yoyocruiser

Hi! We just disembarked this AM. It was a fantastic cruise. We loved the food in the World Marketplace. The variety was wonderful. And loved Steamers and Planks too. Staff were great and we loved our port experiences. Have a fantastic time! Your Sailaway is fast approaching. 

I want to thank each of you for your timely and very helpful replies.  I feel much better. I thought it might cost more or that it might not even be available. I'm the type of person that likes to have everything lined up so that I can enjoy the first hours onboard but I missed the boat (LOL) on this one.  Many thanks.  Back to packing!!  

Quick question. I have looked through threads and can't find the answer, although I'm sure it's there but in the interest of time perhaps sometime can provide a quick answer.  Our cruise departs on Saturday and I just went in to the Cruise Personalizer to pay for the Premier Beverage Package and it says not available.  Was there a deadline for purchase? Can I purchase onboard and if so what are the lines like and any suggestions for how to do this without it taking significant time? Will I be able to purchase it onboard through the Medallion? I have never cruised on Princess so I am just trying to plan. Thank you. 

This is a loaded question--because it so depends on whether or not you are looking at the possibility of just one cruise--or are you really open to booking any cruise? If your heart is set on one particular cruise and you have any level of feeling whatsoever about what type of room you are in--then early booking is probably going to work out much better--but that is only PROBABLY--anything could happen. But if you literally have a week and are really ready to jump on ANY cruise and you really don't care about what type of cabin--and that means that you REALLY DON'T CARE--then that's different. But I have been watching closely over the last year and I don't think that as many last minute deals are coming up. I too have been watching the Dawn to Bermuda and have not really noticed any decreases.

It's nice to read a review that addresses the restaurants where there is NOT an upcharge and describes a room that is not a balcony or suite. I just find that a majority of the reviews are about the higher end enhancements and it is hard to figure sometimes what a "base price" cruise would be like. I really appreciate the information. Haven't cruised in a while and am getting very itnerested again--so I really enjoyed this.

Seriously why do people make that type of comment? :confused: It is totally NOT helpful. That type of statement just starts making you wonder and wonder--so its a good thing you came here to ask the question.

I have not been on the Sky for three years, so I don't feel I can speak accurately on the quality. What I will say is that three years ago when we were planning our trip there were a couple of reviews that were just terrible--everything about the ship was a disaster. I almost decided not to do the trip, but for a short cruise there weren't many options.

Since then I have read the same advice from CC members over and over--and I think it is great advice--and that is--(as Frick and Frack above has already advised)--realize what you are buying. You are not on the Getaway or Breakaway or even the Jewel. You are on a smaller ship, and the options are not as diverse. Likewise, it is a shorter cruise and this also has an impact. Also the ports are not outstanding (right--it's a 3 or 4 day cruise and there's not a lot of time to get somewhere). But get your expectations in line and it is highly likely you will have a wonderful time.

I planned things differently for this cruise than the usual. Like UM-Fan above, we too did not get off the ship in the Bahamas. Generally I am compelled to go into port and do all sorts of things. For this cruise we stayed aboard--and lo and behold we enjoyed the quiet and the convenience of no lines, few people, up front seats at the pool--you get it. It was an outstanding day. Then we thoroughly enjoyed GSC--the same experience there as one would have on any cruise.

The following were other things i heard but were not true for our experience:

"There are way too many partyers, it is a "party boat", full of drunks"--not saying this cannot happen (spring break), but it didn't happen to us. I would not go on the Sky during spring break weeks. Our trip was pretty calm. But the demographic was definitely younger than on other cruises. We don't view that as a bad thing. We have young adult kids and love that age group--but again that's us. Just have reasonable expectations. This is a cruise that perhaps some first time cruisers and younger folks can afford more than others. So the population of the crusie will likely reflect this fact.

"The ship is so small there is nothing to do"--well, that's subjective really. But I'm always wondering exactly what it is people need to entertain them. As we don't need an event every second it was fine. Again, in some ways it was a relief because sometimes I can get buried in wanting to do too many things. I would say we relaxed a lot more and spent lot more time talking. But if your vision is rock climbing and bowling and movie theatres etc.--yes, you are going to find the Sky lacking.

