Discovery Princess CA Coastal Oct 15-22 Review

[Bemidji Ty]

We just returned from the CA Coastal cruise Oct 15-22 on the Discovery Princess. A bit of background. We've been on about 64 cruises since the early 80's. We mostly travel on Princess but have also cruised on Royal Caribbean, Holland, Celebrity, Viking, Norwegian, Carnival and a couple of lines that are no longer in business. This was our first cruise since late Jan 2020. We are a retired couple who cruise to be at sea and enjoy the sounds, smell and feel of the ocean while we visit new and familiar ports, eat good food, see a show or two, dance a bit and chat with folks from around the world.

 

Embarkation and Disembarkation: Quick, easy and efficient. We were quickly processed and were welcomed on board by a happy, friendly and professional staff. Disembarkation was similarly run.

 

Ship: This is a very big, new, clean, beautiful ship. We did miss the promenade that wraps around ships like the Sapphire and Ruby that allows you to walk all around the ship or quietly lounge in a deck chair and enjoy the sea. The Discovery has a greatly shortened promenade with tenders blocking a significant portion of the view. There is a walking/running track near the top that we used daily. I don't know if the walls are thinner than other ships but you should know that the sounds you make in your cabin can be heard by someone with a hearing impairment in the adjoining cabin. I'm pretty sure the young newlyweds next to us were unaware of this. We both missed the gentle rocking movements of a ship at sea. It just wasn't there. We didn't use the internet but used the interactive in-room TV. It worked for making dining reservations, checking the weather, the day's activities and such. If you wished to view tonight's dinner menu, you had to wait 3 minutes or more for it to download.

 

Dining: We are not food snobs but enjoy good food and felt the offerings were very inconsistent and somewhat bland. The quality ranged from very good to poor. One night, after we were seated and chatting with the couple next to us, they both recommended the beef. We ordered it. My wife's was “ok”. She said it was like diner food. Mine was full of gristle. The soups were very good. The first day's salmon lunch was also very good. Gigi's had excellent pizza, pasta and salad. The taco shells and chips in the buffet early on were very stale. One night, we ordered the surf and turf. Both shrimp and filet were undercooked. I ordered my steak medium rare. The middle was cold and purple. We each had a bite of shrimp and left the rest. The service was mostly good.

 

Drinks: There seemed to be a gin and wine variety shortage. The ship's bars had Gordon's and Beefeaters. I hadn't had Gordon's since college. Not bad, but I prefer Hendrick's or Bombay Sapphire.

 

Music and Shows: After our first day's lunch, we went out on deck to see the harbor, enjoy the view and soak in the reality that we were back on a ship. That is where we encountered their DJ. He looked at a group of vacationers who where overwhelmingly Medicare eligible and decided, “What they need is bass-heavy, techno 'music' played at a volume that makes their ears bleed.” While I didn't appreciate the 'tunes' or the volume, I was impressed that he continued to perform his duties while dealing with several spiders that had gotten under his shirt. My appreciation disappeared when my wife informed me that he was 'dancing'. In San Diego, we left the ship for a walk to Little Italy. The 'thump-thump' of his sounds were still audible a few blocks from the ship.

 

We did not see any production shows but did enjoy a duo called VOP and made a point of finding them when they played. The jazz trio was mostly good but had too many rambling bass and drum solos for my taste. As a side point, one of our table mates told us how much he enjoyed one of the production shows. His credibility was called into question when he began telling us about the advantages of boxed wine. We heard the comedian was good and went to see him about 15 minutes prior to show time. We couldn't get in.

 

Glad we went but this is first time I recall thinking, “This may be my last Princess cruise.” Probably not, but the thought was there.

 

Cheers.

[LawDog61]

We were on that cruise too.  Over all, it was great.  Agree that VOP WAS GREAT, AS WAS Helen and DROP ( the party band). 
We ate exclusive I’m the buffet and the food was great.  On the down side, the internet was unusable

[iamaqt2]

34 minutes ago, Bemidji Ty said:

Music and Shows: After our first day's lunch, we went out on deck to see the harbor, enjoy the view and soak in the reality that we were back on a ship. That is where we encountered their DJ. He looked at a group of vacationers who where overwhelmingly Medicare eligible and decided, “What they need is bass-heavy, techno 'music' played at a volume that makes their ears bleed.” While I didn't appreciate the 'tunes' or the volume, I was impressed that he continued to perform his duties while dealing with several spiders that had gotten under his shirt. My appreciation disappeared when my wife informed me that he was 'dancing'.

