Discovery Princess 12/30 New Year’s Rocking Eve Live Thread

[karatemom2]

Happy New Year’s fellow Princess cruisers. I haven’t done a live thread on our recent trips but thought I would attempt one for our cruise on Discovery. It’s been a few too many years since we did a cruise over the holidays and it’s great to be back on board a festive and beautifully decorated Princess ship. Boarding was a bit of a hassle - unfortunately we didn’t have our Medallions shipped in advance and the line was very long. My entitled self was none too pleased to find NO dedicated Elite line where we could just waltz through as we have become so used to doing. I was in full

pout!! But even though it took us nearly an hour to board we managed to just make lunch in the DR. Now just enjoying a cool

and slightly rocky sail away thanks to our high surf here in So Cal. Looking forward to a fun getaway with our adult kids along as we ring in 2024.

[1emerald1]

Have a great cruise and looking forward to hearing all about!

[mthomp5]

2 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

Happy New Year’s fellow Princess cruisers. I haven’t done a live thread on our recent trips but thought I would attempt one for our cruise on Discovery. It’s been a few too many years since we did a cruise over the holidays and it’s great to be back on board a festive and beautifully decorated Princess ship. Boarding was a bit of a hassle - unfortunately we didn’t have our Medallions shipped in advance and the line was very long. My entitled self was none too pleased to find NO dedicated Elite line where we could just waltz through as we have become so used to doing. I was in full

pout!! But even though it took us nearly an hour to board we managed to just make lunch in the DR. Now just enjoying a cool

and slightly rocky sail away thanks to our high surf here in So Cal. Looking forward to a fun getaway with our adult kids along as we ring in 2024.

Thank you for doing the “live”!  Following along because we’ll be on the Discovery in April..

 

Bummer about the embarkation line being long. What time did you arrive at the port?

 

Agree…disappointed about no priority check in for elites.  

[New2cruise2022]

We go on Discovery in 55 days. Thanks for the LIVE. We will be following along for all of your updates. 

[New2cruise2022]

3 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

Happy New Year’s fellow Princess cruisers. I haven’t done a live thread on our recent trips but thought I would attempt one for our cruise on Discovery. It’s been a few too many years since we did a cruise over the holidays and it’s great to be back on board a festive and beautifully decorated Princess ship. Boarding was a bit of a hassle - unfortunately we didn’t have our Medallions shipped in advance and the line was very long. My entitled self was none too pleased to find NO dedicated Elite line where we could just waltz through as we have become so used to doing. I was in full

pout!! But even though it took us nearly an hour to board we managed to just make lunch in the DR. Now just enjoying a cool

and slightly rocky sail away thanks to our high surf here in So Cal. Looking forward to a fun getaway with our adult kids along as we ring in 2024.

How long was the wait after you got your medallion? 

[karatemom2]

1 hour ago, mthomp5 said:

Thank you for doing the “live”!  Following along because we’ll be on the Discovery in April..

 

Bummer about the embarkation line being long. What time did you arrive at the port?

 

Agree…disappointed about no priority check in for elites.  

We drive to port as we only live a little over an hour away. We got there right around Noon and it was very busy. Took us about an hour to board, but my daughter and her husband walked right on as they had their medallions. We have had them shipped before and also picked them up at port with virtually no wait, but going forward we will always have them mailed. It was just soooo much easier for people who had them already. 

[karatemom2]

2 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

How long was the wait after you got your medallion? 

Walked right in as soon as we had our medallions. The wait was the line to pick them up. It was like waiting for a ride at Disneyland!

[karatemom2]

This ship is rocking both inside and out! We are rolling from the swells which I love - and it’s very crowded onboard but in a fun way! We had an excellent dinner - food and service were great. I’m so glad we had a reservation - we were taken right to our table in the Skagway Dining Room. The line for people without reservations was long and looked to be slow moving. Had fun with some 70s music trivia and I headed back to our cabin while my husband headed to the casino which is really busy. He plays craps and the table was full - he had to wait for a bit to get a spot. Losing an hour tonight so I’m going to call it a successful first day and get some sleep! 

[iamaqt2]

Following along as I will be onboard next week when you depart.  I also did New Year's on Discovery last year and it was a BLAST!  So I know you're in for an amazing cruise.  I'm going to have a fun time following your posts.

[Cruise-mom]

Following excitedly, we sail Jan 20th. Thanks for the info regarding medallion collection lines, I think we might try arrive sooner that we were planning as we have no choice but to pick up medallions at port and I do like a main dining room lunch on embarkation day.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[RLK33853]

We are also on January 20th for 3 weeks.  Thanks for giving us a rundown of how things are operating.

 

Do you know who the Maitre'd is?  I believe their new title is Director of Restaurant Operations.

