Semi-live from the Discovery Princess | April 30 – May 7 | Alaska Inside Passage

[OrcaGirl]

Still catching up… no time to write when I’m following the ladies around… 

 

Day 2 - dinner and evening shenanigans 

 

We struggled to make reservations on the app or the interactive screens, so we headed to the Ketchikan dining room and got in the ‘no reservations’ line. We only waited about 8 minutes to be seated.

 

Dinner was delicious, our server was lovely though there were a few gaps between courses.

 

 

 

 

 

My mom ordered the crab cake but eyed up D’s tapioca fruit salad appetizer enough that at the end of the meal I requested one to take back to the room for her to have later. She also had her first-ever crème brûlée which was something she’d been looking forward to.

 

 

I dropped it off in the room and headed to the theatre to meet mom and D just in time for Rock Opera.

 

The show was fun, sparkly, good singing and dancing. Based on the logo, though, would it have killed them to have one song from Phantom of the Opera. They had three from The Greatest Showman. I do wish there was some through line… it was a mix of Broadway songs, some Aerosmith, Celine Dion, Cher, Simon & Garfunkel… a very eclectic mix of songs.

 

 

 

I am curious about the choreography for two songs that seemed to incorporate sign language into the dance moves. If anyone knows, drop some knowledge.

 

After the show, D went to bed but mom and I headed back to the thermal spa for a bit more relaxing. 

 

I figured she’d want to go to sleep after that but when I said I was thinking of catching the karaoke she asked to join me. Alrighty then.

 

Karaoke was a mixed bag of surprisingly good (one of the Santa’s, a lady who killed some Shania), some folks whose enthusiasm made up for their voices), and some drunken shenanigans that were fun to watch… also a great selection of song choices! The usual suspects (lots of Elvis, Janet Jackson, some Frank Sinatra) but also Kesha, Billie Eilish, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, etc.

 

 

She was also feeling peckish so we ordered some chips and guac via the app… now that’s a cool feature.

 

 

After that it was to bed…

 

Random observations 

 

MedallionNet wifi is sloooooooow. (Yeah, yeah, Alaska…)

 

Didn’t see hardly any drinks delivered to the theatre; I wonder if relying on the app vs having waiters walking around is leaving money on the table for the ship…

 

There were ample reminders of the impending time change.

[startedwithamouse]

On 4/30/2023 at 8:33 PM, quack2 said:

I get that you're leaving from Vancouver but returning to Seattle.  Is the ship really going to go west of Vancouver Island when heading north?  Seems a liitle odd but that's what the map shows.

Not odd at all - the Royal class ships always go to the west of Vancouver Island. 

[quack2]

To the detriment of their passengers, IMO.

[gottagoacruzn]

Oh, that food looks so yummy, I'm hungry!!!!

[startedwithamouse]

7 minutes ago, quack2 said:

To the detriment of their passengers, IMO.

Bahhaha!  Too funny.

Edited May 2, 2023 by startedwithamouse

[memoak]

17 minutes ago, quack2 said:

To the detriment of their passengers, IMO.

People can always book on non  Royal class ships if they want to sail to the east

[quack2]

24 minutes ago, memoak said:

People can always book on non  Royal class ships if they want to sail to the east

Duh.

[John99]

Looking at the Inside Passage (which is over 600 miles long) – there is a difference in the route these big cruise ships take.  For me, the “Inside Passage” going south from the southern tip of Alaska uses the Grenville Channel.  The Grenville Channel is possibly the most dramatic part of the Inside Passage.  Large cruise ships (Royal Class) do not take this route. The channel narrows to about quarter-mile at mile 518.

 

If I remember correctly, the problem with these very large Princess ships (Royal Class) is their rudder/propeller configuration.  So what might set the Royal Princess ships apart from other megaships?  They use standard propulsion: propellers and rudders.  Azipod propulsion (used by Norwegian, Royal Caribbean) performs better at low speeds when big ships need to maneuver in tight spots.  The Azipods can rotate 360 degrees to give you thrust in any direction.

 

Plus, the fact that Princess Royal class ships (Majestic, Discovery, Regal, Royal, Sky) have somewhere around 3.1 acres of sail area (the amount of surface exposed to a wind blowing on the side of the vessel), and the Southeast Alaska Pilots Association were concerned about getting cruise ships through narrow parts of the Inside Passage. Also, the Provincial Government of British Columbia -- made the decision that they would not be allowed (Princess Royal class ships) to transit Seymour Narrows, which meant that ships had to sail west of Vancouver Island.  Princess Cruise Line has had on and off discussions with the BC Government to lift any restrictions.   John

[Buckeye10640]

3 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Still catching up… no time to write when I’m following the ladies around… 

 

Day 2 - dinner and evening shenanigans 

 

We struggled to make reservations on the app or the interactive screens, so we headed to the Ketchikan dining room and got in the ‘no reservations’ line. We only waited about 8 minutes to be seated.

