Sky! Feb 8-15 Trip Report & Review

[MaryBethV]

Back on the ship, we headed to the buffet for lunch. 

 

Jasmine rice with Tandori chicken and some version of curry - so, SO good.

 

Carved steak with horseradish? Perfectly done and tasty!!! Green beans? Good! The salmon/spinach/mushroom wellington-like dish in the middle? Unless you are a cat, I recommend taking a pass. 😸

 

DH went to the dessert area and grabbed a lemon meringue tart for himself. Being the smart man that he is, he got one for me also. 😍

 

We walked around the aft area of the lido deck and checked out the sights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have to admit, there was some gawking at the Harmony of the Seas. It looks amazing, but it just is not our "style". We are more the afternoon-nap-style cruiser. Speaking of which, that is exactly what we did next.

 

A little later, we had a perfect view (along with our Harmony of the Seas friends) to watch for pier runners. My FIL was very, VERY amused by this highly unique form of cruise entertainment. 😄 We did see one poor young man practically being carried onto the other ship as he was one hair short of being passed out drunk. And we did see a couple fellow cruisers that had to huff and puff their way back to the Sky gangplank a few minutes past all-aboard. And no -- no photographs or videos of the unfortunate.

 

So, off we went from our last port. A few fun horn battles ensued as we waved goodbye to our Harmony friends.

 

Perfectly timed once again, our sail-away sunset was spectacular.

 

 

And I did run for my 'real' camera for a couple of shots...

 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by MaryBethV

[MaryBethV]

Time for dinner in the MDR. Our servers were Federico and Michael. I snuck a photo of them just because if you see them - totally ask to be in their section. They were great and super FUN. Also, I think we got out of there in under an hour and a half. And that included coffee and dessert!

 

***No photo of the bread, but the Moroccan Spiced Bread was the BEST EVER. Ate 3 rolls at least. And I wasn't the only one!

 

 

Chef's Charcuterie. All good, but the star was the red onion compote, which must have been soaked in red wine. Yum yum yum.

 

MIL's Twice-Baked Goat Cheese Souffle, which she loved.

 

We ordered the Steamed Mussels, Chorizo and White Wine sauce to share - even though I don't like mussels. However, I LOVE white wine mussel sauce... and this sauce was dreamy. I think some of the bread and sauce were gone before I remembered to take this photo. 

 

Appetizer portion of Potato Gnocchi with Roasted Portobello. VERY rich... I could only eat some of it. My dinner partners were happy to finish it off though!

 

MIL's Chili-Rubbed Pork Chop. She RAVED about it - perfectly cooked (not dry), nice thick chop, flavorful sauce. In fact other diners must have had the same opinion because the next day by the retreat pool I overheard a man telling his friend about how incredible his pork chop was the night before! 

 

My Beef Tenderloin Carver's Thick Cut - quite tender and tasty. Loved the mushroom-barley pilaf!

 

 

MIL's Sea Salted Caramel Pot de Creme - I think we all tried a spoonful. Creamy and very good.

 

Chocoholic Cheesecake - this was very good. It could have only been better if I had not had all those darn Moroccan spiced rolls earlier. 😭 

 

My in-laws called it an early night and went back to their room to watch a movie. DH and I settled into one of the booths in the back of Bellini's and finally ordered our free drinks with the Medallion App. We both thought it was quite easy to use and to customize your drink order, if you wished. Our only complaint is that the app seems to work great when you are near or IN a bar, but not-so-great on the pool & sun decks.

 

 

A great way to wait for the Princess World Orchestra to begin in the Piazza! And, I must say, the Princess World Orchestra is not to be missed. Absolutely fabulous, talented musicians!

 

 

Afterwards we headed back and watched part of Ford vs. Ferrari in our room (STILL have yet to finish that movie, so no spoilers!). A little before midnight we decided to order a snack. OK, a few snacks. And desserts. I totally deserve every pound I gained. No regrets.

 

Club Sandwich

 

Key lime something, traditional cheesecake, AND fries. 

 

Funny enough - we weren't the only ones that got the late night snacking bug. My FIL texted me a photo after midnight of my MIL enjoying a few things from the International Cafe. It is absolutely NOT FAIR that my MIL didn't even gain a single pound on this trip! haha

 

Patter and St. Maarten info.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by MaryBethV

[rocklinmom]

Ah so that's how to get a club sandwich! Good to know!

[Married15]

I Love Love Love your review. You are my kind of girl! Thank you for taking the time to not only write the review, but to prepare to write it as well. Great pictures - and I love seeing the menus for food and drinks. We got the Best Sale Ever for our next cruise and it will be the first cruise with a drink package. I am already deciding which drinks I will order!

