Semi-Live - Discovery - CA Coastal - Oct 1, 2022

[cruzin4us]

I’ll post some pictures of misc things, with some commentary as the Wi-Fi allows.   
Embarkation was a breeze.  Got to the port of LA at 10:15 and was on the ship by 11:00

I have a balcony room on the Dolphin deck right above the lifeboats.   Room is nice, lifeboats beneath the balcony prohibits looking straight down at the ocean.  It’s room D306 for reference.   I booked late due to the Diamond cancellations, so I’m happy just getting any balcony.  Flying solo for 3 B2Bs.    
The ship is now leaving port at 10 instead of 4 due to a Corporate event (Real Love Boat Party)

I’m now snuggled up to the Good Spirits Bar with my favorite drink, the Sandra en Fuego.  All the Good Spirit Cocktails are priced at $12

more later if I don’t drink too many of these….

Edited October 1, 2022 by cruzin4us
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[cruzin4us]

Charro was in the casino.   She’s a little thing and looks great

[Bemidji Ty]

Thanks.  We board in 2 weeks.  Cheers.

[donswife]

Interesting looking drink! What is on the rim of the glass?

[cruzin4us]

1 hour ago, donswife said:

Interesting looking drink! What is on the rim of the glass?

Smoked salt

[cruzin4us]

[cruzin4us]

Dinner at Ketchikan Dining room at 5:40. Had a reservation and was seated immediately.    Had wahoo ceviche (excellent), hearty seafood soup (ok), crawfish stew (good) and raspberry sorbet

[cruzin4us]

Wow, left dinner at 7:00 and it was a cluster of a line.  Moral of this story…..go to dinner at 5:40

to make matters worse, 2 of the elevators were closed for the private party 

[1emerald1]

A little further into your cruise, could you comment on the food?  Someone on another thread posted the board of the officers on board and I see that there is a different Executive Chef than the one that was on the inaugural, which I was on.  For my tastes, everything was overcooked.  I'll be boarding the Discovery at the end of the month and am excited for a different chef.  Thanks!

[Californian]

Look forward to following along with you.

 

When you have time, I would be interested in knowing if/where they show sports at any of the bars on board.  Thanks!

[XBGuy]

Obviously, the OP is a very experienced cruiser, and knows that being prepared is the solution to the dearth of power outlets and USB ports in the cabin.

 

 

Well done, @cruzin4us.

 

 

 

[cruzin4us]

Well, I'm not to good at posting my live reports.....I actually did write up a few on my iPhone and then when I was ready to add pictures everything disappeared.   Anyway, I got my laptop up and running finally so here goes.   Oh, I will add the pictures in the following posts, otherwise I have to transfer the pics to the laptop first and my laptop is geriatric and lacking space.

 

So, for starters, I am sailing on a casino promotion which offered a free balcony, Princess Plus, and a bit of free play.   So.....I can't B^%*%ch too much about the delay in sailing out of the Port of LA.   But, if I had, I would have been upset by their Corporate event because everywhere you turned, something was roped off.   Deck 16 and Deck 17 aft was closed off, Take 5 and Churchills was closed as well.   The 2 aft bank elevators were closed which made for a big crowd trying to get on the elevators before and after dinner.     They also took over the main piazza (but in their defense, this part was kind of cool).   They had a band playing the Love Boat Theme and beach balls were dropped from. the ceiling.    I will try uploading the video, but they turned on blue lights so the quality isn't so hot.   I saw the new Capitan, Cruise Director and Bar Tender.    Most passengers had no clue who these people were.   I was told there were about 400 guests attending the party.   Many got off around 9:30, but some stayed on until San Francisco.    The 2 bad parts for me was we weren't notified of the party until 2 days before our cruise and if you didn't read the important notification/announcements on you travel itinerary, you wouldn't have known.   They changed the sail time from 4:00 to 10:00 pm, and sitting in the Port of LA isn't all that exciting.   Anyway, enough of that.

