Live from the Sky Christmas/New Yrs

[ecs66]

On 12/27/2019 at 5:15 PM, h-sar said:

Tea time in the MDR today.

Is Afternoon Tea something that happens every day, as used to be the case?

 

When we sailed on Sitmar in the "olden days" (later bought by Princess), they had the most elegant Afternoon Tea each day at 4:00.  And all MDR meals also were elegant works of art -- actual events.  Of course, that was before they added the fol-de-rol of revenue-generating restaurant venues and cut back on the MDR quality.  And Sitmar's pizzaria had amazing pizza any time of the day or night.  (Getting nostalgic here.)

[Colo Cruiser]

Just now, ecs66 said:

Is Afternoon Tea something that happens every day, as used to be the case?

 

When we sailed on Sitmar in the "olden days" (later bought by Princess), they had the most elegant Afternoon Tea each day at 4:00.  And all MDR meals also were elegant works of art -- actual events.  Of course, that was before they added the fol-de-rol of revenue-generating restaurant venues and cut back on the MDR quality.  And Sitmar's pizzaria had amazing pizza any time of the day or night.  (Getting nostalgic here.)

It is not everyday.

Check the Patter for it.

[ecs66]

On 12/28/2019 at 5:20 PM, h-sar said:

If you are looking for a place to play board games with the family or to read and cannot find seating

It's too bad they did away with the Library on Sky.  That was an excellent place for board games, listening to music, reading, etc.

[ecs66]

43 minutes ago, h-sar said:

Did I mention the doubleheader of football this late afternoon and tonight?!

I think you just made my hair hurt!  😘

[Colo Cruiser]

15 minutes ago, ecs66 said:

It's too bad they did away with the Library on Sky.  That was an excellent place for board games, listening to music, reading, etc.

There were always lots of people playing board games around the Sky.

Like I mentioned earlier the CG was a favorite.

The library on the Royal etc was tiny and could get really loud.

[h-sar]

Just now, Colo Cruiser said:

There were always lots of people playing board games around the Sky.

Like I mentioned earlier the CG was a favorite.

The library on the Royal etc was tiny and could get really loud.

The best ever library I saw on sea was on a line I sailed once and and vowed not to sail again until I was at least 80. Holland America - it was one of the newer ships back about 10 years ago. Had a magnificent, old style library, with a coffee bar, comfortable seating, and was either right at the front of the ship or right at the back, so had magnificent, expensive  views of the water. Pretty sure it was quite a bit bigger than Princess Live . Had an extensive collection of books.

[h-sar]

Came out for a walk at around 6:40. Looking to turn into a magnificent sea day today. Right now, at 7:45, chair hogs are definitely out. Not many bodies in chairs, but a lot of towels. Disappointed at the vast number of people who are putting out towels in different locations so they can move about during the day.

 

My curiosity got the better of me, so I thought I would see if anyone was booked into the sky suites for this week. Six people in the two different suites, with the same last name. Hope I am not violating  anybody’s privacy, but I guess if they had been worried about that, they would’ve requested all information be erased from the iPad. I won’t mention their names, of course.

 

As breakfast was completely set up when I first came out, and no one was around,  thought it might be a good time to take some pictures of the breakfast buffet. I started at the very back end of the buffet and worked my way up, so what you see is what I saw on my walk to the front of the buffet closer to the pool area. Did not take pictures of any food item more than once, so if you see the very exact same items in a different picture, it just means the same foods were set up in exactly the same way in other parts of the buffet. So, the pictures capture the entirety of the breakfast buffet. Remember that the international cafe also has items.

 

I have a tendency to dictate into my iPhone my posts rather than using my thumbs. Then I go back and do a quick edit. One day, I should post one of them pre-edit, because some of the stuff that gets translated from my mouth to the screen is pretty funny, some of it kind of obscene, LOL. Amazing what one says and what is understood. 

[h-sar]

Wow, did not realize what a crap load of pictures that was until they took 40 minutes to upload! 

