New to Princess, A few questions

[LinnieRed]

Hello cruisers, my husband and I are platinum with Norwegian but are booked on the Majestic Princess  this September, fingers crossed we will be able to sail. We are looking forward to trying a new cruise line and are booked in a mini suite club class and I think that we know everything that is offered with that. 
I’ve been looking around the Internet trying to find some menus for the various restaurants, main and specialty, also information about the onboard gym and may be a few copies of the daily newsletter that they put out. I’ve done a pretty thorough search and haven’t found any great information. If anybody would be willing to help me with that, I’d be greatly appreciative. Also anything else you think we need to know about Princess or the Majestic in particular. 
 

Thank you kindly,

Linnie

[CineGraphic]

Here is the Crown Grill Menu:

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/Onboard_Experience/Crown-Grill-Menu-Sample.pdf

 

 

[CineGraphic]

Here's a nice vid showing the Chef's Table experience, but it wasn't filmed on the Majestic.

https://youtu.be/yTN_w05OMRY

 

[CineGraphic]

And here's a nice ship tour showing many of the places you are interested in.

https://youtu.be/IUWJEFb-mjQ

 

 

[c-boy]

58 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

Here's a nice vid showing the Chef's Table experience, but it wasn't filmed on the Majestic.

https://youtu.be/yTN_w05OMRY

 

I miss cruising and ships tours.  😢

[Astro Flyer]

Here’s a link to dining information & specialty restaurants (also menus) including the 3 on Majestic: Crown Grill, Harmony (only on Majestic) & Bistro Sur La Mer

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/

 

In addition to the $115/pp Chef’s Table there are 2 other special dining experiences we enjoy on most cruises.

• Winemakers Dinner ($40/pp): Served in the anytime dining rooms’ Wine Cellars…a wonderful meal & dining experience with free flowing white & red wines. It’s limited to 12 people per dinner like the Chef’s Table & are only offered a couple of times per week (call the DINE line).
• Ultimate Balcony Dinner ($100 for 2): Served on your balcony by tuxedoed waitstaff who arrive to serve each course. There’s nearly $100 of extras (cocktails, wine, photo) so it’s nearly free for a wonderful dining experience & great service. (Call Room Service).

We’ve enjoyed sailing over a combined 2 months on this class of ship. Alfredo’s Pizzeria is also included for a multi course meal & we enjoy it very much.

 

We liked to ocean views from the gym while using the cardio equipment.

 

 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Astro Flyer

[LinnieRed]

Thanks! These videos are great. 

[Astro Flyer]

4 minutes ago, LinnieRed said:

Thanks! These videos are great. 

For the Wine Makers Dinner:

 

 

 

[neverbeenhere]

Vs Norwegian 

 

Princess has no nickeling and only a bit of diming. 
 

Princess has fine passengers that seem to be older and more sedate. 
 

The piazza  is the place to be for announces/unannounced action. 

 

[snoozecrooze]

The "daily newsletter" Princess distributes is called the "Princess Patter" and I know you're interested in an Alaska itinerary. So an example of an Alaska trip's patters (from the pre-pandemic era) can be found here. If any sailings happen in September from Alaska, I would personally expect a pared down assortment of activities, so just note that when you peruse through the attached patters. Also note that the ship seen in the patters here is the Royal Princess, which is a sister ship to the Majestic. (Disclosure - website is not mine; they belong to a vacation blogger and agent who has frequented these boards in the past). Hope you get to sail and welcome to Princess!

[john watson]

I think the big impact you will experience is the Norwegian laid back culture is nothing like that of Princess.

 

Regards John

[Reina del Mar]

7 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Vs Norwegian 

 

Princess has no nickeling and only a bit of diming. 

 

Even though Princess is our cruiseline of choice, not sure I agree with this comment....we find there’s a lot of Nickel and Diming on Princess. 

 

[Lucky TGO]

1 hour ago, Reina del Mar said:

Even though Princess is our cruiseline of choice, not sure I agree with this comment....we find there’s a lot of Nickel and Diming on Princess. 

 

I totally agree with you. I have been on over 35 cruises with Princess and in the last couple of years Princess has been Nickel & Diming with the best of them.

Tony

[dog]

2 hours ago, Reina del Mar said:

Even though Princess is our cruiseline of choice, not sure I agree with this comment....we find there’s a lot of Nickel and Diming on Princess. 

