Sky Princess-nice ship, but lacked evening music

[dreaminofcruisin]

We were on the Sky Princess February 15^th-22^nd (Western Caribbean). DH and I are both in our early 60s and this was our 9^th cruise on Princess. We really like the Grand Class ships, but decided to try the Sky and check out the Royal class. Usually our objective for cruising is the itinerary first (preferably Princess) and then the ship. However, this cruise, our main objective was a brief escape from winter---mission accomplished for that!

 

Most Sky reviews seemed to be very positive about everything and while it is a beautiful ship and we enjoyed ourselves, there were things that we really missed from past Princess cruises.

 

The Ship:

The Sky Princess is a beautiful ship. Since we love using our balcony and we knew the Royal class balconies are tiny, we booked one of the Premium Deluxe balconies in the Aft side section. The stateroom was very nice with a small loveseat (so we didn’t have to fret over the missing barrel chair) and a HUGE balcony. I didn’t measure it, but it was at least as big as the balconies on the Grand Class ships Caribe deck.

 

Captain Tuovo (Bye-Bye) was so fun. I have never paid attention to Captains on cruises before, but he is definitely in a class by himself. One morning there was ‘Coffee with the Captain’ in the Piazza and it was one of the most entertaining parts of the cruise.

 

Dining:

We had Anytime dining and ate all of our dinners in the Soliel Dining Room. The times we eat dinner tends to vary by the cruise we are on and I never know until we are on the ship what that will be. Often it is around 7, but this trip, we ate earlier, usually sometime between 5 and 6. The main reason for this was that we often wanted to get to the 8:00 show in the Princess Theater. The service in the dining room was FANTASTIC!  It was the fastest service on any of our cruises! We always got a table for 2 and were always out of the dining room within 60-75 minutes. We had several different servers and always the same fast service. I ordered a glass of wine each evening and that too came really quickly! We started thinking the servers were reading our minds as the food came out so quickly! I don’t know if there was a process change made on the Sky or why the service was so fast, but I hope they do the same on the rest of their fleet!

 

Theater:

We saw 3 shows in the Princess theater: Rock Opera, 5 Skies and singer Stephanie Hodgdon ‘Rock ‘n Royalty’. For Rock Opera, we arrived 45 minutes ahead of the start time and the theater was ¾ full. For 5 Skies, we decided we better get there an hour early. The doors were locked, so people were lined up at the door. I think if Princess continues to add to the number of passengers on their ships, but not make the theater any bigger, they really should perform their shows 3 times a day---perhaps they could do a matinee or otherwise earlier than the 8:00 show? I thought Rock Opera was very good, DH thought it was OK. 5 Skies was ‘different’. My description of it would be a Broadway version of an online Game. Apparently, it was not enjoyed by several people. About 15 minutes into it, there was a technical difficulty and they had to turn on the house lights. While they were fixing it, several people got up and left…. We did stay and I think we both thought it was OK---not great---but not awful either.  Stephanie Hodgdon had performed a show earlier in the week which we missed. The one we saw was the last night of the cruise, which was unfortunate for her as the theater was only half full---maybe everyone was packing? We did enjoy that show.

 

Other Entertainment:

This was our big disappointment on the ship. The new Take Five lounge was very nice. We listened to Jazz a couple of nights---not our favorite genre, but ok. Generally, on cruises, in the evening we locate where the ‘party band’ is playing and listen to their music. There was a party band on the ship – Static—but it was rare to find them playing anywhere before about 10:30 at night and even then only occasionally. I really don’t understand what Princess is doing? I assumed since this was a bigger ship with more passengers, Princess would have MORE entertainment in many venues. Instead, I think there was less entertainment than any ship I have been on. The only time we saw Static was one time in the Piazza. I don’t ‘get’ the emphasis on the Piazza. It’s great that there is more room for Vines, the International Café, Bellinis, etc. so more often you could find a seat. However, as a place to watch entertainment---I just don’t get it. Very few tables and chairs have a good view of the entertainment and even if you might when it starts, there likely will be someone standing in front of you unless you are right in the middle circle. It is also very loud with people talking and walking through, etc.

