The Discovery Princess

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My views do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

December 10-17 2022

Last summer my mom had invited my Aunt Wendy and Uncle Stu on a cruise to Mexico on the Discovery Princess for Wendy’s birthday. When it turned out that this cruise fell during my vacation, I wanted to go too! So I invited myself. Luckily my mom, Wendy and I really enjoy traveling and spending time together. I applied for Employee Space Available, which is one of my benefits working with Princess. If there are extra cabins available on a cruise, I can apply for one at a very discounted rate. The process was surprisingly easy and I was able to book the cruise well enough in advance to still get a good price on my flight.

I was so excited about this cruise. I told everyone about it- even if no one asked. On the Coral when I started talking about how my contract was coming to an end, I would hope to be asked how I was going to spend my vacation- I’m going on a cruise! I’ll get to spend time with my family without having to dip out to go to work, I’ll be able to ride the guest elevators, I’ll have the drink package, and I’ll be able to do whatever I want every day!

Just getting there was part of the fun as well. Unlike my mom and me, my aunt and uncle are homebodies. They don’t travel as frequently as we do and the further they get from home, the more nervous my uncle gets about the whole process of getting there. He had a traumatic experience missing a flight when he was younger (his family was running late, they missed their flight and had to catch another one) so whenever he flies, he worries that something will go wrong. I try to point out how many times travel went smoothly in comparison, but to no avail. I had a great time being their guide so that they could relax. I was there to advise when they weren’t sure what to pack, I checked them into Southwest exactly 24 hours before our flight, made sure they had their app all set up for easy check in, and all the other little details that Stu was worried about. I even brought snacks for the plane!

Embarkation Day

We stepped onboard and were greeted by my mom who was waiting for us. She and Ron Voyage had also booked the previous cruise, so she treated that one like a dress rehearsal to prepare for us coming. I looked over at the cruise staff standing there looking like I often felt – bored and superfluous. I was especially happy to not be wearing that uniform.

The design of the Discovery Princess, currently the newest ship in the fleet, is almost identical to the Enchanted Princess (formerly the newest ship in the fleet), so I already knew my way around.

Wendy and Stu headed toward their cabin at the front of the ship while I took the midship elevators up to my cabin. As I dragged my suitcases into the elevator, I recognized a familiar face- there was Andy, a guest who regularly attends trivia. I told him I was there on vacation and he thought that was just great. After we dropped our bags at our respective rooms, we set out to take care of our safety duties and to check out all of the embarkation day tours. The guy who checked Wendy and Stu into their Muster Station had been in my muster station on a previous ship!

Wendy loved her digital birthday greeting that showed up throughout the whole cruise. We went to the Embarkation Day Spa tour and we ended up getting a week-long pass to use the Enclave – a luxurious room full of steam rooms, a sauna, warm tile beds and a special mineral water bath. It was a decadent splurge that would be so much more fun to enjoy with Wendy and Stu. If I were working, I definitely wouldn’t be able to go hang out in the spa everyday. Soon it was time to go to the Sail Away party. We went up to the open deck and I was flooded with relief – no one cared that I was there! I didn’t have to mingle or dance or help get the party started! The whole cruise I kept forgetting that I didn’t need to be at an event at least 10 minutes before it started.

We ran into Emma, the Zumba instructor, and my mom wanted a picture of us together.

The week before, Emma had announced that she had gotten another job as a singer for another cruise line, so she would be leaving mid-cruise. My mom got excited about the idea of me teaching Zumba, so she mentioned to the Cruise Director that I would be onboard if they needed a Zumba teacher. He said they had another instructor onboard, but I packed an adaptor (for music) and my mic belt just in case. Sure enough, as we were walking around the decks during the Sail Away Celebration, we ran into Fab. I had first met Fab at the Zumba Convention in 2019, and then when he was the Forward Planner (an administrative job) on the Enchanted. He would obviously be the one to take over the Zumba classes until they found another Zumba certified Assistant Cruise Director. He smiled when he saw me- “Great! If you’re here, you can teach Zumba!” I told him I’d consider it.

I recognized two of the singers from the Enchanted – Here’s Nick Petris.

I also knew Tricia from Enchanted, but she was on the other side and I didn’t manage to catch her.