 

There are two of the coffee and juice stations,, toward the middle of the buffet, on either side. Servers are also very good about immediately coming to your table to ask if you want something to drink. Not pictured is the fact that you can have a ready to made omelette, at your request, at one of the buffet lines.

I find that a very pleasant place to have breakfast is outside at the very back of the buffet where the wakeview pool is. There is very comfortable seating out there and it is generally pretty quiet. Also a very nice place to hang out with family later at night.

 

Have found, in the last two years, that the bands playing later at night in the piazza are getting way too loud. I don’t think it’s because I’m getting older and less able to tolerate noise. I’m an assistant principal at a junior high of over 700 kids. Noise is my life, LOL. I love listening to the music after dinner and watching other dance, but some nights the sound level has caused me to flee to where the music is more tolerable, but I can’t see much, such as into the Internet café.

 

Having said that, the band Static is absolutely phenomenal. I think they might be my favourite princess band yet. Their level of energy is absolutely unmatched by any other I have seen in my 14 cruises with princess. One more cruise next year, and I will be elite.😜💃🏽.   dry cleaning is the thing I’m looking forward to the most! The two singers of static have a way of energizing and engaging the audience. The female singer spends a lot of time wandering through and dancing with the passengers which is fantastic,  and the make looks for anyone he can pull up onto the dance floor. They were both sweating buckets by the end of their performance. You can tell that the thing most important to them is audience engagement. They also do a lot of teaching of certain moves during the songs so that everyone on the dance floor feels like they’re in something together.
 

Pic is from last night. 

[AF-1]

That is a one big buffet.  Lots of food choices for breakfast.  Thanks for sharing with us

[h-sar]

On 12/23/2019 at 10:58 PM, Daddysbaby said:

Thank you for taking time out of your cruise to check out the price for me.  I will compare the price at the airport.  See you soon!

Sheila

Sheila, not sure if you are seeing this during the cruise, but I also checked out some prices at a couple of the Dufry duty-free in the ports. Their prices were about five to $10 higher than that on board. 

[h-sar]

Just now, AF-1 said:

That is a one big buffet.  Lots of food choices for breakfast.  Thanks for sharing with us

The irony is that I don’t actually eat breakfast. Yeah, one of those people. 🤷🏻‍♀️ So, unfortunately, cannot comment on any of the food. I know that everyone in my family loves the made to order omelettes as they can get them done as they wish.

[ecs66]

14 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

The library on the Royal etc was tiny and could get really loud.

You're right; Royal's was smallish.  Best for me was on Sapphire.  Island was good, too.  I just love the "feel" of a library -- have since I was a little girl and lived next door to the town's library.

[h-sar]

It turned out to be a pretty great day, given that the water is somewhat choppy and there was a bit of wind this afternoon. Sun was out, though, and that’s all that counted. Man, it was exhausting with the non-stop eating all day and lounging about in a deck chair.  Feel like I need a nap. 😁

 

Enjoying some quiet time by myself right now on our balcony. Between bouts of salty dog fries, chicken tacos that are still failing to live up to expectations, some grilled veggies from Horizon, I went to Alfredo’s with DH where he had a calzone made with chicken instead of ham and I had the Magro salad and the eggplant pasta dish. Everything was delicious, as always. Service up there around 1 PM was pretty quick and efficient. Had we come a bit earlier, I think it would’ve been much busier. Still have not seen them seating anyone outside, even when they are very busy inside. The afternoon movie today was Grease, the original, and Aladdin with Will Smith is currently playing. DD and I did afternoon tea in the deck six dining room (location has changed about three times these past two weeks due to certain events going on.) They had it every day last week and confirmed today that they will this week as well. 

