DISSATISFIED

Sky Princess Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 29

Overall rating:

2.1 out of 5
Sky Princess

14 Night Land Of The Midnight Sun (Southampton Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 20, 2022

Ship: Sky Princess

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: M523

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

This is the 4th cruise my family have been on and the first with Sky Princess. We were looking forward to this holiday hoping it was going to be as good a the previous three. Such a huge disappointment. The pool area was unusable due to unruly children and teenagers running and jumping in who’s parents were not supervising and no deck staff present to control it. Signs up everywhere saying no jumping or diving were ignored. There is an adult pool area which we could have used but the seating is limited and the times we went to that area there was nowhere to sit. The ship advertises itself to have a promenade deck. It is not a promenade deck at all and instead houses all the life rafts and ugly mechanisms for them blocking any access to the side of the ship and any view too. You cannot even walk all the way around the ship on the so called ‘promenade deck’ either because it is blocked off at the rear of the ship. Another huge disappointment. The entertainment was dire. Previous cruises have had fantastic shows every night that has blown out minds. Sky Princess had a hypnotherapist, a comedian (I use that term loosely) and a Phil Collins tribute night. I didn’t bother going to the theatre every night because everything that was advertised in the platter was a diabolical selection of desperate attempts to provide some form of so called entertainment. Previous cruises we have been on have had plenty to do during the day but on Sky Princess there was carpet bowls and bean bag throwing competitions and boring quizzes every single day. It was like being on a very expensive Butlins holiday. Needless to say my family and I were bored. At ports if we wanted to get off the ship we were hit with a fee of 15 dollars per person for transfer transportation to the main amenities. This was not communicated to us when booking the holiday. The excuse for charging this fee was the ship is too big to park nearer to amenities when at port. The ship may be big but it is only to cram more people on board and make more money. It does not have better restaurants, bigger swimming pools, nicer theatre or bigger cabins. Corners have been cut in so many areas in order for Princess to make as much money as possible. The balconies are narrow and sitting on the chairs was difficult because it was such a tight space, only two chairs and a tiny table was available and we had a mini suite room for 4 people. The food was mediocre and again corners were cut with very limited menu choices and small portions. For example I ordered mozzarella sticks one lunch time and literally got two on a plate and it was not as if they were large either. You get more than that in Mc Donald’s. In the evenings the main bar (which was basically a walk through from one part of the ship to the next) had no atmosphere whatsoever. There were two violin players playing boring classical music for an hour every night and sometimes there was one guy singing, again for an hour. The rest of the time the place was in silence and so dull. Other cruises we’ve been on had a nice piano bar with a pianist playing and singing which was provided for several hours a night and enough seating for all on board. On Sky princess everywhere you went people would be fighting for a seat or hovering around waiting for one. Not relaxing at all. As for the so called ‘brilliant’ Wi-Fi package which we paid £200 for four devises and couldn’t access the internet 90% of the time and the medallion app being as useful as a chocolate kettle we couldn’t have been more frustrated. I know this all sounds like first world problems but when you pay a lot of money for a holiday where everyday is more disappointing that the previous you can’t help but feel bitter and upset with the sheer waste of hard earned money. We will never travel with Princess cruises again and will never recommend anyone books a holiday with Sky Princess!!!!

Embarkation

3 out of 5
This was relatively smooth

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
Limited menu options

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
Not enough entertainment to cater for all tastes

Entertainment

1 out of 5
Awful, not worth watching. They weren’t even shows they were B team bookings to fill time.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
Our room steward kept our room very nice. Bar staff we friendly and waiters were too.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5
Layout of the ship was frustrating having to navigate to the areas you wanted to go to. Getting out of a lift but still having to walk down corridors and up and down stairs to the get to where you needed to go

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5
Balcony was tiny and chairs needed to be at an angle to sit out there. Room was adequate. Bed was comfortable.

Ship tip

Don’t do it!

Ports of call

Southampton (London), England

3 out of 5

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
This was relatively straight forward
Was this review helpful? 29

8 Comments

ullamist    2 years ago

I was on the same sailing. I had many of the same concerns. However, I probably would have rated the cruise much lower if I also had been travelling with a party of 4 in my room--those rooms are not very large. I don't think the ship is really set up for older teens or young adults--not really much to do. My husband and I spent lots of time in the casino or reading, so we were happier with the cruise. And yes--I did get the feeling that rooms were squeezed in everywhere--especially around the Retreat pool where other ships in the same class have pool deck, not rooms surrounding the pool. And yes--I too will be looking for a ship with a promenade on my next trip.

booger1xx    2 years ago

Just remember a review is just one person’s opinion! We’ve been on a cruise and had a great time; only to come back home and read the exact same cruise we were on reviewed by another passenger and the service was lousy and the was terrible and nothing for them to do the whole time they were on the ship.

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Oops sorry 😞

javawoody    2 years ago

Appreciate your comments

RetiredRay    2 years ago

Pay $15/person to leave the ship? Must be Europe thing. Thanks for the heads up on how poor cruising is over there. Also, a lot of the musicians on our December Princess cruise were from the Ukrainian area, wonder if that might be an issue with the lack of music entertainment on your trip? Get used to smaller portions on most lines, many posters are commenting on that, but since you can get more, what is the issue? Newer ships have basically killed the true outside promenade deck in an attempt to pack in more pricier cabins or to pack in more ‘amenities’. Hope your next trip is better for you.

WhippetMum    2 years ago

Sad this cruise did not live up to your expectations

AuntPinkie    2 years ago

Sorry this cruise didn’t meet your expectations!

CruisedudeNY65    2 years ago

Thanks for the review and sorry to hear about it not meeting your expectations

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