July 25, 2021 Live From Majestic Princess Alaska sailing

[HaveDogWillTravel]

@phabricyes many of us are getting in the day before and hopefully they will post where they are staying and their impressions of it as will I once there. 

I’m not staying downtown as a Seattle local actually posted a recent local article onto our roll call about the dire homeless situation in that area. If you want read it look up our roll call, if I remember correctly it was fairly early on. 

Princess uses the Doubletree by Hilton Seattle airport and the Weston downtown. When my PVP quoted me the prices (sorry I can’t find that darn email) they were high like in the $280-$300 range. I am staying at the Doubletree and used points to book it. While I have paid for Princess transfers both ways in theory I am supposed to go back to the airport for my transfer since I did not book the room through Princess. The hotel has a shuttle they told me is actually running. However, my PVP said if they had room on the hotel shuttle they might let me take that one. I will have to ask the morning of. 
 

That said I’m pretty sure I will not be able to wait. I’ll probably grab an early Uber and just sit on my large suitcase staring at the ship until they let me board. I’m more than a little happy to feel the motion of the ocean under me again. 

[ChangeOrder]

56 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Sure do here you go. 

We get this, but there is no more Puppies in the Piazza like you're used to seeing on Alaska cruises. Puppies are a covid casualty. Although I'm really hoping someone smart sets up something similar right at the dock, or close by in town.

[phabric]

When I went on a Royal Caribbean ship, on your planner, you reserved a space in the theater not an actual seat.  At the theater door, they scanned your cruise card, there were 2 lines 1) reserved and 2) non reserved and a certain time they opened up the non reserved line.

[PescadoAmarillo]

10 hours ago, caribill said:

 

There are now in this new world of planning in advance everything you might want to do while on board the ship.

 

According to an above post, you can even reserve when you might want to stop by and hear the piano player in Crooners.

Along with a box to check depending on whether you intend to sit or stand, and for long you will be doing so. 

[phabric]

5 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Along with a box to check depending on whether you intend to sit or stand, and for long you will be doing so. 

I understand they have to have capacity but it takes away the fun of by walking a lounge hearing music and stopping to listen for a few minutes or longer.

[BlueFish2000]

3 hours ago, ckfajf said:

We are sailing in a suite on August 1. Would appreciate if you have time if you could post how the suite breakfast works as there is no Sabatini in the ship. We love our breakfast in Sabatini! We have been able to get the app to work but cannot make any dinner reservations other than the main dining room.

They will probably have it in the Crown Grill. The last time we had breakfasts there we got bored. We will probably try the dining room too. But will let you know how it goes.

[memoak]

4 hours ago, ckfajf said:

We are sailing in a suite on August 1. Would appreciate if you have time if you could post how the suite breakfast works as there is no Sabatini in the ship. We love our breakfast in Sabatini! We have been able to get the app to work but cannot make any dinner reservations other than the main dining room.

If you are in a full suite you have club class dining. No need to reserve anything. Suite breakfast will be in one of the speciality restaurants 

[Host CJSKIDS]

Please tell Jovie hi from Steve and Carolyn!  I spoke to her last when she had just gotten on board so don’t know which bar she is at. 

[cr8tiv1]

2 hours ago, phabric said:

I understand they have to have capacity but it takes away the fun of by walking a lounge hearing music and stopping to listen for a few minutes or longer.

 

This doesn't sound like very much fun.  Sometimes I think Princess is "over" thinking the Medallion Class App usage.  Not sure if I like the Princess Theater policy either.  I do understand COVID restrictions/social distancing.  But the man power to crowd control.  

 

This thread will become extremely valuable for passengers and hopefully Princess to monitor.

 

Thank you to all contributors.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Please tell Jovie hi from Steve and Carolyn!  I spoke to her last when she had just gotten on board so don’t know which bar she is at. 

Well it's a challenging task but I am sure we can arrange a bar crawl and look for her😇

[starboardcruiser]

Thank you in advance! I'll be sailing in September and am very curious to hear your experiences. I also appreciate the diversity of perspectives that will be present. Thank you everyone for your contributions! Bon voyage!

[Host CJSKIDS]

46 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Well it's a challenging task but I am sure we can arrange a bar crawl and look for her😇

 

Like the spirit you have!  wish I could join you.  I’ll see if I can find out which bar she is at. 

[2 cruises a year]

38 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

Like the spirit you have!  wish I could join you.  I’ll see if I can find out which bar she is at. 

Spoil Sport. 😁 Let them have their fun bar crawling to find Jovie. 😉

If they haven't had any luck after a day or two, you can give them hints.  😂

I hope the emoji's show that I am just having fun.

[kml246]

5 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

@phabricyes many of us are getting in the day before and hopefully they will post where they are staying and their impressions of it as will I once there. 

I’m not staying downtown as a Seattle local actually posted a recent local article onto our roll call about the dire homeless situation in that area. If you want read it look up our roll call, if I remember correctly it was fairly early on. 

