We booked Discovery Princess (tears)

[atexsix]

3 hours ago, maryandmarge said:

I can't believe you remembered that.  I was devastated when I found out they were joking - that they really weren't on the ship like I thought but sitting at home in their living room in Wisconsin having a good laugh.   They still think it was a funny joke - me - not so much.   

 

I'm sure you'll find things on Princess that you like more than Holland and will have cons that you don't care for.    The great thing is no matter what ship you are on - it's a vacation and one that you should cherish.    I would love to go back to Alaska this year but my sister is having back surgery the end of the month so we put off planning anything for awhile.    On a positive note - we got a good rate from Holland and have booked a 25 day cruise round trip out of Boston on the Zaandam the end of July 2023.   Cruise includes New England, Canada, Iceland, and Greenland.  We are excited as Iceland has been on our bucket list.   Fingers crossed that we stay healthy and have the opportunity to go.    Will be watching for your feedback from the cruise and hope you and DD enjoy the trip.   Stay Safe and travel healthy!!

Maryell

 

Always good to have something booked, especially a bucket list trip.  

 

Of course I remember the joke, it broke up our sail away party, we were having a nice conversation, grrrr.

[Florida_gal_50]

24 minutes ago, prescottbob said:

My only comment would be that if you’re a ‘foodie’, to sign up for the Chef’s Table dinner, if available, on you venture, upon embarkation.

 

We love the specialty ‘pop up’ dinners, e.g. Sommelier dinners, ‘Mystery Diners’, Visiting Chef’s, etc. on HAL’s longer cruises but the Chef Table dinners, at one time, were far superior, IMHO, on Princess.

 

I don’t know if Princess is still providing those dinners since the COVID ‘cruise break’, but if interested I’d certainly investigate / sign up. If memory serves me correctly, the dinner, actually with a tour of the kitchen too start, was limited to 12-18 passengers.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Be well.

Bob

I know people love the chef table but I thought it was overrated. I didn’t enjoy the fact I had to be interviewed for it.  So pretentious.

[atexsix]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I know people love the chef table but I thought it was overrated. I didn’t enjoy the fact I had to be interviewed for it.  So pretentious.

Interviewed?!  Why on earth?  Unless you mean investigated because you're with ship's staff?

[Florida_gal_50]

8 hours ago, atexsix said:

Interviewed?!  Why on earth?  Unless you mean investigated because you're with ship's staff?

It was just odd.  First it was a pain to even make it on the list.  Then you had to go to the dining room for a interview where they asked why you wanted to go.  It wasn’t a 2 second deal either. This was at least 5 years ago.  Maybe they don’t do that anymore 🙄.  Maybe they think this makes you feel “special” 😛.

[GulfShoresCruiser]

We just got back from cheating on Holland by taking a Princess cruise.

 

We need to ask for forgiveness and we will never do that again......

 

Lots of reasons why Princess does not work for us but the top are:

 

1). Reliance on the medallion app that does not work for pre-cruise stuff and then when you get onboard, the medallion is really only your key card and is worthless, from our experience.

2). Food.  The MDR was good and service great but they do not support same time, same waiters so we had to beg at the door each evening to please be allowed to sit at table 254.  No wine package. Ridiculous.  The lido buffet is bad.  Nothing like HAL's experience with freshly made food, etc.  The fried eggs are on a heat lamp, for instance. And their version of the dive in is no comparison.  HAL has nailed the food.  They brag about their sit down pizza restaurant but you have to go before 11:40am for lunch or it's busy...at least when we tried a few times. 

3). Cabin.  Very sparse.  No place to sit except on the desk chair.  Small shower w/a curtain. LOL.  Balcony seemed smaller but not sure about that. 

4). Lido pool area is deemed useless.  No retractable roof for rainy days.  They show movies during the day and if not movies, then loud music.  Also, they do not encourage eating out there except for the burger people. Burgers bad. 

 

Anyway, there were other reasons.....But we lived and learned.  Back to Holland America Line and we now know even more why we love HAL!

