Discovery Princess AK, May 14-21; took a break from NCL

[red4u2]

On 5/31/2023 at 7:40 AM, HenGypsy said:

I’m sorry I do not have dinner menu photos.  Have fun on your upcoming Discovery cruise! 

its okay!   thank you for such a wonderful review and all the pics!

[texswamper]

We have chosen this cruise for June 2024 based on our daughter wanting the new ship for kids and we wanted an itinerary that included Glacier Bay having cruised there in 2017 onboard the Coral Princess.  I've just read a recent review from a cruiser on Discovery that felt they were lied to about the ship visiting Glacier Bay as it only went into the beginning of the bay.  He said a $300 excursion to actually get close to see the glacier was what Princess was really offering.  My question is this, is the Discovery Princess too large to see Glacier Bay like we did aboard the Coral Princess?  Thanks for your comprehensive review!

[jeromep]

3 minutes ago, texswamper said:

We have chosen this cruise for June 2024 based on our daughter wanting the new ship for kids and we wanted an itinerary that included Glacier Bay having cruised there in 2017 onboard the Coral Princess.  I've just read a recent review from a cruiser on Discovery that felt they were lied to about the ship visiting Glacier Bay as it only went into the beginning of the bay.  He said a $300 excursion to actually get close to see the glacier was what Princess was really offering.  My question is this, is the Discovery Princess too large to see Glacier Bay like we did aboard the Coral Princess?  Thanks for your comprehensive review!

We visited Glacier bay on Princess many years ago, 2011 to be specific, on the Golden Princess.  Glacier Bay is forked, with two inlets that you can travel into.  On our cruise we went up the inlet that had the Marguerite glacier.  I believe that is the Tarr Inlet  Please don't mark my words, as I'm remembering all of this from 12 years ago and referencing Google maps.  We were close to the glacier, close enough to be very cold when out on our balcony and we could hear the ice as it groaned and moved.  We didn't experience any massive ice calving activity.  It was incredibly cold when our side of the ship faced the glacier, lots of floating ice was "kissing" the hull with an occasional "thunk" that I'm pretty sure could be heard through most of the ship.  When the ship turned 180 to allow the other side of the ship to view the glacier we were in bright, direct sunlight and it was like 70 degrees out.  Amazing contrast.

 

Anyway, the inlet the ship goes up is determined by the parks service and I think has something to do with wildlife migration or birthing.  I didn't feel short changed at all by our Glacier Bay experience.  While the Royal class ships are quite a bit larger than the older Grand class ships, they are still "small" enough to carefully get into and out of Glacier bay and provide the same viewing experience as the older ships.

 

If you want to "kiss" the glacier, the you do have to purchase an excursion which will take you off the ship and put you on a smaller vessel that will get you substantially closer to glacier faces.  I honestly didn't feel the need for the "Niagara falls" grade tour.  Someday I might, and it seems only reasonable that if I want an intimate experience with any of the glaciers, I'll have to be on a much smaller vessel.

 

I would say this, the park rangers that embark the ship at the beginning of the day are excellent, have wonderful presentations and have a lot of information to share about Glacier Bay, especially if you ask questions and engage with them.

[memoak]

2 hours ago, texswamper said:

We have chosen this cruise for June 2024 based on our daughter wanting the new ship for kids and we wanted an itinerary that included Glacier Bay having cruised there in 2017 onboard the Coral Princess.  I've just read a recent review from a cruiser on Discovery that felt they were lied to about the ship visiting Glacier Bay as it only went into the beginning of the bay.  He said a $300 excursion to actually get close to see the glacier was what Princess was really offering.  My question is this, is the Discovery Princess too large to see Glacier Bay like we did aboard the Coral Princess?  Thanks for your comprehensive review!

 I problem with the Discovery in Glacier Bay. We were on the Royal last Aubgudt and the views were spectacular 

[Guest ldtr]

4 hours ago, texswamper said:

We have chosen this cruise for June 2024 based on our daughter wanting the new ship for kids and we wanted an itinerary that included Glacier Bay having cruised there in 2017 onboard the Coral Princess.  I've just read a recent review from a cruiser on Discovery that felt they were lied to about the ship visiting Glacier Bay as it only went into the beginning of the bay.  He said a $300 excursion to actually get close to see the glacier was what Princess was really offering.  My question is this, is the Discovery Princess too large to see Glacier Bay like we did aboard the Coral Princess?  Thanks for your comprehensive review!

That does not make sense.  Royal class can get just as far into the Bay as Grand class ships.  The only time they do not is if there is a weather problem.  Usually if the weather is bad enough that they can not go all of the way, they do not even enter the bay.  Though sometimes ice from the glaciers can impact how close they can get.

