Sky Princess-Crooners ??

Does anyone have any idea if princess has decided to put Crooners on the Sky Princess?

I doubt anyone does.

But lets look at what we do know:

The reason the piano bar on Sky will not be on Deck 7 overlooking the atrium is because of the limited hours the pianist/vocalist is able to perform on Royal and Regal due to of all the noisy activities taking place at all hours of the evening in the Piazza. Princess has apparently decided to continue using the Piazza for this purpose on Sky despite the clear preference of Crooner's by most passengers.

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So lets just hope the unthinkable does not happen and there is no space at all dedicated to a piano bar on Sky. There are still plenty of gaps to be filled in for the public areas on the deck plans that have been released to this point. Does it really matter whether or not it is named "Crooner's" or something else?

Look at it another way:

Crooners is the Princess piano bar, and that is important for consistency across the brand. But does it really matter if it's in or overlooking the atrium?

I'd like to see a medium-small bar, tucked away on it's own, rather like the Wheelhouse Bar on Golden but without the dance floor. Cosy and intimate.

The Sky deck plans have an area just shown as Bar/Lounge on deck six - where Club 6 is on Royal. That would be a perfect place for Crooners IMHO.

we liked the 'openness' of Crooners, and it was usually our last call...for us

did notice on Regal in March, there seemed to be more going on in the atrium, thus less in Crooners...but maybe because we went there earlier or something...dunno...:cool:

Back a couple of months ago I looked at the plans for the Sky Princess, that is when I first realized there was no Crooners or Wheelhouse bar in the plans. I sent an email to Princess expressing my dislike of not having either one of these bars on the Sky. I received a call from a customer service person. She was very nice said they appreciated my comments. She even sent a bottle of wine to our cabin on our upcoming cruise on the Crown in November. What she didn't do is reassure me that there would be a Crooners on the Sky. She said Princess has received many calls & emails expressing concern for not having a Crooners on the Sky. At this time the Sky does not have a Crooners. She did say maybe on the next new build Princess will take into account the fact people are not happy with design. I told her my DH & I would not be cruising on the Sky or any other ship without a nice place to sit for before and after dinner drinks. Having a venue like this is a big part of our enjoyment of the cruise. The only areas for drinks will be Atrium Bar, Wine Bar, the Bar next to the Casino which is Club 6 on the Regal & Royal (I do not like this bar it is a long skinny dark place) it is used as the disco after 10:00 pm. If you are not a person who cares about a space for drinks, think about the public space this is doing away with. Think about all the people who enjoy sitting in these venues during the day, playing cards or games. Where will they go now? In bad weather where will they go? To me this is a big loss of public space. The Regal's guest capacity is 3,560, even if the Sky's capacity stays the same it is a loss of public usable space. The space is now in the design on the Sky for La Mer French Bistro which is a extra charge $30.00 per person restaurant. If this is something you care about I urge you to email Princess your concerns.

Having a venue like this is a big part of our enjoyment of the cruise. The only areas for drinks will be Atrium Bar, Wine Bar, the Bar next to the Casino which is Club 6 on the Regal & Royal (I do not like this bar it is a long skinny dark place) it is used as the disco after 10:00 pm..

There is also Bellinis on deck 6. We tended to get our pre-dinner drinks at the Crown Bar (aka Wheelhouse on Regal/Royal) on deck 7 on Majestic Princess which had no Crooners - but it's not in the heart of the action. It was busy though and we had to wait for our drinks a few nights.

Sandra

The issue of the loss of Crooners is only one of several concerns I have from looking at the deck plans.

Reducing the lounge chair space around the adults-only Retreat pool to add passenger cabins which will only increase the crowding aboard the ship.

The areas on the Lido deck just forward of the pools that, on other ships are occupied by the Trident Grill, a bar, and Prego Pizza, are shaded showing they are not crew-only spaces but have no identifying labels.

The areas on Riviera deck between the Penthouse suites that, on the Royal and Regal are occupied by the Chapel and the Concierge Lounge, are shaded showing they are not crew-only spaces but have no identifying labels.

The area on the Royal and Regal that is labeled Club 6 is labeled only as bar/lounge on the Sky. Why no name like the other bars? Will it be named later as Crooners?

There is also Bellinis on deck 6. We tended to get our pre-dinner drinks at the Crown Bar (aka Wheelhouse on Regal/Royal) on deck 7 on Majestic Princess which had no Crooners - but it's not in the heart of the action. It was busy though and we had to wait for our drinks a few nights.

