We've been lucky and fortunate to travel all over the world fulfilling visits to many bucket list destinations. At this point, it's going to take a really special trip to convince me a plane ride over 3 hours is needed. So when it came to traveling over the pond to complete a London/Paris river cruise Dad wanted to do, I proposed the idea of making our way back to the USA in comfort and style. What says comfort and style more than booking the highest category Sky Suite on a transatlantic voyage of the Sky Princess? The Sky Princess was the first ship to feature these unique cabins, hence their namesake. Layouts have improved in the later ships. Check out my "Sky Suite" labels on the side or bottom of this page to see cabin tours of the Sky Suites on Enchanted Princess and Sun Princess. This itinerary was also a bit of a dream deferred. We were two weeks away from boarding our first transatlantic cruise (then on the Regal Princess) when the pandemic shut cruising down. Then we had to cancel our spring transatlantic itinerary on the Sky Princess last year.
As always unless otherwise stated, everything was paid for by us (at the Princess Premier rate) offset by some Future Cruise Credit (FCC) and a substantial amount of On Board Credit (OBC) that was included with the sale going on when we booked. We also were able to re-fare when the other Sky Suite hadn't sold yet and the cost of our cruise dropped putting a nice chunk back in our bank account. Princess is one of the best cruise lines when it comes to suite perks because they don't differentiate between suite levels. However, with a Sky Suite, you also get some extra perks like the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast and Dinner, use of the Enclave included, a couple full bottles of liquor to drink in your cabin, and a Suite Experience Manager (SEM) to help arrange things and handle any issues onboard. The SEM is in addition to the Suite Experience Concierge that is available to help any suite guest on one of the Royal class and above ships that has a lounge. We were lucky to have the highly acclaimed Josue Acosta filling in as the SEM during our sailing.
The original Sky Suite layouts (until the Sun Princess) featured a deck where the two suites were the only cabins on that deck. The elevators on this deck are accessible to anyone since you can also exit out of the elevator lobby onto the open deck with loungers and hot tubs above the adults only pool. I did notice a few confused cruisers who would come up and head down the mini hallway outside our cabin door thinking it was the way out. One such cruiser almost made herself at home in our cabin when she wandered by at the same time our steward had the door propped open to clean.
Only the front elevators would have the option to go up to Sky Deck 18. We soon became experts at combining an elevator to a lower passenger deck, walk to the front elevators, then use those elevators to go back up to 18. This was the only downside of frequent trips to the Concierge Lounge which was more midship on Deck 14. We started to become more strategic and save our lounge visits for when we were already in the aft lounges for trivia games.
This picture is standing by our cabin looking back across the elevator lobby at the entryway to the other Sky Suite, S309. The steps directly across from the elevator take you down to the adults only terrace pool. We did encounter one waiter in the buffet who was so confused when we said our cabin number because he didn't believe there was any "S" deck. Once he finally scrolled down enough on his device to find it, we all had a good laugh together. We realized afterwards that in fact both cabins on the Sun Deck (Deck 17) and the Sky Deck (Deck 18) use the "S" designation. The cabins on Sun Deck only go up to S308 while S309 & S310 have their own space on the Sky Deck.
Doors right by our cabin entryways led to the upper pool deck where there was plentiful loungers and hot tubs.
The fire doors that you must walk through to get from the elevator lobby to our cabin really give the impression that our cabin is simply the first door at the start of a passenger cabin hallway.
Slightly even more confusing is that if you turn to your right after stepping through those doors, you reach a smaller exit door that does let anyone step out onto the pool deck. Unfortunately, you do hear from inside the cabin the noise of the elevator dings and people coming in and out of this door occasionally.
However, if you turn to the left at the longer end of what seems like an interior hallway, you'll find a locked door with reflective glass. If I could have charged each person who tried that door, I could pay for another cruise.
Enough with the hallway, let's start making our way inside Cabin S310!
I love that Princess includes braille under not only each cabin number but also under signs for the public venues onboard.
This display screen outside every cabin's door shows the cabin number, each passengers' first name and loyalty color, and the buttons for Privacy Please or Service Stateroom. The Privacy Please setting can also be changed on your in cabin TV by going to the Room Status menu option. I did notice a few times that it wouldn't change on the TV screen when I selected it even though it had changed and/or it would not show as set for Privacy even though I hit the button on this screen when we returned to the cabin for the night. I would pop open the door the first couple times to double check the screen before finally trusting that I could ignore the TV status.
When you've shut the cabin door behind you to leave, make sure it shows this Door Locked message on your screen. Otherwise, your door may not have fully shut and won't be secure.
When you do approach with the correct medallion, the doorknob will glow green and your chosen avatar and name will display on the screen instead of Door Locked. If you enjoy the drink package a little too much and end up at the wrong cabin, the doorknob will glow red if you try to use it. 90% of the time the door would react within seconds of us stepping off the elevator. Other times I would have to hold my wristband up to the sensor at the bottom of the screen.