 

Have been on Norwegian cruise once. Not allowed to bring one bottle of water or can of soda on-board.  Had the soda package. Pub still billed me for sofas and had heck of a time getting charges  removed . Had a lot of trouble getting dinner reservations at most restaurants. Never again. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by dog

[skynight]

12 hours ago, LinnieRed said:

Hello cruisers, my husband and I are platinum with Norwegian but are booked on the Majestic Princess  this September, fingers crossed we will be able to sail. We are looking forward to trying a new cruise line and are booked in a mini suite club class and I think that we know everything that is offered with that. 
I’ve been looking around the Internet trying to find some menus for the various restaurants, main and specialty, also information about the onboard gym and may be a few copies of the daily newsletter that they put out. I’ve done a pretty thorough search and haven’t found any great information. If anybody would be willing to help me with that, I’d be greatly appreciative. Also anything else you think we need to know about Princess or the Majestic in particular. 
 

Thank you kindly,

Linnie

Any cruise this September will almost certainly have covid protocols in place. In addition the last information I can find is that Canada still has restrictions on cruise ship travel until 2022. In case you are not aware US maritime law requires that a RT Seattle cruise to Akaska must stop in at least one Canadian port, Victoria in your case. I would keep an eye on this, a 2021 Alaska cruise may be off the table. Here is some information about Princess and the Majestic.

You know about Club Class dining. You may not be aware that it is a section of one DR. Menus are the same as other MDR's except in the evening there is one additional menu item. Pre- covid it was open for breakfast &  dinner every day and lunch on sea days. It is anytime dining. Show up anytime the DR is open and seating is fairly prompt. Most seating is for two unless you happen to meet up with other Club Class passengers that you wish to share a table. Princess DR selections are decent. No need to dine in alternate restaurants unless you want that experience. Sample menus are available on line for the 3 up charge specialty restaurants on the Majestic, La Mer, Crown Grill and Harmony. The cover charge of $29/pp is reasonable. Gratuities for specialty restaurants are covered by your daily gratuity charge. Some people also provide an additional cash gratuity, we do, but it's up to you. In addition there are special dining experiences like balcony dining and chef's table. No charge dining experiences include the World Market Place buffet open early morning to late evening, Alfredo's, waiter served pizza and other items open each day from 11am until mid evening, International Cafe open 24/7, plus the pool side grill and noodle bar open 11am until mid evening.

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/specialty-restaurants/

If you booked the Princess Plus fare your fare will include daily gratuities, unlimited wi-fi, and the drink package. Drink package includes unlimited non-alcoholic beverages such as specialty coffees (there is free coffee in the DR's and buffet), plus 15 alcoholic drinks/day menu priced $12 and under. Almost all drinks on Princess are under $12 so this includes just about everything except some high end wines, whiskey and brandy. The beverage gratuity is included in the drink package. No additional charge is added to your account for each drink ordered. You are also allowed to bring on board 1 x 750ml bottles of wine/pp for use in your cabin. If the bottle is brought to a public area, such as the DR, a $15 corkage will be charged. Bottles in excess of the 1/pp can be brought on board and are subject to the corkage. Once corkage is paid these bottles can be used anywhere on the ship. You can also carry on as much non-alcoholic beverage as you wish.

In the past all shows and events were walk in. No reservations. But, with covid protocols this may change. 

 

 

[LinnieRed]

10 hours ago, john watson said:

I think the big impact you will experience is the Norwegian laid back culture is nothing like that of Princess.

 

Regards John

May I ask what you mean by that? 
I’ve heard that Princess has formal nights and we are hoping to avoid that by eating other than the main dining room and at night? What else should we expect?

[LinnieRed]

5 hours ago, skynight said:

Any cruise this September will almost certainly have covid protocols in place. In addition the last information I can find is that Canada still has restrictions on cruise ship travel until 2022. In case you are not aware US maritime law requires that a RT Seattle cruise to Akaska must stop in at least one Canadian port, Victoria in your case. I would keep an eye on this, a 2021 Alaska cruise may be off the table. Here is some information about Princess and the Majestic.

The cruise we selected is the Mexican Riviera, so no worries about Canada on this particular itinerary.

[CineGraphic]

12 minutes ago, LinnieRed said:

 

The cruise we selected is the Mexican Riviera, so no worries about Canada on this particular itinerary.

You will enjoy the Mexican Riviera on the Majestic. We are doing he exact same cruise in November. In 2018 we did the same trip but on the Ruby Princess. 

