mikkelhansen Posted July 11 #1 Share Posted July 11 My wife and I have previously been on Celebrity Equinox in an Inside in 2019, Celebrity Edge in a Deluxe Inside in 2019 and on Celebrity Apex in an Infinite Veranda in 2021, all in the Caribbean and out of Miami/Port Everglades. For our upcoming cruise, we had been looking at and comparing balcony cabins on Norwegian Joy, Celebrity Apex and Sky Princess out of Orlando around the Thanksgiving weekend 2025 (we're from Europe, so not on occasion of the actual Thanksgiving). Norwegian seemed to be more kids-family-oriented with water slides and a gocart track on board, where as Princess seems to cater more towards adults (couples, elderly and families with older kids), in other words comparable to Celebrity (with Norwegian being comparable to Royal Caribbean). We always liked the quite relaxed ambience on Celebrity's ships, as well as the very low amount of kids onboard. From what I can read, we should be able to expect the same in Princess, being Carnival's "upper-mainline" company? We booked the cruise with Princess Plus and 200$ OBC from the travel agent (US-based agent during a July 4th promotion), so I think we're pretty good on that note. From what I can tell, we can basically sail without paying a single cent onboard, with both beverages, wifi and gratuities being included in Princess Plus. We chose Princess over Celebrity mainly due to the pricing on Celebrity, with Always Included (internet+beverages) they ended up about 800$ more expensive per cabin, and still with gratuities to pay on top, although that would be for a 7-night cruise, instead of the 6-night cruise we booked. Celebrity's prices seem to have increased drastically over the last few years. We will be in a BD balcony cabin. Anything else worth noting, coming from Celebrity and having liked it there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Justpackingmybags Posted July 11 #2 Share Posted July 11 Your Plus package will include specialty coffees, bottled water and sodas. The price limit on alcoholic drinks is $15 rather than Celebrity’s $10, which is very useful! It also gets you 2 fixed price casual meals included, which on Sky would be Alfredo’s for pizza and the sushi place. Get used to the Princess App. It’s flaky, but will help you navigate the ship and locate family members. The medallions: because you’re Europe based, you’ll go to the Blue Lane to Check in & collect your medallions there. It puts maybe 5 minutes on the whole check in process. I prefer them to having a card now I’m used to them. oh, International Cafe on deck 5 in the Piazza is open 24 hours for good coffees and tasty bites. I know there are tonnes of other things, but those are the first things I thought of. Enjoy! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikkelhansen Posted July 11 Author #3 Share Posted July 11 2 minutes ago, Justpackingmybags said: Your Plus package will include specialty coffees, bottled water and sodas. The price limit on alcoholic drinks is $15 rather than Celebrity’s $10, which is very useful! It also gets you 2 fixed price casual meals included, which on Sky would be Alfredo’s for pizza and the sushi place. Get used to the Princess App. It’s flaky, but will help you navigate the ship and locate family members. The medallions: because you’re Europe based, you’ll go to the Blue Lane to Check in & collect your medallions there. It puts maybe 5 minutes on the whole check in process. I prefer them to having a card now I’m used to them. oh, International Cafe on deck 5 in the Piazza is open 24 hours for good coffees and tasty bites. I know there are tonnes of other things, but those are the first things I thought of. Enjoy! Thank you so much. -My wife and I don't drink alcohol, so we're fully covered with the sodas, juices/smoothies and energy drinks. But I'm sure the others in our party will enjoy the higher per-drink limit. -I might have to look more into the included "casual dining". It appears to be a notch up from the MDR/buffet, but not quite specialty dining? And it should be walk-in. -I already downloaded the app, but it doesn't seem to be of much use this far out. I can't book dining until after final payment, and there aren't that many shore excursions yet either. -I was prepared to have to collect the medallion in person during boarding. Is it worth it to pay for either the clip or the wristband? The standard chain seems a bit... feminine (nothing wrong with that, by the way!) -The International Cafe sounds like the Al Bacio cafe on Celebrity's ships, which AFAIR isn't open 24/7 though. How do we know if we're booked with walk-in, fixed or traditional dining? We would prefer walk-in, which seems to have just been rolled out as the standard a few weeks ago? As mentioned above, I can't access the dining options neither on the website nor in the app. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare tulok Posted July 11 #4 Share Posted July 11 I had the silicone wristband and loved it. I got my DH the wristband and he said it was too sweaty and stopped wearing it the first day. He did use the clip most of the time. I also had air tag holders from my home stash and he changed to the air tag key chain as he liked the thinner material over the clip. You can wait until onboard as the ship has a display you can try on before purchase. I dislike lanyards so we didn’t even take them out of the box. We also traveled with family members and the medallion worked very well locating them and my DH. I hope every brand starts using them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsmith2424 Posted July 11 #5 Share Posted July 11 1 hour ago, mikkelhansen said: Thank you so much. -My wife and I don't drink alcohol, so we're fully covered with the sodas, juices/smoothies and energy drinks. But I'm sure the others in our party will enjoy the higher per-drink limit. -I might have to look more into the included "casual dining". It appears to be a notch up from the MDR/buffet, but not quite specialty dining? And it should be walk-in. -I already downloaded the app, but it doesn't seem to be of much use this far out. I can't book dining until after final payment, and there aren't that many shore excursions yet either. -I was prepared to have to collect the medallion in person during boarding. Is it worth it to pay for either the clip or the wristband? The standard chain seems a bit... feminine (nothing wrong with that, by the way!) -The International Cafe sounds like the Al Bacio cafe on Celebrity's ships, which AFAIR isn't open 24/7 though. How do we know if we're booked with walk-in, fixed or traditional dining? We would prefer walk-in, which seems to have just been rolled out as the standard a few weeks ago? As mentioned above, I can't access the dining options neither on the website nor in the app. Thanks again! The standard you get for the medallion is actually a white princess branded lanyard. The necklace you mentioned is an upgrade you could buy. You should be able to get the dinning accessed once you are fully paid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF - retired RRT Posted July 11 #6 Share Posted July 11 Note for the future...since you don't drink alcohol, you would save $$$ if you don't book the Plus package and pay for gratuities, internet and the 2 included casual dining (if you even want them). FYI: look on Amazon for other ways to wear the Medallion. There are a lot of choices. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonlady6390 Posted July 11 #7 Share Posted July 11 Regarding the medallions wait until you board princess sells medallion accessories on board I like the wrist band, but there are other choices such as the clip. I can't remember which deck the Ocean medallions accessories for sale is but I think it maybe on deck 7. Another casual dining is Vines wine which has more like appetizers than dinners. Alfredos is open for lunch thru dinner every day. The sushi is at Ocean Terrace has limited times and very small seating area there will be a line to get in. Enjoy your cruise I was on the Sky this past January.😊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynight Posted July 11 #8 Share Posted July 11 Thanksgiving in the U.S. will be Thursday November 27th. If you are on board on that day you probably will encounter more youth than normal. I would arrive in the U.S. at least 1 day prior to sailing. You can stay overnight in Orlando or transfer directly to the Port Canaveral area and stay there. Port Canaveral is around 45minutes to an hour from the Orlando Airport. Note that the route is a toll road if you are driving your self. Most rental car companies have transponders in their cars and the toll is charged to your rental bill. On Thanksgiving the DR will serve the U.S. traditional turkey dinner as well as other menu selections. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikkelhansen Posted July 11 Author #9 Share Posted July 11 (edited) Thanks to all for the info on the medallion - I though the standard was the chain, as it's shown in all pictures regarding Medallion, but I suppose it's better marketing to show an upsell item rather than the standard lanyard. I think we will go with the standard lanyard, or perhaps buy a clip or wristband onboard. 2 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said: Note for the future...since you don't drink alcohol, you would save $$$ if you don't book the Plus package and pay for gratuities, internet and the 2 included casual dining (if you even want them). FYI: look on Amazon for other ways to wear the Medallion. There are a lot of choices. Yeah, we might have been able to save a few dollars by buying the stuff individually, but it was just $400 per person for the Princess Plus, and it saves us the hassle of "pick 'n mix". Gratuities are 96$pp, the zero-alcohol package is ~$210pp, wifi ~$25pp (+ fitness and room service activation fee), so it ends up with almost $400pp anyway. But thanks for the tip still. I think we will be using all perks from the Plus package, although I might skip the fitness classes!