Discovery - Glad To Be Off

[julia]

15 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

An added bonus.  The voucher was for $32.  I asked Room Service about the 25% off of bottled wine.  Hmmmm.  $40 - 25% = $32  ?????  Didn't matter to me.  I was expecting to have to pay the difference.  It's been a really long time since I've had a Gewürztraminer.  It was really good.

 

Just to clarify your math (as we just experienced this on Ruby last week)...  yes, with the Plus Package, you do get 25% off bottled wine.  HOWEVER, they charge an 18% gratuity on that bottle.  That did not make me happy.

[cr8tiv1]

35 minutes ago, julia said:

Just to clarify your math (as we just experienced this on Ruby last week)...  yes, with the Plus Package, you do get 25% off bottled wine.  HOWEVER, they charge an 18% gratuity on that bottle.  That did not make me happy.

 

I didn't care one way or the other.  My net charge was zero.  I hadn't considered the gratuity charge.  

 

On the other hand....when I made a purchase from one of the shops, the item was "listed" at $30 with a 40% discount.  Again....($30 x 40% = $12).  $30 - $12 = $18...but it came up $31.50.  Finally sales girl noticed that price in the computer was different.  She tried all kinds of percentages off and finally settled on 45% off.  

 

How difficult can these transactions be?  Warning:  check your folio ALL THE TIME.   Thank a math teacher (me) for learning how to estimate.  

 

[PescadoAmarillo]

39 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I didn't care one way or the other.  My net charge was zero.  I hadn't considered the gratuity charge.  

 

On the other hand....when I made a purchase from one of the shops, the item was "listed" at $30 with a 40% discount.  Again....($30 x 40% = $12).  $30 - $12 = $18...but it came up $31.50.  Finally sales girl noticed that price in the computer was different.  She tried all kinds of percentages off and finally settled on 45% off.  

 

How difficult can these transactions be?  Warning:  check your folio ALL THE TIME.   Thank a math teacher (me) for learning how to estimate.  

 

Oooh, that’s beautiful!  Great purchase. And I do thank my math teachers (in my prayers) nearly every day.  The many Sisters Mary xxxxxxx knew how to drill it in and make it stick. 

[venussuz]

On 4/21/2022 at 1:49 PM, XBGuy said:

 

Would you please share the name of the maker of that "best Gewurstraminer made in California?"

 

I'm always on the lookout for good wine.

 

Gewurztraminer is not particularly popular with Americans.  It seems unusual to see in a venue like Vines which, who's kidding who. does not attract wiine buffs looking for "obscurities."  

That caught my attention too, I found a youtube video so I don't mispronounce it (lol) when I ask for it next month. It sounds lovely from the description on winefolly.

[Dunk]

3 hours ago, mjmalino said:

The only thing that I am going to say is that the once daily cabin servicing is post-covid as they were trying to limit how often the cabin stewards were entering the room. I am hoping that it will go back to twice a day in the near future. That being said, when we were on the Sky over NYE our steward did service the cabin twice a day, which really shocked me.

They still do twice daily servicing. All you have to do is request it in the app, either for a single night or the entire voyage. Or, of course, just ask your steward. 

[XBGuy]

14 minutes ago, venussuz said:

That caught my attention too, I found a youtube video so I don't mispronounce it (lol) when I ask for it next month. It sounds lovely from the description on winefolly.

 

FYI, Gewurztraminer pairs very will with most Asian cuisines.

[Astro Flyer]

8 minutes ago, Dunk said:

They still do twice daily servicing. All you have to do is request it in the app, either for a single night or the entire voyage. Or, of course, just ask your steward. 

Recently on Discovery requested evening service only but the stewards in both cabins we had insisted on servicing our cabins twice…and we’re neat so it wasn’t due to being sloppy. ☺️

[venussuz]

10 minutes ago, XBGuy said:

 

FYI, Gewurztraminer pairs very will with most Asian cuisines.

Good to know as I'm fond of most Asian cuisines. I question the availability of it (Gewurztraminer) in Michigan, (perhaps in Detroit?) but I'll keep an eye out for a bottle. 

