Park 19 on the Sun Princess

[AZaTaz]

You are before final payment so what penalty?  If worried just cancel

[Retired-N-Happy]

18 minutes ago, ja940 said:

After a meeting with the kids make a decision. Realistically probably stay with the Sun as it will be impossible to get all the cabins together on another cruise. But its not right! 

You've been on 60+ cruises so you know by now that stuff happens and every cruise line has hiccups with new builds, especially on a new class of ship.  You have 6 months untill your cruise, so I don't think there is a reason to panic at this point.  

Someone had posted that the delay with the opening of Park 19 would be alleviated once the ship got to the Caribbean in October. Don't know if this pertained to the glide only or the entire area.

[ja940]

Yes I know. But this is the first 5 cabins in a row 11 people 5 kids 10 and under cruise. Lots of moving parts and want the kids to love it. Park 19 should be up and operational or should be up and honest. One or the other…and if it’s only 95% we’ll still have a ball. 

[Captain NP]

Any updates on when Park 19 will be fully functional?

[Retired-N-Happy]

9 minutes ago, Captain NP said:

Any updates on when Park 19 will be fully functional?

Read post # 118 & 122.

[LittleTinker]

On 6/12/2024 at 3:32 PM, Real Time said:

I am on Sun Princess right now in the Mediterranean. Me, my Wife and two kids (13 and 10). Fifth day into a 3 week cruise. Note that my two kids would be need to be separated between the Neon room and the teen room, something my kids are unwilling to do. 
 

I can confirm that the major activities in Park 19 are definitely not open. Apparently it has not passed safety and technical inspections and therefore will remain closed until the technical issues are resolved, which needs to undertaken in the US! My definition of major activities includes all the slides, the water feature, the climbing activities and also the zip line. We are, and more sadly my children are extremely disappointed with the way we have been treated by Princess. 
 

Princess has carried out what can only be described as the highest form of deceptive and misleading conduct. I will not accept this lying down. There is zero notification on their website that Park 19 is closed. Park 19 was, and still is being featured as part of Princess Cruise’s family friendly advertising! It is still on their 24/25 Mediterranean brochure, and can be found on their website as available now. 

 

The only way I found out about its closure is day 1 onboard the vessel walking up to Deck 19 with my children ready to have some fun. To see the rides locked out with signage saying “sorry for the inconvenience” was devastating for the kids. To not be involved in the decision making process to accept this major change and new condition from the original advertised position is shocking customer service, and clearly demonstrates a corporate intent to maintain the illusion that Park 19 is open. There is not one statement on Princess’s own website regarding its closure and when it will reopen. What does that say about Princess? If I had known about Park 19’s closure I would not have paid the final invoice and in addition demanded a full refund, including the Deposit.

I have gone to guest services and placed a strong complaint in. They very nervously  informed me that formal communication regarding Park 19’s closure was made to all families and/or their travel agents. I informed them that I never received any communication and I asked for proof of said communication, or as a minimum a date when the communication went out. Princess guest services then informed me “they were not authorised to give me that communication”. WOW! I have subsequently checked with Clean Cruising (my booking agent), and they have zero record of any informal or formal communication on this matter. They are as shocked as I am, and they have also taken up the matter with Princess directly, and have informed me subsequently that Princess will “get in touch with me”.
 

Upon my continued insistence that Guest Services provide me with proof of notification, the Manager of Guest Services has now verbally informed me that no such notification exists, and that they are as surprised as I am because they too believed that Corporate had initiated formal communication weeks/months ago. I have requested this omission to be provided to me in writing… still waiting! 

 

I stumbled on this thread on google, I have never posted a thing on the web, but this situation is such poor customer service that I feel strongly obliged to get the word out there to the families who have booked Sun Princess in the next few weeks/months to ring your agent or Princess directly to confirm the situation formally, and to ensure you have a choice in the matter when deciding to proceed/not proceed with the Cruise, with full refund entitlements granted. 

Very unlikely to get any compensation as it was a Pay per Play activity anyway.

[LittleTinker]

On 6/18/2024 at 8:17 PM, ja940 said:

Yes I know. But this is the first 5 cabins in a row 11 people 5 kids 10 and under cruise. Lots of moving parts and want the kids to love it. Park 19 should be up and operational or should be up and honest. One or the other…and if it’s only 95% we’ll still have a ball. 

