Wishing on a star

This is not unusual with Princess. They have been setting up their booking system with a lot of them GTY. Not necessarily the last ones that nobody wants. There are a lot of factors that affect how many cabins might show up for selection. And, yes, some Princess Planners are better than others. To be sure. Do you know of a good Travel Agent that might be able to help you book with Princess? In the past, some used to have luck booking a GTY, and then having their agent go ahead and assign them a room. But, I really don't think that is being done any more. It would be good if you knew that most all of these Cabana Cabins were in a good location. But, the C2 cabanas, that are not overlooking the Cabana Deck could be the ones that are Forward, over the Princess Theater. The C1 cabins, that are overlooking the Cabana Deck might be less of a risk. If that is where you want to be. The non-Reserve Cabanas on deck 10 are right over the main Piazza.

I am thinking that these, at least the Signature, will be separate dining rooms. Don't know if they will upgrade Reserve to be better than 'Club' to it's own separate restaurant or not? I think some of the deck plans that have floated around out there do show a Signature Restaurant.

Shorter cruises, and cruises during the usual school year timeframes should not have tons of kids. I think it would be very easy to avoid/ignore Park 19. Early November should be good. Schools here have Fall Break in early and mid October. But, by the third week of October, that should be about over. However, just saying.... you never know. On our last cruise, there were two families with young children that were everywhere, parents not reigning them in at all. Just never know! I will also say that last time we went to a nice Golf and Spa resort, late april.... shoulder season... The place had a lot of people with children like 6 and younger. Young enough to not feel like they had to be in school. A whole lot of them! When you consider your budget, I wonder if you might consider a Signature mini-suite. The Signature Sun Deck and The Sanctuary should be child free. It is a current topic of discussion whether families in Signature Suites will be able to bring their children to the Signature Sun Deck. The Sanctuary has always been adult only. Both Reserve and Signature have a private restaurant available. And Signature looks like there is a two level Signature Lounge.

The exclusive Signature Sun Deck is AFT, wake-view, on deck 18. This is where The Sanctuary is, but the Signature area has the prime wake-view real estate. I wish they had a hot tub on both sides of The Sanctuary!

4Cats, The build-out seems to have quite a ways to go. But, yes, the deck plans do show that there are areas of the ship, in both the front and the aft, where the ship and balconies are slightly recessed. Slightly extended cabins in the center around the sphere, and Forward and Aft. But, these recessed cabins def. not recessed as much as it looks in the current progress in the build-out. It looks like those blocks of cabins that seem to be so far recessed have not been installed yet. I would want to make sure to book one of the balconies on the more extended areas.

Thank you Snooz... Yes, it is that area, that is AFT facing (wake view) area where the Sanctuary is that I was referring to. Yes, it is interesting to note that, yes, kids could be welcomed into that pool area, as they could be booked with adults. Something is telling me that, with Princess all-out focus on becoming 'family friendly', they are making a HUGE mistake here, and not having one real area that is adults only. I hope that they are re-thinking this, if that is the current plan. Of course, I would not expect to see tons of kids in that area. But, I can tell you from personal experience on our last cruise, that it took only two families with young children and entitled parents who let them 'literally' run amok, to be a problem. Princess should know that I, along with many others, (who are not quite 'geriatric') do not choose other lines, and choose Princess, because there is a smaller chance of kids running amok really affecting your experience. Even Carnival ships have an adult-only area.

I would like to get back to the topic of the Sun Princess, deckplans, etc.. It seems that the only 'adult only' pool is at the Sanctuary. Has anybody seen any information that shows that it is for both the regular Sanctuary AND the reserve wake-view reserved area as well?

The Princess website is still showing Med cruises on the Sun Princess 2024 as a Fully Refundable option when choosing your cabin. Maybe Princess IT has some things to work out !!!

About booking all these cruises in advance, and them being refundable.... After a so-so TA, and then an awful and non-responsive Princess Planner, I found what seemed to be a good TA with a major agency... of course, now we find out that she is not a regular TA and is being promoted to a position in their Customer Service!!!! Wouldn't you know... Anyhow, we had called to make a change to our plans.... She said, like, you are fine... you wouldn't believe the people who put all these cruises on deposit, and change them several times, etc... Apparently a lot of people do this! I remember seeing comments from people here on TA where they mention their future plans, it sounds like they are doing this. And then dropping some cruises, making changes in plans on others, etc. One reason to book early, before one is sure of what their travel plans will actually be, is to get the cabin type and location that they want. But, of course, GTY cabins are the ones that are NOT refundable?

That read-out on those quotes on Non Refundable fares do not look like the screen on Princess' website. Are both of you looking directly on the regular Princess web-site? If so, it seems SO odd that some, like mine, would show a refundable option when you choose your cabin, but others do not. CONFUSING!

About the refundable/non-refundable... Are you booking a GTY, or are you choosing a cabin. On the screen where it shows these two options, do both of the options say NONREFUNDABLE?

I believe that gratuitous/free upgrades are very very far and few between. Especially now that Princess has the Bidding for Upgrade system fully operating. I wouldn't count on an upgrade. And, if one is picky about location (mid-ship/aft - no noise from nearby venue - etc.) then it is best to just go ahead and choose a cabin you will be happy with and possibly have Princess mark it 'No Upgrade'. An upgrade can be a very small incremental upgrade, and is not necessarily a higher cabin category. For example a mid-ship location, the same main category (Inside, OV, Balcony...) is usually a slight 'upgrade', but not a different type of cabin. On our last cruise it was only like 60% booked, but the upgrade we would have wanted if we could upgrade upon boarding, for an increase in fare (from standard balcony to deluxe balcony) none of the cabins we would have wanted to upgrade to were available. All had been filled, assuming these were filled with passengers who had bid to upgrade.

