travelin.sisters

yes, he should get the mini bar setup

3 minutes ago, cheetosrevil said:

FWIW I've boarded and exited the Discovery from both terminals.

me too! I find POLA easy for embarkation/disembarkation unless there is a delay...we have experienced unannounced Coast Guard inspection, ship delay because it was stuck in Ensenada harbor by a storm, INS arresting someone so everyone else had to wait until they were removed.

5 minutes ago, Waynetor said:

The are harmless fun but I'm sure they are a mystery to many that find them.  I wonder if anyone has ever turned them in as lost and found. 

they usually have tags on them explaining that you can keep or rehide them with a caution not to put them in certain places like stores, pools or hot tubs. 

having cruised to Hawai'i several times, this is my recommendation (no actual must dos as a bunch of great ideas & options have been shared)...know that you will only get a taste of the islands (both literally & figuratively...pick the things that are most important/enjoyable to you (for me they are history/culture & nature but for others they will be beaches, adventure, food)...do not focus on what you can't fit into your trip & don't pack your schedule that you can't enjoy the actual best part of a Hawai'ian visit, the people....breathe the island breezes, enjoy the sunshine or the liquid sunshine, be amazed by the flowers, experience Aloha & you will leave Hawai'i wondering when you can return

6 minutes ago, wv4891 said:

Hi, quick question for you.  Did you drop off your bags before you parked?  We are boarding next Saturday, do have a great cruise.

 

loop through, drop off luggage & anyone who doesn't want to walk from the parking lot & go find a spot in the lot

57 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

That’s five princesses ready to sail. #princessforaweek

 

Weather in LA is great. Overcast but no rain. 60. Shorts and shirt weather. 

I was going to apologize for not having better weather for you...but at least it's dry today.

welcome to POLA, have a great cruise!

6 hours ago, Cat2265 said:

@travelin.sisters thank you for one of the finest reviews of a ship I have ever seen. Such a comprehensive review and a wide variety of areas covered.  I think you did a better job showcasing the Discovery than Princess has!😉. We look forward to the March  Hawaiicruise and catching up with you at the meet and greet! 😎 Cathy & Robert 

wow! how kind...so much looking forward to March!

oops! I have been focusing on other things & thinking about our upcoming Hawai'i cruise & didn't get back to finish this so here's one last wrap-up post & videos of dolphins

Post 18: Cruise Thoughts

I think that’s it for the info about the Discovery Princess, time for some random thoughts & musings. We really did enjoy the ship. There are a few things I would change if I were planning my ideal ship, but all in all it was delightful.

Except for one waiter & restaurant manager the first night (& I am willing to put that down to being totally overwhelmed), the crew was fantastic. From Melissa who helped us at guest services shortly after our arrival, to Munchies who greeted me with a high-five the first & every time I stopped by the International Café, Yvonne who would stop her polishing of the brass around the public areas to chat, Gladys our patient stateroom steward (teens are messy!), Gloria at OceanFront, Rosemary in the spa, Lydia with the Future Cruise department, & so many people whose names I never knew the crew was so friendly & hard working. I say that one of the big reasons we cruise Princess is because the crews are so wonderful & the crew of the Discovery were one of the best.

Although it was a short cruise, I was impressed by the way Captain Genzo kept us informed of what was happening. I didn’t participate in any of the activities, but there were plenty to join in on. All I really know about the CD Cole, was from watching the Wake Show & I wasn’t terribly impressed & found his humor a little “adult” for a cruise with so many kids onboard. Many people really seem to like him though & he was very personable the one time I met him. I wasn’t able to find the enrichment activities on the stateroom TV but am hoping that on a longer cruise they will be available. I am looking forward to meeting the officers on our March cruise although there will be a new captain & CD.

Even though the ship was very full I rarely felt like it was terribly crowded. There are a lot of places to find to hang out on the ship. I realize I didn’t replace the x’s I put for the numbers in my earlier post with the actual passenger numbers. I don’t know what I did with the paper I wrote the number of passengers on but there were somewhere around 4000 people up from nearer 3600 on the Hawai’I curies just before. There were quite a few rooms with 3 & even 4 people in them & around 600 kids.