There is nothing open on Park 19. 
Splash pad is pathetically small,
And the major activities are planned to be Pay per Play anyway.

There are numerous rumours as to why its closed. Safety (it doesn't look safe)  lack of kids so space is wasted, too much noise for the people who pay for Sanctuary and lack of certification.

Having seen it, I cant think how it would make the cruise better for kids as its just not big enough.

I will definitely not take kids on this cruise again as there was nothing for them to do.

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

31 minutes ago, LittleTinker said:

Very unlikely to get any compensation as it was a Pay per Play activity anyway.

We have to pay to go on the slides? 

 

I don't think that's accurate.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

27 minutes ago, LittleTinker said:

There is nothing open on Park 19. 
Splash pad is pathetically small,
And the major activities are planned to be Pay per Play anyway.

There are numerous rumours as to why its closed. Safety (it doesn't look safe)  lack of kids so space is wasted, too much noise for the people who pay for Sanctuary and lack of certification.

Having seen it, I cant think how it would make the cruise better for kids as its just not big enough.

I will definitely not take kids on this cruise again as there was nothing for them to do.

 

Noise and the Sanctuary have nothing to do with it being closed, you just made that up... Plenty of us will be staying in the Sanctuary with kids (like us) and plan to use Park 19.

[LittleTinker]

8 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Noise and the Sanctuary have nothing to do with it being closed, you just made that up... Plenty of us will be staying in the Sanctuary with kids (like us) and plan to use Park 19.

If you read my post properly, I said RUMOURS are.....and listed them
Children are not allowed in the Sanctuary and many Sanctuary guests are not happy that Park 19 is directly above, thus the potential for noise when it opens.

I also said the major activities are pay per play.
 

 

 

Edited June 20 by LittleTinker

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, LittleTinker said:

If you read my post properly, I said RUMOURS are.....and listed them
Children are not allowed in the Sanctuary and many Sanctuary guests are not happy that Park 19 is directly above, thus the potential for noise when it opens.

 

When the new Sanctuary program starts in October, you will no longer be able to pay to use the Sanctuary Sun Deck, instead access will be limited to Sanctuary suite guests like us. 

 

It is true that our kids won't be allowed to use the sun deck, but noise from Park 19 has nothing to do with the park being closed. 

 

I understand that retirees may not be excited that Princess is actively marketing to families with young kids like ours, but they are and it worked as this will be our first Princess cruise and Park 19 is the entire reason we chose to give them a try. 

 

We have a YouTube channel and we're excited to share Park 19 and the Sun Princess with our audience after we sail in November!

[LittleTinker]

1 minute ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

When the new Sanctuary program starts in October, you will no longer be able to pay to use the Sanctuary Sun Deck, instead access will be limited to Sanctuary suite guests like us. 

 

It is true that our kids won't be allowed to use the sun deck, but noise from Park 19 has nothing to do with the park being closed. 

 

I understand that retirees may not be excited that Princess is actively marketing to families with young kids like ours, but they are and it worked as this will be our first Princess cruise and Park 19 is the entire reason we chose to give them a try. 

 

We have a YouTube channel and we're excited to share Park 19 and the Sun Princess with our audience after we sail in November!

Likely wont be open according to engineers on board as certification hasnt started yet and takes time. They cant start it until it gets to America,

But good luck to you. Hope your kids like it.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, LittleTinker said:

Likely wont be open according to engineers on board as certification hasnt started yet and takes time. They cant start it until it gets to America,

But good luck to you. Hope your kids like it.

We are sailing in November, which will be in the Caribbean. 

 

By happenstance, we spent a couple hours last week while at a port in Italy with the captain of a Princess ship (he was obviously off contract at the moment) and he said he was very confident Park 19 would be open by the time we sail in November, so I'm not worried about it not being open when we sail. 

 

Based on that conversation it seems like Princess is likely to continue marketing families like us as we're a more lucrative demographic that spends more money and is therefore more profitable for Princess.

 

Sun Princess is obviously an experiment for Princess (can they attract a higher number of more profitable Millennial families like us than they lose of Baby Boomers who get upset by having more kids onboard?), but I don't think it will be their last ship aimed at families. 

 

[LittleTinker]

11 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

We are sailing in November, which will be in the Caribbean. 

 

By happenstance, we spent a couple hours last week while at a port in Italy with the captain of a Princess ship (he was obviously off contract at the moment) and he said he was very confident Park 19 would be open by the time we sail in November, so I'm not worried about it not being open when we sail. 

