FamilyAtSea.travel

I was not aware of that... Thanks for correcting me!

I think a big difference there is that MSC's Yacht Club, unlike all the other lines (including NCL's Haven), have all of their YC rooms in a true ship-in-a-ship, exclusive space, so they can't just change the designation of a room and call it a "suite". Princess is simply changing the designation of their staterooms. The YC also has less than 5% of the guests onboard sharing the exclusive YC spaces. On the Sun Princess, it's going to be over 10% of rooms sharing the space, so it's seems reasonable to assume they will be more crowded. With that said, we booked our Vista Suite last week knowing about these changes and still paid the premium anyways (as I'm sure many others will). Whether we pay that premium a second time is to be determined.

What do you mean? All YC rooms on MSC are in the YC. They have interior staterooms, but they're all classified as suites.

It's several months out but we'll have done the Yacht Club, Retreat, and hopefully Haven this year (though that one may end being just a standard balcony) before then so we'll have a good basis of comparison to do a good live thread. I also wouldn't be surprised to see them lower the prices of suites between now and then.

For what it's worth - Park 19 is the exact reason we decided to book the Sun Princess. We enjoy the premium cruise lines but typically have to sacrifice activities for our kids. We are hopeful the Sun Princess will be a great blend of a premium experience while still being more family-friendly. Also FWIW - our kids are very well-behaved... They're not the nightmare kids with no supervision that we also cannot stand.

I know, but my wife and I can still enjoy it while our kids are in the kids clubb if we want to. We have a swimming pool in our backyard and we're not the type to enjoy lounging so that's not a very attractive area to us anyways. Park 19 is much more attractive to us since we have young kids. We also enjoy being able to grab a drink and meet new people without having to fight for drinks, so we typically really enjoy the lounge spaces. While I recognize the price for a suite is ridiculous when compared to what we'll get for it, I'm at a point in life where my time is worth more than my money and we have to cruise around our kids' school schedules so we try to make the most of our time when we're able to escape.

My kids will be 10 and 8 when we sail over Thanksgiving. I'd like to have lounge access so we'll give it a try, but I'm sure it won't be worth the $15k premium (I guess a bit less since we got Premium and mini-suites would still have to add that). You know what they say about a fool and his money...🤪

Wild if true. We just booked on Wednesday (so with the new Sanctuary announcement) and for a family of 4 like us - on the Thanksgiving 2024 sailing, we can get a mini-suite for $5k or a Vista (Penthouse) suite for $20k. A $15k premium to add the lounge and a slightly larger room is significant. We booked a Vista and we'll keep that, but our first time on Princess may be our last (or at least we'll book a mini-suite in the future).

I haven't read all 12 pages of this yet - but is it accurate that suites are losing access to an exclusive restaurant (i.e. Signature)?

Thanks! Between the first day and the two specialty dining meals included with Premier, We would be giving up three meals in the suite dining room... Would you say It is worth giving up three out of the seven?

I'm glad my live from the YC was helpful, I'm sure I'll do one from the Sun Princess as well! Our kids always love the kids clubs so I have no doubt they will on Princess as well. The only part that's tough for them is saying goodbye to their new friends at the end of the cruise. --- We have some great cruises coming up so hopefully I'll find the time to do one on each: - Celebrity Equinox Med cruise Retreat on June 4th - NCL Encore Alaskan cruise on July 21 (we didn't book Haven on that one but we have a high bid so hopefully we get lucky) - This Sun Princess cruise over Thanksgiving - Icon over Christmas (no suite on that... Will bid on an upgrade but guessing we won't get one) The only sailing we have booked for next year so far is on MSC World America in the YC, really looking forward to that one. --- I truly appreciate you helping me better understand what's included with the suites on the Sun Princess... Thank you again!

