Discovery Princess Review

Showroom New Ship

Review for Pacific Coastal Cruise on Discovery Princess
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10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Apr 2022
Cabin: Balcony

Discovery is absolutely brand new with not even a paint chip or scratch. All the bugs of a new ship have been worked out in the first three sailings. My only complaint is that it is a carbon copy of our last cruise on the Enchanted Princess. It was our fifth Royal Class ship and I was hoping for maybe a little change of scenery, but they all are so very similar it doesn't feel as exciting as I would hope for. I also wish the Promenade deck would return so you could walk around the whole ship, including the bow, to see the ports as you arrive. The whole front area is reserved for the Sanctuary at an additional fee. We sailed at 75% capacity, so it's starting to get a little crowded in some of the venues now that Covid is on the wane. The three main dining rooms are elegant and serve a diverse, quality dinner with somewhat uneven service. Princess still doesn't seem to have a standard system for it's waitstaff to the point that you are not sure who your waiter and assistant are at times. It's just not right to see tables of dirty dishes piled up next to you, then the manager bussing tables in his tux. The buffet on the Lido deck was adequate with a good variety for all meals and outstanding drink service. We dined at the Crown Grill and Sabatini's and both were classy rooms with high quality food and superb service. There are several vibrant cocktail lounges aboard including Crooner's, Good Spirits, and Crown Grill with all three having a large crowd every evening. Crooner's features maybe the best lounge singer and pianist you've ever heard. The huge Vista Lounge in the rear of deck 7 features an outstanding British rock band and the Take 5 Jazz Lounge serves up classic jazz tunes with a dark night club atmosphere. The main theater up front offered a mix of generic comedians and a magician, but also the main event, the Spotlight Bar. It's a world-class song and dance production that rivals anything in Las Vegas. Stop in the Casino for a bit if you want to ruin your lungs and clothes. Awful that they went back to smoking here. Discovery also offers all the standard cruise ship options such as game shows, trivia contests, bingo, high-end shopping, and entertainment in the Piazza all day long. I found that our fellow cruisers mainly ranged from mid-fifties to low-eighties. A few younger mixed in, but this ain't gonna be your party barge late at night. In conclusion, we feel after our 22 cruises that Discovery Princess is a good choice for a quality experience in atmosphere, dining, and entertainment. I must also add that the whole crew was the friendliest, most efficient staff we have ever had. Princess management is to be commended for training their crews in the art of top shelf service.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Our Deluxe Balcony cabin featured a love seat and a few extra feet of floor space and was well worth the extra price. The balconies on Royal Class ships is somewhat of a joke but the cabin itself, bathroom, and furniture all were adequate as were the shelves and drawers. A/C and T.V. worked well.

Port Reviews

San Francisco

This cruise differed from our many Caribbean cruises because we visited several California cities we last saw thirty years ago. San Francisco is a diverse, interesting city featuring so many historic and recognizable sites.

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