Well, I won't even get started on the food thing--suffice it to say that regardless of how bad anyone says it is--you will not go hungry or be deprived.

As an aside, I had so many concerns about going on this cruise because of all the negative reviews that I made a decision to do it the cheapest way possible. For the first time ever I literally did EVERYTHING the cheapest--no insurance, booked an INSIDE GTY at the rock bottom cost (previously had only been in balcony or suite) with THREE people, ate in NO specialty restaurant, booked NO excursions, and flew in the day of the cruise. It was one of the best cruises I ever went on--we LOVED it. :D

So, if you know up front what to expect and think through it, I think you will come to a good place and be able to have a great time.

Personally my favorite thing on a cruise is to order room service coffee for my morning wake up call. Hang the order on the door know with the delivery time you want. They call 5 to 10 minutes before delivery. It is perfect. And I love the room service coffee--for some reason it is much better than the other coffee on the ship. I wouldn't consider making my own coffee!!:)

In general I think you can always find some excellent food, but everything is not excellent. That said, we always found wonderful food and enjoyed it greatly. Others just wish to complain and make no effort to search out what would be more pleasing to them. All in all I found the food getting better and better with each cruise I have been on. But seriously--check the menus, think about what you want, look at what is being served. You can find some glorious food on NCL.:)

John, Took my two college kids last year during their winter break and I had a very similar and fun experience. This cruise is my favorite--no it isn't a wild party cruise--but it does have a better vibe and more spirit than the seven day cruises. It's a bit of a younger crowd--not totally as there were all ages--(but in our last cruises the population was overwhelmingly a bit older). I really loved the high energy and fun atmosphere of this cruise. The DJs, music, dancing--everything was just so much fun. I just love these cruises where family really enjoys one another and has a special time. The three of you look so happy! Brought back great memories of my cruise last January.

And to Daveintoledo--I think you will love this cruise. It absolutely is not a booze cruise. Yes, you may run into some issues here and there, but as mentioned above, it is just a happy and really nice crowd.

Also, we felt the food on the SKY was significantly better than on our other cruises. And we did not eat at any specialty restaurants.

And as others said John, you are a great uncle!! Wonderful gift and a great time for you and your mom also.

I was on the SKY in January and for sure it is a bit more relaxed than other ships. Definitely you could wear shorts and nice shirts in the MDR. But the food was wonderful--and while the attire was more relaxed I did not find it offensive at all. I do not recall seeing "short shorts" or ripped clothes or anything offensive. Most people dressed very appropriately. And again, the food was surprisingly good--as I had assumed that since it was a short cruise--I was very pleasantly surprised. Have a great relaxed time.:)

This is one of the most informative reviews i have ever read thank you so much for sharing your experiences and photos!

Thanks so much for this review. Loved the pictures, the writing, and the feel of the whole experience. I have absolutely NEVER wanted to do the Alaskan cruise. Probably still don't. BUT--you got me thinkin' Mike!! :)

Did Disney twice. It was okay but i remember crowds and long lines and this ridiculous traipsin from dining room to dining room. NCL was a welcome relief with freestyle. I was not impressed with the kidz club stuff. I did not find the cabin that marvelous. It amazes me people like it so much. We had good cruises. But not as good as recently on NCL. But that is me. I hate the hoopla of all that kid stuff --even when kids were small. I have had only great cruises on both lines. But in comparison i did not find Disney better.

The crepes that they serve on the buffet are marvelous. Cooked to order, ice cream or fruit. Simply wonderful. The chocolate chip cookies are good. The cheese plates served as a desert are good also. The brownie sundaes in the 24hour restaurant are really good. Avoid the plethera of pudding like puffy deserts. But there are marvelous deserts to be had. Tiramisu when they have it is good. But to directly answer your question, not one signature desert per se. I read lots of complaints about deserts but i have had wonderful ones. But i also have a good sense of what to order and have read a lot of comments here on CC which helps.

