Does Princess Really Do Alaska Better - A Review of Majestic Princess, 05/12-05/19/2024

[flarad]

Does Princess Do Alaska Better?

Our thoughts (disclaimer, these are the result of thoughts and discussions between my husband and I, they are our opinions and probably not yours, that’s OK, let’s agree to disagree nicely).

With the tone of the internet I’d been hesitant to write this. People can be so ruthless if they disagree with anything you write, but, I also know that there are many people who enjoy reading about others' experiences and I hope I can provide some tips that are helpful as you plan your own vacation journey.

First of all we had a fabulous time on our vacation. If you can’t enjoy an Alaskan cruise, a ship is not the place for you. We began looking at Princess Alaska because we loved our first Alaska cruise on another line, and had heard for years that Princess does Alaska better. So we decided to see if this was true. 

About us - we are a semi-retired couple, early sixties. We live in South Florida so we have cruised many times before out of Florida, Vancouver, and Europe. Our previous experience on Princess was 17 years ago on the Crown. Our recent cruises have been on NCL, Celebrity and RCI. We are quite easily pleased and never, ever, complain about service.  This review may or may not reflect that.

We thought the ship was beautiful and the staff terrific.

Seattle - The trip into Seattle was seamless. We flew in the day before, stayed at the Fairmont Olympic which was elegant and historic, and did a quick waterfront “walk about” that evening. We had a wonderful dinner in Shuckers and had THE window table. If you’ve watched Ted Lasso, you know. We taxied to the hotel, port, and return to the airport and found it to be easy and cost effective. 

Embarkation - The traffic at Pier 91 was horrible but our taxi driver was good and did his best to get us close to baggage dropoff. With two ships in port it was rather confusing but once we figured out where to go it was quick and efficient. This was by far the easiest and quickest embarkation we’ve ever experienced. Security was quick. The Medallion really is fantastic. You scan it, they match your face and onto the ship you go. 

We had read ahead that the Allegro dining room was open for lunch so we headed there and had a very good, quiet meal. We usually spend our first day exploring the ship and so we headed out to see her for the first time. She is a beautiful, brown 🙂 ship. More about her design later. Because we hadn’t sailed Princess in a while, finding our way around the first day was an adjustment. Our room was available shortly after 1:00 and luggage arrived by 3:00. It was a gorgeous day in Seattle and sail-a-way was beautiful. First day was a success. 

Ship design - our room, a mini suite on the Caribe deck, was beautiful and well equipped. There was more than enough storage for both of us, we even had empty shelves. The bathroom was adequate (shower curtains - really Princess, it’s time to move on) with plenty of counter space. I  brought a hanging shoe organizer for all my little things and we hung this in the closet as that  space is quite large. The bed was comfortable. The balcony small for a mini suite. Honestly it was so cold this week we didn’t use it much. Hint - pack a shoe organizer, and hooks to hang things. 

We loved the piazza area on this ship. The design of the bars and common areas around the piazza is nice. Some ships make this area very crowded and noisy but the Princess design seems to work well and we liked that they had the game shows and very noisy activities in Princess Live in a space designed for this. Our ship was sold out but never felt too crowded. They do a nice job of providing space for hanging out. 

Things we wish were better - the stairwells and elevators are small and tight for the ship size. In some stairwells you have to stand to the side and wait for others to pass. Weird. Also, the placement of Allegro and access is just stupid. You have to go up, to go down, to get there. We frequently saw passengers who couldn’t figure out where to go. While we’re talking about stupid, why do you have to go through the casino to get to the theater on deck 6? The casino smells like smoke, in fact the whole area around the casino smells. The Double Down bar next to the casino is the most under-used space because there is a sign that makes it look like it’s just for high end casino players. It is not. Super confusing. My last comments about ship design. We wished there were more areas to view the sea and the scenery. Hollywood Conservatory is nice but it is the ONLY forward space for viewing other than way up on deck 18 by the sports court (Can we say cold?!) In spite of this the area was closed for an elite status party during our approach to Victoria so there was literally nowhere to go to view the approach. Most ships have accessible forward outdoor areas, lounges, etc. We really missed that on this scenic cruise. 

