Discovery - Glad To Be Off

[wineglass]

We were on the inaugural cruise of Discovery Princess. This was our 4th cruise on a “Royal Class” Princess ship. I found I did not like the Discovery Princess experience. I am not sure why. The ship is basically the same as Royal, Majestic and Enchanted, but I just found it “cold” in a atmosphere sense. Our cruise on Enchanted in November was also an inaugural cruise, but we found the ship warm and inviting, unlike Discovery. It will not stop me from cruising Princess, or even Discovery again, but I would much prefer Enchanted if it I had a Choice.

[prmssk]

I personally wouldn't mind ordering drinks from the app if I could get it to work consistently.  On our last cruise, the app would more often then not just spin as it tried to load (and I have one of the newest iPhones) and then there were two days after my medallion was replaced due to a dead battery where the staff could not locate me so it would not allow me to order from the app to be delivered anywhere but my stateroom.  There were also times when I could get the app to work but a drink never showed up.

 

And with people ordering from the app to be delivered all over the ship, clearly the staff are busier than ever which is only going to get worse as the ships sail at higher capacities.

 

I also completely get people wanting to disconnect while on vacation and not drag a phone around.  

[roxievegas]

We are currently on Discovery - roundtrip LA going to San Francisco (just arrived in SF).

 

We are finding the staff in many areas are new, not sure what they are doing and things are a little slow.  Not a big issue - we are on vacation.

The food has been good.  We do not go to shows, so no comment

 

Masks - more people are wearing masks on this cruise then when we were on the Majestic last month.  Glad to see it.

 

Sorry to bring it up,  but when the sign next to the elevator says recommend 6 people per elevator or one group - please don't force your way on to an all ready full elevator.  Wait for the next one.  We had to get off the elevator (all ready had 8 people) when a woman tried to force herself and others on.  

 

We had an emergency medical problem first night outside of Oxnard - passenger had to go to the hospital.

 

Travel with an open mind,

 

safe travels

 

[ebeluga]

3 minutes ago, roxievegas said:

We are currently on Discovery - roundtrip LA going to San Francisco (just arrived in SF).

 

We are finding the staff in many areas are new, not sure what they are doing and things are a little slow.  Not a big issue - we are on vacation.

The food has been good.  We do not go to shows, so no comment

 

Masks - more people are wearing masks on this cruise then when we were on the Majestic last month.  Glad to see it.

 

Sorry to bring it up,  but when the sign next to the elevator says recommend 6 people per elevator or one group - please don't force your way on to an all ready full elevator.  Wait for the next one.  We had to get off the elevator (all ready had 8 people) when a woman tried to force herself and others on.  

 

We had an emergency medical problem first night outside of Oxnard - passenger had to go to the hospital.

 

Travel with an open mind,

 

safe travels

 

Currently on board the same sailing! We have been told by crew that they were under staffed in the MDR and cabins as a result of crew isolation and not having enough new crew arriving with the near capacity sailings.

 

Among the newer ships, we like the Majestic ship layout a lot better than the Discovery. It is a bit challenging to find a common area with unobstructed forward view on the top decks on Discovery.

[kitty2264]

While we haven't yet been on the Discovery, we recently completed two cruises on the Enchanted so we have a pretty good perspective of the ship's design.  The one thing that we missed (the OP mentioned also) was the ability to view forward.  While we were on other ships like Regal, Royal etc. we would go up to deck 17 & 19 to view a forward looking vista and we we would watch approaching islands or also use those areas to get some sun in some of the more secluded spots on ship.  With the addition of the two sky suites, all those accesses are now unavailable.

[LawDog61]

I am onboard Discovery now, and having a great cruise, although the big ships are not really to my taste.  One previous comment I really have to reiterate —-

the demographic of the passengers I.e. older white and Asian is not a good fit for the pre-recorded rap music that Princess seems to think is enjoyed by most of their passengers.  I realize that the cruise directors staff is young and hip, and they may enjoy that “music”  but it’s a poor fit for most of us I think.

[Ombud]

16 minutes ago, kitty2264 said:

recently completed two cruises on the Enchanted

Can I ask a question? I really prefer Grand class because of Skywalkers Lounge and watching the wake. Also love the conservatory on Majestic. It's not the wake but still me & the ocean (yes put me 1st). Can you compare these ships: Discovery  / Enchanted  / Majestic??

