Live From Discovery New Year's Cruise 12/28 - 1/7/22 10 day Sea of Cortez and Mexican Riviera

[CruiseRookieSteve]

15 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Haha id take 1Mbps download speed on a cruise ship all day err day!

my average speed has been literally 100Kbps! (So 10x slower)

Yes, I'm happy with anything above 1Mbps. For me the internet speed on the ship has been inconsistent, but mostly good enough. I usually upload all of my full resolution photos to my own blog site (4mb to 8mb each), but I've stopped doing that as it takes too long over the ships upload internet speed. I have been able to upload a few short video clips (about 1 minute or less) to YouTube and Facebook without any problem. I wonder how much better the new SpaceX Starlink internet that NCL is starting to implement is working. I've been playing with it at home and it seems pretty fast, but my home is not on a moving ship constantly changing locations.

[CruiseRookieSteve]

Just a reminder that you should check your account on the Medallion App every day. And if you are traveling as a couple or group, check each account as they can be different even if all billed to the same credit card. Last night my wife and I were checking our accounts and she found she was charged $10.60 in the Skagway Dining Room for one wine and I was charged the exact same $10.60 twice in the same Dining Room. I only ordered one glass of wine at $17 that is covered under the Premium Drinks Package and my wife ordered no wines. We went down to the service desk and they removed all 3 charges. I'm glad we didn't wait until the end of the cruise as I would not remember if I had or had not ordered anything on a particular day that cost extra.

[julie3fan]

2 hours ago, CruiseRookieSteve said:

Just a reminder that you should check your account on the Medallion App every day.

 

Yes, this!  I checked our account yesterday and there was a $30 charge on the 30th for Misc Food Purchase.  It was easily removed, but I was a bit concerned that CS couldn't tell me what it even was for!

[iamaqt2]

Puerto Vallarta

 

 

Pro tip, when walking out of the port to the transport area, skip these guys.  I was quoted 30 bucks for 2 people for "private" transport.  I kept on walking.  I know they're all trying to make a living, but that's highway robbery. I walked on out of the port to the gas station across the street and still overpaid at 15 bucks.  I could have ridden the bus for 2 bucks, but time is short on port stops.  Pay the gringo tax and move on.

We vacation here frequently, so hopped a cab to Zona Romantica for some breakfast birria tacos at the best birria stand in Vallarta, Tacos de Birria Chanfey.

 

 

Unlike other types of tacos, birria tacos are very much a breakfast taco.

Afterwards walked on down to Los Muertos Beach to park on a couple of chairs at Si Señor Beach.  I absolutely love the Vallarta beach scene, even though I know it aggravates a lot of people.  It's anything but relaxing with a non-stop parade of vendors, but the food is amazing, it comes to you, and you can get a massage right on the beach.  Which is exactly what we did. I was actually joking with my hubby that after getting my Shrimp on a stick and donuts, that if the empanadas came by I'd hit my Vallarta beach bingo blackout. I've been here weeks before without hitting all 3 in a day, and it magically happened in a few hours!

 

 

 

 

After landing back on the ship, we cleaned up for dinner and went to Bistro Sur la Mer for 7 pm dinner. Had the bisque for app and the filet and fish for mains.  Food was very good, but no room for dessert.

 

 

 

 

 

Didn't make it to any shows as we were exhausted from a long day of eating and drinking 🙃
Called it a night.

[iamaqt2]

Day 6

Mazatlan

 

This port is all about adventure for me.

We booked an independent Stone Island tour with beach break and added on a 30 minute ATV ride on the beach.
Our tour was great.  We got a catamaran boat tour to see the bay, a sea lion, humpback whales, and bird rookeries.
Afterward we got a tractor drawn wagon ride to take us to Restaurante Casa Cardon with an open bar and lunch included. 

 

 

 

 

 

The drinks were bottom of the barrel awful, but the included lunch was pretty good.  I got the grilled chicken plate, and the chicken was well cooked and seasoned and had a really nice hint of woodsmoke taste.

Riding the ATVs on the beach was a blast, and we saw a shipwreck from the beach.

 

Came back, grabbed a couple of slices of pizza at Slice, a couple beers from the bar and had a late snack before cleaning up for evening. Stood out on our balcony as we pulled away and our ships horn blew as we passed the Koningsdam.  Then they blew theirs back at us three times while people on board whooped and hollered.  It was pretty amazing as the sun had just gone down and all the ship lights were twinkling as we sailed by.

Now funny story, I read the wrong day planner and thought we were going to the comedy show (from the night before).  But it turned out it was the Illusionist David Gatti.  My husband has sworn off cruise ship illusionist shows as they tend to all be exactly the same and I can't disagree with him. I said we're already here, lets just watch it anyway. But tonight was something special and it was a truly fantastic show.  Even my husband was impressed.

 

After the show we bounced up to Gigi's for salad, Agnolotti and a calzone for dinner because nothing in the MDR menu appealed.

Called it a night.

[LACruiser88]

We had a great today at the Mango Deck.  Drinks, food and entertainment were over the top!  Our granddaughter caught a 10 inch mackerel with her bare hands!

