Live from Majestic Princess - 20th October 2022

[resordanis]

On 10/21/2022 at 7:49 PM, arxcards said:

Crown Grill done, and in a food coma. I tried some alternate options to what I would usually have. Very happy (and full)

 

Mrs Arxy had the Creme Brule cheesecake and declared it as the best dessert she has ever had. Will add some pics later. A nice way to Crown a relaxing day at sea.

 

We booked Ultimate Balcony Dining for later in the cruise, but they are still not ready to do them. Well done Princess, you really shouldn't be offering them on the oersonaliser. Made another Crown Grill booking for the last night to ease the pain 😉

I didn’t book UBD for this cruise, but did for Majestic 20/11. Will be interesting to see if it is offered. BTW We are not enjoying the food in The Concerto Dining Room, and really they are hit and miss with my husbands dietary allergies, which Princess used to be exceptional with in catering for him, even forgot his meal one night. Luckily we have a very good OBC so have booked specialty dining for 5 nights.In saying that, we are not starving by any means! Food is a funny thing, and they cannot please everyone all the time. I had Key Lime Pie the other night and didn’t like it,  (I usually fold Key Lime Pie) but our friend ordered two.!  Cruise going well, and great to finally be warm.

Edited October 23, 2022 by resordanis

[MMDown Under]

Where is your ship now?  Have you reached hot weather yet?

[resordanis]

11 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Where is your ship now?  Have you reached hot weather yet?

Airlie Beach and very hot!

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, Kinkacruiser said:

Hi Geoff,

Just chiming in to say g'day. Happy to hear you're enjoying your cruise . It's sunny here in Yeppoon so you should return home with a nice tan as you head north 🙂! 

I've been following your thread (thanks so much) .I'm curious about the 'new' boarding style. I'm thinking that (Princess) boarding is now organised according to deck level & position on deck and not according to elite or preferred status. Is this how it's done?

Our last cruise was on the ill-fated Ruby (March 2000), so we're itching to get to sea again. Hopefully we'll take the plunge  next year.

Continue enjoying your cruise on the Majestic.

All the best,

Anna

Hi Anna, 

Great to hear from you. The sun did have a bit of bite today, so we bought some hats in the markets.

 

As mentioned, boarding is chosen on the app when you tick down to 59 days. That all works fine and good, and on most days boarding has started early and it has been an open boarding flowing through the terminal.

 

This embarkation was was delayed, so that threw up some problems (as it always does). Some terminal staff were accepting the - "I have priority boarding" rule, while other terminal staff were applying the boarding group letter only. It led to a few frustrated people that we saw, and we were near the front of a long queue. I can't imagine how pi$$ed some way back in the queue were feeling about it.

 

We have the best of both worlds, both having priority on the old system, and being savvy enough with the new system. Still, after boarding on Thursday, I consider it to be grossly unfair to a large group of loyal cruisers, and suite passengers, to tell them they only have priority when they come back 3hrs after boarding has started - that is not priority boarding.

 

This is where having the app makes a difference. Those that just showed up with paper copies, even elites, were being turned away and told to come back at 4pm.

 

Personally, I think all elites and full suites should be the only ones to have access to group A, platinum and club-class to groupB, then the app savvy can fight over C & D.

[MMDown Under]

2 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Hi Anna, 

Great to hear from you. The sun did have a bit of bite today, so we bought some hats in the markets.

 

As mentioned, boarding is chosen on the app when you tick down to 59 days. That all works fine and good, and on most days boarding has started early and it has been an open boarding flowing through the terminal.

 

This embarkation was was delayed, so that threw up some problems (as it always does). Some terminal staff were accepting the - "I have priority boarding" rule, while other terminal staff were applying the boarding group letter only. It led to a few frustrated people that we saw, and we were near the front of a long queue. I can't imagine how pi$$ed some way back in the queue were feeling about it.

 

We have the best of both worlds, both having priority on the old system, and being savvy enough with the new system. Still, after boarding on Thursday, I consider it to be grossly unfair to a large group of loyal cruisers, and suite passengers, to tell them they only have priority when they come back 3hrs after boarding has started - that is not priority boarding.

