rmsmith

25 minutes ago, mufasa95 said:

Thanks for the info! Would you happen to know if cabin 9204 (C2) has a tall tampered blue glass on its balcony?

yup, pretty sure it does and I think pretty much all of deck 9 has the high glass as well

20 minutes ago, Hobby3333 said:

We are booked in cabin #9349 for July.  I hope that someone is able to video the room.  All the back and forth kinda has me wondering if I should try to change the room selection or even upgrade to a suite.   Any suggestions?

I would say to wait for a couple of cruises to happen and people to provide more on their personal experiences with the cabana minis.  I'm in one at the front of the ship and while I would prefer different furniture than the love seat - I was hoping form more of a lounger. And not a fan of the tall glass, which we have known about for some time, I'm sticking with it for now.  Hope I like it as I'm booked with my wife and some friends for the 16 night transatlantic.  could be a long cruise if we end up not liking it!

15 hours ago, aussiecruiser275 said:

2nd that im not looking forward to my 10foot high balcony rail from my C2 balcony Cabana mini - how awful and hideous it looks

I wonder if we will eventually get info on why they put up the high glass on deck 9.  Managing wind seems to be the only reason I can think of. And it will indeed be interesting to see if they change it for the Star.

I have a cabana mini book on 9 near the front of the ship and the high glass is my only reservation with the room. I tend to like to lean against the railing and watch the ocean go by or look out while in port.  Not going to work from the room.

And I wonder if it might make the other areas of 9 feel cramped or otherwise closed up. 

2 hours ago, niftrip said:

 

Given the cabana space has a second TV there and doors, I could see it being really useful if a couple or friends are in the room and don't both go to bed at the same time. The night owl could be out in the cabana watching TV with less interruption to the sleeper.

this is one reason I think the cabana will be nice for my wife and I.  I also think that on our next cruise with traveling with friends who we will surely spend time on balconies with the extra sort of outdoor space will be nice.  And it gives my wife, who doesn't do sun much, a way to feel outside on the balcony without having the potentially be in the sun.

wooot woot!  Assuming she departs on time, less than 24 hours until she heads to sea for the first paying passenger cruise!  and a painful nearly 7 months until I sail on her.

Looking forward to guest pictures, comments and reviews.

yup, she looks to be on the move.
https://www.marinevesseltraffic.com/vessels/SUN-PRINCESS/CURRENT-POSITION/9863118/1

2 hours ago, Osa J said:

If you look closely, at one point in the video it shows a door and the hallway area outside does not look complete…?

If I caught what you are referring to I wonder if that is a door into the kitchen area of other crew area which would not have the same level of finish?  but certainly, there are areas of the ship which are not 100% complete yet.

Well, not your specific use case but I can tell you when we were on the Island and traveled in the opposite direction those observation area as were open well before we started our approach to the canal. 

Best bet is probably to check with the crew the day or two before you get to Panama 

40 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

That’s awful that they couldn’t sail one day sooner. I wonder why??? 

Keep in mind being delivered and being ready to sail with passengers are or can be very different. While i don't think it accomplishes it, I wonder if the 9th delivery date, if it comes to fruition, was intended to avoid your very question. 

9 minutes ago, DHP1 said:

If you become familiar with one bartender, he doesn’t care if you take a few unopened back to your room. I shouldn’t be saying this, there were several times I walk up to him and before you know he has my 2 beers ready. 

yup, haven't had a problem doing so in the past. 

I do like how the bartenders get to know you.  Maybe I just haven't settled into enough of a routine on other cruise lines but have not had the same experience outside of Princess.  Nothing like walking up to the pool bar in the morning and having them start making my double bloody mary when they see me or in the evening start making a Manhattan at Crooners.  I like to keep them on their toes and switch up the vodka or move to a bloody maria or brit. 

1 hour ago, DHP1 said:

I too enjoy a beer or two sitting out on the balcony just before dinner. We have the drink package and therefore, I put a few beers (unopened) in my pocket during the day and take them back to my cabin. Do that couple times per day and before you know it, I have a well stock fridge. 😀

Yup, that's what I do as well.  Just ask the bartender not to open it and as you say, soon you have can have a nice little stock.  I usually like to have a beer while relaxing on the balcony before turning in for the night.

4 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Especially if the ship is being built by Fincantieri. As you can see, Virgin had also delayed the Resilient Lady (ship #3) as well - same builder. Both delays are being blamed on supply chain issues. Let's hope the Sun is further along than we think.