I don't quite get what you mean by they "had a lot of excuses". I mean, there are probably a lot of people who appreciate that it is in the evening. I doubt that whoever you asked had any idea why the schedule is as it is--I mean why would they?? I mean why is yoga at 7AM? I totally support that you advocate with NCL for a time change. But to say that you can't get a straight answer or lots of excuses--I don't know--I don't get that.

No issue with the jogging track. If you are really picky then you might not like that these balconies are actually so close to the deck that you can hear the music from the bands who play at the pool in the afternoon and some evenings. That happened to be one of my FAVORITE things. But inside the room--well--I really heard no noise--jogging track or otherwise.

Honestly, we were in one of the two you noted that have the smaller balcony--and we had lots of room. So yes, I think you will love the balcony on any of them. These suites are beautiful--light, bright, modern, huge windows--absolutely wonderful.

I think I look at this similarly to SDMike. There is going to be some type of service charge regardless of how it comes about--and regardless of what it is called. As a consumer you then have the choice to choose a line that fits best with how you like to go about paying it. In the OP's situation I am somewhat empathetic--because at least part of their issue was that they felt blind sided. I think it is a topic that is easy to misunderstand and that is not made very clear in the booking process.

So OP, my goal with this post is to help you better understand the charge and feel better about it--so that you can go on that crusie and have a great time without worrying about this. I just got off a cruise last week, and it is such a great experience that you really want to go with a positive feeling.

As others have noted, all lines do something. You are expected to either 1)run around with those crazy envelopes--(which in my opinion ruined the final night of the cruise dealing with this most stressful activity); 2) pay a predetermined amount--$12 per person per day for NCL and other lines that use this method are generally in that vicinity; or 3) it is built intot he fare (thsi is generally done on more upscale lines). In the end, you are going to pay in some way and then you choose a line that best matches how it is you would prefer to pay.

Given that you OP had already booked with NCL prior to finding out about the charge, you in effect ended up not being able to exercise your preference. (Yes, many will say you should have researched better etc. etc. and yes, in a perfect world you should have, but I for one can understand how things can slip by). But since you are booked, the best thing is to come to terms with it so that you can have a great crusie--or--if you are still at a point where you can cancel with no penalty, you should probably consider doing so (and I don't mean that in any sarcastic way). Then book either with an upscale line that has the charge build in, or go with a traditional line where you can distribute your envelopes as you please--a factor that is very important to many people and should not be ridiculed. However, you do need to realize that the cruise line DOES get to decide their own pricing strategy--for example--I cannot go on a traditional cruise line where the "envelopes" are used and go to the desk and demand that they instead add a $12 charge per day to my tab because I don't feel like doiong the envelope thing. Nor can I ask a line that builds the charges in the overall cost, to pull them out so that I can hand out envelopes.

Cruise lines market themselves in different ways and have pricing strategies done in different ways. On NCL, due to the "freestyle", the envelope thing just doesn't work well--there simply are not a finite group of people that you would be able to tip as is true on traditional lines (where you have the same waitstaff each night). Nor does NCL market themselves as that all inclusive type of high end line. So NCL has identified the $12 charge because they apparently feel it is the best fit for their line.

I hated running around with those stupid envelopes chasing people down; and I don't choose to go on the more expensive lines where the charge is built in (although this would actually be my choice--but I generally can't afford these lines). So I am left with lines such as NCL, RCCL, DCL that have the charge identified and added. Because in many ways I would prefer to think of the service as part of the overall cost of the cruise I always choose to pay my charges ahead of time--to me that is like an inclusive fee. And then I never have to think about it. I go on the cruise with it already paid. But what I totally understand is that regardless of what line you go on--you are in some way shape or form going to pay for the service. There's just no way around it--because the service is such a big--and very WONDERFUL--part of the cruise. And there are many staff working very hard to provide excellent service--these people of course have to be paid.

So in the end,I hope you can reconcile yourself to paying the fee, and to actually feel good about paying it--I know I did at the end of my cruise last week. Honestly, when I got home and thought about all the wonderful service, I actually regretted not giving out more extra tips in addition to the charge. I hope you will feel that way too. But I do udnerstand your initial negative feeling given that you were not aware of the charge. I hope this helps in someway and I also agree that NCL does need to make it clearer from the beginning that the additional fee will be expected. But please don't let this interfere with your having a fantastic time. :)

I would take a balcony for sure--and I would not be creeped out by it at all.

