Live from the Sky Christmas/New Yrs

[CruiseVA]

I will always buy any service people a drink when I see them in an Airport bar when I see them, it's the least I can do for them now... Tell the bartender to keep it on the down low...

[h-sar]

Came back with a bit of a nasty cough. DD was sick prior to the cruise and I think she gave DH and I whatever bug she was still carrying around. Kids claim it’s another reason why we should never again share a cabin. Health reasons 🙄🙄. Can’t remember if I mentioned this or not, but we are actually booked for 16 days on the Sky next Christmas in two interiors. Not sure the kids would have come along, otherwise!

 

Have to say, I am quite proud of us for getting through 14 days in the quad and nobody getting thrown overboard from the balcony. Helps that DH and I did the Enclave in the mornings and got ready down there as well, and most evenings, too. None of us really like to spend much time in the cabin, so that helped as well.
 

Not going to lie, would rather have been in our typical two cabins, but being on the Sky for two full weeks was well worth the cramped quarters. We really tried to make good use of the space. I had purchased about a dozen pretty hefty magnets, and brought along two over the door organizers, which between the two of them, didn’t weigh half a pound. Magnets were great for hanging up all sorts of items and if we wanted to hang up something heavy, like a full backpack, sticking the magnet to the ceiling kept it from sliding down.
 

We had Jhoy push the two twin beds together into the far left corner for my husband and I, and this really cleared up a lot of space in the middle of the room. DD slept in the bunk which went flush into the ceiling when closed, and son who at 6’1” was too tall for the bunkbed, scored the pullout loveseat. Both said the mattresses were extremely comfortable.
 

It was a bit of a hassle having the sofa bed pulled out from approximately 8 PM until the room is done the next at around 11 AM. Impeded easy access to the balcony doors. Sometimes we would just push up the loveseat ourselves after DS woke up. Very easy to maneuver. Other than that, we loved the configuration of the room. Would not be eager to do a quad again, but we made it work. And if it is a matter of cruising in close quarters in a quad over Christmas break or not cruising at all, no question I will make the sacrifice.
 

We kept our suitcases, three large ones and three carry-ons, under the bed with the small ones tucked inside the larger ones. Some of the shoes that we did not wear too often also went under the bed. There was ample space. 
 

Pictures of our two organizers on the last day, hence emptied for packing. One was hanging on the very sturdy hook that is on the wall behind the entry door. The second was hanging from a magnet that I had put on the ceiling. Those organizers were a lifesaver!
 

Pic of a magnet holding some odds and ends.

Note that the ones I bought (see Amazon pic - 7 pack for around $22) supposedly have the capacity to hold 80 pounds each if placed on the ceiling. They were strong enough to hold whatever I needed to when placed on the cabin walls. Some of the less strong ones have a tendency to just slide right off the wall. We put them in our carry-on luggage to reduce weight in the checked bags. Security scanners didn’t flag them at anytime as some posters have worried about.

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by h-sar

[h-sar]

Yikes, excuse the large font. Gremlins again.

[h-sar]

Organizers were bought at a dollar store for about $3.50 each.

[CruiseVA]

Most awesome - I so doubt that our family would have survived that! (many auto spells there) Enjoy!!!!

[h-sar]

On 1/6/2020 at 9:25 AM, BrennerM said:

 

Not sure if anyone responded to this but I've eaten at the Crown Grill several times over several cruises and I can state definitively that it is better than the Keg (which I also enjoy very much BTW).  The tenderloin steak (filet mignon? can't recall exactly what they call it at the Crown Grill) is fantastic quality, and it's quite big.  I think they call it 7oz on the menu but mine have always been bigger than that, more like 10oz.  One of the best steaks I've ever had.  The rest of the menu is very good too (French Onion soup is decadent, tasty desserts, etc).

 

I've also ordered a Crown Grill steak in the MDR (for an extra fee but less than the full Crown Grill fee) and it was very good as well, and you can get the side dishes from the Crown Grill as well.

 

Our waiter convinced at least 4 of our party of 9 to have the Sterling beef chop, something that wasn't really on anyone's radar. They all deemed it one of the best steaks they've ever had. Bear in mind that most of our party grew up raised on Alberta beef, so we know of what we speak 🙂.

