morechances

Thanks for the responses. 

I am 26 days away and nothing yet. 

If I remember correctly,  my last cruise started populating way before that.

But I will not worry about it. 

Lots all over. Depends on where you are staying. 

Most sell Okanagan area wines.

Okanagan Estate Wine Cellars, Liberty Wine, Marquis Wines.

Also most BC Liquor stores have a solid selection of BC wines.

My experience is this, if you are in a suite, the free vouchers show up. If you are not, then it only offers credit card bookings. At that point,  when you get to the dining room at your reserved time,  tell them that you want to use your voucher. They will cancel the credit card reservation and add the voucher. 

The cruise I am on now had very few options for specialty restaurant availability for the week. Ship is busy,  but not at capacity. 

43 minutes ago, TracieABD said:

 

February 2, 2023

Costa Maya, Mexico

 

Groundhog Day!

Seriously. Groundhog Day.

 

Hi friends-

 

It’s another beautiful day on this beautiful ship. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Again, we slept so well. Is it the bed? Is it the gentle rocking? Is it the fact that our stupidly high maintenance Italian Greyhound is not running our lives? Who knows! Who cares!

 

I missed yoga this morning. I will do it on my own this afternoon. That is how it works on these cruises- we don’t over schedule- then it is less guilt when we whiff at port/ meal/ activity. That is how we roll. We are fortunate enough to live a short flight from port and are semi-retired, so we can go a bit more often.

 

Breakfast was again in the IC- with all of its delicious and healthy choices. We are docked next to the Carnival Pride and the RC Allure of the Seas. The size difference between the ships is astounding. The Pride is about 2100 and Allure is sailing with 5600 (one of their passengers offered that tidbit of info). Take a minute to let that sink in… 5600 passengers! Wow. Just wow. Not sure that would be my thing. I am including a picture for reference- just look at the difference in the hull for the two ships. Massive!

 

We moved on up to the Sanctuary. It was quiet in the morning- though completely booked. Costa Maya is a walk-off port- so maybe most people went aboard. We are some of the only people up there today. However, we had a cabana of loud talkers… might be time for headphones.

 

It stared to rain a bit- so we found shelter to conduct our business. I made a critical error on our return flight that Jon- who has more status- spent an hour and a little money correcting. Jon and I have a shared philosophy- “The best kind of problems are those that you can throw a little money at.”  It keeps stuff in perspective for us. We are lucky we can do that.

 

We have been eating our lunch up in the Sanctuary each day- off their menu. Loving the set up of the bento boxes. I just love food that is neatly sorted and stuffed into little buckets. What more could a girl ask for- healthy, delicious, and well organized!

 

All aboard was at 4:30, but I think that most people were on well before that. With potentially 10,000 passengers ashore- it was just too much for Jon and me- and probably a lot of other people as well. The Sanctuary was full by 3 pm tea time. This was our last day in the Sanctuary for this cruise. We said goodbye to the stewards and headed back to the cabin.

 

As an aside- we learned a little lesson- the hard way. Both Jon and I are still working- somewhat- and we banked on having great phone/internet service in Costa Maya, just like Cozumel. That sadly did not happen. We found out that Costa Maya is a 6 hour car ride from Cancun… and that it is pretty remote. Cell service is spotty and slow, if at all. Add to that 10,000 passengers and well, you get the picture. We have actually done better with the ship’s internet.

 

It was the second formal-not formal night. They are calling it “Dress to Impress”. We dressed, though I am not sure if anyone was impressed. We had a reservation for Sabitini’s but ran into our assistant waiter in the IC- and he reminded Jon that it was lobster night. We quickly changed our reservation to Friday- and made the MDR our destination.

 

For dinner, I had the wedge salad- which was on par with a wedge that you might find at a fine dining steakhouse like DelFriscos or Mortons. I also had the panko fried tofu- which was the absolute best agadashi-style tofu I have ever had. I should have just ordered three more of those, but sadly I am supposed to limit my soy intake (IYKYK). We both ordered the surf and turf- or land and sea- or pasture and ocean- or whatever they call it. I eat no seafood or fish. None. So, Jon was tasked with eating my lobster and his lobster. If you have a shellfish allergy (I do not), they place the lobster tail on the steak- so there I am- with staring at a lobster butt planted on my steak… Hmmm. I had the pistachio dome for dessert and Jon had a third lobster tail.

