Sun Princess - Original

[Cruising Forever!]

I'm still astonished that only that one crew member has posted vids to YouTube from inside the Sun.  Like I said before, Icon had multiple leaked videos on YouTube from various crew (some paid attention to Royal Caribbean's rules against this, while others didn't).  It could be that was after taking delivery (which, as others pointed out, does NOT mean the ship is ready to take on passengers) but before her arrival in Miami.

I'm sure once Sun leaves the shipyard, a flurry of work aboard will continue between that date and Feb 18th. Probably mostly cosmetic stuff, but I wouldn't be surprised if the paint is still wet in some parts of the ship.  LOL!

Hoping Sun gets delivered on the 9th!

[vjmatty]

9 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

That’s awful that they couldn’t sail one day sooner. I wonder why??? 

Don’t forget they have to squeeze in a VIP sailing prior to the inaugural. 

[Wishing on a star]

On 2/5/2024 at 2:23 AM, Nemanoxer said:

Is there an overview for a Princess first timer which venues and events will need to be looked after (reservations etc.)? 

 

I am booked as Standard til now.

You might look for other threads with titles that indicate 'first time Princess' etc...

I am not the biggest expert..  but I will try to give you a little info, and hopefully others will add or correct info.  Just trying to help out, as you have not sailed Princess before.

 

Yes, there are things that you can, and should, book in advance.

You can pull up your booking online...  But, you should really download the App.

Dining is available to be booked (your preferred dining venue and dining time).

Specialty dining, those with an additional uncharge should be available.  Pay at time of booking.

But, this is now only showing for the first few sailings of the SUN.

Shore excursions, if you wish to book Princess Excursions can be available.

Some might book up, and you could go ahead and reserve. Also, pay when booking.

Theater - I do not think that there are any theater or entertainment events that one has to make any reservations.

The Sanctuary can not be booked before you board.  And, those who have priority boarding, and those who are continuing on from the prior sailing can have this all booked up.  The current protocol is to board as early as you possibly can, and rush up to the Sanctuary if you hope to find available loungers.

 

About the packages...  For many, if not most, the PLUS package can be the way to go.  If you enjoy your coffee drinks, bottled waters, soda, juice, etc...  Plush throw in the Gratuities and WIFI and two visits to what are called the 'Casual' additional dining venues.  (Alfredos is very popular,  you should try!). One almost breaks even pretty quickly.  Just a few alcoholic drinks along the way, and PLUS can be a good option.

Edited February 6 by Wishing on a star

[dides]

Well it's still pretty quiet out there on social media.  There's a YouTube short with our crew guy showing us a glimpse of a Sun Princess lifeboat, with shutter-like doors and a sign that says it has a capacity of 440.

 

 

Unable to translate what he says but looking up the lifeboat spec for Fassmer 14.0, then  it can definitely take that number of people!

 

Edited February 6 by dides

[Oceansaway17]

On 2/5/2024 at 2:32 PM, dides said:

It has been reported that Fincantieri and Princess now hope to deliver Sun Princess on February 9, in time for the new inaugural on February 18.

they HOPE does not sound good.   Wondering what is really going on.

Glad I booked Sun for Nov and it better be up and running smoothly. 

[Pony Girl]

5 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

they HOPE does not sound good.   Wondering what is really going on.

Glad I booked Sun for Nov and it better be up and running smoothly. 

 

The Sun Princess is 1,133 feet long, 155 feet wide, 21 decks high and 175,500 gross tons.

 

Compared to the Titanic: 882 feet long, 92 feet wide, 9 decks high, and 46,000 gross tons.

 

The Sun was part of a two-ship order placed with Fincantieri by Carnival Corporation five and a half YEARS ago, in July 2018. Constructing a 30 story tall, fully equipped resort for 4,300 passengers and 1,547 staff, that not only floats, but propels itself all over the planet, might possibly be a little more complicated than assembling a coffee table from Ikea.

 

Princess has officially apologized for the ONE cancelled cruise, refunded all payments, offered  compensation for flight changes, as well as 50% Future Cruise Credit. Princess has also officially stated that the Sun will sail on February 18th. Multiple posts here on Cruise Critic refer to entertainers boarding the ship prior to the 18th, and the ship being officially scheduled to arrive and depart Civitavecchia on the 18th. 

 

*I* was also supposed to be on the inaugural cruise, but this isn't a perfect world. 

[dides]

The Princess App has now been updated to include the Sun Princess ship map.  The venue names are a bit fuzzy on my Android version though!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 7 by dides

[SJpaul]

They also have added more of the dining options, not just the ones to reserve and the laundry locations as well

 

Edited February 7 by SJpaul

[nasa1974]

8 hours ago, Pony Girl said:

 

The Sun Princess is 1,133 feet long, 155 feet wide, 21 decks high and 175,500 gross tons.

 

Compared to the Titanic: 882 feet long, 92 feet wide, 9 decks high, and 46,000 gross tons.

 

The Sun was part of a two-ship order placed with Fincantieri by Carnival Corporation five and a half YEARS ago, in July 2018. Constructing a 30 story tall, fully equipped resort for 4,300 passengers and 1,547 staff, that not only floats, but propels itself all over the planet, might possibly be a little more complicated than assembling a coffee table from Ikea.

 

Princess has officially apologized for the ONE cancelled cruise, refunded all payments, offered  compensation for flight changes, as well as 50% Future Cruise Credit. Princess has also officially stated that the Sun will sail on February 18th. Multiple posts here on Cruise Critic refer to entertainers boarding the ship prior to the 18th, and the ship being officially scheduled to arrive and depart Civitavecchia on the 18th. 

 

*I* was also supposed to be on the inaugural cruise, but this isn't a perfect world. 

