LIVE from Sun Princess Barcelona to Southampton September 14th-23rd

[dides]

Hi, thought I would sneak in a little Live from for this repositioning leg as Sun Princess heads from Europe over to to FLL. 

 

This is our second time on Sun Princess but are now in a Penthouse Suite rather than deluxe balcony (the category we booked on the original cancelled inaugural).So hope to record the suite experience before the Sanctuary Collection changes

 

My other half and I flew in from London Heathrow to Barcelona two days before the cruise. We had torrential rain on arrival but it turned pleasantly warm and sunny for the next couple of days. Having visited all the main sights before, we stayed in a hotel north of the city and just relaxed. We took a taxi to the port and arrived at 10am. We, handed off our cases to the porters, went through security and the blue lane with no lines and directed to the priority area to wait for boarding. We were onboard at 10;40. 

 

First stop was Crooners. I wanted to order The Rose cocktail only because they didn't have the special stemmed glass in stock when I asked back in April. But was thwarted because they were waiting for the special Rose flower supplies to come onboard later . So Chris got his Ferrero and I had a Mai Tai as our first drinks 

 

 

 

Our next move was to go back down to deck 7 and grab lunch at the Signature Restaurant. We never usually do a dining room lunch but we thought we would grab the chance to experience it before the suite guests get bundled into a shared dining area again with the new Sanctuary Collection changes. 

 

We were greeted at the door and taken to the far end of the room. All the tables by the windows were taken and it was to become 70% full by the end of the lunch period.

 

 

Here is the lunch menu:

 

 

 

Chris chose the Signature Burger and Sundae and I chose the Plant-based Burrito and Lime and Mango Cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris though the burger and fries were really nice. My burrito was a bit bland but I enjoyed the mango cake.

 

We asked to see the menu for that evening even though we were booked in The Catch. 

Here is The Sailaway Dinner:

 

 

 

The Restaurant Manager came around to introduce himself and go through the opening times. We mentioned the upcoming changes but he didn't offer up anything additional.

 

To be continued...

 

Edited September 15 by dides

[Justpackingmybags]

Following- welcome back to the Sun!

[dog]

Appreciate it if you can post a few photos of where the Sanctuary restaurant will be as of October 14 th and if the route to the wakeview pool will impact the restaurant. ( smoking area)

Welcome back!

[commodoredave]

Thanks for starting this thread. DW and I will be boarding the Sun in Soton for the crossing to FLL. We bid and won an upgrade from deluxe balcony to a Signature Penthouse Suite (S4), and are looking forward to experiencing everything that comes with it. I look forward to reading more.

Edited September 15 by commodoredave
Typo

[dickinson]

Thanks for taking us along!

[JGmf]

Thanks for doing this.  Looking forward to following along.

[dides]

During lunch in the Signature Restaurant another couple from the UK were seated next to us. We started nattering and discovered we were both on the cruisecritic roll call and both successfully got upgraded to S4 Penthouse Suites. *Waves to @LWhit*

 

Chris and I had watched our muster videos on our phones in Crooners earlier so were all set to check.in at Horizons on deck 7 for our muster station. The Piazza area was rammed but we managed to squeeze through and walk past the ships to get to muster checkin.

 

We hadn't heard an announcement about cabins being ready but it was 1:20 so we thought we would head up to deck 17 and try our luck.....

 

Our medallions didn't work on our door,!  We went along and down to the Suite Lounge entrance on deck 15 and they didn't open the door there either. We managed to get inside when someone came out. After sitting down and ordering some sparkling water we got talking to Sebastian one of the Concierge Managers about our medallions. 

 

Sebastian checked on his system and said we needed replacement medallions He said he would go to Guest Services at the other end of the ship and sort it out. What amazing service!  We had to wait about half an hour in the end but we were then all sorted. And the Suite Lounge is a wonderful spot to relax

 

 

 

So we finally get to access our penthouse suite. It's an obvious upgrade to the deluxe balcony but it does feel like a downgrade to the suites on Royal Class. A little too compact and it feels like there isn't enough usable desk or counter surface in the lounge area - the balcony furniture is lovely though! Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here we have our Suite welcome letter:

 

 

And the Suite Lounge Team flyer:

 

Our luggage had already been delivered so we unpacked a little and had short nap before heading back to the Suite Lounge for pre-dinner drinks. We had The Catch by Rudi booked for 6:30om and there was a Champagne Sabreing demo at 5:30pm. The Suite Lounge was packed when we arrived so we went and sat upstairs and looked down at the demo.  Chris enjoyed the free glasses of Piper Heidsieck!!!

 

To be continued...

 

 

 

[dog]

OP- only the 80 suite guests get to use the lounge? Is that correct?