[atexsix]

6 hours ago, GulfShoresCruiser said:

We just got back from cheating on Holland by taking a Princess cruise.

 

We need to ask for forgiveness and we will never do that again......

 

Lots of reasons why Princess does not work for us but the top are:

 

1). Reliance on the medallion app that does not work for pre-cruise stuff and then when you get onboard, the medallion is really only your key card and is worthless, from our experience.

2). Food.  The MDR was good and service great but they do not support same time, same waiters so we had to beg at the door each evening to please be allowed to sit at table 254.  No wine package. Ridiculous.  The lido buffet is bad.  Nothing like HAL's experience with freshly made food, etc.  The fried eggs are on a heat lamp, for instance. And their version of the dive in is no comparison.  HAL has nailed the food.  They brag about their sit down pizza restaurant but you have to go before 11:40am for lunch or it's busy...at least when we tried a few times. 

3). Cabin.  Very sparse.  No place to sit except on the desk chair.  Small shower w/a curtain. LOL.  Balcony seemed smaller but not sure about that. 

4). Lido pool area is deemed useless.  No retractable roof for rainy days.  They show movies during the day and if not movies, then loud music.  Also, they do not encourage eating out there except for the burger people. Burgers bad. 

 

Anyway, there were other reasons.....But we lived and learned.  Back to Holland America Line and we now know even more why we love HAL!

Thanks for the feedback.  I've had a few issues with the Medallion app, but minor, I don't know how important the profile is, but it seems to think I'm a female and won't let me change it, I'm assuming that can be fixed during embarkation.  On food, we're just keeping an open mind, I looked up the MDR menus on Princess and nothing really blew me away but we'll see; I'm full blooded Italian and pizza doesn't thrill me the way it does others, but I will try to get in there and sample it at least once.  For the life of me, I can't figure out why they'd send a ship without an indoor pool to Alaska.  We're not swimmers, but we enjoyed sitting in there people watching, reading, puzzles, etc.  The music was a little loud on HAL's Lido deck too though.  

[atexsix]

13 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

It was just odd.  First it was a pain to even make it on the list.  Then you had to go to the dining room for a interview where they asked why you wanted to go.  It wasn’t a 2 second deal either. This was at least 5 years ago.  Maybe they don’t do that anymore 🙄.  Maybe they think this makes you feel “special” 😛.

It wouldn't be my cup of tea, and I agree, it DOES sound pretentious.  Plus I don't really care about meeting the chef or peppering them with questions.  We'd probably find the servers a lot more interesting to shoot the breeze with: about their country, their background, upbringing etc. 

[prescottbob]

On 4/2/2022 at 6:53 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

I know people love the chef table but I thought it was overrated. I didn’t enjoy the fact I had to be interviewed for it.  So pretentious.

Goodness, I don’t recall any sort of interview on the CT dinners.

 

It was just a matter of signing up at the CS desk, first come, first serve sort of thing / 1st thing in the MDR on embarkation day.

 

The dinners started in the kitchen with champagne & appetizers, then moved up to the private DR with 5 courses and a different wine ( and explanation of the various wines by the sommelier). 

 

I would guess things have changed from your encounter. Our experiences were also sometime back in time (me thinking the Pacific Princess).

 

Regardless, enjoy what life has to offer!

 

Be well.

Bob

[Florida_gal_50]

6 hours ago, prescottbob said:

Goodness, I don’t recall any sort of interview on the CT dinners.

 

It was just a matter of signing up at the CS desk, first come, first serve sort of thing / 1st thing in the MDR on embarkation day.

 

The dinners started in the kitchen with champagne & appetizers, then moved up to the private DR with 5 courses and a different wine ( and explanation of the various wines by the sommelier). 

 

I would guess things have changed from your encounter. Our experiences were also sometime back in time (me thinking the Pacific Princess).

 

Regardless, enjoy what life has to offer!

 

Be well.

Bob

After I wrote that I thought I hope I’m not misremembering this because it was so ridiculous.  I didn’t think I was wrong so I googled.  Sure enough there were reports of being interviewed.  The speculation was they wanted to make sure there was chemistry 🙄.  It’s all a bit too pretentious to me but if people enjoy they won’t have to worry about me competing for a spot. 

