Voyages of Discovery Looking Good

[SwissMyst]

Hi Josie and anyone else getting ready or coming back from the MV Discovery. I hope we can share some travel tips about our Discovery cruises here.

 

Swissmyst

[Geordieboy]

I am on Discovery again out in the far east and we have had a great Christmas and New Year on board

[SwissMyst]

I am on Discovery again out in the far east and we have had a great Christmas and New Year on board

 

Hi, please tell us more about your cruise and how life onboard ship is going in lots of little details. We are so excited about joining her in Hong Kong for 42 days.

 

The Holland America Rotterdam recently took us to your lovely part of England where we followed Hadrian's Wall across the beautiful countryside.

 

Lots of questions here so if you can pick a few for your precious internet time (I know it is costly), it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Are most of the passengers from the UK or Commonwealth countries? How many repeat passengers? How many multiple leg passengers and are there special activities for them? How are the port excursions? Can you do a lot of independent touring at the ports where you dock or have they been too remote to do things on your own? Rough seas or calm seas?

 

Our cabin is way down on the Coral deck next to the infirmary ...... and dining room. Tell us about the food onboard. How has the weather been on this side of the world this time of the year. Is there anything you wished you had brought along to make life onboard or in your cabin easier? How much storage and closet space in the cabins? How has laundry worked out? Do they have ginger beer/ale onboard and what brand? I love the Australian brand Bundaberg and hope I can stock up in Hong Kong before we leave unless the ship also has a good brand.

 

Do you know they do anything special when the ship crosses the equator? This should happen sometime in the Indian Ocean for our leg from Hong Kong to Capetown. How dressy are the formal nights? Do most men wear jackets and/or ties for dinner every night? Is the Yatch Club special dining room more formal than regular dinner nights?

 

Thanks and thanks for checking in and giving us this good preliminary report.

 

Swissmyst

[Geordieboy]

Hi, please tell us more about your cruise and how life onboard ship is going in lots of little details. We are so excited about joining her in Hong Kong for 42 days.Cruise has been great for us , Christmas and new year

 

The Holland America Rotterdam recently took us to your lovely part of England where we followed Hadrian's Wall across the beautiful countryside. I recently did the coast to coast bike ride !!

 

Lots of questions here so if you can pick a few for your precious internet time (I know it is costly), it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Are most of the passengers from the UK or Commonwealth countries? There is a big mix, brits, aussies, kiwi,s , americans and canadians....and the irish !How many repeat passengers?at the repeaters party this cruise there were 380 in the lounge How many multiple leg passengers and are there special activities for them? don't know this cruise but when I was here from Antarctica there was a bbq for 94 that went all the way to the UK How are the port excursions? Very good on the whole, but I have heard the odd complaint, but we haven't had any.Can you do a lot of independent touring at the ports where you dock or have they been too remote to do things on your own? oh yeah we have met people and have gone off to in taxis with them but also done our own thingRough seas or calm seas? Flat calm and the weather out here is hot and humid, Singapore today

 

Our cabin is way down on the Coral deck next to the infirmary ...... and dining room. Tell us about the food onboard. We have had no complaints and the staff tend to people's diet requests How has the weather been on this side of the world this time of the year. Is there anything you wished you had brought along to make life onboard or in your cabin easier? How much storage and closet space in the cabins?It's tight !!!! How has laundry worked out?The staff were saying that in the recent refit the ship got some new machines in the laundry Do they have ginger beer/ale onboard and what brand? yes theres ginger beer, the beer is Boddington's stella etc but they sell a blonde beer called Discovery which is quite good, it's bottledI love the Australian brand Bundaberg and hope I can stock up in Hong Kong before we leave unless the ship also has a good brand.

 

opps !! everyone is smartly dressed , we have had two formal nights this cruise and we noticed one gent being asked to leave the yacht club when he came in with a short sleeve shirt and he returned with a jacket so the waiters are good for enforcing dress codes.

 

Thanks and thanks for checking in and giving us this good preliminary report.

 

Swissmyst

 

hope you have a good cruise.

[SwissMyst]

Geordie, thanks for the great details. What a nice trip report and love hearing the "formality" of the cruise is being maintained, as we are losing that nice aspect of cruising on some of the more mainstream cruise lines.

 

Can you expand a little more about how "tight" the cabin storage is? How many coat hangers fit in to the closets and how many drawers or shelves in the cabin. And how is the storage specifically in the bathroom - counter, shelves, cabinet?