 

We tried to sit through the production show “Five Skies” in the Princess Theater. Holy weirdness, Bat Folk, what the actual heck was that?!?! Something about a guy who has to negotiate through 5 levels- lots of strange EDM, talking screens, an narrating amatron, and funky costumes- but the dancing was excellent. Maybe on another day, I would have found it intriguing, however, I am sad to report that we were among the throng of confused people who were in mass exit- mid performance. Actually, I have never seen anything like it on a Princess ship. I am certain that Princess paid a ton for the production- but they may want to consider their primary audience and cut their losses on that one. JMO.

 

In lieu of the show, we decided to play cards and backgammon in the IC. It was hopping! So many people. There was a contortionist who hula hooped for a seven minute performance and then the Motown-based band.

 

At about 8:30, we gave up the ghost and went up to bed. And in the spirit of Groundhog Day- it was another amazing day on a cruise ship!

 

Anyone want to try to explain “Five Skies” to me? I’m all ears!

Thanks for following along!

 

More later!

Tracie-Lynn

Think short version of Ready Player One, the movie from a few years ago. Inside the game of a video game.  I know, still does not make sense.  

Basically,  a video game comes to life.

1 hour ago, morechances said:

I am on Aloha 739, and it is small. Was in Caribe 735, also an aft and it is also small. Baja and Riviera are both a lot larger

Sorry C742, not 735

On 1/30/2023 at 12:24 PM, wcflats said:

Those of you who have been on Sky we’re looking for advice on cabin selection.  We usually like aft caribe on the older ships because of the larger balconies and proximity to everything above and below that level .    Currently looking at deck eleven these days.  Thanks 🙏 

I am on Aloha 739, and it is small. Was in Caribe 735, also an aft and it is also small. Baja and Riviera are both a lot larger

On 1/28/2023 at 10:00 PM, TracieABD said:

 

January 28, 2023

Somewhere in the Caribbean Sea

 

It’s a Charmed Life

 

Hi friends-

 

The whole day… Charmed. Seriously. Amazingly. Awesomely. Charmed.

 

No one got much sleep last night, yet we were still up and at ‘em early this morning. We stayed in Miramar last night. The hotel experience was pretty meh… I was a bit worried that it might set the tone for the week. But not so.

 

We left the hotel at 8:17, stopped at Starbucks for breakfast sammies and coffee, and headed back to Fort Lauderdale. Traffic was light and we got there in less than a half hour.  The last couple of times we have been to Port Everglades it has been a bit of circus- and my worry was increased, because the Sky was berthed at Pier 21- not Pier 2. But the signage at the port! Holy cow. Maybe it was already there or maybe it is new- but so much easier. There were big colour-coded signs. And because Pier 26 and Pier 22 and Pier 21 are so close together, they even painted the roadway which lane was best for which pier. How easy is that?!

 

We dropped luggage (all 146 pounds- don’t judge. Seriously. Don’t judge. I can feel the judgy-ness) and headed back to the airport to drop the rental. We were in an Uber less than 20 minutes later with dear Luis- brand spanking new to Uber- Luis. He had never been to port before- we helped. A lot. We were back to port by 9:45 am.

 

The most challenging part of the day was the line outside of the terminal- we had to wait for about 30 minutes for the ship to zero out. There were two lines- one for priority embarkation (platinum, elite, and suites) and a standard line. Once the line opened, we never stopped moving. We were directed upstairs to the lounge- yes- there were pastries and bevvies. Unlike Terminal 2- they did not segregate the Elites and the Platinums into separate areas.

 

Of course, Jon and I were anxious to board- because- Sanctuary. It is always about the Sanctuary for us. We watched so many transit passengers board- and then it was our turn. It was a first. We were on board at 10:30 am. Unbelievably efficient.

 

We moved quickly onto the ship and up to Deck 18 Forward. Yay! We were the first in the Sanctuary line! And…. We did not get the full week. There are over 400 transit passengers on this cruise- and they get priority at booking. So there is that. We did get the 4 port days and passed on two morning slots. We would always prefer afternoon- for the tea. We are grateful that we got what we got.

 

We headed down to the International Cafe (IC) for some tea. I was fussing with Medallion app when I noticed that we had a shared table for dining. No offense to the 3,229 other passengers on board- I am certain they are lovely- but Jon and I are a bit gun shy. We are trying to reduce the risk of a second round of Covid by limiting a lot of contact. We are also some of the only people on the ship consistently masking.

 

At lunch in the MDR (because nothing starts a cruise off better than lunch in the MDR), we spoke with the Maitre’d, Giuseppe, about our seating concerns. He directed us to go to the Cielo dining room at 6 pm- and they would help us figure something out. He is so sincere you can’t help but trust him.