[trixiee]

16 hours ago, atexsix said:

Thanks for the feedback.  I've had a few issues with the Medallion app, but minor, I don't know how important the profile is, but it seems to think I'm a female and won't let me change it, I'm assuming that can be fixed during embarkation.  On food, we're just keeping an open mind, I looked up the MDR menus on Princess and nothing really blew me away but we'll see; I'm full blooded Italian and pizza doesn't thrill me the way it does others, but I will try to get in there and sample it at least once.  For the life of me, I can't figure out why they'd send a ship without an indoor pool to Alaska.  We're not swimmers, but we enjoyed sitting in there people watching, reading, puzzles, etc.  The music was a little loud on HAL's Lido deck too though.  

Oh boy. If you thought HAL's Lido music was loud, just wait until you get on the Princess ship. I would bring earplugs if I were you.

[atexsix]

1 hour ago, trixiee said:

Oh boy. If you thought HAL's Lido music was loud, just wait until you get on the Princess ship. I would bring earplugs if I were you.

LOLOL....I didn't actually, I'm hearing impaired so it's just a matter of adjusting my hearing aids, but I was with people that thought it was loud and actually asked the steward if they could turn it down.

[Jawrs]

Princess has a good product and I'm sure you will enjoy the cruise.  I find the newer ships too large and sadly they have no promenade so I will pass on them.  I like to walk the promenade and truly feel I am on the ocean.

 

Also, for Alaska, they can't do the inside passage - they have to go around the outside of the island.

 

Beautiful ships though.

[maryandmarge]

On 4/2/2022 at 9:28 PM, atexsix said:

Always good to have something booked, especially a bucket list trip.  

 

Of course I remember the joke, it broke up our sail away party, we were having a nice conversation, grrrr.

Hey Bruno -

I know your trip is coming up quickly and I just wanted to wish you and your DD a great time.   Hopefully you will have more fun than Alaska last year.   My sister and I just booked the 17 day Panama Cruise from San Diego to Ft Lauderdale on October 8th this year on the Nieuw Amsterdam.   We are looking forward to sitting back and relaxing on a ship again.    She just had back surgery a couple weeks ago so she has 5 months to get back in shape.    She tells everyone that while she was under the influence of drugs after the surgery I talked her into booking it.   We always heard that you are not supposed to make financial decisions at a time like that - so I told her I made them for her :)    

So have fun - travel safe and let us know how you compare Princess vs Holland America.    I've never been on Princess but I'm sure it will be great.

Take care..

Maryell

[atexsix]

1 hour ago, maryandmarge said:

Hey Bruno -

I know your trip is coming up quickly and I just wanted to wish you and your DD a great time.   Hopefully you will have more fun than Alaska last year.   My sister and I just booked the 17 day Panama Cruise from San Diego to Ft Lauderdale on October 8th this year on the Nieuw Amsterdam.   We are looking forward to sitting back and relaxing on a ship again.    She just had back surgery a couple weeks ago so she has 5 months to get back in shape.    She tells everyone that while she was under the influence of drugs after the surgery I talked her into booking it.   We always heard that you are not supposed to make financial decisions at a time like that - so I told her I made them for her 🙂   

So have fun - travel safe and let us know how you compare Princess vs Holland America.    I've never been on Princess but I'm sure it will be great.

Take care..

Maryell

Thanks so much for the kind thoughts  We leave a week from Sunday on the 22nd.  Congrats on the booking, we're undecided on our next one, have to see how DD does on this trip, his mobility is really limited now. 

 

I've spent the last couple of months on the Princess board, very nice people who've been very patient and helpful, but I miss our HAL family and look forward to our return after the sailing. 

 

I'll report back how we like Princess and do a little comparing, even though I'm not sure it's fair, when we sailed with you in September it was early in the restart, hopefully some of the problems from that time period have been resolved.  