 

Starting to think about packing and new airline luggage limits will help solve a lot of problems about what to take (a lot less than ususal), but cabin storage sounds like it will be an even bigger factor in what to take and what to leave home. It is hard to know where to make limits for a 42 day cruise when I myself may end up hating wearing the same things over and over again. Is this what happens? Do long-term passengers end up with a travel "uniform" that gets a lot of reuse? Any tips? Should my husband take his tux?

 

Does one need different types of clothing for the humid outdoors and the A/C interiors or does just a sweater suffice, if it gets too cool in the public rooms? Are their any evolving "rituals" among the passengers like watching the sun go down or come up? Watching all the port docking and undocking procedures? How is the contact with the bridge and officers? What items do they have in the ship store?

 

Is their room under the bed for suitcases, which can double for storage?

 

Thanks again for all these timely details as our own countdown begins.

 

Also did you have your air ticket provided by Discovery and when did they finally let you know your air schedule? I am trying to make some house-sitting arrangements and don't know when I can tell the house sitter to start, particularly since we cross the International Dateline to get to HongKong from the US West Coast - at least that is how I hope they route us!

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

Geordie, thanks for the great details. What a nice trip report and love hearing the "formality" of the cruise is being maintained, as we are losing that nice aspect of cruising on some of the more mainstream cruise lines.

 

Can you expand a little more about how "tight" the cabin storage is? How many coat hangers fit in to the closets and how many drawers or shelves in the cabin. And how is the storage specifically in the bathroom - counter, shelves, cabinet?

 

Starting to think about packing and new airline luggage limits will help solve a lot of problems about what to take (a lot less than ususal), but cabin storage sounds like it will be an even bigger factor in what to take and what to leave home. It is hard to know where to make limits for a 42 day cruise when I myself may end up hating wearing the same things over and over again. Is this what happens? Do long-term passengers end up with a travel "uniform" that gets a lot of reuse? Any tips? Should my husband take his tux?

 

Does one need different types of clothing for the humid outdoors and the A/C interiors or does just a sweater suffice, if it gets too cool in the public rooms? Are their any evolving "rituals" among the passengers like watching the sun go down or come up? Watching all the port docking and undocking procedures? How is the contact with the bridge and officers? What items do they have in the ship store?

 

Is their room under the bed for suitcases, which can double for storage?

 

Thanks again for all these timely details as our own countdown begins.

 

Also did you have your air ticket provided by Discovery and when did they finally let you know your air schedule? I am trying to make some house-sitting arrangements and don't know when I can tell the house sitter to start, particularly since we cross the International Dateline to get to HongKong from the US West Coast - at least that is how I hope they route us!

 

Well I cant answer all, but the ones I can I will!

 

On my cruise the passenger 'ritual' was to watch the undockings, dockings and the midnight sun every night, but the latter is only on cruises where the midnight sun can be seen ! I felt that the bridge officers and Captain mixed alot and plentifully with the passengers, and this is to be expected, considring the ships small size. All pasengers did feel like 'family' in our short two week trip, so I cannot say just how friendly everything will be during your epic voyage! Everywhere one went, in the public rooms or the open decks, there would always be a fammiliar face inviting you to join them. The public rooms where always at a moderate temprature, but I would take sweaters as this could change from cruise to cruise and remmber, the weather is prone to doing strange and unexpected things when at sea. The ship store had most of the usuale fare of 'designer' watches, jewellry, clothing and memorabilia from the countries visited. I spent very little time there however so someone else would be to comment more accuartly on this aspect. About the cabins, it truly depends on what category you are in. During my voyage my cabin was absaloutly tiny, yet very functional and had places to store suitcases under the bed, as well as enough room for three people even though it was miniscule (the smallest ocean view stateroom on the ship). However I was invited into a guests suite once and it had three rooms as well as a living room, and that ofcaurse is more than adaquate. Overall I think all the cabins are adequate, although maybe the one I was in is not ideal for such a long voyage.

 

Hope I helped and sorry for the slight lack of detail !

[SwissMyst]

These follow-up posts are helping a lot. There are still a few specifics I need which will help in my packing choices:

 

1. ELECTRICAL ADAPTORS: The ship brochure said we needed European type two pin electrical adaptors and another poster said we needed the 3 prong British UK type plug adaptors. This might have changed recently in a retrofit. Any present confirmation of what we need -- 2 pin EU or 3 pin UK plug adaptors?

 

2. CLOSET, DRAWER AND SHELF SPACE: We are in the lowest category porthole cabin on the Coral Deck, but were able to get the "largest" cabin in this category according to the deck plan and another passenger's report on this forum (the one next to the dispensary), but I still need to know how many coat hangers will fit into the closet (closets?) and how many drawers or shelves are available for storage.

