Sox Fan Cruiser

I haven’t used a ship sponsored excursion in years and never had a problem.  As karatemom2 said, their business model depends on them getting you back on time. They would go under if they didn’t. 1 hour away is not a long time. Private tours are so much better.  As cr8tiv1 explained, if the tour company is nervous about getting you back, they won’t book it. 
 

And yes, we used a private tour company for Peggy’s Cove. 

I agree. It feels more like home on Princess but they do have their problems. Celebrity is just a better product. 
 

Although….  I just got off the Sun Princess today in their version of The Retreat and they have definitely stepped it up a notch. Service throughout the Sun was much better than other ships and their suite service almost was equal to Celebrity. Almost. Much better than in the past. 

We just got off the Sun Princess today and there is no activity in there yet. Our cabin was right outside. Still just a bunch of tables with table clothes on them. 

2 hours ago, Esprit said:

I'm always disappointed if I don't feel the ship rolling on my cruises at some point.

Me too!  I was a little worried that the first few nights were too calm. 

So talking to people this morning, I guess it was really rough last night. They said we were rolling a lot. But I slept right through it.

On 4/10/2024 at 1:20 PM, NeutralNovice said:

 

Did you take pictures by any chance?  Particularly your balcony?  I currently have a booking that's on 17637, so all the way in aft, starboard side.

 

Also, how was your cruise, ship movement-wise?  Did you notice a lot of movement up that high and all the way back?

 

Thanks!!

Now that the cruise is over ☹️ I will say that there was movement throughout the cruise. Whenever we came into port there was A LOT of shaking as the thrusters kicked in to help the azipods. 
 

But there was also some movement at night as the speed increased. Just a little port to starboard shaking but we love feeling the ship move so it didn’t bother us. With the beds facing either aft or forward it was actually a comforting movement like rocking a baby’s cradle. Nothing too bad. 

I don’t necessarily disagree with you @JimmyVWine just correcting the comment about it being weather related. I don’t think all executives are evil money hungry devils. There are reasons for the change in port, they just aren’t sharing them. 

Teaser #3:

For Santorini yesterday, they had us all meet in the lounge at 7am. Yes 7am on vacation!  When the tender operation started, they escorted us all down and put us on the first tender. We were the first people up the cable cars with very little waiting.
 

Our private tour was at 10 so this gave us time to walk around the town as it was opening as well as stop and have some coffee and Baklava for breakfast!  Did I groin about having to get up so early.  Sure did!  But I was glad overall. 
 

They are really treating us like kings and queens on this ship. 

But the problem with your argument is that they cancelled the port before we even got on the ship.  A full five days before we were supposed to dock there. Are you telling me that they knew the weather conditions five days a head of time and made the call to not go there?

It’s the same with some Santoríni cancellations. There are too many ships in port and the cable car will be an absolute mess. We were the only ship in port yesterday and we walked down instead of standing there for 90 minutes. 

To be honest we have not made it to the suite breakfast even one day yet!  🤪. We will try on the last sea day tomorrow!  But yes, it’s in the Signature restaurant. We know that much!

1 hour ago, Skiah said:

On 4/10/2024 at 2:41 PM, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

Here is the balcony. It’s a little longer because it extends past the cabin for the aft view. 

We are booked in 17620 on the Apr 27 sailing for 14 days. Another post had mentioned early morning noise but we are early riser and hope it doesn’t bother us. Do all the Penthouse Suites on Deck 17 have a love seat and table with 3 chairs on the balcony?

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. 

7 hours ago, Shaver John said:

Were you able to get to the gym.  I have to go to the gym each day, or I am a bit of a mess without the treadmill, and I wondered if it is open all the time or just from 6am-9pm. I wonder if it was really busy and what times it is really busy. On the Majestic I had to get to the gym before 7am to get a treadmill without a wait. But by day 10 it was a lot better, but by them it was almost time to fly home. Thank you.

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.

On 3/25/2024 at 9:14 PM, Jgmc998 said:

I am sailing on the April 17th cruise and am curious as to the current status of the production shows in the arena and the Dome.  Thanks.

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. 

4 hours ago, reedprincess said:

Yes - that would be a great confirmation - if all suites have reserved seating in Arena (production shows or all shows) and Dome shows.  Thanks!!

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

54 minutes ago, Shaver John said:

Has anyone in a suite received this as a suite benefit without payment?

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. 

58 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Does the dinner include wine and/or cocktails?

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. 

2 hours ago, mikemonster said:

Thanks Sox great summary/review

Sailing in 19 Days,

Now, I can cancel my Amazon order for a sports coat 😉and have less to pack

 

We have the "8:30PM" reservation with 2hrs eating and 1/2hr in the bar before the show,  it sounds like a late evening.(we're also celebrating one of our groups 60th BD that evening, (we'll be sure to let the magician know),  Fortunately, we have a sea day the next day to recover

 

Mike

 

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

17 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

I am currently on the Princess Enchanted.  I did not receive an invite, since I was curious (for next time), I ask the Suite Concierge who gets invited.  He said it was a random selection process.

 

Earlier someone mention that they were able to call their PVP and get invited, which seems to contradict what the Concierge said.  

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. 

15 hours ago, Shaver John said:

Will this also work if I am using a Travel Agent. I do not use the Princess CVP so can my Travel Agent arrange this with Princess?

I doubt it. 

26 minutes ago, Familycruzer11 said:

Sorry, I cannot recall if this is already on your list - I noticed the description for an S9 Suite now says it includes access to Lotus Spa Thermal Suite.  I don't recall seeing that before.  Is it true?

 

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.