Dear Princess: Cruising on Majestic to AK

[tarheelz1995]

Dear Princess:

 

Thank you for your herculean effort to return to the seas in time for the end of the Alaska cruising season.  As no single Board topic can capture all our thoughts on Majestic Princess in this new era of cruising, we thought we would jot down some pros and cons down here.  While the "cons" may be numerous, we are confident that many of these are symptoms of a period of adjustment.  

 

• Pro:  A crew that seemed genuinely happy to have returned to work.  We met many members of the crew in various roles.  Their cheerfulness and openness was a pleasure.
• Con:  Changing protocols in the Marketplace meant there was insufficient staffing to crew to the new duties required to manage this new take on a "buffet."  Large sections of the buffet line were unstaffed at times.  Too few crew were working the floor to provide silverware or drinks.  (A short-handed crew may explain many "cons" noted below.)
• Pro:  The offerings in the Marketplace always included some adventurous surprises.
• Con:  In 2021, there's no excuse for a buffet that cannot manage food temperature and holding times.  Cold + dried is not a good combination.
• Pro:  The MDR menus were a sight to behold.  Few land-based restaurants could rival the varied and appetizing descriptions presented in the posted menus.
• Con:  The under-seasoning across all main dishes was no longer shocking after Day 2.  And the "Trout Amondine" delivered to the table was salmon sporting a garnish of one slivered almond?  😉
• Pro:  The quality of the execution of dishes in the Specialty Dining Restaurants was all very good to excellent.
• Con:  Crown Grill and Sur La Mer present as "fine dining" meets "food court."  The architect was sleeping when layouts of these restaurants were set without consideration to walls.
• Pro:  Adding additional casual offerings to the Lido Deck like hot dogs, burgers, and fish tacos.
• Con:  Has COVID triggered a condiment famine?  Good luck finding ketchup in the Marketplace.  (One bottle set at a corner of the buffet line?)  The Classic Hot Dog with "choice of toppings" on Lido Deck meant a crew member would offer you a "choice" of a squirt of yellow mustard, mayo, or ketchup.  Relish?  Onion?  Brown Mustard?  Kraut?  Nope.
• Pro:  The Majestic Princess projects a real attention to art - particularly prints and paintings.
• Con:  There were numerous empty display cases throughout the ship indicating that art has been removed and not replaced.
• Pro:  Sit-down breakfast in Concerto was a delight.  The food was well-prepared and the speed of service was such that breakfast could be faster there than in the Marketplace.
• Con:  Marketplace scrambled eggs.  Those things were criminal.  How did the chef let those out of the kitchen day after day?
• Pro:  The skill and engagement of the bartenders was top notch throughout the ship.
• Con:  There is not enough staffing to manage orders from passengers in the Hollywood Conservatory or Lido Deck.  While dirty tables were bussed immediately, it could be an hour or more before anyone might pass by to take a drink order.
• Pro:  The Guest Services and Excursions desks are staffed with some of the most patient and helpful people I've ever met in customer service.
• Con:  For the love of all things holy, please tone down the pressure from roving photographers.  These folks must be taking marketing advice from the panhandlers of Seattle's streets.
• Pro:  The MedallionApp is an incredible concept for onboard ordering and remote service that promises to some day offer an incredible experience.
• Con:  Despite testing the app throughout the cruise, we are still waiting on an IPA, two orders of shrimp cocktail, two hot chocolates, and one order of chips and guac.  (We did once receive a pepperoni pizza nearly two hours after placing the order.)
• Pro:  The onboard musicians, singers, naturalist, dancers, etc. were elegant, varied, and wisely targeted to the diverse crowd on the ship.
• Con:  6:5 Blackjack tables with Dealer Hitting Soft 17 is the very opposite of "elegant."  No wonder those tables stayed empty.
• Pro:  The MedallionApp is an incredible concept for making dining reservations that promises to one day offer an incredible experience.
• Con:  The app worked only two of our seven nights.  For the other five, we simply had to walk up to a dining room.  This was not an isolated problem and likely added to the stresses on an already taxed MDR and kitchen.

