Sox Fan Cruiser

From what I can tell peaking over at my neighbor. 🤣 I actually really love the love seat. It has a foot rest so we can both “recline” comfortably.

Sorry, didn’t even know cruise ships HAVE a gym. 🤪

We eat at 8pm and it’s pretty empty. We (2 people) sat at a 4 top at the window one night. But it was dark out so didn’t matter. I bet you can talk the maitre d’ and get the same table every night if you come at the same time. But I’m not 100% sure. They don’t take reservations. I’ve notice that the Reserve Collection restaurant isn’t big enough for all there guests as there are people frequently at the Wheelhouse waiting for their table. But we have always walked into the Signature Restaurant and been sat right away. But again, we aren’t there until after 8.

On the current Sun Princess sailing. We went to Bar on the 11th. We stayed on the ship.

There are shows in the Arena now and there will be the “pirate show” some night which is the big production event. We don’t go to shows so can’t comment on them. We have been invited to “Blue” the cirque show in the Dome on the last two nights of our cruise as a “dress rehearsal” so my guess is they will be ready for your cruise.

And I will say… BEST SERVICE ON ANY CRUISE ON ANY PRINCESS SHIP WE HAVE EVER HAD.

I can definitely say there isn’t reserved seating in the Dome but will ask about the Arena.

We are the first cruise to have Spellbound so no. They were doing it for suites as a courtesy while they where practicing but it didn’t include dinner.

Yes. There is a welcome cocktail and then red or white wine. Once you actually get to Spellbound is when the cocktails really start flowing.

You actually meet at 8:00pm even though it says dinner at 8:30. You start dinner much closer to 8.

A Princess CVP can get you added to the list even if the rest of the invites are random. We were clearly added to the list at the bottom. Our names were hand written in to the print out. She called the day before.

I doubt it.

We specifically asked at the suite lounge and they said that the Enclave is not included. Now that’s different than the Thermal suite and Sun Princess has the Enclave not Thermal suite. Same as on the Royal Class ships. Now, we haven’t been charge for the Enclave yet even though other spa services have already hit our account. Shhhhh. 🤪

I don't know that people send out laundry every day. We usually save it up and do it a couple of times over the two weeks.

So we proceed through the black door and enter the bar area. It’s a normal bar area (fully decorated in the magic theme) with plenty of tables to sit. There are waiters who bring the special drink menu but there is also a full bar so you can order any drink you want including any alcohol-free things that you would like. The specialty drinks are loaded with alcohol so I don’t think there is any way to make them virgin style. We spent around 30 minutes in the bar area which gave us time to have a bathroom break and consume a few cocktails. We did notice that there were people in the bar area that weren’t with us at dinner. That’s when I found out that once the show is over, you can hang out there until the bar closes at midnight! So these other people were at the early show and still here having more cocktails. All the drinks are free while in Spellbound and don’t go towards your drink package maximum. So some of these people have been here for a while. 😊 That helps with those that need to justify the $150 per person charge of Spellbound. After about 30 minutes they called us into the room where the magic happens. It’s a small intimate space that only holds a maximum of 30 people. The show is very interactive with plenty of laughs. I am still amazed at some of the magic that we saw. Not sure how long the show was because I was so immersed in it that time flew by. After the show, the magician led us back to the bar where we had another round(s) of cocktails and hung out with our new friends we met over dinner. The magician even came over to us and we talked with him for a while. It was truly a wonderful experience and I completely forgot that I was even on a ship. Let me know if you have other questions but again, I am not going to reveal too much as I want you all to experience it for yourself. I highly recommend it.

Damn! I finished typing the second half when my work computer didn’t like being on the ships internet and I lost the post. I’ll try again later.

