Why Princess Cruise Line?

Picking a cruise line to cruise with is something like picking the mate you want to live with. You need to find out how your personalities match, both with a selected mate, and also with the cruise line or ship you choose.

While cruise lines may try to persuade travelers they can offer an all-things-to-all-people onboard experience, we're increasingly seeing them carve out distinctive lifestyle niches. Still, picking the perfect cruise line or ship -- like choosing the perfect love match -- can be tricky. Even the same cruise line can offer different experiences based on the age and size of a ship and the destination and time of year you're sailing.

Similar to hotels, there are four main classes of cruise ships:

★★★ Mainstream cruise lines are the most affordable and they tend to have a lot more resort style ships offering water parks, climbing walls, etc. and tend to target and attract families and a younger crowd. While we would have been more attracted to this type of cruising years ago, or if we were taking children with us, we feel we would probably would not partake of many of these activities today. Because of the families and younger crowds, you will also experience more children running around and perhaps a more loud party atmosphere crowd onboard, neither of which we are attracted to. Cruise lines in this category are: Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, and MSC.

★★★★ Premium cruise lines are more expensive than Mainstream cruise line and offer a wide range of accommodations to consider, such as balcony and suite options. They provide a slightly more premium experience and tend to have more of a traditional cruising experience and more bells and whistles and features. Cruise lines in this category are: Celebrity, Princess, Cunard, and Holland America.

★★★★★ Luxury cruise lines tend to operate slightly smaller ships and they tend to go to more unique and different ports than Premium lines. They offer a much more luxurious experience, are slightly more all inclusive, and offer a wide range of accommodation types. Cruise lines in this category include: Azamara, Oceania, and Windstar.

★★★★★★ Ultra-Luxury cruise lines label themselves as six star cruise lines and are typically have all suite accommodations, butler service, all inclusive, and a more personalized service. Cruise lines in this category are: Seabourn, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas, and Crystal.

On a Princess Cruise you are mostly likely to be on the ship with the following guests:

• American. This is the largest group of cruisers in the world, and Princess is popular with US based travelers. The experience and ambiance has a strong American bias. You will though find a large mixture of nationalities, but with English as the onboard language there is a natural bias towards these countries.

• Older (50s, 60s and 70+) especially on longer cruises and when schools are in session.

• Couples, but a good representation of solo travelers.

• On cruises heading to beach and sunshine areas you will have more families during times when schools are on break.

While we cannot make judgments on other cruise lines besides Princess Cruises, because we have not sailed on them, we do love the crowd, atmosphere, and size of their Royal Class ships. On our past two cruises we spoke to a lot of veteran cruisers who have sailed with multiple cruise lines and their overwhelming consensus was that Princess Cruises was a more affordable and better alternative to the other cruise lines in its premium class. Unknowingly we stumbled upon a cruise line and class of ships that fit our lifestyle and feel we have met the perfect mate in doing so. We hope you will feel the same should you decide to sail with us (the older American couple who loves the beach and sunshine).

Top 10 Things We Love About Princess Cruises

1. Food! The food choices and quality on a Princess Cruise ship are top notch. Whether you are dining in one of the Main Dining Rooms or a Specialty Restaurant, or even grabbing a bite at the buffet or some of the other smaller food cafes onboard the ship you will find top quality food which is handmade to perfection. Now with the newly introduced Dine My Way experience, dining onboard will be reimagined.

2. Activities and Entertainment! You should never find yourself bored on a Princess Cruise. There is always something going on and they offer many things to satisfy your quest for activity and entertainment. The show productions are high quality and filled with a passion to entertain you.

3. OceanMedallion™. This high tech wearable device will streamline your cruise in ways you might not imagine. We love what it can do to make our cruise more seamless.

4. Medallion Net. While it is nice to get off of the grid and just enjoy life, it is also nice to share your adventure with others back home and the super fast Medallion Net internet onboard is an awesome feature.

5. Movies Under the Stars. The movies shown in the evening are current movies being shown in movie theaters. It is nice to cuddle up together under a cozy blanket and enjoy a movie together. During the day they show concerts or documentaries to entertain the whole family.

6. Mature Travelers. Princess Cruise passengers are typically older so there is much less of a party atmosphere or kids constantly running underfoot as there may be on other cruise lines. This type of cruise fits our lifestyle perfectly.

7. Elegant Décor. We love the distinctive upscale contemporary design of the Princess Ships featuring marble, brass, and fine wood.

