Sailaway John
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Have a great cruise CheznAndy. As you know I will following your exploits with a lot of interest as I have got a great bunch for our Meet & Greet on the cruise from Sydney on the 15th Sept. Love the know the name of the Captain and Cruise Director ASAP so that I can invite them to the M & G.
Thanks
Hi allI am planning on posting live from the Majestic Princess for its voyage to Australia.
We fly out early tomorrow morning, overnight in Shanghai and board the Majestic Friday morning.
Hoping to be be able to answer any questions for those that have upcoming cruises or are thinking about booking. I already have a list haha!!
We have had a fabulous Rollcall, have a Meet n Greet first seaday, a Sailaway get together and a Cabin Crawl organised.
Hoping to post some photos depending on internet etc
Ports of call are
Shanghai
Busan
Hong Kong
Nha Trang
Vung Tau
Singapore
Darwin
Brisbane
Sydney
Finger crossed our flight isnt delayed and we make our connection in Sydney tomorrow:cool:
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Thanks Tracy, but I have the Conservatory booked as you know for 60-65 passengers, but now at the moment there are 75 passengers and I just hope they don't change the venue as I will not be able to notify everyone on time.
Thanks again,
John Swinsburg
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Yes I have done that and they have allocated me the Conservatory for my 60-65 passengers . . . . but that number is now 75 and I hope they do not change the venue at this late time.
Thanks for your reply.
;)
Have you communicated with the Princess Majestic Rep that sets the M&G's up?They will know the capacity of a specific place onboard.
They will assign the time/venue.
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Can anyone tell me what the allowable capacity of passengers would be for the Conservatory on the Majestic Princess. I am organising a Meet & Greet and the list is getting quite big.
Thanks
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Can anyone tell me what the allowable capacity of passengers would be for the Conservatory on the Majestic Princess. I am organising a Meet & Greet and the list is getting quite big.
Thanks
:o
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You do not get a Boarding Pass for that ship you have to be able to play the Didgeredoo.
Has anyone else recently been up Ship Creek in Woop Woop?Looks like an interesting place to visit as I have seen ads on the TV for a family whose car and caravan is broken down up Ship Creek in Woop Woop. The family in the ad, called Ammi as I recall - good old Aussie name for sure, seemed quite taken by the area.
Not particularly fond on travelling in a caravan but if there were any cruises going there I would be most interested - can or do cruise ships go up Ship Creek?
Any advice from someone that has been there or knows of cruise lines visiting the area would be appreciated!
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When you attend a Meet and Greet what activities are usually done . . . anything special or just meeting and talking with you fellow passengers and then arranging what you want to do.
Thanks for info that you send.
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Let's all wait and see. I sure Princess will Aussie-ize the ship. I don't know if the Chinese plan went to expectations re passengers.
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YES! both wife and I are booked into that restaurant on the Majestic's Maiden Voyage.
We have 3 other cruises to worry about firstNow I am a bit worried that we are on the first Majestic cruise out of Sydney in September. But I am looking forwards to dinner in Harmony, the Cantonese restaurant on board.
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Great photos. Thanks you. We will be on the Majestic Princess soon. I believe it's a sister ship to your ship.
Enjoying the excellent photos.:) -
Hope they have it on the Majestic Princess when it arrives here in Australia in September this year. If not then there will be a riot.
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A good example is the wine sold onboard. One wine we like is Nobilo. For awhile it was $42. On last cruise it was up to $46. Just after that cruise I saw it on sale at Total Wine for $8.50. I can regularly get it at the grocery store for under $10. I expect a mark-up but, seriously?
Well what if I bought 4 bottles of wine and only paid $8.50 per bottle then when we arrived at check-in for the ship I paid the $15 per bottle corkage. That's only $23.00 per bottle. A lot less than what the ship charges. Then I think I can take that Ito the dining room . . . can I?
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As posted a number of times on Cruise Critic, the rules are 1 BOTTLE PER PERSON OF WINE OR CHAMPAGNE AT EMBARKATION ONLY. If these rules have changed then I have heard about them.
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I may be unkind to some people but that virus on the Sea Princess was caused by dirty, unclean passengers who never washed their hands after using the toilets.
I have seen people do that whilst I have been using the toilets and when challenged they just look at you and walk away.
