review of our Discovery Princess pre-Christmas cruise (12/19-23/23

[travelin.sisters]

Post 1: Discovery Princess California Coastal–December 19-23. 2023

 

I figured a 4-day cruise (especially because we had my sissy’s granddaughters with us) was too short to do a live, so I am switching it up to a review. It’s a little late (because of the holidays & life stuff) but will have lots of photos & documents for those who are interested. 

 

We were on the December 19-23 California Coastal sailing of the Discovery. I was glad to sail the Discovery before we head out to Hawai’i on her in March & love seeing all the Christmas decorations on a holiday cruise. 

 

The short review is we were very happy with our cruise, the food, the ship & especially the crew! I always think the crew is the best part of a Princess cruise, but the crew on the Discovery was outstanding even by Princess standards. We only had one less than wonderful experience (first night dinner–in the dining part of my review if you are interested) & so many delightful interactions.

 

If you want all the details (& anyone who has read one of my lives knows I can get really long-winded & lost in the details) keep reading. If you are just interested in one thing or another, I will do titles for each post & a list of posts at the end. Or just skip though & look at the photos. If you have any questions, please ask & I will do my best to answer.

 

We didn't really go anywhere, pretty much just sailed around in loops, didn't even get off at any of our ports!

 

Edited January 6 by travelin.sisters

[New2cruise2022]

Looking forward to reading your review! We leave on the Discovery at the end of February. TIA for the pictures and info you share!

[New2cruise2022]

PS — Long-winded and detailed, highly-parenthetical and often hyphenated writing is what I prefer. If you write it, I’ll read it. 

[travelin.sisters]

Post 2: Boarding & Embarkation Lunch

 

Surprisingly we boarded at terminal 92 as the Norwegian Bliss was also in port. Boarding was slower & more hectic than usual. I found out later that there were x people on this cruise (compared to x the cruise before) and almost 600 children (compared to 15 on the previous cruise), so lots of families & extra people. We were slowed down because even though I entered the birth certificates for the grands in the app, they had to be reentered at check in & that took several tries. Also even though the pre-boarding information didn’t list it, the granddaughter that wasn’t old enough to have a driver's license still needed an official photo ID (fortunately she did have her school Id with her & they accepted that). We had notarized permission to take them on the cruise & out of the country, but no one asked to see that. 

 

When we did get through the line & to the boarding area, we had to wait even with our elite/platinum status as they were not letting people with mobility devices board at that time. Finally we were allowed to board. We were on the ship by 11:30 & our rooms were ready. I quickly decorated the girls’ room with the Christmas blankets, stockings, tree & other decor & we were ready to head to the Skagway dining room for lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dining room had a line & was busy by the time we got there but we were soon seated & ready to enjoy what always feels like the start of the cruise, embarkation day lunch in the MDR. As always, service was a little slow, but the food was delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(random food comments: sadly they are using pre-made salad dressings instead of making them & they aren't great; immediately post-covid the beef quality declined, but it was quite good on this cruise; after many Princess cruises I have decided that most of their desserts look much better than they taste so I often chose ice cream/sorbet or wait to get cookies from the International Cafe)

[New2cruise2022]

Great food menu pics. Your decorations were next level. Good job!

[travelin.sisters]

Post 3: Christmas Decorations & Getting Settled

 

After lunch we went to our Muster Station, headed to the Customer Service desk to get all our Medallions set to open all our doors, get the minibar switched out & had all the room charges put on my credit card so I could monitor for unusual charges & we could share OBC. Again there were lines but once we got to the desk Melissa was able to help us efficiently.

 

As we wandered from place to place, the ship was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Sadly, as we headed back the electricity went out (a problem with the shoreside power connection & they had to switch to shipside power) & my sissy & I had to climb a lot of stairs back to our room! It was soon back up & running & my BIL was able to wait for an elevator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The ship felt well decorated & festive without being overdone. Late the night before we disembarked, they added more decorations for the actual Christmas cruise, including these gingerbread villages:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[travelin.sisters]

Post 4: Exploring the Discovery Princess–Starting at the Top: Deck 19–Vista

 

After I got everyone back to their cabins, I headed out to explore the ship. I always like to take time the first day to get myself oriented to what is where on a new ship. I didn’t make it through the whole ship before sailaway since I had to stop & make sure everyone did all the muster drill steps & get them hooked to wifi but since this is a review & not a live I will just share the ship from top to bottom not in the order I explored...

