Live from Sky Princess 28 May

[sammybonny]

Can I ask how many formal nights there were on your cruise,?

We are doing the same 7 night itinerary but on Enchanted 24th June and our travel summary says 2 formal.

On our last 7 night cruise on Sky there was only 1 even though the travel summary stated 2. I think it was because the 2nd sea day was the last day and formal night isnt usually held on the final night.

 

Many thanks

 

[insidecabin]

14 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Theatre - avoided as stuffed full with no space majority of nights. Announced that this is the first time they were back to a full houses (other half of my party go to the late show so first hand information).

 

interesting...... The theatre was running full house on the 28 March cruise  each time we checked, even the standing space at the back was too crowded to stay.   

[phabric]

10 hours ago, sammybonny said:

Can I ask how many formal nights there were on your cruise,?

We are doing the same 7 night itinerary but on Enchanted 24th June and our travel summary says 2 formal.

On our last 7 night cruise on Sky there was only 1 even though the travel summary stated 2. I think it was because the 2nd sea day was the last day and formal night isnt usually held on the final night.

 

Many thanks

 

The formal nights was Sunday and Thursday (port day).

 

Formal night is never on the last night if it the day before disembarkment as passengers are packing.

[southamptoncruisers]

Wow! Amazing how the same cruise is viewed by different people. We were on this cruise and had a fantastic time. 

[phabric]

We had a great time.  Yes, lines as the full crew are back, we expected that.  We missed some show as theater was full but we are on the next cruise June 4-11 so will see them then.

 

On sea days, weather was cold, we did not sit out what you expect on the open seas.  Plenty of spaces inside to sit and relax.

 

We enjoyed our Princess excursions in each port, enjoyed the 2 comedians, one production show and special events talkers.

 

We always found something to eat either off the day’s menu or the everyday menu in dining room, we had same table each night.  We had breakfast in buffet or dining room, dinner in Cielo dining room, pizza in Alfred’s a few times, International Cafe, dinner on night in Crown Grill.

 

Purchased Future Cruise Deposit, received an email and was deposited in my Princess account the same day.

[Essex Racer]

On the way home know - was a great week, so good to get back onboard again!!

[Lynnewob]

We just got off too (nearly home now) 

 

Agree about issues trying to get seats in bars Pre-dinner.  It was a game of chance. 

 

We were club class dining so didn't have any sort of wait, but compared to previous trips, you could tell the waiters were very rushed. 

 

Didn't touch open decks as too busy and enjoyed our balcony instead. On a ship this  full, we'd never use pools or hot tubs. 

 

We're gamblers so.spent a lot of time in the casino and it got very rowdy with drinkers late on which we could hear from the tables.  Surprised staff didn't cut people off drinking as some were definitely hammered.  

 

Wines were different to what was on the menu as they ran out of stock and didn't know what they had.   You could ask for a red pinot noir for example and not know what it was you were drinking as the staff didn't know either.  Stock shortages created the changes and the staff weren't kept up to date. 

 

Haven't got another Princess booked but did get an FCD.  

 

Our 2 issues were resolved quickly.  1 pair of ladies trousers ruined by the laundry and hubby had a ceramic shard in his apple pie last night. Luckily no damage done to him or his teeth thankfully. 

Edited June 4, 2022 by Lynnewob

[Weymouthcruiser]

I have just been on this cruise and I thought your review was a very similar experience to ours. It was our first Princess cruise and I have never been on such a busy ship. I have travelled in school holidays previously and never found it to be as busy. My concerns started when we arrived at the terminal and had to queue for the best part of 2 hours to get on board.

Being new to Princess I had only pre booked 2 meals as I assumed the dining was similar to other cruise lines where you turn up when you want and if it’s busy you are given a pager. On the second night which was formal night I was unable to book on the app so I telephoned as instructed at 8am that morning to book and was told only time available was 5.30pm. I did not want to eat at that time. We found that you either had to go early at 6 or after 8 to get in as I did not want to eat in the buffet. 
The first morning at sea in the buffet was a bun fight no seats to be had. My husband actually left without eating as he said it was awful. When I went to enquire about booking meals  I was told by someone on guest services that that the cruise was actually over capacity. Not sure if that’s correct.

We found that things improved throughout the cruise in terms of the medallion app working and we actually managed to book an evening meal on the penultimate evening.

The ship is lovely and our cabin was the best we have had. We started off pretty disappointed with the cruise but found it improved as the week went on. I did see extra staff arriving in Oslo so not sure if that contributed to improving service.

I noted that on the daily show the hotel manager didn’t apologise for the queues but compared it to the chaos at the airports this week. Personally I felt more of an apology should have been forthcoming. 
Despite this we would consider another Princess cruise as the food was very good, we enjoyed Alfredo’s and the Crown Grill. But definitely will avoid booking in peak seasons.

[Zenblue100]

I could have written the reviews above as our experience was very similar, also my first Princess cruise. As others said the queues did improve on the last day but the lack of training of the bar staff was evident. When there was an experienced person running the bar it was a completely different experience. Most days we waited over 30 mins to get a drink which some people did find acceptable but it is not what I am used to on other lines. We were lucky and only waited once for dining as we had club class, but I would see the queues for those who had booked or not booked in the main dining rooms. 