Once I got my favorite cocktail in hand and we started cruising, I was in a better mood.    

The casino opened at 11 pm and it was crowded.    Then, I decided to pull an all nighter and I sat a the same machine until 10 the next morning (still playing on their money)......so, the next day I was dragging.   Last night I stayed until about 12:30 and I was a walking zombie.    I saw a woman win $7,000 and a couple other small jackpots.   I got called for a random hot seat drawing and won $75 in free play so that was nice.   

 

[cruzin4us]

Ship observations:

 

Well, the ship is beautiful and the staff very warm and welcoming......but, it's not my favorite Princess ship.    There are a couple things that bug me.    Starting with the promenade deck.   It is not welcoming at all, it's cluttered, narrow and the lifeboats block your view.    Decks 5, 6, and 7 are where most of the indoor activities take place and when sitting at many of the bars and lounges on deck 7, you stare out the window at lifeboats.   

The other thing is, the ship feels a bit chopped up (for lack of a better description).   For instance you can't walk all the way to the Ketchikan dining room on deck 6, you have to go up to deck 7 and then back down to 6.    I like to be able to walk on one floor all the way forward and all the way aft.    Some floors you can walk down one side, but are blocked off on the other.   It just doesn't flow well.    Anyway, these are minor complaints (except for the Promenade deck 7 and the lifeboats).

 

I love the Wake View Pool area and the Infinity pool.   It's been fairly quiet, but it hasn't been warm enough to sunbathe.   Maybe in Mexico it will be different because it's warmer.

 

I've seen only a handful of kids, of course they aren't hanging out in the casino much.

 

My room:   Everything has been perfect in my room thus far.   I'm able to turn the air conditioning on to a cool temperature (I'm at that age) and it's stayed cool.     

When I first looked at the shower, I thought how am I going to fit in there with 2 handicap bars, and a handicap chair?    Well, I pleasantly surprised when neither turned out to be an issue and the clingy shower curtain is far enough so that wasn't an issue either.   It's definitely compact and I wouldn't want to share it with 4 people.   Speaking of which, I have a connecting room and I haven't heard a peep from either side of me.   There are also 2 beds that pull down from the ceiling should you want this for kids.....I wouldn't use them, but kids would be fine.

 

Masking:   I'd say about 5% of the people are wearing masks, and most of the crew are still wearing them. 

[cruzin4us]

Food:

 

Well, it's only day 2 so I'll add more later on this subject.   I've got dinner reservations at Sabatini's and Bistro Sur Le Mar later down the line so I'll give you my impression on those to Specialty Dining venues later.

 

Since I'm cruising solo, I'm eating at a table for 1 in the Ketchikan Dining Room on deck 6 aft.  I made a reservation for every night at 5:40.   The first night I ended up in an awesome quiet location so I asked if I could have that table for all 21 night and they said yes (yeah).   My waiter is so-so but we are managing.   I'm sitting at a table for 2 and they never remove the extra glasses and silverware.   I know it's not the end of the world, but it's odd to me.

I'm SOOOOOOOO glad I made reservations for 5:40.   I miss the rush that seems to come around 7:00 ish. Last night again people were lined up the stairs and down the hall of deck 7.     Both nights, I was seated immediately.    Now I've been told I can go right to my table.

 

The first night many were in shorts because people weren't getting there luggage (remember the corporate party).   I have pics of my first meal above.

 

 Last night was formal night and I saw everything from a nice shirt and slacks to tuxes on men.   Women were wearing nice blouses and slacks all the way up to fancy sequined dresses.

The food was really, really good on formal night.   I seriously cleaned everything off my plate.  I had the pate for an appetizer and a goat cheese salad.  The medallions of beef were tender, perfectly cooked and a nice size portion.  The most basic thing I had was the berry cobbler.....it was just ok.  I think I was expecting more blackberry cobbler and this was more or less just blueberries.

