5:00_Somewhere

Ship      Sun

Class    Sun / Sphere

Deck     17

Stateroom #    17636

Category           S4 Penthouse Suite

Port/Starboard/Bow/Stern    Port Side Stern

Connects With Cabin #             n/a

Acessible          No

Quiet   Mostly, but there is some scraping and bumping of loungers on the Signature Sun Deck above about 6:30 a.m., but this is relatively minor and short-lived. There is also a small lift outside the cabin door, but we never heard any noise from it. And there is a door to the Specialty Restaurant “Love by Britto” right outside the cabin door, but this was not open yet during our cruise, so do not know what noise this might bring.

Balcony Size     Medium, about 4.5 feet/1.5 meters wide and runs more than the full length of the cabin, extending past the stern-most cabin wall to afford aft wake views. There are sliding doors from both the living room and bedroom leading to the balcony. The balcony has a small, square dining table with 3 chairs, a loveseat and ottoman, all with cushions and pillows.

View    Unobstructed, including stern/wake views.

Privacy Issues Minor. The balcony is fully covered, but there is an al fresco seating area associated with Love by Britto on the other side of the stern-most balcony divider which passengers can use. This can accommodate more passengers than a standard cabin balcony

Wind    Minor if windy and/or if the ship is moving fast.

Soot     None

Electrical Outlets          Multiple outlets all over the cabin, including on each side of the bed. The outlets include several US and a few European E/F style, as well as many USB-A and USB-C powerpoints.

Problems          Minor: there is the minor early morning noise from the Signature Sun Deck, mentioned above. Also, there are motion sensors both outside and inside the bathroom that activate bathroom nightlights. The sensor in the light switch plate outside the bathroom is very sensitive and turned the nightlights on all night long with the slightest motion, so we covered this with painter’s tape and that solved the problem. The sensor inside the bathroom only activates the lights when someone is actually in the bathroom, which is nice.

Comments       This is a wonderful cabin. Additional features include heated/fog-free bathroom mirrors, a Lavaza pod coffee maker, curtains to divide the bedroom from living room, and plenty of storage in 2 large wardrobes, one in the bedroom and one in the living space.

Been waiting excitedly for some time for this, but the reveal is entirely underwhelming for me, personally. I'd be interested in doing the fun cocktails and a magic show for a lesser fee, but the food menu is not appealing at all, especially for the $149 pricetag, and I have no interest in wearing a tie and jacket when I'm on holiday. Just my personal opinion, but guess it'll be a pass for me. More space for others who are more likely to enjoy the experience.

We will be in 17636 in a few weeks and were also curious about this. Here's a picture of the stern taken about 10 days ago. It appears all those last cabins do have a balcony where the railing wraps around so you can look out to the wake. And I also added 2 pictures taken by the person who had our cabin on the innaugural cruise (it's a suite so the balcony is longer, but the aft end should be the same). It looks like your balcony should wrap around in a similar manner.

5 minutes ago, kathy49 said:

there was no flooding it was in 2017

In Princess cruises Facebook groups I'm in, several people who are currently on the Sun have reported on the flooding, including some who were moved to other cabins because theirs were affected; and at least 2 people have posted videos, including shots of the current Princess Patters and features of the ship to validate that they are, indeed, currently on the ship.

43 minutes ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

 

Were just the opposite about Ruby!  lol

We were (stuck) ugh, Had Ruby out of San Francisco, too many times, felt like forever....

We sailed on her enough.  So the thought of flying to Florida to sail AGAIN on Ruby?

Kind of rubs us the wrong way.  But were going for itinerary.  And really Hopiing shes

in much better shape and Less Smokey!

 

The grass is always greener, I guess. With Princess, we've only been sailing on Royal class ships for the last several years and have missed the Grand Class design. So we will be flying cross country, from Boston to San Francisco, the cruise on the Ruby again, and we're really looking forward to it. 