That night we had dinner at the Crown Grill, one of the Specialty Restaurants. The last time I had dinner at the Crown Grill with my mom and Ron Voyage, I was on the Enchanted Princess. I had a meeting at 5pm (which ended running much longer than anticipated) and probably trivia at 7pm. It seemed like I’d be able to fit it in, but by the time I sat down I had 20 minutes. I placed my order, ate half of my mom’s food and then half of mine when it arrived, and saved dessert for later. This time, it felt so decadent for dinner to take as long as it took. Andy from the elevator earlier walked in with Max Himmelreich, the guest tenor from Rock Opera (one of the production shows) who I also knew from Enchanted. I waved him over and introduced him to my family.

We rolled out of there with bellies full of seafood and steak and went to the Enclave. I savored being in the Spa with my family instead of being at Welcome Aboard Karaoke. So far it was turning out to be a great vacation.

After the spa everyone went to bed, but I was still awake. I decided to check out the comedian. I rarely have time to sit and enjoy the show in the theater while I’m working, so this was a treat. I picked a spot where I could leave early if I wasn’t enjoying it, but I ended up staying for the whole thing!

Sea Day 1

Though I told myself that I didn’t have to go if I didn’t want to, I met my mom up in the sports court for Zumba. Taking a class is so much less physically intense than teaching one (unless you want it to be more intense. I didn’t). The day before, Emma had told me that when the previous Zumba instructor had left, she had stepped up to do the training. She had learned her whole routine in a week while working on the ship. Wow. It had taken me a month to learn my first routine while I was at home. I had initially thought that I could learn more routines a song at a time on the ship. That didn’t happen. Then I thought I could try learning more routines on vacation. That didn’t happen either. It wasn’t until the pandemic stretched on longer than anyone thought that it would that I was able to put together two more classes. It took me four months before I felt like those classes were ready for the ship. Emma’s routine had music that I liked, and I was so impressed that she had put together a whole class in so little time. It reminded me a lot of how I felt on the Coral- like I could have done better, but I was doing the best I could with what I had to work with.

After Zumba I was hungry. We went to the World Fresh Marketplace (the buffet) and I enjoyed sitting there eating in my Zumba clothes (which weren’t anywhere as sweaty as they get when I teach). As Crew, I can eat at at the buffet when it isn’t busy (so not on a sea day) and I have to wear my uniform. I rarely end up going because it’s far away and if it’s too busy I end up needing to find another plan to eat.

I had such a great day wandering around from moment to moment deciding what we wanted to do. I don’t even remember exactly what we did. I’m sure we met up with Wendy and Stu. We watched line dancing so I could steal any line dances I didn’t know. I found one. That night was the first formal night. My friend Dusan (from the Coral, who you’ll remember from previous posts) messaged me and said there was an extra spot for 360 (the super secret newest thing that hadn’t been revealed to the public) if I wanted to go. I absolutely did.

360

I was keeping to myself when the couple standing next to me started to engage me in some small talk. They asked if I’d cruised much before. I admitted that I was crew, here on vacation and it turned out that the husband had also worked for Princess. He was very important in the technical department- he’d been on ships for 20 years and then had worked from land for 20 years. They were there with another couple where the husband had a similar story, and his wife had been a dancer, back in the days when the dancers also worked as cruise staff!

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to tell you about the 360 experience, because it was a secret when I got off the ship, but Princess has started advertising 360 on Facebook and Instagram if you want to know more.

I also got to see where Dusan worked behind the scenes:

That night was the first Formal night, and it was also the night that Rock Opera was in the theater. Rock Opera is Ron Voyage’s favorite show on Princess so he goes to every single one he can. Wendy, Stu and my mom sat with him for the first show while I was in 360. Wendy loved it and especially enjoyed that she had briefly met the tenor at Crown Grill the night before. When 360 was over I had just enough time to slip into the seat beside Ron to catch the second show.

Cabo

The next day we had our first port with a noon arrival. We had a lazy morning. I skipped Zumba because I could and met my mom and Ron Voyage for suite breakfast. I’d researched what to do in each port. In Cabo we could look into kayaking to some cool rocks, but they were right there, outside my mom’s balcony!