Princess uses the Doubletree by Hilton Seattle airport and the Weston downtown. When my PVP quoted me the prices (sorry I can’t find that darn email) they were high like in the $280-$300 range. I am staying at the Doubletree and used points to book it. While I have paid for Princess transfers both ways in theory I am supposed to go back to the airport for my transfer since I did not book the room through Princess. The hotel has a shuttle they told me is actually running. However, my PVP said if they had room on the hotel shuttle they might let me take that one. I will have to ask the morning of. 
 

That said I’m pretty sure I will not be able to wait. I’ll probably grab an early Uber and just sit on my large suitcase staring at the ship until they let me board. I’m more than a little happy to feel the motion of the ocean under me again. 

 

Thanks for starting and contributing to this thread. Much appreciated by all.

 

We're on the August 8 sailing. Like you, with all that's going on negatively in Seattle, we're staying the night before at the Crowne Plaza across from SEA-TAC. We booked a shuttle with Seattle Express that will pick us up at the hotel at 10:15 am, and then drop us at the pier. For the return, we're going to check our bags through the Pier Valet (a free service that gives you your boarding passes and special baggage tags and then takes your checked bags to the airport) and using Seattle Express to return from the pier to the airport. For two people, it's just under $75 round trip. The return shuttles leave right from the pier every twenty minutes between 7am and 11am. 

 

Have a great time!

 

Nan & Kevin

[redtop101]

Thank you so much for creating this "Live from Majestic Princess" thread and to all the other contributors as you cruise along.

 

So many questions as we follow along. Does the OM medallion work without bugs? Do you really have to make reservations for many, if not all, events - which kinda takes some of the fun out of spontaneity.

 

Looking forward to many answers to questions that are all still unknown right now

 

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

This doesn't sound like very much fun.  Sometimes I think Princess is "over" thinking the Medallion Class App usage.  Not sure if I like the Princess Theater policy either.  I do understand COVID restrictions/social distancing.  But the man power to crowd control.  

 

This thread will become extremely valuable for passengers and hopefully Princess to monitor.

 

Thank you to all contributors.

And I don't understand why all the need for this when everyone is vaccinated.  And your voyage isn't going with a full ship supposedly.  Hopefully this stuff all goes away when the CDC CSO is lifted.  As much as I would like to be on a cruise, I think I am better off waiting until 2022 or I would just go mad with all the restrictions.

[Glaciers]

8 hours ago, phabric said:

I will be following along.

 

Anybody staying in Seattle before the cruise?  
 

Any recommendations for a hotel near Pikes Market?

 

The Inn at the Market is across the street from Pike Place Market.  Probably the best boutique hotel in downtown and frequently recommended. Another one nearby is The State Hotel. It’s new with a very central location to the downtown core and 2 blocks from the market.

 

The homeless presence certainly increased last year and was actually pretty dismal. You will see some although much of it is now gone with the biggest concentration in the Pioneer Square area where most of the homeless services are located. The downtown core is refreshing compared to what it was even 6 months ago and is now very vibrant.  I live in downtown Seattle. It’s unfortunate that that negative comments continue, particularly from those who don’t live here and have simply read other reports.  I would challenge you to report back and tell what you found.

[chelsea922]

2 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

 

The Inn at the Market is across the street from Pike Place Market.  Probably the best boutique hotel in downtown and frequently recommended. Another one nearby is The State Hotel. It’s new with a very central location to the downtown core and 2 blocks from the market.

 

 

The homeless presence certainly increased last year and was actually pretty dismal. You will see some although much of it is now gone with the biggest concentration in the Pioneer Square area where most of the homeless services are located. The downtown core is refreshing compared to what it was even 6 months ago and is now very vibrant.  I live in downtown Seattle. It’s unfortunate that that negative comments continue, particularly from those who don’t live here and have simply read other reports.  I would challenge you to report back and tell what you found.

I second the Inn at the Market.  I stayed there when visiting my sister in May and it was a lovely hotel.  We didn't see much homeless in May - but like any big city, there was some.  I never felt unsafe and there were a lot of tourists around.  The market was crazy crowded. 

[Chai8]

On 7/17/2021 at 1:21 PM, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I am fortunate (or crazy enough) to be on the inaugural Princess 2021 Alaska sailings out of Seattle with a really great roll call group on CC that are going to join me in posting to this thread.  If you are on this sailing but not on the roll call, I hope you will also contribute.

 

We know there are a lot of very valid questions and concerns folks have about what this Alaska season will be like. What I love about live from feeds that have multiple contributors on the same sailing is the various different experiences and point of views presented.  While I appreciate the professional CC, Points Guy etc reviews and live feeds they are, by design, one dimensional.

 

Our experiences may differ from future sailings as policies, protocols and procedures will most likely be in flux as Princess finds what works (hopefully the the supply chain to restock the bar after we disembark) and what doesn’t (the ap, really?—-what were they thinking?) or as health advisories (OMG don’t even think Delta variant) change.

 

These are some topics that the roll call group (and hopefully others on our sailing) will try to address on this cruise.  I can not guarantee all will get discussed but hopefully most will.

