8-Day Canada and New England Cruise Aboard the MAJESTIC PRINCESS

First night in Allegra Restaurant 4 snapper meals were inedible. The fish itself was bad. Same with 3 soups. Was not allowed to speak to the chef. Never went back. The buffet dinning area was fine, but we had great difficulty finding tables for 6 requiring us to alter dining times. Reservation at Sabatini’s were acknowledged in person prior to the dining date. When we arrived we were told we had no reservations. I was accidentally knocked to the floor by service personnel requiring a medical visit. We were charged for the visit requiring my wife to dispute the charge. Trip to Pegg’s cove was rushed and ill planned. On our return trip the trip guide was attempting to point out places in the dark that could not be seen. We arrived back 10 minutes before sailing. Disembarkation was a pure disaster. We left over an hour past our time.

Majestic Princess, 8 Days, New York • Newport • Boston • Portland • Saint John • Halifax

Embarkation-We used Princess transfers from JFK to the ship. A representative met us at baggage claim as expected, but had to escort us, luggage in tow, to another terminal because the bus pickup location had changed. What should have been a relatively short transfer took more than 90 minutes due to heavy New York traffic, and the bus became hot and uncomfortable during the delay.

Once we arrived at the terminal, however, embarkation was exceptionally efficient. After a quick ID check and Medallion pickup, we were on board within minutes, able to proceed directly to our cabin. Our luggage arrived approximately one hour later.

Cabin-Our mini-suite was attractive, well laid out, and provided a comfortable sitting area, balcony, and full bath.

A few practical observations: there were no electrical outlets in the bathroom and only two outlets near the desk area.

Our biggest disappointment was the bed. It was exceptionally firm, to the point that sleep was VERY uncomfortable. The cabin steward made every effort to improve matters by adding a foam topper and an extra padded quilt, but even with those enhancements the mattress remained very hard. For us, this significantly affected comfort throughout the seven-night cruise.

Dining and Food-Overall, the food quality was good to very good.

The buffet offered a wide variety of international selections at every meal. However, because of its size and popularity, finding a table during peak periods often took long enough that food cooled before we sat down. Beverage stations were not always easy to locate, and inadequate staffing levels resulted in delays for drink service.

The main dining rooms offered fewer nightly choices than one might find in a quality land-based restaurant, but over the course of the cruise we enjoyed several well-prepared dishes, including duck, pork, and beef entrées. Dinners were long, usually 90 to 120 minutes.

Sabatini’s, the Italian specialty restaurant, delivered excellent food and service. However, we were disappointed to find that some of the most desirable menu items required additional charges beyond the already substantial $55-per-person cover charge plus gratuity. Guests should also reserve specialty dining early, as desirable times fill quickly. Alternatively, we noted that additional reservation openings often appeared a day ahead to a few hours before dinner.

Entertainment-Entertainment was enjoyable, though not particularly memorable.

The 15-member production cast performed three different 45-minute singing and dancing shows, all professionally produced and well received. The featured juggler-comedian was entertaining, and live music was available throughout the ship, particularly in the Piazza and outdoor grill areas, creating a lively atmosphere for socializing and dancing.

(Additional comments regarding dancing are included below.)

Public Areas-The ship offered ample indoor spaces for relaxing, socializing, shopping, and gaming. The casino was divided into smoking and non-smoking sections, which was appreciated.

Because temperatures remained in the mid-50s with frequent rain for much of the voyage, we did not spend enough time in the pool areas to offer a fair assessment.

Service-Service was a consistent strength throughout the cruise.

Whether interacting with dining staff, cabin attendants, security personnel, guest services, or the cruise director's team, we found employees courteous, professional, and genuinely eager to help. Their efforts contributed significantly to the positive aspects of the voyage.

Newport Tender Operations-This was, unfortunately, the weakest operational aspect of the cruise.

After enjoying our day in Newport, rain moved into the area shortly after lunch. Like many other passengers, we returned to the tender loading area only to find a line stretching several hundred people, extending more than two blocks which was way past the limited covered area. Guests waited in cold, steady rain with little protection from the weather. The return process took well over 90 minutes. Given the deteriorating weather and growing queues, we believe additional tender capacity should have been deployed sooner. The situation created an unnecessarily frustrating and uncomfortable experience for many passengers.

Dancing-As experienced ballroom and social dancers, onboard dancing opportunities were important to us. Most dancing activities were concentrated in the Piazza. Ballroom-friendly music was limited, while the majority of selections consisted of fast-paced contemporary and pop music that appealed primarily to the larger crowd of casual dancers, mostly unescorted women. Whenever slower songs were played, many couples immediately took to the floor, only to leave when the music returned to its usual format.

