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Hands down, Sapphire! It has Skywalker's which is a fabulous viewing space as well as a quiet hanging out place. We used Skywalker's (on the Crown and Golden) on Glacier day for viewing when cold, and then when warmed up, we could just step outside. We do not care for the Coral: 1. No Vines 2. No Alfredo's 3. International Cafe is next to the very smoky Casino and tough to stand and make an order 4. Yucky buffet in the front of the ship with dirty windows to prevent seeing out (they are also slanted) 3. No lovely Terrace Pool

I absolutely LOVE your caption, "Relaxed Building Codes"!!!

I often find them at TJ Max, Marshalls, Home Goods. I also hunt for them at thrift stores like Salvation Army and Goodwill. You need to feel the rims (lip) and they will feel super thin and not rounded. If you carefully look on the base of the glass, you can see the brand engraved... Riedel or Spiegelau. Some other brands are also now imitating these brands and doing a great job too.

IMHO- if we want to vacation in an amusement park, we go to the real deal. I understand what the OP is saying, however, I grew up close to Disneyland and know what a theme park experience should truly be. Princess has excellent programs for kids and also has fantastic activities for them on Alaska cruises.

Thanks for your review. I would not let boarding the ship be a determining factor. Each port/ terminal is different and out of the control of the cruise line ( I think). We have had pretty crummy boarding experiences with the 3 cruise lines that we have boarded.

@Cruise Raider @Thrak @New2cruise2022 : I have to say that I am always confounded when I see a Sommelier and a "Wine expert" drinking out of stemless wine glasses or stubby decorated Libby-type glasses! I belong to a wine group and time after time, I see these two women drinking out of improper wine vessels. It is a fun wine group who meets and we have a wine theme each time. And this is what would inevitably happen each time. I offer that I am the ONLY one who brings a Riedel or Spieglau wine glass (you bring your own glass).

@Dinglebert: Just sit down with pen and paper and contemplate what you would normally consume and/ or participate in for the average day; even when you go onshore. For example; for just myself, I know: (2) bottles of water 5.00 (2) glasses of wine 30.00 plus gratuity of 5.40 (1) Espresso beverage 5.00 Crew Gratuities 16.00 WiFi 15.00 Total for average day 76.40 So, you can see that the bare basics for me already exceed 60.00 per day and no worries if I want a cocktail or to splurge.

@pepys Welcome to Cruise Critic. As has been mentioned. you will find a wealth of information on this website. You can do searches as well when you have a specific question or concern. When you say "company", do you mean Princess Cruises? The Caribbean Princess is one of the older ships. Last June, we very much enjoyed a cruise to Iceland and Norway on the Sky Princess. It was a fabulous itinerary and ship. As @Rick&Jeannie mentioned, they also did this same cruise but they experienced the sassiness of Mother Nature which can not really be reflected on the itinerary, the Captain or the ship.

Thanks for sharing your journey. It is wise to bring on that bottle of wine to tide you over. Crazy Galveston!

I must ask; Are we related? Great minds.......... I have mentioned this before on CC. I worked in an Italian restaurant that served only Italian wines. We had a guest for a workshop regarding Reidel glassware and the difference. Holy Cow, did I learn a lot! He guided our palates through tasting wine from mass-market wine glasses versus "rimless" like Riedel and Spiegelau glassware. I was sold and now and am called a "Wine Snob". The difference is astounding. I get Riedel and Spiegelau glassware at thrift stores and garage sales for a mere pittance. (And Home Goods). If the glass has a "lip", then you will not be experiencing the wine at its best. BTW- Quite a few other CC members are onboard with this. So, of course, I was thrilled when they had made this change on the Sky. And ceramic of course for coffee! 😁

Hi @Cruise Raider- Thank you so much for taking us along! I appreciate your reviews of The Catch and have only been reading great things about it on all of the ships which have it. In reference to wine glasses ( a real issue for me and others); we were on the Sky last June and I was so thrilled that wine was automatically being served in Reidel wine glasses (or a close second) and this was at ALL bars, not just in Vines. Only Libby glasses were used if they were behind in the washing of those. I can not tell you how refreshing that was!!!

The Golden Princess also had Skywalker's (the shopping handle type). It is now not in the fleet. It was part of the Grand Class and was sister to the Crown and Grand which are also part of the Grand Class.

Just a thought to book a "separate mini vacation" before proceeding to Australia since they are coming from the east coast. However, @FlyerTalker is exceedingly more knowledgeable than me on these logistics.

You are right on! Vines is a favorite!

I think we were on the Crown in 2015. We loved it as we had been on the Golden 3 times and loved it as well - sister ships. We are staunch Skywalker fans (the original shopping cart handle style) as it is a fabulous place to gather for a fabulous view, quiet reading and playing games. It was great on glacier day as we could warm up in there and then easily go outside. However, I am sure it is growing in age.

Have you considered a stop and a few days in Hawaii?

Actually, Canadians can now get it mailed.

We cruised on the Sky in June 2023 and had purchased the Plus package before it changed. The ONLY thing that changed for us was the limit on the beverages. No desserts, no juice bar... and NO free shipping for the medallion which was contradicted on the Princess website nut Princess did not believe us.

The twins can be pushed together to form a queen.

Only because of Cruise Critic do we avoid the Island Princess. I am grateful for all of you! BTW- We loved the Crown when we were on her for an Alaska itinerary. Skywalker's was our 6 people hangout.

We did. However, even if we didn't, it would have been easy boarding because we still had to wait a bit and everything was so organized.

The Sky is doing Iceland and Norway again this year. We did that itinerary on the Sky last June and loved it.

My responses are above in purple.

Yes, I appreciate that.

Of course Australia will make a difference. I answered @dmwnc1959 according to the question and our experience which was NOT in Australia. It does not change the deck plans. For us, we had rude smokers smoking on the lovely public aft decks and tossing the butts into the ocean. Yes, many reported this with the name and cabin number of offenders, and NOTHING was done. And @capriccio is absolutely correct! "On the Bayou" is fantastic! I wish it was on other ships.