CruzeQueen2

Beautiful! Thanks for all the wonderful pictures. Can't wait to cruise on the Sky myself.

Somewhat related, though not entirely. Please indulge me. I was wondering if the outside deck 7 area, port side, is designated for smoking. I have booked E 438 on Royal. Thanks, if you have noticed.  

I've booked a cabin on Emerald deck above the far end of this section, aft of Crooners. I read something, some time ago, about a smoking area, but can't remember the details. I think smoking is allowed on the port side, but not on starboard. May have to switch my cabin! Thanks for helping, if you know. 

Wow and Wowee! Love the the grin on FIL.Your excursion with Captain Ocean looks amazing.Thank you for sharing St Thomas with us. And everything else too. 😄

Sweet ending to a rough day! Thankfully, your day ended well.

Here's a personal opinion for you, about the food. Firstly, I am so envious to see and savour your food photos. I can almost taste each delectable dish. Loving your food choices. I saw in your posted Patter,  that your head chef is Chef Guido (with the very long last name)! My cruise on the Caribbean P last year was blessed with his culinary palate as well. Hands down, that particular cruise was my very favourite food experience. As you describe, so much depth of flavour, without being overly salty. Just right for me 😊 Another good reason to book my next trip on this ship. Can't wait! Sky P, all the way....

Fabulous pictures! Thank you for sharing your experience. Loving it so far. The SKY is beautiful!

Since your posts reveal your vast knowledge of so many cultural details...I thought you might like to know that today in British Columbia we had our Family Day holiday!  Originally, a few years ago, our  family day did not coincide with the rest of our country. However, today, BC is now in the loop! 

Thank you for all of the great reports.

I was happy to read about your approval of CD, Matt O'Brien. Please pass along my warm regards. I sailed with him on the Royal last May, California coastal to Vancouver. Thank you!

13 hours ago, Guindalf said:

Many thanks for the replies so far, especially such a detailed response from Snooze. This is just the information I was looking for. Keep 'em coming!

 

The specialty restaurants seem relatively cheap compared to other lines (Celebrity's Tuscan Grille is $45, Murano, $50 and Le Petit Chef is $55!), although there are offers to be had. Typically on the first night, there's a 30 or 35% discount. We dined at a Chef's Table once (on the world's worst major cruise line!) and it was wonderful. The only bright spot on an otherwise mostly dreadful cruise experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

We're looking at the more frugal end of the excursion spectrum after spending a LOT on them back in August (float plane tours ain't cheap!!). The Mt. Roberts cable car is an attractive proposition. I am limited to how far I can walk without a lot of pain thanks to neuropathy in my feet and hands, so easy is the order of the day. I do love to eat, so the salmon bake, which we cancelled last time in favor of the float plane, it top of the list.

 

Oh, and of course I know it's verboten to share the drinks package. The chances of me hitting 15 drinks in a day is highly remote anyway. At home, if I buy a six-pack, the last one is usually out of date before I get to drinking it!

 

Please keep the info coming. It is all much appreciated.

If you want to indulge in the freshest dungeness crab, look for the shore excursion in Ketchikan . Or Google Georges Inlet lodge. Contact them directly to book a feast of all you can eat dungeness crab. Salad and dessert included.

I see that you asked about prebooking specialty dining, etc. I agree with what other posters have replied about prebooking shore excursions, however, almost everything else- specialty dining, gratuities,  and bottled water can be ordered closer to your sailing date. Spreading out your add-ons allows you to pay for extras in a time period that works for you. Cruise personalizer does close up a few days (2, I think) before sailing.  I mention bottled water because you cannot purchase 12 bottle packs once on board, I know there has been talk lately, for eliminating single use waterbottles, however I haven't seen any definitive change in this matter, yet.  As a Canadian, I pre purchase as much as possible,  pre cruise, using my Canadian Credit card, Canadian funds. Bon voyage!

3 hours ago, Waynetor said:

A year older than last photo

3 hours ago, Waynetor said:

A year older than last photo

Happy birthday, Wayne. The chocolate Princess cake, shared with Freda, is a great way to celebrate 😊. I have celebrated with that cake on Ruby, Star, and Golden. Always yummy! 

32 minutes ago, Dreamer68 said:

I can only dream to be on this many days of cruising....on a teacher's salary, it remains a dream but I'm thankful for technology that enables me to share in your journey. My daughter's friend's parents are on your ship (from Montreal). I'm guessing you get to make some really great friends onboard such a long cruise. Safe travels!

Dream big! One day you will retire and receive a teacher pension? In the meantime, enjoy the ride with your students.

