LIVE / Sky Princess / June 17th / Land of the Midnight Sun & Summer Solstice 14 Day Cruise

[Jeter02]

5 hours ago, Trixie21 said:

Hope you don't mind if I ask a couple of questions.

 

- How does dining in the MDR work? Do you book times in advance of the cruise , or each day , or just walk up and ask to be seated when you want to go? Does Princess have early and late seating ?

Because of my wife's celiac disease , we like to have the same servers each night on a cruise.

 

- Does Alfredos serve gluten free pizzas? If so can you just walk up and order one , or does it have to preordered? Is Alfredos an uncharge or is it included?

 

- The cruise we are looking at for next year gets back to Southampton at 7am , according to the itinerary. What would be the earliest you could disembark , assuming no unforseen circumstances? Just trying to work out possible flights. There is a flight back to Belfast from Southampton at 9.15am but that seems very tight to me , although we have never been held up flying to or from Southampton previously . If we were off the ship shortly after 7am its certainly doable. It it were 8am before we were off its getting more dicey lol.

 

I always pre-book and reserve my dining table at the same time the same table size pre-cruise. I am always one of the first ones at the door every night as I like to usually eat at 5:00 but This particular cruise they start the dining at 5:30 which seems to be the norm here in the UK. I've always kind of learned over the years with Princess with the new dining system as they did away with the traditional seating since the restart of the pandemic that when I get there early it's easier for me to ask and for them to accommodate with a reserved table with the same table and waiter. each evening.

 

They do usually have two lines at the door for reservations and non-reservations and then a separate entrance line for the reserved club class dining which are for those booked in a reserved club class cabin. So yes you can absolutely just kind of walk up and do like it anytime without a reservation but just be aware you might have to wait depending on what time you're looking at for going for dinner.

 

Alfredo's is a complimentary sit down restaurant on board. You do not make reservations for it You just kind of show up they do have little vibrating pagers if there is a line with no tables currently available. They do offer gluten-free pizza/and other dinning menu options as well. It's not a grab and go kind of place. They do have slice which is pizza by the slice up on the pool deck outside. You can however order on the app for a fee, a delivery of a pizza Which comes usually from Alfredo's. But he needs a restaurant to sit down, it is complimentary.

 

If you're flying out of Southampton which really isn't too far from the port at least by taking the train it's definitely not as it's one stop over. Typically the ship gets in about 7:00 a.m. My only concern with a 9:15 a.m. flight for you would be if there's issues with clearance, because you just never know what the ship with customs. May seem a little bit risky. I know with Princess when you input your information such as your flights I know that they will not accept the flights because it's before 11:45 a.m. so I'd probably choose a flight that's slightly later if possible I wouldn't risk the 9:15. Look at it You could book it now the flight but there's always the chance of the airline making schedule changes were they alter the time of the flight.

[Trixie21]

4 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

I always pre-book and reserve my dining table at the same time the same table size pre-cruise. I am always one of the first ones at the door every night as I like to usually eat at 5:00 but This particular cruise they start the dining at 5:30 which seems to be the norm here in the UK. I've always kind of learned over the years with Princess with the new dining system as they did away with the traditional seating since the restart of the pandemic that when I get there early it's easier for me to ask and for them to accommodate with a reserved table with the same table and waiter. each evening.

 

They do usually have two lines at the door for reservations and non-reservations and then a separate entrance line for the reserved club class dining which are for those booked in a reserved club class cabin. So yes you can absolutely just kind of walk up and do like it anytime without a reservation but just be aware you might have to wait depending on what time you're looking at for going for dinner.

 

Alfredo's is a complimentary sit down restaurant on board. You do not make reservations for it You just kind of show up they do have little vibrating pagers if there is a line with no tables currently available. They do offer gluten-free pizza/and other dinning menu options as well. It's not a grab and go kind of place. They do have slice which is pizza by the slice up on the pool deck outside. You can however order on the app for a fee, a delivery of a pizza Which comes usually from Alfredo's. But he needs a restaurant to sit down, it is complimentary.

 

If you're flying out of Southampton which really isn't too far from the port at least by taking the train it's definitely not as it's one stop over. Typically the ship gets in about 7:00 a.m. My only concern with a 9:15 a.m. flight for you would be if there's issues with clearance, because you just never know what the ship with customs. May seem a little bit risky. I know with Princess when you input your information such as your flights I know that they will not accept the flights because it's before 11:45 a.m. so I'd probably choose a flight that's slightly later if possible I wouldn't risk the 9:15. Look at it You could book it now the flight but there's always the chance of the airline making schedule changes were they alter the time of the flight.

