Steve (DOS) and I, recently sailed on the Sun Princess on a pre-Christmas seven day Caribbean cruise, roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale. While we are Elite passengers with Princess, and have sailed on most of their other ships, this was our first sailing on the new Sun Princess.
At 177,882 GRT and 2157 rooms (4,314 passengers at double occupancy) the Sun Princess, is a new class of ship called the “Sphere Class”. Here is a link from the Princess Cruises web site to the Sun Princess fact sheet which provides a quick snapshot of the Sun Princess’s key statistics. I’ll refer to this fact sheet a couple times in this review, and even as I wrote this, I noticed a couple minor changes had been updated aboard the ship since this was written.
This is a quite long and detailed post, so I arranged it in sections. We are both Elite passengers with Princess, and have equivalent status on Celebrity, RCL, and by status match on MSC and Virgin Voyages, plus we’ve sailed on Seabourn, Disney, NCL, P&O Australia, and River Cruises, so we are well cruised, and maybe a bit more picky than some newer passengers to cruising. Feel free to jump around, skip the reading, and/or just look at the photos. For the rest of you, here’s our take on the Sun Princess!
EMBARKATION: Princess has streamlined the boarding process to a BLUE or GREEN lane, which despite the long embarkation lines at first look, is actually quite fast. We saw this long line outside the terminal at 11am and thought we’d be there for an hour or more, but it was quick, thanks to the Medallion app and the pre-cruise documents we had already completed.
Steve (DOS) first dropped off our checked luggage with the porters, while I joined the long check-in line shown above. While I waited in line, DOS parked the car in the large parking garage adjacent to the Princess Terminal.
After DOS parked the car, I was almost up to the terminal, when one of the port agents ushered me to a different line (due to my wheelchair) where we went thru a handicap entrance. I can walk, however long distances, embarkation ramps, and stairs are a challenge for me now as I’m having a knee replacement surgery done in April, when we will be home from trips for a while.
The friendly port staff assisted us with checkin (super quick with the Medallion app) and showed us to the elevators in the terminal to board the ship. While there was a huge sitting area in the terminal, there was no need to wait as the ship was already boarding. All together, it only took 35 minutes from our arrival at the terminal, dropping off our checked luggage, parking, waiting in line and boarding the ship! While we did have a wheelchair it looked like it took the same amount of time for everyone else to board as there were plenty of agents on hand and the Medallion app makes check-in a breeze!
Once we had boarded the ship (via the long embarkation ramp shown above) we were immediately greeted by a quartet of entertainers from the ship dressed in Victorian attire singing Christmas tunes, setting the festive mood for this pre-Christmas voyage!
SMART Elevators: Probably our most favorite feature on this ship is the Smart Elevators! Already a feature in some upscale hotels, buildings and newer ships, there are no more up and down buttons, rather an iPad-like screen acts as a “call elevator” button. The passengers select their floor number on the ipad, and the smart elevator assigns the elevator letter (A – F for example) that is the quickest and most efficient elevator for them.
This hugely eliminates elevator crowding, and worse people riding on up elevators, just to go down or vice-versa, although it did take many passengers a day or two to figure out how to use the elevators. The Sun Princess also has three banks of main passenger elevators (many similar size ships only have two) which helps disperse the crowds considerably. There is also a single aft elevator on both the starboard and port sides which was not used as much, but very convenient to our starboard cabin near the aft.
CABIN: We had a Signature Class Suite, which is one of the 80 suites aboard the Sun Princess. While we normally book a full size suite, (Vista, Owners, etc), we opted for this new category of “suite”, which is really just a mini-suite, but provides full suite privileges such as access to the Sanctuary sundeck, the Sanctuary Lounge, Sanctuary Restaurant, Premier Beverage package, one time bar setup, complimentary laundry etc.
We also received a chilled bottle of Prosecco and a bottle of red wine later on in the voyage.
There are so many room types available on the Sun Princess, especially ones with similar-sounding names, it’s a bit confusing as to what you actually get regarding club access and perks. For instance there are Sanctuary Cabins (vs the “Signature Class” Cabins) which are the same size mini-suite we had, but are less expensive and do not include all of the Sanctuary Full Suite benefits. In reality about the only couple things we saw different from the “Signature Class” was the “Sanctuary Class” mini suites were not entitled to the full Suite Lounge, in-room bar setup, free laundry etc. (However if you have Elite status with Princess, you get free laundry and bar setup anyway, but not access to the Suite Lounge. This is subject to change of course as having so many sanctuary cabins with access to the Sun Deck area and Sanctuary restaurant may lead to overcrowding, especially on holiday sailings.
Our cain was comfortable with a large sofa bed (that could convert to a sleeper for kids), and a king size bed configuration for the two of us. On both bed-sides were 110 electrical outlets for charging, which was very convenient and necessary for me as I use a CPAP machine. (Our awesome room steward provided us distilled water for the CPAP machine.)
The bathroom was larger that average with a walk-in glass shower door, but without a tub or shower seat. The single vanity sink had a bottle each of liquid soap and hand moisturizer on it, with mini-shelves to hold your toiletries, as well as underneath the sink.