Tip here - The carpets in the hallways on cabin decks are blue on the port (left) side and red on the starboard (right) side. This was very helpful in determining where to go when  you reach your deck. There’s no “where am I?” hallway hesitation.

Dining - We found the main dining food on the Majestic to be very good. In fact it was some of the best we’ve had on a cruise line - yes better than NCL, definitely better than RCI and even better than Celebrity. We ate in all dining rooms, reservations made in advance and early (make those reservations as soon as you make final payment).  We never waited to be seated and with the exception of one horrendous experience, we had good service. I was disappointed in the variety of desserts and the variety on the breakfast menu. For the first time ever we went a whole week on a cruise with no eggs benedict. The horrendous experience - just suffice it to say we were a table for two seated among very large tables. We waited twenty minutes for water and didn’t receive anything we ordered for close to an hour. After talking about it we decided that with the exception of Aqua on Celebrity we have had at least one experience like this on just about every cruise we’ve taken. We did notice that a table of 2 does not lend itself to privacy. We were fine with this but just manage your expectations. Small party tables are placed about 18” apart and generally lend themselves to conversations with your neighbors. If you don’t want to do this it’s just awkward.

Specialty Dining - We ate twice in Crown and in Harmony and had terrific experiences in both restaurants. Food and service was as to be expected in a specialty. We also find Princess specialty dining to be more affordable than other lines we have sailed.  The beef in the Crown was good. Seems as if since Covid and the cuts that followed (I guess we’re always going to have a before and after Covid comment) the quality of the beef has declined. 

Coffee - the coffee in the buffet and dining room was good, not great. Great coffee can be easily ordered at the International Cafe, Princess Live, and the bakery in the buffet. Service was fast and efficient in those areas.

Buffet - This was an area where we were very disappointed. Service was good but we did not like the design of this area at all. The food is located down tight little hallways off the dining areas. There was no signage and it was incredibly difficult to figure out what was being served where, There also seemed to be a lack of varIety in what was served. We missed the large salad bars, gorgeous carveries, ethnic food selections, and dessert bars of other lines. In fact I  would have to say of all our cruises this was our least favorite buffet area. We decided to go to the main dining room or enjoy a great hamburger on the pool deck rather than go to the buffet. 

Itinerary - We didn’t realize when we booked this cruise that as an interior cruise, the Majestic is actually too big to be allowed to cruise the interior up through Vancouver and lower Canada. This was completely an oversight on my part, no fault of Princess. On our previous cruise the scenery in this area was stunning on sea days so this was disappointing. The scenery was not like it was on a slightly smaller ship on a different line. Our second disappointment in itinerary was in Tracy Arms Fjord. We did this early in the am. Shortly after we entered the fjord the naturalist on board made an announcement that due to ice and safety we would not be going all the way into the glacier area. In fact, we barely entered the area. The huge frustration here was, as he was making this announcement, the Celebrity Edge made its way quietly past us on its way, ALL the way, to the glacier. Really? Princess, do better. It was at this point, by doing simple math, we realized there was actually NO WAY we could have made it in, to the glacier, back out, and then make our port time in Juneau of 12 pm. This was definitely an itinerary flaw. Having done this same itinerary on another line it felt very much like dishonesty on the part of the ship and Princess.  It was obvious to anyone who’d done this in the past that there was simply not time in the itinerary for this experience. We really felt badly for those who haven’t cruised Alaska before and have no idea what this glacier experience should be. Our final disappointment in itinerary was the arrival time in Victoria being changed to 7:00 pm and… we arrived late. 7:00 to 12:00 pm is just not ideal to see any city. 

Disembarkation - This went incredibly smoothly. We made reservations ahead of time with Port Valet and met our luggage at our destination airport. This service was terrific and is a free port service. Best part of this - they don’t weigh your bags so we didn't have to do the rearrange for weight dance. I think I’ve finally decided that all the anxiety of not seeing my luggage from the time we put it in the hallway until arrival was outweighed by the convenience of the service. The Medallion worked very well when leaving the ship. There was no customs check and no passport check. We walked off and climbed in a taxi. Done.

In closing, despite the things we found a bit annoying there were really more positives than negatives.  Maybe I was just expecting more from all the Princess cheerleaders. We had a great time and would possibly sail Princess again, given the right itinerary. Does Princess do Alaska better? I’d say they are pretty equal to other lines we’ve sailed.

