Wishing on a star

Yes, to the above post. Do not know what has been going on, for a LONG time now, with these Deluxe Balcony Cabins being held for 3 passengers. Only offer GTY for two passengers. See if you put in three passengers, if those Deluxe cabins open up. If you see one you want, for the two of you, you can either try to talk to your TA or your Princess Planner. If that doesn't work, you might book for three passengers, and then simply go back and cancel the third. I have heard that this has worked.

I think it is okay, no problem!!! Even if not totally necessary due to physical issues. There should be a simple neutral (all black) pair of athletic or walking or yoga type shoes somewhere to be found. However, I will say this about the MDR... When it comes to footwear, I would look at like this. What would be acceptable to wear in my friends and loved ones nice homes. I have heard the "Alaska" comments before. But, seriously, would I want somebody to walk into my house, for a nice dinner or event, tracking in mud from their hike that day all over their hiking boots? Respect, people... A little goes a long way!

Place a HOLD... If new fare and perks are better, then let that HOLD go and book with the new 'Sale' fare.

I see in video that there is an area, VIP, with nicer padded loungers, and a shallow stepped entry into the pool, with built-in loungers in that shallow water. I am not seeing any information or excursion/rental prices. Can anyone here tell me more about these VIP loungers, how much they cost, and how to reserve?

Okay, having thought more about the Sanctuary, it seems that it will only have side views of the sea, as the aft is the Signature area. That might be okay, but the talk of the Sanctuary Cabanas being along the side, with sea views is a real concern. Would Princess actually take the entire length of both sides and line them, and block them off with Cabanas, so that nobody else, having rented loungers, is able to access a sea view? I certainly hope not. But, they surely did ruin the Retreat Pool on the new ships by completely blocking it in. So, Princess is not above stooping to such a low. Maybe some of the Port and Starboard will be open... maybe with the small open access sitting areas, like the Sanctuaries currently have. The fact that this will be the only 'adult only' pool, is already a real factor. Hopefully a complete lack of any view or feeling of being on the see isn't a huge drawback.

There is that photo posted a couple pages back, taken mid June, that seems to show the ship is really coming along. The Sea Witch is there. Still some buildout on the cabns and upper areas. That could go fairly quickly. Of course, I know absolutely nothing, But, I am not thinking that they are afraid of any delays, yet. Only time will tell.

Love the retreat pool and Sanctuary on Regal. IMHO, they have ruined this area on the newer ships by closing this area in with cabins on each side. This seems like it would make this area, anywhere near the pool, to be smaller and more crowded.

On deck 10, I am assuming that you are wanting a balcony, not an inside. We have chosen a cabin in front of the Piazza / Sphere, as those cabins have a larger balcony, slightly deeper. Those cabins also have interior cabins across from them, and not that White Space. (which could, or could not, present a noise issue) The Piazza is used for Entertainment Events, and this might be more-so on the Sun. So, I am not sure I would want to be right over the Piazza. I am not sure how much sound might come from the Buffet below. But, I notice that the cabins, from the sphere back, have the whitespace, and no interior cabins across the hall.

The others here will be more helpful than I can with this one. But, for now, I will go ahead and make an effort to help answer some of your questions. If you have a HOLD, it should have a booking number. If you are booking directly thru Princess, yes, I believe you should be able to pull up that HOLD right there on the website, and then make a deposit. I have not used the APP. I am not sure if your Hold is not showing up on the APP yet, or why. Yes, if you know of a good TA that you would like to use, you can transfer this to a TA. You can do this right away. I have never done this transfer, so I am not sure how quickly this happens. So, you might want to go on the web-site, or call Princess to make that deposit before your Hold expires, if you are sure you want to keep this booking and this cabin. NOTE: There have been questions lately about bookings having a NON refundable deposit. Just want to mention that, and make sure you know whether your deposit is fully refundable. Usually, when one chooses a cabin, these bookings are refundable. And, when one chooses to book GTY the deposit can be NON refundable.

I have another question, for those who might be in-the-know. Does anyone have any idea what Princess might do with those days at FLL before that first 5 night U.S. inaugural? Could they be doing a private, by invitation, cruise to nowhere for VIP, large travel agencies, etc? If so, I wonder if those guests could stay onboard as a back-to-back?

I think that the Cabana Mini-Suites are in high demand. As they are new to Princess. I think I am seeing that you can book a GTY on a reserve cabana minisuite, mid-ship, deck 9, which would be the best to hope for a good location. Not above the Princess Theater, etc. And there are Signature Suites to choose. ( No cabana, looks the same as a mini-suite, but with Signature access and perks. The Signature Sun Deck, Signature Restaurant, etc.)

This is not unusual with Princess. They have been setting up their booking system with a lot of them GTY. Not necessarily the last ones that nobody wants. There are a lot of factors that affect how many cabins might show up for selection. And, yes, some Princess Planners are better than others. To be sure. Do you know of a good Travel Agent that might be able to help you book with Princess? In the past, some used to have luck booking a GTY, and then having their agent go ahead and assign them a room. But, I really don't think that is being done any more. It would be good if you knew that most all of these Cabana Cabins were in a good location. But, the C2 cabanas, that are not overlooking the Cabana Deck could be the ones that are Forward, over the Princess Theater. The C1 cabins, that are overlooking the Cabana Deck might be less of a risk. If that is where you want to be. The non-Reserve Cabanas on deck 10 are right over the main Piazza.

