princess cruise dec 9

Sky Princess - December 9, 2023

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December 9, 2023

December 9 - 16, 2023

Sky Princess

Princess Cruises

7 Night Western Caribbean With Mexico

from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

The December 9, 2023 cruise on the Sky Princess departs from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. On this 7 Night Western Caribbean With Mexico sailing, the ship will visit a total of 5 different cruise port destinations, including its departure port. The Sky Princess sets sail on a Saturday (December 9, 2023) and returns on a Saturday (December 16, 2023).

The Sky Princess was built in 2019 and is amoung Princess's 17 ships in it's fleet. The Sky Princess is included in the cruise line's Royal Class. In the cruise ship stats below you'll find the Sky Princess vs all other Princess ships.

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Ft. Lauderdale

Ft. Lauderdale has 23 miles of beaches, 300 miles of inland waterways and swimming pools galore, but immersing yourself in this city doesn't require a drop of water. Dive into a culture as deep as any ocean, a culture characterized by Seminoles and Broadway shows, golf and whimsical water taxis, fine cuisine and tasty jazz. And just like the horizon here, the list of attractions goes on and on.

Ft. Lauderdale has 23 miles of beaches, 300 miles of inland waterways and swimming pools galore, but immersing yourself in this city doesn't require a drop of water. Dive into a culture as deep as any...

Take advantage of the many on board activites during your day at sea. You'll have more than enough to fill your day!

Sitting just off the gorgeous Yucatan coast, Cozumel revels in its mythic white-sand beaches and world-class coral reefs. Yet Cozumel is also the last stronghold of the Mayas, who settled the island in 300 A.D. Residents still speak Maya, and sometimes wear traditional Mayan clothing. Nearby stand the great pyramids and temples of their ancestors.

Sitting just off the gorgeous Yucatan coast, Cozumel revels in its mythic white-sand beaches and world-class coral reefs. Yet Cozumel is also the last stronghold of the Mayas, who settled the island...

Located approximately 35 miles north of Honduras in the Caribbean, Roatan is the largest of the Bay Islands group. Plenty of great snorkeling and diving is found at the coral reefs off Roatan's coast.

Belize City

Belize City is the country's chief seaport, so snorkeling and diving is big here...bring a suit! Travel to a city previously inhabited by the Mayan people at Altun Ha, ancient temple of the Sun God. Or visit the Belize Zoo or Baboon Sanctuary. Gales Point is a great place to view manatees!

Belize City is the country's chief seaport, so snorkeling and diving is big here...bring a suit! Travel to a city previously inhabited by the Mayan people at Altun Ha, ancient temple of the Sun God...

Costa Maya is located on the Mayan Riviera, so named because was the home of the Mayans. Lush jungle vegetation is juxtaposed with beautiful beaches that have recently become the destination for scuba divers and snorkelers wishing to explore the untouched coral reef. or take a drive through the jungle and see an amazing combination of birds and mammals, like the wild deer and jaguars, spider monkeys, monkeys, and even alligators.

Costa Maya is located on the Mayan Riviera, so named because was the home of the Mayans. Lush jungle vegetation is juxtaposed with beautiful beaches that have recently become the destination for...

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Why settle for seeing just one island on a Hawaii resort-based vacation when you can cruise in style and explore multiple island jewels? Sailing with Princess is a far better vacation value, and you’ll visit popular Hawaiian islands — Oahu , Kauai and the Big Island ( Hilo and Kona ) — without all the time-consuming hassle of island hopping by plane. From enriching Discovery and Animal Planet shore excursions to our immersive "Aloha Spirit" program onboard, you'll discover each island's unique charm — and fall in love with Hawaii's enchanting beauty.

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Our Hawaiian cruises offer an intoxicating mix of island adventure and carefree cruising. You'll venture to four dazzling islands — including a full day and late evening in Honolulu to see the sights and experience its famed nightlife. And there’s so much to do while you’re at sea, like enjoying live entertainment, world-class cuisine, island-inspired activities and endless ocean views — plus it's all included in your cruise fare! Discover why the Travel Channel named us "Best Cruises to see Hawaii."

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Step on to a Princess Hawaiian cruise and you’ll be immersed in the color, culture, and flavors of Hawaii through our unique "Aloha Spirit" onboard program. Join in on our colorful King Kamehameha Festival, learn to play the ukulele, dance the Hula, weave a flower lei, see folkloric performances, indulge in tantalizing island fare and so much more. We make cruising to Hawaii just as fun as being there!

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With convenient roundtrip cruise departures from Los Angeles, San Francisco or Vancouver, it’s easy to cruise to Hawaii in style and avoid the hassle of a long, boring plane flight to paradise. And if you’re on the West Coast, it’s even easier to sail — local residents can drive in and sail on the same day!

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10 Night Caribbean - Eastern Cruise

Best known for the Pacific Princess on the Love Boat, Princess Cruises has been a leading name in cruising and visits a wide range of destinations.

