Majestic Princess review

I was on the Royal for 2 weeks in Oct., a center staircase is available now and Majestic has center stairs according to deck plan. I did not see any congestion around the center of ship, or elevators. I had a mid-ship cabin, hate elevators, center stairs were my go to location. I did use elevators a few times to get to the upper deck for the buffet area, stairs to come down, did not think they were small.

Hi Land Lover can you tell me how you found the food and staff. Is the ship being well maintained. We were on the Royal and found that it did not have a center stair case made it hard to get around and the elevators were small.

We have never found the food to exciting on any cruise ship, but others raved about it on the Majestic.

The ship was in perfect order when we left it.

The elevators certainly did not seem small to me...this was the first time I was on a Royal Class ship, I have done every other class with Princess. AS another poster stated they did include the center stair case.

The staff was excellent, however many were leaving, I will track down a couple of posts from our sailing that you might find informative about our unique experience on that last cruise.

As it has been stated on the boards before and someone can correct me if there is more undated info......originally the ship was slated to stay in China for 3 years...all bookings thru the "government travel" agency. However something changed with this commitment and the Aussie cruises were added with the ship...then Twain..look at article below.

Majestic Princess adds 4-month Taiwan stint in 2018

Majestic Princess - 'sailing with high guest load factors during her inaugural Asia homeport season'

Custom-built for the Chinese market, Majestic Princess is going to operate a four-month stint from Taiwan in 2018, in addition to its previously announced seasonal Australia deployment.

Majestic Princess will continue sailing from Shanghai throughout 2017 and until the end of March 2018. The ship will then provide homeport cruises from Taiwan beginning mid-March 2018 through mid-July, a Princess Cruises spokeswoman said.

After that, Majestic Princess will return to Shanghai for summer 2018 before positioning to Australia at the end of August to operate in the austral summer there until March 2019. Then it's back to Shanghai.

The deployment changes seem to spring from the desire to expose new markets to the line's latest and greatest vessel.

The spokeswoman told Seatrade Cruise News the company is pleased Majestic Princess is being 'so well-received with the ship sailing with high guest load factors during her inaugural Asia homeport season.'

The Taiwan deployment follows the line's desire to provide 'our newest and best product to guests in key homeport markets,' the spokeswoman added.

'Princess Cruises remains committed to deployment in mainland China, as well as other homeports in the region,' she said, 'and will increase our presence within Asia as we continue to review our options throughout the region over time.'

Posted 15 August 2017

There were plenty of Aussies on our cruise Singapore to Shanghai and even more on the 28 day Rome to Singapore cruise prior to ours.

On our sailing rumors abounded on how the ship would have to be changed going into the Australian market.....especially more drinking holes..I think not, and all staff I spoke to who should have been in the know:o said no physical changes will be coming.

Simply there were less bars and the casino smaller ...but nothing was ever overwhelmed that you could not have a wonderful time.

Gimer

Cool Cruiser

#1071

Walnut Creek, CA

1,595 Posts

Joined Mar 2007

Posted July 17th, 2017, 07:52 AM

Tom, here is a quick heads up on Majestic. Majestic Princess is beautiful and majestic. Boarding in Singapore went quite quickly, like about 30 minutes. Princess used the Fairmont Singapore Hotel and Swissotel Hotel and were kinda of connected by a three story shopping mall. Each hotel had a full bus load of Majestic cruisers. We were on the second and boarded Majestic at 11:45. Meet with our Stateroom Attendant "Lu", from China and she was on since Trieste, Italy, before March.