 

Thank you for a memorable week.  Alaska was a "bucket list" item for our family.  We owe much to the crew and officers of Majestic Princess.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by tarheelz1995

[pspatti]

I appreciate that you pointed out the positives as well as problems and areas that need improvement.  In reading your comments I am alarmed at the number that relate to understaffing  - especially because you were sailing at reduced capacity.  I'm booked on the Majestic on 8/15 and I have heard that Princess has already increased capacity to 100%.  If they can't handle food and drink and buffet service with guests at 60 - 80% capacity how will they handle 100%?  oh boy ...

[sewgood]

I enjoyed reading your balanced view.

I had a laugh at your following words, Crown Grill and Sur La Mer present as "fine dining" meets "food court." Having eaten at Sur La Mer ,I know what you mean.

Having read " There were numerous empty display cases throughout the ship indicating that art has been removed and not replaced." My mind is thinking did Princess flog off (sell off) the art work to help pay the bills 😄Only kidding.

[CineGraphic]

1 hour ago, tarheelz1995 said:

it could be an hour or more before anyone might pass by to take a drink order.

 

Why have waiters asking everyone if they'd like to order a drink when they can order one any time they want, all by themselves?

[milogurd]

21 minutes ago, sewgood said:

I enjoyed reading your balanced view.

I had a laugh at your following words, Crown Grill and Sur La Mer present as "fine dining" meets "food court." Having eaten at Sur La Mer ,I know what you mean.

Having read " There were numerous empty display cases throughout the ship indicating that art has been removed and not replaced." My mind is thinking did Princess flog off (sell off) the art work to help pay the bills 😄Only kidding.

Maybe the Art Auction company went bankrupt?

[cruiseesusee]

I am not familiar with blackjack. What does this mean?

“6:5 Blackjack tables with Dealer Hitting Soft 17 is the very opposite of "elegant."  

[DuncanBlizzard]

1 hour ago, pspatti said:

I appreciate that you pointed out the positives as well as problems and areas that need improvement.  In reading your comments I am alarmed at the number that relate to understaffing  - especially because you were sailing at reduced capacity.  I'm booked on the Majestic on 8/15 and I have heard that Princess has already increased capacity to 100%.  If they can't handle food and drink and buffet service with guests at 60 - 80% capacity how will they handle 100%?  oh boy ...

I could relate to many of the items listed above having just come off the ship yesterday.  I would add that part of it is understaffing and part of it is training.  Hopefully there is a quick ramp-up in training/learning, but I fear it might not be too quick.

 

I went to the culinary presentation the last day at the recommendation of our maitre d who told us our head waiter was in it.  It was the head chef and head of the restaurant operations for the ship and was quite entertaining.  They said that 60% of the crew were involved in food and restaurants which increased to 70% if you included the bars.  They said there were 72 nationalities represented in the crew.  That is a lot of different languages and cultures, and the guests are overwhelmingly American given the covid situation.  I got a number of "I don't know.  Ask someone else." responses which were preferable to the "Your event was cancelled." when it wasn't or just plain wrong information.  It will take time to get them all up to speed and able to answer appropriately.

 

I will say that if you can get someone's attention in the Marketplace (which I did by shuffling a bit left or right and peeking around the ends), most quickly shifted to where you were to get you what you wanted.  I really wish they had just had a stack of silverware wrapped in napkins available for the taking like they did in the International Cafe, though.

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, milogurd said:

Maybe the Art Auction company went bankrupt?

 

Unfortunately, that's not the case.  It has been years since I purchased anything from Park West.  I've been receiving emails from them.  They just opened a brand new store in Waikiki.  High rent district.  

 

I really miss Princess Fine Arts...they were a class act.

 

[tutuwahineLV]

2 hours ago, milogurd said:

Maybe the Art Auction company went bankrupt?

