Balcony

Suite

Inside

Princess Cruises

Shanghai

Singapore

Taipei (Keelung)

Brisbane

Barcelona

Sydney (Australia)

Rome (Civitavecchia)

Dubai

Australia & New Zealand

Asia

Vietnam

South Pacific

Indonesia

Average

Very Good

Terrible

Poor

Majestic Princess

Diamond Princess

DISAPPOINTING!

Port Canaveral (Orlando)

We have cruised many times on Princess and were looking forward to a much-needed rest and in my case a break. The balcony cabin was comfortable and turned out to be a godsend as we contracted Covid for the 1st time, in spite of having our vaccinations up to date, and had to isolate for 5 days. Anti-virals were available and dining room meals were delivered to our cabin, as well as our cabin being sanitized daily. This was very necessary as my husband had 'night sweats' and our bed had to be stripped and changed daily. So all good so far! 

The ship was too big for us, and it was very disappointing to find so many of the things we were used to had gone, including our free WiFi and the Coffee card. Things have been put into packages, which are not cheap and you are encouraged to buy them.  The service, with the exception of our cabin steward on the 2nd leg of our cruise, was not up to the usual standard and staff on occasion were rude. It seemed to be all about the $$$. Excursions were expensive and in cases (Kangaroo Island) booked out before we boarded!

As a result of our experience this time, my husband does not wish to cruise again, even though we do have another booked. Whether we go remains to be seen?!

Like the itinerary with lots of Sea days to rest and recharge.  Also got to see Darwin Australia, Kaohsiung(Taiwan)  besides the usual Sydney, Brisbane, Singapore, Phu My(Vietnam) and Hong Kong.

Ship was big, and nice. Room was a mini suite(upgraded from a premium balcony), very comfortable, Excellent room service. Sea was calm until South China sea. 

Mostly Australian on the ship with lots of Asian from Australia.  US pax are the minority.

Lots of Fancy, high end stores,  on board.  Too expensive!

Piazza was large, busy daily with all kinds of activities.

Casino was fun on the Penny machines,  not much table activities throughout the cruise(except for Black Jack Tournament), feel sorry for the casino attendants standing at their table side all morning, afternoon and  waiting for table players to play!

Love the Asian exercise equipment at the aft of the ship for stretching and muscle toning, very simple but effective!

Majestic Ship

Majestic Princess is one of the new ships that have been launched over the past five years. 

The newer ships are no where as good as the older ships.

The design of the new ships has been at the expense of the customer. Getting more cabins means a number of features have been compromised. Ships like the Diamond had a beautiful promenade deck that went all around the vessel. The Majestic has lost this as they have placed the life boats on this deck. Very disappointing.

There is no night club/disco on the Majestic so to bed early every night!

The Conservatory had no booking system so passengers reserved them from early morning with towels and books and monopolised them all day. The tables in the Conservatory were used for Mah jong. A waste of valuable real estate with players not interested in the spectacular views.

Crooners Piano Bar is in prime location on ships such as the Diamond. On the Majestic that prime location has been given to expensive shops (e.g. Cartier) which did not appear to ever have customers.The Majestic has it as a smaller room off to the side of the casino. And for some reasons the room is partitioned destroying much of the atmosphere.

Entertainment was a joke! I believe there was about half the number of bands/performers compared to older ships. This is partially because there are not as many venues/bars. 

The Princess Theatre cannot accommodate the extra passengers they have on the ship so arriving half to one hour before the show was required to get a seat.  People got used to bringing books to read during the long wait. This flaw is acknowledged by the ship as they play a video  of the show in the Vista lounge for those who couldn't get a seat.

The Vista lounge is much smaller than on other ships. It does not really have a dance floor and is not used as a music venue, more as a theatre style venue for trivia, movies etc. It doesn't have a bar.

I have cruised 18 times and in the Elite loyalty programme.  Daily Captain's lounge canapes in the older ships is in Skywalkers nightclub with magnificent views. On the Majestic it is in the Vista lounge with no views nor ambience. I went once on the Majestic but daily on the older ships.

There is no pool at the rear of the boat. No Wake View bar.

Outdoor movies under the stars is good but the sound, especially for music videos was far to quiet.

