LIVE from Discovery Princess - March 27th, 2022 - 7 Day Mexican Riviera Inaugural Sailing

[dskenn]

10 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

After upstairs check in & through security  to the right & then to the elite/suite & platinum lounges and the general boarding seating area. Previously went to left to ship & this time went right to buses on the upper level not used since 9-11 as I recall.

Thank you!  That is exactly what I pictured.  Other than the boarding of busses.  I don't ever think I saw that on the upper lever.  

[startedwithamouse]

7 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.  

Our family was to go ashore after the ticketed tenders were complete. After almost 2 hours we thought forget it and went to the pool instead.  If all of the guests were getting off the ship, didn't want to be stuck in a long line to get back on.  And they are not colored tickets or numbered groups. They are port cities...

[startedwithamouse]

Oh foghorn it's too early for you....yawn!  Panorama is behind us.  

 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

1 minute ago, startedwithamouse said:

Oh foghorn it's too early for you....yawn!  Panorama is behind us.  

 

Is it foggy?  We have an inside. I can’t find where it tells itinerary and weather on the tv.  

[PharmDisney]

I apologize if I missed it in the thread, but can anyone tell me if Churchill's is open for cigar smoking? Thanks!

[startedwithamouse]

12 hours ago, dskenn said:

I am trying to picture where people had to sit and wait for their turn to board the bus.  We it upstairs to the right of check in?

Same place where drop-off happened years ago. On The Love Boat, this upper level is shown on the exterior shots with cars dropping off passengers.  We remember back in the 80s taking the Azure Seas where anyone could come aboard prior to sailing, with permission, as long as you left before setting sail. What a party boat that was!

[startedwithamouse]

2 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

Is it foggy?  We have an inside. I can’t find where it tells itinerary and weather on the tv.  

It's sunny and foggy at the same time.  Very steamy and soupy. 

[startedwithamouse]

Just now, startedwithamouse said:

It's sunny and foggy at the same time.  Very steamy and soupy. 

Oh wait...sun is completely gone now.

[macusr]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

So what time did the excursion really end?

3:45pm

[Sea Hag]

14 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

...sit until your group is called.

Or, as in the case of my DH, pace restlessly around like a caged puma.

[dides]

On 3/29/2022 at 2:06 PM, 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.

 

I'm sad if this means they haven't got the wonderful Princess Luxury beds in place. We loved almost floating on those on Sky and Regal last summer. 

 

Do you think it's a supply chain issue which meant they couldn't get them over to Italy?  Maybe someone could ask the Hotel General Manager if this will be addressed ...perhaps if there is a CC gathering in the future.

 

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by dides

[macusr]

17 minutes ago, dides said:

 

I'm sad if this means they haven't got the wonderful Princess Luxury beds in place. We loved almost floating on those on Sky and Regal last summer. 

 

Do you think it's a supply chain issue which meant they couldn't get them over to Italy?  Maybe someone could ask the Hotel General Manager if this will be addressed ...perhaps if there is a CC gathering in the future.

 

 

We thought the beds felt just like the other Princess luxury beds.  I was definitely sensitive to the old rock hard beds of Princess yore, and this bed certainly didn’t feel like that to me.  

[startedwithamouse]

26 minutes ago, dides said:

 

I'm sad if this means they haven't got the wonderful Princess Luxury beds in place. We loved almost floating on those on Sky and Regal last summer. 

 

Do you think it's a supply chain issue which meant they couldn't get them over to Italy?  Maybe someone could ask the Hotel General Manager if this will be addressed ...perhaps if there is a CC gathering in the future.

 

 

Everything is new and not broken in yet. Towels are robes and carpet all softest they will ever be!  Same with beds. 

[dides]

17 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Everything is new and not broken in yet. Towels are robes and carpet all softest they will ever be!  Same with beds. 

 

Hmmm,  we were on the first Majestic Princess preview cruise right out of the shipyard and the inaugural Sky Princess cruise from Athens. In both cases, the beds were as soft as a marshmallow - no breaking in needed there! 

 

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by dides

[bonsai3s]

Excited about this new ship.  We've been cruising with RCCL but love Princess as well.

It has been a few years since our last Princess cruise...so, some random questions,

 

* What is the current passenger capacity?

* How's the pizza at Alfredo's?

* I did a lengthy Princess "coffee review" a long time ago...how's the free coffee now? or will I need to get it from the International Cafe? (yup, we still have those old coffee cards.)

