Embarkation was a disaster - arrived from the airport at 11:30 AM, boarded at 3:30 PM. Time docked in Juneau was not coordinated well with local transportation options. Hubbard viewing was from miles away, nowhere close to what previous ships had approached the glacier. Persistent creaking and tapping noises in our inside cabin would keep light sleepers awake all night. The Medallion system needs a lot of work to be a positive element for Princess. Main Dining Room, Gigi's Pizzeria, and International Cafe food was excellent. Buffet food was good, but the service there was very spotty. Service Post-COVID is improving,, but still far from pre-COVID quality.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Terrible exdperience - longest wait time to board a cruise ship we've ever experienced in over 43 years and 25 cruises. Transportation from home to airport to ship (via Princess transport) went smoothly. Over 1 1/2 hour wait in line to check-in to the ship - if you arranged for your Medallion to be sent to you before departure, you saved some time. Once we checked in to the ship and had our Medallion, we waited in line for over 2 1/2 hours` for customs.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We eventually arranged for the same Table, at the same time every night. Although we had made arrangements through the Princess app before departure, the system did not register our reservations and we had to start from scratch on day one. The serving staff in the Dining Room, for dinner, were excellent. Drink service in the Buffet was spotty - there were times when there were simply no drink servers around. The service, and food in the Pizzeria, Gino's was excellent. The food in the International Cafe was also excellent. We did not go to any specialty restaurants.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Children's Programs
No children in our group - three couples.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Dining service at our regular table was excellent. The few times we had dinner at other venues, the service was uneven. Service at Gigi's Pizzeria was excellent. Our room steward was excellent, although he wasn't able to solve the persistent noises - he did make several calls to maintenance to address the problem. Internet service is still terrible.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
New ship, so everything seemed in excellent condition.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Cabin seemed larger than previous inside cabins, There were persistent creaking and tapping sounds on the inside walls. Our cabin steward tried several times to have maintenance personnel fix the problem, but it persisted throughout the trip. We are both fairly sound sleepers so it did not keep us awake at night. We did buy some earplugs but could probably gotten by without them. Light sleepers would not be able to sleep.
Ship tip
If you reserved Dining times through the App, confirm them on board before going to the Dining Room. Cabin charges are not itemized, so check your charges daily and notify Guest Services of any iffy charges.
Ship arrived at 2 PM and left at 10 PM. Although that was a lot of time ashore, the shuttles to the Glacier had their last returning bus at 7 PM. We didn't get up to the Glacier until after 4:30 PM and had to hurry over to Nugget Falls and back to get in line for the 6 PM shuttle bus (which was full so we had to take the 6:30 bus - with many people still waiting for the next, and supposedly last shuttles).
The ship didn't get anywhere near the Glacier - too much ice. I suppose that was not surprising given the relatively early date of this cruise. However, this possibility should be high-lighted for anyone planning to actually see Hubbard Glacier.
On previous cruises (on other lines) we've envied Princess passengers getting off their ship in the middle of town. So we were disappointed when the Discovery Princess docked the furthest away from town. Some crew members mentioned something about "first come, first served" for docking access. Other seasoned (more than 20 Princess cruises) Princess passengers thought the Discovery was too large to dock in the mid-town docking area.
Even a bad cruise is still better than no cruise at all (Remember2020). Us seasoned cruisers are comparing it to post covid cruising. Sometimes, because of things beyond their control, our expectations need to be grateful. I learned that on the Diamond Princess in January. Even though the food all over the ship was bad, we found out there was a Covid outbreak of guests & staff. I can just imagine trying to cook if you are a baker....etc
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