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

[whataboutport]

On 1/8/2024 at 1:20 PM, travelin.sisters said:

Post 15c: Dining–Night 3 Juneau MDR 

 

At lunch on the third day, someone was wandering through the WFM inviting people to the culinary show on the next day & asking about our dining experiences. I mentioned our issues & allergy concerns from the first night (which I had also reported in the first day survey with no response) & we were surprised shortly thereafter by Ricky, one of the head waiters from the Juneau dining room. He talked to my sister about her allergies & helped her pick out safe dishes for that night & suggested we try his dining room.

 

That night we went to Juneau when it opened & they were able, after a short wait to get us a table for 5. The difference from the first night dining experience was remarkable. We went from our worst ever Princess dining experience to our best. Haro, our waiter, asked & remembered our names. helped with allergies & was able to adjust menu items for the girls. We enjoyed our gala dinner.

 

 

they grabbed the rolls before I could get a photo! Princess breads are the best.

 

our 15-year-old liked the escargot

 

fettuccini alfredo (better on this cruise than some recent ones) & notice plenty of water!

 

the french onion soup was delicious & suitably topped with bread & chesse

 

BIL always asks for anchovies on his Caesar salad & he got timely beverage service

 

shrimp cocktail

 

surf & turf without the turf (allergies)...another strange Princess potato creation but it was all delicious

 

duck & her sister's lobster

 

the lobsters from those who didn't want them (this was the first time we've sailed where they charge for extra lobsters, but we could share for free)

 

dessert, of course

chocolate pistachio dome

 

crepes suzette

 

creme brulee

 

cheesecake again

 

& an icecream sundae

I'm surprised included lobster made an appearance! I thought that was a thing if the past. 

[memoak]

16 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

Thank you again! Such a thorough and refreshingly positive review. 
 

The MDR meal guide pictures are so interesting. I just want to study them and figure out what I want to eat and try asking for it even if it isn’t on the printed menu. 

I am really hoping this post is tongue in cheek

[wallyj]

19 hours ago, cheezenip said:

Do you recall the table number you were at in Juneau? I might go ahead and request Haro for the entire cruise.

Princess rotates where they assign the waiters, so do not be surprised if Haro is now not assigned to the section taking care of table 164. Better to ask if a table is available in Haro’s assigned section.

[cheezenip]

4 hours ago, wallyj said:

Princess rotates where they assign the waiters, so do not be surprised if Haro is now not assigned to the section taking care of table 164. Better to ask if a table is available in Haro’s assigned section.

Thank you for the advice. 

[New2cruise2022]

9 hours ago, memoak said:

I am really hoping this post is tongue in cheek

Of course. I don’t feel a need to add or delete anything when ordering. I’m happy to push aside something I don’t want or go without something I do need. 

[CruiseMob]

On 1/8/2024 at 10:24 PM, New2cruise2022 said:

Thank you again! Such a thorough and refreshingly positive review. 
 

The MDR meal guide pictures are so interesting. I just want to study them and figure out what I want to eat and try asking for it even if it isn’t on the printed menu. 

I kept thinking I wish they had the pics on the menus. It would make selection easier. 😁

[travelin.sisters]

7 hours ago, CruiseMob said:

I kept thinking I wish they had the pics on the menus. It would make selection easier. 😁

I was actually surprised by the laminated photos, as the dishes look different from ship to ship & our last cruise there were dishes that came out differently from day to day...I had whole sets of photos of dishes looking totally different from day to day in my last life...it was a little bizarre how inconsistant things were on that ship

 

[warthog2608]

Great review and pictures! We were on this same cruise with a crew - Wife & I (Elite), youngest nephew (Ruby), oldest nephew (Gold) and his GF (1st timer)  I have been studying the crowd pictures to see if I can see any of us in them, so far no.  

I'm glad you got a picture of the ship's officers. I always take a picture of the officers board but somehow missed it this cruise. We were on the Discovery 2 months prior in October and most of the officers are different.