As Cruise Staff, my job is often to hand out water shuttle tickets, and I knew what a nightmare it could be with an arrival after everyone has woken up and had breakfast- everyone wants to get off the ship at the same time so there ends up being long wait times. We got ourselves ready at a leisurely pace, and prepared for a long wait, but when we got to the lounge, my mom waived her black medallion (her Elite loyalty status gets her perks) and we were escorted straight to a water shuttle.

After being on a twenty-year-old ship for the last seven months, these brand new water shuttles were so fancy!

We walked around the market and Stu had a great time negotiating with the vendors. We rounded the corner to find a mall with this nativity scene inside, so my mom had to get a picture:

Outside there were some otters swimming around.

We hadn’t brought our beach stuff, and we were satisfied with what we’d seen walking around, so we went back to the ship. Plus, we had an early reservation at the Italian specialty restaurant onboard…

Sabatini’s

The Burrata appetizer and the eggplant are my favorite at Sabatini’s. The hardest part is saving enough room for dessert!

That night, once again, the family was ready to go to bed before I was, so I went to see my friend AJ. He is the Crooners piano player, but on this night (which happened to be his birthday) he was doing a special Broadway set in the Vista lounge. I caught him before the show and wished him a happy birthday- I hadn’t seen him since we were on the Caribbean Princess in 2019. After his set (which was fantastic) he stayed back and had a drink with me before heading to his birthday party in the Crew Bar.

Mazetlan

The next day we stopped in Mazetlan. My mom decided to stay home for the day, so it was just me and Wendy and Stu. According to the internet, there was an aquarium that looked pretty impressive, a street dedicated to the Beatles and a coastline of beaches. After dodging zoos and aquariums all over Australia, once again, I found myself in one. On the internet it looked like there was a tank about three stories tall with lots of sea life. We managed to buy tickets with our very limited Spanish, and found ourselves at the first exhibit.

I thought it was so funny that I’d been looking for penguins all over Australia, and then it’s one of the first things I find in Mexico.

We wandered around and watched the sea lion show, but never found the huge tank that I saw on the internet. As we left the aquarium, we were only a couple of blocks from the beach.

We found a place with ‘the best margaritas in Mexico’ and what we hoped was authentic Mexican food. Now we were in Mexican paradise. After a couple of rounds Stu and I dipped in the ocean and we went back to the road to hail a cab back to the ship. Stu sat in the front and chatted with the very-young-looking driver. He spoke about as much English as we spoke Spanish, but Stu still managed to make a friend. He showed us a picture of his baby on his phone, and Stu showed him a picture of their grandson, Easton, who was born last March. We were laughing and having a great time. The cab driver asked if we wanted to listen to English music, so he put on “Wasn’t me” by Shaggy. We laughed some more and Wendy announced that this song will always make her think of this moment. He took us the long scenic way back. We drove by the Beatles street. He even pointed out Bird Poop Island:

That night we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

A few days before I arrived, I figured out that Mel was on the Discovery Princess!

I met Mel when we worked on the Golden Princess. She is a Paramedic from the UK. She is absolutely one of my favorite people and we had a great time catching up. We had dinner at Gigi’s the pizza restaurant, and could barely stop chatting long enough to figure out what we wanted to order. After dinner we slipped in just in time to catch Nick’s solo show in the theater. When I was on Enchanted, Nick was just starting to put his show together, so it was really fun to see the full form. I can never get enough of Mel and I hope we’re on another ship together very soon.

Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta was our last stop in Mexico before heading back to Los Angeles. When I was a freshman in high school the seniors did a group trip to Puerto Vallarta. It blows my mind how I thought those 17 & 18 year olds were so grown up and mature. But I remember them talking about the trip to Puerto Vallarta for months during the morning announcements over the PA system. When my mom took me on a cruise on the Pacific Princess through the Panama Canal, we stopped in Puerto Vallarta and had some amazing food at a restaurant that was recommended by the locals. This time we were going to walk around and meet up with someone who knew Wendy from high school and was living in Puerto Vallarta for a few months.

We took a group taxi to the town and found the Malecon – the walkway along the beach.

The Malecon had great statues.

We found the Restaurant that Tim, Wendy’s friend recommended.

Tim had worked on ships in the Casino, so we talked ships and everything else that had happened since they were in high school in Indiana.

After lunch we decided to walk around a little bit more.