The closet space was more than adequate, and had frosted windows on the doors and lights inside the closet (it was not a walk-in closet though). Complimentary robes were provided for use aboard, and slippers as well.
The balcony was small, but a bit deeper than we expected, with 2 chairs, a small table and a foot ottoman.
There are many other types and shapes of cabins, but most of the mini-suites are similar to this, including the non-Sanctuary mini-suites which are all about the same size as the Sanctuary and Signature Class mini-suites.
PIAZZA: The hub of the ship; this three level grand and open atrium acts as a central meeting place for many, entertainment venue, and hub and spoke of sorts to other venues. Compared to the Royal Class Princess ships, the Piazza is much larger, and utilized more for everything from daytime trivia to shows or entertainment in the evening. Some of the traditional Princess venues, however are located in different areas aboard the Piazza. The International Cafe for example, is located on deck 9, which is the top level of the Piazza, rather than the bottom level on Royal Class ships.
The Piazza has seats surrounding it, on all three levels (decks 7 through 9)with a couple of mini-levels of tiered seating on decks 8 and 9. Note there is a very slightly slanted elevation of perhaps an inch or less off the main level (seven) circular flooring, that is not really noticeable by looking, so use caution if walking from the outside edge to the center of the Piazza, so you don’t trip, especially if you have a drink in your hand!
On our pre-Christmas sailing the Piazza was beautifully decorated with a soaring Christmas tree on deck 7 (bottom level of the Piazza), and garland, wreathes, and other festive decorations. There were nightly holiday events at 6:30pm, ranging from the first night’s tree lighting ceremony (with entertainment) to welcoming Santa, and storytelling traditions on other nights.
The Piazza has a stage towards the front of the Piazza, while the circular center works as a dance floor sometimes, or hosting passenger and crew games, Formal night events, etc took place.
The views from the Piazza are great from the main level (deck 7), however not so much for the seating on the mid and upper levels (decks 8 and 9) as the view blocked if you’re sitting down. (If you’re standing up on the top two levels (8 and 9) you can see better, but that sort of defeats the purpose of having the upper circular seating areas around the Piazza.) A couple of times for a headliner type show, the performance was projected on to the rear monitors in the Piazza allowing for better viewing, but most of the time it was not.
Guest Services is located on Deck 6, and not in the Piazza area at all, rather on the same deck as some of the staterooms. It’s a bit inconvenient to find, and we don’t normally need to go there as we use the Princess app on our phones for most things, including checking our running account balances.
I did have a problem with my Medallion device not accessing the rear elevators for the Sanctuary floor level, and one of the doors on the Sanctuary sun deck, but it worked fine everywhere else. Steve DOS’s Medallion worked at these Sanctuary venues, but we met several other people in the Sanctuary with the same issue I had (i.e. one person’s Medallion worked for Sanctuary access, while the other person they were with did not.) I ended up never going to Guest Services on the cruise, more or less as it was inconveniently located and I kept forgetting about it as it wasn’t on the way to anywhere we were going. Perhaps that was by design; keep Guest Services away from the main traffic flow, and people won’t go! This was a minor, yet slightly annoying issue for me, but DOS and I usually went to the Sanctuary together so it wasn’t a big deal. I understand they can issue you a card key if the Medallion doesn’t work though.
SHIP LAYOUT: If you are a traditional Princess cruiser on their other ships such as the Princess Royal Class ships, the Sun Princess layout will be very different and even confusing to navigate at first. If you’re brand new to cruising you won’t know what to expect, so expect it to be confusing; you’re not alone! Fortunately there are virtual maps by the elevators that are interactive, showing you where the various venues are aboard the ship. You can also use the app on your phone for location and directions as well.
For the life of me, however, I don’t understand how the designers came up with this very confusing, mammoth of a cruise ship, that in many ways is simply not practical at all. To us, It is way too big compared to traditional Princess cruise ships and the brand itself, and while contemporary in all aspects, it lacks tradition, character, and ease-of-flow continuity compared to the traditional Princess ships.
The much larger Piazza is still the central part of the ship, but unfortunately too many lounges, specialty restaurants, etc were located off of the Piazza, which all vied for attention (i.e. noise). Crooner’s for example, a staple piano bar aboard almost all of Princess ships, could not have the piano entertainment many evenings because it was drowned out (or it would drown out) performances in the Piazza. Bellini’s Lounge on the main Piazza level was quite loud due to the adjacent Piazza entertainment. The individual venues were also way undersized for this huge of a ship. The large ship feels a bit impersonal, and while the staff is very friendly, the ship felt crowded in most of the public areas we visited, with the exception of the Sanctuary Club and Sanctuary Lounge. One person commented to us they wouldn’t sail this ship again unless they were in a suite (for the added privacy and quiet it brings.)
Indeed several of the restaurants have been relocated to other parts of the ship recently (after the Fall TransAtlantic cruise), I guess because they weren’t working well and most likely had passenger complaints. Princess seems to just move venues around the ship, and on our’s even tried staggering the entertainment around the Piazza, which left lounges such as Crooner’s without entertainment in the evenings at times.
