Fletch1

9 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

I've found that Princess has the most comfortable mattresses and pillows of any cruise line.  

I agree. We have cruised on 10 different Princess ships, with the most recent being the Majestic and Regal Princesses, and have not had any issues sleeping on a Princess bed. 

12 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Unfortunately that smell of garlic while preparing Penne Arrabbiata in the dining room is gone. 😢

 

On Sky pre-pause it was prepared in the galley & on Majestic after the pause the longtime Sicilian restaurant manager said it was completely gone…none last night for Italian night. 😟

Bummer! I would start salivating as I walked past it bubbling away when going through the dining room.  Was it even on the menu last night? 

11 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Tonight is Italian Night but either the ship, CC or both won’t allow me to post screen shots. 🥴

 

 

Love Italian night.....my favourite night of all. That special garlic/chili pasta dish cooked in the dining room is just yum! Do they still do that? 

15 hours ago, wallyj said:

Hi @bonsai3s, Princess discontinued the coffee ‘cards’ around the end of summer 2019 saying all coffee cards would ‘expire’ . It has been reported some ships ‘might’ still honor left over punches, but Princess did announce this change with many months notice.

 

Princess does not issue physical ‘cards’ anymore. The new Coffee Package is now loaded onto your Medallion, thus if you do not use all 15 punches during your sailing, they are forfeited, as there is no rollover as in the past. It has also been reported if you are on a B2B on the same ship, the coffee package will rollover to the next sailing if you have not used all 15.

Personally, I prefer the old coffee card system. 

2 hours ago, macusr said:

Appears no one else has commented on today's logistics meltdown for excursions and tendering.  We had booked the whale watching excursion 12:30-2:30.  First indication of concern was our tour tickets said to meet in the Princess theater at 12:45.  Ok well fine.  Our excursion was assigned Yellow 8.  We waited and waited and finally at 1:15 they had Yellow 8 go down to Deck 4 and we boarded our tender (one of Discovery’s lifeboats).  But then we sat while they then decided to fill up the tender with non-excursion people.  Sorry but those of us who paid for an excursion should have priority over people without paid excursions for getting on tenders.  We didn’t get on shore until 1:50.  Then we had to queue to fill out the tour operator’s waiver form and be escorted down to where the catamaran boarded.  We finally got underway on our excursion at 2pm.  The excursion itself was good - we got to see 2 adults and 1 calf with spouting, splashing, and the calf frequently breaching.  But the logistics surrounding the excursion were definitely a cluster.  

I agree....paid up excursion participants should get priority. 

19 hours ago, CruisingJs said:

I also found the bed to be very hard.  My room steward was nice enough to put a mattress topper on it for me yesterday like we used to get before they changed to the new mattresses.

That's fortunate. 

3 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

EDIT: It only took me 4 times to get my reply posted…I’ve learned to copy before posting with so many missing posts while at sea.

 

That is disappointing.....sounds like the internet/wifi on board is still as slow and unreliable as ever!

3 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Yes Carolyn we are enjoying ourselves & had a great filet mignon dinner in Crown Grill with fine service on the first night. It was included with our promotional booking & using our Cruise Night coupon for a free bottle of wine ($40) with a specialty dinner on the first night of the cruise it was even better. Disappointed that they don’t plan to have a Winemakers Dinner (no CT either) which we wanted for a milestone anniversary…hopefully on the 2nd cruise. 🤞😊 We had great service from Luci at Guest Services with a couple of issues & she even sent my wife a bouquet of red roses 🌹…very thoughtful of her. 😃

 

EDIT: It only took me 4 times to get my reply posted…I’ve learned to copy before posting with so many missing posts while at sea.

 

very nice thought......Pity you couldn't have got to the roses first and put your name on the card instead of Luci's. Bonus points missed there Frank! 

4 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Super easy. Here around 1035, onboard by 1115.

 

That's impressive!

13 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Here are some thoughts after day 1 on the beautiful Discovery Princess & it’s wonderful crew. These are merely based on my limited experiences in as objective manner as possible. I am not the Author of this thread but here are my experiences. I’ve attempted to post about some of the commonly asked questions.