 

I have not heard of an excursion in Glacier Bay, though if you go to the park their is a small boat that does day trips from the lodge.

 

On the other hand if the ship was going into Tracy Arm Fjord (not glacier bay) it is not unusual for ships not to be able to go all of the way in and there is an excursion that one can take on a small boat that will take you up to the Sawyer Glacier and then back to Juneau to meet up with the ship.

 

Are you certain that it was not Tracy Arm instead of Glacier Bay that they were discussing?

 

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by ldtr

[texswamper]

2 minutes ago, ldtr said:

That does not make sense.  Royal class can get just as far into the Bay as Grand class ships.  The only time they do not is if there is a weather problem.  Usually if the weather is bad enough that they can not go all of the way, they do not even enter the bay.  Though sometimes ice from the glaciers can impact how close they can get.

 

I have not heard of an excursion in Glacier Bay, though if you go to the park their is a small boat that does day trips from the lodge.

 

On the other hand if the ship was going into Tracy Arm Fjord (not glacier bay) it is not unusual for ships not to be able to go all of the way in and there is an excursion that one can take on a small boat that will take you up to the Sawyer Glacier and then back to Juneau to meet up with the ship.

 

Are you certain that it was not Tracy Arm instead of Glacier Bay that they were discussing?

 

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=700188 This is the review I was referencing.  It is the newest review on the Discovery Princess Member reviews.

[Guest ldtr]

4 hours ago, jeromep said:

We visited Glacier bay on Princess many years ago, 2011 to be specific, on the Golden Princess.  Glacier Bay is forked, with two inlets that you can travel into.  On our cruise we went up the inlet that had the Marguerite glacier.  I believe that is the Tarr Inlet  Please don't mark my words, as I'm remembering all of this from 12 years ago and referencing Google maps.  We were close to the glacier, close enough to be very cold when out on our balcony and we could hear the ice as it groaned and moved.  We didn't experience any massive ice calving activity.  It was incredibly cold when our side of the ship faced the glacier, lots of floating ice was "kissing" the hull with an occasional "thunk" that I'm pretty sure could be heard through most of the ship.  When the ship turned 180 to allow the other side of the ship to view the glacier we were in bright, direct sunlight and it was like 70 degrees out.  Amazing contrast.

 

Anyway, the inlet the ship goes up is determined by the parks service and I think has something to do with wildlife migration or birthing.  I didn't feel short changed at all by our Glacier Bay experience.  While the Royal class ships are quite a bit larger than the older Grand class ships, they are still "small" enough to carefully get into and out of Glacier bay and provide the same viewing experience as the older ships.

 

If you want to "kiss" the glacier, the you do have to purchase an excursion which will take you off the ship and put you on a smaller vessel that will get you substantially closer to glacier faces.  I honestly didn't feel the need for the "Niagara falls" grade tour.  Someday I might, and it seems only reasonable that if I want an intimate experience with any of the glaciers, I'll have to be on a much smaller vessel.

 

I would say this, the park rangers that embark the ship at the beginning of the day are excellent, have wonderful presentations and have a lot of information to share about Glacier Bay, especially if you ask questions and engage with them.

The ships actually go up a couple of different inlets (John Hopkins and Tarr  inlets).  That is consistent or atleast has been for the last 20 years.  Though the distance that can be traveled the John Hopkins can be limited due to wildlife (seals pupping).  Cruise ships do not go up the other large arm, the Muir Inlet at all.  Though small exploration ships, and the day tour boat from the Park lodge does.

[HenGypsy]

4 hours ago, texswamper said:

We have chosen this cruise for June 2024 based on our daughter wanting the new ship for kids and we wanted an itinerary that included Glacier Bay having cruised there in 2017 onboard the Coral Princess.  I've just read a recent review from a cruiser on Discovery that felt they were lied to about the ship visiting Glacier Bay as it only went into the beginning of the bay.  He said a $300 excursion to actually get close to see the glacier was what Princess was really offering.  My question is this, is the Discovery Princess too large to see Glacier Bay like we did aboard the Coral Princess?  Thanks for your comprehensive review!

Our itinerary did not include a visit to Glacier Bay this time. Instead we visited Endicott Arm, and did not get close to the glacier due to ice conditions I think. I must say, it didn’t look like much ice to me. We’ve  been to both Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm several times and continued far deeper into the fjords with more ice than I could see this time, many times reaching the glacier at a safe distance. But safety first, and the captain knows more than I do. 
 