 

The only public space on the Vista deck is the mini golf course in the aft which you have to climb stairs to get to. It is a nice little space with great views. There are golf clubs & balls available to use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(photos taken early AM the 21st--wet morning on our way into San Diego)

[travelin.sisters]

43 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

PS — Long-winded and detailed, highly-parenthetical and often hyphenated writing is what I prefer. If you write it, I’ll read it. 

you figured me out...except you left out the ellipses I like those too...thank you for all your kind comments, let me know if you have any questions before your cruise, she is a wonderful ship with a stellar crew.

[travelin.sisters]

Post 5: Deck 18–Sky

 

The Sky deck is split into 2 unconnected sections, front & aft.

 

 

Taking the stairs down from the Vista deck in the aft, you find the ball court, walking/running track, spots for selfies & photos in front of various different displays & more gorgeous views. There are steps far aft & part way around the jogging track down to the Sun deck. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The forward elevators will take you to the other section of the Sky deck. Here we find an open area around the adult only Retreat Pool which is reached by steps down to the Sun deck. The two Sky Suites are also in this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond this is the Sanctuary. I have never been in the Sanctuary on a Princess ship but on embarkation day they were open & letting people wander through. Two things that surprised me were all the big screen tvs & the fact that there was no pool in the Sanctuary area. There was a hot tub inside & two outside in the area that is open to all passengers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 6 by travelin.sisters
photos

[travelin.sisters]

Post 6: Deck 17–Sun

 

The Sun deck runs from forward to aft & often overlooks the Lido deck.

 

 

 

 

 

Going down from the Sanctuary in the front of the ship there is the adult only Retreat pool & bar. There are cabins & suites in this area of the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving to midship, there are hot tubs, showers & loungers overlooking the Sky pool on the lido deck. This is also a good place to watch Movies Under the Stars. A band stand in the middle of this area is used for various events including the Sailaway party.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing aft, on the portside is the Youth area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starboard is the fitness center which is open 24/7.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the very end of the Sun deck is another area with seating that overlooks the Wake View pool.

 

 

[travelin.sisters]

Post 7: Deck 18–Lido

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, the food & the pools! Descending from the Sun deck to the Lido furthest aft is the Wake View pool & bar area. This is a nice place with a lot of different seating options (individual, tables & groups). It leads into the World Fresh Market (aka the buffet) which is huge & will get its own post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond this we find probably the busiest part of the ship, the Lido deck pool area. I was actually surprised that a ship as large as the Discovery had only one general pool area. I don’t swim or sun on ships so it isn’t an issue for me but I wonder if it is enough? 

 

There are two pools with a hot tub area in the middle (sadly they do not have the light & fountain show like the Majestic does). There is a bar on either end in addition to Swirls, Slice & the Salty Dog Cafe. On such a short cruise I only tried a slice of pizza, which was good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forward of this are the Lido deck cabins.

[travelin.sisters]

Post 8: World Fresh Market

 

I know the World Fresh Market (WFM) is controversial, in fact our family was divided on it. I like all the choices & don’t mind going through first to peruse my choices before grabbing a plate. Others in our group found it overwhelming & didn’t want to have to walk so much to find something they wanted. I guess everyone will have to decide for themselves. I am thinking that on a longer cruise you would be able to figure out where the things you like are usually found. I did like (although we never had dinner in the WFM) that they put a list of the nightly themes in our room upon embarkation. 

 

 

The WFM is huge with tons of options. Entering from midship (the pool area) there is a smaller buffet section, then the Pastry shop, then further along a larger double rowed buffet section. We only did breakfast & lunch in the WFM. There are multiple hand washing stations at the entrances. Beverage stations & service are available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I always prefer breakfast in the buffet on Princess ships because I look forward to the design-your-own omelets. They were superb on the Discovery! When my sissy was having trouble walking because of the ship’s movement, I was able to order my omelet, grab her oatmeal & fixings & some baked goodies, drop those off & go back to pick up my omelet. Meanwhile she would grab a table (sometimes a challenge, but never impossible) & order our morning beverages. Sometimes getting someone to bring us drinks was challenging & one morning I had to go & snag silverware from another table but mostly it was good. We didn’t ever have to go to the MDR one morning so she could have eggs benedict because in addition to the omelets they have stations that make poached, fried & benedict eggs to order. We were happy, the rest of our group went to the IC for breakfasts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch had so many options! There were always tons of salad bar options & giant salad bowls. Burgers, hotdogs & fries were always available, as well as pastas, a carving station, make your own & premade sandwiches, international dishes & so much more. A variety of desserts & cookies were available everyday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[travelin.sisters]

Post 10: Middle Decks

 

On the Riviera deck (14) is the Concierge lounge & the Wedding Chapel.