 

Based on that conversation it seems like Princess is likely to continue marketing families like us as we're a more lucrative demographic that spends more money and is therefore more profitable for Princess.

 

Sun Princess is obviously an experiment for Princess (can they attract a higher number of more profitable Millennial families like us than they lose of Baby Boomers who get upset by having more kids onboard?), but I don't think it will be their last ship aimed at families. 

 

I was on Sun with kids.
But Park 19 is closed with no signs of opening....reinforced by the lack of it being mentioned now on the website.

Many Princess ships are ok for kids.....we thought Sun was lacking. Nothing much to do except swim...but that was Europe. Might be better in the Caribbean as its a different set of customers.

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, LittleTinker said:

I was on Sun with kids.
But Park 19 is closed with no signs of opening....reinforced by the lack of it being mentioned now on the website.

Many Princess ships are ok for kids.....we thought Sun was lacking. Nothing much to do except swim...but that was Europe. Might be better in the Caribbean as its a different set of customers.

 

Yeah, European cruises in general aren't very exciting for kids regardless of cruise line. The ports have amazing history and beautiful coastal towns, but the beaches are unimpressive and they lack more exciting things to do.

 

Based on what we were told, Park 19 will open by the time we sail in November, which is what was important to us. 

 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

I will say that we were on the Sun in April in the Sanctuary.  They were testing the track and we found it distracting. There weren’t even any people on it but they were moving the “cars” along the track.  It wasn’t a large noise but the hum as they went around the track was annoying.  Once people are on it, it’s going to be a lot louder. Princess really screwed up with the placement of this area. They screwed up a lot with the Sun rollout. 

[RNRcruisers]

6 hours ago, LittleTinker said:

I will definitely not take kids on this cruise again as there was nothing for them to do.

 

 

OK, this is what bugs me about cruiselines focusing on families. It is a CRUISE, not an amusement park. We took our kids on a cruise way back in 2006 when they were 15, 13 and 9, and had a great time. They swam, played basketball, and we enjoyed family time. We enjoyed being at sea as well as the Caribbean ports. Can't kids find things to do without the fancy upcharge gadgets and playgrounds? No insult intended, but I just don't get it.

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

19 minutes ago, RNRcruisers said:

 

OK, this is what bugs me about cruiselines focusing on families. It is a CRUISE, not an amusement park. We took our kids on a cruise way back in 2006 when they were 15, 13 and 9, and had a great time. They swam, played basketball, and we enjoyed family time. We enjoyed being at sea as well as the Caribbean ports. Can't kids find things to do without the fancy upcharge gadgets and playgrounds? No insult intended, but I just don't get it.

 

We have a swimming pool in our backyard, a basketball hoop in our driveway, and we enjoy family time on a regular basis.

 

But you know what we don't have at home?

 

Huge water slides, zip lines, and a ropes course.

 

I don't see the reason to hate on why different families enjoy different things on their cruises (or however they choose to vacation).

 

The fact that all these cruise ships do have all these activities, shows that many of us enjoy these and there's nothing wrong with that (there's also nothing wrong with doing the things you enjoy).

[Kit6]

20 minutes ago, RNRcruisers said:

 

OK, this is what bugs me about cruiselines focusing on families. It is a CRUISE, not an amusement park. We took our kids on a cruise way back in 2006 when they were 15, 13 and 9, and had a great time. They swam, played basketball, and we enjoyed family time. We enjoyed being at sea as well as the Caribbean ports. Can't kids find things to do without the fancy upcharge gadgets and playgrounds? No insult intended, but I just don't get it.

 