A number of table tennis tables is very good but with no booking system they were monopolised a small group of enthusiastic players. Difficult to get a game.

The noodle bar is a very good addition to the pool deck. 

Gym is very good.

The beds and pillows are very good.

Princess brochure shows the Majestic is one of the new ships that are configured for 3,560 guests.  These include Regal, Royal and Sky.  I will not be cruising on any of these ships. Princess has made a big mistake in configuring these ships to take more guests as the expense of their customers experience. 

As a loyal Princess cruiser of Elite status I am sad at the direction management is taking this cruise line.

New ships not as good as older ships.

We’ve done a few cruises with other liners and they were so much better than the Princess if you are between 70 - 90 yrs old, then this slow paced ship is designed for you it was boring. The same program almost every day. The constant pushing and harassment to get you to buy on board all the very overpriced things suggesting markdowns, discounts, buy buy buy! The staff are friendly enough, it’s not their fault, it’s the sales pitch their forced to do. Raffles to win was one way to get you in. There were many ‘evemts’ Daily, enticed to get you to buy more! This never happened on the other cruises. 

The food was also boring. No variety. I’ve been on a few cruises and this one has to be the worst when it comes to selection or choices. If you want lactose free milk, you had to ask for it especially. It was never an option next to the breakfasts where it should be. There were no lactose free cheese, yoghurt or ice cream. Yeti when we booked we were given the option to select food requirements and this was suggested that it was already a part of their every day food choices! I received an email stating that lactose free will be available. For gluten free needs, there was one little section with the same food in it daily! I’m not gluten free but would hate to be as 8 know someone with coeliacs disease and she gets very sick if she eats gluten! So having such very little food options would be a dreadfully long cruise with the boring selections! It reawas very disappointing. I’m never a complainer with anything and will always make do with what we have but this really needed to be mentioned! 

The movies by the stars, was a huge screen at the end of an open deck pool area. So you can imagine how noisy it was! You couldn’t watch a movie at all during the day as you couldn’t hear it, it was just noise in the background over people talking loudly or kids in the pool. The evening movies were better but you had to fight to get a good spot to see it clearly as most of the deck chairs were on the level of the pool and they had this fountain in the middle (which was never used except for special events!) and you had to battle to see through rails, bars, decorative trees and so on. So it was really poorly designed to see around it. The best seats were near the smokers deck and we had to put up with inhaling their second hand smoke or sit somewhere we couldn’t see the screen well! 

The theatre where we had most of the main entrainment held, was badly designed. If weren’t lined up an hour early, you were either unlucky to get a seat at all, or got one of the crappy seats on the front several rows to either side which you couldn’t see the show anyway! That’s when the seats were not broken! For a new ship, I really felt there was so much poor design of the layout. 

Other than all of this, I did find that most of the staff were wonderful!

Not as good as other cruise lines we’ve used! 

Firstly my trip got off to a disappointing start. The airline lost my luggage which meant I was stuck in a sundress for 3 days until the next port. The staff in the shop were extremely unhelpful and rude. They had very few sizes on display and when I made inquiries basically waived their hands at unpacked cartons and said "we may or may not have something, you'll have to wait until we unpack". No offer to at least look in one or two boxes. When asked how long until they unpack, I was told 1 to 2 days!! Needless to say I brought nothing in the "fashion shop" this cruise.

The staff at the services desk were more sympathetic and did at least arrange a toiletries bag and promised to chase up with the airlines to ensure a smooth delivery of my bag... This obviously didn't  happen as I had a distressed courier call me at 745 am ( we were not allowed off ship until 0800) saying no one was there to sign for my case and so he would return it to his depo.. Long story short, no communication between Princess and Airline ( and Visa versa) but I eventually received my bag later that afternoon.

