We booked Discovery Princess (tears)

[atexsix]

4 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I’d forgotten about those tiny showers.  They are terrible.

Oh no, are they those attack shower curtains too?  We were also looking at the Solstice and all the showers have beautiful glass doors, not just the suites.

 

Thanks for all the replies, I will respond to everyone over the weekend.

[atexsix]

9 hours ago, maryandmarge said:

Bruno - Glad to see you and DD are going to try Alaska again this year.    Hopefully things go more smoothly for the two of you.    I know that the cruise we shared last September with you was not much fun for you.    I can’t give any opinion on Princess as we’ve never cruised on that line.  I can say that my favorite room on the ship is an aft facing balcony.     If not for the extra cost which sometimes can be a lot - I would always choose one of them.  Stay healthy and travel safe.   Hope someday our paths put us again on the same ship.  
Maryell

Omg, wasn't that awful?  I don't know what wax worse, getting sick or your friends playing that terrible joke on you.

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, atexsix said:

Oh no, are they those attack shower curtains too?  We were also looking at the Solstice and all the showers have beautiful glass doors, not just the suites.

 

Thanks for all the replies, I will respond to everyone over the weekend.

Those are the ones.

[atexsix]

4 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Those are the ones.

LoL....grrrr.  

 

Well I have a nice little secret with HAL, the locker room's near the gym have wonderful showers with doors on them, they usually have all the soaps and shampoo's available, and you don't need a spa pass to use them.  Best of all: HOT WATER!  Lots of it.  So I do my showering there and only have to use the room shower a couple of times.  I don't know about Princess, since the gym appears to be in a completely different location than the thermal suite. 

[atexsix]

19 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Bruno, I bet you and DD have a great time on Discovery Princess.  I've been on many Princess cruises before but not the newest few (Discovery, Sky, Enchanted, Magestic).  I just know I love International Cafe and the pizza restaurant.  Don't miss them!  The atrriums are stunning.  I can't wait to hear what you two think.  

I've heard a ton of great things about their pizza, so looking forward to that.  Will definitely let everybody know how I feel the ships compare, I can see already there are distinct differences just from booking the stateroom, only a precious few outsides, I don't know if those are going the way of the dodo or what.

 

19 hours ago, RedneckBob said:

Ditto, preferred having lunch at International Cafe than Lido. Unless Princess has changed Lido on this ship, layout of buffet makes it very crowded! Otherwise everything else was great.

Don’t worry, after sailing only HAL for +20 years I made the plunge to Princess and other lines have not been disappointed.

Even when DD could walk well, we just can't handle the Lido, I'm post stroke and it's too much for me, too much commotion.  We do use it, but either early in the morning or mid-afternoon.  Only rarely do we need it because of a shore excursion running late and the like, in those cases we'll just order room service.

 

18 hours ago, aliaschief said:

Bruno, After over 30 Hal cruises in a row we finally sailed on another cruise line. We did enough research through CC and watching You Tube tours of our ship and travel vlogs that we were as excited about sailing Azamara Quest as much as our first Hal cruise on the MS Volendam. We enjoyed the cruiseso much we have booked three more including a World Cruise.

Still enjoy our Hal cruises and currently on one. So for us it was refreshing to enjoy a new venue and line. Breaks up the routine.

 

Enjoy your Princess cruise.

After our last trip, I lobbied hard for a change of scenery, I don't necessarily relish the idea of sailing on one of those leviathan's but I feel like I'm missing out by not exploring outside my comfort zone at least a little bit.  There's also a bit of sentiment when it comes to Princess, DD and I, along with everybody older, are among the Love Boat generation, even the naysayers must admit that program went a long way to exposing people to cruising that otherwise wouldn't have thought about it.  So to never have sailed Princess in all these years is sad to me, what took so long?  I guess I was having too good a time on those 'dam ships.

 

18 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Bruno, please don’t feel bad for trying a new cruise line.  We have 34  Princess cruises, and have not had a bad cruise on them.  Yes, HAL is our preferred cruise line if all things are equal, but Princess has some nice ships and some great itineraries.  DH likes to say the biggest difference between the two is about ten years, the difference in the average age of the passengers.

 

You'll enjoy your cruise.

Thanks.  I think we're going to enjoy it.  But it could have been avoided if HAL thought a little outside the box on their itineraries, I know Covid really got in the way and still is in many parts of the world, but their going to miss the boat, pun intended, if they don't offer a little variety, there's no reason why one ship can't visit Skagway from Seattle, Glacier Bay is nice, but I'm tired of it at this point, I don't mind skipping it at all. 