 

Not a pool or shopper person

[kitty2264]

53 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Can I ask a question? I really prefer Grand class because of Skywalkers Lounge and watching the wake. Also love the conservatory on Majestic. It's not the wake but still me & the ocean (yes put me 1st). Can you compare these ships: Discovery  / Enchanted  / Majestic??

 

Not a pool or shopper person

The Sanctuary on all the royal class ships is available with cost of admission, of course.  All of the Sanctuaries are forward and are quite nice.

[Thrak]

4 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I had a good laugh when I arrived at the Lido pool area to a DJ blasting rap music to an audience of elderly white people.  The looks on their faces was priceless.  😂

 

This is something I have complained about in every post cruise survey. The people in charge of the music don't take into account the audience to whom they are playing. It boggles the mind that they can't seem to figure out that a group of people in their 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's don't particularly want to listen to music that is more appropriate for their grandchildren or even their great-grandchildren.

 

(It does always surprise me when I'm waiting for a show in the theater and they play stuff that I like and I look around at all the "old people" who seem to be enjoying the same music. I sometimes forget that I am also one of the "old people".)

[PrincessLuver]

39 minutes ago, kitty2264 said:

The Sanctuary on all the royal class ships is available with cost of admission, of course.  All of the Sanctuaries are forward and are quite nice.

 

The Majestic does not have a Sanctuary but the Hollywood Beach Club which people can use at no extra costs.

[FlaMariner]

5 hours ago, Ombud said:

So are you here because you're giving Princess another shot and have you found a line more to your liking  .... maybe Viking Ocean?

 

I am here because I enjoy cruise critic and enjoy sharing and learning about cruising......Our plans do not include cruising Princess and we are going back home to Holland America Line.  Viking is too expensive for us.

 

 

[pris993]

3 hours ago, LawDog61 said:

I am onboard Discovery now, and having a great cruise, although the big ships are not really to my taste.  One previous comment I really have to reiterate —-

the demographic of the passengers I.e. older white and Asian is not a good fit for the pre-recorded rap music that Princess seems to think is enjoyed by most of their passengers.  I realize that the cruise directors staff is young and hip, and they may enjoy that “music”  but it’s a poor fit for most of us I think.

Hope you note this in your critique, sometimes staff forget who the customer is@!!

[Astro Flyer]

While I understand their need to have more passengers to return to profitability without sufficient crew that’s unworkable..
 

Being understaffed & running around to deliver food & drink creates more stress on their hardworking crew & a diminished passenger experience. With DMW (basically ATD with reservations every 20 minutes) the galley & waitstaff will struggle to make the unworkable DMW partially work.

I’ve read posts saying all cruise lines are struggling to fully staff their ships & maybe it’s even more difficult with Princess due to DMW and running around the ship making food & drink deliveries on understaffed ships.

Our DMW experiences on the first two Discovery cruises were poor. Jan Swartz is the head of the HAL Group which in my opinion desires to have Princess passengers who desire a TD experience go to HAL. I don’t see DMW ever working for a TD experience despite Princess promising it will be available. Management creates an unworkable system & leaves onboard staff to figure out how to accomplish it…a major disappointment during my two weeks on Discovery.

 

[Thrak]

16 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Management creates an unworkable system & leaves onboard staff to figure out how to accomplish it…a major disappointment during my two weeks on Discovery.

 

This is done by the Marketing department in every business and was done by the Marketing people  when I worked for the state. Marketing is always "excited" to tell you about the wonderful new stuff they have cooked up (in the case of John Padgett he has probably "imagineered it" since he came from Disney) and then leave others to try to implement the impossible schemes.

[VibeGuy]

TD is like Miracle Whip - a product of the limitations of another time that some people are really fond of to this day.   
 

In the staff interface to dining reservations, there are three categories of table reservations - the exclusive table that we see, the shared table that we see and a “specific table” that is not exposed to users.  TD-esque “simply” requires staff to matchmake and assign using this facility, and then it pops up in your DMW view.  This also allows for reservations at arbitrary times other than the 20s. 
 

