Live From the Sky Princess, 21-Day Norway-Baltic B2B, Jul 13 – Aug 3

[amajaa]

Sorry to jump on your thread but what are the Speciality Dining options on Sky? Are there any pop up ones in the buffet like on Caribbean Princess (Planks and Stramers)

[Familycruzer11]

@Ken the cruiseralways love your live from and reviews. You’ve put Antarctica on our bucket list. We are also interested in wildlife so especially enjoy those tips and photos.  We were on Sky for the Baltic cruise 6/1-6/15.  We feel it was our best cruise ever and that is saying a lot as we’ve loved every one of them. 
 

if you are in Reserve Dining, Gian Carlos and Narendra were outstanding.  Aaron Hawkins was a very entertaining CD. The entire crew of Sky were top notch. 
 

With the exception of Helsinki, we did different Princess tours than you have booked, so looking forward to  reading about your experience.  Recommend checking out the medieval pharmacy in Tallin if you’ve not seen it before. Fascinating. 
 

Hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did and that you get the beautiful weather we were lucky to have too. 

Edited July 13 by Familycruzer11

[Ken the cruiser]

We boarded the transfer bus at 8:20 am and arrived at the ship at 10:25 am, after first stopping at Terminal 3 to pick up enough guests to fill the remaining empty seats.

 

 

 

Checking in at the ship took all of about 5 minutes, to include picking up our Medallion. Of course, being Elite definitely has its benefits as there was no one in front of us in the “fast pass” line they sent us down and were onboard by 10:40.
 

We then stopped by the muster station to check in before watching the safety video as well as booking our complimentary dinner at the Crown Grill. We then headed up to our cabin to drop off some stuff and check out the view before headed to lunch in the Reserve Dining area which is on Deck 6 port side. 

 

 

As far as outlet’s go in our suite, there is a USB port in each of the 4 lamps

  

 
along with two 110v outlets and a couple of 220v ones by the desk.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 1 - Jul 13 - Southampton UK (Embarkation Day)

  

  

 

 
Ship officers

 

 
Internet speeds while currently in port.

 

[Esprit]

Hi Ken

i see you are berthed at the Cunard terminal as Iona has priority at the Ocean terminal being a P&O ship.

Glad to know you are safely on board.

You maybe lucky with some sun on your sail away🤞

Bon Voyage 

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, amajaa said:

Sorry to jump on your thread but what are the Speciality Dining options on Sky? Are there any pop up ones in the buffet like on Caribbean Princess (Planks and Stramers)

From what I can tell from the App, there are 3 specialty restaurants: Crown Grill, Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria, and The Catch by Rudi. Ocean Terrace Sushi and Alfredo’s might be the informal dining ones as there is an “additional charges apply” asterisk next to each of their names along with the specialty restaurants listed in the Patter. But maybe someone reading this thread who has previously purchased the Plus or Premier package on the Sky has some better insight.

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, Familycruzer11 said:

@Ken the cruiseralways love your live from and reviews. You’ve put Antarctica on our bucket list. We are also interested in wildlife so especially enjoy those tips and photos.  We were on Sky for the Baltic cruise 6/1-6/15.  We feel it was our best cruise ever and that is saying a lot as we’ve loved every one of them. 
 

if you are in Reserve Dining, Gian Carlos and Narendra were outstanding.  Aaron Hawkins was a very entertaining CD. The entire crew of Sky were top notch. 
 

With the exception of Helsinki, we did different Princess tours than you have booked, so looking forward to  reading about your experience.  Recommend checking out the medieval pharmacy in Tallin if you’ve not seen it before. Fascinating. 
 

Hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did and that you get the beautiful weather we were lucky to have too. 

Thanks! We met Gian and Narendra at lunch today and hopefully will have them serving us there throughout the cruise! You have us interested in the medical pharmacy, as we haven’t booked a Tallinn excursion yet. I found a link to it. Was it part of a PCL excursion you went on or was it simply nearby the ship where you could walk from over to see it?

 

https://discover-estonia.com/town-hall-pharmacy-in-tallinn-estonia/
 

[Ken the cruiser]

28 minutes ago, Esprit said:

Hi Ken

i see you are berthed at the Cunard terminal as Iona has priority at the Ocean terminal being a P&O ship.

Glad to know you are safely on board.

You maybe lucky with some sun on your sail away🤞

Bon Voyage 

Thanks! The port was definitely a little crowded today, as it took 15 minutes just to get back to our ship at the end of the line.

 

  
Heres the P&O Iona in its slot.