😬 9 minutes ago, skynight said: Thanksgiving in the U.S. will be Thursday November 27th. If you are on board on that day you probably will encounter more youth than normal. I would arrive in the U.S. at least 1 day prior to sailing. You can stay overnight in Orlando or transfer directly to the Port Canaveral area and stay there. Port Canaveral is around 45minutes to an hour from the Orlando Airport. Note that the route is a toll road if you are driving your self. Most rental car companies have transponders in their cars and the toll is charged to your rental bill. On Thanksgiving the DR will serve the U.S. traditional turkey dinner as well as other menu selections. We're sailing on Monday, December 8, ie. 1½ week after Thanksgiving. We plan to arrive on Friday, December 5 and spend the weekend in the amusement parks etc. We plan to use Uber/Lyft for transport. Thanks for the tips. Edited July 11 by mikkelhansen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suekel Posted July 11 #10 Share Posted July 11 6 hours ago, mikkelhansen said: My wife and I have previously been on Celebrity Equinox in an Inside in 2019, Celebrity Edge in a Deluxe Inside in 2019 and on Celebrity Apex in an Infinite Veranda in 2021, all in the Caribbean and out of Miami/Port Everglades. For our upcoming cruise, we had been looking at and comparing balcony cabins on Norwegian Joy, Celebrity Apex and Sky Princess out of Orlando around the Thanksgiving weekend 2025 (we're from Europe, so not on occasion of the actual Thanksgiving). Norwegian seemed to be more kids-family-oriented with water slides and a gocart track on board, where as Princess seems to cater more towards adults (couples, elderly and families with older kids), in other words comparable to Celebrity (with Norwegian being comparable to Royal Caribbean). We always liked the quite relaxed ambience on Celebrity's ships, as well as the very low amount of kids onboard. From what I can read, we should be able to expect the same in Princess, being Carnival's "upper-mainline" company? We booked the cruise with Princess Plus and 200$ OBC from the travel agent (US-based agent during a July 4th promotion), so I think we're pretty good on that note. From what I can tell, we can basically sail without paying a single cent onboard, with both beverages, wifi and gratuities being included in Princess Plus. We chose Princess over Celebrity mainly due to the pricing on Celebrity, with Always Included (internet+beverages) they ended up about 800$ more expensive per cabin, and still with gratuities to pay on top, although that would be for a 7-night cruise, instead of the 6-night cruise we booked. Celebrity's prices seem to have increased drastically over the last few years. We will be in a BD balcony cabin. Anything else worth noting, coming from Celebrity and having liked it there? Booking over Christmas, there will be A LOT of children on board. Just be aware. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikkelhansen Posted July 11 Author #11 Share Posted July 11 1 hour ago, suekel said: Booking over Christmas, there will be A LOT of children on board. Just be aware. We're sailing on December 8-14. That shouldn't be Christmas, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF - retired RRT Posted July 11 #12 Share Posted July 11 2 hours ago, skynight said: Thanksgiving in the U.S. will be Thursday November 27th. If you are on board on that day you probably will encounter more youth than normal. I would arrive in the U.S. at least 1 day prior to sailing. You can stay overnight in Orlando or transfer directly to the Port Canaveral area and stay there. Port Canaveral is around 45minutes to an hour from the Orlando Airport. Note that the route is a toll road if you are driving your self. Most rental car companies have transponders in their cars and the toll is charged to your rental bill. On Thanksgiving the DR will serve the U.S. traditional turkey dinner as well as other menu selections. Pretty sure that Thursday in 2024 is on the 28th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Justpackingmybags Posted July 11 #13 Share Posted July 11 They’re going in 2025 not 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JimmyVWine Posted July 11 #14 Share Posted July 11 6 hours ago, mikkelhansen said: -I might have to look more into the included "casual dining". It appears to be a notch up from the MDR/buffet, but not quite specialty dining? And it should be walk-in. The Casual Dining isn't so much a notch up from the MDR as it is just "different." For example, one of the Casual venues will serve predominantly pizza and salads. The pizzas will be very good, especially when compared to other cruise lines. It is way better than most takeaway pizza slices that ships offer. It is real pizza. But I wouldn't necessarily say that a good pizza is a notch above the entrees in the MDR which will include beef medallions, pork loin, salmon, and things like that. When we dine at the Casual venues, it is always for lunch as the dining options there appeal to us more for that meal. And yes, all Casual Venues are walk-in and do not take reservations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikkelhansen Posted July 11 Author #15 Share Posted July 11 13 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said: The Casual Dining isn't so much a notch up from the MDR as it is just "different." For example, one of the Casual venues will serve predominantly pizza and salads. The pizzas will be very good, especially