A cruise is a wonderful way to visit New Zealand and part of Australia. The majestic is a wonderful ship and probably meets the expectations of most passengers. Those booking this for a cruise should expect an older crowd.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Embarkation of 3500 guests is a bit hectic. We booked a suite which comes with priority boarding. Unfortunately that only means we have a separate line to get to the security screening. After the security screening, everyone is mixed together so everyone has the same wait time. Each deck is given a check-in time. This is completely ignored. The documentation indicated boarding started at 12:30pm. However we could see the ship from our hotel window in Auckland and people were boarding the ship prior to 11:00am. Everyone was very helpful and friendly.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
My wife and I were very disappointed with the quality of the food. Our first night we dined at Le Mer (an upgrade). We were so disappointed with the food that we sent back multiple dishes and ended up requesting a refund since we ate very little. We immediately went to the buffet after leaving Le Mer. However, a few people we met on the cruise said they went to Le Mer and had a wonderful meal. The other restaurants were ok however there were aspects of every meal which didn't meet our expectations for club class dining - such as a sliced log of baked Alaska with whipped frosting instead of meringue. The drink selection (wines) were limited for some selections and the ship ran out of some wines. The selection of New Zealand and Australian wince were very thin. We were selected to take part in the Chef Table Lumiere dinner (added charge). This was excellent value for the additional charge. We would highly recommend the CT-L dinner to anyone. The breakfast in the Crown Grill for suite passengers was exceptional every day.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The activities we ok. Activities were definitely geared toward an older crowd (65+ I would say). The had some nice dancing classes however they were popular and very crowded in the Piazza. Another location on the ship would have been better
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The entertainment showed a mix. Some shows were very good. Others were mediocre. However we enjoyed ourselves at each show. The bands and DJ offered at different locations and various times throughout the day were very good.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The wait staff in the restaurants for suite and club class were wonderful, almost without exception. We did see less than expected level of service from some buffet, bar, and open area food stations such as noodle bar. The room service and room stewards were amazing. The spa staff were wonderful.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship is well maintained, especially since it is only two years old. If there were time when it was not completely tidy, it was due to the passengers. Majestic staff worked to clean areas very promptly. I did not like that the ship does not have a track all the way around the ship like other cruise lines we have been on. In general, the ship design was very nice.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The cabin was amazing. My wife and I were very, very pleased. The cabin had more than ample storage space. The one thing we needed to ask the steward to fix was to add an extra mattress pad to the bed. It was very uncomfortable. Our great cabin steward corrected this immediately. Ian always exceeded our expectations.
Ship tip
create an account and use the ship website to outline your day, track your account, and view other pieces of information. It is very useful.
We book two days in Auckland prior to the start of the cruise. This was on our own and not through Princess. We rented a car and drove through the middle section of the north island. I wish we had more time. We also stayed at the Hilton hotel. The hotel is primely situation on the pier where the cruise ship docked. This mad embarkation more smooth.
We explored on our own and purchased tickets for the hop-on/hop-off bus, toured the botanical gardens and walked around shopping. We had a nice long time in Wellington. Great that the cruise ship provided free transportation from the ship to the city center.
The port was beautiful. The drive to Christchurch was so picturesque. I which he had more time at this port. Please extend the port time is possible, especially since this is a where tender is needed. We were whisked off our tour bus and on to the tender back to the ship.
We visited this port on our own using a hop-on/hop-off bus. We did not a lot ourselves enough time to properly visit Sydney but we had a nice overview. We did fit in an opera at the Sydney Opera House.
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