NCL Majesty Review

We booked our shore excursion at the price of $61.00 per person with visions of strolling the streets of Key West while visiting famous bars. The excursion was to last 3 hours.

NCL describes the excursion as a stroll that starts with a guided bus and walking tour that "features famous sites and drinking establishments". The tour was to include stops at five bars and would include your choice of a beer or mixed drink at each location. A souvenir T-shirt was included and the guide was promised to provide "jokes, antics, contests, and stories".

Our excursion began with the meeting of fellow excursionists in the Palace Theatre at 02:45. Leaving the ship involved going through customs as we were reentering the United States. Once through customs, we exited the ship and met with our tour guide. He checked our tickets and gave us our T-Shirt (they were available in M, L, XL, and 2XL). The shirts had a martini glass on the front and said, "The Liver is Evil...It Must Be Punished. Our guide informed us that we would have the option of a beer, a mixed beverage with one alcohol, or a specialty drink if the bar provided one. We then proceeded to load onto our shuttle bus. The bus was a very short ride that took us by Ernest Hemingway's house and the Key West Lighthouse.

We unloaded at the historic Southernmost Mansion to begin our stroll. The setting was absolutely idyllic with the beautiful mansion, palm tree lined pool and backdrop of clear ocean water. There was an outside bar and the bartender was very entertaining. He had made up specialty drinks and had put quite a bit of rum in them. We were allowed time to walk around the place and go inside the mansion. After about 20 minutes our tour guide blew his conch shell (our signal it was time to go).

We then walked down to the Southernmost point in the Continental US and took some photos. (Side note, we saw an elderly man turn a scooter over in the curve there but he got up and started off again.)

Our next stroll led us to La-Te-Da's. This upscale restaurant did not want us inside but had our specialty drinks waiting at the outside bar. Many people chose the specialty drink as their drinking option. Here we were given party beads and our drink. Several of our fellow excursionists were drinking more drinks than the one provided and everyone appeared to be enjoying the stroll.

We next stopped at Margaritaville. Here there were no specialty drinks so we had to choose between a beer or a mixed beverage. Many photographs were taken here as this is the original Margaritaville. (Side note: the bathroom is upstairs so it might be better to go at La-Te-Da's then wait until Margaritaville).

We next went to Sloppy Joes. Here our guide told us we would have a contest and he would give the prize of a beaded necklace he was wearing. There was no specialty drink offered. After everyone obtained their drinks our guide told us we would take turns blowing the conch shell and the winner who blew the shell the loudest would get the necklace. A few people entered the contest. By this time, most everyone was laughing and talking amongst ourselves.

Our last stop was Rick's. No specialty drink was offered so we made our selection from beer or a mixed beverage. The guide hung around for about 20 minutes to answer questions and make sure everyone knew how to catch a shuttle back to the ship.

The premier stroll was a very enjoyable excursion. The excursion lasted as long as promised, the guide was entertaining and everything NCL had described was delivered.

NCL did a good job with this excursion.