Any Majestic Pincess thoughts for Australian Cruisers.....

[zowie57]

We were on the inaugural cruise from Singapore to Shanghai , June 2017. On a personal note, we really liked the Majestic. This has been our largest ship & it was nice to be on board where everything is shiny & new. The Horizon Court is now known as Worldwide Marketplace. We found it could be quite busy at breakfast & lunch, depending what time you went, no worse than any other cruise ship buffet.In the evening we never had any problem finding a seat & we ate about 6.30 to 7pm. The seating area is really big & split into 2 sections with different dining furniture. You are free to sit anywhere you like. The Worldwide Marketplace served the usual buffet fare. Our voyage had a little more Asian choices.

 

We loved the Piazza & International Cafe area.Spectacular. You are quite right, it was the hub of the ship with various entertainment, including short acts lasting about 10 minutes eg acrobats, dancing, dance classes etc. So, it did get very busy, even when there was nothing on. Best IC coffee we've ever had.

 

Leaves tea bar on deck 7 also made made specialty coffee, but did not open until 11am. As the ship stands at the moment, there is 6 bars. There isn't one in the casino but whilst on board we where told there is an area already to go, just need to remove the wall panels:confused:. We also heard the ship might be going into dry dock prior to its Australian season for some changes. Not sure if either is true.

 

We boarded the ship with no expectations. It was a totally new ship for us & we expected it to be different to the usual Princess ship home based in Australia & it was. We missed the walk around promenade deck, the choice of venues for trivia was really poor, Princess Live! :(

 

Much comment has been made about it being built for the Asian market, this is correct. Signs were in English & Chinese.Yes, there are venues specifically aimed at the Asian Market, ie high end shops, private karaoke rooms & high rollers room in the casino. but we did not feel any overwhelming Asian-ness about it.

 

But overall, we had a great time, adapted to the changes & embraced them.:cool:

 

Hope you decide to cruise on Majestic, but I know it may not be to everyone's taste.

 

Sorry if I rambled on a bit.:o

 

 

Thank you for your accurate review. Always good to receive a first hand report. Unfortunately nothing said takes away my concerns about Majestic. I hope the rumour is correct and she goes in to dry dock for minor improvements prior to the Oz season. As it stands now the ship's layout is totally unsuitable for in excess of 3000 passengers in the Australian market.

[S&D]

No bars will be an issue for the aussie market.

 

Yep, just what we were thinking, will be interesting to see any changes..... I did see reviews mention the "pop up" nightclub in the late evenings, in the hollywood conservatory , but also noted there were no chairs...just sun loungers...lol.... at least there looks to be a band in the piazza at night...:).

 

and anyway...we always enjoy ourselves, and go with the flow....

 

cheers...

[MicCanberra]

Yep, just what we were thinking, will be interesting to see any changes..... I did see reviews mention the "pop up" nightclub in the late evenings, in the hollywood conservatory , but also noted there were no chairs...just sun loungers...lol.... at least there looks to be a band in the piazza at night...:).

 

and anyway...we always enjoy ourselves, and go with the flow....

cheers...

Likewise, ours is one of the shorter cruises to tassie, so it won't be that long to put up with going dry.;p

[NSWP]

Likewise, ours is one of the shorter cruises to tassie, so it won't be that long to put up with going dry.;p

 

They will probably have 'pop up bars' all over the ship, including the Launderettes, so people can have a few sherberts there then fight over the washing machines and dryers, bit of ye olde laundry rage.:o

[martin jenkins]

 

and a few of these dotted round the ship, she'll be right.

[martin jenkins]

and this would look good in the laundry while u wait

[losfp]

I'll be curious to see what tweaks they DO make. You'd have to think they'd do a few things, even minor things like signage, repurposing a couple of areas etc would make a positive difference, don't know if they have any time scheduled to implement any larger changes.

 

Honestly, the concerns I've heard about don't really bother me. We don't drink so the lack of bars is a non-issue. We don't like going out or dancing so the lack of nightclubs etc doesn't bother me.

 

The lack of a promenade deck DOES bother me, and we'll see if that makes a significant difference to our experience. It was our viewing deck of choice on the Star Princess in Alaska last year. Having said that, this will be our first time in a Balcony cabin so we'll see if that makes a difference too.

[MicCanberra]

and this would look good in the laundry while u wait

Looks great.

[MicCanberra]

I'll be curious to see what tweaks they DO make. You'd have to think they'd do a few things, even minor things like signage, repurposing a couple of areas etc would make a positive difference, don't know if they have any time scheduled to implement any larger changes.

 

Honestly, the concerns I've heard about don't really bother me. We don't drink so the lack of bars is a non-issue. We don't like going out or dancing so the lack of nightclubs etc doesn't bother me.

 

The lack of a promenade deck DOES bother me, and we'll see if that makes a significant difference to our experience. It was our viewing deck of choice on the Star Princess in Alaska last year. Having said that, this will be our first time in a Balcony cabin so we'll see if that makes a difference too.

I think you will be spending a lot of time on your balcony, regardless of how busy it may be in the lounges.

[MicCanberra]

 

and a few of these dotted round the ship, she'll be right.

Yep, that would do nicely.

[NSWP]

I think you will be spending a lot of time on your balcony, regardless of how busy it may be in the lounges.

 

Indeed, just get a bucket of beers delivered to your Cabin via room service.:halo: Whats the deal? - pay for 4 and get 5? The more you drink the more you save.

