PRINCESS SHOWS A FEW BLEMISHES
The first brand-new Southern California flagship for the cruise line in 20 years has a few issues to work out, mostly in service
First, some positives. The ship was elegant and appropriately pristine for its maiden voyage, and the filet mignon served at the steakhouse specialty restaurant was cooked to perfection. Our midship balcony cabin and inside stateroom four decks below were clean, quiet and in full working condition. Loved the new wearable technology that enables keyless entry as you approach your floating hotel room. The production show “Rock Opera” was top-notch.
Although these and other aspects belong in the plus column, the proverb of patience being a virtue was used early and often on the maiden voyage of Princess Cruises' newest flagship, the 3,600-passenger Discovery Princess. We, among the less tolerant original guests, were required to be as virtuous as Harry Potter during a rocky, recent, weeklong round trip from San Pedro's World Cruise Center to the Mexican Riviera.
In general, a reasonable amount of amnesty must be granted when aboard a cruise ship's inaugural sail. Between all the freshly minted moving parts and various levels of experience among a newly assembled crew, let alone the next-gen innovations being broken in by a ship's first paying passengers, not everything will run smoothly even in calm waters, as they were to and from the exciting ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta.
And let's give props to any large undertaking during this post-pandemic recovery hampered by supply chain and labor issues. Still, too many causes for hypertension surfaced over the seven days.
Processed eggs are the default for made-toorder omelets? Lounges are not cleared of used tableware and trash before each event? Gamblers aren't getting drinks because the casino wasn't built with a dedicated bar? Over two hours to get a grilled cheese via the food delivery app? The “Movies Under the Stars” selection one morning is “The Sound of Music” from 1965?
The sound of first-world problems these may make, but we're talking about a premium cruise line in which loftier standards should be expected over more value-priced Carnival, Norwegian, MSC and Royal Caribbean. Despite the underwhelming first impression during a voyage kept to only 64% capacity, solace can be taken in that Princess has too solid a reputation for anyone to believe that the plethora of problems and peculiar policies discovered on Discovery Princess haven't already been remedied, or at least addressed.
Good thing, too, because the sixth and final of the easily navigable Royal class ships in Princess' fleet is otherwise pleasing. A Princess-loyal, Elite level couple from Missouri went as far as to call the new ship a “best of Royal class,” in that Discovery has all their favorite venues. Crooners, a music-and-martini bar, isn't on all ships of this swan-sung class. Neither is the tucked-away Take Five lounge, which features nightly live jazz, or the upcharging Salty Dog Gastropub in a space occupied by Vines wine bar on older Royal class ships.
The newest audience-participation game played on Princess ships is an at-sea version of “Deal or No Deal.” The activity is being rolled out across the fleet, and thanks to one Discovery Princess passenger's birthdate being “3-373,” the first top prize was won on the new flagship. She was randomly chosen to go onstage among those in the main theater who spent at least $25 on “case cards.” The audience gasped with her every rebuff of “the banker's” offer, and they went bonkers when her envelope, lucky number 3, was revealed to have the highest dollar value. The game is played twice on a seven-day cruise, and card buyers have their own chance to win the top prize of $1,000. For legal reasons Princess doesn't put a higher value on its own product; second prize is a free cruise, which to a traveler is certainly worth more than a grand.
From screaming audiences to screaming-fast internet, Princess delivers on its claim of having the best Wi-Fi at sea. MedallionNet Wi-Fi was just that, but some MedallionClass technologies weren't as awesome when trying to make dining reservations, accessing restaurant menus, ordering food or checking out the daily schedule. But how cool is the aforementioned keyless stateroom entry? The wearable “medallion” received at embarkation means no more fumbling for a key card while balancing your late-night in-room snack from the 24-hour International Café. We can thank Princess President John Padgett for this brilliant device. Before joining Princess, Padgett worked for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, where he spearheaded such guest engagement innovations as the upsold MagicBand, a precursor to the disc-shaped gadget now on all Princess ships.
“Keyless stateroom entry is one of the most fundamental uses and is undeniably a guest favorite,” Padgett said. “The medallion automatically unlocks doors, similar to using a remote key fob to open a car. On top of this, personalized greetings on the stateroom door portals welcome guests and note any special milestones they may be celebrating, such as birthdays and anniversaries.”
The medallion also works onshore at participating businesses. Convenience and buying power are bonuses for passengers, who receive a 7% onboard credit when using it to make purchases. Got mine after buying candy bars at the ChocoMuseo factory in Puerto Vallarta.
Sweetness on a grander scale is the fact that Discovery Princess is the first Princess ship home-ported on the West Coast straight from the shipyard since 2002. That was the 2,600-passenger Star Princess, which sailed to the Mexican Riviera from L.A. and Alaska from Vancouver, British Columbia. Now with Discovery Princess, L.A. and Seattle will share the flagship well into 2023.
After getting its sea legs from five voyages out of San Pedro, Discovery Princess will spend May through October making seven-day round trips to Alaska from Seattle. When done sailing to the likes of Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, the ship will return to L.A. for six uninterrupted months of mostly weeklong runs south of the border. Then it's back to Seattle for a second Alaskan cruise season from April to October 2023.
The Pacific Coast will claim Princess' flagship through at least November 2023, when
the company's first liquid natural gas-powered Sphere-class ship is scheduled to debut. Boasting a capacity of around 4,300 passengers, the yet-to-be-named vessel will be the largest ever built for Princess Cruises. Where it will sail is uncertain, according to Padgett, but with Discovery Princess, the Santa Clarita-based cruise line knew its destiny early on.
“Discovery was earmarked for Southern California from the very beginning,” Padgett said from the Take Five lounge before Discovery's maiden sail-away. “When we are building a ship we look at what market is important to us and where we want it. L.A. obviously surfaced to the top of the list. We needed to put our top ship here. With L.A. being a major population center, how can it not have but the best? For us to have a flagship back in this market and in our backyard is excellent.”