Thanks for the reply - thats very helpful.

Enjoy your day !

[Tiggipaws]

Good morning

 

I have enjoyed reading your posts and I am looking forward to sailing on the Sky Princess later this year. Did you go in all the MDRs? If so which was your favorite and why?

 

Thank you

[Jeter02]

3 hours ago, Tiggipaws said:

Good morning

 

I have enjoyed reading your posts and I am looking forward to sailing on the Sky Princess later this year. Did you go in all the MDRs? If so which was your favorite and why?

 

Thank you

All three main dining rooms are a little different decor-wise but it's the same identical menu no matter where you decide to dine at. For me personally I always like the midship Deck 6 dining room just because it's easy access with my cabin not being too far from it (Estrella).

 

It's just out of habit of years and years of sailing Princess and always eating out of that dining room. Do be advised that breakfast and lunch is only served in the midship deck six dining room Estrella. As all three of them are open for dinner otherwise.

 

Cielo is all the way in the back of the ship because it shares the galley kitchen with Estrella. To get the Cielo you have to walk on Deck 7 all the way out and then take a secret staircase that will take you to explicitly Cielo. Lastly, Soleil is on deck 5 midship. 

[Jeter02]

4 hours ago, Trixie21 said:

Thanks for the reply - thats very helpful.

Enjoy your day !

You are most welcome!

[Buckeye10640]

15 hours ago, Trixie21 said:

 

- Does Alfredos serve gluten free pizzas? If so can you just walk up and order one , or does it have to preordered? Is Alfredos an uncharge or is it included?

 

Regarding the GF pizza, I have traveled with my daughters who are GF (one vegetarian as well). Both really liked the GF pizza from Alfredos/Gigis. No need to order ahead and they will customize the toppings if you ask. There is no upcharge.  Its unfortunate they did not have a GF dessert offering, but I like the Tiramisu. 

Edited June 26, 2023 by Buckeye10640

[Tiggipaws]

Thank you for the info on the MDR's very much appreciated.

 

Regards

[Sheffben79]

Great reviews so far, picked up some hints ahead of our sailing in August.

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

[nini]

On 6/25/2023 at 11:17 AM, Familycruzer11 said:

Thanks @Jeter02 for being so generous with your time to share your cruise with us.  We board Sky in June 2024 and counting the days.  We've been on Regal and Enchanted and loved them both.  Each ship as its own vibe and we are always happy to be onboard one.   Could you tell me more about the trains from London to Southampton?    We will also visit family in London a few days before the trip.  I saw trains that go from Waterloo to Southampton Airport Parkway - is that the one?   What did you do to return to Heathrow? We were hoping to fly back to the states same day as disembarking. TIA and safe travels!

 

The following board for the British Isles was critical for us in planning our British Isles cruise (May 2022). Also, our Roll Call was immensely helpful The first thread on the forum addresses transfers. Right now, the trains are on strike. Be aware that your luggage would most likely not stay with you on the train and there is a lot of lugging it around. Many like taking the Princess transfer from Victoria Station on embarkation day ($59.00 per person). It costs less if you book directly with National Express.

Many people book a return transfer together like through Blackberry Cars and share the expense when returning to LHR on disembarkation day. Just this past June 17th, we took the Princess transfer (the bus) to LHR and it went very well ($59.00 per person).

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

[nini]

12 hours ago, Trixie21 said:

Thanks for the reply - thats very helpful.

Enjoy your day !

 

We just left the Sky Princess on June 17th. The earliest walk off (you take your own luggage) was 7:30 am.

If thee is a holdup or reason that the ship does not dock on time, then there could be an issue.

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

3 hours ago, Sheffben79 said:

Great reviews so far, picked up some hints ahead of our sailing in August.

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

Ditto! 
I'm feeling a bit more confident about exploring a few places on our own now too 😃

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

26 minutes ago, nini said:

 

The following board for the British Isles was critical for us in planning our British Isles cruise (May 2022). Also, our Roll Call was immensely helpful The first thread on the forum addresses transfers. Right now, the trains are on strike. Be aware that your luggage would most likely not stay with you on the train and there is a lot of lugging it around. Many like taking the Princess transfer from Victoria Station on embarkation day ($59.00 per person). It costs less if you book directly with National Express.