[Kenosha Cruiser]

Excellent job on your review and the pictures are fantastic. We just got off the Sky on Saturday (Feb. 22nd). We we're onboard with you the first week. The Sky Princess is a beautiful ship. We loved the upgrades in Princess Live, Vista Lounge and the Jazz 5 Lounge. The entertainment was top notch. We already have the Sky booked for next February doing a 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise.

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

[Geobugs]

This review is very well thought out.  I appreciate it very much, as I sail on Sky with the same itinerary in 11 days.

[Familycruzer11]

We disembarked from Regal on 2/2 and I am still sighing.  We also booked Sky next Feb. 10 day southern Caribbean. My thanks as well for the in-depth review.  Have a whole year to obsess over my next trip 😊.  I see you were on Regal, which we absolutely loved and seems Sky will not disappoint. 

Edited February 25, 2020 by Familycruzer11

[MaryBethV]

9 hours ago, Geobugs said:

This review is very well thought out.  I appreciate it very much, as I sail on Sky with the same itinerary in 11 days.

11 days will go fast and you will LOVE the Sky!

[MaryBethV]

1 hour ago, Familycruzer11 said:

We disembarked from Regal on 2/2 and I am still sighing.  We also booked Sky next Feb. 10 day southern Caribbean. My thanks as well for the in-depth review.  Have a whole year to obsess over my next trip 😊.  I see you were on Regal, which we absolutely loved and seems Sky will not disappoint. 

We loved the Regal last year and will be on it in Alaska 2021. I'd REALLY love to do the southern Caribbean on the Sky someday also!

[mtfasls]

MaryBeth, thank you so much for this amazing review.  Having not been on the Sky yet, but booked for April, Do they no longer have the bread baskets on the table for dinner?  Are your only choices for bread from the 2 listed on the menu.  The highlight of our dinners are the crusty white bread rolls.

Edited February 25, 2020 by mtfasls

[Stacy12312]

I agree with the white Crispy dinner rolls - so delicious!  

[MaryBethV]

3 hours ago, mtfasls said:

MaryBeth, thank you so much for this amazing review.  Having not been on the Sky yet, but booked for April, Do they no longer have the bread baskets on the table for dinner?  Are your only choices for bread from the 2 listed on the menu.  The highlight of our dinners are the crusty white bread rolls.

 

2 hours ago, Stacy12312 said:

I agree with the white Crispy dinner rolls - so delicious!  

 

No worries! Our bread baskets always came with the crusty white dinner rolls and the bread of the day. The white rolls & butter never went to waste at our table - so good. 🙂

[RoperDK]

I am loving your review!  So much great information.  We sail on the Sky in 5 weeks.    

[Redwing55]

Like others have said, thanks so much for this review.  We too were on this voyage and now I'll have something to easily reference to remind me a bit of all the great times we had with my family!  The effort you put forth isn't trivial and I truly appreciate your perspectives and photos.  Thanks again!

[MaryBethV]

14 hours ago, RoperDK said:

I am loving your review!  So much great information.  We sail on the Sky in 5 weeks.    

We are back on the Sky (with kids in tow) in 5 1/2 weeks - so we are either on the same cruise or the one right after yours! 🙂

 

14 hours ago, Redwing55 said:

Like others have said, thanks so much for this review.  We too were on this voyage and now I'll have something to easily reference to remind me a bit of all the great times we had with my family!  The effort you put forth isn't trivial and I truly appreciate your perspectives and photos.  Thanks again!

It was such a fun cruise, wasn't it! Thank you for reading along. I love reading that people are enjoying the review... it helps me keep going. 

The last 2 sea days coming up... I ❤️ Sea Days!

[MaryBethV]

Thursday | February 13, 2020 | Sea Day

Good morning! Another blue sea, blue sky day on the Sky! 😃

 

 

 

We slept in a little and headed to the Piazza a bit before 10 for the Coffee with the Captain. BUT - oops! That was tomorrow. We had scrolled a little too far ahead on the app. Still, we enjoyed a bite from the International Cafe and the scooted out of the way for the beginning of Zumba - led by cruise director Corey. 

 

DH's breakfast burrito and my egg & ham breakfast muffin - both good!

 

DH's apple fritter (he wasn't a big fan) and my donut (really light and fresh!) -

 

We changed into swimwear and headed towards the Retreat Pool to look for loungers. On our second little lap around the deck 17 area above the Retreat Pool - we were able to drag two empty loungers together. Score! Sun, swim, repeat was the rotation for the next few hours. 

