The spacious 20sqm balcony stateroom \u2014 a home away from home. Photo \/ Princess Cruises<\/p>\n
Sea days? Seize the day<\/p>\n
Sea days can feel eternal on some cruise ships \u2013 what to do? With three such days ahead of us as we cross the Tasman Sea towards New Zealand, it\u2019s quickly apparent that the question is not how we can fill them, but which enticing activities are we willing to leave out. Exploring the vast ship takes us a few hours on our first morning, given that Discovery Princess is 330m long and 19 decks high. We visit several of the boutique-style shops, resist the temptation to enter the Vegas-style casino, but are powerless to resist the interactive music trivia game we stumble across in the stunning Atrium area \u2013 before long, we are joining our fellow passengers in publicly displaying how our confidence in our own abilities is wildly misplaced. We may not win a prize, but we\u2019ve had a whole lot of fun losing.<\/p>\n
Soaking up Tasman Sea views from The Sanctuary’s bow hot tub. Photo \/ Princess Cruises<\/p>\n
The joys of an indulgent cruise<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also clear we\u2019re spoiled for choice when it comes to dining on our sea days: an a-la-carte cooked breakfast at Skagway, or croissants and coffees at the International Cafe (open 24 hours); Gigi\u2019s Pizzeria (the best pizzas at sea, by reputation and by this writer\u2019s personal recommendation) or the delicious set menu at Ocean Terrace Sushi for lunch; dine on crayfish and scallops at The Catch by Rudi, or a hearty steak at Crown Grill? We count no fewer than 25 dining and bar venues, some included in the fare, others with a surcharge (though if one has a premium package, as we do, these are included too) \u2013 from fine dining to buffets, an Irish pub to a jazz lounge, a gelato bar to The Pastry Shop, with everything freshly baked daily. Would I enjoy three-course meals, three times a day at home? Certainly not, but that\u2019s the joy of an indulgent cruise (and there\u2019s always the large and well-equipped gym should the guilt overtake me. Between you and me, it doesn\u2019t). Room service is also available round the clock, so hunger is never an option.<\/p>\n
Live jazz fills Discovery Princess’s stunning multi-level Atrium. Photo \/ Princess Cruises<\/p>\n
No plans, impromptu fun<\/p>\n
A sea day means no plans, and impromptu fun \u2013 like the afternoon we head into the deserted arcade parlour, and take each other on in a spirited virtual reality survival game. It\u2019s a hoot, and something I haven\u2019t done in literally decades. It\u2019s only afterwards I realise I must have been quite a sight, arms flailing as I bashed flesh-eating dinosaurs, and can only hope no passersby witnessed my enthusiastic but undoubtedly uncoordinated combat. But if they did, what of it? What happens on the cruise, stays on the cruise.<\/p>\n
Later, with the sun shining and the sea calm, we wander around the two main pools, the WakeView infinity pool and \u2013 just steps from our stateroom \u2013 the adults-only Retreat pool. But we opt instead for the tranquillity of The Sanctuary, an 18+ destination on Deck 18, right at the front of the ship. For a small surcharge, we secure a four-hour booking with our own sun loungers, attentive staff delivering delicious food and drinks, and access to the large bow hot tub with unmatched views. It\u2019s a little slice of heaven on an already dreamy voyage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should do this more often\u201d is a well-worn phrase on this trip, but never more so than when we emerge from The Lotus Spa, also located on the top deck. Lotus has 18 separate treatment rooms, as well as a salon for hair and nails, and it\u2019s where we enjoy our first-ever couples massage. After I\u2019ve been tweaked, rubbed, kneaded and unknotted into a blissful state, the therapist starts holding my hand and I think how lovely it is \u2013 then I open my eyes and see it\u2019s instead my sweetheart. Lovelier still.<\/p>\n
The WakeView infinity pool with Rangitoto Island on the Auckland horizon. Photo \/ Princess Cruises<\/p>\n
Not a worry in the world<\/p>\n
We while away some time at The Enclave, one of my favourite places on the ship: a premier, adults-only thermal spa suite, with a large, warm hydrotherapy pool including cascading rain showers and powerful air jets, heated stone beds, steam rooms (Hammam and Caldarium), and a dry sauna (Laconium), as well as aromatherapy showers. We float back to our stateroom, where we realise we have yet to open our welcome champagne.<\/p>\n
Lorna falls head over heels for Discovery Princess in the golden Atrium. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
I\u2019m pretty sure I have never lounged on my bed, clad in a robe and fluffy slippers, at three in the afternoon, quaffing bubbles and watching the 80s masterpiece that is Ferris Bueller\u2019s Day Off \u2013 yet here I am, having an absolutely wonderful time and worrying about nothing at all except what to do after dinner.<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s guffaws and giggles in The Laugh Lounge, Broadway show The Spotlight Bar in the Princess Theatre, comedy\/magician Johnny Balance, trivia games, the formal night champagne waterfall, or simply relaxing at one of the many delightful bars on board, there are multiple marvellous things to see, do, sip and savour every single night.<\/p>\n
Lorna and Mike dressed to impress on Discovery Princess’s formal night. Photo \/ Princess Cruises<\/p>\n
And yes, that includes karaoke. As I stand there in the spotlight, looking at all the smiles aimed in my direction (despite my vocal ability which is two parts enthusiasm, zero part talent), I think once again Kenny and Dolly have nailed it for anyone considering cruising on Discovery Princess:<\/p>\n
And the message is clear <\/p>\n
This could be the year for the real thing.<\/p>\n
The writer travelled on Discovery Princess from Sydney to Auckland, courtesy of Princess Cruises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The spacious 20sqm balcony stateroom \u2014 a home away from home. Photo \/ Princess Cruises Sea days? Seize…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[51,138,2037,9828,2026,82009,71,189,6036,6090,111,139,69,17097,3111,35478,28821,188577,6045,762,6091,1734,5662,61,14344,303],"class_list":["post-356827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-auckland","tag-business","tag-cruise","tag-different","tag-discovery","tag-expectation","tag-from","tag-holiday","tag-know","tag-lorna","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-onboard","tag-out","tag-plays","tag-princess","tag-realises","tag-reality","tag-review","tag-riley","tag-sydney","tag-think","tag-to","tag-travelling","tag-very"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}