LIVE from the SUN Princess - 9 Mar 2024 - 10-Day Mediterranean - Second Voyage

[MTNest93]

Can't thank you enough for this thread!  You have provided more concise and accurate information than any influencer or travel industry Youtuber that I've seen, and I've watched them all!  Perhaps Princess should hire you to do "Lives From" as a living - wouldn't that be a great retirement job?!!  Hope you enjoy your last night and have a safe trip home ❤️

[CanadianBurger]

Post 1,000! 🎉🎉🎊

[KLM3164]

2 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

Post 1,000! 🎉🎉🎊

I hope when you do your next Live you’ll come back and post a link on this one so we can all find it.

[CanadianBurger]

1 hour ago, dides said:

Do you know what that circular white thing is feeding into the top of the thermostat? Seen it on room tour videos:

 

It’s a medallion sensor, but I don’t think it works, since it didn’t know we were in the cabin for the safety video, and our stateroom steward seemed confused about whether or not we were in the cabin. 

[FLgalloves cruises]

8 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

Post 1,000! 🎉🎉🎊

Way to go!!!!!

[cruisedoctor]

34 minutes ago, KLM3164 said:

How bright is this light? I’m hoping it’s just like a night light and not a super bright light. 

@KLM3164  The under-sink light is a type of night light, which only comes on when it detects someone coming or leaving the bathroom.  Otherwise, it goes off.  Like the small motion sensitive lights under the bedside cabinets. They are there to guide your way to the bathroom in the dark.  I would think that most passengers keep the bathroom door closed, unless someone is going in or out.  So, as you approach the bathroom, the under-sink light comes on, and you see that light coming out from under the bathroom door, to help guide you to it.  It gives off enough light that you could use the facilities without turning on the bathroom lights (so as not to disturb others) if you want.  It stays on long enough, so you are able to get back to, and into the bed safely, before it turns off.  It is NOT super bright like the closet lights on the Royal Class ships.

[CanadianBurger]

49 minutes ago, dides said:

Nothing to do with the beef being from Europe? I guess that would have been noted on previous Med cruises.

I actually wondered about this myself, and asked our headwaiter. He said all the beef on the ship comes from the USA. I was really surprised, and he said they couldn’t get tenderloins this good in Europe. 

Edited March 18 by CanadianBurger

[CanadianBurger]

1 minute ago, cruisedoctor said:

@KLM3164  The under-sink light is a type of night light, which only comes on when it detects someone coming or leaving the bathroom.  Otherwise, it goes off.  Like the small motion sensitive lights under the bedside cabinets. They are there to guide your way to the bathroom in the dark.  I would think that most passengers keep the bathroom door closed, unless someone is going in or out.  So, as you approach the bathroom, the under-sink light comes on, and you see that light coming out from under the bathroom door, to help guide you to it.  It gives off enough light that you could use the facilities without turning on the bathroom lights (so as not to disturb others) if you want.  It stays on long enough, so you are able to get back to, and into the bed safely, before it turns off.  It is NOT super bright like the closet lights on the Royal Class ships.

While it’s not super bright like the hallway light that comes on with the fury of the sun on other ships, it’s still awfully bright in the middle of the night. We always bring a small nightlight to plug into the razor outlet in the bathroom, which was rendered useless here. I tried taping over the sensor between the light switches, to no avail. I discovered there’s a second sensor under the counter in the bathroom, since if you’re sitting there and the light goes out, you can move with the door closed and it will come back on, but it looked too complex to mess with. There are adjustment controls under the sensor on the wall in the hall; I’m guessing brightness and delay time based on the icons. Next time I’ll bring a tiny screwdriver. 
 

 

[CanadianBurger]

1 hour ago, cruisedoctor said:

@fpsphil  I spent a great deal of time during the first sailing watching a large group of technicians from the production company working in the Piazza control center.  They were programming all the shows and events that will be occurring in that venue.  That is, the lighting, sound, the giant electronic screen.  Then, the choreographers and dance supervisors were there spending hours on end, watching the singers and dancers run through the numbers that were designed for the Piazza (like the one in the clip CanadianBurger had in Post #909), During some breaks, I spoke with the techs running the boards.  One of the questions I asked, was why they weren't using the "lifts" in the Piazza.  I was told that "they still aren't functional".  In the photo below, the large central circle, and the keyhole section that the hand sanitizing stand is on, are lifts that can be raised, either individually or together, similar to that in The Arena.

 

 

LOL. I asked the same question when I noticed the gap in the floor. I asked if it raised, and was told “not yet”.

[Wishing on a star]

17 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

I actually wondered about this myself, and asked our headwaiter. He said all the beef on the ship comes from the USA. I was really surprised, and he said they couldn’t get tenderloins this good in Europe. 

Ohhhhh my!!!!

The same thing about the source of the beef had crossed my mind.

I am truly hoping for some good beef onboard when we sail !

Thank You!!!

[CanadianBurger]

26 minutes ago, KLM3164 said:

I hope when you do your next Live you’ll come back and post a link on this one so we can all find it.