 

Dinner was delicious, our server was lovely though there were a few gaps between courses.

 

 

 

 

 

My mom ordered the crab cake but eyed up D’s tapioca fruit salad appetizer enough that at the end of the meal I requested one to take back to the room for her to have later. She also had her first-ever crème brûlée which was something she’d been looking forward to.

 

 

I dropped it off in the room and headed to the theatre to meet mom and D just in time for Rock Opera.

 

The show was fun, sparkly, good singing and dancing. Based on the logo, though, would it have killed them to have one song from Phantom of the Opera. They had three from The Greatest Showman. I do wish there was some through line… it was a mix of Broadway songs, some Aerosmith, Celine Dion, Cher, Simon & Garfunkel… a very eclectic mix of songs.

 

 

 

I am curious about the choreography for two songs that seemed to incorporate sign language into the dance moves. If anyone knows, drop some knowledge.

 

After the show, D went to bed but mom and I headed back to the thermal spa for a bit more relaxing. 

 

I figured she’d want to go to sleep after that but when I said I was thinking of catching the karaoke she asked to join me. Alrighty then.

 

Karaoke was a mixed bag of surprisingly good (one of the Santa’s, a lady who killed some Shania), some folks whose enthusiasm made up for their voices), and some drunken shenanigans that were fun to watch… also a great selection of song choices! The usual suspects (lots of Elvis, Janet Jackson, some Frank Sinatra) but also Kesha, Billie Eilish, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, etc.

 

 

She was also feeling peckish so we ordered some chips and guac via the app… now that’s a cool feature.

 

 

After that it was to bed…

 

Random observations 

 

MedallionNet wifi is sloooooooow. (Yeah, yeah, Alaska…)

 

Didn’t see hardly any drinks delivered to the theatre; I wonder if relying on the app vs having waiters walking around is leaving money on the table for the ship…

 

There were ample reminders of the impending time change.

Since the return to sailing post-Covid, I have not seen drink delivery in the theatre  on any Princess ship I have been on. You have to carry your drink in with you. Initially I assumed it was to discourage people from removing their masks to drink in the Theatre. Now, I think it has just become the new normal...... 

 

[OrcaGirl]

Day 3 - Juneau

 

Woke up around 7:15 (8:15 Vancouver time so yay for sleeping in?) and quickly dressed and popped down to the International Cafe for an Americano and some yummy pastries (mom and D having declared the room service pastries to be a little blah.)

 

I made it back to the room just in time for our room service order to arrive. Too cold to sit out on the balcony but it’s still nice to have a leisurely first breakfast without braving the hordes in the buffet. 
 

 

Once again, mom and I ducked back into the thermal spa for a soak. Along with some fun wardrobe malfunctions. 🤣

 

 

Back to the buffet for second breakfast. 
 

 

Back to the Piazza for more line dancing. This was musical theatre themed, with warm-up dances to Good Morning Baltimore (Hairspray) and Footloose (Footloose) and then The Greatest Show (The Greatest Showman) as the main event. As always, very fun watching people with varying levels of rhythm and coordination. 🤣

 

 

After that we headed to the Vista Lounge for music trivia… I started strong then had several songs in a row that I just had no clue. Unfortunately the host was a bit scattered, missed a few songs, and then it was really hard to see the answers on the screen and he didn’t read them out consistently.

 

 

We weren’t particularly hungry for lunch yet, so we headed back to the room to change into swimsuits and headed out to the main pool deck for some hot tub time. 
 

 

 

 

Once the rain picked up and chased us out of the hot tubs, we decided on Salty Dog hot dogs for lunch. Good, but would have been better with fried onions. 

 

After that, we hung out in the room watching our approach into Juneau and dug out our layers to get ready for our afternoon excursion.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 3, 2023 by OrcaGirl
Removing photo dupes

[OrcaGirl]

Day 3 - Juneau excursion: Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest

 

We were scheduled to be in Juneau from 2pm to 10pm. Our excursion meeting time was given as 2:20pm on the dock.

