nzrainbow

Yes... the endless circle of doom all day 😞

We agree wholeheartedly, the Surf and Turf meal in the MDR was lovely, beautifully cooked and a generous portion 🙂 We also really enjoyed the Production Show "Fierra". I could happily watch it over and over and see new things on each occasion. Didn't stay up to see in the New Year as we were unable to find anywhere that was quiet enough to be enjoyable for us but imagine it went well for others as there seemed to be plenty out and about.

Agree wholeheartedly regarding the Library lol, I'd be a little embarrassed to even call it that! We try to avoid the Buffet where possible but sometimes it's the only realistic option. I've washed and sanitized so much my skin is starting to fall off.... I swim at 0600 to 0630am which has proved to be nice and quiet but I'd probably prefer to sleep in while I'm on holiday. Enjoy the remainder of your Cruise. We will return to the likes of the Grand and Diamond for our next cruises as we've really enjoyed them 🙂

We have definitely decided that the Majestic is just not the ship for us..... although essentially we have enjoyed the majority of our cruise to date. Our MDR experience has improved a little from the first few days and we have certainly enjoyed the variety of the food we've been served. Hot dishes have been hot and cold dishes cold and steaks cooked to perfection. Our cabin steward is outstanding, we would happily keep him forever, nothing is too much trouble and we enjoy the fact he greets each new day with such enthusiasm:) On the minus side there just seems to be far too little comfortable, quiet seating areas around the ship for the numbers onboard. Public areas tend to have excessively loud music or events happening that are not conducive to a relaxing environment. I am aware it's a holiday season Cruise and as a result there is an excessive number of children onboard... unfortunately many are not being supervised in any way and are essentially running riot.... 😞 Deck attendants, Barstaff and servers are few and far between and those that are available are run off their feet although they are doing their best 😞 Tables and public spaces aren't being cleared or cleaned in a timely manner. Basic Hygiene practices are seriously lacking in the Buffet area, only a few passengers wash or sanitize their hands when entering the buffet area and touching shared serving utensils etc. So many continue to fill personal drink bottles etc directly from water spigots despite very clear signage asking them NOT to do this. Children and a few adults are handing food items and returning them to the buffet when they see more appealing items... Unsurprisingly we have noticed an increasing number of people suffering obvious respiratory issues and there are certainly an increasing number of confirmed Covid cases. I'm sure if the weather conditions enabled more people to spend time outside on the open decks the overcrowding and noise wouldn't be such as issue but this is a New Zealand cruise so that's not a viable option much of the time. My Medallion was finally replaced at Guest Services when it refused to work at all while disembarking and embarking in Picton. It's obviously been faulty right from the start as the new one works perfectly! Wish I'd had it changed early on to avoid a bit of extra frustration lol. Obviously these are just my opinions but hopefully this information will assist others in making choices that will best suit them 🙂

At this time of year it's probably almost easier to get a table for 2 than a large table as there's so many large groups. The tables are VERY close together which is a big minus for us, and unfortunately the service has been very much on the ordinary side so its hard to make a pick. We will most likely stick with Concerto if they have availability... we prefer not to have a set time booking for each and every night and just make our bookings a few days in advance.

You are indeed fortunate.... sadly we did not have the luxury of an alternate option. I sincerely doubt we would ever do it again unless an adults only "quiet" area is made available!

Reserve is Concerto Port side. We have now dined in all 3 MDR....

Merry Christmas to you too 🙂Maybe we were just directed straight to the priority embarkation without being aware of it... it was quick and efficient boarding anyway which was great! It's just such a shame that Princess can't make the forward Hollywood Conservatory/ Sanctuary area child free as it was originally advertised.... sadly not every one wants children running wild on an expensive cruise so at least one area where we could get some peace and quiet would be appreciated! There are plenty of other options and areas for children and I don't blame the kids.... its their parents that should be supervising them in my opinion 😞