The rooms were pretty typical of Princess cabins. The layout feels a little more open than the older ships but the balconies are narrow. I know people have complained about the beds, but we slept really well in them & found them comfortable.

This was our first cruise hiding ducks which was fun on a cruise with a lot of small children. I really prefer at least a 7-day cruise a 3-4 day one doesn’t feel long enough to relax well, but we did enjoy ourselves & the Christmas décor was fun.

The most exciting part of the cruise was seeing hundreds of small leaping dolphins the first evening out of San Pedro! For almost 10 minutes they followed the ship leaping alongside. My videos aren’t great but you can definitely see them leaping.

Thanks for joining me & I'll probably be back mid-March with a live of our Hawai'i cruise...

14 hours ago, MTAK said:

I am on Discovery right now an have not been able to find the water bottle fill station, maybe it was removed?

I looked for it in Dec & couldn't find it either, I was pretty excited when I heard they had one but think it has been removed.

5 hours ago, goingsailing said:

Specifically the Emerald Princess minisuite's walls?  I would like to bring magnetic hooks to put stuff up and out of the way.  We will have 2 kids in this cabin with us, and will probably need the storage area. 

so to actually try to answer your question, I haven't sailed on the Emerald but have on other ships in that class...the walls between your room & the next should hold magnets well (sometimes the ones between the closet & the room don't so well)...you will want strong magnets to hold things like clothes or bags (I like at least 80# ones as that is what they will hold if hanging from a ceiling straight down, form a wall it is less)...I love having magnets both for decorating & for storing stuff.

7 hours ago, CruiseMob said:

I kept thinking I wish they had the pics on the menus. It would make selection easier. 😁

I was actually surprised by the laminated photos, as the dishes look different from ship to ship & our last cruise there were dishes that came out differently from day to day...I had whole sets of photos of dishes looking totally different from day to day in my last life...it was a little bizarre how inconsistant things were on that ship

13 hours ago, cheezenip said:

Do you recall the table number you were at in Juneau? I might go ahead and request Haro for the entire cruise.

it looks like 164 in the video of the baked Alaska parade

6 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

Thank you again! Such a thorough and refreshingly positive review. 
 

The MDR meal guide pictures are so interesting. I just want to study them and figure out what I want to eat and try asking for it even if it isn’t on the printed menu. 

maybe print the photo & show them saying I want this please 🤣

Post 17f: Papers & Such—Signs

Last, some random information from signs around the ship:

Post 17e: Papers & Such—Disembarkation

Disembarkation in San Pedro was very easy & smooth, just a little slowdown because our teens did not have passports so they had to go with their birth certificates to see an agent, while the rest of us breezed through the facial recognition system.

Post 17d: Papers & Such—Flyers

Here are various flyers we received.

I filled this out with both great things & our dining issues, but got no response.

Post 17c: Papers & Such—Teen Program/Beach House

Post 17b: Papers & Such—Captain Circle

Here are the Captain Circle letters, Platinum & Elite:

Post 17a: Papers & Such—Event Listings

I was sad to see on this cruise that they have returned to putting ads & spa flyers in the rooms at night. I had hoped that those were gone forever. Here are the event listings (I still think of them as patters), elite & platinum notices, teen info, disembarkation instructions & other stuff for anyone who is interested.

First the event listings, formerly known as patters:

Day 1: embarkation

Day 2: San Diego

Day 3: at sea

Day 4: Ensenada

Post 16b: Shows–Culinary Demonstration & Galley Tour

I do always enjoy the culinary demonstration & the Director of Resturant Operations & Executive Chef did a nice job on this one. It had humor but was not as silly as it sometimes is. I was also the changed the push for all 10s on the reviews to admitting that it wasn't always perfect & accepting 9s at least.

The galley tour is always interesting & I liked seeing the photos of all the menu items.

Post 16a: Shows–Illusionist, Rock Opera & Farewell Variety Show

I do really like the theater on the Discovery it feels less tightly packed than some. 

