Is Sky Princess just as good as Regal Princess?

[Vic The Parrot]

On 3/6/2021 at 2:52 PM, LACruiser88 said:

At this point, we would be VERY happy campers to be onboard either one!!!

That makes 2 of us!  🙃

[deliver42]

I'd be happy in a row boat cruise now.

[Tedferg]

On 3/6/2021 at 1:49 PM, Astro Flyer said:

If you click on the image you might see that it’s Take Five the Jazz-themed location that replaced Club 6.

Took me a while to spot the 'Five' 🙂 I was expecting to miss Crooners but that looks great, I had read poor reviews previously and thought it was a smaller location.

[Astro Flyer]

7 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Took me a while to spot the 'Five' 🙂 I was expecting to miss Crooners but that looks great, I had read poor reviews previously and thought it was a smaller location.

The name isn’t easy to see. ☺️  There was a easier to read photo on their website but couldn’t get it to save nor to copy & paste it.

 

It was our experience that it was much more popular than the same space on other Royal-class ships where that location is Club 6. 👍

[Geobugs]

2017 Regal 2020 Sky - both are great.

[hobbyfarmer2]

Been on Regal several times and Sky for a 21 day b2b TA in Nov 2019.  They are both great ships to sail and have a good time on and only the very nitpicky would be disappointed with either ship.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Did quite a few cruises on the Regal which is one of my favorite ships and was on the Sky as well.  Totally missed Crooners on the Sky and while I still loved the Sanctuary I didnt care for the fact that there was a lot less sun up there.  What I did love was Princess live because I really dislike what they did to it on the Regal.  I also really enjoyed the French Restaurant on the Sky.

 

Honestly, I would do either ship in a heartbeat. 

[antmaril]

I have been on Regal twice and Sky once.  They are both beautiful ships.  The only thing I missed on the Sky Princess was Crooners.  I would sail on either one again in a heartbeat.  We are currently booked on the Sky for next March, but I don’t know if we’ll go.  We shall see.  Maybe 2023.  

[framer]

On 3/6/2021 at 4:48 PM, Mud_Shark said:

Some have mentioned that the aft pool on Sky is shallower than Regal.  How shallow?  Is it simply a wading pool or can you swim in it?

 

We have not yet been on Sky but have a November booking for her.

 

Don

Wading, and the reteat pool is not IMHO any better...

I did like the Sky as well as the Regal.

[Redwing55]

We don't typical go to Crooners so that wasn't much of a loss for us (Though I do enjoy sitting in that venue from time to time.)   That space is now filled by a Spec. Restaurant.  

 

But we do use Princess  live and Fusion (lounge in back of ship?)  and they are better than Regal.  Princess live is much better... kind of a contemporary Explorers lounge.

 

And the way the shops/casino were situated are a bit different but I'm not sure which we prefer.

 

All things being equal... we'd prefer Sky, but we enjoyed Royal(similar to Regal) a ton.  

[Tedferg]

12 hours ago, Redwing55 said:

But we do use Princess  live and Fusion (lounge in back of ship?)  and they are better than Regal.  Princess live is much better... kind of a contemporary Explorers lounge.

 

What happens at Princess Live, we have not been there.

[caribill]

14 hours ago, Tedferg said:

What happens at Princess Live, we have not been there.

 

a) Games such as trivia

b) bingo

c) lectures

[Tedferg]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

 

a) Games such as trivia

b) bingo

c) lectures

Thanks will check out Lectures on next cruise. On an Alaska cruise I saw a lecture by a photographer, so maybe I have been to Princess LIve.

[Redwing55]

On 3/23/2021 at 11:44 AM, Tedferg said:

Thanks will check out Lectures on next cruise. On an Alaska cruise I saw a lecture by a photographer, so maybe I have been to Princess LIve.

There were also some entertainment.. comedian, etc.  Like I stated, on the Princess, it does allow for a bit more of the Explorers lounge.  On the previous same class ships Princess live was a smaller studio like venue.  

[Dr. Peds]

We did 11 nights on the Royal Princess in 2018 and then 14 nights on the Sky in 2020.  They are definitely different even though they are in the same "class" of ships.  The Sky was the first Princess ship that was actually BUILT with and for the Ocean Medallion rather than retrofitted.  This meant that the internet connections were, in my opinion, much more integrated and reliable.  The Sky had a much more open feel to it than did the Royal.  I spent a lot of time on both cruises in Princess Live!, so I can comment that there is a major difference between the ships in that regard.  With COVID, etc.  I will double down on my preference for the Sky's Princess Live set up as it is an open area with lots of natural light.  The seating was also better, in my opinion.  The restaurants and the specialty restaurants seemed similar.  With the Sky suites, the public areas on the upper decks were somewhat reduced, but not in a noticeable fashion.  The ships are more similar than different, but the little differences came out in favor of the Sky in my opinion.

