SEMI-LIVE: Majestic - Sydney to New Zealand, December 22

[charliedalrymple]

We are now on day four of our cruise, but I'm just now logging into the internet for the first time.  I have a bit of catching up to do.

 

December 22 - EMBARCATION

The day started way too early (at 4:30 a.m.) so we could get the train from Canberra to Sydney. We had no intention of braving train coffee, so we ended up sleeping all the way to Sydney.  As several people had advised in this forum, getting from Central Station to Circular Quay was super-easy and we were at the ship by about noon.  (It was quite impressive to see the hull of the Majestic looming above us as we exited the train station.)

 

We dropped our bags and were on board in no time, thanks to Platinum status. Our friends, however, are on their first cruise and had to wait in the long line with the unwashed masses, so we parked ourselves at the Ocean Terrace Bar and immediately ordered frozen margaritas. (We were determined to get our money's worth out of the Plus package, and the day was already half over.)

 

Majestic is the biggest ship we've ever been on, and it seemed a bit overwhelming at first. However, it's beautiful and was nicely decked out for the holidays. We have a basic balcony stateroom, but our friends had a rear-facing deluxe with a very large balcony, so we decide to join them for sail-away. This is where we had our first experience with the Medallion app, and it was not a good one.  We each ordered a drink to be delivered to the stateroom. 45 minutes later they called to say that they did not have the Pinot Grigio one of us ordered and offered an alternative.  Fine. 15 minutes later we got a notification that our order had been cancelled and we should place the order again. By then we were well out of the harbour, so we decided to let it go.  We went back to our stateroom to relax, and our friends reported that the drinks were delivered 15 minutes later, without them placing a new order.  Not loving the Medallion app.

 

We reserved dinner slots at 5:40 in Allegro when we booked the cruise, but we wanted to go later and tried to change our time. That turned out to be impossible unless we wanted to dine at 5:00 or 8:00. (Spoiler alert: the same thing happened on the next two evenings.).  However, we just turned up and got a table for four within five minutes and had a fabulous dinner.  All good.  We were all tired after getting up at 4:30 a.m. and three out of four of us had an early night. I, however, decided to have a Sambuca in each of four different bars so I could decide which was my favourite.  It turns out they were all good.

 

December 23 - AT SEA

Started with breakfast in the buffet, as we slept too late to make it to the dining room (which could have had something to do with four late-night Sambucas). It was predictably crowded and chaotic, but the range and quality of food offerings was excellent. With great trepidation, I decided to order a cappuccino to our table using the Medallion app.  To my amazement, it arrived piping hot within minutes, and I decided to forgive the Medallion app for our earlier experience, at least temporarily.

 

We decided to sample as many activities as possible to get a feel for the ship, and there were several highlights. One was a brass quartet (composed of members of the house band) playing Dixieland jazz in the piazza, and they were outstanding.  (The experience was enhanced by our perch one level up in the Ocean Terrace Bar, where at least two, and possibly three, frozen margaritas were consumed. The servers there already know my name and life story.). Another standout was a singer doing a Shirley Bassey tribute in the Princess Theatre, and she was phenomenal.  She said she would be doing an evening of Disney music later in the cruise, which we definitely don't want to miss. We also attended a talk by a very entertaining Maori brother and sister in Princess live where they attempted to teach us (mostly unsuccessfully) a game featuring Maori words and gestures. 

 

We tried to book a table at 6:30 in Symphony via the Medallion app, but were not even able to connect to it.  I went there in person at about 4:00 and they told me to come back at 5:00, when they would be able to help me. When I returned at 5:00, they told me there were no tables in any dining room between 5:30 and 8:00 but we could try to walk in at 6:30. I went at 6:20 and had a bit of a meltdown with the dining room manager about how much I hated the Medallion app, and by the time my friends arrived at 6:30 they just wanted to find us a table quickly to shut me up--which they did.

 

The evening ended with one or more frozen margaritas in the Crown Grill bar listening to a singer/guitarist from Brazil, who was very good.  (The servers there also know my name and part of my life story--but the cruise is still young.). It was in the Crown Grill bar that I witnessed a man arguing loudly with a server when he had reached the 15-drink limit on his Plus Package. He believed that the count should go back to zero after midnight, since it was technically a new day, but the server was having none of it.  They had no doubt seen his type before. 

 

December 24 - AT SEA

Another late morning and breakfast in the buffet. Today we decided to explore the ship, and it is indeed massive. We spent some down time in the Hollywood Conservatory, which was lovely and tranquil (although there were no seats by the windows). I wish I could say the same for the Hollywood pool area, which reverberated with the shrieks of hundreds of children between the ages of 5 and 7.  (That's only a slight exaggeration.). I have no intention of getting in the water with so many kids who probably don't bother to leave the pool to pee.

 

The afternoon saw me at the Ocean Terrace bar, where the bartender now starts to crank up the blender to make a frozen margarita as soon as he sees me approaching and the servers greet me like an old friend.  (My three companions were relaxing in their cabins.). We successfully made dinner reservations in Symphony for 5:00, and I sucked down an unknown number of frozen margaritas until then. The menu featured traditional holiday dishes from various countries, and we had a delicious Arctic Char (although I'm not convinced that is really a typical Christmas meal in Canada). 

