New Sun Princess (Not My Princess)!?!?!

[Jeter02]

So I've been recently studying my deck plans of the new Sun Princess on the cruisemapper website. Holy cow! What is this atrocity? This whole shipbuild feels more like a royal Caribbean ship then it does a Princess ship.

 

First they did away with my deck names. Something about the elevator speaking to to me in a British accent saying aloha is so welcoming and inviting. The kids club is down by the spa? What in the world is a roller glider and better yet why is there a ropes course on my ship? I like peace and quiet personally. And the confusion the buffet World fresh market being on Deck 9. I thought the point of food always being up on the top deck was for access and enjoyment while by the pool. And the grand finale question of the day... Where is my promenade on Deck 7 where I can walk around and enjoy the beautiful views of the ocean on a lounge chair, when I didn't want to sit in my own balcony???

 

The reason my family and I love Princess is for the familiarity and the comfort of always feeling like we're back home. And before anyone asks yes I'm a creature of habit and takes a while for me to get use to change. This is a whole other beast which I understand but definitely does not follow Princess protocol. What is everyone else's thoughts on it?

Edited December 17, 2022 by Jeter02

[Guest ldtr]

Even the P&O and Carnival ships built on the same platform have stuck with more conventional designs. I expect the relocation of the buffet area was to enable more space on the upper decks to be used for suites and reserved suite areas.

 

The design clearly indicates that Princess will be following the competition into the world of ship within a ship. 

[damiross]

Absurd!  

I like Aloha, Baja, Lido, etc.  Can we say "boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"?

 

 

[Geoffa30]

Unpopular opinion but I think it’s looking good. Princess needs to innovate whilst not forgetting its roots and Sun Princess appears to do just that.
 

Looking forward to sailing our first ever transatlantic in our first ever suite with Princess. I’ll wait until we sail on the ship before passing judgement from the little information we currently have available.

[ldubs]

My first thought was I hope they are not going to that central boulevard style ship. I'm glad that isn't happening.   The Deck 9 area seems to have a lot of outside seating area around the perimeter.  It does seem odd there is no grill or other food on the pool deck.  One of the things I really like about Princess ships is that there are a lot of seating places have outside windows.  I'm happy to see they have retained that feature.    

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, damiross said:

Absurd!  

I like Aloha, Baja, Lido, etc.  Can we say "boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"?

 

 

 

I suspect they just have not got around to naming the decks.  

[Roberto256]

2 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

Something about the elevator speaking to to me in a British accent saying aloha is so welcoming and inviting.

 

Mind the doors!

 

2 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

What in the world is a roller glider and better yet why is there a ropes course on my ship? Princess protocol. What is everyone else's thoughts on it?

 

Is this ropes course always available, or just on certain nights?

 

[Guest ldtr]

Just now, ldubs said:

My first thought was I hope they are not going to that central boulevard style ship. I'm glad that isn't happening.   The Deck 9 area seems to have a lot of outside seating area around the perimeter.  It does seem odd there is no grill or other food on the pool deck.  One of the things I really like about Princess ships is that there are a lot of seating places have outside windows.  I'm happy to see they have retained that feature.    

it also appears that international cafe pretty much shares seating with the buffet.

[ldubs]

1 minute ago, ldtr said:

it also appears that international cafe pretty much shares seating with the buffet.

 

I saw that.  I can't remember from the deck plan if they even have a central Piazza area. 

[Guest ldtr]

12 minutes ago, ldubs said:

My first thought was I hope they are not going to that central boulevard style ship. I'm glad that isn't happening.   The Deck 9 area seems to have a lot of outside seating area around the perimeter.  It does seem odd there is no grill or other food on the pool deck.  One of the things I really like about Princess ships is that there are a lot of seating places have outside windows.  I'm happy to see they have retained that feature.    

Might be that they expect everyone on the pool deck to order via medallion app.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Ruh roh; me thinks I may not like this ship either! 😱 I haven’t studied the deck plans yet, so this was all news to me. DH and I both smile when we hear the British accent speaking the deck name in the elevator. I enjoy the deck names so much that I’ve nicknamed various items by those names. The grill and pizza by the pool are our embarkation day go-to’s.  I ❤️ traditional Princess and may just have to sail the Royal and Grand classes til they’re gone and then switch to a small ship cruise line. I’ll be interested to see if any of the new venues attract my attention. DH already had no interest in the Sun due to its size. 

[Dar & Bob]

What I find amusing it that you had to go to Cruise mapper to find the deck plans.  Only the staterooms are on the deck plans on Princess' site.  There is no mention of the rollerglider or the ropes course on the Sun's promotional items (at least not that I found easliy) 

Seems there are still some issues going on with the bookings as well.  The mini suites in the Reserve collection for several cruises I checked come up as Guarantee only.  Ummm for that money I want to choose my cabin.  

For the most part with what I have seen it seems to be going the way of Celebrity's E class with more open type spaces.  That would appeal to us.  After doing 3 Princess cruises this year alone we now have all X cruises booked but taking a look at the Sun.

[Andrew J. Cat]

We’ve been cruising on Princess for 30 years.  When they came out with the original Crown and Regal, we hesitated as they were too big. We tried them and loved them.  
Then came the Sun class ships.  Nope, too big.  We tried the and loved them.