I agree with you, I'm a little confused at the "there's nothing to do, my kids are bored". Sincere question to those of you in that camp, particularly those that have sailed on the Sun Princess - what do you kids normally do on a cruise that keeps them happy & having fun? Please know, I'm not being sarcastic, I genuinely am trying to understand the reviews of how bored & unhappy kids are on the Sun Princess.  We are booked this summer, I have 4 kids (16,15,7,6).  We have done 8 cruises but all Disney.  We have absolutely loved our Disney Cruise - bright, fun, Disney heaven, but were looking for less park like environment and mostly to cruise the Mediterranean (Disney's 10 night med cruise was significantly more than the 14 night Princess).  My kids will definitely miss the AquaDuck water coaster thing but even with that, lineup could be easily 60-90 minutes on peak times so there were days we didn't do it.  As anyone who's sailed Disney knows, lots of fun kids club spaces but not great for pools - one shallow kiddie pool & Nemo splash area for under 8, one family pool that is small & always wall to wall with people watching the movie on the big screen and one adult area pool.  We were thinking on this cruise that there would be more pool fun and space to swim/play in the pools.  We will miss the over the top kids spaces on Disney & fun themed restaurants but we're hoping the kids clubs offer a bit of activities for the kids if they want to try.  Has anyone had a kid partake in the kids clubs on the Princess?  The teen clubs always seem to offer the most but honestly, we don't cruise so our teens can spend the day in a windowless area on the ship playing MarioKart (which was pretty much the only activity they did on our last cruise, and just for an hour here or there to get a break from the sun).  I wonder if some of you are comparing to ships like Disney or the big Royal Caribbean ones with go cart tracks & waterslide parks?  I haven't been on Royal Caribbean and truthfully the mega ships with all the theme park stuff doesn't appeal to us.  We wanted a quieter, more relaxing cruise this time but obviously I don't want my 4 kids bored out of their minds.

 

I was getting all worried with the reviews of how boring the ship is but I'm trying to remember that we really do go for the family time and for the opportunity to explore new parts of the world.  Hopefully we find the ship offers us a great vacation.

[FLAlaska]

I can appreciate the fun for kids people seek, I really can and am not judging. Its great there are so many different options.  But I cruised with my parents before all the FUN ships and had a great time so its hard for me to understand the "my kids will be bored" view. I think sometimes we have created an ENTERTAIN me mentality instead of learning how to entertain ourselves.

 

My kids have been on both kinds of ships. I have found that the ports have mattered more . But they have managed to have a great time . with slides and without. 

 

But its the one thing I really appreciate about cruising, there is something for everyone and no cruiseline or cruisehsip needs to be everything for everyone.

 

That said, I do believe the Sun has been rolled out badly. From venues, to classifications to dining. All the constant changes just makes you believe that it wasn't just the ship that wasn't ready.

[Kit6]

11 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

We have a swimming pool in our backyard, a basketball hoop in our driveway, and we enjoy family time on a regular basis.

 

But you know what we don't have at home?

 

Huge water slides, zip lines, and a ropes course.

 

I don't see the reason to hate on why different families enjoy different things on their cruises (or however they choose to vacation).

 

The fact that all these cruise ships do have all these activities, shows that many of us enjoy these and there's nothing wrong with that (there's also nothing wrong with doing the things you enjoy).

Maybe I read it differently, but I don't think the comment was saying no one enjoys that or that families shouldn't want that, just that there's ways to enjoy a cruise without it.  You're right, there's a multibillion dollar industry based on theme park ships - clearly a whole lot of people love & want that.  Even with park 19 (if it was open), the Sun Princess wouldn't come close to competing with those kinds of ships.  I think that's where a lot of the confusion comes from - it's just one small area on a large ship.  While disappointing to not have it functional, it isn't a water slide park (I believe it's one dry slide to get back down, I could be wrong), it's not a zip line (slow glider, fun but no zip).

 

Perhaps it's the mean mom in me, but if my kids spend 14 nights on a luxury cruise ship complaining they are bored because the ropes course is closed, that'll be the last vacation they take on my tab, lol.  I'm clearly just being a little cheeky here but seriously, I think we need to board the ship knowing what it offers & what it doesn't.  Clearly a massive misstep from Princess to show thousands of passengers an activity area no one can use, but nothing we can do but make the most of it.  We thought we were far enough away from the launch that it would all be up & running but obviously not.  Lesson learned for all of us I guess - wait to book until after it's all good.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

10 minutes ago, Kit6 said:

I agree with you, I'm a little confused at the "there's nothing to do, my kids are bored". Sincere question to those of you in that camp, particularly those that have sailed on the Sun Princess - what do you kids normally do on a cruise that keeps them happy & having fun? Please know, I'm not being sarcastic, I genuinely am trying to understand the reviews of how bored & unhappy kids are on the Sun Princess.  We are booked this summer, I have 4 kids (16,15,7,6).  We have done 8 cruises but all Disney.  We have absolutely loved our Disney Cruise - bright, fun, Disney heaven, but were looking for less park like environment and mostly to cruise the Mediterranean (Disney's 10 night med cruise was significantly more than the 14 night Princess).  My kids will definitely miss the AquaDuck water coaster thing but even with that, lineup could be easily 60-90 minutes on peak times so there were days we didn't do it.  As anyone who's sailed Disney knows, lots of fun kids club spaces but not great for pools - one shallow kiddie pool & Nemo splash area for under 8, one family pool that is small & always wall to wall with people watching the movie on the big screen and one adult area pool.  We were thinking on this cruise that there would be more pool fun and space to swim/play in the pools.  We will miss the over the top kids spaces on Disney & fun themed restaurants but we're hoping the kids clubs offer a bit of activities for the kids if they want to try.  Has anyone had a kid partake in the kids clubs on the Princess?  The teen clubs always seem to offer the most but honestly, we don't cruise so our teens can spend the day in a windowless area on the ship playing MarioKart (which was pretty much the only activity they did on our last cruise, and just for an hour here or there to get a break from the sun).  I wonder if some of you are comparing to ships like Disney or the big Royal Caribbean ones with go cart tracks & waterslide parks?  I haven't been on Royal Caribbean and truthfully the mega ships with all the theme park stuff doesn't appeal to us.  We wanted a quieter, more relaxing cruise this time but obviously I don't want my 4 kids bored out of their minds.

 

I was getting all worried with the reviews of how boring the ship is but I'm trying to remember that we really do go for the family time and for the opportunity to explore new parts of the world.  Hopefully we find the ship offers us a great vacation.

This will be our first Princess cruise so I can't comment on Princess specifically, but we cruise often (6-8 times/year) on pretty much every cruise line out there so I can comment in generalities.

 

None of the kids clubs are as great as Disney, but our kids have yet to find one they haven't absolutely loved,.

 

We cruised on the Celebrity Ascent over Christmas this past year, which is similar to Princess, and they had an absolute blast even though there were no slides, arcade, or anything similar (and we don't even use the pools usually since we have one at home that is bigger than most on cruise ships since we own a swim school).

 

I think most of it comes down to the parents...I see a lot of parents who say their kids "don't like" the kids clubs and the parents are expected to entertain their kids for the entire cruise.

 

Not only does that sound exhausting - in my opinion it is teaching your kids to depend on the parents to do everything for them vs teaching them independence and learning to make friends.

 

---

 

With regards to the teens clubs - on most of the cruise ships it seems like the teens clubs are a meeting point for the teens but then they go off on the ship on their own and do their own thing more often than they are in the actual teens clubs.

 

---

 

It sounds like you have a healthy approach to things so I'm sure your kids will love the Sun Princess...happy sails!

[irishgirl]

I didn’t think there were any slides on the Sun.  Why are people asking about slides.

[LittleTinker]

46 minutes ago, RNRcruisers said:

 

OK, this is what bugs me about cruiselines focusing on families. It is a CRUISE, not an amusement park. We took our kids on a cruise way back in 2006 when they were 15, 13 and 9, and had a great time. They swam, played basketball, and we enjoyed family time. We enjoyed being at sea as well as the Caribbean ports. Can't kids find things to do without the fancy upcharge gadgets and playgrounds? No insult intended, but I just don't get it.

 

 

We dont want slides, or ropes or gliders....not interested in any of that......nor am I interested in cruising with family orientated cruiselines such as Royal Caribbean, We like cruising and the kids do too.
We went on Sapphire and they absolutely loved it. They enjoyed the kids club and the activities/entertainment provided.

On Sun, however, there was little for them to do in terms of entertainment and the kids clubs were not the same.
Yes they swam a lot and watched Movies Under the Stars but it didn't match their experience on Sapphire, which was for 2 weeks. And our Sun experience was only for one.

Its also a different atmosphere entirely in the Caribbean.



 

[LittleTinker]

32 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

We have a swimming pool in our backyard, a basketball hoop in our driveway, and we enjoy family time on a regular basis.

 

But you know what we don't have at home?

 

Huge water slides, zip lines, and a ropes course.

 

I don't see the reason to hate on why different families enjoy different things on their cruises (or however they choose to vacation).

 

The fact that all these cruise ships do have all these activities, shows that many of us enjoy these and there's nothing wrong with that (there's also nothing wrong with doing the things you enjoy).

There arent any water slides or zip lines on the Sun either.