SHIP SIZE: In our opinion, the design was unnecessarily too large holding way too many passengers. Princess tried to make more and smaller venues, but it does nothing but lead to overcrowding everywhere. Other ships which are much larger such as RCL’s Oasis class onward hold more people, but spreads them out fairly well with distinctive neighborhoods and themes in various sections of the ship. The Sun Princess just seems to be bigger for no reason other than more revenue, and doesn’t spread passengers out adequately to different areas of the ship, as it’s appeal is mainly the Piazza, acting as a hub and spoke for the other venues. The “mall like atrium concept” of RCL and Celebrity’s ships has a nice flow to them, and strategically places entertainment venues throughout the ship, making it feel smaller and more comfortable, as well as having more private-feel spaces. We didn’t get that feeling on the Sun Princess as we went from venue to venue in search of a favorite place.
RESTAURANTS: There are three main dining rooms aboard the Sun Princess, located in the aft of the ship on decks six, seven, and eight. The Soleil (deck 6) and Eclipse Restaurant (deck 7) seat the non-Sanctuary Class passengers, while The Sanctuary Restaurant on Deck 8 is for combined Sanctuary and Signature Suite guests. Princess has made several changes to the venue locations after the inaugural trans-Atlantic cruise, and The Sanctuary was one of them (along with Crown Grille,Butcher Block, and the American Cafe.)
Surprisingly, The Sanctuary Restaurant for Signature Suite and Sanctuary passengers was the most blandly decorated of all three main dining rooms, and lacked a view of the aft of the ship. (Probably because there was a pool bar directly in its view off the aft; again not great design planning.)
The Soleil and the Eclipse Dining Rooms were decorated a bit more elegantly, with a huge open-air Aft atrium in the Eclipse restaurant, open to the Soleil down below it. Both of these restaurants overlooked the aft of the ship and provided great aft views of the ocean, unlike the more ‘exclusive’ Sanctuary restaurant, which unfortunately had its view blocked by the aft pool and bar, with the windows having curtained shades on them preventing you seeing out the aft like the other two restaurants.
Deck 7 Eclipse’s Main Dining Room, with open Aft-Atrium overlooking to the level 6 Dining Room, with aft view of the ocean.
In reality, the only difference in the Sanctuary Restaurant that wasn’t available in the other two main Dining Rooms was the Prime Rib cart, which was an additional nightly selection offered (complimentary), and carved tabled-side. The Prime Rib was our favorite course the three nights we ate in The Sanctuary Restaurant.
There was a pianist playing on some nights (perhaps each night, but we only went three nights) in the Main Dining Room, which was quite very nice, but a bit loud. So loud, I actually walked around to find out where it was coming from. Mind you we were on deck 8 in the Sanctuary Restaurant, but the piano was on deck 6 in the Soleil Restaurant! There is a fancy staircase connecting the Restaurant decks 6 thru 8, so the piano music drifts up to where we were sitting. Nice, but it must really be loud on deck 6!
OUNGES/BARS: According to the fact sheet I linked to at the beginning of the post, the Sun Princess has a dozen different bar outlets, ranging from pool bars to both large and cozy indoor venues. Compared to the Royal Class ships, however, some of the traditional ship bars are smaller in size, though there are more venues to choose from. Crooner’s, the Piano bar for example, only has a capacity of 86 passengers, while the Great Spirit Lounge has 40, while Bellini’s holds 55 passengers. Both Crooner’s and Bellini’s are located off of the Piazza on deck’s 8 and 7 respectively. The Sun Princess has more venues to offer, yet the venues are under-sized for the sheer number of additional passengers aboard. There was also entertainment in the Piazza, and while not technically a bar, you could order drinks there from a roaming cocktail server. We didn’t try ordering on the app, but that would probably work too.
The Good Spirits Cocktail Bar, is tucked away from the Piazza and not as easily found as the other venues. It is a more intimate lounge, that has fancy cocktail preparation demonstrations, and we enjoyed going there a couple times.
The Princess Live theater (not the main show theater) hosted multiple fun Karaoke events during our week long cruise, and many of the entertainers were quite talented, some featuring beautiful Broadway tunes, or other popular songs. Really quite fun, although we were spectators, and not performers!
The O’Malley Irish Pub was our favorite lounge (Pub), although it was always jam packed in the evenings, just like a typical land-side Irish pub. You could also order pub-type food there, but most people like us came for the drinks and entertainment, at least in the evenings when we went there. Lunch-time may have been different, but we weren’t there during those noon to afternoon hours.
BELLINI”s BAR: This lounge was located right off the first floor of the Piazza on deck 7. It was quite a busy venue, and could be noisy at times depending on who was performing in the adjacent Piazza. Bellini’s had a large wrap-around bar with large seating clusters, which made it popular for groups traveling together.
MAIN POOL AREA: There are several poolside and deck-side bars throughout the ship. The main pool area could be quite busy, with the huge “Movies Under the Stars”, which also blared everything from football games to kids movies during the daylight hours. Wireless AirPods or headphone connectivity would have been preferred by us instead of the very loud commentary or movies that subjected this huge pool deck area to, instead of a nice relaxing or even lively Caribbean pool-side music band or similar.