The mayonnaise lovers are fine without the staff matchmaking.   The MW Aficionados want it.  Management has chosen not to staff that task despite the underlying technology being there (and working remarkably well - see my standing 7:30 at table 734, or was it 7:34 at table 730?).  
 

I feel like $20 graciously applied at the start of the cruise would do a lot to make the MWA’s happy and would *certainly* be a return to the way table assignments were worked in the actual Good Old Days.  

[cruisingrob21]

I agree with OP about the ambient music - Princess used to only have it in certain areas and it was more of an instrumental version (I think they used Acoustic Alchemy a lot which is a pretty decent fusion group) but it seemed to fit in most places and wasn't distracting.  Now it seems like I'm in a vegas hotel with the upbeat ambient top 40 music being played pretty much in every venue on board.

 

On the Majestic most recently, in the Conservatory, I found it really hard to read a book when music with lyrics was being played.  Maybe that's just me, but its kind of annoying.  Oh well, I submitted my feedback in the post cruise survey and will continue to evaluate if I need to take my business elsewhere to accommodate my style of cruising.

[startedwithamouse]

18 hours ago, Myrtle Ave. Mayhem said:

Hello everyone. Have you ever come home from a cruise & not missed it AT ALL? 

 

I've been sailing with Princess 30 years & have seen the changes from being a distinctly upscale British & Italian experience under P & O to the watered down version under Carnival. Princess always held a warm spot in my heart, having sailed aboard the original Pacific Princess & former Sitmar Fairwind as Dawn Princess. The truth is today's Princess is a mass market line & within thier price point offer a good value for the money. 

 

In disclosure I'll admit I'm on the persnickity side & definitely old school in my cruising preferences. My last six cruises were on Viking Ocean. I haven't sailed Princess since 2018. This summary is based on my experience of the April 10 Discovery Princess cruise. My views & preferences are mine, filtered through my perceptions & expectations. Others may have been aboard the same cruise & may disagree with me on some things or completely. Knowing that it would be unfair to compare Princess to Viking because they are different products at different price points, I boarded Discovery with an open mind & optimistic attitude.

 

Personally the ship feels way to big & high density. It felt like vacationing in an urban mall. There seemed to be lots of people everywhere all the time. So many of the small details that make Crown class ships enjoyable are missing from Discovery Princess. Why & how Princess would build ships without fully encircling wrap around promenade decks & observation lounges with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to the sea is a mystery. The upper deck above the bridge with the bridge wings for forward & side views on the Crown class is absent. It's a shame there is no open forward deck on Discovery. The Vista Lounge is one example of a few lost opportunities from a design & passenger experience factor. With the stage facing aft, there is no wake view. Imagine how stunning that lounge would be with wraparound & aft floor-to-ceiling windows a la the original Pacific Princess! Most of the lounges & bars seemed too small for the number of passengers. The Princess Theater, MDR's, & Market Place/Horizon Court were just kinda there decor wise, a little plain. I know Princess doesn't do the over the top decor like Carnival or Royal Caribbean, but they could have punched it up just a little & taken the visual to the next level. While I loved the blues used in Princess Live, Vista Lounge, & Crown Grill Bar, rest of the ship done up in brown, taupe, & silver looked bland & not a color scheme I associate with cruise ships. The passageway, stairwell, & cabin decor looked like something from the discount bin at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I tried to spend time in Take Five, but the seating was brutal. 

 

My biggest disappointment was the pool situation. On every cruise I'm a pool guy. Not possible on Discovery Princess. The Wake View & Retreat pools were too small & shallow. Thier adjacent deck space completely uninviting & lacking in atmosphere. Why do cruise lines think adults only want a shallow pool? Just please give us a full sized, full depth pool. The two main pools were stunning to look at with their teal mosaic & appropriately large & deep. The problem was the constant MUTS & pop/latin/reggeton/rock music played at obnoxious decibels. Really Princess, you need to go the QuietVox route used aboard Viking. I tried going to the Elite/Platinum Happy Hour in the Vista Lounge on embarkation day but the music was auto tune pop playing way to loud. For all the years Princess has been in the business shame on them for not matching appropriate music to the setting. The room was empty. On a positive note, the live performances of the production team, individual singers & musicians was exceptional. I didn't like the two comedians with body function bathroom humor. Can't we keep the comedy classy? 

