Mediocrity has plagued this ship

Item: Discovery Princess
Rating: 3.3
Author: edwinvon

Discovery Princess Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

edwinvon

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 34

Overall rating:

3.3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Alaska Inside Passage (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 12, 2022

Ship: Discovery Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: M114

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

It was very nice to be onboard a new ship. We really enjoyed the balcony in our stateroom and the room steward was awesome. We were really looking forwards to the dining yet were very disappointed. We dined at Ketchikan dining nightly. Seems they had an overflow of tiny baby prawns they were trying to make us eat every single meal. The selection was minimal, they did not adhere to my food allergies (except once) and over all was a waste of our time. The buffets, mediocre at best with the same stuff day after day. It was like being stuck in a Golden Coral time loop. Needless to say, the food presentation was great but the taste and temperature of the food was a 4 out of 10 on the best day. Then we tried slices pizza. It was decent pizza but they would not make us a vegetarian pizza. 3 different days my wife requested one and they acted like they either were not allowed to or did not have the ingredients. Weird considering the ingredients are all the same that are on the salad bar in buffets. Then the Salty dog grill. WOW! This is by far, the worst hamburger I have ever had. How can anyone with the product, the facility and the customer base readily waiting make something so simple taste so badly. I was in shock and spit out the 2nd bite. The executive chef needs to take some time off, retire or spend time in Vegas and learn how these meals should be prepared. It reminds me of the local culinary school where they have wonderful presentations and display them in the windows on the street but you cannot eat the product. Looks great, taste like crap! Stay away from the spa. They ended up charging me $500+ for vitamins I merely spoke with them about and did not confirm I wanted them. A week after returning home, a 6 month supply arrived and explained the $500+ overage on my room charges. Although I reached out to Princess on 6/2/22, they have not replied and there is no way to see the itemized bill in my online profile. They got the money, they could care less about me now. It is ok, I will not be back, ever!!!

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Fast and flawless. We were on the ship before we knew it.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Mediocre food prepared but people who know how to make food look good, they simply have no idea about what it should taste like. If you have food allergies, plan on them NOT paying any attention to your requests.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Pool, too cold. Rock Climbing, did not know it was there. Fitness center, we learned about it on day 6. Medallion app did not work before, during and after the cruise for my android or my wife's iPhone.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Nothing great to be seen here.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Waiters were ok and those working the pizza place and the hamburger/hotdog place by the pool were not friendly, would not make items to order and the hamburger was one of the worst I have ever had. Our room steward was 100% excellent.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Layout was nice but challenging when going from the front to the back as you had to use elevator, the walk then stairs then walk. There was not direct path on any level.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The cabin was very nice and we are so thrilled we opted for the balcony. By far the best part of the cruise. Our stateroom staff was awesome.

Ship tip

Do not talk to anyone in the spa about any products they offer. You may receive them in the mail and be billed for them like I was.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

4 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

1 out of 5

I have no idea why we stopped here. It did give us an opportunity to buy some groceries in town and I received a haircut.

Thumbs Up 0

CRUISE ENDICOTT ARM & DAWES GLACIER

3 out of 5

Not much to see here other than snow covered mountains and ice in the water.

Thumbs Up 0

Juneau, Alaska

4 out of 5

Juneau was very nice. We took the tram ride and although it was a LONG line to get back down the mountain, it presented nice views and photo opps.

Thumbs Up 0

Skagway, Alaska

4 out of 5

Very nice and enjoyable place. We took the train ride/excursion which provided many great photo opportunities.

Thumbs Up 0

Victoria, British Columbia

3 out of 5

Too late at night to pay $30 for a bus ride into a town where everything but bars are closed.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

Quick but guest services was swamped and could not get our list of charges.

4 Comments

Cruiseandbike 2 years ago

I will be on the Discovery in a couple of weeks . Can anyone tell me if there is a show in the princess theater each night like prepandemic.

Thumbs Up 0

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1960cruiser 2 years ago

Either you are commenting about a different ship or you are not being honest. Any deck you are on from deck 7 all the way up to 16 you can walk from forward to aft. The food changed every day I was on the ship and you must be some hamburger specialist. I found the hamburgers really good. You wanted a veggie pizza, then go to Gigis pizza, its free. You want a itemized list of account, go to guest services or your TV, its right there. I was on the Discovery Princess a few weeks ago and all those issues you spoke of didn't happen to me or I knew how to obtain. Don't blame cruise lines for you ignorance.

Thumbs Up 6

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AuntPinkie 2 years ago

Sorry this cruise didn’t meet your expectations.

Thumbs Up 0

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Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing

Thumbs Up 1

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