Short review of our first post-pause cruise

[We_like_to_cruise]

Sky Princess, March 5 - 12

This was our test drive cruise after not cruising in over two years.  We have already done numerous past cruises on Princess, Holland America and Celebrity, and have been to the Caribbean.  So, this was more about seeing how things worked out after the pause than the destinations.   Here are a few thoughts.

 

Embarkation –

Parked in Port Everglades and walked right onto ship.  I have a separate post detailing the port parking. Plenty of agents to assist in the terminal, and we scanned the QR code on our phone (Medallion app), showed our negative COVID tests, proof of vaccination and medallions.  Done in 5 minutes and went straight to our rooms to drop off carry-on luggage.  Then headed to Estrella MDR for our traditional first lunch onboard.  Yay !

 

Room –

Standard balcony Deck 11 as a complimentary upgrade from Princess from obstructed balcony on Deck 8.  Our cabin steward, Orville, was excellent.  The room was fine – except – only two US outlets in the whole room.  Orville got us an extension cord which was workable but unsightly  as it draped across the back of the bed to provide power to my bedside night table.  The bedside lamps did have USB ports for charging.

This is the largest Princess ship we have sailed on.  We have made it a cruise “rule” that we only walk the stairs and rarely use the elevators unless overburdened with luggage.  So, it was admittedly a hike to walk from our cabin on 11 to decks 16, 17 or 18 for food and lounging outside.  Yes, we were sometimes huffing and puffing, lol.  But were able to enjoy dessert and some extra drinks without guilt.

It was definitely easier to walk down to the lower decks for the atrium, restaurants, lounges, etc.

 

Buffet – World Fresh Marketplace

We found this area somewhat confusing and repetitive and not laid out very well.  It was ok for a quick salad at lunch but this was the first cruise where we had not eaten much at the buffet.  Also many of the “hot” food items were not that hot in temperature.  One day they did have (free) sushi at lunch and there was a line for that!

 

Salty Dog Grill

Burgers and fries were hot and tasty when sitting poolside.  Although there was sometimes a small line, service was pretty prompt. We also tried the tacos which were good.

 

Slice Pizza

A couple of times we had a fresh slice as an afternoon treat for lunch.  Princess has the best pizza at sea.

 

Alfredo’s Pizza

We had dinner here the first night and shared a nice pizza and a couple of salads.  Oddly, they would not leave the containers of crushed red pepper and oregano on the table due to “health protocols”, but there were salt and pepper shakers on every table. We were discouraged from eating outside despite the nice temperatures. 

 

International Café

Open 24 hours on Sky.  This was my first stop after waking up, for a large coffee (ok, and maybe an almond croissant – yummy).  While DW slept I often checked my emails and did work on my laptop.  There are plenty of US electrical outlets in the adjacent Piazza Bar and nice comfy chairs.  DW enjoyed the delicious cappuccinos  in the International Café.

 

MDR – Cielo Dining Room

We were lucky to have a fantastic crew assisting us for dinner.  The first night we came for dinner – after finally finding the restaurant ! – we were very impressed.  So, we asked to be seated at the same table for two with the same staff each evening.  They were happy to accommodate us and it worked out well.  This table for two is unusual for us, as we generally ask for the largest table possible to meet new people.  We will certainly do that in the future.  Robert and Michael took great care of us and had our drinks waiting for us when we reached the table.  Food, although certainly subjective, was very good with quite a bit of variety.  Very enjoyable.

 

MDR – Estrella Dining Room

Our breakfast location for some mornings  of the cruise.  Service was good and food was delivered hot and tasty.  Unfortunately there was not a large variety (e.g., plain omelet or mushroom omelet or ham/cheese omelet only.  Sadly, they would not allow any substitutions or additions).

 

Medallion food ordering

Generally worked pretty well.  We ordered breakfast one morning via the TV app and it was delivered in the expected time frame.  (Note, this is not the room service breakfast “door tag” but a more comprehensive menu).  The problem is that some of the food choice items displayed on the tv were not descriptive enough in size and we ordered wayyy too much.  In fact, the room service delivery man had two large trays of food and drink for us.  Not wanting to waste food, we ate what we wanted and stored the leftovers in the fridge to consume later that day.  They were pretty good even cold !

