"Live" Majestic Princess, 33-Days, Apr 10th to May 12th, Sydney to Seattle (+6 Nights Sydney Pre-Cruise)

[Kari and David]

1 minute ago, LACruiser88 said:

I just texted you the below...

 

 

Excellent just left them a voicemail message. First time ever that I needed that. Is there anyone on the ship I can contact or is everything done via the port agent?  Just wondering. 

[waltd]

last time we were in Victoria it was a bit disappointing.   Many panhandlers and homeless.  Has it gotten any better.   Use to be one of my favorite cities to walk to from the ship.

Enjoyed reading your thread.

Joe

[Kari and David]

1 hour ago, Kari and David said:

At an ER over an hour away from port awaiting X-rays. Need a number to call to contact with ship. Left ship in Vancouver so have no local contacts for Victoria. Please text me details at 702 204 6310. Thanks in advance. All fingers crossed we make it back for all aboard

All good, thanks for all the calls and referrals. We WILL be on the ship with a sling and pain killers. 

[EDVM96]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

I just texted you the below...

 

 

Yes, that's a nice new service from Princess on the stateroom TV.

 

[Auntiejo]

10 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

It has been a few years since we have sailed in Canada, either we don't remember this or we did not stay in port until so late?  🤷‍♂️  

 

Luckily, we still had a bottle of Shiraz (from Sydney) in our room.  We took it to Vines and our favorite stools!  And had a good 'ol time!  🍷  

 

We have secured a bottle of Silverado Cab for tonights repeat performance!

I was just about to suggest you snag a bottle when able and save it for later. We mustn’t be having wineless evenings on the ship - Gasp!

Edited May 11 by Auntiejo

[EDVM96]

3 hours ago, waltd said:

Has it gotten any better. 

lol

[LACruiser88]

 

 

[unagidon]

A lady stopped me in the hallway and alerted me about the solar storm visible on aft Deck 16 at 11:30ish. There were a number of people out and about grabbing pictures with their phones.  This is what my phone saw after we started departing Victoria from the Juan de Fuca strait.  Many people had some incredible pictures.

 

[call_your_mother]

On 5/9/2024 at 8:59 AM, LACruiser88 said:

An interesting note, we just received a new mini-bar setup.  We didn't get one after the Sydney to Auckland leg.  🤷‍♂️

 

We did too! Very strange. 

[dickinson]

3 hours ago, unagidon said:

A lady stopped me in the hallway and alerted me about the solar storm visible on aft Deck 16 at 11:30ish. There were a number of people out and about grabbing pictures with their phones.  This is what my phone saw after we started departing Victoria from the Juan de Fuca strait.  Many people had some incredible pictures.

 

Awesome!!

[LACruiser88]

 

 

[LACruiser88]

The last day of our cruise looks to be a calm sea day.  Last night, we were deep into REM stage by the time the Northern Lights appeared 😴.  We are fortunate to have seen them many times in the past.

 

 

[Yehootu]

21 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

The scene this morning was quite the "Ship Show!"  We felt sorry for the poor servers.  I think we probably should have disembarked in Vancouver.  No more short legs in our future cruises!

"Ship Show", Love it. Glad we got off. Our only concern was that we hate the lines at YVR, but got lucky and there were none. Enjoy your last day! 

[azbirdmom]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

The last day of our cruise looks to be a calm sea day.  Last night, we were deep into REM stage by the time the Northern Lights appeared 😴.  We are fortunate to have seen them many times in the past.

 

 

Look again tonight.  We are on your same timezone here in Arizona and folks were seeing them around 8:00 although the best views weren't until later.  If it's clear you should be able to see them.

 

ETA:  Just heard that tonight the earlier the better as the chances decrease later tonight.  So as soon as it's dark check out the sky.

Edited May 11 by azbirdmom

[Txkiwi]

On 5/9/2024 at 9:42 PM, LACruiser88 said:

Tonight when we went down to Vines for our pre-dinner vino, we found this sign.

 

Apparently, Canadian rules only allow one open bar per deck while in Canadian waters.  We had never heard of this ridiculous rule!  We walked to the Crown Grill Bar and found it 5 people deep with a line down the hallway!

 

We walked to The Catch hoping to get a "good" glass of wine.  Mario, the Restaurant Manager, was pulling his hair out because all of their wines had been locked up and they were having to run to the Concerto MDR service bar to pick up wine for his diners.  Same situation at Alfredo's Pizzeria.  Crazy!!!  We will have the same situation tomorrow in Victoria.

 

There are also a bunch kids running around now.  There are close to 500 under 18 yr olds onboard.  The majority of the new passengers will be disembarking in 3 days in Seattle.  

