Very brief Sun Princess review

[chamima]

2 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Princess dropped the ball with not having all of their ducks in a row regarding various aspects of the ship and also not having their staff fully trained on the new Class of ship.  By the time the Star comes out, tweaks that have to be made will be done and hopefully many of the staff will switch over from the Sun and be helpful in training new staff that are not used to the Sphere Class size ships.

 

Over the years we've become friendly with some of the crew and we stay in touch and watch their families grow up and keep up with which ship they move to.

I wondered if something was up when no one we knew volunteered to sail on the Sun. Even the couple of people who ALWAYS seemed to be on the newest ships as the opening crews.

Now I'm kind of thinking maybe they knew something we, as passengers , didn't.

We'll still try her for a short cruise but have canceled the very long B2B2Bs we had booked.

[chamima]

3 hours ago, Ombud said:

Thank you!! I'm boarding 9/23/24. 

 

Yeah .... with all the rav impressions I'm waiting on booking more than 1 until I see for myself before leaving Royal Class ships. 

 

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Hoping it lives up to our expectations and the angst posted is just PCL adjustment pains. Not too happy about needing a ticket for performances but we shall see how that plays our

 

 

@Ombud - We were looking forward to meeting you but sorry to say it'll have to be sometime in the future. I was really looking forward to all of those long days in the Sanctuary on the TA because we had a suite booked. But the fact that there was no shade ended that dream and there were just too many other concerns I had after reading reviews on here.

As I said above we do have a short cruise booked on her (over New Year's) and so will try to reserve judgement until after that but those 8 sea days in the crossing searching for shade just took the "bloom off the rose" as they say.

[Ombud]

@chamima I completely understand as I've been looking for alternatives (other than Alaska .... ). I have to decide in the next 30 days. Most of Europe is booked out & I just got back from Australia -> Japan. Decision time

 

Hope we meet up on a future cruise

[ILUVHOCKEY]

3 hours ago, 555 said:

It's almost hard to believe since all the other Princess ships do not require formal dress in the Specialty restaurants. 

We were there the first night. There clearly people there not in formal dress. Let alone casual smart.  Maybe because tonight is formal night and it was booked full?. 

[Ombud]

28 minutes ago, Ombud said:

@chamima I completely understand as I've been looking for alternatives (other than Alaska .... ). I have to decide in the next 30 days. Most of Europe is booked out & I just got back from Australia -> Japan. Decision time

 

Hope we meet up on a future cruise

Houston we've got a problem .... an Alaska one out of SF looks really good IF it actually goes to Victoria.  Will ask them today if I can drop Koda off Friday am & pick up Tuesday night (11 days). Now to see who's on that roll call and research Crown ... 🤔

[555]

1 hour ago, chamima said:

Now I'm kind of thinking maybe they knew something we, as passengers , didn't.

We'll still try her for a short cruise but have canceled the very long B2B2Bs we had booked.

Same here. I'm normally more excited to try one of the newer ships but the Sun hasn't generated that much excitement for me as there other ships have.

I'll wait to make a final judgement for myself rather than based on what the other have to say. Something tells me that this new ship design is more suited for the younger generations. 

[mrmarklin]

4 hours ago, Ombud said:

PLEASE come back and let us know apx % actually have formal attire on

Went to Signature dining room. I would say only around 50% of the men had jacket ties on.  The women in general, were dressed a little better.  Saw only one Tux!

This cruise originated in Barcelona, so I expected better. But over half the passengers are Americans. Also a good chunk from NZ and Australia. 

[mrmarklin]

4 hours ago, dides said:

Thanks for the live updates!  On the Sanctuary, are you saying that they have already removed the option for non-Suite passengers to buy day passes? Thought it would have been something they aligned with the October change to Sanctuary Class (we are boarding again in September before the change and will hope to also enjoy the suite life!)

 

AFAIK day passes are available. Since we’re Suite, I didn’t ask. Just observed that on a warm afternoon I saw around 25% occupancy. 

[mrmarklin]

Mother’s Day special was whole Lobster for an extra $20. It was well worth it. A fairly large lobster, claws and all. My wife ordered it. I had Duck a la Orange. 
 

BTW, the room was packed!
 

Dessert was Black Forest cake. My personal favorite. 

[ISABELLA]

5 hours ago, dides said:

Low by the sink in standard bathrooms, higher up on mini-suite bathrooms

 

From our Deluxe Balcony:

 

 

From CanadianBurger's Reserve Mini-Suite (now Sanctuary Mini-Suite):

 

 

 

Thank you very much. It is much more convenient than by the ceiling.

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, mrmarklin said:

AFAIK day passes are available. Since we’re Suite, I didn’t ask. Just observed that on a warm afternoon I saw around 25% occupancy. 

Are regular (non-suite) pax able to see a "Broadway-type" show without a ticket? I read somewhere where the Concierge got a ticket to a show for someone. I am just a balcony so I wouldn't have a concierge,  wondering if I should cancel

[ILUVHOCKEY]

2 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Are regular (non-suite) pax able to see a "Broadway-type" show without a ticket? I read somewhere where the Concierge got a ticket to a show for someone. I am just a balcony so I wouldn't have a concierge,  wondering if I should cancel

Yes that should not be a problem. The area holds about 1000.  Just get there at least 15 mins early. It is the evening shows in the dome where it is next to impossible to get into. The. dome only holds 250. You need to get there 45 mins early or have reserve access. I was talking to a couple who are on the b2b and it has been 10 days and they never got in.