We enjoyed Slice Pizza and the burger bar, which had a small seating area just past the main pool. The Slice Pizza was outstanding; thin crust and delicious!
There is also a sit down pizza restaurant, Alfredo’s, which is indoors off of the Piazza on Deck 9. Alfredo’s with a capacity of 88, was a bit small for such a large ship, and while it’s a nominally-priced venue, with so many people opting for the Plus and Premier packages (which Alfredo’s is included), it was always busy. We tried going there two or three times (granted in the lunch rush from 12pm to 2pm) and there was always a half hour to hour wait, so we never ate there. Alfredo’s does provide you with a pager to alert you when your table is ready, but I’m not sure how far away you can be from the venue for it to work?
AMERICANA DINER: We went to the Americana Diner a couple times, which was a complimentary (non-specialty) sit down diner with waiter service, and offers all-day breakfast items, plus burgers and hotdogs. While this place could have a long line to get in especially during the lunch rush hours, we went first thing when it opened (hours vary, one day was 11am and another 1pm so check) and we had no wait. There is plenty of seating, and as it’s table serviced by a waiter, it makes for a relaxing lunch or late breakfast.
AFT POOL BAR AREA: This was in the very aft of the ship, and once discovered by passengers, was a popular and quieter place than the main pool deck area. The aft glassed-in pool was so clear you could see everyone’s legs and swimming trunks, even in port looking up at the ship! (Hint: don’t wear a speedo or even less! LOL!) The aft pool bar area is also located here.
PROMENADE SIDE BAR and FOOD Outlets: Along the starboard side of the ship is an open seating area, along with a couple bars and complimentary food available such as pizza, snacks, and ice cream. Note there are two complimentary Slice Pizza places aboard ship, in addition to the deck nine indoor table service specialty restaurant Alfredo’s. The outdoor Promenade Slice Pizza serves square-cut, deep dish style pizza, while the traditional Slice Pizza with the regular and thinner cut pizza place is located adjacent the main pool area, along with the burgers, hot dogs and more.
WHEELHOUSE BAR: This small bar is tucked away on the ship, right across from the recently relocated Crown Grill. Unlike some of the other Princess ships, there was not a band playing here, but in the evenings some nights there was some light music playing via guitar and singer.
SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS: Per the Princess fact sheet, The Sun Princess has 10 specialty restaurants, with the Umai Hot Pot and the Umai Teppanyaki Restaurant operating as shared spaces. They also have Spellbound, which isn’t technically a specialty restaurant, (rather a dining event with lounge and show and is listed as its own venue in this review.). Of the multiple specialty restaurants, we visited two, Crown Grill and The Butcher’s Table, plus Spellbound. We went to Crown Grill twice, once the first night of the cruise and again on night six.
The Crown Grill had changed their menu since we were aboard the Majestic Princess in April, and we really enjoyed it better. A couple items had an upcharge, (such as the dry-aged rib eye), and there is a $10 charge for a second entree, but we were fine with the main entrees offered. We did order two appetizers (jumbo shrimp cocktail and crab cakes) for which there was no additional charge.
The Crown Grill recently moved locations aboard the Sun Princess from its original location aboard the ship, which is now occupied by The Butcher’s Table. This new location for Crown Grill is a bit disappointing in decor, as it looks more like a hotel ballroom setting (i.e. drab) compared to the much more elegantly originally designed Crown Grill location. We did enjoy the food and service at Crown Grill, however, and went there a second time on our cruise.
The second time we went to Crown Grill, on day six of our cruise, we had much better seats in the main section, and it was quite a bit busier than the first night. We equally enjoyed the food and service on our second visit as we did on our first, and even ordered the same things, although we I had Key Lime pie for dessert while DOS had Baked Alaska !
THE BUTCHER’S TABLE: We went to The Butcher’s Table specialty restaurant one night for a full beef lover’s dinner. The Butcher’s Table, (which now occupies the former location of the Crown Grill) was a fun night of eating and camaraderie with our fellow table guests. The restaurant was packed to capacity, and our sailing only had one seating each night, with the tables in rows arranged very close to each other, seating four people each. We were seated with a couple young men (early 20’s) from Canada (part of the 500+ Canadian group aboard) and adjacent to other tables we could converse with as well.
We arrived on time for our dinner reservation at 7:30pm, only to find the lobby of the restaurant spilling out into the hallway with people. We checked in with the hostess, and was told to wait to be seated. Inside we could see and hear ramblings of the chef via microphone and speakers located way inside the restaurant with dozens of people standing around him. He was explaining the meal courses for the evening, but we couldn’t understand what he was saying due to all the side noise and confusion from passengers. It didn’t seem planned very well, at least for the start of the dinner. Eventually we were seated, and went thru the meal in courses, all served to the whole dining room at once.
At each table there was a jug of chianti (which is included), but we opted for nicer wines by the glass as we were on the Premier package. The Butcher’s Table was lively and fun, but not for someone who doesn’t like all meats or a bit of noisy conversation with their new neighbors. Actually, this was our kind of place!
We had several courses of food, including large T-bones and other steaks, which were pointed out by the chef on our paper placemats, as well as displayed table-side.
