Celebrity User Just Off Discovery Yesterday (First Princess Cruise)

[TheMichael]

1 hour ago, deltahog said:

I don't know that's what I am trying to learn.  Can I walk into the Salty Dog Grill, as a basic passenger, and get something?

 

Salty Dog Grill = stand-up service = yes

Salty Dog Gastropub = sit-down service = no

[deltahog]

1 minute ago, TheMichael said:

 

Salty Dog Grill = stand-up service = yes

Salty Dog Gastropub = sit-down service = no

I have superseded your stand up/sit down analysis with specific information about each venue.  This is what I was really seeking.  See above and correct me as necesseary.

[Ken the cruiser]

49 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Maybe this is a question that deserves its own thread instead of asking it here, but since a primary focus of this thread is about "Suite Life" on PCL as compared to X, as a non-suite guest myself, I have often wondered...If one is going to spend that much money on a cruise and wants to be treated and fed like royalty, why does one choose a suite on a mass-market ship instead of cruising on a more upscale line like Regent or Oceania?  I've always imagined that if my finances could handle paying that much for a cruise, I would pick an upscale line instead of a more expensive cabin on a mass-market line.  But clearly there are many here who routinely choose the latter, and I'd love to get a sense of why as I'd love to learn from your experiences.  

For us with regards to booking Princess suites, the key is the itinerary, and if at all possible fully covered aft-facing balconies if we're going to be on one of Princess' Grand Class ships. 

 

 

We cruised through the Panama Canal in May 2022 in an aft-facing Vista Suite (VS) and it was awesome, especially sitting out on our huge fully covered balcony with a table for 4 and two cushioned loungers going through the locks. We are currently booked on the Caribbean Princess again in about a month on a cruise from Quebec to Ft Lauderdale in an aft-facing VS, a 30-day Antarctica B2B cruise in an aft-facing VS on the Sapphire Princess this coming January, and a 22-day Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise in May in an aft-facing VS on the Grand Princess. As you may notice we're partial to aft facing Vista Suites on the Princess Grand class ships. BTW all of these cruises are around $425 pp/day (+/-) with a refundable deposit and the Plus package included.😊

 

Yes, Celebrity has aft facing sky suites, but most are uncovered for the most part. They also have butlers and a private swimming pool in the Retreat area, both of which we don't require, while Princess doesn't. Princess offers suite guests unlimited laundry where Celebrity does not.

 

BTW the reason a refundable deposit is so important to us is because we book cruises when they first come out so we can get the cabin we want, which is usually a couple of years prior to the sail date. A lot can change in 2 years. That's why for me the 20% penalty Celebrity charges for a refundable deposit is so annoying.

[JimmyVWine]

4 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

fully covered aft-facing balconies

Seems as if these are getting harder and harder to come by with the new ship designs.  ☹️

[TheMichael]

4 minutes ago, deltahog said:

I have superseded your stand up/sit down analysis with specific information about each venue.  This is what I was really seeking.  See above and correct me as necesseary.

 

I'd remove all the bars from your list, but other than that, it backs up my statement, so thanks!

[Ken the cruiser]

12 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

So "entertainment" puts a checkmark in the column of the larger ships.  Makes sense.

How does the size of a Princess (or Celebrity) suite compare to a comparably priced cabin on a luxury line?

Here is an example of a suite on the Sapphire Princess. Click on "Diagram" to see the layout. If you also notice, there is a door between the bath/walk-in shower area and the toilet/sink area.

 

Sapphire Princess - Cruise Ship Information - Princess Cruises

 

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Seems as if these are getting harder and harder to come by with the new ship designs.  ☹️

Yes, that's why we're partial to the aft-facing cabins on the Grand class ships. However, we did just book a corner aft-facing cabin on the Majestic Princess that has a partially covered balcony and is super huge. But then it's going from Buenos Aires to Ft Lauderdale in Jan 2025 with 3 stops in Brazil to include Rio, and they were offering $2000 in OBC which really brought the net price down.

[JimmyVWine]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here is an example of a suite on the Sapphire Princess. Click on "Diagram" to see the layout. If you also notice, there is a door between the bath/walk-in shower area and the toilet/sink area.

