Sun Princess - Original

[Meldrum]

1 hour ago, [g]cruiserke said:

 

No, reservations for the specialty restaurants are grayed out.

 

Strangely, I CAN book a table in the Reserve restaurant, which isn't supposed to be our designated dining room.  I went all the way through the booking process and the app confirmed my table.

 

I cancelled the table afterwards, as I wouldn't want to claim a table from someone who needs it 😊

The app is changing almost daily. I suppose there are still some errors to be fixed. In the list of available restaurants I can also select the Signature restaurant with the same message ’You’re always welcome and don’t need to make a reservation.’ This is definitely not true for Reserve cabin guests. The description of Hot pot and Umai Teppanyaki is also still wrong. Work in progress…

[Meldrum]

1 hour ago, [g]cruiserke said:

 

No, reservations for the specialty restaurants are grayed out.

 

Strangely, I CAN book a table in the Reserve restaurant, which isn't supposed to be our designated dining room.  I went all the way through the booking process and the app confirmed my table.

 

I cancelled the table afterwards, as I wouldn't want to claim a table from someone who needs it 😊

The app is changing almost daily. I suppose there are still some errors to be fixed. In the list of available restaurants I can also select the Signature restaurant with the same message ’You’re always welcome and don’t need to make a reservation.’ This is definitely not true for Reserve cabin guests. The description of Hot pot and Umai Teppanyaki is also still wrong. Work in progress…

[FLAlaska]

2 hours ago, [g]cruiserke said:

We're sailing in an S9 Signature Suite, departure on 4 January 2025 (so lots of time to read reviews and get tips from all you wonderful people who are sailing before us 😊) and I am now available to reserve dining in the Signature dining room for Suite guests.

 

I can choose day, time and table size (private or shared).  There's an option to make a standing reservation for all nights of the cruise, which gives an error message, bit I AM able to make single night reservations.

 

We're used to the Luminae Suite experience on Celebrity (this will be our first Princess cruise) and in Luminae, you do not need to make prior reservations for dinner, but it seems on Sun Princess reservations in the suite dining room will be if not required, then at least optional.

 

I  previously never made reservations before for club or suite dining. Just showed up and was seated immediately. Hope we won't need to now I like the freedom of just going when I wanted to

[Meldrum]

1 hour ago, [g]cruiserke said:

 

No, reservations for the specialty restaurants are grayed out.

 

Strangely, I CAN book a table in the Reserve restaurant, which isn't supposed to be our designated dining room.  I went all the way through the booking process and the app confirmed my table.

 

I cancelled the table afterwards, as I wouldn't want to claim a table from someone who needs it 😊

The app is changing almost daily. I suppose there are still some errors to be fixed. In the list of available restaurants I can also select the Signature restaurant with the same message ’You’re always welcome and don’t need to make a reservation.’ This is definitely not true for Reserve cabin guests. The description of Hot pot and Umai Teppanyaki is also still wrong. Work in progress…

[Daffy42]

On 2/18/2024 at 1:35 PM, Wishing on a star said:

I know that, at this point, this is all about how, if, and when the SUN will finally sail...

But, I am just wanting to confirm that the Dining reservation on the APP is not open or operational for cruises in the future.

DH downloaded the new APP...  And you can pull up Dining Reservations, but it always just shows that none are available for booking.

I am on Apr 27 sailing and can't reserve dining.

 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

6 hours ago, Meldrum said:

We also booked a Reserve Cabana Mini Suite, but deliberatly not one of those with an open end on the cabana deck. These are numbers 9239 to 9321 and 9238 to 9320. The benefit is that you walk out of the veranda or terrace to the cabana deck with the hot pool. The downside is the view is obstructed by fellow passengers and loungers and you can barely see the ocean from your veranda. We booked cabin 9329 which ends at the side of the ship, giving us unobstructed views directly on the ocean.

 I don’t think there is a “door” on your “balcony” that you can open and walk onto the cabana deck. You have to walk out your cabin door, down the hall and come out onto the deck. I did not see one in image. 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

4 hours ago, [g]cruiserke said:

We're sailing in an S9 Signature Suite, departure on 4 January 2025 (so lots of time to read reviews and get tips from all you wonderful people who are sailing before us 😊) and I am now available to reserve dining in the Signature dining room for Suite guests.

