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

[pablo222]

Following along the live tour on another thread......wut? Why design a ship 100% around China and then abandon the idea once your ship is at sea?

 

It has to be poor future sales.

 

I thought in one of the analysts' calls they said something like they think china is a big market,

but they are having trouble being successful in it.

[OzKiwiJJ]

It has to be poor future sales.

 

I thought in one of the analysts' calls they said something like they think china is a big market,

but they are having trouble being successful in it.

 

It may just be that the Chinese winter sales aren't sufficient to warrant keeping the ship there and the obvious solution is to send Majestic down under. I'm sure the Chinese summer market is good, Princess have been positioning ships there for some years, I think, but the winter market may not have panned out as they expected. It will be interesting to see whether they have been flexible enough in their design to cater for two quite different markets.

[Woobstr112G]

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?

 

I was wondering the same thing.....

 

Bob

[pablo222]

It may just be that the Chinese winter sales aren't sufficient to warrant keeping the ship

 

And apparently, they're not smart enough to see that in advance.

[OzKiwiJJ]

And apparently, they're not smart enough to see that in advance.

 

Since she's heading to China very soon, and will be there over the 2017/18 winter, I expect they've based the decision on sales to date for that winter. She doesn't come down to Australia until September 2018, for our 2018/19 summer season.

 

It is possible that she was always destined to do China for half the year and Australia for the rest but perhaps Princess decided to see whether there would be sufficient winter sales to keep her there all year round.

[cheznandy]

Since she's heading to China very soon, and will be there over the 2017/18 winter, I expect they've based the decision on sales to date for that winter. She doesn't come down to Australia until September 2018, for our 2018/19 summer season.

 

It is possible that she was always destined to do China for half the year and Australia for the rest but perhaps Princess decided to see whether there would be sufficient winter sales to keep her there all year round.

 

and the Sun Princess will be in Asia between June and November 2018 according to the new itineraries, the Diamond has itineraries in Japan until November 2018 and the Sapphire arrives in Singapore November 2018, so they still have 3 ships in Asia.......we might be getting a newer ship for our summer, but we will have no Princess ships here for our winter when the Sea Princess is on her world cruise:( and that is the best time to cruise our South Pacific Islands and escape our winter!!

 

Interested to see where the Diamond, Sapphire and Sun go.

[OzKiwiJJ]

......we might be getting a newer ship for our summer, but we will have no Princess ships here for our winter when the Sea Princess is on her world cruise:( and that is the best time to cruise our South Pacific Islands and escape our winter!!

 

I know! I can't work out what Princess are doing next year. After a number of (presumably) successful years having three ships wintering over in Australia providing Top End cruises, PNG cruises, Pacific Island cruise, Circle Pacific, etc, as well as the annual world cruise, they suddenly leave us with nothing. Maybe they're trying to force us all to move to P&O? :eek: :mad:

[cheznandy]

I know! I can't work out what Princess are doing next year. After a number of (presumably) successful years having three ships wintering over in Australia providing Top End cruises, PNG cruises, Pacific Island cruise, Circle Pacific, etc, as well as the annual world cruise, they suddenly leave us with nothing. Maybe they're trying to force us all to move to P&O? :eek: :mad:

 

:eek::eek:

Add to that Celebrity, Royal, HAL and whoever else calls Australia home during our summer are not around either, P&O or Carnival....I'll take Carnival;p

Do you remember the post Bob put on saying Princess are unrolling the biggest NZ and Asia fly cruise season......posted on another site, maybe the Sun Princess will be based in Singapore for our winter (June/July/August 2018) and they will do fly cruise packages?? The Diamond is still in Japan and the Sapphire still in Europe.....just a thought.

On looking at the new itineraries, Sun Princess, it arrives in Singapore in June 2018 and comes back to Sydney from Hong Kong in November 2018, I think Princess had a major last minute shuffle.

Sapphire was supposed to come to Australia, Diamonds Japan itineraries for December 2018 were cancelled, they gave us Majestic and took Sun Princess........I dont know what they are thinking:rolleyes:

[OzKiwiJJ]

Only one Carnival ship here over winter too. Yet P&O keeps adding to it's fleet. :confused:

 

Sun for Majestic is not a direct swap, Sun goes during our winter and Majestic comes during our summer.

 

Oh well, I already have a couple of cruises booked for next year and would like to do the Majestic Tasmania cruise so that's my cruise budget blown for the year.

[cheznandy]

Only one Carnival ship here over winter too. Yet P&O keeps adding to it's fleet. :confused:

 

Sun for Majestic is not a direct swap, Sun goes during our winter and Majestic comes during our summer.

 

Oh well, I already have a couple of cruises booked for next year and would like to do the Majestic Tasmania cruise so that's my cruise budget blown for the year.

 

Yeah, I am thinking of the first one out of Sydney to the Islands, the next one to NZ is school holidays, we always manage to go at that time of year!! Plus a bit cool still for NZ in September, but a good time for SP.

Would have loved to do the repositioning here but 22 days is too long as we would want time in HK......and Singapore haha!! Not enough leave up the sleeve:')

[Selion]

2018 to 2019 Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific cruises will be open on April 26 afternoon. Majestic has a 22-days repo sailing from Shanghai to Sydney in August, and in March the return sailing from Sydney to Hong Kong for a 19-days itinerary.

 

There will be 16 sailings between September to March ranging from 6 to 13 days. New Zealand, Tasmania, Fiji are places named by Princess for Majestic's cruises.

[Cruiser411]

maybe the political climate in the world is a factor... seems Princess timing is off.

 

I would be so bold as to suggest its spot on the mark.:evilsmile:

 

Yes, I think the political climate is the reason that Majestic is being based in Sydney for part of the year. And as far as I can see, there will be four ships based in Australia during Summer 2018-19; Majestic, Golden, Sun and Sea.

