Live from Sky Princess - UK to Norway - 14 nights

[englishlee]

All feeling fine. I haven't got it but decided to quarantine with my wife. She feels fine, if we were ashore we would have carriefd on with our normal lives assuming it was just a summer cold. Only tested to protect others on board.

[Coral]

28 minutes ago, englishlee said:

All feeling fine. I haven't got it but decided to quarantine with my wife. She feels fine, if we were ashore we would have carriefd on with our normal lives assuming it was just a summer cold. Only tested to protect others on board.

Glad you are feeling ok!

[Chris]

Can you share what you are doing for excursions in the Ports?

thanks

[englishlee]

THIS IS A VERY LONG POST MOVE ON NOW IF YOU'RE EASILY BORED.

 

We’ve now disembarked from Sky Princess having spent the last 4 or 5 days in isolation due to Covid and I thought I’d share a few thoughts and notes regarding our experience in case it helps anyone else.

 

Overnight on Monday (today is Saturday) my wife complained of a headache and symptoms of a cold, so first thing Tuesday morning we tested her for covid (using a kit of our own). She was a strong positive so we called the medical centre and they sent someone up to our cabin to take a ships covid test, and they asked us not to leave our cabin until their results were available which they expected to be that afternoon. Barely 20 minutes later we received the expected call that my wife’s test was positive but that mine was negative and that she would need to transfer to a quarantine cabin and to start packing, and they’d send someone to move her in 30-45 minutes. I could either go with her and isolate in the new cabin, or I could stay on my own. Obviously I chose to go as I thought she’d appreciate the company and I know what’s good for me!

 

Our daughter and son in law were also on this cruise with us so they decided to be tested by the ships medical centre as we had been close contacts and her husband also had a headache. They were tested mid- morning and he tested positive but my daughter didn’t.

 

The interesting and confusing thing was that they were transferred to a quarantine cabin before their positive tests were even confirmed. We on the other hand sat and waited, and waited and waited some more before I eventually rang the medical centre asking what was happening, instead on 30 minutes we waited almost 2 hours. What we think happened was that our daughter was moved instead of us (our two booking were linked) and that they only realised that when we rang them. Goodness knows what would have happened had my son in lawL not tested positive having already been transferred.

 

The cabin swap was beneficial to us in that we had a larger balcony (D216) than our original cabin (R709). Our daughter was not so lucky and had a like for like swap.

 

We were taken to our new cabin avoiding public areas as much as possible and used a lift in the crew area specifically allocated to such transfers.

 

Prior to the transfer we had been told that my wife would get a FCC for her days in quarantine but that I would not as I had ‘volunteered’. I wasn’t particularly happy about that as I would have thought that it was in Princess’s interest to quarantine close contacts ‘just in case’. As it turned out the information I was given was incorrect but more of that later.

 

There was a printed sheet of information in the cabin waiting for us which had general info about what to expect during our enforced confinement. One thing that stuck out was that no-one from the medical centre would be in contact unless we contacted them first. Not a problem for my wife as I was with her if she felt worse, but a single traveller would not have that comfort and I think that in that situation a phone call once or twice a day to check would not go amiss.

 

I was told that I would be tested for Covid daily which I thought was unnecessary as I was already isolating, wasn’t allowed to change my mind even if I wanted to, and if I tested positive I would still be isolating until the ship arrived back into Southampton anyway, so a waste of time, effort and money.

 

As it happened I was only tested once (I was negative), I think they may have tried to come back and test me a second time as someone was repeatedly banging on our cabin door at 0740 my wife was not best pleased to be woken from her slumbers at that time, we may have been isolating but we were still on vacation! By the time she’d put on sufficient clothes to be decent enough to open the cabin door (I was in the shower) whoever it was had gone, so she went back to bed only to be woken again 20 minutes later by breakfast being delivered 45 minutes early!

 

Regarding food. We were told that we could order from any of the restaurants on board including speciality restaurants using the Medallion app / TV screen or by contacting room service, this would be at no extra charge. Also every morning a menu for lunch and dinner from the main dining room would be delivered to the cabin and a member of the main dining room staff would ring each morning and afternoon asking what if anything we wanted to order from the main dining room that day. Sounds good but to be honest this is where I think it starts to fall down.