I just thought I would go ahead and post this. One person, on Discovery, says that it IS covered. But, it seems others are not so sure. Is this a case of things not being all the same on Princess? Could change our mind on whether PLUS works for us!

Interesting! Yep, it def. shows 'fully refundable' for a mid-ship deluxe balcony, mid-decks... when you 'choose a room now'. I am not even logged in... How ODD !

Hello, Yes, I pulled one up on my screen to re-check. April 27 - 7 day, Balcony (deluxe) showing fully refundable when you CHOOSE A ROOM NOW. Are you, maybe, looking at a lead-in, lowest level in a category, that we have seen mentioned where they only book as GTY?

The April Med. cruise we were looking at is refundible, if you 'choose your cabin'. But non-refundable if you book GTY.

I wish Princess would build smaller (Viking style) ships. I know, of course, that the fare would be much greater than the fares we are seeing on Princess ships right now. But maybe lower than Viking, which is high for us. Unfortunately, this is just not in Princess corporate vision, at all. Unfortunately, while we still enjoyed our last cruise (Regal Princess) to keep these fares where they are, Princess has cut staffing, service, and food to the bone. I would book a smaller, but not 'small', Princess ship in a heartbeat! While I enjoy everything that Princess current ships have to offer, I definitely won't be planning on spending time on the new Sun Princess around those upper levels with the ride, climbing wall, etc. Nope.

Yes to all of the above! The buffet will probably be crowded, but will have the biggest variety. Alfredo's is very good! That is where we had lunch last time. Had the pizza with the ham and artichoke. (very good!) and the mini ravioli (good! but different than one would expect - sauce was more like a gravy, and no obvious cheese) The main dining room is a good choice to have a nice sit-down lunch, and it is always worth going to the MDR for the souffle!!! (The last souffle I had on Regal was on Italian night. While many do not think they are fond of Italian night, the food was good, and the Souffle was OMG, to die for.

Thank you lx200 for that specific info! I imagine that you booked a mini or a suite. But, anywhere near that for a balcony would be good!

We haven't yet booked this cruise, but are definitely interested if we are not able to sail in Europe before she gets here! Working on a quote from the infamous 3-Day sale. I am wondering if anyone thinks that Princess will offer any 'deals' on this. Which might be 'new bookings only'. I would think that this ship is more heavily booked. but doesn't seem to be. There is not much a roll call yet. I would have thought that this sailing would be showing some real interest. I really did not think that Princess would offer any specials on this sailing. But, right now, they are not even offering any OBC or anything at all on their current promotion. What are you all thinking?

" At 10 AM, all my flights were good, confirmed, eticketed. By 11 AM everything fell apart. Found out via United Chat that first leg of trip (Quebec to Toronto on Jazz/Air Canada) was cancelled due to schedule change. I can understand that, but never heard from Princess. " I have a question, just in case EZ Air is a lot cheaper on a possible future cruise from Rome. It seems the flights here were confirmed and e-ticketed. Once your flights are ticketed, are YOU not in control from that point? And not necessarily EZ Air? Could that be why the airline contacted you, as YOU are now the current ticket-holder? If that is true, I am not sure what role Princess would continue to have? Anyhow, if Princess were to offer a really good rate for a better class, like Premium Economy or First. Then I wonder if we should consider that or not? We had thought about booking, then request ticketing, and then be able to use Miles to upgrade. But, with the insane number of miles just to upgrade, on Delta, that idea became a non-starter.

I think they referring to the other agency, that is not the one with this 3 day sale. It seems that the 3 day sale used to be something worth putting on your calendar. But, now maybe not-so-much. Our booking with a TA from another big agency, is a bit less than Princess launch fares, and also throws in additional OBC. We haven't even got a quote from the 3-day Sale, but I imagine it would not be significant enough to change. Now if one does not have a existing booking at at a good rate, compared to what Princess is offering right now, it might be worth checking???

We have one booking, with another agency, that ts at a good rate, because it was launch fare, with a bit of a discount and a bit of OBC. I kind of doubt whether this 3 day sale would make enough difference for us to change. I don't know what kinds of fares others here are finding on that sale. I am not sure if those lowest rates are online? Or do you not have to have an agent/contact.? If they were throwing in free gratuities, or drinks, or anything at all. then THAT would be a sale worth noting.

Ken, I am thinking that maybe PAYING for your tickets does not automatically mean that your flights are ticketed. That seems to be a different thing, to request your tickets before Princess gets around to processing the final ticket with the airline. I am just curious.... Just in case EZ-air does offer a good fare. If you can use EZ-air, and have your flights ticketed, then from that point on, you are in control. You have your actual tickets. So, would could there be any other problem with using EZ-air? While EZ=air is supposed to be cancellable. I am assuming that once you have them ticket your flights, from then on it is NOT cancellable?

I didn't catch it if their pre-cruise hotel is planned. But, of course, that is another thing for you to add in. If either of you have points, then that could help with the hotel. We often stay at the Hyatt Cruise Port. It is so very seamless and easy. The have the airport shuttle, and a great shuttle service to the Port, for a very reasonable fare.