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

[JimmyVWine]

7 minutes ago, pdobrynski said:

Found this about Rollglider 

THE ROLLGLIDER

The Rollglider is an aerial roller coaster zip line, inspired by the dream of free flying but in a completely safe environment. The flight is not only enjoyed by thrill-seekers but also by people who crave an unknown experience. Each Rollglider we create is unique with its custom design, with the Extreme version featuring a speed of up to 50km/h.

Great opportunity for the crew to practice their "Man Overboard" drills.

 

[Wishing on a star]

The bed should be where there is extra room in the 'jigsaw', where it is wider.   The sofa will be where the narrow part of the 'jigsaw' is.    A bed is deeper than a sofa!

Even though some like the idea of being able to look out from the bed, the design only makes sense to me with the bed first.   Otherwise you walk in, and the sofa is like in a narrow walkway.

 

You can also tell whether the bed will be forward or aft facing.

[Wishing on a star]

They are still showing the Sanctuary and pool on deck 18.   So, yes, I can see that being the Aft pool as the adult,  since this is aft instead of forward on this new ship.  So, that Wakeview Club with the small infinity pool very well could be the exclusive suite/signature area.   That is my guess.

 

There had been talk of half of the Sanctuary being exclusive.   But, if what is showing, and my guess is right,  The Wakeview Club could be exclusive.   And the Retreat Pool on deck 18 the adult pool.  There would be no direct Wakeview Bar for all access, like on all the other ships.  As the Sanctuary would block that.     BUT, there would be now be full bow view access in The Dome area on deck 17 forward.  So, that would be a switch-off.

 

I think there are a Lot of these things still to be worked out!

[Jemnibabe]

41 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

They are still showing the Sanctuary and pool on deck 18.   So, yes, I can see that being the Aft pool as the adult,  since this is aft instead of forward on this new ship.  So, that Wakeview Club with the small infinity pool very well could be the exclusive suite/signature area.   That is my guess.

 

There had been talk of half of the Sanctuary being exclusive.   But, if what is showing, and my guess is right,  The Wakeview Club could be exclusive.   And the Retreat Pool on deck 18 the adult pool.  There would be no direct Wakeview Bar for all access, like on all the other ships.  As the Sanctuary would block that.     BUT, there would be now be full bow view access in The Dome area on deck 17 forward.  So, that would be a switch-off.

 

I think there are a Lot of these things still to be worked out!

What exactly is supposed to be located in the dome area anyway?  For some reason I thought there were pools there.

[Wishing on a star]

There are PR images out there.

Yes, there is a a pool.  Apparantly it is a split indoor/outdoor pool.  And outside there is a lot of forward deck area.

 

In the evening, they are supposed to shut down and cover the pool, cover it to be a stage,  and change-over and transform into an evening venue.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, Wishing on a star said:

They are still showing the Sanctuary and pool on deck 18.   So, yes, I can see that being the Aft pool as the adult,  since this is aft instead of forward on this new ship.  So, that Wakeview Club with the small infinity pool very well could be the exclusive suite/signature area.   That is my guess.

 

There had been talk of half of the Sanctuary being exclusive.   But, if what is showing, and my guess is right,  The Wakeview Club could be exclusive.   And the Retreat Pool on deck 18 the adult pool.  There would be no direct Wakeview Bar for all access, like on all the other ships.  As the Sanctuary would block that.     BUT, there would be now be full bow view access in The Dome area on deck 17 forward.  So, that would be a switch-off.

 

I think there are a Lot of these things still to be worked out!

Princess has stated that part of the Sancuary would be for Suite guests.  As with many other things with the Sun we the devil is in the details which we will not see for months.

[Jemnibabe]

On 12/20/2022 at 6:49 PM, ldtr said:

Princess has stated that part of the Sancuary would be for Suite guests.  As with many other things with the Sun we the devil is in the details which we will not see for months.