We were particularly disappointed that the Crown Grill Lounge, despite hosting live entertainment, was not utilized as an additional dance venue. A broader range of dance music and dedicated dance space would have greatly improved the experience for couples who enjoy ballroom dancing.

Value-The base cruise fare represented reasonable value. However, the overall cost escalated quickly once onboard extras were added.

Wi-Fi pricing, at approximately $25 per device per day, seemed expensive on an itinerary where the ship was in port seven of eight days.

Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages may provide value for some travelers, but guests should carefully evaluate whether their personal usage (especially alcohol use) justifies the cost. In our opinion, the package inclusions were not always clearly explained. Restaurants and venues included in the packages, such as Alfredo's Pizzeria, Fresh Catch, and the sushi venue, were not always clearly identified before purchase.

Similarly, specialty dining carried a substantial cover charge, yet some premium menu selections still required additional fees. Guests who closely monitor vacation spending may wish to review all package details and dining charges carefully before making purchasing decisions.

Overall Impression

The Majestic Princess is an attractive ship with excellent service, comfortable public spaces, and generally good food. However, larger ships can sometimes sacrifice convenience and personal comfort. While we enjoyed many aspects of the voyage, issues involving bed comfort, tender operations in Newport, limited ballroom dancing opportunities, and the growing list of extra-cost options prevented this cruise from fully meeting our expectations. The experience was good, but not exceptional.

People usually read these reviews to learn about the bad things. When you pay large amounts of money you want only good things.

We were on the Majestic Princess Fire & Ice Cruise. 26-days total. We had a Mini-suite.I want to say that the first half of the cruise was for the most part incredible.

I want to mention 4 crew members who were absolute SUPER STARS:

Our cabin steward “Neptali”

Dining room servers; Svitlana (Lana) & Ryan

Restaurant Manager named Lazaro

Thank-you all for making our cruise better.

Now it’s time for what you have been waiting for – the bad stuff:

MDR:

Limited choices in the MDR. Small portion sizes at times. In 26-days they had only one lobster night. Breakfast and lunch service was always very slow.

PRINCESS SHORE EXCURSIONS: I wouldn’t recommend them.

Poor crowd control. One day we were in a “forever” line when one of the crew came down handing out stickers. When he got to us my wife was getting the tickets he said “no tickets no stickers”, I told him that we had been waiting 20-minutes so he could wait 10-seconds. He didn’t so that allowed others behind us to get off the ship first. I complained to Guest Services. No follow-up from Princess.

Horrible Guest Services!

DO NOT book the Paris excursion. 3-hour bus ride to Paris; 1.5-hour lunch (dry chicken and rice); 20-minutes at the Eiffel Tower.

There was also a tour that had a double deck bus (actually 3-decks). It was old and dirty. The heater was going upstairs (the people were really hot); downstairs was freezing cold because the ACV was wide open trying to cool the upstairs. We were sitting down on the lowest lever. We couldn’t see out to our left and the bottom of the window was eye level on the right side where we were sitting.

We had weather issues that caused the captain to cancel our last Norway stop and Iceland stop. We went to Belfast then 6-days to NYC. We’ve been cruising for 26-years so we understand weather issues. They did give us $100 obc.

The crew member, male, had a habit of putting stickers directly on the women’s chest. Other cruise lines do not allow this; the male crew members hand the stickers to the female guests. Minor thing I know.

Last problem: On our last sea day my wife was sleeping in. I had gone down to the MDR for breakfast. I returned to our room around 1030-1100. There was our cabin steward, and 3 other crew members at our cabin door. My wife had her head stuck out talking with them. I learned that they wanted to go through our cabin to paint the balcony. There was no prior notice given to us and my wife wasn’t dressed for the day. So I slipped by them and told then to go away.

Later I went down to Guest Services to complain. Guest Services said that it was “normal” procedure. Dozens of cruises, hundreds of days at sea and never experienced customer service like this.

Since it was “normal” procedure for Princess I did something that isn’t normal procedure for me, for the first time I removed the gratuities for the 2nd half of the cruise. I have never done that before. We still tipped the 4 people that made our cruise better.

BOTTOM LINE:

We have a 25-day cruise booked with Princess later this month (different ship) and a 21-day cruise in 2027 (back on this ship). After that we are done with Princess.

They have become Carnival with table cloths.