Majestic Princess Jan 22 and Feb 19, 2022 live report

[dhanakorn]

Got back home around 2pm. Saw the news about big snowstorm hitting the east coast this weekend and over 3,000 flights were canceled today. I used to love winter and skiing but as I get older I don’t like cold weather anymore. If you’re stuck inside due to the snowstorm, maybe my photos of sea and sun in Mexico will warm you up. 
 

I already finished unpacking and laundry, so let’s continue with the report on Day 6. We’re on the reverse itinerary so Cabo is our last port. We arrived very early in the morning instead of around noon time. We had very short time in port today from 7am to 1pm. I booked a ship excursion in order to maximize the time in port. 
 

I had to get up at 6am to get ready for the excursion. Cabo is a tender port and the ship tour was among the first group to get off. We arrived at the tender pier around 7:30am. We had a view of sunrise at the pier. 

 

I booked Cabo Land and Sea tour. The first part was the scenic boat sail to El Arco. I already went there twice during my last cruise so I didn’t feel very excited. We joined with many tours on this big boat. It’s the same boat I boarded last month with NCL excursion. 

We sailed out of the harbor around 7:45am. The boat traffic wasn’t as busy as when I was here after Christmas. 

Initially I was planning to spend the day here at Medano beach. I’ve been to Cabo twice but still didn’t get a chance to visit this beach yet. Maybe I need to book another cruise. 

 

Looking back to the harbor. 

 

[dhanakorn]

We sailed past Panorama and Majestic. They’re docked outside the harbor. 

 

The Lover Beach was very quiet in the morning. Nobody’s here yet. Through the cut, you can see the Pacific Ocean and the Divorce Beach on the other side. 

 

 

El Arco looks amazing in the morning! During my last trip, I was here in the afternoon and it’s extremely crowded with do many boats sailing here. And it’s very difficult to get a good photo since you’re shooting against the sun. Very impressive view today even though I was just here last month. 

 

 

The best time for scenic sail to El Arco is in the morning. Unfortunately most cruise with standard itinerary will get here around noon since it takes a day and a half to get here from LA. Even though we had shorter port time, I’m so glad we’re doing the reverse itinerary on this cruise. 

[dhanakorn]

The boat stopped here for a while so everyone could get a chance to take photo. The view was just incredible this morning. 

 

The rock on the left is the point where Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean. 

 

I was already happy with view of El Arco but we’re greeted by a couple whales that came around the boat. There’re not humpback whales so we didn’t see them jumping or breaching. 

 

 

We sailed around the El Arco to the Pacific Ocean. Divorce Beach on Pacific side is named for its rough waves compared to the calmer Lover Beach on the other side. 

 

We sailed past the Majestic one more time before heading back to the harbor. 

 

Video clip of the whales we saw from the boat. 

 

 

 

 

[dhanakorn]

We sailed for about one hour and got back to the pier around 8:30am. The second part of the tour was the land part. We boarded the bus and headed outside the harbor area. 
 

A quick ride and we’re arrived at the glass factory. 

 

The factory recycle the glass bottles that tourists consume here. They had a quick demonstration show on how they make the glass. 

 

 

 

 

When I heard the glass factory I thought it’s gonna be a tourist trap. But the demonstration was interesting and there’s no pressure for you to buy anything. And it’s a quick stop, we spent half an hour here. 

[dhanakorn]

Next stop is the restaurant on a cliff called Sunset Monalisa. This place has an incredible view of Cabo harbor. As the name suggests, it’s probably very beautiful during the sunset. 

Looking back to Cabo and Medano beach. 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 30, 2022 by dhanakorn

[dhanakorn]

The last stop was San Jose del Cabo. If you come to Cabo by air you’ll have to fly to the airport north of this city. It’s about 20 miles from Cabo. This city was important in the past as the main source of water and supply before the ship sailed to Manila and is still the main source of fresh water to cities around this area including Cabo. We had about 40min here to explore around the area. 

Plaza Mijares

 

Misión San José del Cabo - this’s the church built on top of the historic Jesuit Mission.

 

 

The local street behind the church. 

 

Lot of galleries and arts in this town. 

Palacio Municipal which is now the office for the Los Cabos municipality.

We got back to the tender pier around 12:15pm with a few minutes to spare before the all aboard time. Overall I love this excursion - it’s best use of the short time at the port today. If I come to visit Cabo by land, I’d spend a couple days here in San Jose del Cabo. The town has some historical charm, not completely a resort town like Cabo. 