I read the first two months of Majestic's reviews and our Third Segment of it's Maiden Grand Asia Voyage was very different. Starting in Singapore and every port visit, maybe 30 to 50 people got on board. They were TV and print media, Travel Agents, City Officials and Custom & Immigrations, stayed on board for two days and got off at the next port and another group would come on. This happen 9 times for it's 9 ports of call. We saw two commercials being filmed and they all ate in different dining venues for the Majestic ambients. I understand and I could be corrected that the Chinese Government Travel Agency has charted the Majestic for 6 months and marketing in China only. The travel companies must buy blocks of staterooms and Princess get paid up front. Two days before the last port visit, 5 Life Guards join the crew staff. The first cruise was expecting over 600 kids and the ship was sold out. There are three Chinese speaking Paramedic, two nurses and two doctors. When we got to Hong Kong, over 50 Asian Crew members reported on board. Joining them was Customer Service Agent Harry Sui who was on Grand Princess back in our April Hawaii cruise. Also on board was Dimitar, who was the Head Waiter in Crown Grill, Sabatini's and Horizon Court from Grand and Captain Steve Holland was the Staff Captain on Grand. Cruise Director Dan Falconer and his wife Amanda got off in Incheon, So. Koreas and was reporting to Miami for a weeks training and is then

going to either Royal or Regal for their European cruising season.

For me, Majestic Princess is too large. I prefer the Grand Class ships and going out of San Francisco. Flying to Singapore was trying for me. This was the first flight in 12 years and I did this for Fran who couldn't pass up this itinerary. I survived.

Stan summed up what happened on our cruise pretty well...So you can see it was unique.

And can see staffing changed which will probably happen before your cruise as well...just like on every cruise.

But as far as what is happening on Majestic right now is anyone's guess...as there are probably very few pax on board that are not from mainland China.

Now back to the ship..... I will take a few moments and go thru my photo book.....

We had the drink package on this 21 day sailing and I was concerned that since we were dropping off the ship in China that they might be limited on selections but that could not be further from the truth....... the first few sailing days several bottles of wines were out of stock but after a few port stops everything was available.

Bars unique to the Majestic were the Ocean Terrance Juice Bar & Gong Cha, $3-5-- cost, they were included in the drink package.

The juice bar had fresh squeezed juice. Veg & fruit blends and mix -ins...smoothies....very refreshing.

Gong Cha..Teas, etc, with boba, pearls, jelly mix-ins and smoothies as well.

I enjoy both of these bars very much as something different and with the drink package and 11 sea days I tried everything on the menus.

As I mentioned before this was my first time on a Royal class ship and was really looking forward to The "World Fresh Market Place"...but unfortunately both my DH and I were underwhelmed. There were certainly many choices, but quite frankly the presentation turned me off.....The foods did not look appetizing also it was so large soemtimes you lost your way if you wanted seconds.

Alfredo's was our go to place when we wanted a bite...on the Majestic the menu is extended and I found the Agnolotti Gratinati alla Piemontese..filled pasta pockets with a creamy veal sauce to die for.

The Chops Sticks Noodle Bar was also unique to the Majestic. Each day 1 special bowl and 2 noddle bowls were offered.

We found this a nice change in pace and food above average. One special the sweet and sour pork was my favorite.

I will continue on with more info about the ship if posters are interested...I don't want to spend anymore time if you guys don't find value is my posts...........L:Dri So let me know....

There were plenty of Aussies on our cruise Singapore to Shanghai and even more on the 28 day Rome to Singapore cruise prior to ours.

 

On our sailing rumors abounded on how the ship would have to be changed going into the Australian market.....especially more drinking holes..I think not, and all staff I spoke to who should have been in the know:o said no physical changes will be coming.

 

Simply there were less bars and the casino smaller ...but nothing was ever overwhelmed that you could not have a wonderful time.

I was on Royal a couple of months ago and was chatting to one of the Food & Beverage managers. She mentioned that she'd heard they might be doing some modifications to Majestic before she comes down to Australia to provide more bars. She wasn't sure exactly what they were planning but I suspect Leaves Tea Bar may change to a bar - like the Princess Live bar/cafe on Royal.

Of course Crooners is missing on Majestic, it's a French restaurant. As much as I love Crooners I'd really like to try the French restaurant so I hope they don't change that back to a bar.

I will continue on with more info about the ship if posters are interested...I don't want to spend anymore time if you guys don't find value is my posts...........L:Dri So let me know....

Thanks for posting. Any information regarding the Majestic Princess is appreciated.

The biggest complaint on the sailing was only 2 desk top computers for public use, the tiny room also doubled as the "library " and I am saying that very loosely. But users adjusted.

