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Hi @JLC0912, I haven't yet cruised with X to New Zealand but I have done the Princess itinerary on a sister ship to the Royal, so I can comment on that as well as the entertainment aspects of both, which seems to be a pretty strong criterion for you. We do not drink so I cannot comment on the packages you mentioned. Also, I would recommend soliciting the Princess forum with your questions for additional feedback. I think you should be aware that the balcony sizes on Royal Princess has been the source of ire for many guests who cruise on that particular ship. Princess learned to adjust starting from the Majestic, but you'll be stuck with a balcony that's probably much narrower than you would've experienced on other ships you've had before. Just wanted to prepare you for that. Both Princess and X are both headed in the direction of Starlink for Wifi so coverage should be very comparable and the difference will just be price, especially if you're booking Princess Plus but not All-Included on X. Dinners! Princess no longer has traditional, set-time dining, as you might have known, which Celebrity still offers. In theory, it should work seamlessly on Princess when you set your preferred time in the app and then it just magically comes together...but of course, that doesn't always happen, so it tends to be a bit chaotic at peak times. I would either go as soon as they open or much later into the evening for the best service or potentially risk waiting in a line you really don't want to be in. You may or may not have difficulty in obtaining a private table for two that you like (hopefully the latter!). It highly depends on the management responsible for that dining room, as some can get it done seamlessly and some look like they've seen a ghost when you make the request. I think Celebrity's option to have set-time dining simply speaks for itself, so I'll leave it at that. I personally prefer the menus' variety (quality is a different tale) onboard Princess...but then you have the four dining rooms to choose from on the Edge so this is probably moot anyways. Now, for the shows. First off, neither ship will really compare to the Symphony in terms of entertainment, as you've referenced, so do lower the expectations slightly. Anyways, if you want the most cutting-edge entertainment Princess can offer for their New Zealand cruises, you'd be better off postponing your trip to the following year when the Discovery arrives in the region, which has three of Princess's newest shows that also have a much larger dance focus. The Edge has the significantly more modern theater and the shows are definitely more contemporary, all of which allows for more complex choreography and variety (i.e. acrobatic elements). You can easily see short and long excerpts of the shows from onboard the Edge on YouTube and notice that they're high-energy and modern. The Royal Princess has four production shows, three of which have basically been on since she debuted a decade ago (and the fourth from 2018 being slightly more avant-garde but a bit chaotic to grasp). To me, the emphasis is much more on the singing in all four of the shows (for example, a guest soprano is often flown in for one of the shows) and the dancers are used to just accentuate the singing instead of having their equal moments (except maybe a bit in the fourth one). You are highly unlikely to be getting any Cirque-type entertainment onboard the ship. If you want a quick example of a show onboard the Royal (and don't mind spoilers), consider viewing this. Both lines will have a good amount of casual, modern music that you can dance to, so this is not a worry. This has been a very long response that's gotten really into the minutiae, so apologies. I hope it helps a bit. If there's anything more specific to the cruise or itinerary, don't hesitate to ask.

The Sun's casino is poised to be one of the largest at sea (according to Princess), or at least the largest in the fleet, for sure. More slot machines than ever before. But, it's very likely smoking will still be allowed. It seems like the casino is a big part of your thinking, and so, if you intend to spend a lot of time there, then the Apex is probably better. But for me, I'd be planning a more holistic experience, and together with the cost savings, I'd go for the Sun.

Yes, there are still formal nights on that itinerary. Every night is not really business casual, no. Don't worry about needing to get glammed or spiffy; it's what you make of it. And "formal" holds a much different meaning nowadays than before on cruises.

Have a blast, everybody! And thanks again for starting another one of your great live blogs, @CanadianBurger! (Note the Sky in the background!)

Me thinks those balcony chairs are going to be a huge talking point. At least the balcony seems nicely proportioned, though.

There she comes and goes! Wishing you all a fun time onboard this week!! 🙂 And with extra Love Boat toots to boot! woop woop

Unfortunately, all categorized 'balcony' cabins on the Ruby still have the same small shower you know. You would need to move up in cabin type for larger showers and/or tubs.

Sharing the photo of the officers from Caribbean Princess's December 3, 2023 sailing per @PammyMouse's live report here. Nothing's changed from the table, but just placing this here for the sake of the picture for documentation.

I agree, definitely reads like an evolution of 360 designed for the Sun. As for Britto, you've probably seen his work before on the ships (or at least I feel like I believe so...?)

Yes, you will definitely have chilly weather on the first days out and the last days back. Bring layers with you and maybe a hoodie or two to feel more comfortable outside. The temperatures will warm the closer you are to the islands.

Book ASAP after you book the cruise. The times fill up much faster than you think. Again, though, because it depends on the app, who knows what's going to happen when they launch the new app and I wouldn't be surprised if they just magically botched all the reservations for no reason.

