LIVE from the Discovery Princess: California Coastal, March 9 -16 ... A Princess/Celebrity Comparison

[gardengalaz]

Hi, Everyone!

 

I've commandeered my wife's account here so I can give you a live account of our experience aboard the Discovery Princess.  

 

To set the stage, we hold Elite status on Celebrity and Platinum on Princess.  It's interesting that the Platinum benefits on Princess are actually better than the Elite benefits on Celebrity.  Our last cruise on Princess was a decade ago after which we abandoned Princess and moved to Celebrity.  Since the re-launch of cruising post-COVID, we've been on 8 Celebrity cruises, each of which grew progressively worse to the point we thought it time to look at other options.  We wanted a cruise departing from Los Angeles/Long Beach since it's a reasonable drive from our home in Phoenix -- and Princess offered this itinerary, which is a new one for us. So we thought we'd give Princess another try ... and the factor that sealed the deal for us was Princess' Premiere Package -- an astounding bargain compared to Celebrity!

 

We arrived at the port at 10:45AM ... and the place was MOBBED.  Long lines of people stretching way past the terminal building, weaving their way through the gauntlet ... but the line never stopped moving, other than one quick stop to scan our medallions and show our passports.  We were on board in less than 15 minutes from our arrival at the port.  No real complaints there, but it does render the whole Elite embarkation lounge and priority embarkation lines rather pointless.

 

Once onboard, the crowd was intense ... crew members hawking whatever they were assigned to hawk ... clueless passengers about what was where and when staterooms would be ready ... elevators that simply could not handle the volume of passengers ... muster station check-ins scattered throughout.  It was truly insane.  I do wish the cruise lines had stuck to scheduled appointments for check-in though ... better crowd control and much more civilized.

 

We had lunch in the Skagway MDR and it was fantastic!  The service was great and the food quality, taste and presentation simply put Celebrity to shame.  We shall see if that pattern continues. 

 

After lunch, we went to our stateroom, E519 on Deck 8 and our checked bags had already been delivered.  We specifically chose this type of room because my wife has trouble with motion and we wanted to be as low in the ship as possible ... so the obstructed view balconies were the best choice available.  We did luck out because the specific location of our stateroom includes a balcony that provides a rather open view between the lifeboats. I'll post a photo. 

 

The room itself is very nice ... seems small compared to a similar room on the Celebrity ships we've sailed, but I think that just has to do with the whole "walk-in" closet feature in Princess' staterooms.  Plenty of space and storage for two people though.  Comfy bed, plenty of pillows, nice little sofa and table.  The bedside lamps have a USB port built-in, but no electrical outlets.  The balcony has two chairs and a small table.

 

After settling into our stateroom. I decided to go and check out the fitness center. Former bodybuilder here, so the fitness center and the food on offer throughout the ship are the primary things I care about.  The fitness center is well-equipped and operates 24 hrs.  Everything you need to keep up your training while on board.

 

Finding the fitness center though was no easy feat, and that became the first general issue we have with this ship.  The layout is VERY confusing ... and lots of things end up blocking routes that one would take intuitively.  Public passageways are tight and constricted in places ... weird little hallways that dead end ... it's really a very poorly designed ship IMHO. In that regard, Celebrity wins.

 

As far as service is concerned, it's been great.  Our drinks come quickly (in fact, we just ordered room service and it was here, quite literally, in 10 minutes flat!)  Everyone is super friendly and eager to help.

 

We popped into the Platinum and Elite lounge for a few minutes ... VERY nice hors d'oeuvres.

 

We had dinner in the Ketchikan MDR at the food was very good.  Our waiter was excellent, even though he seemed to be working solo (his assistant wasn't around much) ... no sommelier nor manager ever stopped by our table ... our waiter was doing it ALL.  Considering the last time we cruised on Princess, meals were a big and elegant production, we were rather disenchanted by the overall experience, BUT high praises to our waiter, Noel ... he did it all and did it well. The food itself was again FAR better than Celebrity's recent offerings. 