 

https://www.travelandleisure.com/cruises/virgin-voyages-delays-resilient-lady-debut

Let's hope indeed! I would like to think that with the delay being announced so late that they are very close, but just couldn't cross the finish line on time. Or maybe the one day strike due to the accident occurred at a critical path significant item that also requires a heavy reschedule effort.  The other ships I could see having more critical impacts due to being earlier in the build and going through the massive metal fabrication.  But then again I'm no shipbuilding expert.

In the past ships I've been on often have the Fosters Oil Cans.  might not be the best beer but there still nothing like stopping at the first bar when getting back on the ship in a hot an humid region and grabbing a big cold beer!

i made a change to a flight for a cruise that is later this year just after my initial booking. it was incredibly simple at the time.  of course this is well before any additional payments are required and being so far out plenty of flight availability.  first time using EZ Air, hope it goes smoothly as while I've seen plenty of good reports I've also seen some nightmares.

I would probably go with the Coral. Having done a cruise on both the Coral and the Island we really like the size of those ships, they have great viewing areas as well.  Sapphire, never sailed on her, would be my second choice.  Have sailed on the Caribbean just after the pandemic ended (3rd cruise after she returned to cruising I think) and despite having had a year or more to work on maintenance items she was showing a fair bit of wear - at least I thought so.

My wife and I are currently booked for the Sun's first TA in a C2 reserve cabana.  I'm not overly concerned about the balcony not being covered as we can use part of the cabana portion as a covered balcony.  I'm more concerned about the tall glass as I'm a person who likes to look out over the ocean while having a beer, while sailing into our out of the ports etc.  So that may not be as nice with tall glass, but we're going to give the room and cabana deck a try and see what happens.  Heck, with doing a TA and weather being quite the luck of the draw the tall glass might even be a good thing for that cruise and hanging out on the balcony when we are in the room. Time will tell!  And worst case, once real reviews come in we have 6-7 months to consider a room change since we don't sail until late Sept.

awesome, enjoy your cruise!

may or may not be of any help, but years ago we cruised in A750, fantastic room, hopefully C749 is quite similar and if so I could be quite happy to book it.

I've had the password issue for many many months.  I try it a couple times and sometimes it will go through, also I change pages and try logging in and that sometimes seems to help.  I have gotten the session time out a couple times when try to look at EZ-air reservations, it usually goes away after a second or third attempt or a browser change.   frustrating at best.

Not a smoker, but a little bummed Churchills is going away. Enjoyed grabbing drinks in there and the smell of cigars from time to time. Would have preferred they kept the bar and made it non smoking as it became when cruising got back underway after the pandemic. Looks like it's become more kid venue space. 

My wife and I have done a couple of holiday cruises. One was on NCL before the pandemic and we departed December 23 . Christmas day had lots of people in PJs all day. Cruises ended need years eve. Worst cruise I've had due to what seemed like an unhappy crew and the ship being at max capacity. Wouldn't have been so bad if the crew was a little happier and parent s didn't let their.kids.run wild and out of.control. 

Did a Princess cruise a couple years ago. . Departed the day after Christmas so I can't comment on Princess for Christmas day. New years eve was one of the best new years eve parties I've ever had. Ship was partying hard by any standard much less Princess!. Pool deck was packed and even a good amount of crew was up there partying. Things didn't quiet down until around 3am. Ship used the ships current position time zone which was an hour ahead of the East coast. So having grown up in the West coast it was a unique experience to hit new years before new York. And we celebrated again with New York. 

it should be noted that cruise was shortly after cruising started back up after the pandemic so certainly there was some lent up setting demand! It was the Caribbean Princess' 4th or 5th cruise back I think it was. Awesome cruise 

2 hours ago, dog said:

It is now being served on Regal and the poster on fb said it was excellent in the Crown Grill.

That's good to hear and a good start. I haven't seen that th post. I assume those steaks are an optional.item and extra cost in the MDR so I wonder about the price. And I wonder if more ships will get this meat or is it a TX market only situation. 

Be interesting to learn more details on this and plans for future expansion. I noted that only in the Sun headline does it mention "prime". Release body copy says upper end choice and higher. So does the crown grill have prime and MDR is choice? You decide based how much you want to spend?

As several others have suggested. Book the Coral and go through the old locks. So much more interesting experience. You'll have ships using the other lane next to you, I find the lock operations more fun to watch and the Panama sized ships in there is a amazing.  

we've done a partial transit on the Coral many years ago and a full transit on the Island a few years ago. My wife and I really like the ships. Great size for us we also were on the Caribbean a couple years ago. Would take either the coral or island over the Caribbean. Size being a factor and certainly a preference thing. 

Yup. Like most are saying take the Coral or the Island and go through the old locks!  Been on both and happy with both ships. For my wife and I they are both about the perfect size in terms of passenger counts in addition to fitting through the old locks as they were built for that purpose.