Jelly Untethered

09/01/2026

Storytime......

The all aboard time today was 130pm. I was in line to get back on ship at roughly 1:15pm.

When I finally got to the ramp, there was a Princess security guard near the end of the ramp. As I approached, the line stopped moving and I was directly next to her. So I said,

"Good afternoon. How are you?"

"I am well, thank you. You are the first person all day to say good afternoon and ask me how I am."

Honestly, I was so shocked. I didn't know how to respond. 😲 How terribly sad.

"Well, that is awful and I am sorry. I appreciate you and your hard work and I hope you have a great rest of your day."

She got the biggest smile and put her hand over her heart. I should have asked her name so I could address her by name next time.

Do people not interact and talk to crew on other lines? Or is this just a one off? On HAL, we all have our favorite crew members. We hug, laugh, have conversations, etc. I genuinely have not seen many people interacting with crew with on a personal level here on Princess.

I know lots of HAL cruisers who see their favorite crew member on another ship and are joyous. Or they tell me to go see so and so in the MDR or casino bar or sea view bar, etc.

I could give a long list of names of HAL crew and officers I adore...

Jasmine, Kate, Widi, Wahyu, Denny, Marion, Colleen, Welly, Charles, Lubelle, Erica, Rye, Lizelle, Juhnelle and so many more.

These are drink servers, wait staff, room stewards, general cleaners, bartenders, managers, casino staff, Park West guys, and too many Effy guys to list. 🤣

Not shaming anyone just something I have observed in the past few days. And hearing the security guard say that no one greeted her at all when coming back on ship? You mean thousands of people walked by you in the past few hours and not a single guest said hello? No one asked how you are doing?

It is now my mission for the remainder of the week to hand out kindness to every crew member I see on this ship. They work hard every day to ensure you have a great experience. They are people too. Smile, ask how they are, where are they from, how long is their contract, do you have a family back home, do you miss them? I ask many crew members on HAL these questions and I hear other guests ask them too. I also ask if they got to go out today while in port. Have they been here before?

Be kind...every day. Unless your Doug. Then be an as**at. 🤣

08/31/2026

Day 165 of being a full-time nomad with no official or permanent home, traveling the world and living mostly on cruise ships. 🌎🚢

Today was Day 3 on Discovery Princess, and Ketchikan was our port of call! 🇺🇸🐻

Our ship docked at 6 a.m., and we had the all-clear by 6:30. Having enjoyed photographing wildlife for most of my life, I knew I had to get off the ship early if I wanted my best shot at seeing a bear.

That was the main mission for today.

And mission accomplished by 7:15 a.m. 😅🐻

I will spare you all 1,457 photos I took of the bear eating salmon on Creek Street and just share a few of my favorites. You're welcome. 🤣

The day started with some rain, per usual, but it did stop after an hour or two. I walked along the creek down to the Totem Heritage Center, hoping I might spot another bear.

No such luck.

BUT... I did meet Daisy, an adorable little dog owned by a local. She jumped up on the bench, stepped directly onto my thigh and proceeded to give me ALL the kisses. She also left her muddy little footprints all over my jacket.

Didn't even care.

Totally worth the kisses. ❤️🐕

Then I walked back toward downtown along the marina, where I watched fish jumping out of the water and spotted a water puppy.

Don't know what a water puppy is?

A seal. 🦭

They're basically the aquatic version of a dog in my book. I swear one of them was showing me his catch of the day. 🤣

I continued beyond the marina to the pier and walked out so I could photograph a bald eagle perched on a piling. 🦅

Then I looked at my watch.

9 a.m.

That's about the time drinking IPAs becomes socially acceptable, right? 🍺😅

So I made my way through the tunnel and over to the Asylum.

I said hi to Carlos, gave him a hard time, per usual, and met another couple from my ship, Laura and Bo.

Laura is from Massachusetts AND fluent in sarcasm, so naturally I immediately declared us BFFs. 🤣

A few beers and some Duck Farts later, we were laughing, telling inappropriate jokes and having the time of our lives.

Then, while I was in the restroom, Bo and Laura PAID MY TAB.