They just spoil it for all the other passengers and I also say that more people should speak out if you see such an incidence.
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I have asked this question about how do you edit your signature or add a new one.
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Both wife and I are going on our 16th cruise with Princess on the Majestic in September 2018. We feel that Princess tops them all and we cannot say anything bad about the cruise line, except that some people eat too much and waste food. We have also cruised on P&O, HAL and Carnival Spirit.
Enjoy tour cruise
Considering booking a 10 day Caribbean cruise on Princess for Mar 2019.Wife and I are many times Carnival cruisers and I am seeking feedback/contrast of Princess and Carnival, if you’ve sailed both lines.
We are choosing this cruise to celebrate 50th birthdays and the itinerary is 10 days versus 8 or fewer as Carnival offers. That’s a big draw for us as we’re traveling from CA to FLL to cruise.
Also, we’d like some insight into Princess cruisers’ ages we could expect on a March cruise. We’ve only started sailing out of “family” or high season as our children and getting older and more independent.
We’re active and young (no disrespect to ANY active people regardless of age) and want to ensure we’re getting a good fit with this potential cruise. Reading somewhere that HAL attracts 65+ year old cruisers, mapping to an active and similar life-stage demographic is important to us as we tend to be pretty social on cruises.
Thank you in advance for your replies and input.
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Well it should be stopped. I do not care how much people spend on the ship, I do it the right and honourable way and earn my Elite Status.
Recently I was on the Caribbean Princess and talked separately with 2 women who each said that they were on their 3rd cruise with Princess and they were told on embarkation that they had been elevated to Elite status. After the first woman told this to me, I told my daughter (who was present) that the woman was either confused or lying because it takes 15 cruise credits or 150 sail days to become Elite. The next day another woman said the same thing. This woman said she spent alot of money in the casino and wondered if that had something to do with it.Since I was really confused, I went and talked with the Captains Circle rep. She reluctantly admitted that about 18 mo. ago Carnival Corp. started a new policy on Princess where people who spend ALOT of money on the ship and/or on a Princess credit card (she said about $1,500/day) get into the new program called "Fast Track" Elite status! She said she didn't agree with it but couldn't do anything about it.
Anyone else heard about this? I can't remember reading anything about this on CC. :confused:
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Yes, boy wife and I had one on the Diamond 14 months ago and the last voyage of the Dawn last year.
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Hi David,
Could you please add Eileen & John Swinsburg
15th September on the Majestic Princess
Thank you
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Hi all,
Would like some information re cruising from Honolulu back to Sydney.
Did this cruise a couple of years ago but would like to do it again. Last time was with the Carnival Spirit but this time would like another cruise line just to see the difference . . . preferably Princess but not fussy.
Any ideas and thanks in advance.
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What are the requirements for using a US based T/A if you live in Australia? Do you have to have a US address? Can you be refused boarding when they see your Aussie Passport and a ticket issued in Australia?
After losing nearly $7000.00 by booking with Celebrity Oz direct on 3 b2b's this year, and watching my US fellow travellers move from insides to suites for far less than what we paid for aquaclass and not being able to do a thing about it without losing $4000 to cancel and rebook, we decided even with the $A to $USA difference to book with an American TA for next years cruises. Well has that paid off!!!We have just been able to upgrade to a N1 suite on Azamara Quest from a V2 stateroom and we are paying $1800US LESS than what we were going to pay originally. So we are two very happy vegemites and thank goodness we booked overseas!
Once burned never again will we book direct and our prices are ridiculous even using an Oz TA, Its a no brainer to use a US TA instead.
Sent from my iPad using Forums
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Thanks for the excellent report. Both wife and I will be on the Majestic in September 2018 when it arrives and leaves from Australia for the first time. Really looking forward to it. Any further comments would be appreciated.
We havejust returned from the Singapore to Shanghai on the Majestic PrincessI bookedthis cruise when it first opened for 2 reasons. Itinerary and brand new ship.(as I thought we would have to fly to US orEurope to sail on a new Princess ship). We are Aussies, late fifties, still working FT
We had agreat time, sure there were a few things that were different, but we hadalready booked the repo cruise from Shanghai to Sydney next August (beforetaking this cruise) and wont cancel.
Cabin
I booked anObstructed ocean view Emerald deck mid ship E421, which has the angled balcony, on the curve). It wasa great cabin, no obstruction at all, as it overlooked the Promenade deck. Balcony was larger than others. Bed& pillows very comfy.