 

This is where having the app makes a difference. Those that just showed up with paper copies, even elites, were being turned away and told to come back at 4pm.

 

Personally, I think all elites and full suites should be the only ones to have access to group A, platinum and club-class to groupB, then the app savvy can fight over C & D.

Doesn't sound like a fair system for those loyal passengers who aren't tech savvy.  I just go and have a cup of coffee and come back later as I have no patience for queues.  

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, resordanis said:

I didn’t book UBD for this cruise, but did for Majestic 20/11. Will be interesting to see if it is offered. BTW We are not enjoying the food in The Concerto Dining Room, and really they are hit and miss with my husbands dietary allergies, which Princess used to be exceptional with in catering for him, even forgot his meal one night. Luckily we have a very good OBC so have booked specialty dining for 5 nights.In saying that, we are not starving by any means! Food is a funny thing, and they cannot please everyone all the time. I had Key Lime Pie the other night and didn’t like it,  (I usually fold Key Lime Pie) but our friend ordered two.!  Cruise going well, and great to finally be warm.

We may have sat nearby at lunch yesterday, while the waiters struggled to find a GF order in Concerto. We have enjoyed our meals there, but no comparison to Crown Grill. We are trying the French one tomorrow night. We have a bit of OBC left, and will decide on which restaurant will get another booking.

 

I figured UBD still wasn't being offered because of covid, but after hearing about staff shortages on P&O, that could also be an issue.

[resordanis]

2 minutes ago, arxcards said:

We may have sat nearby at lunch yesterday, while the waiters struggled to find a GF order in Concerto. We have enjoyed our meals there, but no comparison to Crown Grill. We are trying the French one tomorrow night. We have a bit of OBC left, and will decide on which restaurant will get another booking.

 

I figured UBD still wasn't being offered because of covid, but after hearing about staff shortages on P&O, that could also be an issue.

We are off to the French tonight and looking forward to it. Ours wasn’t a GF meal, but they sure are struggling with special meals,  something that has never happened before and which makes cruising our preferred holiday.  My husband just sits there while my meal gets cold, just waiting! Much prefer Traditional dining for this as the head waiter for that section looks after all and the waiter is also on top of it!

The waiters don’t t really care as they don’t get tips because they have someone new every night!

I am not really complaining, as I don’t have to cook, clean up etc. but we can see a difference and as I said we are not starving, but looking forward to trying the specialty restaurants.

BTW - I think they have taken our money for the UBD so hopefully a refund is coming soon.

Our cabin guy is exceptional though and the cruise is going very good!

[arxcards]

45 minutes ago, resordanis said:

We are off to the French tonight and looking forward to it. Ours wasn’t a GF meal, but they sure are struggling with special meals,  something that has never happened before and which makes cruising our preferred holiday.  My husband just sits there while my meal gets cold, just waiting! Much prefer Traditional dining for this as the head waiter for that section looks after all and the waiter is also on top of it!

The waiters don’t t really care as they don’t get tips because they have someone new every night!

I am not really complaining, as I don’t have to cook, clean up etc. but we can see a difference and as I said we are not starving, but looking forward to trying the specialty restaurants.

BTW - I think they have taken our money for the UBD so hopefully a refund is coming soon.

Our cabin guy is exceptional though and the cruise is going very good!

The dietary stuff falls with the head waiters. Let them know you aren't happy..

[MMDown Under]

5 minutes ago, arxcards said:

The dietary stuff falls with the head waiters. Let them know you aren't happy..

We shared a table with a ,lovely  Dutch chef and his  Italian wife once.  We  learnt from them how to order what you want and how to send it back if it wasn't OK.  

[arxcards]

99 bottles of grog on the wall ....

 

I did try to count them, but got stuck in the 40's.

 

Good Spirits at Sea Bar staff are very helpful in helping us try to drink the menu over 11 nights.

 

[arxcards]

Today is a wonderful. 

Today is a warm and calm sea day.

Today starts with eggs benedict.

[yes!yes!yes!]

11 hours ago, arxcards said:

99 bottles of grog on the wall ....

 

I did try to count them, but got stuck in the 40's.