[idiebabe]

2 hours ago, atexsix said:

Thanks so much for the kind thoughts  We leave a week from Sunday on the 22nd.  Congrats on the booking, we're undecided on our next one, have to see how DD does on this trip, his mobility is really limited now. 

 

I've spent the last couple of months on the Princess board, very nice people who've been very patient and helpful, but I miss our HAL family and look forward to our return after the sailing. 

 

I'll report back how we like Princess and do a little comparing, even though I'm not sure it's fair, when we sailed with you in September it was early in the restart, hopefully some of the problems from that time period have been resolved.  

Have a great Cruise, Bruno!  

[cruisingrob21]

As a frequent cruiser on Princess and 2 star Mariner on HAL - I used to always give the edge to PCL from 2018 and before on similar sailings and prices.  After sailing on 3 different Royal Class ships with Princess in the past 2 years, (Feb 2020, Dec 2021, May 2022) I think the "tides" have turned for me.  The lack of a functional promenade, the "Free for all" buffet with shared utensils in the age of COVID, the constant, top 40 music playing almost at all times in all places (someone called the Discovery princess a 'loud ship' because of the constant soundtrack played), the lack of climate controlled top deck viewing locations, and the medallionclass app has made me really not care for princess anymore.  I hope the OP has a nice voyage on the Discovery - it is beautiful and tastefully decorated with a lot of fun activities, but its a BIG noisy ship that gets crowded if the weather isn't nice.

 

For me, similar voyage and cost and I'll be happily choosing HAL.

 

Ironically, I tell other Princess cruisers that lament the Royal Class ships lack of many of the nice features of the Grand class ships that they should try the Pinnacle class ships - in many ways those ships are the next generation of the original Grand class ships in my opinion.

Edited May 11, 2022 by cruisingrob21

[rj59]

I have 100+ cruise days on HAL, and am Elite on Princess, so I see the good and bad of both. Here are some ways in which I prefer Princess:

1. More variety in entertainment, crew nationality, and itinerary (I mainly cruise Mexico).

2. International Cafe always has snacks and desserts, as HAL once did.

3. Alfredo’s offers indoor dining alternative to the buffet and MDR, and the pizza is excellent. Princess still does embarkation lunch, and room service to wherever you’re at.

4. The Piazza is a beautiful, spacious inside gathering spot.

5. More bargains for a solo cruiser. I sailed to Vancouver a few weeks ago for $80, with $350 OBC, whereas I’m doing the same route on the Noordam today for $560.

6. Military OBC.

7. Laundry rooms.

8. Loyalty program counts number of cruises, with double credit for solo, so I got to the top level quickly with short coastal cruises. Free minibar and laundry and $5 unlimited daily WiFi are nice perks. 
9. The ships horn plays the Love Boat theme.

10. Super comfy beds.

 

There are negatives, and I could write 10 reasons why I prefer HAL, and I’m excited to get on my first post-shutdown HAL cruise today.

[atexsix]

17 hours ago, idiebabe said:

Have a great Cruise, Bruno!  

Thanks Idiebabe!  I'm looking forward to just being on the water again more than anything.  There's something calming about it. 

[atexsix]

1 hour ago, rj59 said:

I have 100+ cruise days on HAL, and am Elite on Princess, so I see the good and bad of both. Here are some ways in which I prefer Princess:

1. More variety in entertainment, crew nationality, and itinerary (I mainly cruise Mexico).

2. International Cafe always has snacks and desserts, as HAL once did.

3. Alfredo’s offers indoor dining alternative to the buffet and MDR, and the pizza is excellent. Princess still does embarkation lunch, and room service to wherever you’re at.

4. The Piazza is a beautiful, spacious inside gathering spot.

5. More bargains for a solo cruiser. I sailed to Vancouver a few weeks ago for $80, with $350 OBC, whereas I’m doing the same route on the Noordam today for $560.

6. Military OBC.

7. Laundry rooms.

8. Loyalty program counts number of cruises, with double credit for solo, so I got to the top level quickly with short coastal cruises. Free minibar and laundry and $5 unlimited daily WiFi are nice perks. 
9. The ships horn plays the Love Boat theme.

