Just booked Sky Princess..First time Princess

[Gettys84]

My wife and I just booked our first Princess on Sky for November 26th 2022.  We have said Royal 2 times and Carnival a few times.  Looking forward to a new line.  Any first time tips would be greatly appreciated!

[antmaril]

The Sky Princess is a beautiful ship.  I was on her in late January, 2020 and will sail her again in January, 2023.  
 

I hope you enjoy the Sky Princess as much as we did.  
 

 

[deliver42]

We've sailed princess twice, and when they open Dec. 2023, will probably book them again. Either the Sky or Enchanted.

[Gettys84]

We are looking forward to a nicer line. We have sailed carnivals newer ships. Mardi Gras and Horizon and while nice, we are looking forward to a more laid back experience. We are in our mid/late 30s but are not party people. 

[seeyouinthesun]

I also did my first Princess cruise on Sky Princess this past December. One tip is if you think you might want to take advantage of the Sanctuary, you need to sign up for it as soon as board the ship. Secondly take full advantage of the Medallion app for ordering food, drinks and items for your room. It’s like room service but with the ability to get what you want nearly anywhere on the ship, including waiting in line to sign up for the Sanctuary. 

[wowzz]

Make sure you book the Princess Plus package !

[Gettys84]

We booked the sale package that included Wi-Fi, drinks, tips, and one specialty restaurant. We don’t drink a lot but the price was still cheaper than paying for Wi-Fi, and tips. 

[Shelly97060]

Welcome to Princess!

[mjmalino]

Welcome to Princess. We have had the opportunity to sail on the Sky twice, January 2020 and then this past December over NYE. She is beautiful! If you like Jazz, The Sky has the only dedicated Jazz Lounge at sea--Take 5. Take 5 is also usually quiet during the day, so a good place to read, etc. Alfredo's Pizza is also really good. Unlike "Slice" by the pools on Deck  16, Alfredo's is a sit down pizza restaurant on Deck 7 midship in the piazza.

 

Also, Princess has self-service laundry facilities on every deck that has cabins. They vary from mid ship to forward to aft, depending on the deck, and they are actually 2 on Sky, one on Port, one on Starboard, directly behind each other, so if one is full, walk around to the other side. They are not big, about 3-4 each of washers and dryers. They are $3.00 each to wash and dry, and soaps can be purchased as well for, I think, $1.50. I always take laundry pods and dryer sheets.

 

[Moondogy]

My 2 cent tip is if you're a military veteran don't forget to check out the benefits. And if you own 100 share CCL stock get that credit also 😊

[Peira]

We're also on our first Princess cruise next month. We plan to wait until we're onboard to purchase wifi, coffee card, etc. Unless there is a savings to buy beforehand, we'd just as soon wait. By choice we have no drink or Plus package. We'll buy wine by the bottle (we know we can bring wine on board and pay the corkage fee but happy just to buy it on board). The Sanctuary seems interesting, but I don't know about this need to do a mad dash to sign up/get a spot - that alone makes me think it's not going to be relaxing. We hope there's a friendly paddle board group. Am I allowed to say I'm glad there probably won't be many kids on board since it's a 16 day transatlantic?

 

[JF - retired RRT]

Already got two of my "go to" hints: military OBC and shareholder OBC (good time to buy, the stock price is low).

Here's another: if you enjoy the Princess experience, be sure to buy Future Cruise Deposits while on board. One for each of you is your total deposit for your next cruise(s). $100 pp/deposit. So, total cost for your next cruise deposit is $200 (assuming you're a couple). This will get each person $15 to $150 OBC depending on cabin booked & length of cruise. You can purchase from the Medallion app, on the cabin TV or from the Future Cruise Dept. Fully refundable or extended (your choice) if not used within 2 years.

 

Along with Alfredo's as a start for your first lunch, there will also be one MDR open for lunch (deck 5 or 6 mid-ship...I can never remember) from 11AM to around 1PM. Don't ask a crew member "which MDR is open", they'll almost always point you to the buffet. A quiet sit-down lunch is great, if you don't like crowds.

 

PS: if you don't like motion sensor activated night lights when you get up in the middle of the night - bring some duct tape to cover the light or ask your steward to have them turned off. Princess has been adding them to all of their ships. Usually, one under the desk area and one in the bathroom hallway.

