Discovery Princess - First Impressions

[Jammu2]

I have submitted my review but I wanted to put some thoughts down for the forum readers before I forget them. When my review publishes I will include a link.

 

This was our first cruise post Covid. Our parents have done 3 since last fall.

 

I dont want to duplicate my review but some of the issues discussed on the forums I did not include in my general review.

 

1. The app. This thing is a monster. You need a later model phone and some savvy to use the app effectively. The parents never figured it out. FIL couldn't even get it installed. But you need it or else you are going to be frustrated. You will get access to making dining reservations after you make final payment. You will want to get your reservations made before everyone else figures it out. Restaurants were booked pretty tight even before we got on the ship.

 

2. The medallion. It's clever. It works to open your doors etc. On the ship it works most of the time. When it goes down the staff is kind of lost. I think it is somewhat disconcerting that Princess knows exactly where you are on the ship at every given moment.

 

3. The ship. I read a review recently that it was like a Marriot. This is unkind. The ship is very nicely done. The artwork is great, the colors are soothing, the quality of the finishes seems better than average. However, the layout is not the best. I found there were few places where you could go to sit and look out a window and read a book, or where 4 people could play a game together. The Salty Dog on 5 became the unofficial game room but the staff kicks you out at 4:30 to set up for dinner.

 

There are cabins on Decks 16 and 17 which limits space for public venues. There is no Explorers Lounge type venue at the top of the ship for people to relax and soak in the views. This space is taken over by more cabins. Also, there are large blocks of space on 5-7 allocated for non-passenger uses. This is the prime public area of the ship. Finally, no Promenade Deck. There is a very thin walkway on each side, with vision obstructed by equipment, but you wouldn't go out there to sit in a lounger after a meal or take a little walk before bed.

 

I think square feet of space per passenger is on the low side. I know ppl are saying it is average, but the way things are laid out, there's not that much room.

 

4. The food. Subjective, I know. But MDR was average at best. The buffet was similar to most mass market buffets. For an above average meal you need to pay the specialty covers. The restaurants were good. If you have some OBC I would recommend using it in the dining establishments.

 

5. Drinks. We dont drink alcohol but we value the drink package if given by the TA or in a package like Princess Plus. But honestly it is totally useless unless you drink alcohol. And, given the cost, a lot of alcohol. A LOT!

 

The only diet drink we could find was diet Coke. No vitamin water, Arizona Tea...really anything. They wont let you have the bottle or can. Really. If you are in a specialty restaurant you can get a bottle of San Pellegrino. But no can of coke. On the floor you can't get a bottle of San Pellegrino, only get a glass of charged water. They charge you $2 extra for a can of coke at a bar. Makes no sense. They say there are milkshakes, smoothies, juices, etc. There are not.

 

The specialty coffee situation was not so great. The International Cafe was okay but nothing to write home about. The staff needs more experience. So next Princess cruise, we will set the value of the drink package at zero and book accordingly.

 

7. Best bed at sea? I don't know about that. It's nice! Pillows are hard.

 

6. Covid protocols. Deck 9 had the isolation ward so there was definitely Covid on the ship but I did not hear people coughing and hacking too much. We wore masks to move about in the main areas but were not totally fanatical about it and we did not get sick. Seemed about 20 - 30% of the passengers were doing the same. The washing stations by the buffet are a nice addition. Few people were using them.

 

I was hoping for this cruise to renew my interest in spending more time on Princess ships. It was just fine and we were happy to be cruising again, but we did not really see where Princess was set apart from other mass market lines. We have two more cruises coming up in 2022 - one on Celebrity and one on Holland - so it will be fun to see how they all compare here in the new post (?) Covid era!

 

AMA!

[Lady Meer]

Thank you for your thoughts. Reviews from other Princess ships have commented on under staffing problems . Did you notice staff shortages on Discovery? 

[dog]

Did your plus/ Drink package include Crew Appreciation/ gratuities & unlimited wifi?

 

Thanks for sharing your impressions.

[Jammu2]

On 5/17/2022 at 12:54 AM, Lady Meer said:

Thank you for your thoughts. Reviews from other Princess ships have commented on under staffing problems . Did you notice staff shortages on Discovery? 

 

Regarding understaffing: I think the Discovery crew was more inexperienced than understaffed. There were drink servers crawling all over Deck 5, for example, but they couldn't seem to return to you with your drink.

 

The Bistro and Crown seemed fully staffed. The MDR seemed to be fully staffed.

[Jammu2]

On 5/17/2022 at 5:38 AM, dog said:

Did your plus/ Drink package include Crew Appreciation/ gratuities & unlimited wifi?

 

Thanks for sharing your impressions.

 

Yes, that was the package. 

 

That said, wifi struggled at times but was much improved from 2019 which was our last Alaska cruise. Still spotty in the fjords but better on the open ocean.

[Jammu2]

On 5/17/2022 at 5:38 AM, dog said:

Did your plus/ Drink package include Crew Appreciation/ gratuities & unlimited wifi?

 

Thanks for sharing your impressions.

 

Yes, that was the package. 

 

That said, wifi struggled at times but was much improved from 2019 which was our last Alaska cruise. Still spotty in the fjords but better on the open ocean.

[Jammu2]

Here's the link to the main review in case anyone is interested.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=686749