A few notes about the Discovery Jan 6-13

[wallyj]

Hi @Cruise Raider,Wally saying hello and enjoying your practically ‘live from Discovery’. Hope we run into each other on a ship again.

 

Would you give a little more details regarding the current ‘on board’ future cruise specials. I know the previous 50% off promo ending at the end of October. I was on the Discovery for the Myth Busters theme cruise and was given a 1 page list of on board booking specials with a 20-30% discount. Your January 6 and 13th Discovery sailings were on the list at 30% off but the ship was pretty full already and the interiors were at a starting fare of over $700, so I took a pass at booking the 6th or 13th. Most of the others offered were within a couple of months.

 

I heard more sailings have been added and some are late 2024 into 2025, also an August Canada NE sailing?

 

I will be on the 4 day Feb 15th, 2024 sailing, so will be able to check then too, but can you give me an ideal of which sailings are currently offered? I heard Future cruise does not want to give passengers a paper copy of the list.

 

When I was on the late November Discovery sailing, the future cruise lead consultant said, it was difficult even getting some sailings on an extra discount list, since most sailings are booking well.
 

Princess does not need to discount as we can see the discount has been dropped to 20 or 30% but anything is better than nothing. I did notice when I priced a cruise that had the 30% discount, the plus package would also be discounted 30%, so nice that feature is still combining.
 

 

[trbarton]

2 minutes ago, wallyj said:

Hi @Cruise Raider,Wally saying hello and enjoying your practically ‘live from Discovery’. Hope we run into each other on a ship again.

 

Would you give a little more details regarding the current ‘on board’ future cruise specials. I know the previous 50% off promo ending at the end of October. I was on the Discovery for the Myth Busters theme cruise and was given a 1 page list of on board booking specials with a 20-30% discount. Your January 6 and 13th Discovery sailings were on the list at 30% off but the ship was pretty full already and the interiors were at a starting fare of over $700, so I took a pass at booking the 6th or 13th. Most of the others offered were within a couple of months.

 

I heard more sailings have been added and some are late 2024 into 2025, also an August Canada NE sailing?

 

I will be on the 4 day Feb 15th, 2024 sailing, so will be able to check then too, but can you give me an ideal of which sailings are currently offered? I heard Future cruise does not want to give passengers a paper copy of the list.

 

When I was on the late November Discovery sailing, the future cruise lead consultant said, it was difficult even getting some sailings on an extra discount list, since most sailings are booking well.
 

Princess does not need to discount as we can see the discount has been dropped to 20 or 30% but anything is better than nothing. I did notice when I priced a cruise that had the 30% discount, the plus package would also be discounted 30%, so nice that feature is still combining.
 

 

I’m wondering if they will object if you want to take a photo of the pages?  Hopefully they won’t object. 
 

Tom😀

[JerseyShore]

3 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

Rombauer is great in any glass but a lesser wine in a good glass is better than a great wine in a cheap glass.  😆 

We are on this ship right now and I would really love a glass of Rombauer 

[Slowdining]

2 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

We have never heard it on any other ship except on the Discovery and we’ve only ever heard it when our room is on the port side midship. 
We are also on the Crown in earl Feb .. I’m sure it won’t be on that ship.  
It more so suits the gorgeous weather are experiencing on this sailing.  

 

Thank you for your response.  We have E428 booked on the Sky Princess coming up.  So this is piped in music to the promenade?  Is it sort of elevator music?  Sounds like it does not serve a purpose as there are likely not to be people on the promenade all night.  Or do people congregate on the promenade there late into the evening?  Thanks so much!

[trbarton]

I’ve just made a bid for a Mini suite upgrade on the Discovery Princess for the Solar Eclipse cruise on April 3, 2024. 
 

Does anyone currently on the Discovery know what the difference btw a regular Mini Suite & a Premium Mini Suite & where the locations might be?

 

Any photos appreciated.
 

Thanks!  

 

Tom😀
 

 

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, wallyj said:

Hi @Cruise Raider,Wally saying hello and enjoying your practically ‘live from Discovery’. Hope we run into each other on a ship again.

 

Would you give a little more details regarding the current ‘on board’ future cruise specials. I know the previous 50% off promo ending at the end of October. I was on the Discovery for the Myth Busters theme cruise and was given a 1 page list of on board booking specials with a 20-30% discount. Your January 6 and 13th Discovery sailings were on the list at 30% off but the ship was pretty full already and the interiors were at a starting fare of over $700, so I took a pass at booking the 6th or 13th. Most of the others offered were within a couple of months.

 

I heard more sailings have been added and some are late 2024 into 2025, also an August Canada NE sailing?