I was on Royal a couple of months ago and was chatting to one of the Food & Beverage managers. She mentioned that she'd heard they might be doing some modifications to Majestic before she comes down to Australia to provide more bars. She wasn't sure exactly what they were planning but I suspect Leaves Tea Bar may change to a bar - like the Princess Live bar/cafe on Royal.

 

Of course Crooners is missing on Majestic, it's a French restaurant. As much as I love Crooners I'd really like to try the French restaurant so I hope they don't change that back to a bar.

the Tea Bar (Gong Cha) is a very tiny area....no way could it serve as a full service bar. I could see the Juice bar as a possibility....

It seemed like the only time a bar(crown Grill)was full was at bongo time....on our sailing..

Le Mer...was just okay in our opinion......but you have to try everything at least once and then another time to really have an opinion so I should really not speak.

I would suggest to take a peek at the ships deck layout and you can see he layout and space utilization is different in many ways from Royal/Regal.

My favorite area to relax on the ship was the Hollywood Pool Club(Sanctuary)....nice bar, covered pool and separate rooms with lounges and fans. On our sailing even the areas(rooms) that should have been for rent were opened to everyone.

The Karaoke Suites, seemed to have no business on our sailing, but make sure to request a tour, interesting to check out.

Fantastic Journey is unique to Majestic and what a amazing production. Not to be missed....It featured 180 degree visuals around the theater, drones(yes, they r flying) and state of the art video mapping.

Gimer

Cool Cruiser

 

#1071

Walnut Creek, CA

1,595 Posts

Joined Mar 2007

 

 

Posted July 17th, 2017, 07:52 AM

 

Tom, here is a quick heads up on Majestic. Majestic Princess is beautiful and majestic. Boarding in Singapore went quite quickly, like about 30 minutes. Princess used the Fairmont Singapore Hotel and Swissotel Hotel and were kinda of connected by a three story shopping mall. Each hotel had a full bus load of Majestic cruisers. We were on the second and boarded Majestic at 11:45. Meet with our Stateroom Attendant "Lu", from China and she was on since Trieste, Italy, before March.

I read the first two months of Majestic's reviews and our Third Segment of it's Maiden Grand Asia Voyage was very different. Starting in Singapore and every port visit, maybe 30 to 50 people got on board. They were TV and print media, Travel Agents, City Officials and Custom & Immigrations, stayed on board for two days and got off at the next port and another group would come on. This happen 9 times for it's 9 ports of call. We saw two commercials being filmed and they all ate in different dining venues for the Majestic ambients. I understand and I could be corrected that the Chinese Government Travel Agency has charted the Majestic for 6 months and marketing in China only. The travel companies must buy blocks of staterooms and Princess get paid up front. Two days before the last port visit, 5 Life Guards join the crew staff. The first cruise was expecting over 600 kids and the ship was sold out. There are three Chinese speaking Paramedic, two nurses and two doctors. When we got to Hong Kong, over 50 Asian Crew members reported on board. Joining them was Customer Service Agent Harry Sui who was on Grand Princess back in our April Hawaii cruise. Also on board was Dimitar, who was the Head Waiter in Crown Grill, Sabatini's and Horizon Court from Grand and Captain Steve Holland was the Staff Captain on Grand. Cruise Director Dan Falconer and his wife Amanda got off in Incheon, So. Koreas and was reporting to Miami for a weeks training and is then

going to either Royal or Regal for their European cruising season.

For me, Majestic Princess is too large. I prefer the Grand Class ships and going out of San Francisco. Flying to Singapore was trying for me. This was the first flight in 12 years and I did this for Fran who couldn't pass up this itinerary. I survived.

 

Stan summed up what happened on our cruise pretty well...So you can see it was unique.

And can see staffing changed which will probably happen before your cruise as well...just like on every cruise.

 

But as far as what is happening on Majestic right now is anyone's guess...as there are probably very few pax on board that are not from mainland China.

Thanks for posting. I’m looking forward to cruising on a new a large Princess ship even if it’s only once. I’ll have to wait & see how I feel about being on a large ship. I choose obstructed view stateroom E628 that doesn’t have much obstruction & it’s a long enough cruise to enjoy our balcony, 19 days. We also got the beverage package as a promo so it will be enjoyable to be able to try different drinks.