My favourite included perk was definitely the upscaled breakfast menu in the specialty restaurant. We had it in the Crown Grill, but sometimes it takes place in Sabatini. Suite also includes a mini bar setup, large fruit bowl, flowers, supersized umbrellas for rainy port days. Be sure to look through the complete list of perks on the Princess website to be sure you don't miss anything. Enjoy it ALL! Bon voyage 😉

Thank you Wayne, for your informative cruise notes. Interesting to hear all about the various challenges with weather at this time of year. Looking forward to seeing more photos, when convenient for you to share them. No pressure!😉

On 1/30/2020 at 9:13 PM, DormMom said:

Many thanks for all the comments about suites as we booked our first suite-in July to Alaska.  Will be celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary.  I often thought the price was too high for our budget but for this occasion, the sky was the limit.  I have always wanted an aft cabin so we could watch the wake.  Won't have to be so concerned about excursions as have been to Alaska several times.  We usually book  CC mini-suites as really enjoy the service of CC dining.  Never been on the GOLDEN so looking to add another Princess ship to our list.  

Enjoy your breakfasts in Sabatini . Such a treat. Club class staff were great in September 2019 when I had my first suite experience. Suite sailing is the best!  Congratulations on your 60th anniversay. 

Definitely possible to change to another sailing. Prior to the final balance being paid, changes are generally allowed., with previous payments being transfered over. Contact Princess directly.

On 2/4/2020 at 7:27 PM, lbfluffy said:

Thank you for the review. We will be on the Royal on December 12th. Since the Promenade doesn’t go all the way around, where do people usually walk? We love walking one to two miles daily.

Thank you. 

There is a jogging track, more aft. Suutable for.walkers. Distance is about half of the promenade deck design. Not as sheltered either.

For what it's worth - Considering how much ground you were able to cover, with your current back issue...i'd say IMHO, put off the back surgery. Perhaps the unexpected change is a sign. You are so vibrant and still able to tackle long days- challenged further by heat and humidity. Five stars for you!

I also have a chronic back pain issue, but cruising works well for me. Some days are long, some are restful. It's all a matter of knowing your limits. Your limit appears to be very high. You can still do a lot. But that's just an observation. You never even spoke of taking any meds while away. Bravo! 

You would most likely enjoy the Sky, or Royal Princess. Those ships are much newer that the Sapphire. That said, the staff and the general offerings on Princess are often consistent and good. I have eaten many of the same choices that you had. All good. Service always excellent.

Good luck with everything. I look forward to your next trip...however, I usually only check on Princess boards. I'm very loyal in that. LOL.

Will be looking to book this itinerary , thanks to your info. However, it will be hard to cover as much ground as you have. Impressed by all the the sights. What an great trip! 😊

38 minutes ago, Lunastella said:

Singapore Part III

 

You may have noticed that there has been a distinct lack of ‘7am alarm and straight to the gym’ posts recently. Four port days in a row and disembarkment has somewhat scuppered my workout plans. But today was the day to get back to it. The 7am alarm eventually led to a 7.30 rise-time and straight to the hotel gym on the 16^th floor. The gym, while small, was perfectly functional with wrap around views of the city. I have a major dislike of basement hotel gyms with no natural light, so this gym gets a 4 star rating (it would have been 5 stars but the air conditioning wasn’t strong enough). There was enough equipment to fill an hour’s workout and it felt so good to get the heart rate up again. It was also sufficient time to work up an appetite for breakfast in what could be the largest breakfast buffet ever! Breakfast was included in our room rate and we could either go to the Club Lounge or the main restaurant. We decided to try out the main restaurant and I am very glad we did – in my experience you can beat breakfasts in Asian hotels, you can literally have any cuisine imaginable. Tropical juices, fresh fruit, pancakes, omelettes, real coffee!!! I was in breakfast heaven (apart from the buffet bit).

 

Our plans for the day were to go to the Botanical Gardens in the morning, some pool time in the afternoon, and have a walk/dinner Kampong Glam that evening. Google maps directed us to the Botanical Gardens via a direct bus from right outside the hotel. Hands down, these are the best botanical gardens I have ever experienced. I would come to Singapore just for these gardens, they were that spectacular. They are also massive, and we didn’t have time to cover even half of them. There are multiple entrance gates, we entered the southern ones (I think) and there are maps available with different trails at each. We followed a couple of different trails which led to the highlight of the gardens – the Orchid Garden.  Entry into the main gardens are free, but you have to pay to enter the Orchid Garden (absolutely worth it).

 

One of the entrance points

 

 

Like Ireland, the weather was mixed, it varied from overcast to sun to rain, but always very humid (unlike Ireland). My umbrella came in handy both for the rain and the sun! Warning….many photos to follow…I couldn’t help myself.