If you looked at the Princess Patter each day, you would think there was a lot going on in the evening. Then you looked more closely and realized that many of the listings were for Un-hosted Get-Togethers of various groups, Lotus Spa Clinics, Art Gallery, Photo & Video Gallery or Shops of Princess. Those categories aren’t really what I would call Entertainment. We did enjoy the Marriage Match Gameshow, but like everything else, we arrived an hour early to be sure we got a seat. If Princess continues to build ships with more passengers, but offers less options for evening entertainment, the options available will continue to be more and more crowded. Also, I thought with the Medallions and the upgraded WiFi, Princess was trying to attract the next generation (or maybe even mine?), but when there are such limited options of any music newer than the 1950s, I just don’t see how that will happen.

 

The Sky is a beautiful ship, but we missed the wrap-around promenade deck, the multiple venues in the evening providing entertainment (Wheelhouse, Crooners, Explorers Lounge, Skywalkers). If there is a choice, we will be booking on the older Grand class ships. However, itinerary is usually the most important---so our next cruise will be on the Regal---another “new to us” ship. I am hoping for a bit better evening entertainment in the lounges, but if not, our objective for that is mainly the itinerary with not many sea days, so I am sure we will have a good cruise.

[franktown]

The Regal has Crooners which has decent entertainment every evening.  It was definitely our go to bar.  For what ever reason they removed Crooners from the Sky.  According to the deck plans it is back on the next ship.  The Enchantment.

Edited March 4, 2020 by franktown
spelling

[Potstech]

We were on the Sky for the Jan 11 Eastern cruise and had no problem finding music to dance too.  We just had to look for it.  All Day Long.

[Wishing on a star]

From what I gather,  it seems that the 'party band' does now have a much more limited time-frame and terms of engagement.

On our past cruise on the Regal, Xcite was just OMG fabulous!  They carried the cruise from start to finish.

I don't think that this is the case on most ships any longer.

 

I wonder if more frequent cruisers could chime in here, and confirm or not.

 

The guy at Crooners left a lot to be desired.  That was unfortunate.

His voice was more grating than ingratiating.  So, Crooners was not a big draw.

So, that was lacking.

Wheelhouse was great!

 

I do not like the changes to the venues, and what they have done to ruin the Retreat Pool area on the new ships.

I think Princess has made some unfortunate decisions cutting where they absolutely should not, and either taking away or making changes to the things that I did really love.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 4, 2020 by Wishing on a star

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the comments.

Never found the music issue on my Sky cruise.

[Lucky TGO]

My next cruise will be on the Sky Princess thanks for all the info.

Tony

[hobbyfarmer2]

DW and I were on Sky for the Nov TA.  Every night there was music at at least 4-5 venues from Vista Lounge, Princess Live, Take 5, Wheelhouse and the Piazza.

Edited March 4, 2020 by hobbyfarmer2
Spellcheck

[trbarton]

4 hours ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

We were on the Sky Princess February 15^th-22^nd (Western Caribbean). DH and I are both in our early 60s and this was our 9^th cruise on Princess. We really like the Grand Class ships, but decided to try the Sky and check out the Royal class. Usually our objective for cruising is the itinerary first (preferably Princess) and then the ship. However, this cruise, our main objective was a brief escape from winter---mission accomplished for that!

 

Most Sky reviews seemed to be very positive about everything and while it is a beautiful ship and we enjoyed ourselves, there were things that we really missed from past Princess cruises.

 

The Ship:

The Sky Princess is a beautiful ship. Since we love using our balcony and we knew the Royal class balconies are tiny, we booked one of the Premium Deluxe balconies in the Aft side section. The stateroom was very nice with a small loveseat (so we didn’t have to fret over the missing barrel chair) and a HUGE balcony. I didn’t measure it, but it was at least as big as the balconies on the Grand Class ships Caribe deck.