Anyone see the water show & if so what did you think?

Tom😎

]the Tea Bar (Gong Cha) is a very tiny area....no way could it serve as a full service bar. I could see the Juice bar as a possibility....

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It seemed like the only time a bar(crown Grill)was full was at bongo time....on our sailing..

 

Le Mer...was just okay in our opinion......but you have to try everything at least once and then another time to really have an opinion so I should really not speak.

 

I would suggest to take a peek at the ships deck layout and you can see he layout and space utilization is different in many ways from Royal/Regal.

the bar on the royal by princess live is only a small bar anyway, couild easily be converted

I sailed on her two weeks May 2017 in the Med just after her inaugural sailing. It was my first cruise on Princess. She is a beautiful ship. Many long time cruisers were disappointed with the changes made in comparison to the Regal and Royal. I find the small changes on ships invigorating as I get bored with the same old thing every cruise.

The crew at the time was great and many In training. There was some spotty service in the buffet area. Room steward was excellent. Entertainment the best

I have experienced.

I understand Captain Sagani is still on ship. The cruise director and most of his staff moved to the Regal a few weeks after it got to China. I saw them recently on the Oct. Canada sailing. So I have no idea who the director is now, I would assume someone who understands the culture and language of its cruisers.

I have deposits in Sept Oct for the So Pacific New Zealand cruises. The one factor that will cause me to cancel is the crew. I am concerned that communication may be difficult if Mandarin is spoken. I do not know if the crew is changed for the Australian portion. Otherwise, can’t wait to be on her again.

Any specific questions you might have? Too many details to give an answer that might be helpful to you. Also, I agree you might try the spring roll calls. There were a few folks that posted reviews. About 30% of the cruisers were from countries other than US, GB or Australia. Might account for lack of postings on CC?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I don't remember the cruise director's name who took over half way through our sailing, but he was an American(U.S.), not of Chinese descent, that had lived or grew up in mainland China, he was fluent in Mandarin..

With so many languages

In China there are at least eight different linguistic groups, in addition to hundreds of dialects and variations.

Most signs and drink menus were written in English and Mandarin, I would think on the Chinese sailings, English would still prevail.....so most staff interacting with pax, would speak English. We were walking with tons of Chinese tourists on the Great Wall several years ago our Chinese guide said it would be difficult for him to converse with several of the groups due to dialect variations.

Thanks for posting. I’m looking forward to cruising on a new a large Princess ship even if it’s only once. I’ll have to wait & see how I feel about being on a large ship. I choose obstructed view stateroom E628 that doesn’t have much obstruction & it’s a long enough cruise to enjoy our balcony, 19 days. We also got the beverage package as a promo so it will be enjoyable to be able to try different drinks.

Anyone see the water show & if so what did you think?

Tom😎

AS u know Stan posted that letter for u....:D

the bar on the royal by princess live is only a small bar anyway, couild easily be converted

Interesting that you would think that as it certainly would be blocking the thoroughfare, if a crowd developed at least in MHO on the Majestic. There are a few tables opposite the bar....though.

I guess time will tell , when the first group of pax get on board in Australia. I woud imagine the group mix will be similar to what ours was OZ,NZ and US.....so really can't see them physically changing anything, only unless room space was not utilized on the Chinese sailings, as people adjust, like everyone did on our sailing.

The one thing I did not like was the Vista lounge min. windows. and no bar but I guess that is true for the Royal class ships.

Thanks for posting. I’m looking forward to cruising on a new a large Princess ship even if it’s only once. I’ll have to wait & see how I feel about being on a large ship. I choose obstructed view stateroom E628 that doesn’t have much obstruction & it’s a long enough cruise to enjoy our balcony, 19 days. We also got the beverage package as a promo so it will be enjoyable to be able to try different drinks.

Anyone see the water show & if so what did you think?

Tom��

I enjoyed the very short water show saw it 3 or four different times. It repeats itself during the 15 minutes. The first 2 times music was in English then towards the end of our sailing songs were in a different languages. Very few people were out watching it but again, something new at least for me, on a cruise ship was enjoyable. Certainly not of Disney or Hotel caliber.

