Sky Princess December 18-28, 2021 Cruise Review/Report!!!

[Rick-n-MeMe]

We just returned from the Sky Princess December 18-28, 2021 and stayed in a Premium Deluxe Balcony aft on Dolphin deck.

 

We are a retired couple who moved to Florida 4.5 years ago mainly to enjoy cruising, but the beautiful Florida weather doesn’t hurt either!  We live within 2.5 hours of 3 major ports making it very easy to drive to the ports and park in port garages or lots.  Since the return of cruising this summer, we have sailed three times.  One out of Seattle on Celebrity Millenium to Alaska, one out of Fort Lauderdale on Holland America’s newest, the Rotterdam and our latest, the Sky Princess.

We are very happy to be cruising again!  Our style is to lay low and not participate in organized tours and potentially crowded shuttles.  We love to select our staterooms based on location and balcony space.  

We booked this sailing on a Tuesday and sailed on Saturday.  Four days!  Luckily, we had ordered a six pack of Abbott Binax Now Covid-19 test kits from Emed back in the summer for our Alaska cruise.  We had the Rotterdam cruise and now were down to only two tests left.  What to do?  Book another cruise and quick! Those tests are expiring soon!  HaHa.  What a wonderful and crazy last-minute decision. 

We packed, exchanged our few Christmas gifts that were barely wrapped and under the tree and off we went on December 18th to Port Everglades.  We parked in the brand-new upgraded garage area at Princess terminals 2 and 4.  Their signage needs some work though, but hopefully it will get sorted.

We arrived at the port around 1115 and were probably on the ship half an hour later.  Not bad!  Check in was a breeze even waiting for our Medallions right after showing all our documents.  The Medallion desk is the last stop before boarding and we definitely were not the only people collecting Medallions. 

We were able to go straight to our room, well not straight there, I guess.  Our premium deluxe balcony stateroom was 9th floor, Dolphin deck, aft. We ran into closed doors and being hell-bent to get to our room, we opened the doors and went right through and down to our room which was ready.  Turns out we had entered the crew quarantine area where they await something like 10 days after boarding for the first time or maybe after getting their J&J vaccine.  The same area was blocked off on the opposite hallway, so both port and starboard were completely shut off to the paying public.  It got pretty annoying to have to avoid this area because as you know, Princess ships are built in a strange way aft.  You cannot get to midships without going to 7 or 16 for instance.  Anyway, we will get into that more later.

All in all, we loved the cruise as we do most cruises.  We are balcony dwellers and love a good lazy day reading and relaxing.

We found some likes and dislikes and will list them.  They are our observations and opinions. Keep in mind we had just disembarked the Holland America Rotterdam on December 1st, so the wonderful Rotterdam kept getting compared to the Sky.  A natural occurrence considering the closeness of the cruises.

Afterwards, we have photos to share in other posts.

 

THINGS WE LIKED:

·         The Medallion capabilities astounded us.  We were thrilled to try this out for the first time and were able to schedule our dinner reservations nightly in the same dining room, schedule our specialty dining, order many different food and drinks to our stateroom (which we often did) or to anywhere we were located on the ship. We did see people ordering room service food while sitting in the atrium area near Bellini’s and International Café.  It was kinda cool!  They were able to collect whichever goodie they wanted at the IC and supplement it with a burger, a sandwich, a pizza or whatever they desired.  Nice touch Princess!

·         Loved the International Café for their great selections like sweets, sandwiches, salads, pot pies, and of course all sorts of hot and cold drinks.  They even made me a Frappuccino type drink.  All the cappuccinos and espressos, etc we had there were very good quality. 

·         Loved all the Christmas decorations everywhere!  The atrium was gorgeous with many displays of gingerbread houses, huge Christmas tree, swags and poinsettias. 

·         Princess Live Bar was very handy to us as we returned towards our room and we would load up on water (we had the premium drink package), neat bourbons or neat vodkas to enjoy later. And yes, they did allow us to get double pours and most likely charged us for two drinks, which was fine by us.  We don’t go over the 15 allotted per day.

