Loved the eclipse. Hated the bedbugs.

Item: Discovery Princess
Rating: 3.6
Author: martinimickey

Discovery Princess Cruise Review

martinimickey

Contributor Level: Second Mate

15 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 47

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5

10 Night Mexican Riviera With Total Solar Eclipse (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 03, 2024

Ship: Discovery Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: D617

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 months ago

Review summary

If you have a chance to do 360, DO IT! Incredible

Embarkation

5 out of 5

One of the most efficient embarkation processes my husband and I have seen

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Main Dining Rooms

2 out of 5

In our experience with Skagway, you’ll get better food and service at the buffet.

World Fresh Marketplace

5 out of 5

Good quality and selection for cruise ship. Service was great. We chose this over main dining after four days.

International Café

5 out of 5

People are friendly, food is great for a quick bite, and no complaints about the specialty coffee.

Afternoon Tea

4 out of 5

The experience was good but lines start early and service feels rushed.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

We wanted to get a magnet (as we have from every other cruise) but they said they were out. They also had no merchandise for the solar eclipse. No covered hot tub out of the sun. Probably not major issues for may people, just personal preferences.

Hot Tubs

2 out of 5

I rated this low only out of personal preference. There are no covered hot tubs in an adult section out of the sun as on some other ships

Entertainment

5 out of 5

We enjoyed the enrichment lectures (eclipse cruise), comedians, bands and musicians.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

This varied so much. At main dining room, most people appeared distracted, annoyed, and overwhelmed ( with a few exceptions). At Good Spirits Bar, you will not find better service. Go see Katerina. The buffet staff is excellent. My main issue is with guest services. When we reported finding bedbugs, it required two visits to guest services for assistance. Despite our room steward saying they would reach out to us. Although one officer (Fraser) was very kind the day this occurred, he is not part of guest services or housekeeping. He simply saw the complaint that day and wanted to see how we were doing. He also continued to check on us daily Correct me if I’m wrong, I believe he’s a part of beverage management. I find this very frustrating on the part of guest services and housekeeping. We finally actually met with them three days later. This is the first time in 32 cruises we have had an issue with bedbugs (lucky I guess) but valuable lesson learned and I thought I should share.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Very narrow stairs. Be careful walking

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

The layout of the open closet next to the bathroom door gives no room for opening door if someone happens to be there. Bed was comfortable. USB charger next to bed on both sides in lamp. We found what looked like a live bed bug after several days and reported this to guest services. After two visits to them approximately 7 hours apart, it appeared they were not sure of the status of the investigation. They were able to find us another room (M401) and ultimately confirmed bedbugs. It took two days for anyone to reach out to us to discuss or even acknowledge our concerns. By the way, this is my first encounter with these little guys so if anyone has any advice I’d be happy to listen.