 

Sapphire Princess - Cruise Ship Information - Princess Cruises

 

And by comparison, a randomly chosen "entry level" cabin on Regent Voyager appears to have a similar layout to, but ever so slightly more square feet than a typical Mini-Suite on Princess.  So if one wants more elbow room for a comparable price, a mass-market suite would appear to grant that.  So maybe the real difference is the sense of space one senses outside of the cabin, and the level of food and wine served in the Main Dining Areas.    

[NavyVeteran]

13 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We are currently booked on the Caribbean Princess again in about a month on a cruise from Quebec to Ft Lauderdale in an aft-facing VS, a 30-day Antarctica B2B cruise in an aft-facing VS on the Sapphire Princess this coming January, and a 22-day Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise in May in an aft-facing VS on the Grand Princess. As you may notice we're partial to aft facing Vista Suites on the Princess Grand class ships. BTW all of these cruises are around $425 pp/day (+/-) with a refundable deposit and the Plus package included.😊

 

BTW the reason a refundable deposit is so important to us is because we book cruises when they first come out so we can get the cabin we want, which is usually a couple of years prior to the sail date. A lot can change in 2 years. That's why for me the 20% penalty Celebrity charges for a refundable deposit is so annoying.

I agree with you on the refundable deposit. I am also picky about cabins and book early.

I haven't seen you on the roll call for the Quebec to Fort Lauderdale cruise. I'll see you for breakfast at Sabatini's next month.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

And by comparison, a randomly chosen "entry level" cabin on Regent Voyager appears to have a similar layout to, but ever so slightly more square feet than a typical Mini-Suite on Princess.  So if one wants more elbow room for a comparable price, a mass-market suite would appear to grant that.  So maybe the real difference is the sense of space one senses outside of the cabin, and the level of food and wine served in the Main Dining Areas.    

If I were to compare an "entry level" cabin on the Regent Voyager with a Princess cabin, to be fair I would choose a Reserve Collection mini suite, which includes access to the Reserve "anytime" Dining Room. Select the "Reserve Collection" in the below link to see what you get with that category rather than a regular mini suite. BTW that's the minimum category level (M1) we would book on a Princess cruise.

 

Sapphire Princess - Cruise Ship Information - Princess Cruises

 

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

I agree with you on the refundable deposit. I am also picky about cabins and book early.

I haven't seen you on the roll call for the Quebec to Fort Lauderdale cruise. I'll see you for breakfast at Sabatini's next month.

Sounds like a plan! I'll also be posting to a Live From thread while we're on that cruise along with the 5-day Princess pre-cruise package we booked on as well. I've been quietly following the Roll Call, but we're pretty low key and keep to ourselves while we're on a cruise.

[deltahog]

28 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

 

I'd remove all the bars from your list, but other than that, it backs up my statement, so thanks!

Not my list, it's cut and paste from princess, and I don't know which ones are bars by name, so I'm good.

[bigbenboys]

59 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Maybe this is a question that deserves its own thread instead of asking it here, but since a primary focus of this thread is about "Suite Life" on PCL as compared to X, as a non-suite guest myself, I have often wondered...If one is going to spend that much money on a cruise and wants to be treated and fed like royalty, why does one choose a suite on a mass-market ship instead of cruising on a more upscale line like Regent or Oceania?  I've always imagined that if my finances could handle paying that much for a cruise, I would pick an upscale line instead of a more expensive cabin on a mass-market line.  But clearly there are many here who routinely choose the latter, and I'd love to get a sense of why as I'd love to learn from your experiences.  

I can only speak for myself. I have looked. My 2 issues are 1) Dress code, I want country casual ( nice jeans and a polo). Oceania, I think is country casual, but not jeans. Regent and Sliversea are not country casual all evenings in all restaurants. If I book a cruise line I will adhere to their dress code. I'm not looking to rock the boat. 2) Ship being to small, meaning I might be bored. 

[cr8tiv1]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Sounds like a plan! I'll also be posting to a Live From thread while we're on that cruise along with the 5-day Princess pre-cruise package we booked on as well. I've been quietly following the Roll Call, but we're pretty low key and keep to ourselves while we're on a cruise.

 

Please do join our meet and greet.  I am so glad you have decided to do a live. As you can tell from my previous journeys, I am not a good "live" person.  Looking forward to finally meeting you.

 

So much for a "quiet" Sabatini's breakfast.  It is going to be a hoot.  The team is so wonderful.  

Edited September 16, 2023 by cr8tiv1

[TAW1963]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

For us with regards to booking Princess suites, the key is the itinerary, and if at all possible fully covered aft-facing balconies if we're going to be on one of Princess' Grand Class ships. 