 

I will be on the 4 day Feb 15th, 2024 sailing, so will be able to check then too, but can you give me an ideal of which sailings are currently offered? I heard Future cruise does not want to give passengers a paper copy of the list.

 

When I was on the late November Discovery sailing, the future cruise lead consultant said, it was difficult even getting some sailings on an extra discount list, since most sailings are booking well.
 

Princess does not need to discount as we can see the discount has been dropped to 20 or 30% but anything is better than nothing. I did notice when I priced a cruise that had the 30% discount, the plus package would also be discounted 30%, so nice that feature is still combining.

 

As to my recollection , there were a couple of Canada/New England cruises offered for the fall on the Enchanted Princess.  I think there was a Hawaii cruise out of SF also listed but nothing at 50% off.  Sorry I didn’t look much further into the list as we aren’t ones to fly very long distances to join a cruise.  

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, trbarton said:

I’m wondering if they will object if you want to take a photo of the pages?  Hopefully they won’t object. 
 

Tom😀

No copies and no photos .. not sure why that is but it is what it is!  
There were some sailings out of SF that we had already booked during the 50% sale.  I only looked at those from the west coast when I perused the list and there was nothing from 2025 and nothing new during the time frame when we could go.  
 

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, JerseyShore said:

We are on this ship right now and I would really love a glass of Rombauer 

It seems like they discontinued their contract with Rombauer once Gallo bought them out.  
 

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, Slowdining said:

 

Thank you for your response.  We have E428 booked on the Sky Princess coming up.  So this is piped in music to the promenade?  Is it sort of elevator music?  Sounds like it does not serve a purpose as there are likely not to be people on the promenade all night.  Or do people congregate on the promenade there late into the evening?  Thanks so much!

My DH would comment that it is much worse than elevator music but I think he exaggerates that point.  It it piped in music but it’s not horrible at all.  It’s a mixture of local music and French music?  There is some commotion on the promenade deck but nothing excessive.  As mentioned, the music is welcomed, IMO! 

[HBCcruiser]

23 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

@Cruise Raider we keep missing you as we just disembarked Saturday morning after B2B Christmas and NYE cruises on Discovery Princess. 

 

 

We were on the Bliss at the same time. We saw you! 👀

[Cruise Raider]

20 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

We were on the Bliss at the same time. We saw you! 👀

when we docked, I don’t think anyone else other than cargo ships ere here.  
nice of you to join us!  

[startedwithamouse]

34 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

We were on the Bliss at the same time. We saw you! 👀

We saw you too!  

 

You had the much nicer dock. We felt like we were in the middle of the 405!

Edited January 10 by startedwithamouse

[New2cruise2022]

@Cruise Raider Have you had much luck ordering drinks through OceanNow? I was pleased to see room service worked well, but wondering about the speed of drinks through the app versus just going to the bar?

[Cruisintimer]

On 1/8/2024 at 7:12 AM, Cruise Raider said:

Looks like this is definitely turning into a live from thread .. so will add a few notes in case there’s anyone reading this that hasn’t followed my live from thread from October. 

 

The beds are firm n this ship and not the normal Princess beds that we’ve had on other ships.  They are comfortable, just not super comfortable.

We booked this last minute so picked a wonderful location but I do sleep better when the head of my bed faces the other direction and there were none like that available when I booked.  Perhaps that is more in my head but I found myself sleeping the other direction last night to fall asleep.  I’m going to grab a blanket from up top or ask my room steward for an extra balnket for tonight.  
Our room steward brought us some appetizers last night before dinner consisting of some little bread rounds with shrimp, with prosciutto and one with sun dried tomato and olive.  They were quite tasty.  
The Discovery always set itself aside by serving only nice wine glasses.  I can only imagine that was a costly venture as they now do serve wine from those heavy duty wine glasses unless you specifically ask for a nice thin rimmed glass.  The bar staff is most accommodating.  I tell them if we don’t return them, they can charge our account $25 for each glass.  We always return them!   
I’ve mentioned already that the food has been fantastic.  There are a few changes, though.  I was surprised to see the edamame beans are already shelled and there was no pickled ginger at the sushi place. Definitely not a deal breaker for us .. just a change, is all.  Also, my concerto pasta wasn’t topped with Chilean sea bass as was on the Majestic at The Catch!  There was, instead, langostino, and not a complaint as the meal was superb!  We did split an extra appetizer so, definitely got our fill of seafood.  I didn’t even think about that until we were well out the door.
 

@RLK33853the formal nights are the first full sea day (yesterday) and again on day 6, so the second to last day while in Mexico. 

 

Thevstaff has been just amazing!  I’m going to start my list for my survey.  Many of them that were so impressive on our last sailing from a couple of months ago have been promoted.  They all seem like a happy group and that is reflected through the service they offer.