[HaveDogWillTravel]

@didesThank you for doing this. If you see Ivan in the Suite lounge tell him Jacqueline and Adam said Hi and that it took a bit but we’ve finally unpacked everything from our Eclipse sailing with him. 
BTW Ivan is truly an amazing individual.  I hope you have a great sailing. 

[Citizenxnz]

We are on this cruise as well.  Was a long long long way from New Zealand to be on it!  

 

Quite the mix of Brits and Yanks - haven't come across any Kiwis or Aussies yet.

 

Impressed with the Sanctuary Sun Deck - it is great that it is so quiet - imagine that is going to change with going to Sanctuary Collection from FL onwards.  We are back onboard July next year for our wedding so it will be very interesting to see the changes!

 

We are in a S9, thought the room still had the new smell. Very happy with the Princess bed - seems even more comfier than the other ships in the fleet

 

I'm surprised the Enclave seems a bit smaller than the Royal class ships

 

Crown Grill is a bit fancier, really enjoyed the Baked Alaska

 

We went to the Signature Restaurant for breakfast, loved the new choices!  Ham and Cheese skillet was great!

[Citizenxnz]

27 minutes ago, dog said:

OP- only the 80 suite guests get to use the lounge? Is that correct?

Yes correct

[dog]

18 minutes ago, Citizenxnz said:

Yes correct

Thanks, following you too. 

[LACruiser88]

Enjoy your voyage!  Our best friends are also onboard all the way to Ft Lauderdale.  They are having a great time!

[arizonaperson]

@dides great to be following along  on your Live from.

Enjoy your cruise & Suite.

[dides]

So we headed down to The Catch by Rudi for our embarkation night dinner. I forgot to mention that we have the Premier package (original(  so have 2 other specialty meals this cruise. I had to persuade Chris to come along because he won't touch fish (no Britto for us!) and the meat options are pretty limited at Catch.

 

It was already half full when we arrived in the aft area of deck 9. The staff were very attentive and we didn't feel it lacked atmosphere. But they will certainly have difficulty squeezing the same numbers into the Signature Restaurant space.

 

 

There was nothing for Chris for starters so he ordered the fish stew for me to try and I went for the Shrimp on the Rocks. Then he chose the Poivre Perfection and I splashed our on the whole Lobster for the mains. He chose Chantilly Lace for dessert and I selected Delights in the Air.

 

The bread they served was delicious - I left that for Chris to nibble along with the garlic bread from the stew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really enjoyed the shrimp but the fish stew wasn't my thing at all. The lobster was delicious but way too much food for me! Chris lived both his steak and dessert - enough to come again when we go in Sky next month; And my dessert was sublime - so much like my favourite summer dessert if Eton Mess. Mmmm 

 

For the rest of the evening we watched a game show with the CD called Port or Starboard and then watched the Jeopardy type game in Princess Live! before heading to bed. We also received our first ever towel animal on a Princess cruise!

 

 

 

 

To be continued 

 

Edited Sunday at 05:38 PM by dides

[dides]

Well that was weird - I just hit the post button and we headed over to Good Spirits. On the way, I spotted Chef Rudi himself getting some gelato. I asked if I might take his photo for everyone on cruisecritic and he laughed and said ' of course!,' He then came over to shake our hands and we complimented him on the meal we had at The Catch. Here he is:

 

Edited Sunday at 06:12 PM by dides

[offtopic]

Following along, thanks for sharing your vacation with us!

[dides]

Here are the patters for the first 2 days,:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 06:28 PM by dides

[memoak]

9 hours ago, dides said:

Hi, thought I would sneak in a little Live from for this repositioning leg as Sun Princess heads from Europe over to to FLL. 

 

This is our second time on Sun Princess but are now in a Penthouse Suite rather than deluxe balcony (the category we booked on the original cancelled inaugural).So hope to record the suite experience before the Sanctuary Collection changes

 

My other half and I flew in from London Heathrow to Barcelona two days before the cruise. We had torrential rain on arrival but it turned pleasantly warm and sunny for the next couple of days. Having visited all the main sights before, we stayed in a hotel north of the city and just relaxed. We took a taxi to the port and arrived at 10am. We, handed off our cases to the porters, went through security and the blue lane with no lines and directed to the priority area to wait for boarding. We were onboard at 10;40. 

 

First stop was Crooners. I wanted to order The Rose cocktail only because they didn't have the special stemmed glass in stock when I asked back in April. But was thwarted because they were waiting for the special Rose flower supplies to come onboard later . So Chris got his Ferrero and I had a Mai Tai as our first drinks 

 

 

 

Our next move was to go back down to deck 7 and grab lunch at the Signature Restaurant. We never usually do a dining room lunch but we thought we would grab the chance to experience it before the suite guests get bundled into a shared dining area again with the new Sanctuary Collection changes. 