[Auntiejo]

Thanks for your balanced, honest review! We've taken 13 Princess cruises and love the Royal class ships, but opted for the Sapphire for our first Alaska trip here in a few weeks for some of the very reasons you mentioned. 

[elaine5]

Thanks for your review. We just sailed majestic in NZ in March to NZ and NZ fjordland national park. It’s also very weather dependent and we were lucky to see it, as a number of sailings miss it. Yes, that breakfast buffet was a kind of crazy free for all. And our 1 sit down on sea day was 1.5 hrs for some eggs and a danish.  
Your review confirms for us that smaller is better for Alaska inside passage/fjords/glaciers. 

Edited May 22 by elaine5

[Teechur]

Great Review! Six of us will be doing this itinerary/ship in September, so it was very timely for me.

For my grandsons, it will be their first cruise and first trip to Alaska. Can't wait! 😀

[Ken the cruiser]

Does Princess do Alaska better? We’re currently on the Grand Princess for a 22-day B3B and are having a great time! See below Live From thread in my below signature area.
 

We have cruised to Alaska on the Celebrity Solstice (2015), the HAL Amsterdam (2017), the Disney Wonder (2019), and now on the Grand Princess. Each cruise line offered unique experiences and will always cherish the memories from each one. But I have to say, our current cruise on the Grand has been exceptional, especially with being able to go to Glacier Bay 3 times, the 26 Glacier excursion in Whittier, and the two wildlife excursions we went on in Haines, which included a ferry ride to/from Skagway, along with the Crab excursion we went on yesterday in Ketchikan. They also have had some great entertainment, to include 3 production shows on each leg, and a new comedian practically every night in the Vista Lounge.

 

But in the future if you decide to cruise again with Princess, may I suggest booking a Reserve Collection mini suite so you can dine in the somewhat isolated Reserve Collection “anytime” dining room every morning, where they serve Eggs Benedict, lunch on sea days, and of course dinner every night. We usually get the same table every time with the same servers, and at dinner time we’re in and out in less than an hour and the tables are spaced farther apart so we never have to talk with anyone. But then we always show up for dinner when they open at 5 pm.

 

Just some suggestions.

 

[sunviking90]

Thank you for your review. Very fair in my opinion and I agree with many of your points. 

I would add that sailing out of Seattle on a 7 day cruise I don’t think you will ever take the Canadian part of the lower inside passage (between the island and the mainland) regardless of the size of the ship. I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong but we’ve done 2 Alaska cruises out of Seattle in much smaller HAL ships and more than we can count out of Vancouver and only the Vancouver sailings have taken that route. From Seattle they go out west of Vancouver Island. Unfortunately on Seattle sailings Victoria is also just a PVSA requirement stop and too short to do anything. 
Having been to Alaska in Princess, HAL and Celebrity I don’t know which is better. They all have strengths. I do find Princess does a good job with destination and wildlife enrichment lectures. 

[HotRoot]

Just fyi.  Eggs benedict is not on the MDR menu but IS available every day.  I ordered mine with avocado instead of Canadian bacon.  Sorry, Canadians, but I do not like your bacon.  In all fairness, I did not like the other bacon.  It had way too much fat for me.  So, I went with avocado.  This works on all Princess ships.

[warthog2608]

45 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

Sorry, Canadians, but I do not like your bacon.

That's ok. We call it back bacon. 

[flarad]

Thanks for all the good feedback. I agree and if we do Alaska again will book a smaller ship, probably out of Vancouver or south bound this time. There were things we really loved about Princess. There WiFi was certainly the best we've ever had. Every line has different things they do well and we will continue to enjoy cruising different lines when the itinerary calls for it. If anyone has questions about this ship, I'm  happy to answer if I can.

[stripe]

You said you pre booked Port Valet. Through the ship or do you go to a special website? We used it once before, but I don’t remember how we booked it.

[Sunwanabe]

Great read. I appreciate your time in providing a balanced review of the trip.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you for sharing your experience! When people say that Princess does Alaska better, I think it really is the ships that come all the way to Whittier because they go to Glacier Bay plus an extra day of glaciers and then offer the land tours at Princess lodges.