 

The show in the Princess Theatre was a Johnny Cash tribute, but I took a pass. (Our friends said it was excellent.). I went instead to the Vista Lounge to hear a three-piece band from Chile with an amazingly dynamic singer doing ballroom music, and it was wonderful. Unfortunately, there were only about 20 people in attendance. I liked it so much that I stayed for their next set of 70's rock and roll, which the singer belted out with gusto to an audience of about ten people. They will be on board for the entire cruise and I've decided to follow them wherever they perform. I will note that servers roam the Vista lounge taking drink orders, which can include frozen margaritas if one is so inclined. I may or may not have consumed more than one.

 

Two disappointments:  There are no ship tours, which have not resumed since COVID.  Also, the advertised interactive cocktail experience at Good Spirits is not happening at all during this cruise, for reasons that were never explained.

 

Now that I'm caught up, I will attempt to post at the end of every day.  Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

[nzrainbow]

We too are sailing this Christmas/New Year Cruise on the Majestic. 

Not our first Christmas Cruise and pretty seasoned cruisers, we were aware it was a fairly big ship and sailing fully booked so kept our expectations on the low side 🙂

A few observations to date...

It's been calm, exceptionally calm, probably the best sea conditions I've ever encountered on a Tasman Crossing and there's been quite a few of them!

Mixed weather, some cloud, some sun and today heavy fog and a bit of rain.

From bag drop to in cabin onboard... less than one hour. No issues there 🙂 (We are Platinum level but I didn't observe any special lanes except assistance required).

Cabin as expected, comfortable and clean, steward attentive and unobtrusive. We dealt with a few minor creaks and rattles and disabled the extremely annoying sensor light system that lit the place up like the Starship Enterprise whenever when one dared to step foot out of bed in the dead of night!

The Medallions have been temperamental.... happily unlock our door on approach on occasions and on others stubbornly refuse to assist  (they just KNOW if you have your arms full and could actually do with the help lol)

We haven't attempted to order drinks or food... going by the multiple comments from others and the stressed looking crew hunting for passengers to deliver items too I take it that it's not always going well 😞

The Medallion App has issues...... lots and lots of issues but we persevere, perhaps one day Princess will roll out something fit for purpose but I wouldn't ever bet on it!   The internet has been fairly good to date, a few lags but on the whole,  sufficient to check emails, make FB and CC posts and check the news and weather etc. 

MDR Dining has been a little chaotic.... our first nights dining reservation couldn't be honored and we ended up being escorted to another dining room for a table. Dining room service has been a little erratic, long waits, i.e 3/4 of an hour to have our order taken then 2 courses served simultaneously and an attempt to remove a plate before it was finished! The haste in which the water glasses were filled resulted in water everywhere, there just seems to be way too few staff with WAY to much to do. I really feel for them as people are getting grumpy with the waiting etc especially those that have gone to the trouble to book dining times.

The so called tranquil Hollywood Pool Club area is anything but...... the noise is deafening both in the area of the pools and forward in the Lounge Sanctuary area!   Music so loud there was no possibility of conversation at an acceptable level, and literally 100s of ill disciplined children running riot, screaming and yelling and throwing giant chess pieces around. There was no area attendants to be seen and eventually a passenger stepped in to tell them to behave!  Unfortunately his efforts had barely any effect whatsoever.  We retreated to the "Library" in the hope of finding somewhere a little more peaceful.... totally thwarted there too 😞 The "Library" was about the size of a shoebox, had no more than 4 chairs and about a dozen secondhand books, the majority in foreign languages. If anyone can enlighten us as to a "quiet" zone on the Majestic please let us know 🙂 The weathers not exactly the best for any where out on the deck.

We don't frequent Bars so can't comment on those but did enjoy the Jonny Cash Tribute Show. The music in the Piazza was too loud for us to enjoy which was a shame as we would have loved to have stayed and watched people dancing.

The ship is beautifully decorated for Christmas, love the Gingerbread Houses!

On the whole we've enjoyed most of our meals, there's been some definite hits and a few definite misses....if I don't like it or it's inedible there's always another option!  Disappointing to see so many uncleared tables, and piles of glasses everywhere... another result of reduced crew numbers perhaps. They do try so hard but there only so much two hands and insufficient time can do.

At only 4 days in with 10 to go we are hoping things settle down a little.... who knows. Not sure we will bother with holiday season cruising again, it's just not what we've enjoyed in the past.

[charliedalrymple]

Merry Christmas, NZ Rainbow!  It seems our impressions so far are quite similar (especially the Hollywood pool and the thousands of screaming children).  We did not experience the long delays in the MDR thus far, so I guess we have been lucky.  And yes, there was a different line for Premium after check-in to get through security, which sped up the process considerably (enough time for me to consume 1.5 frozen margaritas before our friends got there).

