Majestic Princess review: May 28 - June 4. The mostly good, the bad, and the (little) ugly

[time4u2go]

This was our first Princess cruise, and we were not disappointed!  It lived up to and exceeded our expectations.  Below is our summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Note that there was far more good than bad, and only a little ugly.  The cruise was from Whittier to Vancouver, with stops in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan along the way, along with cruising near glaciers.

 

The good:

• Glacier viewing.  This was the highlight of the cruise for us.  We spent time up close to Hubbard Glacier.  What could be better than sitting on your balcony just a few hundred yards from a glacier!
• Condition of the ship.  The ship was clean and well-maintained.  It looked like it could be brand new.  Very impressed.
• Crew.  The crew was very polite and very helpful.  We were always greeted, always with a smile.
• Naturalist talks.  The naturalist (Mark) was always fun and interesting to listen to.  He was so enthusiastic, and he had such a wealth of information that he truly enjoyed sharing with us.

 

The bad:

• Evening main theater shows.  We expected more in the way of bigger productions.  The only real "production" show was a song and dance show, with people singing some familiar songs, and mostly unfamiliar (to us anyway) songs.  The singers were very talented, and they sounded great.  There was an opera singer who also sounded great.  But it just didn't feel like much of a production, to us anyway.  The "orchestra" consisted of six musicians playing along with obviously pre-recorded music from other instruments that were not present.  That just seemed weird.
• The selection in the buffet at dinner.  I realize that on this cruise, a vast majority of people eat dinner in the MDR, unlike a lot of other cruises we have been on.  This means that fewer people eat dinner in the buffet.  So that may have been the reason, but it just didn't seem like there was much of a selection of items in the buffet for dinner.
• The shops.  This is a very minor complaint, but it seems like there are too many shops on the Majestic.  There is a very large watch shop that rarely had any customers in it.  Same for the makeup shop.  Admittedly, we don't do much shopping on cruise ships, so this really didn't bother us much at all.  I know that the presence of these shops is somewhat due to the ship originally being in the Asian market, but it just seems like some of the space could be converted to something else.  

 

The ugly:

• Embarkation process.  This cruise was part of a land and sea package that we did with Princess.  At the end of the land portion, we took a train from Denali Princess Lodge to Whittier to board the ship.  When the train reached Wasilla, several Princess employees boarded the train to check all of the train passengers in for the ship.  Once the train reached Anchorage (maybe an hour later?), almost all of the Princess employees left the train.  We were told that because of cell reception problems, that they were only able to check in 3 of the 5 train cars.  Unfortunately, our car was not checked in.  We were told that we would need to check in at the dock in Whittier.  Once the train reached Whittier, we all got in what was already a very long line of people waiting to check in.  We watched as the passengers from the 3 train cars that were lucky enough to have been checked in went straight through the security checkpoints, and onto the ship.  We spent probably close to an hour waiting in line.  Once we finally got onto the ship, we rushed to our room to drop off our things, then rushed to eat dinner.  Once we finished dinner, it was too late to see the early theater show.  After a very long day, and the stress of the embarkation process, we were too tired to stay up to see the late show, so we missed one of the things we really enjoy about the beginning of a cruise, the "welcome aboard" show.

Looking back on it, the embarkation problem really isn't that huge of a deal since it only affected one short portion of the cruise.  But with it coming at the start of the cruise, it really made a bad first impression for us.

 

Overall:

As I stated above, overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise.  It was a beautiful ship, with a great crew, and obviously amazing scenery.  We would definitely cruise with Princess again.

[BobbySu]

Thank you for your report.  There doesn't seem to be too many for the Majestic so since we will now be sailing on her I have been anxious to read current experiences.  

A week to go for us.  

[TVlife]

3 hours ago, time4u2go said:

This was our first Princess cruise, and we were not disappointed!  It lived up to and exceeded our expectations.  Below is our summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Note that there was far more good than bad, and only a little ugly.  The cruise was from Whittier to Vancouver, with stops in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan along the way, along with cruising near glaciers.

 

The good:

• Glacier viewing.  This was the highlight of the cruise for us.  We spent time up close to Hubbard Glacier.  What could be better than sitting on your balcony just a few hundred yards from a glacier!
• Condition of the ship.  The ship was clean and well-maintained.  It looked like it could be brand new.  Very impressed.
• Crew.  The crew was very polite and very helpful.  We were always greeted, always with a smile.
• Naturalist talks.  The naturalist (Mark) was always fun and interesting to listen to.  He was so enthusiastic, and he had such a wealth of information that he truly enjoyed sharing with us.