[Guest ldtr]

Take good care of the ship.  We board on Saturday for the next 2 cruises.

[LACruiser88]

7 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Take good care of the ship.  We board on Saturday for the next 2 cruises.

Bar tip:  In our opinion, the best bartender on the ship is Valentino at the Salty Dog Bar.  

[EllaDuChien]

12 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Take good care of the ship.  We board on Saturday for the next 2 cruises.

We will join you on the 14th...my Birthday!

 

3 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

Bar tip:  In our opinion, the best bartender on the ship is Valentino at the Salty Dog Bar.  

Love this kind of important information!  Truly love finding a great bartender.

[LACruiser88]

The negative side of the Salty Dog Bar is that there are only 7 bar stools.  Sometimes it's difficult to get a seat!😬

[CruiseRookieSteve]

If anyone is still looking for something to do, live jazz is just starting at "Jazz on the Rocks", about a $7 Uber ride from the port. We just watched a beutiful sunset from the terrace and are sitting on a sofa at the edge of the stage as the jazz begins.

[elycelynne]

I’m sailing on the 14th and was wondering:  Do boarding passengers get a copy of the first day’s Patter, or must we rely on the poorly laid out Journey View on the app?

 

And by the way, thanks to everyone posting photos and generally keeping us informed!

[CruiseRookieSteve]

Plenty of available seating at "Jazz on the Rocks" in Cabo San Lucas.

[CruiseRookieSteve]

The sunset was beautiful and the service has been supurb at "Jazz on the Rocks", I wish more cruises did overnight in Cabo.

[memoak]

10 minutes ago, elycelynne said:

I’m sailing on the 14th and was wondering:  Do boarding passengers get a copy of the first day’s Patter, or must we rely on the poorly laid out Journey View on the app?

 

And by the way, thanks to everyone posting photos and generally keeping us informed!

There is usually a copy of the patter when you get into your stateroom 

[LACruiser88]

2 hours ago, elycelynne said:

I’m sailing on the 14th and was wondering:  Do boarding passengers get a copy of the first day’s Patter, or must we rely on the poorly laid out Journey View on the app?

 

And by the way, thanks to everyone posting photos and generally keeping us informed!

We have been given a daily patter in our cabin.

[julie3fan]

4 hours ago, elycelynne said:

I’m sailing on the 14th and was wondering:  Do boarding passengers get a copy of the first day’s Patter, or must we rely on the poorly laid out Journey View on the app?

 

I went to the desk and got a copy first thing upon boarding.  I don't believe one was in the cabin when we got to it, but there's been one left every night, without having to ask.

 

And I agree, the app's Journey View is less than helpful!

[CruiseRookieSteve]

40 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

We have been given a daily patter in our cabin.

I think there was an option somewhere in the booking checklist of what paper printed documents you want delivered to your cabin. We selected the Princess Patter and Important Documents and have gotten them delivered to our cabin every evening. You can also pick them up at the service desk. We've been on other cruise lines where the App was so clear and fast that there was no need for paper copy. But everything on the Princess App is implemented so poorly and hard to navigate that we believe the printed copy of daily events is indespensible. Restaurant menus are not available on the Princess App at all and display extremely slow on the cabin TV. We were on another cruise line and were able to quickly examin on our cabin TV the dinner menus for the entire week such that we could book in advance the Specialty Dinning on the nights we did not like the main dining room menu.

[c-boy]

3 hours ago, CruiseRookieSteve said:

Plenty of available seating at "Jazz on the Rocks" in Cabo San Lucas.

  🎶   jazz and blues that's my gig 

[loge23]

15 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

Bar tip:  In our opinion, the best bartender on the ship is Valentino at the Salty Dog Bar.  

With the absence of a Vines on the Discovery I was wondering where you guys would go for you pre-dinner ritual!

[LACruiser88]

5 minutes ago, loge23 said:

With the absence of a Vines on the Discovery I was wondering where you guys would go for you pre-dinner ritual!

We tried all of the bar venues a couple of times each.  Salty Dog Bar was the winner! 🍷

[Krazo]

We're boarding Discovery January 7 for a back to back and would like any input about the availability of music on the cabin TV.  I'm considering taking our own music and speaker since coming off Celebrity Beyond in October.  They had zero music selections on that almost brand new ship!

[azddave]

1 hour ago, Krazo said:

We're boarding Discovery January 7 for a back to back and would like any input about the availability of music on the cabin TV.  I'm considering taking our own music and speaker since coming off Celebrity Beyond in October.  They had zero music selections on that almost brand new ship!

 

We were off the Discovery just 8 days ago.  The ship does have music "stations".  There were about a dozen or so.  Not a great selection but hopefully you can find something you like.

[julie3fan]

2 hours ago, Krazo said:

We're boarding Discovery January 7 for a back to back and would like any input about the availability of music on the cabin TV.  I'm considering taking our own music and speaker since coming off Celebrity Beyond in October.  They had zero music selections on that almost brand new ship!

 

This is what's available right now.

 

[Krazo]

Thanks for the info. All looks good enough for my tin ear.