[nzrainbow]

3 hours ago, charliedalrymple said:

Merry Christmas, NZ Rainbow!  It seems our impressions so far are quite similar (especially the Hollywood pool and the thousands of screaming children).  We did not experience the long delays in the MDR thus far, so I guess we have been lucky.  And yes, there was a different line for Premium after check-in to get through security, which sped up the process considerably (enough time for me to consume 1.5 frozen margaritas before our friends got there).

Merry Christmas to you too 🙂Maybe we were just directed straight to the priority embarkation without being aware of it... it was quick and efficient boarding anyway which was great!  It's just such a shame that Princess can't make the forward Hollywood Conservatory/ Sanctuary area child free as it was originally advertised.... sadly not every one wants children running wild on an expensive cruise so at least one area where we could get some peace and quiet would be appreciated!  There are plenty of other options and areas for children and I don't blame the kids.... its their parents that should be supervising them in my opinion 😞

[PacnGoNow]

7 hours ago, nzrainbow said:

We too are sailing this Christmas/New Year Cruise on the Majestic. 

Not our first Christmas Cruise and pretty seasoned cruisers, we were aware it was a fairly big ship and sailing fully booked so kept our expectations on the low side 🙂

A few observations to date...

It's been calm, exceptionally calm, probably the best sea conditions I've ever encountered on a Tasman Crossing and there's been quite a few of them!

Mixed weather, some cloud, some sun and today heavy fog and a bit of rain.

From bag drop to in cabin onboard... less than one hour. No issues there 🙂 (We are Platinum level but I didn't observe any special lanes except assistance required).

Cabin as expected, comfortable and clean, steward attentive and unobtrusive. We dealt with a few minor creaks and rattles and disabled the extremely annoying sensor light system that lit the place up like the Starship Enterprise whenever when one dared to step foot out of bed in the dead of night!

The Medallions have been temperamental.... happily unlock our door on approach on occasions and on others stubbornly refuse to assist  (they just KNOW if you have your arms full and could actually do with the help lol)

We haven't attempted to order drinks or food... going by the multiple comments from others and the stressed looking crew hunting for passengers to deliver items too I take it that it's not always going well 😞

The Medallion App has issues...... lots and lots of issues but we persevere, perhaps one day Princess will roll out something fit for purpose but I wouldn't ever bet on it!   The internet has been fairly good to date, a few lags but on the whole,  sufficient to check emails, make FB and CC posts and check the news and weather etc. 

MDR Dining has been a little chaotic.... our first nights dining reservation couldn't be honored and we ended up being escorted to another dining room for a table. Dining room service has been a little erratic, long waits, i.e 3/4 of an hour to have our order taken then 2 courses served simultaneously and an attempt to remove a plate before it was finished! The haste in which the water glasses were filled resulted in water everywhere, there just seems to be way too few staff with WAY to much to do. I really feel for them as people are getting grumpy with the waiting etc especially those that have gone to the trouble to book dining times.

The so called tranquil Hollywood Pool Club area is anything but...... the noise is deafening both in the area of the pools and forward in the Lounge Sanctuary area!   Music so loud there was no possibility of conversation at an acceptable level, and literally 100s of ill disciplined children running riot, screaming and yelling and throwing giant chess pieces around. There was no area attendants to be seen and eventually a passenger stepped in to tell them to behave!  Unfortunately his efforts had barely any effect whatsoever.  We retreated to the "Library" in the hope of finding somewhere a little more peaceful.... totally thwarted there too 😞 The "Library" was about the size of a shoebox, had no more than 4 chairs and about a dozen secondhand books, the majority in foreign languages. If anyone can enlighten us as to a "quiet" zone on the Majestic please let us know 🙂 The weathers not exactly the best for any where out on the deck.

We don't frequent Bars so can't comment on those but did enjoy the Jonny Cash Tribute Show. The music in the Piazza was too loud for us to enjoy which was a shame as we would have loved to have stayed and watched people dancing.

The ship is beautifully decorated for Christmas, love the Gingerbread Houses!

On the whole we've enjoyed most of our meals, there's been some definite hits and a few definite misses....if I don't like it or it's inedible there's always another option!  Disappointing to see so many uncleared tables, and piles of glasses everywhere... another result of reduced crew numbers perhaps. They do try so hard but there only so much two hands and insufficient time can do.

At only 4 days in with 10 to go we are hoping things settle down a little.... who knows. Not sure we will bother with holiday season cruising again, it's just not what we've enjoyed in the past.

What MDR are you booked in?  
Which MDR is Reserve Class?

TIA

[leck57]

5 hours ago, nzrainbow said:

Merry Christmas to you too 🙂Maybe we were just directed straight to the priority embarkation without being aware of it... it was quick and efficient boarding anyway which was great!  It's just such a shame that Princess can't make the forward Hollywood Conservatory/ Sanctuary area child free as it was originally advertised.... sadly not every one wants children running wild on an expensive cruise so at least one area where we could get some peace and quiet would be appreciated!  There are plenty of other options and areas for children and I don't blame the kids.... its their parents that should be supervising them in my opinion 😞

 

Thanks for your reports and Sky is one of my favourites. However rule number 1 for me is never book a cruise during school holidays. I appreciate many people do not have a choice, fortunately we do.