 

3. BATHROOM STORAGE: What kind of storage is available in the bathrooms: shelves, cabinets

 

4. HAIRDRYER Where is the hairdryer located and is it attached or moveable?

 

It appears the porthole cabins are about the same size and configuration as the window cabins so I would assume they would have the same layouts and amenities, realizing these are not what they call the "large" cabins in this same category so if you have not been in one of the porthole cabins, I would like to hear if you were in one of the normal "small" sized window cabins and I will take it from there.

 

Thanks again and it is great to get all these good, friendly reports.

We just got our packet and airtickets yesterday (as well as our own WSJ article today about all the Indian Ocean pirate attacks and map!!).

 

They provided us with great non-stop flights on Cathay Pacific to HongKong and Emirates Air from Capetown back to Los Angeles, via Dubai - grueling long haul, but we will be ready to get home by then)

 

Swissmyst

[SwissMyst]

Another general question: TIPPING

 

How does this work on Discovery?

 

___added to the final account,

___paid in cash,

___put on credit card,

___per diem to all and/or individuals,

___preferred currency

 

Thanks,

Swissmyst

[judb]

Hi

We are joining the ship at Mombasa so I have been following your questions with interest as they are relevant to us too. This is our first cruise so we know nothing about life on board. We are only on board for 14 nights so we dont quite have the same packing problems but dont want to bring anything we will never wear.

So far it sounds pretty good! Any more general information would be welcome.

thanks

[OldJerseycruiser]

SwissMyst

 

Tipping is included in the price of the cruise. Anything else is entirely up to you.

[SwissMyst]

CABIN STORAGE SPACE: Still hoping to get an answer about how many coat hangers will fit into the closets, drawer and shelf space. And the bathroom storage space too. (On Coral deck - outside cabin, similar to most lower deck cabins)

 

On our last cruise I did not learn until the last day packing up that there were extra drawers under the upholstered love seat. Who would have guessed?. Hate to miss out on secret ways to stack thing up in a Discovery room. Love seat in the room? -- you gotta be kidding, is the more likely answer.:rolleyes:

 

Oh well. I can always buy souvenir t-shirts along the way if I get bored with what I packed.

[SwissMyst]

Talking to myself here, but we leave tomorrow and so far all plans have gone well. Discovery provided the airtickets and they are a very nice surprise. LAX to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, non-stop. And coming home via Dubai on Emiriates Air with their non-stop long haul Dubai to LAX. (Boeing 777 200 LR)

 

Nice work, Discovery. I was worried our "free" air tickets would be long puddle jumpings all over the place, but this is about as good as it could get with all non-stops. The last leg will be a killer, as we leave first from Capetown on Emirates Air with a short layover in Dubai and then on out for 16:35 hours (!) direct to LAX. The Emirates website says they still have several hundred miles of fuel left once they get to LAX. (!!) We were able to book some of the two seat rows in the back, so should be able to get up easily to keep circulation going for that long.

 

We will definitely get a good feel for Emirates Air after this much time in the air with them, which apparently rivals Singapore Airlines for in-flight quality. The intriguing part will be those up front in first class doing the same trip for about US$20,000 a head compared to their online economy rates of about US$1,000. Business class seemed to be around $12,000. For that much extra money we could have taken the ship home.

 

Packed up and still under our 2 x 50# each baggage limits, which gives us some breathing room and I do feel like I am taking everything but the proverbial kitchen sink and I am sure way more than I need. The shock will come when I see the realities of a 132 sq ft cabin and tiny closets. (OMG!) Hope to give a practical report on the room amenities when I return.

 

Someone passed on a packing tip to help create a little more storage organization when on the cruise ship. Cut down some brown paper grocery bags to about 10 inches and fold them flat. Then on the ship fold back the lips of the bag several times to make a semi-solid "tray" for storing clusters of items on shelves. Hadn't thought of that myself, but it sounds like a great idea.

 

But the idea is to bring more clothes to avoid the need to do any major laundry, so we will see how that works out. Plus we actually face cool weather in Hong Kong and South Africa even though we spend most of our time in the humid, tropic heat of the Indian Ocean.

 

Hopefully, all is arranged now to leave for 42 days. Airport transport will be picking us up for door to door service so we won't have to hassle our heavy bags and Discovery picks us up in Hong Kong and gets us back to the plane in Capetown, so I do think our "worries" are now over.