The ship did not seem large to me.....and I never felt crowded. But the smallest Ocean cruise ship I have been on is the Xpedition(90) with X and TP and Royal #2 with Princess(690) and largest the Oasis(5700). I am all for itinerary and not ship,except on RCI.

But I will say.....I found the Majestic to be just like her name.

One women(unfortunately sat with her a few times at Breakfast) on our sailing kept on complaining about the atrium not having the giant chandeliers like the Royal. Whatever.......

We are also booked on the Majestic Feb 6, 2019. Waiting a bit longer before canceling. We are "Elite" Princess members from California and are sorry to be reading so many terrible reviews. I'm hoping Princess is getting the message and will make some adjustments before hitting the Australian market. Also can't find any recent reviews anywhere.

We are also booked on the Majestic Feb 6, 2019. Waiting a bit longer before canceling. We are "Elite" Princess members from California and are sorry to be reading so many terrible reviews. I'm hoping Princess is getting the message and will make some adjustments before hitting the Australian market. Also can't find any recent reviews anywhere.

I don't think you will find any recent reviews as I understand that while the ship is sailing from China the cruises are aimed solely at the

Chinese market. If there are non-Chinese speakers on board the chances of them being cc members is probably not high.

It will be interesting to see what changes will be made when she arrives here in Australia as the original design included more gambling chances, high end shops, less emphasis on outdoor activities i.e. lying in the sun and other features favoured by the Chinese market.

We are also booked on the Majestic Feb 6, 2019. Waiting a bit longer before canceling. We are "Elite" Princess members from California and are sorry to be reading so many terrible reviews. I'm hoping Princess is getting the message and will make some adjustments before hitting the Australian market. Also can't find any recent reviews anywhere.

Take time to read my many posts from above .....are you booking for the ship or itinerary?.....my first cruise was my honeymoon almost 34 years ago...I am from CA and I am elite and above I have writen many positives about the ship and found the ship to be beautiful. .I certainly do not think any changes need to be made to accommodate any pax....This ship was made for the Chinese market...Australia was an after thought.....Princess wants new clients from the Asian market not those of us that have cruised with them many times....Just sayin...When you cancel plenty will be standing in line to book.

We are also booked on the Majestic Feb 6, 2019. Waiting a bit longer before canceling. We are "Elite" Princess members from California and are sorry to be reading so many terrible reviews. I'm hoping Princess is getting the message and will make some adjustments before hitting the Australian market. Also can't find any recent reviews anywhere.

We were on the Majestic for over 30 days and she was actually better then the Royal and Regal in some ways. The Hollywood Beach Club was great! I would sail her again in a minute and we love the Regal and Royal too. The problem is that the government of China chartered the ship for a period of time and it is only open to booking by Chinese citizens at this time. The minute the ship hit Shanghai the Princess travel agents left the ship and said they were no longer able to book cruises on her. The bar areas would be easy to convert to regular bars by just having liquor instead of tea.

the Tea Bar (Gong Cha) is a very tiny area....no way could it serve as a full service bar. I could see the Juice bar as a possibility....

 

It seemed like the only time a bar(crown Grill)was full was at bongo time....on our sailing..

 

Le Mer...was just okay in our opinion......but you have to try everything at least once and then another time to really have an opinion so I should really not speak.

 

I would suggest to take a peek at the ships deck layout and you can see he layout and space utilization is different in many ways from Royal/Regal.

The space that the Leaves Tea Bar is in on Majestic (deck 7) is identical to the space the Princess Live Bar is in on Royal and we found that bar was a very pleasant place for our pre-dinner cocktail. There were half a dozen bar stools at the bar, and sofa sets over by the windows. This left plenty of room for people to walk past. Although many people preferred Crooners or the Wheelhouse Bar, the Princess Live bartender was always busy when we were there. However it isn't big enough to be a substitute for Crooners so it will be interesting to see what else Princess comes up with.

the bar on the royal by princess live is only a small bar anyway, couild easily be converted

Yes, that's what I thought.

Ah well, I'll find out in just under a year. :D