Embarkation was very easy. Our mini suite was great, roomy enough for the four of us, though very hot overnight. And our room attendant lovely and attentive as usual

The majestic is a large ship but most of the extra space seemed to be state rooms, with a feeling that there wasn't enough public space for all of the people. There no doubt is, a lot of it surrounding the piazza and in the hollywood club, but quiet space is limited. We are out doors types so like deck space. I personally never had an issue securing a deck chair, but I was happy to sit in the sun, shade was a scarce commodity and we saw a few people get narky over chairs. Inside there is heaps of space in the piazza, but there was always something on, so it was always noisy. There were hardliners who found the fewer quite spots near an Asian tea bar, and the Crowne bar but I hear you had to be early.  The large Hollywood sanctuary area was always full to the brim. I only did a curious walk through once or twice, but it seemed just as noisy as elsewhere. There were a few spots on the deck near the ping pong but there was a curious stale smell that wafted around that area at times. I suspect it's near the rubbish disposal. 

Not having a deck to walk laps around was rather odd. You could do a shorter circuit on the 7th if you don't mind crossing through the ship either end. You could do a longer lap around deck above the pool (17) but it's cut short by the Hollywood club area and at the rear you have to go up, through the sports area down, across then back up through the sports area again...  The gym was well equipped, cool and open 24/7. The sports area is very poorly designed. No net over the top, and some of the side netting had holes bug enough for balls to pass through. It is also necessary to pass through it to get to the golf area and wake Bar.This could be easily fixed by putting a net along the front of it, creating a walkway. 

 There seemed to be quite a few frustrating dead ends on the ship. (seems I wasn't the only one who accidentally opened the dining room door setting off an alarm...ops..on deck 5 or was it 6, trying to find my way forward ) We also accidentally walked in on a massage one day whilst looking for karaoke, as it seems they were using the rooms labeled "karaoke" as extra spa area. They really should lock them...so check that they do before you get your gear off 

Entertainment wise this cruise was lacking compared to other cruise I've been on. The band Opus was great as was the lady signing in Crooners nightly but the show's were lacking. There were 3 production shows ( plus one encore involving dancers) in the 19 nights. I've had more on a 12 day cruise.  The magician was okay, there was some impersonator, but anyone under 60 struggled to know who he was talking about (which I guess is fine on a cruise with an average age of 65) and a few other singers who were okay. Oh and some violinist, whom my son and I found hilariously over the top in his sparkly Jimmy choos and diamante eyelash extensions, but the lady throwing him kisses next to us obviously disagreed. 

Activity wise  the program was pretty much the same daily with the usual zumba, trivia, ballroom dance, destination talks etc.. Not to mention all the promotional "raffles" and art auctions etc. We just ignored those. My mum went to a "sale" but the bags watches etc were even poorer quality( if that's possible) then past cruises. I saw one lady with her $15 bargain small travel bag and didn't have the heart to tell her I got my similar one at kmart for only $3.  Then there was the occasional fun thing like the egg drop,  ship making comp and pool games. I didn't mind the repetition as mostly I was happy to amuse myself. I did do some ballroom and Victor was a very entertaining teacher. I also did Zumba most mornings. My only gripe was the rude Trivia goers who couldn't wait to get a seat, even though there was a 40 minute gap between Zumba and Trivia. 

One thing that was strange was that a lot of activities such as line dancing, ball room etc were held in the piazza which meant that the learners always had an audience. This put some people off and meant that there was constant noise and traffic

Kids activities were provided but seemed confined to the kids area. They advertised a basketball shoot off the second day on board which I thought might get my shy but sporty son involved. But we waited on the sports deck for half an hour with no show. Later when we went down to look at kids club and ask about it we were told because the forecast was for rain they had cancelled the basketball as it might be dangerous ( it never rained and they obviously hadn't even been up to check) This put my son off immediately. Hes not the crafty kind and that was mostly what their program listed. So he refused to go. He did find another like minded boy however and they amused themselves between the pool, table tennis and sports area..not to mention the ice-cream parlor and dessert lady who befriended them and always had their favorites on hand. There were about 50 kids on board, many who did enjoy kids club, it just didn't interest mine this time around.