 

The best service on the ship was in the MDR's. I enjoyed the menus, variety, & plated presentation. The servers were uniformly attentive & gracious. The dining room managers really only sat passengers at the table. Gone are the days when they placed your napkin on your lap. I know that may seem outdated for some, but coming from a hospitality background I notice those little details. Our cabin steward made it clear that the room was serviced once daily, unless requested otherwise. Again it may not matter to some, but a detail in the product presentation I felt lacking. Bar & drink service were the other weak link of service. I don't use my phone on vacation except for taking pictures. For all my years of cruising I never had an issue ordering drinks. It seemed clear that they really expect people to order drinks through the app. Usually I'd have to flag down a server to take my order. Often a server would pass my table, see I didn't have a drink & just pass by, not proactively taking my order. Usually once my order was taken, then it would be delivered by a different server. Then that would be it, no checking back later for refills, ect. This new system seems impersonal. 

 

The whole experience in general felt like staying at a corporate chain hotel, not a cruise line I used to love & cherish. Princess Cruises as a product sermed annoyingly anonymous & impersonal on this cruise.

The Discovery was built for a new generation of young cruisers.  We loved the color scheme and minimalist decor with pops of color. Everything is well thought out, down to the music in the MDRs. Wonderful to hear Bush, The Police and P!nk on their piped in Playlist, and not stuffy classical.  Also, the elite lounge having mainstream music was not too loud as you say; it was fun to sing along and added to the vibe. 

The app allows a more streamlined process and better use of less personnel to deliver drinks. We had no issues with this, and it was so much easier to access previous orders on the app. Room service delivered to a lounge while watching a game show is the best. Princess built the Discovery with a new generation in mind. The app using, selfie taking one who loves to work hard and play hard. They can't be a dinosaur.  They evolved to appeal to the next generation.  

[MileHighAko]

29 minutes ago, RSS from SF said:

A BIG YES!

We were very happy with Discovery Princess' use of Vista Lounge for its dance club

 

I'm delighted to hear they're doing late night in the vista lounge. We always book aft. :) 

[RSS from SF]

50 minutes ago, wrongwaywatson said:

We also don't like the Princess Live and we preferred the vibe in the Explorer's Lounge over that.  Princess Live seems generic and we didn't enjoy going there.

---

Fortunately, Princess Live and its surroundings on Discovery Princess is completely different -- so much that I believe it was a mistake to keep the "Princess Live" name!

 

The attached image is from user @Hyperpipe's gallery.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/gallery/image/14860-9ed65043-3aad-4cd1-9dd6-5b1712481a0e/

---

[VibeGuy]

More Celia Cruz is always the right answer after dark. 

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, RSS from SF said:

 

We were on the Discovery Princess April 10th 7 night Mexican Riviera and just disembarked on Sunday April 17.

 

---

Vista Lounge, 11:00pm(or 11:30pm)-Late, "DJ Anthony Spins the Hits!":

 

From what I can recall, the only time we heard any rap at all was in the Vista Lounge after 11pm, played by DJ Anthony. Even then, the rap music was sparingly mixed in and consisted of mostly classics -- including "Rapper's Delight" (Sugar Hill Gang 1980) and "Push It" (Salt-N-Pepa 1986).

 

BTW we did enjoy DJ Anthony's late-night sets in the Vista Lounge. 

 

Salsa and Other Latin Music:

 

I was especially pleased to have Thursday night's "Salsa with DJ Anthony" 10:00pm - 10:45pm.  Okay there were only about 3 songs* that were actually Salsa; most of the rest were Cumbia, with a few other Latin styles thrown in. 

*Including a remix of my favorite Salsa song "La Vida Es Un Carnaval" (Celia Cruz), which got me on the dance floor big-time 😀.

 

Discovery Princess use of Vista Lounge for late-night dance club:

 

A BIG YES!

We were very happy with Discovery Princess' use of Vista Lounge for its dance club -- with its more generous seating, better sound system, and bigger dance floor than other Royal-class ships we have been on (that use other venues for their dance club, rather than the Vista Lounge).

 

We have never been able to enjoy Royal Princess' Club 6 nor Majestic Princess' Hollywood Pool Club/Conservatory for more than a few minutes.  However, Discovery Princess' Vista Lounge is one venue I could enjoy for its late-night dance music until closing time.