 

 

 

 

 

We prefer the Aloha deck (12), it makes me smile when the elevator greets me with aloha upon arriving on our deck. I was sad that Princess made the choice to put the same carpet in both the port & starboard hallways as it always takes me a while to figure out which way to turn out of the elevators & the different colored accents on some of the carpets is helpful. I do like the hallways with little jogs in them as it feels less like you are walking for miles down a boring hall. I also like that the newer ships have a variety of photos lining them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Discovery has large, nice laundry rooms & currently is not charging to use the machines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We cruise with balcony & inside staterooms & these seemed comparable to others. I do like the layout of the cabins in the newer ships with the refrigerator cabinet facing the desk & no strange spots where the tv used to be. The inside cabin was one with the bed perpendicular to the door & seemed very spacious compared to previous ones. The balconies are small but we were comfortable with two people on ours. The only noise problem was from our own teens next door. Our steward was delightful as always.

 

 

 

[travelin.sisters]

posting the photos is taking way longer than expected, so its time for a break...more to come.

[TAW1963]

@travelin.sisters Thanks so much for the review and pictures!  My DW and I will be on the Discovery later this month for a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise and then we will be on the Discovery with you for the March Hawaii cruise.  

[Cruise-mom]

Thank you for the very thorough review and all the wonderful pictures. I'm excited to read and see more. We sail in two weeks so it really helps.

[New2cruise2022]

@travelin.sisters Thank you for the time you are investing in this. The pictures are stellar and the organization of your review is so very welcome. Did you happen to see the self-serve soda on the Lido deck? It’s possible this hadn’t been installed at the time of your sailing. 

[lakegirl16]

Thank you for your review.  I'm on the Discovery in February.  Looking forward to it, my first time on one of the newer ships.

[travelin.sisters]

1 hour ago, New2cruise2022 said:

@travelin.sisters Thank you for the time you are investing in this. The pictures are stellar and the organization of your review is so very welcome. Did you happen to see the self-serve soda on the Lido deck? It’s possible this hadn’t been installed at the time of your sailing. 

I did see it, guess I missed adding the photo, I thought it was a very neat idea...it is aft, out toward the wakeview bar on the starboard side....I never did find the bottle refiller that I had read about though

 

[travelin.sisters]

good morning...I was having so much trouble getting the photos loaded & in order last night that I have decided to break this up into smaller segments to make that easier (I wish it was easier to load photos directly where I want them on CC, but it is what it is) so here goes...next is the Promenade deck in lots of little segments: 

[travelin.sisters]

Post 11a: Deck 7–Promenade

 

Now down to the busy inside decks! The promenade around the outside of the Promenade deck is pitiful. It is blocked off at both ends & doesn't even have steps to go up or down & continue around. It is a narrow walkway squeezed between the walls & the lifeboats, not nice for walking at all. There is a little outdoor seating area with tables midship but not much space for loungers or much of anything else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 6 by travelin.sisters
clarity

[travelin.sisters]

Post 11b: Deck 7–Promenade

 

Inside forward is the top level entrance to the Princess Theater. I thought the theater was very nice & the seats have enough room to sit comfortably. My sister was sad that they do not have the retractable tables that the older ships do. At the very top there is a section with tall tables & stools. I did not see any beverage service in the theater the two shows I went to see. 

 

 

 

 

(because it makes sense to me, here are the Fiesta deck Princess Theater photos too)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[New2cruise2022]

Again, well done. Thanks for taking us on this journey. 

[travelin.sisters]

Post 11c: Deck 7–Promenade

 

Moving aft are the Shops of Princess. I like the layout of shops on the newer ships. With seating outside & not being all squeezed around the Piazza like the older ones. I am not a big ship shopper & didn’t buy anything, but they are nice shops. There is also a corner in this area where someone form Future Cruise/Captain's Circle sometimes has hours.

 

 

 

 

 

[travelin.sisters]

Post 11d: Deck 7–Promenade

 

Next is the area above the Piazza. Portside is the newly opened Catch by Rudi. Much of the time walking around this area on the port side is blocked off for that restaurant & my poor sister was chastised for trying to walk on that side. On embarkation day I was able to walk through & take photos of that area.