teens basically hang out on the ship with counselors. Everyone's favorite activity: The big pillow fight at the pj party the last night at sea.

Norwegian Majesty spends her summers in Bermuda and her winters in the Caribbean. May through October, she makes week-long sailings to Bermuda from Boston. November through April, she’s stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, making weekly sailings to the Western Caribbean.

Heard on the deck (from a Bermuda cruiser in his 70s): "This is the first year we haven't rented mopeds. We saw the sights on the bus without worrying about defensive driving."

• Former name - Royal Majesty
• Type of cruise - Resort-Casual
• Total cabins - 729
• Private balcony cabins - 0
• Decks - 9
• Total crew - 620
• Ship size - Large
• Passenger capacity - 1462
• Tonnage - 38000
• Officers nationality - Scandinavian/International
• Registry - Bahamas
• Year entered service - 1992
• Ship length - 680