[dhanakorn]

I decided to try the MDR for lunch today. 

 

Asparagus and ham for starter 

 

Lobster crepe and gumbo. Both were not very good. 

Peach crisp - also not very. 

 

I’ve never been impressed with the sit down lunch in MDR. Since it’s my first cruise with Princess, I wanted to give it a try. But I’ll probably stick with the Buffet for lunch. 

I went back to my room to take a nap in the afternoon since I got up very early in the morning. I woke up just in time to catch a glimpse of sunset. 

 

 

[dhanakorn]

Day 6 was the second formal night - the gala dinner. 
 

The menu tonight. Gala dinner usually has the best menu on the cruise. 

There’re so many internet options I couldn’t decide so the server brought me a couple of them to try. The salmon and the chilled soup were pretty good. 

 

The escargot was delicious - a little too buttery for me. 

 

Lobster tail was the main star of the night. Princess is one of very few cruise lines that still serve lobster tail in MDR. NCL got rid of it long time ago. There’s no free lobster tail in the MDR since my first cruise. The risotto side was also pretty good. 

I got both chocolate mousse and soufflé for dessert.

I guess this’s like having dinner on a cruise ship during the old days.

[dhanakorn]

I went up to see the buffet line. There’s very limited choices in the buffet tonight. MDR food on NCL may not be very good but they  make it up by offering extensive options in the buffet line.

 

The aft outdoor dining area is usually quiet on this cruise. 

 

I walked down to deck 7 and saw the Vista Lounge closed for private event. The crew at the door told me it’s the Captain’s Circle party for guests that cruise with Princess in the past. This’s my first Princess cruise so I  definitely wasn’t invited. They let me sneak in to see the captain. This’s the only time I see the captain in person on this cruise. 
 

Wow captain Dino gave a very good speech. He’s the youngest person to be promoted to Captain on the Princess line at age 37. He’s very charming and funny. He could get his own show for stand-up comedy, he’ll beat other comedians on the ship. They should’ve broadcasted this event on TV. Too bad very few selected guests can join the event. 

 

At the end of the event, there’s an announcement for guests with most nights on Princess. The couple with most nights have almost 2,500 nights on Princess ships - that’s almost 8 years on the ships. The second couple have 1,700 nights and the third couple have 1,400 nights. 

 

Day 6 main show was Princess Production show Encore. It’s the singing of popular Opera arias and love songs. This’s my favorite show on this cruise. 

 

 

 

 

[dhanakorn]

We also had the Newlywed gameshow tonight. It’s called Marriage Match on Princess. This show was also broadcasted on TV. 

 

The three couples were very hilarious! Thank you so much for volunteering to be on stage and give us a good laugh tonight.

Later the night, there’s an Improv show based on the classic TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway? 

 

I almost forget about Movies Under the Stars. So I went up to the pool deck to take some pictures. 

 

 

Day 6 was the busiest day with so many things to do from very early morning until late night. 

[Baxter68]

We board my first princess cruise next Saturday and I have thoroughly enjoyed following along and seeing all your pics and info! Thank you so much for all that you put into this!!

[trbarton]

Have they done any dancing water shows & if so do you have any photos?

 

Thanks for all of your great photos. 
 

Tom😀

[fpsphil]

Here’s in picture from the cruise on the 15th

[lbfluffy]

On 1/29/2022 at 7:34 PM, dhanakorn said:

I went up to see the buffet line. There’s very limited choices in the buffet tonight. MDR food on NCL may not be very good but they  make it up by offering extensive options in the buffet line.

 

The aft outdoor dining area is usually quiet on this cruise. 

 

I walked down to deck 7 and saw the Vista Lounge closed for private event. The crew at the door told me it’s the Captain’s Circle party for guests that cruise with Princess in the past. This’s my first Princess cruise so I  definitely wasn’t invited. They let me sneak in to see the captain. This’s the only time I see the captain in person on this cruise. 
 

Wow captain Dino gave a very good speech. He’s the youngest person to be promoted to Captain on the Princess line at age 37. He’s very charming and funny. He could get his own show for stand-up comedy, he’ll beat other comedians on the ship. They should’ve broadcasted this event on TV. Too bad very few selected guests can join the event. 

 

At the end of the event, there’s an announcement for guests with most nights on Princess. The couple with most nights have almost 2,500 nights on Princess ships - that’s almost 8 years on the ships. The second couple have 1,700 nights and the third couple have 1,400 nights. 

 

Day 6 main show was Princess Production show Encore. It’s the singing of popular Opera arias and love songs. This’s my favorite show on this cruise. 

