dides

There was a PR presentation in the Arena earlier this evening with Corinne the CD, Eithne of Princess UK and JP.

 

 

They went through the unique selling points of the ship and had segments on sustainability from Jeff Corwin and food from Chef Rudi.

They mentioned the Sanctuary Collection Changes but not the other changes to the ship. 

They said Star would be based on Sun with minimal changes

Also that they would be changing one of the Sun schedules to become a solar eclipse cruise.

 

I was a few feet from Richard Parker, the designer behind the ship, while waiting to go into the Arena but he didn't feature at all in the event. Should I have asked him any questions I wonder 😉

 

A couple of hours later, we attended the Sam Ryder mini-concert.  He was very energetic and sang some rousing songs with audience participation.

 

 

Chris is a new fan now but I know some of the suite guests didn't agree and walked out in the middle! 

 

This completes this Live From as we disembark tomorrow - hope it was helpful and thanks to everyone else who chipped in. I will now handover to everyone on the Transatlantic!

 

 

 

 

In the Southampton PR event on Sun Princess today, John Padgett has said they will be basing Star Princess on the Sun and will be minimizing changes.  

15 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

So funny!  Reminds me of the wine windows in Florence, IT.

 

Can anyone go there and ring?  Was it the cheap champagne?  🍾 

There is a PR reception going on now so if course it was 'ship champagne'! Only those who get access to the Sanctuary will be able to ring it 

 

Here is the new 'Ring for Champagne' Bell

 

 

A gloved hand will hand you the glass of champagne though the foliage. 

 

8 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Are you going on the inaugural, or should I say, the hopeful inaugural?

 

Almost, we are booked on the TA for my milestone birthday but have an alternative booking so could swap over 😄

We had been sat in the middle of the Suite Lounge for almost an hour before we noticed the furniture in the corner had been moved to make way for a ...

 

 

 

 

....Piano! 

 

Yes, this was something else new installed yesterday and played to guests last night!

 

 

Day 9 - Southampton

 

Patter:

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the list of activities is much reduced on this final day of our cruise.

 

Chris popped up to the Sanctuary this morning just after 8sm and was told it was closed to passengers all day for an event.

The new 'ring for champagne,' area was all blocked off and covered in plastic - either because of the yucky rain this morning or more likely ahead of a big reveal later today 

 

We then went to the Signature Restaurant for breakfast. A Full English and Buttermilk Pancakes later we sat out near Bellinis for a while. All the sofas and chairs around the Piazza had been moved out to the outside edges and there was a constant influx of visitors touring the ship. They also set up a temporary Sun Princess backdrop for photo opportunities 

 

 

At one point there was a momentary power loss as they tested the onshore power take-on.

 

Back at our stateroom we found an invitation to a special event in the Arena:

 

 

Sebastian the Suite Manager later confirmed this had been extended to Suite guests 

 

We were already planning to attend as part of the Princess PR invite we had received and we had heard that Sam Ryder was the artist (the UK's previous Eurovision entrant who came 2nd).

 

We are now sitting in the Suite Lounge - will post again later 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 8 - Southampton

 

Patter:

 

 

 

 

Well the day started off weird. I woke up at 6;50am. There was no air conditioning noise and no port sounds even though I knew wew were in Southampton.. And for the first time ever we didn't need to race to get off the ship!

We went to the Signature Restaurant for breakfast - we were both pretty hungry so ordered a couple of dishes this time.

 

Chris chose the Texas Toast French Toast and the Full English (no mushrooms or eggs plus 2 hash browns) I went for the Belgian Waffles and Eggs Benedict. The dishes all turned up together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris loved his dishes. My waffles were dreamy but I found my benny eggs too runny. I had a lake of yolk left on my plate.

 

Chris overheard someone at the front desk telling a colleague over the phone that one set of suite guests didn't know that the Sanctuary was a perk on Sun Princess until the end of their cruise! I looked back at our welcome letter and it just mentions Signature Sun Deck so I think Princess need to work on the Comms a bit.

 

After breakfast,we lurked around Coffee Currents and then the Piazza so we could grab a good spot for the Plaque and Key Exchange with the great and the good. The  production singers and dancers were in rehearsal for something so we got to watch that over and over. 

 

We chatted to some Princess Comms and PR folks that had come onboard and Chris spotted John Padgett at one point.

 

Then Corinne the CD came on and did the intros for the Plaque exchange ceremony participants,  everyone did a little speech themselves, out came the plaques, they were exchanged and then there were photo opportunities.

