New Princess Sphere class ships?

[sloopsailor]

2 hours ago, dides said:

You will need to be careful which cabana you book I think.  We booked a conservatory mini-suite on deck 9 on P&O Iona which is based on the same platform. This was their version of a cabana and we found it overlooked a wide promenade deck plus was completely overlooked from above. We booked without knowing the full surroundings, paying a premium and didn't even get to look down on the sea - wasn't too happy . Felt even more sorry for those who had these mini-suites on deck 8 where passers by could look directly into their balconies! Have a quick look at this attached clip if interested.

 

 

 

That looks exactly like the stateroom illustration for the Sun's Cabana rooms! 

Edited September 20, 2022 by sloopsailor

[CruizinSusan70]

7 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

"X" seems to be the role model for everything that is wrong with this approach.  So how would switching to that line benefit anyone who doesn't like this new direction?  Based on conversations that I have had with others as well as posts here, the NCL model of The Haven works.  People pay to be cordoned off in a separate part of the ship.  Nothing is taken away from the other passengers. Instead, new venues were built out in brand new areas of the ship to cater to the people who want the lifestyle upgrade. Pretty brilliant, actually.  (Though I can't see why people pay a super premium to be on an NCL ship when they could book on Viking or Oceanic, but that is a different debate.)  Celebrity, on the other hand, does not place the Superior Class in a cordoned off area and instead has robbed certain areas of the ships that used to be open to all and made them private.  That would not interest me in the least and I hope that Princess isn't going to do that, but the deck plan suggests otherwise.  We'll see.

The NCL and the Haven has it's own restaurant, pool, deck, bar, and lounge.  Exactly like the Retreat on X.  The only difference is that X also has the restaurant Blu for Aquaclass cabins.  Those that stay in the Haven for the most part like to stay there during the day, enjoy happy hour and dinner and then post dinner enjoy all of the entertainment options that a large cruise ship can offer.  They get the best of both worlds, exclusivity during the day and various options during the evening.  This would be different than cruising on a line such as Viking which would not offer the same type of various entertainment options that the larger ships would offer.

Regarding what was taken away on X, besides Michaels, I can't think of anything.  Have recently cruised on the Edge and Apex and didn't think that those in the Retreat were infringing upon my space and happiness at all.  Looking forward to 18 nights on the Beyond next year and 25 nights on the NCL Prima before that.

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

I too will wait, especially since these itineraries will be in FEB!!!!

The thing is, I am afraid that these itineraries will disappear, and will go with the more limited itineraries that Princess has been sailing.   I would be disappointed!!!  But believe that is what will happen.

Wondering if there will be a shortie to fill in a timing gap somewhere????

The European itineraries will go from February till probably October or maybe November before the TA to Port Everglades.  Eight + months can produce various itineraries of varying lengths.  Should be interesting as to when the new sailings will be released.

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, Wishing on a star said:

Yes, I just pulled up those new deck plans, and it looks like the room in the video is a small cabin with cabana on deck 10, maybe in the numbers in the 10-200s.  Absolutely no cover on the actual outside balcony.  they are coded in purple.

 

That might be a good heads-up for some people here!

Comparing the cabins on P&O Iona will more than likely not be anything like what will be on the Sun Princess just like the cabins on the Iona are not similar to the cabins on the Carnival Mardi Gras.  Even though they are all based on the same platform and are about 4 K apart size wise, the cabin layouts are not identical.  The Mardi Gras has 12 aft wrap around corner balconies as well as 34 aft facing extended balconies.  

[Wishing on a star]

Yes, of course!   However, it was easy to see on that video, based on the main ship design and platform, that this was a very similar set-up and location.  Which, the deck plans for Sun Princess also show a wide deck area below (which appears to be the mock up image of the exclusive cabana deck area) and which also, just by aligning the decks, leaves the balcony uncovered.  The deck above does not seem to offer any additional width or overhang.  So, if I were to want a cabana cabin, I would look at other locations to see if any were better.

[hokiefans]

On 9/16/2022 at 10:48 AM, c-boy said:

thank you for the plan.  for now, it appears no self serve laundry on the new design.

Hopefully the deck plans will be updated because we love having this option!

[DrivesLikeMario]

Really don't like the Sphere Class.  Even though the ships will have some cool features, they are WAY too big for our tastes.  The largest we can handle are the Royal Class and even at that, it's not a favorite size of ours.  We'll stick with smaller ships on Oceania, Azamara, Seabourn, Silversea and other cruise lines.