[PacnGoNow]

10 hours ago, charliedalrymple said:

We are now on day four of our cruise, but I'm just now logging into the internet for the first time.  I have a bit of catching up to do.

 

December 22 - EMBARCATION

The day started way too early (at 4:30 a.m.) so we could get the train from Canberra to Sydney. We had no intention of braving train coffee, so we ended up sleeping all the way to Sydney.  As several people had advised in this forum, getting from Central Station to Circular Quay was super-easy and we were at the ship by about noon.  (It was quite impressive to see the hull of the Majestic looming above us as we exited the train station.)

 

We dropped our bags and were on board in no time, thanks to Platinum status. Our friends, however, are on their first cruise and had to wait in the long line with the unwashed masses, so we parked ourselves at the Ocean Terrace Bar and immediately ordered frozen margaritas. (We were determined to get our money's worth out of the Plus package, and the day was already half over.)

 

Majestic is the biggest ship we've ever been on, and it seemed a bit overwhelming at first. However, it's beautiful and was nicely decked out for the holidays. We have a basic balcony stateroom, but our friends had a rear-facing deluxe with a very large balcony, so we decide to join them for sail-away. This is where we had our first experience with the Medallion app, and it was not a good one.  We each ordered a drink to be delivered to the stateroom. 45 minutes later they called to say that they did not have the Pinot Grigio one of us ordered and offered an alternative.  Fine. 15 minutes later we got a notification that our order had been cancelled and we should place the order again. By then we were well out of the harbour, so we decided to let it go.  We went back to our stateroom to relax, and our friends reported that the drinks were delivered 15 minutes later, without them placing a new order.  Not loving the Medallion app.

 

We reserved dinner slots at 5:40 in Allegro when we booked the cruise, but we wanted to go later and tried to change our time. That turned out to be impossible unless we wanted to dine at 5:00 or 8:00. (Spoiler alert: the same thing happened on the next two evenings.).  However, we just turned up and got a table for four within five minutes and had a fabulous dinner.  All good.  We were all tired after getting up at 4:30 a.m. and three out of four of us had an early night. I, however, decided to have a Sambuca in each of four different bars so I could decide which was my favourite.  It turns out they were all good.

 

December 23 - AT SEA

Started with breakfast in the buffet, as we slept too late to make it to the dining room (which could have had something to do with four late-night Sambucas). It was predictably crowded and chaotic, but the range and quality of food offerings was excellent. With great trepidation, I decided to order a cappuccino to our table using the Medallion app.  To my amazement, it arrived piping hot within minutes, and I decided to forgive the Medallion app for our earlier experience, at least temporarily.

 

We decided to sample as many activities as possible to get a feel for the ship, and there were several highlights. One was a brass quartet (composed of members of the house band) playing Dixieland jazz in the piazza, and they were outstanding.  (The experience was enhanced by our perch one level up in the Ocean Terrace Bar, where at least two, and possibly three, frozen margaritas were consumed. The servers there already know my name and life story.). Another standout was a singer doing a Shirley Bassey tribute in the Princess Theatre, and she was phenomenal.  She said she would be doing an evening of Disney music later in the cruise, which we definitely don't want to miss. We also attended a talk by a very entertaining Maori brother and sister in Princess live where they attempted to teach us (mostly unsuccessfully) a game featuring Maori words and gestures. 

 

We tried to book a table at 6:30 in Symphony via the Medallion app, but were not even able to connect to it.  I went there in person at about 4:00 and they told me to come back at 5:00, when they would be able to help me. When I returned at 5:00, they told me there were no tables in any dining room between 5:30 and 8:00 but we could try to walk in at 6:30. I went at 6:20 and had a bit of a meltdown with the dining room manager about how much I hated the Medallion app, and by the time my friends arrived at 6:30 they just wanted to find us a table quickly to shut me up--which they did.

 

The evening ended with one or more frozen margaritas in the Crown Grill bar listening to a singer/guitarist from Brazil, who was very good.  (The servers there also know my name and part of my life story--but the cruise is still young.). It was in the Crown Grill bar that I witnessed a man arguing loudly with a server when he had reached the 15-drink limit on his Plus Package. He believed that the count should go back to zero after midnight, since it was technically a new day, but the server was having none of it.  They had no doubt seen his type before. 

 

December 24 - AT SEA

Another late morning and breakfast in the buffet. Today we decided to explore the ship, and it is indeed massive. We spent some down time in the Hollywood Conservatory, which was lovely and tranquil (although there were no seats by the windows). I wish I could say the same for the Hollywood pool area, which reverberated with the shrieks of hundreds of children between the ages of 5 and 7.  (That's only a slight exaggeration.). I have no intention of getting in the water with so many kids who probably don't bother to leave the pool to pee.

