Live from the 12/9 Sky Princess.

[Host CJSKIDS]

31 minutes ago, minniegidget said:

What restaurant is he in?

 Estrella on deck six. 

[Steelers36]

11 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 Estrella on deck six. 

But they do rotate the staff periodically.

[Host CJSKIDS]

29 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

But they do rotate the staff periodically.

I'm sure they do. I just know he is there now.  I'll have to ask. 

[MissP22]

10 hours ago, eagletwo said:

Book on line in the app just like making dining reservations. 

We all know how well that works. 🙄

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

7 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

…Amel, Benjie and Raisa  at take Five rock! 

They made our week!  Tell them Chris and Derrick (and Dave) miss them already!!

[Jadn13]

 

[Musky Ike]

7 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

I'm sure they do. I just know he is there now.  I'll have to ask. 

Thanks, we are reserved (for now) in Estella for our March cruise on the Sky. Maybe he will still be there.

[Hlitner]

Many years ago I decided to never gamble in any casino where I could smell smoke.  That pledge has saved me lots of money (and likely caused Princess some serious change).  The casino here on the Sky truly stinks and reminds me of the smell of a dirty ashtray.  When it’s open it is like strolling through a cloud of smoke.  Fortunately, we quickly realized

that it is possible to bypass the casino by walking through Take 5.

 

I would point out that several other cruise lines (Celebrity, Seabourn, etc) have no smoking casinos.  A few other successful lines do not even have casinos (a trend followed by the new Explora Journeys line).

 

My biggest issue with this ship is the lack of Crooners.  Princess has taken up lots of valuable space with their Deck 6 Photo Center which is usually near empty.  That space could easily be repurposed as a Crooners venue. We will likely avoid this ship (in the future) in favor of vessels with a piano bar.

 

Last evening we had another enjoyable dinner in the MDR.  The MDR dinners continue to impress, although we would love to see a larger menu.  I tried a seafood pasta offering as my starter and it was truly excellent.  My small portion (by my request) had clams, squid, shrimp and clams in a light spicy sauce.  The kind of dish I expect on Seabourn or Silverseas, but not in Princess.  We continue to hear from others, about the amazing (we agree)cuisine in The Catch.  Alfredo’s is somewhat disappointing as their pizzas are not as good as on our other cruises.  We think the pizza at Slices is actually superior although they do not have all the options found in Alfredo’s.

 

Hank

[Host CJSKIDS]

3 hours ago, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

They made our week!  Tell them Chris and Derrick (and Dave) miss them already!!

I'll tell them tonight. 

[Host CJSKIDS]

@Hlitner I so agreed with you last night when you said that large photo center should be crooners. Now if only they would listen to us!! 
 

Weather looks drab today. Hope you have fun on your excursion. 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

19 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

I'll tell them tonight. 

How is the entertainment in Take5?  Ours was phenomenal but they were all getting off with us.

 

Just finished my survey... OUCH!  The worst one I have ever given.  But we still had a great cruise once we lowered our expectations.  I hope you have a wonderful week.

[Hlitner]

Just now, Host CJSKIDS said:

@Hlitner I so agreed with you last night when you said that large photo center should be crooners. Now if only they would listen to us!! 
 

Weather looks drab today. Hope you have fun on your excursion. 

DW decided we should skip the excursion given the awful forecast.  A little rain is ok but the forecast bus for heavy rain and T storms.  Argh

[Rick&Jeannie]

12 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

An exceptional waiter makes a world of difference and I can tell you that if you are lucky enough to get this happy guy, your dinner will be a great one. 

We had Victoriano as well!!!~ He was an absolute hoot!  We came back to his table twice after getting him the first time.  We also mentioned him in our survey.  He is a real gem.

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

@Hlitner I so agreed with you last night when you said that large photo center should be crooners. Now if only they would listen to us!! 
 

Weather looks drab today. Hope you have fun on your excursion. 

Very often when we would be walking by the photo center we would see people just camped out people watching or reading.  During the cruise there is very little "photo" activity going on.  Now...on the last full day...it's a different story!

[Rick&Jeannie]

11 hours ago, minniegidget said:

What restaurant is he in?

I *think* it was Estrella...???  @Host CJSKIDS?

[Host CJSKIDS]

2 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I *think* it was Estrella...???  @Host CJSKIDS?

Yes that was the one. 

[Host CJSKIDS]

Well the weather gods are not smiling down on us on this cruise.  Today we are in Roatan and it's  Grey, 77 degrees with 94% humidity and rain.  Quite a bit of rain is forecasted, not your typical Caribbean showers kind of day.  

After my husband's zoom call, we're just going to walk around the port looking for some coffee beans to take home to my coffee loving son. And of course I'm required to have a local beer before departing.  Amel was working the coffee bar so made me a nice cup of Joe and I'm ready to roll.

 

Unfortunately the weather forecast for both Casta Maya and Cozumel is not looking very promising either.  UGH

[strobellayjam]

2 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Well the weather gods are not smiling down on us on this cruise.  Today we are in Roatan and it's  Grey, 77 degrees with 94% humidity and rain.  Quite a bit of rain is forecasted, not your typical Caribbean showers kind of day.  

