MAJESTIC PRINCESS Reviews

So we are not new cruisers…Pretty much own local casino gave us a “free” cruise…but it’s never really free! We borded on Halloween, the first night there was a costume party…We brought costumes & it was fun…but pretty much after that night there wasn’t much to do! The over all age of the passengers was I’d say 70? Just a lot of lounges and drinking…to which we don’t drink! They had bingo one time but it only lasted a short time we got there 15 minutes late & were told not to bother because it was ending soon. They port everyday there was five stops but 2 we were at working the past 8 months so didn’t bother. The excursions we looked at through the ship in Boston say…they offer the walking tour for..149??? It’s a FREE tour lol anyone can go get the paper and follow the arrows around …The trolly…they charge…110? A person…not with the cruise..Say just in Boston for the day…it’s 30 bucks…I found this to be slimy! I found the room to be small…we had a balcony, the the balcony was the smallest I’ve ever seen on a cruise ship…The room the way the closet was it just felt very cramped & like we lost a lot of space with the wall separating the bed from the bathroom. The first couple days I thought the food in the allegro dining room was good, the beef tenderloin was probably my favorite…but the rest of the week the food went down…the beef Wellington was a disappointment…the “surf”. And turf…lobster tail night…1) you only ate allowed one & 2) you wouldn’t want another…they were small shriveled & fishy…Totally not worth the anticipation of having. The chicken parm was below average…The casinos we didn’t like…They separate the smoking and non by a room…the smoking room gets very Smokey…they have little to NO air filtration in the room…The larger more spacious part of the casino is non smoking and has more & better machines…so if you like to smoke and gamble your not going to have a great machine selection and without filtration the room is just a massive cloud of smoke! Also you’ll have all these non smokers walking through covering there faces & coughing…they don’t even need to go into the smoking side lol or play in there but I guess they can’t help but try and exert their superiority by choosing to sit by a smokers and toss a fit! Several times I encountered just rude staff…Several were very nice but the casino staff didn’t know anything about points…how do you work in there day in & day out & can’t tell me how many points I need to get a complimentary soda…AND not be willing to say…Ya know what I’m not sure but let me find out or let me scan your medallion and see where your at…I just got some type of an inaudible point and a dismissal…when I asked about cashing out my casino money the last night… I was sent to guest services…like how do the bar servers not know that there is a big machine right across from the bar that is were you cash out your winnings? The when I asked I felt like basically responded with something not helpful almost slick and then sent me where I didn’t need to go…meanwhile the cash out machine was maybe 8 feet from us! I just thought several employees would answer me with an attitude…Like I was stupid and never went out of their way to explain or show me things….Not all but several you can tell they have no respect for the passengers and resent their job…There are good employees too…the young man who I saw almost daily around the smoking section on deck 7…Skinny guy but always smiling always helpful! What else can I say the ship layout itself is confusing…there are times you have too like go down to level 6 to then get to 7 …I think there is no deck 5….the shops are all in a weird spot …we like the straight shot Promenades…The duty free ran out of Marlboros after the FIRST night… The disembarking was the worst…It takes them FOREVER they were on the SAME numbers calling the SAME numbers for forever…Then RECALLING those numbers. Worst disembarking I’ve ever experienced! Literally called the same numbers for 45 minutes…Total joke! Like if the people aren’t there…move on to the next group! They punish the people that are waiting & ready. They close off everywhere to smoke and force you to be totally out of your cabin waiting for forever to call your number to get off by 8 am. Definitely carry all your stuff off yourself if you can otherwise you will wait for hours if your say group 25… For me I would not take a Princess Cruise again that I paid for lol…if they gave me a free one OR say my BF took me I may go but I would never spend my own money to go on a cruise with them it wasn’t awful but it could have been a lot better. If you are a person not looking for a lot to do…if your happy to sit & read…or a big drinker I would say this would be a good fit…but for active people I think it’s lacking …The daily activities are mostly different trivia’s. The physical appearance of the ship was newer I think the Majestic was built in 2017? So the ship was in decent shape…Idk I just think there are too many options out there to settle…Everything I wrote was a true & honest opinion!