I am thinking that these, at least the Signature, will be separate dining rooms. Don't know if they will upgrade Reserve to be better than 'Club' to it's own separate restaurant or not? I think some of the deck plans that have floated around out there do show a Signature Restaurant.

Shorter cruises, and cruises during the usual school year timeframes should not have tons of kids. I think it would be very easy to avoid/ignore Park 19. Early November should be good. Schools here have Fall Break in early and mid October. But, by the third week of October, that should be about over. However, just saying.... you never know. On our last cruise, there were two families with young children that were everywhere, parents not reigning them in at all. Just never know! I will also say that last time we went to a nice Golf and Spa resort, late april.... shoulder season... The place had a lot of people with children like 6 and younger. Young enough to not feel like they had to be in school. A whole lot of them! When you consider your budget, I wonder if you might consider a Signature mini-suite. The Signature Sun Deck and The Sanctuary should be child free. It is a current topic of discussion whether families in Signature Suites will be able to bring their children to the Signature Sun Deck. The Sanctuary has always been adult only. Both Reserve and Signature have a private restaurant available. And Signature looks like there is a two level Signature Lounge.

The exclusive Signature Sun Deck is AFT, wake-view, on deck 18. This is where The Sanctuary is, but the Signature area has the prime wake-view real estate. I wish they had a hot tub on both sides of The Sanctuary!

4Cats, The build-out seems to have quite a ways to go. But, yes, the deck plans do show that there are areas of the ship, in both the front and the aft, where the ship and balconies are slightly recessed. Slightly extended cabins in the center around the sphere, and Forward and Aft. But, these recessed cabins def. not recessed as much as it looks in the current progress in the build-out. It looks like those blocks of cabins that seem to be so far recessed have not been installed yet. I would want to make sure to book one of the balconies on the more extended areas.

Thank you Snooz... Yes, it is that area, that is AFT facing (wake view) area where the Sanctuary is that I was referring to. Yes, it is interesting to note that, yes, kids could be welcomed into that pool area, as they could be booked with adults. Something is telling me that, with Princess all-out focus on becoming 'family friendly', they are making a HUGE mistake here, and not having one real area that is adults only. I hope that they are re-thinking this, if that is the current plan. Of course, I would not expect to see tons of kids in that area. But, I can tell you from personal experience on our last cruise, that it took only two families with young children and entitled parents who let them 'literally' run amok, to be a problem. Princess should know that I, along with many others, (who are not quite 'geriatric') do not choose other lines, and choose Princess, because there is a smaller chance of kids running amok really affecting your experience. Even Carnival ships have an adult-only area.

I would like to get back to the topic of the Sun Princess, deckplans, etc.. It seems that the only 'adult only' pool is at the Sanctuary. Has anybody seen any information that shows that it is for both the regular Sanctuary AND the reserve wake-view reserved area as well?

The Princess website is still showing Med cruises on the Sun Princess 2024 as a Fully Refundable option when choosing your cabin. Maybe Princess IT has some things to work out !!!

About booking all these cruises in advance, and them being refundable.... After a so-so TA, and then an awful and non-responsive Princess Planner, I found what seemed to be a good TA with a major agency... of course, now we find out that she is not a regular TA and is being promoted to a position in their Customer Service!!!! Wouldn't you know... Anyhow, we had called to make a change to our plans.... She said, like, you are fine... you wouldn't believe the people who put all these cruises on deposit, and change them several times, etc... Apparently a lot of people do this! I remember seeing comments from people here on TA where they mention their future plans, it sounds like they are doing this. And then dropping some cruises, making changes in plans on others, etc. One reason to book early, before one is sure of what their travel plans will actually be, is to get the cabin type and location that they want. But, of course, GTY cabins are the ones that are NOT refundable?

That read-out on those quotes on Non Refundable fares do not look like the screen on Princess' website. Are both of you looking directly on the regular Princess web-site? If so, it seems SO odd that some, like mine, would show a refundable option when you choose your cabin, but others do not. CONFUSING!

About the refundable/non-refundable... Are you booking a GTY, or are you choosing a cabin. On the screen where it shows these two options, do both of the options say NONREFUNDABLE?

I believe that gratuitous/free upgrades are very very far and few between. Especially now that Princess has the Bidding for Upgrade system fully operating. I wouldn't count on an upgrade. And, if one is picky about location (mid-ship/aft - no noise from nearby venue - etc.) then it is best to just go ahead and choose a cabin you will be happy with and possibly have Princess mark it 'No Upgrade'. An upgrade can be a very small incremental upgrade, and is not necessarily a higher cabin category. For example a mid-ship location, the same main category (Inside, OV, Balcony...) is usually a slight 'upgrade', but not a different type of cabin. On our last cruise it was only like 60% booked, but the upgrade we would have wanted if we could upgrade upon boarding, for an increase in fare (from standard balcony to deluxe balcony) none of the cabins we would have wanted to upgrade to were available. All had been filled, assuming these were filled with passengers who had bid to upgrade.

I just thought I would go ahead and post this. One person, on Discovery, says that it IS covered. But, it seems others are not so sure. Is this a case of things not being all the same on Princess? Could change our mind on whether PLUS works for us!

Interesting! Yep, it def. shows 'fully refundable' for a mid-ship deluxe balcony, mid-decks... when you 'choose a room now'. I am not even logged in... How ODD !