When delivered, the hot food was hot, the cold juice drinks were cold, but neither my coffee nor DW’s cappuccino were hot, despite being ordered “extra hot”.

 

Medallion drink ordering

This can be dangerous, especially if you have Princess Plus which we did.  It  worked very accurately - ordering drinks to our cabin, while eating in one of the restaurants, poolside, in a lounge, etc.  As a matter of fact, ordering a drink at the Seaview bar by the pool was considerably faster with the app than it was from waiting for a bartender at the actual bar, or ordering from one of the wandering waiters.  The app also updates you as your drink is being prepared and when it is being delivered.  The app even allows for customization of your drink. 

 

Princess Theater

On this sailing there was a show at 7:15 and 9:15 pm.  We generally went to the former which was never very crowded.  Easy to get good seats.  The production shows were fantastic.  Love the Princess singers / dancers and the live band.  So much fun to see almost 20 of the performers on stage.  Other shows included a comedian, a solo act by one of the Princess singers, a “vocal impressions” singer, and a magician.  Some shows were better than others, but we enjoyed them all.

Only two complaints – the volume is so loud during some of the shows that it is extremely annoying.  The other complaint is something Princess cannot address.  Why is it that when you show up early and pick yourself a good seat, some *%#$@ comes into the show late, sits right in front of you, wearing a hat, and then talks throughout the entire performance ????  I have no answers…
 

Specialty Dining

The first day, after our embarkation lunch, we went over to the Crown Grill to make a reservation for dinner.  We were told the next available slot was at 9 pm on Friday, the night before disembarkation !  I couldn’t understand this as it was not even 1 pm on embarkation day.  We were told that many people on the prior leg of a B2B had already made their reservations and that others had already made them on the Medallion app.  Although we tried to make a rez on the app it never worked.  So, instead we did make a reservation for Sabbatini’s which was not as booked up.  Also, I called the Crown Grill the next day to see if there were any cancellations – no, but we could be put on the waiting list which now had over 40 pax on it !

I wonder if there are more passengers with the “gift” of a specialty restaurant voucher than there are seats available for the Crown Grill all week. 

 

Lounges and entertainment

We took full advantage of the Princess Plus promotion and during the week enjoyed a drink or two at most of the lounges while listening to music or participating in group games / trivia.  Thumbs up.
 

Loyalty lounges / party

We did go to meet the captain (virtually as it turns out) but did not go to the Elite / Platinum lounge or any other invited parties.  I guess they were more important to us when the drinks were free / cheap !
 

Cruise Staff

This cruise was one of the first where masks were optional.  I would guess that about 10% of the passengers were masked inside.  Every single staff member we saw (100%) was masked indoors and outdoors.

The staff was almost universally cheerful, professional, and courteous and thanked us for being onboard.  We were very happy with the Princess standards of customer service.  We did have a couple of minor issues that arose and they were handled to our satisfaction.
 

Jogging track – Deck 18

We try to walk a few miles every day but this was a challenge.  It was like a wind tunnel up there!  Hang onto your hats if you attempt it.  Much prefer the lower deck promenades on other ships.

 

Disembarkation

Well organized by Princess but a bit of a chaotic mess at the port with lines, people and luggage everywhere.  Despite being told there was no Global Entry line, we wandered a bit and found it.  This line moved more quickly, but not as quickly as one might expect. 

 

All in all a very nice post-pause cruise for us.  We have a few more booked later this year!

Edited March 19, 2022 by We_like_to_cruise
edit

[muffin]

What a great review!  So nice  you enjoyed  almost every part of your experience. We are on the sky  in several months and it is nice to hear first hand from the first  several sets of people to try it out! Your  review makes me very happy with our choice.  Must remember to book crown grill online prior to boarding!   Thanks for your detailed experiences and impressions. 