This was my 7th cruise with Princess, and likely my last. Although this ship was recently renovated, it's still laid out like every other Princess ship I've been on. Nothing to explore. Unless you want to visit all twelve bars.

This time, however, the food was worse, dropping from a 4 out of 5 rating to a 2.5 -- the level of an average diner. They can't do beef, period. It's rubbery and low quality. Overall, it's as if they found a way to cut half the flavor from every dish. Quality control in the main dining room is non-existent. It's all simply unacceptable. Oddly, the desserts were much better than a year ago, when cookies were the best baked good. Unfortunately, now the cookies are hard as rocks and tasteless!

There are more things to do onboard than previously, but they're all still pretty lame. The trivia contests are now a waste of time. For example, a lot of "guess the song title" questions include the title in the audio segment which is played. Goofy contests, like rolling a big foam die to see whose teddy bear moves and finishes first, result in a goofier "prize" for the winner, such as a dollar-store notebook.

Entertainment is the same as ever: a comedian, a singer, a juggler, and the ship's ensemble of two male singers, two female singers, and about eight dancers. It's all okay, but nothing special.

Generally, the staff is still excellent, and the ship runs smoothly in every sense of the word. But, it's all so "samey" now.... Sorry, but I'm going to have to look for some other princess next time.

We agree with all other reviews on this page. Food was always served cold or Luke warm. Meat especially steaks tough and unable to cut. Paid 66$ for a Crown Grill dinner. The steak there was also inedible. Couldn’t eat it.

Breakfast on day 1 was ok. After that service got worse. Soft boiled eggs were hard boiled cold and black inside. Croissants cold and stale. Bacon frazzled. Coffee lukewarm warm.

Tried room service. Ordered tea and coffee. Coffee was warm and disgusting. Tea water was warm so wouldn’t brew tea. Didn’t try as they didn’t provide any tea bags.

Meals at every restaurant or cafe were poor. I took sultana cookies to my cabin and made tea there instead. Too fruit from buffet area to eat in cabin.

Everywhere so crowded. All bars full and blaring loud music all day. Daytime events started and ended exactly to timings. 30 or 40 minutes. However only 4 people playing/participating at indoor golf with hundreds watching over the rails above the Plaza. What a joke.

Excursions ashore were very limited times. Especially when ship docked late twice and we were late for our private excursions booked. Ship excursions were double the price and were in coaches. Ours were private SUVs so much better for getting about.

As we missed out on Reykjavik I used the Talk to Crew app and asked why we couldn’t stay overnight in Halifax. Response was that Majestic Princess does not stay overnight anywhere. Obviously cheaper to keep us cruising in the Atlantic.

We found this whole trip TEDIOUS boring and nowhere near the advertised agenda.

We would never do another cruise. I’ve read the Reviews and all Cruisers feel the same.

Also, with no disrespect to disabled people. There are too many wheelchairs on board. They are everywhere you go and expect us there get out of their way. Limit the numbers!

I felt I was walking around an airport terminal. Bars and food points. Nowhere to sit. Shopping area was like Duty Free. Selling items all day at various points and being stopped to buy them. Atrocious. We are on holiday. Not money making targets.

Never again.

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.

I bought a Future Cruise Package rather reluctantly. The entire process has been unbelievably great! Everyone was helpful beyond expectation with hotel reservations, perks from the package, and I just received a refund check promptly from the cruise line for expenses not used!

The cruise was great, food could be improved a little- sorry. The pizza was delicious and always hot. Hamburger meat needs a lot of improvement. One was enough for me, and hubby refused to eat all of his. Spoke to a chef about it, but you know that probably stopped there:)

Excursions and tenders were fine with us. We unfortunately missed Edinburgh because water was too rough for tenders. That was the main reason we had booked the British Isles Cruise.

Staff and cleanliness awesome. We have booked a second cruise and looking forward to it!

We were not looking for lots of entertainment or activities. They were available if you wanted it.

