July 25, 2021 Live From Majestic Princess Alaska sailing

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I am fortunate (or crazy enough) to be on the inaugural Princess 2021 Alaska sailings out of Seattle with a really great roll call group on CC that are going to join me in posting to this thread.  If you are on this sailing but not on the roll call, I hope you will also contribute.

 

We know there are a lot of very valid questions and concerns folks have about what this Alaska season will be like. What I love about live from feeds that have multiple contributors on the same sailing is the various different experiences and point of views presented.  While I appreciate the professional CC, Points Guy etc reviews and live feeds they are, by design, one dimensional.

 

Our experiences may differ from future sailings as policies, protocols and procedures will most likely be in flux as Princess finds what works (hopefully the the supply chain to restock the bar after we disembark) and what doesn’t (the ap, really?—-what were they thinking?) or as health advisories (OMG don’t even think Delta variant) change.

 

These are some topics that the roll call group (and hopefully others on our sailing) will try to address on this cruise.  I can not guarantee all will get discussed but hopefully most will.

 

Please refrain from asking a lot of premature questions if you can.  Try to wait until we are at that stage of the cruise. For example now we might be able to answer questions you have about how we got cruise ready and on Day 2 we could answer questions about All things Embarkation.   Questions about disembarkation would be best posted on our last day at sea.  Otherwise your questions might get buried and forgotten.

 

1. Getting Cruise Ready and how we fixed problems we had.  Maybe we will have hindsight on what to get worried about and what to just let go once we board.

 

2. All things embarkation: airport expedience, hotel experiences, transportation to the pier, arrival groups (how strict are they?), Elite/suite priority boarding, Blue lane, green lane and is there really a yellow lane (like I was given for a moment in time), showing proof of vaccination and all other travel docs, which MDR is open for lunch, when were the rooms ready (remember we have no disembarking PAX so YMMV).

 

3. Dining  Menus for all dining rooms/restaurants/pop ups and room service.  I believe we have some Full Suite in our group so hopefully we will get to see any special menus they get.  Wait times for Anytime, how the reserved times worked (they are every 20 minutes on Dine My Way), is there a chef’s table??????………………….can we dine with others outside of our travel group?

 

4. Journey View, Entertainment and reservations: I am so curious as to how this will work.  There is a midnight skies event that holds 35 people and it had no spaces left like 5 minutes after it opened.  What happens if show up to a “sold out” event? Can I still just wonder from venue to venue enjoying 10 minutes of this band or spending 20 minutes dancing in another venue like I used to?

 

5. Internet prices and how to purchase, elite/platinum pricing,  what is the speed

 

6. Patters if they exist.  I really hope they do since they answer so. many. questions.

 

7. Capacity  hopefully we will find out how full the ship is.

 

8. Ocean Now Food, Drinks & Shopping okay I will be one of the first to order a drink (with my beverage package) and wait in my room! How well does the ap work around the ship.

 

9. How does Princess enforce the restrictions on the unvaccinated?

[Ombud]

7 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Journey View, Entertainment and reservations: I

When could you view / reserve in the OM?

[PescadoAmarillo]

Thank you so much for doing this. As you may know, we will be two weeks behind you, and have questions about pretty much every topic you’ve addressed in your opening post. Especially the entertainment reservations part.  

[cr8tiv1]

Thank you, Mahalo, gracias, merci.....

 

I will be following your live.  Happy sailing and may your waters be calm.  

[KLM3164]

I want to wish everyone who is sailing on the Majestic Princess on July 25th a wonderful vacation! I hope everything goes smoothly for all of you and that you have your best cruise ever. 

 

I’m so excited for all of you and can’t wait to read your posts.  My DH and I are on the August 29th sailing so we look forward to hearing about your experiences. Thank you so much for doing this for those of us that have cruises coming up later this summer.

 

Bon voyage!!! 🛳  🍾 🥂

Edited July 17, 2021 by KLM3164

[MishelleMcc]

OMGosh!!!  SO excited for all of you and SO excited to follow you on this Voyage!!  We have all missed cruising and we are excited for you all!!

 

Travel safe everyone and we will await your posts and updates!!  (We don't sail until January)

🛳️👀😁🥳🍹🚢

[Ombud]

Are you inviting anyone from OM? If you did, did they come?

[Kenosha Cruiser]

Really looking forward to following along as your Alaskan cruise begins on July 25th. Have a wonderful time, your insights on the Majestic will be very interesting to read. We board the Majestic on Oct. 16th to the Mexican Riviera. Best to you all!

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

 

 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

When could you view / reserve in the OM?

We first noticed reservations open in journeyview July 4.  But pickings were very slim. New events posted everyday and sometimes multiple times a day. Maybe once things are more stable the entire thing will get posted at once. I just noticed a new event on Skagway day. They are bringing on a musher and the dog(s).

 

Doesn’t OM mean ocean medallion? Idk who there would be to invite from there.  