10. Super comfy beds.

 

There are negatives, and I could write 10 reasons why I prefer HAL, and I’m excited to get on my first post-shutdown HAL cruise today.

We'll probably always be HAL people, but the last couple of cruises felt stale, I came to the conclusion we need to experience another line at least once.  

 

HAL's no longer having desserts up in the Crow's Nest cafe always bothered me.  We were on one cruise where they still managed to have a plate with small bite size brownies or cookies; I don't know why that is so difficult to do, even if only for a couple of hours in the morning. 

17 hours ago, cruisingrob21 said:

As a frequent cruiser on Princess and 2 star Mariner on HAL - I used to always give the edge to PCL from 2018 and before on similar sailings and prices.  After sailing on 3 different Royal Class ships with Princess in the past 2 years, (Feb 2020, Dec 2021, May 2022) I think the "tides" have turned for me.  The lack of a functional promenade, the "Free for all" buffet with shared utensils in the age of COVID, the constant, top 40 music playing almost at all times in all places (someone called the Discovery princess a 'loud ship' because of the constant soundtrack played), the lack of climate controlled top deck viewing locations, and the medallionclass app has made me really not care for princess anymore.  I hope the OP has a nice voyage on the Discovery - it is beautiful and tastefully decorated with a lot of fun activities, but its a BIG noisy ship that gets crowded if the weather isn't nice.

 

For me, similar voyage and cost and I'll be happily choosing HAL.

 

Ironically, I tell other Princess cruisers that lament the Royal Class ships lack of many of the nice features of the Grand class ships that they should try the Pinnacle class ships - in many ways those ships are the next generation of the original Grand class ships in my opinion.

I'm concerned how we're going to like not having a full promenade or the biggest surprise to us: lack of a forward lounge on a ship meant for the Alaska market.  Makes me wonder if the designers and ship architects ever really sail on these vessels themselves.   

 

Example: "LOOK! WHALES!.....where?....Port Side!  Off the BOW!"  Too bad if you're stuck at the deadend Promenade on Starboard or near the Lido Pool with no way to run to the nearby Crow's Nest.

 

Even some of the popular bloggers are tiring of PCL, with Gary Bembridge being one example, not in a critical kinda way, but his Piazza example stuck with me.  To paraphrase: he said on every ship they look exactly the same, and that if you were only given pictures of the Piazza's, most people wouldn't be able to identify the ship.  Now to be fair, HAL's designs are pretty predictable as well, I've been on them so much I can find my way around blindfolded.  But the lamps, chairs, carpeting, art, etc. changes from ship to ship at least.  My favorite being the Eurodam's statue of Poseidon, so unique, like paying a kinda homage to the Greek God, I think every ship should have it in some form like the days of the ship figureheads.  I don't know if other ships have Poseidon onboard, but I didn't see him on her sister, the NA, I looked and was quite disappointed (we had rough seas too).

 

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by atexsix

[cruisingrob21]

46 minutes ago, atexsix said:

We'll probably always be HAL people, but the last couple of cruises felt stale, I came to the conclusion we need to experience another line at least once.  

 

HAL's no longer having desserts up in the Crow's Nest cafe always bothered me.  We were on one cruise where they still managed to have a plate with small bite size brownies or cookies; I don't know why that is so difficult to do, even if only for a couple of hours in the morning. 

I'm concerned how we're going to like not having a full promenade or the biggest surprise to us: lack of a forward lounge on a ship meant for the Alaska market.  Makes me wonder if the designers and ship architects ever really sail on these vessels themselves. 

 

Even some of the popular bloggers are tiring of PCL, with Gary Bembridge being one example, not in a critical kinda way, but his Piazza example stuck with me, he said on every ship they look exactly the same, and that if you were only given pictures of the Piazza's, most people wouldn't be able to identify the ship.  Now to be fair, HAL's designs are pretty predictable as well, I've been on them so much I can find my way around blindfolded.  But the lamps, chairs, carpeting, art, etc. changes from ship to ship at least.  My favorite being the Eurodam's statue of Poseidon, so unique, like paying a kinda homage to the Greek God, I think every ship should have it like the days of the ship figureheads.  I don't know if other ships have Poseidon on board, but I didn't see it on her sister, the NA, I looked and was quite disappointed.

