Live from Sky Princess! - March 4-11 & 11-18 B2B - East & West Caribbean

[corncat]

Hello! I've never done one of these before, so please be patient with me as I figure this out. I have enjoyed getting ready for this cruise by reading other lives over the last few months, so I thought it would be fun to make my own! And hopefully help out some people along the way, while being a great way to keep track of my memories. 

 

I am currently on board the Sky Princess. I meant to start this live on day 1, but my time has gotten away from me and I am only just starting it now! Wifi has been excellent, so I will try to update at least once per day from now on. Tomorrow I will make a couple posts recapping the last two days for you. 

 

Please let me know any questions you have! I hope you enjoy this journey with me! 

 

-JJ

[corncat]

First off, I should introduce myself! 

 

I'm JJ! I am a 23 year old girl and I am an actor from BC, Canada. I couldn't find as much information about Princess from a younger person's perspective, so I thought I would become that voice! 

 

I have only ever been on one cruise before this one, and it was 10 years ago! I know I am long overdue for a cruise and will not wait so long for the next one. The last cruise I did was with my mom, on a 5 day Caribbean with Disney Cruise Line. It was quite busy, but very fun! I am cruising with my mom again now, but we decided we wanted to do something more relaxing and laid back this time. We wanted to relax and experience the cruise ship/resort feeling, so the specific ports weren't a huge deciding factor for us. Most port days we are going to just stay on board and enjoy the quiet ship. I did lots of research and compared different lines and itineraries, and finally we settled on Princess. And are we ever glad we did! This has been such a great experience so far and it's only the end of day 3!! 

 

I am exhausted and heading for bed now, but tomorrow will be a mellow day for me as it is a port day (but I will be staying on the ship and lazing about), so I should have lots of time to catch up on the days I missed reporting here and get on track! 

 

Good night from the Sky Princess 🙂 

[Loucat]

Hello and thank you for posting your Live from Sky Princess!

DH and I have been on Sky previously and loved the ship.
I will follow your posts and look forward to your sharing your experience.

What is your itinerary? 

Have a great cruise and we are here to share your experience. 

 

[FLAlaska]

Just got off the SKy on Saturday. Loved her! Hope you have as great a time as I did!

[Nolafan]

Thanks @corncat! I am new to CC and to cruising. I am looking forward to following along and getting any advice for a new Princess cruiser.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise! 

[corncat]

17 hours ago, Loucat said:

Hello and thank you for posting your Live from Sky Princess!

DH and I have been on Sky previously and loved the ship.
I will follow your posts and look forward to your sharing your experience.

What is your itinerary? 

Have a great cruise and we are here to share your experience. 

 

Our itinerary is:

Ft Lauderdale

Princess Cays

Sea Day

San Juan

Amber Cove

Grand Turk

Sea Day

Ft Lauderdale 

Sea Day

Cozumel

Roatan (Mahogany Bay)

Belize

Costa Maya

Sea Day

Ft L

[corncat]

March 4, 2023 - Embarkation Day! (Fort Lauderdale)

 

Embarkation was so smooth and easy - I was so impressed!!

 

We had originally selected boarding group C for 12 pm, but the shuttle from our hotel was taking us to the ship for 11 am. We were prepared to sit and wait if we needed to. Both my mom and i love to read and have lots of things to keep us busy. 

 

The porter quickly took our bags and we were into the building! We were guided through all the steps easily. There was no waiting and barely any lines. Didn't stand still for more than 30 seconds the whole time!

Security was very easy. Didn't have to take out electronics, liquids, or anything like at an airport. 

Being Canadian, we didn't have the option of having our medallions shipped to us. That was no problem though! Took us less than a minute at the desk and we had our medallions. I could not believe how fast and streamlined everything was. We were on the ship before 11:20 am!!

 

What a beautiful ship! We were in awe as we walked in. We didn't run to the sanctuary or enclave like so many people do... those just don't appeal to us all that much. We decided to go et some caffeine at the International Cafe, then head up to the buffet for lunch. The IC staff were very friendly and helpful, and we had our drinks very quickly!

 

The buffet was delicious. I had a wide range of everything from fish, to veggies and rice, to sausage. baked potatoes, pasta, fruit, cake, and so much more. It was all fantastic. Staff was again very friendly and happy to answer any questions we had. 

 

We watched our safety video and checked in at the muster station. Very easy and quick. 

 

At 1 pm there was an announcement that our staterooms were ready. We went down to our interior cabin on deck 10and met our steward, Bernabe. She is so cheerful! Her smile is infectious and she got us even more excited for the journey ahead.

