19 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Maybe this will help...

Thanks!

So decks 11, 12 and 14 will have those beautiful balconies?

16 minutes ago, Cdude said:

I love the service but I dislike the ship, to be blunt.

Can you be specific - we're currently signed up for 39 days on her in the fall so I'm really interested to know.

16 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

Wandered around both levels of Horizons today. The far aft area is the only place on the ship where you can feel side-to-side motion, enough so that even today my wife wouldn’t be able to sit back there. It’s glass-smooth everywhere else. Also found the chef’s table on 7. 
 

 

 

 

 

Thanks (once again) for the beautiful photos!

It's too bad about the motion on deck 6 in the aft because the views would be spectacular.

Do these two cabins actually have an aft, wake view balcony?

I can't seem to pull up the deck plan but the description says:

Stateroom Number: 14636
Type: Deluxe Balcony

Category: DD
Location: Aft
Deck: 14 (Fourteen)
Bath Type: Shower
Connecting Room: N/A
Average Size: 320 sq. ft.

3 hours ago, CanadianBurger said:

Today’s Sea Day Patter

 

 

For those that asked - O'Malleys is open for lunch on a sea day!

EDIT: Might only be open for drinks at 1:00. There's something written underneath the hours that becomes blurry when I enlarge it enough to read. Sorry!

***

2 hours ago, CanadianBurger said:

Beautiful sea day today, about 16C, but really warm with the sun. I’m surprised the wonderful space deck 17 forward at the SeaView bar is so empty. There are also washrooms on the starboard side which is nice.
 

Lots of people in The Dome. 
 

 

 

 

 

How windy was it at the Seaview Bar area while sailing?

(Might be the reason it's empty)

4 hours ago, Cdude said:

Cabin 12320 Premium Deluxe Balcony (D1) is mid ship and right across from laundry which is super convenient. I would definitely pick this one again, but I doubt I would pick this ship again.

 

 

"but I doubt I would pick this ship again."

?????

Explain please.

***

15 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

When you ask about all three restaurants are you meaning reserve, signature and main or deck 6, deck 7 and deck 8 of MDR?

I meant Reserve, Signature and Main.

It seems Reserve and Main are pretty much the same menu so now just wondering about the Signature.

(And I have to say, while we like most things on Princess better, the dining situation on Celebrity really IS much better. The menus in MDR, Blu (Aqua class) and Luminae (suites) are totally different from each other.)

4 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

Vines has better glasses that they don't want you to take out. If you want to leave, just ask them for a to-go glass and they will pour your wine into a normal glass like the other bars use. If you are just picking up a glass to take to dinner, tell them when you order and they will give you one of the other glasses.

Note: My response is based on experience on other ships - not on the Sun.

Sun doesn't have Vines

16 hours ago, TrixieBel said:

If you’re in one of those you can open your gate, take a few steps forward to a comfy seat and sit and watch the ocean and sun?
 

I feel like I’d like those cabins. I’d get my nice cabin. A big indoor / outdoor area of my own. A sun lounge outside that I didn’t have to get up at 6am to “reserve”. And a relatively private larger deck area to relax with drinks. 

But if you can "open your gateand take a few steps forward........" - can't anyone on the Cabana deck also open your gate and go onto your balcony and/or into your cabin? 😨

6 minutes ago, Pixelskaya said:

The night they went first to the MDR and then to the Reserve dining room, @CanadianBurger said there was at least one extra dish in the latter.

Ok . Thanks. That answers about the Reserve but I don't think anyone has commented about the Signature dining room.

10 hours ago, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

So disappointed that there isn’t a different menu for the Reserve and Signature restaurants from the MDR. Princess can’t seem to get these things right. 

So I remember the question being asked if the menus were the same in all three restaurants but i don't remember @CanadianBurger or anyone else answering it.

28 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

Only 10 and 11 are accessible to passengers. The forward-facing cabins on 12 are officer’s cabins, and along with the access door to the outside deck, are behind a Crew Only door. I peeked for a second. 14 doesn’t seem to have the access doors. I watched sail away from this area on 11 tonight. Keep the interesting places to explore coming!

 

 

 

It's wonderful that Princess has a pool and hot tubs for crew.

Not every cruise line does. (Looking at you Celebrity!)

15 minutes ago, Familycruzer11 said:

I think this can be solved by listing this Signature amenity as  "Access to the Adults-Only Sanctuary for Signaure Suite guests 16+"  Guests can choose to book, or not, knowing what they are getting.  As mentioned several times, the Sun has more to offer kids and families than any other Princess ship without bringing kids into the Sanctuary, and there are plenty of other Signature Suite amenities to be enjoyed by the whole family.

