Majestical Majestic Princess

Last week I returned from a 4 night cruise on Princess’s newest ship, Majestic Princess. I have never sailed with Princess before so to say I was little excited was an understatement. I was lucky to have won a place on this trip along with some of my  colleagues and we had an early start from Gatwick to Venice (some from Manchester ) where we were transferred to Trieste to join the ship.

There is always an air of excitement seeing a new ship for the first time and lots of people had turned out at the port to see her. On boarding the ship my first impressions were Wow. The atrium was stunning with beautiful blue glass structures suspended from the ceiling. Our cabins were ready as soon as we arrived and my colleague Marie and I had a Balcony Cabin A729 at the back of Aloha deck

The cabins were spacious and had plenty of storage space with an open wardrobe , a tall storage cupboard outside the bathroom, and in the bedroom there was plenty of drawer space. I have sailed previously on P&O Azura and Ventura and the cabin layout is exactly the same.

We had time to grab some lunch before Muster Drill and enjoyed freshly cooked Noodles from the Noodle Bar situated at the Fountain Pool on Deck 16. There was also a Lobster Bar on the other side of the Deck where you could enjoy freshly cooked Lobster at no cost too.

After the mandatory Muster Drill there was a sail away party on deck and a firework display to see us off. It’s a shame that it wasn’t dark as we sailed away as we didn’t get the full benefit of the display.

As all the agents on-board were being hosted by Princess we had a hosted pre-dinner drinks get together in the Wave View Bar at the rear of Deck 16. This is a lovely Open Air Bar that looks over the Aft of the ship where you can get beautiful views of the sunset.

Dinner on the first night was in the Allegra Dining Room at the Aft of Deck 6. Here we had a great choice from the menu including Starters, Soups, Salads, Main Courses and Desserts. Being a big fish fan I went for the Salmon which was delicious.

Day 2 we were at Sea and after a morning presentation we were given a guided tour of the ship by the Princess Representatives. We were able to cover most areas of the ship apart from the Childrens Club and the Spa because they were both being used. We had a tour of one of the galleys in which the staff work 24 hours a day in shifts. It isn’t until you see this in operation that you appreciate what goes into the preparation to get everything ready and give all the guests an exceptional dining experience. The menus are only put together 4 weeks before the ship sails so that they have the numbers,and can look at the demographic of the passengers, to decide what will be suitable. All food is prepared and cooked from fresh on-board.

This was also formal night so we were given the chance to experience one of the speciality restaurants. I was given the Crown Grill which I have to say served the most amazing food.  I had the Black and Blue Soup which was an Onion Soup with a bread top that was toasted with Blue Cheese and then Filet Mignon and Lobster Tail. These were served with an assortment of side dishes including Garlic Fries and Creamy Spinach and I finished off with a Chocolate Soufflé. If you couldn’t decide what you wanted for dessert then a sampler plate was available that had a mini version of all of the desserts to allow you to try them all!

A formal night wouldn’t be the same without the Champagne Fountain which was lovely to watch in the Atrium with everyone in their finery.

After Dinner we headed off to the Theatre to watch the show and this was what I had really been looking forward to, The Tenors of Rock. These are a group of 4 who have all come from Musical backgrounds and sing Rock Ballads and they are amazing. I have seen them 3 times previously on other ships, and they didn’t disappoint. Everyone was on their feet singing and dancing.

Day 3 we arrived in Kotor, Montenegro and what a stunning place this is. We had they day to ourselves so we took the tender boat and had a day exploring the old town and stopped for a drink and something to eat in the old square.

Dinner was in Allegra again and was once again hosted by Princess and again the food did not disappoint. The menu was also completely different from the previous night that we dined there. After dinner we headed to the Hollywood Pool where this becomes a night venue in the evening. This is a swimming pool area at the front of Deck 17 that had a glass roof over it. As the ship has been built for the Asia Market it’s great that they have this area for dual purpose at there isn’t a dedicated nightclub on board. One of the walls turns into a giant screen that shows videos while the music is playing. We even managed to get our picture taken with Dirk the Hotel manager on board who was on the TV programme The Cruise, about Royal Princess. Next to this is also the Hollywood Conservatory which is a nice area with to relax in and has Cabana’s that you can hire for use during the day.

The last day we were lucky to be able to get a tour of the M1. This is what they call the area below decks where everything goes on that you wouldn’t even think about. We had a tour with the Food and Beverage Manager and got to see where all of the Food is stored and where some of the food is prepped ready for the Kitchens. I have no idea how anyone finds their way around as there isn’t any signs anywhere. There was even someone learning to drive a forklift truck with the safety personnel on board!

As the ship is built for the Asian Market they are big into Gaming and Karaoke and this ship has definitely been built to suit their needs. There is a Main Casino and also a VIP room and a VVIP room for the the high rollers. The minimum stake in these is $100 and then anything between $200-$500 in the VVIP room. There is also the Vista Gaming Lounge on Deck 7.

The “Sing on the Sea” Karaoke Suites can be found on Deck 4 and this is a series of Rooms that you can hire for your own Private Karaoke Party. You can hire the rooms for 55 minutes at a time and costs $12.00 per person including a drink and snacks. Of course we had to try this out and we all had a lot of fun although I’m glad it was only for our ears!

I have to say this was an amazing trip and Princess were brilliant hosts and I can’t thank them enough for this opportunity. I will come back next time and tell you more about what this amazing ship has to offer.