Live from Majestic Princess - 20th October 2022

[boeckli]

7 minutes ago, arxcards said:

We finally managed to get a window table at Alfredo's for lunch. As Barb was wriggling into place across the bench seat along the wall, she managed to knock the back of her head against a faux column that was sitting proud of the wall.

 

Ouch - bad design or "operator (Barb) error"?

[NSWP]

12 minutes ago, arxcards said:

We finally managed to get a window table at Alfredo's for lunch. As Barb was wriggling into place across the bench seat along the wall, she managed to knock the back of her head against a faux column that was sitting proud of the wall.

Unique, hurt on duty lol.

[arxcards]

4 minutes ago, boeckli said:

 

Ouch - bad design or "operator (Barb) error"?

A bit of both I reckon.

[NSWP]

3 minutes ago, arxcards said:

A bit of both I reckon.

Tis the  drinks package that does those things to one, lol. 

[Ozwoody]

15 minutes ago, arxcards said:

A bit of both I reckon.

Now A gentleman would have done the wiggle bit, and allowed the wife to sit with dignity. You give him one of those looks Barb that wives do so well. Let him know there is some responsibilities' also somewhere else.🤣

[NSWP]

Would have been safer to pay the $3 delivery and get the ham and pineapple 🍕 delivered to the cabin lol. Washed down with a $64 bottle of Willowglen plonk, lol.

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, NSWP said:

Tis the  drinks package that does those things to one, lol. 

Not at lunch.

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

Now A gentleman would have done the wiggle bit, and allowed the wife to sit with dignity. You give him one of those looks Barb that wives do so well. Let him know there is some responsibilities' also somewhere else.🤣

Barb prefers the soft comfy bench. I only scored that privilege a couple of times during the cruise. 

[arxcards]

Time for a bit of a wrap.

 

Embarkation. Not good, but outside Princess' control. OPT might be in a great location, but they don't have an inside waiting area if there are delays. Those delays were, apparently, due to the extra checks required on the ships' arrival into Australia and a lack of Border Force staff available to conduct those checks. Disembark from the previous cruise was delayed by nearly two hours, and that backed everything up behind it.

 

Our cabin - on the inside we thought it was nice. Minis have shrunk a bit over the years, but everything was comfortable. There is a dividing curtain between the bed and sitting area, so we could allow each other a sleep-in. The aircon controls actually changed the temperature when you moved the dial, which is an amazing feature compared to other ships where you can have it flat out cold for the whole cruise and still have a warm cabin. The bathroom was like-new, and everything functioned like that. Hot water was almost instant, with constant flow and temperature. The shower curtain clung to the side of the bath instead of your body, which was a major plus. We also had a little Princess travel toiletries pack waiting for us, as well as our elite mini-bar. Two USB ports bedside, but one didn't work. We also had an Aussie outlet plus two Euro and two US. The fridge was cold. The decor is typical Princess.

 

Only one minor thing that annoyed the absolute bejeezus out of us. We had two large flat screen TV's. Sounds wonderful, but they both operated off identical remotes, and it was quite a feat to get one to turn on without turning on the other. We finally had it mastered, then it was time to disembark.

 

Our cabin - on the outside and location - one of our worst. We didn't get any say in our category. When our Royal Princess cruise was cancelled, we got to swap our price, OBC and packages to this cruise. As the cruise included an additional night, our cabin category was downgraded to MF. No big deal we thought, extra night for nothing.

 

These are forward and aft of the tenders on deck 8 and sit above the promenade deck. Starboard aft cabins sit above the smoking area, starboard forward cabins sit above the crew smoking area, which late at night, the smoke resembles a grass fire. There is no overhead cover to offer any privacy or protection from the weather. One late evening on the balcony, I couldn't figure how we had any sea spray or drizzle, then realised we were getting bits of spatter from the cleaning and squeegeeing of the top deck. Awesome of them to be sharing the dreggs with us. The deck 9 cabins sit further into the ship, which means their balcony doors are above the sitting area. This becomes an issue when the passengers above like slamming their balcony door shut. Our cabin was above the theatre. While I don't mind a bit of sound spill, the doof doof vibrated the whole cabin whenever they had a musical show. I recommend giving these deck 8 minis a wide berth when booking on Majestic or any other Royal class ship.