 

 

Agreed on all points.  I used to put HAL and Princess on a level playing field, but the newer Princess ships have been a disappointment to me whereas the original Vista class ships felt lacking.  However the Signature ships have been an improvement and I really enjoyeded a cruise on the Kdam in 2017.  If HAL could put the Grand Dutch Cafe on all their ships that would be appreciated because one of my biggest gripes about HAL is that when I want a snack, the Lido always seems to be between meals and is closed and I don't want to go back to my room to wait for room service.  It looks like HAL has extended the lido hours since covid, but I'll have to verify that when we sail on the Edam in July.  It just seems that overall, HAL is generally making good updates to their fleet through thoughtful drydock upgrades and newbuilds.  Princess is heading the wrong way in my opinion.  

 

Another thing I like about HAL is that they have pretty good deals on children's fares (compared to Princess anyways) and my kids have really enjoyed ClubHAL.  When we sailed on the Amsterdam in summer of 2019 which was on a "one off" 7 day alaskan voyage, there were a lot more kids on board than typical, but the CD and his staff really rolled with the punches - the kids club was well managed and the CD even hosted bingo in the main showlounge for all the kids on the last day.  It was a really nice touch as the kids were offered snacks and chocolate milk while they played for an hour or so.

 

The Princess ships have been making minor decor changes between vessels lately, but most of their grand class ships are virtually identical in decor.  I appreciate that HAL has at least a few unique pieces on their vista/signature ships to differentiate them and my favorite venue that has been created is the Gallery Bar - what a great way to create a fun space out of the art gallery.  I also enjoy that the HAL ships have something akin to a sports bar, on Princess your choices are the smokers lounge, the casino, or the movies under the stars.  

Edited May 11, 2022 by cruisingrob21

[USN59-79]

Both HAL and Princess are our go-to cruise lines; Elite on Princess and five star on HAL.  I enjoy having a free mini-bar on embarkation and have always enjoyed having lunch in Alfredo's and the free but limited internet was all we needed to check our email every day or two.  Those are some of the positives for Princess.  However, the recent change where you have to book either a suite or the most expensive balcony cabin to get a love seat and coffee table in the cabin really turns me off.

Can you imagine ordering breakfast in the room and having to sit on the bed to eat it?  We have a couple of hundred days on the old Amsterdam with an inside cabin and of course it included a love seat and coffee table.  We often take 30 to 60 day cruises with a lot of sea days, so a comfortable cabin is very important for us.  My understanding is that Princess decided to remove the extra seating in cabins that already had it - possibly to encourage us to book a suite instead.  Bad decision, as it has made me more likely to not book Princess.

[rkacruiser]

5 hours ago, cruisingrob21 said:

the Gallery Bar - what a great way to create a fun space out of the art gallery

 

The Gallery Bar was converted from an under patronized nightclub concept for that space.  

 

5 hours ago, cruisingrob21 said:

I also enjoy that the HAL ships have something akin to a sports bar,

 

Two-thirds of the MIx concept on the ships that had it were guest friendly.  Sports Bar  Piano Bar.  Enjoyable.  Champagne Bar?  Whose idea was that?  Never witnessed any patrons for that wasted space.  

 

The new ships' Sports Bars are good for me.  Showing important games on the outdoor video screen are welcome.  But, doing so does not replicate the "Sports Bar" lounge's atmosphere.  

[atexsix]

15 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

Both HAL and Princess are our go-to cruise lines; Elite on Princess and five star on HAL.  I enjoy having a free mini-bar on embarkation and have always enjoyed having lunch in Alfredo's and the free but limited internet was all we needed to check our email every day or two.  Those are some of the positives for Princess.  However, the recent change where you have to book either a suite or the most expensive balcony cabin to get a love seat and coffee table in the cabin really turns me off.

