This summer our main vacation was a cruise on-board the Sky Princess, a Princess Cruise’s ship. It was our first ever cruise and it was absolutely amazing. Just what we needed after a very difficult couple of years. I wanted to share my Princess Cruises review of the Sky Princess.
There are some handy Sky Princess cruise tips and hacks that you should know, if you are thinking of doing this cruise. Read on for Sky Princess tips on where to eat, where to chill and what cabin and package to choose. It’s definitely a way to travel in style! Of all the Sky Princess cruise ship reviews, make sure you read this one, especially if you are a first-time cruiser!
This cruise was along a coast of France & Spain. For example, the small beach town in France of La Rochelle, plus La Coruna in Spain. We only got off the ship for one morning to La Rochelle as the ship was so amazing.
When to embark and disembark the Sky Princess?
We could not have hoped for a quicker or smoother embarkation or disembarkation with this cruise on the Sky Princess. Our luggage wasdropped off at 11:01. We were then were through check-in and security, after just 12 minutes in total. By 11:13 we had taken a seat in the Sky Princess Piazza on-board and were ordering that first drink. That makes the 10hr drive from Glasgow to Southampton worthwhile.
You choose what time slot (if you make the choice early enough) to board and disembark the ship at the start and end of your cruise. We wanted as much time as possible on-board the Sky Princess, enjoying all the food and amenities, so we boarded in the second available time slot.
We also wanted to have a bit of a lie-in and enjoy breakfast before we left the boat, so we chose a disembarkation time after 0900. You can leave as early as 0645 if you wish. I think our times were perfect and I wouldn’t change them if we did this cruise again.
Princess Cruises review – Which cabin and package to choose on the Sky Princess?
Given that this was our first cruise, I think we were pretty much spot-on with cabin and package choice for the Sky Princess. We opted to pay more for an Ocean-View Mini Suite cabin to give us some extra space. It was absolutely beautiful and felt so luxurious and not at all like you were on a cruise ship.
The bed was insanely comfortable and we actually slept with the balcony door open at night to really enjoy the chance of being out on the ocean.
If I was to book again, i’d probably be more inclined to just book an Ocean-View Balcony Cabin as I think the extra space in the mini suite set our bed back much further from the balcony – for personal preference, I would have liked to have been a little bit closer to the open balcony door and sounds of the ocean when sleeping.
The balcony feature is essential in my opinion, as otherwise, you can’t properly enjoy the spectacular views and sunsets that you get on a cruise.
Where on the ship to choose a cabin?
In terms of cabin location, we were right by the Sky Princess mid-ship elevators on Deck 15 – near the top of the ship. This made the views from the balcony spectacular, so I would choose to be on a high up deck again.
Mid-ship is definitely where I would want to be located also, as all the main eating and relaxation spots for us as mid-ship and it made getting places so quick and easy. I’ve heard some people advise not to choose a cabin near the elevators, but on this ship, we couldn’t hear a single thing and were glad to be so close to the elevator when returning to our room to rest.
Is a Princess Cruises drink package worth it?
In terms of package for this trip on the Sky Princess, we chose the Princess Plus package, which includes unlimited unalcoholic beverages and 15 up to $12 alcoholic beverages per day per person. Everything is priced in USD on the ship. There was a higher Premier package which allowed for drinks up to $18 each, but this wouldn’t have been really that suitable for us, as most of the drinks at this amount were wines, champagnes and whiskies – all of which give me heartburn. We both love a cocktail and the vast percentage of the cocktails were $12 or less.
The whole drinks menu can be delivered to your cabin or to anywhere on the ship for free, as well as from all bars and restaurants in person. Our favourite cocktail was a frozen Strawberry Daiquiri and the best ones are made by the staff at Belini’s on Deck 5 plaza.
Something else included in the Plus package is mandatory crew gratuities – this means we didn’t have to wrry about tipping the crew as Princess took care of this for us. The Premier Plus package for UK guests costs an additional £40 per person per day, and is definitely something we would opt for again as it’s great value.
Princess Cruises review – What to eat on the Sky Princess?
