Majestic Princess observances in August 2024

[Hayflinger]

On 8/21/2024 at 11:49 AM, Cruise Raider said:

If you come on this ship on the next couple of months, be sure to go to the culinary show on the last day.  You will be thankful you did.

Oh my gosh, I was in stitches I was laughing so hard. That was really a great cruise. Loved the enrichment lectures and of course getting to meet Jeff Corwin multiple times was the whole reason for the trip. 

[Cruise Raider]

14 hours ago, JLMcruise said:

Thanks for the info. If I could ask a question -- This is our first Princess Cruise - we have the Plus package and wanted to use our OBC's to upgrade to the premium once we get onboard. With the new added dining to the Premium package - do you think this is a bad idea and we should upgrade now. I believe my husband will eat at the Noodle place everyday for lunch🤣. We like to eat dinner early and haven't had trouble on other cruise lines getting reservations once onboard. Any insight is greatly appreciated!

We wish to do the same on our next cruise and are wanting to use our OBC for the upgrade.  I was concerned about not being able to get reservations to the specialty restaurants so, I was considering buying it ahead of time, but it doesn’t look like a possibility to do so on the website under my personalizer or on the app.  So, I am just going to wait. I think you may still be able to upgrade via your travel agent. I read somewhere on these boards that the premier package may be limited to make sure they aren’t overpromising what they can deliver. I don’t know how true that is. I also read that they will be charging a $10 pp cancellation fee if you don’t cancel your reservations at least xx hours ahead of time if you aren’t going to show.  So, that may cut down on people making reservations they don’t intend to use. 
On our B2B sailings, a lot (I mean a lot) of people had the premier package.  However, it wasn’t an issue getting in early at Harmony and The Catch (we never inquired about the Crown Grill), once we were onboard.  Of note, there were no reservations at the specialty restaurants on the app ahead of time for us and of course, that was before it was unlimited.  I would say, before you buy it in advance, check online to see if you can even make your reservations via the app and if there is nothing really available for the times you want, I’d just wait until you are onboard to purchase the upgrade.  You will be able to upgrade on day 1 or 2, provided they don’t change that policy between now and when you cruise. If you purchase it on day 2, it will be prorated .. again, if they don’t change that.  

 

[Cruise Raider]

14 hours ago, memoak said:

Yes are you losing Vines ?  They have one of my favorite wines and keeps it under the e plus package level which is what we cruise with

I will definitely miss Vines but hopefully, they will stock our favorite wines in O’Malley’s, like they did on the Discovery.  The Crown always kept it there in Good Spirits for me .. even better because Vines isn’t always open when they are in port.  
We only get the plus package on the Grand/Crown class ships as their dining is too limited.  And even though some wines we like are just a dollar over the limit, we can just pay the $1.18 extra per glass.  

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

I will definitely miss Vines but hopefully, they will stock our favorite wines in O’Malley’s, like they did on the Discovery.  The Crown always kept it there in Good Spirits for me .. even better because Vines isn’t always open when they are in port.  
We only get the plus package on the Grand/Crown class ships as their dining is too limited.  And even though some wines we like are just a dollar over the limit, we can just pay the $1.18 extra per glass.  

For us dining is also limited on the Majestic. Harmony is a fairly full menu in our opinion. Catch may have some options we would like but if the location is the same as where the Bistro was the sound from the Piazza was deafening. I am not sure how many SD’s we will even do. We are tentatively booked for 11dsys on the Majestic in a month and then 20 days in September 2025. In between we have a 16 day and a 17 day cruises on the Grand January and May

[Cruise Raider]

10 minutes ago, memoak said:

For us dining is also limited on the Majestic. Harmony is a fairly full menu in our opinion. Catch may have some options we would like but if the location is the same as where the Bistro was the sound from the Piazza was deafening. I am not sure how many SD’s we will even do. We are tentatively booked for 11dsys on the Majestic in a month and then 20 days in September 2025. In between we have a 16 day and a 17 day cruises on the Grand January and May

I must be the rare bird that loves the location of The Catch. I like to listen to the music and watch the activities below.  We eat early, though, so the music is usually just a solo artist or violinist and not a huge party band.  
And yes, the value of the unlimited dining under the premier package will be better for most when the remodel is complete.  I’m looking forward to trying O’Malley’s.  I hope they are open for lunch on occasion.  
We have 2 more on the Majestic, one on the Discovery and then off to the Ruby for the next 3 sailings next year.  We will probably upgrade on all of the Royal class sailings, especially on the Discovery, but won’t do so on the Ruby.  I cannot imagine eating more than once per cruise in the Crown Grill and Sabatini’s … way too much food.  