 

17 hours ago, Kay S said:

If you can deal with that annoying Medallion app, you'll be fine.  My last Princess cruise was on the Majestic right after cruising reopened, and there were so many glitches and mistakes, I decided it would be a long time before I do Princess again (and I'm Elite there.)  I don't care for these giant mega ships they keep building, either.  You will be happy to come back to HAL, but Alaska is so wonderful, it doesn't really matter what ship you are on.

I've got several discussions going in the Princess forum on this.  The entire Medallion thing is a big confusing mess from the sound of it.  I finally determined from pictures that it's an app, it's a device, and it was a card at one point.  The device can be attached to a watch or some other wearable....like omg, can they make it any more confusing?  At least name them all something different.  Ugh! Hopefully we can get it sorted out, for me, DD doesn't deal with the apps, he'll just have the medallion device.  

 

DD and I make fun of the giant ships with rollercoasters and bumper cars on top, the appearance of them looks absolutely hideous beyond words, he and I will just look at each other open jaw during the commercials when RCI is rolling out their latest gimmick.  I've read in the RCI and NCL forums, that even the children aren't all that enamored with this stuff, and prefer the Carnival branded ships, sadly their going in the direction of cheesy forms of entertainment too.

[atexsix]

15 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

You will find your cruise to be a very good/excellent experience is my prediction.  The International Cafe, Sabatini's, Alfredo's, Crown Grill:  all excellent!  Music and entertainment that I enjoyed when I sailed on Royal Princess.  If the Royal Tea (an extra cost, quality Tea) is offered, I recommend it.  

 

 

I concur based on my Royal Princess experience.  A confused mess of too many separate serving lines where I actually became confused where I was and had difficulty finding my table where I had placed a couple of items to "hold my place".  (This was during Breakfast and no--I had not drunk any Bloody Mary's or Mimosas!)  

Yeah the Lido's don't work for us.  It's not the experience we associate with fine dining on a beautiful ship.  The first hurdle for us is finding a table, usually all they have during peak hours are the aisle locations, the ones where you get brushed by hundreds of passing elbows and bums.  Then I have to get DD situated, determine what he wants which he doesn't know, so I have to first walk around and see what's available, then I have to inform him, wait for a decision, wait in line, bring it back to him.  By the time I repeat the process for myself he's finished.....UGH.  

 

15 hours ago, mjmalino said:

I am actually the opposite of you. I have only cruised Princess and we are going on our first HAL cruise in May. We have been cruising Princess since 2007 when our kids were 8 and 9. They are now 22 and 23 and we still enjoy Princess. In fact, we are usually 3 generations that cruise together. Actually, this will be our first cruise with just my DH and I, so it will be interesting on a whole new level. I won't comment that you will like it compared to HAL since I have not sailed them yet, but I do think that you will like the Princess product.

And we're cruising about the same time too.  I'll definitely look forward to comparing with you.  Like you, I feel HAL is excellent and will not disappoint, each line shines in one or two ways the others don't.  We like the laid back quiet ambiance of HAL ships, life is harried as it is, so that's the appeal for us, and we'll still have it on Princess because of having the aft balcony, another reason I booked back there.  

 

14 hours ago, dobiemom said:

@atexsix Bruno, I’ve sailed Princess a couple of times. They have a nice product (not sure about that Medallion, though). BUT I find that their cabins are smaller than HAL. My first balcony was on Princess and I was SHOCKED at how small the cabin was. No sofa and a small shower stall. I wouldn’t book anything less than a mini-suite. (My GF is on the Discovery this weekend.)

She's on the maiden voyage?  Let me know how she liked the ship.  I thought I noticed Lisa was booked on Discovery too, can you confirm?

[atexsix]

14 hours ago, bennybear said:

We’ve sailed and like both but prefer Holland,  you’ll make your own list of pros and cons.  We too love the aft balcony. If it is a deluxe balcony it will be a little larger than the usual balcony, Our favourite spot on a ship if it’s smooth sailing.  
enjoy!