·         Loved our wait staff in Cielo Dining. We had found a table that was set apart from other tables for two but had to point it out and wait for the head guy’s approval.  Many of the tables for two are actually bench seats right on top of one another.  Ours was separated by at least a few feet from any other table and we were able to reserve this table through the head of the Cielo dining room after our first night there.  We got the same table without fail.  And by way, Filipo (something like that) was the head of the dining room and he was super friendly and very efficient. The entire staff in there was so nice.  Our two waiters at table 619 were wonderful and took such good care of us: Angelito and Komang.  Just priceless they were.

·         Lido Buffet laid out nicely but almost too much separation.  Had to take some good treks to find the right choices!  We really think they could use some better signage in there.  I do have to say that the staff was wonderful and all you have to do is ask and they will point you in the right direction.

·         In the Lido Buffet area, in the middle, is where you will find the Pastry section….much reduced selection than on the Regal Princess we had a few years ago. We used to love the cookies especially the oatmeal raisin but alas, they are not quite as good now.  Sure wish they would offer cakie things or pie or crisps or even pudding but I sure couldn’t find any.  Helpful hint: you can order an espresso or latte/cappuccino, etc from the waitstaff and they will happily get it for you or you can go directly to the well hidden area found in the middle of the Pastry section.  One lady, just as us, exclaimed on the last day, “I have been up here every day getting my pastries and this is the first time I knew there was a coffee stand here!”  Well, it was our discovery as well on the very last day! 

·         Really liked Alfredo’s and it was only crowded the first day.  The pizza is excellent and the staff were very good.  The seating is too close together though and the whole environment is a bit industrial feeling.  Not cozy or inviting as an Italian type place normally would feel.

·         Elevators: fast and mostly empty. 

·         NO SMOKING in casino or anywhere indoors, implemented on December 18th by Princess fleetwide.  Keep it up Princess! 

·         Captain Tuvo was informative and amusing.  Known as Captain Bye-Bye, I believe, for his sign-off signature every announcement.

·         Main Dining Room food was good to very good.   Avoid the meatloaf and the turkey scallopini though!  Soups were good; seafood was always very nice and the desserts were usually lovely and tasty.

 

1.       Our stateroom: 

2.       Loved that we could order food and cocktails, beer, etc to our stateroom via tv or phone.  This was all via the Medallion.  Liked the phone better or just calling because we had some trouble with the tv stalling or jumping around and clicking items we didn’t want.  TV worked better after we got new batteries for the remote though! Think that was mostly the problem.

3.       We always appreciate the large closet on Princess ships and the many shelves and storage in the cabinet in the same closet hallway.  Safe was plenty large too.

4.       Sheets very soft and pillows were okay but more selection would have been nice. We did ask for a blanket as the comforter is too heavy and too hot.  Room steward had to “ask” someone but did have it for us on the second night.

5.       Room service staff answered phone first ring almost always and were very nice but speak slowly and deliberately. We had a few missteps with items which most likely was due to interpretation.

6.       Liked our large aft balcony for enjoying the wake. Just cannot beat that view and the sound of the wake.

7.       Large table on balcony was so nice to have!  Wish all balconies had these!

8.       Great on demand movie selection in the room!

9.       Love that the Medallion opens your stateroom door as you approach.  Worked great every time!

10.   Nice black out curtains with privacy sheers. 

11.   Liked the USB ports in the nightstands.

12.   Room service Pizza (3 dollar charge of which we were charged only once of three deliveries) and the Greek salad were perfect and delicious.  Makes for a very nice meal and throw in a chocolate cake or key lime in a glass for dessert and you are set.  Well, almost.  Don’t forget to order your beer or cider to accompany that lovely lunch!

13.   Room service delivery was super fast. I don’t think we ever waited much more than 12 minutes and it usually was more like 5-10.