Also, yes, very large ships can visit Glacier Bay if conditions allow. We were there in the last few years on an NCL breakaway plus class ship (huge) - in October while it was heavily snowing and a layer of white slush was forming beautifully on the water. That is one of my finest cruise memories. Yes, even then we approached the glaciers from a safe distance. See photos. 

[Guest ldtr]

18 minutes ago, texswamper said:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=700188 This is the review I was referencing.  It is the newest review on the Discovery Princess Member reviews.

The Discovery alternates routes.  Some go into Glacier Bay, some go into Endicott Arm (which is next to Tracy arm). Sometimes, especially early in the season the ships cannot make it all the way to the the Dawes Glacier at the end of Endicott.  The Royal class ships can get there if the ice conditions allow.

 

Suspect that they were on an Endicott glacier cruise with the Excursion being up Tracy Arm.

 

The cruise lines used to list Tracy Arm but hardly ever made it up to the Glacier and often used Endicott as the alternative.  I have been on 4 cruises that listed Tracy Arm on 3 different cruise lines.  Have never made it up Tracy arm on a large cruise ship though I did take the small ship excursion. 3 of the cruises that listed Tracy Arm, ended up going up Endicot with 2 of the 3 making it to the Glacier.

 

On the other hand I have taken 6 Glacier Bay cruises with 5 of them making it all of the way to the end.  4 of them also saw Hopkins Glacier.  On one cruise had very think fog and we did not enter Glacier Bay at all.  On one of the 5 the ship was limited in how far it could go up Hopkins Arm.

Edited June 3, 2023 by ldtr

[texswamper]

17 minutes ago, ldtr said:

The Discovery alternates routes.  Some go into Glacier Bay, some go into Endicott Arm (which is next to Tracy arm). Sometimes, especially early in the season the ships cannot make it all the way to the the Dawes Glacier at the end of Endicott.  The Royal class ships can get there if the ice conditions allow.

 

Suspect that they were on an Endicott glacier cruise with the Excursion being up Tracy Arm.

 

The cruise lines used to list Tracy Arm but hardly ever made it up to the Glacier and often used Endicott as the alternative.  I have been on 4 cruises that listed Tracy Arm on 3 different cruise lines.  Have never made it up Tracy arm on a large cruise ship though I did take the small ship excursion. 3 of the cruises that listed Tracy Arm, ended up going up Endicot with 2 of the 3 making it to the Glacier.

 

On the other hand I have taken 6 Glacier Bay cruises with 5 of them making it all of the way to the end.  4 of them also saw Hopkins Glacier.  On one cruise had very think fog and we did not enter Glacier Bay at all.  On one of the 5 the ship was limited in how far it could go up Hopkins Arm.

Thank you for your explanation.  Makes sense.  🙂

[Dlynna]

On 5/31/2023 at 7:50 PM, HenGypsy said:

You are most welcome. Yes, I'm beginning to think maybe the level of formality on our specific cruise wasn't typical. I was so surprised to see so much formal wear, especially since this is an Alaska cruise (always more laid back), and I know the trend is definitely leaning less formal all the time. And, yes, just this one time, I was wishing for a mini-suite; I especially love the idea of the closing curtain to divide the room. Cheers!

I was on Discovery the week after you. After reading about how informal Alaska was, I was surprised. Sooo many formal gowns. I think I did see a tux or 2.

[krazy4kruisin]

Fabulous Review! Thank you for taking the time to write it!

[CH_ca]

On 5/31/2023 at 5:29 PM, HenGypsy said:

Now I will post the Princess Patters for the week of May 14-21. Sorry for the wait. I am figuring out how to get the photo files in order. Here are the first few, front and back. Hope this works. Please disregard the personal markings and such. I will get the rest of them in order and post them tomorrow. Enjoy! 

Thanks for the review and the Patters HenGypsy! I'm wondering if the liquor prices and choices on Discovery are good? I recently went on a HAL cruise and found the prices of liquor and skin care products in the duty free shops were so high that you can easily buy locally at a similar or cheaper price! Also, the choices were very limited. I remembered the liquor section used to be much bigger pre-pandemic and was quite disappointed to see that section being reduced to a couple of shelves in a little corner.

[HenGypsy]

You are very welcome. The duty free shop with liquor, tobacco, and snacks struck me as quite small on Discovery. The perfume/skin care/purse shop was larger. I did not check prices at either shop. I would advise people to check local prices before getting on the ship so they can make a fair assessment of the costs once onboard. 

[Dlynna]

I know I bought a bottle of cough medicine for $13.99. I bought the same bottle at home for $7.