Discovery Princess – Alaska May 22 Occasionally Live From

[Sunshinesoul]

Hello, does anyone know if the Lotus Spa Thermal Suite access complimentary for Suite passengers on Discovery Princess? I heard both yes and no. 🤷‍♀️

Edited June 14, 2022 by Sunshinesoul

[5:00_Somewhere]

1 hour ago, Sunshinesoul said:

Hello, does anyone know if the Lotus Spa Thermal Suite access complimentary for Suite passengers on Discovery Princess? I heard both yes and no. 🤷‍♀️

 

If you're referring to The Enclave (which is the Royal Class equivalent of the Thermal Suite on Grand Class ships), it was not complimentary for suite passengers when we were in a suite on the Sky Princess last December. We paid for access for both weeks of our B2B on that trip.

Edited June 14, 2022 by 5:00_Somewhere

[rj59]

I didn't see any production shows listed, just vocalists and magicians? Is this true or did I miss something?

[5:00_Somewhere]

18 hours ago, rj59 said:

I didn't see any production shows listed, just vocalists and magicians? Is this true or did I miss something?

 

I'm afraid I can't answer that, as we did not attend any performances in the theater. I do recall people talking about the comedian and magician, and I know people came streaming out of the theater every night walking through Take 5 where we were listening to the jazz ensemble, but don't know what people were seeing. Perhaps someone else who was on our cruise or is currently on Discovery can provide an answer.

[The Collie]

• Going on the ship tomorrow. This was a really helpful report!

[Taykee1]

On 5/24/2022 at 4:53 AM, 5:00_Somewhere said:

We boarded the beautiful Discovery Princess in Seattle, pier 91, Sunday, May 22, and I thought I’d offer a few thoughts throughout the week. This will NOT be a true “live from” thread, both because I try not to be online a lot while I’m on vacation, and because the MedallionNet internet service is already proving to be extremely slow and choppy, and it seems especially bad with CruiseCritic.

 

First, despite early forecasts, Sunday turned out to be an absolutely beautiful, sunny, warm day in Seattle. We were visiting family so didn’t board until 1:00. There were lines inside the building (none outside), but it only took us about 10 minutes in the Priority/Elite line. I heard others who were Green Lane but not priority say it took them almost 45 minutes.

 

One tip: there was no internet and no cell reception inside the port terminal, so we could not access the Medallion App, ArriveCan, the Novica app our email with our eMed covid test results. So, I strongly recommend doing what we did and either take a screenshot of or print out your Green Lane QR code, your Negative Covid Test Results and ArriveCan receipt with QR code. They were fine with screenshots from our phone.

 

Once on board, we found the ship absolutely beautiful, the staff friendly and helpful, and the service very, very good, as usual. Sail Away from Seattle and through the Puget Sound was spectacular. We spoke with an officer who said there were 2,143 passengers on board, or a little less than 60% (rated for 3,660). The ship  seems lively and active, and comfortable, but not “packed”.

 

We have a standard balcony cabin on Sun Deck (17) forward, which we quite enjoy. The balcony is somewhat larger than the majority of standard balconies on Royal Class ships, and our front door opens onto the windows looking over the Retreat Pool, which is very nice.

 

We dined in the Skagway MDR and, again, found the service great, and the food tasty – with the exception of the Bananas Foster dessert, which was shockingly inedible, but our waitress brought the chocolate soufflé which was a wonderful replacement.  

 

We enjoyed the Jazz trio in Take 5 after dinner and had a sound night’s sleep.

 

Today we are cruising the inside passage, and it’s gray, windy and cold (45 degrees f) with high ocean swells. The ship is rockin’ and rollin’ quite a bit, and the pools are sloshing. They have closed the Retreat Pool and The Sanctuary. There seem to be a lot of indoor activities throughout the ship today, from bingo and trivia to the art auction and various classes, games, music, etc.

 

One odd thing I wanted to report is that, all over the ship, we hear more creaking and squeaking – especially in our cabin – than I can ever recall hearing on any other ship.

 

And finally, I have to report that virtually everyone I have spoken with is having problems with the Medallion App. No matter which way I log in (using my email and password, booking number, stateroom number), it will only stay properly connected for a short time, and then my picture will disappear and all the features become non-functional (such as Dine My Way, viewing your onboard account, Journey View, everything). Oh, and it makes my phone think it’s on US Eastern Daylight Time instead of Pacific Time. The tech’s on board cannot explain or suggest any fix these issues, and the only solution seems to be that you have to log out, then log back in and hope it functions long enough for you to do what you want to do before becoming inactive again. This is especially disappointing because, this time, the app actually functioned properly and well right up until we boarded the ship, which is the exact opposite of our prior experiences. I’ll report back if I become aware of a permanent remedy.

 

Oh, and because people always ask, the formal nights are the 2 sea days: Monday and Friday.

 

I’ll try to add more thoughts as the week goes on.

I am staying on Deck 17 S205, was your room in this area. Asking as you said the view from your balcony was good. Is it worth sitting on your balcony when sailing the inside passage or would you suggest other areas on the ship which would be better. Thanks

[5:00_Somewhere]

10 hours ago, Taykee1 said:

I am staying on Deck 17 S205, was your room in this area. Asking as you said the view from your balcony was good. Is it worth sitting on your balcony when sailing the inside passage or would you suggest other areas on the ship which would be better. Thanks

 

Yes, we were in the same area, just on the port side instead of starboard. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can answer your question, though. As I mentioned in my original post, we had rough weather with clouds and rain on our way north through the Inside Passage, so we couldn't really see anything from the ship that day. On the way south, we chose to get seats in The Sanctuary for our last sea day. We had some nice views from up there, but I'm afraid I just can't recall what the views were like from our cabin's balcony that day. You could always give it a try and if you're not happy with the view, then venture out and about.

 

You'll be fortunate that all you have to do is walk out the door at the aft end of the hallway your cabin is on and you'll be on the Sun Deck above the main pool with great views on both sides of the ship. Another great place to view the scenery is the Wake View bar area on the stern Lido Deck outside the buffet. There is seating under cover and out in the open, and it also affords about 180 degree views. Oh, and they have hot cocoa. 🙂  

 

And the transit through the Passage is long enough that you could walk around and try different areas of the ship.

 

Regardless, I'm sure you'll enjoy Discovery Princess and Alaska. 

Edited June 29, 2022 by 5:00_Somewhere