LizSydney

Not only working on it, but it is being implemented as they roll out the ***** system. The internet on the Regal today is fast and the intranet features are quite good.

I’ve never had an issue with internet on Princess. I also like that they’ve retained class that other cruise lines such as Carnival haven’t.

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NCL does a great job with solo's, insofar as hosting a nightly get together in the ships that have a Sudio Lounge, during cocktail hour, (around 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM). You do not need to have a Studio cabin keycard to gain access during that hour, which you do outside of that hour.

 

 

 

The lounge has a bar, and self serve espresso maker, snacks, etc. The host introduces people, conducts games, arranges group dinner's in either the main dining room or specialty restaurants on certain nights. Lot's of fun. Not sure if NCL does it on its older ships or not.

 

 

 

Other cruise lines should do the same, even if they don't have a "studio lounge"...they could use a bar, or some conference room for the purpose.

Cunard has limited single staterooms but I’m sceptical about the size.

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One problem with the "bigger is better" philosophy is that the larger ships have a limited number of ports they can go to. And many of the ports they can go to cannot properly handle the number of passengers on them.

 

 

 

This is why the Princess "award winning itineraries" are not as good as they used to be.

Yeah it’s a problem BUT at least Princess has maintained class whereas RCCL seems to have gone for big no matter what the cost. Their ships have a different market but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Princess’ new ships.

Yeah they’re big but they’re half the size of RCCL ones.

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Agree!:mad:

I thought it would be for me too but after watching the video on YouTube I realised it’s a bloody awesome ship.

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I spent 21 days on Majestic, left her in Shaghai on July 9th and when I read that u were gng to change to the Sun...I began to post, but stopped and decided to read the rest of the posts, u are making the correct decision.

 

 

 

Honestly...why would one not want to travel on a new ship.

 

 

 

Let me see if I can dig up some of my past posts. I loved Majestic.....

Yeah the Majestic actually looks pretty amazing based on the video I watched last night. I can’t get the leave off work in March either so couldn’t take the Sun anyway. I’m likely to take a short local cruise on the Sun in April to get my fix but yeah reviews aren’t necessarily true.

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The Majestic will be just like the Regal and Royal when it gets to Australia....we have sailed all three Royal class ships and also are booked on the Sky Princess next year (they are by far our favorites!!).....I am not sure where you get the "too Asian" idea just because it was sent to China for a year. We love the Royal class ships and find them way more spacious, dining spaces more enjoyable and love that they have 24 hour fitness facilities.....all the spaces on the Majestic that were used for the Chinese market will be easily converted to other uses that are more traditional on other Royal class Princess ships for Westerners......:cool:

I'd made the mistake of trusting reviews from people who had been on the ship. These were reviews online. I should've known better than to believe the reviews as the video I watched makes the ship look incredible (and no it wasn't the Princess Cruises marketing video).

I haven't been on the Royal or the Regal as they don't come downunder so I'm not sure what they're like. Some of the reviews I'd read were really scathing of the ship, and yes, I should know better that some people will always whinge no matter what ship they're on. I'd read bad reviews about the Diamond and Emerald and I found them great.

I also hope the Sky comes down under as well in the 2019/2020 season.

Just an update. I actually found a video on YouTube of the ship and the video was really helpful and completely allayed all of my reservations that the ship wouldn't be good. It's actually more luxurious in many areas and even though there are fewer bars, the bars are now much bigger than on the Emerald and Diamond. Now I just have to decide if I reschedule my NZ cruise for March and book on this ship for later in the year to another destination (Fiji).

This is the video for anyone who is interested.

Perhaps you're mixing 'new' cruisers with 'young' cruisers a little bit here. It deserves noting that not all 'new' cruisers are 'young', and not all 'young' cruisers are 'new' to cruising. However, by in large, the majority of 'new' cruisers also happen to be 'young'.

 

 

 

It's 'new' cruisers that Princess (along with all major cruiselines) are looking to entice, for the reason(s) that I stated above.

 

 

 

You're proving my point. My DW and I spent $0 on internet, each receiving 250 (loyalty)minutes for our 8-day cruise on the Crown last month -- More than enough for me -- as I still had some left to help spend the time waiting to disembark the last day.

 

 

 

Fairly soon before the sail-date, Princess emailed a casino rate that was around the lowest per person/per day that I've ever seen offered by them, but we were both able to get the time off short notice, and couldn't refuse $149 pp for an inside cabin. Coast-to-coast air was quite reasonable too.

 

 

 

In addition to the OBC from the FCC/FCD (we had purchased on our previous Princess sailing), having been Carnival Corp. shareholders for several years now, we also benefitted with more OBC from that relationship.

 

 

 

Yeah, we bought a few drinks on board, played some bingo on the final day, hit the Salty Dog one evening. We skipped our usual trip(s) to the Crown Grill this time around -- balking at both the raise in price, and the newer additional cover charge for multiple entrees.