After my husband's zoom call, we're just going to walk around the port looking for some coffee beans to take home to my coffee loving son. And of course I'm required to have a local beer before departing.  Amel was working the coffee bar so made me a nice cup of Joe and I'm ready to roll.

 

Unfortunately the weather forecast for both Casta Maya and Cozumel is not looking very promising either.  UGH

How was it docking at Coxen Hole? Anything to do within walking distance of the port?

[memoak]

3 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

@Hlitner I so agreed with you last night when you said that large photo center should be crooners. Now if only they would listen to us!! 
 

Weather looks drab today. Hope you have fun on your excursion. 

Easier said than done. To change that area to a bar you would probably need a dry dock for plumbing change’s etc 

 

[tere247]

2 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Well the weather gods are not smiling down on us on this cruise.  Today we are in Roatan and it's  Grey, 77 degrees with 94% humidity and rain.  Quite a bit of rain is forecasted, not your typical Caribbean showers kind of day.  

After my husband's zoom call, we're just going to walk around the port looking for some coffee beans to take home to my coffee loving son. And of course I'm required to have a local beer before departing.  Amel was working the coffee bar so made me a nice cup of Joe and I'm ready to roll.

 

Unfortunately the weather forecast for both Casta Maya and Cozumel is not looking very promising either.  UGH

  It’s not looking too good for your return home either. 

[xamsx]

Hubby and I are Celebrity refugees.  This is the first cruise of many we have scheduled (11) to find a new cruising 'home' and so we are comparing this Princess cruise to Celebrity to see the value differences.

 

So far, we have enjoyed the cruise and found a few things better on Princess than Celebrity: the buffet choices being the most immediate to mind.

 

The desserts are edible on Princess where they are not on Celebrity.  That is both a good, and bad, thing. 🙂

 

The big negative difference for Princess is also in the buffet area: dirty tables. We have walked in a number of times when I swear the dirty tables have outnumbered the occupied tables, and passengers are wandering around with plates in hand looking for a space to sit down and eat.

 

Is Princess that understaffed? Poorly trained? It is a customer service fail whatever the reason. 

[reedprincess]

40 minutes ago, strobellayjam said:

How was it docking at Coxen Hole? Anything to do within walking distance of the port?

Coxen Hole has a lot of cruise port shops within the mainly enclosed area. We head out and eat in town, or grab a cab to West End . 

Is Sky actually at CH though? 

The vast vast majority of the time, Princess docks at the Carnival pier, Mahogany Bay, which is the purpose built port with ships, beach, etc inside the port area. 

[nini]

2 minutes ago, xamsx said:

Hubby and I are Celebrity refugees.  This is the first cruise of many we have scheduled (11) to find a new cruising 'home' and so we are comparing this Princess cruise to Celebrity to see the value differences.

 

So far, we have enjoyed the cruise and found a few things better on Princess than Celebrity: the buffet choices being the most immediate to mind.

 

The desserts are edible on Princess where they are not on Celebrity.  That is both a good, and bad, thing. 🙂

 

The big negative difference for Princess is also in the buffet area: dirty tables. We have walked in a number of times when I swear the dirty tables have outnumbered the occupied tables, and passengers are wandering around with plates in hand looking for a space to sit down and eat.

 

Is Princess that understaffed? Poorly trained? It is a customer service fail whatever the reason. 

 

I am glad you are giving Princess a try. We experienced quite the opposite when we were on the Celebrity Reflection  (Fall 2018) and swore to never return to Celebrity. We have only experienced excellent service in the buffet on Princess.

[strobellayjam]

10 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

Coxen Hole has a lot of cruise port shops within the mainly enclosed area. We head out and eat in town, or grab a cab to West End . 

Is Sky actually at CH though? 

The vast vast majority of the time, Princess docks at the Carnival pier, Mahogany Bay, which is the purpose built port with ships, beach, etc inside the port area. 

(Un)fortunately, Princess has changed up the port on us on the Sky later this month.  We will be docking at CH instead of Mahogany Bay.  I was looking forward to the beach there but first world problems, right?  Just thankful to be cruising.

[reedprincess]

16 minutes ago, strobellayjam said:

(Un)fortunately, Princess has changed up the port on us on the Sky later this month.  We will be docking at CH instead of Mahogany Bay.  I was looking forward to the beach there but first world problems, right?  Just thankful to be cruising.

Grab a cab to West End. Much better beach than the one at MB.  And some local restaurants around, a bit of snorkeling if you want, etc.   

We usually end up walking down to Look Out Bar and restaurant from the port (we don't generally do beaches on our port visits, we have spectacular ones at home, lol).

Look Out has absolutely delicious food, super local vibe, beautiful water views, it's delicious!! Maybe 10/15 minutes walk.  

https://maps.app.goo.gl/MBFcsLXSQTa5RXKGA