 

There has definitely been a shift in "energy" onboard now.

 

 

 

Here is the CBSA rule:

“Liquor Outlets and Bars

Liquor outlets and bars must be closed while in port. Under no circumstances should liquor be given or sold to visiting Canadian residents, shore personnel, or stevedoring personnel while the ship is in port.

While in port, one bar per 1,000 passengers, or one bar per deck that provides hospitality services (whichever is greater), may be allowed to remain open. For example, if there are four decks providing hospitality services, four bars may be allowed to remain open.

A letter requesting permission to open bars must be submitted to the FPOA inbox at the beginning of the season. This letter must include the bar location, the time it will be open, and, once suitably endorsed by the CBSA, will act as standing authority to open these bars, while in port, for the entire season. For any amendments to the original request, or if special circumstances exist that require additional bars to be open, another letter must be submitted to the CBSA.

The CBSA will conduct spot checks to ensure compliance and this privilege will be revoked if any bar is open without permission or if any Canadian resident visitor, shore personnel, or stevedoring personnel is served in a bar. In addition, monetary penalties may be assessed to the cruise line.”

Edited May 11 by Txkiwi

[PescadoAmarillo]

40 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

Look again tonight.  We are on your same timezone here in Arizona and folks were seeing them around 8:00 although the best views weren't until later.  If it's clear you should be able to see them.

 

ETA:  Just heard that tonight the earlier the better as the chances decrease later tonight.  So as soon as it's dark check out the sky.

Great info, thanks!  We were clouded over last night but should be clearer tonight. I’ll try early to see them. 

[lahlah57]

1 hour ago, Txkiwi said:

Here is the CBSA rule:

“Liquor Outlets and Bars

Liquor outlets and bars must be closed while in port. Under no circumstances should liquor be given or sold to visiting Canadian residents, shore personnel, or stevedoring personnel while the ship is in port.

While in port, one bar per 1,000 passengers, or one bar per deck that provides hospitality services (whichever is greater), may be allowed to remain open. For example, if there are four decks providing hospitality services, four bars may be allowed to remain open.

A letter requesting permission to open bars must be submitted to the FPOA inbox at the beginning of the season. This letter must include the bar location, the time it will be open, and, once suitably endorsed by the CBSA, will act as standing authority to open these bars, while in port, for the entire season. For any amendments to the original request, or if special circumstances exist that require additional bars to be open, another letter must be submitted to the CBSA.

The CBSA will conduct spot checks to ensure compliance and this privilege will be revoked if any bar is open without permission or if any Canadian resident visitor, shore personnel, or stevedoring personnel is served in a bar. In addition, monetary penalties may be assessed to the cruise line.”

The last night sounds horribly chaotic 😧

[LACruiser88]

4 minutes ago, lahlah57 said:

The last night sounds horribly chaotic 😧

We are now in International waters.  All bars will be open tonight! 🍷🥂

Edited May 11 by LACruiser88

[LACruiser88]

We just received the dreaded "Your Fun Time Onboard Is Over" information!!!  😢

 

 

 

Edited May 11 by LACruiser88

[lahlah57]

45 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

We are now in International waters.  All bars will be open tonight! 🍷🥂

Enjoy what's left and please get off so we can get on! 😂

[LACruiser88]

Our son, in Northern Idaho, just sent us these photos from last night.  He was up until 1 am taking photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 11 by LACruiser88

[treesah]

1 hour ago, LACruiser88 said:

Our son, in Northern Idaho, just sent us these photos from last night.  He was up until 1 am taking photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing these brilliant photos.  A million thanks to your kid.

[jeromep]

15 hours ago, unagidon said:

A lady stopped me in the hallway and alerted me about the solar storm visible on aft Deck 16 at 11:30ish. There were a number of people out and about grabbing pictures with their phones.  This is what my phone saw after we started departing Victoria from the Juan de Fuca strait.  Many people had some incredible pictures.

 

Absolutely, spectacular!  I was not up to see it last night, but a friend of mine that lives just a few miles away did capture it.  It was not nearly as colorful as this in our location.  This is the first time I can recall where those of us in Central Washington have been able to see this right from our back yards.  It is very uncommon for the aurora borealis to be this far south.

[LACruiser88]

Omg, did we get surprised tonight at dinner!  Mohammed, the Chef de Cuisine, surprised us with our main course.  He prepared fresh halibut from The Catch for us and the Cheesecake Creme Brulee from the Crown Grill for dessert!  Delicious!!!

 

 

This is a fabulous crew!  Many tears were shed tonight as we said goodbye!  Several friendships were reinforced and many others were made! 

 

 

 

[LACruiser88]

Good morning Seattle!  It's going to be a clear, warm day.