 

The officers engagement with the passengers is impressive!  We are in Cabo today but not until 2 PM.  I don’t much ever get off in Cabo so, will probably hit up the future cruise desk.  Late this aftrenoon, there is a Folkloric Show in the theater so we will definitely be hitting that up!  Another wonderful day onboard the most gorgeous Discovery Princess. 
 

Cole, our cruise director and the ever so gorgeous, Josie, his assistant!  
 

 

 

 
 

 

Definitely agree about mattresses and food!  Sounds like you are having a great cruise.

[Cruise Raider]

9 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

We saw you too!  

 

You had the much nicer dock. We felt like we were in the middle of the 405!

Oh no .. you comment is hilarious, though!  
We never got off the ship yesterday.  

[Cruise Raider]

7 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

@Cruise Raider Have you had much luck ordering drinks through OceanNow? I was pleased to see room service worked well, but wondering about the speed of drinks through the app versus just going to the bar?

I haven’t but we did order breakfast one morning and it was delivered pretty quickly.  
Since we are a bit picky about our drink orders, we always just order it in person.  The service has been phenomenal.  

[Cruise Raider]

We ended up just staying onboard yesterday.  We played the ring toss game in the piazza in the morning and it was fun.  I came in last place whereas my DH came in 2nd.  
 

We went up to the grill by the pool and found they no longer offer chicken tacos.  Too bad, as those were my favs.  But they did have chicken tenders, which were oh so good!  
We took our food up to the retreat pool area and it was so comfy and relaxing up there.  I am going to have to book one of those cabins on the sun deck one day.  

 

My DH crew chatted about the music from the deck below again.  I keep teasing him that I crew chatted them back to let them know he really likes it!  😆 

Seriously, I don’t know why he has an issue with it.  I have promised him that we are on the starboard side for our next cruise on this ship.  
 

We went back to the PES lounge for dinner.  They had some delicious wontons as well as chips, salsa and guacamole.  We were visited by the events coordinator, Barbara.  She is looking into organizing some events for our total eclipse cruise, although she won’t be here for that sailing.  Anyway, she told us that tonight’s PES lounge offerings will be Mexican food so, think we will have to go again for that.  

We spent a little time at the Crown Grill bar listening to Cola Sounds, that duo I’ve raved about.  We attempted to go to the Liar’s Club in Princess Live but it was packed.  Then, we attempted to go see the comedian in the Vista Lounge and it was also packed.  So, instead we just headed to the casino for an hour or so. We haven’t won anything but it does not seem to be a sailing with a lot of smokers, so that’s a win in itself.  

We are in PV and sitting out on the balcony this morning.  It’s cloudy out with a very pleasant temperature without much humidity at all.  The weather has been so amazing on this trip if you like cooler temperatures, like we do.  
We’ve docked in a little different spot than we’ve been to in the past.  It is directly across from Sam’s Club and Walmart.  I’ve heard there is one here in PV but just never seen it before.  It looks like a lot of crew are headed home today.  They are being walked off with one of the officers to an awaiting bus and probably with more luggage than they had when they arrived.  
 

On a completely different note, in talking with one of the staff, I learned that if you tip large amounts of cash to the crew, it must be reported by the crew member and given in the presence of an officer.   It sounded like anything under $100 per crew member is fine, though.  Amazon gift cards are also welcomed as the entire crew are able to order items and pick them up at several ports that have contract with Princess.  The crew doesn’t have to pay for the pick up on delivery to the ship.  I would imagine that on this itinerary, Walmart gift cards would also be appreciated.  I know that when visiting San Francisco and Astoria, Ross stores are frequently visited by the crew.  Starbucks is usually a crew favorite, too.  
 

So, we have no dining reservations for this sailing but am impressed that the new app will show the menus for dinner in the MDR without a reservation.  
Here is tonight’s menu .. posted in the opposite order but you get the idea.  

 

 

 

 

Edited January 10 by Cruise Raider

[startedwithamouse]

If you can, go see Cole's sing along trivia. It's usually after the ship leaves Puerto Vallarta. 

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

If you can, go see Cole's sing along trivia. It's usually after the ship leaves Puerto Vallarta. 

I heard his Elvis sing along trivia was so much fun!  I have to make sure to check the JourneyView for today’s activities.  

[Host CJSKIDS]

Have you run across Jovie at all on this sailing? I know she joined the ship back in November.  

[mthomp5]

3 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

We ended up just staying onboard yesterday.  We played the ring toss game in the piazza in the morning and it was fun.  I came in last place whereas my DH came in 2nd.  
 

