Not live from the Sky Princess

[ghstudio]

Just returned from a one week western Caribbean cruise on the Sky.  This not a "live from" post mainly because wifi from the Sky doing anything other than read mail or web pages with few graphics is unbearably slow.  No...sorry to burst bubbles...but Princess does not even come close to having the best internet on the seas.  For whatever reason, perhaps lots of graphics, the cruise critic site was too slow to do any sort of "live from" live.  

 

The Medallion application has not improved.  There was no point during the cruise when I could get to dining menus or dining reservations on the app.  In a fit of frustration, I decided to delete the application and reload it.  Ummm...not a good idea...you see you can't download applications from the Apple application store from the ship.  That is actually probably technically incorrect...but it would have taken well over the 7 days of our cruise to actually download the app. The computer folks agreed and their only suggestion was to try to download it at one of the ports.

 

Then I went to the Princess site and due to senility, I forgot my password again.  No problem, just enter your email and change your password.  Email received....."Click here" in the email to change the password.....and a browser message.. .site can not be found.  Yup, it's true...you can't change  your princess password from a princess ship.....that function or site is blocked by their system.  Verified with the computer folks who didn't believe me...so we did it on their computer....with the same issue....their solution...you guessed it....find a hot spot at the next port, give it a try. They verified with HQ and yes, it's is blocked by their system.

 

I've posted previously about the SKY food (we were on the Sky in Norway in August)...but I'll repeat a bit.  The best seasoned, best choice of "free" food on the ship IMHO is the buffet on 16.   Always an indian, asian and mexican section with other interesting and good choices. Breakfasts cooked to order...(I do not recommend the corned beef hash...but the smoked salmon, whitefish and mackeral are moist and wonderful).  I also strongly recommend that you get a pizza at Alfredos (not the pizza on deck 16)...it's really good.  This trip, we tried the sushi restaurant and it was surprisingly good...and very very reasonable....10 pieces of sushi for $7, five slices of sashimi for $3, etc. It's a very pleasant meal.  I've saved the main restaurant to last.....service the first night was dreadful . ..but we've learned that's more the norm than the exception.  The other nights were much better.  The appetizers were, again as we've come to expect,  better than the main dishes.  Again, sadly cruises these days (princess, HAL....) season minimally in the MDR.   If you want tasty, head to 16...if you want table service....then it's the MDR.   I ordered wine each night and although I had the drink package, I always pick a wine from the premium package list and they (often) charge the difference ($3-5).  The first night, I ordered a specific white wine from the list and another at our table ordered a martini.  Both arrived well after the appetizer (it was about a 30 minute wait)...and the waiter brought me a glass of red wine.....  You get the idea.   Not a problem on other nights.  The wines must be free pour without measuring because every time  wine was ordered there was a significant difference in the amount of wine in the glass....sometimes you won, sometimes not so much.  Yes, I did say often...some times I was charged for one but not for the refill...other nights no charge...and I always told the waiter that I knew there would be an up charge...  Desserts were pretty good...the creme brule was outstanding. On the second "formal" night, I asked for two lobster tails...rather than surf and turf..not a problem..yes, a bit dry, but lots of hot butter ...  

 

Cabin attendant....kept taking the bathroom glasses and replacing every few days 🙂 but otherwise, great service.

 

Cabin: we had a rear facing verandah cabin...great large balcony.  The only time we had soot was the morning we arrived back in Ft Lauderdale...otherwise no issues at all....and extremely smooth and quiet...we  would definitely book again.

 

Entertainment was pretty good...one of the shows was technologically incredible...lights, projectors, staging, sound system. early show was packed...late not so much.

 

Princess royal class ships don't have acrows nest or any bar where you can look forward at the sea if it's cool out or rainy unless you are willing to pay for the sanctuary. Most of the bars are indoors around a very highly used corridor, so your view is of people passing by in both directions.  

 

We had some non refundable on board credit left so I went to the liquor shop to use it up.  They suggest that they are 20% under local on shore prices...but I found that they were actually about 20% more than Total Wine in Ft Lauderdale.   Selection was meager.(I'm being kind)...especially to a bourbon drinker...but then again, they have very few bourbon's even at the bars. 

 

A real positive....the folks working on the SKY are the most friendly and helpful I've found on any cruise ship....they really do make a difference.  I should have mentioned earlier....in the buffet area on 16, they come around with juice/coffee and will get you drinks from the bar....nice touch vs celebrity for example.  They also clean tables very very quickly so unliike some other lines, it's pretty easy to find a nice place to sit.  We had six in our group and we could easily find tables .

