Sun Princess - Original

[JimmyVWine]

4 minutes ago, partybarbie said:

I would expect everything to be operational by then.

I would certainly hope so.  But just imagine the uproar if they weren't?  A transatlantic on a tramp steamer. 🤣  I am on the cruise before that that goes from BCL to Southampton before it heads across the Atlantic.  Four Sea Days and an overnight in Southampton before disembarking.

[partybarbie]

17 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I would certainly hope so.  But just imagine the uproar if they weren't?  A transatlantic on a tramp steamer. 🤣  I am on the cruise before that that goes from BCL to Southampton before it heads across the Atlantic.  Four Sea Days and an overnight in Southampton before disembarking.

I’m on that one too. If things still aren’t working, are you up for a mutiny? 😆 

 

 

[rexdillinger]

 

[dog]

16 minutes ago, rexdillinger said:

 

I am interested in hearing this video but cannot get the volume up enough. Can someone summarize briefly?

[dides]

3 minutes ago, dog said:

I am interested in hearing this video but cannot get the volume up enough. Can someone summarize briefly?

Click the subtitles icon?

[555]

19 minutes ago, rexdillinger said:

 

I fully agree with all of your comments but I doubt if the Princess cheerleaders' will see it that way.

It's about time that Princess realizes it. 

[dog]

8 minutes ago, 555 said:

I fully agree with all of your comments but I doubt if the Princess cheerleaders' will see it that way.

It's about time that Princess realizes it. 

I am seeing from fb, posts that show flooding, no water, no flushing, food in buffet limited hours, line ups for dining, entertainment venues not operational, port changes etc.  Granted some occur on any cruise.

I am also seeing wonderful, glowing reviews about the SUN- first sailing.

I personally would not accept this as ok as a full paying passenger.

Tip: it costs more, get travel insurance for non refundable expenses, have a back up plan.

 

[macusr]

16 hours ago, cruisedoctor said:

@azbirdmom Alfredo’s on the Sun will NOT have any pasta on the menu.  The entrees are either a pizza or the calzone.  The desert menu does have more than the rest of the fleet.  I’ve had the cannoli twice and it was good.

So disappointing to hear that news about the pasta. ☹️

[Wishing on a star]

Thank you Rex!!!

 

I totally agree....

And what is even more disturbing are those, like you mentioned, that actually try to CENSOR truthful information...  Any information that does not fit their narrative.

 

Speak on, brother!!!

[Esprit]

1 hour ago, dog said:

I am interested in hearing this video but cannot get the volume up enough. Can someone summarize briefly?

To summarize; He ain't happy!

[Wishing on a star]

Just thinking out loud...

Have you adjust the sound on your device/computer???

If video sound is not enough, can you turn up the overall sound...  

If you have already done this,  then sorry...  just ignore!

[Slee_Stack]

On Sun now, lounging in the dome. There's been plenty of hiccups, but ultimately it's been a positive experience.  I'm new to Princess though so I had no expectations.

[Mike07]

1 hour ago, rexdillinger said:

 

 

 

Princess makes no promise of a memorable or good vacation.

 

It's a new ship and princess wants the money printer to go brrrrrrrrr!

[dog]

6 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

That's not exactly what he said.  He said:  "I've tried to find him and talk to him personally about these issues, but to no avail."  There is nothing in that statement that indicates that John Padgett is aware of Mr. Dillinger, who Mr. Dillinger is, that Mr. Dillinger is making videos, or that Mr. Dillinger wishes to speak with Mr. Padgett.  And there is certainly nothing in that statement that suggests that Mr. Padgett is unwilling to, or has refused to speak with Mr. Dillinger.  All we know is that Mr. Dillinger has tried to find Mr. Padgett and so far has not done so.  Let's not make this out to be a story where Mr. Padgett is actively hiding from a YouTube poster and actively refusing to be interviewed. I mean no disrespect to Mr. Dillinger, but making an assumption that Mr. Padgett owes Mr. Dillinger any time whatsoever on this cruise would be taking his social media presence and self-importance to an unrealistic level.  

True.

Although, my fb friend, whom I cannot name on here, has had two photo ops with JP this week. JP is visible to others, as well.

I do agree the SUN was not ready to sail, but see/ hear some passengers are ok with this.