 

I can choose day, time and table size (private or shared).  There's an option to make a standing reservation for all nights of the cruise, which gives an error message, bit I AM able to make single night reservations.

 

We're used to the Luminae Suite experience on Celebrity (this will be our first Princess cruise) and in Luminae, you do not need to make prior reservations for dinner, but it seems on Sun Princess reservations in the suite dining room will be if not required, then at least optional.

 

I too didn't think we needed reservations for the suite restaurant. You don’t for “club class”. 

[Meldrum]

25 minutes ago, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

 I don’t think there is a “door” on your “balcony” that you can open and walk onto the cabana deck. You have to walk out your cabin door, down the hall and come out onto the deck. I did not see one in image. 

Not for the cabin we booked, but in the cabins directly on the cabana deck, I think you can open up a segment of the balcony closure to go directly to the deck. It is not very clear on the renderings though, but I presume it is.

[machmack]

This is the first class of ships (Sphere)) where mini suits do not have a tub.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

13 minutes ago, Meldrum said:

Not for the cabin we booked, but in the cabins directly on the cabana deck, I think you can open up a segment of the balcony closure to go directly to the deck. It is not very clear on the renderings though, but I presume it is.

I did not see one in the real video of the cabins and the same design they built for another cruise line did not have it. There is a video of some famous cruise vloggers who stayed in that cabin and complained about it. 

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, timcahill98 said:

You continue to make the argument that cruises can get canceled all the time (which is true), but you continue to overlook the issue that's making people mad....that the cruise was canceled WITHIN 4 DAYS OF DEPARTURE.  No matter what you say, I will NOT believe that Princess didn't know well ahead of time that they wouldn't be able to make the 18th.  THAT'S the issue that's making people mad, not that the cruise just got canceled.

No one knows exactly when Princess knew there was going to be a delay.   Princess could be faulted if they knew well before they cancelled, but we're not privy to this information.  On the plus side, Princess is providing the cancelled cruisers with a pretty good refund package.  

Edited February 20 by CruizinSusan70

[beg3yrs]

On 2/18/2024 at 9:05 AM, dides said:

Depends what they have planned for that cruise too. The cancelled 18th inaugural allowed 5 nights from the 13th with 1,000 workers onboard. No mention of any stops. In 2017 the Majestic Princess took 4 nights to get from Trieste to Rome with a stop at Kotor with paying passengers. Will they still need all those workers after all that extra time? Imagine all the logistics of getting them back from Rome to the shipyard and that having to be cancelled too (unless they were staying on eek)

 

Seems to me having 1,000 workers on board for the trip to Rome is an excellent opportunity for MDR and Buffet dress rehearsals. A great way to get all the kinks out with passengers who won't really complain (too much). Those workers all have to eat as well as stay in cabins - I doubt they stay in crew cabins, not enough. Another way for the stewards to get in the groove before paying passengers arrive. Heck, they may even get a few shows in as well.

[cruisedoctor]

Here is some updated information about some Sun Princess dining venues from the Princess Expert Data Base.  Including the difference between the 3 decks of the MDR.  I couldn't find any explanation of what "American Diner Concept" means.  I'll let you know on the 28th.

[New2cruise2022]

2 hours ago, Meldrum said:

Not for the cabin we booked, but in the cabins directly on the cabana deck, I think you can open up a segment of the balcony closure to go directly to the deck. It is not very clear on the renderings though, but I presume it is.

We will know soon enough. 

[cruisedoctor]

While I'm deeply disappointed and angry about the way Princess handled the cancellation of the 2/18 sailing.  I have to commend them about the speed of the refund process.  The cruise was cancelled late evening on the 13th, and my refund was already posted to my credit card account on the 15th. 

Prior to the cessation of cruising during COVID, none of the cruise lines had a process in place to handle mass refunds.  At that time, refunds were processed by hand, on an individual basis, each going through several authorization checks, to guard against internal fraud.  COVID cancelled sailings were taking up to 6 months for the refund to reach the passenger.  The process is now pretty much automated, as evidenced by my less than 48-hour turnaround.

 

My FCC was also posted to my Princess account late on the 14th.  Unfortunately, due to significant cruise price inflation, it's purchasing power is significantly less than it would have been, when my booking was made a year ago.  But again, something is better than nothing, and we can only play the cards we are delt.