[Wishing on a star]

Right now the only details filled on on the deck plans are the cabins.  This is because they are pre-built and set in stone before a lot of other things, so that they can start booking cabins.  Everything else is still grayed out.  I would assume, and hope, that those laundry facilities will be there.

[Wishing on a star]

I am not sure if the International Cafe will be there, anywhere near it's current form.  I know that they will be offering a ton more dining options.  Maybe in a more food-court type setting.  (maybe the two level round area that is forward of the huge glassed in Atrium???).  Not sure where they are planning to  put Cooners in either?

[Essex Racer]

Looking at the cabin layouts, seems to have the same crafty offset beds as Iona making the rooms thin. One room bed right up against the wardrobe, then the next door room the bed is next to the balcony doors.

[deliver42]

I'm ghlad they are finally putting Sofas in the cabins.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Cruise deck plans dot com have posted the Sun on their website. Seems they have gotten a preliminary plan with labels on most spaces. Not all space names/details are final of course but it gives a good idea of what we can expect. Overall I am pleased. Curiously there appear to be zero dining venues available on the upper decks, except for the “altitude” restaurant which I assume will be for the suites, or a very pricey specialty dining venue. 

[Geoffa30]

3 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Cruise deck plans dot com have posted the Sun on their website. Seems they have gotten a preliminary plan with labels on most spaces. Not all space names/details are final of course but it gives a good idea of what we can expect. Overall I am pleased. Curiously there appear to be zero dining venues available on the upper decks, except for the “altitude” restaurant which I assume will be for the suites, or a very pricey specialty dining venue. 

Thanks for flagging this. Very interesting to see but wonder how they managed to obtain so much detail when the Princess website version is blanked out. Confirms the rope course and glider thingy on the upper decks.

[TorontoTL]

5 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Cruise deck plans dot com have posted the Sun on their website. Seems they have gotten a preliminary plan with labels on most spaces. Not all space names/details are final of course but it gives a good idea of what we can expect. Overall I am pleased. Curiously there appear to be zero dining venues available on the upper decks, except for the “altitude” restaurant which I assume will be for the suites, or a very pricey specialty dining venue. 

Thanks for sharing that information.  For those concerned the deck plans show laundry rooms.  Strange that the deck plans show a change back to Sterling Steakhouse from the more recently used Crown Grill.

[FLAlaska]

7 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Cruise deck plans dot com have posted the Sun on their website. Seems they have gotten a preliminary plan with labels on most spaces. Not all space names/details are final of course but it gives a good idea of what we can expect. Overall I am pleased. Curiously there appear to be zero dining venues available on the upper decks, except for the “altitude” restaurant which I assume will be for the suites, or a very pricey specialty dining venue. 

Caught that yesterday. The buffet is showing on deck 9 which I am not a fan of. 

[phabric]

I noticed that the cabin sizes for balconies are all 236 sq ft.  Normally depending where the cabin are on the ship there are different sizes.

[Fairsky84]

9 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Cruise deck plans dot com have posted the Sun on their website. Seems they have gotten a preliminary plan with labels on most spaces. Not all space names/details are final of course but it gives a good idea of what we can expect. Overall I am pleased. Curiously there appear to be zero dining venues available on the upper decks, except for the “altitude” restaurant which I assume will be for the suites, or a very pricey specialty dining venue. 

I looks like the website has simply made educated guesses about what the different venues are. I wouldn't take these plans as accurate.

[Sea Hag]

2 hours ago, FLAlaska said:

Caught that yesterday. The buffet is showing on deck 9 which I am not a fan of. 

I'm not sure I like that either. Also, there's a lot of outdoor dining for the buffet, and drag decks shows that to be uncovered. I'm wondering about that. Sea day with lots of wind? Hold onto your plate! I imagine there's a lot of indoor dining as well.

[Sea Hag]

6 hours ago, Geoffa30 said:

Thanks for flagging this. Very interesting to see but wonder how they managed to obtain so much detail when the Princess website version is blanked out. Confirms the rope course and glider thingy on the upper decks.

Company websites many times lag way behind reality. Whoever provided the updated deckplans to Cruise Deckplans probably also provided them to the website team. Probably the website will get updated eventually, and probably things will change a lot in what we're seeing on Cruise Deckplans. Probably.