Great idea!

Are kids allowed in the Signature lounge?

14 minutes ago, CatMom72 said:

I see how it is around here. 

@CatMom72  -  I just meant that copying your post was something i didn't mean to do.

NOT that your post was a mistake!

1 hour ago, CatMom72 said:

 

mistake

24 minutes ago, cr2000 said:

Agreed. I don't see young kids having any interest in The Sanctuary, but I could foresee the scenario where mom and dad are relaxing in The Sanctuary while their teenager(s) are off doing an activity with a couple friends. Then at some point they want to meet back up and that teenager would like to stop back and talk with mom or dad but is precluded from entering the Sanctuary under the current rules. I think a lot of people that travel with families and pay a premium for a suite will be disappointed that they can't use this amenity because their children aren't allowed to enter that area even just to check in and say hi. 

Those teenagers can message Mom or Dad via the Medallion.

(And really, if they just want to stop by to check in for a second with their parents I'm sure that would be fine.)

The problem is more with younger kids who, if they aren't interested in the kid's club can't roam the ship on their own.

When the Sanctuary didn't have a pool there would have been nothing for those kids to do there but now it does. If I booked a suite with my kids I'd expect they could be there. I love kids but a couple of loud kids in the pool would really ruin the atmosphere.

***

15 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

Suite guests have access to the entire Sanctuary though. And as posted by someone currently on board, management has advised that paying guests will only be allowed into The Sanctuary if suite guests using the space are below a certain capacity.

19 minutes ago, CatMom72 said:

, we would book the Sanctuary for the entire week when we were in the Caribbean and we would be in there for some part of every day (including most of the time on sea days). We enjoyed being able to come and go when we felt like it and not having to run upstairs every morning just to get a seat.

So, at what point during the day do they determine that there will be room for non-suite guests?

2 hours ago, CatMom72 said:

Princess posted an aerial view of the ship from MrScottEddy on their Instagram story that shows the Signature Sun Deck.  My husband counted the padded loungers.  FORTY-THREE.  For 80 suites.  There's no way Princess can possibly think they have enough loungers in the Signature Sun Deck alone to support the demand from suite passengers. 

 

🥵🥵🥵

So forty three loungers for 160 (or so) passengers.

24 minutes ago, dides said:

There was one held on the inaugural cruise.  Credit: Dave R

 

 

 

 

Love that they offered a vegan entree.

That reminds me - have you seen or heard of a vegan menu on the Sun?

2 hours ago, 555 said:

Maybe it's been answered before but are they issuing white medallions to everyone on the Sun Princess? 

32 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

No. The regular level colors. The old blue for newbies is now white everywhere. I was hoping for a special Sun one. 

Yes. All of the new cruisers on our November cruise had white medallions.

2 hours ago, CanadianBurger said:

Ordered elite tea for two to the stateroom, and this arrived. Yeah! More like the afternoon tea we’re used to.

 

Just wondering - with the Medallion and the "get your order anywhere" concept could you order the tea delivered to the Sanctuary?

2 hours ago, CanadianBurger said:

Eatery Lunch Mega Post

I took pics at all the stations around the Eatery, including Catch and Butcher’s Block (part of the Eatery during lunch). The seating in the main section was very busy, but back by Butcher’s Block and Eatery, there were

tons of empty tables. I kept the description signs in whenever I saw them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for all of these detailed pictures.

On the preplated foods are there descriptions of what's on and the ingredients in  them in front of them?

Many people have food allergies and if each person has to ask a crew member to explain each dish the lines are going to be terrible.

But I'm SO HAPPY to see onion rings. I hope they're the wonderful kind Princess used to serve out by the pool!

***

10 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

With the beautiful sea view terrace/pool at the front on decks 16/17 combined with the Dome and the equally gorgeous wake view terrace at the back on deck 8 it really negates a lot of the need for the Sanctuary in my opinion.  I’m sure many will disagree with me. 

