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

[Steelers36]

Prediction:  This Live From will blow all other Live Froms for similar voyage length out of the water for number of posts.

[ceilidh1]

Following along - my teen (and family friends) board on the 19th and to say there has been some "anxiety" the past few weeks is an understatement...

[DeniseAtBeach]

Thanks CanadianBurger! Us Nova Scotians will be living vicariously through you and your posts which will jack us up even more for our Sun Princess B2B 8-27April! Enjoy and Bon Voyage 🛳️ 

[Nina On The Sea]

Looking forward to your thoughts about the Sun. I've been on the fence about booking something, help get me off this fence and onto the Sun! 🙂 

Bon Voyage 

[azbirdmom]

3 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Following along - my teen (and family friends) board on the 19th and to say there has been some "anxiety" the past few weeks is an understatement...

 

Hoping you will do a "Live From" as well!  I always enjoy it when you do.

[ceilidh1]

7 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Hoping you will do a "Live From" as well!  I always enjoy it when you do.

I'm not going....hence the stress and anxiety. I will be on NCL Bliss with my other kiddo. LOTS of moving parts that would have became a disaster had this been cancelled!

[WonderMan3]

11 hours ago, Esprit said:

Fair point WonderMan3. I'm just interested in the new ship.

@Ken the cruiser always does amazing live threads and never includes pic's of food. 

 

Some of us like to see the food, especially when it’s a new ship with new dining venues. 

[karatemom2]

Thanks for the live thread! Enjoy Sagrada Familia - it’s spectacular!

[MTNest93]

Will be following along!  Have a great cruise! 

[CanadianBurger]

Good morning!

 

Woke up at 6am after exhaustedly passing out at about 9pm last night. A couple of posts about Barcelona before heading to the port this morning. We're staying for a night at the Le Méridien in central Barcelona. They upgraded us to one of their Terrace Suites, which was very nice. The private patio is huge!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CanadianBurger]

We then wandered around the La Rambla area with the help of a Rick Steves Audio Guide downloaded to my phone. Pictured is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. We also found a gelato place called Gelaaati de Marco which is rumored to have the best gelato outside Italy. We were not disappointed. It was very good, and they had a ton of lactose-free flavors. 
 

 

 

[CanadianBurger]

We took the Metro (subway) to Sagrada Família which was an easy trip, thanks to the transit directions on my phone. Even changing lines was simple. The machines to buy tickets have an English setting by hitting the 🇬🇧 button. We had pre-booked a guided tour in English, and a trip up the Passion Tower. 
 

I’m still looking for the superlatives to describe this church. I’ve never seen anything like it before. The detail on the exterior is exquisite, and the interior just makes your jaw drop. The contrast of styles between the east and west exteriors is also interesting. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[CanadianBurger]

The trip up the Passion Tower was an experience. After about a 30-min wait, you board a small elevator to take you up. Then it’s up some steps and across some bridges with wonderful views of the city. Even the views of the building itself are amazing considering how high you are. Coming down is quite unnerving, as you have to come down the spiral staircases. The first section, while having walls on either side to easily brace yourself, is quite dark in sections. With cuts in the walls to let in sunlight, I found the steps themselves to be in darkness, so walking down is like steps of faith. The second section is very tight. There’s a railing on the left side, but nothing to really hold on to on the right side unless you reach backwards. I was happy to get to the bottom! The one pic is looking down the center into the abyss. 
 

 

 

 

 

[TrixieBel]

18 hours ago, Esprit said:

but not of loads of food dishes!🙄

I want the food…. 🤗🍲

[Frflatt]

1 hour ago, CanadianBurger said:

The trip up the Passion Tower was an experience. After about a 30-min wait, you board a small elevator to take you up. Then it’s up some steps and across some bridges with wonderful views of the city. Even the views of the building itself are amazing considering how high you are. Coming down is quite unnerving, as you have to come down the spiral staircases. The first section, while having walls on either side to easily brace yourself, is quite dark in sections. With cuts in the walls to let in sunlight, I found the steps themselves to be in darkness, so walking down is like steps of faith. The second section is very tight. There’s a railing on the left side, but nothing to really hold on to on the right side unless you reach backwards. I was happy to get to the bottom! The one pic is looking down the center into the abyss. 

I know exactly what you mean - we’ve been up the towers twice and coming down is quite terrifying - though the views from the top make it absolutely worth it!

 

Looking forward to following your ‘live from’ - our neighbours are on the current cruise (getting off today) and we are doing the transatlantic in September then two weeks in the Caribbean. I particularly like pictures of food!!!

 

Have an awesome cruise 🚢🥂😎

[HolsAddict]

We're getting married on the Sun Princess in June 2025 so we'd love to see as much as possible of her ahead of the big day! Have fun!

[dides]

53 minutes ago, HolsAddict said:

We're getting married on the Sun Princess in June 2025 so we'd love to see as much as possible of her ahead of the big day! Have fun!

How exciting @HolsAddict I keep teasing my other half that we ought to marry on a Princess ship. Did Princess offer you a venue if there is no wedding chapel? I saw mention of the Wake View Terrace maybe?

[CanadianBurger]

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. 
 

 

 

[CanadianBurger]

Our Cabin

 

We booked a standard balcony, but the day before we left, we unexpectedly got an email saying we were upgraded to a Reserve Collection minisuite!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CanadianBurger]

We’re on Deck 14, just aft of the Sphere. Here’s a little video walkthrough. 
 

 

 

[CanadianBurger]

The cabin has that New Ship Smell! It’s wonderful! Some more pics. There are USB-C ports beside on both sides and at the desk. Full-size hairdryer in the bag. The fridge looks a little smaller than other ships.
 

 

 

 

 

 

[CanadianBurger]

Nice to see they’re calling it the “Patter” again. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

Looks like there is no lunch at O’Malley’s.  Oh well. I’ll still be bringing my love of Irish music with me!

[Steelers36]

Great looking cabin.  You have given us the most complete and clear look at a cabin since the launch 10 days ago.  Nice upgrade!

[Grego]

On 3/8/2024 at 5:13 AM, CanadianBurger said:

Hello everyone, and welcome to another one of my "Live" reports.

This time it's the brand-new Sun Princess, sailing on a 10-day voyage from Barcelona to Rome. Our ports include Mallorca, Sicily, Athens, Kusadasi Turkey, Santorini (maybe), and Naples.

 

We just arrived in Barcelona after an overnight flight YYZ-EWR-BCN. We'll be seeing some of Barcelona including the Sagrada Familia before boarding tomorrow.

 

Stay tuned for lots of photos and videos of the new ship. Hopefully they'll have the entertainment venues open this cruise.

 

Steve.

Great.  Keep it factual and interesting.  Most of us are looking to hear about the new venues and what impact not having some of our favorite venues on this ship.