It's called a Premier Deluxe balcony and from the look of the pictures on the sister ships, it's definitely larger than the standard balconies with a partial covering due to the Lido pool deck above us.  The other aft balconies seem to be more open.  I think it's going to be nice up there.  Because of the pool, nobody will be to the left of us and only a penthouse suite to the right with that huge wrap around balcony, so we don't feel like we'll be right next to them.  Noise from above shouldn't be a major issue because it's Alaska in May, which is like Seattle in February, not really sun-bathing weather.  

 

Edit: The room is #724 I believe on Marina Deck 15.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by atexsix

[bennybear]

3 hours ago, atexsix said:

It's called a Premier Deluxe balcony and from the look of the pictures on the sister ships, it's definitely larger than the standard balconies with a partial covering due to the Lido pool deck above us.  The other aft balconies seem to be more open.  I think it's going to be nice up there.  Because of the pool, nobody will be to the left of us and only a penthouse suite to the right with that huge wrap around balcony, so we don't feel like we'll be right next to them.  Noise from above shouldn't be a major issue because it's Alaska in May, which is like Seattle in February, not really sun-bathing weather.  

 

Edit: The room is #724 I believe on Marina Deck 15.

 

 

The room is bigger too😍 IIRC

[Florida_gal_50]

3 hours ago, atexsix said:

LoL....grrrr.  

 

Well I have a nice little secret with HAL, the locker room's near the gym have wonderful showers with doors on them, they usually have all the soaps and shampoo's available, and you don't need a spa pass to use them.  Best of all: HOT WATER!  Lots of it.  So I do my showering there and only have to use the room shower a couple of times.  I don't know about Princess, since the gym appears to be in a completely different location than the thermal suite. 

Not sure about that on princess but it sounds like a good idea.

[Oceansaway17]

On 3/31/2022 at 12:10 PM, atexsix said:

I just wanted to let my HAL family know we booked the Discovery Princess for a May sailing.  It's going to be so new and different and a little nerve-wracking, after almost 20 years exclusively HAL.  First of all, we'll be back.  Second, for those that sail both lines, I need some words of comfort that we'll be perfectly fine in Princess' hands for a week.  As an added incentive we booked an aft balcony, first time ever, so we're excited about that at least.  

and remember it is all under the umbrella of Carnival Corp.  so you are good.

[dobiemom]

5 hours ago, atexsix said:

She's on the maiden voyage?  Let me know how she liked the ship.  I thought I noticed Lisa was booked on Discovery too, can you confirm?

My GF is on the 2nd voyage. Lisa had to cancel. 

[LadyBerard]

On 3/31/2022 at 2:02 PM, MISTER 67 said:

We sailed on the Rotterdam last week and I would have to say that the vibe on her was as high as I've ever seen on an HAL ship, seemed like there was a younger crowd than we are use to seeing on HAL ships, more like a Princess crowd which is not a bad thing.

My husband and I were on Rotterdam last week as well. I thought service was OUTSTANDING, as well as food in the dining room, in Pinnacle Grille, and even in the Lido.  LOVED the live bands and thoroughly enjoyed music trivia by the aft pool!

 

We hadn't sailed on Holland since 2008.  I forgot how absolutely wonderful it was!  I was truly impressed!!!  The only negative I have to say is that it took us close to an hour and a half to board, and I felt like I was at Disney,  except there were no signs saying you are umpteen minutes from boarding this ride.   Small price to pay for an absolutely wonderful cruise!

 

[MISTER 67]

48 minutes ago, LadyBerard said:

My husband and I were on Rotterdam last week as well. I thought service was OUTSTANDING, as well as food in the dining room, in Pinnacle Grille, and even in the Lido.  LOVED the live bands and thoroughly enjoyed music trivia by the aft pool!

 

We hadn't sailed on Holland since 2008.  I forgot how absolutely wonderful it was!  I was truly impressed!!!  The only negative I have to say is that it took us close to an hour and a half to board, and I felt like I was at Disney,  except there were no signs saying you are umpteen minutes from boarding this ride.   Small price to pay for an absolutely wonderful cruise!

 

We arrived around 10:30 and boarded at 11:35 but there was a lot of confusion going on with the staff in the terminal. I don't know why as HAL has been in cruise business for a long time. I know there were some of the terminal staff who said they were on the job for only 2 weeks plus some of the kiosk computers were not working right. I had one gal tell me as she checked my vaccination card and Covid test results, "I guess these are in order".

Edited April 1, 2022 by MISTER 67

[atexsix]

1 hour ago, dobiemom said:

My GF is on the 2nd voyage. Lisa had to cancel. 