This is extremely helpful, thank you. We just booked the room on Wednesday so it includes Premier (but at the price, it should). We know our young kids won't be able to use the Sanctuary, but we have a pool at home so we rarely spend any time at the pools onboard anyways so that's not a big deal. I also know that most on Princess will not appreciate us having young kids onboard (no matter how well behaved they may be), but with the addition of Park 19, Princess is clearly trying to attract more families like us. I suspect we will not see the value in paying for a suite on Princess again but it's good to know there is an exclusive lounge on this ship. Thank you again for the helpful reply!

We are new to Princess but when we saw the Sun Princess added Park19 aimed at young families like ours (we have a 9 and 7 year old), we booked a Vista Suite (formerly Penthouse Suite) on the Sun Princess over Thanksgiving later this year. The ship looks beautiful and I'm sure we'll have an amazing time, but as I learn more about the ship and Princess, the more I realize the suites really don't offer much benefit on Princess. Other than having a larger room (which we don't really care about), it doesn't seem like being in a suite offers any benefits at all that I can see vs a mini-suite or even a balcony when Sanctuary privileges. For a room that cost us over $20k for a 7-day sailing, I'm very surprised more isn't offered on what's supposed to be a premium cruise line. There's a lot of things I've noticed that are missing vs Celebrity's Retreat, MSC's Yacht Club, and NCL's Haven, including: - Butler service - Reserved seating in the main theater - Fully stocked mini fridge (on MSC) - Priority embarkation at tender ports (only debarkation) - Private Concierge desk in the suite area - Truly unlimited drinks (though I'm sure 15/day will be enough) In addition to the above, with more than 200 staterooms having Sanctuary access, the amenities will be much more crowded than they are on these other cruise lines. I have no doubt we will have a great time but with everybody in the Sanctuary getting access to the limited benefits available, I would say next time we'll just save $10k+ and get a mini-suite vs paying a premium to be in a suite. Am I missing anything? Or are suites simply not a real priority for Princess?

I'll hopefully have good news to share after our June 4th sailing, but there are two before us so I'm guessing somebody will share the updates before we're onboard. Are you sailing in the Retreat?

Will they have a press release that details exactly what is new when she comes out of dry dock? We'll be on her June 4th so I'll be sure to get pictures and share it with you guys in a live thread, but hopefully we learn what's new before that sailing as there are a couple before ours.

Aside from the crying baby in the room beside me, I didn't notice any poor behavior from kids but since I have a couple of my own perhaps I'm just less aware since I'm used to it at home. I will say while it was a great experience, I don't think I'd pay much more for it than their current pricing. If we see YC pricing get to the Haven (NCL)/Retreat (Celebrity) pricing, I wouldn't be willing to spend the money since outside the YC, the ships aren't as nice as the other cruise lines (MSC ships have a lower sq ft per passenger rate for public spaces + a higher crew:passenger ratio. Be sure to complete your survey form! I did mine earlier.

Interesting - for some reason I thought you had to have a Retreat sea pass to even to to their deck on those ships. We loved the Ascent over Christmas... One thing Celebrity definitely has going for it over MSC is the entire ship is a great experience, not only the YC area.

Don't the Edge-class ships have a ship-in-a-ship concept with their staterooms? I haven't sailed in the Retreat on one yet, but that was my impression.

We just finished two weeks in the YC (Seascape + Seashore) and had a great time on both. We will be in the Retreat on the Equinox in early June and I'm disappointed that our room is not in an exclusive Retreat area and that there's no Retreat pool or live music in the Retreat Lounge. I'm hoping it will be enough to justify tripling the cost of the cruise vs a standard balcony, but I suspect we will regret upgrading (YC on a similar itinerary would have been about 25% less).

It was Melania from Italy. She was okay but not as great as Mustafa was on the Seascape. The only time I asked her for anything (ear plugs for the crying kid in the room beside me), she wasn't able to help.

Yes, I shared the outcome in the posts that you'll see as you read your way through things!

Agree that it's speculation, but I'm still pretty confident they will be adding a bar to the Retreat Sundeck (that or they're using false advertising as they show one on the website when booking the June 4 sailing I will be on).

