sbflcruiser

Did this the end of October of 2017, used Moorea Activity Center, we prepaid, it was great.  Only problem was that the whales move really fast you can not keep up with them.  But would recommend and would not hesitate to do the tour again.  Just don't get to disappointed about not truly swimming with them. As soon as you find them get in the water, they are moving fast....  several times trying to swim with them, the boat would have to come get us, as you don't realize how far you swim chasing with the current and swimming back is too much.  Our tour was for a 9am departure and returned at 1pm.   It was very interesting as the whales you see are from Antarctica not Alaska, so that was very cool.

Ok here is my experience..., we did a 28 day on the Sky Princess, looked online it was available, then it was gone, but others in the roll call were talking about booking when I could no longer see it.  So I did an experiment, if you will, I was then only able to book as a 7 day, a day, and a 14 day.  Ultimate the pricing from the 28 day to booking like this was a total increase of $10.00 so no biggie, I was booking for 2.  So had to prepay with each reservation.  Got on board, we were going to use on embarkation day, as it had been a rough one, they at first could not find my reservation, said they finally found it, and thought life was good.  Well I try to check my account every 3 days or so, to make sure no incorrect charges have been placed, well guess what I had been charged a second time for the enclave.  Went to the spa, told me to go to customer service, customer service told me to go back to the spa.  Spoke with the assistant manager, said they could find no record of my payment, said it does not allow you to reserve spa services without payment.  Said they would have to look into and get back with me.  (PS I had screen shots of my personalizer and when I paid on my ipad as a fall back).  Showed this to them, still didn't matter if they could not see in their system, which is the independent operating software, separate from Princess, who I had paid.  It was still charged again to my credit card.  Now had to get the Spa manager involved, etc  I spent about 8 hours of my vacation time with 3 in person visits, printing documents, credit card statements, etc, phone calls with spa manager, to get this resolved.  Whew...ok life is good again until....

next 7 day cruise starts and the Enclave again double charges me for the Enclave.  Bet you can guess what happened the following week, yep double charged again....

So personally I will not ever pre-book, I do not want to spend that much time trying to fix their problems that is coming out of my wallet.  But that is me and just my experience, others may have had not issue, mine was probably the exception, but that is how it happens for me... Glad I had all my documents.

So I do think they have some type of maximum limit for pre-bookings.  If the 28 day people had booked it all up, then those on only for a week or in person would have had no spots.

When on the Sky in November, I arranged one for a group from Cruise Critic, it was fairly easy, you can meet in person on Day 1 or call the DINE line and request to be included on the wine makers dinner.

In addition to Strongbow, which is NOT served all venues or in the dinning room, they also have Angry Orchard.  My favorite is also Strongbow, but could not get in Alfred's or the main dinning room, but could get at all almost everywhere else...

Recently on the Sky I prepaid for spa services, but when on board, even though at the desk we had the discussion that I had prepaid and they found it, I was charged again a 2nd time for the services on my on board account.  We were on board for a month and this happened 3 times, and it was very time consuming to get corrected.  I will NEVER prepay again,  But that is my experience with prepayment.  

My $.02 cents worth.  We spent a month on the Sky, within that time frame there were different dynamics of people.  As with most things the staff caters to the prevalent crowds on board.  The new production shows are much more geared to a younger dynamic with Rock Opera and 5 Skies, while we loved them and thought they were the best shows we had seen from Princess, a lot of others did not care for them.  Starting at 10pm in the Vista Lounge they have a DJ, that plays much more upbeat music, again depending on the number and the ages in the lounge the music varied.  He did on occasion have themed music, like Disco, etc.  Some nights lots of people there, other nights a ghost town, some of that driven by the port schedule of early mornings and long days.  The band Static on board was good, with a great variety of songs.

On a January Cruise, that is during school times, I would guess there would be an older demographic, as a lot of families with children would not be taking them out of school.  It probably a lot of passengers looking to escape cold winters, that maybe retired or without children, or have grown children.  My observations are just that my observations and not based on anything else.  I would guess that March, during a spring break time frame would be a little more active and attract a younger demographic.  Summers in the Caribbean also seem to attract a younger demographic.

The new ship is a beauty, the Cruise Director Alex and his staff were great.  My DH and myself fall into the mid 50's range and love both Princess and Celebrity, but at times we are also just looking to chill and get away, but have not found it difficult to connect with others via cruise critic that are like minded and get together on board and have made some great friends.

Enjoy whatever future cruises you embark, that is the ultimate goal. 