 

 

 

 

Chris went over and got photos with JP and then the Captain - both remembered him from previous PR/bridge visit encounters which left him pretty chuffed.

 

We then went back to our stateroom - I collected our laundry together and spent the next 3-4 hours playing tag with other passengers for use of the washer and dryer in the launderette on deck 17. Everything is still complimentary:

 

 

 

Chris went up to the Sanctuary to find out the latest goings on up there. After messaging me to find out how to get to the main entrance as the scenic elevators were closed off for deck 18. He thinks that was for the loading of new furniture.

 

 

He also watched as a crane hoisted off one of the Park 19 pylons:

 

 

They were also installing.the new 'ring for Champagne' bell. He mumbled about something coming out from behind a curtain. - I can't wait to fathom that out tomorrow! 

 

We rushed down to the Crown Grill for our 6:30pm booking. It was a pretty busy night there as usual. Here is the menu:

 

 

 

We had the cheesy garlic bread and a bread basket delivered in the first 5 minutes:

 

 

 

Chris selected the Black and Blue Onion Soup. (Substitute Blue cheese with Mozzarella) and I chose the Scallops.

 

 

 

Both really nice although mine was a tiny dish in comparison

 

Then we both chose our usual Filet Mignon steaks (butterflied). Chris with Peppercorn sauce, mashed potato and fries. Mine with Bearnaise, applewood salt, mushrooms and loaded baked potato.

 

 

 

 

Our steaks were good but the sauces were below par and let the meal down. A real shame 

 

For dessert, Chris ordered the Chocolate Cake and I chose the Key Lime Pie.

 

 

 

Despite the vile green colour my Key Lime pie was refreshing and the biscuit crumb to die for. Chris really enjoyed his dessert too.

 

We rushed out and over to Princess Live! but missed the start of the UK Bands Trivia. So we had to sit through it and mentally mark ourselves. We struggled on identifying one song by the band I really dislike - the Artic Monkeys. The winners got 38/40 and we would have won with 39! Ah well.

 

We sat through another game show and escaped back to our room before karaoke started.

 

To be continued..

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Sudoku said:

dides,

Vinnie and Tena here. We missed you for Love Songs trivia last night. We loved meeting you and playing a few games with you.  I have also enjoyed your thorough review of the Sun Princess. Enjoy your get togethers tomorrow.  I look forward to reading your final thoughts.

 

Safe travels, continue cruising, and I’m sure we shall meet again!

 

 

Hey both, aww likewise, meeting folks like yourselves really makes a cruise memorable. Hope you enjoy your trips out and that you get to tick off everything in London you wanted to do.  We must do this again! 🙃

1 hour ago, Wishing on a star said:

 

I love all of your real-time updates!  And, hope to hear the latest until you finish your cruise.

The 'ring for champagne' bell was being installed just before the Sanctuary closed just now - hope to get some pics tomorrow.

 

1 hour ago, Geoffa30 said:

Thanks for all the updates Dides.ope you enjoy your weekend in Southampton whatever your plans are. I understand a lot of the vloggers types will be visiting at some point.

Would you believe I am doing our laundry? I know we could send this off to be done but I am not getting my unmentionables done that way. Can't believe the one on our deck only has 1 washer and 1 dryer but at least it's free.

 

There will be over 300 TAs and vloggers onboard tomorrow. We will have a foot in both camps  - will hope to invite the ones we know well to have a peek at our suite!

 

 

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

Most likely to take down, and offload the pylons while they are in port.

Yep one pylon has been taken down already so hopefully they will push through while they have it in Mayflower Dock until tomorrow night - and they are turning the ship around tonight

Scenic elevator entrance to Sanctuary closed to passengers while new furniture is delivered.

 

These are some new chairs that actually rock like a rocking chair!

 

 

 

A crane has been setup next to Park 19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heard unofficially that the Star Princess Float Out is scheduled to take place sometime next week

 

Chris in selfie mode..

 

 

Plaques exchanged

 

- Lord Mayor of Southampton

- Captain Craig Street

- John Padgett

- Head of Shoreside Operations. Southampton

 

Yep JP is onboard. We also chatted to Vicki Johnson from Princess earlier.  There's a plaque and key ceremony in 40 minutes in the Piazza 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, chamima said:

 

It's my understanding that all of the pools on the Sun are stair access only. 🥵

Makes no sense for many people!

Surely they should be described as ladder only access- no graduated stairs apart from the pay only Thermal pool in the spa

6 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

@dides Thank you for sharing this information and wonderful photos. I'm wondering what you thought of the Royal Tea and whether it was really worth the charge compared to standard afternoon tea.