 

After several announcements that the ship wasn’t cleared yet and to please wait in the public areas and not crowd the exit, they finally cleared the ship at 2:20pm. By then, the line to disembark looped deck 6 from the casino all the way back to the dining room, up and down the stairs, and up and down another set of stairs, past the piazza and back to the casino. 😬

 

It was not fun… staff communication was either non-existent or just plain wrong. I left my mom and D at the casino by the exit while I did the long trek in the queue. And if there’s one thing I hate, it’s people who see a long line and immediately assume that they’re more important and can just merge in and cut the line. (I’m just kidding — I hate lots of things.)

 

There also didn’t seem to be any process in place to get people in wheelchairs or with mobility issues through the line.

 

Basically it was a very frustrating experience, enough so that I immediately checked the time for our other excursions because I’m not doing that again.

 

Anyway, we eventually got off the ship and found our tour bus, which ended up leaving a half-hour late at 3pm.

 

We had a great driver for the 30-min drive to the dock to meet our tour boat, operated by Allen Marine.

 

The boat was nice (and had bathrooms which was my mom’s only requirement). Only complaint is that the poor bar server needed more support and was in the weeds for most of the trip.

 

The weather was grey and rainy and overcast… saw lots of eagles (from far away) and a colony of stellar sea lions, but no whales… or rather, there was a single whale that some people saw, but we didn’t. We didn’t feel like going up to the outer deck, or jumping up and down and moving around, so we figured if the whale presented itself on our side of the boat, great, and if not that was okay too.

 

There were some bus delays on our way back, and it was past 7:30 by the time we were dropped off back at the ship.

 

Various photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[memoak]

13 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Since the return to sailing post-Covid, I have not seen drink delivery in the theatre  on any Princess ship I have been on. You have to carry your drink in with you. Initially I assumed it was to discourage people from removing their masks to drink in the Theatre. Now, I think it has just become the new normal...... 

 

How would you get a drink to someone in the middle of a row in the theater ?  Pass it  down the line ?

[OrcaGirl]

59 minutes ago, memoak said:

How would you get a drink to someone in the middle of a row in the theater ?  Pass it  down the line ?

Norwegian and Celebrity have managed to deliver drinks to the middle rows in the theatre just fine…

[Buckeye10640]

10 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

Norwegian and Celebrity have managed to deliver drinks to the middle rows in the theatre just fine…

Yes, and I really think pre-Covid we ordered drinks in the Theatre on Princess..on the older ships like  Coral and Star where you also had the fold-up tables to put them on. Doesnt bother me at all to have to bring my own drink in,  but some may not realize this. 

[OrcaGirl]

Day 3 - dinner and evening shenanigans 

 

Since we got back on the ship so late, we were cold and hungry and hightailed it to the room to change for dinner.

 

I sent the ladies ahead to grab a table at Ketchikan dining room while I stayed back to handle a room maintenance issue.

 

Dinner was good if not as amazing as the previous night. But thank you to our server for being patient with my mom’s drink order indecisiveness. Unfortunately mom’s verdict was that her quiche is better than theirs. (Yeah, it definitely is.)

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we decided that since we had already missed the Iditarod presentation and the game show, that we’d skip going to the Enclave and just repeat karaoke. 

 

 

 

Kudos to the American woman who sang not one but two Anne Murray songs! That made mom so happy to have songs she recognized.

 

I was fading fast and pretty much insisted on heading to bed right after that. Keeping up with two 70-something-year-olds is tiring!

 

Random observations 

 

There was a small environmental protest group at the Juneau dock; communities against cruising?

 

If your room safe isn’t working, it’s the batteries.

 

Do not confuse the Salty Dog Gastropub (on the ship) and the Red Dog Saloon (in Juneau). 🤣

 

We won a Princess Prizes door prize! A little Medallion clip-on accessory. I’d rather have OBC or a free cruise but just happy to be a winner… 

 

The Princess karaoke song list: https://discovery.princess.com/princessatsea/sites/default/files/general_info_attachments/karaoke_song_list.pdf

 

(But the typos and naming convention inconsistencies in the list are driving this editor batty!)

[memoak]

Have you spent any time in Take 5 ?  If so how did you find the music ?

[OrcaGirl]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Have you spent any time in Take 5 ?  If so how did you find the music ?

Haven’t been there yet. We’ve walked past some good music in the Piazza and the Crown Grill Bar.

[OrcaGirl]

Day 4 - scenic cruising to Hubbard Glacier

 

Left the balcony curtains ajar and woke up with the sunshine around 5:30am. So happy to see some blue sky, even if we might get some rain later.

 

 

Since I was up early, I popped down to the deck 8 laundromat to throw on a load of clothes, then decamped to the International Cafe for an Americano and croissant while I waited. (As noted on other threads, laundry was free and the detergent and fabric softener were sitting out on a shelf.)