Dining wise, we did anytime dining and never waited. But personally I missed the friendship you gain from having a dining companion. As we were a group of 4 with a child they never put us on a shared table even though we would of happily shared. We usually ate at 6-630 or after the first show (which started 715). The food was okay. A lot of seafood which limited my mother who has a shellfish allergy. The buffet area was great for breakfast and lunch but we found at dinner time they compacted it to one or two sections with limited choice. The buffet was also very confusing with a lot of repetition yet some things only available in one spot. eg waffles ( my sons favorite) were only in 1 spot but pancakes, toast and cereal were in several spots. The cake/dessert selection was good but also very repetitive.  Lots of continental cream cakes but same flavors daily, ditto for cookies. They did have a Crayfish seafood special on once or twice for dinner but it was poorly advertised so we missed it. My Dad loved the veggie burgers from the burger bar near the pool, and I was fond of the noodles. We didn't go to any of the specialty restaurants. There are a couple of tea, coffee water stations in the buffet and one out the back of the ship near the Wake bar, but it was hard to find water on the actual pool deck, and just as hard to find a waiter meaning lots of trips in  a damp towel into the buffet to the disapproving looks,of some other cruisers, but  it was very hot and humid...I needed water.  This could easily be fixed by having water jugs near the ice-cream bar and towel bar. 

Overall we certainly enjoyed our cruise. With 12 sea days many might find it boring, but I loved the relaxation time. After the first few days people found their spot on the ship and it did begin to have that cruisey family feel whereby you seem to see the same faces most days. We spent 5 days in Hong Kong at the end and continuously ran into people we recognized from the ship. I'd certainly travel on the Majestic again, but admit it did lack some of the intimacy and atmosphere you experience on a smaller ship. One thing we did note was that being so big you barely felt the movement of the ship and as a result none of us suffered from sea legs post disembarkation.

Nice ship but not a lot of atmosphere

This was my second repositioning cruise on the Majestc.  The first one was from Shanghai to Sydney in Aug/Sep 2018.

Cabin:

On this current occasion I traveled with friends (a couple).  We had adjacent balcony cabins on deck 14.  We chose this cruise because we wanted a cruise that terminated in Hong Kong.

My cabin was comfortable except for the very soft pillows that Princess now has.  Also, there was a strong smell of stale urine in the bathroom.  This was also the case on the earlier cruise when I had an inside cabin.  Despite several attempts on both occasions by the cabin stewards to remove the smell, it lingered.

Dining:

The food overall was very good.  We had anytime dining, and ate in the dining room sometimes.  We also ate at the International Marketplace, Harmony Restaurant, Crown Grill, Alfredo's, La Mer, and the Noodle Bar, and we did the Chef's Table dining.  I thought the Crown Grill on this ship was the best of any ship.  The food was excellent and cooked to perfection.  I didn't care for the food in the Harmony Restaurant.  One of the dishes was very nice but the others were rather bland.  La Mer was OK.  We ate at Alfredo's quite a few times.  Like the food there.  Had quite a few lunches at the Noodle Bar.  The Chef's Table was not as good as some I've had in the past; more emphasis on presentation rather than flavour.  And the food in both the dining rooms and the International Marketplace was pretty good.

Ship:

I don't particularly like its design which I understand was tailored to the Chinese market.  The ship lacks the bar/lounge areas which Australians, including me, seem to like, such as Wheelhouse, Explorers, Skywalkers and Crooners.  There was a Crooners on the Majestic but it was the casino's high rollers room converted.  Not a crowd-friendly space and tucked away in a corner next to the casino. This was also the nightclub but it didn't really work as that either.  The ship has a space called Princess Live on Deck 7 midship.  It's like a small theatre. It doesn't really work well for most of the events that it's used for.  The seating is quite uncomfortable; there is no bar and wait staff from the nearest bar up the passage have difficulty taking orders and delivering drinks.  Apart from a bench across the back of the room, there are no tables so activities like trivia and bingo are difficult there.

Also, the Promenade deck walking area does not go right around the ship.  It does run up both sides of the ship but it's very narrow in parts and walking is very difficult if there's anyone else in the area.

The Princess Theatre has 800 seats for 3500 passengers.  This meant that you'd need to get there more than half an hour before a show to have any chance of getting a seat.

Most of the activities were held in the Piazza as there was really nowhere much else to have them.  A couple of times when we were dining at Alfredo's (on Deck 6 in the Piazza), the music in the Piazza was so loud that we couldn't have a conversation.