[Calgary3]

Thank you for taking the time to write this up for all of us.  I really enjoyed reading about your first cruise after the pause.  Ours is coming up next month.  We are really looking forward to it and your impressions make it sound even better.  Thanks  🙂

[WAvoyager]

11 hours ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

Why is it that when you show up early and pick yourself a good seat, some *%#$@ comes into the show late, sits right in front of you, wearing a hat, and then talks throughout the entire performance ????  I have no answers…

All I know is that you only got this guy because I wasn’t onboard… otherwise, he would’ve been in front of me!   Seriously, I can’t count the number of times I’ve been to a performance, looked around, and confirmed the only guy not respecting the performance is the one in front of me.  🙄

 

Thanks for the great write up.  Heading out in two weeks, so glad to hear from happy campers.  Or sailers!

[AZjohn]

Outstanding written review!

Very well laid out and easy to ready. Enough detailed and summary all at the same time.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and shared it with us.

Cheers,

John

[We_like_to_cruise]

12 hours ago, muffin said:

What a great review!  So nice  you enjoyed  almost every part of your experience. We are on the sky  in several months and it is nice to hear first hand from the first  several sets of people to try it out! Your  review makes me very happy with our choice.  Must remember to book crown grill online prior to boarding!   Thanks for your detailed experiences and impressions. 

 

Yes, I would certainly recommend booking CG on the app prior to the cruise.  In fact, our PVP told us even if we had to pay for it when making the rez (despite having a specialty dining voucher) do that and let them sort it out onboard.

Good luck !

[We_like_to_cruise]

2 hours ago, WAvoyager said:

All I know is that you only got this guy because I wasn’t onboard… otherwise, he would’ve been in front of me!   Seriously, I can’t count the number of times I’ve been to a performance, looked around, and confirmed the only guy not respecting the performance is the one in front of me.  🙄

 

 

Yah, isn't that the truth.  What is wrong with some people ???

[AF-1]

Thanks for sharing your review.  Did you make it to Sabbitini's?  I do know all suite guests get complimentary dinner at either Crown Grill or Sabbitini's;  and if Crown Grill is booked on embarkation, they will allow suite guests come another night.  Cheers

[We_like_to_cruise]

One additional item -

 

Our voyage had around 2200 passengers (out of 3660), so about 60% capacity.

 

Not sure if I would describe it as "empty" or "crowded" but it just like a normal cruise for us.

 

However, seats at the Princess Theater were easily obtained ("empty") but seats poolside were in high demand ("crowded").  And yes, the chair hogs were out in force !

 

🙄

 

 

[KevintheIrishDJ]

On 3/19/2022 at 4:39 PM, We_like_to_cruise said:

Sky Princess, March 5 - 12

This was our test drive cruise after not cruising in over two years.  We have already done numerous past cruises on Princess, Holland America and Celebrity, and have been to the Caribbean.  So, this was more about seeing how things worked out after the pause than the destinations.   Here are a few thoughts.

 

Embarkation –

Parked in Port Everglades and walked right onto ship.  I have a separate post detailing the port parking. Plenty of agents to assist in the terminal, and we scanned the QR code on our phone (Medallion app), showed our negative COVID tests, proof of vaccination and medallions.  Done in 5 minutes and went straight to our rooms to drop off carry-on luggage.  Then headed to Estrella MDR for our traditional first lunch onboard.  Yay !

 

Room –

Standard balcony Deck 11 as a complimentary upgrade from Princess from obstructed balcony on Deck 8.  Our cabin steward, Orville, was excellent.  The room was fine – except – only two US outlets in the whole room.  Orville got us an extension cord which was workable but unsightly  as it draped across the back of the bed to provide power to my bedside night table.  The bedside lamps did have USB ports for charging.

This is the largest Princess ship we have sailed on.  We have made it a cruise “rule” that we only walk the stairs and rarely use the elevators unless overburdened with luggage.  So, it was admittedly a hike to walk from our cabin on 11 to decks 16, 17 or 18 for food and lounging outside.  Yes, we were sometimes huffing and puffing, lol.  But were able to enjoy dessert and some extra drinks without guilt.

It was definitely easier to walk down to the lower decks for the atrium, restaurants, lounges, etc.