Our favorite was the huge Tomahawk ribeye which was displayed for each table, before cutting it up and distributing to us. Even after it was served we asked for an encore of sorts with the long bone, which made for a great photo op, but DOS made a meal of the remaining meat around the bone!
The dinner even at The Butcher’s Table lasted until after 9pm. Our waiter told us they would be changing the format to an open seating style dinner on the next cruise and thereafter, so it wouldn’t be served to everyone at once. Also, there hopefully won’t be the line of people waiting to enter the restaurant and hearing the pre-show from the chef, which couldn’t be heard by most people. It was nice once the meal got going that the chef came around the room displaying the food for everyone. DOS got a photo with one of our servers, and I got a photo with the chef’s staff on the way out after dinner. It was a nice evening of beef, beef, and more beef with a fair bit of red vino as well!
We did have reservations for Sabatini’s Italian Restaurant the last night, but canceled it as we know from other cruises how filling Sabatini’s can be, and even though Sabatini’s was included in our Premier package, we didn’t want to go to bed earlier on the last night with a very full stomach. We probably should have tried to do Sabatini’s the first couple of nights of the cruise, but the last night was the only night they had reservations when we reserved. We walked by the restaurant during the cruise and noted how elegant the decor looked.
We also didn’t go to the Brito Love Restaurant, (which is not included in the specialty dining Premier package), not because of the extra price, but because the menu was a bit fancy for our taste. It did have a great view located in the aft of the ship. We did make an aft elevator stop one afternoon for a photo by the entrance sign.
SPELLBOUND: To us, this was the highlight of our cruise, and was exceptionally well done. Spellbound is a combination dinner (with 2 seatings of only 30 people each), followed by an escorted walk to the secretive entrance of the Spellbound Lounge, and a couple magic shows thrown in as well. The event is $150 a person and is well worth it! (It’s not included in the Premier package either.)
I won’t spoil the surprises you will encounter, but do advise you to book this as soon as you can after booking your cruise as it fills up fast due to very limited capacity. Spellbound does specify Formal Dress attire for the function, but we wore sport jackets and collar shirts without a tie, as did most of the men, with women in nice cocktail dresses. None of the guests in our 6:30pm seating (there are 2 seatings) wore tuxes to Spellbound, although some men wore ties.
Currently Spellbound is only offered on the Sun Princess, although I understand it will be on the Star Princess next year when it debuts. Here are a few photos from the Spellbound dinner and lounge. You can photograph everything except the two magic shows in the lounge. Again if you don’t want to see any photos, scroll down to the next section on Main Theater.
THE PRINCESS ARENA – MAIN THEATER: The theater aboard the Sun Princess is in the round. This must be the latest trend in cruise design, as Celebrity Beyond’s was similar to Sun Princess’s theater. The main theater, called The Princess Arena has a capacity of 990, yet seemed undersized for a ship holding well over 5,000 people at peak capacity. Even at double occupancy the ship holds 4,314 passengers! There are usually two shows a night, with some being full production shows, with other featuring headline performers, comedians, etc.
While we normally attend at least some of the production shows, we did not on this cruise as we were advised to get there quite early, even with a reserved section for guests with the Premier package. We did not want to schedule our meals around the show, much less wait in the long lines for a half hour or more, so we didn’t attend any Princess Arena shows. We did speak to several passengers that enjoyed the shows, although one commented how amazing it was they fit all of the singers and dancers on the small circular stage. We did peak in from the back at one of the shows in progress just to get an idea for the theater, and the circular design is quite different (and smaller) than what we were expecting. The shows were generally at 7:30pm and 9:30pm, and our dinner usually overlapped the later show time, while the earlier show was during our pre-dinner cocktail hour in the Suite Lounge.
THE DOME: This is one of the centerpieces of technology and “awe” on the Sun Princess, and the first of its kind on Princess Cruises. The Dome is a lounging, part in-door and part-outdoor pool area by day (well until 2pm) and a theatrical, i.e. Circa de Soleil type show or other event in the evenings. The area is quite spectacular, and especially fascinating at night when it’s lit up with so many colorful light.
Unfortunately, the indoor of the Dome only holds 250 guests, which is just a tiny fraction of the 4,200 plus passengers on a typical (non-holiday) sailing. The indoor pool area of The Dome is covered up with flooring when there are shows being performed, rehearsals, special events etc, so it’s not used nearly as much as the outdoor section of the pool.
As a result, and not wanting to wait an hour for one of the shows, we did not go to any shows in the Dome. It is a nice place to relax by day, and while fairly full even then, we managed to get a couple seats for about 15 minutes, until we heard an announcement “We hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to the dome. Now it is closing for a rehearsal. Please come back later”. I’m paraphrasing but basically “Everyone has to leave now!” Quite tacky for such a nice, yet small venue. The main theater on most ships closed in the afternoon for their production shows, but The Dome is different as it’s a multi-purpose venue and doubles as a pool and lounging area to relax, so it was disappointing it was closed in the afternoons.
We did get to go to an Captain’s Club Passenger event the next to last evening that was held in the Dome, by invitation only. Fortunately we got there at 5:35pm for the 6pm seating and got a seat in the front section. I saw an officer counting people entering with his clicker device, and 200 must have been the limit for this event as they announced later in the event ceremony. The officers were introduced, and complimentary cocktails were served; a couple times for us.