Edited February 20 by cruisedoctor

[Steelers36]

On 2/18/2024 at 9:28 PM, Osa J said:

Haven’t followed up on this as I’ve just recently discovered cruise critic and saw other people talking about the dining.

Welcome to the Princess Forum and Cruise Critic.

[Vinnyv20032003]

16 hours ago, [g]cruiserke said:

We're sailing in an S9 Signature Suite, departure on 4 January 2025 (so lots of time to read reviews and get tips from all you wonderful people who are sailing before us 😊) and I am now available to reserve dining in the Signature dining room for Suite guests.

 

I can choose day, time and table size (private or shared).  There's an option to make a standing reservation for all nights of the cruise, which gives an error message, bit I AM able to make single night reservations.

 

We're used to the Luminae Suite experience on Celebrity (this will be our first Princess cruise) and in Luminae, you do not need to make prior reservations for dinner, but it seems on Sun Princess reservations in the suite dining room will be if not required, then at least optional.

 

We are on the March 19th sailing in a Deluxe Balcony cabin.

 

Reserve Collection dining recently came up in the App. It allowed me to go all the way through and book a reservation. I cancelled it right away out of respect for those who have paid for this level of accommodation.

 

Signature dining came up this morning in the App but gives me an ‘Error’ message when I try to complete a booking.

 

I’m sure it’s Princess still working on the kinks in the App. Neat to see new things being added.

[New2cruise2022]

8 hours ago, cruisedoctor said:

While I'm deeply disappointed and angry about the way Princess handled the cancellation of the 2/18 sailing.  I have to commend them about the speed of the refund process.  The cruise was cancelled late evening on the 13th, and my refund was already posted to my credit card account on the 15th. 

Prior to the cessation of cruising during COVID, none of the cruise lines had a process in place to handle mass refunds.  At that time, refunds were processed by hand, on an individual basis, each going through several authorization checks, to guard against internal fraud.  COVID cancelled sailings were taking up to 6 months for the refund to reach the passenger.  The process is now pretty much automated, as evidenced by my less than 48-hour turnaround.

 

My FCC was also posted to my Princess account late on the 14th.  Unfortunately, due to significant cruise price inflation, its purchasing power is significantly less than it would have been, when my booking was made a year ago.  But again, something is better than nothing, and we can only play the cards we are delt.

So good to hear that the process was quick. It doesn’t take the sting out off the cancellation but also isn’t pouring fuel on the fire. 
 

Sorry you couldn’t go! I hope your next adventure is more pleasant. 

[dides]

A new reel has been posted giving us a glimpse of the Crown Grill on Sun Princess

 

[FLAlaska]

2 hours ago, dides said:

A new reel has been posted giving us a glimpse of the Crown Grill on Sun Princess

 

Thank you for posting. She has a few reels up

[Cruise Wonderland]

12 hours ago, cruisedoctor said:

The cruise was cancelled late evening on the 13th, and my refund was already posted to my credit card account on the 15th.

 

I see the other side of the story. It reflects that Princess already knew the cruise cancellation a least a few days in advance. All refunds have been readily prepared. Once they announced the cancellation news to public, all refund can be processed immediately and automatically.

[Vinnyv20032003]

My new daily addiction is searching the internet for any article, post, or hint that signals toward the Sun Princess departing Monfalcone. 🤣🤪

[SouKnoMe]

Mine is checking for any type of movements, or sea trials. I scan  the site several times a day. Also keeping in mind of time differences. 

Edited February 20 by SouKnoMe

[Vinnyv20032003]

2 minutes ago, SouKnoMe said:

Mine is checking for any type of movements, or sea trials. I scan  the site several times a day. Also keeping n mind of time differences. 

www.CruiseMapper.com

 

www.MarineTraffic.com

 

Civitavecchia’s official port website (for a possible arrival date/time)

 

^^ Right there with you!

 

I almost considered listing out each website I’m checking in my post above lol. Too long of a list.

[Osa J]

5 hours ago, dides said:

A new reel has been posted giving us a glimpse of the Crown Grill on Sun Princess

 

If you look closely, at one point in the video it shows a door and the hallway area outside does not look complete…?