 

After dinner, the show in the main theatre was a magician.  I only watched for about 15 minutes before I'd had enough.  Too loud, too chaotic, too difficult to actually SEE what he was doing, even though there was a roving camera and giant screens ... it was simply far more showmanship than substance.  So I went to the jazz club, Take Five, and the trio performing there were simply fantastic.  The room itself is chopped up in a weird way, rendering it difficult if not impossible to see the musicians from large parts of the room, but that goes back to the odd design and layout of this ship.

 

Three final quick points ... the Wifi isn't StarLink but it is pretty good ... the Medallion APP is very handy once you figure out how to use it ... and the Salted Watermelon Margarita is not to be missed!

 

Comfy bed ... great night's sleep.  Let's see what tomorrow holds!

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 10 by gardengalaz
typo

[MTNest93]

Thank you for sharing!  If you get a chance, please advise if there are any adult only pools onboard.  Thank you 🙂

[gardengalaz]

12 minutes ago, MTNest93 said:

Thank you for sharing!  If you get a chance, please advise if there are any adult only pools onboard.  Thank you 🙂

There is an adults only pool and bar on Deck 17 Forward.  Not many people seem to know about it, since the only way you'd stumble across it is if you were lost or a passenger in one of the staterooms that surround it.  Also, it's called the Retreat Pool, so a lot of people think it's only for suite holders, which is not the case.  It's small, quiet with a nice bar BUT there's no views from the area since, as I said, it's surrounded by staterooms.

 

[sternfanla]

Thanks for sharing.

[MTNest93]

48 minutes ago, gardengalaz said:

There is an adults only pool and bar on Deck 17 Forward.  Not many people seem to know about it, since the only way you'd stumble across it is if you were lost or a passenger in one of the staterooms that surround it.  Also, it's called the Retreat Pool, so a lot of people think it's only for suite holders, which is not the case.  It's small, quiet with a nice bar BUT there's no views from the area since, as I said, it's surrounded by staterooms.

 

Perfect! 

[gardengalaz]

Hi, Everyone!

 

Day 2 of our voyage is a sea day as we're heading up to San Francisco.  The sea is a tiny, wee bit roll-y and ya just have to chuckle when you hear a new cruiser express their concern and saying things like, "Please tell me it doesn't get worse than this!!" and their partner respond, reassuring them with "facts" like, "If it get's any worse than this, the Captain won't sail."   Again, this ship is barely rocking.

 

So I started my day with a trip to the gym.  I saw on the Medallion App that my wife and the couple we're traveling with are seated in the World Market buffet, so I thought I'd swing by and say hello.  In our many dozens of cruises, I've never encountered a more crowded and confusing buffet area.  Rather than having a nice big open area for all of the food stations to be easily seen, perused and accessed, this ship has multiple little aisles and vestibules where the food can be found. There's no readily apparent system of what you're likely to find where and because of how narrow these aisles are, they get very clogged with people, who, after weaving in and out of the maze emerge to discover that they now have food but no idea where they were sitting.  Once you're seated and eating, you think twice before getting up to just go and grab something else.  I didn't eat, but my friends said that the food and the selection were good.  They also said they're just going to go to the MDR for breakfast to avoid the chaos of the buffet.  Yet again, this ship has SERIOUS design and layout issues.

 

Anywho, I went to the gym and had a great workout. Wifey and our friends went off to attend various events happening on board and I went back to the cabin, where I remained until time to get ready for dinner.  You probably should know now that I am reclusive by nature and find tremendous joy in sitting quietly on our balcony, away from the craziness.  That said, the ship's schedule is jam-packed with activities, so if you are more social and curious than I am, you'll have plenty to do.

 

I needed to iron a shirt and I was thrilled to find that Princess stills provides passenger laundromats.  Definitely not something you'd ever find on Celebrity.  Princess wins in this department.

 

It's one of the fancy nights, so there are photographers everywhere.  (LOT's of fancy dresses and quite a few tuxedos, we were very pleased to see!  Some parents took advantage of the opportunity to teach their children how to behave in and enjoy a fancy event.  The little boys in the little tuxedos gave us hope for the future of humanity.) We would normally skip all of the photo ops, but since our Premiere package includes ALL of the photos taken of us onboard, we thought we might as well let them do their thing.

