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Princess Cruises' Brand New Majestic Princess to be Based in Sydney, Australia

LauraS

By LauraS,
in Princess Cruises

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Thrak

Thrak

Posted
Posted

Holy Cow! I thought Majestic Princess was heading directly to China. I have to wonder about the folks who decided that the Aussies would love a ship that has had the bars removed and replaced with Karaoke areas that you have to rent. I guess they must have just figured, "Hey! The folks down under don't drink much so let's put the ship there for a year or so..."

 

 

It's great that Australia finally gets a new ship but is this really the one they have been asking for? No Crooners. No Explorer's. No Wheelhouse. :eek: At least there are Karaoke Suites. :rolleyes:

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crochetcruise

crochetcruise

Posted
Posted

If the Golden Princess is redeployed, my chances of sailing as an Elite on my Big Birthday Cruise are severely compromised. I cannot afford more than a Window Suite-was advised by a friend who cruised on the Sea Princess that the balcony door in her Suite was very heavy and hard to open when the ship is sailing, and she was concerned I'd pay the price for a Suite with balcony and not be able to use it. The Window Suites on the Golden are a good, practical and safe compromise-Suite perks at a very reasonable cost even sailing solo and a Handicapped Accessible Bathroom without a balcony which might not be safely accessible for me.

 

While the Diamond, Sea and Sun Princesses all have Accessible Oceanview staterooms, I DID thoroughly enjoy my breakfasts at Sabatini's-their scrambled eggs are delicious! Can't cook them myself but enjoyed them aboard! The Mini Bar and free laundry were also used, and the gorgeous robe and slippers meant I didn't need to pack a bulky robe.

 

I seems puzzling to me, with an aging population, that more Handicapped accessible staterooms aren't planned BUT I have honestly no idea what Princess is planning for the future. The Golden Princess was quite large enough for me, I didn't realise how exhausting just keeping my balance and finding my way around the ship would be for me. Fortunately I wasn't seasick, even if I did give myself a headache by enjoying the Welcome Glass of Sparkling Wine-forgetting I'd travelled partway by train to Circular Quay and with a history of unexpected travel sickness on trains as a kid, I had warily taken an approved medication and forgotten I shouldn't drink alcohol so the headache was self-inflicted.

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Jeter02 "Live from...." Rare

Jeter02

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I wonder if this was apart of their original consideration, while building the Majestic. Considering the fact the Majestic was customized for the Chinese market. Without the bars, won't Princess lose a lot of revenue? Especially when its starts doing its sailings out of Australia. Are the cruise fares on the Majestic for the Asian or Australian sailings increasingly more expensive compared to other Princess ships, to make up for possible lost bar revenue?

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cdngrl

cdngrl

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interesting choice. its proximity makes sense after it leaves asia but the ship itself, geared for the asian market, may need some fine tuning for the aussies for all of the reasons thrak mentioned. then again, for the first season at least, people may book it to sail on board a new ship.

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Astro Flyer

Astro Flyer

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All of us can merely speculate about why the Majestic which was previously promoted as being designed exclusively for the Chinese cruise market will now be deployed to Australia for 6 months.

 

Maybe Princess overestimated the demand in China or maybe the Chinese market doesn't fill the ship in China during their winter. Maybe it's similar to the North American & European markets where ships move to warmer climates such as the Caribbean during the winter because the Chinese market prefers to cruise in Australia during their summertime.

 

Not being an Aussie, I don't know how they'll accept having fewer bars & entertainment areas which are being replaced with more gambling, highend shopping & karaoke.

 

Recent dining room renovations to Sabatini's & to Share which has replaced it on some ships is a more generic decor than previously. Maybe that's because it will make it easier for Princess to change specialty restaurants names & menus in the future. Maybe they could more easily change the Harmony's Chinese menu to something more desirable to the Aussies without changing the basic decor.

 

That's a lot of maybes but there are no answers from Princess who's only releasing marketing statements to promote this change without saying why this change was made. My Aussie cruising friends seem to enjoy the same cruise experiences as me & there's very little about the Majestic that I like and many things that are not desirable for my cruise experience.

 

Hopefully the Majestic will succeed however I've been skeptical since the plans to build & deploy a ship designed exclusively for China were first announced. Based on what I've read, the Majestic was exclusively for China & being marketed by China...so what's the reason for the change immediately after it's inaugural cruises?

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bugsy56

bugsy56

Posted
Posted

After going on the Royal Princess in 2014 we loved it and I am excited the Majestic is coming. I think we will be booking on her. Being on a newer ship is just wonderful. Can I say though the skywalk is a little overrated and watch it gets very slippery and also creates a lot of noise - wind vortex affect so watch what cabins you book. The buffet if the same as on the Royal is absolutely fantastic and just so much to choose from. Very excited and hopefully some good itineraries. May the trip from Shanghai to Australia could be on the list. Have to wait now until the itineraries are released later this month.

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GUT2407

GUT2407

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Not being an Aussie, I don't know how they'll accept having fewer bars & entertainment areas which are being replaced with more gambling, highend shopping & karaoke.

 

 

Being an Aussie I've got doubts it'll go down too well.

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By The Bay

By The Bay

Posted
Posted
All of us can merely speculate about why the Majestic which was previously promoted as being designed exclusively for the Chinese cruise market will now be deployed to Australia for 6 months.

 

Maybe Princess overestimated the demand in China or maybe the Chinese market doesn't fill the ship in China during their winter. Maybe it's similar to the North American & European markets where ships move to warmer climates such as the Caribbean during the winter because the Chinese market prefers to cruise in Australia during their summertime.

 

Not being an Aussie, I don't know how they'll accept having fewer bars & entertainment areas which are being replaced with more gambling, highend shopping & karaoke.

 

Recent dining room renovations to Sabatini's & to Share which has replaced it on some ships is a more generic decor than previously. Maybe that's because it will make it easier for Princess to change specialty restaurants names & menus in the future. Maybe they could more easily change the Harmony's Chinese menu to something more desirable to the Aussies without changing the basic decor.

 

That's a lot of maybes but there are no answers from Princess who's only releasing marketing statements to promote this change without saying why this change was made. My Aussie cruising friends seem to enjoy the same cruise experiences as me & there's very little about the Majestic that I like and many things that are not desirable for my cruise experience.

 

Hopefully the Majestic will succeed however I've been skeptical since the plans to build & deploy a ship designed exclusively for China were first announced. Based on what I've read, the Majestic was exclusively for China & being marketed by China...so what's the reason for the change immediately after it's inaugural cruises?

Have you seen how many Chinese restaurants their are here in OZ. Every town, even in the outback has it's Chinese restaurant. We love the food. I know there is Chinese and there is Aussie Chinese. We love them both. Not so sure about the VIP casino, the barraract tables and the high end shops? Maybe we can play bridge on the unused tables?

 

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Forums mobile app

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GUT2407

GUT2407

Posted
Posted
Have you seen how many Chinese restaurants their are here in OZ. Every town, even in the outback has it's Chinese restaurant. We love the food. I know there is Chinese and there is Aussie Chinese. We love them both. Not so sure about the VIP casino, the barraract tables and the high end shops? Maybe we can play bridge on the unused tables?

 

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Forums mobile app

 

 

On longer cruises Mrs Gut and I have often said "a feed of Chinese would go well."

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