 

We had a quick embarkation and today when leaving it was so organized and I was very impressed with how efficient the process was in fact everyday leaving and returning to the ship was a great experience. 

 

Other postivies were

The medallion access to the room much better than having to find a card.

Find your ship mates on the app. 

Food and staff in the speciality restaurants 

Club class breakfast what excellent staff 

 

Edited June 4, 2022 by Zenblue100
Spelling

[insidecabin]

A potential solution when service is slow order your next one as soon as you get one

And order 2 at a time if really slow

 

Its what we do on land now as covid messed up a lot of places.

[Eglesbrech]

12 hours ago, insidecabin said:

interesting...... The theatre was running full house on the 28 March cruise  each time we checked, even the standing space at the back was too crowded to stay.   

On the 28 March cruise if I recall correctly (and I could be mixing it up with another covid time cruise) they still had the first few rows with blue covers to stop people sitting there to give the performers some social distance.
 

This time every single seat was opened up and they crammed in to capacity.

[Eglesbrech]

On 6/3/2022 at 4:37 PM, alpha whiskey said:

So, million dollar question...based on this experience would you sail Princess again?

We were on Sky in April, which was a little haphazard in some areas.

We are on Enchanted in a few weeks and hoping for improvement.

On a bank holiday cruise, no never again.

 

Last night was the final straw with those obviously trying to beat their personal best for drinking. There were quite a few loud drunks and the unpalatable site of vomit being moped up in the area between reception and Sabitinis (dead flat calm so not seas sickness, no noro that I am aware of onboard either). Thankfully I just saw (and smelled) the clean up and not the event!

 

Yes I would sail on Princess again as we have had many good holidays with them but probably only on very specific longer cruises which are more likely to attract a different crowd. After the complaints this week I would also hope management would make rapid improvements. Many of the first time cruisers will have been put off the line by this experience.
 

We have a couple booked. I’ll be watching reviews carefully over the next few months. I’ll look out for yours from Enchanted😀

[PacnGoNow]

16 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

On a bank holiday cruise, no never again.

 

Last night was the final straw with those obviously trying to beat their personal best for drinking. There were quite a few loud drunks and the unpalatable site of vomit being moped up in the area between reception and Sabitinis (dead flat calm so not seas sickness, no noro that I am aware of onboard either). Thankfully I just saw (and smelled) the clean up and not the event!

 

Yes I would sail on Princess again as we have had many good holidays with them but probably only on very specific longer cruises which are more likely to attract a different crowd. After the complaints this week I would also hope management would make rapid improvements. Many of the first time cruisers will have been put off the line by this experience.
 

We have a couple booked. I’ll be watching reviews carefully over the next few months. I’ll look out for yours from Enchanted😀

Are the bank holidays for a week?

[Eglesbrech]

11 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Are the bank holidays for a week?

No normally they are just for one day or two at Easter.
 

This one was an exception for the Queens Jubilee so most people had Thursday and Friday off so only needed 3 days to get a week off work.

 

It was also apparently an English half term holiday, our holidays are different up here.

[PacnGoNow]

55 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

No normally they are just for one day or two at Easter.
 

This one was an exception for the Queens Jubilee so most people had Thursday and Friday off so only needed 3 days to get a week off work.

 

It was also apparently an English half term holiday, our holidays are different up here.

Thank you.

[grapau27]

On 6/3/2022 at 2:44 PM, Eglesbrech said:

Typical sea day, some interesting activities but the ship is heaving with people.

 

Spoke to a few couples over coffee this morning and they told us the following so it is very much second hand information, I did not see this directly so make of it what you will. Both couples, not in the same party, said that they did see it first hand. Allegedly, on the first formal night there was an actual fight in the queue for the Estrella dining room because of the length of the wait, perceived queue skipping etc. Two “ladies “ started to argue then their male companions started to throw punches. The lady telling me this had a booking and still waited 45 minutes for a table so patience was wearing thin all round. 
 

There was also an incident in the theatre two nights ago, late show. 

 

Now I know about how ships gossip works and a stubbed toe becomes a broken leg from forward to aft however the waiting times at the start of the cruise ring true based on my experience. Thankfully it has improved a bit.

 

I have never heard of anything like this on Princess before.
 

I have to say I have also never seen people 3 sheets to the wind before either on Princess and I have personally seen one or two drunks this on this trip. A lot of new (to Princess) cruisers,  a different demographic, a stuffed ship, queues and all inclusive Princess Plus - what could possibly go wrong.
 

Just attended a very engaging talk from a former Royal butler. For those on the next trip it’s well worth seeing as is the other speaker a navy expert, if they are both still onboard. Some of the better speakers we have seen.

 

I have tried to avoid the subject but apparently there are covid cases onboard. To be expected I suppose with no social distancing and no masks anywhere,  no different to what is happening on dry land.

