MAJESTIC PRINCESS - 24th August - Shanghai to Sydney

[ozblue_7]

Thanks for the visa advice. What paperwork did you have ready?

 

 

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[cheznandy]

Hi all, we are just sailing away now, 9.30pm, 3 hours late.

Apparently ship was late in this morning due to typhoon. It took 2 hours to board from when we were dropped off to getting on the ship.

 

I have never seen such a line and chaos to board a ship!

 

Captain is Craig Street

CD is Andrew Kadillac

Yes, there is Crooners next to the casino.

The Gong Cha tea place is still there, probably will serve coffees.

*No wine packages, wine starting from$29 but not much for that price range.

Exclusive lounge held for Platinum, Elite and suite guests held in the Vista Lounge

4.30pm to 6.30pm, selected drinks $6.50.

Not sure if all available or just cocktail of the day, will find out tomorrow.

Note in cabin that Elite laundry turnaround will be 72hrs due to number of Elites.

Elite mini bar arrived in our cabin after boarding.

Coffee card now loaded on cruise card, $36.

 

Ship is lovely but havent had much of a chance to look around, everyone is buggered haha

Will check out what they have done with the kareoke suites tomorrow.

The Hollywood conservatory and pool is beautiful, doesnt appear that there is a fee for the cabanas.

The aft Wakeview bar and terrace off the buffet area is great.

 

Had a lovely dinner for two in the Concerto Dining room for Anytime dining.

 

More tomorrow

 

Chez n Andy

 

 

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[LSGDRG]

Thanks for posting about the Majestic Princess! It is nice to finally be getting some information about this ship.

[S&D]

Thanks for that cheznandy..will look forward to all your posts...have fun!

 

 

cheers S&D

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the update, shame your boarding was so chaotic though.

[Esilef]

I love that itinerary! Have a great cruise.

 

 

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[NSWP]

Thanks for the update, shame your boarding was so chaotic though.

Thanks Chez....A lot of pax to board 3500 odd. Probably many having priority boarding Platinum/Elite/Suites too, so does not always provide a quick embarkation, with so many trying to get on quickly.

 

When we boarded sister ship Royal Princess in Southampton in June, we waited until 3pm, on the ship in 15 minutes. Way to go, no charging to the pier at 11am with 3000 other pax for these little black ducks.

[S&D]

Thanks Chez....A lot of pax to board 3500 odd. Probably many having priority boarding Platinum/Elite/Suites too, so does not always provide a quick embarkation, with so many trying to get on quickly.

 

When we boarded sister ship Royal Princess in Southampton in June, we waited until 3pm, on the ship in 15 minutes. Way to go, no charging to the pier at 11am with 3000 other pax for these little black ducks.

 

Hi Les, how did you enjoy the Royal, hope you had a great time.. cheers S&D

[NSWP]

Hi Les, how did you enjoy the Royal, hope you had a great time.. cheers S&D

 

Morning Sandra/Dave, The Royal is BIG, first of the new class which includes Majestic. Very good condition.

 

Pluses: were large seating areas for buffet and buffet layout, very spacious piazza area and very spacious top deck areas. Sea walk was an experience and nice bar up there. We had a mini suite on Caribe Deck, very nice and roomy, but the tiniest balcony I have ever seen on a ship.

 

Minuses: Small bar/lounge areas for 3500 pax. Princess theatre only marginally bigger than Grand Class ships, Royal theatre held 750 pax, running two shows a night meant only 1500 of 3500 pax could potentially see the shows. Theatre was often full 45 minutes to 1 hour before show time, we missed a couple of shows, not acceptable. No walk around Prom Deck. Wheelhouse bar small and sort of attached to Crown Grill. (Tried Crown Grill as we had the '3 for Free' promo, very good as usual.)

 

Interesting ports in Ireland and Scotland, mostly North Americans on board, crew good, food good but not great, small portions as is the norm these days. Buffet food good for breakfast and lunch, we did traditional dining in MDR.

 

Tendering issues: In Guernsey and Edinburgh - tender ports, we had large local ferries assist with movement of pax and crew which helped a lot, there would be significant delays if those resources were not available in other tender ports around the world. Additional craft for tendering is a must with these large ships.

 

Overall good, but preferred the ship before - Sapphire.