[MicCanberra]

Indeed, just get a bucket of beers delivered to your Cabin via room service.:halo: Whats the deal? - pay for 4 and get 5? The more you drink the more you save.

I would be picking up a selection of cheeses and snacks from the buffet to go with those beers.

[rabbit1971]

we are on her in feb 2019 for new zealand. I had a colleague of mine travel on her second sailing from dubai to singapore and she loved it. The reason we went with Majestic is very few of the older ships cater for more than two people in an accessible cabin. With my teenage son in a motorised wheelchair we are in need of a three berth.We are travelling as an extended family group and are keen to try something different, so I will be watching for reviews once she is in Aus waters,

[S&D]

and this would look good in the laundry while u wait

 

 

 

 

yes, could become the new drinkng venue..." the spin cycle club".....lol......;p:cool: cheers S&D

[CruiseCriticAUeditor]

I will be cruising on Majestic in a couple of weeks (Taiwan-Japan) so will look into any questions you have...

[MicCanberra]

I will be cruising on Majestic in a couple of weeks (Taiwan-Japan) so will look into any questions you have...

Cheers Louise.

Will you do a live from or a what's good and what's not article?

[VK3DQ]

Hi Folks

 

We had lunch today to a lady who had just returned from a cruise on Majestic Princess, the lady is well cruised and also sailed with us on our Christmas cruise on Golden Princess

 

She did not like the ships layout , found it confusing getting around the ship , she thought the food in the dining room was not up to standard but the buffet was ok

 

she had no language issues with staff

 

she had issues with some very rude passengers

 

Much of the ship dedicated to gambling was asked to move out of vista lounge to VIP gamblers could use room

 

Cabins were nice (suite) and staff ok

 

Specialty restaurants very noisy no "intimate" tables

 

Nice ship but would not chose Majestic Princess for future cruises

 

Smoking in the casino;s a big issue for her will stink if not fumigated before arrival in OZ

 

 

all in all -- a nice ship ---BUT ...again the BUT

 

 

Regards

 

John

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the update on your friend's view.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thanks, VK3DQ.

 

I would have expected a high emphasis on gambling on the Asian itineraries, and it also didn't surprise me that the speciality restaurants would be noisy. I expect both of those things will be different on Australian itineraries.

 

It would be interesting to know if the MDR menus were the standard Princess ones or had they been adapted for the Asian itineraries. Were there different menus ie one Western and one Asian? If the galleys were having to cope with two different cuisines that may have lead to a drop in standards.

 

Unfortunately you can encounter rude passengers on any cruise ship.

 

Hopefully the casino area and surrounding areas will be free of smoke taint when she comes down here.

 

I'm looking forward to comparing Majestic with Royal. I actually found Royal easier to get around than other Princess ships as they moved the photo gallery bottleneck from deck 7 to deck 6.

[NSWP]

Majestic does not sound too good at the moment, perhaps it is the current clientele ? :o

[Thorpe]

I’ll try to sniff out the casino area when I’m on her for her first voyage from Sydney in September. It will be the biggest ship I’ve been on so I’ll see how I go getting around , and how many times I get lost [emoji848]

 

 

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[OzKiwiJJ]

I’ll try to sniff out the casino area when I’m on her for her first voyage from Sydney in September. It will be the biggest ship I’ve been on so I’ll see how I go getting around , and how many times I get lost [emoji848]

 

 

We cruised on Royal last year and really enjoyed the ship. If you're used to Princess ships there really aren't many differences in layout overall, she's just a bit bigger.

 

As long as there is no lingering smoke smell at Bellinis, the bar nearest the casino, I'll be happy - although that bar could get very crowded on Majestic since there is no Crooners.

[S&D]

A very kind lady was able to post a recent Majestic patter from 2 months ago for me, and I was looking to see what music etc was around in the evenings, up until recently there was only a pop up DJ in the pool area at night, and a band in the atrium/piazza area.

 

:):).GOOD NEWS...they are now also having a band in the vista lounge at nights, (plus in the atrium at different times)... so I'm assuming they have cleared some of the gaming tables out of the vista to make more room for entertainment... plus the DJ was also in the piazza at a later hour.... so its looking good for September lol....:);p maybe the start of a few small changes for the Oz season....

 

cheers S&D

Edited May 4, 2018 by S&D

[NSWP]

A very kind lady was able to post a recent Majestic patter from 2 months ago for me, and I was looking to see what music etc was around in the evenings, up until recently there was only a pop up DJ in the pool area at night, and a band in the atrium/piazza area.

 

:):).GOOD NEWS...they are now also having a band in the vista lounge at nights, (plus in the atrium at different times)... so I'm assuming they have cleared some of the gaming tables out of the vista to make more room for entertainment... plus the DJ was also in the piazza at a later hour.... so its looking good for September lol....:);p maybe the start of a few small changes for the Oz season....

 

cheers S&D

 

I heard they have banned dancing on the Majestic, Sandy, they installed sushi bars and Japanese bath houses all over the ship. lol.:rolleyes::hearteyes:

[S&D]

I heard they have banned dancing on the Majestic, Sandy, they installed sushi bars and Japanese bath houses all over the ship. lol.:rolleyes::hearteyes:

 

 

Goodness Les, we will have to cancel then...lol....:loudcry::loudcry:

 

cheers S&D