 

During our 4 days in isolation of the 12 meals we ordered only one order was correct and only one meal was hot. Every other order was wrong, either courses missing or incorrect, or the wrong number delivered, or white wine instead of red and vice versa, one night we only had one set of cutlery. Also all but one meal (the last night) was at best lukewarm and generally stone cold. It got to the stage where we would try to choose dishes that were supposed to be cold. We had ‘fun’ though trying to guess what would be wrong for any particular meal. I know that the orders were taken correctly because the order form was usually included with the delivery, it was lack of attention to detail when checking the trays, and probably lack of staff.

 

I fail to understand though why in major cities you can order food and it will generally turn up at least warm despite being transported miles but on a ship it doesn’t seem possible to get hot food from kitchens a few hundred yards away.

 

We were contacted on day 1 by a member of staff who was to be our point of contact for any issues, we asked him about ordering premium wines (we had a premium package) and he did arrange for a couple of glasses of our chosen red to be sent to us, he did the same the next day. At that time I also asked him about our non-refundable on board credit, we obviously couldn’t use it as we weren’t allowed out of the cabin to buy anything and the offerings using the TV / Medallion were very limited. We were told that the credit was non-refundable irrespective of the reason for non-use which I thought was unfair, I suggested converting to a FCC but that was a no go as well. So I made the decision to use some of the credit to purchase a couple of bottles of premium wine that I knew we both liked, it was overpriced but I wasn’t going to just let the credit go, he arranged for the wine to be delivered with dinner. After that we never heard from him again.

 

We still had credit which I was determined to use rather than forfeit it so I resorted to trying to purchase bottles of wine using the TV ordering system. We found the selection to be underwhelming, particularly of the premium wines, but nonetheless ordered a couple of bottles that appealed. Job done or so we thought. 15 minutes later we had a call from room service advising us that the wines we chose were not available but they did have less desirable wines available. The very helpful staff member agreed to go to Vines to pick up a couple of bottles of alternative wines that I knew we liked and a few minutes later they were delivered to the cabin. They are now sitting happily in my wine rack at home. Overpriced they may be but I completed my mission of using my OBC!

 

The evening prior to disembarking we received a note in our cabin advising us of the FCC that we would receive for having to quarantine, and contrary to the initial advice I was given we were both given it.

 

By the time it came to disembark we were experiencing a mix of emotions, stir crazy, demob happy, relief being the main ones. We had previously been told that all those quarantining would disembark last and that it would begin at 0915. That time came and went, 0930 came and went then 0945 and still nothing. No announcements no notes nothing. Tried ringing reception several times with no reply at all. At 1000 there was a knock on the door and all of those in the cabins on our part of the corridor were simultaneously released, think of a prison movie and that’s what it was like. We were then shepherded into the public lifts and shown the gangway! Free at last.

 

I think that Princess did a reasonable job in the circumstances, but that with a few tweaks and a bit of extra effort it could have been so much better.

 

Why were there so many mistakes in meal orders. It’s not difficult to check and double check before delivery.

 

Meals should be hot. Tepid, lukewarm or cold food is unacceptable.

 

Make certain that the product offering using the medallion app is accurate, and maybe more expansive.

 

If OBC cannot be used then offer the option to convert to a FCC

 

If you tell your passengers they’ll disembark from a certain time then at least keep them informed if there are delays.

 

I was enjoying the cruise prior to isolating, it’s not a perfect product but it was decent. We’ve now completed almost 50 cruises (this was our first with Princess), it was better than some and not as good as others.

 

One thing I did notice was that very very few passengers were sanitising or washing their hands prior to entry to the Marketplace restaurant, whilst waiting for my wife on one occasion of the 25 people who went in only 5 bothered. This is probably worse than any other ship I’ve been on.

 

I also suspect, although I cannot prove that many more people had covid and weren’t testing. The coughing, sneezing etc from day one was noticeable, I also suspect that some would not have undertaken a covid test before boarding just in case it was positive. As it was it seems as if the whole of the portside of deck 9 was used for quarantine and apparently even that wasn’t enough.

 

On the bright side for us at least, my wife is fine, after day one you wouldn’t have known she was ill.

 

 

 

[matamanoa]

You mentioned the trouble with the WIFI and Kindle and not being able to download any more books.  Is this relevant to just the brand name Kindle or is it the same scenario with an Android or Apple tablet?