 

Good Spirits at Sea Bar staff are very helpful in helping us try to drink the menu over 11 nights.

 

I had a nice frozen mango cocktail at good spirits, think it was a margarita.

[arxcards]

Can't quite work out what it is, but there is something Majestic about Princess eggs benny.

 

[arxcards]

5 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

I had a nice frozen mango cocktail at good spirits, think it was a margarita.

Barb loves her mangos, and her mango margaritas 

[arxcards]

16 hours ago, resordanis said:

We are off to the French tonight and looking forward to it. Ours wasn’t a GF meal, but they sure are struggling with special meals,  something that has never happened before and which makes cruising our preferred holiday.  My husband just sits there while my meal gets cold, just waiting! Much prefer Traditional dining for this as the head waiter for that section looks after all and the waiter is also on top of it!

The waiters don’t t really care as they don’t get tips because they have someone new every night!

I am not really complaining, as I don’t have to cook, clean up etc. but we can see a difference and as I said we are not starving, but looking forward to trying the specialty restaurants.

BTW - I think they have taken our money for the UBD so hopefully a refund is coming soon.

Our cabin guy is exceptional though and the cruise is going very good!

How was the French restaurant last night?

[Wanderers2]

Does anyone know where I can find a copy of the Alfredo's menu?

[resordanis]

48 minutes ago, arxcards said:

How was the French restaurant last night?

Good for me. They did stuff up on my husbands Duck though. Thin tough slices and they brought him a sauce and then immediately took it away and didn’t offer any substitute. Anyway, was replaced with scallops quite quickly. Service impeccable. The Head Waiter did coming looking for us with the menu for tonight, but we have decided to try the Alfredo’s with friends. We will go again, on our own this time. We do have Crown Grill booked twice.

[NSWP]

17 hours ago, resordanis said:

We are off to the French tonight and looking forward to it. Ours wasn’t a GF meal, but they sure are struggling with special meals,  something that has never happened before and which makes cruising our preferred holiday.  My husband just sits there while my meal gets cold, just waiting! Much prefer Traditional dining for this as the head waiter for that section looks after all and the waiter is also on top of it!

The waiters don’t t really care as they don’t get tips because they have someone new every night!

I am not really complaining, as I don’t have to cook, clean up etc. but we can see a difference and as I said we are not starving, but looking forward to trying the specialty restaurants.

BTW - I think they have taken our money for the UBD so hopefully a refund is coming soon.

Our cabin guy is exceptional though and the cruise is going very good!

Sympathise with you, I had a couple of similar issues on Coral Princess 13 Sept to 22 Sept. I pre notified them that I was Coeliac. and booked in my dining times in MDRs' They put me in Bordeaux and Provence MDR's on different nights. First night I just picked out dishes from the menu, this was my 21st Princess cruise so I know the drill. I told waiter I was coeliac, he calls the HW over and he gives me menus for next night as usual to pick my meals.

 

Next night, I go to MDR, no gf meal appears, I tell waiters I ordered it they go down to the special area of galley where diets are prepared, cannot locate meals. They tell me so, I am not happy but pick out some dishes from menu.  I again pick menu for following night.  Next night meal does not appear again, so I walk out of MDR and tell the HW at door what happened, he is not real interested but tells me to come and see him the next night and he will sort it out. I never did.

 

I had enough of it all by then so for the next 6 nights I ate at  HC buffet or got a burger on gf bun from the burger bar up top.  The food at HC was fine, I got what I wanted, always a carvery on and plenty of veg and salads did me.  We always did traditional dining and I never had a problem getting my gf meals. The last night I went to MDR and just ordered a steak and salad and a couple of creme broulees, lol.

 

As you say with Dining my way, different waiters, different tables each night and the mdr service was nowhere as good as previously experienced.  I agree it could be the fact the waiters know there is almost zero chance of getting cash tip from pax they might only serve once.  PS As a solo traveller now I paid $300 a night to be on the ship, no way was I going to spend more on specialty restaurants, done all those in previous years.

 

Sorry  for the long winded post.  

