First Time, Sky Princess.

[Hilly1972]

Hi everyone, 

I have booked a cruise for the first time for my wife’s 50th from Southampton to Med in August, I have booked a mini suite and on Princes plus, we have our 17 yr old daughter with us, we have never cruised before and I am just asking for advice, tips, etc from the more experienced cruisers on what things to take that I wouldn’t normally think of, port days, places to eat, places to avoid  etc any advice on anything really, 

[Crystaltipps67]

Oh this will turn into a fun topic!

 

In my opinion Take Five is the nicest bar area. Bit of jazz. We never had a problem getting a seat. Great cocktails (try the Atomic Pom if you like chilli - it's amazing).

 

Not been in a ini suite but I know they have a bath so this tip may not be needed - take heavy pegs like you would use to pin a beach towel to a chair) and use them to weigh down the shower curtain so it doesn't flap against your legs.

 

Others swear by taking magnetic hooks/clips for use on the cabin walls but we've never felt the need to hang stuff on the walls.

 

The evening shows fill up quickly - we would grab a drink from Take Five about 45 mins before the show and go sit in the theatre and people watch. It's high quality entertainment that is sometimes better than the show itself.

 

We take those mini squirty bottles of concentrated Robinsons squash. They take up no space and make a change from water when heading off ship. We also take a couple of clothes washing detergent capsules - saves buying the Princess stuff if you need to do any laundry. 

 

Embarkation day - if you are on board in time have lunch in the dining room rather than the buffet. Only one will be open but if you ask staff 'which dining room is open' they should tell you although they like to try and push folk to the buffet instead. It's a lovely relaxed way to start the holiday.

 

And probably biggest tip of all - don't sweat the small stuff. Things will bug you. Not everything may go smoothly. But overall you'll have a great time.

 

Oh, and find your roll call and join it. Good place to discuss excursions, join up to share costs etc.

 

Hope that helps 🙂 

[Guest Cable3232]

First, I would start with YouTube, as there is loads of advice for first-time cruisers (e.g., Garry Bembridge and Emma Cruises).

 

As for Princess-related advice, I am sure you will inundated shortly by way more experienced Princess cruisers. But you will be spoilt with the "medallion" no other cruise has this level of ease.

 

More generic advice

• don't over plan your trip
• It is going to be overwhelming but it will be okay
• it will be different to anything you have done before
• People are extremely friendly (both crew and cruisers) on board
• Take basic medicine with you (cold, headache, etc) as it is a pain to get some
• You don't need to take cruise excursions; other options are available that will get you back to ship on time
• You don't need your passport to get on or off the ship while in port (only your cruise card) 
• Pay attention to where the ship docks as sometimes it could be on the outskirts in an industrial dock, but then it could be in the best position for that port (i.e. Naples, Nice(tender))
• Dress codes are more casual than advertised, but some will put their best on 
• There is always food available somewhere do you wont go hungry

 

 

The most important advice is to just enjoy yourself and do what you want to because that is what at least 80% of people are doing.

 

 

 

 

[upwarduk]

1 hour ago, Cable3232 said:

don't need your passport to get on or off the ship while in port (only your cruise card) 

I thought the medallion was in place of the cruise card! 😱

Amazon have a sale on until 25/03/24, so I have bought my medallion holders.

 

[lx200gps]

1 hour ago, Cable3232 said:

• You don't need your passport to get on or off the ship while in port (only your cruise card) 

 

Heads up for the new cruiser, but there are a very few ports where a photo ID is actually needed to get back to the ship, i.e. past the port security gate. It's a local port requirement, not a Princess requirement, as once you are back to the ship, all you will need is the Medallion to get back on board and go through the scanner.

[Pink-belle]

31 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

I thought the medallion was in place of the cruise card! 😱

Amazon have a sale on until 25/03/24, so I have bought my medallion holders.

 

I don’t know what these look like on reverse, but the printing around the outside of the medallion, which is name and date, needs to be visible when boarding the ship.  I wear the sports band sold on Princess, so convenient to have it on your wrist. 

[avonlady6390]

I purchased the sport wrist holder on board I should know what deck I was just on the Sky in January but it's the Ocean now area where they sell various holders for your medallion which it does come with a holder to wear around your neck.  The watch type was only 12:00 although the price may have gone up.  If you live in the US or Canada order the medallion for home delivery to get on ship faster.  Also after final payment make dining room reservations on the app.  Hopefully you've already downloaded the app where you can input all the necessary info.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

You might not need your passport to get back on to the ship but you are in a foreign country. It is always worth having your passport in any foreign country in case of unforeseen incidents, accidents or delays. What if you are taken to hospital and have to stay and the ship departs without you? You will be stuck without your passport in a foreign country and that may make onward travel difficult.

 

I always have my passport with me, in a safe place so it cannot be pickpocketed, whenever I am ashore.

[memoak]

16 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

You might not need your passport to get back on to the ship but you are in a foreign country. It is always worth having your passport in any foreign country in case of unforeseen incidents, accidents or delays. What if you are taken to hospital and have to stay and the ship departs without you? You will be stuck without your passport in a foreign country and that may make onward travel difficult.

