Disappointed

Item: Sky Princess
Rating: 3.4
Author: persiacr

Sky Princess Cruise Review

persiacr

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 11

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5

14 Night Mediterranean Adventurer (Southampton Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 30, 2022

Ship: Sky Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: B537

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Having booked the cruise in February 2021 and having experienced great cruises with Princess before, we were really excited and looking forward to a wonderful time. Unfortunately this turned out to not be our experience. The main swimming pools were rendered unusable by children, teenagers and adults not obeying the rules. So we couldn’t participate in the main activity of each day. And although the Patter advertised many activities e.g. knitting and carpet bowls, each day sadly there wasn’t much to excite us. Quite frankly we were bored a lot of the time! A very disappointing 2 weeks, which we feel was a waste of rather a lot of money. We won’t be travelling with Princess again.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Long long queue to get into terminal but this was due to traffic problems earlier so not the fault of Princess. Once in the terminal it was fairly quick. We had 2 under 12s who were supposed to be getting tested again before embarkation but this didn’t happen. (They we’re both double jabbed anyway)

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The menu was the same in all 3 main restaurants so although the food was excellent quality as I don’t eat fish there were some evenings when my choices were very limited. Portions were usually too big for me but didn’t seem to be a problem for everybody. We were also disappointed that the children’s menu did not change at all throughout the 2 weeks, the same 4 starters, mains and desserts. Alfredo’s was great. Amazing pizza and pasta. The buffet had a wide variety of different foods at every meal. Lots of choice, hot and cold dishes, fresh fruit and cheeses. Staff were invariably kind, helpful, friendly and polite.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

On this ship the main pool area is divided into 2 pools separated by a small splash area and a hot tub. Neither pool is big enough and they were not supervised at all. Despite signage forbidding running, diving etc. children were running along the sides and launching themselves into the water without any regard to anybody already in the pool, constantly jumping, splashing, shouting, pushing etc. it was just chaos. Our 2 children only used the pool twice as they were scared of being jumped on, and we couldn’t use the adult pools as we had children with us. Teenagers had drinks in the pool and several times I saw adults drinking beer from glass bottles in the pool and the hot tubs. I did complain and it might have slightly improved although I never saw any of the staff trying to enforce the rules, so maybe it was just the kids were off the ship on port days. Princess really needs to police behaviour around these pools as everyone we spoke to was saying the same thing. The pools were unusable by the majority of people due to the behaviour of feral children not controlled by their parents or deck staff. The water also did not seem to be clean. It looked like a pool of sunscreen! Thank goodness The Kids Clubs were a big hit with our children as they couldn’t use the pools. The adult only pool at the back of the ship was a nice area and the pool overlooking the wake was quiet but not suitable for swimming as it is too shallow and not very big. The Retreat Pool was also adult only and quiet but again not large and with limited seating/lying. On previous Princess cruises we have enjoyed the pool with the children so being unable to swim with them on this cruise was a great disappointment. Although there seemed to be a lot of activities advertised every day there was nothing to interest us and there were days we were bored. We did go to a few of the quizzes but that is only for half an hour.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

There were 2 shows but neither were as good as on previous cruises. The musicians and singers were of mixed quality, some were better than others. But I realise that is down to personal taste. And all were enthusiastic. Saw one comedian who was slightly funny.

Children's Programs

4 out of 5

Luckily the 2 children in our party loved the kids clubs. They are 5 and 9 so were in different sections except on port days. The staff seemed friendly and must have been ok as our 2 couldn’t wait to get there in the mornings.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Princess’ saving grace is the staff. They were all very kind, friendly, helpful, polite and willing to assist in any situation.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Sky Princess is a beautiful ship but I think the Grand and Crown Princess had a better design. The one big pool on those ships worked better than 2 small ones. They also had a Promenade deck you could walk round, on Sky Princess the Promenade walkway is narrow and clogged with lifeboats and their mechanisms. The cabin balconies are also much narrower so the chairs can only comfortably be used sideways. The Piazza is a beautiful space with lots of seating but still not enough. People constantly circling looking for chairs. Our cabins and bathrooms were always kept clean by All areas always looked clean and well maintained. Lots of hand washing/sanitation facilities.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Since 2012 Princess cabins have decreased in size by 10 sq.ft. And the balconies by 6 sq.ft. As I was in the cabin on my own for most of the time the size was adequate, although the bathroom was very small. But with 2 adults and 1 or 2 children the size did become a problem. Especially with one or two bunks down for sleeping it became quite dangerously crowded. The bathroom was well appointed and the shower was easy to adjust and comfortable. The beds were very comfortable. The cabin steward kept the cabin and bathroom very clean.