That said, I think it would make your day extremely stressful and if there is any way to take care of it ahead of time I would certainly do that.

Someone mentioned going to the Roll call Board. I think if your TA cannot do anything, that that strategy would be better than trying to do this the day of boarding. You know what the Roll Call board is right? If the tA can't do anything, then go over there. Well go ahead and go over to that board anyway and get yourself known. Then if you need help--those are all people who are on your cruise and chances are there will be someone in the vicinity--maybe not exactly where you wish--but in the vicinity.

I'm in the category of people that would do anything for a balcony. I have no idea why there are so many people who would be creeped out if you simply asked--of course you have to be ready for a no.

Hi Bermuda--it is my understanding that the staff in Cagney's are included in the tip pool. However--we got exceptional service--I sometimes left a couple of dollars at the table for the two of us--but sometimes forgot because generally I was not carrying money. At the end of the cruise i left $20 at breakfast. I felt we got really good service and that is why I left it. If I had gotten mediocre service, I would have felt that they were adequately covered in the tip pool. But they were superb.

Neng--I took a lime aboard and the butler saw it. He then brought me a cup of limes every day all cut up and left them in the fridge!! So there are plenty of limes on board and this is exactly the kind of thing that a butler is pleased to do for you--just tell him that is what you would like. I also asked for milk to make the steamed milk for the coffee machine. These things were stocked regularly as well as water--actually I didn't know they would replenish the bottled water but our butler did. Yes--you do need to bring tonic--I brought the little six pack tonics made by canada dry. You can probably buy some aboard from the bar--but I drink diet tonic--and I knew they wouldn't have that. I do remember that they had regular tonic in the mini bar for 2.25 in case you don't want to bother.

The suites have okay hair dryers and they all have Elemis products. If you are extremely picky then I guess bring your own stuff for sure. But Elemis products are top of the line--they are used in top spas. They are very gentle and natural--so for some folks who need a real super conditioner I can see they might not like them. They will bring you a mountain of them to your suite if you ask.

There is also a water shuttle from Logan. You come out of baggage and wait for the bus that says water shuttle. This brings you over to an area that is pretty close to the pier--maybe a $10 taxi ride. But all in all would probably not save you money. But sometimes it is good to have a back up plan--like if there is a long wait for taxis at the airport or something odd like that. But yes, as noted above, although it is a short distance, the cost will be $25 to $30.

Gail, thanks so much for the information. Glad the caesar salad is still there--that was one of my favorites as they used really nice cheese and it was so fresh. I too find the way they do the Latitudes aprty to be a little odd--on the Jewel it was in the theatre. It is really hard to exactly "party"--it is more like an infomercial where you get a free drink--LOL--I think we jsut got a drink and left, it was kind of awkward having to sit in a theatre style seat. I feel like the number of repeat customers is just so big that it has "outgrown" all the better venues. Maybe other liens don't have the large number of repeaters--I don't know--but it is kind of limiting.

Thank you so much!! :)

Thanks Gail, very helpful.

The barriers on balcony--is that if you are sailing in adjoining room and you cannot open the dividers on the balcony?? Too bad if that was what you had in mind.

Specific questions:

Do they still have a specific cart set up at lunch buffet for freshly tossed caesar (and perhaps other) salad and freshly grated cheese??

When was the Latitudes party--afternoon of first sea day? And how did you find it?

Did the bands play very often on deck by the pool (someone was complaining that they did not so I was wondering)?

Oh goodness, the story about the kid in the arcade--can you imagine?? I remember the first time we were on Disney cruise and my son who is generally very responsible but managed to get loose with his card BEFORE we could discuss it--managed to find about 10 friends who he set up with virgin cocktails at the ESPN lounge--so at end of first day he had about a $50 charge--and he did tip well and sign for it quite efficiently!;)

Thanks again for the great info--we sail in mid September.

We consistently ordered orange, cranberry, and tomato juice--I am not sure if they had other kinds of juice.