Edited March 6 by dog

[Mike07]

11 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

That's not exactly what he said.  He said:  "I've tried to find him and talk to him personally about these issues, but to no avail."  There is nothing in that statement that indicates that John Padgett is aware of Mr. Dillinger, who Mr. Dillinger is, that Mr. Dillinger is making videos, or that Mr. Dillinger wishes to speak with Mr. Padgett.  And there is certainly nothing in that statement that suggests that Mr. Padgett is unwilling to, or has refused to speak with Mr. Dillinger.  All we know is that Mr. Dillinger has tried to find Mr. Padgett and so far has not done so.  Let's not make this out to be a story where Mr. Padgett is actively hiding from a YouTube poster and actively refusing to be interviewed. I mean no disrespect to Mr. Dillinger, but making an assumption that Mr. Padgett owes Mr. Dillinger any time whatsoever on this cruise would be taking his social media presence and self-importance to an unrealistic level.  

 

 

If I were in first class, I too, would not want to be seen with and actively would avoid steerage class passengers.

Edited March 6 by Mike07

[Mike07]

Also, when I did own CCL stock, I'm more concerned about Padgett and the c-suite returning shareholder value.... Passenger experiences have no bearing on that equation.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 3/4/2024 at 11:12 AM, Catherine Claus said:

Has there been any word when Spellbound will be available?  We will be on the ship in a few days.   Hoping Park 19 will finally be open for our sailing.

Unless you can tell your SO to put the elves to work, I believe you'll be out of luck hoping that those two venues will be ready.

[JimmyVWine]

2 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Unless you can tell your SO to put the elves to work, I believe you'll be out of luck hoping that those two venues will be ready.

 

Hermie!  If we don't get Spellbound finished on time, the children will be so upset!

[DHP1]

Deleted

Edited March 6 by DHP1

[jwattle]

1 minute ago, DHP1 said:

https://www.princess.com/en-us/plan/cruise-with-confidence/princess-promise

Princess Promise is currently valid on cruises departing through September 30, 2022

[CatMom72]

1 hour ago, 555 said:

I fully agree with all of your comments but I doubt if the Princess cheerleaders' will see it that way.

It's about time that Princess realizes it. 

I agree with many of the points made in the video. For example, Mr. Dillinger's assessment that the ship should not have sailed with so many venues unfinished is totally legitimate.  I also agree that it was wrong for Princess to be so opaque about the issues they were seeing in the weeks and months leading up to the inaugural sailing, which resulted in many would-be passengers being left in the lurch.  However, some of the other things in the video are not as clear-cut for me.  I realize it isn't necessarily a popular viewpoint, but I actually don't mind SOME of the upselling.

 

For one thing, I think people romanticize the days before Princess and other lines offered drink packages. For the most part, though, I think the drink packages are a major improvement over the previous system.  I hated having to sign a receipt for every drink and cross-check every receipt for every single person in our room. I really hated trying to mentally keep track of what everyone was spending on drinks, too...who wants to waste valuable time obsessing over the bill on a cruise?  Drink packages and technology upgrades have put an end to all of those inconveniences for me. I pay up front. There are no receipts, and no nasty surprises on the bill at the end of the cruise that send me down to guest services at 2AM on disembarkation day trying to get the problem solved.  I don't miss those days. In any event, no one is forced to get a drink package.  If you don't drink, or prefer to buy your drinks the old-school way (one at a time, a la carte), you can still choose to do that.  Why bash the cruise line for offering this as an alternative, or disparage your fellow passengers who choose this option?

 

I also don't mind upselling for dining and (at least in some cases) entertainment. Most of the big draws on newer ships, including the Sun, are the unique dining and entertainment venues. Every cruise line adds such venues to compete with its peers for market share. If paying passengers didn't want this, Icon of the Seas and other state-of-the-art cruise ships with the newest, splashiest spaces would not be largely sold out for the first two years after launching. It costs money for the cruise line to add these venues, and they aren't big enough to accommodate every passenger.  If they were free to everyone, how would the cruise line be able to manage demand?  You can see that charging for these venues does that.  Just look at the number of passengers who were champing at the bit to get into the 30-seat Spellbound theater until they found out it would cost $149pp. Some people will still want to pay, but many others will not. Maybe someone who can't see paying $149pp at Spellbound is perfectly comfortable paying $149pp for dinner at Love by Britto. Or maybe they really enjoy wine and would prefer to spend $140pp at the Caymus wine dinner.  And of course there are customers who are perfectly happy eating at the MDR or the buffet.  Either way, charging for the specialty venues largely solves the demand problem for the cruise ship, and it provides a bunch of new, exciting options for those who are willing to pay for them. What's wrong with that?  There are plenty of activities on the ship that are free. Every passenger can choose to pay as much or as little as they'd like to have access to whichever of these venues interests them. 