The Illusionist was Elliott Hunter & he was not my favorite magician I have seen on Princess. He was fin but I didn't think worth going back to see another show with him. His up close card tricks were better than the production type ones. I found the smoke & lighting made it hard to see the show. We went to the late show & it was easy to get seats.

I had heard so much about the Rock Opera but found it disappointing. I really miss the days when the production shows had an actual story rather than just songs/dance numbers around a theme. The cast of singers & dancers are excellent & the shows are well rehearsed, it is nothing against them I just don't find the shows themselves engaging. We went to the early show & again were easily able to get seats.

The last night was the Farewell Variety Show. This was only offered one time & by the time I arrived there was only seating in the front side. I had to leave early in the show because the smoke was causing problems with my allergies. I then went to Princess Live & watched the simultaneous broadcast. 

Post 15d: Dining–Night 4 Juneau MDR 

Best of all Ricky was able to change our reservations so that we had the same table for the next night as well. Haro remembered us, our names & our preferences (even BIL's beverage order). I have already changed our dinner reservations for our next cruise to Juneau & plan to ask for the same team next cruise. Sorry didn't do so well with food photos for this dinner.

the dream team

a "glass" of milk

salmon cake without the poached egg

fettuccini alfredo again

watermelon with feta cheese

seafood medley

pan roasted chicken breast

baked Alaska parade

Post 15c: Dining–Night 3 Juneau MDR 

At lunch on the third day, someone was wandering through the WFM inviting people to the culinary show on the next day & asking about our dining experiences. I mentioned our issues & allergy concerns from the first night (which I had also reported in the first day survey with no response) & we were surprised shortly thereafter by Ricky, one of the head waiters from the Juneau dining room. He talked to my sister about her allergies & helped her pick out safe dishes for that night & suggested we try his dining room.

That night we went to Juneau when it opened & they were able, after a short wait to get us a table for 5. The difference from the first night dining experience was remarkable. We went from our worst ever Princess dining experience to our best. Haro, our waiter, asked & remembered our names. helped with allergies & was able to adjust menu items for the girls. We enjoyed our gala dinner.

they grabbed the rolls before I could get a photo! Princess breads are the best.

our 15-year-old liked the escargot

fettuccini alfredo (better on this cruise than some recent ones) & notice plenty of water!

the french onion soup was delicious & suitably topped with bread & chesse

BIL always asks for anchovies on his Caesar salad & he got timely beverage service

shrimp cocktail

surf & turf without the turf (allergies)...another strange Princess potato creation but it was all delicious

duck & her sister's lobster

the lobsters from those who didn't want them (this was the first time we've sailed where they charge for extra lobsters, but we could share for free)

dessert, of course

chocolate pistachio dome

crepes suzette

creme brulee

cheesecake again

& an icecream sundae

Post 15b: Dining–Night 2 Sabatini's

The next night we ate at Sabatini’s. One of the grands really wanted calamari & I think that is the only place on the ship to get it, so since we had a lot of OBC we decided to take them there. I stopped by during suite breakfast & Robert was able to fit us in for dinner at 5 that evening. I have had mixed experiences at the different Sabatini’s on various ships, but this was superb, both the meal & the service! Nestor our waiter was wonderful & so patient with our teens.

I actually like the causal look of the Sabatini's Trattoria better than the white tablecloth version, but that's all personal choice.

I found the knives on the Discovery very interesting...

So many great choices, the new menu is growing on me.

first come the breads with olive oil & balsamic vinegar:

next the stuzzichino della casa, the arancini al tartufo (ok, but not my favorite...I'll have an extra bread instead please)

now to the choices...zuppe e insalata (both are delicious)

ribollita

insalata mista

antipasti
piadina italiana di verdure

fritto misto Veneziana

buratta caprese

still more food to come

primi piatti

lobster tortelloni

spaghetti polpette

papardelli alla bolognesse

secondi piatti

ossobuco milanese

filetto di branzino alle erbe mediterrane

& if you have room...dolci (dessert)

I think the specialita dello chef ( a little one of each dessert) is so cute

but really only like the rocher (chocolate, of course)

vanilla panna cotta

next stop food coma...