Birthdays in the YC Restaurant This is trivial and really doesn't matter to me one way or the other, but I've been surprised this week to see the YC staff have to do the dog and pony show of singing and clapping to wish a happy birthday as if they were at Texas Roadhouse. I'm not the type to be bothered by this (it's fun honestly), but I was surprised to see they do it in such a nice restaurant. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures or video of things, but they do a great job with it.

Onboard Internet I upgraded the YC-included Browse internet to Browse & Stream for an additional $70 ($10/day). When the service works, it works extremely well (see speed test screenshot below), but the problem is it only works about 70% of the time. I'm not sure if this is an issue with Starlink or the onboard network, but it's a shame it's not more reliable since it is great when it works.

Dinner Review: Chef's Table at Butcher's Cut I'll start this by saying if you've ever done the Chef's Table on other cruise lines, this is not the group experience that you have on the others. What MSC calls the Chef's Table is a 4-course dinner with a view of the kitchen. This doesn't make it bad, it's just different (though I do typically enjoy the shared experience in a private dining room I've had on other ships outside MSC). With that said... --- The Greeting: Upon arriving at Butcher's Cut I was seated at a table directly across from the serving station near the kitchen. I was then immediately greeted by the Specialty Restaurant Supervisor who told me it would be a 4-course meal paired with a couple glasses of wine and then pointed to the chef who took a moment to wave at me and thank me for joining them. I asked how many people would be doing the Chef's Table that evening, and he replied, "including you sir? One 😝" So I guess perhaps this isn't a very popular experience. --- The Food: This isn't intended to come across as a complaint, but another key difference with the Chef's Table on MSC is that instead of it being a special meal you can't order off the menu, instead it is just a selection of items you can purchase a la carte directly from the menu (but the Chef's Table is a better value in terms of price vs ordering off the menu). --- First Course - Caesar Salad: This is a standard Caesar salad with nothing remarkable to share. The one thing to note is that it does include anchovies (but I'm sure you can ask for them to be left off if you want). It was a good salad though (better than their house chop salad I had for lunch today at Butcher's Cut). --- Second Course - Shellfish Platter: This is a pretty impressive platter and was very tasty. It included shrimp, King Crab, lobster, scallops, oysters, clams, and mussels all served on a bed of ice. This was paired with a Chardonnay. I'm guessing had I been doing this experience with somebody this would have been shared, so price wise it was probably a better value doing this solo. The shellfish was all great and I ate more of it than I thought I would! --- Third Course - Ribeye Steak: The ribeye was cooked to a perfect medium rare and was tender, juicy, and delicious. It comes with the four signature sauces you always get with the steak in Butcher's Cut: Bearnaise, Peppercorn, Forest Mushroom, and Chimichurri (the Bearnaise is the hands down winner of the four). It was paired with a Cabernet Sauvignon that went very well with the steak. --- Final Course - Lava Cake w/ Vanilla Ice Cream: If you've sailed on MSC and like chocolate, odds are you've had the lava cake at least once. It was the same here as every other time I've ever had it, but it's still good. --- The Service: The service was a bit of a tag team approach between the Specialty Restaurant Supervisor (Sagar) and my Waiter (Archie), and they were both great. I've had three meals across two ships in Butcher's Cut and the service has been fantastic each time. Whatever they're doing in this restaurant, they should replicate across all the restaurants. --- Final Thoughts + Scoring: If I was scoring this based on how it compares to other Chef's Tables I've done on other cruise lines (Celebrity, Royal, and Carnival), it wouldn't score very high. As previously mentioned - it wasn't a special menu, it's not a shared experience as you meet new friends, and it's not in a private space. However, if you look past that and consider it for what it is - the food was good and the service was great. So for my scores: - Food: 4/5 (tasted great but the menu left something to be desired) - Service: 5/5 - Experience: 3/5 ---