[ghstudio]

19 minutes ago, matamanoa said:

You mentioned the trouble with the WIFI and Kindle and not being able to download any more books.  Is this relevant to just the brand name Kindle or is it the same scenario with an Android or Apple tablet?

 

that comment only applies to the kindle which has a very limited browser so it can't connect to the medalion network onboard.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, englishlee said:

THIS IS A VERY LONG POST MOVE ON NOW IF YOU'RE EASILY BORED.

 

We’ve now disembarked from Sky Princess having spent the last 4 or 5 days in isolation due to Covid and I thought I’d share a few thoughts and notes regarding our experience in case it helps anyone else.

 

Overnight on Monday (today is Saturday) my wife complained of a headache and symptoms of a cold, so first thing Tuesday morning we tested her for covid (using a kit of our own). She was a strong positive so we called the medical centre and they sent someone up to our cabin to take a ships covid test, and they asked us not to leave our cabin until their results were available which they expected to be that afternoon. Barely 20 minutes later we received the expected call that my wife’s test was positive but that mine was negative and that she would need to transfer to a quarantine cabin and to start packing, and they’d send someone to move her in 30-45 minutes. I could either go with her and isolate in the new cabin, or I could stay on my own. Obviously I chose to go as I thought she’d appreciate the company and I know what’s good for me!

 

Our daughter and son in law were also on this cruise with us so they decided to be tested by the ships medical centre as we had been close contacts and her husband also had a headache. They were tested mid- morning and he tested positive but my daughter didn’t.

 

The interesting and confusing thing was that they were transferred to a quarantine cabin before their positive tests were even confirmed. We on the other hand sat and waited, and waited and waited some more before I eventually rang the medical centre asking what was happening, instead on 30 minutes we waited almost 2 hours. What we think happened was that our daughter was moved instead of us (our two booking were linked) and that they only realised that when we rang them. Goodness knows what would have happened had my son in lawL not tested positive having already been transferred.

 

The cabin swap was beneficial to us in that we had a larger balcony (D216) than our original cabin (R709). Our daughter was not so lucky and had a like for like swap.

 

We were taken to our new cabin avoiding public areas as much as possible and used a lift in the crew area specifically allocated to such transfers.

 

Prior to the transfer we had been told that my wife would get a FCC for her days in quarantine but that I would not as I had ‘volunteered’. I wasn’t particularly happy about that as I would have thought that it was in Princess’s interest to quarantine close contacts ‘just in case’. As it turned out the information I was given was incorrect but more of that later.

 

There was a printed sheet of information in the cabin waiting for us which had general info about what to expect during our enforced confinement. One thing that stuck out was that no-one from the medical centre would be in contact unless we contacted them first. Not a problem for my wife as I was with her if she felt worse, but a single traveller would not have that comfort and I think that in that situation a phone call once or twice a day to check would not go amiss.

 

I was told that I would be tested for Covid daily which I thought was unnecessary as I was already isolating, wasn’t allowed to change my mind even if I wanted to, and if I tested positive I would still be isolating until the ship arrived back into Southampton anyway, so a waste of time, effort and money.

 

As it happened I was only tested once (I was negative), I think they may have tried to come back and test me a second time as someone was repeatedly banging on our cabin door at 0740 my wife was not best pleased to be woken from her slumbers at that time, we may have been isolating but we were still on vacation! By the time she’d put on sufficient clothes to be decent enough to open the cabin door (I was in the shower) whoever it was had gone, so she went back to bed only to be woken again 20 minutes later by breakfast being delivered 45 minutes early!

 

Regarding food. We were told that we could order from any of the restaurants on board including speciality restaurants using the Medallion app / TV screen or by contacting room service, this would be at no extra charge. Also every morning a menu for lunch and dinner from the main dining room would be delivered to the cabin and a member of the main dining room staff would ring each morning and afternoon asking what if anything we wanted to order from the main dining room that day. Sounds good but to be honest this is where I think it starts to fall down.

 

During our 4 days in isolation of the 12 meals we ordered only one order was correct and only one meal was hot. Every other order was wrong, either courses missing or incorrect, or the wrong number delivered, or white wine instead of red and vice versa, one night we only had one set of cutlery. Also all but one meal (the last night) was at best lukewarm and generally stone cold. It got to the stage where we would try to choose dishes that were supposed to be cold. We had ‘fun’ though trying to guess what would be wrong for any particular meal. I know that the orders were taken correctly because the order form was usually included with the delivery, it was lack of attention to detail when checking the trays, and probably lack of staff.