Hi @karatemom2 on the quality and variety of the food, I would say it wasn't worth the money. If you want to hear some stories about life in the Royal palaces and some history of the Afternoon Tea then that adds some value. 

 

Chris could not even eat the sandwiches because he doesn't like fish or cream cheese - I found the smoked salmon sandwich quite dry and hard-going and I couldn't taste any cream cheese in the fancy cucumber version. At least the normal afternoon tea has more edible and variety of sandwiches.

 

Mind you, I don't believe that is held as an MDR or Sanctuary event on Sun Princess - it might only be limited to the Eatery or an Elite!Suite stateroom perk. Hopefully others can confirm.

 

If you want to book the Royal version then it's usually held on sea days and you can call the Dine Line 

 

 

 

 

To everyone else - sorry if my typing got a bit garbled last night - clearly was more weary than I thought!

 

Day 7 - Patter

 

Patter:

 

 

 

 

Well it's got a lot cooler and rockier for our penultimate day before arriving for our double overnight in Southampton

 

I hadn't slept well so begged Chris for a lie in after our 8am alarm. As a result. we left the room at 10am which is like a twilight zone if you are searching for breakfast - and Chris didn't want to go to the Eatery.

 

I wish OceanNow had better breakfast options - you know we haven't used.it once this cruise which is unusual!

 

So we went to the Lido deck for some coffees and hot chocolate from Coffee and Cones. It wasn't as busy as yesterday - much cooler and windy!  I took the opportunity to try a slice of one of the Premier cakes as they didn't have them in April. Here is the Red Velvet Cake:

 

 

Chris decided to be contrary and not go for a Lido deck burger saying you shouldn't have one for breakfast and suggested a trip to the International Cafe next. 

Golly the cool weather meant there were so many more people seated inside. We were lucky to grab.a window seat. I went lookimg for a warm ham and cheese croissant but no luck - Chris was not happy with the breadier substitute:

 

We had some drinks instead and watched the mass of people getting their coffees that morning.

 

We then headed to wait just outside Princess Live! while there was an enrichment lecture on Herculaneum. 

 

 

Chris met up with those UK vlogger friends with the Owners Suite who had very kindly offered to let him film their stateroom. I stayed behind the watch and interesting behind the scenes lecture on navigation on Sun Princess.

 

 

 At 2:30pm we headed to Good Spirits for the Royal Afternoon Tea event. This the one that costs 30 dollars pp.and has pre-filmed commentary on the TV screens from the chef who used to work for the Queen. We had managed to get a last minute booking via our Suite Concierge - couldn't see how to book it on the app.

Well it was very popular - one of the busiest they had ever had and the room was full!

 

 

 

We were asked to select our choice of tea.Chris always goes for English Breakfast Tea but I actually don't like tea and usually middle through with some lemon and honey tea - none of that milky stuff!  

 

 

They interspersed the tea, sandwich, scones and cake sections with pre-segments from the chef.

 

There were smoked salmon and cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches:

 

 

Plain and fruit scones with jam and thick cream - they called it clotted but it's not like true UK clotted cream.

 

 

 

 

Then finally to there delicious little chocolate ganache cakes and while the servers called the other cakes a Victoria Sponge they clearly were not - I could taste banana (which I hate) and it was clearly some kind of banana bread concoction. I swiftly gave mine to Chris to finish!

 

 

Stanley the Bear came in for photos at the end and it seemed to go down well - feeding into the obsession with British Royalty

 

For the rest of the afternoon we popped into O'Malleys for some drinks - during a very loud Musical Spoons Class!

 

We then had an early dinner in the Signature Restaurant. Here is the menu:

 

 

 

 

Chris had the French Onion Soup for starters and I chose.the Prosciutto and Melon. Then he has the Spaghetti Carbonara for Mains and I had the Prime Rib. For dessert, Chris chose the Creme Brulee and I had to the Coconut Cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris liked his soup and melon was just ok. The.he found the spaghetti too al dente and my prime rib was a bit tough. The desserts were nice though!

 

We then went to watch the UK comedian David Arnold who was amusing but not laugh out loud worthy. We sat out the Broadway Music Trivia - not our area -  although we got 18/20 correct. There were 3 winners with perfect scores of course.

 

We came back to our cabin to watch a movie and then had an early night.

 

Interestingly there was an offer leaflet Spellbound without the meal for the last night of the cruise. We have other plans or might have considered going again at that price!

 

 

To be continued.