[XBGuy]

14 minutes ago, venussuz said:

Good to know as I'm fond of most Asian cuisines. I question the availability of it (Gewurztraminer) in Michigan, (perhaps in Detroit?) but I'll keep an eye out for a bottle. 

 

As much as I am a California wine bigot, I must concede that the best Gewurztraminers come from Europe.  Happily, I would think that in Michigan it might be easier for you to find a Gewurztraminer from Alsace or from Alto Adige than from California.  Good luck.

[FlaMariner]

4 hours ago, mjmalino said:

I am hoping that it will go back to twice a day in the near future.

 

Our room steward on the Sky 3/12 thru 3/28 wanted to clean 2x a day.....We told him once a day but double the towels and bring us a daily program!

 

Great service w/the room steward.....and they were willing to clean 2x a day. 

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

7 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Our room steward on the Sky 3/12 thru 3/28 wanted to clean 2x a day.....We told him once a day but double the towels and bring us a daily program!

 

Great service w/the room steward.....and they were willing to clean 2x a day. 

My current steward on Ruby also insists on twice daily, which is fine by me.  They always do a great job and are very attentive 

[Cruise Raider]

11 minutes ago, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

My current steward on Ruby also insists on twice daily, which is fine by me.  They always do a great job and are very attentive 

 

We told our room steward once a day on the Ruby was just fine with us.  We actually told him that if he got a chance to go out on shore, he could skip our room that day .. he never did.  And then he'd come in every night just to drop off the Patter and pick up the chocolates and other treats we left out for him every day.  

We've had the same steward on the last three sailings on the Ruby and he has been so wonderful.  We are very tidy and don't even mind reusing towels, as we do that at home.  No ... he still found his way to our room twice per day.  

[MsSoCalCruiser]

1 hour ago, Dunk said:

They still do twice daily servicing. All you have to do is request it in the app, either for a single night or the entire voyage. Or, of course, just ask your steward. 

Our cabin was serviced twice daily on the Discovery Princess unless we pushed the do not disturb button.

 

ETA:  You can also push the service wanted button and they will service your cabin.

Edited April 23, 2022 by MsSoCalCruiser

[san diego sue]

1 hour ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

Our cabin was serviced twice daily on the Discovery Princess unless we pushed the do not disturb button.

 

ETA:  You can also push the service wanted button and they will service your cabin.

On the two weeks we were on Discovery our service button never worked properly. Couldn't get it to light up. Room Steward knew we were having a problem. Never got fixed.

[mjmalino]

3 hours ago, Dunk said:

They still do twice daily servicing. All you have to do is request it in the app, either for a single night or the entire voyage. Or, of course, just ask your steward. 

I should have said that our steward did twice a day without being asked.

[1emerald1]

3 hours ago, Dunk said:

They still do twice daily servicing. All you have to do is request it in the app, either for a single night or the entire voyage. Or, of course, just ask your steward. 

My steward flat out refused to service twice a day, on the Discovery.  Where on the app can I find this?  Sorry to be a pest but I've looked everywhere and do not see it.

[rheathslc]

53 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

My steward flat out refused to service twice a day, on the Discovery.  Where on the app can I find this?  Sorry to be a pest but I've looked everywhere and do not see it.

Are you on board right now? It's in the Ocean Now section of the app I think. It's not something you have access to in advance of the cruise.

[1emerald1]

20 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

Are you on board right now? It's in the Ocean Now section of the app I think. It's not something you have access to in advance of the cruise.

Okay, thanks, no, not on board.  I was on the inaugural.  I don't know if it would have done any good as she flatly told me on embarkation day that she would only be servicing my cabin once a day, and would not budge.

[Thrak]

20 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

Okay, thanks, no, not on board.  I was on the inaugural.  I don't know if it would have done any good as she flatly told me on embarkation day that she would only be servicing my cabin once a day, and would not budge.

 

Unacceptable. Please tell me you reported this issue - naming the steward - on the post cruise survey.