We too are sailing this Christmas/New Year Cruise on the Majestic. Not our first Christmas Cruise and pretty seasoned cruisers, we were aware it was a fairly big ship and sailing fully booked so kept our expectations on the low side 🙂 A few observations to date... It's been calm, exceptionally calm, probably the best sea conditions I've ever encountered on a Tasman Crossing and there's been quite a few of them! Mixed weather, some cloud, some sun and today heavy fog and a bit of rain. From bag drop to in cabin onboard... less than one hour. No issues there 🙂 (We are Platinum level but I didn't observe any special lanes except assistance required). Cabin as expected, comfortable and clean, steward attentive and unobtrusive. We dealt with a few minor creaks and rattles and disabled the extremely annoying sensor light system that lit the place up like the Starship Enterprise whenever when one dared to step foot out of bed in the dead of night! The Medallions have been temperamental.... happily unlock our door on approach on occasions and on others stubbornly refuse to assist (they just KNOW if you have your arms full and could actually do with the help lol) We haven't attempted to order drinks or food... going by the multiple comments from others and the stressed looking crew hunting for passengers to deliver items too I take it that it's not always going well 😞 The Medallion App has issues...... lots and lots of issues but we persevere, perhaps one day Princess will roll out something fit for purpose but I wouldn't ever bet on it! The internet has been fairly good to date, a few lags but on the whole, sufficient to check emails, make FB and CC posts and check the news and weather etc. MDR Dining has been a little chaotic.... our first nights dining reservation couldn't be honored and we ended up being escorted to another dining room for a table. Dining room service has been a little erratic, long waits, i.e 3/4 of an hour to have our order taken then 2 courses served simultaneously and an attempt to remove a plate before it was finished! The haste in which the water glasses were filled resulted in water everywhere, there just seems to be way too few staff with WAY to much to do. I really feel for them as people are getting grumpy with the waiting etc especially those that have gone to the trouble to book dining times. The so called tranquil Hollywood Pool Club area is anything but...... the noise is deafening both in the area of the pools and forward in the Lounge Sanctuary area! Music so loud there was no possibility of conversation at an acceptable level, and literally 100s of ill disciplined children running riot, screaming and yelling and throwing giant chess pieces around. There was no area attendants to be seen and eventually a passenger stepped in to tell them to behave! Unfortunately his efforts had barely any effect whatsoever. We retreated to the "Library" in the hope of finding somewhere a little more peaceful.... totally thwarted there too 😞 The "Library" was about the size of a shoebox, had no more than 4 chairs and about a dozen secondhand books, the majority in foreign languages. If anyone can enlighten us as to a "quiet" zone on the Majestic please let us know 🙂 The weathers not exactly the best for any where out on the deck. We don't frequent Bars so can't comment on those but did enjoy the Jonny Cash Tribute Show. The music in the Piazza was too loud for us to enjoy which was a shame as we would have loved to have stayed and watched people dancing. The ship is beautifully decorated for Christmas, love the Gingerbread Houses! On the whole we've enjoyed most of our meals, there's been some definite hits and a few definite misses....if I don't like it or it's inedible there's always another option! Disappointing to see so many uncleared tables, and piles of glasses everywhere... another result of reduced crew numbers perhaps. They do try so hard but there only so much two hands and insufficient time can do. At only 4 days in with 10 to go we are hoping things settle down a little.... who knows. Not sure we will bother with holiday season cruising again, it's just not what we've enjoyed in the past.

It's been an absolutely fabulous cruise and I'm so sad to be leaving in Auckland! Thanks Grand Princess and Crew for the beautiful ship, wonderful food, and awesome service, it was a pleasure to be onboard :)

Sounds great, I will be joining too in a few days in Honolulu heading back to Auckland. Sail well 🙂

We've just booked EZair for a cruise out of Australia from New Zealand return so yes it can be done although we did have to call them because it would only allow a booking for ONE of us initially. Tried yesterday to book again for a flight New Zealand to Honolulu for a Cruise from there back to NZ and its got me down as requesting a flight from Houston! There's no way I can re-populate that field so there are obviously some weird glitches in their system 😞 Looks like yet another phone call needed.