Can you imagine ordering breakfast in the room and having to sit on the bed to eat it?  We have a couple of hundred days on the old Amsterdam with an inside cabin and of course it included a love seat and coffee table.  We often take 30 to 60 day cruises with a lot of sea days, so a comfortable cabin is very important for us.  My understanding is that Princess decided to remove the extra seating in cabins that already had it - possibly to encourage us to book a suite instead.  Bad decision, as it has made me more likely to not book Princess.

We had to book the "premier deluxe" for the coffee table and sofa, we plan on taking a lot of our meals in the cabin and we didn't want to pay for a suite due to prices.  The price eventually dropped and when I called Princess to change the booking she told me there'd be a $1000 change fee, can you believe that?!  The nerve!  I know I could have called somebody else but customer service is a nightmare with any cruise line right now, I know that's another subject, but if they don't get that under control they are going to start losing good customers.  In addition, everything was in place with the current booking, and I didn't want something to get screwed up necessitating more calls, so we left it alone. 

 

The other thing that bothers me about Princess and I had already heard about it from someone, was that the suites are often in places considered undesirable, especially the mini's and when I looked at the deck plan for Discovery, sure enough a lot of them were near the sea walk thing or below the Lido or above a noisy lounge 😲 I mean seriously I'd rather have the smallest inside in the quietest part of the ship than a penthouse above the Vista Lounge.  I think there were a few midship but of course they were sold out.

 

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by atexsix

[Btimmer]

We're also going rogue after nearly 700 days on HAL and departing on the RCCL Quantum of the Seas on Monday 5/16 for a week long Alaska trip.  We don't care about the ports as we've visited them a number of times previously and we have an upcoming Noordam cruise to them this July.  We even sprung for a balcony as the fare was so reasonable.  Now, can we enjoy a cruise with 4k of our closest new friends.  I'll report back with one of my "Almost Live" threads.  We've never sailed on Princess, so we're looking forward to your observations.

[cruisingrob21]

7 hours ago, atexsix said:

We had to book the "premier deluxe" for the coffee table and sofa, we plan on taking a lot of our meals in the cabin and we didn't want to pay for a suite due to prices.  The price eventually dropped and when I called Princess to change the booking she told me there'd be a $1000 change fee, can you believe that?!  The nerve!  I know I could have called somebody else but customer service is a nightmare with any cruise line right now, I know that's another subject, but if they don't get that under control they are going to start losing good customers.  In addition, everything was in place with the current booking, and I didn't want something to get screwed up necessitating more calls, so we left it alone. 

 

The other thing that bothers me about Princess and I had already heard about it from someone, was that the suites are often in places considered undesirable, especially the mini's and when I looked at the deck plan for Discovery, sure enough a lot of them were near the sea walk thing or below the Lido or above a noisy lounge 😲 I mean seriously I'd rather have the smallest inside in the quietest part of the ship than a penthouse above the Vista Lounge.  I think there were a few midship but of course they were sold out.

 

 

There is no "change" fee - but if you booked under a promo and that promo is no longer available or its a new promo, to "refare" you they will have to cancel and rebook - which is probably the "change fee" they are referring to.  Refunds only happen after final payment if there is a price drop in the current promotion.  I'm betting you are seeing "drop and go" pricing which is only offered after the final payment for new bookings.  It never hurts to ask however.

 

The older grand class ships had all their mini suites on deck 9, and a few on deck 8.  This allowed for large balconies for all mini suites.  The newer royal class ships do have them scattered about which means you can score a mini suite on deck 16 (my favorite location since I am more of an upper deck person myself) which is near pools, hottubs, open decks, and lots of food and drink options.  The downside is other than a few minisuites on deck 8, the balconies on the minisuites are a fraction of what they were on the grand class ships.  The premium deluxe balcony can be decoded as follows:

• premium = large balcony, potentially with a wake view
• deluxe = room has a loveseat instead of a small storage unit for the mini fridge (I think its put near the desk in the deluxe cabin).  You'll find these similar to most HAL balconies
• balcony = bed, desk, deskchair