15-Day Cruise Around the Norwegian Fjords, Scandinavia, and the United Kingdom Aboard SKY PRINCESS

Mini Suite on Sky Princess was much debated before we moved in for a 14 night Oktoberfest cruise to Norway and Hamburg on September 26. The room itself, right at the front of the ship, is roomy, comfortable and has a huge balcony. During port days it affords a great place to sunbathe and take in the views. But when the ship sails, and hits any moderately rough seas or high winds, you get the full force against the windows, and frequent loud bangs as the bow hits the waves. Movement was greater than in our normal mid-ship mini suite, but didn't really cause us problems. The other downside of the room is that it is far from the entertainment and dining areas. We were not warned in advance that the ship would be taken over by 1700 American guests who outnumbered the 700 Brits onboard. American food, American Football, Jam packed casino with high stakes at the tables, eye watering prices for organised tours from the ship, and no decent shuttle services to towns and cities. The dollar ruled the waves on this trip. We paid the quite extorionate price for the Plus drinks package, and for those who didn't drinks prices onboard were high and then a 20 per cent service charge was added to each beverage. Princess intends to raise this even higher. As a retired travel writer I have been lucky to do over 40 cruises, but unfortunately as each progressed the standards appeared to drop. On shore they call it "shrinkology". Food in the main restaurant was OK, just too much fussing about with the basic ingredients and adding fancy names to dishes. The buffet was good and plenty of choice there, although in most cases the hot dishes could have been hotter. Staff were great as usual, the ship was immaculately clean and both embarking and disembarking made easy. We are booked again for next year and Princess is still on my list of go-to cruise companies.

Great itinerary, ship seemed crowded, a lot of wheelchairs and scooters, which made it difficult at times to walk in the long hallway on deck 7 from the Vista Lounge to the front of the ship. Princess live was always crowded hard to find a seat. Games in the game area were missing pieces. Shows were good, no problem finding a seat. Comedians late night shows were great, they were not raunchy, but funny, which was refreshing Vista lounge staff was great. The non-alcoholic sparkling wine was delicious. The Thermal Spa was a dissapointment, guests hogged the 10 or 11 chairs in there. World Fresh Market (buffet) was crowded, hard to find a seat and get a cup of tea/juice delivered to the table. Speciality restuarants did not disappoint, especially Sabatini's, my favorite. We took all Princess sponsored excursions, the only disappointing one was the one in Visby, Sweeden, "A Taste of Gotland" We didn't need to visit a sheep farm. The tasting was at a beach resort, but may have been nicer had we had it inside the walled town. The carpet in our cabin smelled, and although the steward shampooed and deodorized it still had a funky smell. Makes me wonder how often the carpets are cleaned.

Two week cruise in a mini suite with balcony. Embarkation and Disembarkation excellent. Food choice - excellent with the exception of the main dining rooms - both exactly the same offering, which was very repetitive. Staff worked hard in the dining room and all appeared efficient, happy and helpful.

For personal reasons it's been 12 years since my husband and I cruised with Princess and we will not cruise with Princess again, despite being Platinum members. Most benefits of Platinum members seem to have been removed. The most important benefit of Elite members, appears to be free laundry! It only costs 3$ to go do it in the laundromat on board.

The bed was the most uncomfortable I have ever slept in, on land or sea, they were hard and hot, giving rise to body aches and pains each morning. The duvet was so lumpy we had it removed and used a fleece blanket.

No receipt is offered for purchases on board, not for drinks or any extras (which are prolific). When errors are made these are not known until you check your account on the app. Check it daily! How many go unnoticed I wonder? This happened to us and a complaint raised, the correction was made but if a receipt is issued you have confirmation of what you purchased and on what day. Simple good accounting practice.

The buffet: constantly being asked if drinks are required in the buffet restaurant is very annoying. I don't know if the waiters are working on commission or just trying to be helpful but it's not conducive to a restful meal. They were rightly quick to clear plates from the tables which was welcome.

Cappucino's in at least 80% of the bars were not cappucino, and more like a flat white. Some of the staff were sullen, despite wishing them good morning/afternoon with a smile.

The main reasons we will not travel with Princess again are due to the upselling everywhere on the ship.

The library has been forsaken for more opportunity for selling. There is noise and activities taking place in every corner of the ship inside and out every day, every waking hour.

In my experience and opinion, Princess has turned into an upselling, party ship with non transparent pricing and we have outgrown this kind of cruising.