Alcairns

Suggest you take a look at this “Live from” post. It was written post refurbishment and provides a lot if information re ports and the vessel with lots of pictures.

Thank you for your great and informative report. We will be on Connie in September with the exact same itinerary. You have given us some great ideas re shore excursions etc. Cannot  wait till September now! 

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Celebrity continues to advertise as a PREMIUM CRUISE LINE  then replaces butter in OVC with a spread

 

 

and cut pillow chocolates to 50% size - 4.5 grams. 

 

 

Really how do they dream thing up like this. 

 

At least you are getting chocolates on your pillow. Not a lot of cruise lines are doing this now! 

Depends on where you are sailing - in Europe they may be later.

1 hour ago, JMMKUK said:

You can request Saga to pick you up the day before & you pay for your overnight hotel.

Thanks - we did learn this after the event. 

A word of warning on the travel service - you may be picked up at all hours of the day. We were picked up at 2:30 am for an 11:00 train from St Pancras. By the time we got to the vessel we were shattered and spent the first two days recovering. If we had to do it again we would have made our own way to London. 

13 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

https://www.foodrepublic.com/1369939/what-is-clotted-cream-illegal-united-states/

 

Technically it is not clotted cream since it is made with pasteurized milk, although maybe that would be splitting hairs. 

It a strange decision by the FDA in that the process of making clotted cream is the same as pasteurising milk or cream. I.e. heating the Milk for a period is time. Therefore surely the clotted cream is pasteurised notwithstanding the fact it was made from unpasteurised milk? 

I think this link should answer all your questions 

I believe they have abandoned plans to revolutionise both the infinity and constellation. I understand the dry docking work will be superficial. - new carpets painting etc 

5 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

This program is not offered in the USA due to regulations requiring all ship passengers be cleared through immigration before the next group of passengers can embark.

 

Motto for disembarkation day: Here's your hat; here's your coat; don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Thanks I wasn’t aware of that. However the OP did not provide details of the cruise she was on so May still be of value to them or other readers. 

Some cruises offer extended stays  at a price. You need to leave your cabin at the usual time but have use of all the facilities until about 1 o’clock. You can find these on shore excursions for the last day. 

We are in the constellation in September. My itinerary suggests that we will be tendered at Portofino where you can take boats trains and buses to the Cinque Terre villages. 

On 10/12/2023 at 10:59 PM, prmssk said:

If you are referring to the revolution, no.  That is still on hold and may never restart, at least in the form it was pre-pandemic.  

 

I wouldn't count on more than a maintenance dry dock and maybe a bit of a refresh in 2024.

Constellation is due to be in drydock/out of service for three weeks. IMO This will be more than just a refresh.

20 hours ago, wowzz said:

Thanks for the update.  That is a surprise. 

Enjoy your cruise. 

Sounds like embarkation was speedy. Did anyone check your arrival time or QR code ?

Surprise - not to me! 

On 5/4/2023 at 8:23 AM, wowzz said:

Yes, definitely, according to Princess, as they want to give deck 7 an Italian "vibe" by having both Italian restaurants onnthe same deck. 

This is definitely the case on Enchanted where there are already other Italian venues - Bellinis and Gigi’s. However I do not believe this is the case on Sky at least this is not what we were told last month. 

5 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

Someone needs to tell Cruisemapper 😄

This plan looks like it is for the Enchanted where  Sabatinis was moved to where the Bistro was in order to create an Italian area. This is not the case on SKY.  However on Enchanted they replaced Salty Dog with an Irish Bar. On Sky Vines Is where CruiseMapper has placed Salty Dog. We were told on our last cruise that Vines was staying. Very confusing! 

36 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

Cruisemapper have listed Salty Dog Gastropub coming to Sky Princess during dry dock.

 

Is this true?

No! Main change is Bistro is going and the Catch is replacing it. This is a seafood restaurant which is getting good reviews on Enchanted. There will also be some layout changes in the Market Fresh buffet. 

On 4/22/2023 at 6:49 PM, arizonaperson said:

Thanks,that’s why no one knows the real answer yet. So May 7th Sky roll call ,please check out Vines ( open,closed,moved,gone)for all the inquiring minds.

As I stated previously Vines is not being moved!!! I was on Sky last month and the food and beverages manager told me all the major internal changes. The major change is the closure of the Bistro and arrival of The Catch. There will be some work done on the layout of the Market Fresh buffet. We learned this at the suite guests reception with senior crew members. The reason for the drydock is to fit and air lubrication system in the hull - a big job. 

21 hours ago, Geoffa30 said:

Wasn’t there a rumour about Crooners being added? Having sailed on Sky Princess multiple times, seating in the Piazza area - all floors - for drinks in the evening is lacking. My hope is that they somehow commandeer part of the photo gallery to add more seating / Crooners. In my opinion, its location and size on Sky Princess is using up too much valuable real estate.

Crooners is not being added and Vines is staying where it is 

22 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

The source is myself. There is never been talks about removing Vines at all especially during recent times. I was just on the ship not too long ago and when the captains spoke about what was being done in dry dock that was not one of them. The only changes that we're being done was sabatini's being moved to Sur La Mer and the new catch of the Day restaurant opening in sabatini's. Other than that the whole of the ship was getting a new spray job with the airstream bubbles to help with the friction of the ship sailing through the water. Other than that it was just normal routine maintenance on the ship being done for dry dock.

This is exactly what we were told by the hotel general manager at the captains suite guests reception on our transatlantic last month. 

On 4/11/2023 at 8:57 PM, jaulick said:

OK, what is the secret? Everything I've read here says that it has to be done on board.  Have you found another "work around"?

If you are in a suite and Elite you stand a far better chance of being selected. 

On 4/11/2023 at 4:58 AM, J13C85 said:

We did Chef's table on Sky in Dec 22.  First, they marched as a group into the galley and gave us a tour.  After the tour, we were escorted to our table.  There are plenty of videos showing the setup.  It was quite elegant.

 

The meal was fabulous.  We had different wines with each course.  This was, by far, the best dining experience we ever had at sea.

 

What follows are some pics I took and a "blurry" pic of the menu.  A lot of wine, lol.

 

 

We too did the Chef’s table on Sky on two separate cruises. The food was excellent but the down side was the menu did not change! In fact the menu    above b is practically identical to the ones we had previously. Just a thing to bear in mind if you plan to repeat thev3xperience.

On 4/3/2023 at 2:23 PM, Mary loves to travel said:

Ah, so now we've heard:   Crooners, a pub-style restaurant, and a seafood restaurant.

🙂

From Princess FB page -

Our newest specialty restaurant concept, The Catch by Rudi, takes seafood to the next level. 🍽️🦞 From reimagined classic dishes to signature seafood inventions, Chef Rudi has created a menu that will appeal to every taste and appetite. Experience it aboard #EnchantedPrincess debuting April 15, and coming soon to #MajesticPrincess, #SkyPrincess, and #DiscoveryPrincess!

9 minutes ago, villauk said:

Bangers and mash for formal night 😮!
 

May I ask if you can get Malbec anywhere on the ship? If it’s still not available, like last year on Enchanted, then we’ll bring our own.

Definitely available last week on Sky. On the plus package so cannot tell you who the wine was made by. I had it in MDR and Crown Grill.

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Thanks for the information. Given that Sky is a relatively new ship, I'm surprised that the technology was not incorporated at the time of construction, rather than being retro fitted after only 5 years.

Not sure why but Captain Marco told us that this was the reason why she will be in drydock for three weeks.