 

We stopped by the Platinum/Elite lounge for a drink and some hors d'oeuvres before heading to the Crown Grill for our first of the two specialty dining experiences included in the Premiere package.  The food was fantastic (one of the best steaks I've ever had) and the service was upbeat and personable.  From our previous voyages with Princess, we were expecting a more upscale sorta vibe and a more refined dining experience, but it seems like that style of dining went the way of mandatory dress codes long ago. That said, our ONLY issue with the meal/experience was where we were seated in the restaurant.  It was ok ... until the band in the Crown Grill Bar started playing and then it was so loud, you couldn't talk to your companion.  Had we known this was going to happen earlier in our meal, we could have asked to be moved and I'm pretty sure they would have at least tried to accommodate our request to be moved. Again, this is a design flaw and it was problematic for us.  So, great food, great service .. but choose your table carefully.  Specialty dining on Celebrity is considerably more expensive and far more upscale and formal in the service aspect of things, but Princess wins yet again when it comes to the food.  DELICIOUS!!

 

After dinner, we joined up with our friends to see the Rock Opera production show.  Great singers and dancers and musicians ... wonderful song selections.  A bit too loud for my wife, but I thought the volume was just fine.  My only issue with the theatre is there's no place to set down your drinks (or your empty glasses) so you have to hold onto your beverage, making it challenging to deliver appropriate applause for the cast and crew -- and on the way out, there's no place to deposit your empties.  I guess you could just leave them sitting on the floor in front of your seat, but that seems gauche.  

 

The ship was noticeably rocking and rolling throughout the night -- still barely a level 1 sea experience for people who've cruised a bunch -- but the first timers were rather weirded out.

 

Tomorrow, we'll be passing under the Golden Gate Bridge at about 6:30AM.  I shall be asleep.

 

More later.

 

 

Edited March 11 by gardengalaz
Typo

[EDDY0827]

16 minutes ago, gardengalaz said:

 My only issue with the theatre is there's no place to set down your drinks (or your empty glasses) so you have to hold onto your beverage, making it challenging to deliver appropriate applause for the cast and crew -- and on the way out, there's no place to deposit your empties.  I guess you could just leave them sitting on the floor in front of your seat, but that seems gauche.  

IIRC, each seat has a folding table top that deploys out of the right arm rest. I don't know if this is true for all ships in the fleet.

[Astro Flyer]

28 minutes ago, EDDY0827 said:

IIRC, each seat has a folding table top that deploys out of the right arm rest. I don't know if this is true for all ships in the fleet.

Not on Discovery & IIRC none of the Royal-class ships.

[Cruise Raider]

Great review so far!  One of the beverage managers is friends with us and he wrote to let us know the Discovery is in our home port today.  Too bad he didn't have time for us to go see him but heard they are having some big inspection today so all hands on deck.  We will catch him next time we are on the Discovery.  
 

Of note, I did a similar comparison while doing a side by side cruise out of LA on the Solstice and the Discovery.  
I agree with you on so many points you’ve made.  While our Celebrity cruise was decent, the prices, the internet and the food just don’t compare to what we get on Princess.  And on Celebrity, we really found ourselves missing the ability to just order food via the app without charge from anywhere on the ship.  

The deluxe balcony cabins or maybe even the mini suites on Princess are more the size of a standard balcony on Celebrity.  So, Celebrity wins that contest.  
 

BTW, the last aisle towards the aft in the buffet contains all the good stuff!  It’s usually less crowded, too as people don’t always make it down that far.  We start there and rarely go to any of the other aisles.  
My other advice is to be sure try the Catch, especially but not only if you like seafood.  My DH orders the steak and lobster and I love the Concerto pasta dish.  
And Gigis, the GastroPub and Ocean Terrace are also so wonderful.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

[EDDY0827]

34 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Not on Discovery & IIRC none of the Royal-class ships.

Maybe just on the "old" boats, not on the "new" ships.

[Bemidji Ty]

After our last Discovery cruise, we made a note to ask for seating the farthest away from any live music when we dine in a specialty restaurant. 