 

I fail to understand though why in major cities you can order food and it will generally turn up at least warm despite being transported miles but on a ship it doesn’t seem possible to get hot food from kitchens a few hundred yards away.

 

We were contacted on day 1 by a member of staff who was to be our point of contact for any issues, we asked him about ordering premium wines (we had a premium package) and he did arrange for a couple of glasses of our chosen red to be sent to us, he did the same the next day. At that time I also asked him about our non-refundable on board credit, we obviously couldn’t use it as we weren’t allowed out of the cabin to buy anything and the offerings using the TV / Medallion were very limited. We were told that the credit was non-refundable irrespective of the reason for non-use which I thought was unfair, I suggested converting to a FCC but that was a no go as well. So I made the decision to use some of the credit to purchase a couple of bottles of premium wine that I knew we both liked, it was overpriced but I wasn’t going to just let the credit go, he arranged for the wine to be delivered with dinner. After that we never heard from him again.

 

We still had credit which I was determined to use rather than forfeit it so I resorted to trying to purchase bottles of wine using the TV ordering system. We found the selection to be underwhelming, particularly of the premium wines, but nonetheless ordered a couple of bottles that appealed. Job done or so we thought. 15 minutes later we had a call from room service advising us that the wines we chose were not available but they did have less desirable wines available. The very helpful staff member agreed to go to Vines to pick up a couple of bottles of alternative wines that I knew we liked and a few minutes later they were delivered to the cabin. They are now sitting happily in my wine rack at home. Overpriced they may be but I completed my mission of using my OBC!

 

The evening prior to disembarking we received a note in our cabin advising us of the FCC that we would receive for having to quarantine, and contrary to the initial advice I was given we were both given it.

 

By the time it came to disembark we were experiencing a mix of emotions, stir crazy, demob happy, relief being the main ones. We had previously been told that all those quarantining would disembark last and that it would begin at 0915. That time came and went, 0930 came and went then 0945 and still nothing. No announcements no notes nothing. Tried ringing reception several times with no reply at all. At 1000 there was a knock on the door and all of those in the cabins on our part of the corridor were simultaneously released, think of a prison movie and that’s what it was like. We were then shepherded into the public lifts and shown the gangway! Free at last.

 

I think that Princess did a reasonable job in the circumstances, but that with a few tweaks and a bit of extra effort it could have been so much better.

 

Why were there so many mistakes in meal orders. It’s not difficult to check and double check before delivery.

 

Meals should be hot. Tepid, lukewarm or cold food is unacceptable.

 

Make certain that the product offering using the medallion app is accurate, and maybe more expansive.

 

If OBC cannot be used then offer the option to convert to a FCC

 

If you tell your passengers they’ll disembark from a certain time then at least keep them informed if there are delays.

 

I was enjoying the cruise prior to isolating, it’s not a perfect product but it was decent. We’ve now completed almost 50 cruises (this was our first with Princess), it was better than some and not as good as others.

 

One thing I did notice was that very very few passengers were sanitising or washing their hands prior to entry to the Marketplace restaurant, whilst waiting for my wife on one occasion of the 25 people who went in only 5 bothered. This is probably worse than any other ship I’ve been on.

 

I also suspect, although I cannot prove that many more people had covid and weren’t testing. The coughing, sneezing etc from day one was noticeable, I also suspect that some would not have undertaken a covid test before boarding just in case it was positive. As it was it seems as if the whole of the portside of deck 9 was used for quarantine and apparently even that wasn’t enough.

 

On the bright side for us at least, my wife is fine, after day one you wouldn’t have known she was ill.

 

 

 

Thank you for a thorough, and non- emotional report.  Hopefully it will be read by many others,  although being posted in s specific cruise  thread may limit the readership.

After a year of cruising with Covid, Princess really should be able to do better.  As you say, how difficult is it  to deliver a hot meal,  as ordered .  It just seems that Princess have the protocols in place to move passengers to quarantine cabins, but after that things just fall apart.

I would suggest you send your report to Princess in Southampton,  but I am doubtful if you will even get the courtesy of a reply.

[matamanoa]

1 hour ago, ghstudio said:

 

that comment only applies to the kindle which has a very limited browser so it can't connect to the medalion network onboard.