---

Ahhhh. Rapper's Delight!  Agreed, Vista Lounge is a nice venue. We're onboard now in San Francisco. Same with Majestic, combo of neon lights and chlorine don't make a good pairing for a nightclub.

[1emerald1]

Most of the lounge music was a miss for me on the 3/27 inaugural.  On boarding day I walked past the Crown Grill bar, and a solo guitarist was playing Yesterday, pretty dreary.  Walked past Crooner's and A.J. Clarke was playing John Denver, kept on walking.

[Dunk]

I was on the same sailing as the OP and another person. Or at least I THINK I was, as I had a completely different experience. 

 

First-I loved the decor. Modern, updated, and tons of really great contemporary artwork in the stairwells. Princess has upped their game on signage graphics, which are now sleek and easy to read. I always hated the marquees for venues on older ships-they look like something done by a teenager in wood shop. 😉

 

I thought the entertainment was good overall. The Larry King Trio in Take Five was awesome, and was a good mix of Jazz and Standards, with shorter solos in the Jazz songs, which I appreciated. (I'm not one for never ending drum solos!) The other acts, Including  Aileen & Sticks, were good, too. There was lots of entertainment everywhere. I was disappointed that there was only one production show (One was still being rehearsed). It was my first time seeing Rock Opera, and I thought it was very good. Was it as good as "Magic to Do"? Not for me, but I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did. 

 

Other than one issue I had using the Medallion app onboard (which got fixed quickly at Ocean Front) I had no trouble using Ocean Now. I was able to order drinks and food with no problems. Drinks were fast-food was slower, but not any slower than calling Room Service. 

 

The MDR was fine. I had a great waiter who had been with the company for over 20 years. Portions were what they should be, and I never had trouble finding things that I liked. I also had great meals at Bistro Sur Le Mer and Crown Grill. My steak was delicious! Gigi's Pizzeria was tasty as well. I didn't eat a lot at the buffet, but the selection was solid, and it was much larger than when I was on the Majestic in October. 

 

I thought the service was great. Crew members were friendly, hard working, and there was solid follow through. You get what you give with them, just like anywhere. 

 

I am ecstatic that my new favorite ship in the fleet is on the west coast!

Edited April 20, 2022 by Dunk
typo

[DougandEric]

You have to remember that change isn't accepted easily by everyone.  Any change to something you are comfortable with will be met with resistance.  Some will come around, other not. 

[Nebr.cruiser]

We were on the inaugural voyage.  While I wouldn't say I'd never sail on Discovery again, it certainly was one of my least favorite ships/experiences.  The layout if very strange, to say the least.

 

Some of this was because of it being a brand new ship (we expected some glitches along the way) and some of it related to Covid protocols--although there wasn't much that bothered us--but some was just the design of the ship and other issues.

 

Embarkation was something of a mess, taking way too long, but we made it.

 

The crew was wonderful, but understaffed, especially in the buffet.  Portions were fine, but there were a few nights in the MDR that I had trouble finding something I really wanted.  I thought the buffet selection was unappealing most of the time too, with many cutbacks in both venues.

 

I don't really get the Dine My Way aspect, but since we almost always eat after the first show, we didn't have a problem just getting in without a reservation.  Five minute wait, tops.  

 

Didn't really use the Medallion except to get in and out of the room, which was fine.  

 

We enjoyed the music around the ship and in the Vista Lounge, especially the Abba tribute night but at times ambiant music was too loud.  Of course we don't like every genre of music, but there seemed to be a selection for most tastes.

 

Hated that there was only one production show, although Rock Opera was great, and that the other acts were just so-so.  Movies Under the Stars, which we usually enjoy, was awful, with a terrible selection of mostly old or unknown movies.

 

The tv selection in the cabin was great, with many offerings.

 

The cabin was fine, our steward was great, we really prefer not to have twice a day service, so that didn't bother us.

 

I found the decor kind of boring and hate the lack of areas that actually look at or face the ocean.  Miss a 'real' promenade deck a lot--few if any new builds have this--and the walking track on deck 17? was often too windy or cold to use.

 

The best thing was the price (very cheap) and spending time in ports and with my sister, who cruised with us.