Seriously. ❤️

People can be so freaking awesome sometimes.

I left the Asylum and headed over to Milano to see one of my favorite social media babes and fellow HAL enthusiast, Christine La Vonna. I first got to meet Christina and Holly Daniels Christensen in Grand Turk back in March, but since I knew she was in Ketchikan, I figured I'd pop in and say hi again.

Guess what?

SHE TOTALLY KNEW WHO I WAS. 😁🤣

Love that for me!!!

If you don't know who Christina is, she's married to a HAL engineer, Piet, and lives on HAL ships. She also runs a travel and jewelry business along with a very successful social media page. She is a hard worker and has built a brand around herself.

Basically, I want to be her when I grow up. 🤣

As always, she was friendly, kind and witty. And I'm not just saying this, but I really feel like we would vibe well. We are the same age, sarcastic, witty and obviously charming. 🤣

She also calls out her haters, aka Dougs.

So we at least have that in common. 😆

Then it was time to head back to Discovery Princess for our 1:30 p.m. all-aboard.

Now I am sitting on my balcony for sail away, patiently awaiting a whale. 🤣 🐋

Have you ever visited a place and, for some reason you can't quite explain, it just felt like home?

I swear, anytime I visit somewhere along the West Coast of North America, I get this weird feeling that I belong there.

Ketchikan is no exception.

Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's the scenery. Maybe it's the wildlife or the people. Maybe it's some combination of all of it.

But somehow, every time I'm here, it just feels like I belong. ❤️

And considering I started my morning photographing a bear eating salmon, got muddy kisses from a dog, watched a seal proudly parade around with his breakfast, photographed a bald eagle, drank IPAs and Duck Farts before lunch, made new friends, and got recognized by someone I admire...

I'd say Ketchikan treated me pretty damn well today. 🐻🦅🦭🍺❤️

For anyone new here...I'm living on cruise ships for a year, maybe longer TBD, with no home to go back to after an ugly divorce and me abruptly ending my career of twenty years after a corporate buyout. I am on a journey to discover me again as well as the world! Follow along if you want to see where I wake up next!

08/31/2026

Mission accomplished by 715am. 🤣🤣🤣

08/31/2026

Good morning from Ketchikan!!! I went down to the International Café around 5am to grab a cappuccino and some snackies. I figured it would only get busier with time given we dock at 6am and everyone wants off ship to get their day started ASAP.

Well, I didn't realize how many people already had the same idea! Meh...no big deal. Just surprising how many people were already sitting in the Piazza with all their back packs and gear, ready to go.

Me...I strolled down with bed head, leggings, a hoodie and flip flops. 😅 As a certified member of the We Do Not Care Club...I assure you...I do not care.

I was told by a follower to try a pistachio croissant. So I did. Gotta say...I like that even more than the almond one.

I hope most people have an excursion and won't be flooding the town. But I know that's not true. Just wishful thinking.

Anywho....we are about to dock and we are directly across from the Asylum. 😅 That will make it a short walk back after all the beer and fun! It is kind of neat returning to a port where you've been before. You don't feel the urgency to see it all again. Now, I can pick and choose where to go and how to spend my time.

My biggest challenge of the day will not be what I am doing, but how to dress. Jeans? Hiking, water resistance pants? Hoodie? Or do I try and be cute? I am thinking practical over cute. I can save cute for the Caribbean.

Obviously, I am bringing my purple rain jacket. 😅 🌧 ☂️

08/31/2026

Day 164 of being a full-time nomad with no official or permanent home, traveling the world and living mostly on cruise ships. 🌎🚢

Today was Day 2 on Discovery Princess, and it was our first sea day!

My morning started off rather eventfully and frankly, pretty hilariously. Watching Doug repeat the same insults across multiple posts of mine was certainly entertaining. 🤣 All that poor man has in his arsenal is to call me large and insult my physical appearance. Thanks Captain Obvious. I know I am not a size 8. Pretty sure everyone else does to. Furthermore, I have been called worse by better.

I’m not going to beat a dead horse here, but I must say...you guys crack me up.

