Tao Diva

Thanks, everyone! 

Hello Friends,

I'm taking my first Princess cruise on Sky Princess in February and I am a bit confused and overwhelmed by how complicated they make things. I'm hoping you might help me straghten out my understanding on a few things. For context, I'm an autistic adult with low support needs but I do seek out the quiet places, shade, and predictible social interactions. I will be cruising with extended family including a daughter and a grandaughter who are also autistic, also with similar sensory issues but also with low support needs. We manage ourselves just fine but it helps a great deal if I know what to expect in advance instead of figuring out when I get there or let things "surprise" me. (Even "good" suprises can disregulate me and feel very disruptive to my peace of mind.) Cruising is AWESOME because it's a predictable, easy-to-plan vacation, with a predictable schedules, familiar events, and there is always someone close by to help if you do need it. But to prepare, it helps to study deck plans, read the daily schedules of past cruises, get familiar with the different venues and their operating times and such. Basically, It helps to know what to expect. So I'm hoping some of you might have the patience to shed light on a few things about Sky Princess with me.

1. Do the women's and men's changing rooms in the spa include segregated sauna/steam rooms that are open to all guests? Or are the steam and saunas in the Enclave thermal suite the only ones? 

2. Do you actually reserve a specific lounge chair in the Sanctuary, or can you sit anywhere as long as you have purchased a day or half-day pass? What if you reserved a shady chair and the ship turns and and puts you in the sun? Can you trade chairs with a sun-lover?

3. If you purchase a cabana for a day, can different family members join you in the cabana at different times (as long as the total number of people do not excede the maximum at any one time, of course.)

4. If I purchase the use of a cabana for a day for my adult daughter and I, and my sister purchases a half-day pass, can she have a chair next to my cabana?

5. Is the Retreat pool part of the Sanctuary or is it open to general access?

6. Where are your favorite peaceful places on the ship?

7. Are there dining rooms where you can get table service for breakfast and lunch every day? (I realy can't handle the chaos of a buffet for very long.)

8. Does Princess allow priority boarding for people with invisible disabilities? (Embarkation day and disembarkation day, are even worse than the buffet!) I usually spend sail-away day quietly in my cabin, occasionally stepping out for short errands then going back to the room. I get up early the next morning, fresh to walk the entire ship before many people are up, and I'm fine after that.

Thank you for your patience. It realy does help to know.

~ TaoDiva

My Pop is very interested in this. I’d LOVE to take him but the description included wading into the water to climb into the boat on a ladder? 

id love to hear about people’s experiences. 

Does the fridge hold the same inventory for aqua class staterooms? Also, can you make special needs requests regarding the contents of the fridge such as: no beverages containing alcohol, corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners? One of us has crohns disease, the other has fatty liver disease. We stick to juice, tea, coffee, and sparkling water.

I find buying OBC in advance can be a useful money management strategy and vacation planning tool. I like to pre-pay for what I can and pad my account with enough OBC to cover my planned "must-dos".

Greetings,

    Is there anyone who has used the Hammam room in the SEA thermal suite on the Edge? I have several questions about how this works. 

Is there a special Hammam treatment you have to book or an is there an attendant on call to assist you with a Turkish bath?

If you are supposed to do it to yourself, do they have the traditional black soap, rhassoul clay, and argon oil on hand or should you bring your own hammam products?

My DD and I expect to spend a great deal of time in the spa and would LOVE to have a traditional Turkish bath! 

I am a spa sloth. I like to bring scrubs, masques, and sun screen to use in the steam rooms, saunas, and fancy spa showers. I do buy a spa treatment of two, but I really like to bring the goodies that make just lounging in the spa especially indulgent. 

Oh! I almost forgot - It's a bit silly, but I also bring a bottle of bubbles. Its my little tradition to blow bubbles from the veranda at sail-away.

That is our ideal excursion! 

so how does this work? Would I visit the spa concierge with a list of treatments I'd like, my excursion schedule, and any shows/events/ dining times I don't want to miss, and sit down with them to coordinate it all?

52 minutes ago, Stinger-pr said:

What is your time in port??

Arrival 3:30 pm

Depart 11:00 pm

My daughter and I will be making a port stop in San Juan in November 2020. We are looking for something to do that is natural or new-agey. We are making this a health/spa vacation. I realize it may be a bit "out there" to many of you, but we're making is a vacation to reconnect with water energy, heal our bodies, and nurture our spirits. 

What natural, healing wonders do you recommend? A Visit to the Laguna Grande bio-bay is our first choice since the ship will be in port into the evening. But I'd like to have a back-up option since it's unclear if that excursion will fit into our time constraints. 

Thanks,

The entire cabin is magnetic, not just the doors. Since table top space is always at a premium in a cruise cabin. I use magnetic shelves designed as refrigerator spice ricks and bins designed to decorate school lockers to make room for odds and ends. 

I've been unable to find the San Juan shore excursion for Laguna Grande by kayak.

Can anyone who sailed Eastern Caribbean on Edge tell me if they noticed whether or not the Bio bay kayak adventure shore excursion was offered?

TIA

I'm pretty sure I saw crab legs on a seafood platter picture from the Edge's "Raw on 5" restaurant but I won't be able to say for sure until my 2020 Edge cruise. 

I'll be sailing with my daughter next year over her birthday. She has taken aerial classes and loves performance art. I thought I'd take her to the Eden show for her birthday dinner. Is the Eden dinner offered every night or just on sea days? What time does it start and how early should we arrive if we'd like to interact with the performers? 