14.   Breakfast egg mcmuffins were always warm or hot.  The in-room coffee, not so great so stick with an americano or cappuccino and don’t forget to ask for extra shots of espresso if so inclined.  Easier to do on the phone though.

15.   Small loveseat was fine for when the sun was too hot on the balcony.  Wish all balcony rooms had a place to sit.  We knew this going in so always get the premium deluxe balcony.

16.   Really enjoyed the only show we went to in the theater, Rock Opera.  Nice! And we were able to sit near the top of the theater and not near anyone else. 

 

 

Things We Wish Were Better or Different:

 

·         The stateroom could use more electrical plugs especially by the bed for CPAP machines.  It is a trip hazard to string an electrical cord across the stateroom floor!

·         Pillows were king size and too big for our taste. Stateroom Steward says no standard pillows on the ship.  Boo!  And would have like a more squishy pillow but none to be had evidently.

·         No fog free mirror in the bath. We do love that on the newer Holland America ships.

·         No easy close drawers or toilet seats and it surely was missed.  Again, the Rotterdam had them. 

·         Room steward was working many hours daily. Would be nice if they could double up. 

·         Room service breakfast menu, as we all know, is really lacking on Princess.  One day I got shredded wheat cereal for breakfast and will post a photo of it later.  Thought I was maybe eating pressboard.  HaHa.  Don’t order it!!  You’ve been warned.

·         Only one drawer in the desk and it is partially taken up with hairdryer.  Missed some extra space for the daily things we use on the balcony such as puzzle books, games, bloody mary mix, snacks, etc.

·         Nightstands have fixed lamps.  Doesn’t leave much room for a CPAP.  In the future, they should consider adjustable lamps mounted to the wall above or to the side of the bed for reading.

·         Live TV really lacking!  Movie selection good tho.

·         Balcony was only partially covered on Dolphin deck aft and we did have some soot issues.

·         We understand that the ship has to quarantine newly arrived crew, etc but on our floor, Dolphin deck 9, they blocked both sides of the hallway so that we could not walk to midships and then get on an elevator or take stairs. If we wanted to go to the International Café on deck 5 midships, we had to take the aft elevator to 7, walk to midships and take the stairs or elevator down two levels. I know, I know, not that much to complain about, but it would be nice if they would block off rooms all the way forward or at least leave one hallway clear to get midship.  Rant over.

·         Surely did miss specialty sections in the buffet area like on Holland America and Celebrity for sandwich making, pasta and especially the stir-fry section.  If it was up there during lunch, we couldn’t find it.  And again, better signage would help. 

·         Don’t like having to maneuver around all the room stewards’ carts in the hallways.

·         Vista Lounge seems underutilized.  Could have comedy and other shows in here starting earlier in the evening.

·         Take 5:  really looked forward to this speakeasy type bar/lounge area and we were disappointed that the cocktails were subpar. They sounded so nice in the menu description but when you get the drink, it doesn’t taste too good.  We had that happen with maybe 4 different drink choices so gave up and ordered something easy….straight bourbon.  The venue usually opens at 430pm but no music starts until 645pm so, maybe start the music earlier in the late afternoon or early evening?  The music was lacking as well.  Would wish for some better jazz singers or even something bluesy, or New Orleans type jazz with decent musicians.  Guess booking good musicians over Christmas might be a tougher thing too.  Oh, and I bet many people didn’t even know this venue was there…the doors always are closed and you walk by thinking it is a private event or just closed.  Well, hardly anyone was in there and it was always a bit chilly in there, temperature-wise.

·         Other music was lacking as well but we mostly did enjoy the Xcite band.

·         Beer choices lacking…especially IPAs. 

·         Sabatini’s was nice but not crazy good.  We probably won’t do it again. Will attach photos later.

·         Upper level bourbons, etc hard to find.  Best we could find was Knob Creek and Buffalo Trace.  Rotterdam had Knob Creek Small Batch and other top level bourbons and scotches. 

·         Kinda miss the Pub Lunch.  Don’t see why they cannot pull off something similar in the buffet area.