 

We took care of the safety requirements and went to our room at 1pm. No luggage- but that was fine- we managed a little business and headed down to the Internet Cafe for assistance with the Medallion thingy- yep- we are “Assistance in the Internet Cafe for the Medallion thingy old.” Natalya was great- she had us up and running in no time. I adored her efficient “no nonsense” approach. They had a lot of people to help those of us, so the wait was relatively short. (Actually, we had no wait- because- it has been a charmed day! We arrived ahead of the wave). When we went back to the cabin- Luggage!

 

It is amazing how quickly time passes on a ship. Soon, it was time to head down to dinner. And just as Giuseppe told us, when it was our turn to be seated, we were directed to a lovely corner table in one of the small back dining rooms- by a window! We loved our waitstaff- and we are looking forward to getting to know them a bit more over the next week. Giuseppe stopped by to say “hello”- a really touching and personal gesture.

 

Dinner was delicious. I had the pork and Jon had the snapper and we both had dessert and I even took pictures. I just have to figure out how to download them. Presentation was absolutely on point and the food was really well seasoned. It felt like Princess dining of old. It felt like “Welcome home”.

 

We rushed off to see the comedian. The theater was packed- and he just did not hit the mark with us. Not our type of humor, but most of the audience seemed to really enjoy the show.

 

We are exhausted so we headed back to the room- to read and do a little yoga. And that is where I will leave you… the ship is gently rocking us to sleep.

 

Thanks for following along!

 

More tomorrow-

Tracie-Lynn

Agree with you on Cielo, Giuseppe, and the team in Cielo. 

Although, it can be confusing and difficult for some people to find, that dining room is the best. Unfortunately,  more people are finding it, and it is busy. 

On 1/24/2023 at 1:38 PM, minnesotasisu said:

I sent an email to Princess to inquire about our Feb 25 - Mar 11 cruise on the Sky Princess:

We have made reservations for the Cielo main dining room for several nights on the Medallion app for our 14 day cruise and yesterday these reservations vanished and this dining room does not appear as an option to reserve.

 

Is this an IT issue with the app or is this MDR not available? Will there only be 2 MDR available for reservations during our cruise? If so, I suspect a lot of unhappy cruisers trying to get seated in the 2 remaining MDR.

 

This is the response I got back:

 

Thank you for your email, you have reached the MedallionClass Support Team, we will do our best to assist you.

 

We apologize for the challenge you've been experiencing and are eager to help you get OceanReady.

 

We tested your app account this morning and see no data conflicts, we also see you booked into the Cielo Dining room for dates Feb 25 to Mar 05., and the Crown Grill on Mar., 04. The remaining dates do not show any reservations.

 

The Cielo room does not appear to available for the remaining leg of your journey Mar., 06 to Mar., 11. At this time we do not have the specific reason as to why one of the dining rooms are not available currently. However the two remaining rooms are available, that being the Estrella on deck 5 and the Soleil on deck 6. Please visit the app to make reservations for one of these room to insure a desirable seating time.

 

Please let us know if you need further assistance.

 

Kind regards,

 

MedallionClass Support Team

Mine showed up again day of my cruise 

On 1/24/2023 at 8:19 AM, Sea Hag said:

We're on the Sky at the end of next month. We have cc, and the app still shows us in Estrella. Since we all know that the app is infallible, we must still be in Estrella. 😂

It was only the Cielo dining room reservations that were not showing up 

On 1/23/2023 at 9:56 PM, Lilly-Ann said:

Mine for the entire week is gone also. Now it is only giving me 8:40 pm. Way too late for me to eat dinner. Very frustrating.

It is probably an app issue, mine showed up again,  day on departure 

On 1/26/2023 at 7:16 AM, raharris200 said:

Please let us know what happens when you board this weekend.  It would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you

I am on my flight to Fort Lauderdale,  so only a few hours before my cruise.  As soon as the app switched to the day of setting,  the reservations all returned and Cielo shows up again. 

So definitely an IT issue 

So, this appears to be an app glitch. 

As with others,  using the web link my reservations are also showing up. 

Now let's see what happens when I board in 3 days. 

2 hours ago, dcmom said:

We were booked in the Cielo each night for an upcoming 14 night cruise in June and all the reservations have disappeared. And it’s not showing up as an option to rebook on any of the nights at any time. I’m hoping it’s a system glitch and will reappear magically just like it disappeared!

I will update next week once I get back on the ship.

The maitre d that was in Cielo was top notch. As was my server on my transatlantic in November. 

Both were scheduled to still be on the ship until March. But that can always change. 

4 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Got back yesterday from the Sky Princess and this morning, this is what we awoke to find.

If I had seen this coming, I would not have disembarked.

Anyone else seeing this today?