 

I always have my passport with me, in a safe place so it cannot be pickpocketed, whenever I am ashore.

Never ever would I take my passport into any port. If you are hospitalized the ship will be contacted and your passport will be brought to you by the port agent  I you are totally paranoid you can take a picture or printout but once I am on board all passports go into the safe except for a few cruises where the ship takes them for some countries that require it. All that goes with me off the ship is my medallion, drivers license, one credit card and some cash

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

36 minutes ago, memoak said:

Never ever would I take my passport into any port. If you are hospitalized the ship will be contacted and your passport will be brought to you by the port agent  I you are totally paranoid you can take a picture or printout but once I am on board all passports go into the safe except for a few cruises where the ship takes them for some countries that require it. All that goes with me off the ship is my medallion, drivers license, one credit card and some cash

Then we differ in that opinion 🙂

[voljeep]

Just now, Snaxmuppet said:

Then we differ in that opinion 🙂

 

37 minutes ago, memoak said:

Never ever would I take my passport into any port. If you are hospitalized the ship will be contacted and your passport will be brought to you by the port agent  I you are totally paranoid you can take a picture or printout but once I am on board all passports go into the safe except for a few cruises where the ship takes them for some countries that require it. All that goes with me off the ship is my medallion, drivers license, one credit card and some cash

Original passport - nope

Color copy of passport - yep

[karatemom2]

Congratulations to your wife on her 50th, and what an amazing way to celebrate!! You will love the Sky - it is a beautiful ship with so many lovely amenities. We did a similar Med cruise on the Sky last September - not all the same ports, but several in common.

 

In terms of shipboard activities, there will be a daily schedule that you can use to guide your interests. If you enjoy poolside time, it should be nice and warm for you. There will also likely be some other young people in your daughter's age group that she might enjoy meeting.

 

Since this is a celebration cruise - maybe your wife and daughter would enjoy some spa services - massage, pedicure, manicure. My daughter and I have done that together and it is always fun.

 

The Catch would be a great choice for a nice dinner for your wife's birthday - very special!!

 

In terms of the ports, I can share a few things we did at some of the ports you have in common with our cruise last year.

 

Livorno - We booked a private small group tour with EU Italy that picked us up at the port - we stopped first at the Leaning Tower of Pisa and had about an hour there, and then proceeded to Florence for a brief guided tour and then time on our own to explore. They arranged advance reservations and tickets to see the Statue of David, which was immensely helpful to bypass the lines. I would highly recommend them.

 

Barcelona - we did this day on our own as taxi service was so easy to use there. We caught a taxi from the ship first thing in the morning and headed to the Gothic Quarter and spent the entire morning their walking the streets, touring the Cathedral, and stopping for a Tapas lunch with a generous pitcher of Sangria. We then caught a taxi to Sagrada Familia for our pre-booked 2 p.m. entry and spent a couple of hours there - stunning!! Easy to catch a taxi back to the ship at the end of the day with a little added tour around the city that we requested.

 

Alghero, Sardinia - We did something pretty unique here that didn't seem to be on the radar for most of our fellow cruise passengers. There is an amazing sea cave just off the coast - Neptune's Grotto (Grotto di Nettuno). It is spectacular and there are ferries that run back and forth to the cave from the dock directly where your tenders let you off at the base of the old town. It was jaw droppingly beautiful - like a natural cathedral. We did that first thing in the morning and then still had time for lunch at a street side cafe and a walk around the old town - be sure to check out the beautiful red coral jewelry.

 

Civitavecchia for Rome - this was the one place we splurged on an expensive Princess tour because we wanted to see as much as possible and not be worried about getting back to the ship - we booked the full day tour that included a tour of the Colosseum, Forum and archeological sites, Basilica of St. Peter in Chains, and lastly St. Peter's Square and the Vatican. It was a Sunday, so the Museum wasn't open, but we were able to tour St. Peter's Basilica and actually see service being held and hear the choir. It was worth every penny to make the absolute most of our day in Rome. 

 

Hope you find some of these suggestions helpful and that you enjoy an amazing cruise!!

[Lady Arwen]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Never ever would I take my passport into any port. If you are hospitalized the ship will be contacted and your passport will be brought to you by the port agent  I you are totally paranoid you can take a picture or printout but once I am on board all passports go into the safe except for a few cruises where the ship takes them for some countries that require it. All that goes with me off the ship is my medallion, drivers license, one credit card and some cash

You are spot on!  We were told years ago by an officer at a Meet and Greet that we should never take our passports off of the ship in case of loss or theft.  He recommended we take a photo copy with us instead.  He also told us that the cruiseline would make sure we received the originals and they would be forwarded to us.  We’ve followed his advice on every cruise since then.

[Thrak]

9 hours ago, upwarduk said:

I thought the medallion was in place of the cruise card! 😱

Amazon have a sale on until 25/03/24, so I have bought my medallion holders.

 

 

8 hours ago, Pink-belle said:

I don’t know what these look like on reverse, but the printing around the outside of the medallion, which is name and date, needs to be visible when boarding the ship.  I wear the sports band sold on Princess, so convenient to have it on your wrist. 