38 minutes ago, orchestrapal said:

 

On some premium and luxury lines we have seen them removed by staff!

I think this is what I was worried about. Not so much worried about loosing my sign, but of being branded "that" guest ruining the sophisticated ambiance for everyone on my deck. 

Thanks everyone! It's my first Celebrity cruise. I'm glad my little door tradition will not be inappropriate. My adult daughter and I are taking this cruise together and we share a playful spirit. 

It's a HUGE thing on Disney ships and I've seen it elsewhere to a limited degree. But I would like to hang a door sign on the outside of our cabin door with a magnetic hook.

The sign is made of thick, stiff felt hung on ribbons. (so it won't noisily smack against the door when opening or closing.) It's a sea shell, a dolphin, and an oval that says "Let's be mermaids".  Is Celebrity culture too sophisticated to appreciate such whimsy? 

I keep thinking they are running out of four-letter geometric terms.

Blow up furniture? Brilliant! 

And here I was thinking about making a lounging nest out of Kelly Hoppin pillows. (I still might) but this is a much more dignified solution. 

Thanks for the alert! I ended up with another perk and a price drop!

If you get the classic beverage package as a perk, (currently valued at $59 per person per night) can you "trade down" for the premium non-alcohol package (currently valued at $22 per person per night)? I only rarely drink alcohol but drink a lot of premium tea and coffee.

Here is a video tour of the EDGE that includes a walk around the entire jogging track (at high speed) starting at 1:30

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrDQ3LUIzBcATsAwB00nIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBncGdyMzQ0BHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEdnRpZAM-;_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTcwMARfcgMyBGFjdG4DY2xrBGJjawM4YmQ0ZnRoYjhqNXR0JTI2YiUzRDMlMjZzJTNEbmEEY3NyY3B2aWQDT0pSTHZERXdMakdGdElfc1ZvbVh2YTFsTVRBNExnQUFBQUNPdnFxMgRmcgN5aHMtTGtyeS1TRjAxBGZyMgNzYS1ncARncHJpZANMRXhHN2VZVFRFQ0dPOTk3RDZJeFhBBG10ZXN0aWQDbnVsbARuX3JzbHQDNjAEbl9zdWdnAzAEb3JpZ2luA3ZpZGVvLnNlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzAEcHFzdHIDBHBxc3RybAMEcXN0cmwDNDAEcXVlcnkDY2VsZWJyaXR5IGNydXNlIGxpbmUsIGVkZ2Ugam9nZ2luZyB0cmFjawR0X3N0bXADMTU0NjY1ODc5MQR2dGVzdGlkA251bGw-?gprid=LExG7eYTTECGO997D6IxXA&pvid=OJRLvDEwLjGFtI_sVomXva1lMTA4LgAAAACOvqq2&p=celebrity+cruse+line%2C+edge+jogging+track&ei=UTF-8&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&fr=yhs-Lkry-SF01&hsimp=yhs-SF01&hspart=Lkry&type=ANYS_A0IFV_ext_bsf&param1=na3P9yVrJGqvPvCtpsq3u60Hcak6l70t-342whfjyOti1e2A8B32t1-zqwMMVYv06nXHxBzaFQha_MUwtvbChRl8pPkztPdEQ55Ba50K3i_MZyXI_DOMgJi2BwXd4JHYSlU2U2Q47Ytj0pxtm-frfQeOlTM1jkfCbDUrd4aVqitbfN35D0zfDZeJRLCwJedWgKxuoYrov3gdzNtAGFUF5Uu8mA0%2C#id=10&vid=58e4432dc867c2ab57b1019277c01187&action=view

I've done "assigned identity" events before and had a blast. Usually a mystery dinner or LARP (live action role play) weekend. It's a nerd thing us weirdos do. To enjoy it, you'll need a tolerance of ambiguity and enough imagination to suspend disbelief. If you need clearly defined rules, object, or a specific goal to enjoy play, this might not be the best event for you.

Given the feedback here, I'll be surprised if Celebrity keeps things like the Eden show long enough for my 2020 cruise but I hope they do. I understand I'm in the minority here but I really like what I hear about the EDGE. 

     I'm an intorverted, New Age, crystal wearing, Si-Fi watching, Fantasy reading, herb growing, tea-totaling, yoga practicing, organic eating, meditating, Gen-X, apple fan-girl, Trekie, Whovian, Potter-head, Ren-fairy, Brown Coat, Slayer. I'm used to hearing the stuff i'm "into" made fun of. I enjoy it anyway.

     Occasionally something like the EDGE is dreamed up that is a good fit for people like me but it doesn't last. The geeks and nerds were just never a large enough group (with enough money) to make catering to us profitable. But we are now a growing community with more disposable income than in the past.  Maybe the EDGE is the ship intended to pick up this stray market segment since no one else in the cruise industry really seems to want us (except for that once-a-year Star Trek sailing).

     I hope Celebrity can keep this experiment going long enough for me to come play. I want to visit Club Andromeda, Eden, and meditate in the Crystalarium. I want to have a room that my pasty skin can stay out of the sun but I can still open a window to commune with the sea (without really having to go outside). I want to make a cozy nest of Kelly Hoppin pillows on the floor in front of the IV and read. 

All that said, the cruise community has been very good to me. I enjoy cruising and cruise people are largely a fun group. I "get" the seduction of sea and the appeal of traditional cruising. I accept that the majority of the cruising community doesn't like "weird" so when something like the EDGE comes along, it usually doesn't last long. I'd like to jump on it sooner, but 2020 is my first opportunity and I hope some of the weird still remains for me when I get there.