 

 

 

Other than purchasing some sunscreen and a very reasonable bar bill. we didn't spend much on this cruise. Couple that with being a little lucky in the casino, and pulling a few C-notes out...I can absolutely guarantee that Princess lost money on us. Having a specific avg. onboard spending pp/pd target threshold, profit margins per passenger are very slim for cruise-lines. Mainstream lines make their money from the large overall volume of passengers.

 

 

 

With the money that we saved, we rented cars on the islands visited, having meals ashore and DIY touring.

 

 

 

FWIW - We avg. age late 30s, but are not necessarily new to cruising.

I’ve only ever spent about $100 on the bar (about a drink a day), the coffee card ($45) and maybe one or two items from the souvenir shop. Outside of the internet (I was working the last cruise I took so needed internet) I spent only about $200 over 15 days. I didn’t do shore excursions. They seem overpriced and I go to destinations I’m familiar with. When I do Hawaii and Fiji (cruise after the next) I’m likely to do shore excursions that time).

My next cruise I’m anticipating about $550 overall on board but that may increase if I do a specialty restaurant.

I’m a Ruby member right now. I’ll be platinum after my next one (solo cruiser).

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I'm not sure what they'll do with the karaoke rooms but they aren't even showing on the latest deck plans. I suspect the VIP gaming area might get turned into Club 6 like on Royal. The mahjong tables in the Vista Lounge will probably be removed and then it will be the same as all the other Vista Lounges. MUTS is still there but there is now an indoor pool and a closed-in lounge at the bow which will be great for NZ itineraries.

 

Remember Sun was also Asianised for the Japanese market, hence Kai Seafood.

 

Seriously, I love Sun but I was very impressed with Royal and expect Majestic to be just as good. And, no, they didn't disregard western cruisers. Majestic was totally designed for the Chinese market, which didn't turn out as good as they expected. However they know what is required in Australia and I am sure they will adapt Majestic to suit our needs.

There was also an enclosed area on the Diamond Princess so that doesn’t bother me. There seem to be fewer pools and the layout of the open spaces seems to be a bit strange and the upper decks look crowded compared to on other Princess ships.

I hope you’re right that changes will be made to suit the Australian market but until at least one Australian season has passed I’d rather stick to the current ships.

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The food on Majestic when she arrives down here will be exactly the same as you'll get on Sun and every other ship in the fleet. She currently does have a couple of different speciality restaurants though - French and Chinese which might be a nice change.

 

 

 

We were on Royal last September and heard a rumour that they might be upping the number of bars when Majestic comes down here. The Royal class ships are lovely and I, for one, am really looking forward to trying Majestic.

 

 

 

I suggest you read this thread, which has plenty of great photos of Majestic. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2480969

Thanks for the link to that thread. As I suspected it is going to be too Asian for my liking. As you’ve said in the other thread we’re not fans of gambling or shopping downunder. The lack of bars, a promenade walking deck, western food and the lounges is a deal breaker for me.

I was excited about going on a new ship but it’s as if they’ve completely disregarded western travellers so I’ll be changing my booking to the Sun.

As others said, it’s a great ship but I don’t like the idea of how they’ve removed public spaces in favour of small private spaces. That doesn’t appeal to me. I’d rather have public karaoke and public lounges than private karaoke and private rooms.

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We sailed on the majestic last spring before it went to China and loved it. It became our new favorite ship. Did the royal last month and being the same class it was equally nice. The public spaces are larger and better laid out IMO and the buffet www far better than others we've sailed on including the Emerald, Ruby, Diamond, Island and Caribbean.

What type of food was there on it? Have you sailed on the Sun?

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Que?

 

 

 

<Boomers = 'Young people' in the cruising world. While Boomers may have the opportunity to take more, Gen Xers/Millennials spend more than Boomers PER vacation.

 

 

 

Your opinion of cruise-line revenue is incorrect.

 

 

 

You've merely based your opinion from your own personal thrifty habits. It's established data that the cruiselines are well aware of that newer/younger cruisers statistically spend more onboard per cruise than experienced/older cruisers.

Thrifty? I’d hardly say $1k on internet on the last cruise is thrifty.

I read the supplied link and the information suggests that we spend more on holidays overall but that doesn’t mean we spend that on board. It just means we travel more overall.

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I've been looking at the deck plans for the Majestic Princess as I'm booked on it in September from Sydney to NZ roundtrip.

I've previously been on the Diamond and the Emerald Princess ships which I absolutely loved.

I tended to either hang out on the promenade deck, Movies under the stars, the gym, do public karaoke in one of the bars and had a few drinks at one of the bars on the sun deck.

I've read that the Majestic doesn't have as many bars. I don't mind so much about the indoor bars as I tend to prefer to be outside, but is the lack of bars noticeable to someone who gets drinks outside?

Should I rebook onto the Sun Princess if it has availability?

What's the food like on the Majestic Princess? Is it all Asian food or are there options for Australians similar to the menus on other ships?

Your personal spending habits aside, it is a statistical fact that newer and/or younger cruisers spend more.