Thank you for answering.

[gvre]

If you ask your waiter to bring you bread sticks they will be happy to every night.

Edited September 4, 2022 by gvre

[antsp]

3 hours ago, englishlee said:

THIS IS A VERY LONG POST MOVE ON NOW IF YOU'RE EASILY BORED.

 

We’ve now disembarked from Sky Princess having spent the last 4 or 5 days in isolation due to Covid and I thought I’d share a few thoughts and notes regarding our experience in case it helps anyone else.

 

Overnight on Monday (today is Saturday) my wife complained of a headache and symptoms of a cold, so first thing Tuesday morning we tested her for covid (using a kit of our own). She was a strong positive so we called the medical centre and they sent someone up to our cabin to take a ships covid test, and they asked us not to leave our cabin until their results were available which they expected to be that afternoon. Barely 20 minutes later we received the expected call that my wife’s test was positive but that mine was negative and that she would need to transfer to a quarantine cabin and to start packing, and they’d send someone to move her in 30-45 minutes. I could either go with her and isolate in the new cabin, or I could stay on my own. Obviously I chose to go as I thought she’d appreciate the company and I know what’s good for me!

 

Our daughter and son in law were also on this cruise with us so they decided to be tested by the ships medical centre as we had been close contacts and her husband also had a headache. They were tested mid- morning and he tested positive but my daughter didn’t.

 

The interesting and confusing thing was that they were transferred to a quarantine cabin before their positive tests were even confirmed. We on the other hand sat and waited, and waited and waited some more before I eventually rang the medical centre asking what was happening, instead on 30 minutes we waited almost 2 hours. What we think happened was that our daughter was moved instead of us (our two booking were linked) and that they only realised that when we rang them. Goodness knows what would have happened had my son in lawL not tested positive having already been transferred.

 

The cabin swap was beneficial to us in that we had a larger balcony (D216) than our original cabin (R709). Our daughter was not so lucky and had a like for like swap.

 

We were taken to our new cabin avoiding public areas as much as possible and used a lift in the crew area specifically allocated to such transfers.

 

Prior to the transfer we had been told that my wife would get a FCC for her days in quarantine but that I would not as I had ‘volunteered’. I wasn’t particularly happy about that as I would have thought that it was in Princess’s interest to quarantine close contacts ‘just in case’. As it turned out the information I was given was incorrect but more of that later.

 

There was a printed sheet of information in the cabin waiting for us which had general info about what to expect during our enforced confinement. One thing that stuck out was that no-one from the medical centre would be in contact unless we contacted them first. Not a problem for my wife as I was with her if she felt worse, but a single traveller would not have that comfort and I think that in that situation a phone call once or twice a day to check would not go amiss.

 

I was told that I would be tested for Covid daily which I thought was unnecessary as I was already isolating, wasn’t allowed to change my mind even if I wanted to, and if I tested positive I would still be isolating until the ship arrived back into Southampton anyway, so a waste of time, effort and money.

 

As it happened I was only tested once (I was negative), I think they may have tried to come back and test me a second time as someone was repeatedly banging on our cabin door at 0740 my wife was not best pleased to be woken from her slumbers at that time, we may have been isolating but we were still on vacation! By the time she’d put on sufficient clothes to be decent enough to open the cabin door (I was in the shower) whoever it was had gone, so she went back to bed only to be woken again 20 minutes later by breakfast being delivered 45 minutes early!

 

Regarding food. We were told that we could order from any of the restaurants on board including speciality restaurants using the Medallion app / TV screen or by contacting room service, this would be at no extra charge. Also every morning a menu for lunch and dinner from the main dining room would be delivered to the cabin and a member of the main dining room staff would ring each morning and afternoon asking what if anything we wanted to order from the main dining room that day. Sounds good but to be honest this is where I think it starts to fall down.

 

During our 4 days in isolation of the 12 meals we ordered only one order was correct and only one meal was hot. Every other order was wrong, either courses missing or incorrect, or the wrong number delivered, or white wine instead of red and vice versa, one night we only had one set of cutlery. Also all but one meal (the last night) was at best lukewarm and generally stone cold. It got to the stage where we would try to choose dishes that were supposed to be cold. We had ‘fun’ though trying to guess what would be wrong for any particular meal. I know that the orders were taken correctly because the order form was usually included with the delivery, it was lack of attention to detail when checking the trays, and probably lack of staff.

