Alaska is an amazing trip. I recently returned from a 7 day Inside Passage voyage on the Majestic Princess, departing from Seattle. This was my fourth trip to Alaska with Princess, my second on the Majestic Princess.
Overall this trip was very close to a 5 star voyage. Let's give it a 4, here's why.
Itinerary
This voyage was roundtrip from Seattle.
Although I've traveled on the one way voyages between Anchorage and Vancouver on past Alaska cruises, a roundtrip from Seattle, Vancouver or San Francisco avoids a bit of the headache in trying to get to or from Anchorage.
Day 1 - Embarkation Seattle
Day 2 - Sea Day
Day 3 - Ketchikan
Day 4 - Endicott Arm, Dawes Glacier (scenic cruising) AND Juneau
Day 5 - Skagway
Day 6 - At Sea
Day 7 - Victoria
Day 8 - Disembark Seattle
We flew in a day before and stayed in downtown Seattle at the Palihotel. Palihotel is about a 10 minute drive from Pier 91. A review of the Pali can be found here. https://www.travelstorytravel.com/post/the-pali-hotel-seattle-an-experience-stay
I would always recommend flying to the embarkation port a day before, but I would particularly recommend this for Alaska, Trans Atlantic/Pacific, Hawaii and Norway. There are few options to "catch up" with the ship if you miss embarkation on any of these journeys.
I liked having the two sea days. The sail away from Skagway was magnificent, well to be fair, the sail away from Ketchikan an Juneau were also lovely as well. However, this was the first time the itinerary included both Glacier Scenic Cruising and Juneau on the same day.
My hypothesis this is for gambling/gaming reasons. I was concerned when I noticed this on the Princess app, but we had a late departure in Juneau, which really made this less of an issue.
The Casino was open about an hour after leaving the ports. Typically casinos do not open until a certain distance from land. On this trip, we were still in Fjords when the casino opened.
I did a little research on this topic, and it seems there's been an allowance made on Alaska cruises. Casinos can open once they are 3 miles from the port that they left and at least 3 miles away from the next port. Who knew?
I wasn't thrilled that our Glacier visit started at 5 AM, but because I'd been to Alaska before, I didn't set an alarm and just woke up at 6 AM, opened the drapes and was stunned by the views. We'd already made it to the Glacier and it was spectacular.
Another difference was the proximity to the Glacier. In prior trips it was significantly closer. This trip offered a shore excursion for those who wanted to get closer. A boat/tender picked up passengers from the ship and took them closer. Folks who participated on my Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/majesticprincessalaskamay262024 posted positive comments. My husband and I did not take this excursion, or any excursions on this trip.
The time in Victoria is always brief. This stop is to meet the requirements of the Passenger Vessel Services Act. If your not familiar with this, any ship that is not US Flagged and travels between US ports, must include a distant foreign port. If this does not occur, additional taxes of more than $900 must be paid by passengers.
I will say, since it was light until late in the evening, this was not as brief as I'd experienced in the past.
Victoria is a lovely port, but the last day, late at night, with packing and organization needed, this is not always an easy port to explore. If you get the opportunity for a whole port day in Victoria, consider not only a lovely walk through town, but a trip to Butchart Gardens.
The common areas were packed full of folks trying to get off the ship into Victoria. There were several excursions that were cut short due to timing and a quite a few disgruntled passengers. I'd had this happen to me on a previous trip where we had 90 minutes to see Butchart gardens (I'd suggest at least 3 hours or more). For that reason, I never book an excursion when there is limited time.
Personally, a short visit to Victoria, would mean just a quick trip into the city to see the local sites. There is also a lovely walking trail, totem pole park area and other attractions close to the port to get in a little sight seeing. Keep in mind, it's light till late in the evening in Spring/Summer.
Stateroom
We stayed in a Club Class Collection Reserve Mini Suite - Forward Facing. There are four of these on the Royal Class ships Lido 107, 108 and Marina 107, 108. These rooms would probably be listed as a regular suite would it not be for the metal balconies. These four rooms have both forward facing windows, as well as a balcony door (facing starboard/port).
The balconies on these rooms are ENORMOUS. On Marina, you could have 50 people on your balcony, on Lido about 30. However, it is important to note, that you cannot really use the balcony when the ship is underway. Because you are forward facing, the winds are extreme.
These rooms offer a 180 degree view of everything!
This room includes a separate bedroom (forward window). A living room/couch area and a very nice long desk/cabinet area.
