Discovery’s inaugural season - nice to be back on the high seas!
Discovery Princess Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 9
Helpful Votes: 123
7 Night Mexican Riviera (Los Angeles Roundtrip)
Sail date: April 10, 2022
Ship: Discovery Princess
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: E214
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
A few hiccups, but an overall enjoyable vacation! Cruising is officially back! This voyage definitely had a few growing pains, but overall the ship was beautiful, the staff were helpful, an everything we needed we had. The food could be hit and miss, But the entertainment more than made up for it. Things that I had wished for on my last Princess cruise, such as deck parties or food representative of the destination, were present on this trip which was a really nice surprise. All in all, a lovely time and I’m booked to enjoy Discovery again in May to Alaska!Embarkation
Embarkation was a mess with 1200 more pax than the previous week. The line was confusing with luggage drop off wayyyy on the left and the line to get on wayyyy on the right. Pack your patience! It took us over an hour from drop off to stepping over the threshold despite being in the green lane.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The Crown Grill was great! We booked well before embarkation and that was great as they sold out quickly. Lobster was immaculate, dessert was impeccable. Appetizers and salad were ok.
The buffet was partly closed the entire time. Self serve was premature in my opinion. Options not as great for me as a pescatarian (I eat seafood but no other meat). Dessert options were repetitive. How about adding a soft serve machine to The Pastry Shop? There was both room and staff for it, and it would have been welcome to top cakes, cookies, or brownies.
We did not make our way down to the MDR this trip.
Onboard Activities
Way more activities than I expected! Yes No Gameshow and Karaoke were fun! Karaoke under the stars is something special. Surprised to find a deck party on princess! We loved it. Shell, Jun, and Corrinne were wonderful assistant cruise directors.
The pools were heated except for the Wakeview. Retreat pool is a must. Some hot tubs lukewarm.
Entertainment
The performers at the Rock Opera were truly outstanding, though it was more of a musical variety show than opera (no plot to speak of).
Meridian’s Beatles Tribute was awesome!
DJ Anthony needs some work.
Crooners Bar and Take 5 had more fantastic musicians.
Service and Staff
Everyone was as attentive, kind, generous, and lovely as can be. We did not see our room steward as often as we have on other trips, but that was fine - our room was always taken care of. Chetan and Pablo at the Wakeview pool were wonderful - Pablo is an excellent waiter.
Ship Quality
Ship design is not intuitive, and the hub of activity is based on the lower decks around the Piazza, which is beautiful. Pretty furnishings but wished for more covered/shaded deck space in the hot sun, and will want it for rain in Alaska. Surprised by how little covered area there was for scenic cruising in Alaska. I’m curious where people will gather for glacier viewing, for example.
The sea walk is really cool. We also liked the layout of Princess live. The casino is not as open as some casinos are, and the Cigar Lounge was a dud. None of the smokers I talked to cared for it.
Cabin / Stateroom
Our cabin was absolutely beautiful! The furnishings, textiles, overall layout and design were just lovely. Grateful to have a mini suite this trip because the extra space was appreciated. Our balcony was a nice size, the bathroom was a good size, the closet was a good size. The beds were extremely comfortable (which I would expect being only the third people to ever sleep on them)!
We could not get closed captioning to work on our TV the entire time, which is frustrating as I find closed captioning to be not only an accessibility essential but also useful for those nights when one member of your travel party is up later than the other and still wants to watch a show.
Disembarkation
We opted for a tour of Venice Beach and Santa Monica to kill time before a late flight. Disembarkation was not that smooth due to a medical emergency in our disembarkation group, which is not why I rate this lower. It’s because our tour guide, whether she realized it or not, was extremely negative about her subject matter. To go from a relaxing cruise to discussing homelessness, drugs, crime, shipping delays, oil refineries, Hunter Biden(???) and skyrocketing cost of living was..not pleasant. She could have talked about local flora and fauna, history, celebrity culture, etc., all would have been more enjoyable for the diverse group she was guiding.
Traveler Photos
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