·         Hamburger stand off the pool deck….not so good.  Wish they would have specialty burgers with nicer seating something like Alfredo’s.

·         Casino slots were not great.  We didn’t find any fun ones and they surely weren’t paying US!

·         The MDR china was kind of boring after the beautiful MDR china on HAL. Just plain white and sometimes a bit large for the soup or the appetizer.

·         Rolls were always without fail, hard.  Some softer bread would be welcomed.

·         Tables in MDR way too close together, especially those seated at the bench seats.  EGADS, not great during Covid times when people like to chat and are seated inches from you when neither of you are wearing your masks.

·         Have some better dessert choices in Lido buffet area.  Cookies were the best choice for us and they mostly ran dry.

 

 

That’s it for this section of greats and not so greats.  We loved our cruise and always seem to despite issues here and there.  We are happy to be back sailing and are crossing our fingers that our next cruise out of Tampa in late February will sail.  You never know what the future holds and we will be hopeful for future cruising as we have quite a few planned!

I will start posting some photos later, but remember, we went on no tours and mostly just stayed on the ship and in our stateroom except for meals and an occasional music show.  We do try to stay healthy and so far, so good!!  We are triple vaxxed and always mask unless eating or actively drinking. 

Don’t be jealous that we lean towards the Rotterdam. Our favorite line is Celebrity and used to be followed by Princess and then Holland America but after sailing the Rotterdam, HAL may have pushed ahead of Princess.  We did love the music walk, our huge/angled balcony and the layout of the buffet and the offerings. We also appreciated the food presentation and food quality maybe even more than Princess.  We do love these 3 lines the most and find something good (and not so good) about all of them.  No certain line is pure perfection that we have found.  We will sail the Sky Princess again in June on a 14 night Land of the Midnight Sun (can’t wait! And now we know the ship.) and then we have the Enchanted for 26 nights in 2023.  We also have Celebrity coming up and Holland America to South America in the fall (hopefully as it has canceled twice on us due to Covid-19).

 

Stay tuned for photos.

[marne-c]

@Rick-n-MeMe  MANY thanks for a wonderfully detailed report!  Like you, DW and I will be on the Sky for 14 days in June.  Is your departure also from Southampton on the 25th?

 

 

—Marne 

[Rick-n-MeMe]

2 minutes ago, marne-c said:

@Rick-n-MeMe  MANY thanks for a wonderfully detailed report!  Like you, DW and I will be on the Sky for 14 days in June.  Is your departure also from Southampton on the 25th?

 

 

—Marne 

Hi Marne, We sail out of Southampton June 11.  Can’t wait!  

[Rick-n-MeMe]

Here is our stateroom, D729 on the Sky Princess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love the balcony and the larger table.  Such a prime location for a balcony, at sea coma.  AAhhh.

[Rick-n-MeMe]

here are the Medallions. My husband just put his in his pocket and I used the purple holder I got off Amazon and put it on my purse that I carried everywhere.  Worked flawlessly.

 

 

 

 

 

[Tak8]

Thanks for the review.  Great photos of cabin.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

One comment: If the doors were closed on 9 to create a quarantine area which prevented you from walking down the hallway why didn’t you just walk up to 10 or down to 8 and walk down the same hallway?  You didn’t need to go to 7 or 16 if you were planning to just walk down the cabin hallway. 

[Rick-n-MeMe]

We had just boarded the ship and had carryon luggage and we didn’t know we were entering the quarantine area at that time.  I don’t think they had the signs up yet which we did notice later. We thought the doors were just shut due to staff still cleaning.  

the remainder of the cruise we figured it out.  I just used 7 and 16 as an example of stateroom free hallways that extend the entire ship.  Hope that sorta clears it up. 

[Rick-n-MeMe]

Sailaway was very pretty.  We were happy to see the other ships too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rick-n-MeMe]

Might as well post this photo now since it appears to be of concern.  We didn’t notice or see it when we first boarded.  Could be an oversight due to our excitement at boarding and approaching our stateroom or it could be that it just wasn’t posted yet.  This photo was taken in the middle of our stay. 