It's interesting how the dining experience can vary so much from day to day, even in the same mdr. We ate in Ketchikan every evening, and always had great service and meals. Your worst dining experience would have been our worst as well, never had it that bad. Glad things improved for you. 

Looking forward to another of your in-depth reviews!

Edited January 11 by warthog2608
typo

[travelin.sisters]

oops! I have been focusing on other things & thinking about our upcoming Hawai'i cruise & didn't get back to finish this so here's one last wrap-up post & videos of dolphins

 

Post 18: Cruise Thoughts

 

I think that’s it for the info about the Discovery Princess, time for some random thoughts & musings. We really did enjoy the ship. There are a few things I would change if I were planning my ideal ship, but all in all it was delightful.

 

Except for one waiter & restaurant manager the first night (& I am willing to put that down to being totally overwhelmed), the crew was fantastic. From Melissa who helped us at guest services shortly after our arrival, to Munchies who greeted me with a high-five the first & every time I stopped by the International Café, Yvonne who would stop her polishing of the brass around the public areas to chat, Gladys our patient stateroom steward (teens are messy!), Gloria at OceanFront, Rosemary in the spa, Lydia with the Future Cruise department, & so many people whose names I never knew the crew was so friendly & hard working. I say that one of the big reasons we cruise Princess is because the crews are so wonderful & the crew of the Discovery were one of the best.

 

Although it was a short cruise, I was impressed by the way Captain Genzo kept us informed of what was happening. I didn’t participate in any of the activities, but there were plenty to join in on. All I really know about the CD Cole, was from watching the Wake Show & I wasn’t terribly impressed & found his humor a little “adult” for a cruise with so many kids onboard. Many people really seem to like him though & he was very personable the one time I met him. I wasn’t able to find the enrichment activities on the stateroom TV but am hoping that on a longer cruise they will be available. I am looking forward to meeting the officers on our March cruise although there will be a new captain & CD.

 

Even though the ship was very full I rarely felt like it was terribly crowded. There are a lot of places to find to hang out on the ship. I realize I didn’t replace the x’s I put for the numbers in my earlier post with the actual passenger numbers. I don’t know what I did with the paper I wrote the number of passengers on but there were somewhere around 4000 people up from nearer 3600 on the Hawai’I curies just before. There were quite a few rooms with 3 & even 4 people in them & around 600 kids.

 

The rooms were pretty typical of Princess cabins. The layout feels a little more open than the older ships but the balconies are narrow. I know people have complained about the beds, but we slept really well in them & found them comfortable.

 

This was our first cruise hiding ducks which was fun on a cruise with a lot of small children. I really prefer at least a 7-day cruise a 3-4 day one doesn’t feel long enough to relax well, but we did enjoy ourselves & the Christmas décor was fun.

 

The most exciting part of the cruise was seeing hundreds of small leaping dolphins the first evening out of San Pedro! For almost 10 minutes they followed the ship leaping alongside. My videos aren’t great but you can definitely see them leaping.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for joining me & I'll probably be back mid-March with a live of our Hawai'i cruise...

Edited January 19 by travelin.sisters

[Cat2265]

@travelin.sisters thank you for one of the finest reviews of a ship I have ever seen. Such a comprehensive review and a wide variety of areas covered.  I think you did a better job showcasing the Discovery than Princess has!😉. We look forward to the March  Hawaiicruise and catching up with you at the meet and greet! 😎 Cathy & Robert 

[travelin.sisters]

6 hours ago, Cat2265 said:

@travelin.sisters thank you for one of the finest reviews of a ship I have ever seen. Such a comprehensive review and a wide variety of areas covered.  I think you did a better job showcasing the Discovery than Princess has!😉. We look forward to the March  Hawaiicruise and catching up with you at the meet and greet! 😎 Cathy & Robert 

wow! how kind...so much looking forward to March!