 

Getting hungry from all the hard work of doing nothing, we headed to the Salty Dog Grill for some lunch. It was busy and there was a decent line, but it kept moving thanks to the hard work of the guys behind the grill!

 

I know this is hard to read from the glare, but the menu isn't visible until you are the next to order - so knowing what you want in advance might be a good plan.

 

My MIL and FIL found us and we all ate together. My MIL was very happy to get her first hot dog - she had been craving one for days!

 

My classic burger with bacon & cheese loaded fries. An absolutely delicious burger!

 

DH's classic burger & fries. He thought his was a little on the salty side (but he does consider salt a SPICE 😂, so take that for what you will 😉)

 

After a little more swim & sun, we headed back to the room to shower/change and head to our first afternoon tea. There was a line of people waiting for the doors to open and each group was shown to their seats. A couple in front of us was given the choice of sharing a table or having their own (they chose their own). However, we weren't given a choice and were sat at a table of 8. OH THE HORRORS, I know. 😆I knew then and there it was going to be our first and last tea. That said, the others at the table were very nice and we exchanged the obligatory chit chat in between sips of tea (quite good tea) and bites of petite sandwiches, desserts, and scones. The server came around with the scones and the server behind him ran out of cream and jam right before getting to me... I was done with everything else by the time he came back around my way. It was worth the wait though. We may not go back for tea, but I am going to figure out how to get my hands on a scone with cream & jam somehow! So yummy. 😍

 

My plate with the scone (lower left) - minus the cream & jam -

 

After walking around the ship for a while, we ended up running into my MIL and FIL who were at the International Cafe foraging for food after their stop to the gelato place. Don't you just love Sea Days? 😉

 

I had to see why my FIL had returned to the IC a few times for an Island Spiced Lentil Pie and I also sampled the Thai Beef Salad. DH had a quiche and a ham & cheese croissant.

 

Lentil pie & quiche -

 

Lentil Pie - this was spiced perfectly and is the epitome of comfort food. I'm already looking forward to another next cruise!

 

Thai Salad - I have to say I'm not a fan of the salads being served in these little square glasses. It is hard to eat and the dressing goes to the bottom and you can't stir it up without it spilling out. That said, it was pretty bland - wouldn't get this one again.

 

DH's quiche and ham & cheese croissant (he liked both) -

 

Now we were thirsty, so we headed across the way to Bellinis for a beer & margarita!

 

The Ultimate Patron Margarita was my favorite drink of the cruise, hands down.

 

After a quick, but perfectly lazy vacation nap we got ready for our second formal night. This night isn't as formal as the first in my opinion - but everyone we saw was dressed nice and smart/casual at the least.

 

Sunset -

 

Before dinner we met my in-laws and picked out our formal photos from the previous formal night. Nice & easy. I might even make our teenagers pose for one next time as they tend to smile for strangers more than for their mom. ha!

 

Ready for dinner?

 

 

 

I think this is the Crusty Whole Wheat Levain Miche Bread. The other bread in our basket was the regular white rolls. I don't think we got the Gorgonzola bread - I should have asked.

 

Escargots Bourguignon - delicious - but honestly, you could serve me almost anything drenched in garlic butter and I'd like it. 

 

DH's Princess Shrimp Cocktail - he said he really liked the cocktail sauce.

 

Gourmet Bowl of Mushrooms, Artichokes and Buckwheat - a few of us ordered this. Quite good - would order it again.

 

Beef Wellington, Truffle-Madeira Demi-Glace - the beef wellington itself was very tasty, as was the sauce and potatoes. The lima beans (undercooked a bit) and spinach-cake-thing (tasted like unseasoned blanched spinach) weren't my favorites. I'd probably order something else next time.

 

FIL's Bleu Burger - he loved it!

 

MIL's Pan-Roasted Chicken Breast, Mushroom Marsala Wine Sauce - The sauce and potatoes were good, but the chicken was very dry.

 

 

At this point, our servers (Anastasia & Andru - both from the Ukraine) brought my MIL & FIL an anniversary cake and sang Happy Anniversary to them. Then Anastasia had them kiss behind a napkin. She was hilarious and we all loved her! No photos, but I do have it on video.

 

Besides the desserts ordered, they brought us these Petits Fours. The little round cake ones with the almonds on top were amazing & I only had half of one! I need to learn to save more room for dessert!

 

Chocolate Journeys: Caffe Mocha Bar - two thumbs up!