 

[EDVM96]

Does anyone know if quarantined people can stay in balcony staterooms?

[hllwdcruiser]

Loving your review so far!

Thanks for the info on aft cabins on Dolphin. I suspect the same situation will hold true for Enchanted. We are on her for 10 days in February and will be in a regular balcony port side but towards the aft. It too has a larger balcony. 

We were on the Regal in an aft cabin a few yers ago - I think we always just walked up and down those aft stairs either up to Lido or down to 7. We got used to it after a while.....

[Rick-n-MeMe]

1 hour ago, hllwdcruiser said:

Loving your review so far!

Thanks for the info on aft cabins on Dolphin. I suspect the same situation will hold true for Enchanted. We are on her for 10 days in February and will be in a regular balcony port side but towards the aft. It too has a larger balcony. 

We were on the Regal in an aft cabin a few yers ago - I think we always just walked up and down those aft stairs either up to Lido or down to 7. We got used to it after a while.....

thank you for the kind comments.  Unfortunately,  we have to avoid stairs due to some mobility problems my husband has. 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

2 hours ago, Rick-n-MeMe said:

We had just boarded the ship and had carryon luggage and we didn’t know we were entering the quarantine area at that time.  I don’t think they had the signs up yet which we did notice later. We thought the doors were just shut due to staff still cleaning.  

the remainder of the cruise we figured it out.  I just used 7 and 16 as an example of stateroom free hallways that extend the entire ship.  Hope that sorta clears it up. 

Not really. Clearly the fire doors were closed and you choose to go through them.

 

But you said you had to go up to 16 or down to 7 to get to midships. You didn’t. It wasn’t that much of a inconvenience during Covid times to go to a different floor to get to midships. You were lucky, as were we a week before, to keep our deck 9 cabin. 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

.

Edited December 31, 2021 by Sox Fan Cruiser

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

2 hours ago, EDVM96 said:

Does anyone know if quarantined people can stay in balcony staterooms?

Most of the cabins in the quarantine area have balconies. 

[Rick-n-MeMe]

The ship was so beautiful.  We really liked how it was decorated.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rick-n-MeMe]

One day we had a beautiful rainbow.

 

 

Screen shot of our lunch order on the Medallion App.

 

It was absolutely perfect!

 

And the finale, dessert!

 

 

 

[Rick-n-MeMe]

Here is another photo of the balcony showing the cover on Dolphin deck. I would say it covers about half the balcony.  We were given these very nice Princess cups one day.  Unsure why??  But we sure did use them.  Photo doesn’t show them very well.

[Rick-n-MeMe]

Here is the announcement about indoor areas going non-smoking.

[Rick-n-MeMe]

Here is the shredded wheat from room service breakfast.  Interesting!  I won’t be ordering this particular cereal again.

 

[Rick-n-MeMe]

 

Worldfresh Marketplace, Lido Buffet area.  Never was crowded.

 

Coffee Stand found inside the Pastry Shop deck 16 Lido Buffet area

 

Morning pastries

 

Ship’s staff display in Lido Buffet area

 

Coffee shop area circled in blue.  

[MissP22]

By any chance did you try to use the medallion app feature which allows you to stream the room movies to your phone/tablet?

I've heard that it was suppose to be working but haven't heard anyone comment on using it yet. 

 

btw- we were suppose to be on your trip but had to cancel.

Sorry we missed it. 😢

[Rick-n-MeMe]

MissP22, No we didn’t use that feature but I bet it was working.  All features we used seemed to work flawlessly.  Sorry you missed the cruise too!  It is a gorgeous ship for sure.  After using the Medallion features, we wish all ships (all lines!) would use something similar.  I imagine the room service people are busier than they used to be though! 

 

Edited December 31, 2021 by Rick-n-MeMe

[Rick-n-MeMe]

Deck 16 Pool area looking towards the Sky Suites,