 

Don't worry about formal nights. We avoid them too by dining at either one of the specialty restaurants, (Crown Grill is our fave) or at the buffet.

[john watson]

58 minutes ago, LinnieRed said:

May I ask what you mean by that? 
I’ve heard that Princess has formal nights and we are hoping to avoid that by eating other than the main dining room and at night? What else should we expect?

 

Hi Linnie,

 

You are paying a premium for "Club Class" which is an elevated dining experience at your dedicated table.  Then you say some nights you are avoiding that table to eat elsewhere such as the buffet.  This seems a bit incongruous.  The minimum dress code for "Formal" is suit and tie for men and smart dress for women.  I think you will miss out if you need to actively avoid things due to thinking you are not dressed appropriately. It is only a couple of nights with the same people who are more casual on the other nights.

 

They have loads of organised activities to participate in and things to do or completely disregard but my opinion is if you have chosen Princess you need to jump in and give it a go, try all sorts of things programmed.  There was a girl on YouTube that has a cruise channel saying she has mainly cruised with Norwegian and loved the free and easy style.  Then she tried Cunard as parents invited her went for it and thinks it is brilliant and would book again despite what she was told beforehand.

 

What I am saying is avaoiding things is ridiculous, jump in and see if you like it.

 

Regards John

[voljeep]

45 minutes ago, john watson said:

  The minimum dress code for "Formal" is suit and tie for men

and the actual what is worn on 'formal picture night in the atrium' varies from Tux to a decent collared shirt and some kind of dress pants for men - and everything in between

 

OP - I just don't want you to be surprised when / if you 'pack formal' and then see what is actual .

 

don't worry about going to the mdr ... especially on an Alaska  cruise 

 

enjoy - and don't let posters here try to intimidate you into their "agenda" - code or not

 

aw, feels good to post about something other than vaccines and vaccinations ( plenty of agenda postings about that also )

[neverbeenhere]

8 hours ago, Lucky TGO said:

I totally agree with you. I have been on over 35 cruises with Princess and in the last couple of years Princess has been Nickel & Diming with the best of them.

Tony

NCL charges if you want ice with your rum or they charge double if you don’t want ice. 🥃

[CineGraphic]

I'm sure John meant well, but do what you want to do.

 

I found the crowd on our 2018 Mexican Riviera sailing more laid back than the folks on most of the Caribbean sailings we've taken.

 

 

[Treasure Hunter]

22 hours ago, LinnieRed said:

Hello cruisers, my husband and I are platinum with Norwegian but are booked on the Majestic Princess  this September, fingers crossed we will be able to sail. We are looking forward to trying a new cruise line and are booked in a mini suite club class and I think that we know everything that is offered with that. 
I’ve been looking around the Internet trying to find some menus for the various restaurants, main and specialty, also information about the onboard gym and may be a few copies of the daily newsletter that they put out. I’ve done a pretty thorough search and haven’t found any great information. If anybody would be willing to help me with that, I’d be greatly appreciative. Also anything else you think we need to know about Princess or the Majestic in particular. 
 

Thank you kindly,

Linnie

Princess is our favorite line. 25+ cruises but we have been on NCL ( mostly the Haven) and Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Regent and Oceania. You will love Club Class, the service is excellent. Go to the “formal night” without fear. You will see everything from Tux, White dinner jacket, long gown to. Hawaiian shirt and chinos with ladies in black pants and nice top. As long as the man has long pants ( not jeans) and collared shirt he is fine. That’s usually lobster or roast beef night. But there are times we prefer The Crown Grill and that’s ok too. You will not see as many drunk 20 somethings on Princess but may get your toes run over by an errant scooter. Passenger makeup is dependent on where the ship is going. You will have a wonderful time. Be sure to go to some of the nighttime games as the assistant cruise directors are terrifically funny and very visible.

[wowzz]

32 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

As long as the man has long pants ( not jeans) and collared shirt he is fine.

Sorry, but how is that formal?

At the very least a jacket with a dress shirt and tie is required. 

 

[Treasure Hunter]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Sorry, but how is that formal?

At the very least a jacket with a dress shirt and tie is required. 

 

My husband wears slacks, a collared long sleeve blue shirt and loafers. I’m just saying this is what I have seen in the last five years. In 1990 he wore a tux. In 2000 he wore a dark suit. Five years ago he wore a blazer and tie. We have never had a problem. Did I like him dressed up? Yes, but I’m just happy he’s happy to go.