The cruise had many port stops and only 2 days at sea. I felt it was very busy and would have enjoyed another day at sea. Especially in the beginning. The food was ok but not fantastic. I am celiac and the they were very accommodating. I do think the deserts are very lacking. They were almost always ice cream, mousse, or rice pudding. The English tea was terrible. The gluten free scones were like sawdust. The international cafe was so disappointing. Never a gluten free savory and always a rice pudding or mouse for the gluten free option. It would be nice to have cookies or cake. There were some chocolate chip cookies on the buffet but they were often gone. The breakfast at the buffet was great. I ate an omelet every day. Poor gluten free options for pancakes or French toast. The weather was fantastic so watching the World Cup games around the pool was super fun. The ship supplied blankets on the chilly nights. I love the burger and fries around the pool. One of my favorite things for lunch. Overall the ship was good, entertainment was ok and the ports were great.

The ship was good. Too many children for me but they all received excellent entertainment. Lots of laughter everywhere.

Food was very good and the wine was very nice.

Our cabin had a major leak the first night and they moved us.

The ports of call were all interesting.

I would have liked more talks, or enrichment.

There wasn’t a great deal of educational value.

Plenty of dancers and lovely shows. Some of the singers were incredible.

I’d say they did a great job with their restaurants. The specialty dining areas. Most of them were incredibly noisy with all the loud entertainment from every conceivable corner. Not ideal for older people who would like a little peace and quiet now and then. The Italian restaurant was the quiet place. We ended up eating there several times.

You could tell the staff were overworked. Busy busy busy. Anyway it was actually a fill in cruise before my uniworld river cruise and it turned out to be much more enjoyable than uniworld. So thank you majestic princess, you surprise me at how much I enjoyed the cruise.

I need to start out saying that this was my 37th cruise but my first on Princess. Some of my friends choose Princess only but I have always been a Royal or Celebrity cruiser. So n saying this I would argue Celebrity is still my go to but I was pleasantly ( for the most part) impressed by this cruise journey.

Let's start with embarkation out of Southampton, England. It was quick and uneventful - 5 star on that metric, the medallion process is definitely a big plus on this cruise line- makes everything quick and simple.

Second, the stateroom- we had a mini suite on deck 12- very spacious room, plenty of storage and space and the alcove area where closet and bathroom were located were ideal! Another big plus ! The balcony however was the smallest I've ever experienced but thankfully we were in the UK so truly not balcony weather- big NO if a Caribbean cruise for sure.

Next the food- despite a little snafu with our pre-arranged dining plans which was quickly corrected , I must say the food was delightful even in the Main dining areas. We ate mostly at specialty restaurants but the few nights at symphony were super- choices were good and varied each night we were there . I never had a bad meal and I truly am a food critic! The service was very nice for food / drink requests were a bit slow - does not seem to have enough bar facilities in restaurants!

The specialty restaurants were exquisite- our favorites were Sabatini and the steak house Crown. I recently saw a post noting poor preparation of beef on this ship- that certainly was not our experience! Kudos to the chefs and wait staff on Majestic Princess.

Ports of call

Magnificent!! Every port was exactly what we wanted. We did use private tour guides as I came with a rather large group so we were looking for personalized tours. Nonetheless, the ports were great. We did miss Edinburgh due to high winds which was quite disappointing but a reasonable excuse to return to Scotland .

Here's the not so great part of this adventure- the entertainment! Wow! What a disappointment ! Except for a couple of visiting singers and the lovely couple at the Irish Pub- the experience was dismal! The ship's singers and dancers were something out of a high school performance-not even fair - sad to say- for 12 night cruise, I expected more show stoppers!

The staff were all friendly! The ship is in need of some repair but very clean!!! One issue with bar staff is the lack thereof- too few waiters given the number of people sailing/ could take up to 45 minutes to get a drink ! Little disappointing for sure !

In summary, would I recommend Majestic Princess? absolutely!!! We had a wonderful time with wonderful people- crew and guests!!