Pony Girl, welcome to cruise critic.

[CatMom72]

7 hours ago, dides said:

The Princess App has now been updated to include the Sun Princess ship map.  The venue names are a bit fuzzy on my Android version though!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It looks just as fuzzy on iOS.

[CatMom72]

1 hour ago, nasa1974 said:

Pony Girl, welcome to cruise critic.

 Emphasis on "critic"!😂

[Oceansaway17]

13 hours ago, Pony Girl said:

  

Princess has officially apologized for the ONE cancelled cruise, refunded all payments, offered  compensation for flight changes, as well as 50% Future Cruise Credit. Princess has also officially stated that the Sun will sail on February 18th. Multiple posts here on Cruise Critic refer to entertainers boarding the ship prior to the 18th, and the ship being officially scheduled to arrive and depart Civitavecchia on the 18th. 

 

*I* was also supposed to be on the inaugural cruise, but this isn't a perfect world. 

well I am sorry you missed the first sailing as it seems this is starting to happen more and more.

 

I can't wait to see the ship in November myself.  It will be an upgrade from the Grand that I did last year.

[dides]

Crew member Gede Darsana posted a picture of himself standing next to the ship today. I think it looks like they are tidying things up in prep for the handover but who knows!  This picture does give you a close up of the Cabana deck immediately above him however.

 

[SouKnoMe]

12 minutes ago, dides said:

Crew member Gede Darsana posted a picture of himself standing next to the ship today. I think it looks like they are tidying things up in prep for the handover but who knows!  This picture does give you a close up of the Cabana deck immediately above him however.

 

Thank you for being steadfast in your commitment of sharing info. I’m so sorry your sailing was displaced. May I ask, will you go on another date?

[SouKnoMe]

15 minutes ago, dides said:

Crew member Gede Darsana posted a picture of himself standing next to the ship today. I think it looks like they are tidying things up in prep for the handover but who knows!  This picture does give you a close up of the Cabana deck immediately above him however.

 

Nice to see the scaffolding and plastic being removed. 

[dides]

15 minutes ago, SouKnoMe said:

Thank you for being steadfast in your commitment of sharing info. I’m so sorry your sailing was displaced. May I ask, will you go on another date?

Thank you for asking. We have placeholder bookings on the Transatlantic and the 5 day inaugural from FLL but my work commitments mean they are both unlikely now.  Still looking at options - we're off on a lastminute NCL Joy Transatlantic to Miami next week so we don't have to sit and mope at home during the new inaugural 😁

 

 

Edited February 7 by dides

[SouKnoMe]

59 minutes ago, dides said:

Thank you for asking. We have placeholder bookings on the Transatlantic and the 5 day inaugural from FLL but my work commitments mean they are both unlikely now.  Still looking at options - we're off on a lastminute NCL Joy Transatlantic to Miami next week so we don't have to sit and mope at home during the new inaugural 😁

 

 

Just know I’m feeling for you. I checked the itinerary the other day and it was one of my favorite. I truly hope that you have great weather on the replacement. But really hope that you can get the needed time to join the Sun. Fingers crossed. 

[susieq76]

I wonder how Kai Sushi is going to work?  Casual to $39 seems like there has to be more included.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

19 hours ago, Pony Girl said:

Princess has also officially stated that the Sun will sail on February 18th. 

Can you show me where they have officially stated that they are sailing on the 18th?

Edited February 8 by Sox Fan Cruiser

[nymshowdown]

Any idea if Princess plans on naming the decks as they do on all other ships? Deck plans still only showing numbers, even for the cabins.

 

I've always liked the deck names, idk why but it seems a bit "classier" than just using numbers like some other lines. And at least for me, having the letter plus three numbers makes it a lot easier to remember my cabin number rather than having 5 numbers to memorize. 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

17 hours ago, dides said:

The Princess App has now been updated to include the Sun Princess ship map.  The venue names are a bit fuzzy on my Android version though!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My app looks clear on my iPad. I haven’t tried it on my phone yet.

 

[cristine]

7 hours ago, dides said:

Crew member Gede Darsana posted a picture of himself standing next to the ship today. I think it looks like they are tidying things up in prep for the handover but who knows!  This picture does give you a close up of the Cabana deck immediately above him however.

 

We are booked in 14603. It’s Aft where the cabins jut out. First cabin

It looks to me that the side of the balcony is exposed to the world by this picture.

Can anyone tell?
I don’t think I’m going to like the lack of privacy, or am I just looking at it wrong

What do you all think?

Edited February 8 by cristine
Disregard

[dides]

6 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

My app looks clear on my iPad. I haven’t tried it on my phone yet.

 

 

Thanks, that is much clearer!  And also confirms where Butcher Block by Dario and The Catch by Rudi will be located as pop-ups in the World Fresh Marketplace:

 

Edited February 8 by dides

[MsSoCalCruiser]

7 minutes ago, dides said:

 

Thanks, that is much clearer!  And also confirms where Butcher Block by Dario and The Catch by Rudi will be located as pop-ups in the World Fresh Marketplace:

 

@dides you’re welcome. Do you think it’ll be a pop-up or will this be a small permanent space for the restaurants. Last year we sailed on the Navigator of the Seas and there was a speciality restaurant back in the buffet area.

[dides]

1 minute ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

@dides you’re welcome. Do you think it’ll be a pop-up or will this be a small permanent space for the restaurants. Last year we sailed on the Navigator of the Seas and there was a speciality restaurant back in the buffet area.

Considering they said Butchers Block by Dario would be 'family style' on a big table it may well be permanent. And Catch by Rudi had a lot more booking slots. We shall hopefully find out in 10 or 11 days. Ahh darnit, we would have been boarding today and I had booked Butchers Block for the first evening!