[HaveDogWillTravel]

24 minutes ago, Ombud said:

This is different. I've heard that reservation times for some activities / shows will be available pre-cruise but I can't find them. What I want to know is how early can I book a seat for the Princess Theater. 

I think we have vocabulary issue. Journey view in the medallion class ap is where you book the Princess theater as well as all events (game shows, piano in crooners, Ocean Blvd dancing, Live  Disco DJ, spa & wellness presentations, all the jewelry store events, Good spirits at sea, naturalists presentations, Glacier bay ranger station, stargazing at sea, MUTTS) on board. Literally the entire patter is there. July 4 which is 3 weeks before our cruise events started to show up and we could book.  Over the course of the next week more things got posted. It’s like they didn’t know exactly who had accepted the contracts right away. Future sailings will probably get posted all at once bc the contracts have all been signed. 
In Princess theater we have production shows Sweet Soul Music & Encore, we have comedians Darrell Joyce & Carlos Oscar, Singers Barbi McCulloch &. Jennifer Singer, Magician Michael Misko. I hope that is what you were wanting to find out.  

Edited July 17, 2021 by HaveDogWillTravel

[Ombud]

Thank you!! I will set a reminder for next Sunday 😁

[HaveDogWillTravel]

24 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Thank you!! I will set a reminder for next Sunday 😁

Ymmv so I’d start checking even sooner if it’s super important. Our sailing may not be typical. 

[Pamster]

Thank you. I just came to ask if anyone would be doing this and here was your post, right near the top. We’re on the Majestic October 30, God willing and the delta (or worse) doesn’t stop us. So this is exactly the information I’m interested in. Here’s to a safe cruise for all of you. 

[cr8tiv1]

HaveDogWillTravel:  Did I miss something?  

 

1.  Are you able to make a reservation for the Princess Theater?

 

2.  Are you able to actually pick a particular seat in the theater?  - I'd love to be able to do this.

[Ombud]

15 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Ymmv so I’d start checking even sooner if it’s super important. Our sailing may not be typical. 

Good idea. I don't care about effy sales but I want to hear the rangers & naturalists. Want a theater seat. I had teens on my previous 2 Alaska cruises. So skipped those bc they only ever want brass or woodwind. Had to monitor them ... we travel as a pack

Edited July 17, 2021 by Ombud

[ChangeOrder]

24 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

HaveDogWillTravel:  Did I miss something?  

 

1.  Are you able to make a reservation for the Princess Theater?

 

2.  Are you able to actually pick a particular seat in the theater?  - I'd love to be able to do this.

We can make reservations for the show times in the theater, but not an actual seat number.
 

Edited July 17, 2021 by ChangeOrder

[RoperDK]

Following.  Hope you enjoy your cruise.  We had our August B2B Alaska cruise cancelled and am interested in seeing how cruises fare there this year. 

[KLM3164]

12 minutes ago, ChangeOrder said:

We can make reservations for the show times in the theater, but not an actual seat number.
 

Thanks so much for the information and the screen shot…..so very helpful to see this. @ChangeOrder

[Host CJSKIDS]

Can’t wait to follow along on your cruise. Thanks for doing this. I know we are looking for reviews here on CC so this will be great. 
 

hope you enjoy every moment! 

[Barbara H]

1 hour ago, ChangeOrder said:

We can make reservations for the show times in the theater, but not an actual seat number.
 

I wonder if that means there are 766 passengers.  

[ChangeOrder]

2 minutes ago, Barbara H said:

I wonder if that means there are 766 passengers.  

That would be only 20% capacity, and that seems way too low. The two shows per night would accommodate 50% of a full ship... hmm, it's possible?

[Barbara H]

2 minutes ago, ChangeOrder said:

That would be only 20% capacity, and that seems way too low. The two shows per night would accommodate 50% of a full ship... hmm, it's possible?

Just using my Nancy Drew skills and hoping, I guess.  🤔

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, ChangeOrder said:

We can make reservations for the show times in the theater, but not an actual seat number.
 

 

I wonder if there will be priority (Platinum, Elite, Suite) queues.  That wouldn't cost them a dime. 

 

Entry through all doors/both decks?

 

A nightmare or a pleasant experience?

[jimdee3636]

It's great you're doing this! I'm booked on the Majestic for its first post-Alaska sailing in early October and I'll be eager to hear all about the ship.

 

One thing I'd particularly like to know is whether the noise level inside the Bistro Sur La Mer (I think that's the name---one of the specialty restaurants) is high. Early reviews said that because this restaurant is located close to the atrium, all of the sounds from musicians, singers, DJs, and everything else permeates the dining area. Hopefully, they've fixed the problem.

 

Actually, I'm also interested in the Cantonese specialty restaurant. If you go, please let us know what you think of the cuisine, service, and ambiance.

 

Thanks in advance!

[ChangeOrder]

Just now, jimdee3636 said:

 

Actually, I'm also interested in the Cantonese specialty restaurant. If you go, please let us know what you think of the cuisine, service, and ambiance.

 

I have a reservation for Harmony, and I'm really excited for it. I'll have comments for sure.