Our Opinion of the Majestic Princess Ship
With our 2022 Mexican Riviera cruise we decided to try Princess cruise lines for the first time.
We heard mixed reviews from friends and family, so we had been hesitant to try them. We love NCL, and Celebrity, but after multiple back to back cruises with them we really wanted to try something new. Plus, Princess had made some major improvements across their fleet with the Medallion features and we knew that Princess would be a good option long-term for international sailings. So we decided now was the best time to give them a try.
Table of Contents
Booking the Cruise
Generally speaking we always try to book directly with a cruise line, either on their website or onboard. I am definitely of the millennial generation and refuse to call someone if I can help it! 🙂
When you go to book online you will see that Princess has one of the most outdated website designs, especially when you are comparing to the other American cruise lines (Carnival, NCL, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, etc.). Anytime we have explored booking with them this is one of the first turn-offs. However, once you figure your way around you are still able to book online, which is ultimately our requirement.
We do have a preference when it comes to room location and Princess is inconsistent about allowing you to choose an exact room. I haven’t figured out why it varies by trip but sometimes you are allowed to select an exact room #, and others you have to choose a general area like mid-ship between floors 8-12. This can be frustrating when you have a preference but you are generally able to get close to the area you want.
Once we decided on the April 2022 Mexican Rivera itinerary, we finished our booking. The questions and steps are pretty standard so no surprises there.
Tip! When Princess says ‘Queen’ bed configuration, it’s similar to all other cruise lines, with two twins pushed together. This makes it closer to the size of a King, so unless you have very specific bed size requirements don’t worry about it saying queen.
Pre-Trip (Check-In)
We booked this trip last minute so after booking it was only a few days later that we are able to complete the pre-boarding steps and check-in.
With the launch of Medallion features across the fleet all check-in steps are completed on their app. While I appreciate the efforts to leverage new technology I didn’t like that it was our ONLY option. Sometimes the check-in process can be a little tedious entering various travel information and I would have preferred to do this on a computer rather than my phone.
Later in the trip we realized a key step was removed from the process, which I attribute to the required app experience. After you check in and order your lanyard there is no way to view or print luggage tags. In addition, there are zero reminders to do so, which is something we are very used to from other cruise lines. While we didn’t realize this missing step in the moment it made luggage drop-off a pain. This is definitely something we will pay closer attention too in the future.
Also, since Nathan and I work in IT, it was obvious that Princess chosen to put money into their app experience. The app experience was a huge disconnect from the website technology and experience. I would have liked to see a more consistent ecosystem.
One fun thing about Princess, is that you can choose to receive the Medallion (replaces the standard ship card) ahead of time. This helps reduce the steps you need to take when arrive at the port. Plus, there is no cost required to receive the basic setup, though you can choose to upgrade the holding device for the Medallion.
I loved this approach because we received this present about a week before our cruise, and it was a great way to get excited about our trip!
Ship and Room Tour
From our pre-cruise research we learned the Majestic Princess was originally built for the Chinese market and post-pandemic had been repositioned to North America, cruising the West Coast and Mexico. Up to this point we had only been on North American cruise lines and it was fascinating to see the very obvious details intended for a different market.
First, all the signs were listed in English and Chinese. For whatever reason, this was entertaining and fascinating for me, and I loved seeing it throughout the ship.
Second, was some unique food options. On the Lido deck Princess generally has a pizza bar in addition to Burgers. However, on the Majestic Princess this was replaced and instead there was Chopsticks Noodle Bar. In addition there was a Chinese specialty dining option, Harmony, on the lower decks which always seemed to have availability (which could be a good or bad thing, but we didn’t end up trying it).
Third, if you are familiar with other Royal Class ships with Princess there is the additional cost area, Sanctuary. On the Majestic this is replaced with the Hollywood Conservatory which is an open, free, garden like area.
The rest of the ship felt very similar to any other cruise with an open Lido deck, multiple pools, and they even brought out nice padded chairs for movie nights with the screen over the pool deck.
While it did feel familiar to many other cruise ships, it was uniquely difficult to navigate. The stairways were very narrow and there was a portion of the ship that was entirely blocked off due to the kitchen between dining rooms. This meant you regularly had to go up or down one extra floor to get to one end of the ship or the other.
Unfortunately we didn’t take any photos, but the buffet area had a rather odd design both in color and style as well as how the walk-ways were designed. Everything felt very closed off and while that probably limited how many people you saw at any given time, it felt difficult to navigate.
Cabin rooms felt very traditional to other cruise lines. We ended up selecting a Deluxe Balcony, which gave us a full size couch (three cushions) and a tub/shower. The balcony was an average size with two chairs and a small table.