Royal was just another ship in the Princess vogue, albeit much, much bigger. Will be interesting what Aussie cruisers including yourselves think of Majestic. But to us, the interest in the ports is the motivator. Happy cruising and stay warm in Yass !!!

Edited August 25, 2018 by NSWP

[MicCanberra]

Cheers for your review of the royal, where some of the elements will likely apply to the Majestic.

[stki]

Have a great cruise Chez n Andy

 

Will be interested in hearing if any changes are made for the Australian market. We were on the Singapore to Shanghai leg last June (and were booked on this cruise, but had to cancel).

 

Loved the Hollywood Pool area on sea days

 

Thanks for the LIVE and say hello to Vicki for me :):)

[S&D]

Thanks Les, that was very kind of you to post all that...very helpful!...yes, we love the big Princess ships, so it will be interesting to see what everyone thinks of the new Majestic...

 

 

we see Cheznandy posted that they have already converted an area to a Crooners which will help..a lot...lol... also waiting to see if they open up a couple more bar areas and a club 6, as we Aussies like to parteeeee....:):)

 

 

time will tell and we eagerly await Cheznandy posting to us all while they are on their cruise... which is very kind of them.... we love Princess and always have a great time, especially with family and friends along.....

 

 

 

cheers S&D

[Sailaway John]

Thanks CheznAndy. Helps a lot. Have a great cruise. Look forward to your next lot of posts.

 

Hi all, we are just sailing away now, 9.30pm, 3 hours late.

Apparently ship was late in this morning due to typhoon. It took 2 hours to board from when we were dropped off to getting on the ship.

 

I have never seen such a line and chaos to board a ship!

 

Captain is Craig Street

CD is Andrew Kadillac

Yes, there is Crooners next to the casino.

The Gong Cha tea place is still there, probably will serve coffees.

*No wine packages, wine starting from$29 but not much for that price range.

Exclusive lounge held for Platinum, Elite and suite guests held in the Vista Lounge

4.30pm to 6.30pm, selected drinks $6.50.

Not sure if all available or just cocktail of the day, will find out tomorrow.

Note in cabin that Elite laundry turnaround will be 72hrs due to number of Elites.

Elite mini bar arrived in our cabin after boarding.

Coffee card now loaded on cruise card, $36.

 

Ship is lovely but havent had much of a chance to look around, everyone is buggered haha

Will check out what they have done with the kareoke suites tomorrow.

The Hollywood conservatory and pool is beautiful, doesnt appear that there is a fee for the cabanas.

The aft Wakeview bar and terrace off the buffet area is great.

 

Had a lovely dinner for two in the Concerto Dining room for Anytime dining.

 

More tomorrow

 

Chez n Andy

 

 

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

[NSWP]

Cheers for your review of the royal, where some of the elements will likely apply to the Majestic.

 

I am sure you and others on here will enjoy Majestic Princess, young Mic.:halo::cool::hearteyes: I trust they have arranged enough drinking holes on the ship for the Strayans.

[cheznandy]

Ahhhh...all settled in now!! So nice to come home to Princess.

 

So day 1, a sea day. Had the best nights sleep, so lets talk cabins.

We are in a Deluxe Balcony obstructed,* these are nearly the same cost as an inside, did my homework and we have no obstruction. We are in E412, slightly angled larger balcony. There are a few of these on the hump, no lifeboats obstructing.

Be aware if you book a deluxe balcony of any category, these have the lounge/sofa you lose some storage as the fridge and desk are on the one side, no set of drawers or open side shelving. We were aware of this (thanks youtube) and bought an over door shoe hanger to put on the outside of bathroom door and a couple of collapsible storage baskets, one is holding electrical stuff on the desk, the other with first aid, vitamins and bits under the bathroom sink.

 

Air con is working great, bed is really comfy, no kettles in rooms.

Room service free, charge for pizza and the breakfast menu is the usual.

Bathroom appears smaller on this class ship, but the shower is roomier, nice ledge which we have used for shamp/conitioner bottles. Water pressure good, detachable shower hose.

The vanity basin is large and square, 2 hooks on rear of bathroom door.

We have bought magnetic hooks and used them around the cabin to hang paperwork, invites, hats and jewellery (mine not Andys haha).