 

On a rather large ship, being well forward or aft tends to lead to a fair bit of walking. Most of the time, that was fine, but it also led to having to navigate a couple of high traffic areas in order to get from one end to the other.

 

The ship areas the theatre looked nice, but we didn't bother with the shows there. The private cabanas in Hollywood looked nice, but we only walked through. The casino looked typically glitzy, but we didn't spend time there or the "Vista Gaming Lounge" either.

 

Princess Live was a nice spot for trivia and interactive shows. The International Café was well laid out, but always seemed occupied by 2 people at tables for 4 who always insist their friends will be back in a minute. The shops were very boutique like, and we didn't spot any of those incredible SALE tables or inches of gold. We bought a couple of bottles of duty free, which had a few nice alternate and premium brands, but a comparatively small range.

 

We drank at a few bars, but when you find a favourite, it is hard to move on. Seaview and Wake View offered nice vistas, but the service was hit & miss. The TV's in the VIP lounge were good for watching a bit of cricket world cup, but the bar service was ordinary while we were there. Good Spirits at Sea at the best staff, and we made a couple of new friends there. Most of the other regulars were easy going, especially when we were seated on the bar stools. The only downside was that more and more passengers were congregating there each day, and it got rather busy in the evenings.

 

There is not much of a promenade deck, so most people walk front to back indoors on deck 7. For much of the cruise, it was like dodgem cars, made worse by a US keep left rule being muddled by an Aussie keep right rule. In spots, the thoroughfare narrows between the atrium and Crown Grill, and it requires plenty of stopping, propping and patience. Pity not all passengers saw it that way.

 

Dining we made an effort to try most areas with an open mind, depending on whether in port or if we just wanted a light meal. We didn't dine at the noodle bar, the ice cream bar, or the Harmony specialty Asian restaurant.

 

International café was great for a light breakfast or a late night snack with your coffee. We were happy with the food options, which were just a little bit broader than we had on Coral.

 

Dining Room had great food. The menus are a little bit smaller on choice than they used to be, but the meals were generally good to great. We reserved all our dinners in Concerto, as it was more central - especially having a forward cabin. Service was a bit inconsistent, but overall a solid pass. I found a new favourite dessert too, which was sadly a one-night-only, and their Crème Brule's were consistently awesome. The breakfast menu was rather repetitive for 11 nights, but all the bacon or egg dishes were very good. Lunch menus were pretty basic, but hey, better than a salad sandwich at work.

 

Alfredo's we enjoyed a couple of port day lunches there. Pizza's and antipasti were lovely. We shared a pizza each day, as I think to eat a full two courses for lunch there is a bit much. Take care when wriggling across the bench seating.

 

The Grill - Nice fresh burgers and "street tacos". I didn't spot a pie warmer, so didn't ask about pies.

 

World Fresh Marketplace was one of my better buffets. There wasn't a huge choice, but there was a lot of variety among the limited options. Nice to walk out the back to an aft table on a sunny sea day.

 

Bistro Sur La Mer (specialty). We had dinner there one night. It was lovely food, but the lack of ambiance does detract a bit. It is just tucked over to one side of the atrium, so not my idea of an intimate dinner.

 

Crown Grill (specialty) was once again the highlight of our dining. We both agree that our previous cruise grill meal on Coral was a bit better. Perhaps I had leftover US steak bit I can't be sure of that. Everything was suitably wonderful, but had less flavour than for our previous cruise.

 

The Ports - nothing new to us. We had perfect Queensland weather and calm seas for the last 9 days. For the tropical ports, we just walked around, spent a few dollars and relaxed with a cold drink or ice cream. In Brisbane, we caught up with old cruise friends, and enjoyed a drink and snacks at Portside.

 

Medallion - worked fine, except we have noticed for both Coral and Majestic that orders near the open deck bars can be hit and miss. Having just arrived from the US, all the drink prices had been adjusted, but a $12 cap was being applied on the first afternoon. We adjusted that and a few other drink charges at the service desk through the cruise. Some waiters use the new technology correctly, while others still like using the old paper system. We noticed the drink charges that weren't zeroed against the package stemmed from dining waiters. We used all of our OBC, largely from an extra couple of Crown Grill sessions and duty free. We disembarked with a bill of less than $20.