 

Captain Tuovo (Bye-Bye) was so fun. I have never paid attention to Captains on cruises before, but he is definitely in a class by himself. One morning there was ‘Coffee with the Captain’ in the Piazza and it was one of the most entertaining parts of the cruise.

 

Dining:

We had Anytime dining and ate all of our dinners in the Soliel Dining Room. The times we eat dinner tends to vary by the cruise we are on and I never know until we are on the ship what that will be. Often it is around 7, but this trip, we ate earlier, usually sometime between 5 and 6. The main reason for this was that we often wanted to get to the 8:00 show in the Princess Theater. The service in the dining room was FANTASTIC!  It was the fastest service on any of our cruises! We always got a table for 2 and were always out of the dining room within 60-75 minutes. We had several different servers and always the same fast service. I ordered a glass of wine each evening and that too came really quickly! We started thinking the servers were reading our minds as the food came out so quickly! I don’t know if there was a process change made on the Sky or why the service was so fast, but I hope they do the same on the rest of their fleet!

 

Theater:

We saw 3 shows in the Princess theater: Rock Opera, 5 Skies and singer Stephanie Hodgdon ‘Rock ‘n Royalty’. For Rock Opera, we arrived 45 minutes ahead of the start time and the theater was ¾ full. For 5 Skies, we decided we better get there an hour early. The doors were locked, so people were lined up at the door. I think if Princess continues to add to the number of passengers on their ships, but not make the theater any bigger, they really should perform their shows 3 times a day---perhaps they could do a matinee or otherwise earlier than the 8:00 show? I thought Rock Opera was very good, DH thought it was OK. 5 Skies was ‘different’. My description of it would be a Broadway version of an online Game. Apparently, it was not enjoyed by several people. About 15 minutes into it, there was a technical difficulty and they had to turn on the house lights. While they were fixing it, several people got up and left…. We did stay and I think we both thought it was OK---not great---but not awful either.  Stephanie Hodgdon had performed a show earlier in the week which we missed. The one we saw was the last night of the cruise, which was unfortunate for her as the theater was only half full---maybe everyone was packing? We did enjoy that show.

 

Other Entertainment:

This was our big disappointment on the ship. The new Take Five lounge was very nice. We listened to Jazz a couple of nights---not our favorite genre, but ok. Generally, on cruises, in the evening we locate where the ‘party band’ is playing and listen to their music. There was a party band on the ship – Static—but it was rare to find them playing anywhere before about 10:30 at night and even then only occasionally. I really don’t understand what Princess is doing? I assumed since this was a bigger ship with more passengers, Princess would have MORE entertainment in many venues. Instead, I think there was less entertainment than any ship I have been on. The only time we saw Static was one time in the Piazza. I don’t ‘get’ the emphasis on the Piazza. It’s great that there is more room for Vines, the International Café, Bellinis, etc. so more often you could find a seat. However, as a place to watch entertainment---I just don’t get it. Very few tables and chairs have a good view of the entertainment and even if you might when it starts, there likely will be someone standing in front of you unless you are right in the middle circle. It is also very loud with people talking and walking through, etc.

If you looked at the Princess Patter each day, you would think there was a lot going on in the evening. Then you looked more closely and realized that many of the listings were for Un-hosted Get-Togethers of various groups, Lotus Spa Clinics, Art Gallery, Photo & Video Gallery or Shops of Princess. Those categories aren’t really what I would call Entertainment. We did enjoy the Marriage Match Gameshow, but like everything else, we arrived an hour early to be sure we got a seat. If Princess continues to build ships with more passengers, but offers less options for evening entertainment, the options available will continue to be more and more crowded. Also, I thought with the Medallions and the upgraded WiFi, Princess was trying to attract the next generation (or maybe even mine?), but when there are such limited options of any music newer than the 1950s, I just don’t see how that will happen.