 

We  missed Roaton due to winds and seas....An RCL ship made it in...we didn't (maybe our pier was in a different location???) In any case, we had an extra day at sea and they refunded $17 or so port tax without even asking...it just appeared on our accounts. We did stop at Costa Maya...unless you want to go to a beach...don't bother to walk to the "town" which is only a tourist trap...no bargains, all the same stores you've grown to love/hate (diamonds international, et al).

 

Enough rambling.....nice to be home.  On to planning next year:  HAL in March, and finally trying Azamara in July and October....

[philv]

Thanks for your review ghsuites. We are sailing on Sky in February on Eastern Caribbean itinerary. Internet is not a big issue for us so not concerned. Your food comments are interesting. My traveling companions prefer  buffet to MDR and will be pleased. Glad to hear crew is cool. We’ve been to Roatan and know pier is pretty limited there, so not surprised you didn’t get in. But hey, you got to roll with things. Our cabin is around the Retreat Pool area. Did you get a look at that?

[ghstudio]

 retreat pool is much quieter than the main pool .... and many seem to discover it which translates to: I guess you have to be a chair/chaise hog....get yours early and mark out your turf.  

 

Each night in the buffet, they have a "special night"...so one night it was paella, etc.   and there is a special lunch the last day with sushi and sashimi and special (good) desserts).    note: unlike the  Ocean terrace on 7, the sushi rice was very dry and the sashimi was essentially hacked, not sliced but still excellent fish).  I would have eaten there more for dinner, but my friends and spouse prefered to be served so we ate dinners in Estrella ...breakfast and lunch in the buffet.  They weren't interested in the specialty restaurants.  

 

A funny food note...if you ask for horseradish for your roast beef or put wasabi on your sushi...it is exceptionally spicy hot...and I eat all kinds of spicy hot foods.  For me, it was excellent and I even asked for the supplier's name so I can order some...but it's a killer for most.

 

[ksm77]

We will be on the Sky for 11 days during New Years.  I really hate to hear that the MDR is not up to par.  That is my husband’s favorite part of the cruise.  We don’t care to eat in the buffet at night, but maybe we will this cruise.  We are planning to eat in one of specialty restaurants at least one night.  It may be that we try them all this trip.

[ghstudio]

It’s not that it’s not up to par…but it’s just more institutional food with little seasoning.  Service after the first night was very good.  I just think the buffet is more interesting, with more choice and better seasoned.

[ChutChut]

On 12/10/2022 at 6:05 PM, philv said:

Thanks for your review ghsuites. We are sailing on Sky in February on Eastern Caribbean itinerary. Internet is not a big issue for us so not concerned. Your food comments are interesting. My traveling companions prefer  buffet to MDR and will be pleased. Glad to hear crew is cool. We’ve been to Roatan and know pier is pretty limited there, so not surprised you didn’t get in. But hey, you got to roll with things. Our cabin is around the Retreat Pool area. Did you get a look at that?

You'll really like having a cabin on Deck 17. It's a great location and very, very quiet.

[philv]

Love hearing peoples comments! Looking forward to cruise. 

[nymshowdown]

Unfortunate to hear the WiFi situation is still dreadful. I'm booked for two in Feb/March and was planning to work while onboard. Looks like I am cancelling those then...

[ChutChut]

3 minutes ago, nymshowdown said:

Unfortunate to hear the WiFi situation is still dreadful. I'm booked for two in Feb/March and was planning to work while onboard. Looks like I am cancelling those then...

No way to accomplish any substantive work on the Sky. I couldn't even access my email account on most days.

[MissP22]

It's depressing to hear about the lousy internet connection on the Sky. The Enchanted back in March/April was decent but I suppose that with the increase in passengers lately, all the ships in the Caribbean have suffered the same fate. 

And to beat all, they still have the nerve to advertise "The Best Wi-Fi at Sea". What a joke.

[ChutChut]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It's depressing to hear about the lousy internet connection on the Sky. The Enchanted back in March/April was decent but I suppose that with the increase in passengers lately, all the ships in the Caribbean have suffered the same fate. 

And to beat all, they still have the nerve to advertise "The Best Wi-Fi at Sea". What a joke.

No way even near the best. It was fast at 3am, but I'd rather be sleeping then.

[MissP22]

6 minutes ago, ChutChut said:

No way even near the best. It was fast at 3am, but I'd rather be sleeping then.

That's why I probably didn't notice the slower speeds as my day begins between 2-3 AM. 🤩