The Dome really did look spectacular lit up at night. They must have had several Elite events at different times aboard, as one of the officers announced there were over 600 Elite guests, and some 700 + Platinum guests aboard. I mentioned to one of the officers in the Suite Lounge one evening it was a shame The Dome was so small, and recommended they pass out tickets, or even charge $25 a person for the unique Circa de Soleil shows held there. He agreed with the ticket idea, but not the additional charges as people would complain. I said they’re complaining anyway, and I know people would pay for it, especially in this go-kart, roller coaster, zip-line cruise era where there are surcharges for that and other things on other ships, and specialty dining charges on all ships.
PIAZZA SHOWS: We saw a spectacular show in the Piazza one night, and a couple other trivia events in the day time during our cruise. One of the fun “hold your breath” and watch trivia games was a giant “Jenga-type” game with a passenger team vs the officers. When we got there, the tower was already built fairly high, and I stayed there for 15 minutes or so, while Steve (DOS) browsed thru the nearby gift shops.
The game operated by alternating the passengers via officers with a series of trivia questions. If someone missed the question, they had to remove a block. One of my favorite questions for the officers was: “A famous fast food commercial from many years ago featured the slogan “Where’s the beef”? The audience watching was “oohing and awing” as it was so easy to us, but the Cruise Director reminded everyone that none of the officers were from the United States, not to mention that commercial was many years ago, so it was hard for them. The officers guessed Burger King, while the answer was of course Wendy’s! When DOS returned from shopping, the blocks were still standing and we headed out to lunch.
The headliner show at the Piazza the last night was absolutely amazing! The show featured Janice Martin, and this extremely talented woman did several amazing things in her act, adding aerial tricks (including one where she’s playing the violin upside down!!!), as well as playing the violin on the ground stage, later the piano, and singing as well. She had a Broadway-caliber voice in addition to all of the theatrics and was incredibly talented, and is also an Army Veteran! We spoke to her and had a selfie taken with her after the show. Kudos to Janice; she is amazing!
INTERNATIONAL CAFE: As already mentioned, The International Cafe, Princess Cruises complimentary light bite cafe area with cookies, cakes, mini sandwiches etc, is located off the top area of the Piazza. There is also an adjoining coffee bar and drink bar (serves alcohol until 2pm), while the Cafe for food is 24 hours. We went there most evenings for a pre-midnight snack before going to bed. Unfortunately they don’t serve Slice pizza there! (Well they serve it at two other Slice locations but that ends at 8pm). This International Cafe is in a relatively quiet area, and was never overly busy when we went at the midnight hour, and we could always get a seat adjacent to it.
The Future Cruise Desk and Princess Loyalty Staff are also located towards the rear of this area during normal hours.
THE SANCTUARY: The Sanctuary is made up of a couple sections in the aft part of the Sun Princess. Unlike other Princess ships where you pay for access to this exclusive sun deck area, on the Sun Princess the Sanctuary occupies a huge space on Deck 15 Aft, that is available only to guests booked in the Sanctuary Class of cabins. This includes all Signature Class (Suite cabins) and Sanctuary (non-suite, but Sanctuary class cabins). Altogether, this allows some 400 + guests (plus 3rd and 4th passengers in a cabin on peak sailings) access to their “exclusive” area. We were worried it would be too crowded to find a lounge chair, but surprisingly it wasn’t overflowing with people, and we always found a lounge chair, fortunately in one of the few shaded areas. (Being from Florida, we try to avoid the direct sun most of the time). I’m not sure how crowded this would be however on peak holiday and summer sailings.
The service in The Sanctuary sundeck (as opposed to the Sanctuary Restaurant on deck 8) was outstanding! There were multiple servers coming by to offer you drinks (all inclusive of course) as well as cold-towels (from Alaska one joked!), mini fruit slices served on a toothpick, and ice cream in mini containers. Lunch menus were distributed for you to order complimentary lunch or snacks, and were delivered right to you at your lounging area. There is also a pool and hot tubs in the Sanctuary area. There are also several cabanas available for rent by the day, while all of the other sun loungers, sofas, and chairs were complimentary. Huge towels are provided as well, so what’s not to like about the Sanctuary! There were a variety of seating arrangements, and they even had rocking chairs in some areas!
THE SUITE LOUNGE: The Suite Lounge was available to those in one of the 80 Signature Suites, and ism located on decks 15 and 16. The main level of the lounge is on deck 15 where the Concierge desk and bar are located. Deck 16 is more of an overflow lounge with seating only on that level, which can also be reached via staircase inside the lounge on deck 15, or directly outside the lounge via elevator. The Suite Lounge was beautifully decorated, with floor to ceiling windows facing the water.
We were concerned the Suite Lounge would be overly busy, but when we went in the evenings, usually around 7pm or so, surprisingly there were very few people using the lounge. I guess we eat later than most people though, and like a pre-dinner drink before dinner. The Suite Lounge is a nice and quiet retreat from the rest of the ships bars and lounges, and the service in there (like in the Sanctuary Club sundeck) is outstanding! A couple nights there was a pianist in the lounge which was a nice an elegant touch.