Adventures in the rainforest and sunny beach days at Princess Cays—two pieces of the perfect Eastern Caribbean cruise.

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Regal Princess Review, Dec. 4 - 9, From Port Everglades PLUS An Upgrade!

By Guardsy , December 11, 2021 in Princess Cruises

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Just returned last night from our cruise on the Regal.  Some observations.

We sailed at about 25% capacity, 946 passengers.  1,300 crew on-board.  The "extra" crew were almost too much at times; 4-5 waiting on you in the buffet, lots of wandering servers in the lounges, etc.  That said, room service was almost instantanious!

The Medallion.  I am not a techie, and I was leery of all the medallion posts.  Frankly, from the start, ours worked GREAT, then had issues.  First, good luck getting and staying connected to "medallion.net".  It would drop most of the time and seemed worthless.  The "search for your companion screens? on the ship worked about 50% of the time.  The other 50% of the time it just told me I did not have any traveling companions.  Fail.  Trying to order room service through the TV.  Yeah, needs a lot of work.  So simple of a system, yet so lacking in abilities.  Better off calling the order in.

Food.  We both thought it was great.  Options plentiful, but just normal Princess menus.  Servings were plenty large enough.  We used the MDR (loved it each night), the buffet for some lunch/breakfast and all was good there.  Tried pizza on deck (was ok) and pizza at Alfredo's (Wonderful!).  Ice cream was always fun on hot days.  Buffet bars..........why does Princess not have them?  If I had one criticism on service in the buffet it would be that it can take literally 10 minutes to get a bottle of beer.  

We did get upgraded.  We had an inside ADA room (E321) which was wonderful, except that the plumbing (toilet) didn't always work and the A/C did not seem to function.  It was very warm at night.  On the second day I went to the front desk prior to dinner to ask about repairs to the A/C so we could sleep.  The staff told me they would notify the engineer, but that "I know how long it will take, so let us see if we cannot get you moved to a different cabin".  I told him we were in an ADA cabin and that we were told that they were all sold out, but he grinned and said that he might have something.  After a few minutes he changed our Medallions to C435, a generous outside ADA with balcony, compliments of Princess.  I was astounded.  After dinner they even sent staff to move all of our belongings to the new cabin.

All parts of the ship we visited were in good shape, no complaints.  I did get a pass to the Enclave and enjoyed it.  Some parts are just "eh", but the pool was relaxing and the scented steam room was beyond wonderful.

Embarkation was quick and efficient.  Disembarkation was as well, but we had a 2 PM flight so we rose at 7 AM, had a leisurely breakfast in the MDR and left the ship about 9 AM.  Would have taken less than 5 minutes, but we had to wait 15-minutes for someone to escort my wife down the ramp in her scooter.  Virtually no luggage left in the warehouse, so five minutes after stepping on the ship ramp, we were getting into a taxi.

All in all, a wonderful vacation.

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3 hours ago, Guardsy said:   All in all, a wonderful vacation.  

Thanks for bringing us along.

Thanks for the review! Glad they upgraded you.

Thanks for your review.   The Regal is a lovely ship.  We board her in 3 weeks....can't wait.  I'm looking at the snow outside our window and dreaming of warmer weather and adult beverages.  🙂

californiagirl

946 passengers!!  The ship must really have felt empty.  Thank you for your review. 😊

We were on this cruise, too. It was kind of eerie with so few passengers on board. I think we had other people in our elevator maybe 3x during the cruise, and we never had a problem finding a seat in the theater. We were happy not to feel crowded but wonder how much money Princess is losing currently! Our Medallion worked pretty flawlessly, apart for a bit of a slowdown in internet speed at the very end of the voyage for some reason. All staff abided by masking rules as did most passengers, which made us feel safe onboard. However, there were a few passengers I'd see walking the ship with masks down below their face, including one gentleman in particular, who I'd see around the ship frequently. I wish staff felt more empowered to remind passengers to wear masks properly. Overall, it was a great return to cruising. 

Thanks for the review.  Sounds like a great cruise. 

RNRcruisers

We are on this ship in a month. That sounds really empty! Glad to hear that you had a good cruise. 

5 hours ago, RNRcruisers said: We are on this ship in a month. That sounds really empty! Glad to hear that you had a good cruise. 

Not really "empty".  It was very comfortable.  Still lots of folks in the public areas, but not over run.  Have fun!

BettyCruiser

I was on this cruise also. Most folks wore masks when not required. If just walking around most places it’s not required. I wore my mask when required and don’t wear a mask when not required. 

I was on the Regal on Thanksgiving. We have 1.5k pax, and even then I thought it was almost too overwhelming the number of staff vs pax. I would be asked 5 x if I wanted a drink (I don't drink water when I eat) but could never get anyone to get me utensils. 