 

• QR Codes: For anyone not using mobile devices with a QR app there are no paper menus at places around the ship. At Good Spirits a QR app was required to view drink menu and at Sabatini’s, Salty Dog Gastropub & Crown Grill there is only a QR code at entrances. 
• Crown Grill: When seated they had paper menus & great service with a perfectly cooked tender & tasty filet mignon. Used Cruise Night coupon for a free bottle of wine (first night only) but was charged $46.02 so need to get it reversed after GSD lines get shorter…no reply on Crew Chat.
• Breakfast buffet: Very limited options and no type of potatoes but lots of trays of sticky white rice and pork & beans.
• DMW: Does not work on app & our Skagway (6-midship) nightly 1800 reservations we had when boarding were changed to Ketchikan (6-aft) but not going to attempt to change it & to risk losing our 1800 reservations.
• Specialty restaurant reservation: We decided to pre-book the CG despite it not accepting our booking included dinner. We paid by c/c in advance to ensure we got a first night reservation. GSD said that within 2 weeks my c/c would have a credit & will check before disembarkation on 4/10. 

Good thoughts! Thanks for posting. I like the paper menus at bars, etc, as I don't usually carry my phone with me whilst on board. Once we ever get back to cruising down here, I may have to change my old habits! 

18 hours ago, san diego sue said:

Having trouble posting.

Ship is beautiful. We arrived at the pier 93 terminal and it was pretty full at 10:15am. Shortly after boarding of buses began. Good we were Elite because we started boarding first. We were probably the third bus. We are on Starboard side of ship. Nice view of the boat Marina. Sailaway was gorgeous with warm weather.

My back was killing me all night on these new beds. I am going to pull the sheet and check what I am sleeping on. Feels like a pad under the sheet.Bed is hard. We have been on the Grand and Majestic recently and I slept like a baby. My Medallion is not working well on the ship. Only some functions work and some have the white screen. Worked better at home. Room Stewardess said there are issues. Internet is fine however but I had problem with Cruise Critic itself not showing I was logged in when I am. Hope this posts . I lost my previous post.

Sorry to hear that. I can't sleep on a hard bed either.....I need a little bit of softness.

17 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Received it over an hour after sailaway while getting ready for 1830 dinner at Crown Grill.

That's good news. How was the Crown Grill? 

Bon Voyage everyone and have a great cruise.

4 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Fastest Internet at sea?

 

 

Mmmmmmmmmmm

11 hours ago, andydunn said:

Yeah, we were told no chef's table or winemakers dinner too. Though given no reason. Sad face....

 

Still we have the giant balcony M107 so life could be worse 

Niiiiice!

11 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Missing a bag and room at 78° & climbing even with room darkening shades closed. 😮‍💨

Maybe your bag went to the "Naughty Room"???.....what have you tried to smuggle on? 

12 hours ago, suekel said:

How can they have low inventory of wine?  they're in California!

 

Very good question!

12 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

MedallionNet lost my first post so trying using T-Mobile.

 

It took us about 80 minutes from B93 arrival to the ship. I didn’t see many buses & that slowed down our experience. A couple who just boarded

said it took them 2.5 hours from arriving later at B93.

 

I would recommend arriving before 1000 to have a faster boarding process. Based on our experiences they need more buses & to give group cards for each Captain’s Circle level. Leaving the elite area it was backed up with 15 minute waits to walk to the buses. No luggage 4.5 hours after dropping off at B93 & see few bags in the hallways.

 

Hopefully each subsequent boarding will go smoother. 🤞

 

Great crew & beautiful ship & ate lunch in MDR. Requested Winemakers Dinner but it’s unlikely to be on this cruise due to low inventory of wine.

That's a bummer.....low inventory of wine! WTH?????

16 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

We arrived at B93 at 0950; dropped off luggage with porters; inside showed vax & test & got wristband; upstairs to check-in (Medallion & passports); in Elite lounge (bottled water) at 1005. Smooth process & waiting for shuttles to begin.

 

Glad to hear that!

