The following review of the newest ship in the Princess line was posted on April 25, 2022 following a cruise of 7-days from April 10, 2022 to April 17, 2022. I am not employed by any cruise line and present my observations based upon a love of cruising which stared in the early 80's. The comments made herein are solely my own and are made with an effort to improve the enjoyment of cruising. Any comments may be directed to my Email at dave-scott@cox.net
On April 25th of 2022 The following is posted in an effort to improve the cruising experience.
Here's an honest review of our recent Princess cruise just completed on the new Discovery Princess. Without hesitation the good, the bad and the should be better info on a 7-day cruise on the newest ship to join the line. We cruised on the Discovery during it's very early entry into service, perhaps only it's second or third full sailing.
Right up front has to be the ship itself.
While the Discovery has many new features to make the cruise great for it's guests it also has a few concerns that hopefully will be addressed in the near future. While the ship is beautiful and easily negotiated the experience was not as pleasant as previous cruising experiences with Princess.
Right from the top let me be perfectly honest and straight forward ....our cruise was great and even with shortages of staff the ship staff did it's very best to make sure we all had a good time and great cruise experience.
Myself and partner have sailed with princess on one or two times a year for the past few years. The Discovery cruise itinerary, service, friendliness and accommodations have always served our purpose and given us a really good time on the seas.
Having said all that let me spend a little time on some of the many elements involved in a cruise. Some of which need to be fixed on the Discovery.
Let's begin at the start of our 7 days. With the pandemic waning the restrictions had begun to lessen. However negative tests were still mandatory and we felt comfortable with that. Three of our party had acceptable medical letters noting our negative tests. Two others however had hand written letters and those apparently didn't meet the requirements. The two ladies were taken to another room and after several minutes finally tested again and found negative. Aside from the delay with being allowed on the ship they did join us and went on to enjoy the cruise. A situation we were actually happy to have followed assuring the protection of all of us and other cruisers. Once on board we began our journey.
Aboard the ship we immediately went to make sure our times for the dining room, which had been done several weeks ahead, were still effective. First glitch, no record of our reservations and no room in the schedule to make new ones. We originally asked for a specific table at a window but, now that was not available. It took about a half an hour and finally got a table buried in another room. While we're talking about the dinning room and food the slip ups got worse. While trying to settle a table for the remainder of the week we were told that our reservations for a specialty dinning, on Wednesday, had been cancelled (we had pre-paid the cost)and we would have to accept a Tuesday reservation with no other night possible. Okay, have to be flexible we thought. It appeared our Elite status had been dropped to "first time" cruisers and I really started to feel uncomfortable. But, I thought new ship, lack of full staff I'll just go with the flow. Monday and Wednesday we floated tables and finally on Thursday we we were told our table would be the same for the rest of the cruise. While seating was screwed up the food was not. Although our waiter was slow and many times one or two of us waited, while the others were served their course, we eventually all got our course choice even though mine was cold on two occasions. Leaving one or two of us waiting for drinks at the table happened often. The major complaint was when wine was served it was done so with about an inch and a half of wine in a huge wine glass. Three sips of wine does not make a glass of wine, especially for the cost being charged. Maybe smaller glasses should be used. I believe all of the problems I mention happened every night because of a shortage of staff or new people being trained on what to do. Average time for us to have dinner was 2 hours plus some nights. We missed some other activities because of the lengthy times. There was no question however that the food served was quality and everything I remember from cruising Princess in the past. I must admit that dinning is one of the high points of cruising and when it doesn't meet the high Princess standards it effects the entire cruise attitude. But again the food itself was great. I mention the dinning first because it is such an important part of cruising.
The five of us all had a balcony room and although the room seemed a little smaller than what i remember from past cruises, it was still comfortable, kept clean, made up and turned down very well. Two of our party had major toilet problems in their room over a couple of nights. The passengers are older and that caused some uncomfortable moments on their part. One of our group was a little upset because of the constant smell of marijuana coming from a nearby stateroom. One of our group was a single in her room. She paid the additional costs but, on the first night the room steward took 2 pillows from her bed explaining that she was a single sleeper. It took several days of asking before the guest got the pillows returned which she needed because of her back problems. Princess has always been known and complimented for it's attention and assistance for it's cruisers. I can only hope this is not the newest approach for the princess crews. I do have to say the sound proofing between rooms and floors far exceeded previous Princess ships we have sailed on.
A disappointment for the five of us was the inside smoking room. Yes we are all smokers. No problem with the outside smoking area at the rear of the ship but, the Churchill's smoking lounge appeared to be an
afterthought. With very limited seating in a smaller room made for some uncomfortable times. With only 10 seats to accommodate passengers there were times person after person would come in, look around and leave because of a lack of comfortable seating. I do have to say that although it wasn't often when our server did visit the room, Ardi was top level in his manner and his service to us and for that matter to everyone in the room at the time. Unlike earlier cruises Ardi was the only staff member who took the time and effort to become a "Cruising Friend" and a welcome smiling staff member who was certainly a caring individual who rapidly became an additional highlight of our cruise.
Understanding that the ship was put into service after a pandemic and staff was short, the entertainers were also short changed as was the audience. One of the most satisfying parts of a Princess cruise has always been it's entertainment programs. The quality of entertainment and those performing was always a high point in cruising Princess. The entertainment on this cruise was far less than we would have expected. While the single performer shows were somewhat entertaining they were nowhere close to what the level of entertainers Princess is known for. The professional production presentations were also lacking. Only one night presented a production show. While we didn't make it because dinner took so long we were told by others it was ok but, it did not reflect the professional work Princess has always presented to cruisers. Being a part of the entertainment industry I have to say this was the biggest disappointment of the cruise for us. The lounge acts and atrium acts provided some moments of smiles but no where close to the princess quality we've come to expect. It seems like those planning the events at night forgot that most of the cruisers were at an advanced age and the scheduling of things like the karaoke night were set for a late time, perhaps that's why is was only set for an hour. On other cruises it was always a popular event.
During ocean time, in previous times there were always plenty of activities scheduled for cruisers to enjoy. I have to say whoever was responsible for the activities planned for both day and night time failed in their objective of keeping cruisers busy and entertained. Most of the planning was to sell, sell, sell. It was almost like someone saying "We have nothing to offer the cruisers so let's just make money selling product.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the Casino on board. As always great friendly staff, friendly servers always there when you needed another drink and a group who genuinely seem to enjoy their work. I had one small problem that was taken care of by the managers when a machine duplicated something I had done twice but did it on it's own a few additional times. The other 4 in our party had a lot of fun. One even had the good luck of playing a machine at the right time and scored a big win. The machines might be a little tighter than say Vegas but, the fun element is still there.
To sum it all up I hope Princess is able to find remedies to bring the Discovery cruises back to the fantastic voyages we have experienced with the line. I must admit however, that we are considering other lines or other Princess ships for a future cruise. The spark of excellence we have always found on the Princess line is not yet available on the Discovery. We're hopeful they rediscover that perfect combination that gives the cruisers the true experience and enjoyment of a Princess cruise.
(posted 4/25/2022 to: Princess cruise line, Cruise critic, Various individuals, Facebook, Blog)