 

I fail to understand though why in major cities you can order food and it will generally turn up at least warm despite being transported miles but on a ship it doesn’t seem possible to get hot food from kitchens a few hundred yards away.

 

We were contacted on day 1 by a member of staff who was to be our point of contact for any issues, we asked him about ordering premium wines (we had a premium package) and he did arrange for a couple of glasses of our chosen red to be sent to us, he did the same the next day. At that time I also asked him about our non-refundable on board credit, we obviously couldn’t use it as we weren’t allowed out of the cabin to buy anything and the offerings using the TV / Medallion were very limited. We were told that the credit was non-refundable irrespective of the reason for non-use which I thought was unfair, I suggested converting to a FCC but that was a no go as well. So I made the decision to use some of the credit to purchase a couple of bottles of premium wine that I knew we both liked, it was overpriced but I wasn’t going to just let the credit go, he arranged for the wine to be delivered with dinner. After that we never heard from him again.

 

We still had credit which I was determined to use rather than forfeit it so I resorted to trying to purchase bottles of wine using the TV ordering system. We found the selection to be underwhelming, particularly of the premium wines, but nonetheless ordered a couple of bottles that appealed. Job done or so we thought. 15 minutes later we had a call from room service advising us that the wines we chose were not available but they did have less desirable wines available. The very helpful staff member agreed to go to Vines to pick up a couple of bottles of alternative wines that I knew we liked and a few minutes later they were delivered to the cabin. They are now sitting happily in my wine rack at home. Overpriced they may be but I completed my mission of using my OBC!

 

The evening prior to disembarking we received a note in our cabin advising us of the FCC that we would receive for having to quarantine, and contrary to the initial advice I was given we were both given it.

 

By the time it came to disembark we were experiencing a mix of emotions, stir crazy, demob happy, relief being the main ones. We had previously been told that all those quarantining would disembark last and that it would begin at 0915. That time came and went, 0930 came and went then 0945 and still nothing. No announcements no notes nothing. Tried ringing reception several times with no reply at all. At 1000 there was a knock on the door and all of those in the cabins on our part of the corridor were simultaneously released, think of a prison movie and that’s what it was like. We were then shepherded into the public lifts and shown the gangway! Free at last.

 

I think that Princess did a reasonable job in the circumstances, but that with a few tweaks and a bit of extra effort it could have been so much better.

 

Why were there so many mistakes in meal orders. It’s not difficult to check and double check before delivery.

 

Meals should be hot. Tepid, lukewarm or cold food is unacceptable.

 

Make certain that the product offering using the medallion app is accurate, and maybe more expansive.

 

If OBC cannot be used then offer the option to convert to a FCC

 

If you tell your passengers they’ll disembark from a certain time then at least keep them informed if there are delays.

 

I was enjoying the cruise prior to isolating, it’s not a perfect product but it was decent. We’ve now completed almost 50 cruises (this was our first with Princess), it was better than some and not as good as others.

 

One thing I did notice was that very very few passengers were sanitising or washing their hands prior to entry to the Marketplace restaurant, whilst waiting for my wife on one occasion of the 25 people who went in only 5 bothered. This is probably worse than any other ship I’ve been on.

 

I also suspect, although I cannot prove that many more people had covid and weren’t testing. The coughing, sneezing etc from day one was noticeable, I also suspect that some would not have undertaken a covid test before boarding just in case it was positive. As it was it seems as if the whole of the portside of deck 9 was used for quarantine and apparently even that wasn’t enough.

 

On the bright side for us at least, my wife is fine, after day one you wouldn’t have known she was ill.

 

 

 

Thanks for the update, every time I read a quarantine report, the more I have decided I won't tell Princess if I test positive 

[NownZen]

11 minutes ago, antsp said:

Thanks for the update, every time I read a quarantine report, the more I have decided I won't tell Princess if I test positive 

I wonder if that is their intent. It is a hassle for them with no particular benefit.

Covid is endemic and we have to learn to live with it.

My family was hit pretty hard with the original strain before the vaccine came out. I was laid out for a month. We all had another round this summer with the Omicron variant even though we are all double vaxxed and boosted. But this time I was tired for two days, my wife had no symptoms and my son and his family were tired for 2-4 days. We are going about with our lives.

