Rumors?

[Cruise Raider]

4 minutes ago, Yehootu said:

We just finished 40 days aboard the Majestic. I loved the noodle bar, but Harmony was just so-so. The service in Harmony was excellent but the food was on the vanilla side. Not really great Chinese food, but not Panda Express.

 

I read this same thing before going to Harmony for the first time so, I asked if they could make some adjustments to the menu items.  Since we were the only two people in there and it was my birthday, they happily complied and my meal was fantastic.  
However, I would choose The Catch over any restaurant, including Harmony, the Crown Grill or Sabatini’s.  So, I won’t be too heavily impacted by the change.  
One change I would love to see is more of the casual and specialty restaurants be open for lunch, even if only on sea days.  

[waltd]

First world Problems.   Not hurting anyone why waste the money removing it.   I think it adds some charm to the ship.

[LACruiser88]

51 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I wonder if it would become a traditional Sanctuary or a Sphere Class Sanctuary that follows the “Suite and Signature Benefits Only” model. 

I asked the HGM onboard this exact question.  He said that the area would not be large enough.  He only sees the Sphere Class Sanctuary on Sphere Class ships...

[Cruise Raider]

3 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

I think I said signage, not markings.  Do not actually know what "markings" are.  If I can't read it, I do not need it.  If 50% of the ship can read it, it is needed.  On our cruise, the majority of the passengers could not read it.  The ship is going to South America, Caribbean, and Europe.  Will the majority of people on the ship be able to read it?  This ship was built and labeled for the Chinese market.  Obviously, that did not work.    

One more reason they should put the Majestic in San Francisco.  A great number of the passengers on cruises from SF can speak and read Manadrin and Cantonese.  
that’s off the subject .. sorry about that!  I really would love to see a Royal class ship homeported here in SF. 

[Wishing on a star]

LAcruiser,  I would place NO weight on what you were told.

In no way is that area 'small'....

If it were to be changed to a Sanctuary Club Class,  then the whole Forward of the ship, from the entry into the pool area all the way forward, would become the new SANCTUARY/SIGNATURE.

Everything is there... very little changeover needed.

 

However, I am wondering just how well this over-priced new class is selling.

On the first cruise of the changeover... every category below Sanctuary is almost sold out, either sold-out or RESERVE only.   Tons of Sanctuary cabins sitting there, available.

Edited May 25 by Wishing on a star

[Sea Hag]

16 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

I really would love to see a Royal class ship homeported here in SF. 

So would I!

[Sea Hag]

1 hour ago, HotRoot said:

Where can you get decent pizza on "other places on the ship"? 

If you don't like the pizza in Alfredo's and you don't like the buffet, then I suppose you can't get pizza. I've always seen it in the buffet, looking like what's in Slice.

[JimmyVWine]

26 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

I asked the HGM onboard this exact question.  He said that the area would not be large enough.  He only sees the Sphere Class Sanctuary on Sphere Class ships...

I’ll take him at his word, but I was thinking the exact opposite. I was thinking that the space would be way too big given the relatively small number of Suite and Reserve Class Mini-Suites that are on the ship. The Sphere Class ships are inventing cabins to give Signature benefits to. But the Royal Class ships have a fixed number and that number is small. Think about how small the Reserve Dining area is on those ships compared to the space of two full restaurants on Sun. Just not that many people to cater to. But I trust he knows what he is talking about. 

[Cruise Raider]

10 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

If you don't like the pizza in Alfredo's and you don't like the buffet, then I suppose you can't get pizza. I've always seen it in the buffet, looking like what's in Slice.

The only other option is ordering one through the app and paying for it.  It’s always been really wonderful pizza but then again, I’ve never had pizza from Alfredo’s that is burnt.  
 

[LACruiser88]

4 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I’ll take him at his word, but I was thinking the exact opposite. I was thinking that the space would be way too big given the relatively small number of Suite and Reserve Class Mini-Suites that are on the ship. The Sphere Class ships are inventing cabins to give Signature benefits to. But the Royal Class ships have a fixed number and that number is small. Think about how small the Reserve Dining area is on those ships compared to the space of two full restaurants on Sun. Just not that many people to cater to. But I trust he knows what he is talking about. 

We will definitely get the latest scoop on the renovations when we are onboard in December.  I'll post the info on my "Live" thread for that voyage.

[Yehootu]

13 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

The only other option is ordering one through the app and paying for it.  It’s always been really wonderful pizza but then again, I’ve never had pizza from Alfredo’s that is burnt.  
 

My wife's favorite is Capricciosa Pizza and that was available from room service for $8.50 or $10.18 with the gratuity added. It was always very good.

[Cruise Raider]

24 minutes ago, Yehootu said:

My wife's favorite is Capricciosa Pizza and that was available from room service for $8.50 or $10.18 with the gratuity added. It was always very good.

I like that one, too.  $10 is a decent price, too.  

[Wishing on a star]

LAcruiser...   Hop you can get the latest 'scoop'!!!

We will hold you to your offer, and be looking forward to your LIVE!!!

 

I just pulled deck plans up, side-by-side...

The spaces are really about the same.  Give or take, depending on exact scale.

Princess can 'create' as many, or as few,  SANCTUARY Class cabins as they want.

And there are plenty of Mini-Suites, Premium Deluxe Balconies, and existing Suites onboard.

Just new color codes on the deck plan.

[HotRoot]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

One more reason they should put the Majestic in San Francisco.  A great number of the passengers on cruises from SF can speak and read Manadrin and Cantonese.  
that’s off the subject .. sorry about that!  I really would love to see a Royal class ship homeported here in SF. 