 

Not really. We have never had an issue with our Medallions in Air Tag holders and the name, Ship, etc. don't show with the ones we use. Count us with the people that leave our Passports in the safe. The only time we would take them ashore is if the ship announces it as a requirement. In some ports the ship will collect passports for local officials to check but they return them to us later.

 

Edited March 22 by Thrak

[Pink-belle]

4 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

 

Not really. We have never had an issue with our Medallions in Air Tag holders and the name, Ship, etc. don't show with the ones we use. Count us with the people that leave our Passports in the safe. The only time we would take them ashore is if the ship announces it as a requirement. In some ports the ship will collect passports for local officials to check but they return them to us later.

 

Interesting, as they always look at my medallion and read the date before giving me the nod to board. 

[antsp]

1 hour ago, Snaxmuppet said:

Then we differ in that opinion 🙂

I agree, leave passport safe on the ship. Have you ever visited Barcelona, Rome. It's pickpocket central

[memoak]

28 minutes ago, Pink-belle said:

Interesting, as they always look at my medallion and read the date before giving me the nod to board. 

All we do is tap the medallion to the scanner. No one actually looks at the medallion itself. They match the data and security photo and off we go

[Thrak]

25 minutes ago, Pink-belle said:

Interesting, as they always look at my medallion and read the date before giving me the nod to board. 

 

Weird. At the kiosk outside the ship we just flash the Medallions at them and they nod. Boarding the ship we have to place them on the scanners. They look at their tablet and then at us and nod and we board.

 

I don't really know why, but I would prefer our names and the ship and date showed. However,  these holders are extremely secure (it's a little bit of work to get the Medallions in the holders and they fit very snugly) and they have a clip on the back. My wife sometimes uses the clip but often just keeps her Medallion in the tiny little bag she carries with her tatting in it. I keep mine in my pocket and we both find the clip on the back very convenient to hold onto when actually needing to scan the Medallion.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

52 minutes ago, antsp said:

I agree, leave passport safe on the ship. Have you ever visited Barcelona, Rome. It's pickpocket central

Like I said... carry it safely 🙂 

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

I respect your opinions regarding carrying passport but I respectfully disagree. Sorry. I have done a lot of traveling and I never travel anywhere without having my passport on me. Yes, I recognise the risk of loss or theft and that is why I make sure it is safe at all times. Believe me... no-one will ever steal my passport without me knowing and it will be impossible for someone to do it tbh.

[Hilly1972]

Thank you everyone for the kind words of advice I really appreciate it, really looking forward to our first cruise and hopefully if we enjoy it, it will certainly not be our last.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, Snaxmuppet said:

I respect your opinions regarding carrying passport but I respectfully disagree. Sorry. I have done a lot of traveling and I never travel anywhere without having my passport on me. Yes, I recognise the risk of loss or theft and that is why I make sure it is safe at all times. Believe me... no-one will ever steal my passport without me knowing and it will be impossible for someone to do it tbh.

You have never been in a strange city and suddenly surrounded by several individuals and had a knife pointed at you ?  Or had two people bump into you from 2 directions and all of a sudden there are what seem like dozens of hands grabbing at you ?  This can happen anywhere in the US or abroad   I actually knew a server on ships who had hoop earrings ripped out of her ears. They don’t care if you know you have been robbed they will be gone quickly 

Edited March 22 by memoak

[Lady Arwen]

28 minutes ago, memoak said:

You have never been in a strange city and suddenly surrounded by several individuals and had a knife pointed at you ?  Or had two people bump into you from 2 directions and all of a sudden there are what seem like dozens of hands grabbing at you ?  This can happen anywhere in the US or abroad   I actually knew a server on ships who had hoop earrings ripped out of her ears. They don’t care if you know you have been robbed they will be gone quickly 

I can’t think of one reason why you must have your passport with you off the ship.  We take photo copies, but even that really isn’t necessary.  The ship’s officer said that your passport belongs in the safe.  He said that the staff and crew do not take their passport off the ship when they go ashore.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

I accept that there is a small risk taking my passport with me but I accept that risk.

 

Having my passport on me or not on me won't change the risk I might be attacked... it just means I might then lose the passport if I am. If I were going to be attacked at knife-point then that would happen whether I have my passport with me or not. I would rather risk losing the passport than not having it with me and the chances of being attacked at knife-point in the places we visit as a cruise passenger is pretty small IMO.

 

FWIW It is a requirement in many countries that visitors must be able to prove their identity and many countries will not accept photocopies or driving licences (Netherlands, Germany {mostly}) although having said that it is pretty unlikely you would ever be asked for ID and even if you cannot produce it then it is only a 60EUR fine.

Look, I am not trying to convince anyone to take their passport with them when ashore... I am just saying what I do. Leaving it in the room safe is definitely the safer option... I just prefer to have it with me at all times when ashore 🙂 

 

 

[memoak]

We also do not wear jewelry or carry wallets or purses. I still think it is hilarious that people wear their lanyard with medallion or excursion tag after the excursion is over. These things just label you as a target