Tim took us to the markets and around some of the neighborhoods that he’s lived in. While we were picking up our last souvenirs, I got a call from Dusan – he had spots for all of us for 360 the next night for Wendy’s birthday!

That evening we ended up going back to Gigi’s. I was pretty impressed with my dining situation – Crown Grill the first night, then 360, Sabatini’s, Gigi’s, then Gigi’s and 360 again – I was going to go the whole cruise having fancy dinners every night. This time at Gigi’s I had a better plan. I ordered almost the same thing I had the night before, but this time I split it with my mom so I wasn’t over stuffed. My family went to catch the comedian’s second show, while I stayed in Princess Live! – I wanted to watch some game shows to see if I could steal any of their ideas.

Wendy’s birthday

Wendy’s birthday fell on the second to last sea day which was perfect timing. We had the whole day to do anything we wanted, and it still wasn’t time to think about packing our bags. I started the morning teaching zumba. Wendy slept in on her birthday, but came the next day. I told everyone that I was just there as a guest, but when I heard they needed a Zumba instructor, I was there to help.

My mom’s favorite part is when the people come up to me afterward to tell me they enjoyed the class. I love it when they tell me they hadn’t done it before but now they wanted to do more at home.

After Zumba we met up for a very light Suite breakfast with the whole family- well, my mom and I had a light breakfast- we had to save room for a fancy lunch AND a fancy dinner.

We tried sitting out by the pool but it was very windy.

That afternoon was the most traveled luncheon. The meal is different every time, but often, my mom and Ron Voyage say that it’s the best meal on the ship. Because of the unique situation of me being a guest, Ron very graciously gave me his spot for the luncheon. Our goal was to try not to eat too much so we’d still have room for 360 that night.

The seafood appetizer was amazing.

The dessert was also delicious.

My mom and Ron Voyage had been able to try out 360 the previous cruise, I did it on my own the second night, but this time we got to do it all together.

It was even more fun the second time around. I was able to notice things I hadn’t noticed before, and point out my favorite parts to Wendy and Stu to make sure they didn’t miss anything.

Dusan came out to say hi afterward so we could meet our gracious benefactor. Wendy and Stu went to get a couple’s massage for Wendy’s birthday, and we had enough time to go to the Captain’s Circle party. We ran into my friends from the first 360 night and I was able to introduce them to my mom and Ron Voyage.

Last day

On the last day, I was eating suite breakfast with my mom and Ron Voyage, when I overheard a lady chatting with the waiter as she was ushered to her table. He asked her how Zumba was, and she said it was wonderful! It was led by this girl who is a guest, but she works for Princess so she offered to help and she was so good! Do you know her? I waved and she came over to give me more compliments which I think was my mom’s favorite part of the cruise.

Later that morning we met up with Wendy and Stu for a talk with the Captain in the Princess Theater. I always enjoy these presentations so it was fun to be sure I could go (on the Coral I would hide in the booth, wearing sweaty zumba clothes). The Captain and the Cruise Director had some cute jokes that appeared spontaneous to the naked eye.

In the afternoon we went to Discovery’s version of my favorite gameshow: Hollywood Hiccups. The cruise staff reenact movie scenes with a very small production budget. When Karen came onboard the Coral Princess she was trying to describe some ideas, and here they were being played out in front of me!

That night we saw the newest show on Princess:

I knew a few of the dancers (and two singers) and it was fun to see them take a more prominent role in the show. Plus there were some great songs. I was able to hang out with Dusan after he finished work (we met up in the nightclub where I loved not being the DJ), and then the next day it was time to pack up and leave for the next segment.

After the cruise, I fly from Los Angeles to London, stay with Georgie, one of the singers from the Coral (who you know from previous posts). I’ll go with Georgie down to Devon to spend Christmas with her family, we’ll come back up to London and meet up with Bri (who you know from previous posts) and her boyfriend, then we’ll all take a train up to Edinburgh, Scotland where we’ll meet up with Rob (who you know from previous posts), and we thought Darnette and Alex from the Bridge, who is Scottish, but they didn’t make it. We’ll return to London for a couple more days, then I’ll fly to Baltimore to see my friend Amanda (including a magical weekend in New York City). I’ll see my friend Emily during my layover in Denver and then finally return to California for a couple of weeks to celebrate my birthday before joining the Caribbean Princess in February. More on those adventures to come!