8. Piazza. We love spending time in the Piazza area, whether it is enjoying a small string quartet or just people watching. There are many small eateries in the area to grab a bite and a cup of coffee to enjoy some relaxing time together.

9. Crew. The ships crew is always friendly and helpful. It makes the whole vacation so much more relaxing when you don't have any stress.

10. Romantic Environment. Perhaps all of the above combine to make a Princess Cruise a romantic place to be with your partner. It is great to share such an adventure with the one you love.

Who are Princess Cruises?

Princess Cruises started sailing in 1965 with a single ship that cruised from the United States to Mexico. Princess Cruises and the “seawitch” logo first became famous in 1977 when one of the Princess ships, Pacific Princess, was cast in a starring role on a new television show called “The Love Boat”. The weekly series, which introduced millions of viewers to the concept of a sea-going vacation, was an instant hit and Princess Cruises has remained synonymous with cruising ever since. The show, which can still be seen around the world, has been widely credited with fueling the dramatic expansion of the cruise industry. You will be reminded of this TV show whenever a Princess ship leaves a port as they play the "Love Boat" theme song on the ships horns!

By 2022 Princess Cruises will have 15 ships in its fleet carrying more than one million passengers to more than 300 ports annually. This makes it one of the fourth largest cruises line in the world based on passengers after Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise Line.

The Princess line is based in Santa Clarita, California and is owned by the huge Carnival Cruise Corporation. They also own other cruise lines including Carnival, Holland America, Seabourn, AIDA, Costa, and P&O Cruises.

The Princess Cruise ships range in size from mid-sized vessels like the 2,000 passenger “Coral Princess” to the larger mega "Royal" ships, like the “Sky Princess” with 3,660 passenger capacity. To review the entire fleet visit princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/

Most of the Princess fleet of ships provide more of a premium and luxurious cruising experience which promote entertainment, activities, and dining experiences tailored to typically older (+40) passengers without the water park resort feel to them.

Princess Cruise line is recognized as an industry innovator, having introduced many new features and programs through the years that were so well received they were later adopted by many other lines and became standard throughout the industry. Innovations such as affordable balconies on many of the ship’s outside cabins, 24-hour dining, and a choice dining venues and flexible dining times. Princess ships also debuted features such as Movies Under the Stars poolside theaters, The Sanctuary adults-only oasis, and the Chef’s Table dining experience. The line's newest Royal Class ships, debuted features such as an over-water SeaWalk, a new Princess Live!; and a special Chef’s Table Lumiere dining space that surrounds diners in a curtain of light.

Princes Cruises realizes that your vacation cruise time is valuable, so they strive to always provide exceptional service to you. As part of that commitment, they have introduced the "Princess Promise". They are confident about their services, and if you're not satisfied, they will make it right, or refund you the value of that service. Crew members are empowered to resolve issues then and there, when the can, and will work with you to find a solution to your issue.

About this Princess Ship

This cruise is aboard the Sky Princess, a Princess Royal Class ship which came into the Princess fleet in October of 2019. This ship is similar in size to other Royal Class sister ships in the Princess fleet which includes the Royal Princess (2013), the Regal Princess (2014), the Majestic Princess (2017), the Enchanted Princess (2020) and the Discovery Princess (2021). The ship elevates the distinctive, upscale contemporary design utilizing marble, brass, and fine wood décor and luxurious attractions found on the other renowned Royal Class Ships. We have previously sailed upon the Regal Princess in 2019 and the Sky Princess during our 2020 spring cruise and we can attest to both ship's "Royal" designation as being a premium cruising experience.

The Sky Princess has a capacity of 3,660 guests (based upon double occupancy), with a crew of 1,346 staff. With a tonnage of 145,000 Gross Tons, a length of 1,080 feet, a beam of 126 feet, it sports 19 decks, 15 of which are accessible to guests. Powered by four Finnish made Wärtsilä marine diesel-electric genset engines (model 46F, 2 x 12V and 2 x 14V) with combined power output 62.4 megawatts (83,700 HP), the ship can cruise at a speed of 22 knots (25 mph). The propulsion system is based on two azipods with combined power output of 18 megawatts (24,000 HP).

If you have never been on a cruise ship before you may have a preconceived idea that they are very crowded and you will feel claustrophobic while onboard. In reality, because of their huge size they are very spacious and it feels more like you're at a large resort hotel. Many times on our previous cruises we have wondered to ourselves "where is everyone?" as we walked around the ship at times. If an area does become crowded because of a special event happening there you will always be able to find some quiet spots away from everyone else to be by yourself if that is what you desire.