9 hours ago, RMorningglory said:

We have, for many years, made sanctuary our primary attraction on board Princess as we have been to many ports several times and make the ship our destination when cruising, even on port days. We enjoy the added attention from a staff that gets to know you over the course of the cruise and gives that little added service that makes it all seem special and worth it to us. (We also like to pretend that there aren't 3000 other people on the boat). All that said... not sure how this is going to work for us moving forward. I'm going to hold my breath and cross t fingers to see how this all plays out. It was my understanding that the "Sanctuary" had one capacity and the Signature Deck had another. If Sanctuary has 170+ loungers and the Signature Deck has an additional amount than I can see the 300+ capacity when combined being possible. We are booked for 2 weeks in Europe on April 27th and another 2 weeks in the Caribbean in October. I won't much care in Europe as we'll want to tour the ports but in the Caribbean we'll want to be "Sanctuary Slugs" and that might be difficult. If it's a cluster in April we may have to make a different choice for October. Time will tell. Why do they always have to re-imagine the stuff that works so well? Thanks for all the great info CBurger! You are a Star sailing on the Sun!

I don't know which "planner" at Princess came up with the new configuration for the Sanctuary but,  like @RMorningglory, who said EVERYTHING I've been thinking, we also have come to see the Sanctuary as an important part of our vacation.

I hope Princess is reading this and can make some readjustments.

We love the Sanctuary for the feel of old cruising where one had their assigned lounger and deck steward. On the Sun almost everything we love about the Sanctuary is gone, even though we are sailing in a suite. No assigned lounger so we're back to rushing up to get one of the few loungers in the shade (are there ANY in the shade on this ship?) every morning, no getting to know the specific crew in your area, no afternoon tea,  just seems like a lot of no, no, no.

@CanadianBurger- Thank you again for taking time out from your vacation to do this!!

@RMorningglory - please make sure to post your impressions after your April cruise.

5 hours ago, CanadianBurger said:

The Sanctuary - The Facts

 

I had a meeting with the Sanctuary Manager to be sure I was getting correct information. Here we go…

 

First and foremost, on this ship the Sanctuary was envisioned as an amenity for Full Suite guests, who have complimentary access. 
 

The Sanctuary has a capacity of 177. Those 177 loungers include the exclusive area for Signature guests, the padded loungers, the regular unpadded loungers, and the hard sculpted loungers. 
 

IF THERE IS CAPACITY on a given morning, they will sell day passes at $99 per person on sea days, or $79pp on port days. Half days are not available. There are 80 full suites on the ship, so there may not be much or any extra capacity.

 

Sanctuary hours are 8am-5pm. 
 

There is NO pre-reservation of loungers from day to day, including for Suite guests. Location is first-come-first-served every morning. Once a lounger is assigned, it is reserved for you for the rest of the day. If all the padded loungers are taken, you’d have to pick another. 
 

Cabanas

 

The Cabanas are not yet finished, and are awaiting the installation of TVs, minibars, and fridges. There are eight cabanas. 

 

Once completed, Cabanas will be sold for $499/day, for up to four people. Extra people are $50/pp/day. There is no discount for Suite guests. The price includes amenities like bathrobes and slippers. 
 

The aft glass elevators will require Suite medallion access to open the doors into the Sanctuary. This is not yet implemented, so there is a staff member posted there to stop people. 
 

Guests will be able to choose from the food and drink menus below. These items are exclusive to the Sanctuary. 
 

Afternoon Tea will NOT be served in the Sanctuary, at least for the foreseeable future. 
 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, CatMom72 said:

@CanadianBurger Thanks for gathering this information for everyone!  I have to say, this sounds like a complete cluster.  As one commenter put it, “not well thought out.”  I still have a lot of questions, but the first one relates to capacity.  A video posted by @rexdillinger last week had a Sanctuary staff member indicating much greater capacity than 177.  I want to say it was 325 or so? This seems like a really big difference.  Even if you add cabana capacity to the 177 number, we are nowhere near 325. Is there any way to get more granularity regarding the actual capacity, including distribution between padded loungers, cabanas, and other seating? The suites are not cheap, and I don’t like the idea of having paid the added cost if it does not prevent me from having to wake up at the crack of dawn to battle chair hogs.  If everything in your post is accurate, Princess has failed in a MAJOR WAY with both the Sun Princess Sanctuary AND the Signature Collection benefits.  It’s a shame, too, because there are a lot of other things about the ship that look fantastic. I hope they receive feedback from passengers and respond accordingly.

Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to do the research on all of this for us.

I was really excited to experience a suite on her first transatlantic this coming fall but am seriously reconsidering it now.

Having a reserved lounger in the very quiet, shaded Sanctuary that we didn't have to wake up early every day to run up and reserve has come to be an important part of our cruises. And we've come to love the little break of afternoon tea served every day.

So it sounds like everything we love about the Sanctuary experience is gone from the Sun. 🥵

Again, thanks for checking this all out.