In our business, we get to try lots of ships and preview many more. We do our best not to sail on any given ship more than once or twice. It’s important that we have a broad base of knowledge about the offerings from all the cruise lines. In this way we can speak from personal experience about the ship, crew, dining, and entertainment.
During the first week of December this year, Deedee and I had the privilege of being invited to an inaugural sailing of the new Sky Princess and to attend the naming ceremony after the cruise. This was a short three day cruise for the travel advisor and trade press community, so they were obviously putting their best foot forward. Having said that, this is an awesome ship.
In many ways it is a new look for Princess. Much cooler colors tending towards blues and muted tans instead of the dark woods and browns of the older ships. A very pleasing new color scheme without moving away from the understated elegance that Princess has always eschewed.
Our cabin on this cruise was a balcony on deck 17 mid ship on the port side. A category BD for those of you that follow such things. Again a much cooler color scheme than before. First thing is the bed. Not sure what they have done, but it was the best sleep we have had in a long time. Not to stiff, not too soft, just right. The duvet has a sheet under it which made Deedee very happy. The bathroom was not huge, but the shower was a reasonable size, although still with that damn shower curtain. The closet and drawers were redesigned, with much better ability to organize stuff. This is one of the better additions to the cabin. A decent sized desk with lots of outlets and USB ports plus some beside the bed. Yeah!! No couch in the balcony cabins, you have to go to a mini-suite or above for that. Decent sized balcony fo two people. Overall, very pleased with the cabin.
A unique feature with Princess is the Ocean Medallion. This little disc comes to you a couple of weeks before you board and is your ticket to everything that is available on the ship. Boarding is so much simpler, because you just walk up to the desk, the system reads your medallion and its done. From there, you show it at the ship and you’re in. The medallion opens your cabin door when you get very close. The little screen welcomes you and as you approach the door the door handle has a red ring. When recognition is complete that ring turns green and the door is unlocked. The medallion is your onboard purchases device, and works with the ocean medallion app. We were at the adult pool and wanted a drink. We called up the app, ordered the drinks and the waiter brought them right to us a few minutes later. This works because the system knows where you are. Meeting up with friends is also a snap, as the app can tell you where other folks in your party are on the ship. Very cool tech, and it works as advertised the majority of the time.
I also have to comment on the ship’s wifi. Best I have ever had on a ship. Now compared to land based broadband, thats not saying much, but it is reliable, and Princess doesn’t charge by the hour or gigabyte. It’s open and running 24/7. Wifi calling on the phone worked perfectly, and email and most online websites did as well. It is still satellite based, so there is a good deal of latency. When lots of people are on it, it can get SLOW, but that’s just how the technology works.
All of the mainline large cruise ship providers now spend a lot of time and funds on the entertainment piece. Princess is certainly no exception. The broadway shows we saw were outstanding. Full of energy and great dancing. Singers were first rate. There was a show based on video games that I wasn’t certain I would like, but in fact was dazzling with the sets and visuals, and very entertaining. Comedy shows were excellent with several very good comics highlighted.
On a three day cruise, there wasn’t nearly enough time to try all the dining venues, plus we had some times we had to eat with our Cruise Planners group. We did try the buffet on the Lido deck, and it was very good. Pretty much like every other buffet on a ship. Two pizza places. One in the atrium, and the other on Lido. Of course an ice cream spot. The specialty restaurant we did get to try was Sabatini’s. We are both suckers for great Italian food. Our previous encounter on the Crown Princess left a bit to be desired. Princess has revamped the menu, and it was excellent. The dishes leaned a bit towards the Tuscan region with a smattering of Southern Italy and Sicilian available. Well prepared with great presentation, along with a wonderful wine selection. Excellent, attentive staff. Hopefully the Crown Grill measures up.
The main dining rooms were very stylish with the new color schemes and decor. Excellent service for dinner and breakfast. The menu’s were very good with delightful pairings of dishes and wines. No issues at all.
A common problem on most ships is the lack of deck chairs around the pools and decks. On the Sky, we never felt like we were squeezed out of finding a couple of places to sit, even on sea days. The adult pool on deck 17 was by far our favorite. There were not a lot of kids on board, but we never saw one at the adult pool. In fact, this is not really a ship to entertain children. No water slides, or laser tag. There is a kids area, but its all interior space. Lots of eateries and bars all over the outside areas, and of course you can get just about anything brought to you with your medallion.
OK, I admit to being a classical music fan, and somewhat of a scotch snob, so having an amazing string quartet, and a wee dram in the atrium every evening before dinner was an absolute joy. The ladies were from the Eastern Europe countries, and were conservatory trained. It showed. The ensemble playing was superb, and the selections from Mozart to Bussoni, plus some more popular tunes were performed with emotion and precision. Did I mention that the Macallan 15 was very good as well.
Not being a gambler, the casino was not a big deal for us, however it was fairly large and looked like it had a great variety of table games and machines.
Bottom line. This is likely the best ship in the Princess fleet at the moment. Next year, the Enchanted Princess launches in Europe and is the sister ship to the Sky. As with any ship and crew, there were a few hiccups, but the overall experience was absolutely top notch. This is a ship that, as travel advisors, we will have no problem recommending to our clients.