These rooms typically sell out very quickly for Alaska voyages. They can be pricey, however, we booked early and were able to secure ours for about $1200/pp plus taxes. One way to decrease cost is to consider using gift cards, future cruise credits etc. Read more about great ways to save on your travel on my other blog post - https://www.travelstorytravel.com/post/cruise-discounts-savings.
Club class also includes Club Class Dining, which is lovely. No waiting, anytime dining with the same wait staff. There are a few extra menu options available, but the real perk is never any waiting and exceptional service.
Club class is at a premium cost, and if you are interested in a forward facing balcony at a less expensive price there are a handful of forward facing Deluxe Balcony Obstructed cabins on Marina and Lido which sell for less than the cost of a regular balcony cabin. Again, limited use on sea days, but amazing views for Alaska and Glacier viewing.
A video of this stateroom is included in this blog.
The Ship
The ship was at capacity with about 4000 guests. Lower berth capacity for Majestic is 3560, so there were many cabins with 3 and 4 passengers. I never felt like it was overcrowded.
I'm an Elite status cruiser on Princess, I've been on all classes of ship outside the new Sun Princess which launched this year. The Majestic is a Royal Class ship her sisters are Royal, Regal, Discovery, Enchanted and Sky.
One of the things most Princess ships do not have is a Forward Facing Venue open to all cruisers. Princess ships offer a paid venue called the Sanctuary that is forward facing, but it is often only partially protected from the weather.
The Majestic Princess is configured slightly different and has the Hollywood Conservatory and Hollywood Pool Area in the forward section of deck 17. This area is fully enclosed and is open to all passengers, currently at no cost. The pool was a nice temperature and there were lots of little spaces to relax in both areas, including free private cabana areas, lots of game tables and tables for two. There were all types of interesting loungers in the pool area.
The Hollywood Conservatory would be an excellent location for folks staying in an inside cabin to enjoy the splendor of Alaska. This locations really made the trip special for us.
Despite having an amazing cabin with both Forward and Starboard views, my husband and I played games, swam and enjoyed the conservatory throughout the trip. The Elite lounge was held there every evening, and we enjoyed music and drinks before dinner.
All Royal Class Princess ships have a Piazza, typically on Deck 5 through 7. However, on the newer ships (built after Royal & Regal), the layouts are different. Most venues in this area on this ship are dining venues. Unfortunately the removal of the Crooners bar makes the area more of a food court. There is entertainment on deck 5, however, there isn't a lot of seating outside that level on decks 6 and 7. Decks 6 and 7 are wholly food and shopping areas, outside the Casino. The Catch by Rudi on deck 7 takes the entire port side up forcing folks to walk through the restaurant and eliminating easy access to some of the few outdoor areas available on deck 7. Personally I wouldn't want to eat in a restaurant with all the passenger noise and games going on from deck 5.
I'm also not too fond of the fact that there is no Promenade on the Promenade deck. Older princess vessels have a full outdoor walk around deck. Majestic does let you walk around some of deck 7, but aft starboard is a smoking section, and you must walk through narrow utility areas to walk somewhat around the ship. Not exactly scenic.
Many of the bars have been removed. There is no Crooners on this ship, nor is there a bar in the Casino.
Food and Entertainment
We had excellent food in our Club Class Dining room. The menu is essentially the same for the MDR. There were Alaska specialties to choose, as well as all kinds of delicious tidbits. Princess appears to make great accommodations for allergies etc. and although we didn't need this we did see various guest service folks connecting with passengers on food restrictions each day.
Entertainment was meh. This is something I've noticed on Princess generally since Covid. We had a great singer/entertainer in the Elite lounge one night, we found out he was a member of the house band just asked to fill in. There was one show, a couple night of comedians, but we couldn't find a crooner/piano player, a singer songwriter musician like the grand days before the Pandemic.
However, because this was Alaska and we had such an amazing room, we often retired to our room about 11pm to watch the scenery go by. It was still light even after midnight. We tried to watch a movie with our forward facing window open, and would be distracted by the beauty of nature moving by. This was the BEST entertainment.
I heard complaints about the Casino. We did gamble enough to get a Come Back & Sail (CBS) offers of free casino cash and felt the casino was nice. It wasn't a typically super crowded casino like many recent voyages. I was always able to get a seat at a table or slot that I preferred.
We did get chocolate dipped strawberries from the casino and bottle of water!
Another highlight was getting invited to the Most Traveled Guests Luncheon with the Captain. What a treat! With 280 days on Princess, I was probably the least traveled of the most traveled. The most traveled guest had 1200 days. This was most likely because 75% of
the ships passengers were first time Princess cruisers (blue). There were only 100 Elite passengers on the ship. I ranked high enough to make the grade. What a treat.