We have also purchased and used on the Sky, we pre-booked under spa services, it had the weekly pass for a single or a couple available.  You can also go to the spa area when you board and purchase.  They put a sticker on the medallion case that is color coded for the week, so when we were on longer than a week, they changed the sticker.  We love the enclave and visit there almost everyday.

On the Sky you must pay to use the steam/saunas on board.  If you get certain spa services that you pay for, you also get to use the Enclave for that day.

Well I'm of the loved it crowd, as was my DH.  But then again, I have not really enjoyed a lot of the prior production shows and typically have not gone to many.  There has always been some we have enjoyed, but these new shows were more up our alley.  Really liked the music in Rock Opera, have enjoyed that show as well.  Truly enjoyed the 5 skies, liked all the different action from the aerialist to varied music.  While we were basically front and center for shows, so we did not have any hindrance to our viewing.  

Very excited that Princess is putting back a crooners bar on the newer ships, we always found good entertainment there, if we were not interested in a show.  We have never found a lack of enjoyable activities on a ship yet.

I agree the Medallion net on the new Sky was not all that is said to be.  I could stream on Netflix, but often got buffering.  Could not stream on Hulu there was not enough strength, for their requirements.   Music appear fined.  While we were on the transatlantic and had to switch satellite connections, we had no internet for the entire day, and there were many days, were it just dropped you altogether.

While it is better than the previous internet on speed most days, not always and still not great.  Reception was also hit or miss on the ship, even though it was built for Medallion net.  

Was on the ship for 28 days, after more than a half dozen visits to the tech experts, I just gave up...

From my personal experience, they have a special drink menu that they make during the shows, that you could only get during the show time.  The area is so small they do not have the space to be a regular bar, so if you order other drinks, they have to go get them from a different bar and bring them back.

Was not a fan, but that's just me, others on board really enjoyed it.

Music is very subjective, my DH & I were on the Sky and absolutely Loved the new shows, 5 skies and Rock Opera, but have previously never cared much for the production shows.  So we liked the change, but many that like the more production type shows were not as crazy about the new shows from what I heard from others on board.  The also do a Muppet show in the vista, that is a bit cheesy but cute, no need to ever see more than once...

Just my opinion but I'm sure others have different ones.

Again it is a personal preference type of thing.  We typically book it as it is very relaxing, even on a port intensive trip we have gone in for 30 minutes and feel refreshed and relaxed before bed.  They are typically open until 10pm, so it allows for that after getting back on the ship.  This is where we totally unwind and relax, others really enjoy the Sanctuary, but that is not our cup of tea.  We are getting ready to embark on the the new Sky and have already booked and paid for our time there, as we will visit most days at least for a short time, but other days for longer we are on the Transatlantic so lots of sea days at the end.

The sauna's the sky is going to have a new type of thermal pool, but the jets and the bench in the back are just fantastic, the heated tile beds and showers are fantastic.

You can always do a tour and see if you think you would enjoy prior to purchasing, we did that a couple of years ago when the royal-class ships first came out.  If you think you would enjoy purchase if not give it a pass.  

Always so excited to get away and cruise, more times than not book an inside.  Why, I can usually cruise twice as much, we often sail in balconies too.  We have done a 28 day in an inside and did not ever feel it was a big deal, getting ready to do a 28 on the new Sky in a balcony, so we will truly get a comparison.  One of the things I do is bring some magnets for the walls, so I can hand different items up for ease and keep the clutter down.

We also take the small table and place it in the closet to give more room around the desk, bed area.  You can also have the steward completely room the table but it becomes a storage area for certain items.  We also love to be out and about, so not spending a lot of time in our room, it truly is a none factor.  In less than 2 minutes I can be out on a deck for my fix of the sun, and I totally get that.  I suffer if not enough sun(I am born and raised in Florida and I go crazy in a day or two of no sun), but it has never been an issue.

Best thing if you ever want an afternoon nap, the darkness of the room, best afternoon naps EVER are in an inside cabin...

I am sure you will have a great time, enjoy the ship and where ever you are visiting and don't worry about the cabin.

We did this a few years ago, but do to the hydrofoil schedules and our early arrival, we started with catching the bus right in front of the ship to the train station, bought the ticket at the little news stand, visited Pompeii, however, check out the departing train schedules for the most efficient use of time, caught the train to Sorrento, then walked down to the ferry from the train station, caught the Hydrofoil over to Capri, we purchased our return ticket as soon as we got off the hydrofoil for the return back to Naples from Capri, we then purchased round-trip tickets for the cable car. If was a very full day, might have had a little doze on the hydrofoil back to Naples. We started with a group of 16 from our roll call to do this trip, DH and I were the only ones that made the full loop, several wanted more down time and not as much walking so many decided to just spend the rest of the day in Sorrento and Hydrofoil back to Naples from there. There are lots of options but you can always modify the plan along the way as many of our roll call members did. It makes for a very long day, where you are moving all day along a very port intensive itinerary. It was going to be almost an hour after we could disembarked before the first hydrofoil to Capri, which is why we reversed our direction of travel.

