Meldrum

The Reserve restaurant does indeed look a bit austere in daylight, but the atmosphere can be a lot different and more pleasant in the evening, with warm and appropriate lighting. Most importantly, this restaurant will be calmer, more intimate and quieter than the main restaurant. If, in addition, the service is more attentive and the menu choice is more extensive, then it is worth an upgrade to a Silver collection mini suite for us.

Thanks for letting us know and see the progress. I suppose the theater must be inspected and approved by authorities before the artists can start rehearsing for the production shows. It seems unlikely to see these shows in the next two or three cruises. I hope that at least a musician or a small group of musicians, a comedian or any other guest entertainer is able to perform here during the next cruise or so.

We have the premier package because we like better wines at dinner as well. Maybe I misread the menu and you do not need to make choices, but it’s a fixed menu with all the items? Then the $45 makes much more sense.

Is this the whole menu for dinner with only a few options for starter and main and just one dessert? I hope there is much more to choose from for the steep $45 cover charge?

The private cabana deck on deck 9 is only accessible for Reserve Cabana mini suite guests, not for all mini suites or cabana suites. I think this private deck will not be too crowded.

Yes, it was listed as Experiental dining in the app for only a few weeks. It is now listed again as Speciality and covered with the Premier package again.

We could also finally book restaurants for our March 29 cruise. The first 2 reservations were free of charge (we have Premier), the others were charged $45 p.p. The only speciality restaurant we did not book was ‘Hot Pot’, because we have no idea what to expect and if it’s worth the $45 cover charge. There is not much information about this restaurant. Has anyone an idea of what to expect?

Regarding diner reservations: the app is still a work in progress. For instance: a few weeks ago, Umai was listed as Speciality dining, included in the Premium package. This changed into Experiental dining not included in Premium. Today it is again listed as Speciality dining but still not included in Premier. Info about the prices change as well. E.g. Sabatini's was $39, now it is listed as $45 per person. Prices for the other restaurants now disappeared from the info in the app. I'm sure Reserve restaurant is only for Reserve guests, Signature only for full suites and no reservation will be needed.

I just saw on the app and on the website that the itinerary for our upcoming cruise on March 29 changed drasticaly. They inverted the ports, from clockwise to anti-clockwise. Instead of going from Rome to La Spezia, Genoa... and ending with Gibraltar followed by two days at sea, we are now starting with two days at sea and going to Gibraltar first, ending with La Spezia and Rome. How annoying! Our cabin is now on the 'wrong' side of the ship, facing the sea instead of the coastline. We can also start cancelling a rental car and excursions we booked on land as well. It is strange we did not even received an e-mail from Princess or from our travel agent. I have no idea why they changed this. Well, at least we are sailing...

Sun Princess has left the shipyard!

I looked into it and there is more: a complimentary bottle of wine in the stateroom upon arrival, premium terry shawl bathrobes, priority specialty dining reservations and evening canapés upon request.

With a Reserve Cabana Mini Suite you also have access to the Reserve Restaurant and, more important for us, to a private cabana deck with loungers and a hot pool. We hope that this terrace will be quieter than the main pool deck and that sun loungers will always be available. Other than the restaurant and the private deck, I don't know if there are more Reserve benefits.

Good to see and to know. It doesn't look that luxurious or cozy, it looks a bit like a modern school refectory. Not comparable to Sabatini's or Crown Grill, both of which look fantastic and warm. I give Reserve a try on the first or second night of our upcoming cruise in March. Luckely there are so many choices for diner that we can select a different venue every night during our 10 day sailing. We are spoiled :-).

Not for the cabin we booked, but in the cabins directly on the cabana deck, I think you can open up a segment of the balcony closure to go directly to the deck. It is not very clear on the renderings though, but I presume it is.

The app is changing almost daily. I suppose there are still some errors to be fixed. In the list of available restaurants I can also select the Signature restaurant with the same message ’You’re always welcome and don’t need to make a reservation.’ This is definitely not true for Reserve cabin guests. The description of Hot pot and Umai Teppanyaki is also still wrong. Work in progress…