Sky Princess cruise ship reviews always focus on the food for good reason. Included in your cruise on the Sky Princess you get unlimited food in all of the following locations – Deck 16 buffets, Deck 17 pool area burger, pizza and ice-cream bars, Deck 5 International Cafe (cakes and sandwiches), room-service menu, Deck 7 Alfredos pizza restaurant, and Soleil/Cielo/Estrella Dining Rooms (for breakfasts, lunches, dinners and daily afternoon tea). There are also some places to eat with a small additional charge – the Deck 5 Italian gelato bar and the Deck 7 sushi bar.
Finally there are 3 speciality restaurants on the Sky Princess which offer elevated dining for a nominal (and extremely affordable charge) – the Crown Grill (steak and seafood), Sabatini’s (Italian) and Bistro Sur La Mer (French cuisine).
These speciality restaurants are between $25-29 per person per meal. The meals are huge (5 or 6 courses) and much better quality than anywhere else on the ship. We ate at speciality restaurants for 3 out of the 7 nights of the cruise. I feel it would be impossible to eat at the any more than this due to the huge size of the meals. Take this part of the Princess Cruises review into account when booking dining.
We went to Sabatini’s and the Crown Grill on the cruise and both were great. However, I would definitely say that the Crown Grill is the place with the best food on-board. Also, I love the fresh stone-baked pizzas from Alfredos and this was lunch for us most days. The Crown Grill costs $29 per person and includes 4 courses – starter, soup or salad, main course and dessert. You also get a speciality bread basket too.
What does it include?
This includes all of the available steaks and seafood. However if you would like to add lobster to a steak (i.e. have both), it’s an additional $10. I did this and it was definitely worth it. With your main course you also get unlimited sides – we got creamed spinach, truffle fries and sauteed mushrooms. Some things I’d recommend here is the Surf & Turf option, the lobster cake starter and the creme brulee cheesecake dessert.
For breakfast, I would definitely recommend that you eat in at the Estrella Dining Room table service as the food is made fresh to order and it’s such a nice way to start the day on each day of the cruise. The pancakes with bacon and maple syrup was my daily breakfast of choice! Also make sure you take advantage of the daily free afternoon tea in the Cielo Dining Room. You’ll get sandwiches, cakes and traditional scones. A key Princess Cruises review tip and more Sky Princess cruise ship reviews should really big this up.
Princess Cruises review – Where to relax on the Sky Princess?
Read on for the Princess cruises review of where to relax in peace on-board. The Sky Princess main pool area is so central and so key. It would be entirely possible to forget that an adults only pool exists on Deck 17 aft. It’s called The Retreat and it also has it’s own bar. Adults can relax here for no extra costs and it is substantially quieter. It has two levels and multiple hot tubs too. During the school holiday, the main pool area is just overrun with families and can be so noisy.
The Retreat is the exact opposite of this and is heaven! Not many Sky Princess cruise ship reviews point this out.
We also enjoyed time in the undercover sofa areas surrounding the main Deck 16 pool. Sometimes it was nice to just people-watch and be around people enjoying their vacation. My favourite place for relaxing was the inside Deck 15 Piazza. It’s the main central atrium on the Sky Princess ship. It’s surrounded with bars, eating locations and shops.
Live music also takes place here and there are relaxing water features. We liked to sit next to and listen to the trickling water. Every day we would get mini cheesecakes from the International Cafe. It’s the best sweet treat you can eat on the ship and the flavours change daily. We’d sit and eat them in the Piazza.
Read my tips on how to take great travel photos!
We chose a Mini Suite cabin for this holiday on the Sky Princess. We liked spending time in our spacious cabin with the balcony doors open. It was nice to watch a lot of films here and read in the shade.
It was such a relaxing and romantic vacation and we definitely want to spend more time on this ship in the future. If you are deciding what type of holiday to go on next year, definitely check out the Sky Princess. Head to my Instagram @alifewithfrills to see my IG Stories Highlight and Reel from the cruise, where you can see our Mini Suite cabin! I hope you enjoyed my Princess Cruises review.
You can see more of what I’m loving, and what I’m doing, over on my Instagram.