 

Cheers 

[gardengalaz]

2 hours ago, EDDY0827 said:

IIRC, each seat has a folding table top that deploys out of the right arm rest. I don't know if this is true for all ships in the fleet.

Sadly, not on the Discovery Princess

[gardengalaz]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

Great review so far!  One of the beverage managers is friends with us and he wrote to let us know the Discovery is in our home port today.  Too bad he didn't have time for us to go see him but heard they are having some big inspection today so all hands on deck.  We will catch him next time we are on the Discovery.  
 

Of note, I did a similar comparison while doing a side by side cruise out of LA on the Solstice and the Discovery.  
I agree with you on so many points you’ve made.  While our Celebrity cruise was decent, the prices, the internet and the food just don’t compare to what we get on Princess.  And on Celebrity, we really found ourselves missing the ability to just order food via the app without charge from anywhere on the ship.  

The deluxe balcony cabins or maybe even the mini suites on Princess are more the size of a standard balcony on Celebrity.  So, Celebrity wins that contest.  
 

BTW, the last aisle towards the aft in the buffet contains all the good stuff!  It’s usually less crowded, too as people don’t always make it down that far.  We start there and rarely go to any of the other aisles.  
My other advice is to be sure try the Catch, especially but not only if you like seafood.  My DH orders the steak and lobster and I love the Concerto pasta dish.  
And Gigis, the GastroPub and Ocean Terrace are also so wonderful.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for your advice!!

 

[Thrak]

In the theater there is a tradeoff in seating. If one sits in a row with a railing right in front of it there is a handy ledge on which to place your drink. However, there is less room for your feet as you can't stretch them out under the seat in front of you. I like the railing and my wife likes the legroom. D'Oh!

 

Not too sure how one could have difficulty finding the gym. The app on your phone will actually walk you there and there are also giant screens near all the elevators that will map out a route if you just ask them to do so. Sounds like a "I'm not used to Princess" thing which I guess is actually pretty understandable. Just a "training issue".

Edited March 11 by Thrak

[gardengalaz]

41 minutes ago, Thrak said:

In the theater there is a tradeoff in seating. If one sits in a row with a railing right in front of it there is a handy ledge on which to place your drink. However, there is less room for your feet as you can't stretch them out under the seat in front of you. I like the railing and my wife likes the legroom. D'Oh!

 

Not too sure how one could have difficulty finding the gym. The app on your phone will actually walk you there and there are also giant screens near all the elevators that will map out a route if you just ask them to do so. Sounds like a "I'm not used to Princess" thing which I guess is actually pretty understandable. Just a "training issue".

Interestingly enough, I was following the recommended route on the app and looking at the deck maps.  Unfortunately, they had closed off a section as well as an entrance to the aft lobby area on that deck.  I even spoke to one of the crew who basically said that the App hadn't been updated yet and gave me a route that took me back to mid-ship before I could work my way back to the gym.  I'm very accustomed to Princess in general -- this was an anomaly.

[memoak]

4 hours ago, Bemidji Ty said:

After our last Discovery cruise, we made a note to ask for seating the farthest away from any live music when we dine in a specialty restaurant. 

 

Cheers 

The Royal class ships have those tall atrium spaces where sound just echoes. We only sail them if we really really love the itinerary 

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

The Royal class ships have those tall atrium spaces where sound just echoes. We only sail them if we really really love the itinerary 

 

We've only sailed a Royal Class ship once (Royal Princess) and are scheduled to sail on Discovery Princess April 3rd. I have to agree with you that, from our one experience to date, the design of the Atrium didn't please us. Too much loud stuff (bands) going on down on the main floor and echoing up through the decks above. We will see how it is on Discovery and possibly go hide in Take Five.

[memoak]

8 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

We've only sailed a Royal Class ship once (Royal Princess) and are scheduled to sail on Discovery Princess April 3rd. I have to agree with you that, from our one experience to date, the design of the Atrium didn't please us. Too much loud stuff (bands) going on down on the main floor and echoing up through the decks above. We will see how it is on Discovery and possibly go hide in Take Five.

Take 5 is wonderful on the evening but it is usually closed in the afternoon. They were using it for elite/suite cocktails when we were on board  I. It also made a nice break from the neighboring casino

[CU64]

On 3/10/2024 at 12:43 PM, gardengalaz said:

Hi, Everyone!