About the Chosen Cruise Itinerary

We realize that not everyone may be able to get away at the same time or want to see and do the same things. The dates and itinerary selected gives us the opportunity to spend a bit of time in Florida before or after the cruise and perhaps take in some Twins spring training baseball in Fort Myers. If you find this timeframe works for you too, and you can join us on this nautical adventure, we would be glad to have you as shipmates!

Please don't feel obligated to experience everything on or off the ship together, as we all have different likes and dislikes. While we all may offer suggestions on various options for dining, entertainment, activities, or excursions everybody should feel comfortable in selecting the type of things they want to do, and when they want to do it. Some like to get up early and some like to sleep later. Some like an early dinner and some like a later dinner. Some may pursue physical activities, while others may just want to lay back and relax. It's everybody's vacation!

The chosen cruise itinerary onboard the Sky Princess was chosen for places we have not yet seen and also places we have seen, but want to see again!

There are actually three cruise itinerary options to consider on this cruise! We are planning on taking a 14 day cruise, which is essentially two 7 day cruises going back to back (B2B). You are welcome to join us for the first or second segments, or join us on both segments!

The Eastern Caribbean leg will be a new adventure for us and we look forward to visiting new islands and the extended sea days it offers. On our previous two cruises we visited the Western Caribbean and look forward to revisiting some of the great port of calls on this leg.

The first 7 day cruise segment leaves Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Saturday February 19, 2022 and visits the Eastern Caribbean.

Sat, Feb 19 Fort Lauderdale

Depart: 04:00 pm

Sun, Feb 20 Princess Cays, Bahamas*

(Private Beach)

Arrive: 09:00 am

Depart: 05:00 pm

Mon, Feb 21 At Sea

Tue, Feb 22 St Thomas, Virgin Islands

Arrive: 10:00 am

Depart: 10:00 pm

Wed, Feb 23 St Maarten

Arrive: 07:00 am

Depart: 06:00 pm

Thu, Feb 24 At Sea

Fri, Feb 25 At Sea

Sat, Feb 26 Fort Lauderdale

Arrive: 06:00 am

The second 7 day cruise segment leaves Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Saturday February, 26, 2022 and visits the Western Caribbean

Sat, Feb 26 Fort Lauderdale

Depart: 04:00 pm

Sun, Feb 27 At Sea

Mon, Feb 28 Grand Cayman*

Arrive: 07:00 am

Depart: 04:00 pm

Tue, Mar 1 Roatan Honduras

Arrive: 10:00 am

Depart: 07:00 pm

Wed, Mar 2 Belize City, Belize** *

Arrive: 07:00 am

Depart: 05:00 pm

Thu, Mar 3 Cozumel, Mexico

Arrive: 09:00 am

Depart: 07:00 pm

Fri, Mar 4 At Sea

Sat, Mar 5 Fort Lauderdale

Arrive: 06:00 am

*Will require a tender to transport guests to the port

**Belize City may be substituted for the Port of Costa Maya, Mexico prior to departure.

Times shown are "ship time" which may differ from local or port time.

To help answer questions you may have about taking a cruse, Princess Cruises has created a Cruise Answer Book to try to answer questions you may have.

About the Princess MedallionClass Experience

To make the most out of our cruises we have come to love the Princess MedallionClass experience featuring the OceanMedallion™. It allows us to experience a more personalized and hassle free vacation, so we can do more of what we love.

With over 8,000 sensors onboard and over 4 million feet of cable routed throughout the ship, the MedallionClass™ App can help you find your way around onboard (not an easy task with a ship this size!) and more importantly, find each other if we become separated. Without it, you would wander around the ship all day looking for your shipmates. The App also has a chat feature which is handy for sending messages back and forth if you are on opposite ends of the ship.

The App shows entertainment and activity schedules allowing you to bookmark those you don't want to miss.

You can order beverages, snacks, or other items delivered to you while you're lounging by or in the pool or in your stateroom! Hungry during Movies Under the Stars®? Realize you forgot sunscreen by the pool? Order whatever you need — burger, extra towels, aloe, etc. — it will be delivered to you with no service delivery charge (purchased items will automatically be added to your onboard account)! On our last cruise we discovered the first delivered specialty beverage was also free using this app!