I'm so happy to hear such a positive review of the Ruby. She's long been our favorite Princess ship, but it's been several years since we sailed on her. And, we just booked a cruise on her (albiet not until 2026) because we were missing all our favorite Grand Class features. This has me even more excited.

Here's another stern shot from the same FB group. I believe this is a rendering, rather than an actual photo, but wanted to post as a follow-up to my post yesterday, as it seems to show more clearly what the stern of the ship will look like when all the finishing touches are completed (like the glass railings on the aft corner cabins and adjacent sections). Counting the days. 

This was posted today to a Sun Princess Facebook group I'm in. Not very good resolution, but I can see our cabin for our April cruise. 😉 Just wish there was a bit more detail. 

41 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

It was a big letdown when we went from the Grand class ships to the Royal class. Although we still like the Royal class ship layout, most of their balconies are small.

Agreed. We love the Caribe Deck balconies on Grand Class ships. That's why I was so happy to see Princess add at least a few similar balconies to the Royal Class ships starting with the Majestic, on Dolphin Deck as @Thrak mentioned. 

Also, we sailed Discovery Princess to Alaska last year and had a basic cabin on Sun Deck forward, adjacent to the Retreat Pool, and were pleased to find the balconies on those cabins to be larger than standard for Royal Class ships. They're not huge by any means, but at least a little deeper than on the rest of the ship.

On 10/21/2022 at 8:50 PM, colliercruiser said:

My wife tested positive on a recent (Oct 3) Summit sailing, and when I said we would stay in our existing suite, they said I could continue to go outside the room… throughout the ship… as long as I wore a mask.  (I had tested negative at this point.)  They said that change in policy was only a few days old.

Wow, that is surprising. I can't help wondering how any crew member out and around the ship would know whether someone should be wearing a mask because their spouse was quarantined with Covid.

3 hours ago, lara h said:

Just returned from Eclipse's transpacific 19day Hawaii to Sydney.

 

I caught COVID, and then my husband 2 days later. When I was diagnosed he was asked if he wanted to move to another cabin, so he could still move around the ship, but declined as we shared alot of personal items like our laptop, and other things.

 

Lucky, as he tested positive 2 days later so would have been contagious at the time he'd been able to mix with others anyway.

 

Unfortunately, we both went the full distance of 10 days being positive, and despite still being positive on the 10th day, they automatically allowed us to leave the cabin(masked was the only requirement).

 

We decided to remain there as we did not want to inflict the virus on other pax who may have been immune compromised, so in fact remained in our cabin for a total of 12 days.

 

Only saving grace was that we had the largest balcony on the bump so plenty of room to veg out.  

My husband had already decided to stay in the cabin with me because our 25th anniversary (which was the reason for the cruise) fell during my quarantine.

Much to our pleasant surprise, he never did develop any symptoms and continues to test negative as recently as last week. I tested positive for almost exactly 2 weeks, then negative, then tested positive again a week later. I had gone to the doctor due to a lingering cough and chest congestion and they tested me. They said it isn't uncommon to test positive again later, which is one reason I will be getting a "Certificate of Recovery" from my doc before our next cruise, just in case, as they will be testing us at the pier. 

And finally, may I say I thank and applaud you for considering other passengers on your cruise. I have been dismayed to hear and read how many passengers don't think it's their "responsibility" to take others into consideration.  

On 10/21/2022 at 2:52 PM, Northern Aurora said:

 

Just a quick question to @5:00_Somewhere -- do you have a typo in that stateroom number?

 

In any event, we have been in 6131 on the Millennium for a B2B.  I dislike the smell of cigarette smoke and it wasn't an issue at all.

Oops, sorry. Yes, that was a type. We were in 6131. 

5 hours ago, Mr. Boston said:

While I can’t speak to the Millenium I can speak to 6125 on the Summit and yes the smoke was an issue.  The smoking area on the outdoor promenade would funnel the cigarette smoke upwards to our balcony at all hours of the day and night. I would book elsewhere if smoke is a problem. 