 

The bad:

• Evening main theater shows.  We expected more in the way of bigger productions.  The only real "production" show was a song and dance show, with people singing some familiar songs, and mostly unfamiliar (to us anyway) songs.  The singers were very talented, and they sounded great.  There was an opera singer who also sounded great.  But it just didn't feel like much of a production, to us anyway.  The "orchestra" consisted of six musicians playing along with obviously pre-recorded music from other instruments that were not present.  That just seemed weird.
• The selection in the buffet at dinner.  I realize that on this cruise, a vast majority of people eat dinner in the MDR, unlike a lot of other cruises we have been on.  This means that fewer people eat dinner in the buffet.  So that may have been the reason, but it just didn't seem like there was much of a selection of items in the buffet for dinner.
• The shops.  This is a very minor complaint, but it seems like there are too many shops on the Majestic.  There is a very large watch shop that rarely had any customers in it.  Same for the makeup shop.  Admittedly, we don't do much shopping on cruise ships, so this really didn't bother us much at all.  I know that the presence of these shops is somewhat due to the ship originally being in the Asian market, but it just seems like some of the space could be converted to something else.  

 

The ugly:

• Embarkation process.  This cruise was part of a land and sea package that we did with Princess.  At the end of the land portion, we took a train from Denali Princess Lodge to Whittier to board the ship.  When the train reached Wasilla, several Princess employees boarded the train to check all of the train passengers in for the ship.  Once the train reached Anchorage (maybe an hour later?), almost all of the Princess employees left the train.  We were told that because of cell reception problems, that they were only able to check in 3 of the 5 train cars.  Unfortunately, our car was not checked in.  We were told that we would need to check in at the dock in Whittier.  Once the train reached Whittier, we all got in what was already a very long line of people waiting to check in.  We watched as the passengers from the 3 train cars that were lucky enough to have been checked in went straight through the security checkpoints, and onto the ship.  We spent probably close to an hour waiting in line.  Once we finally got onto the ship, we rushed to our room to drop off our things, then rushed to eat dinner.  Once we finished dinner, it was too late to see the early theater show.  After a very long day, and the stress of the embarkation process, we were too tired to stay up to see the late show, so we missed one of the things we really enjoy about the beginning of a cruise, the "welcome aboard" show.

Looking back on it, the embarkation problem really isn't that huge of a deal since it only affected one short portion of the cruise.  But with it coming at the start of the cruise, it really made a bad first impression for us.

 

Overall:

As I stated above, overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise.  It was a beautiful ship, with a great crew, and obviously amazing scenery.  We would definitely cruise with Princess again.

How did the pre cruise Covid testing go?  Did you hear of any not able to board because of positive results?

[time4u2go]

59 minutes ago, TVlife said:

How did the pre cruise Covid testing go?  Did you hear of any not able to board because of positive results?

The testing was done at the different Princess lodges that people stayed at prior to the cruise.  As far as I could tell, it was fairly well organized (and no additional cost).  I did not hear of anyone not being allowed to cruise, but then again, I never really was in contact with anybody that would know (or that would talk about it if they did).

 

On the other hand, as the cruise progressed, we heard more and more coughing onboard.  On the last day, signs were placed in the elevators requesting that people wear masks in the elevators.  I would guess that some people that had planned on flying into the U. S. after the cruise were unable to due to positive tests, but that's just a guess.  Of course, that rule is being eliminated on Sunday.

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by time4u2go

[disneyochem]

Thank you for your report.  We were on the Majestic in March—loved the ship!

[Happiest when cruising]

6 hours ago, time4u2go said:

This was our first Princess cruise, and we were not disappointed!  It lived up to and exceeded our expectations.  Below is our summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Note that there was far more good than bad, and only a little ugly.  The cruise was from Whittier to Vancouver, with stops in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan along the way, along with cruising near glaciers.

 

The good:

• Glacier viewing.  This was the highlight of the cruise for us.  We spent time up close to Hubbard Glacier.  What could be better than sitting on your balcony just a few hundred yards from a glacier!
• Condition of the ship.  The ship was clean and well-maintained.  It looked like it could be brand new.  Very impressed.
• Crew.  The crew was very polite and very helpful.  We were always greeted, always with a smile.
• Naturalist talks.  The naturalist (Mark) was always fun and interesting to listen to.  He was so enthusiastic, and he had such a wealth of information that he truly enjoyed sharing with us.

