Live: Majestic Princess Oct 10-12 - Another Cheeky Little Getaway

[ceilidh1]

Well, here we go again...

I gotta tell you. I am exhausted with all these little party cruises! Sapphire two weeks ago, Eurodam this weekend, and Majestic next week. I need a break. My liver needs a break. Full detox on my return (until the next cruise in December anyways).

 

Background: This 2 nighter is my "tradition" trip - last year it was on Royal and I talked a coworker (in her 20s) to tag along. We had a blast. This year she is tagging along again. Also joining us is a very special BFF but I won't reveal who (I will leave that up to them 😁). Once again, I am sailing without kiddos. I have the upgraded premium package, so no limit to drinks (last year we went way over 15 but never got cut off. Actually, I had to cut myself off at one point). Current plan is to dine at Catch by Rudi and maybe Sabatinis (though after the painful, slow service on Sapphire we may rethink). Ocean Terrace is high on the list, as is Alfredos (hopefully with the veal pockets on this ship). There will be no fitness classes, premium desserts, or fresh juices in my future but you can bet there will be photos. Many, many photos.

 

 

 

[Ellipooh]

Following!

you go girl…

[ceilidh1]

I book these repositioning cruises as soon as they are released because they do often fill up. When I booked, I did the cheapest option - inside guarantee with (old) premiere package. I'm sailing solo and, for whatever reason, there was no solo supplement when I booked. From the time I booked until final payment, the price went up and up and up, so when co-worker went to book her price was double my price. I thought about adding her to my room (which is how I discovered no solo supplement) but the price then doubled my fare. So, she waited until after final payment. About a week after final, the prices dropped a little and I was able to upgrade my guarantee interior to an "obstructed" balcony and upgrade to the new premier package for no additional cost. Score. The "obstructed" balcony is one of my favourites on this class of ship - Marina deck all the way at the front. The only obstruction is the balcony wall made of steel rather than glass, but an enormous balcony! Not that I will likely spend anytime in the room with luck...

[ceilidh1]

Co-worker and I are taking Amtrak down to Seattle on Thursday morning. I have done this many times and it's always worked out. Send good karma, positive vibes, and no leaves on the track. Last year, the train ride down was an absolute riot as almost every person on it was also going on the cruise that day. The conductor was the funniest guy ever (if a little inappropriate if you know what I mean). I hope this year is as much fun...

 

The train in Vancouver leaves from Pacific Central Station at 7am. This means I have to be up and on the skytrain around 6am. It's a 5 minute walk to skytrain from my house, then a 10 minute skytrain ride to the station. However, Amtrak does not have reserved seating and the train is sold out, so I want to get there early to get seats together. 

 

[ceilidh1]

From the station in Seattle we will likely take uber or a cab. I will not be kind this year like I was last year. When we were getting in the cab, a guy was also waiting for a cab (he was travelling with 3 others) and the cab drivers wouldn't take 4, only 3. I offered him to come with us (in my experience, you pay per cab, not per person, right?). Well, when we got to the pier, the driver charged us an additional $20 for the guy....uh, what? For whatever reason, cabs in Seattle don't seem to have meters - or if they do, they don't turn them on. I don't like that. No more being nice.

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

29 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

From the station in Seattle we will likely take uber or a cab. I will not be kind this year like I was last year. When we were getting in the cab, a guy was also waiting for a cab (he was travelling with 3 others) and the cab drivers wouldn't take 4, only 3. I offered him to come with us (in my experience, you pay per cab, not per person, right?). Well, when we got to the pier, the driver charged us an additional $20 for the guy....uh, what? For whatever reason, cabs in Seattle don't seem to have meters - or if they do, they don't turn them on. I don't like that. No more being nice.

See you onboard!

[Teechur]

31 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

From the station in Seattle we will likely take uber or a cab. I will not be kind this year like I was last year. When we were getting in the cab, a guy was also waiting for a cab (he was travelling with 3 others) and the cab drivers wouldn't take 4, only 3. I offered him to come with us (in my experience, you pay per cab, not per person, right?). Well, when we got to the pier, the driver charged us an additional $20 for the guy....uh, what? For whatever reason, cabs in Seattle don't seem to have meters - or if they do, they don't turn them on. I don't like that. No more being nice.

We had 3 cab drivers at the port in Seattle refuse to take us when they found out we were going to the Sheraton Grande (nearby) instead of the airport.

We were told that this is illegal, but they do it anyway. 😡 The first one told us he "suddenly felt ill" and unloaded our luggage, then he picked up other passengers.

[ceilidh1]

6 minutes ago, Teechur said:

We had 3 cab drivers at the port in Seattle refuse to take us when they found out we were going to the Sheraton Grande (nearby) instead of the airport.

We were told that this is illegal, but they do it anyway. 😡 The first one told us he "suddenly felt ill" and unloaded our luggage, then he picked up other passengers.

Yeah, I don't love Seattle cabs...

[startedwithamouse]

But why are you starting this LIVE so early???  I kid, I kid, IFKYK

 

Looking forward to following your fun voyage!

Edited October 6 by startedwithamouse

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

But why are you starting this LIVE so early???  I kid, I kid, IFKYK

 

Looking forward to following your fun voyage!

I know you're joking, but I did actually rethink getting it started a whole 4 days beforehand...