Okay, here we go. I will only be describing the logistics without ruining the "magic" of the night. I don't want to ruin the experience for all but help people understand what the night entails. So in general, it's not really advertised very well. Like all things Sun Princess, they are relying on word of mouth more than anything else. As I said before, we went to the suite lounge on the first day and asked about it saying that we didn't have either a tie nor a blazer. They said it was fine to just dress "nicely". We then received our invitation a day or so later (picture attached after this post) with the words "Dress Code: Cocktail Attire". We went to the 8th floor of the Horizon Dining Room as instructed at 8pm and there was a sign marked Spellbound. The host had us sit with the others waiting for the festivities to begin. The attire of the participants was varied with some folks in suits, women in dresses but also men with a blazer not tie and some in just dress pants and a nice collared shirt (me!). I think as long as you look nice, it was acceptable. We then were escorted to a back part of the dining room where it was just us. We there then served a 4 course dinner that took about 2 hours. I was shocked as it didn't seem like that long and we had a nice time getting to know our fellow magic enthusiasts. Then it was time to go behind the black door...

The trick is getting the invite to the GO Lounge. It's by invitation only and only a small number of people get invited. (and you need a competent suite concierge! :) )

You are incorrect. If you are invited to the Go Lounge in Fort Lauderdale (mostly suites), it’s an area before the cruise terminal to wait to board the ship. They will then bring you to the ship and you cut all lines and basically walk on the ship. While in the GO Lounge they will take dinner reservations, spa reservations AND Sanctuary reservations. Now it didn’t work for us because our suite concierge onboard was inept at her job (she was awful the entire cruise) but someone else posted that it worked for them as they were on a different ship and had a much better suite concierge. They wouldn’t take your Sanctuary reservation request if they hadn’t planned to try and make the reservation. We told them we wanted two together in the shade on all sea days. They then phoned the ship and spoke to the suite concierge to take care of it. They confirmed that the suite concierge was taking care of it and we should get confirmation in our room.

Teaser #2… The last two nights of the cruise are the final dress rehearsals for the Cirque show in the Dome and passengers are invited to attend. Seems they will be ready for the next sailing. There are two shows both nights. There are “tickets” for every suite passenger if they want one. Seating is first come/first serve but we are guaranteed a spot if we want it. The rest of the ship has the remainder of the tickets. You need a ticket to get into the dome. Not sure if this will be the practice going forward but I think so. Haven’t asked about seats in the Arena (the theater) yet but I will.

No problem. I will answer all questions when I get home. But I do have the answers! 🤪

I know I became a real pessimist about this whole thing but we went tonight and LOVED it! Off to bed as it was a full evening experience but I’ll write about it tomorrow. Totally worth it!

I don’t think there is a difference between the two restaurants. It’s different than the main dining room. There are still a lot of extra perks of the suites that differentiate it from the Reserve.

Yeah, I missed the “upgraded ingredients” part. I thought it was the same as the MDR. Definitely better preparation. I’m very happy.

Here’s a teaser while I’m still onboard…. I have been told, and no way to really confirm it unless I coordinate with someone in the MDR, but I was told by my waiter in the Signature restaurant that while the menu is the same as the MDR (plus one or two extra items) the Reserve and Signature dining rooms have a separate kitchen and prepare the dishes differently. And I believe him. There were a few times (before he told us) that I said to my husband “There is no way they are serving this in the main dining room!” The seafood salad the first night was extra special. The escargot was different than I have ever had on a Princess ship. It was not just drowned in garlic and butter. I keep asking for extra vegetables (VEGETABLES!!!) because they taste so wonderful. Not everything is different but it does feel special. Does it compare to Luminea on Celebrity? No. But it comes a lot closer than I expected it to. And the service is top notch. The sommelier is right there to help you with champagne, wine, and desert wine (yes, we’ve been having all three!) every night. And the maitre d’ has been by every night to make sure everything is top notch. Offering advice on the menu, checking that the food is satisfactory and even helping me with the fish courses (I try to eat exclusively fish at dinner on ships) coming up in future nights. We are beyond pleasantly surprised that our dining experience is very enjoyable every night. (Sorry, I do not take pictures of my food or the menu.)