 

Sandra

I forgot about Bellin's but it is very small. It would not work for us as most cruises we are traveling with other couples. We did try to go to the Wheelhouse/Crown Bar a few times. On the Regal they have reduced the size of this venue already. The Wheelhouse Bar used to be our favorite Princess Bar. Then they started messing with it. On some ships they have taken over half of the Bar to make a night time Restaurant some fancy burger place. We were on the Crown July 2017 for 21 days in the Baltic. They have reduced the size of the Wheelhouse to about 1/3 the size it used to be. Many nights we could not find a seat in the Bar. Most nights no one was even in the restaurant side. The most I saw the entire 21 days were 3 or 4 tables. I just don't understand what Princess is doing. I know they want to make money, but I would think a full bar would make them more than 2 or 3 tables of people per night in a restaurant. On our last night we asked our bar waiter if it was like that on other cruises. He said very few people ate there. He told us his bar manager had asked to increase the size of the Wheelhouse since so few were eating there and more space was needed in the bar. He was told no.

I forgot about Bellin's but it is very small. It would not work for us as most cruises we are traveling with other couples. We did try to go to the Wheelhouse/Crown Bar a few times. On the Regal they have reduced the size of this venue already. The Wheelhouse Bar used to be our favorite Princess Bar. Then they started messing with it. On some ships they have taken over half of the Bar to make a night time Restaurant some fancy burger place. We were on the Crown July 2017 for 21 days in the Baltic. They have reduced the size of the Wheelhouse to about 1/3 the size it used to be. Many nights we could not find a seat in the Bar. Most nights no one was even in the restaurant side. The most I saw the entire 21 days were 3 or 4 tables. I just don't understand what Princess is doing. I know they want to make money, but I would think a full bar would make them more than 2 or 3 tables of people per night in a restaurant. On our last night we asked our bar waiter if it was like that on other cruises. He said very few people ate there. He told us his bar manager had asked to increase the size of the Wheelhouse since so few were eating there and more space was needed in the bar. He was told no.

It was the same story with the Wheelhouse Bar aboard the Emerald Princess. During our 28-day Tahiti cruise Princess had to have lost thousands of dollars in drink revenue because people could not find seats due to all the empty tables in the area taken up by the Salty Dog Gastro Pub dining venue. Another mistake Princess made on that cruise was to put the most popular lounge entertainer, Phillipa, in the tiny area left in the Wheelhouse Bar. To make it worse, half the chairs faced away from the stage.

Hubby and I just got off the Ruby Princess. We would spend every evening in Crooners with friends we met through CC. I have the Sky booked for 2020, because I want to go on a new ship. I will be very disappointed if there is no spot to go and have a drink and people watch!

It was the same at the Wheelhouse bar, no place to sit and have a drink... space was taken for the Salty Dog

On our last cruise the guy at Crooner's had a huge following and was jam packed every night. My wife and I greatly preferred the guy who played piano in Wheelhouse regularly. It was mostly deserted. Sad. The guy in Crooner's was flashy and obviously thought a great deal of himself. The guy in Wheelhouse (actually a Princess crew member) was self-deprecating and had a great repertoire and was willing to play anything you could come up with. He did play in Crooner's one night to fill in and it was full but not overwhelmingly crowded. It was nice to use Crooner's that night. I simply can't imagine why Princess would eliminate Crooner's as it's a venue that is always busy and must generate a great deal of income for them as well as being beloved by many Princess cruisers.

There is also Bellinis on deck 6. We tended to get our pre-dinner drinks at the Crown Bar (aka Wheelhouse on Regal/Royal) on deck 7 on Majestic Princess which had no Crooners - but it's not in the heart of the action. It was busy though and we had to wait for our drinks a few nights.

 

Sandra

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On our last cruise the guy at Crooner's had a huge following and was jam packed every night. My wife and I greatly preferred the guy who played piano in Wheelhouse regularly. It was mostly deserted. Sad. The guy in Crooner's was flashy and obviously thought a great deal of himself. The guy in Wheelhouse (actually a Princess crew member) was self-deprecating and had a great repertoire and was willing to play anything you could come up with. He did play in Crooner's one night to fill in and it was full but not overwhelmingly crowded. It was nice to use Crooner's that night. I simply can't imagine why Princess would eliminate Crooner's as it's a venue that is always busy and must generate a great deal of income for them as well as being beloved by many Princess cruisers.

Karaoke Kory?...:rolleyes:

On our last cruise the guy at Crooner's had a huge following and was jam packed every night. My wife and I greatly preferred the guy who played piano in Wheelhouse regularly. It was mostly deserted. Sad. The guy in Crooner's was flashy and obviously thought a great deal of himself. The guy in Wheelhouse (actually a Princess crew member) was self-deprecating and had a great repertoire and was willing to play anything you could come up with. He did play in Crooner's one night to fill in and it was full but not overwhelmingly crowded. It was nice to use Crooner's that night. I simply can't imagine why Princess would eliminate Crooner's as it's a venue that is always busy and must generate a great deal of income for them as well as being beloved by many Princess cruisers.

