December 17-20, 2022
Have you ever taken a cruise somewhere but never gotten off the ship? That’s exactly what Tim and I did last December, just before Christmas.
The four day itinerary was on Princess Cruise lines newest ship, the Discovery Princess. We boarded in Los Ángeles, and had stops in San Diego and Ensenada, Mexico before returning to LA.
We had been to both destinations before, and although we wouldn’t have minded doing some sightseeing in San Diego, the lure of just staying on the ship, relaxing, enjoying the shipboard activities, savoring the food, and spending time with our traveling companions, Dick and Karen, was a bigger draw.
Built in 2021 and setting sail in 2022, the Discovery Princess is the newest and final of six ships in their fleet designated as “Royal-class”. It is also one of three MedallionClass ships.
What in the world is MedallionClass you might rightfully ask?
“Your OceanMedallion™ is a revolutionary, “wearable” device that enables an entirely new level of service and personalized attention. Experience Princess MedallionClass™ with your OceanMedallion™ and speed up embarkation, unlock stateroom doors, order food and drinks to your location and so much more.” ~ Princess Cruise
This was all new to us, but after the first day, it became both convenient and helpful. The medallion can be worn around your neck on a provided lanyard, or popped into a watch style wrist band (sold quite reasonably on board).
This small, electronically programmed disk contains your personal information provided before you board, including your ID, passport info and a picture. It replaces your cruise card and can be used in several very helpful ways.
Ways to use your Medallion:
- It automatically unlocks your cabin door for you as you approach.
- Identifies you when getting on and off the ship
- Links to other traveling companions (with their permission) or your children to allow you to easily locate each other on board
- Whenever you order a drink or make a purchase, it identifies you and posts directly to your onboard account.
- It helps you navigate your way around the ship.
- Make dinner reservations, order fresh towels, a snack or so much more.
Discovery Princess Ship Profile & Stats
She can carry 3,660 passengers, and has a crew of 1,346. With 19 decks, a gross tonnage of 145,000, length 1083 feet, and beam 126 feet, her average speed is 22 knots. There are 1,490 outside cabins and 340 inside cabins.
What were some of the options to occupy our time while on board?
Perhaps a swim, or soaking up a bit of vitamin D by the pool, while reading a good book.
Visiting the spa for a beauty treatment or a massage, a quick or vigorous workout in the gym, or finding a quiet corner in the adults only lounge?
How about attending an enrichment lecture, playing a game of trivia, taking a chance in the casino, going to a wine tasting, playing basketball or shuffleboard, going to a cooking demo, or taking a dance lesson?
We also enjoyed simply exploring the ship, checking out the on-board art, and beautiful Holiday decorations.
And of course when you get hungry, there is food available all day long including the main dining rooms, specialty restaurants, huge buffet, room service, afternoon tea, pizza or burgers by the pool, and the pastry shop are just some of the options.
The onboard entertainment kept us laughing in the evening with several top notch comedians in the main theater. This definitely varies of course, we just happened to be on a “comedy cruise”. There were smaller venues later that included singing karaoke, listening to piano or jazz music and dancing.
And if you are not quite ready to call it a night, a nightcap in one of the 14 bars or lounges?
And for us, a cruise would not be complete without having a least one “professional” photo taken. We ended up buying both of these. They may forever be buried in a drawer here at our cabin, but they certainly made me smile at the time…
What did we learn from this experience? That sometimes slowing down, relaxing, enjoying the moment and spending time with friends and each other is priceless.
What do you think? Please comment below if you are so inclined. Is this something you would enjoy? Have you tried taking a few days while traveling and just relaxing and going with the flow? We would love to hear about your experiences and if you have tried it, did you consider it a “Loved it”, or a “Nope, not for me”, or somewhere in between?
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GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I’m grateful that we were comfortable enough to break from the norm and listened to our hearts. It turned out to be a wonderful, fun, healing and relaxing journey. I just wish it would have been a few days longer…
A Note From Abroad 
We have been on many Royal Class Princess cruises, the most recent was 10 day Southern Caribbean in December. We loved the holiday decorations too. We sometimes got off the ship and sometimes did not..if we knew the island . We never take ship tours anymore. We are looking forward to the new class of Princess ships being built. We are Elite and get some extra benefits.
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We are big fans of Princess Cruise line and yes, being “Elite” does offer some nice perks. We have not cruised in the Caribbean in the past 10 years, so maybe time to schedule a return visit. There are a couple of the Southern Caribbean islands we have not been to. Thank you for nudging me in that direction ❤️
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So glad to hear your still traveling!! We have always loved the princess…best to you two
Jan and Frank
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Hi Jan & Frank! Wonderful hearing from you!! It was quite the long break from traveling, but we are so excited to finally be getting back out there. Best wishes to you both ❤️ ~ Joanne
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What a wonderful trip and a nice break from running from place to place! We’ve only ever sailed on Princess, and they are wonderful. Great overview and pictures.
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Thank you Mike and Kellye! We too are huge Princess fans.
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Fun post. I think the last big cruise ship we were on was a repositioning cruise fro Europe. The last couple of years we’ve switched to river boat cruises.
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We have only done one repositioning cruise (transatlantic from the UK to Boston) and loved it. I can’t say I have a favorite between ocean or river cruising as they both have plusses. Certainly would not turn down any opportunity to do either.
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We are good for about one cruise a year. But when we can’t drive anymore, Watch out world! 🙂
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We WILL be watching 😂🤣😂
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Laughing!
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Ive never been on a cruise and this point, the only cruise I’m/we’re interested in taking at some point is one up the Alaskan coast. But I see how you can keep occupied. I’m glad you had such a relaxing, enjoyable time. 🥰
janet
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The Alaska Inside Passage cruise is breathtakingly beautiful. That is the very first cruise we took our son on when he was still in grade school. He absolutely loved all of the kids activities on board. My parents and Tim’s parents were with us, so it was a very special, memorable trip for the entire family. Tim took both dads salmon fishing and they had a blast. I can definitely recommend going!
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So glad to see Gus, enjoying himself!
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I wondered if you would notice Gus 😄.
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I’ve never been attracted to commercial cruising, especially on mega boats; my cruising has been on coastal sailboats and on canal boats in England. I’m mildly tempted, though, to do a repositioning cruise to get to or from New Zealand, as a more sustainable method of transport than flying both ways.
But I have to ask – you list all of those activities. What did each of you prefer?
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Oh, good question! I think what was most enjoyable for me on this short 4 night cruise was relaxing, spending quality time visiting with dear friends traveling with us, evening entertainment which just happened to be comedians on this voyage, and most certainly being spoiled by excellent service and the huge variety of delicious food choices. And I’m curious how you liked the canal boats. I looked into booking one once, but then it didn’t work out for our schedule. Would appreciate your input.
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I’ve cruised canals in England twice, both times aboard boats owned by friends. It is a wonderful experience – easy to navigate and control (once one is used to the length!!), mostly at walking speed so one can always hop off and walk along on the tow paths for exercise, seeing the back yards and an entirely different view of the country. I loved it. Stopping for lunch at local pubs, seeing the swans, stopping for the night along quiet sections of the canals – I can go on and on!
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Thank you for your input! Is some degree of experience required to operate the boats, or is this something you get checked out on and then you are set free?
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For me, on my friends boat, it took about two minutes of instruction, and about 10 minutes of practice before I was fully comfortable. It sounds to me like you would only get quickly checked out if you were renting. And that should be fine; they are steel boats, and hard to hurt!
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
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Looks like you had great weather along with the great time.
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Yes, Mother Nature was very cooperative 😃
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