 

Did Sky have production shows on your cruise? None are listed in the schedule for next week. Assuming that it is just not showing. 

Also,  do you know if Cielo dining room was open on your cruise?

4 hours ago, Alcairns said:

I believe that part of Cielo is used for Club Class dining. This may be why it cannot be booked, 

That must have changed in the past couple of months,  as I dined in there in November every night. And one of the other dining rooms was club. 

Too bad, as they have the best service and the best people working there.

2 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

I’ve only seen Club Class in a midship dining room & not in the aft MDR which on Sky is Cielo.

 

When capacity is low have read about a MDR being closed. As I recall there’s been a recent discussion about a ship in late January that has a partial charter group which could be assigned a MDR.

 

Merely speculation & have experienced DMW reservations reassigned for no reason other than an unreliable DMW system which has adversely affected us several times.

 

I ate in there every night on my last Sky cruise in November.  And was not club class.

I would expect that it is due to low attendance. 

Too bad, as it is definitely the best service of all of the MDRs on Sky.

4 hours ago, llarsen said:

You are correct. I originally had some nights booked in Cielo, but changed them to Soleil and Estrella.

I just checked to see if I could book Cielo by Editing one of my nightly reservations...and Cielo is no longer an option. I have read that it is harder to get to and can be hard to find (which is why I switched dining rooms). Maybe they are doing some improvements, or maybe they just don't get enough people dining there to keep it open? 

I was on the transatlantic in November and ate in there every night. It is actually quite easy to find and probably the best service that I have ever had. 

I was not club class.

4 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Or, could they be designating it for CC dining?  Or, the 360 experience?
I guess you will find out soon. Let us know.  

 

Did they book anything for you?  Or, did you have to rebook?

 

No. I now have to rebook.

Is the Cielo dining room closed on Sky?

Or a simple glitch in the system?

I had MDR bookings for my entire cruise for the 28th of January. I looked this morning and the reservations were gone, and there is no mention of the Cielo even existing. 

I think that any cruise is still vulnerable from a port point of view for the foreseeable future.

As in a port may randomly deny entry based on a number of factors.

A seven day cruise with 5 ports may lose a port or two due to restrictions.

Or rapidly changing rules. Especially if there is no clear proof of vaccination.

3 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Nope.  Absolutely Not.  Won't be mess.  Florida isn't targeting the cruise industry.  Clarification should be out within a few days.   No need to worry.

 

Feel free to come back in a few days and say: 

 

Pee, you were correct.

If this is true, it is hard to clarify this.....

Seems pretty straightforward to me....

They have specifically mentioned the cruise industry.

Now, they may back down and change their minds, but to call that clarification is just a way to save face. Yes, politicians do it every day, so it would not surprise me.

How do you clarify what they said when they specifically call out the cruise industry and mention fines for each passenger asked?

Just now, cltnccruisers said:

I read the same article you cited.  Still seems to me, though, that since the industry isn't screaming bloody murder there may be a way through this.

There is definitely a work around......dock in another state.

So far this seems pretty clear.

1 minute ago, cltnccruisers said:

The healthcare industry is exempt as a matter of public safety.  If that is in "the spirit of the law" couldn't the same apply to the cruise industry?  After all, the industry was widely pilloried as a health hazard when this started.  So requiring proof for a few thousand passengers might be considered a public safety measure.

According to the governor's office, it does not seem to matter. These are not my words, they are their own words. 

51 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

Have you actually read the law?  I admit I have not.  I've read enough legislation that there isn't enough Tylenol on the planet to make me do it again.  I'm going on quotes from DiSantis' people all of which used the term "vaccine passports" not "documentation proof".  If Online Check-In is enabled for our August cruise tomorrow as it should be I expect (hope) there to be a section to enter proof by way of the data on my vaccine card. 

 If the cruise line, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group, follows through, it will be "subject to a fine of $5,000" for each customer asked to show vaccination status, the governor's office said.

Pretty clear from the above.....this is going to be a mess.

And they are fairly clear that they are talking about simply asking for vaccination status, and not a specific document.

2 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

Everyone that is worried about the Florida vaccine passport regulation must not have anything else to worry about.  During a TA webinar yesterday the Celebrity Sales VP assured everyone that it won’t be a problem.   She told everyone that the Florida regulation was targeted to bars, restaurants, Walmart, CVS, etc., not the cruise industry.  The governor and the cruise line executives are working on a statement that clarifies the issue and that should be out in a couple of days.  It won’t be a problem.

Looking like it is definitely targeting the cruise line industry....

 If the cruise line, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group, follows through, it will be "subject to a fine of $5,000" for each customer asked to show vaccination status, the governor's office said.