 

Please refrain from asking a lot of premature questions if you can.  Try to wait until we are at that stage of the cruise. For example now we might be able to answer questions you have about how we got cruise ready and on Day 2 we could answer questions about All things Embarkation.   Questions about disembarkation would be best posted on our last day at sea.  Otherwise your questions might get buried and forgotten.

 

1. Getting Cruise Ready and how we fixed problems we had.  Maybe we will have hindsight on what to get worried about and what to just let go once we board.

 

2. All things embarkation: airport expedience, hotel experiences, transportation to the pier, arrival groups (how strict are they?), Elite/suite priority boarding, Blue lane, green lane and is there really a yellow lane (like I was given for a moment in time), showing proof of vaccination and all other travel docs, which MDR is open for lunch, when were the rooms ready (remember we have no disembarking PAX so YMMV).

 

3. Dining  Menus for all dining rooms/restaurants/pop ups and room service.  I believe we have some Full Suite in our group so hopefully we will get to see any special menus they get.  Wait times for Anytime, how the reserved times worked (they are every 20 minutes on Dine My Way), is there a chef’s table??????………………….can we dine with others outside of our travel group?

 

4. Journey View, Entertainment and reservations: I am so curious as to how this will work.  There is a midnight skies event that holds 35 people and it had no spaces left like 5 minutes after it opened.  What happens if show up to a “sold out” event? Can I still just wonder from venue to venue enjoying 10 minutes of this band or spending 20 minutes dancing in another venue like I used to?

 

5. Internet prices and how to purchase, elite/platinum pricing,  what is the speed

 

6. Patters if they exist.  I really hope they do since they answer so. many. questions.

 

7. Capacity  hopefully we will find out how full the ship is.

 

8. Ocean Now Food, Drinks & Shopping okay I will be one of the first to order a drink (with my beverage package) and wait in my room! How well does the ap work around the ship.

 

9. How does Princess enforce the restrictions on the unvaccinated?

Thank you so much for even offering to give those following a rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly. We’re sailing two weeks after you, so I’ll be following with great interest!

[UT-Volsfan]

Thank you for starting this thread!  We will be getting on the ship August 1st after you depart so we really appreciate the advance information.

With our cruise we have so far been unable to see anything loaded in Journeyview, so the only info we are getting is from people on your cruise.

Hope they have a big sendoff for your cruise in a week.

[#1Nanna]

I am so excited to be able to follow along on your trip! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this! And thank you to all who contribute as well! We are on the Majestic in Oct. I know a lot can change in a couple months but I am happy to learn all we can about her and all the new procedures. 

[Host CJSKIDS]

3 hours ago, 2 cruises a year said:

Spoil Sport. 😁 Let them have their fun bar crawling to find Jovie. 😉

If they haven't had any luck after a day or two, you can give them hints.  😂

I hope the emoji's show that I am just having fun.

ok!  I know where she is now. Not my favorite spot for her as I think it wastes her most perfect attribute which is socializing! 
 

The crew is ready and anxious for everyone to come back on. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, UT-Volsfan said:

Thank you for starting this thread!  We will be getting on the ship August 1st after you depart so we really appreciate the advance information.

With our cruise we have so far been unable to see anything loaded in Journeyview, so the only info we are getting is from people on your cruise.

Hope they have a big sendoff for your cruise in a week.

Wow that really surprises me about journeyview. Is that the case for everyone on your roll call?  We had access to almost everything by 2 weeks out like you are now. We all deleted and reloaded the ap dozens of times so maybe that might help?  

I really like seeing who the performers are, what the game shows, trivia, MUTTS, naturalists presentations are in advance. However, when using journey view only the first couple of events are visible at a time for each time slot. You can’t see all the offerings unless you scroll down. 
 

I also wish there were filters. I’d rather not see any art auctions, wellness clinics and such. Since you can’t filter you have to muck through everything. 
 

The only filter is My Events to see what you’ve reserved and All Events to see everything. 
I’ll try to post a screen shot here in a bit. Hopefully it’ll demonstrate what I mean. 

[rdsqrl]

9 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

  I’ll probably grab an early Uber and just sit on my large suitcase staring at the ship until they let me board.

This made me laugh -- I can just picture it, a solitary figure sitting pierside, gazing fixedly with burning, unblinking eyes at the huge white behemoth towering above them, raptly waiting for the captain to extend the gangplank and bid them welcome.  I wish you an early and smooth embarkation, and thanks for taking all of us along (no wonder you're taking a large suitcase!).

[HaveDogWillTravel]

6 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

ok!  I know where she is now. Not my favorite spot for her as I think it wastes her most perfect attribute which is socializing! 
 

The crew is ready and anxious for everyone to come back on. 

Yeah!  And we are ready and anxious to get on board. I’ll be the one looking like a lost puppy dog at the pier around 8:30 am just waiting to get on. Do you have a picture of her?

Edited July 19, 2021 by HaveDogWillTravel