As you know, I can hold my own. But reading your comments throughout the day had me dying laughing. So thanks for that. 😂

After all that excitement, I took a nap. It was a rainy sea day, so honestly, it felt like the most appropriate activity.

When I woke up, I decided it was time to explore more of the ship.

That plan was quickly derailed because I think all 3,559 of my fellow passengers had exactly the same idea. 😳

It was CRAZY busy. Everywhere.

Now, I’m no cruise rookie. I understand that a rainy sea day means everyone who would normally be scattered around the pools and outdoor decks is suddenly inside looking for something to do. So I knew it was going to be busy.

I just wasn’t quite prepared for HOW busy.

I decided lunch would be a better plan and headed to Gigi’s Pizzeria by Alfredo’s. I had walked past earlier, smelled the pizza, and that was really all the convincing I needed. 🍕

I waited at the host stand for an exceptionally long time and was cut in front of more than once.

Whatever.

I pick my battles, and I had already chosen mine for the day, Doug. The battle bucket was empty. 🤣

When it was finally my turn, the hostess, Juliet, gave me a pager and told me the wait would be about 40 minutes. She asked me not to go beyond the nearby bar so the pager would stay in range.

No problem. What else have I got to do? I can wait. I grabbed a comfy chair about 30 feet away and settled in.

Gigi’s overlooks the Piazza, which is essentially the ship’s massive central atrium. It’s beautiful and clearly designed to be the energetic heart of the ship, with restaurants, bars, entertainment and activities happening all around it.

And energetic it was. 😅

There was some sort of event happening below, possibly music trivia, and because of the open design of the Piazza, the sound travels EVERYWHERE.

And amplifies.

And competes with everything else happening around it.

But I endured. I wanted pizza. 🍕

After about an hour and ten minutes, I walked back over to Juliet to see how much longer the wait might be.

The poor woman looked frazzled. They were absolutely slammed. Guests were asking about their tables, most nicely...others, not so much.

She looked at me and said she had buzzed me quite a while ago. 🙄

I apologized and explained that my pager never went off and pointed to the chair where I had been sitting approximately 30 feet away the entire time.

She immediately found me a table.

Then I sat THERE for a while.

I’m beginning to wonder if Princess gets many solo cruisers because this was the second time in two days that someone seemed genuinely confused by the concept of me dining alone. 😂

Eventually a server came over and asked when someone would be joining me.

Nope! Just me! He was waiting for my partner before he came to take my order.

The same thing happened yesterday at O’Malley’s Irish Pub. The server kept waiting for my husband to arrive.

Firm no. 🤣

I placed my entire order at once: beverage, salad and pizza.

Eventually my pizza arrived.

Hey Paul...guess what kind I ordered? 🍍 🐖 🤣 I stand by my choices. 😘

And let me tell you...the pizza was REALLY good.

Not just “good for cruise ship pizza.” Actually good. And I consider myself something of a pizza connoisseur. 🍕

My salad never arrived, and my server never came back to check on me during the entire meal. But it seemed he was serving about 25 tables himself. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were terribly short staffed.

Eventually, after I finished eating, another server stopped by. I mentioned that I never got my salad but told her not to worry about bringing it now.

She felt terrible.

Juliet overheard and SHE felt terrible.

Meanwhile, I genuinely wasn’t upset. I could see how insanely busy they were.

Juliet started offering me things to make up for it. An apple dessert. Two pizzas tomorrow. Sushi from the restaurant across the way, where she apparently also works.

🤣 🤣 🤣

I kept telling her I was fine!

The pizza was delicious. I was full. Nobody died. We could all move forward with our lives.

She told me I was so kind and gave me the biggest hug. 🥰 I was touched but also sad. I got the impression that maybe she thought I was angry or was going to angry? Perhaps she had already been yelled at?! Or maybe that is all in my head. 🤷

Honestly, Juliet and the other female server were two of the nicest crew members I’ve encountered so far on Discovery Princess. They were genuinely lovely.

After lunch, I retreated to my cabin and watched a movie because between the art auction and whatever was happening in the Piazza, my brain had reached its daily noise quota.