 

Overall - not our favourite ship, but still pretty damn good and just what we needed to get away from it all for 11 nights. There were times it felt like we were on Celebrity Solstice, while other parts of the ship were distinctly Princess. I am not game to jump on the scales to confirm the damage, but I have a fair few salads and glasses of water planned for the weeks ahead.

 

I will look through my photos, and pick some to post later.

Edited November 2, 2022 by arxcards
types faster than he can think

[NSWP]

Brilliant review Geoff. It will certainly assist others in deciding whether or not Majestic Princess is for them. From your comments I would rate your experience as a 7/10. I have been on Royal Princess in UK so I can relate to some of your comments.

 

Again, well compiled Mate.👏

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by NSWP

[arxcards]

4 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Brilliant review Geoff. It will certainly assist others in deciding whether or not Majestic Princess is for them. From your comments I would rate your experience as a 7/10. I have been on Royal Princess in UK so I can relate to some of your comments.

 

Again, well compiled Mate.👏

 

Thanks Les,

Apart from the cabin location, I would go close to an 8. We have had a few in the 9's over the years though.

[resordanis]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Time for a bit of a wrap.

 

Embarkation. Not good, but outside Princess' control. OPT might be in a great location, but they don't have an inside waiting area if there are delays. Those delays were, apparently, due to the extra checks required on the ships' arrival into Australia and a lack of Border Force staff available to conduct those checks. Disembark from the previous cruise was delayed by nearly two hours, and that backed everything up behind it.

 

Our cabin - on the inside we thought it was nice. Minis have shrunk a bit over the years, but everything was comfortable. There is a dividing curtain between the bed and sitting area, so we could allow each other a sleep-in. The aircon controls actually changed the temperature when you moved the dial, which is an amazing feature compared to other ships where you can have it flat out cold for the whole cruise and still have a warm cabin. The bathroom was like-new, and everything functioned like that. Hot water was almost instant, with constant flow and temperature. The shower curtain clung to the side of the bath instead of your body, which was a major plus. We also had a little Princess travel toiletries pack waiting for us, as well as our elite mini-bar. Two USB ports bedside, but one didn't work. We also had an Aussie outlet plus two Euro and two US. The fridge was cold. The decor is typical Princess.

 

Only one minor thing that annoyed the absolute bejeezus out of us. We had two large flat screen TV's. Sounds wonderful, but they both operated off identical remotes, and it was quite a feat to get one to turn on without turning on the other. We finally had it mastered, then it was time to disembark.

 

Our cabin - on the outside and location - one of our worst. We didn't get any say in our category. When our Royal Princess cruise was cancelled, we got to swap our price, OBC and packages to this cruise. As the cruise included an additional night, our cabin category was downgraded to MF. No big deal we thought, extra night for nothing.

 

These are forward and aft of the tenders on deck 8 and sit above the promenade deck. Starboard aft cabins sit above the smoking area, starboard forward cabins sit above the crew smoking area, which late at night, the smoke resembles a grass fire. There is no overhead cover to offer any privacy or protection from the weather. One late evening on the balcony, I couldn't figure how we had any sea spray or drizzle, then realised we were getting bits of spatter from the cleaning and squeegeeing of the top deck. Awesome of them to be sharing the dreggs with us. The deck 9 cabins sit further into the ship, which means their balcony doors are above the sitting area. This becomes an issue when the passengers above like slamming their balcony door shut. Our cabin was above the theatre. While I don't mind a bit of sound spill, the doof doof vibrated the whole cabin whenever they had a musical show. I recommend giving these deck 8 minis a wide berth when booking on Majestic or any other Royal class ship.

 

On a rather large ship, being well forward or aft tends to lead to a fair bit of walking. Most of the time, that was fine, but it also led to having to navigate a couple of high traffic areas in order to get from one end to the other.

 

The ship areas the theatre looked nice, but we didn't bother with the shows there. The private cabanas in Hollywood looked nice, but we only walked through. The casino looked typically glitzy, but we didn't spend time there or the "Vista Gaming Lounge" either.

 

Princess Live was a nice spot for trivia and interactive shows. The International Café was well laid out, but always seemed occupied by 2 people at tables for 4 who always insist their friends will be back in a minute. The shops were very boutique like, and we didn't spot any of those incredible SALE tables or inches of gold. We bought a couple of bottles of duty free, which had a few nice alternate and premium brands, but a comparatively small range.