We did travel from Venice to Florence where we spent a couple of days, then from Florence to Rome through Pisa, spent a week in Rome then to Civitavecchi for the cruise. First time had 2 large bags, 2 small bags and 2 backpacks. Hubby carried one large up stairs on train, then grabbed other large bag up stairs the. I handed him one small, I then came up stairs with other small on back packs. It worked. Was a crazy 5 minutes but never felt like we were going to be left behind etc. Trains really are an easy way to travel in Europe. There are also high speed trains to the port. They are much easier than the Regional trains. We did use a regional train from Pisa to Rome, still no issues.

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We have travelled a few times via train in Italy, at some also doing a cruise, we have not found getting on/off train that difficult. Sometimes more difficult are getting up and down platforms with the luggage. We have gotten much better at packing lite over the years. We used a bicycle lock at the luggage rack ran it through each of the suitcases and around the pole. We are going back next year will take the train or rent a car.

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I would plan my time for after the underground tour not before. The guide will also take you to all the levels not just below ground. They are a live an in person guide, we have done this tour twice, once was not a complete tour in 2011 because the lower levels were closed due to the flooding that occurred. Due to that they actually refunded the pass price we had purchased for the Coliseum and just charged for the guide, but we were still able to use the pass for the 3 days, nice touch. We went back and did the tour again and were able to see all areas, it is so much nicer to walk around the Coliseum after the tour with much more knowledge. Just my 2 cents worth, you can then stay as long as you wish.

We did this in 2016, we planned the entire trip around the tattoo. We bought tickets directly when they went on sale in December, we got front row seats facing the castle. It did get very cold during the evening. We had a full bus I booked with Timberbush tours that did a full day tour through the highlands prior to dropping us off for the tattoo, the. Getting us back in plenty of time. It was awesome and I believe much better than anything princess offers at a fraction of the cost.

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We just got off the Emerald and stated it would start December, bookings for those elite would be able to book 24 hours prior to anyone else who is not elite for those highly desired cabin specific request.

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I have the travel water pick and charge both it and my toothbrush in the bathroom without any problems. I have used it on the Royal, Regal, Emerald and Caribbean to date.

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You can also get a state issued ID, like a drivers license but identification card only. We did this for our kids when they were younger and we traveled out of the country. Check with your DMV for requirements.

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Here is my experience, we were on the maiden sailing and booked the enclave, it was great pool very warm, beds very warm, that was 2014. In 2015, we did the transatlantic crossing, having loved the enclave, we booked again....BIG disappointment. The pool was still warm enough, but no real warmth to the beds. Spoke with the spa manager, this is what we were told. Since the set is different in the enclave, the room temperature is already warm, which is not the case on other ships, people laying on the very warm beds were not properly hydrating. So to prevent these medical issues they decided to reduce the temperature on the beds, the desk can increase the temp, but only for 30 minutes and it is only by a few degrees. It completely changed the experience for us. I would suggest on the first day, go check it out, you can test the temperature and see if you will be happy. We did that this year on the Royal and again we were happy in the enclave. Enjoy your trip.

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We just did this trip in August 2016' it was a fabulous trip, we did time before and after the cruise. We booked a private car with blackberry (cost was 37£)from the airport to our hotel, we stayed at the Grange Wellington, really enjoyed our stay. We then booked National Express bus from Victoria station for transfer to ship, very easy (28£ for 2). While we were in London, we did do the hop on tour, just to see some sights, but we pre-purchased Oyster cards, which you can refill. Had an absolutely fabulous time. Took a cab a couple of times, but walked or used public transportation most of the time. We went to Salisbury, Stonehenge and Bath for several days after the cruise. Again, took the bus from Bath back to London, then the tube to catch the Eurostar to Paris, for more adventure.

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When we were there the big planes started coming in around 1:30ish, and they were lined up, one right after the other for about an hour. It was very cool, as one was right over the beach you could see the next one lowering over the water..... Made me think that poor guy in the tour a slight miscalculation and both planes on the runway...

You will have a great time, I had seen it on tv and saw photos nothing does it justice like seeing it in person.

Enjoy your cruise.