Emerald vs Discovery

[sjde]

It's hard to get info on a ship that hasn't debuted yet, but other than more cabins, more restaurants and bars, what will the Discovery have that the Emerald doesn't? I know it's lacking a Promnade deck,  or at least one that goes all the way around, and that its balconies are smaller than on the Emerald. Does anyone know if it'll have a lot more for kids and teens? Thanks!

[patrickmoran]

Discovery has fewer bars/entertainment areas than the Emerald.

[sjde]

That’s surprising. It’s such a larger ship . Is all the space for the additional guests? 500 I think. 

[John99]

In my humble opinion – Discovery has much more in activities, entertainment, bar and lounges, etc. than the Emerald.

 

Emerald Princess cruise ship deck plan shows a total of 1539 cabins for 3082 passengers served by 1200 crew/staff. The ship has 15 passenger accessible decks, 12 restaurants and bars, 8 lounges, 4 swimming pools, 7 Jacuzzis, 14 elevators. Passenger-use launderettes (Laundromats) are located on decks 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14.

 

Discovery Princess cruise ship deck plan shows a total of 1834 cabins for 3668 passengers (max capacity is 4610) served by 1411 crew-staff. The boat has 15 passenger-accessible decks, 14 bars and lounges, 2 swimming pools, 8 outdoor Jacuzzis (whirlpool hot tubs), 16 elevators.

 

Discovery Princess Bars

Bellini's

Concierge Lounge

Disco Bar

Skylight Bar

Vista Lounge

Wake View Bar

Wine Cellar

Crown Grill & Bar

Crooners Lounge & Bar

Good Spirits

Ocean Front

SeaView Bar

Discovery Princess Casino

 

Discovery Princess Entertainment

Movies Under The Stars

Princess Theater

Princess Theater- Lower Level

Take Five

THE MIX

The Piazza Atrium

Bandstand

Crooners Lounge

 

Discovery Princess Kid's Areas

Children’s Outdoor Area

Remix Lounge

Youth Center

Teen Lounge

[sjde]

Thanks. I just spent a half hour chatting ( mostly on hold- she was having system problems) and then was kicked off before she could answer my questions about restaurants , bars and pools. She did say there was no difference in kid’s activities.

 

It looks like Emerald has no Disco bar, Take five or Bellinis. 

Edited March 7, 2021 by sjde

[40yearcruiser]

We spent 71 days on the Emerald Princess in 2016-17 and are booked on it again for 41 days in 2022, which hopefully will be going. We have also cruised multiple times on Royal and Regal Princess. Each class of ship has it's advantages. The Royal class ships are newer and have a really large and beautiful Piazza. They also have a larger buffet that is very nicely arranged, although who knows how the buffets will be organized once the cruises restart. They have Alfredos or Gigi's, which is great if you like pizza and pasta. They also have deluxe balcony cabins, which are between the regular balcony and mini-suites in size. However, the balconies are smaller, especially on the mini-suites.  The Emerald is older so is showing her age a little, but the mini-suite and Caribe deck balconies are extra-large. We love the Skywalkers lounge, which also serves as the disco and has a bar. There is a Vines wine bar just off the Piazza which is very popular. The Explorer Lounge is in roughly the same location as Princess Live on the newer ships and it also has a bar. Although smaller, we never had a shortage of things to do on the Emerald. At this point, getting on ANY cruise ship would make us happy!

[skynight]

Here is the way I look at it.

Discovery will be a brand new ship. While the layout isn’t totally to my preference Princess has made passenger friendly design adjustments to the original Royal Class layout. If you book the Discovery you will almost certainly enjoy the ship.

You just can’t count the bars and restaurants you have to think in terms of what is important to you. We have spent many days on board the Emerald. It’s a great ship with a great design. But I wouldn’t hesitate to book the Discovery. In fact we originally had booked the Discovery for Christmas/New Year 2021, but, of course, those cruises were cancelled.

Edited March 7, 2021 by skynight

[John99]

Skynight well said.  I agree with your comments.