 

 

But we at least had a nice southernly view from our balcony out towards the Channel. 😁

 

 
We did get a few sprinkles about 30 minutes ago, but that’s been about it as far as rain goes, and the forecast is still looking pretty good for the sail away, especially once we get out into the Channel! 🤞

 

 

[erber]

A comment about Tallinn--

 

We did not do an organized excursion in Tallinn in early June when we were on the Sky Princess. We spent a few hours eating around in the town. Another gem we found (in addition to the pharmacy) is a store that sells marzipan and also is a marzipan museum. I'm a big fan of marzipan and really enjoyed this. Just thought I'd mention it in case it is something you might find interesting. They had amazing displays in the store. ( Also, on the ship they had a marzipan demonstration which we attended. It was fun to see them make some delicious decorations for cakes. )

[Esprit]

If you leave first I think you will sail up river to turn around about where the MSC and P&O ships are berthed.

You should have a very pleasant cruise up the English Channel later.

[Ken the cruiser]

37 minutes ago, Esprit said:

If you leave first I think you will sail up river to turn around about where the MSC and P&O ships are berthed.

You should have a very pleasant cruise up the English Channel later.

Believe it or not, the Captain pretty much did a 180 degree turn once we were clear of the pier.

 

 

And off we go!! 
 

 
Next stop Bergen NO around noon day after tomorrow! 😁

 

 

Edited July 13 by Ken the cruiser

[PATRLR]

Just now, Ken the cruiser said:

Believe it or not, the Captain pretty much did a 180 degree turn once clear of the pier

 

 

 

Yeah that surprised me. 
 

I’ve got my cocktail and into vacation mode on deck 17 aft!!!!!

[dsa181920]

I am looking forward to following your journey. We are hoping to do a similar trip in a couple of years when I retire. 

[cr8tiv1]

Bon Voyage.  You have the best of the best in Captains (Commodore). I see you found your first wildlife. 

[Ken the cruiser]

22 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Bon Voyage.  You have the best of the best in Captains (Commodore). I see you found your first wildlife. 

Thanks, and my first new found friend looks a lot like a Herring Gull. 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

From what I can tell from the App, there are 3 specialty restaurants: Crown Grill, Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria, and The Catch by Rudi. Ocean Terrace Sushi and Alfredo’s might be the informal dining ones as there is an “additional charges apply” asterisk next to each of their names along with the specialty restaurants listed in the Patter. But maybe someone reading this thread who has previously purchased the Plus or Premier package on the Sky has some better insight.

@amajaa, you can add Vines on deck 5 to the list of informal dining areas applicable under either the Plus or Premier package.

[Ken the cruiser]

As we headed out of the Southampton waterway towards the English Channel, we passed by the Isle of Wight.

 

 
Town of Fishbourne where the ferries bring vacationers daily to/from Portsmouth.

 

 
Quarr Tea Room and Gardens on the Isle of Wight

 

 
Then we were off to enjoy our very tasty complimentary dinner at the Crown Grill. Afterwards, our evening entertainment included going to watch a juggler, John Nations, in the theater

 

 
followed by going to Princess Live to watch a very funny game show called The Sky is the Limit.

 

 

 
Then it was time to head back to the cabin to chill after a very full day! As far as the early morning weather forecast as we head towards the North Sea, 

 

  
it looks like the potential for windy conditions is still a possible,

 

 

to include some moderate wave action.

 

 

Edited July 13 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 2 - Jul 14 - Sea Day

 

 

 

 

[Nattyg1723]

Looking forward to some Baltic pigeons on this journey 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

Good morning from the North Sea.

 

 

 
It’s about 9 am and the winds are around 30 mph with 8-9 ft waves, as forecasted, but should get a little calmer by the afternoon as we continue on our northerly path.
 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

8 hours ago, Nattyg1723 said:

Looking forward to some Baltic pigeons on this journey 😁

Us too! But as we all know, they can be quite elusive! 😂

[Esprit]

7 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Good morning from the North Sea.

 

 

 
It’s about 9 am and the winds are around 30 mph with 8-9 ft waves, as forecasted, but should get a little calmer by the afternoon as we continue on our northerly path.
 

 

 

Did the clocks go forward an hour in the night Ken?

Enjoy the motion of the ocean today!😉

[PATRLR]

2 minutes ago, Esprit said:

Did the clocks go forward an hour in the night Ken?

hope Ken doesn't mind my answering:  Yes, clocks went forward last night.  Sad part is, the ap on my phone went to la la land with the time.  At 8:26AM the ap was telling me ship time was 10:02!  Too confusing before my first cup of coffee!

 

[Ken the cruiser]

12 minutes ago, Esprit said:

Did the clocks go forward an hour in the night Ken?

Enjoy the motion of the ocean today!😉

Yup! We lost another hour. That makes 7 so far that have simply disappeared without a trace. I wonder how many more we’ll lose on the way to Finland? I guess only time will tell! 😂

[Purdey16]

Following along with you Ken , the sky princess is a lovely ship and I hope you have a lovely time in Norway and the weather is kind to you .