 

Went into the casino for a few minutes for a walk-through late last night. It was wall-to-wall people, jampacked. I imagine it is like this most nights, but we really don’t go in there other than one or two walk-throughs during a cruise. Smoke was actually not too bad at all and I am hypersensitive to smoke. One thing I love about princess is that they do a fantastic job of keeping the smoke contained to certain parts of the ship. Beyond Churchill’s and the casino, the only other place with smoking is the very back of deck 17 just above the wakeview pool area. I walked through the Smoking section today and it was pretty busy, but there was very little smoking going on. Anytime I have been at the back of 16, just below it, I don’t smell any smoke either. The nice thing about the smoking area is that is kind of closed off from the left and the right sides of the ship.
 

We went to Sabatini’s last night and I don’t think we will be repeating the experience on future cruises. The menu just does not do it for us. But, of course, taste is subjective and I’m sure there are people who absolutely love the menu. The complimentary hors d’oeuvres of freshly  fried pastry dough, prosciutto, and rolls was very very good. The tomato and bell pepper sauce was delicious. My risotto was good, not great, and my Sole Piccata main was very oily - almost like it had been pan fried in cold oil. I only ate about a third of it. All of our dishes came out barely lukewarm and we should have said something but did not. In fact, my veggies were cold. Very surprising given that each dish is made per order. DD didn’t really enjoy her pork tenderloin, but that is just a preference thing on her part. I’m sure others would quite enjoy it. The veal Marsala was also just good, not great. We all had the gran Padana soup. Kind of reminded me of whipping cream that’s been liquified a bit and small mushroom bits added in. It was delicious, but being lukewarm really took away from the full enjoyment. Had we been hungrier or less tired, I probably would have said something to our server, so can’t really complain now. DD really enjoyed her carbonara. The Earl Grey Bigelow tea was fantastic and the dessert sampler we had was beyond amazing. 
 

Wait, did I just seriously forget about the burrata?! Food from the gods. Let me take back what I said earlier. I think I would go back just for the burrata,  the deep-fried pastry, and the dessert. Yup, definitely would. 

 

Picture with the three little pots, which actually weren’t that small, was my son’s pasta dish. It had a small serving of lasagna, chicken Parmesan, and baked ziti. The two first dishes were sort of a deconstructed version. He said he really enjoyed the ziti, but the rest were just OK. The out of focus picture is my fish, followed by the veal Marsala, and the pork tenderloin. And the best for last, the desert sampler, with all four desserts. I would definitely recommend getting a sampler. If there is one thing you do not care for in the sampler, I’m sure they would give you double of something else that you would rather have instead.

Edited December 30, 2019 by h-sar

[h-sar]

Lunch at Alfredo’s. Pretty sure my husband needs to join a seven step program for his addiction to these Calzones. 

My desserts from Intl Cafe 

Views from the Wakeview pool area on 16 and a pic of the corner aft deck 15 balcony. One day...

[sawtooth]

Is there a Vines Wine Bar on the Sky?

[h-sar]

Just now, sawtooth said:

Is there a Vines Wine Bar on the Sky?

Yes; Exactly the same as on Regal and Royal on 5. 

[#55worktoplay]

On 12/24/2019 at 5:28 AM, h-sar said:

Salmon from everyday menu. Pretty good, but more of the yummy sauce was needed. 
 

Norman Love’s hazelnut dessert. Pic does not come close to doing it justice. 

 

Our waiter brought the gourmandise (sp?) out and we were too stuffed from our main desserts to do them justice. So pretty. 

 

Chicken tacos from Salty Dog. Two per order. (We all shared two orders). Chilies packed a big punch - maybe one could ask them to not be added? ( I wouldn’t)

 

The penne arrabiata made in the MDR. So very, very delicious. We all had it as a starter. 

 

Chilled peach Bellini soup. I thought it was really good. Others said mushy; tastes like peach apple sauce (pretty good description!); baby food!

 

Yummy steak in Chianti sauce. Asked for med well, got well. Next time, will ask for med. 

 

OMG as the kids would say. Lemon cheesecake with lemon curd. I could have this every meal. New to me Princess dessert.