 

I've commandeered my wife's account here so I can give you a live account of our experience aboard the Discovery Princess.  

 

To set the stage, we hold Elite status on Celebrity and Platinum on Princess.  It's interesting that the Platinum benefits on Princess are actually better than the Elite benefits on Celebrity.  Our last cruise on Princess was a decade ago after which we abandoned Princess and moved to Celebrity.  Since the re-launch of cruising post-COVID, we've been on 8 Celebrity cruises, each of which grew progressively worse to the point we thought it time to look at other options.  We wanted a cruise departing from Los Angeles/Long Beach since it's a reasonable drive from our home in Phoenix -- and Princess offered this itinerary, which is a new one for us. So we thought we'd give Princess another try ... and the factor that sealed the deal for us was Princess' Premiere Package -- an astounding bargain compared to Celebrity!

 

We arrived at the port at 10:45AM ... and the place was MOBBED.  Long lines of people stretching way past the terminal building, weaving their way through the gauntlet ... but the line never stopped moving, other than one quick stop to scan our medallions and show our passports.  We were on board in less than 15 minutes from our arrival at the port.  No real complaints there, but it does render the whole Elite embarkation lounge and priority embarkation lines rather pointless.

 

Once onboard, the crowd was intense ... crew members hawking whatever they were assigned to hawk ... clueless passengers about what was where and when staterooms would be ready ... elevators that simply could not handle the volume of passengers ... muster station check-ins scattered throughout.  It was truly insane.  I do wish the cruise lines had stuck to scheduled appointments for check-in though ... better crowd control and much more civilized.

 

We had lunch in the Skagway MDR and it was fantastic!  The service was great and the food quality, taste and presentation simply put Celebrity to shame.  We shall see if that pattern continues. 

 

After lunch, we went to our stateroom, E519 on Deck 8 and our checked bags had already been delivered.  We specifically chose this type of room because my wife has trouble with motion and we wanted to be as low in the ship as possible ... so the obstructed view balconies were the best choice available.  We did luck out because the specific location of our stateroom includes a balcony that provides a rather open view between the lifeboats. I'll post a photo. 

 

The room itself is very nice ... seems small compared to a similar room on the Celebrity ships we've sailed, but I think that just has to do with the whole "walk-in" closet feature in Princess' staterooms.  Plenty of space and storage for two people though.  Comfy bed, plenty of pillows, nice little sofa and table.  The bedside lamps have a USB port built-in, but no electrical outlets.  The balcony has two chairs and a small table.

 

After settling into our stateroom. I decided to go and check out the fitness center. Former bodybuilder here, so the fitness center and the food on offer throughout the ship are the primary things I care about.  The fitness center is well-equipped and operates 24 hrs.  Everything you need to keep up your training while on board.

 

Finding the fitness center though was no easy feat, and that became the first general issue we have with this ship.  The layout is VERY confusing ... and lots of things end up blocking routes that one would take intuitively.  Public passageways are tight and constricted in places ... weird little hallways that dead end ... it's really a very poorly designed ship IMHO. In that regard, Celebrity wins.

 

As far as service is concerned, it's been great.  Our drinks come quickly (in fact, we just ordered room service and it was here, quite literally, in 10 minutes flat!)  Everyone is super friendly and eager to help.

 

We popped into the Platinum and Elite lounge for a few minutes ... VERY nice hors d'oeuvres.

 

We had dinner in the Ketchikan MDR at the food was very good.  Our waiter was excellent, even though he seemed to be working solo (his assistant wasn't around much) ... no sommelier nor manager ever stopped by our table ... our waiter was doing it ALL.  Considering the last time we cruised on Princess, meals were a big and elegant production, we were rather disenchanted by the overall experience, BUT high praises to our waiter, Noel ... he did it all and did it well. The food itself was again FAR better than Celebrity's recent offerings. 