GIFT SHOPS: There were several gift shops aboard, including a Princess logo shop, although I didn’t notice any high-end designer shops like on some ships, not that we would have shopped there. We did buy a ship’s model ($49) and a couple Princess Logo shirts, and a Christmas ornament. The shop’s selection of merchandise was a bit limited for such as large ship. I wanted a Princess cap or Polo shirt with “Inaugural Season” printed on it, or even a souvenir booklet with photos of it being built and it’s design, but did not see any. Perhaps they were sold out.
CASINO: We are not gamblers, but did walk thru there a couple times, and unfortunately if you need the restroom while attending Spellbound, you have to walk thru the casino to get there. This casino has to be one of the biggest and busiest we’ve seen on a cruise, and unfortunately, it is a smoking casino. Even if you aren’t using the casino, the smoke drifts out a deck or two thru the Piazza from here, which is not pleasant. I understand on the Star Princess there will be a smoking and nonsmoking casino, however from the deck plan I saw Spellbound’s restrooms still utilize the one’s thru the smoking casino.
SPA/GYM: We went by these areas to see them, but did not use either one. The gym was big, but not as big as I would have thought for a ship this size. It didn’t seem busy either, but we didn’t go in the early morning hours when it’s probably much more in use. The Lotus Spa was right across from it, high up on the ship’s decks and located forward.
NIGHT POOL PARTY: There was a pool party one night of the cruise, located in the main pool deck area. The party was at 10:30pm, and it was well attended both in the pools, hot tubs, and especially on decks. The crew passed out lighted hula hoops, and it was a blast watching people trying to “hula”; some good, some not so good, but all in good fun!
PORTS of CALL: We went on the Sun Princess primarily to see it during it’s inaugural season, but we did have 3 nice ports of calls along the way, all of which we had been to before, and with 3 full sea days total, it made for an easy cruise itinerary.
PRINCESS CAYS: We did not get off the ship to go to Princess Cays this time, although have been there in the past. Princess Cays is Princess Cruise Lines version of a private island, and while not built up like a Royal Caribbean’s Coco Cay, it is a nice place to spend part of the day, with a lunch barbecue on the island there.
Note: The photos of Princess Cays shown below were from our Enchanted Princess Inaugural cruise in November 2021, shortly after the pandemic was mostly over, and our sailing only had 950 passengers on it then, so no worries about over-crowding. COVID masks were also required in all public area back then, which thankfully 3 years later are no longer the case.
The main reason we (and some of the other passengers we met) didn’t go to Princess Cay, is because it requires a tender boat to get to the island. While Suites and certain loyalty levels got tender priority, it is still a fairly long tender ride due to the shallow waters, plus you had to leave extra time to come back to the ship via tender.
On our sailing on the Sun in December 2024, the tender operations took a considerable amount of time between waiting for the tender, boarding/de-boarding, and waiting for your tender ticket to be called. By noon all the tickets had been called and anyone could go on the tender at this point, but the last tender was back to the ship at 4:30pm so we passed on going to the Island. It appeared the tenders used were local tenders vs using the ships lifeboats (perhaps a Bahamian regulation), which slowed down passenger movements considerably.
AMBER COVE: This is part of the Dominican Republic, but is what Steve (DOS) and I call a “made-up town”, similar to other port stops in the Caribbean. By “made-up” I mean a planned tourist area for cruisers, that is gated from the rest of the island, so it feels private and safe, not to mention new, clean, and friendly.
Amber Cove is landscaped beautifully, and has several familiar Caribbean and other shops, and food and drink establishments. There is a huge pool and beach area available for complimentary use by cruisers, but there are also cabanas, umbrellas, and rental equipment available for a charge. We took a hour’s walk around the port, but didn’t do the beach or water activities. (I am having a knee replacement in April 2025, so my walking is a bit limited right now) before heading back to the port. Amber Cover had a rainforest walkthrough and a “sky high bar” that looked fun, but I can’t climb that many steps right now; otherwise we would have had a go. There’s also a zip line available for the high-wire enthusiasts.
TURKS/CACOIS: This is a similar “made-up” port where the ship docks, but is open to the non-cruisers as well with a few resorts in the area. We really enjoyed going here on our last visit, as well as this one, and while we didn’t swim the water, or lay on the beach, we did walk thru the “astronaut’ area just down from the beautiful beaches.
The island has a bit of NASA history here as one of the first Apollo spacecraft splashed down near here. There are several outdoor exhibits, and billboards with information on the NASA exploits.
The water here in the Turks and Caicos is beautiful aqua blue. and this and Amber Cove (and Princess Cay if we had gone), make for a great and relaxing day at the beautiful beaches, and water activities such as snorkeling, kayaking, and para-sailing for the more adventurous.