 

Thanks

[karatemom2]

Happy New Year’s Eve! We are enjoying a relaxing day at sea and had our first trivia win at the Jeopardy game thanks to my son’s encyclopedic knowledge of flags. I have attached today’s schedule for anyone interested. Lots of parties planned for tonight! It’s formal night and we are eating light today in anticipation of our 360 Experience reservations this evening. We are super excited and hope it lives up to the wonderful reviews!

[New2cruise2022]

This is a great way to ring in the new year. 

[karatemom2]

Taking a little break from the festivities to rest and refresh and get ready for the parties starting in about an hour. The ship is buzzing - people dressed up wearing their party hats and headbands. Our dinner experience at 360 was nothing short of amazing. It truly exceeded my expectations. The seven course meal by itself was amazing, but when you add in the drink pairings and production and narration, it was just spectacular. Worth every single penny!! My entire family loved it and it made this New Year’s Eve extra special. After dinner we watched Spotlight Bar in the Princess Theatre which we all agree is one of the better production shows. The singers and dancers on this ship are all quite good. We are looking forward to ringing in the New Year in a few hours - there are three parties scheduled - one in Take Five, another in the Piazza and one on the top deck hosted by our Cruise Director who is determined to out party the Carnival ship traveling next to us. It promises to be a fun filled night - glad we don’t get to Cabo until Noon tomorrow. 

[suzyed]

2 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

Taking a little break from the festivities to rest and refresh and get ready for the parties starting in about an hour. The ship is buzzing - people dressed up wearing their party hats and headbands. Our dinner experience at 360 was nothing short of amazing. It truly exceeded my expectations. The seven course meal by itself was amazing, but when you add in the drink pairings and production and narration, it was just spectacular. Worth every single penny!! My entire family loved it and it made this New Year’s Eve extra special. After dinner we watched Spotlight Bar in the Princess Theatre which we all agree is one of the better production shows. The singers and dancers on this ship are all quite good. We are looking forward to ringing in the New Year in a few hours - there are three parties scheduled - one in Take Five, another in the Piazza and one on the top deck hosted by our Cruise Director who is determined to out party the Carnival ship traveling next to us. It promises to be a fun filled night - glad we don’t get to Cabo until Noon tomorrow. 

The last two years we cruised for NYE, this year we were supposed to go to our friends house but they cancelled last minute because they both have the flu! 
We loved the NYE cruises...so fun and I love how folks get all gussied up and celebrate!!  Looking at next year for a cruising NYE! Go up on the top deck for the party...and check out the Movies Under the Stars to experience NYE around the world on all the Princess ships!  Awesome!
Have fun!

[karatemom2]

It was quite a party last night!! We started off in the more low key Take 5 party and moved up to the outside deck party. It was jumping. Great music, lots of great energy from the entertainment team and dancing the night away! We passed by the Piazza on our way up and it was standing room only. We were happy to sleep in today and then have a relaxing day in Cabo. I was reminded why I still find priority tendering to be one of the best Elite benefits. The regular line to catch a tender was so long! We were directed to one of the dining rooms and actually got on the first shuttle which left early as we had already been cleared. We were onshore and in our taxi to The Sand Bar on Medano Beach by just after Noon. We had massages scheduled at 1 so just enough time for a quick Margarita and nachos beforehand. Our massages were great as always and such a bargain at $36 for an hour. Way better than the spa on the ship and with a nice ocean breeze! We took a water taxi back with a detour around Arch Rock and Land’s End. We finished off with a bit of shopping at the port before heading back to the ship. The line for the tender moved quickly and it was all very easy. We had a great dinner once again in the MDR. The chilled banana and rum soup was delish! Also really enjoyed the leek and goat cheese tart and peach flambé for dessert. I took a pass on the Queen trivia and Music Bingo tonight even though we generally love the music themed trivias. I’m pretty tired and we still have two fun port days coming up. DH still managed to muster the energy to hit up the Craps table. That’s why Princess loves him! 😊

[karatemom2]

We had a fun day in Mazatlan today. We have been to these ports a number of times and Mazatlan is typically not one of our favorites. But we booked a ship excursion called Salsa and Salsa which we did once many years ago in Cabo and it didn’t disappoint. The margaritas were flowing freely and we made six different salsas - all delicious. And then we practiced up on our Salsa dancing. We had about an hour after to kick back and relax on the beach at the resort. It was a beautiful day and we had tons of fun.
 

We were pretty tired and a little tipsy when we got back but managed to make our dinner reservation. It was Italian night tonight and the food was delicious. I especially enjoyed my lasagna entree. I will note a rare critique of our waiters this evening. We have been on lots of Princess cruises and I have to say these were the most unfriendly waiters we have ever had. No introductions, no friendly inquiry “How was your day?”, nothing. It was strictly business - menu in hand, order, food delivered. No offer of ground pepper, no parmesan for our pasta, no offer of coffee or tea with our dessert. It was so cold and officious! They brought us our dinner and the food was good so I can’t really feel too disappointed, it was just really odd and uncomfortable as they barely said two words to us. First world problems really!  