Months sounds like a long time not to have any details.  I am really shocked that the buffet is so close to the IC.  Makes no sense to me.

[CruizinSusan70]

Many don't like the Royal Class ships.  They still have 10 to choose from in the fleet as well as competitors.  If some don't like the Sun, then they still have 15 in the fleet to choose from as well as of course competitors.

 

Each new class of build on various lines always has people that are against change.  The Excel Class on Carnival consisting of the Mardi Gras and Celebration has been a game changer for them and many that have only cruised on Carnival have stated on the Carnival thread that they felt it was too big.  They obviously have not sailed on any of the new builds on Royal, NCL or MSC.

 

I am looking forward to sailing on the Sun in the fall of 2024 when she comes to the Caribbean, hopefully on a 20 day sailing.

[Guest ldtr]

10 hours ago, Jemnibabe said:

Months sounds like a long time not to have any details.  I am really shocked that the buffet is so close to the IC.  Makes no sense to me.

I remember when the Royal class first came out.  Some things were not clear until a couple of months before the first cruise and that is with a class that has a very similar layout to the Grand class.  Same with each of the ships of that class often the specific features were not clear until just before the first cruise (some of the questions answered by people on that first cruise).  

 

With the number of fairly dramatic changes in the Sun from previous Princess ships I expect there will be a lot of unanswered questions right up until and maybe even during that first cruise.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 12/17/2022 at 6:05 PM, memoak said:

This to me is the worst idea ever. They are starting a class by class differentiations. Suite passengers have their own restaurants, bar and sanctuary. Mini suites have their own restaurants. All the unblemished folk are excluded. If I wanted this I would sail Cunard

They are taking the course that Celebrity has taken with the Aqua class cabins being able to eat in Blu and those in higher cabins being part of the Retreat.

A true four class system is MSC, with their first class (Yacht Club) second class (Aurea) third class (Fantastica) fourth class (Bella).

The ship within a ship concept is alive on MSC with the Yacht Club, on Celebrity with the Retreat, on NCL with the Haven and on RCI with the Star Class.  

[CruizinSusan70]

On 12/17/2022 at 4:58 PM, SargassoPirate said:

 

No sunrises or sunsets on the Sun for me.

 

On 12/17/2022 at 6:43 PM, SargassoPirate said:

Will the lifeboats be seated by class?

It really should not matter to you since you will not sailing on her as you previously stated.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 12/18/2022 at 2:42 AM, caribill said:

Cruising on Princess used to be about a fun way to reach exotic destinations.

 

The Sun class is changing that to the ship being the destination.

Isn't having a choice a great thing?  The ship being the destination is true with many of the new builds from their competition, so why shouldn't Princess do the same thing?  

[CruizinSusan70]

On 12/19/2022 at 6:21 AM, Nunagoras said:

Hey! May I come in? For the ones that don't know me here, once it is my first time on the Princess boards, I'm more prevalent on the MSC's boards, once that has been my cruise company of choice for years, with an RCI's presence here and there, once I've also sailed with them.

 

Threads like this one are very interesting, no doubt. It is surprising for me to see such a premium market line now coming to the mega-ship size segment. By and large, me thinks that the 3,500ish passengers per ship should to be the maximum possible for such a premium vessel out there; or say I'd to tolerate such a 4,000ish one in extreme. So now Princess is in the works to bring it to the 5,000ish?... Good luck Princess and Carnival Group!...

 

TBHH: Yes; there is a generation being "expelled" right now from the mainstream (RCI, NCL, CCL, MSC) level for the income of a new generation of happy cruisers made out of younger families whom want their trendy family opportunities at see. Nothing against! Companies would need to be profitable enough to continue providing this marvelous service cruising is to an as large as it can be audience out there world wide. But now; there is a generation whose kids are now adults on their own and whom just need some nice and peaceful holiday time on such a fashionable and as affordable as possible way. I'd to be OK with a 4,000ish ship to cope with that demand on a full adults, or at least teens plus adults setting... So now; pushing a premium line Princess has been for decades to the same family oriented loud, overpopulated atmosphere with such a "Princessish" twist on top? Fortunately they're testing it only on 2 ships nowadays.

