Sky Princess

Our First Princess Cruise Was Terrific!

We decided to try a Princess cruise because the newer ships were getting very good reviews and the Princess Plus package looked like a very good value to us. I am glad we did. This was the most enjoyable cruise ship, overall, we have ever traveled on. This review is not about our Caribbean ports of call. It was about going somewhere warm in the middle of winter – anywhere. We got off the boat once. The public areas and restaurants on the Sky Princess are breathtaking. We loved the central three-story piazza design. The Piazza provides a central gathering place any time of day or night for coffee, drinks, entertainment, some foods, and people watching. It is convenient to the MDRs and specialty restaurants. Our cabin was comfortable, modern, clean, and well designed. It was nicely kept by our excellent cabin steward, Jason. The Lido buffet and pool area can be a little chaotic at times. However, there is a wide variety of seating options and we never had any difficulty finding the seating or lounge chairs we wanted (even on sea-days). Our favorite daytime location was the Wake Bar and pool. We are foodies and not easily impressed. We were impressed. The MDR (we ate in the Soleil MDR every night) food quality, presentation, and variety was excellent. Our servers, Ravi and Sujan were terrific. We were so pleased with the MDR offerings, we did not sample the specialty restaurants this trip. The buffet food was very good and the breakfast and lunch variety was amazing. I noted the buffet has sections for Vegetarians, Vegans, sugar-free, English, American, Asian, gluten-free, etc. The Princess Plus package was a winner for our travel needs. It covered any coffees, cokes, or juice items you wanted. It covered any cocktail or beer items you wanted up to $15. We are wine drinkers. The Plus package wines are listed generically. I looked several of the red wines up on Vivino.com. They are pretty low-end red wines in the 3.3-3.7 rating range. Same with the whites – except for one gem of a Chardonnay, the Mer Soleil Reserve. It was a very nice Chard with a 4.0 rating. Guess what white we drank all cruise? The good news is the wines on the Princess Plus Premier package are top notch. You can buy them by the glass and pay the difference above $15 without a gratuity charge. That’s $3-$5 extra for world class wines by the glass. The WIFI runs at about 8 mbps. It’s good enough for email and reading the news and weather. The Plus Package covered all gratuities including the cabin. It also included free food/beverage delivery anywhere on the ship. Areas of needed improvement were minor. More bartenders and servers were needed in the Piazza and pools at times. More coffee baristas were badly needed in the mornings. Starting your day in a long line is not good. The entertainment was well above average and very enjoyable. This was the first time we ever witnessed a standing ovation for a cruise ship performance. We saw two in a week. Even though the ship was near capacity, one could still get a seat 5-minutes before showtime. The crew of the Sky Princess were terrific. A special thanks to retiring restaurant manager, Antonio. That’s our first impression and opinion. We booked two more Princess cruises.

A Wonderful Week

My wife and I just spent a spectacular week on the Sky Princess. It was relaxing, with great service, excellent food, fun entertainment, and an overall wonderful cruise. The cruise was a seven-day trip out of Fort Lauderdale. Since we were visiting friends in Boca Raton, we took an Uber to the port. As it was a Sunday, there were eight ships in port and there was a lot of traffic in the port area. It took close to 30 minutes to get through the port security entrance and around to our ship’s drop off area. However, it took less than 15 minutes from when we left the Uber until we were on the ship. It certainly helped that we had pre-filled out all the forms and pre-ordered our medallion. We were on board by 11 am. We watched the six-minute safety video and checked in at our muster station. We were officially on vacation. I appreciate that we no longer must interrupt our first afternoon on the ship at a muster drill—instead, we were out by the pool sipping a pina colada. We have been on enough cruises that we know to buy what we want and not what we do not want. For this cruise, we bought a balcony cabin, a week-long pass to the thermal spa for my wife, and drinks a la carte. Nothing else. The big decision before any Princess cruise is whether to buy a package, as Plus is a pretty good deal that includes gratuities, Wi-Fi, and drinks (plus a few other items). We prefer not to have internet access as it helps us disconnect, and we do not drink very much. We bought a total of 16 drinks for $222 on this cruise. Added to gratuities of $238, our total bill was $460. Plus would have cost us $840, so we saved $380. If we wanted Wi-Fi, it would have used up almost all this savings, so I think if we ever change our minds about Wi-Fi we will probably go for the package. It helped that our phones worked at no extra cost in both San Juan and St. Thomas. We had traditional late dining, which was at the very agreeable time of 7:30. If it was later, we would have gone with anytime dining. We had the same table and waiters every night, which was nice. My wife is a vegetarian and the MDR has multiple options, both on the regular menu and the special vegan menu. She would pick and choose items from both. We are a mixed marriage, and I typically went for the beef items. We both thought the food was very good, as was the service. Another area where our marriage is mixed is formal night, as the pictures indicate. I will not bring a jacket or a tie on a cruise, and my wife likes to dress up. We have been married for 39 years so far, and it seems to be working out. We both enjoyed the entertainment. There were good shows, funny comedians and a great house band, Gravity. They typically played in the Piazza later in the evening (until 11), and we enjoyed dancing to their music. Our room was a very nice balcony cabin. It was a regular balcony cabin. Deluxe balcony cabins are bigger inside (they have a couch) and Premier balcony cabins have bigger balconies. The Sky even has Premier Deluxe balcony cabins. We found the room was plenty large enough for us, as was the balcony, even though it was relatively small. We are taking a 16-night cruise to Hawaii on the Emerald next year and with 10 sea days, we sprung for the larger balcony (but not the larger cabin). This is because we really like balconies. We had room service breakfast four of the six mornings it was available, and ate on the balcony. We even sat out late one night reading our kindles. The one form of room service that is free is if you put out a hang tag the night before with your order. It is basically a continental breakfast, except that you can also order what amounts to an Egg McMuffin. Since most days we lingered over coffee until after 10 am, it could be a bit challenging to find a lounger on the pool decks, but I always eventually succeeded. My favorite spot was near the aft pool, with allowed you to look out at the ocean. My wife spent a fair amount of time in the thermal spa. Nothing personal against the ports, but we mostly stayed on the ship. It is relaxing on the ship with most people ashore. As a result, there is not much to report. We had been to these ports before, and this week we were just looking to stay warm and relax. The crew was uniformly friendly, hard-working, and efficient. The ship is in great shape. If I had to find a criticism, it would be that occasionally, the paper Patter would not quite match the schedule in the App, but this is VERY minor. We had a great cruise and are looking forward to the next one.