I’m not sure when I became this noise averse. Call me old. 🤷‍♀️

I puttered around for the rest of the afternoon. Went to a shopping presentation. Didn’t win the Effy raffle. Walked through the shops. Didn’t buy anything, although they had some cute Alaska gear and a stuffed moose that briefly tested my restraint. 🫎

Eventually it was time for my first specialty dining experience!

I had a reservation at Sabatini’s, Princess’s Italian specialty restaurant.

The restaurant itself is lovely, and I was seated across from a service dog, so obviously that improved the entire experience immediately. 🐕 ❤️

Unfortunately, Sabatini’s is ALSO open to the Piazza.

And this is where I think I’m discovering my biggest issue with Discovery Princess.

There is just so much competing noise.

The singing and dancing happening below was much louder than the restaurant’s own background music. At various points, I could even hear music coming from O’Malley’s on the deck below.

For someone like me, who is already half deaf in one ear, trying to separate one sound from five others becomes really difficult. I honestly don’t know how people were having conversations over dinner.

The food, however, was mostly very good.

The bread, arancini and salad were delicious. For my entrée, I ordered the veal marsala. The mashed potatoes and spinach were yummy, although the veal itself was pretty tough.

I didn’t complain. At that point, I mostly just wanted some quiet. 😂

The tiramisu was good, and my waiter was wonderful. Very attentive and excellent service.

On my way out, I spotted Juliet near the elevators.

She immediately threw her arms open to hug me AGAIN. 😂🥰

I think she was STILL worried about what happened at lunch. We chatted for a minute and went our separate ways.

And that brings me to my overall impression after Day 2.

This morning I woke up to a quiet ship, grabbed an awesome cappuccino and breakfast from the International Café and thought:

“Huh. I kind of like Princess.”

Because I DO.

There are a lot of things Princess does really, really well.

The app is fantastic. I love the Medallion technology. The food quality has been impressive overall. There are tons of dining options. I really like the casino layout. My bed may be one of the most comfortable cruise ship beds I’ve ever slept in. I have a huge balcony and an absolutely massive closet.

There is a LOT to like here.

Then tonight I found myself thinking...

“I guess I’m staying in my cabin for the rest of the cruise.” 🤣

I’m exaggerating. Mostly.

I know today was probably the perfect storm. It was a rainy sea day, everyone is still at the beginning of their vacation, and nobody could really use the outdoor spaces.

By the end of the week, fewer people will probably be roaming around because they’ll be exhausted and their livers will slowly be dying. 😂

But I do think I’ve identified something that just may not be for me: the Piazza centered layout of Discovery Princess. Are all large ships designed like this? HAL does not have any like that, to my knowledge. So I am unsure if this is the norm.

I chatted with another couple today who have sailed Princess multiple times, and they actually had the same complaint. They suggested I try one of Princess’s smaller ships because the layout is different and they absolutely loved them.

Maybe that’s the answer.

Because I’m definitely NOT writing off Princess.

In fact, I like enough things about Princess that I would absolutely consider sailing with them again.

I just don’t think Discovery Princess is my vibe.

And that’s okay!

Don’t come at me, Princess people. 😂 I’m not saying it’s a bad ship.

Lots of people around me were LOVING everything happening in the Piazza. Singing, dancing, trivia, music, cocktails, crowds...they were having the time of their lives.

But as a 45 year old single woman who frequently identifies as a 95 year old woman, it was sensory overload. 👵🤣

Give me a comfy chair, a good view of the ocean, a cappuccino and a good band contained to one area that I can enjoy when I want and not have it infiltrate all areas of deck 4, 5 and 6 mid ship.

Discovery Princess may not end up being my favorite ship, but we still have a whole week ahead of us.

And tomorrow we arrive in Alaska. 🏔️🐻 ❤️

I got a big day planned. Head to Creek Street, walk the walkway over to the salmon ladder and find a bear. Then to the Asylum to harrass Carlos and drink some IPAs and duck farts. Then to Milano Jewelry to say hi to another woman who lives on Holland ships. You may know her. 😉 I met her in the Caribbean earlier this year and had fun chatting with her. Photo of me and Christine La Vonna in this post.