We went up to the grill by the pool and found they no longer offer chicken tacos.  Too bad, as those were my favs.  But they did have chicken tenders, which were oh so good!  
We took our food up to the retreat pool area and it was so comfy and relaxing up there.  I am going to have to book one of those cabins on the sun deck one day.  

 

My DH crew chatted about the music from the deck below again.  I keep teasing him that I crew chatted them back to let them know he really likes it!  😆 

Seriously, I don’t know why he has an issue with it.  I have promised him that we are on the starboard side for our next cruise on this ship.  
 

We went back to the PES lounge for dinner.  They had some delicious wontons as well as chips, salsa and guacamole.  We were visited by the events coordinator, Barbara.  She is looking into organizing some events for our total eclipse cruise, although she won’t be here for that sailing.  Anyway, she told us that tonight’s PES lounge offerings will be Mexican food so, think we will have to go again for that.  

We spent a little time at the Crown Grill bar listening to Cola Sounds, that duo I’ve raved about.  We attempted to go to the Liar’s Club in Princess Live but it was packed.  Then, we attempted to go see the comedian in the Vista Lounge and it was also packed.  So, instead we just headed to the casino for an hour or so. We haven’t won anything but it does not seem to be a sailing with a lot of smokers, so that’s a win in itself.  

We are in PV and sitting out on the balcony this morning.  It’s cloudy out with a very pleasant temperature without much humidity at all.  The weather has been so amazing on this trip if you like cooler temperatures, like we do.  
We’ve docked in a little different spot than we’ve been to in the past.  It is directly across from Sam’s Club and Walmart.  I’ve heard there is one here in PV but just never seen it before.  It looks like a lot of crew are headed home today.  They are being walked off with one of the officers to an awaiting bus and probably with more luggage than they had when they arrived.  
 

On a completely different note, in talking with one of the staff, I learned that if you tip large amounts of cash to the crew, it must be reported by the crew member and given in the presence of an officer.   It sounded like anything under $100 per crew member is fine, though.  Amazon gift cards are also welcomed as the entire crew are able to order items and pick them up at several ports that have contract with Princess.  The crew doesn’t have to pay for the pick up on delivery to the ship.  I would imagine that on this itinerary, Walmart gift cards would also be appreciated.  I know that when visiting San Francisco and Astoria, Ross stores are frequently visited by the crew.  Starbucks is usually a crew favorite, too.  
 

So, we have no dining reservations for this sailing but am impressed that the new app will show the menus for dinner in the MDR without a reservation.  
Here is tonight’s menu .. posted in the opposite order but you get the idea.  

 

 

 

 

That’s so convenient to have the menu in the app!  Do they only show that day’s menu or are menus for the entire week available?

[Cruise Raider]

45 minutes ago, mthomp5 said:

That’s so convenient to have the menu in the app!  Do they only show that day’s menu or are menus for the entire week available?

I am only seeing today’s menu.  I used to have to make a reservation for that evening to even see the breakfast or lunch menu for that day on the old app. Then, I would quickly delete the reservation.  But then, one time, I could see the menus for the entire cruise once there was a dinner reservation in place.  So far, this is the only reservation I can see but again, I don’t have any dinner reservations made for the MDR.  
 

one more note, they have a fish taco available at the sushi place.  I may have to give that a try.  I only noticed something that looked like taco shells while walking up the spiral staircase to the side of the kitchen there.  They sound wonderful!  
So little time to try everything!  This cruise is flying by!  

[New2cruise2022]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

one more note, they have a fish taco available at the sushi place.  I may have to give that a try.  I only noticed something that looked like taco shells while walking up the spiral staircase to the side of the kitchen there.  They sound wonderful!  
So little time to try everything!  This cruise is flying by!  

Are the tacos part of the casual lunch offering at Ocean Terrace or would that be more of an extra item?

 

Have you found the prefixe menu for casual dining is big enough to keep you interested for multiple visits across a weeklong cruise?

[nini]

@Cruise Raider Thank you for the information regarding giving cash to crew members as well as mentioning Amazon gift cards... great idea!

[Thrak]

7 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

We ended up just staying onboard yesterday.  We played the ring toss game in the piazza in the morning and it was fun.  I came in last place whereas my DH came in 2nd.  
 

 

I've done that twice. Once I was absolutely horrid at the game. The second time I think I had 3 rings and put 2 of them on the bottle! I was extremely surprised. Sadly, out of the numerous times we have won a bottle of bubbly, this was the one that we tasted and then poured down the sink. I am not a "bubbly snob" and have drank the other 3 or 4 bottles we have won onboard but this one was just not right! (We actually had one free bottle that was pretty good. It "might" have been one we won from the drawing at the Captain's Circle Party but I can't remember for sure.)