Many people book a return transfer together like through Blackberry Cars and share the expense when returning to LHR on disembarkation day. Just this past June 17th, we took the Princess transfer (the bus) to LHR and it went very well ($59.00 per person).

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

Yes During peak times you can definitely not rely on having your luggage next to you

 

RE strikes. we are having quite a few. we do now have July dates

for anyone who may have already booked train travel or are thinking of doing so, this is the current train strike info for london/Southampton area

 

3-8th July Drivers are not going to be doing any overtime. This means that services will be reduced. I wouldn’t recommend train travel on those dates. trains will be busier, slower & may not run at all

 

outright strikes dates 20th July, 22nd July & 29th July. Don’t bother trying to travel on those days even if you read there are ‘limited services’

 

If you have booked train travel other days in July you *should* be fine

 

Travel in UK in August? Unions must give 2 weeks notice. We’ll know nothing yet

 

if you feel safer, opt for bus travel. Just be aware that roads will also be busier on strike days so allow extra time for those too

 

HTH 😊

 

[Jeter02]

Today was a exceptional day with such tremendous, beautiful weather, and views that took your breath away. Today we docked in Andalsnes as we arrived around 8:00 a.m. I knew today was going to be a busy day as I planned on visiting the top of Nesaksla mountain. I made sure to get in my nutritional breakfast in the dining room with some delicious banana pancakes, and some eggs on the side.

 

Now there are two ways that you can get up to the top of Nesaksla mountain. First you can hike up the mountain top if your heart desires, OR, You can take the Romsdalen gondola up to the top. I actually pre-purchased the gondola tickets round trip. You can also purchase it as a one-way ticket as well. The beauty of pre-purchasing it was going straight into the que, and scan the QR code with no wait to be had in the ticket purchase line. Round trip tickets was roughly about $50. I do appreciate that at the ticket booth they did have maps of some of the trails which I thought was a nice gesture.

 

For those who have not been to Andalsnes before, the Romsdalen gondola is literally right next to where the ship docks, making it extremely easy and accessible to get to. Typically operating hours don't start till 10:00 a.m. but when there's a ship in town they do start immediately as soon as passengers start disembarking the ship which I thought was awesome. So by 8:00 a.m. they were ready to go. I was able to get off rather early around 8:20 and I went straight for the gondola and I had no lines or weight which was very delightful. Once again pre-ordering the tickets is a great time saver which I highly recommend.

 

Once you get to the top of the mountain the views will immediately take your breath away as it is so awe-inspiring leaving you speechless. I want to say I probably spent about 3 hours on top of the mountain as it is vast in space that gives you lots of room to hike climb and explore all throughout with different vantage points. You'll get some jaw dropping photos from on top.

 

After my 3-hour adventure I did decide to walk around town as I went a little bit out of the way just to explore. The weather was absolutely outstanding with blue skies and sunshine it was just overall a fantastic day, leaving my cheeks hurting from my permanent smile.

 

Once I got back on board I knew I needed to hydrate myself with lots of water and I grabbed some lunch at Alfredo's. Decided to get the agnolotti. I love this dish as it kind of reminds me of like a really good homemade mac and cheese. Once I finished lunch my next plan of action was to go swimming in the retreat pool just to cool off and decompress.

 

For dinner tonight they had a great looking menu. I started off with the chicken tikka followed by the salmon as I love When they have dishes that include leeks as they do such an amazing job with it. Finally topping off with my all-time favorite lemon meringue cheesecake which never disappoints.

 

Tonight in the theater we had Dain Cordean performing. He's got a great variety of an act where he'll do some singing, comedy, and magi. He provided a good time as he was very light-hearted making people laugh with ease.

also tonight in the Piazza they had the world orchestra brand performance which is such a fun event that they put on that includes the party bands, violinist, as well as the Princess orchestra band. They play different genre of music of all around the world.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Jeter02

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

25 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

Once you get to the top of the mountain the views will immediately take your breath away as it is so awe-inspiring leaving you speechless. I want to say I probably spent about 3 hours on top of the mountain as it is vast in space that gives you lots of room to hike climb and explore all throughout with different vantage points. You'll get some jaw dropping photos from on top

 

 

 

for some reason I had in my head that Andalsnes would be my least favourite and there wasn’t much to do there. I’ve no idea why. I didn’t do my research on this one clearly

 

thank you for changing my mind!