 

41 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Unfortunately, that's not the case.  It has been years since I purchased anything from Park West.  I've been receiving emails from them.  They just opened a brand new store in Waikiki.  High rent district.  

 

I really miss Princess Fine Arts...they were a class act.

 

They've also popped up in Las Vegas,  guess with the cruise industry at a stand still....they looked for other tourist heavy locations. 

[caribill]

4 hours ago, tarheelz1995 said:

Dear Princess:

 

Thank you for your herculean effort to return to the seas in time for the end of the Alaska cruising season.  As no single Board topic can capture all our thoughts on Majestic Princess in this new era of cruising, we thought we would jot down some pros and cons down here.  While the "cons" may be numerous, we are confident that many of these are symptoms of a period of adjustment.  

 

 

 

Posting it here is fine.

 

But to possibly get any attention by Princess to the negatives, you need to E-mail it to Princess executives.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

Posting it here is fine.

 

But to possibly get any attention by Princess to the negatives, you need to E-mail it to Princess executives.

Yes, it should all go into the cruise feedback survey.

 

[tarheelz1995]

10 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Why have waiters asking everyone if they'd like to order a drink when they can order one any time they want, all by themselves?

 

In part because app ordering does not work reliably (less than a 50% shot that your drink/food will be ordered unless you order from your stateroom.  Hopefully this will improve but it will require more crew allocation given the massively inefficient demand it creates).  In part because the clientele of Princess (by my observation) were older and thus more interested in ordering as Americans have since the dawn of civilization, rather than by a multi-screen interface or boolean searching.

Edited August 10, 2021 by tarheelz1995

[tarheelz1995]

9 hours ago, cruiseesusee said:

I am not familiar with blackjack. What does this mean?

“6:5 Blackjack tables with Dealer Hitting Soft 17 is the very opposite of "elegant."  

 

Traditional Vegas Blackjack pays 3:2 to the guest when the guest makes blackjack (21 on the first two cards).

 

The House rule can be either that the dealer stands or hits on a soft 17 (ie an Ace plus another card or cards that total 17).  By forcing a hit, the House edge is again increased.

 

These two rule changes alone move the House edge from just under 0.5% to about 1.7%.  Per earlier CC posts, Princess previously used traditional rules of 3:2 and Dealer Stands on Soft 17.

Edited August 10, 2021 by tarheelz1995

[tarheelz1995]

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Yes, it should all go into the cruise feedback survey.

 

Done.  (Longest survey I've ever taken.)

[Steelers36]

38 minutes ago, tarheelz1995 said:

 

Traditional Vegas Blackjack pays 3:2 to the guest when the guest makes blackjack (21 on the first two cards).

 

The House rule can be either that the dealer stands or hits on a soft 17 (ie an Ace plus another card or cards that total 17).  By forcing a hit, the House edge is again increased.

 

These two rule changes alone move the House edge from just under 0.5% to about 1.7%.  Per earlier CC posts, Princess previously used traditional rules of 3:2 and Dealer Stands on Soft 17.

I think it is more than the cruise ship that have moved to hitting all 17's.  But, yes, it does increase the House edge.

[geoherb]

13 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Why have waiters asking everyone if they'd like to order a drink when they can order one any time they want, all by themselves?

I thought the poster was referring to the complimentary drinks such as coffee and tea and juice at breakfast. 

[mnocket]

13 hours ago, cruiseesusee said:

I am not familiar with blackjack. What does this mean?

“6:5 Blackjack tables with Dealer Hitting Soft 17 is the very opposite of "elegant."  

If you're unfamiliar with blackjack, it's difficult to give a detailed explanation without explaining the blackjack rules.  Suffice it to say that these two changes tilt the odds even further in favor of the house.  I'm not sure I'd call them inelegant, but they are despised by serious blackjack players.  Unfortunately more and more Vegas casinos are adopting these changes on other than high-stakes blackjack tables.  I'm disappointed, but not surprised, that cruise lines are following suit.