Excellent 2 weeks

Just returned from an excellent 14 night cruise on the Sky Princess in the Caribbean. Embarkation: Arrived at the port at 10.10am. By 10.40am we were already in the Atrium enjoying our 1st drink having attended the muster station. Absolutely no complaints about boarding! Cabin: We were on Emerald deck. It was located above the theatre so we had been a little apprehensive. However, at no stage did we experience any noise. The cabin was a 'typical' Princess cabin with a comfortable bed. The balcony however, was larger than normal being easily 3 or 4 times the size. Our cabin steward - Diago was excellent. Food: A wide range of options was available. Over the years, we have felt that the service, and options in the MDR have slowly declined. However between the buffet, International Cafe and wide selection of speciality dining, it is easy to find an different option each day. We particularly enjoyed the food and service in the Crown Grill. Service: I noticed recent reviews have highlighted a long wait time t be served in the various bars. Each evening we generally were in the Atrium/Bellini's area and experienced only excellent service. Manatosh and Loren looked after us very well. In fact, rather than having difficulty finding someone to take and order and then wait for it - we experienced the exact opposite. On many occasions we were delivered drinks without even requesting them being told 'I saw you would be ready for another drink'. The standard -and speed of service which we received was only of the very highest quality. Entertainment: The 2 bands were excellent - especially Gravity - and they seemed to be very popular. There was also an excellent string duo and a 'busker'. Sitting in the Atrium meant that over the course of the evening we were able to experience all of these entertainers without having to move around the ship. Ports of call: Princess Cays - accessed via tender. A beautiful island which really got you in to the 'Caribbean feel' at the start of each week. Amber Cove (Dominican Republic)- we booked a shore excursion as we felt it would be safer to visit this area as part tour rather than exploring solo. The guide was 1st class. However after each 'pick up' he never completed a headcount. This could have meant that, if someone was late in returning, it would not have been noticed - although they could have blamed no one but themselves. Jamaica- complete tour to a plantation and Dunns waterfall. The tour guide at the plantation was simply hilarious and really made for a memorable day. Fort Lauderdale - On disembarkation day, we organised a tour (Intercostal waterways) simply to put in some time before our late flight and to be transported to the airport. However we thoroughly enjoyed the tour and foun dit a great way to round off the cruise. While the ship's tours might be dearer than those available 'portside' we have always found that paying a little extra is worth it so that you are not constantly clock watching to get back to the ship. Summary: 6 of our 25 cruises have been with Princess and we always enjoy going back on this line. Sky certainly did not disappoint and I would gladly return.

GREAT EXPERIENCE

We cruised on Sky Princess, Nov. 28th-Dec. 15th. GREAT experience. Housekeeping staff was excellent. The only complaint we basically had was the smoking in the Casino. Seem to cater to smokers. 3/4 of casino was smoking with only 1/4 non smoking. Entertainment in Princess Live Theater was awesome. Main theater was ok but people would come in AFTER seats were full and standing in front of us, blocking our view. Otherwise cruise staff was fantastic. Wait staff in Soleil Dining room were very accommodating with any of our requests. Bar servers were great. Entertainment was always top notch. Have another cruise booked for spring with Princess...Sky was a bit big for our liking so trying a smaller ship in the spring. Services were very good. Would've like to see a few more items in store... Disembarkation was smooth and organized. Can't wait to go on our next cruise in the spring.