[JF - retired RRT]

37 minutes ago, Peira said:

We're also on our first Princess cruise next month. We plan to wait until we're onboard to purchase wifi, coffee card, etc. Unless there is a savings to buy beforehand, we'd just as soon wait. By choice we have no drink or Plus package. IIRC there is a discount for the WiFi before you board. (I'm not totally positive because this is the first time in a long time that Platinum/Elite haven't gotten free WiFi minutes). The benefit changed with the restart.

The Sanctuary seems interesting, but I don't know about this need to do a mad dash to sign up/get a spot - that alone makes me think it's not going to be relaxing. 

The mad dash is more like...go there first before you do anything else. Once you've pick your lounger, it's yours for the duration. You can wander in & out whenever you want. The Sanctuary costs $20/day for AM or PM sessions or $40/day for all day. For some cruises the price is higher on "special" days, i.e. Panama canal transit & Glacier Bay in Alaska. The AM session includes breakfast, PM session includes lunch.

Edited February 27, 2022 by JF - retired RRT

[minnesotasisu]

I created a website for our upcoming cruise, and although it is on the Enchanted Princess, it is a nearly an exact sister ship to the Sky Princess so the info may help you:

https://sites.google.com/view/southerncaribbeancruise2022/home

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Peira said:

We're also on our first Princess cruise next month. We plan to wait until we're onboard to purchase wifi, coffee card, etc. Unless there is a savings to buy beforehand, we'd just as soon wait. By choice we have no drink or Plus package. We'll buy wine by the bottle (we know we can bring wine on board and pay the corkage fee but happy just to buy it on board). The Sanctuary seems interesting, but I don't know about this need to do a mad dash to sign up/get a spot - that alone makes me think it's not going to be relaxing. We hope there's a friendly paddle board group. Am I allowed to say I'm glad there probably won't be many kids on board since it's a 16 day transatlantic?

 

Not sure I understand your logic. If you are going to buy a wifi package and a coffee card, why not just buy Princess Plus , because it makes financial sense. You also get discount on bottles of wine as well, so even more attractive. 

[skynight]

15 hours ago, Gettys84 said:

My wife and I just booked our first Princess on Sky for November 26th 2022.  We have said Royal 2 times and Carnival a few times.  Looking forward to a new line.  Any first time tips would be greatly appreciated!

Suggest the plus fares. Two alcoholic drinks per person per day is around the break even point. 

On board check out Alfredo's for lunch and/or dinner. No charge waiter served individual pizza and other items. Also check out the International Cafe, open most hours. No charge for food items. Gelato ice cream place in the piazza. Nice. Small charge.

[Peira]

16 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Not sure I understand your logic. If you are going to buy a wifi package and a coffee card, why not just buy Princess Plus , because it makes financial sense. You also get discount on bottles of wine as well, so even more attractive. 

First apologies to Gettys84 post for hijacking your thread!

We need 4 device plan as both of us need to work during cruise & have phone on 24/7😔). Our ta originally booked the fare with all the bells/whistles but we asked to him to pls switch to plain fare b/c I don't drink so for the almost $57/day pp that Plus added to our fare, we can pay tips, wifi, etc. ourselves. We'll soon find out if our calculation were right or wrong🤔😀.

The ship really does look v cool. Can't wait to see what our fitbit says each day. We're typically elevator avoiders, but we've never been on such a big ship.

[wowzz]

33 minutes ago, Peira said:

First apologies to Gettys84 post for hijacking your thread!

We need 4 device plan as both of us need to work during cruise & have phone on 24/7😔). Our ta originally booked the fare with all the bells/whistles but we asked to him to pls switch to plain fare b/c I don't drink so for the almost $57/day pp that Plus added to our fare, we can pay tips, wifi, etc. ourselves. We'll soon find out if our calculation were right or wrong🤔😀.

The ship really does look v cool. Can't wait to see what our fitbit says each day. We're typically elevator avoiders, but we've never been on such a big ship.

I thought Princess Plus was $40 pppd ?

[Peira]

 

53 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I thought Princess Plus was $40 pppd ?

Yeah, I see the $40 difference mentioned a lot on this forum. But our difference between the fancy package our ta initially booked and the cheap seats😆 we switched to was almost $60/ea pp per day. Cabin didn't change. Looking at invoice I see we got 1 free fancy meal each and some obc from Princess and also from our ta. You'd almost think they make it confusing for a reason🤔😉😁

Anyway, it is what it is.