 

After dinner, the show in the main theatre was a magician.  I only watched for about 15 minutes before I'd had enough.  Too loud, too chaotic, too difficult to actually SEE what he was doing, even though there was a roving camera and giant screens ... it was simply far more showmanship than substance.  So I went to the jazz club, Take Five, and the trio performing there were simply fantastic.  The room itself is chopped up in a weird way, rendering it difficult if not impossible to see the musicians from large parts of the room, but that goes back to the odd design and layout of this ship.

 

Three final quick points ... the Wifi isn't StarLink but it is pretty good ... the Medallion APP is very handy once you figure out how to use it ... and the Salted Watermelon Margarita is not to be missed!

 

Comfy bed ... great night's sleep.  Let's see what tomorrow holds!

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

 

 

 

 

Take 5 one of best venues on Princess

[cheetosrevil]

Following and enjoying your thread. Will be on the Discovery for the 4th time this Saturday. If you are able, would you ask if this drink can be made on board? I'm also following the great Sun Princess Live and he posted a drink menu so I am curious. Thank you!

[gardengalaz]

16 hours ago, cheetosrevil said:

Following and enjoying your thread. Will be on the Discovery for the 4th time this Saturday. If you are able, would you ask if this drink can be made on board? I'm also following the great Sun Princess Live and he posted a drink menu so I am curious. Thank you!

I'll look for it today when I'm in the lounge.

[Thrak]

4 minutes ago, gardengalaz said:

I'll look for it today when I'm in the lounge.

 

Thanks. Looking forward to hearing this changed menu is on Discovery. The old selections have been around for a long time.

[gardengalaz]

Hi, Everyone!

 

Not much to report today.  We arrived in San Francisco as scheduled ... Pier 29, so just a short walk along the Embarcadero to the tourist trap known as Pier 39.  Great place for souvenirs, but we just wanted to watch the sea lions for a while ... and they never disappoint!  We popped into CVS to grab a couple of things we needed and headed back to the ship.

 

I sent a note of feedback to Guest Services about our experience at the Crown Grill (just feedback, not looking for anything) and were very pleased to get a call from the manager in charge of F&B who arranged for us to have a table as far away from the noise as possible when we dine at Rudy's tomorrow.  VERY nice of him.

 

We had lunch in Gigi's and all was fine ... nothing noteworthy one way or the other ... just good food and good service.  Not sure I'd be willing to pay the upcharge if it wasn't included in our Premiere package though.

 

Stopped by Crown Grill Bar for a Salted Watermelon Margarita before dinner and who walks up to us??  The manager I'd spoken to earlier!  (That medallion is a very useful tool!)  He just wanted to apologize again (unnecessary, but appreciated), said he noticed that we had no reservations anywhere for the next evening and told him our plan was to go to the Gastropub.  He smiled and said, "Let me get you a table in the MDR instead"  -- so we took the hint and said thank you!  Within 5 minutes, he secured a table for us, even though the app said nothing was available.  Behold the power of the staff!!

 

Dinner in the MDR was very nice, except next to our table was a 6-top filled with young children whose parents were dining together at an adjacent table.  For the most part, the kids were well-behaved, but they had a few moments where they got a bit loud and it was refreshing to see one of the parents step over to remind them about "inside voices".  

 

After dinner, we went to see a profoundly energetic Jerry Lee Lewis tribute performer who was excellent.  Not sure how the piano survived two performances under his power and showmanship .. but it was great.

 

Sailed out of San Francisco about 10PM and into a rather rolly-polly sea.  Again, nothing beyond a 3 on a 10 scale, but people were definitely having to adjust their steps if they wanted to walk straight down a hallway ... I'm sure you all know what I'm describing.

 

Sea day tomorrow!

Edited March 12 by gardengalaz

[Bali505]

Enjoying your live so far! We are on the Discovery in another month or so. Can you please tell me which shows are in the main theatre during the week if you have time. Also, are they not handing out the Princess Patter anymore? I read somewhere they weren't but not sure how accurate that is. Is the self laundry still complimentary? I heard it's hit and miss on ships/sailings.

[dreams_of_travel]

5 minutes ago, gardengalaz said:

Stopped by Crown Grill Bar for a Salted Watermelon Margarita 

Is this the only place one can get this magical sounding drink?  This sounds like a must try it one for me. 😄