[Tedferg]

20 hours ago, Redwing55 said:

 On the previous same class ships Princess live was a smaller studio like venue.  

I guess that is what confused me.

[Reader0108598]

Can anyone who has been on the sky tell me if they have a pool with regular steps similar to Coral my husband cannot do the ladder no padding on his feet. He loves to swim on a cruise.

TY

 

 

Edited March 30, 2021 by Reader0108598

[dides]

1 hour ago, Reader0108598 said:

Can anyone who has been on the sky tell me if they have a pool with regular steps similar to Coral my husband cannot do the ladder no padding on his feet. He loves to swim on a cruise.

TY

 

 

No, unfortunately Sky Princess only has ladders.  The only pool with regular steps is in the Hydrotherapy Pool in the Spa which you need to pay to access. Folks have said the new Wake Pool is relatively shallow which helps with some mobility issues.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 30, 2021 by dides

[Reader0108598]

20 minutes ago, dides said:

No, unfortunately Sky Princess only has ladders.  The only pool with regular steps is in the Hydrotherapy Pool in the Spa which you need to pay to access. Folks have said the new Wake Pool is relatively shallow which helps with some mobility issues.

 

 

 

 

Thank you Dides! 🙂

[voljeep]

that was my reply on the "if you could change one thing" thread - to retro-fit "ALL" pools with walk in steps and handrails - Princess demographics ...

[MaryBethV]

We loved them both, though I have to favor the Sky for many of the reasons already listed. We did miss Crooners though. If you want to see full trip reports on both - with tons of photos, click on the links in my signature.

[alfieisgod]

On 3/29/2021 at 12:32 AM, Dr. Peds said:

.....I will double down on my preference for the Sky's Princess Live set up as it is an open area with lots of natural light.  The seating was also better, in my opinion..... 

 

Does anyone know if Princess has taken advantage of this last year to redo Princess Live on the Regal.  I haven't used the more recent configuration on the Sky but it appears to be much better.  The old Regal setup is really a terrible for trivia. 

 

Don

[USCcruisecrazy]

We have been on both and preferred Regal over the Sky, although they were both very nice.  Crooner's Lounge was a big difference for us because it was our daily "pre-dinner" go to place.  Never really do Princess Live stuff like trivia so that makes no difference to us.  Perhaps part of the overall take on the Sky was the itinerary...we did the western Caribbean and were not impressed.  That may have jaded us a little on the Sky vs. the Regal.   But rest assured, I would go on either ship in any other location without hesitation.

[lx200gps]

2 hours ago, USCcruisecrazy said:

We have been on both and preferred Regal over the Sky, although they were both very nice.  Crooner's Lounge was a big difference for us because it was our daily "pre-dinner" go to place.  Never really do Princess Live stuff like trivia so that makes no difference to us.  Perhaps part of the overall take on the Sky was the itinerary...we did the western Caribbean and were not impressed.  That may have jaded us a little on the Sky vs. the Regal.   But rest assured, I would go on either ship in any other location without hesitation.

We are also huge fans of Crooners, our go-to place for pre-dinner martinis. We hope to be on the Sky this November, and actually three of next four trips are on her. Two of the things we really liked about the "old" Crooners was the location on the Piazza, giving it a very open and expansive feeling, very non-claustrophobic though sometimes noisy, and the easy availability of tables for two right by the almost floor to ceiling windows to watch the ocean go by. For those who have been in Take 5, I realize it isn't nearly as open as the old Crooners, but how is it configured for tables for two near windows?  Our possible fallbacks may end up being Vines on the lower level, or more likely the Crown Grill bar, how were those for spaciousness and sea views, if at all?

[Wishing on a star]

The biggie for me is that they have closed in the Adult Retreat pool area on the Sky, with cabins.

We, too, really enjoy the Retreat Pool and Sanctuary, great on Regal.

 

They changed this up on the Majestic, and it is a wonderful covered solarium Retreat pool area.  If they would change that forward area to a Sanctuary, than that would be GREAT!  (there have been 'whispers'.)

 

Many love Crooners.   It depends, sometimes, on the talent of the singer/pianist.

Some are wonderful singers and entertainers....  Some are, well...  not.

Saw one years ago who was a Rodney Dangerfield type guy, how can we put down the guests type act...  With comedic type songs performed.

Last cruise...  the guy just could not sing that well, and did not have any audience connection involvement.

THAT IS WHY YOU WILL GET DIFFERING OPINIONS ON CROONERS.

 

All ships will have Piazza bars and entertainment in the Piazza.   On ships with Crooners, they will alternate the time slots.  For example, 45 min or one hour for Crooners, then there will be other musical entertainers/singers for 45 min on the main floor of the Piazza.  Like a trio, an ensemble, steel drum tropical take on music on a Caribbean cruise, etc...  (Of course, cant have both going on at once in the same area.)

Edited June 16, 2021 by Wishing on a star