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The room door opens as you approach when wearing the lanyard/necklace (my husband kept it in his pocket on a key fob, and it was 50-50). You need to pull out the medallion to get on and off the ship. It was easy with the lanyard they gave me upon embarkation (it reached). When ordering a drink, we were asked for our room #. I think once in (nearly) three weeks I had to hold up the medallion. When going to the MDR we pulled it out for our reservation (at least I did). We did not pull it out in the specialty restaurants, they just asked for our room #. While embarkation was a PITA (we had to pick up our medallions) actually using the medallion was easy-peasy.

We were on the Sky last month. Hubby uses a CPAP, so we asked for an extension cord. They gave him a long power strip. It was terrific to be able to plug in our electronics in one spot, along with being just long enough to use with his CPAP.

This was why we tried Princess again. Celebrity instituted cuts and raised prices. We decided to go down (Princess), the same (Oceania), and up (Seabourn, Regent) and see what the value of the product was for the cost paid in our search for a "new favorite." We have two more Princess cruises next year. We hated the Sky experience (truly awful, regardless of the cheerleaders telling me I must be mistaken) and really enjoyed the Caribbean Princess (we just got off yesterday). Yes, the Caribbean Princess is older and tired (and we had one major snafu that took days to resolve), but the crew seemed much happier, everyone was friendlier, and the service was better overall. From our experiences the last three weeks, where we went on two cruises (Sky and Caribbean), I would say Princess needs more and better-trained staff. That would go a long way to resolving many of their issues.

We just got off the Caribbean Princess yesterday. That was much better than the Sky for bar service, but still slow. I think Princess needs more staff at the bars and buffet.

We were on the Sky the week before you, and I think your assessment is pretty spot on. I am sorry you didn’t enjoy your Sky cruise. We also did not enjoy our time on the Sky.

We frequently take long vacations (months, and used to snow bird). * If driving to the port for a long cruise duration (or different starting/ending ports), rent a car to/from. You don’t pay for parking that way. The nearest drop off is usually the airport that will have a shuttle to the cruise port. * If you don’t have a relative willing to check on your house, look for a rental agency or realtor. The person we have checks weekly, sends us photos, and takes care of any maintenance issues that may arise. * You can get a house/pet sitter. We used to do that when we had a dog and did not take him with us (cruise or international travel). * Bills are paid online. * Mail hold.

Sky last week, no Coke Zero. Caribbean Princess this week, no Coke Zero.

People do have different expectations and experiences even when on the same vacation. We are on this cruise, I stated some positives and negatives earlier in this thread, and I was basically dismissed for having a different experience and for not expressing everything as sunshine and rainbows. I do know we are very unlikely to return to the Sky. It simply is not for us and the overall experience has been meh.

I need to sit by you! Once again at lunch today, plates everywhere, no staff clearing the tables, and as a bonus, no staff walking around asking if we wanted something to drink.

Hubby and I are Celebrity refugees. This is the first cruise of many we have scheduled (11) to find a new cruising 'home' and so we are comparing this Princess cruise to Celebrity to see the value differences. So far, we have enjoyed the cruise and found a few things better on Princess than Celebrity: the buffet choices being the most immediate to mind. The desserts are edible on Princess where they are not on Celebrity. That is both a good, and bad, thing. 🙂 The big negative difference for Princess is also in the buffet area: dirty tables. We have walked in a number of times when I swear the dirty tables have outnumbered the occupied tables, and passengers are wandering around with plates in hand looking for a space to sit down and eat. Is Princess that understaffed? Poorly trained? It is a customer service fail whatever the reason.

Some holiday decorations

Took us an hour to get through.

We had Middle East, Israel, Egypt cruises booked on Regent and just canceled. The travel agent asked, “Are you sure?” 😒 I am certain it was a decent commission lost, but I doubt we are the first to decide not to chance it. I have always wanted to do that itinerary, but do not see things getting better in that neck of the woods in the next few years.

12 booked cruises through spring 2026, only 1 cruise is with Celebrity. We are exploring other lines while waiting for Celebrity to become Celebrity again.

Tuscan. We do both when available, but have never had a subpar meal at Tuscan Grille, usually it is excellent. I can’t say the same for Murano.

I see you are UK. Is there a British embassy there where they can get new passports?

Can you switch to a service that is allowed in to the port and will drop you at the ship? That was worth its weight in gold when we sailed on Connie last October. The free shuttles can be sporadic and/or crowded. We got off a boat from Sicily a few days prior to our TA (spent time in Rome before the transatlantic) and the port shuttles were something else (long story). We quickly changed our plans to a driving service that was allowed inside the port and that dropped us right at the ship. Inside the terminal it was fast and easy. We arrived a few minutes before our boarding time (first slot), had a seat for a few minutes and they started boarding shortly thereafter.

Elite. Booking elsewhere.

We did one in Majorca last October when we were on the TA Connie. It was the worse cruise tour we ever took. Never heard a peep out of the chef that accompanied us, the tour guide kept going on and on about the “very important “ statue, road, and buildings. We only had 20 minutes in the market! The food at lunch was indescribable - no really, the tour guide never bothered to describe what was placed in front of us. The only good thing the tour guide did was give people the opportunity to bail after lunch by calling the tour bus. And bail we did. Later, when at the pool bar, someone on our tour approached us to commiserate on how awful that tour was. She told us she stayed, and by the end when they hit a church, there was only six people in the group left! We were in a poor mood over this and didn’t want to inflict our bad attitude on anyone else, so we did not attend dinner. We did try and complain about the tour so they could address this with whoever had the cruise contract. Unfortunately, no one cared to call us back, and the front desk told us to review on the app. Uh huh.

We are dissatisfied Celebrity customers, and we have booked Oceania, Regent, and Princess (as well as two other lines). The reason we are trying these other lines is due to our dissatisfaction with Celebrity. In many ways we should be thanking Celebrity for raising prices and slashing service, food, and benefits as that is what directly led us to exploring these other lines and their itineraries.

👋 We now have 11 future cruises booked, and only one is with Celebrity. We are trying everything from competitors to luxury lines. I doubt we will be back to Celebrity without adjustments to their business model once that final cruise has been sailed.

Yes, because a copy of a passport is perfectly valid for authorities. No, actually it isn’t. 🙂

This is interesting. I have never surrendered my passport to a cruise ship. This includes in Europe, Australia, North America, or South America (and islands in between). I have to say I dislike this idea very much. What if I am questioned ashore?

I prefer Amarone, and wine is why we head to Italy. As the saying goes, the best wine is the one you like.

One of favorite NYS wineries is located in Lodi. I buy (too much of) their 76 West (Lamoreaux) every year. it is inexpensive when young, and many years age well. 🙂