Lots ofpower in cabin. USB charger next to bed. Desk had US power & Europe, Abovefridge had Europe & Aussie. Large sink in bathroom and usual shower withcurtain. Plenty of storage in wardrobes and shelves. Suitcases easily fit underbeds. Stateroom steward was excellent. Close to midship stairs and lifts.
Dining
Main DiningRoom
We hadanytime dining and were able to get a table straight away (except for 2occasions, when we went at busy times of 7.30pm) Lots of tables for 2, whereyou could chat to others, or just be by yourselves. Food was great, smallerMenu, but ours was always hot. Not many Chinese options. You could keep yourwine for the next night and the waiters always managed to find it!.
Anytimedining was in Symphony dining room Deck 5 from 5.00pm to 9.30pm
AnytimeConcerto Dining room Deck 6 8pm
TraditionalAllegro Deck 6 aft First seating 5.45pm, late 8.00pm
TraditionalConcerto Deck 6 First seating 5.30pm
We didn’t goto dining room for Breakfast or Lunch.
Marketplace (buffet) Deck 16 fwd, opened from 5.30amto 11.00pm
Lots ofoptions for food (and they even had Vegemite). Busy at peak times, but youcould usually get a seat. We liked going to the back of the ship (Wake Bar) tohave our meals.
There was aCoffee bar in the Bakery section.
AlfredosPizza Deck 6 Midship opened from 10am to 11pm.
Menu hadantipasto, salad, pasta and about 10 pizza. Very busy at lunch time, quieter atDinner time.(as was noisy due to Atrium) No bookings. Did take a while for pizza’s to be made 30-45 mins.
InternationalCafé Deck 5 midship. 24 hours
This was oneof our favorite places. Breakfast items up to 11am included fresh fruit,muesli,yogurt,donuts, pastries, muffins and egg & bacon muffins (hot).
After 11amthey had salads, paninis, pies, quiches, sandwiches,soup and cakes.
The coffeebar was next to it and very popular. Most people had the coffee card and theBaristas managed the queue really well. One took the order, 3 Baristas making thecoffee, and one doing the milk.
LobsterGrill & Dim Sim Bar Deck 16 fwd 11.00am to 9pm. This also had theHamburger,Cheeseburger,fries and Hot Dogs, all freshly made and free. You hadto pay for Lobsters and Dim Sum and we didn’t try them.
Noodle BarDeck 16 fwd 11.00am 9pm. Had rotating noodle dishes and soup (free) and somedishes to buy.
Swirls icecream bar Deck 16 Midship 11am to 9pmFree
RoomService- seems to be the normal Menu, we had dinner in one night and orderedthe Lasagna and Hamburger. Took 30mins, hot and tasty. Didn’t order Breakfastat all, but you do it on the Messenger app.
There were3 specialty restaurants. All had a $29pp cover charge.
We ate atthe Crown Grill and enjoyed it, butprobably wouldn’t bother again.
The other 2Restaurants Harmony(Chinese) and La Mer (French) were very quiet. La Mer tookprime space on Deck 7 midship and that area was very noisy as most of the Entertainment took place in the Atrium (morelater)
Bars
We had noproblem getting a drink, plenty of waiters to take your order, though I thinkthey may add a few more bars when it comes down under
Piazza barand Vines are on Deck 5 and had lots of seats.
BellinisBar Deck 6 overlooking the Atrium (which is closest bar to the Casino)
Crown GrillBar Deck 7 aft. This was where the happy hour was held each day 3.00-4pm and10pm-11pm Buy one, get 2nd for $1.00.
Seaview barDeck 16
Pool barDeck 16
Wake viewbar (our favorite place for Sailaways) Deck 16 Aft
HollywoodBar Deck 16 fwd
OceanTerrace Juice bar Deck 7 midship
Gong Chatea bar Deck 7 midship.
Theplatinum/Elite lounge was held daily , usually 4.30pm-7pm in The Vista Gaminglounge- no bar here, but I think they could easily add one.
Entertainment
Most of theentertainment was held in the Atrium are. Lots of dancing classes, linedancing,gameshows, Music, so it could be very noisy.
