We just booked a Dolphin deck Vista Suite on the Caribbean Princess for an Eastern Caribbean 8 day cruise this upcoming December for us and our 12 year old. However I was doing some poking around and saw the new Sun Princess has a 7 day sailing at the same time, and we can get a Signature Suite for the same price. Looking for some input on whether I should stay put or switch.
Both sailings hit St. Thomas and San Juan, which are our two most important stops for this trip (trying to get Junior Ranger badges from the National Park sites). We've never been to the Caribbean at all before, so everything else is new regardless of which we choose.
Caribbean Princess:
The Vista Suite is bigger and has what appears to be a much nicer balcony.
One extra day of cruising (8 vs 7).
We'd also get to visit St. Maarten and Grand Turk.
I love the wrap-around Promenade on the Caribbean (and other Grand class ships we've been on), and this is actually a significant draw for me (I love taking daily walks on them).
The layout/amenities are all very familiar -- which is a pro and a con. On the one hand, we'll acclimate quickly and be much more inclined to just relax (and even enjoy our suite balcony more). On the other hand, it'll feel more "been there done that" and less exciting than a brand new, revamped ship.
That said, I am fully aware of some people's complaints about the CB and other similar ships being "old" and "tired". We sailed on the Grand a few years ago and saw all the same comments and concerns, yet had a phenomenal time on our cruise and didn't feel like its condition was a hindrance at all. So I'm also not concerned about the CB feeling "dated" or "worn" or anything, as long as it's clear it is being maintained/cleaned.
Sun Princess:
New ship with all the shiny new bells and whistles, and LOTS of new amenities, food, entertainment, etc. to explore. This means I'd be inclined to want to do EVERYTHING and not rest as much, which my husband may be less enthused about, and might add a little extra stress.
The Signature Suite looks more modern, although I kind of find the room decor a little boring, so that's not a huge draw for me (though the pics I see of the rest of the ship do look beautiful and enticing).
The balcony on the Signature Suite looks more like a standard size balcony, and far less enticing than the Vista Suite balcony.
It would visit Princess Cay instead of the other two stops on the CB. I'd prefer to see the two others vs. Princess Cay, I think... but I've never been to any of them, so who knows...
We'd be in San Juan on NYE and would get to stay there 4 extra hours compared to the CB.
Only 7 days instead of 8, so one less day to cram in all the new stuff... 🙂
I'll add that while the Sun looks like it has some cool stuff that might appeal to my daughter, I think she'd be happy either way. She has only been on one Princess Cruise before (on the Grand), and it was 5 years ago so it'll all feel new and exciting to her regardless.
Also, this is our first cruise since the pandemic, and I'll admit I'm a little "crowd shy", and eager to spend more time outdoors or away from tons of people on the ship as we ease back into things. Sailing the CB seems like it would make it far easier for us to do that because I'd be perfectly fine skipping things like the theater shows and other activities, or having our dinner served to us on our balcony some nights. If we were on the Sun the FOMO would be too strong and I'd want to do it all, but at the risk of triggering some anxiety.
Any pros/cons that I missed? I don't know a ton about the new ship other than what I quickly perused on the Princess site. Maybe I'm overlooking some amenities, suite perks, etc. that might be a strong sway one way or the other?
We just booked a Dolphin deck Vista Suite on the Caribbean Princess for an Eastern Caribbean 8 day cruise this upcoming December for us and our 12 year old. However I was doing some poking around and saw the new Sun Princess has a 7 day sailing at the same time, and we can get a Signature Suite for the same price. Looking for some input on whether I should stay put or switch. Both sailings hit St. Thomas and San Juan, which are our two most important stops for this trip (trying to get Junior Ranger badges from the National Park sites). We've never been to the Caribbean at all before, so everything else is new regardless of which we choose. Caribbean Princess: The Vista Suite is bigger and has what appears to be a much nicer balcony. One extra day of cruising (8 vs 7). We'd also get to visit St. Maarten and Grand Turk. I love the wrap-around Promenade on the Caribbean (and other Grand class ships we've been on), and this is actually a significant draw for me (I love taking daily walks on them). The layout/amenities are all very familiar -- which is a pro and a con. On the one hand, we'll acclimate quickly and be much more inclined to just relax (and even enjoy our suite balcony more). On the other hand, it'll feel more "been there done that" and less exciting than a brand new, revamped ship. That said, I am fully aware of some people's complaints about the CB and other similar ships being "old" and "tired". We sailed on the Grand a few years ago and saw all the same comments and concerns, yet had a phenomenal time on our cruise and didn't feel like its condition was a hindrance at all. So I'm also not concerned about the CB feeling "dated" or "worn" or anything, as long as it's clear it is being maintained/cleaned. Sun Princess: New ship with all the shiny new bells and whistles, and LOTS of new amenities, food, entertainment, etc. to explore. This means I'd be inclined to want to do EVERYTHING and not rest as much, which my husband may be less enthused about, and might add a little extra stress. The Signature Suite looks more modern, although I kind of find the room decor a little boring, so that's not a huge draw for me (though the pics I see of the rest of the ship do look beautiful and enticing). The balcony on the Signature Suite looks more like a standard size balcony, and far less enticing than the Vista Suite balcony. It would visit Princess Cay instead of the other two stops on the CB. I'd prefer to see the two others vs. Princess Cay, I think... but I've never been to any of them, so who knows... We'd be in San Juan on NYE and would get to stay there 4 extra hours compared to the CB. Only 7 days instead of 8, so one less day to cram in all the new stuff... 🙂 I'll add that while the Sun looks like it has some cool stuff that might appeal to my daughter, I think she'd be happy either way. She has only been on one Princess Cruise before (on the Grand), and it was 5 years ago so it'll all feel new and exciting to her regardless. Also, this is our first cruise since the pandemic, and I'll admit I'm a little "crowd shy", and eager to spend more time outdoors or away from tons of people on the ship as we ease back into things. Sailing the CB seems like it would make it far easier for us to do that because I'd be perfectly fine skipping things like the theater shows and other activities, or having our dinner served to us on our balcony some nights. If we were on the Sun the FOMO would be too strong and I'd want to do it all, but at the risk of triggering some anxiety. Any pros/cons that I missed? I don't know a ton about the new ship other than what I quickly perused on the Princess site. Maybe I'm overlooking some amenities, suite perks, etc. that might be a strong sway one way or the other?