Everyone has to decide on their risk tolerance.

 

[villauk]

On 8/30/2022 at 3:00 PM, ghstudio said:

 

There is no place to sit before/after dinner and just watch the peacefulness of the sea….no crows nest, no Celebrity lounge facing the bow.  If you want to see where we are going, you either have to book one of the cabins L101–106 or pay to sit in the sanctuary. It’s just not a great design for a cruise ship that does scenic cruises. 

 

I know where you are coming from. We’ve just returned from Enchanted Princess and I felt there was nowhere up top to sit in a lounge and look out at the sea. It was our first time on a Royal Class ship and even though we liked the Piazza area, it was very congested in the evenings as everyone, diners included, appeared to be congregated along those couple of decks. Having somewhere on the higher decks to go would have distributed the ‘crowds’. I did like the IC area though.

[englishlee]

13 hours ago, antsp said:

Thanks for the update, every time I read a quarantine report, the more I have decided I won't tell Princess if I test positive 

My wife was saying something similar after we got off. Morally it may be the correct thing to do, but I'm as sure as I can be that many weren't testing or reporting. We have been lucky in that we've both only had it once, very mildly. That's despite doing a couple of cruises travelling, all round the UK and some overseas trips, eating out regularly and going to gigs with 10,000+ attendees, and not wearing masks unless mandatory. That's a risk assessment that we've made and we're comfortable with that.

[Westsail32]

22 hours ago, villauk said:

 

I know where you are coming from. We’ve just returned from Enchanted Princess and I felt there was nowhere up top to sit in a lounge and look out at the sea. It was our first time on a Royal Class ship and even though we liked the Piazza area, it was very congested in the evenings as everyone,

 

 

I've had three or four Royal class cruises and I definitely prefer the older ships.  I miss the Promenade and being able to walk around the ship (laps).  I was in the Navy in the 80s and being at sea is what I enjoy the most.  The Royal ships are just too enclosed for me.  Unless I have absolutely no choice I'll be sticking with the older ships.  

[raybigblue]

On 8/30/2022 at 7:47 AM, Mary loves to travel said:

Hello 

 

I don’t want to hijack your thread but thought it might be helpful to share our experience- looks like we have some different interests, so maybe a different experience.  

 

we’re on the same cruise & having a fantastic time.   We have a starboard deluxe balcony, mid-aft.    Scenery has been amazing as have the ports.   
 

Agree the port lecturer is quite good & helpful.
We’ve done some ship excursions but more either independent or on our own and have been very happy with our choices.   
 

Have previously cruised twice with Princess on the Grand, plus several RCCL      We’re loving the big new Sky Princess.  
Food has been fine to very good- but tastes differ.    We’ve also not gone often for beef in either the MDR or the buffet; as it can be disappointing in this type of setting.   Fish dishes have been very good.  
Service all around is excellent.  
 

We don’t go to the lounges or bars, and have only done a show or two in the theatre.  
 

best,

Mary 

Hi Mary 

Reading your comment has intrested me we are doing this cruise next year same cabin as you 14 nights midnight sun ,would you mind telling me the independent tours you took and how good tey were etc ,many thanks if you can 

Ray

[Mary loves to travel]

17 hours ago, raybigblue said:

Hi Mary 

Reading your comment has intrested me we are doing this cruise next year same cabin as you 14 nights midnight sun ,would you mind telling me the independent tours you took and how good tey were etc ,many thanks if you can 

Ray

Hi Ray,

 

very happy with all the tours we chose 😊

 

I’ve posted a summary to the Roll Call for this cruise - let me know if any other Q’s.  
 

Mary

[raybigblue]

On 9/6/2022 at 2:33 PM, Mary loves to travel said:

Hi Ray,

 

very happy with all the tours we chose 😊

 

I’ve posted a summary to the Roll Call for this cruise - let me know if any other Q’s.  
 

Mary

Many thanks for that 

[azgrandmax3]

On 8/29/2022 at 11:55 PM, wowzz said:

Where do you draw the line ? No travelling to Germany, Poland, Sweden, Finland etc ? 

Not travelling to the Baltic because of the war in Ukraine is irrational. 

We are booked to the Baltic in 2023 and are thoroughly looking forward to it.   

We are too

 

On 8/23/2022 at 10:00 AM, JF - retired RRT said:

Ship?

Sky