[h-sar]

On 1/6/2020 at 9:25 AM, BrennerM said:

 

Not sure if anyone responded to this but I've eaten at the Crown Grill several times over several cruises and I can state definitively that it is better than the Keg (which I also enjoy very much BTW).  The tenderloin steak (filet mignon? can't recall exactly what they call it at the Crown Grill) is fantastic quality, and it's quite big.  I think they call it 7oz on the menu but mine have always been bigger than that, more like 10oz.  One of the best steaks I've ever had.  The rest of the menu is very good too (French Onion soup is decadent, tasty desserts, etc).

 

I've also ordered a Crown Grill steak in the MDR (for an extra fee but less than the full Crown Grill fee) and it was very good as well, and you can get the side dishes from the Crown Grill as well.

 

The waiter convinced 4 of our party of 9 to have the Sterling beef chop, something that was not on anyone's radar. They deemed it one of the best steaks they've ever had. Bear in mind that most of us grew up raised on Alberta beef, so we know of what we speak 🙂.

[h-sar]

On 12/27/2019 at 3:10 PM, kywildcatfanone said:

Hey, I'm in one of those pics, lol.

 

That's awesome! 

[1emerald1]

Did you happen to notice what restaurant Club Class was in?  Thanks.

[h-sar]

5 hours ago, 1emerald1 said:

Did you happen to notice what restaurant Club Class was in?  Thanks.

 

Unfortunately, all I can tell you is that it definitely was NOT on the left side of Cielo (6 Aft) where we were.
 

Maybe Colo Cruiser noticed??

 

PS: Just as an FYI, the Chef’s Table was located in Cielo. Was as beautiful as on Regal, but I think I preferred the Murano centrepiece on Regal. I recall at least one Chef’s Table occurring each of the two weeks; might have been more.

Edited January 10, 2020 by h-sar

[1emerald1]

Thanks, I'm thinking it might be in Estrella, and I'm going to sign up for the Wine Makers dinner based on all of the recent feedback, hopefully I'll get selected!  Thanks for the feedback.

[gotta cruise again]

We were on New Years week.

 

Club Class was Estrella on deck 6, starboard. When that dining room was open, for example embarkation luncheon and sea day lunch, the only doors open were on port side however they had created separate sides for Club Class and everyone else.

 

We had Chef’s Table on 1/1 but our server had been called away to help with CT on 12/30 (she helped with ours too). So there were at least two that week. I had already accepted CT and then got a later phone call regarding winemakers, which we turned down because it was also being held on 1/1.

[h-sar]

8 minutes ago, gotta cruise again said:

We were on New Years week.

 

Club Class was Estrella on deck 6, starboard. When that dining room was open, for example embarkation luncheon and sea day lunch, the only doors open were on port side however they had created separate sides for Club Class and everyone else.

 

We had Chef’s Table on 1/1 but our server had been called away to help with CT on 12/30 (she helped with ours too). So there were at least two that week. I had already accepted CT and then got a later phone call regarding winemakers, which we turned down because it was also being held on 1/1.

Hah! We walked by your chef’s table on the 1st and, through the curtain, saw the flourish of coverings come off one of the dishes. Our table was just left and toward back of the CT.

Edited January 10, 2020 by h-sar

[h-sar]

In case anyone’s still shaking their head over our decision to cram our family of 4 adults into a quad balcony to escape some of our winter...here’s the forecast for Edmonton this week. At this point, I’ll cram myself into a quad interior with a small village if it gets me out of here for this deep freeze! 🥶🥶. The memories of the last two weeks will get me through the next two months of winter.

 

And, yup, that IS -42 C with a windchill next Monday!

[1emerald1]

45 minutes ago, gotta cruise again said:

We were on New Years week.

 

Club Class was Estrella on deck 6, starboard. When that dining room was open, for example embarkation luncheon and sea day lunch, the only doors open were on port side however they had created separate sides for Club Class and everyone else.

 

We had Chef’s Table on 1/1 but our server had been called away to help with CT on 12/30 (she helped with ours too). So there were at least two that week. I had already accepted CT and then got a later phone call regarding winemakers, which we turned down because it was also being held on 1/1.

Thanks!

[gotta cruise again]

12 hours ago, h-sar said:

Hah! We walked by your chef’s table on the 1st and, through the curtain, saw the flourish of coverings come off one of the dishes. Our table was just left and toward back of the CT.

If you and I had only known, we could have introduced ourselves!!! So is what we heard at our regular table correct: that there was a CT prior to the one on 1/1??

 

(PS: thanks for your live from...I even tried to keep up while onboard!)