 

We were greeted at the door and taken to the far end of the room. All the tables by the windows were taken and it was to become 70% full by the end of the lunch period.

 

 

Here is the lunch menu:

 

 

 

Chris chose the Signature Burger and Sundae and I chose the Plant-based Burrito and Lime and Mango Cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris though the burger and fries were really nice. My burrito was a bit bland but I enjoyed the mango cake.

 

We asked to see the menu for that evening even though we were booked in The Catch. 

Here is The Sailaway Dinner:

 

 

 

The Restaurant Manager came around to introduce himself and go through the opening times. We mentioned the upcoming changes but he didn't offer up anything additional.

 

To be continued...

 

The menus don’t look much different than those on Royal or Grand class ships

[memoak]

6 hours ago, dides said:

During lunch in the Signature Restaurant another couple from the UK were seated next to us. We started nattering and discovered we were both on the cruisecritic roll call and both successfully got upgraded to S4 Penthouse Suites. *Waves to @LWhit*

 

Chris and I had watched our muster videos on our phones in Crooners earlier so were all set to check.in at Horizons on deck 7 for our muster station. The Piazza area was rammed but we managed to squeeze through and walk past the ships to get to muster checkin.

 

We hadn't heard an announcement about cabins being ready but it was 1:20 so we thought we would head up to deck 17 and try our luck.....

 

Our medallions didn't work on our door,!  We went along and down to the Suite Lounge entrance on deck 15 and they didn't open the door there either. We managed to get inside when someone came out. After sitting down and ordering some sparkling water we got talking to Sebastian one of the Concierge Managers about our medallions. 

 

Sebastian checked on his system and said we needed replacement medallions He said he would go to Guest Services at the other end of the ship and sort it out. What amazing service!  We had to wait about half an hour in the end but we were then all sorted. And the Suite Lounge is a wonderful spot to relax

 

 

 

So we finally get to access our penthouse suite. It's an obvious upgrade to the deluxe balcony but it does feel like a downgrade to the suites on Royal Class. A little too compact and it feels like there isn't enough usable desk or counter surface in the lounge area - the balcony furniture is lovely though! Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here we have our Suite welcome letter:

 

 

And the Suite Lounge Team flyer:

 

Our luggage had already been delivered so we unpacked a little and had short nap before heading back to the Suite Lounge for pre-dinner drinks. We had The Catch by Rudi booked for 6:30om and there was a Champagne Sabreing demo at 5:30pm. The Suite Lounge was packed when we arrived so we went and sat upstairs and looked down at the demo.  Chris enjoyed the free glasses of Piper Heidsieck!!!

 

To be continued...

 

 

 

Medallions have never opened the suite lounge in our experience there is a separate card usually left in your suite

[SeaCBear]

Enjoying your live review - thank you!  We've booked a similar TA on the Sun for March of 2026.  

 

One question - what's a Ferraro martini? I'm guessing something to do with Ferraro Rocher? Is it on the Princess Crooner's menu? I don't remember seeing it before, but it looks delicious.

[dides]

21 minutes ago, memoak said:

Medallions have never opened the suite lounge in our experience there is a separate card usually left in your suite

Not on the Sun Princess - no card access and Medallions control access to the Suite Lounge.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 07:52 PM by dides

[dides]

11 minutes ago, SeaCBear said:

Enjoying your live review - thank you!  We've booked a similar TA on the Sun for March of 2026.  

 

One question - what's a Ferraro martini? I'm guessing something to do with Ferraro Rocher? Is it on the Princess Crooner's menu? I don't remember seeing it before, but it looks delicious.

Vanilla Vodka, Chocolate Liqueur, Irish Cream and Franglico. It does taste like Ferraro Rocher and is on the Crooners menu. Also on the Princess Live menu too.

 

 

[arizonaperson]

Here is a Crooners menu from The Sun. Well part of the menu. ( includes  Ferraro drink) Definitely looks like The Sun’s Crooners menu is different ( more choice) from others in the Princess fleet.

Op -drink looks very nice,thanks for sharing photo.

 

Edited Sunday at 08:43 PM by arizonaperson

[dides]

1 hour ago, arizonaperson said:

Here is a Crooners menu from The Sun. Well part of the menu. ( includes  Ferraro drink) Definitely looks like The Sun’s Crooners menu is different ( more choice) from others in the Princess fleet.

Op -drink looks very nice,thanks for sharing photo.

 

And here, finally,  is The Rose in its fancy glass