[dides]

A quick note that if we follow @Host CJSKIDS rules, any ongoing discussions and queries should really be held on the main Sun Princess thread and not tagged onto this review. Which was meant to be brief lol! 

[StevenW]

12 hours ago, ISABELLA said:

We are leaving in 4 days for May 18 cruise. From reading these post, it seams still a lot of confusion and changes are taking place. I have not sailed with Princess in more that 15 years and going with an open mind, but not high expectations. I hope there will be no regrets for booking this cruise. So far, I was not able to make any reservations for dinners on deck 6 or 7. 8 is not even showing up on the app.  We are hoping that Princess will become a nice variety from Celebrity. So far, it seems everthing is very disorganized. Not excited.

 

 

You should be excited Isabella !    LOL

I'm boarding in 3weeks, and I can't wait.

I don't care if there are elements of disorganisation. That's life.

Enjoy your trip !

[StevenW]

7 hours ago, Ombud said:

.............. Not too happy about needing a ticket for performances but we shall see how that plays our

 

I believe that was just for the Dome performances.

[Retired-N-Happy]

4 hours ago, ILUVHOCKEY said:

Yes that should not be a problem. The area holds about 1000.  Just get there at least 15 mins early. It is the evening shows in the dome where it is next to impossible to get into. The. dome only holds 250. You need to get there 45 mins early or have reserve access. I was talking to a couple who are on the b2b and it has been 10 days and they never got in.

The reserve access for the dome would be those that have Premier package, right?

[555]

12 hours ago, ILUVHOCKEY said:

Yes that should not be a problem. The area holds about 1000.  Just get there at least 15 mins early. It is the evening shows in the dome where it is next to impossible to get into. The. dome only holds 250. You need to get there 45 mins early or have reserve access. I was talking to a couple who are on the b2b and it has been 10 days and they never got in.

Sounds like we'll have to head straight to the dome from the pool to hold seats for the early show & eat dinner later in the evening if we want to get in.

 

 

7 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

The reserve access for the dome would be those that have Premier package, right?

I believe I've read that they don't reserve seats in the dome for the Premier people??

[mrmarklin]

        This  a.m I had my first breakfast in the Signature dining room. I won’t say it was bad, but NO FRESH ORANGE JUICE. This has always been available for suite passengers, but so far, not on Sun Princess. 
 

The menu is extensive, and I’ll keep you posted. 
 

Oh yeah, and Mimosas are $9 as well. Before Covid, they were free IIRC. 
 

Gibraltar was great and I got some great shots of the Apes due to the fact a tourist was feeding them (£4,000 fine).  Weather was wonderful. 
Back on board, late lunch at Alfredo’s.  Really is the best pizza on the ocean. Pizza crust was perfect. We compared the cost of that lunch to what it would be back home. For the four of us it would have easily pushed $200. Only $60 with Princess. 
 

Here’s some inside info:  Signature and Reserve restaurants are moving, presumably with the Sanctuary change. I found out a little more, but I’m going to keep my source secret, and you in suspense a bit longer. 

[alyssamma]

On 5/11/2024 at 7:06 PM, chamima said:

 

 

K - is this you?

Hope you guys are great!

Boy do you guys get around!

How does this ship compare to the Sapphire? Sounds like not so great.

We are signed up to take our grandkids for New Years (that we booked when we realized we weren't doing the SE Asia cruise). I have a feeling it'll be a one and done on this class of ship.

LOL, yes, it's me...and we will miss you on the SE Asia cruise!

 

Yes, I loved the Sapphire! Enjoy your grandkids...btw, we have 2 more coming this year!

[JimmyVWine]

On 5/12/2024 at 7:33 PM, StevenW said:

 

I believe that was just for the Dome performances.

Saying that it was "just for the dome" is like that old ditty about Mrs. Lincoln enjoying the play.  4,000 people booked a cruise to enjoy all of the new, groundbreaking, innovative, cool stuff that the Sun Class provides, and over the course of a week, only 250 x 7 (1,750) can see shows in the newest, coolest feature.  And that assumes that no one person goes twice.   That leaves over half of the paying customers out of luck.  Seems like a recipe for massive complaining. Perhaps that is why they have hidden the Guest Services Desk out of the general view of guests. 

[555]

12 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

Saying that it was "just for the dome" is like that old ditty about Mrs. Lincoln enjoying the play.  4,000 people booked a cruise to enjoy all of the new, groundbreaking, innovative, cool stuff that the Sun Class provides, and over the course of a week, only 250 x 7 (1,750) can see shows in the newest, coolest feature.  And that assumes that no one person goes twice.   That leaves over half of the paying customers out of luck.  Seems like a recipe for massive complaining. Perhaps that is why they have hidden the Guest Services Desk out of the general view of guests. 

Don't they have 2 shows each evening?

[JimmyVWine]

4 hours ago, 555 said:

Don't they have 2 shows each evening?

Not sure.  But if so, it's a fair point.

[ILUVHOCKEY]

They are only running 2 shows every other day.