The room was so much bigger than we expected. We got one of the interior cabins that is sort of sideways, instead of the standard hotel room style layout. It was a great choice. We also have the beds split into two twin beds, so there is lots of space in the middle of the room. The closet space is huge and there is lots of storage all over the room. We are chronic over-packers, but still have empty space in the closet!!

On the desk, there was a paper copy of the patter, a list of the theme nights at the buffet, info about the safety procedures, and an invitation to the New Cruiser Celebration which would take place on the first sea day. 

 

I didn't sleep well the night before, so I had a nap. What a lovely, comfy bed! I may be 23, but i have complex chronic body pain and chronic illnesses, so I was very happy to find the bed to be nice and comfortable to me. Being an inside cabin, the room also gets perfectly dark! It is excellent for a good sleep. 

 

After a lovely nap, we went up to the sail-away party! It was so incredibly hot out (at least to my Canadian body lol), that I couldn't stay outside for the entire thing. The entertainment staff of dancers and singers were so great! I had to escape back into the air conditioning however, and missed the actual "sailing away" part.

 

That evening we went to the comedian in the Princess Theatre. We got to the theatre about 15 minutes before showtime, and still struggled to find seats. It is impressive how quickly the theatre fills up! The nights since then we have made a point to get there as soon as the doors open 30 minutes before curtain, so we can be sure to get good seats. 

The comedian was fun! A little different than others I have seen, but as the show went on it became very enjoyable. I will definitely go see him again. 

 

After that, we grabbed a snack of some freshly made ramen at the buffet (YUM) the headed to bed early. It was a long day on only a few hours of sleep. But what a fun, exciting day it was!! 

 

 

Attached are pictures of the day one patter. I'll add a picture of the buffet menu in the next post. 

 

IMG_3513.heicIMG_3514.heic

Edited March 8, 2023 by corncat
forgot to add patter

[nini]

Thank you for sharing your journey! We will be on the Sky in June for a much cooler cruise. We live in the Northwest and I understand what you are saying about the heat... And this is Winter! Yikes! We were in Fort Lauderdale in January 2018 and we were very hot and the locals are cold.

[jwattle]

Really enjoying your posts; thank you! 😄

 

[CapnCrews]

Here are your HEIC files converted to Jpg.  They won't be visible on Cruise Critic without downloading them and converting them.

Cheers!

 

[CapnCrews]

We'll be on Sky next June.  Thanks very much for your impressions!

[1emerald1]

17 hours ago, corncat said:

March 4, 2023 - Embarkation Day! (Fort Lauderdale)

 

Embarkation was so smooth and easy - I was so impressed!!

 

We had originally selected boarding group C for 12 pm, but the shuttle from our hotel was taking us to the ship for 11 am. We were prepared to sit and wait if we needed to. Both my mom and i love to read and have lots of things to keep us busy. 

 

The porter quickly took our bags and we were into the building! We were guided through all the steps easily. There was no waiting and barely any lines. Didn't stand still for more than 30 seconds the whole time!

Security was very easy. Didn't have to take out electronics, liquids, or anything like at an airport. 

Being Canadian, we didn't have the option of having our medallions shipped to us. That was no problem though! Took us less than a minute at the desk and we had our medallions. I could not believe how fast and streamlined everything was. We were on the ship before 11:20 am!!

 

What a beautiful ship! We were in awe as we walked in. We didn't run to the sanctuary or enclave like so many people do... those just don't appeal to us all that much. We decided to go et some caffeine at the International Cafe, then head up to the buffet for lunch. The IC staff were very friendly and helpful, and we had our drinks very quickly!

 

The buffet was delicious. I had a wide range of everything from fish, to veggies and rice, to sausage. baked potatoes, pasta, fruit, cake, and so much more. It was all fantastic. Staff was again very friendly and happy to answer any questions we had. 

 

We watched our safety video and checked in at the muster station. Very easy and quick. 

 

At 1 pm there was an announcement that our staterooms were ready. We went down to our interior cabin on deck 10and met our steward, Bernabe. She is so cheerful! Her smile is infectious and she got us even more excited for the journey ahead.

The room was so much bigger than we expected. We got one of the interior cabins that is sort of sideways, instead of the standard hotel room style layout. It was a great choice. We also have the beds split into two twin beds, so there is lots of space in the middle of the room. The closet space is huge and there is lots of storage all over the room. We are chronic over-packers, but still have empty space in the closet!!

On the desk, there was a paper copy of the patter, a list of the theme nights at the buffet, info about the safety procedures, and an invitation to the New Cruiser Celebration which would take place on the first sea day. 