 

The bad:

• Evening main theater shows.  We expected more in the way of bigger productions.  The only real "production" show was a song and dance show, with people singing some familiar songs, and mostly unfamiliar (to us anyway) songs.  The singers were very talented, and they sounded great.  There was an opera singer who also sounded great.  But it just didn't feel like much of a production, to us anyway.  The "orchestra" consisted of six musicians playing along with obviously pre-recorded music from other instruments that were not present.  That just seemed weird.
• The selection in the buffet at dinner.  I realize that on this cruise, a vast majority of people eat dinner in the MDR, unlike a lot of other cruises we have been on.  This means that fewer people eat dinner in the buffet.  So that may have been the reason, but it just didn't seem like there was much of a selection of items in the buffet for dinner.
• The shops.  This is a very minor complaint, but it seems like there are too many shops on the Majestic.  There is a very large watch shop that rarely had any customers in it.  Same for the makeup shop.  Admittedly, we don't do much shopping on cruise ships, so this really didn't bother us much at all.  I know that the presence of these shops is somewhat due to the ship originally being in the Asian market, but it just seems like some of the space could be converted to something else.  

 

The ugly:

• Embarkation process.  This cruise was part of a land and sea package that we did with Princess.  At the end of the land portion, we took a train from Denali Princess Lodge to Whittier to board the ship.  When the train reached Wasilla, several Princess employees boarded the train to check all of the train passengers in for the ship.  Once the train reached Anchorage (maybe an hour later?), almost all of the Princess employees left the train.  We were told that because of cell reception problems, that they were only able to check in 3 of the 5 train cars.  Unfortunately, our car was not checked in.  We were told that we would need to check in at the dock in Whittier.  Once the train reached Whittier, we all got in what was already a very long line of people waiting to check in.  We watched as the passengers from the 3 train cars that were lucky enough to have been checked in went straight through the security checkpoints, and onto the ship.  We spent probably close to an hour waiting in line.  Once we finally got onto the ship, we rushed to our room to drop off our things, then rushed to eat dinner.  Once we finished dinner, it was too late to see the early theater show.  After a very long day, and the stress of the embarkation process, we were too tired to stay up to see the late show, so we missed one of the things we really enjoy about the beginning of a cruise, the "welcome aboard" show.

Looking back on it, the embarkation problem really isn't that huge of a deal since it only affected one short portion of the cruise.  But with it coming at the start of the cruise, it really made a bad first impression for us.

 

Overall:

As I stated above, overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise.  It was a beautiful ship, with a great crew, and obviously amazing scenery.  We would definitely cruise with Princess again.

A decent review, but an hour for embarkation doesn’t seem that bad to me. It probably seemed longer, since the others went right past you. A disappointment, for sure.  

[time4u2go]

1 hour ago, Happiest when cruising said:

A decent review, but an hour for embarkation doesn’t seem that bad to me. It probably seemed longer, since the others went right past you. A disappointment, for sure.  

I agree that an hour for embarkation is normally not bad but in this case we had been told that it would all be handled on the train and that it would be zero time other than the security screening. Also, when that hour is at the end of a long day and not at the typical noon ish embarkation time, it makes it worse.

 

Edited June 12, 2022 by time4u2go

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’m glad you had fun! We were in Whittier that day and got to see your ship. 😀

 

Pre-Covid, the buffet options at dinner were stupendous, so you were certainly not off in wishing for better variety. I hope they bring back the full buffet spread like before. Even though the majority eat in the MDR, those of us who do prefer the buffet should have an equal opportunity to have great variety. 
 

Hopefully Princess can get more reps onboard to check in train pax because checking in land tour pax on the train is a fantastic benefit! They were right that there’s a lack of cell reception in multiple parts of the Anchorage to Whittier segment. So many places in AK are short staffed this season, just like everywhere else. 😏

[Buckeye10640]

On 6/11/2022 at 3:07 PM, time4u2go said:

This was our first Princess cruise, and we were not disappointed!  It lived up to and exceeded our expectations.  Below is our summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Note that there was far more good than bad, and only a little ugly.  The cruise was from Whittier to Vancouver, with stops in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan along the way, along with cruising near glaciers.

 

The good:

• Glacier viewing.  This was the highlight of the cruise for us.  We spent time up close to Hubbard Glacier.  What could be better than sitting on your balcony just a few hundred yards from a glacier!
• Condition of the ship.  The ship was clean and well-maintained.  It looked like it could be brand new.  Very impressed.
• Crew.  The crew was very polite and very helpful.  We were always greeted, always with a smile.
• Naturalist talks.  The naturalist (Mark) was always fun and interesting to listen to.  He was so enthusiastic, and he had such a wealth of information that he truly enjoyed sharing with us.