[voljeep]

3 minutes ago, mnocket said:

If you're unfamiliar with blackjack, it's difficult to give a detailed explanation without explaining the blackjack rules.  Suffice it to say that these two changes tilt the odds even further in favor of the house.  I'm not sure I'd call them inelegant, but they are despised by serious blackjack players.  Unfortunately more and more Vegas casinos are adopting these changes on other than high-stakes blackjack tables.  I'm disappointed, but not surprised, that cruise lines are following suit.

do really 'serious gamblers' go on cruises to gamble ? - or are a large % of cruise casino 'gamblers' just going for the entertainment factor that may not be available where they live

[mnocket]

20 minutes ago, voljeep said:

do really 'serious gamblers' go on cruises to gamble ? - or are a large % of cruise casino 'gamblers' just going for the entertainment factor that may not be available where they live

My point was that serious gamblers despise these blackjack rule changes.

 

As for serious gamblers on cruise ships.....  of course there are.  I doubt gambling is the sole reason they go on cruises.  I do know some serious players, however, who abstain from playing blackjack at any table with these rule changes - cruise ship or casino, so there are probably fewer serious gamblers playing blackjack on cruise ships these days. 

 

You may be right though that casual players either aren't aware of the ramifications of these rules, or just don't care.

Edited August 10, 2021 by mnocket

[tarheelz1995]

Note:  the listed blackjack "con" was certainly not a primary concern of my "letter,"...

 

I come at this from a different angle than others.  Cruise ships do not need casinos.  Many do not include them.  Instead, where they do exist they are presented as another featured recreation - like the pools, the shows, the trivia, the naturalists, or ... the fruit carving demonstrations. 😉

 

While the elimination of a house edge in Blackjack or Roulette would likely make these games strange (no green 0s?), I personally find it distasteful that a cruise line like Princess would move the traditional game rules against their passengers, further reducing their chances of success, and thus their fun.  With thousands upon thousands spent by each stateroom, is messing up traditional Blackjack worth it?  If there is ever a place where a player could find good odds - it should be on a cruise ship.  Goodness knows, the cover charge to get into a cruise casino is something of which Vegas could only dream.

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by tarheelz1995

[scott4020]

Its important to remember that Princess does not operate the casinos on their ships.

 

[memoak]

6 hours ago, tarheelz1995 said:

 

Traditional Vegas Blackjack pays 3:2 to the guest when the guest makes blackjack (21 on the first two cards).

 

The House rule can be either that the dealer stands or hits on a soft 17 (ie an Ace plus another card or cards that total 17).  By forcing a hit, the House edge is again increased.

 

These two rule changes alone move the House edge from just under 0.5% to about 1.7%.  Per earlier CC posts, Princess previously used traditional rules of 3:2 and Dealer Stands on Soft 17.

These changes took place several years ago at the minimum limit tables

[caribill]

On 8/10/2021 at 12:54 PM, tarheelz1995 said:

Note:  the listed blackjack "con" was certainly not a primary concern of my "letter,"...

 

I come at this from a different angle than others.  Cruise ships do not need casinos.  Many do not include them.  Instead, where they do exist they are presented as another featured recreation - like the pools, the shows, the trivia, the naturalists, or ... the fruit carving demonstrations. 😉

 

Fruit carving is not a profit center. Ship casinos are.

 

On 8/10/2021 at 12:54 PM, tarheelz1995 said:

 If there is ever a place where a player could find good odds - it should be on a cruise ship. 

 

 

Why?

 

If a Vegas casino has a rule you do not like, you can usually just go down the street to a casino which has not changed the rule.

 

On a cruise ship, it is a long swim to a cruise ship that has not changed the rules.

[caribill]

On 8/10/2021 at 1:39 PM, scott4020 said:

Its important to remember that Princess does not operate the casinos on their ships.

 

 

But they share in the profits generated by them.

[c-boy]

18 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

But they share in the profits generated by them.

yes I tend to drink more when I'm on the loosing end.