Taking a closer look at the very few photos available… it would appear the Sphere class do NOT have a complete Promenade deck, and instead have platforms like on the Royal Class. Additionally, the lifeboats seem to overhang beneath these platforms, meaning they are out of sight of balconies unlike on the Royal class. It would also appear that the ships will either have the ‘cove’ style balconies featured on Carnival ships/Excel class beneath the lifeboats, or there are some very big windows on the lower decks!
I’m thankful this design is completely new and Princess haven’t adopted the Excel class which is very poor. Having been on Iona and seen the ‘Carnivalisation’ that has ruined P&O, it is reassuring to see Princess in its own category with the autonomy to design its own ships. I just hope the deck plans are released soon!
Hopefully going forward, once this class have rolled out, Princess shift back toward their smaller ships. Only Island and Coral can go through the historic locks of the Panama Canal and now they’re mostly used for world cruises, those itineraries are few and far between. I fear Princess will lose their loyal passengers if these mega ships are the future of the line.