 

Buffet – World Fresh Marketplace

We found this area somewhat confusing and repetitive and not laid out very well.  It was ok for a quick salad at lunch but this was the first cruise where we had not eaten much at the buffet.  Also many of the “hot” food items were not that hot in temperature.  One day they did have (free) sushi at lunch and there was a line for that!

 

Salty Dog Grill

Burgers and fries were hot and tasty when sitting poolside.  Although there was sometimes a small line, service was pretty prompt. We also tried the tacos which were good.

 

Slice Pizza

A couple of times we had a fresh slice as an afternoon treat for lunch.  Princess has the best pizza at sea.

 

Alfredo’s Pizza

We had dinner here the first night and shared a nice pizza and a couple of salads.  Oddly, they would not leave the containers of crushed red pepper and oregano on the table due to “health protocols”, but there were salt and pepper shakers on every table. We were discouraged from eating outside despite the nice temperatures. 

 

International Café

Open 24 hours on Sky.  This was my first stop after waking up, for a large coffee (ok, and maybe an almond croissant – yummy).  While DW slept I often checked my emails and did work on my laptop.  There are plenty of US electrical outlets in the adjacent Piazza Bar and nice comfy chairs.  DW enjoyed the delicious cappuccinos  in the International Café.

 

MDR – Cielo Dining Room

We were lucky to have a fantastic crew assisting us for dinner.  The first night we came for dinner – after finally finding the restaurant ! – we were very impressed.  So, we asked to be seated at the same table for two with the same staff each evening.  They were happy to accommodate us and it worked out well.  This table for two is unusual for us, as we generally ask for the largest table possible to meet new people.  We will certainly do that in the future.  Robert and Michael took great care of us and had our drinks waiting for us when we reached the table.  Food, although certainly subjective, was very good with quite a bit of variety.  Very enjoyable.

 

MDR – Estrella Dining Room

Our breakfast location for some mornings  of the cruise.  Service was good and food was delivered hot and tasty.  Unfortunately there was not a large variety (e.g., plain omelet or mushroom omelet or ham/cheese omelet only.  Sadly, they would not allow any substitutions or additions).

 

Medallion food ordering

Generally worked pretty well.  We ordered breakfast one morning via the TV app and it was delivered in the expected time frame.  (Note, this is not the room service breakfast “door tag” but a more comprehensive menu).  The problem is that some of the food choice items displayed on the tv were not descriptive enough in size and we ordered wayyy too much.  In fact, the room service delivery man had two large trays of food and drink for us.  Not wanting to waste food, we ate what we wanted and stored the leftovers in the fridge to consume later that day.  They were pretty good even cold !

When delivered, the hot food was hot, the cold juice drinks were cold, but neither my coffee nor DW’s cappuccino were hot, despite being ordered “extra hot”.

 

Medallion drink ordering

This can be dangerous, especially if you have Princess Plus which we did.  It  worked very accurately - ordering drinks to our cabin, while eating in one of the restaurants, poolside, in a lounge, etc.  As a matter of fact, ordering a drink at the Seaview bar by the pool was considerably faster with the app than it was from waiting for a bartender at the actual bar, or ordering from one of the wandering waiters.  The app also updates you as your drink is being prepared and when it is being delivered.  The app even allows for customization of your drink. 

 

Princess Theater

On this sailing there was a show at 7:15 and 9:15 pm.  We generally went to the former which was never very crowded.  Easy to get good seats.  The production shows were fantastic.  Love the Princess singers / dancers and the live band.  So much fun to see almost 20 of the performers on stage.  Other shows included a comedian, a solo act by one of the Princess singers, a “vocal impressions” singer, and a magician.  Some shows were better than others, but we enjoyed them all.