 

The Sky is a beautiful ship, but we missed the wrap-around promenade deck, the multiple venues in the evening providing entertainment (Wheelhouse, Crooners, Explorers Lounge, Skywalkers). If there is a choice, we will be booking on the older Grand class ships. However, itinerary is usually the most important---so our next cruise will be on the Regal---another “new to us” ship. I am hoping for a bit better evening entertainment in the lounges, but if not, our objective for that is mainly the itinerary with not many sea days, so I am sure we will have a good cruise.

I have taken one cruise on the Majestic, Royal Class, & I was like you surprised as to the lack of venues for dancing or other kinds of music. The main place was in the Atrium at night. I’m aware that the Majestic was built for the Chinese Market but I can’t believe that the Princess people  thought that the Asians don’t dance. 
 

Other than that it was a fine ship. 
 

Tom😎

Edited March 4, 2020 by trbarton

[jennybenny]

Thanks for your review. I love the Royal Princess, but there are things on the Sky's design that I don't think I like (the adult only pool layout, no Crooners) so the likelihood of going out of my way to cruise on the Sky is slim.  Should something fall in my lap, or the Sky be my only option for an itinerary I want, I will take it.  I actually am an admirer of the Island after having sailed her after the butchering. So perhaps if the opportunity strikes I will book the Sky someday and love it. I've never had a bad cruise, so if opportunity knocks, I'll have a great time on the Sky!

Thanks again for sharing your experiene

[Geobugs]

On the Sky in 3 1/2 days.  Thank you for the review.

[Roger88]

Thank you very much for the review. I wish I could read such reviews more often. As far as entertainment goes, well, it all depends on the route. I remember we were going to Hawaii and we get like 3 days of Hawaian food and music, then another country and another food and music. We also had some shows connected to the places we were going. It was very fun and entertaining 

Edited March 4, 2020 by Roger88

[MCC retired]

We felt that there was lots of music in the Piazza but scarce in lounges especially early evening 6-7pm .

Perhaps too much emphasis on entertainment in the Piazza nightly .

 

[Armonk27]

We agree with your comments about the theater and the chair situation. Rock Opera needs 45-60 minutes ahead to secure a good seat, 5 Skies 45 minutes, the excellent magician who is very funny (Michael Misko) 30 minutes.  I agree that Princess needs to add an extra showing for the big numbers, or at least stream them live into the staterooms. If you go early to get a seat, bring a book to read.

We never were able to see any 9pm events at Princess Live or the piazza because there were no seats. Thank good ness the rooms had good movies.

Pool chair situation remains really sad.

As for other entertainment, I do not think watching people learn ballroom and line dancing qualifies as "entertainment", but every day the piazza seats were packed with folks watching. There was constant Bingo. I do not count going to EFFY every day for raffles as entertainment, but that is a huge promotion.

The shopping advice event got a big crowd, but only gave out 2-3 "freebies". Last year on Caribbean Princess they handed out at least 30 gifts.

[Tak8]

I'll be on the Sky later this year.  Thanks for the info.

[ED49404]

2 hours ago, MCC retired said:

We felt that there was lots of music in the Piazza but scarce in lounges especially early evening 6-7pm .

Perhaps too much emphasis on entertainment in the Piazza nightly .

 

I agree with you on there was a lot of music in the Piazza.  When we were on it the band's were playing until 11pm.  You could've heard them playing on Emerald deck (8) at 11pm around the center elevators.  

[63 Super Sport]

1 hour ago, Armonk27 said:

We agree with your comments about the theater and the chair situation. Rock Opera needs 45-60 minutes ahead to secure a good seat, 5 Skies 45 minutes, the excellent magician who is very funny (Michael Misko) 30 minutes.  I agree that Princess needs to add an extra showing for the big numbers, or at least stream them live into the staterooms. If you go early to get a seat, bring a book to read.