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Bigger ship, better views: 3 takeaways from Princess Cruises' newest vessel

I was rushing to make my dinner reservation on Princess Cruises’ new ship. But when I arrived at the restaurant, the view made me stop.

From the windows at the sushi eatery Makoto Ocean – part of a sphere-shaped structure near the middle of the vessel – I saw the sun sinking below the horizon, a reddish-orange dot on the Mediterranean Sea. The Sun Princess facilitates scenes like that by design.

“We wanted to make sure that within how we designed the (venues) and placed the furniture, we gave maximum opportunity for our guests to be able to celebrate those outward views,” Denise Saviss, Princess’ vice president of entertainment experience, told USA TODAY. “It is really, really unique to have so much glass on the ship.”

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That was one of several striking features during a recent sailing (the ship is now cruising the Mediterranean before it moves to the Caribbean in October). Here are three takeaways from the first in the line’s aptly named Sphere Class.

1. The design showcases views at sea and in port

Makoto isn’t the only venue that offers that kind of view.

Other spaces inside the Sphere – which also houses lobby-slash-entertainment venue The Piazza – feature similarly sweeping vistas across decks 7, 8 and 9. I watched the light sparkle on the water while I sipped coffee one morning at International Café, and patrons dining at Alfredo’s Pizzeria can take in the scenery during their meal from many seats.

That’s also true elsewhere on the ship. At Horizons Dining Room, floor-to-ceiling windows face the ship’s wake. At the other end of the vessel, the Dome, a geodesic structure that Princess has said was inspired by the hills of Santorini, is like a massive solarium.

The space – which will also host shows including acrobatics – has multiple tiers of loungers, an indoor-outdoor pool and the Cascade Bar (which comes in handy for cooling off, as it felt a bit muggy in the Dome at one point on a sunny sea day).

The overall effect helped to bring the outside in.

2. The ship is bigger but still intimate

Sun Princess is the largest ship in the Princess fleet, and the 21-deck vessel can accommodate 4,300 guests. But that doesn’t mean everything is huge.

Given the scale of the offerings, a number of spaces on board feel notably intimate. One night, I walked to Good Spirits at Sea, a cocktail bar crafted in partnership with mixologist Rob Floyd that also hosts classes, and thought I was lost before stumbling upon it tucked around a corner on Deck 7. Inside, the 40-person venue offered a laid-back alternative to other more boisterous nightlife options.

On Deck 9, the ship’s buffet-like venue, The Eatery, gives way to narrower hallways toward the aft with backlit wood paneling and benches. At the end, they open back up to reveal specialty restaurants The Catch by Rudi and The Butcher’s Block by Dario (from Princess’ head of culinary arts, Rudi Sodamin, and in partnership with famed butcher Dario Cecchini, respectively).

Even the multi-configuration Princess Arena felt cozier than its near-1,000-guest capacity would suggest. I sat in the second-to-last row of my section for a performance by the vocal group ODY·C and was still close enough to see clearly.

3. The line leans into family-friendly activities

Part of Sun Princess’ expanded footprint has been used to broaden the line’s family offerings.

Park19, a new space on the ship’s top decks, features a variety of activities in an open-air setting. Saviss said the line worked to balance the interests of core customers and a growing family market “and make sure we're prioritizing spaces that everybody can enjoy.”

“There are some attractions that I think naturally, at first blush, people would say, ‘Oh, it's just for kids,’ but actually, the space is really comprehensive,” she said. “Our attractions are available for many different levels of ability and mobility.”

Those include Coastal Climb, an obstacle course that culminates in 360-degree views from The Lookout observation deck (the highest point accessible to guests on the ship, also reachable via elevator) and The Net ropes course.

On Sea Breeze, billed as the first Rollglider on a cruise ship, passengers will glide along the outer edges of the ship on an electric track (the ride will also be ADA-accessible, though Saviss said some mobility is required for maneuvering into the seat).

It’s as close as the ship gets to an amusement park (Princess’ version). “We're not running the rat race, if you will, of like, who can do it bigger, better,” Saviss said. “If you want to just have a really incredible bird's-eye view of Sun Princess, and in and around where the ship is sailing, you can do that. But there is an option to push a little lever while you're riding it and dial up the speed a bit faster, and then it does become a bit more thrilling.”

The ride was not yet available when I was on board, as the line moved through a testing, certification and training process, but is expected to open on April 27. Sun Princess’ original launch was delayed with the cruise line citing “additional technical work” needed at the shipyard, which pushed back the opening of some onboard amenities.

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There is also a hammock area to chill when guests need a break, a recreational court that can host activities from pingpong to morning meditation, a jogging track and more. Elsewhere on board, guests will find the Firefly Park kids club and hangout spaces Neon Grove and The Underground for tweens and teens, respectively.

The reporter on this story received access to this sailing from Princess Cruises. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of content.  

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bigger ship, better views: 3 takeaways from Princess Cruises' newest vessel

9 Night Australia & New Zealand

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