 

 

 

 

Post-laundry, I made it back to the cabin just as the ladies were enjoying their room service.

 

We’ve found our morning routine: first breakfast in the room, spa time in the Enclave, then second breakfast in the buffet.

 

We couldn’t find an empty table in the World Marketplace and ended up eating outside near the Wakeview Bar. Mom declared the biscuits quite good and the gravy almost as good as grandma’s…

 

 

 

We then headed to the Piazza for tea and people-watching, specifically more people-learning-to-line-dance -watching.

 

The ship has been rocking and rolling a fair bit this morning, so we busted out the Gravol Ginger and retired back to the cabin to relax for a bit before the ship reaches Yakutat Bay.

 

Random observations

 

Someone opened my dryer and then didn’t shut the door again. It still had 3 minutes on it when I returned, my laundry bag was sitting on top, and there were two other dryers clearly not in use. Lame!

 

The line dance instructors have been very good and engaging. So fun to watch, even if we aren’t brave enough to participate.

 

Mom is not a fan of the SeaWalk. 🤣

 

[Want2Cruise 701]

On 5/1/2023 at 5:20 PM, toofewcruises said:

Thank you for posting! I will be boarding the Discovery in Seattle in 20 days. Hoping for a smoother embarkation! Sorry about yours 

Are you on the sailing the 21st?  We will be on as well. 

[nini]

2 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Yes, and I really think pre-Covid we ordered drinks in the Theatre on Princess..on the older ships like  Coral and Star where you also had the fold-up tables to put them on. Doesnt bother me at all to have to bring my own drink in,  but some may not realize this. 

 

We also ordered drinks in the theater when on the Grand, Golden, Crown and Regal.

[Want2Cruise 701]

21 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Didn’t see hardly any drinks delivered to the theatre; I wonder if relying on the app vs having waiters walking around is leaving money on the table for the ship…

 

There were ample reminders of the impending time change.

Since you can order through your medallion and app, are there no longer waiters walking around even in other venues too?   First princess cruise on the discovery in a few weeks. We usually sail celebrity so have no idea. Thank you and enjoying the review. Very helpful since we will be on the discovery very soon. 

[OrcaGirl]

6 minutes ago, Want2Cruise 701 said:

Since you can order through your medallion and app, are there no longer waiters walking around even in other venues too?   First princess cruise on the discovery in a few weeks. We usually sail celebrity so have no idea. Thank you and enjoying the review. Very helpful since we will be on the discovery very soon. 

It seems like there are plenty of waiters around delivering drinks, but outside of the main dining rooms and buffet, I haven’t had anyone come up and ask if I wanted to order a drink. I’m also more used to NCL and Celebrity with waiters walking around and taking orders.

 

I like ordering from the app in theory but it does seem to take longer to get your drink.

[nini]

21 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

It seems like there are plenty of waiters around delivering drinks, but outside of the main dining rooms and buffet, I haven’t had anyone come up and ask if I wanted to order a drink. I’m also more used to NCL and Celebrity with waiters walking around and taking orders.

 

I like ordering from the app in theory but it does seem to take longer to get your drink.

 

We have always enjoyed multiple staff asking us for any beverage orders in the buffet; pre-covid and in 2022.

Unlike on the Celebrity Reflection in 2018 when they could not have cared less. That was a real disappointment for us.

[BamaVol]

I am sure I missed some, but I counted 4 Santa’s.  Like playing Where’s Waldo? I may go back and recount.  Any with their backs to the camera don’t count.

 

Oh, and thanks for posting.

Edited May 4, 2023 by BamaVol

[OrcaGirl]

Day 4 - afternoon at Hubbard Glacier

 

After a short nap, we headed to the buffet for lunch. Still super packed and chaotic. I wonder if it would be easier for everyone to find seating if everyone on board agreed to not save tables until their entire party is ready to sit down — a sort of Nash equilibrium game theory of cruise ship dining?

 

 

But the food was good. And the two Vanilla White Russians I accidentally ordered were also quite yummy (the app crashed on me mid-order and didn’t show the first order going through.)

 

After lunch we headed back to our cabin to watch the approach to Hubbard Glacier from the balcony. Of note, I used the app to order two hot chocolates with Baileys at 1pm as we entered Yakutat Bay, thinking we’d drink them on the balcony while looking at Hubbard Glacier… the drinks didn’t arrive until after we’d already visited Hubbard Glacier and were on our way back out, around 2:30pm.

 

The glacier was beautiful, though due to the ice in the water we couldn’t get too close. No wildlife sightings either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were still tired so afternoon naps for everyone!

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by OrcaGirl