There really wasn’t any single reason for staying longer on ships this year. We’ve always said that the beauty of how we’ve been spending our winters is that we’re not locked into anything, and we have certainly enjoyed having that flexibility.
So here we are, cruising for more than 100 days again this year. Moving to the Majestic Princess has really changed up the season for us. We’ve had minimal experience cruising this class of Princess ship until now, and we realize that, if we continue to do extended cruising on Princess (frankly, the only cruise line I can imagine doing it on, because of the laundry situation), ships like this are in our future.
But whether we’ll continue to cruise for extended periods of time each winter... that’s the big question, and one we just can’t answer yet.
Why am I so contemplative today? I think it’s hitting the 100 day mark. Having a sunny sea day. And the fact we were able to claim one of those private cabanas in the Hollywood Conservatory. All day long, we had a private space with a wicker sofa and wicker chair and ottoman and floor to ceiling curved windows with a view of the front and starboard side of the ship...and, on the Majestic Princess, it was free. Yay!
I brought us breakfast from the World Fresh Marketplace, and brought back a big bowl of soup from Chopsticks Noodle Bowl for lunch. Since the Majestic Princess was designed primarily for the Chinese market, it is quite different than the Regal and Royal Princesses in several ways, a big one being the dining options. The burger grill on the Lido Deck is really the lobster grill and dim sum eatery that gets renamed when the ship is in Australia for the summer. There is no pizza bar on the Lido Deck, only Alfredo’s sit down pizzeria on Deck 6 midship. And, in addition to the Crown Grill, the specialty restaurants are Asian inspired Harmony and French Sur la Mer.
Tonight was the Captains Circle party, held in the Vista-less Lounge. As we expected, we are fourth most traveled on this voyage and possibly the next one, too. When the top three most travelled from the Ruby Princess move to the Majestic Princess, already home to “resident guests” the Soos from Seattle who are on for seven months...well, the best we can hope for is to be handing out the wedding programs at the back of the church for a while.
Production show Fiera, another highly anticipated one, was supposed to be performed tonight, but had to be postponed until the evening of Hobart. Instead, a comedy magician performed, and we stayed in the Vista-less Lounge to listen to the pianist from Crooners accompany the Majestic Princess orchestra in the best entertainment anywhere.