Wow, that's surprising. We were just in 6031 on the Summit last month and never smelled cigarette smoke on our balcony ... and we were on it a LOT, especially after I got Covid and was quarantined in our cabin for 5 days. Guess maybe being just a few cabins farther aft may make the difference. Although, I can't recall whether the smoking area encompasses the entire port side promenade on Deck 4 or only the area near the glass elevators.

When we were on the Summit last month and I tested positive, we were told the then-new policy was that covid-positive passengers were allowed to stay in their cabin, but if they had a travel companion who was negative (as happened in our case), the companion was offered another cabin if there was one available (unless or until they tested positive).

We spoke with 2 other people on our trip who reported that the "extra" cabin was either an interior or ocean-view, but they did not specify exact location. I would also note that by the time I tested positive halfway through out cruise, we were told there were no more extra cabins available for my husband,  even if he had wanted to move cabins.

Also, if the travel companion chooses to remain in the original cabin, then they are required to quarantine for the full 5 days, the same as the person who tested positive, even if they never test positive (as happened in our case).

As @jwlane said, it is my understanding that this is the current policy throughout the Celebrity fleet, but perhaps someone with actual experience aboard the Silhouette will be able to confirm. 

16 hours ago, MarkWiltonM said:

Curious if medical offered you Paxlovid to help with your Covid? I was wondering if cruise ships are stocking this medication.

I can't speak for the OP, but on the Summit toward the end of my initial visit to Medical, the Nurse told us - before we could ask - that they did not carry Paxlovid or any other antiviral medications. They gave my Tylenol, cough syrup, cough drops, a digital thermometer and a pulseoximeter. 

13 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

Please focus on lowering your stress level.  Wear KN95 masks in elevators and in other close venues.  And since you are in a suite spend time in the Retreat Lounge where you will be able to maintain distance from others.

Good advice but, unfortunately, it didn't work for us this time. However, as I think I mentioned, this was our 5th cruise in the past year, and we always wore our masks (KN95) when indoors and not eating or drinking, always wore them when inside on excursions, never rode the elevator, stayed outdoors as much as possible, and always tried to distance ourselves from others as much as possible, especially when they were unmasked. It still caught up with me this time, though this was the very first time I got Covid. I think it was partially because the ship was full, and we had an extra sea day due to a hurricane, with weather that was not conducive to being out on deck. We spent much of that day in the Retreat Lounge, but .... 😒

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience. I was relatively fortunate when I tested positive half-way through our 10-day cruise on the Summit last month. Medical checked on me every day, and Guest Relations was on top of everything for my 5 days of quarantine. My husband also tested negative, and we were initially told he would have the option of moving to a different cabin or quarantining with me, but if he stayed with me he would not be permitted to move about the ship due to him staying in the cabin with a quarantined person. We were then told there were no more "extra" cabins available (too many people with Covid), which was okay for us, as my husband planned to stay with me anyway. Room Service was also very slow, but we were fortunate that we were in a suite and were allowed to order from Luminae for all meals, except for lunch when we were in port (because the restaurant is closed). Our disembarkation was a mess, but otherwise the experience went about as well as we could have expected.

I hope the rest of your trip is better, and that you both recover quickly. I will add that I continued to have symptoms for nearly a month after my initial positive test, but they have finally mostly resolved (just realized today is exactly 30 days), except for the fatigue, and I didn't test negative until 2 weeks after my initial positive test, but clear now.

Take care of yourself, and drink lots of water.

I also prefer the new muster procedure, except that it's easier for people to ignore, prompting the repeated announcements over the PA. I've heard this has delayed sail away in a few instances, though I do not have first-hand knowledge of that. 