Only two complaints – the volume is so loud during some of the shows that it is extremely annoying.  The other complaint is something Princess cannot address.  Why is it that when you show up early and pick yourself a good seat, some *%#$@ comes into the show late, sits right in front of you, wearing a hat, and then talks throughout the entire performance ????  I have no answers…
 

Specialty Dining

The first day, after our embarkation lunch, we went over to the Crown Grill to make a reservation for dinner.  We were told the next available slot was at 9 pm on Friday, the night before disembarkation !  I couldn’t understand this as it was not even 1 pm on embarkation day.  We were told that many people on the prior leg of a B2B had already made their reservations and that others had already made them on the Medallion app.  Although we tried to make a rez on the app it never worked.  So, instead we did make a reservation for Sabbatini’s which was not as booked up.  Also, I called the Crown Grill the next day to see if there were any cancellations – no, but we could be put on the waiting list which now had over 40 pax on it !

I wonder if there are more passengers with the “gift” of a specialty restaurant voucher than there are seats available for the Crown Grill all week. 

 

Lounges and entertainment

We took full advantage of the Princess Plus promotion and during the week enjoyed a drink or two at most of the lounges while listening to music or participating in group games / trivia.  Thumbs up.
 

Loyalty lounges / party

We did go to meet the captain (virtually as it turns out) but did not go to the Elite / Platinum lounge or any other invited parties.  I guess they were more important to us when the drinks were free / cheap !
 

Cruise Staff

This cruise was one of the first where masks were optional.  I would guess that about 10% of the passengers were masked inside.  Every single staff member we saw (100%) was masked indoors and outdoors.

The staff was almost universally cheerful, professional, and courteous and thanked us for being onboard.  We were very happy with the Princess standards of customer service.  We did have a couple of minor issues that arose and they were handled to our satisfaction.
 

Jogging track – Deck 18

We try to walk a few miles every day but this was a challenge.  It was like a wind tunnel up there!  Hang onto your hats if you attempt it.  Much prefer the lower deck promenades on other ships.

 

Disembarkation

Well organized by Princess but a bit of a chaotic mess at the port with lines, people and luggage everywhere.  Despite being told there was no Global Entry line, we wandered a bit and found it.  This line moved more quickly, but not as quickly as one might expect. 

 

All in all a very nice post-pause cruise for us.  We have a few more booked later this year!

"...volume is so loud during some of the shows that it is extremely annoying."  This has been going on for several years.  I have been an entertainer for almost 40 years.  I do my own sound and for others as well.  I tried to talk to the CD; however, he said I was "nuts".  Bring ear plugs.

[MissP22]

26 minutes ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

"...volume is so loud during some of the shows that it is extremely annoying."  This has been going on for several years.  I have been an entertainer for almost 40 years.  I do my own sound and for others as well.  I tried to talk to the CD; however, he said I was "nuts".  Bring ear plugs.

We've also been commenting for years about the excessive volume but I suppose most people just tolerate it and say nothing. 

We've given up and bring my husband's shooting ear plugs. 

[GonzoWCS]

Great Review.  

 

Cheers

[INeedAMaiTai]

So many are sharing the negatives, it's nice to hear something positive, and gives me hope for my cruise in July.  Thank you.

[Potstech]

2 hours ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

"...volume is so loud during some of the shows that it is extremely annoying."  This has been going on for several years.  I have been an entertainer for almost 40 years.  I do my own sound and for others as well.  I tried to talk to the CD; however, he said I was "nuts".  Bring ear plugs.

If a CD had said that to us it would have been a trip to Customer Service to submit a written complaint immediately.

[greenie082756]

@We_like_to_cruise excellent review. Thank you!

[dog]

On 3/20/2022 at 6:41 AM, AZjohn said:

Outstanding written review!

Very well laid out and easy to ready. Enough detailed and summary all at the same time.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and shared it with us.

Cheers,

John

Totally agree!!

thanks for sharing!!

[dog]

4 hours ago, INeedAMaiTai said:

So many are sharing the negatives, it's nice to hear something positive, and gives me hope for my cruise in July.  Thank you.

Yes, yes, yes!!!

 

Edited March 23, 2022 by dog

[KevintheIrishDJ]

21 hours ago, MissP22 said:

We've also been commenting for years about the excessive volume but I suppose most people just tolerate it and say nothing. 

We've given up and bring my husband's shooting ear plugs. 

I teach Irish Ceili dancing on an Irish cruise.  Ronan Tynon (sp) is the headliner.  I had to leave several of his shows.