There isn't a top deck Pizza stop on this ship, because the ship was built for Asian Markets there was a Noodle bar. I have mixed thoughts on this. I had a couple of Ramen/Won Ton bowls, and it was nice in the cold Alaska weather, however, I kind of missed the pizza place. There was an Alfredo's on deck 6, the Pizza was fantastic, but this is not included in your fare unless you are purchasing the Plus or Premier Package. The food/Pizza was excellent.
We ordered Ocean Now a couple times (also need Plus/Premier Package to avoid delivery charges), and food was delivered correctly and timely to our location.
Another challenge I find just generally with Princess is their lack of consistency on wine availability. Few good wines are included with the Plus package, and each venue had their own set of wines available. I was often forced to try yet another Pinot Noir, with mixed results. It would be nice to be able to get the same wine at each bar.
However, the bar service was great. My husband and I traveled with family over the 2023 Holiday season and service was a challenge, this trip was a vast improvement. See my review of Discovery Princess. https://www.travelstorytravel.com/post/discovery-princess-a-well-traveled-review
Service & Issues
Service was wonderful. Drink service was very quick, not many long lines. Food service was great. The crew was happy and welcoming, there was also great officer presence. Many of the crew had just started their tour of duty after relocating from Australia, so they were fresh and not at the end of their contracts.
We had $400 of missing on board credit (OBC) when we embarked. Although our front desk agent was helpful, it took us several discussions to get this corrected. The shipboard vs. on shore corporate folks really need to get a better method to resolve things like this. I had enough tenacity to keep at it and by day 4 we had our credits applied. If you have onboard credits, casino cash or promotions ALWAYS take your paperwork. If your travel agent can only see these, have them provide them to you. I was grateful that I had all the paperwork with me.
Note that once your embarkation day arrives, you can no longer access your travel summary for that trip. PRINT all your documents before embarkation day.
Excursions
We did not take excursions on this trip. All the ports offer a great day on their own. We have fun just walking around. There are plenty of little bars and restaurants, pretty views, and all kinds of sculpture and history.
There are loads of excursion options, of course at a price.
Many people think of Alaska as a bucket list trip. You may want to fill your days with fishing expeditions, dog sled rides or even a helicopter journey. All of these add up in your vacation budget.
Luxury lines often offer free excursions as part of an all inclusive plan. If you want to take several excursions, consider looking at a luxury line that may include some of the things you want. When you add up costs between a mainstream line like Princess compared to Viking, Silversea, Oceania etc. you ay find that the luxury brand comes close in price and includes excursions, the luxury brand may be a smaller ship, may have a better itinerary, may include beverages and specialty dining as well. Only you know what you want from a vacation, but I've seen folks spend thousands on their family excursions and often wonder if they've considered these other options.
Other Information
Seattle is a wonderful embarkation port. If you are staying downtown near the market, consider purchasing an inexpensive bouquet of flowers for your stateroom. Fresh flower bouquets start at $10, and a big plastic cup from the bar on Lido will work as a vase! Coming "home" to fresh flowers every day of your journey is fun and can make your room smell wonderful.
Alaska cruisers care less about formal nights. My husband and I are big fans of dressing up, but even we tone it down for Alaska. It might be all the outdoor activity, or just that you have to pack some sweaters and rain gear, but less people dress up, so don't worry about it so much. A collared shirt or a nice blouse and even jeans will not be frowned upon.
Everyone has their own idea of what "cold" is. My husband is always cold, I'm always hot. However we both agree that layers make it work. Take a good rain jacket (loose enough to manage layers underneath), gloves, scarf and hat. Comfortable shoes and/or waterproof hiking shoes depending on what you plan to do are a necessity. Always prepare for rain, and just enjoy it. I personally prefer a hood to an umbrella to keep my hands free.
Don't forget your bathing suit. Indoor pools, outside hot tubs and thermal suites are available on many ships, it doesn't take much space and is a great way to relax.
In closing, the Majestic is a unique Princess Royal Class ship with a front facing viewing area allowing 180 degree views. This trip, the crew, the officers and the beauty of Alaska made for an amazing trip.
Let's start planning your Alaska Travel Story!
We were on the same journey…interesting to read another couple’s perspective. We very much enjoyed the cruise as well. One thing regarding a “crooner” bar. While not a dedicated “crooner bar”, we spent most evenings in the VIP Casino Bar (opposite the casino as you walk towards the theatre). They had a pianist/singer each night singing the old crooner standards. He was great, and the bartenders there were superb! Just thought I’d add for your readers and future travelers.