😞  Bummer.  

[AtlantaCruiser72]

8 hours ago, atexsix said:

It's called a Premier Deluxe balcony and from the look of the pictures on the sister ships, it's definitely larger than the standard balconies with a partial covering due to the Lido pool deck above us.  The other aft balconies seem to be more open.  I think it's going to be nice up there.  Because of the pool, nobody will be to the left of us and only a penthouse suite to the right with that huge wrap around balcony, so we don't feel like we'll be right next to them.  Noise from above shouldn't be a major issue because it's Alaska in May, which is like Seattle in February, not really sun-bathing weather.  

 

Edit: The room is #724 I believe on Marina Deck 15.

 

 

 

A few additional room notes:  The deluxe balcony rooms on Princess are more HAL-esque in that they have a loveseat across from the desk between the bed and balcony door, just like on HAL Vista, Signature and Pinnacle Class ships.  I feel like the Princess ship have more space between the foot of the bed and the opposite wall vs HAL and the entry hall feels wider since the closet is an open walk-in by the bathroom.  Definitely makes getting ready easier.  The showers on Discovery are larger than older Princess ships, but smaller than the showers on the newest HAL ships, and yes they have Klingon-Curtains 😞

[Caribensun]

Atexsix, Zuirdam will be doing a 7 day Alaska rt Vancouver, right before Discovery,.  You could jump on Discovery same day as Zuirdam docks.

Sandipalms

[Radbooks]

You'll enjoy your time on Princess. We mostly cruise Holland, but have taken 6 or so Princess cruises and mostly enjoyed them. I usually travel with my 84 year old mom and while we LOVE Holland, we also enjoy the 'glitz' of Princess and really like Alfredo's Pizza... be sure to try it.

 

We usually do fixed seating on Princess but I know there are many choices now. I like the International Cafe for breakfast because I don't enjoy doing the buffet. Food is so subjective so it's hard to tell. We normally prefer Holland, but there are pros and cons with both lines.

 

Have fun! A new ship is always fun. 🙂

[Kay S]

57 minutes ago, Radbooks said:

 

 

We usually do fixed seating on Princess but I know there are many choices now.

Princess eliminated fixed seating and it is necessary to make a reservation for the MDR every day (on the cursed app.)  My last time, the dining room was a zoo every night with long lines waiting to get it.  

[Radbooks]

23 minutes ago, Kay S said:

Princess eliminated fixed seating and it is necessary to make a reservation for the MDR every day (on the cursed app.)  My last time, the dining room was a zoo every night with long lines waiting to get it.  

Oh, that sucks.

[Caribensun]

Thanks, I have heard a zoo in dining.  Mainly cruise Princess, but prefer HAL rooms and non smoking areas.  Looking forward to being on a new ship.

I previewed Discovery by a video, saw the rooms and noticed shower curtains.  Thought by now they would have caught up with other lines and added the glass enclosure.   It still looks like all the other ships.

Looking for a cruise to book on a newer HAL ship.

Sandipalms

[atexsix]

15 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

A few additional room notes:  The deluxe balcony rooms on Princess are more HAL-esque in that they have a loveseat across from the desk between the bed and balcony door, just like on HAL Vista, Signature and Pinnacle Class ships.  I feel like the Princess ship have more space between the foot of the bed and the opposite wall vs HAL and the entry hall feels wider since the closet is an open walk-in by the bathroom.  Definitely makes getting ready easier.  The showers on Discovery are larger than older Princess ships, but smaller than the showers on the newest HAL ships, and yes they have Klingon-Curtains 😞

Thanks!  Very helpful.  Ugh on the shower curtains.  There must be some kind of way to secure them to something but I draw a blank when it happens at 6 am on a ship.  

 

I love that there's a couch!  I figured something about the balcony and room had to be different to qualify as "premier" or "deluxe" besides the price of course. 

[atexsix]

13 hours ago, Radbooks said:

You'll enjoy your time on Princess. We mostly cruise Holland, but have taken 6 or so Princess cruises and mostly enjoyed them. I usually travel with my 84 year old mom and while we LOVE Holland, we also enjoy the 'glitz' of Princess and really like Alfredo's Pizza... be sure to try it.

 

We usually do fixed seating on Princess but I know there are many choices now. I like the International Cafe for breakfast because I don't enjoy doing the buffet. Food is so subjective so it's hard to tell. We normally prefer Holland, but there are pros and cons with both lines.