[ceilidh1]

For anyone that doubts the value of the Princess packages, let me tell you about my little one night on HAL yesterday. Since it was only one night, I couldn't buy any of their packages (not sure why that's a thing, but it is). I decided I wouldn't buy wifi, but if I HAD it was $34.99 for basic wifi for 24 hours. I did end up getting the messaging wifi so my kids could get hold of me if needed and so I could keep @YVRteacher updated on any shenanigans. That cost $19.99. I only had two cocktails and the rest of my drinks were beer. Now, I admit, I can drink a fair bit...but I still drank less on this one nighter than I would have if I had got a package. Gratuity was $17. I didn't do any dining other than buffet and main dining room, so not sure how much any of that would have been.

 

Princess Plus package - $60 would have covered everything above and I would have had no additional bill at the end.

 

HAL Bill:

Messaging: $19.99

Gratuity: $17

Drinks: $112.85

 

TOTAL: $149.84

Thankfully, I had $50 shareholder OBC so my portion was less than that, but wow. Sticker shock. On top of the drink price above (which had an 18% auto gratuity) I tipped $2 per drink cash. So, yes, Princess packages still give you way more value IMO.

[[Big Z]]

There's no Sabatini's on the Majestic — it's Harmony instead. 

[memoak]

3 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

From the station in Seattle we will likely take uber or a cab. I will not be kind this year like I was last year. When we were getting in the cab, a guy was also waiting for a cab (he was travelling with 3 others) and the cab drivers wouldn't take 4, only 3. I offered him to come with us (in my experience, you pay per cab, not per person, right?). Well, when we got to the pier, the driver charged us an additional $20 for the guy....uh, what? For whatever reason, cabs in Seattle don't seem to have meters - or if they do, they don't turn them on. I don't like that. No more being nice.

They do that at Amtrak in Seattle all the time. That is why we always do Uber. We will be getting off the ship that morning and go and catch the train to Seattle we have transportation arranged 

[memoak]

9 minutes ago, [Big Z] said:

There's no Sabatini's on the Majestic — it's Harmony instead. 

I have to say we have been on the Majestic and the only specialty restaurant I can recommend is Crown Grille. Our meal at  the Catch last night was so bad they refunded our cover charge

[ceilidh1]

16 minutes ago, [Big Z] said:

There's no Sabatini's on the Majestic — it's Harmony instead. 

Ha Ha - well, that solves that! Majestic is one of the few Princess ships I haven't sailed. I could have sworn I made a reservation for Sabatinis but now I just looked it's Crown Grill. Harmony is Asian food, correct? I think I might skip that...

[ceilidh1]

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have to say we have been on the Majestic and the only specialty restaurant I can recommend is Crown Grille. Our meal at  the Catch last night was so bad they refunded our cover charge

Oh no. I was looking forward to that one as I've never done it! Food was bad? Or service? Or both?

[ceilidh1]

I had a bit of a snafu with my medallion ordering for this cruise. For some reason, the app thought I had already ordered it (I hadn't. The order it kept bringing up was the order for my Sapphire cruise 2 weeks prior). Unfortunately, every time I clicked "order medallion" it added another premier accessory to my cart, but no medallion. It wouldn't let me remove the accessories, or add a medallion, so I though maybe if I just completed the transaction the system would be smart enough to know I only needed one accessory and one medallion. Oh how wrong I was. I got home from my Sapphire trip to find my Princess package....containing 3 accessories, and no medallion. Sigh. Blue lane it is. 

Edited October 7 by ceilidh1
pic

[memoak]

8 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Oh no. I was looking forward to that one as I've never done it! Food was bad? Or service? Or both?

See vice was good but the good was not at least in my opinion. The ole shrimp were in about 2 inches of oil and the pasta was inundated with a ehikte wine sauce that overtook all flavors. Maybe you will have better luck

[ceilidh1]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

See vice was good but the good was not at least in my opinion. The ole shrimp were in about 2 inches of oil and the pasta was inundated with a ehikte wine sauce that overtook all flavors. Maybe you will have better luck

Disappointing...

[memoak]

12 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Disappointing...

That and the fact that the restaurant is open to the piazza and the music last night was so loud it was hard to have a conversation 

[crusinthrough]

What are the Princess accessories you received? 

Edited October 7 by crusinthrough

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

51 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Disappointing...

We're giving the catch and Harmony A try.  We had good experiences at Harmony before, and although the Catch was awful on another trip, we figured it's worth another try.

[memoak]

4 minutes ago, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

We're giving the catch and Harmony A try.  We had good experiences at Harmony before, and although the Catch was awful on another trip, we figured it's worth another try.

To us Harmony felt like Panda Express food. Not much spice or flavor. If you go to the catch along with the food check the patter for what music is in the piazza. Yesterday it went from piano music to 80’s rock night and was so loud you couldn’t even have a conversation 

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, crusinthrough said:

What are the Princess accessories you received? 

It's the medallion clip that comes with the upgraded package. I do use it as I prefer the clip to the lanyard, but really there is no need for more than one...ever...

[startedwithamouse]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

I have to say we have been on the Majestic and the only specialty restaurant I can recommend is Crown Grille. Our meal at  the Catch last night was so bad they refunded our cover charge

Details? We want to know what not to order.