 

The afternoon saw me at the Ocean Terrace bar, where the bartender now starts to crank up the blender to make a frozen margarita as soon as he sees me approaching and the servers greet me like an old friend.  (My three companions were relaxing in their cabins.). We successfully made dinner reservations in Symphony for 5:00, and I sucked down an unknown number of frozen margaritas until then. The menu featured traditional holiday dishes from various countries, and we had a delicious Arctic Char (although I'm not convinced that is really a typical Christmas meal in Canada). 

 

The show in the Princess Theatre was a Johnny Cash tribute, but I took a pass. (Our friends said it was excellent.). I went instead to the Vista Lounge to hear a three-piece band from Chile with an amazingly dynamic singer doing ballroom music, and it was wonderful. Unfortunately, there were only about 20 people in attendance. I liked it so much that I stayed for their next set of 70's rock and roll, which the singer belted out with gusto to an audience of about ten people. They will be on board for the entire cruise and I've decided to follow them wherever they perform. I will note that servers roam the Vista lounge taking drink orders, which can include frozen margaritas if one is so inclined. I may or may not have consumed more than one.

 

Two disappointments:  There are no ship tours, which have not resumed since COVID.  Also, the advertised interactive cocktail experience at Good Spirits is not happening at all during this cruise, for reasons that were never explained.

 

Now that I'm caught up, I will attempt to post at the end of every day.  Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!  Thank you for the review.

What country are most of these children from? Just curious.

 

[nzrainbow]

11 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

What MDR are you booked in?  
Which MDR is Reserve Class?

TIA

Reserve is Concerto Port side.

We have now dined in all 3 MDR....

[nzrainbow]

10 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

Thanks for your reports and Sky is one of my favourites. However rule number 1 for me is never book a cruise during school holidays. I appreciate many people do not have a choice, fortunately we do.

You are indeed fortunate.... sadly we did not have the luxury of an alternate option. I sincerely doubt we would ever do it again unless an adults only "quiet" area is made available!

[PacnGoNow]

13 minutes ago, nzrainbow said:

Reserve is Concerto Port side.

We have now dined in all 3 MDR....

Thanks.  Any favorite?  Any have more tables for two?

Edited December 25, 2023 by PacnGoNow

[nzrainbow]

At this time of year it's probably almost easier to get a table for 2 than a large table as there's so many large groups.  The tables are VERY close together which is a big minus for us, and unfortunately the service  has been very much on the ordinary side so its hard to make a pick. We will most likely stick with Concerto if they have availability... we prefer not to have a set time booking for each and every night and just make our bookings a few days in advance.

[jwattle]

Thank you for taking us with you!

[charliedalrymple]

On 12/25/2023 at 4:09 PM, nzrainbow said:

its their parents that should be supervising them in my opinion 😞

amen!!

[charliedalrymple]

On 12/25/2023 at 10:12 PM, PacnGoNow said:

What country are most of these children from? Just curious.

 

 

Hmmm....I'm not sure how specific I want to get.  Let's just say they don't appear to be Australian.  🙂

[Thrak]

On 12/24/2023 at 4:55 PM, charliedalrymple said:

The evening ended with one or more frozen margaritas in the Crown Grill bar listening to a singer/guitarist from Brazil, who was very good.  (The servers there also know my name and part of my life story--but the cruise is still young.). It was in the Crown Grill bar that I witnessed a man arguing loudly with a server when he had reached the 15-drink limit on his Plus Package. He believed that the count should go back to zero after midnight, since it was technically a new day, but the server was having none of it.  They had no doubt seen his type before. 

 

On our recent 63 day (6 segment) cruise there were 3 bartenders who knew me by name when we boarded. (My wife just give me "a look".) After a very short while they all knew that I favored Bulleit Bourbon during the day and Glenfiddich Single Malt in the evening. At the Aft bar and the bars on Lido deck they knew when I walked up that I most likely wanted a shot of Bulleit, straight up. They all quickly learned not to put ice in my evening drinks. I told them, "Only barbarians put ice in whisky".  (Okay, sometimes I ordered Tanqueray and Tonic and ice is definitely allowed there.) As for the man who had reached his limit, the terms are clearly spelled out that a "day" runs from 6:00 AM to 6:00 AM. There is definitely no "new day" starting at midnight.

[charliedalrymple]

December 25 - AT SEA

 

Well, I had the best of intentions to post on a daily basis after my initial post covering three days.  However, Medallion Net had other plans for me.

 

While I'm on the subject, let me start with a few words about Medallion Net.  After some teething pains at the beginning, I've developed a love/hate relationship with it.  It has been wonderful for ordering drinks of all kinds from any location on the ship.  I had originally said that it seemed to work only for coffee, but I have now successfully ordered frozen margaritas to a variety of location and they have arrived within ten minutes. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but once I was sitting in the Piazza about 10 metres from the bar, and I ordered a frozen margarita on the app.  I don't think the server was particularly happy, but my drink found me quickly.

 

I'm also loving the ability to find DH and the two other friends who are cruising with us via the app.  That has saved us countless minutes of searching through the buffet area trying to find each other at breakfast.  Unfortunately, it also means that DH (who likes to retire to the room by about 8:00 p.m) is able to track my pub crawling tendencies in the evening.