 

I didn't sleep well the night before, so I had a nap. What a lovely, comfy bed! I may be 23, but i have complex chronic body pain and chronic illnesses, so I was very happy to find the bed to be nice and comfortable to me. Being an inside cabin, the room also gets perfectly dark! It is excellent for a good sleep. 

 

After a lovely nap, we went up to the sail-away party! It was so incredibly hot out (at least to my Canadian body lol), that I couldn't stay outside for the entire thing. The entertainment staff of dancers and singers were so great! I had to escape back into the air conditioning however, and missed the actual "sailing away" part.

 

That evening we went to the comedian in the Princess Theatre. We got to the theatre about 15 minutes before showtime, and still struggled to find seats. It is impressive how quickly the theatre fills up! The nights since then we have made a point to get there as soon as the doors open 30 minutes before curtain, so we can be sure to get good seats. 

The comedian was fun! A little different than others I have seen, but as the show went on it became very enjoyable. I will definitely go see him again. 

 

After that, we grabbed a snack of some freshly made ramen at the buffet (YUM) the headed to bed early. It was a long day on only a few hours of sleep. But what a fun, exciting day it was!! 

 

 

Attached are pictures of the day one patter. I'll add a picture of the buffet menu in the next post. 

 

IMG_3513.heic 3.94 MB · 32 downloads IMG_3514.heic 4.03 MB · 15 downloads

I am so enjoying your youthful, cheerful perspective!  Reminds me of when I first started cruising, and it was with my mother as well.  So many cruises, so many memories.  She has since passed but I will always hold the cruise memories the closest!

[shirazcruiser]

Do you know which deck and dining room Club Class Dining is located?  Thank you!

[rjack22]

Club Class is in the Estrella Dining room on deck 6.

[yogamom]

On 3/6/2023 at 9:01 PM, corncat said:

Hello! I've never done one of these before, so please be patient with me as I figure this out. I have enjoyed getting ready for this cruise by reading other lives over the last few months, so I thought it would be fun to make my own! And hopefully help out some people along the way, while being a great way to keep track of my memories. 

 

I am currently on board the Sky Princess. I meant to start this live on day 1, but my time has gotten away from me and I am only just starting it now! Wifi has been excellent, so I will try to update at least once per day from now on. Tomorrow I will make a couple posts recapping the last two days for you. 

 

Please let me know any questions you have! I hope you enjoy this journey with me! 

 

-JJ

Thanks for sharing your experience 'live'.  So much fun.

 

I do have a question regarding the internet packages on your ship.  Could you please advise or even take a photo and post?  Thanking you in advance.

 

[corncat]

March 5, 2023

 

Princess Cays

 

First thing on the agenda for today was Knitters and Knatters in the Crown Grill lounge. Met a couple nice new friends and showed the different projects we were all working on. It was very nice, and we got to hear some stories from some long time cruisers. 

 

Ordered a hot chocolate through the Medallion App. It was delivered promptly right to me! I have been enjoying that a lot. 

 

Next up was breakfast; once again at the World Fresh market buffet. You are going to notice I will eat most of my meals at the buffet. Due to food sensitivities, it is easier for me to just pick and choose from the buffets. We might hit the MDRs a couple nights for dinner, but I will be buffet-ing most meals. There are so many options and different themes every evening, that it doesn't get boring! I am impressed with the quality and variety. 

 

Then it was off to Princess Cays! I have never been to a tender port before, so that was a very cool experience. 

The island was beautiful! I am not a typically "sunny - beachy - tropical person" so this whole thing is out of my comfort zone. I am also VERY pale and sunburn incredibly easily, so it was shade and tons of sunscreen for me! We found some loungers in the shade at the south beach and enjoyed some nice drinks from the nearby beach bar. Staff had been saying all day that this was the best weather for Princess Cays that they have had all season! It was a little hot for my Canadian preference, but I can't argue that it wasn't a beautiful sunny day! 

After splashing in the ocean to cool down a bit and grabbing some snacks from the grill buffet by the beach, we decided to head back to the ship. 

 

Approaching the ship from the little tender boat really makes you appreciate the size of the Sky Princess. It is huge!

 

When we got back to the ship, I was exhausted and went for a nap. Then it was off to watch 5 Skies!

 

After learning from the previous night, we got to the theatre right as the doors opened and got some great seats right int he centre. As a musical theatre actor myself, I was very excited to see the production shows on board. 

 

W O W!! That show was so good. The talent was exceptional. The technical aspects were mesmerizing. The Player One actor has such a beautiful strong voice; I hung on his every word. I was really impressed with the different dance styles and costumes. The lighting effects they were able to create with the use of a scrim was so well done and really helps to immerse the audience in the world of the video game. I wasn't a huge fan of the voices of the two female singers, but that was simply personal preference of singing style. 