 

those views 💕 THAT is why I’m so excited to go to Norway. The scenery

 

if I have weather like you are getting, I’ll have cheeks aching from the smiling too 😃

 

I am beyond excited, thank you 😊 

 

[Jeter02]

14 minutes ago, JG&Lcruisingnewbies said:

 

for some reason I had in my head that Andalsnes would be my least favourite and there wasn’t much to do there. I’ve no idea why. I didn’t do my research on this one clearly

 

thank you for changing my mind!

 

those views 💕 THAT is why I’m so excited to go to Norway. The scenery

 

if I have weather like you are getting, I’ll have cheeks aching from the smiling too 😃

 

I am beyond excited, thank you 😊 

 

You'll want to spend hours up there. It was absolutely beautiful to see people of all ages and all abilities being so active up there hiking, and exploring. Everyone seem to feel truly grateful to be there to experience such  beauty, as we were all in awe. 🥰

 

You'll end up taking hundreds of photos and videos while you're up there. It does make you feel so small with how big these surroundings look in person. Picture still don't do justice shockingly enough. ❤️

Edited June 26, 2023 by Jeter02

[Wirralcruiser50]

58 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

Today was a exceptional day with such tremendous, beautiful weather, and views that took your breath away. Today we docked in Andalsnes as we arrived around 8:00 a.m. I knew today was going to be a busy day as I planned on visiting the top of Nesaksla mountain. I made sure to get in my nutritional breakfast in the dining room with some delicious banana pancakes, and some eggs on the side.

 

Now there are two ways that you can get up to the top of Nesaksla mountain. First you can hike up the mountain top if your heart desires, OR, You can take the Romsdalen gondola up to the top. I actually pre-purchased the gondola tickets round trip. You can also purchase it as a one-way ticket as well. The beauty of pre-purchasing it was going straight into the que, and scan the QR code with no wait to be had in the ticket purchase line. Round trip tickets was roughly about $50. I do appreciate that at the ticket booth they did have maps of some of the trails which I thought was a nice gesture.

 

For those who have not been to Andalsnes before, the Romsdalen gondola is literally right next to where the ship docks, making it extremely easy and accessible to get to. Typically operating hours don't start till 10:00 a.m. but when there's a ship in town they do start immediately as soon as passengers start disembarking the ship which I thought was awesome. So by 8:00 a.m. they were ready to go. I was able to get off rather early around 8:20 and I went straight for the gondola and I had no lines or weight which was very delightful. Once again pre-ordering the tickets is a great time saver which I highly recommend.

 

Once you get to the top of the mountain the views will immediately take your breath away as it is so awe-inspiring leaving you speechless. I want to say I probably spent about 3 hours on top of the mountain as it is vast in space that gives you lots of room to hike climb and explore all throughout with different vantage points. You'll get some jaw dropping photos from on top.

 

After my 3-hour adventure I did decide to walk around town as I went a little bit out of the way just to explore. The weather was absolutely outstanding with blue skies and sunshine it was just overall a fantastic day, leaving my cheeks hurting from my permanent smile.

 

Once I got back on board I knew I needed to hydrate myself with lots of water and I grabbed some lunch at Alfredo's. Decided to get the agnolotti. I love this dish as it kind of reminds me of like a really good homemade mac and cheese. Once I finished lunch my next plan of action was to go swimming in the retreat pool just to cool off and decompress.

 

For dinner tonight they had a great looking menu. I started off with the chicken tikka followed by the salmon as I love When they have dishes that include leeks as they do such an amazing job with it. Finally topping off with my all-time favorite lemon meringue cheesecake which never disappoints.

 

Tonight in the theater we had Dain Cordean performing. He's got a great variety of an act where he'll do some singing, comedy, and magi. He provided a good time as he was very light-hearted making people laugh with ease.

also tonight in the Piazza they had the world orchestra brand performance which is such a fun event that they put on that includes the party bands, violinist, as well as the Princess orchestra band. They play different genre of music of all around the world.

Thanks for sharing this it looks amazing! 

 

the only downside to pre booking is if the weather isn’t favourable. We were in Andalsnes last summer and it was so cloudy, people who had prepaid still went up but couldn’t see a thing! 
 

for that reason we’re waiting until we arrive in August before buying tickets (for a family of four it isn’t worth the chance, as it’s not cheap) 

[Jeter02]

2 minutes ago, Wirralcruiser50 said:

Thanks for sharing this it looks amazing! 