We had 4 productionshows (held in the Princess theatre, usually at 7.45pm and 9.45pm), severalvocalists,mentalist, ventriloquists,etc. You had to get there early to get aseat as only 900 odd seats available.. You could not save seats, but it was notpoliced.. There was a fight one night as people were saving seats, and otherwanted them. Princess needs to do better here as there were 3600 people on theship, so half of the people couldn’t see the show.
We usuallydo Trivia, but this was held in Princess Live. You couldn't sit together as theseats were like theatre seats.( so we didn’t bother) They also has the Culinarydemonstrations in here (for the specialty restaurants), which were quite good.
Movies wereheld in the Vista lounge and up on deck at MUTS. You could also see the Movieon your TV in your room later. We watched a few this way, easy to pause andthen start again.
They had bands, , vocalists and a string quartet.They alternated between the Atrium andCrown Bar.
Internet
This is amistake on Princess behalf. Internet Cafe & Library together in a tiny room.Only 2 PC’s., I expect they think people will bring their own tablets, phonesetc. The worst thing is the Speed- Terrible. I don’t understand why a brand newship wouldn’t have better speed, especially in this day & age. Luckily we don’thave to pay for Internet, but I feel sorry for those that had to (and therewere a lot of Blue cards on board).
I knowpeople will say, you don’t need it, but we like to check in with FB, checkemails etc. I had organised several private tours and needed to contact my touroperators.
Shops
High endshops were empty. Princess shops held raffles etc, to try and get people in tobuy. No usual tables blocking the Atrium areas selling cheap items (thankgoodness)Shop on deck 5 had the usual Princess merchandise, chocolates,toiletries, Booze, though not a big selection.
Otherobservations
We lovedgoing to Hollywood Pool on Deck 17 Adults only indoor pool,2 hot tubs, airconditioned, bar with plenty of deck chairs.
A lot ofpeople were on Pool deck roasting in the Sun. That is not us anymore.
Wake bardeck 16 aft was great place for Sailaways and watching the wake. One magicmoment was when we were leaving Incheon in Sth Korea. We didn’t leave till10.30pm, and the local port authority did a Laser show, with the song Gangham style blasting out. Most people would have missed this, butthose up on deck loved it.
PortLecturer –Hutch was excellent. He previewed each port and gave great info. Hewas in the Princess lounge and this was simulcast in the Vista lounge, and thenon the TV in the room. 2 hours later.
We wentinto the Casino a couple of times. It was smoke free on Formal nights, but notthe rest of the time. Lots of Tables, obviously getting ready for the Chinese. We played the Pokies, but no luck.
Princesshad a special on the photo package back in Feb $99 for unlimited photos (Onboard it was $249). We usually only buy 1 photo per cruise. We ended up with 50photos (printed and on USB) They were not delivered till last night though andupon checking at home, half of the photos are not on the USB. We have sent anemail to Princess, lets see what happens! It is so much better than having tosearch for your printed photos. The machine allows you to view your photos, byputting in your name and Cabin no and uses facial recognition. Sometimes thereare other people there, but you just delete them.
The Sea walkis a gimmick, great to do a couple of times, and we did get good photos. Don’t lookdown if you are scared of heights.
There were3600 people on the ship. And we were told 1100 from USA, 800 Aussies, then restfrom NZ, UK and China. There were a lot of Chinese Americans on board mainlyfrom San Francisco, and they loved to dance.
Not many children on this ship, maybe saw 20, not sure if there will be enough to occupy them as there are only 2 small pools.
All thestaff were excellent. A lot of Chinese staff came on in Hong Kong, obviouslygetting ready for the Chinese season. They were all willing to help.
I have probably left out heaps of things, will try and answer any questions, though have to go back to work tomorrow, :loudcry: so make take a while to respond.
Cheers
Tanya
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Any information would be gladly received about whether yo can use Coffee Cards that you have left over from previous cruises . . . say about the last 3 cruises.
I would want to use them on the Majestic Princess on the 15th September 2018 when I do a Cruise on it.
Thank you
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Please add my wife and I to the list of Future Cruises.
15th September 2018
SHIP: Majestic Princess
SAILING: 15th September 2018 to the Pacific Islands
MAJESTIC PRINCESS - 24th August - Shanghai to Sydney
in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
Posted
Thanks CheznAndy. Helps a lot. Have a great cruise. Look forward to your next lot of posts.