Majestic Princess Jan 22 and Feb 19, 2022 live report

[caribill]

8 hours ago, dhanakorn said:

Th The Newlywed game is always popular on NCL. I don’t see Newlywed game on this cruise yet. I thought it’s a classic gameshow on every cruise lines. 

 

 

It is also popular on Princess and has been on every Princess cruise I have been on that is at least 7 days long.

 

I do not know if Covid concerns might be limiting its appearance during these times.

[caribill]

9 hours ago, dhanakorn said:

On Day 2, we had the Enrichment Presentation by Leo Rossi - he has worked with many rock bands like the Who or Fleetwood Mac as tour/concert manager. He told stories about his life and experience working with those famous musicians.
 

 

I am glad to see that Princess has not cut back on having these enrichment lectures.

[musical note]

Thank you so much for the helpful info. This will be my first time cruising with Princess. Would you mind posting more of the Princess patter. I would like to get an idea of what the whole week would look like. Enjoy

[trishbk]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

It is also popular on Princess and has been on every Princess cruise I have been on that is at least 7 days long.

 

I do not know if Covid concerns might be limiting its appearance during these times.

The Newlywed game (aka Marriage game) will probably be the last day at sea or on one of the last two days at sea.  

[KathyJ]

16 hours ago, dhanakorn said:

The captain and senior officers didn’t show up on the formal night due to Covid concern. But he did make an announcement to welcome the night and we did virtual toast together. Since it’s a formal night I decided to be classy by ordering a martini. Martini is an acquired taste that I’ve not yet acquired. It has slight bitter aftertaste and no other flavor. I think it’s famous because of the shape of the glass. You look more classy when you hold a martini glass. 

 

Ballroom dancing is popular on this cruise. 

 

Day 2 main show in the theater was Sweet Soul Music which’s dancing and singing of popular Motown songs. I think it’s pretty good. Afterwards, I went to see the comedy show by AJ Jamal. He’s very funny. 
 

I think entertainment on NCL is better. On my last Bliss cruise, we had 2 production broadway shows (SIX and Jersey Boys), Cavern Club for Beatles fans, Social club for comedy, and music at multiple venues to keep you busy all night long. Plus many gameshows hosted by the cruise director. The Newlywed game is always popular on NCL. I don’t see Newlywed game on this cruise yet. I thought it’s a classic gameshow on every cruise lines. 

 

Try a Toasted Almond Martini!!! they go down much too easy however!

[mlgb]

This is great! I just got off NCL Bliss on 1/18 and booked 2/5 on Majestic on a standard balcony since there was almost no single suppliment. . 

 

I do like NCL's standard balcony cabins, the door instead of curtain in the bathroom,  and the buffet Indian section and of course Jersey Boys (Six wasn't playing). But I can see there will be some things I like better on this ship, eg the open aft deck, and hopefully the MDRs. I also look forward to International Cafe grab n go, since the other Princess ship I was on (Island) didn't include one.

Edited January 26, 2022 by mlgb

[sueandkent]

On 1/23/2022 at 6:38 PM, dhanakorn said:

The cabin was ready by the time we boarded the ship so I could go to the room and dropped my bags right away. 

 

With the deep discount that Princess offered, I decided to try the balcony room on this trip. I booked the deluxe balcony DF and got upgraded to DB room. I’ve sailed with NCL eight times, never once was offered a complimentary room upgrade. 

The room is a little smaller than I thought. It’s enough space for two guests but will be a little tight for three in the room. Since I’m traveling solo, I’ve plenty of space all for myself. I like the big walk-in closet. I can put my luggages here instead of storing underneath the bed. 

 

Bathroom is also on small side. I don’t like the shower curtain. The curtain is old with some dark spots here and there. Maybe I ask for a new curtain but I don’t want to bother my cabin crew. Speaking of cabin crew, he stopped by on the first day to introduce himself and go over some details (muster drill, no smoking, no flushing tissue in toilet, etc.). He also mentioned that there’s no turndown service, only one cleaning per day due to CDC guideline. I cruised with NCL twice last year and my cabin crew always proactively offered turndown service. It’s not quite a big deal though, just a different standard on different cruise line. 

 

 

 

 

Bed is very comfortable. I love the free on-demand movie collection. On NCL, you have to pay for the on-demand movie. 
 

There’s motion-activated light in front of the bathroom. It’s convenient when you need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night but it takes a while before the light shutoff. There’s also motion-activated light underneath the stands next to the bed. So I’ve to wait for a while until the light goes off before I can go back to sleep. Anyone know how to turn this motion-activated light off? 

Thanks for the room pics. I've booked a DB for my March Majestic cruise, nice to see what they look like. 