 

We had planned to watch Barbie on MUTS tonight but are opting to turn in early (except for the degenerate gambler) as we are losing another hour tonight heading into Puerto Vallarta and we have an early tour booked to Las Caletas. Looking forward to another fun day ashore!

[New2cruise2022]

1 hour ago, karatemom2 said:

We had a fun day in Mazatlan today. We have been to these ports a number of times and Mazatlan is typically not one of our favorites. But we booked a ship excursion called Salsa and Salsa which we did once many years ago in Cabo and it didn’t disappoint. The margaritas were flowing freely and we made six different salsas - all delicious. And then we practiced up on our Salsa dancing. We had about an hour after to kick back and relax on the beach at the resort. It was a beautiful day and we had tons of fun.
 

We were pretty tired and a little tipsy when we got back but managed to make our dinner reservation. It was Italian night tonight and the food was delicious. I especially enjoyed my lasagna entree. I will note a rare critique of our waiters this evening. We have been on lots of Princess cruises and I have to say these were the most unfriendly waiters we have ever had. No introductions, no friendly inquiry “How was your day?”, nothing. It was strictly business - menu in hand, order, food delivered. No offer of ground pepper, no parmesan for our pasta, no offer of coffee or tea with our dessert. It was so cold and officious! They brought us our dinner and the food was good so I can’t really feel too disappointed, it was just really odd and uncomfortable as they barely said two words to us. First world problems really!  

 

We had planned to watch Barbie on MUTS tonight but are opting to turn in early (except for the degenerate gambler) as we are losing another hour tonight heading into Puerto Vallarta and we have an early tour booked to Las Caletas. Looking forward to another fun day ashore!

Sounds like you are really packing in the fun. 
 

I don’t think it is 1st world to critique kindness from staff. You were fair about what was good — the food. You were equally fair to note a service that didn’t make a favorable impression. I would choose food that wasn’t spectacular with a kind and courteous service staff over spectacular food and unremarkable or cold service. 
 

 

[LACruiser88]

@karatemom2   No updates for past few days???  How is your weather and seas???

[karatemom2]

1 hour ago, LACruiser88 said:

@karatemom2   No updates for past few days???  How is your weather and seas???

Yes, I took a bit of a break. Seas are rough these last two sea days and apparently a lot of people are seasick. I myself love the rocking and rolling!

 

After a great day at Las Caletas with absolutely gorgeous weather for a beach day at the edge of the jungle we came back to the ship pretty tired. 
 

That fatigue seemed to linger into the day yesterday and by last night my son and husband seemed under the weather. Lo and behold and to no one’s surprise given that people are literally coughing everywhere, they both tested positive for COVID this morning. I’m fine, but likely a sitting duck - tick, tock…. 
 

They really have minor cold symptoms at this point but obviously we will be sticking to our cabin today. I’m the food and drink runner! Thankfully we get off the ship as a walk off first thing tomorrow morning and have a fairly short drive home. And the casino will just have to miss hubby tonight!

 

We knew this was the chance we were taking on a crowded holiday cruise with all the COVID and flu going around. Thankfully we are all vaxxed. Cest La Vie!

 

I will do a recap when we get home!

[LACruiser88]

So sorry to hear that the dreaded virus has struck again.  Hope you all feel better soon and have a safe trip home! 

[New2cruise2022]

Hope everyone recovers quickly from being sick. Did you notice if anything has changed at Churchill’s Lounge? Still a cigar smoking lounge? There were some rumors that it was going to be changed and repurposed. Just checking in to see if you saw something or heard anything about possible changes. 

[CulverCityCruisers]

Hope you can enjoy the rest of the cruise with family members not well. 

 

[memoak]

22 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

Yes, I took a bit of a break. Seas are rough these last two sea days and apparently a lot of people are seasick. I myself love the rocking and rolling!

 

After a great day at Las Caletas with absolutely gorgeous weather for a beach day at the edge of the jungle we came back to the ship pretty tired. 
 

That fatigue seemed to linger into the day yesterday and by last night my son and husband seemed under the weather. Lo and behold and to no one’s surprise given that people are literally coughing everywhere, they both tested positive for COVID this morning. I’m fine, but likely a sitting duck - tick, tock…. 
 

They really have minor cold symptoms at this point but obviously we will be sticking to our cabin today. I’m the food and drink runner! Thankfully we get off the ship as a walk off first thing tomorrow morning and have a fairly short drive home. And the casino will just have to miss hubby tonight!

 

We knew this was the chance we were taking on a crowded holiday cruise with all the COVID and flu going around. Thankfully we are all vaxxed. Cest La Vie!

 

I will do a recap when we get home!

If your husband has a credit balance on his casino account make sure and take his medallion to the casino and cash it out. 

[LACruiser88]

8 minutes ago, memoak said:

If your husband has a credit balance on his casino account make sure and take his medallion to the casino and cash it out. 

Too late now, they disembarked this morning.  🤷‍♂️