[MMDown Under]

Talking to myself here, but we leave tomorrow and so far all plans have gone well. Discovery provided the airtickets and they are a very nice surprise. LAX to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, non-stop. And coming home via Dubai on Emiriates Air with their non-stop long haul Dubai to LAX. (Boeing 777 200 LR)

 

Nice work, Discovery. I was worried our "free" air tickets would be long puddle jumpings all over the place, but this is about as good as it could get with all non-stops. The last leg will be a killer, as we leave first from Capetown on Emirates Air with a short layover in Dubai and then on out for 16:35 hours (!) direct to LAX. The Emirates website says they still have several hundred miles of fuel left once they get to LAX. (!!) We were able to book some of the two seat rows in the back, so should be able to get up easily to keep circulation going for that long.

 

We will definitely get a good feel for Emirates Air after this much time in the air with them, which apparently rivals Singapore Airlines for in-flight quality. The intriguing part will be those up front in first class doing the same trip for about US$20,000 a head compared to their online economy rates of about US$1,000. Business class seemed to be around $12,000. For that much extra money we could have taken the ship home.

 

Packed up and still under our 2 x 50# each baggage limits, which gives us some breathing room and I do feel like I am taking everything but the proverbial kitchen sink and I am sure way more than I need. The shock will come when I see the realities of a 132 sq ft cabin and tiny closets. (OMG!) Hope to give a practical report on the room amenities when I return.

 

Someone passed on a packing tip to help create a little more storage organization when on the cruise ship. Cut down some brown paper grocery bags to about 10 inches and fold them flat. Then on the ship fold back the lips of the bag several times to make a semi-solid "tray" for storing clusters of items on shelves. Hadn't thought of that myself, but it sounds like a great idea.

 

But the idea is to bring more clothes to avoid the need to do any major laundry, so we will see how that works out. Plus we actually face cool weather in Hong Kong and South Africa even though we spend most of our time in the humid, tropic heat of the Indian Ocean.

 

Hopefully, all is arranged now to leave for 42 days. Airport transport will be picking us up for door to door service so we won't have to hassle our heavy bags and Discovery picks us up in Hong Kong and gets us back to the plane in Capetown, so I do think our "worries" are now over.

 

Wishing you a wonderful cruise. What an adventure - 42 days!

 

Looking forward to reading your review on your return.

[Druke I]

Sounds great.

 

Have a wonderful trip.

[SwissMyst]

Thanks for all your good wishes.

 

Marion and Barry, can you tell me more about the MSC Lirica. It looks like you took a repositioning cruise with them .I like that they go to Genoa instead of Rome. How was it? I don't know anything about that cruise line.

[MMDown Under]

Thanks for all your good wishes.

 

Marion and Barry, can you tell me more about the MSC Lirica. It looks like you took a repositioning cruise with them .I like that they go to Genoa instead of Rome. How was it? I don't know anything about that cruise line.

 

I loved that repositioning cruise from Genoa to Fort Lauderdale. We spent a delightful fortnight in Northern Italy, including a few days in Genoa, prior to the cruise.

 

Genoa is an easy city from which to embark on a cruise. We just caught a local bus from our hotel to the port. Actual embarking was a bit of a shambles, but I suspect that may be just the way it is in Italy.

 

MSC Lirica is a beautiful spotless medium size ship. I wrote a Review.

 

The main attraction for me was the unique itinerary, which exceeded my expectations.

 

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

[SwissMyst]

Thanks for the good words about Lirica, looks like they will be leaving from South America this time, but I will keep my eyes open for other Genoa repositioning possibilities with MSC. Genoa is a very under-appreciated Italian city I think.

 

But then it was where I left on my first big cruise back in the 70's, around the world on the Italian Lloyd Triestino Galileo way back then leaving from Genoa and down through the canal and across the Pacific - sounds a little like your Chandris cruise - except these were not cruises as much then but more passenger ships that were the backbone of global transportation point to point in those days.

[MMDown Under]

Thanks for the good words about Lirica, looks like they will be leaving from South America this time, but I will keep my eyes open for other Genoa repositioning possibilities with MSC. Genoa is a very under-appreciated Italian city I think.

 

But then it was where I left on my first big cruise back in the 70's, around the world on the Italian Lloyd Triestino Galileo way back then leaving from Genoa and down through the canal and across the Pacific - sounds a little like your Chandris cruise - except these were not cruises as much then but more passenger ships that were the backbone of global transportation point to point in those days.

 

We really enjoyed Genoa and would have liked to have spent more than our three days there.

 

Both my cruises on P&O and Chandris were what they called "World Cruises" at the time, with wonderful ports of call. In addition to World Tour Groups (Global from memory on P&O), they carried independent passengers, like myself.