 

Lots of hidden sculptures throughout

 

 

Orchids, orchids, and more orchids

 

 

 

DM loves gardens, look at the size of that smile!

 

 

Even the washbasins in the restrooms were ‘in theme’

 

 

 

We walked many kilometres without even noticing it.  We could have spent all day there, but eventually the heat and humidity got to us, so we took the bus back to the hotel and up to the Lounge for tea (coffee in my case) and toast and babybel! At this stage of the holiday we are somewhat craving plain food.

 

Infinity pool time! Again luck was on our side. Just as we arrived some guests were leaving and they kindly offered us their cabana and loungers. Another prime spot.

 

My view for a few hours

 

 

 

 

I alternated between reading, music and swimming, and googling for a restaurant for the evening.   I wanted to do a guided walking tour of Kampong Glam but DS and DM were not feeling it, so instead we decided to take a bus to the general area, have a walk around on our own, go to a cocktail bar that DS had found in the guidebook, and get dinner somewhere around there.

 

First though, the hotel’s 5pm aperitivo time was calling. We got there at about 4.45pm and already there were many people casually stopping by…like us…for the free food and drinks…can you blame us! There were plates of hot dishes, cold dishes, sushi, cheese, wine and beer. We had a glass of wine and tried to limit how much food we ate as we still planned on having dinner later.

 

We googled mapped our way to Kampong Glam via the bus, passing the famous Raffles Hotel and some interesting sites along the way.

 

Bus sites

 

 

 

 

Kampong Glam is known as the Little Muslim Quarter of Singapore. It is filled with interesting shops and restaurants, and lots of mosques. The Sultan Mosque stands tall in the centre of the district, and we very surprised to learn that it was designed by Irishman, Denis Santry, from Cork!

 

 The Sultan Mosque

 

 

 

And one more for luck

 

 

We walked around for a little while, but DM was flagging fast at this stage so we decided to forgo the cocktail and went straight for dinner. No food pics but we shared a fab pasta and salad in an Italian restaurant (not really keeping in theme at all!). After dinner we walked back to the bus-stop over a flyover with some excellent views.

 

The Singapore skyline

 

 

When we got back to the hotel we headed up to the pool to enjoy even more views. Even though it was 10am there were still lots of people hanging out.  I was tempted to go for a swim but laziness crept in and we retreated to bed, we were averaging over 20000 steps every day in Singapore. Home tomorrow!

 

Nightscape from our hotel pool...tempting 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I match!

 

Beautiful! Five thumbs up for reporting, pictures, information and humour. Thanks so much for everything.  Loved it all.. 

2 minutes ago, snoozecrooze said:

Sadly, I debarked today 😞 and I rarely made it onto the deck 7 promenade areas so I can't tell you for sure! I'm so sorry! However, there is deck 17 aft which is a dedicated smoking area, but you are probably already aware of this.

Thank you for posting and helping. Enjoy your  next adventure! Safe travels.

Another question for you, please and thank you. Is smoking permitted on the port side of deck 7, midships?  I had read somewhere that smoking is permitted on one side only. I have booked a cabin on the starboard side, Emerald midship. Hoping that this is the smoke free side. Thanks for your help to find out the reality. 

3 hours ago, snoozecrooze said:

Hello! I am happy to report that Rebecca is still onboard but I wasn't able to find out when her contract ends. As for Hackett, he left in November and has an extended (or filed for one) break for personal reasons. Hope this helps!

That's great news. Thank you for the report. Hope you are enjoying everything onboard the. Beautiful Royal P.

2 hours ago, jagoffee said:

It would be good if they made this change fleet wide.  

Yes, I know.  I was responding to the previous poster who said the she particularly enjoyed the CC breakfast in the specialty restaurant.

I was in a suite, yes. Thank you for the clarification. It was definitely a highlight of the perks of having a suite.

4 hours ago, snoozecrooze said:

Hi @CruzeQueen2! I plan to ask again later today, so if you see this before I do, please let me know your first name and what month you traveled (was it May 2019?) if they know you personally by your name, so perhaps I can jog their memory. I did ask someone at IC last night and they seemed a little confused by the names I mentioned, so I will be asking at a different time! Thank you! 🙂

Hi again, My sister and I cruised on Royal in May 2019. We are two sisters from Vancouver. Donna and Chrissy know Rebecca who joined last September. We heard from her at that time. We met her on Star in 2017! Hackett was there last May

Love seeing your pictures. Great sunsets. I'm enjoying your style of reporting. Love the Royal. Thank you for including names of staff. Is Rebecca, from the Phillipines, serving in the IC? I'm cruising on Royal in May. Hoping to find her. Maybe Hackett too? In the IC, serving up the food. ☺ Thank you in advance. We sailed from LA to Vancouver last year, and will repeat this year.