Tuesday – October 23, 2018
Our South Pacific Adventure continues today when we board the Majestic Princess cruise ship to travel down the eastern coast of New Zealand. The ship came right upto the dock next to our hotel early this morning. We went out to take a few photos:
The Majestic Princess was built in 2017 and is the newest ship in the Princess fleet. It’s the biggest ship we’ve ever sailed on: 1,083 feet long; 126 ft wide; draws 28 ft of water. There are 3,560 passengers housed in 1,780 cabins on 19 decks with a crew of 1,346. It’s humungous!!
We checked out of the Hilton Hotel and walked around to the boarding area. We followed the lines to check luggage, pass through security and immigration, and register. Within 25 minutes we had our boarding cards and we stepped aboard the floating behemoth.
We found our cabin and set out to explore the ship. It had some similarities to the Golden Princess but on a grander scale. Everything seemed to be bigger.
The ship was built for the Asian market and its Chinese name is: “Grand Spirit.” All signs are in English and Chinese. There’s a “Noodle Bar” and a Chinese Restaurant on board. There are Mah Jong tables and Karaoke rooms. Best of all, there’s a “Gong Cha” or “Bubble Tea” bar on Deck 7. :-)
The Princess Theater:
Indoor Pool:
Another Outdoor Pool and Dance Floor:
The Central 3-floor Piazza:
We bid our fond farewells to Auckland during the Sail-Away Party. We watched as the Majestic pulled away from the dock and cruised out of the harbor into the great Pacific Ocean.