Gastropub is indeed "casual dining" so it's included. According to Princess, these are categorized as "casual dining" --> Vines, Salty Dog Pub, O’Malleys, Ocean Terrace, Planks, Steamers, Alfredo’s, and GiGi’s. [sourced from their press release]

Free still on the current app. Who knows what happens on the new app that's supposed to appear any day now.

Hi @ConnieTact, ever since returning from the Virtuosa, I've been doing some mental comparisons with your experience on the Euribia (beautiful photos, by the way, thank you sharing them!). And I've been wondering if you think Le Grill is an adequate replacement for Butcher's Cut? Do the "attendance" and menu feel comparable? And hopefully Helios gets more visits than Robbie ever did on the Virtuosa for us! Also, the Carousel Lounge on the Euribia has the all-new design that looks packed to the gills every time they have a show there but the lounge on the Virtuosa was also criminally underused, so I'm wondering on your thoughts - which do you prefer, now that you've experienced both? Thanks 🙂

I think we all kind of overlooked this question from you, so apologies from me. Both the Diamond and Crown are relatively similar in size, though the Diamond is much more generous in staff:passenger ratio as there is one less deck of cabins. Already more comfortable because of that alone. As for how they compare with MSC, there really is no 1:1 size comparison with any of MSC's vessels as they transition from Musica to Fantasia-class. Regardless, I do think Crown and Diamond have a generous amount of chairs and loungers to use. Plenty of spaces to choose from and you don't have to stick to the midship main pool deck only; the generous promenade on deck 7, the aft decks, etc. are all wonderful areas to peruse and choose from. However, I have found that while MSC repo cruises may be more sparsely populated, Princess's repo cruises have been much more robust in comparison. Your experiences may vary, of course.

You have to take all negative reviews with a grain of salt. For every cruiser that has a negative opinion to share, there are also many others who walk off the ship happy with their trip. If you have the time, I would highly recommend reading through this extensive live blog that wrapped up a few weeks ago:

...maybe I'm the only one? but I wouldn't mind seeing this thread keep going on and hit a gargantuan mark like 10,000+ posts instead, as long as the thread is also retitled to be more easy to distinguish for the purposes of general discussion (such as calling it the "Official Sun Princess 2023-2024 Megathread" or something) from the specific trip reports, live blogs, etc.

Thank you @dides for the wonderful screengrabs and photos that you've compiled from the journos and bloggers. I'm adding photos from Cruise Critic's own Chris Gray Faust from her review of the day's visit here (I've omitted copying-and-pasting some to avoid redundancy): Pool deck I think the jury's definitely still out on whether this pool deck is going to sufficiently meet the demands of a large ship (in my opinion). Another view of the Sphere More views of the Dome What appears to be a generic "deluxe balcony" (AKA regular balcony on the Sun) Not really a fan of the uninspiring in-room artwork. Would love to see more destination pictures like in the Royal-class that would still work with their preferred neutral tones. A cabana! More Cabana deck views (deck 9) I believe the renderings always showed that the glass right along the cabana deck on deck 9 was going to be high. It's why I personally think having a cabana room on a higher deck is just better in general if you want a midship location. I don't think the glass is high along all deck 9 cabana cabins, especially if they're not along the "cabana deck" at midship. Views of the Horizons Dining Room A staircase in the Horizons Dining Room New feature - Server stations are now enclosed in the Horizons Dining Room O'Malley's Irish Pub Umai Teppanyaki (apparently can/will also serve hot pot, according to Faust? a bit of a gamechanger if they can get it right, IMO) Casino Princess Arena She's definitely coming together! Just 63 days (9 weeks)!

OK, I did some quick research into the amount of ships in port and I will have to give them something...but also, absolutely nothing for this last-minute notice. I mean, these deployments are known months in advance! Belize City -- Sky is now the only ship in town on December 11 when there were 3 total ships on December 13 Roatan -- has not changed and they're still the only ship at Mahogany Bay on December 12 Costa Maya -- Sky would've been the fourth ship on either the 13th or 14th, but the 13th has comparably smaller ships, so...that's something? Cozumel -- Sky is actually now the 7th ship in town on the 14th, when there would've only been 6 ships, including Sky, on the 11th. So the only argument they could make this congestion thing is really about...Belize???

I agree on first glance but I think Cruise Fever's photos cut off the top of the wall in which there is a shadow at the top, which I assume is of another shelf. Your point about perhaps space for some sort of drawer that could've been added but isn't is well taken, though.

The "port congestion" reasoning Princess has used here is about as believable as the excuse NCL uses about "environmental reasons" when they suddenly drastically change their itineraries. For shame.

The press release for the unveiling of Spellbound by Magic Castle on Sun Princess is here: https://www.princess.com/news/news_releases/2023/10/princess-cruises-unveils-spellbound-by-magic-castle.html It will essentially be a very particularly-designed lounge and bar with magic acts, all in partnership with Magic Castle, which is a Hollywood magic club.

"CO" = Coral, "AP" = Grand

Saturday, December 6, 2025 - Saturday, December 20, 2025

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