when compared to other cruise lines. It is way better than most takeaway pizza slices that ships offer. It is real pizza. But I wouldn't necessarily say that a good pizza is a notch above the entrees in the MDR which will include beef medallions, pork loin, salmon, and things like that. When we dine at the Casual venues, it is always for lunch as the dining options there appeal to us more for that meal. And yes, all Casual Venues are walk-in and do not take reservations. Thanks - it sounds like the casual dining restaurants are more like Princess' take on themed dinners in the MDR, just not in the actual MDR? I think we might use our 2 casual dining vouchers for lunch as well, I'd also prefer a steak or something like that for dinner, and then I'll take a nice pizza for lunch instead. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsmith2424 Posted July 11 #16 Share Posted July 11 2 hours ago, mikkelhansen said: We're sailing on December 8-14. That shouldn't be Christmas, no? No that won't be in the Christmas break range here in the US. The ship should be decorated but shouldn't have to worry about an influx of children on the ship. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikkelhansen Posted July 11 Author #17 Share Posted July 11 24 minutes ago, gsmith2424 said: No that won't be in the Christmas break range here in the US. The ship should be decorated but shouldn't have to worry about an influx of children on the ship. Sounds great, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JordanF Posted July 11 #18 Share Posted July 11 I am with you on the cost. We have cruised on Princess before, but over time have been mainly on RCCL and Celebrity. We are now booked on two Princess cruises because similar cruises on RCCL and Celebrity were substantially more expensive. The CEO of RCCL (which owns Celebrity as well) has made it clear that they are doing quite well by being able to charge more for cruises, so it's no secret. We skip PLUS but mainly because we don't drink very much and are fine with the included coffee and other drinks. We also prefer not to have wifi on a cruise so that we are forced to disconnect. But that's just us. We did take one cruise out of Port Canaveral. We arrived the day before, rented a car and stayed at a hotel on Cocoa Beach. We wandered down to the pier to look around and get some dinner. Lo and behold, there was a space launch that evening! We watched it from the pier. The next morning we got up early and toured the Kennedy Space Center--which was also very cool--especially the bus tour of the launching pads. We then returned the car--the rental return had included shuttles to the ships-- and we were on board for lunch. In the very likely event that there is no space launch the night before your cruise, the pier was still fun, and the Space Center very worthwhile. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arizonaperson Posted July 12 #19 Share Posted July 12 (edited) @mikkelhansen with plus package it is 2 fitness classes per voyage . You said you may skip this.( just for information- some think it’s every day) Also I have seen others say they were able to book dinner reservations without being paid in full. Try on web version and app. Although probably too soon at this date ?? ,try to book dining in November /December 2024 for your December 2025 cruise. You book your own dining, it is not assigned. Traditional- set time,same table,wait staff,same dining room. Probably at 5 pm or 7:30 pm or 7:50 pm. OR Reservable dining room. Make reservations in 20 minute time slots OR walk in dining room- no reservation Also available : specialty casual buffet pizza on outside deck Just look at deck plans for The Sky Princess- many venues Edited July 12 by arizonaperson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cr8tiv1 Posted July 12 #20 Share Posted July 12 (edited) 47 minutes ago, arizonaperson said: with plus package it is 2 fitness classes per voyage Thank you for this information. I thought it was 2 classes per day. Not that I have ever taken advantage nor plan on attending any. Just out of curiosity, how many Plus/Premier passengers actually use this perk? I’m betting more eat two sundaes verses attending 2 classes. Helpful hint…think of deck 7 as a higheay that will take you from one end of the ship to the other. The other decks are similar to streets. The Aft dinning room is a cul-de-sac with limited access on deck 6. Plan on being in the theatre 20-30 minutes if you want good seats, aisle seat, or want to sit together. Try out all the different food venues, especially the International Cafe. If there are any dietary needs, be sure to me up with the Assistant Manager (in green/white jackets). They will be helpful in planning your meals. Edited July 12 by cr8tiv1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arizonaperson Posted July 12 #21 Share Posted July 12 11 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said: Thank you for this information. I thought it was 2 classes per day. Not that I have ever taken advantage nor plan on attending any. Just out of curiosity, how many Plus/Premier passengers actually use this perk? I’m betting more eat two sundaes verses