Oh good, glad the medallion worked this time to let us in. Hey now, get out of that confusing hallway and come inside the suite!
The view looking back at the door from inside the cabin - we did end up finding that the door lock wouldn't always connect to turn properly but one message sent to Josue had a crew member there to fix it by that afternoon.
There is a slot by the door that requires the sensation of a card for the lights to work in the cabin but the steward provided a generic card that could stay there all the time. These light systems were implemented before Princess switched from cruise cards to medallions. Two things that we found out were missing in our suite that should have been provided from day 1 is the daily delivery of MDR menus and a separate key card because at the time of our sailing, the medallions would not work to open the Concierge Lounge. I have since heard from more recent Sky Princess cruisers who confirm that they could now use their medallion to unlock the lounge doors. The only menu that showed up was the one for the Thanksgiving dinner because Josue delivered them himself after we asked about what was going to be offered that night.
Given that this suite is designed with two separate bedrooms, two en suite full bathrooms, and one main living/dining space to connect them, each space had its own thermostat and own set of light switch roulette. The other Sky Suite ended up being booked by two couples splitting the cost. Each bedroom and bathroom space can be locked for complete privacy so these cabins can be a great option if you want to enjoy the perks and travel with friends or extended family.
Our mini bar/wet bar area - we were able to make drink and snack requests as well as choose our two full size liquor bottles during the phone call with our shoreside concierge. The drinks below the cups and saucers are the extras they left for us to add to the fridge when we took one out. I would like to repeat a special thank you to Josue and Princess for going out of their way to find a store in Southampton that sold Dr. Pepper and buying out all 5 bottles they had. We had simply requested Dr. Pepper or some kind of root beer and they went above and beyond. After that was used, A&W Root Beer cans were readily supplied.
The suite comes with a Nespresso coffee maker and plenty of pods. It never got any use by us. I did notice the detail of multiple sized mugs stored in the suite so you'd be set whether you preferred a tiny cup of espresso or that large latte.
Our two chosen bottles of liquor were Jack Daniels Black Label Whiskey and Maker's Mark Whiskey. A list of options was provided by the shoreside concierge but they were always open to special requests. We ended up sharing the alcohol with some new friends we met on the cruise. We got a laugh out of how the Jack Daniels bottle had an identifying chain proving that it was pulled from one of the bar's stock. The flip side said something like "do not remove from such and such bar." Our ice bucket was routinely filled by the steward.
The cabinet next to the cups held the hidden away mini fridge. Dad did use this mini fridge to hold his medicine that needs to stay cold without issue.
We did not get any of the tiny airplane sized bottles of liquor like most get in a Princess mini bar setup but we didn't miss it either. All of Dad's sparkling water came in can form and our orange juice came in a paper carton. Sometimes it's all dependent on where the ship is sailing as to what products or suppliers they can access. Princess does carry Coke products but depending on voyage location, you could get a mix of Coke Light versus Diet Coke. I was pleased to see a ready supply of Sprite Zero (which may only be available in can form) and root beer. We didn't inquire about caffeine free options or Coke Zero but I believe the Coke Zero was an option from the bars onboard.
Standing with my back to the door looking over the communal dining and living room space. The table was a great size for enjoying our many room service meals. There were enough seats for five people. The decorative open half wall marking the dining from the living space was not added to later ship designs. Tucked away in the corner behind the table is the telescope each Sky Suite gets to use during their stay. It was originally part of the partnership with Discovery and their Stargazing at Sea program. We didn't feel comfortable moving it out to the balcony to try and use it.
The makeshift skylight and chandelier above the table - the top was closed at night.
Looking back at the dining area and main door with my back to the living space:
This door just off of the dining area led to the smaller bedroom's dressing/closet area and bathroom. There is also a door directly into the bedroom space from the living space. Routinely, I'd be sitting on the couch and forget about that second door. I'd jump whenever Dad came out that door because I'd think someone was walking in our main cabin door.
The main living space with the first TV in the cabin. I know on Enchanted this couch does fold out into a bed and I think this one on Sky does too. I can't imagine having anyone older than a teenager sleeping on it though. Ignore the clutter on the chair - consequence of being three weeks into a month long trip full of mementos and souvenirs. Beyond the couch is the door leading into the larger bedroom. This bedroom only had the one entry door.
Just beyond the TV in this photo is the door to the smaller bedroom. Every once in a while, Dad would use his bedroom TV remote and it would activate this living room TV. Took me back to the older Princess suites where the dual TVs were mounted catty corner to each other and the bedroom space was only separated by a drawn curtain.
Inside this cabinet below the TV held all of our other glassware so you were set whether you chose to drink juice, soda, wine, or champagne.
Looking at the 3-D half wall from the living room side -
The sliding doors leading out to the balcony from the living space. Each bedroom could also access the balcony with their own set of sliding doors. Each set also had a sheer curtain for allowing some light and the thicker blackout curtain so it was plenty dark at night.
Standing with my back to the larger bedroom doorway looking back on the living space, dining space, and smaller bedroom entry.
To be continued...
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