Not to mention obnoxious, somewhat rude and a barely passable voice. There we many notes out of his reach, though he continually tried. :p:cool:

It was the same story with the Wheelhouse Bar aboard the Emerald Princess. During our 28-day Tahiti cruise Princess had to have lost thousands of dollars in drink revenue because people could not find seats due to all the empty tables in the area taken up by the Salty Dog Gastro Pub dining venue. Another mistake Princess made on that cruise was to put the most popular lounge entertainer, Phillipa, in the tiny area left in the Wheelhouse Bar. To make it worse, half the chairs faced away from the stage.

We will be on the 28-day Tahiti cruise on the Star leaving 3/30/19. I hope they haven't changed the Wheelhouse bar there also. I am really not understanding some of the decisions Princess is making lately.

Hubby and I just got off the Ruby Princess. We would spend every evening in Crooners with friends we met through CC. I have the Sky booked for 2020, because I want to go on a new ship. I will be very disappointed if there is no spot to go and have a drink and people watch!

It was the same at the Wheelhouse bar, no place to sit and have a drink... space was taken for the Salty Dog

There will not be a Crooners the Princess rep said the design was too far along. I am not sure what the Bar by the Casino will be. It is in the same location as Club 6 on the Royal & Regal. Like I said not my favorite. There will be the Atrium Bar, Vines Wine Bar, Crown Grill Bar. I would think the Crown Bar will be really crowded without a Crooners. The Princess Rep did say if enough people voice their complaints they might change it on future new ships.

Princess made so many mistakes on the Majestic that it has had to go into drydock before

its move to Australia. The loss of the Wheelhouse on the Royal,Regal,Majestic, is another

example of how Princess does not learn. On the Majestic the french restaurant was

empty most of the time.

SHARE and the Gastro pub in the Wheelhouse are great examples of Princess not learning

from their mistakes.

We are booked on the SKY in November, 2019. I just hope it is not like the Majestic.

Greg

Princess made so many mistakes on the Majestic that it has had to go into drydock before its move to Australia.

Any idea what changes were made?

Princess made so many mistakes on the Majestic that it has had to go into drydock before

its move to Australia. The loss of the Wheelhouse on the Royal,Regal,Majestic, is another

example of how Princess does not learn. On the Majestic the french restaurant was

empty most of the time.

 

SHARE and the Gastro pub in the Wheelhouse are great examples of Princess not learning

from their mistakes.

 

We are booked on the SKY in November, 2019. I just hope it is not like the Majestic.

Princess didn't make mistakes with Majestic, she was designed for a completely different market than the rest of the fleet. Chinese passengers have different preferences onboard. They don't congregate in bars, they love to gamble - not just slot machines and casino games but also mahjong, a French restaurant is probably more to their taste than Italian, and they don't sunbathe to the extent that Americans and Australians do. Initially Majestic was expected to stay in China year round but apparently some arrangements fell through so they decided to send the ship to Australia for our summer session (Chinese winter). Ah well, at least we get a relatively new ship for a change. Of course this will cause problems, particularly with the lack of bars, so it's not surprising that some changes will need to be made.

Princess made so many mistakes on the Majestic that it has had to go into drydock before

its move to Australia.

 

Greg

Do you know this for certain? Just curious as we are sailing her to New Zealand in March 2019. Have already sailed on her in April 2017 too. Lovely ship.

My wish for the Sky would be a high deck observation venue. Still hoping for some positive surprises which aren’t shown on the deck plans.

Princess didn't make mistakes with Majestic, she was designed for a completely different market than the rest of the fleet. Chinese passengers have different preferences onboard. They don't congregate in bars, they love to gamble - not just slot machines and casino games but also mahjong, a French restaurant is probably more to their taste than Italian, and they don't sunbathe to the extent that Americans and Australians do. Initially Majestic was expected to stay in China year round but apparently some arrangements fell through so they decided to send the ship to Australia for our summer session (Chinese winter). Ah well, at least we get a relatively new ship for a change. Of course this will cause problems, particularly with the lack of bars, so it's not surprising that some changes will need to be made.

The Chinese are also vastly more into karaoke so the areas where you can actually rent out a karaoke venue are likely to be profitable whereas in the rest of the fleet they would be a complete waste of space.

The Chinese are also vastly more into karaoke so the areas where you can actually rent out a karaoke venue are likely to be profitable whereas in the rest of the fleet they would be a complete waste of space.

Exactly.

Do you know this for certain? Just curious as we are sailing her to New Zealand in March 2019. Have already sailed on her in April 2017 too. Lovely ship.

 

I spoke to one of the senior F&B people when we were on Royal last year and she said there would be changes to Majestic for the Australian market. More bars presumably, otherwise they might have a mutiny on their hands. :D:D:D

At least Vines should/will be a full service bar...not just wine...

but it's still not Crooners:(