 

 

We cruised through the Panama Canal in May 2022 in an aft-facing Vista Suite (VS) and it was awesome, especially sitting out on our huge fully covered balcony with a table for 4 and two cushioned loungers going through the locks. We are currently booked on the Caribbean Princess again in about a month on a cruise from Quebec to Ft Lauderdale in an aft-facing VS, a 30-day Antarctica B2B cruise in an aft-facing VS on the Sapphire Princess this coming January, and a 22-day Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise in May in an aft-facing VS on the Grand Princess. As you may notice we're partial to aft facing Vista Suites on the Princess Grand class ships. BTW all of these cruises are around $425 pp/day (+/-) with a refundable deposit and the Plus package included.😊

 

Yes, Celebrity has aft facing sky suites, but most are uncovered for the most part. They also have butlers and a private swimming pool in the Retreat area, both of which we don't require, while Princess doesn't. Princess offers suite guests unlimited laundry where Celebrity does not.

 

BTW the reason a refundable deposit is so important to us is because we book cruises when they first come out so we can get the cabin we want, which is usually a couple of years prior to the sail date. A lot can change in 2 years. That's why for me the 20% penalty Celebrity charges for a refundable deposit is so annoying.

Although fairly new to cruising, I have gained a similar affinity towards aft-facing cabins.  I also totally agree with the need for a refundable deposit, since we are booking 1-2 years in advance as well so that we can get the cabin of our choice.  I have never sailed Celebrity,  but I have considered it several times.  I always decide against going through with a booking with them because of the 20% penalty for a refundable deposit.  I really like the fact that Princess still offers refundable deposits with no additional cost penalty.  

Edited September 16, 2023 by TAW1963

[t&atravel]

5 hours ago, deltahog said:

Holy ______.  I think I have found my answer that I can create and carry a cheat sheet.  I found all food venues listed here:

https://www.princess.com/news/backgrounders_and_fact_sheets/factsheet/Discovery-Princess-Fact-Sheet.html 

 

I put a double asterisk beside any that I can access for free.  Please correct me as necessary.

 

• 24-hour room service (breakfast **)
• Bellini's Bar
• Bistro Sur La Mer
• Chef's Table Lumiere
• Churchill's Cigar Lounge
• Crooners
• Crown Grill & Bar
• Gelato
• Gigi's Pizzeria
• Good Spirits At Sea
• International Café – coffee, snacks, light meals **
• Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar
• Princess Live! Café
• Sabatini's Italian Trattoria
• Salty Dog Grill (Lido, pool) **
• SeaView Bar
• Slice Pizzeria **
• Swirls ice cream bar **
• The Mix – Lido Deck bar in between Slice Pizzeria and Salty Dog Grill
• The Salty Dog Gastropub
• Three Main Dining Rooms **
• Wake View Bar
• World Fresh Marketplace - including The Pastry Shop **

@deltahog this may be of more help to you. 

 

 

 

dining-options 3.pdf

Edited September 16, 2023 by t&atravel

[Belle]

On the back of your Princess Patter is a list of Dining Options for each day

by the ones that Charge there is a-- Star like mark.

 

So read each day and look by where you want to eat and see if they charge.

Very easy.

 

 If you have Princess Plus or Princess Premium can get free dinners with

them. You need to read about what you get with each of them, so you know.

what you have before you go if you book one of them.

 

Hope this helps with the people who wanted to know what places had a charge.

[Ken the cruiser]

16 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Please do join our meet and greet.  I am so glad you have decided to do a live. As you can tell from my previous journeys, I am not a good "live" person.  Looking forward to finally meeting you.

 

So much for a "quiet" Sabatini's breakfast.  It is going to be a hoot.  The team is so wonderful.  

I debated whether to mention this, but decided I would. The reason we maintain a low presence on a cruise, and you can appreciate this, is because we don’t want to get sick. I know, who would have thought someone would go on a cruise not feeling well. 😂
 

[Guindalf]

Day Five: Extra:

 

We did not leave Skagway at the advertised time. The Captain made an announcement that due to a medical emergency, we were waiting for a helicopter to arrive from Sitka. There were issues and delays and we ended up leaving the dock at around 8:15 pm, over four hours late. The delay put us in Victoria about an hour late at around 7:00 pm Saturday, but our excursion wasn't until 8:50 pm, so it didn't really affect us.