With the larger room, we actually had two TVs, which we were excited about. Unfortunately, it was better in theory than reality. The remote kept connecting to both TVs and you would end up turning off one while turning on the other, or other various controls picked up by both TVs. Not something I would recommend again.
Dining and Food
The food throughout the ship was good, but it was uniquely American.
This may sound strange and to some it may sound perfect, but one of Nathan’s favorite things about cruising is the variety. Not only are you traveling and seeing new places, but the experiences onboard are also very unique including the food. Plus it changed every day so you always had the opportunity to try something different and it never felt repetitive.
We primarily eat at the buffet for a variety of reasons. One, we are crazy early bird diners, so we are usually ready to eat dinner at between 4-5pm and cruise ship dining rooms don’t usually start sitting people until 6pm. Second, we don’t like to be a burden and while the dining room ‘production’ can be fascinating we would much prefer to serve ourselves. Third, we generally find that the buffet food and options are even better than the dining room (this may be unique to Celebrity).
On this cruise, we kept similar habits, but we realized that the selections available were very American and they never changed. You could easily find pizza, nuggets, mac and cheese, and other items of similar nature, but we were used to having whole areas dedicated to different nationalities and their food (once again this probably an expectation from Celebrity).
Like I said, the food tasted good, but after a few days of the exact same options for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. It got old quick and we missed trying new foods.
Now, I will say they did have a section at lunch that varied from day to day but it still never really hit the spot for us.
The two saving graces were the permanent Swirl bar where Nathan could get his daily fix of soft serve ice cream and Tea Time, which we grew to love, and would often choose over the buffet for dinner.
Alfredos was also a great surprise. It was a unique option to have a sit down restaurant, open all day, and no charge associated. The pizza was also really good, so we visited a few times during our trip.
In addition to the food the drinks were somewhat unique. Past ships we have found a drink or two we have loved and order repeatedly. Drinking was not a major focus for Princess so we never found anything that we loved.
Interestingly the Majestic used fountain soda instead of cans like we have seen through all other cruise ships.
While I normally don’t care either way this had two benefits. One, the glass they would provide was rather large. This meant less refill requests which was easier on everyone.
Two, it wasn’t heavily carbonated so it was really easy to drink Shirley Temples all week without any issues.
Medallion Features
Princess launched their Medallions a few years ago, and throughout the pandemic, they were able to retrofit all of their ships with the Medallion features. This was something we were extremely excited to test as they were supposed to have the best internet at sea.
The actual Medallions themselves were fun and unique. I usually wear my key card in a lanyard, so doing it with the Medallion instead felt very normal. Nathan thought about getting a wrist holder, but decided against it when we realized we probably won’t take many Princess cruises to need it again.
It was really nice to use the Medallion to access your room, as it would recognize you a few feet away and your room would be unlocked and ready to go. Plus when you passed TVs around the ship it was easy to interact with.
The Medallion Net (internet) was just ok. We wanted to feel really confident with the ability to work while at sea but the speeds and consistency just weren’t there. We were able to make video calls, though it wasn’t perfect. Basic browsing, such as Wikipedia, worked most of the time but trying to load videos or pictures through Reddit or TikTok didn’t work most of the time.
The app itself was not great. It would regularly crash and made it near impossible to rely on as a source for communication or for your itinerary. I ended up taking pictures of the paper itinerary every day to ensure I would still have a copy if I couldn’t access the app.
However, the ability to order food and drinks was nice even though it had a few annoyances. First, you could only order off of the set menu and when it came to drinks there were not many options so Tom Collins and Honey Lemonade (our go-to drinks) were not an option.
Second, if you were anywhere but your room it would take the staff awhile to find you and often your drinks would be melted or your food cold before they could get it to you.
We did take advantage of of ordering food to our room multiple times. We would much prefer submitting our order online than calling so it was a perfect way to get some late night snacks without leaving our room.
Plus, when we did order in and stay in the room the TV options were amazing! We had access to tons of movies and TV which has always been a sore point for us with other ships. While we love to be out and about, it can be nice to relax in your room for a bit with a good movie and Princess delivered with their selection of entertainment.
Final Ship Score
Overall, this ship had some very unique qualities and I am glad we were able to experience them. However, I don’t think we would ever choose to go on the Majestic Princess due to some of the odd design choices. We may look at trying another Royal class, or ideally a smaller ship if we decided to go on a Princess cruise again.
Based on our personal rating criteria, the Majestic Princess scored a 69%*, which for us means it was just OK. We wouldn’t actively recommend it, but I wouldn’t discourage people from choosing a cruise on the Majestic Princess as long as they were aware of some of the quirks.
*This only reflects our personal experiences and preferences. You may have very different objectives when traveling, and I highly recommend choosing the right cruise line and ship to fit your needs.
If you would like to read more about our adventures on this ship and the stops we made a long the way, here are some quick links for you!