 

Sydney - Melbourne - Auckland - Tahiti - Acapulco - Panama (2) - Nassau, Bahamas, New York, Rotterdam, Southhampton.

 

Southhampton - Lisbon - Dakar - Cape Town - Durban - Mombasa - Bombay - Colombo - Perth - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney - Brisbane.

 

These remain my ports of call benchmark, with their lengthy stays in port and overland tours in South Africa.

[ptcandy]

Hi

Can anyone tell me if there is a meet and greet board for the Voyages of Discovery sailing in May? Can't seem to find anything.

 

Thanks

[patkusps]

Which cruise are you on? We are on the Black Sea from April 28 to May 9.

 

Patrick & Ann - Southport NC

[SwissMyst]

Just back from the Discovery 42 Grand Voyage Asia to Africa (Hong Kong to Capetown) and will soon provide a more comprehensive report. Lots to love about this trip and finally have some answers to my own questions.

 

The biggest challenge for us was the sheer length of the trip (42 days) and the final two week segment brought rough seas only to find out I am not that good of a sailor, but it also brought some of the best shore excursions highlights too.

 

Capetown is a fabulous port to enjoy everything right at your doorstep as the Discovery is small enough to dock right in the middle of the Victoria and Alfred complex whereas the HAL Rotterdam who had arrived a few days earlier had to dock in the very inconvenient industrial port and use shuttles to get anywhere.

 

The surprise bonus for us that expanded the entire trip enjoyment was the Discovery arranged Dubai-LAX flight on Emirates that flew over Iran, Uzbekistan, Russia and the North Pole .... all on a perfect, clear day where we could see everything. Never has a16 hour flight passed so enjoyably.

 

Looking forward to putting up some photos of ship board life and a more detailed review. But catching up on a 42 day absence will take some time first. Please, any future Discovery cruisers ask me questions while it is all fresh in my mind.

[SwissMyst]

Hi

We are joining the ship at Mombasa so I have been following your questions with interest as they are relevant to us too. This is our first cruise so we know nothing about life on board. We are only on board for 14 nights so we dont quite have the same packing problems but dont want to bring anything we will never wear.

So far it sounds pretty good! Any more general information would be welcome.

thanks

 

We way over-packed the wrong things. The daytime standard seemed to be logo tee-shirts from past visited ports on other cruises. They were great conversation starters.

 

Everyone dressed up a bit more than expected even on casual nights. Lots of sparkle, though "smart casual" was still okay and formal nights were a pure delight of lots of tuxes and lovely dinner gowns. So I would drop down my daytime wear significantly and increase the easily packable "sparkle tops" for night. (Women's version here- men were usually jacketless on casual nights, but as noted lots of tuxes on formal nights and jackets always on informal nights).

 

Overall, the dress decor on this ship is embraced rather than "enforced" by these more traditionally-minded continental travellers.

 

One thing to note on your segment is you will most likely be traveling under the "pirate area" restrictions which required all port hole cabin windows to be covered shut so it was the equivalent of an inside cabin. This was the major inconvenience and a little depressing for those days.

 

Deck time activities were limited after dusk and before dawn which was not too restrictive at these time anyway- back deck was still open. All other window cabins required curtains be drawn. And barbwire was evident as well as additional crew duties to stand watch during passage through these areas.

 

There is almost a zero likelihood of any threat to a 600 passenger cruise ship with a large, capable crew. Pirates perfer attacking valuable container ships with only a 5-6 member crew than taking on a ships with a thousand or so pretty stalwart passengers who would give them a lot of grief for little payoff.

 

But these restrictions still apply to all ships travelling through these "pirate areas". For us, it was from the Maldives to Mauritius. And then when the seas got high and rough after Mauritius, they closed off our Deck 3 portholes once again for a day or so.

[SwissMyst]

SwissMyst

 

Tipping is included in the price of the cruise. Anything else is entirely up to you.

 

We only added an extra tip for our cabin steward. Service over-all was fine but he was the one we had the most consistent personal interaction with. Very nice level of friendly, competent service but this is a low service demand ship for the most part.

 

Cruise director Don was great - just the right touch for this ship. Low-key but always pleasant. A very talented fellow who got a chance to put on his own cabaret show one evening.

 

The entertainment crew was exceptionally talented and the enrichment speakers were outstanding. This is what really sets the Discovery experience apart. We got fully immersed in every area we visited with background on its history, global context, natural history and tourist highlights. Almost college level course content and fodder for lots of questions and follow-up discussions.