 

While I've been mostly "loyal" to MSC and happy enough with the mainstream affordable experience; I'm becoming sort of tired and unhappy with their current offering evolution status, as I'm growing on my late 40's soon early 50's... I'm actively trying to find solutions to replace that experience with something that most resembles what the mainstream experience of the mid 00's was when I started my cruising's "career"... X/Princess happened to be my best bets of today. Surely Virgin is full adult; and that is a plus on their side... But then again: I don't want a disruptive sort of experience on IMHO ugly ships!... X/P would to be the compromising places to go. Then there is the X Edge class (bearable to an extent) and those P behemoths that nobody would have had the idea to build! So; let us to have the older X/P ships as far as we can go on them, plus HAL if it survives! After that I'll perhaps to retire from cruising, or cruise very occasionally on a smaller ship experience line.

 

Sincerely I wish well to Princess. They seem to have sort of a great product, even though I haven't experienced it first hand, though I seriously doubt it possible to retain same levels at a 5,000ish passengers per sailing vessel. Hope they realize it on time, send these behemoths for P&O or AIDA (which have become UK and German mainstream lately) and let Princess to survive where it shines: A premium adult experience to the global markets.

First of all, the new Sun is at I believe 4200, not 5,000 ish when it comes to passengers.  And P&O as well as AIDA each have 2 ships already in their respective fleets that are based on the Excel Class format.  Carnival has two as well with a third, the Jubilee coming next year.  

With 2,000 less passengers on the Sun Princess compared to the other Excel Class ships in the Carnival Corporation will differentiate it from it's siblings in the other companies in the corporation.

[caribill]

3 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Isn't having a choice a great thing?  The ship being the destination is true with many of the new builds from their competition, so why shouldn't Princess do the same thing?  

 

No reason other than Princess, once known for its great variety of itineraries, is more and more limiting the itineraries to the relatively few ports that can handle the larger ships.

[Jeter02]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

No reason other than Princess, once known for its great variety of itineraries, is more and more limiting the itineraries to the relatively few ports that can handle the larger ships.

Captains have always said as well as most in the cruise industry stating not to be a problem with larger ships. The ships keep getting larger but the infrastructure at the ports with the docks do not grow in size to accommodate those ships. Eventually this will become an issue if they keep growing ships in size.

[Nunagoras]

7 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

First of all, the new Sun is at I believe 4200, not 5,000 ish when it comes to passengers.  And P&O as well as AIDA each have 2 ships already in their respective fleets that are based on the Excel Class format.  Carnival has two as well with a third, the Jubilee coming next year.  

With 2,000 less passengers on the Sun Princess compared to the other Excel Class ships in the Carnival Corporation will differentiate it from it's siblings in the other companies in the corporation.

According to some easily accessing web sources the Sun is on the 5,000 ish segment. Size to do so is there! Now: AIDA is currently German mainstream. P&O has became UK mainstream, and Carnival is US mainstream lines. OK with huge crowds out there, but Princess is coming from the above segment, or say upper mainstream or Premium segment. Want a Premium ship at premium prices with baseline crowds, terms and conditions? Good luck. That will please no one, unless P&O became 3 starish in Europe and they would need a 4 starish classical style cruise line here, then yes, it would to succeed out of the demise of Costa and the more demanding European crowd, but seriously that is far out of question. So, that will generally to please nor the mainstream folks unable to pay upfront to go premium, nor the Premium folks whom wish to escape the baseline crowds! Hope the 4,000 ish numbers to be true, at very least!...

[dog]

Sun Princess - capacity- 4,300 passengers 

[Coral]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

No reason other than Princess, once known for its great variety of itineraries, is more and more limiting the itineraries to the relatively few ports that can handle the larger ships.

