On Sky Princess
Once onboard we waited in the Piazza for the “rooms ready“ call. While we waited we chatted to a couple, who like us were on the ship for the whole round trip. They were busy planning what to do in each of the ports. By the sound of their plans they were going to be very very busy.
Our room had a large balcony and was well fitted out with wardrobes and shelves unlike P&O Iona. Two of our suitcases were waiting and after leaving our carry-on bags we headed to our muster station to register.
On the way to the Piazza we stopped at the Crown Grill and book to book dinner that evening at 19:30. In the Piazza we had a late lunch at the International Café. I had a warm beef and cheese sandwich wash down by a Corona beer.
Poor Internet across the Atlantic
There was a note left on our bed. This updated us that we would be losing Internet connections on the Atlantic and in recompense we would receive $10 a day credit to our accounts.
Dear Sky Princess Guest:
Welcome aboard Sky Princess-Our officers and crew are ready to make sure you have a wonderful time on board during your transatlantic crossing to enjoy Canada and New England.
We’d like to share some important information regarding our internet connectivity, as you may be aware, as a ship moves across the Atlantic its antennas routinely shift between satellites that cover specific regions of the globe, which can result in low to no connectivity.
Whilst internet service will be available during your journey, there may be times when you may be unable to connect during your cruise, particularly between September 26-29 and October 14-18.
Guests who have pre-purchased an Internet plan, including Princess Plus and Princess Premier will receive an automatic shipboard credit equal to the value of $10 per day for the nine days of limited connectivity.
We take a great deal of pride in our onboard connectivity so it’s disappointing for us not to be able to provide an experience that our guests expect, however we wanted to make you aware in advance of the potential limited to no internet coverage, and for this we sincerely apologize.
Our team has a full schedule of fun activities planned throughout the voyage – along with Princess’ wide array of dining, beverage and entertainment options – and we look forward to helping you create wonderful vacation memories of a lifetime.
Sincerely,
Guest Services
Now we were back in our cabin we set the TV going with the safety video running. The two suitcases were the ones with the majority of our clothes and we started unpacking. The last suitcase arrived just as we finished!
We rang housekeeping and asked for our complimentary drinks of whisky and vodka to be swapped for gins. We were promised that this would happen the next day as supplies were not available. I also rang reception to log that one USB sockets on my bedside lamp was not working.
Sailing out of Southampton
Sky Princess cast off and then spun around.
We passed other cruise ships docked in Southampton.
More interesting was this WWII landing craft.
Then Sky Princess underway in the Solent. These were our last views of Southampton for 20+ days.
Our Cabin
Unlike P&O Iona we had lots of space to hang clothes.
We had chosen our cabin to have a large balcony.
The bathroom was roomy with lots of shelves. The shaver socket unfortunately was not a fit for a UK two pin plug. Instead we had to resort to a US converter that would accept the plugs to charge toothbrushes and my shaver.
The USA socket was used for the cabin’s kettle. When the kettle was on the other socket didn’t seem to deliver any current. The good news was that this socket delivered the fastest charges. The scket to the left would accept a European plug but not a UK plug. Similarly the two-pin options would not take a UK two pin.
This second USA socket was very useful when we had multiple items to charge. It may be perception but items plugged into this one seemed to charge much more slowly.
Each bedside lamp had a USB socket. One side would charge both iPhones but my side would not charge my iPhone 12. The ship’s engineer who came explained that my lamp was a replacement and wouldn’t charge new iPhones. The other lamp was an original and it would charge new iPhones. Cost cutting perhaps?
We had brought with us a selection of ‘fridge magnets to hold ship’s paperwork on the wall. Plus a new addition to our travel accessories four hooks on very strong magnets so we could hang caots on the cabin walls.
Evening on Sky Princess
The Captain’s Circle was in the Vista lounge on Deck 7 and was already open when we went in. The room was very busy and unusually ship’s officers were already circulating and talking to guests. The Pinot Noir was excellent and was a substitute for me as the Malbec had yet to arrive from stores.
Before dinner we stopped at the “Ocean Front” desks to ask about replacements for our free Medallion necklaces. We bought a pair of $19 wristbands to use instead.
The Crown Grill
Our first dinner was in the Crown Grill and it was excellent. We were able to sit and relax between courses. The food was excellent. Again no Malbec so we continued with Pinot Noir.
After dinner we had a quick look in the casino. The outfit was adverting the ship’s poker games.
We were both tired after our day and went back to our cabin after dinner for an early evening.
We now had five days crossing the Atlantic until we reached Canada.