We never were able to see any 9pm events at Princess Live or the piazza because there were no seats. Thank good ness the rooms had good movies.

Pool chair situation remains really sad.

As for other entertainment, I do not think watching people learn ballroom and line dancing qualifies as "entertainment", but every day the piazza seats were packed with folks watching. There was constant Bingo. I do not count going to EFFY every day for raffles as entertainment, but that is a huge promotion.

The shopping advice event got a big crowd, but only gave out 2-3 "freebies". Last year on Caribbean Princess they handed out at least 30 gifts.

 

We were also on the Sky Feb 15-22. The cabins are beautiful. Service was good thru out the ship. The ship is nice but lacking when it comes to entertainment and food. I agree no place to seat unless you were there an hour in advance. Then the entertainment was average to below average. The food was ok but seem to be lukewarm no matter where we dined. The casino was small and smokey. No variety in slot machines - alot of the same kind. Very crowded!!! The casino is designed poorly. The bar staff has to carry ice and supplies thru the slot machines and chairs to the bar.

 

We have been on 20 plus Princess cruises. Based on our experience we will avoid booking another cruise on the Sky in the future. We do not feel the ship was at the Princess standard.

 

 

[NotmysecondRodeo]

We will not be back on the Sky Princess either and we love cruising Princess.

 

THE GOOD

It's a beautiful new ship.

 

The Captain was wonderful.

 

The crew was outstanding.

 

The Medallion was great.

 

Princess Live is so much better (the use of the Medallion for drinks works best in here).

 

International Cafe. Enough said.

 

Rock Opera rocked!

 

Alfredo's. Almost better than Sabatinis. Almost...

 

THE BAD

Club Class Mini Suites and Club Class dining were no where near the level of the Royal or Regal. No table side entrees or attractive nightly specials. Rooms and balconies felt tight. Not worth the up-charge.

 

The traditional wood decor has been replaced with shiny, noisy laminate and metal railings.

 

There is so little ambiance in Take 5 it would just Take 5 crew members to Take 5 minutes to remove all the furniture and set up some other stark themed room. Obviously, an afterthought that took 5 minutes to think of ("hey, what should we put in here?").

 

Whose idea was it to omit the most popular bar/night spot on the ship - Crooners? Fire them! In that vain, Good Spirits at Sea is lost at Sea. It feels contrived and doesn't work. A poorly manufactured artificial vibe, that like the near always empty Bistro Sur La Mer, is an obvious bust. The not so pleasant smell of some of the seafood entrees at the Bistro permeate the upper Piazza. Look for replacements in the near future. (hint: try and serve a sit down French Country breakfast/lunch at the Bistro).

 

Hey! Where'd the Pub Lunch go? 

 

THE UGLY

The Retreat Pool area is flat out horrible. Destroyed, ruined, kaput! Absolutely no character and stark and medicinal in its presentation. It truly feels like you're on the deck on a Navy ship, surrounded by riveted white metal. A 3 foot "wading pool" with one adult "non-friendly" ladder. Just one row of 9 lounge chairs on each side. This is where we always met new friends and enjoyed the quiet solitude away from the constant excessive noise of the main pool (now pools). That once friendly gathering place no longer exists on the Sky Princess.

 

The Aft Pool is another 3 foot bath with three lounge chairs positioned in a ridiculous location blocking the path from the pool area entry ladder to the pool entry ladder. Terrible and dangerous design. What were they thinking?

 

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance...

 

 

Notmysecondrodeo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tedferg]

17 hours ago, trbarton said:

I have taken one cruise on the Majestic, Royal Class, & I was like you surprised as to the lack of venues for dancing or other kinds of music. The main place was in the Atrium at night. I’m aware that the Majestic was built for the Chinese Market but I can’t believe that the Princess people  thought that the Asians don’t dance. 
 

