dides

It certainly was usually the case in pre-Covid times. It has to go from Trieste/Monfalcone to Rome for the new inaugural however.

Perhaps they are waiting until when they have Spellbound and Love by Britto ready. Don from Don's Family Vacations has been invited on a 5 day cruise from March 9th, for example.

guessing a bad translation of largest ship built by the shipyard? /

Our friends on the 18th Feb inaugural have just been assigned their guaranteed stateroom. Ironically just yards from where our stateroom would have been Looking promising though..

A video showing the Sun Princess dancers practising in a gym at Monfalcone was posted on the Il Piccolo site

Welcome back to Princess. Currently it doesn't look like Sun Princess will have an adults only pool outside of the pool shared between the Sanctuary and Signature Suite guests. That's just based on information on the website so need to have this confirmed once the first passengers have been onboard - hopefully later next month.

I knew it! You were the OG as far as I was concerned - amazing dedication to detail and for hunting down information 😁

@dmwnc1959 Off topic - but were you part of the excitement on here when the first Royal Class ship was launched? Your username seems familiar.

As someone who booked the Feb 8th inaugural 17 months ago as soon as it went on sale, the most difficult aspect as it there was no chance to move over to a follow-up cruise. Princess have done move overs before but every cruise is sold out until the end of March ...well it appears to be sold out - Princess may be holding back inventory. Three weeks ago there was speculation that was over 600 staterooms available on the Feb 18th cruise for example.

There will be a restaurant for Suite guests only on the new Sphere class Princess ships currently being built (Sun Princess and Star Princess). But not on other ships - as stated above, suite guests get to eat a suite breakfast in an existing Speciality restaurant and other meals in a separate Reserve Class area of one of the main dining rooms.

Will do - there is a rumour that Starlink is being installed during the dry dock so hoping it all hangs together!. I'm not sure I will be able to resist checking in on the Sun Princess news either if the new inaugural goes ahead on time (hoping someone will do a Live From for this).

We debated about doing the Haven - in fact, just had another upgrade email through - but we have done TAs in Club Balcony on Bliss and Encore and have been happy - and this was always going to be a bargain substitute. The thermal suite won't be ready for this cruise unfortunately.

Well Princess have been amazingly efficient on processing the refunds for the cancelled inaugural - 50% FCC within 24 hours of the announcement and we now have a full refund back to our cards (we booked direct). We are hoping to catch the Sun Princess later this year but 'when' depends on work commitments. In the meantime, we're bailing to another cruise line next month and jumping on the Norwegian Joy TA to Miami so we can drown our sorrows in the District Brewhouse with 11 sea days!😀

Well that's probably Love by Britto - I have been told by UK Princess PR that Spellbound and this restaurant will not be ready for the February sailings. This isn't unusual -they didn't have the new production shows or escape room ready for the first Sky Princess inaugural sailings.

Our friends on the new inaugural on Feb 18th are now seeing both Umai Teppanyaki AND Hot Pot on the app. Confused lol

There is a press release too https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-cruises-fincantieri-mutually-agree-to-postpone-sun-princess-delivery-302043689.html February 8 Inaugural Voyage Cancelled MONFALCONE, Italy, Jan. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Princess Cruises and Fincantieri have mutually agreed to delay delivery of Sun Princess, the largest vessel ever constructed in Italy and the first ship of a revolutionary new platform designed exclusively for the Princess brand. The postponement has regrettably led to the cancellation of the ship's inaugural 10-day voyage, originally set to depart from Barcelona on February 8th. "We understand that this news is disappointing, and we share in that disappointment. We recognize the anticipation that surrounded this sailing, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this cancellation causes," said John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises. Guests who were booked on of the inaugural voyage will receive a full refund of the cruise fare along with any additional onboard services that were pre-purchased, as well as a 50% future cruise credit (FCC) that can be used on a future Princess voyage*. Guests also will receive up to $200 per person for change fees related to air travel plans. Princess is also protecting travel agent commissions. *FCC must be booked by November 30, 2024 and sailed by December 31, 2025. SOURCE Princess Cruises ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Geez, I've been keeping this thread going for months and it does seem like you are questioning me!

Well we have just received the saddest news. The Feb 8th inaugural has been cancelled so we, at least, won't be able to experience and report back on the new build. February 8 Departure Canceled Dear Valued Princess Guest, We hope this message finds you well. We are writing to share an important update regarding the delivery and launch of our highly anticipated Sun Princess® ship. Our dedicated teams have been working tirelessly in collaboration with our shipyard partners at Fincantieri to ensure the completion of the revolutionary Sun Princess®. However, despite everyone’s best efforts, Fincantieri and Princess have mutually agreed to delay delivery of the ship, which unfortunately requires us to cancel the inaugural cruise scheduled for February 8. We understand that this news is disappointing, and we share in your disappointment. We recognize the anticipation that surrounded this sailing, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this cancellation causes. You will receive a full refund of the cruise fare along with any additional onboard services that were pre-purchased, as well as a 50% future cruise credit (FCC) that can be used on a future Princess® voyage. Rest assured, your booking will be automatically canceled, and you do not need to take any action to initiate the refund process. Your refund will be processed within three weeks and credited back to your original form of payment, and your FCC will be automatically added to your account. Furthermore, we understand that changes to your air travel plans may be necessary. To ease this process, we are prepared to provide you with up to $200 per guest to cover change fees related to your flights. We kindly request that you provide any documentation of the fees by using this link: http://princess.com/refund-request We understand the inconvenience and frustration that this news may bring, and we sincerely apologize for the disruption to your travel plans. We are committed to ensuring that your future experiences with Princess Cruises are nothing short of extraordinary. We genuinely hope that you will consider joining us on another Sun Princess® voyage, where we promise to provide you with an unforgettable journey filled with adventure, relaxation, and cherished memories. Once again, we extend our deepest apologies for the inconvenience this situation has caused and thank you for your understanding and continued support. Sincerely, John Padgett President

Yep, complete radio silence

Yes, both Catch and Butcher's Block are listed in the app as Speciality and we have managed to book Butcher's Block without a charge, presumably as we are on the Premier package. Still some confusion about Kai Sushi (coming up as Speciality too when originally named as Casual in last summer's changes) and Umai Teppanyaki (not showing at all for booking).

Any days or half days where loungers/cabanas are available. Sea days are generally busier.

nope, i'm a gal - Sandra! 😁

This is the Crown Grill sample menu on the Princess website

Are you sure? It looks like full height blue glass where I believe the C2s are located (forward of the Sphere) and highlighted in yellow in this grab...

This is the list of Casual Dining venues and sample menus Kai Sushi is a casual dining venue on Diamond Princess and it was thought it would be so on Sun Princess - BUT it's coming up as speciality on the app. So it looks like it's just Alfredo's and O'Malleys until we know more.

Yes I do recall someone saying they would be building in plenty of windbreaks in the early shipyard visits but it's not apparent from the renderings as you say (being high up and forward means wind would be an issue - as per the Retreat Pool area on the early Royal Class ships).