My signature has links to the last few, and a link to my index. 

[CanadianBurger]

I found one elevator that had floor buttons enabled one time. I’ve seen elevator technicians working on them at various times, making adjustments. 
 

[CanadianBurger]

I don’t think location services are working that well yet. Locating shipmates in the app is sometimes 15 minutes behind where the person actually is. And I tested ordering things in the app, which said it couldn’t be delivered at least 80% of the time. I was IN the stateroom one time when I tried and got this message:

 

[CanadianBurger]

Never was able to peek behind the secret black door. It says “Coming Soon” in small print. 

Edited March 18 by CanadianBurger

[Wishing on a star]

Maybe off topic of this LIVE...  But, about the motion sensors...  Where are the sensors that control the nightlight at the bedside tables?  I know I saw a good photo somewhere, but can not find it.   I don't see anything that looks like an obvious sensor on the nightstand table.

[KLM3164]

15 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

I don’t think location services are working that well yet. Locating shipmates in the app is sometimes 15 minutes behind where the person actually is. And I tested ordering things in the app, which said it couldn’t be delivered at least 80% of the time. I was IN the stateroom one time when I tried and got this message:

 

Oh my I hope they get this working on the ship. I love using the app to order a latté in the morning and my adult beverages throughout the day. I can’t remember the last time I went up to a bar on a Princess ship to order a drink.

[CanadianBurger]

Pompeii was amazing. We booked a private tour with a woman that has a PhD in Archeology, and is actively working a new dig in Pompeii when not giving tours. Her parents were both archeologists, and she grew up playing in the ruins. Her explanations were the most in-depth I’ve ever had on a tour of ancient ruins. Her website is https://www.elianasandretti.com/en

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CanadianBurger]

4 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

Maybe off topic of this LIVE...  But, about the motion sensors...  Where are the sensors that control the nightlight at the bedside tables?  I know I saw a good photo somewhere, but can not find it.   I don't see anything that looks like an obvious sensor on the nightstand table.

I posted one earlier in this live from the Sun. On other ships it’s the round bump. In the middle of the light itself. 

[IUSteve]

24 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

I don’t think location services are working that well yet. Locating shipmates in the app is sometimes 15 minutes behind where the person actually is. And I tested ordering things in the app, which said it couldn’t be delivered at least 80% of the time. I was IN the stateroom one time when I tried and got this message:

 

 

Wow... so much for the much-hyped "Ocean Now," food delivered wherever you are service Princess has been touting.  

 

Is this the only way to order room service in the morning?  How has that been going? 

[IUSteve]

On 3/9/2024 at 6:14 AM, CanadianBurger said:

Embarkation!

 

We arrived at the port around 11am and there was no wait. Directly into the building, through security, through the Green Lane where there were several open agents, and directly onto the bridge to the ship. Pro tip: our taxi driver called over a porter to grab our bags, and the porter said go directly inside. There was a long line of people outside in the rain waiting in the bag drop line. 
 

 

 

 

Is embarkation that early standard on Princess?  

[RMorningglory]

18 minutes ago, IUSteve said:

 

Wow... so much for the much-hyped "Ocean Now," food delivered wherever you are service Princess has been touting.  

 

Is this the only way to order room service in the morning?  How has that been going? 

If there is a door knob hanger you can order breakfast free that way. 

[IUSteve]

4 minutes ago, RMorningglory said:

If there is a door knob hanger you can order breakfast free that way. 

 

Maybe I've misunderstood, but I thought I read somewhere that Princess had gotten rid of door hangers on Sun. I hope I'm wrong, though. 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, cruisedoctor said:

@Steelers36  I had an opportunity to speak with Chef Rudi Sodamin, Princess' new Head Of Culinary Arts.  He was tasked with bringing a new level of excellence and innovation to their culinary product, environmental dining experience, and service delivery.  According to him, the Sun is the first vessel to get the upgrade, and based on their experience here, it will get incorporated elsewhere in the fleet.  He was inquiring as to my thoughts about the changes, both hits and misses.  Some of the misses I mentioned, were ones that he too had noticed, and he is in the process of seeing what could be done to improve those areas.  One of those being the bottle-neck occurring in The Eatery and lack of self-serve beverage stations there.  I was pleasantly surprised how down to earth Chef Rudi was, and his sincere interest in making improvements, to the improvements that they have already made.

Wonderful.

[phabric]

53 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

I found one elevator that had floor buttons enabled one time. I’ve seen elevator technicians working on them at various times, making adjustments. 
 

I read for the Sun elevator, you press the deck you want and the number of people wanting that deck.

 

Sometimes on the other ships, I press one deck then decide I had pressed the wrong deck.

 

What happens on the Sun, when you have press one deck and get on the elevator then decide it is the wrong deck?

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, CanadianBurger said:

I actually wondered about this myself, and asked our headwaiter. He said all the beef on the ship comes from the USA. I was really surprised, and he said they couldn’t get tenderloins this good in Europe. 

I would say I have not had as good beef in Europe as in N.A. or Australia.