[memoak]

19 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

We ended up at the pier at about 10:00 AM and did stand in some lines but they weren’t all that bad.  We heard a some complaints from the others in line .. not sure what they were expected.  
Inguesx you can give you luggage to a porter but Seattle has an entry in the booted level of the terminal where you could just drop off your luggage with a guy placing it right onto the belt.  I much prefer this as you know it’s going onto the right ship.  I didn’t see a lot of people tipping this poor guy.  He was most appreciative of those that did.  
Anyway, from there we got into line to have our passports and medallions checked at the bottom of the escalator.  Sorry that I cannot remember if we went through security down at the bottom or top of the escalator.  But, I do know that check in was upstairs and then people were seated according to their boarding number or in the elite or suite lounge.  It was totally full by the time we got there but we just stood in line for about 10-15 minutes and were allowed to board by 10:45 or thereabouts.  
To avoid long lines, I think I’d show up around 1:30 PM after shortly after that.  
 

Many Majestic cruises out of Seattle leave at 3:00 which would make the manifest closing at 1:30. We plan to get there between 12:00 and 12:30

[Cruise Raider]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

Many Majestic cruises out of Seattle leave at 3:00 which would make the manifest closing at 1:30. We plan to get there between 12:00 and 12:30

I believe you are right!  My mistake.  

[moonstaring]

I have a question. I read on the Princess Dining times that Catch by Rudi may be open for lunch. Did you ever see it open at that time?

[LACruiser88]

18 minutes ago, moonstaring said:

I have a question. I read on the Princess Dining times that Catch by Rudi may be open for lunch. Did you ever see it open at that time?

On the Majestic for lunch on sea days, they opened sushi venue at Rudi's.

[Cruise Raider]

18 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

On the Majestic for lunch on sea days, they opened sushi venue at Rudi's.

I really wanted to go but we had so few sea days and we were busy on the few we did have, so never got in there.  This next sailing, we have many sea days so, we will be sure to make it there, at least once or twice.  

[paddingtonbear]

On 8/29/2024 at 12:50 AM, Cruise Raider said:

We wish to do the same on our next cruise and are wanting to use our OBC for the upgrade.  I was concerned about not being able to get reservations to the specialty restaurants so, I was considering buying it ahead of time, but it doesn’t look like a possibility to do so on the website under my personalizer or on the app.  So, I am just going to wait. I think you may still be able to upgrade via your travel agent. I read somewhere on these boards that the premier package may be limited to make sure they aren’t overpromising what they can deliver. I don’t know how true that is. I also read that they will be charging a $10 pp cancellation fee if you don’t cancel your reservations at least xx hours ahead of time if you aren’t going to show.  So, that may cut down on people making reservations they don’t intend to use. 
On our B2B sailings, a lot (I mean a lot) of people had the premier package.  However, it wasn’t an issue getting in early at Harmony and The Catch (we never inquired about the Crown Grill), once we were onboard.  Of note, there were no reservations at the specialty restaurants on the app ahead of time for us and of course, that was before it was unlimited.  I would say, before you buy it in advance, check online to see if you can even make your reservations via the app and if there is nothing really available for the times you want, I’d just wait until you are onboard to purchase the upgrade.  You will be able to upgrade on day 1 or 2, provided they don’t change that policy between now and when you cruise. If you purchase it on day 2, it will be prorated .. again, if they don’t change that.  

 

If you buy or upgrade a package on day 2 it will not be prodated. You have to buy the package for everyday of the cruise whether you buy it pre cruise or day 1 or day 2 of the cruise. 
 

The $10 pp cancellation fee is charged if you don’t cancel 24 hours before your booked reservation. 

[parrothead33]

Thank you so much for all of the refit information!

Just wanted a little clarification regarding the usb ports.  Are the only usb ports at the bedside or are there others on the desk?

Thanks.

 

 

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, parrothead33 said:

Thank you so much for all of the refit information!

Just wanted a little clarification regarding the usb ports.  Are the only usb ports at the bedside or are there others on the desk?

Thanks.

 

 

On the Majestic, there are two USB-A ports behind the lamp on the balcony side of the cabin (not sure about where they are in any other cabin types) and none on the desk.  
The Crown is the only ship I’ve sailed on that had a USB-A and and USB-C port and those are in the desk.  

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, paddingtonbear said:

If you buy or upgrade a package on day 2 it will not be prodated. 

Did you mean to write prorated instead of prodated?  
If prorated, that was not my experience.  