The Majestic has an adults area on Deck 17 called the Hollywood Observatory.  It's an indoor area that has a good sized pool, a bar, lots of lounges and other seating, include cabanas which can be closed off for privacy.  A lovely area except for two things - some recorded birdsong which is really unnecessary and gets on your nerves after a while; and the fact that the whole area is air conditioned.  That's OK if you've gone there just to read or play games, etc, but it makes it very cold when you come out of the pool!

Entertainment:

The entertainment was very good overall.  Some excellent performers, and the production shows were great. Lots of activities.  We never had trouble finding something enjoyable to do.

Service:

The service on the ship, as always, was excellent, although I noticed that there seemed to be less wait staff than usual in some areas. This meant that there were sometimes delays in getting vacated tables cleared, or getting a drink.

This was my fourth cruise with Captain Dino Sagani at the helm.  While his daily noon navigation reports were always informative, I've never seen him or his officers out and about the ship other than at official functions.

Ports:

While the number of ports was small (only 6 including Hong Kong), there was plenty to do at each.  I found the destination presentation for Kaohsiung to be very helpful in getting a feel for the logistics of the place.  The only Princess shore excursion I did was to Long Tan and Nui Dat in Vietnam.  So much Australian military history in that part of the world.  We were privileged to participate in a short memorial service while at the Long Tan Memorial.

Embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly.

Would I go again on the Majestic?  

Probably not.  I don't care for that class of ship. I much prefer the Grand or Gem class.

Lovely new ship but not an appealing design

We were excited to be sailing on the Majestic, given that she's the newest and biggest ship in the fleet.  We'd only sailed on the Sea and Dawn Princesses before, and we enjoyed those, so we figured we'd love the Majestic.

However, this ship missed the mark for us.  We opted for Traditional Dining initially, but the Allegro Dining Room styling was quite dark, and had many areas sectioned off, so it felt a little claustrophobic.  Our table was one of the many that had a bench seat, with access on only one side, so one diner would have to slide across the seat.  Not a fun prospect in formal attire!  And given that Allegro was on deck 6, but could only be accessed from deck 7, we quickly switched to Any-time Dining.

The theatre, although quite high tech, was nowhere near big enough, only holding 1000 people on a ship of 3500.  That meant if you wanted to see the show, you had to be there AT LEAST half an hour early to have any hope of getting a seat.  And if you wanted a seat in the middle section, you were looking at being forty five minutes early, minimum.

We usually like to attend the ballroom and line dancing classes.  However, on Majestic, these are held in the Pizza, and I certainly didn't want to be on display while I fought with my two left feet!  There didn't appear to be a decent dance floor anywhere on the ship.  Princess Live was one option, but wasn't utilised, as was the Vista Lounge.  However, neither venues were really suitable.

Pool deck was also a little disappointing.  A lot of pool space is lost to the fountains, which although lovely, were only used four times on a 20 day cruise.  When the band played out on deck, they were incredibly loud - to the point where you had to move if you wanted to have a conversation.

The Hollywood Conservatory is, to our mind, a bit of a waste of space.  I can imagine that the Chinese market like it, but to us it was a bit of a waste of space.  The Hollywood Pool wasn't bad, although the smell of chlorine smacked you in the face every time you walked in there.

A common comment among the people we met was that the gym was woefully inadequate.  I didn't experience this myself, but hubby did, and he said there were waaaaay too many treadmills and bikes, and not enough of the weights machines to go around.  There was a lot of waiting for those to be free.

Now for the good stuff.  Our balcony cabin was lovely, and our bed and pillows were very, very comfy.  The best we've had on a ship.  

For the first time on a cruise, there was an abundance of deck chairs - we never had a problem finding somewhere to lie in the sun.

The World Marketplace, although a little confusing at first, is actually the best buffet we've had on a ship.  Because of the multiple lines, we never had to wait, and not once did we have trouble finding a seat.

Would we go on Majestic again?  Probably not (although I never say never!).  It's a little bigger than we like, and it feels a bit like a live sheep carrier - they've crammed as many guests in as possible, sacrificing some of the common areas in the process.  I'd be interested to try another ship of the same class to see if it's the ship, or the target market that is the problem.

Unfortunately did not meet expectations 

Filters

1-7 of 7