[cruzsnooze]

I was on the Bliss last week and won't be sailing with NCL again. Princess is so much better and more refined. The Bliss has only one included eating venue besides their MDR and Buffet called Locals which is a burger joint. Princess has so many included food venues that are all very good. I'm sailing on the Majestic next month. Love your pictures and the quality of them is excellent. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by cruzsnooze

[mlgb]

Hi cruzsnooze

 

[cruzsnooze]

1 hour ago, mlgb said:

Hi cruzsnooze

 

Back at You

[dhanakorn]

22 hours ago, trishbk said:

Since you have the drink package and seem to like wine from reading your post, you should spend your time trying the wines in Vines. They serve their reds in Riedels and you can even use your Bev package on flights in the Vines. We were just on the Majestic for the January 8 sailing and coming back onboard on February 19. Please say “hi” to Roland and Panji in the Vines. Please tell them that Tricia and Paul look forward to seeing both of them again before their contracts end on February 26.

Panji said hi back to you. He’s looking forward to meet you again. 
 

[trishbk]

Just now, dhanakorn said:

Panji said hi back to you. He’s looking forward to meet you again. 
 

Thank you for sending the photo. We are so looking forward to seeing him, Roland, and Geraldine on February 19. Miss them!

[mlgb]

I just read your Bliss review. I wondered what the Studios were like, now I know.  Nice that it has an espresso machine in the lounge area. 

 

One thing I like on Bliss is that the regular (non-studio) cabins have coffee makers (the little flat circular pods). The coffee from those is better than the room service coffee which is awful.  

 

Do all of the MDRs serve the same menu on Majestic? 

[trbarton]

30 minutes ago, mlgb said:

I just read your Bliss review. I wondered what the Studios were like, now I know.  Nice that it has an espresso machine in the lounge area. 

 

One thing I like on Bliss is that the regular (non-studio) cabins have coffee makers (the little flat circular pods). The coffee from those is better than the room service coffee which is awful.  

 

Do all of the MDRs serve the same menu on Majestic? 

From my experience with Princess all of the MDR’s have the same menu. The only difference being if you have the Mini Suite that has a special area of one of the MDR with an expanded menu with a couple of items added. 
 

Tom😀

[dhanakorn]

I apologize that I may not be able to respond to all the comments while on the ship. Princess board is more active than NCL board. 

Back to Day 3, I got up late since we moved to clock on hour forward last night. On this cruise we sail the reversed itinerary, i.e. PV first, then Mazatlan, and Cabo last. So day 3 was also another sea day. 
 

The breakfast pastries. No croissant today at the buffet but you can get them from the International cafe. 

I drink a lot of liquid in the morning to rehydrate the body. The avocado smoothie was very delicious. On Princess buffet, the server will bring you water, coffee, orange juice to your table. On NCL it’s completely self-service. I drink a lot of water so I actually prefer getting water myself so I don’t need to keep asking for the refill. There’s no pre-packaged single-cup yogurt or cartons of milk on the buffet. No egg benedict on the buffet this morning (it’s still available in the sit down dining room). 

 

After breakfast I got back to work. This trip is actually my working trip. Due to Omicron outbreak, we’re still working from home. The internet speed on Majestic is reasonably fast. It’s fast enough to do conference call while we’re still at sea. Rather than stuck at home, it’s a nice change to scenery to be working while watching the beautiful ocean. 
 

We sailed passed Cabo around noon. We got to see the glimpse of the El Arco from the distance.

 

 

 

 

[dhanakorn]

Only half of the usual buffet lines were open for lunch today. I grabbed a bowl of noodle from the Noodle Bar - it’s not particularly good. The Cuban sandwich was very tasty - you can also get the sandwich from the International Cafe. 

 

After lunch I heard loud cheering noise from the pool deck, so I went to check it out. There’s a bartending show today. This guy did an amazing show. If you see this event on schedule, don’t miss it. 

 

 

 

 

 

The pool deck on day 3. Weather is getting warmer now that we’re in Mexico. 

 

 

Here’re some video clips of the bartending show.

 

 

 

 

[travelin.sisters]

On 1/24/2022 at 3:18 PM, dhanakorn said:

1. I think this’s one-off itinerary that cruises in reversed order. Most of the other cruises will go with the regular order of Cabo, PV, then Mazatlan. I just did the similar cruise on NCL Bliss last month, so it’s nice to have  a change with the reversed itinerary on this cruise. 
 

2. @docman mentioned earlier that we have 848 passengers on this cruise. So only about 25% capacity. 

thank you...& thanks for the pictures & narriative. we are on the next sailing & was wondering if anyone had heard how many passengers would be on then but figuring it won't be anywhere near capacity.