 

You disprove your own point. You admit to spending a fair amount on internet(at a premium), Elite/Platinum passengers get internet packages para gratis. Many Elite passengers also swap their complimentary mini-bar set-ups for coffee cards.

 

With the shareholders' benefit, and other loyalty-related OBC(along w/ FCCs), some older cruisers get a decent pile of complimentary spending money from Princess.

 

Often, younger/newer cruisers have limited vacation time available(compared to older/retired cruisers who can vacation more often.). These younger vacationers stastically spend more per vacation. With only 3% of the population cruising - one must understand that: While loyal returning Black and Silver cards keep the lights on, it's the Blue cards that bring Princess its profit. Princess would much rather fill their ships with Blue Cards, instead of Black and Silver.

 

Cruiselines make their money from onboard spending, not filling cabins.

 

Here's a couple articles that back up the statement that newer cruisers spend more...

 

HERE

 

HERE

 

HERE

The first link actually contradicts your comment. Young people spend more overall, but per night actually spend less than older cruises. It is in the first table of the first article.

Spending more overall doesn't mean you're spending more on each individual cruise.

This is simply untrue that Princess doesn't attract a younger demographic. I'm Gen Y/Millennial and I cruise Princess because they aren't going for gimmicks. If I wanted to go to a theme park I would go to a theme park. If I wanted to be on a ship with tacky hydro slides I would go to the local pool (though none really have hydro slides).

I like that Princess retains its class and hasn't given into stupid gimmicks such as RCCL and Carnival.

When I'm cruising all I care about is the size of the ship, the age of the ship, the cost of the booking, the itinerary, Movies under the Stars, the internet, the Lido deck and potentially other activities such as karaoke and the gym.

I also would disagree that interior cabins are stuffy. I've been in them twice and I just use the Lido Deck or the Sports deck when I want to walk around.

I also would disagree that younger newer cruisers spend a lot. I do spend a fair amount on internet but why would I use a cruise ship shop when I can buy things on land? The only things I buy on the ship are internet, a few drinks, a coffee card, maybe a specialty restaurant and maybe a few souvenirs. The rest I would buy at home.

You can purchase an Opal card at any good newsagent. I also recommend downloading the Opal app when you arrive. That will mean you won't need to queue up to top up. Just be aware you'll need to do it at least 10 minutes before your planned journey so when you get your Opal card top up then.

Ovation was in Sydney yesterday and I thought it looked absolutely amazing. I'm not sure I'd want to go on the ship though but that's because that cruise line has a theme park vibe to it.

I like big ships but I think Ovation is too big.

Doesn't sound right to me. I have never heard of such a thing. I can use any device anywhere on the ship. Some places have better access than others but it certainly has never been limited to specific portions of specific decks. There would be no reason to limit service "while at sea". That makes no sense at all. I can see it now, "We are now at sea. I guess I'll turn off most of the repeaters onboard because........???"

I also haven't heard of that. When I was on the Emerald a few months back I could use WIFI anywhere.

My checking in time is 12:30-1:00 and that seems fine to me. But I would like to know why anyone would want to check in early. If your room will not be ready until 1 or later. Why get on early.

To start your holiday earlier and get the most out of it.

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Just checked. It's 181 days until the next one and then 413 until the one after that.

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I'm not certain how it works for Australians, but for Americans, we can have a booking refared without risking losing our cabin assignment before the final payment date. It could be worthwhile for you to check--$500 will cover a lot of onboard expenses.

Yes, this is what I ended up doing. I got it recalculated and saved $700. I also have more OBC but I can easily spend $1000 on board after inclusions. I use a lot of WIFI and buy a couple of drinks.

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I book early so I have longer to pay off the cruise and because then I know I'm definitely going on it and can get the cabin I want. As others have said you can get your fare recalculated until you've paid it off.

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I asked yesterday for a quote In Canadian, for an inside category 10 cabin and I specifically asked if the Nights on US OBC was combinable with the Oh Canada OBC sale.

 

 

 

What I got was a quote for a V2, in US$ with no comment on the OBC

 

 

 

Is this normal? is it not a service that should be relied on?

Why don't you just find a currency converter and then convert the USD to CAD to find out what you'd end up paying?

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Well about a week ago I wanted to change my booking because the fare had dropped. When I called Princess was excellent and my OBC also increased because that was THE DEAL OFFERED ON THE DAY I called.

If the deal you want isn't offered that's hardly Princess' fault and if you really don't want to deal with them then cancel the booking now and go with another line. I've had two bad staff members on cruises and that was a language thing. The majority of their staff are excellent.

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The quick answer is no. Some of us have interests beyond feeling sorry for ourselves because we're single and care more about activities that suit those interests; In the past decade, crusie lines have moved towards cookiecutter, lowest-common-denominator, might-as-well have-stayed-home-watching-TV.

All the other answers relate to those looking only at price, don't care about activities.

I agree. If it meant having a smaller room I wouldn't want that. it's based on activities and if it's in my budget.

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