 

On demand tv with great movies and lots of sport and news channels.

One Australian power outlet on the desk area,* and two USA points. Two USB outlets beside the bed on one side.

 

We had a sleep in and ordered a cup of tea room service, swapped out our mini bar and purchased a 375ml bottle of vodka and barcardi, $20.35 each, not bad for the convenience of a drink on your balcony before dinner. A vodka and soda and a beer cost us $17 at the Hollywood pool club and same drink $22 at the Wakeview bar yesterday.

 

We had breakfast at the World Fresh Market place which i will refer to as the buffet!!

Really busy this morning, it is huge and will take a bit of getting used to, but if you walk towards the back it is not as busy, took our food out to the Wakeview terrace and it was magical, looking aft, served a cup of tea and no noise!!

 

Had our arranged Meet n Greet, good turn out and put faces to names.

 

Now for some more news. Captains will change in Singapore, new Captain is Dino Sagani, new CD is Mark Turner, i think it is Mark, any way the one we have is Aussie and can't work in Australia.

100 new staff boarded in Shanghai, only 400 cabins are utilising 4 berths, so cabins are full but ship is not at capacity.

Mostly Australians onboard.

I* have been chatting with Karen, food and beverage manager/director and told her i was posting info for those on future cruises, she had been making the decisions on what is happening.......

Ocean terrace which used to serve juices is now a bar, and Bellinis is under it, so two places in the Piazza area for drinks.

Le Mer, the french restaurant is a coffee bar lounge during the day from 8am to 2pm, depending on demand she said, but we were chatting to her there and it was packed.

So coffee/tea available from Le Mer, Gong Cha and International cafe.

 

Only change to the Karoke rooms for now is a few extra a computers for use in a couple of them, she is keeping one as a kareoke suite.

 

No charge for cabanas in the Hollywood conservatory, there is no sancuary, that beautiful area is free to use.

 

Crooners is getting a Piano tomorrow.

 

The shops were doing a fine trade today, a lovely area, dutyfree alcohol was keeping staff busy.

 

I am happy to say that the casino and the new Crooners smell beautiful, they have really cleaned out the cigarette smell and as soon as i walked in could smell a fresh lovely scent.

 

Outside is like thick soup, horn is sounding every 2 minutes, and OMG it is 1.45pm and we havent had lunch!!

We are off......

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[judithann423]

Great review,

 

 

We are boarding on the 15th for the South Pacific and really getting excited now ready your reviews.

 

 

If you notice, can you please advise where the smoking areas are on the outside decks.

 

 

Many thanks and continue to enjoy your great journey.

 

 

Judy

[S&D]

Way to go Cheznandy,,thanks so much, that's fantastic to hear about the ship.... we really appreciate you taking the time to keep us posted....is there a club 6 on there..(niteclub)..yet?..hoping there will be a couple places to dance somewhere....enjoy your day!!!! :):)

[cheznandy]

Another update on info......Sauna is not free on this ship, it is situated in the Enclave and can only be used if you have purchased the package, which needs to be purchased for the whole cruise.

For this 22 night cruise prices are: Single pass $299 ( saving $99)

Couples pass $499 (saving$299) obviously we didn't buy one and will save heaps by not puchasing haha!! We would buy a day pass to try but would def not get the use out of it everyday.

Package includes sauna, steam room, stone lounges, rain showers and the therapy pool.

We had a tour of the Lotus Spa area, plenty of massage rooms, hair salon, nails etc.

 

Had a peek into the karoke rooms, and yes two have been set up with computers with staff helping there as well. I am taking a guess that the average age on this cruise would be 65 to 70 with long lines of people having trouble using the internet.

 

We have only seen two kids of about 10 or 12 yrs old so far, so Andy and i figured the quitest place to be would be the kids club!

 

They have put lots of deck chairs on the deck above the Wakeview view bar, where all the exercise equipment is, it looks great and a bit of shade too.

I think Aussies will love the ship and the changes made to cater our style of cruising, they listened to more bars, coffee areas and seating.

 

Re smoking areas, from the Princess Patter....."all indoor areas are smoke free, outdoor smoking areas are located on Promenade Deck 7 Aft Starboard and Deck 17 Forward starboard ( outside Hollywood Pool club entrance)

I would suggest if you are not a smoker, don't book a balcony aft above the promenade on starboard, I have read reviews about noise and smoke, had a walk around there and yes it is a busy area.