I hate that Ketchikan is always a short day. Why is that? Why can't we ever stay a full day? I need time to drink all the IPAs and be sarcastic with Carlos. 🤣

For anyone new here...I’m living on cruise ships for a year, maybe longer, TBD, with no home to go back to after an ugly divorce and abruptly ending my career of twenty years following a corporate buyout. I’m on a journey to discover me again, as well as the world. 🌎❤️

Follow along if you want to see where I wake up next!

08/30/2026

Doug Breeding here you go babes. ❤️❤️❤️

Thanks for the engagement and driving my numbers and giving me and 6,000 other people something to have fun with.

Love you!!

08/30/2026

It is 5 a.m. here. Yup. 5 a.m. And I am wide awake. I went to bed early last night and the clocks went back an hour. So here we are.

I threw on a hoodie and went to the International Café some of you keep telling me to hit up. Since I have that Premier Package, I decided to use two drinks of my 15 on cappuccinos. Yes, two. 🤪

I brought my Yeti with me, so it will keep one piping hot for many hours. I’ll drink one now, and the other will be there when I want it in roughly 10 minutes. 😅

I also decided to grab some breakfast since I will NOT be eating at the buffet and touching those serving spoons. So I asked for an egg sandwich, almond croissant and a big chunk of pineapple.

The barista told me to grab a tray. Brilliant! Another thing HAL should consider having on their ships. Now I can go back to my room without worrying that I’ll spill or drop anything. Love that for me!

The egg sandwich was good, and everyone who told me to try the almond croissant was right. Yummy! The pineapple was fresh and sweet as well. Kind of like me! 😆

Speaking of being fresh...

I woke up to a comment from Doug telling me one of my videos was silly. So, naturally, I responded. As I do.

And his response to that was to tell me I am nuts and no wonder my husband divorced me. Next up came the fat shaming.

Listen, I have thick skin. You can call me names. I literally don’t care. But what Doug doesn’t know is that I can go toe-to-toe with him until I die. 😅

See, I think Doug has a very fragile ego and doesn’t like when an articulate woman contests his ugly statements. So he resorts to the only thing that unintelligent people have in their toolbox: insults regarding a person’s physical features.

And what is super ironic is that Doug does not have any photos of himself on his page.

Nice to be able to throw insults from behind a computer screen.

But here’s the best part...

Every response he gives makes Meta think he likes my content. So now I’ll show up in his feed more frequently. And even his friends’ feeds. All of which drives engagement and benefits me financially.

I love that for me. 😂

Thanks, Dougy! 😘

Anywho....

Breakfast is done. Cappuccinos are in progress. I’m not sure what’s on the agenda for today. Likely a nap, or two, some form of entertainment somewhere on the ship and responding to Doug...

Again and again and again.

😅

08/30/2026

Day 163 of being a full-time nomad with no official or permanent home, traveling the world and living mostly on cruise ships. Today, I boarded Discovery Princess for my very first Princess cruise! 🚢

Since so many of you know I have spent an absurd amount of time on Holland America ships, I thought it might be fun to share my first impressions and make some comparisons.

Long post incoming!

First, Discovery Princess is BIG.

She entered service in 2022, has 19 decks and carries around 3,660 passengers at double occupancy. By comparison, Holland America's largest ships carry around 2,650–2,670 passengers, and little Volendam, which I just got off last week, carries only around 1,430.

So this is definitely a different animal. 😅

Let's start with embarkation.

I did not receive my Medallion at my mailing address before I left, but I had been assured it would be waiting for me at the terminal.

It was not.

There was a worker handing out Medallions to other passengers who did not have theirs mailed either, but apparently mine did not make the guest list. I did not feel special. 😅

They assured me it wasn't a big deal, checked me in and sent me to another person in another area of the cruise terminal. I explained that I didn't have my Medallion. She told me to have a seat and that it would be about 20 minutes before I could proceed.

Eventually, she handed me a card and told me I could go ahead.

Me: "Do I still need a Medallion?"

Her: "Yes."

Me: "How do I get one?"

Her: "Talk to the next person."

