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Majestic Princess

Sailaway John
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Aus Traveller

Aus Traveller

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I reckon the VIP gaming room will be a ghost town based on how busy the main casino is in general on every cruise we have been on so far, as for the private gaming room........... All useful spaces for the Australian season as far as I can see. :rolleyes:

I agree with you. Several years ago, a friend who was a senior executive with P&O Aust, said that when they brought ships to Australia they made two major changes - moved the casino to a smaller space (Pacific Dawn moved it from the dome) and also reduced the number of sun lounges.

 

I don't see the casinos very well patronised on Australian cruises.

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

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Also note that Majestic is different from most Princess ships in that she's been designed for the Chinese market so less bars, less outdoor deck areas, karaoke rooms, more gaming areas, some different speciality restaurants. And Princess doesn't have the same level of amusements that Royal Caribbean has.

This is one on many things that make me a bit nervous for this ship, I would have preferred a slightly shorter cruise but then thought the relocation may have a higher international passenger ratio, so that may alleviate the bar situations.

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MMDown Under Holiday Sharing Rare

MMDown Under

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Sounds like Princess might not be getting as many bookings as expected from the Chinese.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/news/news.cfm?ID=7804

 

Majestic has received a lot of mixed reviews. I always find it up to interpretation when a ship is decorated for a particular country. I read in a review that the bars on Majestic are smaller, with nowhere to sit and enjoy a drink, because the Chinese don't drink. I know that is not true!

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The_Big_M

The_Big_M

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Majestic has received a lot of mixed reviews. I always find it up to interpretation when a ship is decorated for a particular country. I read in a review that the bars on Majestic are smaller, with nowhere to sit and enjoy a drink, because the Chinese don't drink. I know that is not true!

 

In a cruising sense it is.

 

We sailed out of Shanghai on Quantum (mostly Chinese marketed cruises) and the bars were absolutely deserted, and the robots were idle all cruise.

 

They had one bar staff member in each bar and they were very bored - and not happy. And that's a common experience across cruises there. It's just not something the Chinese do in public as a social activity.

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The_Big_M

The_Big_M

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Sounds like Princess might not be getting as many bookings as expected from the Chinese.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/news/news.cfm?ID=7804

 

Hard to say - there is overseas demand as well, so if bookings weren't possible internationally as it sounds like, this just helps boost their market. (Though they also will need to cater for those expectations onboard; the Chinese onboard experience is different from regular international.)

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MMDown Under

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In a cruising sense it is.

 

We sailed out of Shanghai on Quantum (mostly Chinese marketed cruises) and the bars were absolutely deserted, and the robots were idle all cruise.

 

They had one bar staff member in each bar and they were very bored - and not happy. And that's a common experience across cruises there. It's just not something the Chinese do in public as a social activity.

 

That is an interesting observation. I haven't cruised on Chinese marketed cruises. Do you know what Chinese expectations of cruising are? I know some Chinese are big gamblers.

 

Doesn't seem like Australia and China home porting of Majestic will be a good fit for Aussies!

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The_Big_M

The_Big_M

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In my experience, they are more into the Buffet, Games like Mahjong (anywhere there is a table) and the casino and not so much into the bars and dining rooms.

 

Yes, the buffet and the casino are major draws there. The dining rooms were also packed though - we had security monitoring and involved, as the crowds were rowdy just wanting to get in; first time I had seen that!

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The_Big_M

The_Big_M

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That is an interesting observation. I haven't cruised on Chinese marketed cruises. Do you know what Chinese expectations of cruising are? I know some Chinese are big gamblers.

 

Doesn't seem like Australia and China home porting of Majestic will be a good fit for Aussies!

 

I don't know if Princess are going the same way, but as cruising is a new market there RCL are getting most business via tour group marketing, and actually a lot of it is as shopping tours. Just like the popularity of Australian food stuffs, Japanese and Korean items are also popular for quality reasons. It seems a bit of a waste for such new ships actually - they're using them more like ferries at present, like Star cruises with the casinos, food and short trips. Perhaps that will change with time...

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Sailaway John

Sailaway John

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I think Princess have done the wrong thing with this Chinese theme.The Chinese are not interested in Cruising as we westerners are; all they want is gambling.

 

Sounds like Princess might not be getting as many bookings as expected from the Chinese.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/news/news.cfm?ID=7804

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Aus Traveller

Aus Traveller

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I think Princess have done the wrong thing with this Chinese theme.The Chinese are not interested in Cruising as we westerners are; all they want is gambling.

With the Chinese government's restrictions on gambling, that is an interest that isn't easily fulfilled. :)

 

It could be that the Chinese people who have the money and time to travel want to go further than nearby Asian countries on a cruise. They want to go to Europe or Australia. In terms of numbers, the Chinese are the second-highest group of tourists to Australia after New Zealanders and many of them would be coming to visit and usually stay with, family.

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MMDown Under Holiday Sharing Rare

MMDown Under

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With the Chinese government's restrictions on gambling, that is an interest that isn't easily fulfilled. :)

 

It could be that the Chinese people who have the money and time to travel want to go further than nearby Asian countries on a cruise. They want to go to Europe or Australia. In terms of numbers, the Chinese are the second-highest group of tourists to Australia after New Zealanders and many of them would be coming to visit and usually stay with, family.

 

We had a Chinese group from Hong Kong on our cruise to Falkland and South Georgia Islands and Antarctica, and we were told a larger group was booked on the next cruise. So these passengers were obviously looking for a longer cruise and cruising further afield.

 

Maybe we'll see more longer cruises from China to Australia and NZ return.

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kenexx

kenexx

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Oh well we've booked the Brissy to HKG as well. Have booked a suite on Riviera deck. Don't do many cruises at the moment as running your own business gets in the way hence the splurge. Hopefully any problems will have been ironed out if there are any before we leave! :D

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