Some hits and misses. Ship was beautiful. Previous health protocols were not adhered in board. Disappointed missed ports, Skagway and Endicott Arm, but weather and rockslide, but nature is never as expected.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We completed our Embarkation profile three weeks before the cruise, We were Group A, Green Lane and 11 am arrival time. We were on board by 11:30, in our cabin 11:35 and at GiGi’s, Alfredo’s on other ships, at 12 noon. Very quick and efficient
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We had lunch at GiGi’s twice this cruise, and the pizza was great as it is on other Princess Ships. The pizza here is much better than Slice Pizzeria on the Lido Deck. All of our breakfast’s and most of the dinners were in the Skagway Dining Room on Deck 6. The service in the Dining room was great, using the Dine my Way App before we boarded, we always had our reservation, no problems no lines. But the menus have become boring. Granted, we have done six cruises since last year, and the menus are pretty much the same. Breakfasts are all the same, nothing exciting. The food was good just not a “wow”. We did dine at The Crown Grill, a great steak house on the ocean. The baked onion soup and ribeye still outstanding.
Wake View Bar
5 out of 5
Best place for Sunrise and Sunset photos,
World Fresh Marketplace
2 out of 5
Buffets never our favorite. No one assuring passengers wash hands, use sanitizer. Very disappointed . Too many rude people.
Gigi's Pizzeria
5 out of 5
The pizza here is fabulous. More options, and better than Slice Pizzeria on Lido Deck.
International Café
5 out of 5
Tea, and coffee in The Piazza, always a great be. Try the almond croissant.
Crown Grill
5 out of 5
Always a must. Service, food, consistent from other ships we have dined there.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The Princess Patter as always, is filled with all sorts of events throughout the day. Oddly, on this cruise, we did not participate and attend many of the events we normally have done in the past. We attended the new game show, Deal or No Deal, replaced the Voice of the Ocean, It was fun, you can watch without buying a ticket, but the ticket gives you chances of being a participant on stage to win a cruise or $1000. The visit to the casino, was fun, sometimes profitable, but upsetting that it allowed smoking in the casino after no smoking for 6 months. We went to Bingo on last day, Bingo has become very boring, the bingo Character “Fortuna Luck”, has become very annoying.
Retreat Pool
5 out of 5
Quiet, comfortable. Adults only!
Lotus Spa & Salon
5 out of 5
Couples hot stone massage, was relaxing. No hard sell for products on this cruise.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
As always, music on all Princess ships is music is played everywhere on the ship. The variety and quality of music is astounding. The musicians of the Princess Orchestra are truly fabulous. No recorded or music tracks in the theater. On board were two great production shows, Spotlight Bar, brand new and exclusive to Discovery, was fantastic and Rock Opera was as good on previous ships on the past cruises.
Piazza
5 out of 5
Great people watching location.
Princess Theater
5 out of 5
Beautiful, large theater. Rock Opera and Spotlight Bar, two great production shows.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Service throughout the ship was great, no problems or complaints, our steward Sherwin, was nice, he was fine, but nothing very special.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The new ship feels brand new, just beginning service in March, the ship is beautiful. The ship seems more bright, the Princess Live is more open, small cocktail table and chairs replaced the previous seats of rows, a great change. Also the Vista Lounge was brighter, more comfortable. Major disappointment, the ship seems to have stopped its previous health and safety strong protocols. Food in the Buffet, not served to passengers, they are serving them
selves. Previous 5 Princess cruises, crew member was at entrance of Buffets to strongly request passengers to wash hands, use Purell etc, that does not happen. Viewed many not washing their hands throughout the ship. Very disappointed.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We were in a Mini Suite., larger room and full size bathtub giving us a bigger bathroom. This cabin, on the Starboard side was located where the ship bows out and gives you a much bigger balcony.
Ship tip
Odd cabins, Port Side, Even Cabins, Starboard Side. Casino and Theater forward, Vista Lounge, Dining rooms Aft. Easy to get around.
Normally known to be one of the rainiest cities in Alaska and USA, this day was spectacular. We went to the Hump Island Oyster Farm. Great and different experience.
Always one of our favorite ports. We went on a Whale Watch as in the past. The good part about this excursion, we did see a few whales, in clouding to Gray Whales, rare in these waters. Billed as a night whale watch, included a buffet dinner, the food was great, but the boat was too big with 54 passengers. On previous two whale watching was on a much smaller group boat of 14, allowing us to maneuver us quicker and closer to the whales. Before we went the tour, we made our first stop to Tracy’s Crab, great experience and great crabs.
Three rockslides in Skagway, within three weeks, damaging our pier that Princess uses. We were diverted to Sitka which was not a bad stop. Heavy rain all day, did not stop our enjoying this day.
The city of Victoria was beautiful. Our excursion to Butchcart Gardens was very disappointing. We first stopped at a butterfly garden which made our stop at Butchart too late to appreciate the gardens. The sun had already set, and the lights was throughout was almost not visible. Advertised in the gardens website was fireworks on Saturday evenings, but this was cancelled. Also very disappointing. The stop in Victoria I should be longer, arriving very late afternoon and sailing at 11:30 pm makes this stop a waste of time.
Port Valet in Seattle. Free service to send luggage from your cabin to your baggage claim in your final arrival airport, is one of the best services of cruising In Seattle and also other similar service on other ports. Luggage picked up from our cabin at 10:00 pm, and next time we saw it on Sunday in Ft. Lauderdale. We received our luggage tags and our boarding passes We just walked off ship at 7:30 am, transfer to SEA airport, with our TSA Pre, carryons, we at our gate within and hour from the ship.
I was surprised at the lack of hand washing on my sailing in June. Dined in buffet the whole week and honestly only saw passengers washing hands once going into buffet. Covid or not please wash your hands people 😉
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