As others have said, the Grand Class ships are also my favorites, and I would sail on any of them again in a heartbeat. In fact, we had purposely booked cruises on Grand Class ships ... in 2020 and 2021 but, of course, those were all cancelled. And Princess is not Carnival, despite being under the same corporate "umbrella". 😉 

We cruise the Mediterranean on the Constellation with my Brother-and Sister-in-Law in 2019. We had 1140 and they had 1141. The location is wonderful, the balconies quite large, and the wake views spectacular. We never smelled any smoke. As others have said, I do not believe smoking is permitted at the Sunset Bar on M-Class ships any longer (we were just on the Summit and did not notice any), although it is on S-Class ships.

The only comment I would make is that our "neighbors" in 1138 complained that, from their balcony, they could hear voices, the clinking of glassware and silverware, and the evening acoustic guitar performer from the Sunset Bar. They also complained about hearing the audio from the movie screen on the Terrace above. I had been concerned about the movie audio, but we only heard it one time while we were in Port, and we didn't find any of these sounds bothersome. In fact, we quite enjoyed the evening music.

We liked this location so much that we've booked 1141 on an upcoming cruise on the Constellation.

Hope you have a great cruise. 

For what it's worth, I think you've picked just about one of the best cabins on Deck 9 you possibly could.

We were just on the Summit a month ago (our 3rd time sailing her) and, while I was not in a deck 9 cabin, I am familiar with the ship. I can tell you that the space above the cabin is the bakery, where they put out all kinds of breads. There is a crew person there at all times, but passengers cannot access the area behind the counter, so that should cut down on any noise from above. The opposite side is the same, by the way, but for gluten-free items.

I also agree with you that being out from under the major overhangs would be a great benefit in terms of light on the balcony and in the cabin.

The only other location that might be better in terms of quiet would be forward, under the spa treatment rooms, but that would also be under a larger overhang. 

And I would NOT recommend a cabin beneath the pool deck. We've heard from many passengers that those can get a lot of noise from above: people dragging loungers around, running, etc.

Sounds like you've done your research (as I always do) and found a great cabin! 

Best of luck, and happy cruising. 

On 10/10/2022 at 5:38 PM, sunsetme said:

How about Discovery? Those lights drove us nuts on Royal

They were NOT on the Sky last December NOR on Discovery in May of this year. Hopefully they've stopped this silliness. I understand the "safety" reason for the lights, but they would drive me crazy, as I'm a very light sleeper.

I recently stayed in a hotel that had a great solution: a clear light switch in the bathroom with an LED light behind it. It was not all that bright and did not disturb us when sleeping but, surprisingly, provided plenty of light to guide us easily to the bathroom during the night. 

10 hours ago, wallyj said:

Princess has you ‘self’ test in your cabin, with tests provided by Princess, no other comments needed, as I can read your mind. You write down passengers name, date and time test was taken, and with phone or tablet, take picture to show your steward and then you are free to go about your business if negative

Thank you for this information. Very helpful, although I have one question: are you saying you take a picture of your test to show the cabin steward?  If so, that seems like an odd and unnecessary step when they could, presumably, simply have passengers show the actual test to their cabin steward.  Just curious.

Thanks again, and I hope you have a great cruise. French Polynesia was one of my very favorite cruises, on the old Tahitian Princess. ❤️

1 hour ago, trbarton said:

Thanks for the photo’s. Do the bedside lamps also have a USB?  
 

Tom😀

Yes, there is a USB-A port in the base of the bedside lamps, but you should be aware that they charge VERY slowly. 

2 hours ago, chubbypiggy said:

Where can I buy that?  Thanks.

I bought it on amazon. Here's a link.

Tessan Euro E/F outlet expander

There are others that are similar with different configurations, but I've always found this worked best for the most different outlet locations. 

20 minutes ago, Happy2cruise said:

What if the flight is at 11:30, will you be denied this service?  Thanks

Pre-covid it was available for flights leaving after 11:00 am from FLL and after Noon from MIA. Haven't used it since the re-start, but hopefully the same time frames apply.

Just to confirm, for people who've sailed RT from Port Everglades recently, so EZ Check is back when flying out of FLL? Is that correct? That would be great news. It wasn't available the last 2 times we've sailed from there, since they restarted sailings.