 

Tiramisu. Absolutely exquisite presentation and those who had it said it tasted the same. 

 

Crunchy profiterole with gelato. DH said it was very good. 

 

Been on Carnival (one and done!!), RCL, Princess, and HA. No one does food presentation better than Princess. Have very much enjoyed the taste of each dish as well, except for the beef ribs the first night - fatty and a bit dry.

Late to the party.
 

First, thanks for sharing your trip. I have not sailed Princess but definitely on the agenda. The food pictures you are sharing may just push me over the edge.  The decorations are lovely.

 

 

[h-sar]

Just now, #55worktoplay said:

Late to the party.
 

First, thanks for sharing your trip. I have not sailed Princess but definitely on the agenda. The food pictures you are sharing may just push me over the edge.  The decorations are lovely.

 

 

Always room at the table for latecomers🙂. 
 

I’m glad that the Christmas decorations will up for this leg as well. Really adds a lovely, festive air. Been sailing during the Christmas break for so long that I can’t imagine sailing without Christmas decorations! 
 

Yes, the food on Princess is a definite draw for us. There've been a few misses this trip, but minor compared to all the great food we’ve had. Food is a huge factor in all my vacation planning and there’s a reason we keep coming back to Princess. 

[ecs66]

12 hours ago, h-sar said:

what a crap load of pictures

Ha ha!  Informative, though.  We appreciate it!

 

What used to be the Horizon Court -- the buffet -- now is the International Cafe (I believe).

Then I saw a sign that said "Horizon Bistro".  What is that?

[ecs66]

12 hours ago, h-sar said:

the band Static is absolutely phenomenal.

What is their genre, typically?

[ecs66]

Interest to know.  Have seen "Escape Room" mentioned.  What is that?

[TorontoTL]

Wonderful Live From thread. I feel like I’ve been to the dining rooms, buffet and other restaurants on the Sky Princess and haven’t even stepped foot on the Sky yet.  Thanks for all the wonderful photos and information.

[phabric]

1 hour ago, ecs66 said:

Ha ha!  Informative, though.  We appreciate it!

 

What used to be the Horizon Court -- the buffet -- now is the International Cafe (I believe).

Then I saw a sign that said "Horizon Bistro".  What is that?

International Cafe is on deck 5 - desserts, cookies, sandwiches, soup,  breakfast - danishes, donuts.  Beside specially coffee bar and bar

 

Horizon Bistro - is the buffet.  The old name was Horizon Court

[h-sar]

Just now, ecs66 said:

Ha ha!  Informative, though.  We appreciate it!

 

What used to be the Horizon Court -- the buffet -- now is the International Cafe (I believe).

Then I saw a sign that said "Horizon Bistro".  What is that?

The International cafe is actually on deck 5 and has Specialty coffees and teas, as well as an assorted selection of pastries, donuts, and breakfast sandwiches in the morning, and then various desserts, quiches, salads, and sandwiches, including hot paninis,  the rest of the day. It is open pretty much 24 hours a day. It has a bit of a cult like following by Princess lovers, including me, here on cruise critic.

 

The Horizon Court is divided on the Sky into the World Fresh market place which is about 2/3’s of the back of the buffet and holds the majority of the entree dishes. The Horizon Bistro is the front 1/3 of the buffet and includes the pastry shop. I would say that the food in the bistro is more deli like during certain times of the day. at breakfast, it just has a smaller sampling of the items available in the larger backside of the buffet. 

[h-sar]

Just now, ecs66 said:

Interest to know.  Have seen "Escape Room" mentioned.  What is that?

Funny, the kids were just talking about it over dinner today. You don’t hear too much about it on the ship itself, but rather more on cruise critic. Apparently, it is sold out for the rest of the cruise. It is supposed to be on deck 18. I will try to see if I can get a picture. The princess website says some of it is digitally-based and there are over 700 possible solutions. Will try to get more info next sea day. It’s called Phantom Bridges. Apt name as no one’s even mentioned it on board 🤣.