 

When it comes to internet on my laptop in the room, service is inconsistent at best.  However, there is a Medallion "help desk" located just outside of Princess Live on Deck 7 that is always staffed by several very friendly and helpful crew members.  After two days offline, they were able to get me back on the system about 30 minutes ago--although I have no idea what they did and I will almost certainly need help when (not if) it happens again.

 

Enough about technology.  Let's get to Christmas day, which was a lazy day at sea for us, with a late breakfast and a stroll through the Shops of Princess (where I depleted our entire OBC and then some thanks to two very expensive bottles of cologne and a pair of Ray Bans).  The four of us then played cards in the Crown Grill, which was full of fellow cruisers doing the same. Our friends then went to an enrichment session on WWII (which they loved) while I napped (which I loved). 

 

Christmas dinner in the MDR was the least impressive so far.  Mind you, it was quite good, but not up to the standard of the previous fantastic meals we have had there.  Everyone else had a traditional turkey dinner, which they said was "fine," while I had lobster thermidor, which was tasty but a very small portion.

 

The highlight of the day was a Christmas-themed production show with the band, singers and dancers, and they were all excellent, which promises good things to come.  (I generally find one or two of the singers not up to par, but there seem to be no weak links in this cast.) There will be four more production shows over the course of the cruise, and we will attend all of them. 

 

I headed for the Crown Grill Bar after the show where the server urged me to break out of my frozen margarita habit.  I decided to just go down the cocktail menu and try them one by one, starting with a Mule.  Apparently, most people know this drink, but I don't--and it was quite nice!  I can't remember the name of the next one (because I truly don't remember, not because I was falling down drunk), but it was also good.  The third and final drink of the evening was the Pina en Fuego, which was advertised as a spicy twist on a classic. It was, quite frankly, terrible--weak and tasteless, with some chunks of jalapeno floating in it.  I decided it might be fun to try a spicy frozen margarita and will see whether the bartender is able to make one.

 

Relatively early to bed and looking forward to Auckland tomorrow!

Edited December 26, 2023 by charliedalrymple

[charliedalrymple]

December 26 - AUCKLAND

 

It was gray and drizzly when we arrived in Auckland.  Our friends ventured out to visit the Auckland Gallery of Art and Auckland Museum, but we decided to wait and see whether the weather improved. The Majestic docked right next to the city centre, and when the weather cleared in mid-morning we decided to just walk around that area. We were afraid everything would be closed due to boxing day, but local business owners clearly recognised the opportunity presented by 3,500 cruisers let loose in the city, and almost everything near the port was open.

 

We wandered a bit and then crossed a drawbridge into the larger harbour area, which was previously an industrial district. The city has done a marvellous job of redeveloping the area, and we strolled past a number of lovely cafes and shops. We ended up getting stranded on the other side of the harbour while the drawbridge went up so that one of hundreds of multi-million-dollar private yachts could head out to sea.  

 

We had hoped to make it back in time to have a sushi lunch at Rudi's (which I believe would count as one of our two "casual" dining experiences on the Plus Package), but we were too late and just had a quick salad at the buffet.  I managed to limit myself to just one frozen margarita before dinner while listening to the "Glam Quartet" in the piazza. (They are one of the few groups performing in the piazza that is not deafeningly loud, and it was quite pleasant.)  We had our evening meal in the buffet for the first time. It was Italian night and the food was surprisingly good, but the noise level and general chaos of the buffet makes for a very different dining experience than the MDR.

 

The day's highlight was a performance of "The Disney Songbook" with Danielle Matthews, the phenomenal vocalist who had done a Shirley Bassey tribute two nights earlier.  It was in the Vista Lounge, which is a delightful venue for an intimate show like this.  And as for Danielle--wow!!  I have decided there is nothing this woman can't sing.  Her voice can be deep and booming or light and floating, and her stage presence is wonderful.  I just wish her show was not limited to 45 minutes.

 

Believe it or not, my evening featured no further cocktails and I headed back to the room with DH to relax and watch some TV.  I'm probably not the only one with the Plus Package who drinks more than I normally would because I'm determined to get my money's worth, but I've decided not to worry about it any longer. It is definitely nice not to worry about how much everything costs.

 

You are probably getting the idea that I'm a hard-drinking couch potato.  The latter is definitely true, on cruises or otherwise, but I drink very little in real life. I'm not aware of anywhere in Canberra that serves a frozen margarita (nor even a decent margarita on the rocks), and I see cruising as an opportunity to splurge and live my best life. 

Edited December 26, 2023 by charliedalrymple

[charliedalrymple]

31 minutes ago, Thrak said:

(Okay, sometimes I ordered Tanqueray and Tonic and ice is definitely allowed there.)

 

In my early 20's I considered myself highly sophisticated when I asked for a TANQUERAY and tonic, specifying the brand, instead of just ordering a generic gin and tonic.

[Thrak]

4 hours ago, charliedalrymple said:

 

In my early 20's I considered myself highly sophisticated when I asked for a TANQUERAY and tonic, specifying the brand, instead of just ordering a generic gin and tonic.