[Daddysbaby]

Hi H-Sar.  I wanted to add my thanks to you for doing this "live from" thread.  I arrived home on Monday night after spending a couple of days in Key West post cruise and have enjoyed getting caught up on this thread!  Thank you for posting the price of my perfume early in your first week on board.  I was able to purchase it at the Vancouver airport for an amazing price as they had it on sale!  I am disappointed that we did not meet up at the M&G.  I think the time change that morning threw a lot of people off.  I see you have rebooked the Sky for next Christmas and New Years.  I had checked out coming on for New Years, but got a really good deal to sail on the Regal out of Sydney, Australia.  I have always wanted to "go down under" so will be spending my 61st birthday in the South Pacific!  I hope we can connect on the high seas one day.........................

 

Sincerely,

 

Sheila☺️

[h-sar]

1 hour ago, Daddysbaby said:

Hi H-Sar.  I wanted to add my thanks to you for doing this "live from" thread.  I arrived home on Monday night after spending a couple of days in Key West post cruise and have enjoyed getting caught up on this thread!  Thank you for posting the price of my perfume early in your first week on board.  I was able to purchase it at the Vancouver airport for an amazing price as they had it on sale!  I am disappointed that we did not meet up at the M&G.  I think the time change that morning threw a lot of people off.  I see you have rebooked the Sky for next Christmas and New Years.  I had checked out coming on for New Years, but got a really good deal to sail on the Regal out of Sydney, Australia.  I have always wanted to "go down under" so will be spending my 61st birthday in the South Pacific!  I hope we can connect on the high seas one day.........................

 

Sincerely,

 

Sheila☺️

Would so love to spend a few days in Key West. It was a port day for us a few years back, on our one and only Holland America cruise, a substitution for not being able to get into Grand Cayman, I think. Had such a great time and would love a longer visit.

 

I envy you your Australia adventure! I have a first cousin who lives in Sydney and has been trying to get me to come visit her. Thinking that a cruise tied in with a land visit to her would make for a great holiday. One day soon! 
 

So, the weather back in Edmonton for the two weeks that we were gone was apparently pretty fantastic for this time of year. People said they went sledding and tobogganing, skating etc. Within a couple of days of our return, we went into a major deep freeze for over a week. So cold that we hit -50 Celsius with the windchill a couple of nights; in fact, the -32 Celsius today feels downright balmy. And did I mention that we do not have snow or cold days here? They may shut down the school buses, but the schools never close. Gives us a reason to be feel superior every time we hear about snow days in other places. We just figure we’re made of stronger, hardier, stuff, LOL.
 

Yes, can’t even begin to tell you how much of a mess up I made of at least three events the second week due to time changes. One was not my fault as we had our card for the time change placed on our bed one full night before we were supposed to get it. Meant I was almost one hour late for my massage the next morning, thinking, in fact, that I was actually quite early. I was a little bit put out that my masseuse, the lovely Amy, tracked me down in the enclave while I was having a leisurely pre-massage aromatherapy pool dip. Yup, with those medallions, they can take you anywhere! I thought she was trying to get me to come in half an hour early and here she was probably wondering why I was being so lackadaisical about being over half an hour late. She didn’t say anything about me being late and I did not discover that the time change had not occurred the night before until a good couple of hours later. Went down immediately to the spa to apologize. Have to say, given that she thought I was deliberately 45 minutes late, she still gave me an amazing massage and the best service ever. Did anyone else receive their time change card one night early for the second time change during New Year’s week? My family is convinced that I dreamt up the card being on our bed one night too early, but I am positive it was there. 
 

 

[h-sar]

Doing the dance of joy (in my head as I’m truly not a dancer and would make Elaine from  Seinfeld look graceful)....

 

Prior to this past holiday cruise, chronicled above, we’d already booked next year on the Sky - 2 eight day back to backs for Christmas and New Year’s. After this past Christmas cruise with all 4 of us in the same quad deluxe balcony for 14 days, we went with two double interiors for this coming Dec ($14,200 all tolled, CDN, for 16 days). I was hoping for some price drops, but the price actually went UP about $1200 per cabin.

 

Today, I received an unexpected email from my TA that we’d been upgraded to two obstr balconies on deck 8 mid for the first leg. Woohoo! Thank you, Princess! Now, I’m greedily hoping for something similar for the second leg 😁. 

 

I love the Princess product and I hope they weather this storm only to come back stronger. Feeling a little bittersweet about my good fortune as it came about because of the misfortune the entire world is facing. Sending good thoughts the way of all the crew members from across the fleet who have been temporarily displaced from their positions and looking forward to seeing some of them again on the Sky. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by h-sar