[skynight]

12 hours ago, sjde said:

Thanks. I just spent a half hour chatting ( mostly on hold- she was having system problems) and then was kicked off before she could answer my questions about restaurants , bars and pools. She did say there was no difference in kid’s activities.

 

It looks like Emerald has no Disco bar, Take five or Bellinis. 

Emerald has Skywalker's which is a nightclub. Great location high above for daytime reading, cocktails and such. Opens as a nightclub with a DJ around 9 or 10pm. Guess this can be called a disco bar, but, of course, disco is a thing of the 1970's.

No Take Five but it has Adagio Lounge. Another great location for daytime reading, quiet talk, cards and other activities. Bar was open from 4:30 until 11pm. There may be a piano player at times. I have also seen the Princess orchestra playing jazz sets there in the evening.

No specific Bellini's Bar on the Emerald. Crooner's Bar services that area on deck 7. On the other hand the Emerald has the Wheelhouse Bar. This is a combination lounge and dining location. In the evening there is live music and dancing in the Wheelhouse. It is also the location for the Salty Dog Gastropub. On certain sea days this is the location used for the no charge Pub Lunch. Pub Lunch on the Discovery probably will be in the Crown Grill/Crown Grill Bar. On deck 5 the Emerald has Vines Wine Bar. Nice selection of wines. No Vines on the Discovery, but almost certain a nice selection of wines will be available at some other location. Too much demand and money to be made to eliminate totally.

[Tak8]

I was scheduled to be on Discovery for the New Year's cruise which is now on the Regal.  One bar I will miss if/when I get to sail on Discovery is Vines.  It's a fun place to hang out.  

[Astro Flyer]

13 minutes ago, Tak8 said:

One bar I will miss if/when I get to sail on Discovery is Vines.  It's a fun place to hang out.

We’ll also miss Vines which beginning with Enchanted was replaced with a dedicated space for the Salty Dog Gastropub which they must feel will generate more income.

[voljeep]

14 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

We’ll also miss Vines which beginning with Enchanted was replaced with a dedicated space for the Salty Dog Gastropub which they must feel will generate more income.

we went to Vines almost every night on our cruises - sometimes I would even head down first while my wife was finished getting ready - esp if we had an inside cabin

 

Now I know that wouldn't work for everyone ( me going ahead ) , but it worked well for us

[skynight]

I'm thinking that a Vines selection of wines will probably be available at some location

Crown Grill Bar

Take Five

Piazza Bar 

[Mom33]

21 hours ago, John99 said:

In my humble opinion – Discovery has much more in activities, entertainment, bar and lounges, etc. than the Emerald.

 

Emerald Princess cruise ship deck plan shows a total of 1539 cabins for 3082 passengers served by 1200 crew/staff. The ship has 15 passenger accessible decks, 12 restaurants and bars, 8 lounges, 4 swimming pools, 7 Jacuzzis, 14 elevators. Passenger-use launderettes (Laundromats) are located on decks 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14.

 

Discovery Princess cruise ship deck plan shows a total of 1834 cabins for 3668 passengers (max capacity is 4610) served by 1411 crew-staff. The boat has 15 passenger-accessible decks, 14 bars and lounges, 2 swimming pools, 8 outdoor Jacuzzis (whirlpool hot tubs), 16 elevators.

 

Discovery Princess Bars

Bellini's

Concierge Lounge

Disco Bar

Skylight Bar

Vista Lounge

Wake View Bar

Wine Cellar

Crown Grill & Bar

Crooners Lounge & Bar

Good Spirits

Ocean Front

SeaView Bar

Discovery Princess Casino

 

Discovery Princess Entertainment

Movies Under The Stars

Princess Theater

Princess Theater- Lower Level

Take Five

THE MIX

The Piazza Atrium

Bandstand

Crooners Lounge

 

Discovery Princess Kid's Areas

Children’s Outdoor Area

Remix Lounge

Youth Center

Teen Lounge

The deck plans show 4 pools for Discovery: Retreat, Wakeview and 2 pools in center of Lido Deck (Sky Pools).