 

Have fun! A new ship is always fun. 🙂

Thanks!  They don't really have traditional fixed anymore.  What we had to do was sign up for a repeat time in the dining room of our choice, table for two, and it becomes fixed in a sense, that's good enough for us I suppose.  The app made it clear that we will be at the same table for the duration.  It was kind of cool because we requested accessible, they gave us a choice of that, or near a window, or near the entrance.  I'm interested to see if all this tech really comes together in the end and works.  

 

One thing we were able to sign up for that I absolutely love and wish HAL would do, was being able to pick the group/time to embark the ship.  But I think Princess is light years ahead when it comes to high tech, in a relative sense, not sure they are on par with RCI or NCL ships.

12 hours ago, Kay S said:

Princess eliminated fixed seating and it is necessary to make a reservation for the MDR every day (on the cursed app.)  My last time, the dining room was a zoo every night with long lines waiting to get it.  

Actually, you don't need to do it each day anymore, can all be done from home now before embarking, you can select different times each day, for those that know what they'll be doing in advance.  We generally always do 2nd seating on HAL, and are into shows much so it was easy enough for us to get it all done in advance. 

 

10 hours ago, Sandipalms said:

Thanks, I have heard a zoo in dining.  Mainly cruise Princess, but prefer HAL rooms and non smoking areas.  Looking forward to being on a new ship.

I previewed Discovery by a video, saw the rooms and noticed shower curtains.  Thought by now they would have caught up with other lines and added the glass enclosure.   It still looks like all the other ships.

Looking for a cruise to book on a newer HAL ship.

Sandipalms

I was disappointed to see the curtains too.  I hope the locker room showers have doors like they do on HAL ships, which I'd be using anyway because I use the gym.  

[maryandmarge]

On 4/1/2022 at 2:22 AM, atexsix said:

Omg, wasn't that awful?  I don't know what wax worse, getting sick or your friends playing that terrible joke on you.

I can't believe you remembered that.  I was devastated when I found out they were joking - that they really weren't on the ship like I thought but sitting at home in their living room in Wisconsin having a good laugh.   They still think it was a funny joke - me - not so much.   

 

I'm sure you'll find things on Princess that you like more than Holland and will have cons that you don't care for.    The great thing is no matter what ship you are on - it's a vacation and one that you should cherish.    I would love to go back to Alaska this year but my sister is having back surgery the end of the month so we put off planning anything for awhile.    On a positive note - we got a good rate from Holland and have booked a 25 day cruise round trip out of Boston on the Zaandam the end of July 2023.   Cruise includes New England, Canada, Iceland, and Greenland.  We are excited as Iceland has been on our bucket list.   Fingers crossed that we stay healthy and have the opportunity to go.    Will be watching for your feedback from the cruise and hope you and DD enjoy the trip.   Stay Safe and travel healthy!!

Maryell

 

[liketraveling]

I have cruised both.  The International Cafe is nice.  If you are a coffee drinker plan in buying it at the international cafe.  My dad is a coffee drinker and he says Princess coffee taste like flavored water.

 

The lines are similar.  There were more activities going on Princess then Hal.  My dad prefers the food on Hal but food is subjective and my father is very picky.  
 

My brother has next week off and he was looking at a coastal cruise on the Discovery, the Sea of Cortez on Hal out of San Diego or the Norweign Bliss.  Since he has a 13 and 11 year old there is more to do in the Bliss for the kids.   There is a Nice thermal Suite for my sister Inlaw.  My brother was really impressed with the Discovery based on the reviews.

 

You will compare the two and you will run into HAL cruisers on Princess.

 

You will have a good time.

 

The Princess Ship I was on the Grand Princess, I didn’t the hanging closets.  They didn’t  have doors on them.

[prescottbob]

My only comment would be that if you’re a ‘foodie’, to sign up for the Chef’s Table dinner, if available, on you venture, upon embarkation.

 

We love the specialty ‘pop up’ dinners, e.g. Sommelier dinners, ‘Mystery Diners’, Visiting Chef’s, etc. on HAL’s longer cruises but the Chef Table dinners, at one time, were far superior, IMHO, on Princess.

 

I don’t know if Princess is still providing those dinners since the COVID ‘cruise break’, but if interested I’d certainly investigate / sign up. If memory serves me correctly, the dinner, actually with a tour of the kitchen too start, was limited to 12-18 passengers.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Be well.

Bob