Other than that it was a fine ship. 
 

Tom😎

Polite suggestion Tom - no need to quote a long post just to add your comment.

[Loucat]

WOW- We were on the January 4th Sky sailing and loved the nightly music in the piazza. If you read Patter, it did not seem to be impressive but we learned from our December Regal sailing. Try it. We did not bother with bar bands, singers etc.

We plotted out spot on the piazza and stayed through so many wonderful performances. So special-to us these musical presentations were the best. It became so crowded I wondered why so much in this area?

Sorry you did not find good entertainment but I would board Sky tomorrow if I could.

We liked the ship. Pax danced like crazy and it was such fun!

Agree the retreat pool was only a dream and we never found spots there. 

I cannot be in the sun. The Sanctuary had open spots but not of interest for us.

 

 

[NANCYR2]

22 hours ago, Lucky TGO said:

My next cruise will be on the Sky Princess thanks for all the info.

Tony

Tony,

Jim and I have sailed with you on the Royal and have enjoyed several Patriot’s games.

We are on the Sky next winter. When are you sailing?

 

Nancy

 

 

 

[Lucky TGO]

3 minutes ago, NANCYR2 said:

Tony,

Jim and I have sailed with you on the Royal and have enjoyed several Patriot’s games.

We are on the Sky next winter. When are you sailing?

 

Nancy

 

 

 

Hi Nancy,

We will be going in January 19th to 29th. I hope you and Jim will be on the same cruise. Love to see you again.

 

[NANCYR2]

1 minute ago, Lucky TGO said:

Hi Nancy,

We will be going in January 19th to 29th. I hope you and Jim will be on the same cruise. Love to see you again.

 

😘..........Tony, we are on 1/29 sailing for 20 nites. 

We did the Celebrity Silhouette for 9 nites on 2/14. Loved the cruise. We were the first on the ship after of month of dry dock.

[Lucky TGO]

3 minutes ago, NANCYR2 said:

😘..........Tony, we are on 1/29 sailing for 20 nites. 

We did the Celebrity Silhouette for 9 nites on 2/14. Loved the cruise. We were the first on the ship after of month of dry dock.

Nancy we are still thinking of add another 10 days to are cruise. So we may still see you. I just hope that Princess has more entertainment later at night. I still don’t go to bed before 2:00a.m. Once a night owl always a night 🦉.

Tony

[dancingguy]

Good to see a thread on music, venues and dancing on the Sky.  We'll be on the Sky on 3/28 - assuming it all doesn't fall apart due to Corona.  Basically Princess screwed up evening music and dance with the whole Royal layout.  The new 'Wheelhouse' is pathetic and now Crooners is missing or compromised on the Majestic/Sky and I guess the next few ships.   We do a lot better on the ships with a real Wheelhouse and a nice Crooners e.g. Emerald, Caribbean...

 

That said we still make it work - we just dodge passengers in the not-a-wheelhouse space etc.  We also enjoy the new larger Piazza and have found lots of musicians playing in the Piazza who aren't dance bands but still like it when people dance to their steal drums, or single guitar,  classical violins, etc. etc.    You might be dancing waltz's or tangos, etc. which might not be what you're looking for....

 

We've traveled with 'Static' - they are a fun party band for a lot of people.  

 

I will also encourage people to make it known to Princess if you feel the entertainment is weak.  These should be coveted jobs for entertainers -  yet some of the Princess Theater acts lately have been weak.  A single vocalist, say, that just isn't very entertaining.   The ship theater groups are always good - Princess has always put a lot of effort into their in-house musical shows. 

[Dawniepoo]

I was on the same sailing. It was a fabulous cruise, and I agree with most of your points. As far as the entertainment goes, we did enjoy Trevor and his steel drums, but didn't catch much else. I agree about the Piazza though. On every one of our Royal class cruises, the dance classes in the Piazza would drive me nuts. All that counting!!!!!!