 

 

1 hour ago, FLAlaska said:

I think they serve it in the Americana Diner  which was Deck 8 but is  now being moved to where Butcher Block and Rudys was...

Yes Fish and Chips is on the Americana menu currently

 

 

 

14 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

@dides, I have a reservation at The Butcher Block but after watching some reviews I think I want to cancel. Your photos from Sabatini‘s look really yummy and I think my travel friend would really enjoy that venue. I unfortunately have a rare severe dairy allergy. Do you think they would be able to work with my dietary restrictions at that restaurant? I would hate for my friend to miss out because of me. 

Hi @MsSoCalCruiser I asked on Crewcall chat if they could tailor the Sabatini's menu to someone with a severe dairy allergy and the response, after a while, was:

 

Hope this helps

 

Sandra

 

 

Day 6 - At Sea

 

Patter:

 

 

 

 

 

We made it to the Signature Restaurant for the suite breakfast finally! We arrived at around 8:35am so had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast before it closes at 9;30.

Here is the menu:

 

 

 

We were offered a selection.of pastries and opted for some coffee and OJ. 

 

 

 

The pastries were excellent as usual - so much better than room service. The OJ was meh - not there freshly squeezed version we lived from the suite breakfasts in other ships.

 

I ordered some homemade muesli and we both went for the Full English. Chris asked and got some substitutions.

 

 

 

The muesli was tiny in comparison to the old Bircher option you have on other ships. Tasty but there were only a few spoonfuls.

 

The cooked breakfast was wonderful and we are determined to come back again! 

 

After breakfast we had to go show our passports to pass through UK immigration in the Princess Arena. A short line to wait but well organised.

 

We then stopped by Coffee Currents for a coffee/hot chocolate but didn't like the plastic tops they used on the portable cups - they had a weird chlorine smell. So we went up to deck 17 to go to Coffee and Cones instead.

 

While Chris grabbed a replacement of coffee, I ordered my first granita. I chose the blue raspberry flavour and it tasted like a slush puppy (I think you call them slushies in the US). I will try some of the other flavours on another day - they had 3 already made up.

 

 

 

Here are their various menus:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris also spotted the board with the list of ship officers:

 

 

 

We stayed up on the Lido deck while they did a towel animal demo and played tracks  for the Poolside Music Trivia.

 

Here are some of the towel animals they made:

 

 

 

 

Next we went to the back of the ship and relaxed in the Sanctuary and Suite Lounge for a few hours. The Sanctuary was busy again and, while the Park 19 demolition had moved further midships there was still a noticeable noise from the grinding.

 

After an afternoon shower and nap we went to the Suite Lounge for pre-dinner drinks on the second formal night. There was another sabre champagne bottle top slicing but Chris tried to stick to Woodford Reserve most of the night and not mix his drinks. The bartender In the Lounge said Chris has his own bottle now! Oh dear.

 

We had a 6pm booking at Sabatini's and were seated quickly. Oh my that restaurant is so dark! A lot of us had to use the torches on our phones to read the menu!

Here it is:

 

 

 

 

 

We were served with some tasty nibbles, bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

 

 

 

 

Chris ordered the Arancini Balls the Lasagne, the Chicken Parmigiana and the Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

 

 

 

 

 

He thought everything was really goof but raved about that dessert.

 

I ordered the Burrata, the Lobster Tortellini, the Eggplant Parmigiana and the Ricotta Cheesecake. 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed all my dishes except for the dessert which I found too bland. My biggest surprise though was the size of some of these dishes - the Lobster Tortellini was barely 4 mouthfuls. This menu is so different to the Sabatini's on other ships.

 

We spent the rest of the evening in Princess Live!. There was a music game show called Strike Out where each member of the audience had to raise either their left or right hand to guess the year a song came out. If you got it wrong you.were knocked out of that game.

 

 

I actually won the first round and was awarded a weird rubber medallion wrist band as a prize!

 

Next there was the Liars Club game show where you had to guess which of the 3 ACDs was giving the true meaning of an unusual word. This was good silly fun with a lot of laughs.

 

 

We ended the night with the One Hit Wonders music trivia - we came equal first with 38/40 and won some Princess notebooks!

 

 

 

To be continued..

 

 

40 minutes ago, dides said:

Well the scaffolding has now moved back from the Sanctuary towards the middle of Park 19, leaving just the pylons in place

And we have a completed sign. Can hear a mix of Sanctuary music and some background thumping from the main Lido deck.

 

 

Well I spoke too soon. The sun came out around 1pm and so did the workmen and their grinder!