Edited September 19 by Cruise Raider

[parrothead33]

40 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

On the Majestic, there are two USB-A ports behind the lamp on the balcony side of the cabin (not sure about where they are in any other cabin types) and none on the desk.  
The Crown is the only ship I’ve sailed on that had a USB-A and and USB-C port and those are in the desk.  

thank you

[paddingtonbear]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

Did you mean to write prorated instead of prodated?  
If prorated, that was not my experience.  

Oh yes, sorry, I meant prorated. Thank you. 
 

So do you mean that they’ve charged you for everyday or just the days left in the cruise? 
We’ve definitely been told it’s everyday of the cruise. 

[Cruise Raider]

12 minutes ago, paddingtonbear said:

Oh yes, sorry, I meant prorated. Thank you. 
 

So do you mean that they’ve charged you for everyday or just the days left in the cruise? 
We’ve definitely been told it’s everyday of the cruise. 

You can only purchase it on the first or second day of the cruise and then it is every day for the remainder of the cruise.  
So, if you purchase it on day two, you will not be charged for the first day.  I like to purchase or upgrade through one of the crew members, as they get perks for selling the packages.  But, you can always just check your app on day two and you will see the prorated price.  
 

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Thanks Cruise Raider for your informative post. 

We sailed on the Sept 1 Majestic sailing. We had the Premier Pkg and booked Harmony and The Catch. For us The Catch was a big disapointment food wise. It's 1 thing from each section so if you want to try a Seafood appetizer you can't have a salad. I wanted to try the Dover Sole but the server discouraged me from ordering it. I had a "Catch of the Day" and it was Chilean Sea Bass that was good. DH can't eat fish/seafood so his only choice was Filet. He said it was OK. We gave Rudi's a try but won't be gong back on any ship. We enjoyed Harmony and it was a nice alternative.
We like the available wine that are included with the Premier Pkg but are thinking that maybe it might be better going forward to pay for Plus and then pay the difference per glass for the wine. Specialty dining....while nice....isn't a big draw for us and we've enjoyed our time in the Reserve Collection area of the MDR on both Discovery and Majestic. The food has been great and the additional entrees a plus. On Majestic the Restaurant Manager Lance served up some great shrimp at lunch on 2 of the sea days. 
We looked forward to spending some time in Vines but found it to be very crowded with many using it as a space to play games or cards. The Charcuterie plate was nice and we enjoyed it on day 1 before we went to our cabin with a nice glass of wine. 

The daily Captain's Circle Happy Hour was in the Double Down bar. There were maybe 10 people there on a given night. We enjoyed having our pre-dinner cocktail there with music. The hors d'oeuvre varied every day and were hardly touched.

[Cruise Raider]

16 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Thanks Cruise Raider for your informative post. 

We sailed on the Sept 1 Majestic sailing. We had the Premier Pkg and booked Harmony and The Catch. For us The Catch was a big disapointment food wise. It's 1 thing from each section so if you want to try a Seafood appetizer you can't have a salad. I wanted to try the Dover Sole but the server discouraged me from ordering it. I had a "Catch of the Day" and it was Chilean Sea Bass that was good. DH can't eat fish/seafood so his only choice was Filet. He said it was OK. We gave Rudi's a try but won't be gong back on any ship. We enjoyed Harmony and it was a nice alternative.
We like the available wine that are included with the Premier Pkg but are thinking that maybe it might be better going forward to pay for Plus and then pay the difference per glass for the wine. Specialty dining....while nice....isn't a big draw for us and we've enjoyed our time in the Reserve Collection area of the MDR on both Discovery and Majestic. The food has been great and the additional entrees a plus. On Majestic the Restaurant Manager Lance served up some great shrimp at lunch on 2 of the sea days. 
We looked forward to spending some time in Vines but found it to be very crowded with many using it as a space to play games or cards. The Charcuterie plate was nice and we enjoyed it on day 1 before we went to our cabin with a nice glass of wine. 

The daily Captain's Circle Happy Hour was in the Double Down bar. There were maybe 10 people there on a given night. We enjoyed having our pre-dinner cocktail there with music. The hors d'oeuvre varied every day and were hardly touched.

We loved Lance.  He was so good to all his guests!  

I am absolutely stunned about the Catch.  We have always been able to order an additional appetizer to split and the food has been phenomenal every time we’ve gone.  But, we never over order as we can’t eat so much in one sitting.  I’m surprised about not being able to get a salad unless it was listed as an entree.  I knew something would have to give when they made the SD unlimited with premier package.  I am happy enough with smaller portions anyway.   BTW, I did get the Dover sole once and it was just so so.  The Chilean sea bass is always a better choice, IMO.  The sole at Sabatini’s was my all time favorite.  Wish they still served it there, although as of now, there is no Sabatini’s on the Majestic.  
I also love Harmony.  Their hot and sour soup is amazing as is their kung pao chicken.  
 