 

The bad:

• Evening main theater shows.  We expected more in the way of bigger productions.  The only real "production" show was a song and dance show, with people singing some familiar songs, and mostly unfamiliar (to us anyway) songs.  The singers were very talented, and they sounded great.  There was an opera singer who also sounded great.  But it just didn't feel like much of a production, to us anyway.  The "orchestra" consisted of six musicians playing along with obviously pre-recorded music from other instruments that were not present.  That just seemed weird.
• The selection in the buffet at dinner.  I realize that on this cruise, a vast majority of people eat dinner in the MDR, unlike a lot of other cruises we have been on.  This means that fewer people eat dinner in the buffet.  So that may have been the reason, but it just didn't seem like there was much of a selection of items in the buffet for dinner.
• The shops.  This is a very minor complaint, but it seems like there are too many shops on the Majestic.  There is a very large watch shop that rarely had any customers in it.  Same for the makeup shop.  Admittedly, we don't do much shopping on cruise ships, so this really didn't bother us much at all.  I know that the presence of these shops is somewhat due to the ship originally being in the Asian market, but it just seems like some of the space could be converted to something else.  

 

The ugly:

• Embarkation process.  This cruise was part of a land and sea package that we did with Princess.  At the end of the land portion, we took a train from Denali Princess Lodge to Whittier to board the ship.  When the train reached Wasilla, several Princess employees boarded the train to check all of the train passengers in for the ship.  Once the train reached Anchorage (maybe an hour later?), almost all of the Princess employees left the train.  We were told that because of cell reception problems, that they were only able to check in 3 of the 5 train cars.  Unfortunately, our car was not checked in.  We were told that we would need to check in at the dock in Whittier.  Once the train reached Whittier, we all got in what was already a very long line of people waiting to check in.  We watched as the passengers from the 3 train cars that were lucky enough to have been checked in went straight through the security checkpoints, and onto the ship.  We spent probably close to an hour waiting in line.  Once we finally got onto the ship, we rushed to our room to drop off our things, then rushed to eat dinner.  Once we finished dinner, it was too late to see the early theater show.  After a very long day, and the stress of the embarkation process, we were too tired to stay up to see the late show, so we missed one of the things we really enjoy about the beginning of a cruise, the "welcome aboard" show.

Looking back on it, the embarkation problem really isn't that huge of a deal since it only affected one short portion of the cruise.  But with it coming at the start of the cruise, it really made a bad first impression for us.

 

Overall:

As I stated above, overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise.  It was a beautiful ship, with a great crew, and obviously amazing scenery.  We would definitely cruise with Princess again.

We were on Majestic SB 5/14 sailing only with no land tour. Overall it was a great cruise but I do agree with your comments regarding the entertainment in the theatre and the lack of options in the buffet.  I have done a pre-cruise land tour in the past and check-in while on the train was great.  I certainly understand your  disappointment as Princess markets this as a 'plus'. This time we arrived on the morning train from Anchorage and walked right thru checkin and onto the ship around noon with absolutely no lines. 

[MudderBear]

I was on this cruise and did the land tour also in Denali.  I was on the DB4.  I concur with everything the OP said.  I was on the last train car from Denali and we were not checked in.  We had to wait in that long line too.  And the real issue is, we're talking like it's somewhere between 6-7:00PM.  It's not like it's 1:00 in the afternoon.  We need to get through, get onto the ship and do our muster drill, put away luggage and figure out where to eat.....so it was not a pleasant experience being rushed like that.

 

I too, was one of those coughing and coughing on board.  I did NOT have Covid.  Turns out I had/have a double ear infection.  I got sick on the training coming down from Denali.  I sat in a FREEZING cold draft for 10 hours.  I complained once or twice, and our steward move me two rows back from 11 to 13.  Did not help at all.  I sat with my fleece jacket over my head for most of the trip....and when I really wanted to warm up, I walked towards the back of the car and stood near the steps (not a very safe thing to do).  I wore the mask on and off.....

 

All in all, I can't believe the absolute perfect weather we had.  It was sunny and warm every day.  Yes, it's very cold in Hubbards's Galcier and Glacier Bay, but other than that, a long sleeve shirt and a down vest was all I needed.

 

Would love to do Alaska again, but I'm exploring Princess' Greek Isle land/cruise tour for next year (as long as the stock market comes back up.....)

[famous author]

Thank you for the reviews of the Majestic, we are traveling from Vancouver to Sydney on Sept 20th.

It will be our third Princess cruise and seventh overall. 

I hope that they address the lack of variety at the buffet especially as it's going to be 29 nights. Not that we will be eating there every night. 

It sounds like a great ship, one post complained of the water temperature in the pool being a little cool but that may have been addressed as the post was some time ago.

Our only major concern is the covid testing requirement  prior to boarding. My wife and I have both had 4 vaccine shots, I had a mild positive covid test in January and we just have to keep our fingers crossed that our vacation plans are not dashed at the last minute.

It will be interesting if the cruise lines follow Viking in dropping this requirement.     

 

Edited June 16, 2022 by famous author