* Is the buffet self-serve or are crew serving at each station?

* What's the cost now for the specialty restaurants?

* If I remember correctly, for Elite, we loved the bar set-up, free laundry, and wine tasting...are any new perks for Elites?

* Lastly, does Princess still give OBC for veterans? I previously submitted my DD214.  Thank you.

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

Is it foggy?  We have an inside. I can’t find where it tells itinerary and weather on the tv.  

Just docked at 0940 instead of the scheduled 0800 & departing an hour later at 1900.
 

Bridge cam (Movies & TV; Live TV; Bridge Cam). 

 

Princess Patter; Weather or Location (shows itinerary) but no list of events.

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Astro Flyer

[Astro Flyer]

4 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

Excited about this new ship.  We've been cruising with RCCL but love Princess as well.

It has been a few years since our last Princess cruise...so, some random questions,

 

* What is the current passenger capacity? 

* How's the pizza at Alfredo's?

* I did a lengthy Princess "coffee review" a long time ago...how's the free coffee now? or will I need to get it from the International Cafe? (yup, we still have those old coffee cards.)

* Is the buffet self-serve or are crew serving at each station?

* What's the cost now for the specialty restaurants?

* If I remember correctly, for Elite, we loved the bar set-up, free laundry, and wine tasting...are any new perks for Elites?

* Lastly, does Princess still give OBC for veterans? I previously submitted my DD214.  Thank you.

 

• Current cruise at 2303 passengers; capacity 3600+
• Enjoyed lunch at Gigi’s (new name for Alfredo’s with same menu)
• On all Royal-class ships the free coffee in buffet is made in filtered coffee machines that use ground coffee & not made from concentrate…my tastebuds like it.
• Crew serving in buffet with some grab & go items.
• Crown Grill & La Mer: $29; Sabatini’s: $25
• Lost the loyalty credit & free internet minutes & now 50% off unlimited Wi-Fi plans ($5/day for length of cruise); the other things you mentioned still exist & elites get a 10% discount on tours.
• Yes, Princess still gives us the military credit & if previously applied it should be automatically added to your bookings.

[bonsai3s]

19 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

• Current cruise at 2303 passengers; capacity 3600+
• Enjoyed lunch at Gigi’s (new name for Alfredo’s with same menu)
• On all Royal-class ships the free coffee in buffet is made in filtered coffee machines that use ground coffee & not made from concentrate…my tastebuds like it.
• Crew serving in buffet with some grab & go items.
• Crown Grill & La Mer: $29; Sabatini’s: $25
• Lost the loyalty credit & free internet minutes & now 50% off unlimited Wi-Fi plans ($5/day for length of cruise); the other things you mentioned still exist & elites get a 10% discount on tours.
• Yes, Princess still gives us the military credit & if previously applied it should be automatically added to your bookings.

Astro Flyer....thank you so much..."Mahalo".

You are the best...keep on posting...have fun, stay safe, and happy sailing!

[SNJCruisers]

12 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

NCL Bliss is at B92.

OK....the Discovery will be taking over where the Bliss is now so only the first four sailings will have to go through this convoluted process.

[wallyj]

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.

[latserrof]

I'm elite, sailing solo. Can I exchange my mini-bar for one coffee card or two?

[wallyj]

9 minutes ago, latserrof said:

I'm elite, sailing solo. Can I exchange my mini-bar for one coffee card or two?

Yes, you can swap out your entire elite minibar for 2 coffee packages to be loaded into your Medallion. As you are traveling solo, if you are traveling with someone else in another cabin, you can have one of the 2 packages loaded onto that persons Medallion, if you do not think you will use 30 (15 x 2) specialty coffees.

[latserrof]

Woo Hoo!  Thanks!

[SNJCruisers]

17 hours ago, RSS from SF said:

---

If any of you onboard could upload some or all of the Princess Patters from this cruise, that would be wonderful.  Thanks much if you are able to!

---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiaO4NzWF3g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvXnGxyM4mY

 

Above are YouTube links to day one and day two.  Do a search later today and hopefully day 3 will be there and subsequently during the rest of the week

[Astro Flyer]

3 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Astro Flyer....thank you so much..."Mahalo".

You are the best...keep on posting...have fun, stay safe, and happy sailing!

You’re welcome…Shaka! 🤙