 

 

 

We met captain Dino. You should check his pictures on Instagram. Quite handsome, and he definitely works out. 

 

[modes]

7 hours ago, trbarton said:

Have they done any dancing water shows & if so do you have any photos?

 

Thanks for all of your great photos. 
 

Tom😀

They are not doing it any more.

[trbarton]

12 minutes ago, modes said:

They are not doing it any more.

Thanks!

 

Tom😀

[fpsphil]

18 minutes ago, trbarton said:

Thanks!

 

Tom😀

They were on the 15th see the picture. I have videos as well

[Baxter68]

Maybe I’m not looking at the right thing, but I think I’m seeing the fountain show on recent patters.

[dhanakorn]

6 hours ago, fpsphil said:

Here’s in picture from the cruise on the 15th

You had the water show on pool deck? I don’t think we had this show on Jan 22 cruise. 

[dhanakorn]

2 minutes ago, Baxter68 said:

Maybe I’m not looking at the right thing, but I think I’m seeing the fountain show on recent patters.

Aww I think I probably missed it since the show was at 9pm. The cruise director never mentioned anything about this water show - he usually made announcement on the entertainment lineup we had for the night. So don’t miss it on your cruise next week. 

[dhanakorn]

Let me continue with Day 7 report. I think we all love the cruise with the last day as a sea so we can totally relax before we go back home. 
 

We had a cooking show in the morning. I initially didn’t plan to attend since I thought it’s gonna boring. But it turned out to be a great show. The executive chef and his associate were very funny. They made jokes while demonstrating the cooking. This show is highly recommended. 

 

Lunch at the buffet. I love made-to-order station. The pan-fried fish was very fresh. It took a while to cook but totally worth the wait. 

 

With Princess Plus package and a dining voucher included in this booking, I had very hard time deciding what to do with OBC. I booked a ship excursion yesterday but still had some OBC left. I don’t normally buy souvenirs but with the leftover OBC I got a scarf for my mom, a cap for my dad and a paua shell (souvenirs from Aus/NZ were 50% off). Thank you Princess!

[kluv2cruz]

Thanks so much for doing the live from. Very enjoyable! Glad you mostly liked Princess. If you’re back in Cabo, similar to Stone Island, but not as gobsmacking, walk walk walk til the end of Medano beach - you can do this by walking the boardwalk til you get to the beach then continuing along the beach, or you can head inland about 2/3 of the way along the boardwalk. Walk til you get to Tabasco’s @ Pueblo Bonito Rose Resort. Beautiful view back towards Cabo and the ships, great medium priced food & drink (not as cheap or as yummy as Stone Island). Fun atmosphere. 

[dhanakorn]

I had work meeting today - the internet connection on the ship was very good, voices were clear and no call drop. By the time I was done with work, the sun already started going down. 

 

 

 

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

On 1/24/2022 at 4:53 PM, dhanakorn said:

The whole deck 9 is blocked off on this cruise. It serves as a quarantine deck. I saw a crew with PPE suit going in and out. I don’t why they need to close the whole deck. Maybe it’s for crew quarantine since all passengers need to have negative Covid test before boarding. 

Hard to understand why they would choose deck 9 since it offers the most Premium Deluxe Balconies. There are only aft D4 cabins on the other floors. 

 

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

On 1/24/2022 at 6:01 PM, dhanakorn said:

The captain and senior officers didn’t show up on the formal night due to Covid concern. But he did make an announcement to welcome the night and we did virtual toast together. Since it’s a formal night I decided to be classy by ordering a martini. Martini is an acquired taste that I’ve not yet acquired. It has slight bitter aftertaste and no other flavor. I think it’s famous because of the shape of the glass. You look more classy when you hold a martini glass. 

 

Ballroom dancing is popular on this cruise. 

 

Day 2 main show in the theater was Sweet Soul Music which’s dancing and singing of popular Motown songs. I think it’s pretty good. Afterwards, I went to see the comedy show by AJ Jamal. He’s very funny. 
 

I think entertainment on NCL is better. On my last Bliss cruise, we had 2 production broadway shows (SIX and Jersey Boys), Cavern Club for Beatles fans, Social club for comedy, and music at multiple venues to keep you busy all night long. Plus many gameshows hosted by the cruise director. The Newlywed game is always popular on NCL. I don’t see Newlywed game on this cruise yet. I thought it’s a classic gameshow on every cruise lines. 

 

So happy to see this. I had read that there was no dancing allowed and my husband and I love to dance.