Question about Sky Princess for 2020 Cruise

[AF-1]

Hello, I see this ship will launch this fall. I am looking to book the New England and Canada rountrip from New York.  Ihave a few questions and hope someone can answer them for me.

1.  Has anyone here bookd a window suite on one of the other Princess ships?   We are looking to book one for next years cruise

2.  I know its a gamble but who has to taken this cruise either Sept or Oct and how was the temperature?  

3. We will be going to Rhode Island, Boston, Bar Harbor(which is tender port); and Halifax.  Can you give me feedback on these ports?

4. How far is taxi ride from times square to Brooklyn terminal?  

Thanks for your help

[Micahs Grandad]

We have done this out of NY in September  a few years ago and definitely will be cooler the further north you go. We brought what we thought were warm enough clothes but remember we stopped in Maine found a LLB bean store and purchased winter coats.

 

Was a great cruise though

[mthomp5]

We took this trip in Oct 2017 (10/7/17).  All of the ports were wonderful --- Loved them all.  The only one that was a little boring was St. John, but we still  enjoyed it.  We took a tour to the reversing river and then went to the city market.  All the other parts were terrific.  The weather was a little cool but nothing bad.  We come from the Pacific Northwest so it felt like our fall weather.  We dressed in layers --- long sleeve shirt, fleece, and a waterproof outerwear.  It rained quite a bit at our first port (Newport), and some in Boston but we were lucky and had dry/good weather in Bar Harbor (fog even cleared when we were up at the top of Cadillac Mountain (Acadia National Forest), St. John and Halifax.  It's hard to predict when the leaves will turn.  Even during first week of October, they were just starting to turn that year.  

[Tak8]

I was in a Window Suite twice on the Caribbean Princess.  Once for Caribbean and once for British Isles.  A better price than other full suites.  Yes,  you don't have a balcony but you do have two large windows.  It is in a great location on Caribbean Princess.  Almost a private area because there is a door on each end in between the 7 or so Window Suites.  You are also on the same deck as Club Class dining.  Love all the suite benefits with this category option.

I booked a WS on the Sky for 2020.  I was able to get it for the same price a CC mini, so I gave up the balcony again for the suite perks and larger size cabin. I have stayed aft before and enjoyed it.  On Sky, the WS are forward.  I'm hoping I'll like it.  The cabin is a huge size according to the deck plans.  

[AF-1]

I see that the WS on Sky is 710 feet;  and it is all the way forward.  we had a family suite on Emerald which looks to be in same location as the WS on Sky. We are planning on booking Oct 2020

[AF-1]

I just read a blog that there is a pool on deck 17 which is avail to the cabins located on this deck;  anyone else know about this on Sky?

[DrivesLikeMario]

2.  I know its a gamble but who has to taken this cruise either Sept or Oct and how was the temperature?  

We went the last week of Sept. and had fantastic weather!  For us, it couldn't have been more perfect.  It rained at night only and it was warm enough for my DH to wear shorts the rest of the days.

3. We will be going to Rhode Island, Boston, Bar Harbor(which is tender port); and Halifax.  Can you give me feedback on these ports?
We really enjoyed the itinerary!   Bar Harbor was very quaint and we did a Princess small group tour which was really good, Halifax and Peggy's Cove was the highlight of the trip and we absolutely fell in love with Newport!  We walked to the Black Pearl for clam chowder (DH said it was the best he's had in his life), did a trolley tour of the area and watched the boats sailing in the bay.  There's good shopping at Bowen's Wharf which is in easy walking distance from the ship too.  This was probably one of our favorite cruises! 

[nukesubsailor]

2 hours ago, AF-1 said:

I just read a blog that there is a pool on deck 17 which is avail to the cabins located on this deck;  anyone else know about this on Sky?

That is the Retreat Pool.  It is also on the Royal and the Regal but without all those cabins around it.  The Retreat Pool is for adults only.  Its use is not restricted to any group of cabins.

[AF-1]

Got it thanks nukesubsailor

[AF-1]

20 minutes ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

2.  I know its a gamble but who has to taken this cruise either Sept or Oct and how was the temperature?  

We went the last week of Sept. and had fantastic weather!  For us, it couldn't have been more perfect.  It rained at night only and it was warm enough for my DH to wear shorts the rest of the days.

3. We will be going to Rhode Island, Boston, Bar Harbor(which is tender port); and Halifax.  Can you give me feedback on these ports?
We really enjoyed the itinerary!   Bar Harbor was very quaint and we did a Princess small group tour which was really good, Halifax and Peggy's Cove was the highlight of the trip and we absolutely fell in love with Newport!  We walked to the Black Pearl for clam chowder (DH said it was the best he's had in his life), did a trolley tour of the area and watched the boats sailing in the bay.  There's good shopping at Bowen's Wharf which is in easy walking distance from the ship too.  This was probably one of our favorite cruises! 