[VibeGuy]

Navarro’s gewurz plots sit in a downright chilly damp microclimate of the Anderson Valley AVA, and it was pretty freaky to me the first time I tried it in 1991 or so because I absolutely did not place it as California.  I was 99% sure it was west slope of the Willamette Valley near Nehalem or something because it was *so* low-alcohol and perfectly floral.  
 

I digress.  
 

one of my larger points is that Princess has put a surprising amount of thought into their by-the-glass and cellar programs.  We used to bring a *lot* of wine onboard ca 2000ish because every white was a buttery chard and every red could have been used to make a pretty tasty spread for a PB&J.  100% of the glass pours in the MDR came from a box, and I don’t mean a *good* box.  
 

One of the usual suspects in our haul was Conundrum - it’s affordable, it goes with a lot of food, it isn’t harmed by a night of storage if you don’t finish the bottle.  We would usually bring a couple of bottles a week as a result.   The first time we brought it on either Island or Coral, I dropped off the bottle at lunchtime with our table number so that it would be dead-cold at service. 
 

Flash forward.  I *distinctly* recall it was Italian Night as I was having the Sugo de Lepre as my pasta course.  The wine waiter (they had them back then) comes around with the bottle.   I glance at the label and nod to open it. 
 

Blade of the wine key is placed next to the capsule. Bottle is rotated.   And rotated.  And rotated.  I look at my husband.  He looks at me.  I am trying to have a Marital Conversation here without actually using words or laughing out loud.  Waiter keeps turning. 
 

I let him go about ten turns when I say “It’s a Stelvin closure”.   <blank look>. “It’s a screw cap.”  <blank look->.  *pantomimes grasping the capsule between the fingers and thumb and rotating the bottle* 

<HORRIFIED LOOK>
 

You would have thought I brought Ripple, Thunderbird or Boone’s Farm.  It took a solid 15 minutes to explain that the entire vineyard had switched (even for their cult cab).  He was eventually calm enough to have a glass with us where he was impressed by the “very aromatic white in the cheap bottle”. 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

3 hours ago, san diego sue said:

On the two weeks we were on Discovery our service button never worked properly. Couldn't get it to light up. Room Steward knew we were having a problem. Never got fixed.

I had a really hard time getting hours to work. I had to keep thumping on it repeatedly until it lit up.

[Cruise Raider]

10 hours ago, 1emerald1 said:

Okay, thanks, no, not on board.  I was on the inaugural.  I don't know if it would have done any good as she flatly told me on embarkation day that she would only be servicing my cabin once a day, and would not budge.

We haven’t cruised on a ship with full capacity yet but have cruised quite a few times since the restart.  We’ve always been told the service is once a day unless we requested evening turn down, as well.  I wonder if they are trying to make it a strict reduction with no choice for twice a day, even upon request.  I know my friend always asked for extra towels and she didn’t need the service twice per day then.  

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 4/23/2022 at 7:11 AM, Cruise Raider said:

We haven’t cruised on a ship with full capacity yet but have cruised quite a few times since the restart.  We’ve always been told the service is once a day unless we requested evening turn down, as well.  I wonder if they are trying to make it a strict reduction with no choice for twice a day, even upon request.  I know my friend always asked for extra towels and she didn’t need the service twice per day then.  

We were on the inaugural & the second cruise and we had a choice.  We received evening turned down whenever we wanted it for the entire 14 days.  Excellent service.

[Nebr.cruiser]

5 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

We were on the inaugural & the second cruise and we had a choice.  We received evening turned down whenever we wanted it for the entire 14 days.  Excellent service.

We were on the inaugural too and our Steward gave us a choice.  We actually prefer once a day, but we did ask for the daily newsletter each night and once or twice new towels.  (He gave us new towels every morning anyway).

[cruzin4us]

On 4/20/2022 at 11:27 AM, atexsix said:

Anything is an improvement over the Holland America piped in music, eclectic would be an understatement, songs would go from bluegrass to soft rock to dentist office in a matter of minutes. 

I agree and if I never hear John Denver's song "Country Roads" I'll be ok.    I swear I heard that song every day 5x a day......at least.   LOL