 

I know a lot of people will say that the quality of food in the buffet and MDR has declined, and that this has been done purposely to drive people toward the specialty venues.  I think that may be partially true.  At the same time, I think as ships have gotten bigger and inflation has gotten worse, it simply isn't cost-effective for cruise lines to provide the same level of quality in those areas without charging substantially more for the cruise fare.  I suppose they feel like people who really hate the MDR and the buffet can choose to pay more for better food.  It's the same model that budget airlines use when they charge a bargain-basement price for a very spartan onboard experience (e.g., no free drinks, no free carry-ons, extra fee to choose your own seat).  People complain about getting nickeled-and-dimed by these budget carriers, but if the model was that unpopular, Spirit and other low-cost/no frills airlines would have gone out of business long ago.  You can always choose an airline that charges a higher cost right up front but won't nickel-and-dime you over the small stuff. Similarly, if what you really want a high-end cruise experience with great food in the MDR, where you aren't charged extra for drinks or other add-ons, you can always consider a luxury cruise line.  You'll pay more up front, but at least you'll know what you're getting and won't have to worry about being expected to pay more for every little thing while you're onboard.

 

The bottom line is that each consumer has a choice.  No one has to pay for anything they don't want. But it's up to you to do your research and to know what is included and what is not. If you want to pay extra, great.  If you don't, great. What's right for one person may not be great for another.

[Mike07]

31 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

 I mean no disrespect to Mr. Dillinger, but making an assumption that Mr. Padgett owes Mr. Dillinger any time whatsoever on this cruise would be taking his social media presence and self-importance to an unrealistic level.  

 

 

Realistically, no CEO is going to want to answer questions about a product still being finished. I don't remember the Icon or Oasis class ships from RCL having this many issues. It seemed to be more pipes bursting and production shows needing more props

[DHP1]

2 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Princess Promise is currently valid on cruises departing through September 30, 2022

Thanks

[startedwithamouse]

34 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

That's not exactly what he said.  He said:  "I've tried to find him and talk to him personally about these issues, but to no avail."  There is nothing in that statement that indicates that John Padgett is aware of Mr. Dillinger, who Mr. Dillinger is, that Mr. Dillinger is making videos, or that Mr. Dillinger wishes to speak with Mr. Padgett.  And there is certainly nothing in that statement that suggests that Mr. Padgett is unwilling to, or has refused to speak with Mr. Dillinger.  All we know is that Mr. Dillinger has tried to find Mr. Padgett and so far has not done so.  Let's not make this out to be a story where Mr. Padgett is actively hiding from a YouTube poster and actively refusing to be interviewed. I mean no disrespect to Mr. Dillinger, but making an assumption that Mr. Padgett owes Mr. Dillinger any time whatsoever on this cruise would be taking his social media presence and self-importance to an unrealistic level.  

Anything for views and clicks.  Legend in his own mind. 

 

YouTube is Dillinger's revenue. He probably writes off cruising, hotels, airfare as a business expense.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 3/4/2024 at 12:29 PM, JimmyVWine said:

Sorry, but I could not disagree more.  Sun Princess is the first ship to roll out cabins with the following designations:

• Mini-Suites
• Reserve Mini-Suites
• Cabana Mini-Suites
• Reserve Cabana Mini-Suites
• Signature Suites (that are shaped like Mini-Suites)

 

As well as being the first ship to roll out cabins that have:

• Reserve Cabana Deck Privileges
• Reserve Dining Privileges
• Signature Sun Deck Privileges
• Signature Dining Privileges.

 

And is the first ship to have a newly configured Sanctuary that is partially a Sanctuary and partially not.  I think that it is perfectly logical for people looking to figure out what they get for the price they are paying and what they do not get, to obtain that information in a thread with the title "Sun Princess."  And now that the ship is operational and there are people on board, what were once assumptions can now be verified.

I would have to agree with Nasa1964.  There are a minority of folks that are reserved in a mini suite or above that would  be concerned with whatever benefits their cabin entitles them to.  On the other hand, the majority of the ship contains inside, ocean view and normal balconies that a majority of cruisers will be staying in and these cruisers could not care less about signature restaurants and padded loungers in the suite area of the sanctuary since since that doesn't pertain to them.

Obviously if you're accustomed to staying in the ship within a ship concept cabins like what is available on Celebrity with the Retreat, MSC with the Yacht Club, Royal with the Star Class and NCL with the Haven, then you're spot on with your assumptions.  But there are more cruisers staying down in steerage that will just ignore posts about the various suite cabins and what benefits they're entitled to.