 

From my perspective, others will have a different experience depending on what the choose to do and at what time, so this is just a reflection on my holiday experience:

 

Embarkation - very quick and easy

 

Baggage delivery - very quick

 

Cabin - spotless and kept that way all week

 

Food - very good, decent range of dishes and generally served hot. One or two not to my taste and several excellent so all good.

 

Theatre - avoided as stuffed full with no space majority of nights. Announced that this is the first time they were back to a full houses (other half of my party go to the late show so first hand information).

 

Restaurants - mixed bag, at the start of the week queues and very long waits for afternoon tea, dinner and Alfredo’s. A couple of nights we walked in after a short wait.

 

Bars - Again very mixed. Stuffed most nights, quieter others. Service pretty slow (our app doesn’t work on 3 different devices). The app seems to get priority over customers actually sitting there in some bars with the notable exception on Take Five.

 

Entertainment- Haven’t seen the shows but the feedback from my party is that some brilliant others lame - but that’s down to personal taste. Guest speakers really excellent.

wifi - slow and patchy. You can’t stream and loading is slow, the copy of the Patter above took ages. Means nothing to me but my OH did a speed test and the numbers right now are:

download is 0.37 Nbps

upload is 0.99 Nbps

Ports -a really nice mix of city and village experiences with lots to see and do DIY and interesting trips further afield provided by Princess.

 

Staff- friendly, very hard working and they have tried so hard this week to give passengers a great holiday. There are simply not enough of them for some reason. (Perhaps some traditional first and second dining and ditching app orders would help).

I enjoyed following along Eglesbrech.

Graham.

[insidecabin]

English school holiday week and bargain prices have attracted a lot to princess.

(Much cheaper than US for the same cruise)

 

The no fly option has been very attractive to UK cruisers this year.

 

Still good prices out there on princess UK site the price £10pppd rise on p+ has not kicked in on some cruises.

 

[PacnGoNow]

4 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

English school holiday week and bargain prices have attracted a lot to princess.

(Much cheaper than US for the same cruise)

 

The no fly option has been very attractive to UK cruisers this year.

 

Still good prices out there on princess UK site the price £10pppd rise on p+ has not kicked in on some cruises.

 

That happened over here during spring break…prices fell just a few weeks before the sail date.  I think to fill up the ships.

Will never cruise during spring break or fly during it to or from Florida!  Those 7 night cruises were crazy.  We never do short ones…normally…

lol

 

 

 

 

 

[insidecabin]

5 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

That happened over here during spring break…prices fell just a few weeks before the sail date.  I think to fill up the ships.

Will never cruise during spring break or fly during it to or from Florida!  Those 7 night cruises were crazy.  We never do short ones…normally…

lol

UK they have been cheap for a while they dropped prices early, when they moved Enchanted they were seriously cheap when they went on sale.

 

The UK tends to get Easter and Xmas surge as they are 2 weeks school breaks

 

this is an unusual 1/2 term which are just a week as they moved a holiday day and put an extra one in for the Queen.

 

Emerald 12n UK on the 14th June was still selling under £1kpp with P+ this morning.

[PacnGoNow]

3 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

UK they have been cheap for a while they dropped prices early, when they moved Enchanted they were seriously cheap when they went on sale.

 

The UK tends to get Easter and Xmas surge as they are 2 weeks school breaks

 

this is an unusual 1/2 term which are just a week as they moved a holiday day and put an extra one in for the Queen.

 

Emerald 12n UK on the 14th June was still selling under £1kpp with P+ this morning.

That’s a deal.  Like our drop and go fares with P+, even a better deal.  
I’m going to stick with off season!  Ha ha

[Alcairns]

4 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

On the 28 March cruise if I recall correctly (and I could be mixing it up with another covid time cruise) they still had the first few rows with blue covers to stop people sitting there to give the performers some social distance.
 

This time every single seat was opened up and they crammed in to capacity.

On the 28th March cruise It was just the front row Center section that had blue covers on them. On the production show nights those were the only empty seats - about 16. 

[Eglesbrech]

9 minutes ago, Alcairns said:

On the 28th March cruise It was just the front row Center section that had blue covers on them. On the production show nights those were the only empty seats - about 16. 

I didn’t count them, I just remember some being out of commision but as I said above I could have been mistaking it with a different ship - they merge into one sometimes 😀

[caribill]

7 hours ago, Weymouthcruiser said:

 I was told by someone on guest services that that the cruise was actually over capacity. Not sure if that’s correct.  

 

100% capacity is considered two people per cabin.

 

When 3rd and 4th beds in cabins are occupied and added to the total of first two berths occupied, that is considered over capacity even though within the number of total passengers the ship is designed for.

[grapau27]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

 

100% capacity is considered two people per cabin.

 

When 3rd and 4th beds in cabins are occupied and added to the total of first two berths occupied, that is considered over capacity even though within the number of total passengers the ship is designed for.

Each muster station has a designated number of passengers and why there might be  empty cabins even if the total capacity is reached when there are cabins with 3-4 passengers in them.

[caribill]

4 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Each muster station has a designated number of passengers and why there might be  empty cabins even if the total capacity is reached when there are cabins with 3-4 passengers in them.

 

Princess has said that lifecraft capacity on all of its ships is more than needed for all possible passengers and crew.