Excellent. A scavenger hunt! 😂 Glad I asked about next steps because I was not told.

I finally boarded the ship, where security looked at my card and told me I needed to go to Guest Services to get my Medallion.

I asked if I could drop my bag in my room first.

She had no idea whether the card would unlock my door. 🙄

Okay then. Where is Guest Services?

"One deck down."

I went down one deck, found no obvious signs directing me anywhere, eventually asked someone else and finally located Guest Services.

Another line.

Listen, it's embarkation day. I get it. Thousands of people are boarding a ship and everyone wants something. However, they had TWO people working the Guest Services desk.

Two.

That seems...insufficient. 😂

HAL ships are smaller and I've routinely seen at least four people working Guest Services on embarkation day.

Eventually, I got my Medallion! 🎉

Right around then they announced that the rooms were ready. I was somewhere around Deck 4 and my cabin is on Deck 9.

I know exactly what happens to cruise ship elevators on embarkation day, so I took the stairs.

Five decks really isn't a big deal...except I was carrying about 15 to 20 pounds of camera equipment on my back. 😅

For the record, NONE of this made me angry. I was completely patient and none of it was a big deal. I just think there is definitely room for improvement in the process.

And honestly, had my Medallion arrived before the cruise like it was supposed to, embarkation probably would have been incredibly smooth. There was virtually NO LINE in the terminal, which genuinely surprised me.

Now for the ship and my room...

My cabin is spacious, the closet is HUGE and the balcony is massive. The balcony even has a proper table that I can eat at, which I love. ❤️

There is no couch.

As a solo traveler, I don't really care. If someone were sharing this cabin with me, though, I think I'd miss having one.

Here is a link to my YouTube channel with a room tour. While you're there, do me a solid and subscribe to my channel. Please and thank you!

https://youtu.be/LbkrUO-lna0

There was also no ice bucket or bathrobe in the room, which surprised me. Holland America has both waiting in the cabin, including bathrobes in regular staterooms, not just suites.

I asked my room steward about them and he said he could bring me both.

Wonderful! Problem solved. ❤️

One thing Princess wins HANDS DOWN?

THE BALCONY DOOR SLIDES OPEN AND STAYS OPEN!

HAL, are you listening?!

If I want fresh air in my room on Holland America, I have to prop the balcony door open with a chair. 😂

This door just...stays open.

What a concept!

The Medallion technology is also VERY cool.

My cabin door automatically unlocks when I approach it. No digging through my pockets or bag looking for a key card while my hands are full.

Even better, they can locate me on the ship through the Medallion. So I can order drinks, food, etc anywhere on the ship and they will come to me.

I wanted to test this technology so I ordered a cocktail from my room and it was delivered right to me. 🍸

Score!

I could get used to this.

There is also an interactive ship map on the app that lets you navigate around the ship almost like Google Maps, which is VERY useful considering this floating city has 19 decks.

A few other observations...

The balconies are graduated, meaning the balconies above me can see down onto mine and I can see down onto the balconies below me.

Ewww.

Do not like that AT ALL. 😂

I haven't seen nearly as many children as I expected, which makes me very happy. There are definitely more people around my age than I normally see on HAL, though.

I'm indifferent about that part. I don't particularly care how old everyone is as long as they behave themselves and keep the noise down. Also, stay off my lawn. 😂

I've also noticed significantly fewer scooters and walkers. That's not a positive or negative, just something noticeable because they are much more prevalent on Holland America given the demographic.

Princess has self-service laundry rooms, which is incredibly convenient and I would absolutely use them if needed.

However...

I just earned 4-Star Mariner status on HAL, which means I now get FREE LAUNDRY with HAL. So a self service laundry room is not enough to draw me to change lines.

Do I want to wash my own underwear or hand someone a bag of dirty clothes and have them magically return clean and folded for free?

Please. 😂

Call me spoiled.

But if I didn't have 4 star status on HAL, the self service laundry rooms would be nice for someone living on a ship.

The ship itself is beautiful. It's modern, the decor is nice and it definitely feels newer than most of the Holland America ships I've been sailing.