Debarkation: Debarkation from the Sun Princess was remarkably easy; we were both really impressed with this, especially for a ship this size. We met in the Sanctuary Lounge shortly before 8am and were called almost immediately to debark. We were soon off the ship, retrieved our baggage (with the help of a porter) and were thru immigration and customs (they used facial recognition here, subject to change each trip) and were at our car in the parking garage by 8:35am! It helps that the cruise terminal is connected to the garage via parking level 5 which is a long bridge walkway over the incoming cars. We then took the garage elevator to level 3, loaded up, and we were on our way home to Orlando. Even with a quick breakfast and lunch stop we were home by 12:30pm.
Who Sun Princess is for: The Sun Princess is great for groups, ranging from birthday celebrations, family reunions, etc and easily accommodates even the largest groups, such as the 500+ Canadians aboard on our sailing, and corporate and other incentive groups. The average age aboard our sailing seemed to be mid to late 20s – mid 50s, although we saw lots of couples celebrating milestone birthdays or anniversaries, and couples like us in their 60s, and older. There were lots of retirees as well, and while there were many Floridians aboard, people ranged from all over the US and Canada predominantly, although as on all cruises there were people from many different countries as well.
The Sun Princess is definitely for active passengers, although there were several wheelchairs and scooters aboard (including our use of a wheelchair occasionally for me due to my upcoming knee replacement). The main pool could be quite lively (noisy) with the Movies Under the Stars blaring movies or a football game even in the afternoon; a bit too busy and noisy for us but maybe the younger generation likes all that noise. I’m showing my age, but I miss the old Caribbean steel-drum type pool-side music by live bands ships use to play, especially when sailing the Caribbean! Fortunately we had access to to the more serene Sanctuary Club which was much quieter and much less crowded.
There were some kids aboard our sailing, but we really didn’t notice many as they have a kids program for them. They do NOT have sliding boards and other pool play things for kids so I wouldn’t think it would be a kid friendly ship even now. Originally the Sun Princess was planned with a “Deck 19” geared towards kids and active adults with thrill-type attractions, but it never came to fruition due to safety certification. Never-the-less we heard there were a 100 kids on our sailing, and the previous week’s sailing (Thanksgiving week) had over 700 kids! That had to be a really packed ship! I understand the Christmas sailing this year will have over 1,100 kids aboard – wow is all I can say to that! (Think lots of lines and screams! LOL!)
Who is the Sun Princess NOT for: Again, in our opinion only: The traditional Princess passengers, who are well traveled and enjoy a quieter environment, with easy-listening music at least in some venues, don’t mind getting dressed up for Formal Night; (not Tuxes but sport jacket at least) especially the retired and older traditionalist such as us. While I don’t think 62 or 66 is old, The Sun Princess is definitely aimed at a younger generation (or two) and is overall just too big and busy for us. If you’re looking for a dressy ship for formal night, this is not it, although some men wore jackets without ties, and I think I counted 3 tuxes aboard. If you don’t like noisy and busy areas and are not sailing in Sanctuary Class, you probably won’t like it. If you like meeting people and building lasting friendships, it’s much harder on this cruise, as while you meet lots of people the ship is so big you might not see them again aboard. The ship has friendly crew members, but it’s not as personal like the smaller ships where the crew remembers you and your preferences, especially at the dining venues as there are so many to choose from. Our room steward was the exception for us, and was fantastic, as was the Sanctuary Sun Deck staff we saw daily, and the Suite Lounge staff and servers.
Overall Opinon: We enjoyed our sailing on the Sun Princess, as we enjoy all cruises. There is literally something for everyone on most cruises, and you just have to find that something and stay positive. That said, we couldn’t help but comparing it not only to other Princess ships and its traditional service and venues such as Crooner’s and Great Spirits Bar, but also to other mega-ships we had sailed recently that have the “ship within a ship concept” such as Celebrity and MSC (Yacht Club).
On the Sun Princess, we missed having a wine bar or similar quiet place or at least a venue with light entertainment we could sit as a couple and still chat pre-dinner. The Sanctuary Lounge was a nice and quiet place for Signature Suite guests, and occasionally had a piano player for an hour or so.
The Sun Princess definitely has a younger vibe to it, but in our opinion it struggles to find a theme of continuity across the generation of new and former Princess cruisers. I think the buzz-word they’re aiming for is “multi-generational”; that is, infants to parents to grandparents all sailing together. And of course very large groups as well; such as the 500+ travel organized Canadian group on our sailing.
Would we sail the Sun Princess again? I would say maybe, but we wouldn’t go out of our way to book it. Perhaps if it had a nice European itinerary (it does sail Europe and trans-Atlantic, we would consider it.) We’re actually booked on the new sister ship the Star Princess next year when its out, but I think we will cancel that cruise in lieu of either a Princess Royal Class ship, or another line with a more interesting itinerary such as Seabourn. For 7 day Caribbean cruises such as this, we much prefer MSC Cruises (in Yacht Club class only) or Celebrity’s Beyond Class ships in a suite with their Retreat section. And Seabourn for the ultimate small cruise experience and interesting itineraries. But staying positive, they’re all good cruises in each their own way, appealing or not appealing to families, groups, solo travelers, couples, short cruise, long cruises or in-between.
Finally, if you’re still here, thank you for reading this long review. Again, this is only MY and Steve DOS’s opinion on our likes and dislikes about the Sun Princess. Your mileage may vary! Happy Sailing!