 

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Peira said:

 

Yeah, I see the $40 difference mentioned a lot on this forum. But our difference between the fancy package our ta initially booked and the cheap seats😆 we switched to was almost $60/ea pp per day. Cabin didn't change. Looking at invoice I see we got 1 free fancy meal each and some obc from Princess and also from our ta. You'd almost think they make it confusing for a reason🤔😉😁

Anyway, it is what it is.

 

Understood.  We don't  have the same fare structure in the UK.

[Gettys84]

14 hours ago, mjmalino said:

Welcome to Princess. We have had the opportunity to sail on the Sky twice, January 2020 and then this past December over NYE. She is beautiful! If you like Jazz, The Sky has the only dedicated Jazz Lounge at sea--Take 5. Take 5 is also usually quiet during the day, so a good place to read, etc. Alfredo's Pizza is also really good. Unlike "Slice" by the pools on Deck  16, Alfredo's is a sit down pizza restaurant on Deck 7 midship in the piazza.

 

Also, Princess has self-service laundry facilities on every deck that has cabins. They vary from mid ship to forward to aft, depending on the deck, and they are actually 2 on Sky, one on Port, one on Starboard, directly behind each other, so if one is full, walk around to the other side. They are not big, about 3-4 each of washers and dryers. They are $3.00 each to wash and dry, and soaps can be purchased as well for, I think, $1.50. I always take laundry pods and dryer sheets.

 

Thank you for the tips.  Looking forward to Alfredo’s.  The pizza on lido the same quality as Alfredo’s just not the sit down experience? 

[Gettys84]

4 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Already got two of my "go to" hints: military OBC and shareholder OBC (good time to buy, the stock price is low).

Here's another: if you enjoy the Princess experience, be sure to buy Future Cruise Deposits while on board. One for each of you is your total deposit for your next cruise(s). $100 pp/deposit. So, total cost for your next cruise deposit is $200 (assuming you're a couple). This will get each person $15 to $150 OBC depending on cabin booked & length of cruise. You can purchase from the Medallion app, on the cabin TV or from the Future Cruise Dept. Fully refundable or extended (your choice) if not used within 2 years.

 

Along with Alfredo's as a start for your first lunch, there will also be one MDR open for lunch (deck 5 or 6 mid-ship...I can never remember) from 11AM to around 1PM. Don't ask a crew member "which MDR is open", they'll almost always point you to the buffet. A quiet sit-down lunch is great, if you don't like crowds.

 

PS: if you don't like motion sensor activated night lights when you get up in the middle of the night - bring some duct tape to cover the light or ask your steward to have them turned off. Princess has been adding them to all of their ships. Usually, one under the desk area and one in the bathroom hallway.

Not military and we should look at getting 100 shares of stock as much as we cruise.  

 

So buy purchasing deposit on board they give you obc for the next cruise?  How much do they give you for a 7 day?  Anywhere to find this info?

 

Thanks for the info on the motion sensor light!

[Gettys84]

3 hours ago, skynight said:

Suggest the plus fares. Two alcoholic drinks per person per day is around the break even point. 

On board check out Alfredo's for lunch and/or dinner. No charge waiter served individual pizza and other items. Also check out the International Cafe, open most hours. No charge for food items. Gelato ice cream place in the piazza. Nice. Small charge.

The rate we booked included all the “plus” package.  

 

Does Alfredo’s have any pasta dishes or just Pizza/Salad?

 

Does anyone know if the Chocolate Chip cookies are soft and chewy, or hard and break apart?  Same cookies in International Cafe as room service?  

[JF - retired RRT]

11 minutes ago, Gettys84 said:

Not military and we should look at getting 100 shares of stock as much as we cruise.  

 

So buy purchasing deposit on board they give you obc for the next cruise?  How much do they give you for a 7 day?  Anywhere to find this info?

Should have pointed out: it's active, retired or honorably discharged military.

FCD: 7 days = $25/inside or ocean view, $50 for all other categories (the form is available online, just Google "Princess Future Cruise Deposit Form".

Buy more than one...in case you want to book more than one cruise at a time.

[JF - retired RRT]

13 minutes ago, Gettys84 said:

Does Alfredo’s have any pasta dishes or just Pizza/Salad? Yes, on the Royal class ships.

 

Does anyone know if the Chocolate Chip cookies are soft and chewy, or hard and break apart?  Same cookies in International Cafe as room service?  

If the cookies are fresh they're soft. As fast as they go, they should be. If you don't find a warm, soft cookie ask the attendant to make 'em for you.

BTW: they no longer put Peanut Butter cookies (my favorite) out on the trays. You can request them, if you don't mind waiting 10-15 minutes.