Discovery Princess entered service in 2022. For comparison, HAL's ships range from Volendam, which entered service way back in 1999, to Rotterdam, their newest ship, which entered service in 2021.

So Discovery isn't actually much newer than Rotterdam, but compared with many of the HAL ships I've been living on lately, you can absolutely see and feel the difference.

Now let's talk FOOD. 🍽️

I grabbed something to eat at the buffet earlier.

The buffet is HUGE and there are tons of options.

However...

YOU SERVE YOURSELF.

I know this is normal at most buffets, but HAL has spoiled me here too. On Holland America, the crew serves most of the food from behind the glass. You just tell them what you want and how much and they put it on your plate.

Here, I have to touch the same serving utensils that 487 strangers touched before me.

No. No thank you. 🤢 😂

I much prefer HAL's system from a germ-control standpoint. I think I will be eating in the MDR more than I usually do.

That said, everything I ate was good. Absolutely no complaints about the quality of the food so far.

There are also quite a few different dining options onboard, including the main dining rooms, casual restaurants and specialty restaurants.

The casual restaurants normally have an additional charge, but because I have the Princess Premier package, those meals are included for me. My package also includes two specialty dining meals during the cruise. ❤️

Now, before anyone thinks I suddenly decided I needed the most expensive beverage package known to mankind... 😂

I booked this cruise back when I was still employed and this was supposed to be an actual VACATION. You know, back when I needed vacations from my regular life instead of somehow turning travel into my regular life. 😅

At the time, I decided to splurge and buy the Premier package so I wouldn't have to think about what I was spending once I got onboard.

If I were booking this cruise today, living the way I do now, I definitely would NOT purchase Premier.

One of the big benefits is the drink package, which allows up to 15 alcoholic drinks per day.

FIFTEEN.

Listen, I enjoy a cocktail. I enjoy several cocktails. 🍸😂 I also love a good cappuccino.

But I am not drinking 15 alcoholic beverages and specialty coffees every day unless my goal is to spend the rest of the cruise begging my liver to not fail me.

So I seriously doubt I would get enough value from Premier today to justify paying for it.

That said, since Past Genel already paid for it while she still had a regular paycheck, Current Genel intends to enjoy every benefit that comes with it. 😂 Girl math, this entire cruise is free because I paid for it 2 years ago.

And having the casual dining included plus two specialty dining meals is definitely something I plan to take advantage of.

One final embarkation-day observation...

My luggage didn't arrive at my cabin until almost 5 p.m. 😲

I'm definitely not used to waiting that long, but when you think about the sheer number of passengers and bags that need to somehow find their way from the pier to individual cabins, it makes sense.

Let's talk casino.

Discovery Princess absolutely wins here. The casino is large and spacious. Lots of slots machines as well as some tables. Everything is spaced far enough part that you don't have to climb over a row of people to get to the last machine in the row.

And the best part? They have an entire separate room for the smokers. Like, the doors close them within their own cloud of smoke. The non-smoking casino is larger and it does not smell like ci******es. At all.

And, in comparison to HAL, there were very few smokers in that room. Not sure why that is. Perhaps because the demographic is slightly younger they don't smoke as much as the older folks. 🤷 I can't say for sure. But it is noticeable.

Overall?

Even with the cons I've mentioned, I am VERY pleased so far.

Some things Holland America absolutely does better.

Some things Princess already does better.

And some things are simply different.

After spending so much time on Holland America, I've gotten very accustomed to the way they do things. Now I get to see what I've been missing...and what I haven't. 😂

So far, Discovery Princess is making a pretty good first impression.

And the fact that someone can locate me anywhere on this enormous ship and bring me a cocktail is certainly helping her case. 🍸😂

I will continue to highlight the differences I see as this week progresses. But these are my initial thoughts. I have only explored probably a tenth of this behemoth. So I know I will have more to add eventually.

For anyone new here...I'm living on cruise ships for a year, maybe longer TBD, with no home to go back to after an ugly divorce and me abruptly ending my career of twenty years after a corporate buyout. I am on a journey to discover me again as well as the world! Follow along if you want to see where I wake up next!

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