So in Newport; did you just walk around the area; or were you on Princess excursion?  Also we are looking at going either last week of September or mid October.  October would be mainly for the crisper weather.

[Vic The Parrot]

I've been to Halifax a few times during late September/ early October, and it was a mix of mild temps and raw chilly dampness.  

Like another poster mentioned, you'll go from layers to shorts.

 

 

Taking a taxi from Times Square to Brooklyn is no easy feat. Seems the cab drivers in Manhattan don't like to leave there to take a fare to the other boroughs. (I learned this from experience. One time I did a cruise on QM2 from Brooklyn, and tried to get a cab from the PA bus terminal, and every cabbie refused.  I did get to Bkln eventually.).  

 

Take advantage of Uber or Lyft. It'll be less expensive, and stress-free.

[AF-1]

46 minutes ago, Vic The Parrot said:

I've been to Halifax a few times during late September/ early October, and it was a mix of mild temps and raw chilly dampness.  

Like another poster mentioned, you'll go from layers to shorts.

 

 

Taking a taxi from Times Square to Brooklyn is no easy feat. Seems the cab drivers in Manhattan don't like to leave there to take a fare to the other boroughs. (I learned this from experience. One time I did a cruise on QM2 from Brooklyn, and tried to get a cab from the PA bus terminal, and every cabbie refused.  I did get to Bkln eventually.).  

 

Take advantage of Uber or Lyft. It'll be less expensive, and stress-free.

Definitely will use Lyft to get from hotel to cruise terminal;  thanks for the heads up

[Vic The Parrot]

2 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Definitely will use Lyft to get from hotel to cruise terminal;  thanks for the heads up

Glad I could help. Enjoy the cruise!

[milolii]

I am new to Princess, but from what I can tell, these 4 window suites are/may be different than the window suites on some of the other ships. 

 

We booked one of these suites for next July.  As you pointed out it is 710 feet. That’s big!  It is all he way forward.  I wonder what the windows  look like.  

 

[milolii]

Wait maybe there is just 2 of them, I am not sure. 

[MJSailors]

Hello AF-1

My DH and I have visited Newport RI several times.

If you are a tennis buff or sports fan, the Tennis Hall of Fame is located there. The stadium area is called the Casino. There is a museum filled with tennis information and  memorabilia.

One summer,we attended the induction ceremony of Jimmy Connors into the Hall of Fame there.

There are a number of “summer cottages “ that were built by the wealthy people ie: Vanderbilts as vacation retreats during the turn of the last century. The mansions such as the Breakers offer tours. You may be able to arrange for a tour once you get into port instead of taking a ship’s excursion. Trip Advisor may have some tour information as well as the Newport Chamber of Commerce.

There is an area behind the mansions that is a walk along the sea. It is called the Cliff Walk. We have walked it several times and I think it has been improved as some parts were narrow and a bit rocky. The scenery is beautiful though !

I hope you enjoy your visit !

[DrivesLikeMario]

5 hours ago, AF-1 said:

So in Newport; did you just walk around the area; or were you on Princess excursion?  Also we are looking at going either last week of September or mid October.  October would be mainly for the crisper weather.

We booked the trolley tour through Viator.com.  It was just a couple hours, and then we walked down to the Black Pearl. 

Although it varies every year, generally speaking in October, usually between the 5th-15th, you'll have the most color on the leaves.  The weather definitely changes about then too and it gets much colder and rainier.  So, it's just a matter of what's important to you.  For us, ANY color on the trees is impressive since we usually don't get that very much in So. Cal. and the chance of warmer weather back east is why we book the last weekend in Sept./first week in October.

[AF-1]

Thanks everyone for the great tips on when to go and what to see.  As of now we have booked 10 Oct; and 26 Sep is our backup.  Our travel agent is waiting  for the next promo to come out and see which date would fit best.  I assume that any promo for next year would cover both those dates.  As there are a limited number of window suites on the Sky;  I think there are six total; and on 10 Oct sailing there  was only one left so our travel agent snagged it.  

[MJSailors]

AF-1

Regarding transportation from Times Square to the cruise terminal in Red Hook,Brooklyn you could use Lyft or you could pre arrange a car and driver through Carmel or Dial 7 car service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Colo Cruiser]

4 hours ago, AF-1 said:

Thanks everyone for the great tips on when to go and what to see.  As of now we have booked 10 Oct; and 26 Sep is our backup.  Our travel agent is waiting  for the next promo to come out and see which date would fit best.  I assume that any promo for next year would cover both those dates.  As there are a limited number of window suites on the Sky;  I think there are six total; and on 10 Oct sailing there  was only one left so our travel agent snagged it.  

b2b!!  

[AF-1]

9 hours ago, MJSailors said:

AF-1

Regarding transportation from Times Square to the cruise terminal in Red Hook,Brooklyn you could use Lyft or you could pre arrange a car and driver through Carmel or Dial 7 car service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great info thanks for this