 

Day Six: All At Sea:

 

Once again, the entertainment team did a mostly excellent job of keeping us engaged, although surprisingly, the amount of trivia was reduced from other days! Still, we were kept amused. We're due to be at sea until 6:00 pm on Saturday, when we spend a few hours in Victoria, B.C. This slightly changed, but more later.

 

Our concierge secured us a 100 pm lunch booking for the Crab Shack, which was a pop-up restaurant situated in the Salty Dog Gastropub. For $30, we started with popcorn shrimp and hush puppies, Mains were a choice seafood bucket, focusing on either Snow or Dungeness crab with mussels, shrimp, clams and other ingredients. The best choice, however (which we didn't get but saw others enjoying) was a cold bucket for two containing various seafood items including lobster tails. Best meal of the week, and we had Reserve dining as well as eating in Crown Grill and Sabatini's!

 

This was formal night and the menu included Escargot and Filet Mignon and Lobster. Our 'secret' menu had ribeye, so I was able to order that with the lobster. This steak was head and shoulders above the ribeye served in the Crown Grill on the first night!

 

Day Seven: Final Day and evening in VIctoria, B.C.

 

Our final day included more trivia and the funniest Entertainment Crew performance of the week - Movie Mishaps! If this is on the schedule for your sailing, DO NOT MISS IT! It's a shout-out game show (with no winners or losers or prizes), where the CD and staff act out scenes from popular movies. It's the funniest thing I think I've ever seen on my 23-odd cruises!

 

A note about the entertainment crew. All were engaging and fun, although it seemed that the more a command of the English language was needed, the more we had someone reading the questions with that as a failing! We had people from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Brazil, who were all wonderful, but difficult to understand at times. Shout out for Margaret, who was English (like me!) and great. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guindalf]

I guess no-one was interested in my review, so I won't bother to finish it.

 

I came to the conclusion that this cruise line was ok, but not great, and I guess the apathy proves it.

[Cruise Raider]

34 minutes ago, Guindalf said:

I guess no-one was interested in my review, so I won't bother to finish it.

 

I came to the conclusion that this cruise line was ok, but not great, and I guess the apathy proves it.

I found it to be quite interesting.  If you post the rest of your review, I promise to read it. I’m sure others will read it, as well.  
Anyway, too bad you didn’t have a fabulous time.  I love the Discovery and we’ve always found our cruises on her to be excellent.  
 

 

[Veinless]

On 9/15/2023 at 4:35 PM, JimmyVWine said:

Seems as if these are getting harder and harder to come by with the new ship designs.  ☹️

Aren't these right above the crew smoking area on Princess ships?

[phabric]

Please finish your review

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, Guindalf said:

I guess no-one was interested in my review, so I won't bother to finish it.

 

I came to the conclusion that this cruise line was ok, but not great, and I guess the apathy proves it.

Please finish your review as differing opinions are always appreciated. What we have found with the various cruise lines we have sailed with since cruising started back up, which includes Celebrity, Princess and NCL, is that each line is different with their individual pricing structures, various cabin category and early booking perks, entertainment, and itinerary offerings, while at the same time also trying to overcome 15+ months of downtime. 

But on each of our cruises, we have had a great time once we stopped comparing the ship we were on with the various ones we had recently cruised on regardless of cruise line.

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ombud]

I think ppl are interested in your critique, me too, as I think about trying Celebrity or Virgin. MSC is not my cup of tea

 

But I'm personally unable to relate to a lot of it as I don't use Grub hub, have TSA not Clear (do use whyline sometimes which is the free version of Clear), DIY in ports, will never have a suite (booked min-suite once & that was a waste of $$s for solo me), and LOVE promenades. I haven't commented because as long as waiters are entertaining, musicians are good, performances entertaining (like 5 Skies, Rock Opera, Secret Silk .... did you make any of those? Your comparison to Celebrity??), it's all good

 

I think what I'm clumsily trying to say is I'd like a comparison between the 2. IE:

Princess - roving classical, jazz, blues, rock musicians

Celebrity -?

 

Princess - 3 performance shows with 21stC music

Celebrity -

 

Princess - walking / running track (Deck 5 MDR closed for private games 9am - 1pm with free continental breakfast, full rotating vegan menus, etc category suggestions)

Celebrity - ????

 

Who is it who posts "A bad day at sea is better than a good day at home?" 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Ombud