 

After the show, I went back to enjoy some jazz in Take 5 (I LOVE jazz - fun fact, I almost went to university to study jazz professionally... but changed my mind last minute), before going to the second showing of 5 Skies. I always enjoy going to shows multiple times. you get to see different things each time. Sometimes (always) it is fun to watch the ensemble and see all the individual storylines and small things going on in the background that you wouldn't typically notice when you first see it. I was so impressed with this cast, in that there was no weak link. Your eyes weren't drawn to anyone that was any more or less talented than the other dancers. They all complimented each other very well and were so enjoyable to watch. 

While watching the second performance, I noticed a couple things that made me wonder fi this cast was performing this show for their last time. It turns out it was! The production show cast is turning around this week, so we get to see their last shows, and the new cast's first shows next week! How cool is that! 

 

After the show, we were very tired, so off to bed! I woke up in the middle of the night with a migraine, so I went for a little walk around the ship to wait for my medication to kick in, without waking my mom in the room. I have to say, the lido deck is very peaceful and quiet at 2-4 AM! No fighting for chairs at that hour! I found a nice couch to lay on and read in the aft deck area for a few hours, then went back to bed. 

 

Despite my chronic migraines flaring up at inopportune times, it was still a great day! Thanks for coming along with me! 

 

[corncat]

3 hours ago, yogamom said:

I do have a question regarding the internet packages on your ship.  Could you please advise or even take a photo and post?  Thanking you in advance.

 

 

I have the Princess Plus package, so have internet for one device. It is really "one device at a time" so I am able to turn it off on my phone and then use it on my laptop, and switch between as much as I want. 

 

I don't know about the other package options or where to look for that. I would assume they're the same across all Princess ships.

 

As for the internet quality, I haven't had any complaints. I haven't tried streaming videos or anything, but so far I have been able to do everything I want to, without it being too slow. 

[Senga]

@corncatI used to suffer from migraines and the inside cabin is PERFECT for dealing with them.

[KLM3164]

Thank you for taking us along on your journey. I took my first cruise in 1986 when I was 23 so I’m enjoying reading about your experience now and reflecting back on my experience then. A lot has changed in 37 years!

[KLM3164]

BTW…if you like monkeys and parrots you should go to Gumbalimba Preserve in Roatan. You’re really get up close and personal with the monkeys who are very friendly. We went in November 2021 and it was one of my fondest memories for years of cruising.

[Buckeye10640]

1 hour ago, KLM3164 said:

BTW…if you like monkeys and parrots you should go to Gumbalimba Preserve in Roatan. You’re really get up close and personal with the monkeys who are very friendly. We went in November 2021 and it was one of my fondest memories for years of cruising.

I will second this suggestion....we went to Gumbalimba  on an NCL excursion back in March 2020 (last cruise before the shutdown!) and really enjoyed it.  I would love to this east/west itinerary sometime. 

[JimmyVWine]

Thank you for sharing. I am really enjoying your perspective as a younger cruiser and as someone who hasn’t been jaded by their prior 53 cruises which were all “so much better!”  

[J1JPE]

@corncat hi, we're on Sky in April, do you know, pls cud u chk if they sell the new Ground Coffee card / package on the ship - am told they do on the first day ...?

 

Want to use OBC to pay for it rather than buying in advance 

 

Anyone else know if the coffee card deal is available onboard ?  

[KLM3164]

55 minutes ago, J1JPE said:

@corncat hi, we're on Sky in April, do you know, pls cud u chk if they sell the new Ground Coffee card / package on the ship - am told they do on the first day ...?

 

Want to use OBC to pay for it rather than buying in advance 

 

Anyone else know if the coffee card deal is available onboard ?  

From what has been reported by several posters the coffee card/package is no longer available. If you see it available online you should probably purchase it now as it is being discontinued across the fleet. I just checked our next 2 cruises on the Discovery and the pre-paid coffee card is not available. I think the coffee card was discontinued as of 2/20/23 when Princess made changes to pricing and options for their beverage packages.

Edited March 10, 2023 by KLM3164

[yogamom]

On 3/9/2023 at 2:48 PM, corncat said:

March 5, 2023

 

Princess Cays

 

First thing on the agenda for today was Knitters and Knatters in the Crown Grill lounge. Met a couple nice new friends and showed the different projects we were all working on. It was very nice, and we got to hear some stories from some long time cruisers. 

I crochet so it's really cool that they have knitters and knatters!  Do they supply the crochet or knitting needles and yarn or do you bring your own project to work on?