 

I don't feel sophisticated but I do enjoy not getting crap gin in my drink. There is also the problem that some gin is wonderful in a martini but horrid in a G&T. I prefer either Tanqueray or Hendrick's. I'm sure there must be a much better gin out there for my drink but I'm too pedestrian to know what it is, Princess doesn't carry it and, if they did, it wouldn't fit within the boundaries of the Plus package.

[charliedalrymple]

December 27 - TAURANGA

 

I am writing this from the Ocean Terrace Bar, where below me in the Piazza some sort of inane activity is underway, featuring a shrieking crew member as host and thousands of shrieking children.  I have determined that the only acceptable respite is the Crown Grill Bar, which has live music at a reasonable level and excellent service.

 

The weather was beautiful in Tauranga and we left the ship a bit after the doors opened to avoid the mad rush.  The town itself is about six kilometres from the port, reachable via shuttle bus. However, we decided to hike in the immediate vicinity of the port, along some lovely beaches and to a small mountain (more or a hill, really).  I think we did about four kilometres in total and it was a beautiful walk.

 

We arrived back in mid-afternoon and have a very late lunch at the buffet, which was relatively quiet for the first time during the cruise ("relatively" being the operative term).  We were very keen to plan our evening around the first major production show (aside from the Christmas variety show), Sweet Soul--and it delivered in spades.  It was a slick, upbeat production that was beautifully choreographed and executed, featuring well-known Motown pieces.  I'd say this is the most talented cast we've encountered on any cruise, and I'm very excited to see what the next three production shows will bring.

 

We had a quick nibble in the buffet after the show, as we were still a bit full from our late lunch to visit the MDR, followed by a lazy evening of drinks in the Crown Grill Bar, featuring some number of frozen margaritas that I'm pretty sure was fewer than five.  I know there are dozens of activities going on all around us, but I've let go of the FOMO I felt during the first couple of days of the cruise.

 

All of my cruise mates abandoned me and I decided to visit the Hollywood Pool Club, which is the only late-night venue on the ship when all the other bars close.  I was greeted by a deafening, throbbing disco beat and a highly intoxicated crowd, the average age of which was about 30 years younger than the rest of the ship. The bartenders seemed to barely tolerate the drunk patrons.  I had a quick Sambuca while observing swarthy men middle-aged men trying to pick up young blonde women before calling it a night.

[charliedalrymple]

December 28 - AT SEA

 

We got a very late start to the day, due in large part to my multiple frozen margaritas with a Sambuca chaser the previous evening.  We decided to have a light breakfast so we could try The Catch by Rudi at lunch for the sushi sampler that is included in the Plus Package (otherwise $27). We showed up at about 1:00 p.m. and decided to sit at the bar so we could watch the sushi being made by three chefs.  The sushi sampler is enormous and very good--I would definitely recommend it as one of the two "casual dining" meals included with Plus.  (We will likely go a second time and forego Alfredo's for this cruise.). One issue about The Catch is that it overlooks the Piazza, so you are subject to whatever high-volume activity is happening below.  In addition, passengers use it as a hallway and walk through continuously, which was a bit annoying since we were sitting at the bar.  (This would not be an issue at one of the interior tables.). I wished that the space could be roped off during dining hours, but that's a minor complaint when weighed against the exceptional food.

 

A lovely nap followed lunch. Napping during the day is something I never do back in the real world and it feels like a luxurious indulgence on board. After waking, DH went to play cards with some new friends he had made earlier in the cruise, while I started happy hour in the Crown Grill Bar (don't judge).  I decided to go a different direction and limited my day drinking to Cosmopolitans, which seemed light and refreshing.  A group of really fun cruisers was at the next table searching the internet for drinks with vulgar names and ordering shots of them one after the other. I would have liked to join them, but they seems to be a pretty tight and self-contained group.

 

We had booked the Balcony Dinner for the evening at 6:30.  A waiter had stopped by our cabin earlier in the cruise to ask for our preferences, which included the fact that I am coeliac.  He arrived at about 6:00 to set up and then started the service with cocktails (another Cosmo for me and a frozen margarita for DH--it runs in the family) and canapes.  We then moved to a starter and salad before the magnificent main course of lobster and filet, which we paired with the complementary half-bottle of champage. This was a real lobster (not the large prawn they were trying to pass off as lobster on Christmas day), served with drawn butter. Both filets were extremely tender and cooked to perfection.  Dessert was a range of chocolate treats that we put in the fridge because we couldn't finish them.  We tipped the waiter $40 for his superb service. He told us that only four cabins had booked the Balcony Dinner for the entire cruise, which really surprised me.  I definitely recommend doing it as a special treat!

 

There was a singer in the Princess Theatre that evening who had appeared in Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.  We had planned to attend, but we felt too stuffed and mellow to leave the cabin after dinner.  Instead, we stayed in and watched the Barbie movie, which I found perplexing.  I really don't get the hype.

 

All in all, a blissful day at sea!

[nini]

FYI- During hours of operation, The Catch was always roped off when we were on the Sky last June.