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by NSWP

[resordanis]

5 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Sympathise with you, I had a couple of similar issues on Coral Princess 13 Sept to 22 Sept. I pre notified them that I was Coeliac. and booked in my dining times in MDRs' They put me in Bordeaux and Provence MDR's on different nights. First night I just picked out dishes from the menu, this was my 21st Princess cruise so I know the drill. I told waiter I was coeliac, he calls the HW over and he gives me menus for next night as usual to pick my meals.

 

Next night, I go to MDR, no gf meal appears, I tell waiters I ordered it they go down to the special area of galley where diets are prepared, cannot locate meals. They tell me so, I am not happy but pick out some dishes from menu.  I again pick menu for following night.  Next night meal does not appear again, so I walk out of MDR and tell the HW at door what happened, he is not real interested but tells me to come and see him the next night and he will sort it out. I never did.

 

I had enough of it all by then so for the next 6 nights I ate at  HC buffet or got a burger on gf bun from the burger bar up top.  The food at HC was fine, I got what I wanted, always a carvery on and plenty of eg and salads did me.  We always did traditional dining and I never had a problem getting my gf meals. The last night I went to MDR and just ordered a steak and salad and a couple of creme broulees, lol.

 

As you say with Dining my way, different waiters, different tables each night and the mdr service was nowhere as good as previously experienced.  I agree it could be the fact the waiters know there is almost zero chance of getting cash tip from pax they might only serve once.

 

Sorry  for the long winded post.  

 

This is EXACTLY our experience. When they received tips for set dining they went out of their way, now not interested, in and out.  The Head Waiter is showing some interest, but the meal never arrives! We have done nearly 50 cruises and my husband has always been looked after and this is one of the reasons we cruise.We are fortunate that we have a large OBC which we will spend on some specialty restaurants, but that didn’t go according to plan either last night. We were going to use this for wine, but I now have a health issue and I am not drinking very much at all (only occasionally). We will try the Buffet and also the Burgers. We are back on Majestic next month, so who knows. We are not starving by any means, but for us, i am surprised they are not looking after special meals.

Hope you are feeling as well as can be expected. Cheryle

[windsor26]

1 hour ago, resordanis said:

This is EXACTLY our experience. When they received tips for set dining they went out of their way, now not interested, in and out.  The Head Waiter is showing some interest, but the meal never arrives! We have done nearly 50 cruises and my husband has always been looked after and this is one of the reasons we cruise.We are fortunate that we have a large OBC which we will spend on some specialty restaurants, but that didn’t go according to plan either last night. We were going to use this for wine, but I now have a health issue and I am not drinking very much at all (only occasionally). We will try the Buffet and also the Burgers. We are back on Majestic next month, so who knows. We are not starving by any means, but for us, i am surprised they are not looking after special meals.

Hope you are feeling as well as can be expected. Cheryle

I do think that messages to Princess Head office giving these thoughts and mistakes that happened would assist6 in them going back a little towards Traditional dining  Please try for all our sakes

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, Wanderers2 said:

Does anyone know where I can find a copy of the Alfredo's menu?

Not showing on the app or cabin TV. We will be having lunch there tomorrow, so can get photos then.

[resordanis]

26 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Not showing on the app or cabin TV. We will be having lunch there tomorrow, so can get photos then.

Just had a look at the menu.Looks great. Antipasto, Pizzas, pasta and a couple of desserts. Having dinner there tonight.Had the Lobster Roll for lunch. $15.00 but very nice!

As we are quite close the coast, I have been fortunate to have internet at times today, something Telstra can’t seem to do at home!

Edited October 24, 2022 by resordanis

[Wanderers2]

23 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Not showing on the app or cabin TV. We will be having lunch there tomorrow, so can get photos then.

Thank you

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

Can't quite work out what it is, but there is something Majestic about Princess eggs benny.

 

They are even better if you ask for the hollandaise on the side - they don't get that congealed look and you usually get a bit more of the hollandaise. 😊

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

They are even better if you ask for the hollandaise on the side - they don't get that congealed look and you usually get a bit more of the hollandaise. 😊

In the past I would do that on the non-benny days. I am amazed at my level of restraint. 😁