[Astro Flyer]

Hopefully you can view the PDF file in this link with the information about Majestic & other Princess cruises in Australia/NZ/South Pacific between September 2018 & March 2019 which become available for booking on 4/26/17 at 1600 PDT but no prices yet.

 

https://book.princess.com/pdf/onesource/pc/PC_2018_2019AustraliaNewZealandSouthPacificReference.pdf?cid=brand_email_info_internal_programrelease_destnews_se7sp007_170415_australia,newzealand,southpacific

[By The Bay]

Thanks for the heads up. No circle Pacific. Maybe 2020.

 

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Forums mobile app

[GUT2407]

Thanks for the heads up. No circle Pacific. Maybe 2020.

 

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Forums mobile app

Yeah I was hoping.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks for the heads up. No circle Pacific. Maybe 2020.

 

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Forums mobile app

 

It's primarily cruises from Sydney to cruise around NZ except for 1 South Pacific, 1 Tasmania and repositioning cruises between Asia & Australia. Thus the only Australian portion is sailing from/to Sydney so the Majestic is in reality sailing a New Zealand cruise season.

 

Does that mean that New Zealand is a popular summertime destination for Aussies & possibly cooler?

[crochetcruise]

Hopefully you can view the PDF file in this link with the information about Majestic & other Princess cruises in Australia/NZ/South Pacific between September 2018 & March 2019 which become available for booking on 4/26/17 at 1600 PDT but no prices yet.

 

https://book.princess.com/pdf/onesource/pc/PC_2018_2019AustraliaNewZealandSouthPacificReference.pdf?cid=brand_email_info_internal_programrelease_destnews_se7sp007_170415_australia,newzealand,southpacific

 

THANK YOU! I've been eagerly (ok IMPATIENTLY) for this information! I even looked up the Sydney and Melbourne Port Schedules and noted what dates the Golden Princess was berthed. I was aware of 10/22/2018 but there was another date that seemed to be a 4 night Sydney-Melbourne, still haven't located that cruise, and could easily have read the dates wrong!

 

My TA's peace will be shattered on the 27th, I will be at the office wanting to use my FCC to secure my preferred Window Suite for this cruise!

[OzKiwiJJ]

It's primarily cruises from Sydney to cruise around NZ except for 1 South Pacific, 1 Tasmania and repositioning cruises between Asia & Australia. Thus the only Australian portion is sailing from/to Sydney so the Majestic is in reality sailing a New Zealand cruise season.

 

Does that mean that New Zealand is a popular summertime destination for Aussies & possibly cooler?

 

NZ cruises are popular with both Aussies and Kiwis, and also for international visitors to our part of the world. It's a great way to see some of the highlights of NZ, especially the magnificent sounds in Fiordland. Some of the one way itineraries have stops in Hobart and Melbourne so are true Aus/NZ cruises.

 

Yes, it is often cooler in NZ, especially down the lower part of the South Island.

 

Majestic is well suited to the NZ itineraries. She has a covered pool, and a completely glassed in Conservatory forward which should be great for viewing sailaways on cool evenings. Also the ship can dock at most of the NZ ports. I personally believe ships of the size of Majestic aren't ideal for many of the South Pacific ports, especially the smaller island ones that required tenders.

[kenexx]

Oh well I'm happy to give it a go. Will be booking the Brisbane to Hong Kong.

[Astro Flyer]

THANK YOU! I've been eagerly (ok IMPATIENTLY) for this information! I even looked up the Sydney and Melbourne Port Schedules and noted what dates the Golden Princess was berthed. I was aware of 10/22/2018 but there was another date that seemed to be a 4 night Sydney-Melbourne, still haven't located that cruise, and could easily have read the dates wrong!

 

My TA's peace will be shattered on the 27th, I will be at the office wanting to use my FCC to secure my preferred Window Suite for this cruise!

 

Glad that the information was useful although if they open bookings on 4/27 at 1600 PDT (Princess's HQ time zone) that's 0900 on the 28th in Sydney so you may have to impatiently wait until then. ;)

Edited April 17, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[GUT2407]

Glad that the information was useful although if they open bookings on 4/27 at 1600 PDT (Princess's HQ time zone) that's 0900 on the 28th in Sydney so you may have to impatiently wait until then. ;)

According to Princess web site 9:00 am the 27 th they go on sale here.

[GUT2407]

THANK YOU! I've been eagerly (ok IMPATIENTLY) for this information! I even looked up the Sydney and Melbourne Port Schedules and noted what dates the Golden Princess was berthed. I was aware of 10/22/2018 but there was another date that seemed to be a 4 night Sydney-Melbourne, still haven't located that cruise, and could easily have read the dates wrong!

 

My TA's peace will be shattered on the 27th, I will be at the office wanting to use my FCC to secure my preferred Window Suite for this cruise!

 

 

22 Oct is three nights

5 April three nights Melb-Syd

 

 

Can't see a four nighter on that route.

[Astro Flyer]

According to Princess web site 9:00 am the 27 th they go on sale here.

 

That would make sense to open bookings first for Australians.

[louden]

I wonder who made this decision?

Tony

Likely the same bean counter that figured the Royal was a great design.

[Astro Flyer]

Likely the same bean counter that figured the Royal was a great design.

 

Or even worse the bean counter who figured that the Majestic's modifications for the Chinese market might be good outside of Asia. The same one who said the Majestic was exclusively for China yet shortly after the inaugural cruises will be homeported in Sydney for 6 months.

 

Hopefully it'll be a successful move but replacing entertainment venues & bars with gambling, expensive shopping & karaoke isn't any type of improvement for me.