[charliedalrymple]

December 29 - WELLINGTON

 

The wind was howling and rain was pelting down as we exited the ship in Wellington.  We considered getting right back on board but faced the elements and made our way to the shuttle into town. However, we decided to limit our adventure to two museums:  The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa and The Wellington Museum.  They did not disappoint.  The Te Papa is particularly worthwhile for its comprehensive exhibition of Maori art, history and culture, which should really not be missed.  The only other thing we did in the city was stop for coffee before braving the weather to make our way back to the ship.

 

A lazy afternoon followed, and we decided to have an early dinner so we could catch the 7:30 production show, Fantastic Journey.  Although the Medallion App always shows the MDR booked until 8:00 p.m., our party of four has been able to walk in every evening at 6:00 or 6:30 and wait no more than five minutes for a table--so I don't think we will even bother trying to reserve in advance for the remainder of the cruise.  We had a pleasant but not particularly memorable dinner.

 

We made sure to be at the Princess Theatre by 7:00 to get four seats together, but it was already quite full and there were no blocks of four seats to be seen.  We noted a very large number of empty seats reserved for Premium passengers in the centre and left side of the theatre and asked an employee about them, who said they would be released five minutes before showtime.  We decided to just hang around in the aisle until then and try our luck. At 7:20 we saw about 20 children and teens starting to fill those seats, and I don't think they were Premium--so we grabbed four of them while we still could.  They made an announcement at 7:25 that the remaining Premium seats were still available.  It's a rather chaotic system.

 

As for Fantastic Journey:  It was a technical marvel, with amazing costumes and intricate sets that moved constantly (including a very impressive segment with lighted drones flying around the lead singer in formation).  The choreography was intricate and quite spectacular, and the entire show was extremely well-executed.  And in spite of all that, I just didn't like it.  I recognised almost none of the songs, and the overall content just didn't grab me.  I will say that my three traveling companions loved it, and one even decided to see it again at 9:30, so it's apparently just me.  As I said, I applaud the cast and creative crew for an amazing effort, and I almost feel guilty that Fantastic Journey didn't do anything for me.

 

We retired to the Crown Grill Bar after the show and were delighted to find a quartet playing mellow jazz all evening.  I think they were a last-minute replacement, because other performers were listed in the Patter.  Whatever the reason, it was a welcome change to the usual Crown Grill offerings.  (The other musicians are consistently good, but smooth jazz is exactly the kind of sound I would expect in such a venue.)

 

I find that I'm less and less interested in all of the "filler" activities around the ship, such as ring toss and putting competitions, endless trivia contests, and the rather inane "game shows."  At first I had FOMO because there seemed to be so much happening at once, but that has been replaced by a very relaxed contentment where I don't feel compelled to do anything if I don't want to.

[charliedalrymple]

December 30 - PICTON

 

It was grey and drizzly as we boarded the shuttle bus to Picton this morning, but at least the wind was minimal. It made little difference, because there is essentially nothing to see in Picton.  There is one main street lined with touristy shops and cafes.  Once you walk up one side and down the other, you have seen the town.  The cafes were all packed with cruise passengers, and I wondered why so many people would get off of a crowded, noisy ship (with free food) to sit in a crowded, noisy restaurant (with expensive food). To each their own. 

 

A word of advice:  Picton is one place where you would be well-served to book an excursion in advance, either through Princess or independently.  The main point of this stop is to the visit the nearby Marlborough wine region.

 

Since there is little else to say about Picton, let me mention several interesting things that have happened over the past two days:

 

- Somebody called security yesterday to report that a teenage girl was threatening to jump off a balcony.  We saw a swarm of crew members racing around our hallway, so we assume it was on our level.  We learned nothing more.

- A crew member was hastily removed from the ship in Tauranga. We saw him being met by local authorities and he had several items of luggage with him. It appeared that he was being detained, but we learned nothing more.

- The three occupants of the cabin two doors down from us have COVID and are isolating there. We have observed masked crew members delivering food to them on several occasions and leaving it outside the door. We are not supposed to know that they have COVID, but we were tipped off by a crew member.  (I'm not saying any more than that because I don't want to get the person in trouble.). We have noticed an increasing number of passengers hacking and coughing as the cruise progresses, so I can't say I'm surprised.

- There were two medical evacuations from the ship today. The first was as we were about to leave port, and the second was about 45 minutes after we left (forcing us to turn around and go back). Our departure was delayed by two hours as a result. I sent a message via Crew Chat asking whether these evacuations involved communicable diseases, but they would not answer (which is not a surprise).  However, we have decided to wear masks and avoid particularly crowded areas for the remainder of the cruise, particularly the lifts.

 

Just one other observation:  We have decided that our next cruise will be adults only, regardless of how much more it costs.

 

 

[nini]

@charliedalrymple Thank you for sharing your adventure with us. Please know that the time frame of your current cruise would have more kids onboard than usual. When we cruise, there are typically maybe 3 -4 kids onboard. I think there we saw 4 kids onboard last June on the Sky.