Just curious.  Is the signage on the Majestic Mandarin or Cantonese?  Or in writing are they the same?  On our Yangtze River Cruise all signage was in English.  Probably the market they were catering to.  

 

[CineGraphic]

They didn't keep the ship in the Chinese market very long, and other than the karaoke suites which were shut down early, they clearly waited a long time before spending the money to remove the venues meant for the Chinese market.

Edited May 25 by CineGraphic

[Cruise Raider]

12 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

 

I have no idea.  There are always signs in English, as well.  The signs in another language don’t bother me one bit.  My push was merely to bring the Majestic to San Francisco. 😉  Many of the passengers onboard for cruises leaving from this port are Asian and are speaking an Asian language.  I know there’s more than one Asian language but living in the area, I am aware that many are Chinese.  

 

Edited May 25 by Cruise Raider

[startedwithamouse]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

I asked the HGM onboard this exact question.  He said that the area would not be large enough.  He only sees the Sphere Class Sanctuary on Sphere Class ships...

I bet the bean counters are thinking about this though. It's not a thoroughfare (dead ends like other sanctuary areas), and Princess can certainly turn it into a revenue earning area. Especially with the nice private cabanas with views for days. No need to search for a shady area either. My partner and I had this discussion as we were on 26 days for the repositioning last year. 

Edited May 25 by startedwithamouse

[rocker57]

I’ll be on her for the 2nd trip after the dry dock. We sailed on her last September, we didn’t try Harmony, but loved the suite breakfast there. Loved The Catch, so happy that they are perhaps moving it there. Sabatinis, meh honestly didn’t think much of it, and as we are planning on spending 3 1/2 days in Rome before the cruise, I’m sure I’d even think less of it. Didn’t try the noodle bar, when we were on it last year, it left from Vancouver, and the large proportion of the passengers, were Asians, so it was always busy. What would be nice is if they would put an adult only area, I like kids, but the shrieking that occurs in the closed in pool, hurts my ears lol.

[Wishing on a star]

If they go with the new SANCTUARY CLASS ship-within a ship...  something tells me that Harmony will actually be come the new Sanctuary/Signature restaurant.

[Northumberland]

According to a YouTube blogger who just sailed on the Majestic Princess, there are changes coming to some of the current restaurants and other food venues on board.

According to the video I saw, they are taking out the Harmony restaurant and the Noodle Bar and replacing them with Sabatini’s restaurant and Prego Pizza.

We are booked on Majestic for a cruise in October 2026 and would be extremely disappointed if that were the case.

That would make just like every other Royal class ship.

Can anyone confirm these plans?

 

Edited May 27 by Northumberland

[waltd]

Yes it's true.   This has been discussed on other posts.

[memoak]

4 minutes ago, Northumberland said:

According to a YouTube blogger who just sailed on the Majestic Princess, there are changes coming to some of the current restaurants and other food venues on board.

According to the video I saw, they are taking out the Harmony restaurant and the Noodle Bar and replacing them with Sabatini’s restaurant and Prego Pizza.

We are booked on Majestic for a cruise in October 2026 and would be extremely disappointed if that were the case.

That would make just like every other Royal class ship.

Can anyone confirm these plans?

 

This is pretty much old news and in my opinion removing Harmony is wonderful that is a fairly boring menu in my opinion

Edited May 27 by memoak

[mtnesterz]

The previous thread on the subject was titled, Rumors, so it would have been harder to find. I happened to remember who started the thread is how I found it.  Here you go:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3010280-rumors/page/2/#comment-67428525

[waltd]

Princess has had a noodle bar in the buffet area on other ships.   So hopefully they will still offer it on occassion on the Majestic in the buffet.

[Astro Flyer]

On 5/24/2024 at 7:34 PM, LACruiser88 said:

We were just onboard for the 33-day TP, Sydney to Seattle, on the Majestic.  We had several conversations with Senior Staff Officers onboard.  As I mentioned in my "Live" thread, the Catch by Rudi will be moving to Deck 5, Harmony's current location.  Sabatini's will take over Catch's current location on Deck 7.  The Slice will replace the Noodle Bar on the Lido Deck.

 

All of these changes are to occur during the March dry dock in Palermo.

 

We will be onboard on Dec 1st for the 51-day voyage, LA to Ft Lauderdale.  I will be able to confirm these changes during this voyage.

 

Also of interest, a very Senior Staff Officer told us that there has also been serious discussions regarding changing the Hollywood Conservatory to a Sanctuary (a non-revenue venue to a revenue venue).

 

For us, these will be welcomed changes.  I know not all will be happy with these changes.  🤷‍♂️

 

1 hour ago, Northumberland said:

According to a YouTube blogger who just sailed on the Majestic Princess, there are changes coming to some of the current restaurants and other food venues on board.

According to the video I saw, they are taking out the Harmony restaurant and the Noodle Bar and replacing them with Sabatini’s restaurant and Prego Pizza.

We are booked on Majestic for a cruise in October 2026 and would be extremely disappointed if that were the case.

That would make just like every other Royal class ship.

Can anyone confirm these plans?

 

Discovery is also swapping specialty dining venues…Sabatini’s will move from its deck 5 location to the deck 7 venue where The Catch by Rudi (previously Sur La Mer) is currently located which moves to the deck 5 venue. Now that Majestic will have the same exchange of locations during the drydock, the swap appears to be the future possibly due to the popularity of Catch which was my best Princess specialty restaurant experience.

 

A couple of years ago we planned to dine at Harmony until their more authentic Chinese menu was replaced with an Americanized menu somewhat similar to Panda Express.

 

On Royal-class ships in the buffet they occasionally have a noodle bar available.