We also saw so few people in the PES happy hour event.  One week, it was up in the Hollywood Conservatory and the following week of our B2B, it was in the Double Down Bar.  We liked it whenever they made it but they changed their hours so, we only went like 3 times over the span of 2 weeks.  In those three times, I think we only saw one other couple in attendance.  There was one time I just wanted a small bite and they closed up at 6:30 PM .. we didn’t make it in time.  Never fear, the noodles from at the noodle bar were delish and just the right amount.  

Yes, Vines was oftentimes very full.  We made do.  
We will be checking out the reservation availability on the Majestic on our next trip and upgrade only if they have openings on a few of the evenings.  Otherwise, I’m with you, I will just pay for the upgraded wine choices and an extra pizza night or two.  I wasn’t able to try the sushi lunch so, I will make sure I hit that at least once.  They make delicious vegetable rolls .. well, at least I believe they used to.  I’m not sure if they will be available for those sea day lunches, in which case, my DH will not join me so it would be a shame to go.  

[arizonaperson]

Thanks for the observances on the majestic princess for March 2025.

Interestingly Princess .com -the deck plan does not reflect any of this yet. Of course I know they can always be behind.🤣

So when you said Sabatini’s is going to be added, where is that going to be? The catch by Rudi is already on deck 7 and Harmony( leaving fleet) on 5 ,so are they switching places and is Sabatini’s going where the catch is currently on deck 7?

[Cruise Raider]

1 minute ago, arizonaperson said:

Thanks for the observances on the majestic princess for March 2025.

Interestingly Princess .com -the deck plan does not reflect any of this yet. Of course I know they can always be behind.🤣

So when you said Sabatini’s is going to be added, where is that going to be? The catch by Rudi is already on deck 7 and Harmony( leaving fleet) on 5 ,so are they switching places and is Sabatini’s going where the catch is currently on deck 7?

Yes, they will put Sabatini’s in the location where the Catch is currently located and the Catch will then be put where Harmony is now.  That’s really too bad as I love Harmony but, I understand that decision.  Harmony is usually pretty empty and Sabatini’s is usually packed.  
I also understand they are also turning Vines into O’Malleys and I think (but am not entirely sure) they will be remodeling Ocean Terrace so they will be able to serve sushi from there like on the Discovery.  
For sure, they are replacing the Noodle Bar up by pool with Slice pizza.  Hopefully, they will still maintain the noodle bar inside the buffet like we saw on the Discovery. 🤞 
I wouldn’t expect them to revise their deck plans until the changes have been made.  

 

[HoneyBubba]

1 hour ago, arizonaperson said:

Thanks for the observances on the majestic princess for March 2025.

Interestingly Princess .com -the deck plan does not reflect any of this yet. Of course I know they can always be behind.🤣

So when you said Sabatini’s is going to be added, where is that going to be? The catch by Rudi is already on deck 7 and Harmony( leaving fleet) on 5 ,so are they switching places and is Sabatini’s going where the catch is currently on deck 7?

There is a dry dock scheduled from mid-March 2025, while she is in Europe.

[LACruiser88]

5 minutes ago, HoneyBubba said:

There is a dry dock scheduled from mid-March 2025, while she is in Europe.

In Palermo, Italy.

[Teechur]

On 9/19/2024 at 3:49 AM, Cruise Raider said:

On the Majestic, there are two USB-A ports behind the lamp on the balcony side of the cabin (not sure about where they are in any other cabin types) and none on the desk.  
The Crown is the only ship I’ve sailed on that had a USB-A and and USB-C port and those are in the desk.  

I found it odd to have 2 charging ports on one side of the bed and none on the other. I used my 220-volt splitter, plugged into the lamp socket under the bed to power my USB fan and cell phone charger.

Princess finally wised up with the new Sun. It has electrical outlets above the nightstands on both sides of the bed. With all of the people using CPAPs and other medical devices, I am surprised they haven't retrofitted outlets by the beds on every ship. It's unsafe having extension cords running around the cabins.

They also got rid of those stinky little corner showers and tubs with shower curtains on the Sun. It's about time! 👍

[northbeachgirl]

Loved reading everyone’s comments, this will be our first time on the Majestic but we are elite so we love sailing with Princess. Leaving December 1 for 65 days, around South America and the Caribbean. I usually always book the Sanctuary, I love the not having to struggle to find a place to relax. How difficult is it to get a lounger in the Hollywood conservatory?