 

the only downside to pre booking is if the weather isn’t favourable. We were in Andalsnes last summer and it was so cloudy, people who had prepaid still went up but couldn’t see a thing! 
 

for that reason we’re waiting until we arrive in August before buying tickets (for a family of four it isn’t worth the chance, as it’s not cheap) 

This is very true! Which is why I did book the tickets the night before for that exact reason. 

 

Thank you for making that recommendation, as I forgot to mention that in my daily blog here. 

[TenneSea]

Edspec: "For anyone wondering about Virgin Premium Economy we were impressed, not much of a difference between AA first class."

 

Did Virgin weigh your luggage?  We're travelling Upper Class our of Atlanta to Heathrow in August and I'm afraid my luggage will be over by about 1 lb.  

[TenneSea]

Jeter02:  Have there been any issues getting a table, promptly, in the MDR?  Have heard reports of long lines.

[dreaminofcruisin]

28 minutes ago, TenneSea said:

Edspec: "For anyone wondering about Virgin Premium Economy we were impressed, not much of a difference between AA first class."

 

Did Virgin weigh your luggage?  We're travelling Upper Class our of Atlanta to Heathrow in August and I'm afraid my luggage will be over by about 1 lb.  

 

You do know that if you are traveling Virgin Upper Class, your luggage can  weigh up to 70 lbs right? DH has a problem with 50 sometimes....but 70?

https://help.virginatlantic.com/us/en/baggage/check-in-baggage-allowance.html

 

[TenneSea]

dreaminofcruisin: I think it's a total of 35 pounds between two bags.  I should specify, we are not checking bags, so this would be carry on only.  An important detail I forgot to mention.

 

Upper Class

All Upper Class passengers can take up to two pieces of hand baggage per person, weighing up to 12kg (26lb) for one bag, or up to 16kg (35lb) combined weight. So for example, you could take a 12kg bag and another little bag of 4kg.

 

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by TenneSea

[Jeter02]

4 hours ago, TenneSea said:

Jeter02:  Have there been any issues getting a table, promptly, in the MDR?  Have heard reports of long lines.

I've personally not had any problems with getting a table promptly, but yet again I sit down for dinner when the doors open at 5:30. When I finished my dinner I don't see long lines at all of people trying to get in, which is around 6:45 - 7:00.

[coo359a2]

7 hours ago, Wirralcruiser50 said:

Thanks for sharing this it looks amazing! 

 

the only downside to pre booking is if the weather isn’t favourable. We were in Andalsnes last summer and it was so cloudy, people who had prepaid still went up but couldn’t see a thing! 
 

for that reason we’re waiting until we arrive in August before buying tickets (for a family of four it isn’t worth the chance, as it’s not cheap) 

That’s why we didn’t pre purchase tickets. Wouldn’t have wanted to see fog or rain all around. We left the ship around 9:10 and only had 3 couples in front of us buying tickets. What was so nice was that there was an employee at the ticket kiosk helping you purchase your tickets. At first our credit card asked for a pin (don’t have one) but he got the card to work without the pin. Beautiful views 

[Wirralcruiser50]

2 hours ago, coo359a2 said:

That’s why we didn’t pre purchase tickets. Wouldn’t have wanted to see fog or rain all around. We left the ship around 9:10 and only had 3 couples in front of us buying tickets. What was so nice was that there was an employee at the ticket kiosk helping you purchase your tickets. At first our credit card asked for a pin (don’t have one) but he got the card to work without the pin. Beautiful views 

That’s great thanks, we will aim to be off ship early in August (weather dependant!) 

[nini]

16 hours ago, TenneSea said:

Edspec: "For anyone wondering about Virgin Premium Economy we were impressed, not much of a difference between AA first class."

 

Did Virgin weigh your luggage?  We're travelling Upper Class our of Atlanta to Heathrow in August and I'm afraid my luggage will be over by about 1 lb.  

 

We purchased a luggage scale. It is small and has a hook onto which you hang the luggage. Because it is so small, you can take it with you. Then you will have no surprises at the airport. When we just did our Norway and Iceland cruise, we would be on 3 different airlines so we needed to go by the weight requirements of the least which I think was Alaska with a max of 55 lbs.

We really enjoyed our flight on Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy. British Airways has really deteriorated.(also Premium Economy)