 

Typically, I don't eat breakfast in the dining room or buffet.   Usually, I just grab something from the International cafe along with a coffee.     Just an observation about the International Cafe.   They have changed their sandwiches a little bit.    They seems to more  bread and less meat/cheese/veggies.  Also, they have a few more varieties of bread (pretzel buns, etc).   While it's still good, I found myself taking off one side of the bread because it was too much.    If you have a chance to try the meat or veggie pies, they are good.   The vegetarian selection is a lentil/curry tasting pie which is quite good.    I'm really pleased they are open 24/7 unlike the Ruby.    For us late night casino people, it's nice to be able to grab something to take to the room vs waiting for room service.    The coffee is way better here than in the dining room.

 

Dining room:   I went there today for breakfast just to try it.   The OJ isn't the best and if the glasses got any smaller they'd be a thimble 🙂.   I had a croissant with apricot jam, fruit plate, gross coffee and eggs Florentine (eggs with hollandaise sauce over spinach).   It was nice, but I'll stick with the croissant  and coffee from International Cafe from now on.

 

Buffet:   First off, the place is huge.   I found myself wandering around until I started to find some duplicate items so then I went and grabbed a bowl and went back for some possibly Greek food?    I grabbed some kind of lamb dish, a meat dish that may have had curry in it and some grilled veggies.   I have to tell you it was amazingly good.   It actually surprised me.   It was kind of like Gyro meat.  They were both well seasoned and delicious.   Chalk one up for the buffet.

 

Gigi's:   Just like Alfredo's pizza, it was delicious.

 

I tend to like seasoning and shy away for bland food.   I enjoy spicy, curry, etc.    Thus fare the food has surpassed my expectations with regards to the quality.   The serving size has also been adequate.   I'm always full after dinner but not so stuffed that I'm miserable.  

 

More food reports and pics as the days go on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruzin4us]

Today we are in the Port of San Francisco and it's a beautiful day in the mid 70's.    I'm just chillin on the ship and enjoying the sun and the view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.     Think I'll try loading some pictures and then take a nap before dinner.   

[cruzin4us]

Promenade deck 7 with lifeboats

[cruzin4us]

Donut from International Cafe

eggs Florentine with hollandaise and spinach

croissant with apricot jam

OJ

 

 

[cruzin4us]

Wakeview pool

gym

midship pool

[cruzin4us]

Some lunch buffet pics and my gyro bowl I concocted with grilled veggies 

[CineGraphic]

23 minutes ago, cruzin4us said:

I went there today for breakfast just to try it.   The OJ isn't the best and if the glasses got any smaller they'd be a thimble

 

I noticed that too and started ordering 2 glasses, as I believe they are sitting back in the galley pre-poured. I believe it's easier for the waiter/waitress to grab 2 glasses than have someone pour a larger glass.

[cruzin4us]

Formal night dinner

pate

goat cheese salad

caesar and kale salad 

medallion of beef 

berry cobbler 

Edited October 3, 2022 by cruzin4us

[CruisnDeb]

My husband and I will be on this ship (same itinerary) in March. I’m enjoying your review, pictures, and thoughts and can’t wait for the rest of your review

[cruzin4us]

The dinner menu for tonight (night 3).  I’ll post pics later

[DavidsNana]

I used to really like the shrimp salad and the chicken cashew salad that they had in the International Cafe.  In the pictures that I have seen of the food there lately, I don't seem to see these items.  If you get a chance, could you look for me?  Thank you and have a wonderful time.  I agree with you about the Promenade deck.  Those lifeboats are terrible and it is so narrow that it would not be a pleasant place to walk or stand and look out at the sea.

 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

@cruzin4usif it’s not too much trouble when you have time could you please check at the international café and see if they have any sandwiches without cheese? I have a dairy allergy so this is a real sore spot with me. I have been told several times that they had nothing without cheese or other dairy (Cream) and that I had to wait until the next day to eat in the dining room.  Bread does not affect me so a sandwich with meat and veggies would be great. Also, lots of people don’t even like cheese.  Thank so much!