[dhanakorn]

Servers are very important to the MDR experience. Now I found my favorite so I went back to the same table. Princess has very diversified crews while NCL dining crews are mostly Filipino. While diversity is a good thing, I always have the great service from Filipino crews. 
 

Day 3 MDR menu. 

 

I had pork terrine for starter. 

 

The other day I complained about missing the chilled soup. Tonight we had chilled banana rum soup. It’s very refreshing. 

 

I told my server that I couldn’t decide between the seafood or coq au vin for the main dish. He said I must tried both and brought me the two dishes. They’re contrast to each other. The grilled seafood was light and refresh while the coq au vin was heavy and bold. Princess has much more fresh seafood options than NCL. 

 

Chocolate tart for dessert. 

 

Day 3 main show in the theater was the concert by Darren Dowler. He sang old rock songs before my time so I don’t know most of the songs. I just wonder when the younger generation starts to become the main demographic on the cruise, are we going to see the show evolves into the music of Lady Gaga or Ed Sheeran.

 

Later the night, the 50s & 60s party by the High Tide band was a blast. 

[dhanakorn]

Patters from Day 4 and Day 5. For me the JourneyView on Medallion app is very hard to use. You’ve to scroll left/right up/down. I just wish they upload the Patter images to the app instead. A simple photo of the Patter is more practical since you can see everything in one place. So I just take a Patter picture and use it instead of JourneyView. 
 

 

[dhanakorn]

Day 4 is our first port day. I had a long day in Puerto Vallarta so I will post some photos later. But before I go to bed, I just want to show some photos of the beautiful sunset from the port of Puerto Vallarta.  

 

 

 

[kitkat343]

8 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

I was on the Bliss last week and won't be sailing with NCL again. Princess is so much better and more refined. The Bliss has only one included eating venue besides their MDR and Buffet called Locals which is a burger joint. Princess has so many included food venues that are all very good. I'm sailing on the Majestic next month. Love your pictures and the quality of them is excellent. 

Princess is our favorite cruise line.  I completely agree with your comparison of the two lines, but our family doesn't completely rule NCL out though - I just compare an NCL cruise with the dining package to Princess' base fare, because on Princess the included food is good, but on NCL I need to be in a specialty restaurant to be happy with the food.  I was quite happy on my NCL cruise to the Baltics because I suspected before boarding I would need the dining package, and with that I was happy with that cruise because the ports were amazing and Princess wasn't docking directly in Stockholm the year I went to the Baltics and we ate most of our meals at specialty venues or in the buffet (most things on the NCL buffet weren't great, but a few of them were - the ethnic food was usually good and the meat station where they had a large fresh roast beef they'd slice for you was usually quite good).  

[MsSoCalCruiser]

12 hours ago, dhanakorn said:

I drink a lot of liquid in the morning to rehydrate the body. The avocado smoothie was very delicious. On Princess buffet, the server will bring you water, coffee, orange juice to your table. On NCL it’s completely self-service. I drink a lot of water so I actually prefer getting water myself so I don’t need to keep asking for the refill. There’s no pre-packaged single-cup yogurt or cartons of milk on the buffet. No egg benedict on the buffet this morning (it’s still available in the sit down dining room). 

 

 

I know you’re super busy but when you have time could you please explain what beverages you have? Do you ask for them or were they at the Buffet?  I don’t remember seeing them.  I’m really enjoying your cruise report.

[mlgb]

Is the Avocado smoothie an upcharge?

[rj59]

I'm going on Majestic this weekend and Feb 12, also unable to pass up the excellent solo rates. I'm also really happy about the low occupancy, something I'll really miss when things get back to semi-normal. 

--The itinerary change is probably to limit ships in ports at once, with Panorama, Bliss, Miracle, and Konigsdam all going to Cabo. Royal and Carnival also switch up itineraries on LA 4-days to avoid more than one ship at Catalina on the same day.

--They usually serve the MDR chilled soups in the buffet at night, in little juice cups, so you can have all you want. The other soups are also usually there, so I usually have soups at 5:30 and a later MDR dinner.

--NCL has some advantages, like the huge forward observation area, Broadway shows, dedicated comedy club, Cavern Club with Beatles cover band, nice outside bar/dining/walking promenade close to the water, incredible beer pub, and more comprehensive buffet with things I love like crepes, scoop ice cream, and multiple Indian dishes. And up until last month they were maskless and are still 100% vaccinated. 

 

[manunia]

50 minutes ago, mlgb said:

Is the Avocado smoothie an upcharge?

all those smoothies are available in buffet in am

i l-o-v-e an avocado one