Hahahahaha.. spiders..☠️☠️☠️

 

Great review.   Going to be on Discovery over New Year's and that's my kind of DJ!  

[Kay S]

50 minutes ago, Bemidji Ty said:

 

 

 

 That is where we encountered their DJ. He looked at a group of vacationers who where overwhelmingly Medicare eligible and decided, “What they need is bass-heavy, techno 'music' played at a volume that makes their ears bleed.” While I didn't appreciate the 'tunes' or the volume, I was impressed that he continued to perform his duties while dealing with several spiders that had gotten under his shirt. My appreciation disappeared when my wife informed me that he was 'dancing'. In San Diego, we left the ship for a walk to Little Italy. The 'thump-thump' of his sounds were still audible a few blocks from the ship.

 

 

 

 

🤣🤣🤣

[Bemidji Ty]

iamaqt2,  Have fun.  New Year's cruises are always a treat.

Edited October 27, 2022 by Bemidji Ty

[c-boy]

... "    I was impressed that he continued to perform his duties while dealing with several spiders that had gotten under his shirt.

 

  I see what ya did there  😉

[iamaqt2]

30 minutes ago, Bemidji Ty said:

iamaqt2,  Have fun.  New Year's cruises are always a treat.

Thanks Bemidji Ty!  I'll certainly be bringing in 2023 with hearing loss apparently.  Good thing hearing aids just went on sale OTC!

[Bemidji Ty]

It was just the original DJ and sometimes MUTS that had the higher decibel levels.  Someone on board said they always brought industrial, foam ear plugs.  Not a bad idea.

 

Cheers.

[nzOdy]

Bemidji - Curious to know if you tried any of the specialty restaurants during your 7 nights and how you found the food there if you did.

 

We cruised with Princess in late January of this year and encountered several disappointing things when compared with numerous previous Princess cruises we had been on. It left a similar bitter taste regarding the brand, but we mostly put it down to staffing shortages and supply chain issues due to covid as they tried to recommission the fleet. Sounds like a couple of those things may still be persisting. We'll get to find out for ourselves as we are on the Discovery later this year!

[Bemidji Ty]

nzOdy,  Hi.  No, we didn't try any specialty restaurants this time.  We have in the past with mixed results.  Of those we tried, we liked Sabatini's the best with Share (pleasantly surprised) and lastly Crown Grill.  We only tried them a couple of times so that is a small sample size.  That said, neither one of us like the feeling of being overly-stuffed and thought that might happen again.

 

During these past 2 years, we've upped our home meal prep game - my bride in the kitchen and me on my Weber grill.  We met more than one passenger who decided to eat all their meals in the buffet.  We had the same thoughts as far as staff shortages and supply chain problems. 

 

Best wishes for a wonderful cruise.  Cheers

[DUCHESSRN]

We were on this cruise also and got off today having done B2B....Ate at Crown Grill and delicious as ever , bread offering had changed to just a round  loaf you could break into 4 with Garlic Butter on it . 

Sabattini,s  lost our booking and our business despite the fact I had printed off our 5.30pm booking.

Internet worse than awful crowds at Internet Cafe trying to check in for flights as personal devices would not work .We never managed to check in ...I am sure there will be several letters and refunds requested.

All in all 2 great cruises , we enjoyed the California Coastal week better than Mexico .

 

[nacht]

On 10/26/2022 at 4:16 PM, Bemidji Ty said:

We just returned from the CA Coastal cruise Oct 15-22 on the Discovery Princess. A bit of background. We've been on about 64 cruises since the early 80's. We mostly travel on Princess but have also cruised on Royal Caribbean, Holland, Celebrity, Viking, Norwegian, Carnival and a couple of lines that are no longer in business. This was our first cruise since late Jan 2020. We are a retired couple who cruise to be at sea and enjoy the sounds, smell and feel of the ocean while we visit new and familiar ports, eat good food, see a show or two, dance a bit and chat with folks from around the world.