I wonder if HAL is going to fill that void.

[Jeter02]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

I wonder if HAL is going to fill that void.

They very well may just do that. 

[caribill]

4 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

Captains have always said as well as most in the cruise industry stating not to be a problem with larger ships. The ships keep getting larger but the infrastructure at the ports with the docks do not grow in size to accommodate those ships. Eventually this will become an issue if they keep growing ships in size.

 

As an example, Princess used to have an itinerary that included cruising up the Amazon river to Manaus. No matter what the Captains say, there will be no dredging of the Amazon River to make it deeper to allow the large ships to go there.

 

As another example, the Falkland Islands has a total population of about 3700 people. How much does the population need to grow to accommodate cruise ships with more passengers than the current population?

 

And one more--- Notice that no Princess cruise ship stops at Venice anymore.

 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

10 hours ago, caribill said:

 

No reason other than Princess, once known for its great variety of itineraries, is more and more limiting the itineraries to the relatively few ports that can handle the larger ships.

There is a fork in the road that potential cruisers need to make a decision on.  Continue with their cruise line of choice or pivot and choose higher end options that will visit more exotic ports with smaller ships.  By pivoting it will let you visit off the beaten path ports, but will come with a price.  The price will be literally more money out of your pocket.

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

According to some easily accessing web sources the Sun is on the 5,000 ish segment. Size to do so is there! Now: AIDA is currently German mainstream. P&O has became UK mainstream, and Carnival is US mainstream lines. OK with huge crowds out there, but Princess is coming from the above segment, or say upper mainstream or Premium segment. Want a Premium ship at premium prices with baseline crowds, terms and conditions? Good luck. That will please no one, unless P&O became 3 starish in Europe and they would need a 4 starish classical style cruise line here, then yes, it would to succeed out of the demise of Costa and the more demanding European crowd, but seriously that is far out of question. So, that will generally to please nor the mainstream folks unable to pay upfront to go premium, nor the Premium folks whom wish to escape the baseline crowds! Hope the 4,000 ish numbers to be true, at very least!...

We have spent 28 days on the Carnival Mardi Gras with up to 6000 other cruisers and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in 2022.  Currently have 34 days booked on it's sister ship the Celebration in 2023 & 2024 and as soon as bookings open up for the fall/winter 2024/2025 Caribbean season, we'll be booked on a 20 day sailing on the Sun and looking forward to the nuances that will make it different from the two Excel class ships from Carnival.

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, caribill said:

 

As an example, Princess used to have an itinerary that included cruising up the Amazon river to Manaus. No matter what the Captains say, there will be no dredging of the Amazon River to make it deeper to allow the large ships to go there.

 

As another example, the Falkland Islands has a total population of about 3700 people. How much does the population need to grow to accommodate cruise ships with more passengers than the current population?

 

And one more--- Notice that no Princess cruise ship stops at Venice anymore.

 

 

Bottom line.  Accept the changes that are occuring or pivot to other lines.  It's really that simple.

[caribill]

4 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Bottom line.  Accept the changes that are occuring or pivot to other lines.  It's really that simple.

 

Princess has chosen to do the pivoting.

 

The company is saying they do not want the many passengers who had chosen Princess because of the itineraries.

 

So if I want to be on a large capacity ship whose 7 day itineraries include overcrowded ports St Thomas and St. Maarten and also a private Island (or similar type itineraries elsewhere in the world), I have my pick of competing cruise lines and do not have to be loyal to any one of them.

[c-boy]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

We have spent 28 days on the Carnival Mardi Gras with up to 6000 other cruisers and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in 2022.  Currently have 34 days booked on it's sister ship the Celebration in 2023 & 2024 and as soon as bookings open up for the fall/winter 2024/2025 Caribbean season, we'll be booked on a 20 day sailing on the Sun and looking forward to the nuances that will make it different from the two Excel class ships from Carnival.

something tells me your either an architect or interior designer .... 😄