[Dunk]

27 minutes ago, Fairsky84 said:

I looks like the website has simply made educated guesses about what the different venues are. I wouldn't take these plans as accurate.

Disagree. The font and design that is being used has definitely originated from Princess. It They just got ahold of something that they shouldn’t have, and posted it when they shouldn’t have. It’s like how on the day of the big announcement, the Orlando Sentinel leaked all the information about the ship early. That day I can guarantee that Princess gave them a “release no earlier” than time, and they did it anyway, accidentally or on purpose. 

[c-boy]

 

 it appears (there might be) a two level suite lounge  aft    WONDERFUL !   ..... if it's true 

[HBCcruiser]

4 minutes ago, c-boy said:

 

 it appears (there might be) a two level suite lounge  aft    WONDERFUL !   ..... if it's true 

The Sanctuary is now aft. If the suite restaurant is indeed The Altitude then this ship will have a Haven-like feel with the lounge, restaurant and pool/sun deck all close to most of the suites. Sort of like the Prima. Perf! 

Edited September 25, 2022 by HBCcruiser

[FLAlaska]

28 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

I'm not sure I like that either. Also, there's a lot of outdoor dining for the buffet, and drag decks shows that to be uncovered. I'm wondering about that. Sea day with lots of wind? Hold onto your plate! I imagine there's a lot of indoor dining as well.

I am old school and love poolside dining with poolside grills and eating venues. Its what keeps me away from Royal and even NCL. I hope the keep Mast grill or some kind of poolside, upper deck places. Not a fan of that whole get up, get dressed to go spend 30 minutes eating  Albeit, with a WORKING medallion app, that might not matter.

 

However as for Deck 9,  that sea day dining on outside decks will be interesting.

[Steelers36]

I looked at the deck plans as presented on "cruise deck plans dot com" (thanks for the reference @AtlantaCruiser72).  I have to say I am intrigued by this new ship design.  For me, it is more evolutionary than Crown Class to Royal Class.  I like a lot of the flow and placement of facilities shown.  Here are some comments:

 

1. This information could be from a pre-release type of general information since they are not using the same names for venues that Princess used in their press release.  So, I wouldn't necessarily expect the steakhouse to be badged as Sterling versus CG.

2. I like the idea of placing the WFM amongst all the other venues on Deck 9.  I am sure they have considered wind flow and I do see lots of outdoor areas.  On some ships, the outdoor dining on Lido can be sunny or breezy, depending on location and winds.

3. True to catering to more multi-generational push, it appears to be relatively spacious areas for various age groups, including a new family space (whatever that might be).

4. The new design for Princess Live looks great with a semi-circle type layout that appears to be open to the traffic flow, much like the Explorer's Lounge is on ships that have it. 

5. Just realizing as I wrote that, that there is no Vista Lounge at all and that area on existing ships seems to be downplayed a lot in recent times.  I suppose the new Dome area elevates this type of alternative entertainment area.

6. Interesting that the large mid-ship DR's are moved aft and Main Dining is now a 3-level stack on Decks 6 thru 8.

7. Not sure how much larger the Sanctuary might be now on Deck 18 Aft and how much of that space is going to be given over to Suites access.  Of course, we also don't know how many high-priced cabanas will be placed in the area versus the more affordable loungers.

8. I cannot find any information about the Beach Club on Deck 16 forward.  Not clear, but perhaps an adult-only area.  Beyond that, it is first-come free, or is this another area for the Reserve/Suite guests?  How is it different from The Sanctuary?

9. Not clear to me what specialty dining options exist for guests beyond the steakhouse.  Not sure what the Inclusive Restaurant is on Deck 7 (not likely its real name).  Altitude on Dec 17 - is it for anyone to book?  So, it seems a lack of SD venues on this ship compared to current fleet.

10. There has been all sorts of mysterious puffery by Princess over a new concept called "360" and I don't see where that would be on Sphere.

 

So, I think it would be great to experience one of those Cabana cabins, but we probably won't spend the dollars required (not concerned with Reserve section).  In any case, I would be interested in trying this ship out in Caribbean sector where we have been many times and view it as going more for the ship.  So many new approaches being taking from cabins, to dining, to entertainment, I think it is worth a try sometime.

[c-boy]

I am some what taken with the open glass design mid ship. I can see myself puling up a comfy chair and toasting  🥂 my beautiful bride after leaving  future cruise office. 

Edited September 25, 2022 by c-boy