 

Embarkation and Disembarkation: Quick, easy and efficient. We were quickly processed and were welcomed on board by a happy, friendly and professional staff. Disembarkation was similarly run.

 

Ship: This is a very big, new, clean, beautiful ship. We did miss the promenade that wraps around ships like the Sapphire and Ruby that allows you to walk all around the ship or quietly lounge in a deck chair and enjoy the sea. The Discovery has a greatly shortened promenade with tenders blocking a significant portion of the view. There is a walking/running track near the top that we used daily. I don't know if the walls are thinner than other ships but you should know that the sounds you make in your cabin can be heard by someone with a hearing impairment in the adjoining cabin. I'm pretty sure the young newlyweds next to us were unaware of this. We both missed the gentle rocking movements of a ship at sea. It just wasn't there. We didn't use the internet but used the interactive in-room TV. It worked for making dining reservations, checking the weather, the day's activities and such. If you wished to view tonight's dinner menu, you had to wait 3 minutes or more for it to download.

 

Dining: We are not food snobs but enjoy good food and felt the offerings were very inconsistent and somewhat bland. The quality ranged from very good to poor. One night, after we were seated and chatting with the couple next to us, they both recommended the beef. We ordered it. My wife's was “ok”. She said it was like diner food. Mine was full of gristle. The soups were very good. The first day's salmon lunch was also very good. Gigi's had excellent pizza, pasta and salad. The taco shells and chips in the buffet early on were very stale. One night, we ordered the surf and turf. Both shrimp and filet were undercooked. I ordered my steak medium rare. The middle was cold and purple. We each had a bite of shrimp and left the rest. The service was mostly good.

 

Drinks: There seemed to be a gin and wine variety shortage. The ship's bars had Gordon's and Beefeaters. I hadn't had Gordon's since college. Not bad, but I prefer Hendrick's or Bombay Sapphire.

 

Music and Shows: After our first day's lunch, we went out on deck to see the harbor, enjoy the view and soak in the reality that we were back on a ship. That is where we encountered their DJ. He looked at a group of vacationers who where overwhelmingly Medicare eligible and decided, “What they need is bass-heavy, techno 'music' played at a volume that makes their ears bleed.” While I didn't appreciate the 'tunes' or the volume, I was impressed that he continued to perform his duties while dealing with several spiders that had gotten under his shirt. My appreciation disappeared when my wife informed me that he was 'dancing'. In San Diego, we left the ship for a walk to Little Italy. The 'thump-thump' of his sounds were still audible a few blocks from the ship.

 

We did not see any production shows but did enjoy a duo called VOP and made a point of finding them when they played. The jazz trio was mostly good but had too many rambling bass and drum solos for my taste. As a side point, one of our table mates told us how much he enjoyed one of the production shows. His credibility was called into question when he began telling us about the advantages of boxed wine. We heard the comedian was good and went to see him about 15 minutes prior to show time. We couldn't get in.

 

Glad we went but this is first time I recall thinking, “This may be my last Princess cruise.” Probably not, but the thought was there.

 

Cheers.

 

[nacht]

Great review.  We are doing back to back on the Discovery on April 8th, and would like to know if the cabin walls are metal, as we like to bring magnetic hooks for the walls.  We recently sailed on one of Holland America’s ship, and walls were not metal.  Thanks.

Bill

[JeffT237]

42 minutes ago, nacht said:

We are doing back to back on the Discovery on April 8th, and would like to know if the cabin walls are metal, as we like to bring magnetic hooks for the walls

We were also on this sailing, yes the walls are metal for your hooks.

 

[roxievegas]

9 hours ago, nacht said:

Great review.  We are doing back to back on the Discovery on April 8th, and would like to know if the cabin walls are metal, as we like to bring magnetic hooks for the walls.  We recently sailed on one of Holland America’s ship, and walls were not metal.  Thanks.

Bill

I used magnetic hooks on the walls.