Dining has also be reimagined onboard Princess Cruise ships with the introduction of the Dine My Way experience. Using the MeddallionClass App you will now be able to make dining decisions to choose When, How, With Who, and Where you want to dine each evening! One of the only complaints we had with the Princess Cruise dining experience in the past was trying to make reservations each day for our evening dinner. If this App works as advertised this will be a game changer!

No need to carry money while onboard. You can leave your wallet in the digital safe located in your stateroom. The OceanMedallion allows you to make any purchases from any ship store or service without having to carry cash with you. Spending too much that way? Check your current ship expenses on the App!

You can wear the OceanMedallion on the supplied lanyard, or purchase clips, pendants, bracelets, lanyards, lanyard inserts and sports bands.

Click here to learn more about the Princess MedallionClass experience and click here for answers to many frequently asked questions.

There are some older cruisers who perhaps do not own a smartphone or don't use one much who are resistant to using the app. However, we have found that it makes our cruise from start to finish a much more relaxing experience as you have access to everything at your fingertips!

Below are some screen shots from just some of the available screens I took from our last cruise in 2020 to give you an idea of some the of information you may see and use with this app. The app has recently been updated so the new screens look totally different from what is picture below but the app will still provide all of the available features in a much improved format.

While all of the Princess Cruise ships were idled during the pandemic of 2020 they took the opportunity to update ALL of their ships to utilize the MedallionClass™ experience! However the Sky Princess was built from the keel up with the distinction of being the first of the Princess Cruise ships to be totally designed and built for this experience. As a result you will find it easy to be connected to their fast Wi-Fi service from nearly anywhere on the ship.

So what can you expect using the OeanMedallion™? Below is a video showing one cruisers experience testing this technology:

Cruise Personalizer®

Once you have finally booked your cruise, you should then start planning for the cruise itself! and start by logging into the Cruise Personalizer and begin entering the required information as described below:

Anytime before the cruise, but at least a month before departure, you should download the MedallionClass app and personalize your cruise. If you have not already done so, register for an account on the Princess Cruise website and sign in. By creating an account you can:

• Receive special offers and notices about this cruise and future cruises

• Manage your bookings

• Customize your preferences

• View future cruise credits

Some of the Cruise Personalizer can be done on the Princess Cruise Website once you have created an account and logged in. Go to the "Booked Guests" tab and there is some information you can enter or change there. This is where you will also find your luggage tags and Travel Summary which you can print out for boarding.

Everything used to be done on the Princess Cruise website but it now appears they now have shifted some of the items to the MedallionClass app. Once you have downloaded the MedallionClass app and are signed in, navigate to the "Cruise Personalizer" area. Here you will be able to view all of your preferences for the cruise and give you the opportunity to:

• View Summary of Cruise

• Check-in

• Book Excursions

• Order Onboard Services

• Reserve Specialty Dining

• Book Airfares via Princess

• View Cruise Itinerary

• View Payments and Cruise Credits

The Summary will show all of the preferences you have currently made, either through your initial booking selections or through the Cruise Personalizer, such as your booking number, Stateroom location, bed configuration, dining preference, etc.

Prior to boarding you must complete the check-in process for each passenger listed. This includes:

• Passage Contract Acknowledgement

• Guest Information Form

• Personal Information

• Emergency Contact Information

• Travel Documents

• Credit Card Information for Shipboard Account

Within 75 days of sailing your boarding pass and travel summary will be available to be printed. It appears you do not have to bring a printed travel summary with you but I feel it is best if you do for boarding on embarkation day.

You can also personalize your cruise on the app by completing information about your:

• Accessibility and Dietary Requests

• Flight Schedule

• Excursion Reservations (Available to Pre-Pay)

• Vacation Protection (optional)

You also have the option of changing any of your onboard preferences that you have previously made in your initial booking or through the Cruise Personalizer®:

• Dining Preferences

• Bed Configuration (Queen or Twin)

• Choose whether you want a Complimentary Robe in your Stateroom

• Onboard Documents Language Preference

If you and/or your partner are celebrating a special occasion, such as a birthday or recent anniversary, there is also an area to enter that information in. Princess will arrange a special service or gift by completing the information areas under the "Special Occasion" heading near the bottom of the check-in page. This occasion can also be a surprise to the guest by calling the Princess Celebration Support team at 1-855-500-7690

If you have any questions, please ask me, or call the Princess Cruise Help Desk at 1-800-774-6237