 

We drank at a few bars, but when you find a favourite, it is hard to move on. Seaview and Wake View offered nice vistas, but the service was hit & miss. The TV's in the VIP lounge were good for watching a bit of cricket world cup, but the bar service was ordinary while we were there. Good Spirits at Sea at the best staff, and we made a couple of new friends there. Most of the other regulars were easy going, especially when we were seated on the bar stools. The only downside was that more and more passengers were congregating there each day, and it got rather busy in the evenings.

 

There is not much of a promenade deck, so most people walk front to back indoors on deck 7. For much of the cruise, it was like dodgem cars, made worse by a US keep left rule being muddled by an Aussie keep right rule. In spots, the thoroughfare narrows between the atrium and Crown Grill, and it requires plenty of stopping, propping and patience. Pity not all passengers saw it that way.

 

Dining we made an effort to try most areas with an open mind, depending on whether in port or if we just wanted a light meal. We didn't dine at the noodle bar, the ice cream bar, or the Harmony specialty Asian restaurant.

 

International café was great for a light breakfast or a late night snack with your coffee. We were happy with the food options, which were just a little bit broader than we had on Coral.

 

Dining Room had great food. The menus are a little bit smaller on choice than they used to be, but the meals were generally good to great. We reserved all our dinners in Concerto, as it was more central - especially having a forward cabin. Service was a bit inconsistent, but overall a solid pass. I found a new favourite dessert too, which was sadly a one-night-only, and their Crème Brule's were consistently awesome. The breakfast menu was rather repetitive for 11 nights, but all the bacon or egg dishes were very good. Lunch menus were pretty basic, but hey, better than a salad sandwich at work.

 

Alfredo's we enjoyed a couple of port day lunches there. Pizza's and antipasti were lovely. We shared a pizza each day, as I think to eat a full two courses for lunch there is a bit much. Take care when wriggling across the bench seating.

 

The Grill - Nice fresh burgers and "street tacos". I didn't spot a pie warmer, so didn't ask about pies.

 

World Fresh Marketplace was one of my better buffets. There wasn't a huge choice, but there was a lot of variety among the limited options. Nice to walk out the back to an aft table on a sunny sea day.

 

Bistro Sur La Mer (specialty). We had dinner there one night. It was lovely food, but the lack of ambiance does detract a bit. It is just tucked over to one side of the atrium, so not my idea of an intimate dinner.

 

Crown Grill (specialty) was once again the highlight of our dining. We both agree that our previous cruise grill meal on Coral was a bit better. Perhaps I had leftover US steak bit I can't be sure of that. Everything was suitably wonderful, but had less flavour than for our previous cruise.

 

The Ports - nothing new to us. We had perfect Queensland weather and calm seas for the last 9 days. For the tropical ports, we just walked around, spent a few dollars and relaxed with a cold drink or ice cream. In Brisbane, we caught up with old cruise friends, and enjoyed a drink and snacks at Portside.

 

Medallion - worked fine, except we have noticed for both Coral and Majestic that orders near the open deck bars can be hit and miss. Having just arrived from the US, all the drink prices had been adjusted, but a $12 cap was being applied on the first afternoon. We adjusted that and a few other drink charges at the service desk through the cruise. Some waiters use the new technology correctly, while others still like using the old paper system. We noticed the drink charges that weren't zeroed against the package stemmed from dining waiters. We used all of our OBC, largely from an extra couple of Crown Grill sessions and duty free. We disembarked with a bill of less than $20.

 

Overall - not our favourite ship, but still pretty damn good and just what we needed to get away from it all for 11 nights. There were times it felt like we were on Celebrity Solstice, while other parts of the ship were distinctly Princess. I am not game to jump on the scales to confirm the damage, but I have a fair few salads and glasses of water planned for the weeks ahead.

 

I will look through my photos, and pick some to post later.

Good summary, sorry we did not meet. We were aft Caribe and very happy with cabin and in the end very happy with the way our complaints were handled, although I do think they will flag me as a problem for my 20/11 cruise.🤣

[OzKiwiJJ]

Great review, Geoff.