attending 2 classes. Have not seen many posts about eating the 2 sundaes per day with plus,unlimited with premier, seems to be -try 1 and then done. The fitness classes are limited choice wise & one needs to sign up for them. Plus package,2 per voyage and premier unlimited classes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cr8tiv1 Posted July 12 #22 Share Posted July 12 I’m a one and done statistic. But now will have to try the cakes. In all my days of cruising, I never had the ambition to try out the classes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikkelhansen Posted July 12 Author #23 Share Posted July 12 13 hours ago, JordanF said: I am with you on the cost. We have cruised on Princess before, but over time have been mainly on RCCL and Celebrity. We are now booked on two Princess cruises because similar cruises on RCCL and Celebrity were substantially more expensive. The CEO of RCCL (which owns Celebrity as well) has made it clear that they are doing quite well by being able to charge more for cruises, so it's no secret. We skip PLUS but mainly because we don't drink very much and are fine with the included coffee and other drinks. We also prefer not to have wifi on a cruise so that we are forced to disconnect. But that's just us. We did take one cruise out of Port Canaveral. We arrived the day before, rented a car and stayed at a hotel on Cocoa Beach. We wandered down to the pier to look around and get some dinner. Lo and behold, there was a space launch that evening! We watched it from the pier. The next morning we got up early and toured the Kennedy Space Center--which was also very cool--especially the bus tour of the launching pads. We then returned the car--the rental return had included shuttles to the ships-- and we were on board for lunch. In the very likely event that there is no space launch the night before your cruise, the pier was still fun, and the Space Center very worthwhile. Thanks, sounds like I might visit the Space Center over Universal Studios. All the "girls" in my party are total Harry Potter fanatics, so they will all be visiting Universal Studios. I think there might be several mental breakdowns if no wifi was available, haha! Yes, the Celebrity pricing is insane at the moment. Many cruises are almost double of what we paid in 2022 on Apex. 4 hours ago, arizonaperson said: @mikkelhansen with plus package it is 2 fitness classes per voyage . You said you may skip this.( just for information- some think it’s every day) Also I have seen others say they were able to book dinner reservations without being paid in full. Try on web version and app. Although probably too soon at this date ?? ,try to book dining in November /December 2024 for your December 2025 cruise. You book your own dining, it is not assigned. Traditional- set time,same table,wait staff,same dining room. Probably at 5 pm or 7:30 pm or 7:50 pm. OR Reservable dining room. Make reservations in 20 minute time slots OR walk in dining room- no reservation Also available : specialty casual buffet pizza on outside deck Just look at deck plans for The Sky Princess- many venues Thanks, I am aware that it's two classes for the whole cruise. I reckon they might get used on the two sea days on the cruise. I will try and check the dining options from December onwards, thanks. We definitely prefer walk-in dining. 3 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said: Thank you for this information. I thought it was 2 classes per day. Not that I have ever taken advantage nor plan on attending any. Just out of curiosity, how many Plus/Premier passengers actually use this perk? I’m betting more eat two sundaes verses attending 2 classes. Helpful hint…think of deck 7 as a higheay that will take you from one end of the ship to the other. The other decks are similar to streets. The Aft dinning room is a cul-de-sac with limited access on deck 6. Plan on being in the theatre 20-30 minutes if you want good seats, aisle seat, or want to sit together. Try out all the different food venues, especially the International Cafe. If there are any dietary needs, be sure to me up with the Assistant Manager (in green/white jackets). They will be helpful in planning your meals. Thanks for the tip about deck 7, that will be useful while onboard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Meer Posted July 12 #24 Share Posted July 12 Sorry if you already know this! When onboard you can link all your group’s medallions which enables you to find each other using the electronic screens situated in the lift lobbies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare tulok Posted July 12 #25 Share Posted July 12 I had premier and went to the fitness classes almost every day. The personal trainer that lead the classes was excellent. There is a variety of classes from pilates, stretching, barre, yoga, spin and others. Pilates was my favorite. Great way to start my morning, then a walk to IC for my morning coffee. They had classes morning and evenings. I was able to sign up right before the class started. On Emerald, it was a nice size gym. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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