On 3/27/2022 at 5:11 PM, scottsdalelove said:

 

IMG_1230.MOV 128.99 MB · 76 downloads  

 

So we promised in the Discovery Princess Roll Call that Christy and I would be posting live updates daily on the cruise, reviews, photos, and videos…so here it is!!

 

It is 9pm, the Saturday Night before the cruise, and I am writing this from our Balcony at the Double Tree San Pedro while enjoying the view of Discovery Princess. Discovery Princess (DP) is berthed at the seldom used Berth 50 which is across the marina from the Doubletree. If you don’t know where Berth 50 is (almost no one did) search for the “SS Lane Victory” and you will find it. Lane Victory is a WW II era cargo vessel at the end of Miner street in San Pedro. It was moved a couple hundred feet down the way to give a place for DP to be berthed for all of her spring 2022 voyages (until she repositions for Alaska this summer). There wasn’t room for DP at the traditional cruise terminal due to her length and also due to the fact that too many cruise ships are berthed in LA compared to previous seasons. 

 

The port has released plans about possible expansion to add more capacity for more cruise ships in the area where DP currently is but that is a long way out. Until then, Princess has sent messages to us all directing us to park or get dropped off at the old berth 93 (the terminal featured in the Love Boat TV show) with your luggage. There you will check in and luggage will be drop off and then shuttles will take everyone down to Berth 50 for boarding. There will be special arrangements for anyone with mobility issues per the statement they sent us all. They say do NOT go directly to the ship yourself as there are no facilities to house you or check you in. Just a security tent to scan carry on bags as you get off the bus and then you walk up a ramp onto the boat similar to when you are in port on a pier.

 

The Double Tree San Pedro is a little older but it is nice hotel in an otherwise residential area with little to do for out of town visitors in the immediate area. When you book on the hotel website you can choose a rate with a park and shuttle option available so you can leave your car here for the week while on the cruise and be shuttled to the pier and back. I’ve been told there are limited “spaces” each week for this and I’m not sure if you can get it ala cart if you book without so call the hotel to see if you are interested. 

 

There is also a restaurant in the lobby with interior and exterior dining. They are open for breakfast lunch and dinner and have a bar. Hours were 6am-10pm in the restaurant for breakfast lunch and dinner with views of the marina (and DP!!). Breakfast and dinner entrees are around $20 each +/- and the service was good enough. 

 

After dinner we took a ride down to Miner St and took the video below of the ship. Beautiful ship!!! We will try to post everything timely as I know people are curious/interested! Bon Voyage to my fellow passengers!!! See you all aboard in 12 hours!!!! 

 

 

Joseph and Christy

Scottsdale, AZ

Hello from the Land of Oz!

Thanks for posting. Will be following intently. We have some close cruise pals doing this cruise as well, so very interested in your live feed.

On 12/9/2021 at 7:06 AM, lyndarra said:

I saw recently that Captain Cook Cruises has attractive offerings for cruising Fiji next year. Very tempting.

Ditto.....on my bucket list. We have been to Fiji a couple of times, but never done a local cruise. A "snorkel safari". 

Personally, I think the costs of the Princess 2024 world cruise are the most expensive I have seen for this cruise. It was only a couple of years ago one could get an inside cabin for under $20K.......now, nowhere near it!

On 11/28/2021 at 1:08 AM, ontheweb said:

I was surprised it was in my mailbox as I had thought it was now only virtual online.

 

I was not at all surprised that the article about the Medallion made it out to be perfect, no mention of any problems.

Not for me here in Oz....nothing in my mail box. 

I think it will only effect you if there are confirmed cases there...which I don't think is the case at this stage. 

Here in Australia, we have 5 confirmed cases in the past 24 hours or so. It is a case of "wait and see" here as to how bad it is and going to be. Reports coming out of South Africa tonight say it is far more contagious than the Delta variant, but the effects generally are only mild.......as I said......"wait and see"!!!

15 hours ago, coo359a2 said:

IMO, This is your best ever answer of your almost 50k posts

I would agree with this! At least it would start people talking!