 

And the Crunchy Profiterole, Banana Gelato - FIL loved it!

 

The night is not over yet! We headed to the theater for Rock Opera. It was a good thing we arrived 50 minutes in advance for good seats because it was almost full by 30 minutes until the 10pm show time! 

 

 

Excellent show thoroughly enjoyed by all!

 

After the show, we briefly listened to Guitar Vocalist Cassie Matthews in the Crown Grill Bar area. She has a lovely voice.

 

Then it was time to call it a day - tomorrow is Valentine's Day! 

 

Patter from today -

 

 

 

 

Next up - our last full day (and Crown Grill for dinner!).

Edited February 26, 2020 by MaryBethV

[Mom33]

Thanks for the wonderful review. We enjoyed the Sky in December and look forward to sailing her again.

We didn't care for the way they served the salads in the little glasses at the IC either.

However , I dumped my salad out of the glass onto the dish and that worked better for me. I did note that the marvelous display of salads at the buffet compared to the displays they used to have at the IC. I just wish they would serve the salads the way they used to.

We never made it to the Salty Dog, but seeing the pictures of your lunch made us want to make it a must stop on the next cruise.😀

[mrpayroll]

We were on Sky at the end of January and loved it. Enjoyed reading your thoughts and the pictures brought back fond memories. 

[Roger88]

Thank you soo much for the photos MaryBeth. Is there a thread where people can post photos from their trips? I swear sometimes I crave to see some colored feedback from people before I choose the cruise

[MaryBethV]

2 hours ago, Roger88 said:

Thank you soo much for the photos MaryBeth. Is there a thread where people can post photos from their trips? I swear sometimes I crave to see some colored feedback from people before I choose the cruise

 

I'm the same way - I love to look for photos when trying to decide on a ship & itinerary. On CruiseCritic: When searching for photos of a particular ship I go to the Cruise Line boards, select my cruise line - then search for any reviews on the particular ship I'm interested in. When it comes to looking for photos of where we will be going, I tend to go to the Ports Of Call boards and look up, for example, St. Thomas.

 

Another fabulous resource is TripAdvisor (search for your ship or destination), and YouTube (great for ship tour videos, stateroom tour videos, and what to do in ports of call).

 

Of course, you could always start a topic of something like "would love to see photos of the Sky Princess, please post your favorites". 

 

Hope that helps! 🙂

Edited February 26, 2020 by MaryBethV

[stevej5005]

Mary Beth- in the future if you are able to get an afternoon in the Sanctuary, they serve tea everyday with scones and jam and cream! Our very favorite afternoon snack! Plus the sandwiches and pastries. So tough to get in there sometimes! A bit easier on longer cruises we have found.  

[blue cow dog]

I have done the upgraded afternoon tea.  It was WELL worth the extra money.  Wow what an experience.   If I still ate carbs and sweets I would do it on every cruise.   

 

[MaryBethV]

4 hours ago, stevej5005 said:

Mary Beth- in the future if you are able to get an afternoon in the Sanctuary, they serve tea everyday with scones and jam and cream! Our very favorite afternoon snack! Plus the sandwiches and pastries. So tough to get in there sometimes! A bit easier on longer cruises we have found.  

Ah, yes - the elusive Sanctuary. We will try again in April and report back! Wish me luck! 😉

 

4 hours ago, blue cow dog said:

I have done the upgraded afternoon tea.  It was WELL worth the extra money.  Wow what an experience.   If I still ate carbs and sweets I would do it on every cruise.   

 

I've heard of this, but didn't notice it on the Sky. Does anyone have details - where it is held, how to sign up, price?? And most importantly - can introverts get a table for 2?

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, MaryBethV said:

I've heard of this, but didn't notice it on the Sky. Does anyone have details - where it is held, how to sign up, price?? And most importantly - can introverts get a table for 2?

The Tea Tower near the IC was not on the Sky like it was on our Royal & Regal cruises.  We never attended but as I recall the Royal Tea was $20 with a glass of sparkling wine but it wasn’t available during our 4 weeks on the Sky.

Edited February 27, 2020 by Astro Flyer

[Bridalgownz]

This is the best trip review I've ever read. (And I've read a lot of them!)  I felt like I was sailing along with you.  Thanks for all the pics, the menu's and the reviews of the food and ship.   I enjoyed every line!

 

Princess Cays looks a bit different than last year. The water was so rough when we were there that it knocked me down and ground sand in my bathing suit.  I can't get it out....free souvenir! 😁 Now I'm excited for my cruise in April!