 

One thing we learnt from having aft cabins is to always move through the ship, when leaving your cabin, through passenger cabin decks not the public area decks. You might have to dodge a few cabin steward trolleys but usually there aren't any traffic jams. The same principle applies to forward cabins too.

Edited November 2, 2022 by OzKiwiJJ

[arxcards]

10 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Great review, Geoff.

 

One thing we learnt from having aft cabins is to always move through the ship, when leaving your cabin, through passenger cabin decks not the public area decks. You might have to dodge a few cabin steward trolleys but usually there aren't any traffic jams. The same principle applies to forward cabins too.

We did a few times, but it was pretty boring with no tables to count in the corridor. 😉

Majestic corridors are a bit skinnier than those on the older ships, particularly noticeable when full of luggage.

[arxcards]

Looks like I have bought home a souvenir.

 

Started feeling ordinary last night, and feel like crap today. It looks like it isn't covid though. I took a negative RAT last night, but with more significant symptoms this morning, I have headed-off to get a PCR.

[By The Bay]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Looks like I have bought home a souvenir.

 

Started feeling ordinary last night, and feel like crap today. It looks like it isn't covid though. I took a negative RAT last night, but with more significant symptoms this morning, I have headed-off to get a PCR.

Good luck.🤞🙏

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Looks like I have bought home a souvenir.

 

Started feeling ordinary last night, and feel like crap today. It looks like it isn't covid though. I took a negative RAT last night, but with more significant symptoms this morning, I have headed-off to get a PCR.

It can take a day or so to test positive even with a PCR test.

 

Look after yourself and rest up.

[CDaze71]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Looks like I have bought home a souvenir.

 

Started feeling ordinary last night, and feel like crap today. It looks like it isn't covid though. I took a negative RAT last night, but with more significant symptoms this morning, I have headed-off to get a PCR.

I tested Negative on a RAT for a couple of days after my symptoms had started (from Coral Princess cruise) before I eventually tested Positive. So it could still be COVID. Best wishes.

[NSWP]

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

Looks like I have bought home a souvenir.

 

Started feeling ordinary last night, and feel like crap today. It looks like it isn't covid though. I took a negative RAT last night, but with more significant symptoms this morning, I have headed-off to get a PCR.

Hope you have not caught the dreaded lurgy mate, fingers crossed for you.

[resordanis]

4 hours ago, arxcards said:

Looks like I have bought home a souvenir.

 

Started feeling ordinary last night, and feel like crap today. It looks like it isn't covid though. I took a negative RAT last night, but with more significant symptoms this morning, I have headed-off to get a PCR.

My husband brought home the souvenir too. Me not yet. Hopefully if I am going to get it I do soon as we go again 20/11.  We both did negative RAT’s on Tuesday though. Just picked up him anti viral medication and the original price was over $1000. Thank goodness for the PBS. We both wore masks on the ship, but he did the Princess Pop Choir!

[yes!yes!yes!]

5 hours ago, arxcards said:

Looks like I have bought home a souvenir.

 

Started feeling ordinary last night, and feel like crap today. It looks like it isn't covid though. I took a negative RAT last night, but with more significant symptoms this morning, I have headed-off to get a PCR.

Bummer.

Reminds me to go and get my booster. I have almost forgotten that covid is out there.

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It can take a day or so to test positive even with a PCR test.

 

Look after yourself and rest up.

My symptoms had evolved to man-flu status this morning, so I am pretty sure I am carrying enough of whatever it is to give them an accurate test.

 

Yes, resting up.

[OzKiwiJJ]

12 minutes ago, arxcards said:

My symptoms had evolved to man-flu status this morning, so I am pretty sure I am carrying enough of whatever it is to give them an accurate test.

 

Yes, resting up.

Oh no! Not the dreaded man-flu! 

 

Get antivirals if you can, they are magic!

[resordanis]

54 minutes ago, arxcards said:

My symptoms had evolved to man-flu status this morning, so I am pretty sure I am carrying enough of whatever it is to give them an accurate test.

 

Yes, resting up.

That is what we thought with my husband. Just man flu, we really were not going to do a RAT as we did one on Tuesday, which were both negative, just wondering if I get it too!

[arxcards]

Come Back New [ly infected]. I am impressed we managed to dodge it for over 2 1/2 years, and it took 4 cruises to get there.