Then the Grand class ships.  Same deal.

Then the Royal class.  Now these were just too big and they eliminated the wrap around promenade deck.  No way we’re doing that.  We’ve sailed on the Royal class ships now 5 times.  We love them.

My point is, you don’t know until you go!  
And yes, I’m hesitant about the new Sun Princess! Lol!

[Vic The Parrot]

2 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I suspect they just have not got around to naming the decks.  

I was thinking exactly the same thing a while back. Let's hope they're working on that.

[symui]

3 hours ago, Andrew J. Cat said:

My point is, you don’t know until you go!  
And yes, I’m hesitant about the new Sun Princess!

Thats a good summary.

 

But without aft facing balconies and a good promenade to walk on I might never sail on this mega ship.  Bigger is not always better

[c-boy]

11 minutes ago, Andrew J. Cat said:

We’ve been cruising on Princess for 30 years.  When they came out with the original Crown and Regal, we hesitated as they were too big. We tried them and loved them.  
Then came the Sun class ships.  Nope, too big.  We tried the and loved them.

Then the Grand class ships.  Same deal.

Then the Royal class.  Now these were just too big and they eliminated the wrap around promenade deck.  No way we’re doing that.  We’ve sailed on the Royal class ships now 5 times.  We love them.

My point is, you don’t know until you go!  
And yes, I’m hesitant about the new Sun Princess! Lol!

😄 I'm a skeptical optimist. I see where they're going and I am excited, hell already have a cabin picked out however;  This one big girl, Many are going this direction. I hope it works out for the industry. 🤞

[Jemnibabe]

18 minutes ago, Andrew J. Cat said:

We’ve been cruising on Princess for 30 years.  When they came out with the original Crown and Regal, we hesitated as they were too big. We tried them and loved them.  
Then came the Sun class ships.  Nope, too big.  We tried the and loved them.

Then the Grand class ships.  Same deal.

Then the Royal class.  Now these were just too big and they eliminated the wrap around promenade deck.  No way we’re doing that.  We’ve sailed on the Royal class ships now 5 times.  We love them.

My point is, you don’t know until you go!  
And yes, I’m hesitant about the new Sun Princess! Lol!

Being a Gemini I love change.  Looking forward to something different.  I may love it and if I don't I can always go back to my old favorite, the Regal.  Someone mentioned that it was a 3 story dining room.  Did anyone else get that impression?  Looking forward to experiencing something different and yet, some very familar places.

 

Judy from SW Florida

[c-boy]

9 minutes ago, symui said:

Thats a good summary.

 

But without aft facing balconies and a good promenade to walk on I might never sail on this mega ship.  Bigger is not always better

Princess is listening   😊  No worries about cigarette smoke ruining their crrrruise experience. They nipped it in the bud 🤣

Edited December 17, 2022 by c-boy

[mtnesterz]

4 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

The reason my family and I love Princess is for the familiarity and the comfort of always feeling like we're back home.

Princess doesn't want you to feel at home. They want you to be on vacation. You know, like spending lots of money on things you wouldn't think of buying when at home. They want to appeal to families who spend lots of money creating family memories. Or, forget the memories, just spend lots of money.

Will this be what people want? We'll be spending our cruising dollars elsewhere.

[c-boy]

2 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

 

Mind the doors!

 

 

Is this ropes course always available, or just on certain nights?

 

  

 

Formal Night 🤣

[jwattle]

9 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

Princess doesn't want you to feel at home. They want you to be on vacation. You know, like spending lots of money on things you wouldn't think of buying when at home. They want to appeal to families who spend lots of money creating family memories. Or, forget the memories, just spend lots of money.

Will this be what people want? We'll be spending our cruising dollars elsewhere.

By feeling at home, I mean that I like the familiarity of the crew, the friendliness of the staff as opposed to the snootiness of some other lines.

[Steelers36]

My initial impression is intrigued with the new direction of this ship and interested in trying it out as a ship-within-a-ship and mostly just stay on board.  However, I am thinking we wouldn't be booking one of those reserve staterooms with the indoor/outdoor seating area that seems cool to me.  It certainly seems a brave new world for Princess.

[SargassoPirate]

No wrap-around promenade?  That's a deal breaker for me.  Lots of other lines and other ships to choose from with the amenities that are important to me. 

 

No sunrises or sunsets on the Sun for me.

[dickinson]

I just checked the deck plans.  Not impressed.  It does say they have self serve laundromats but none are labeled that I could see.  Is there an. Alfredos/Gigis?  I don't remember seeing it.

 

[dides]

23 minutes ago, dickinson said:

I just checked the deck plans.  Not impressed.  It does say they have self serve laundromats but none are labeled that I could see.  Is there an. Alfredos/Gigis?  I don't remember seeing it.

 

Agree, no laundromats currently. On P&O Iona they are placed just north of the mid-ship stairs and there is free white space there on the plans.

 

Alfredos is on the list of food venues on the website and assuming it is on the Cruisemapper deck plans as "Pizzeria" with outdoor dining on deck 9 opposite the International Cafe.  

 

 

Cross-checked as a public venue on deck 9 in the Princess deck plans:

Edited December 17, 2022 by dides