 

For those interested in music and dancing tonights entertainment is Piano favourites with David Juneau in the Crown Grill bar 5.45pm and 7pm and 9.30pm to late, Pre recorded ballroom music in the Vista Lounge 7.15pm to 8.30pm, music favourites with Jowe Duo in the Piazza 7.30pm and 9.15pm , piano favourites with Courtney in the Crown Grill bar 8.15pm, Jazz cafe with the Majestic trio Crooners Bar 8.30pm, music and cocktails with De Voice Trio in the Piazza 8.30pm, Music and dancing with The Drop Vista Lounge 8.45pm and 10.30pm, Jazz @ Sea with the Majestic Trio Crooners bar 9.30pm, Abba solutely Fabulous hour with D J Chris Vista Lounge 9.30pm, Kareoke power hour Princess Live 10.30pm, Jazz Live and unplugged with the Majestic Princess showband Crooners Bar 10.30pm, dance music continues in the Piazza till with the De Voice trio 10.30pm till 11.15pm, then with Jowe duo till late........and DJ Chris plays dance music in Crooners till late, looks like thats the night club haha!!!!

Show tonight is comedian Scott Williams at 7.45pm and 9.45pm.

Traditional dining is 6pm and 8.15pm in the Allegro dining room, and 5.30pm in the Concerto dining room which is then Anytime at 7.45pm.........Anytime dining in the Symphony dining room open seating from 5.30pm to 10pm.

Bookings for Anytime can be made by phone.

Staff have been amazing and helpful

 

So thats an idea of what is on and where, i doubt it will change much daily.

I will sign off for the day now and try to post daily now most of the info is out there, hope this had helped.

Busan tomorrow, an earlier arrival of 6am as we need* technical maitenance fixed, not sure what that entails but lets hope it is good.

Horn is still sounding, I can see the ocean now fog has lifted.

We have an 8pm dinner booked in Concerto restaurant tonight.

 

Oh, we have a British film crew on board filming a documentry called "The Cruise" and they filmed our whole cruise critic meeting haha.......message in the Patter states if you see them filming and dont want to be on camera just tell them or someone else.......not sure who invited them to our meeting.

I believe they are on for the next couple of cruises.......Hollywood here we come, or maybe Bogans Aboard haha

 

Signing off from the beautiful Majestic Princess

 

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

I am sure you and others on here will enjoy Majestic Princess, young Mic.:halo::cool::hearteyes: I trust they have arranged enough drinking holes on the ship for the Strayans.

Can only hope so.:D

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the updates, lots great and useful information

[MicCanberra]

The Cruise is hosted by Jane McDonald, People have been raving about these shows. I have yet to see one though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cruise_(TV_series)

There is also a number of series called 'Cruising with Jane McDonald'.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6493842/

Edited August 25, 2018 by MicCanberra

[Regdab719]

Thanks for the review cheznandy it’s great to hear positive things already. We are on the return to Hong Kong next March so hoping everything is all good by then. We did the Regal 18 months going and loved it. Only thing we did miss was the walk around promenade. The Regal did have the walking track so wondering if the Majestic has this? Not sure from the deck plans.

 

Hope you have a great cruise, can’t wait to hear more of your thoughts. [emoji2]

 

Cheers

Nicole

 

 

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[Elorac123]

Really enjoying your postings. Have a wonderful cruise after your shaky start. Are there any Happy Hours thus far.

Cheers Carole

[S&D]

CHEZNANDY....wow. thanks for that great information on all the good stuff on Majestic,,you have spent a lot of time doing all that,.... thanks so much...definately looks like quite a lot to do in the evenings, thats great... looks like quite an array of music too!... we are looking forward to anytime dining and nice to know they have made extra seating areas and coffee places available....enjoy Busan, and we look forward to your updates...cheers S&D :):)

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Oh, we have a British film crew on board filming a documentry called "The Cruise" and they filmed our whole cruise critic meeting haha.......message in the Patter states if you see them filming and dont want to be on camera just tell them or someone else.......not sure who invited them to our meeting.

 

It will be interesting to see if they use the name or the film :)