New Princess Sphere class ships?

[Kay S]

26 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Obviously your definition of what is better is different from the bean counters at Princess.  Once again, if this new class of ship rubs you the wrong way, you can always vote with your wallet and spend your vacation dollars elsewhere.

That's the plan.  I still keep wondering how they are going to fill all those beds that aren't the ship-in-a-ship.  I keep waiting for the "family friendly" ads to start.  Of course, as you say, I won't be on board the ship anyway.

[vjmatty]

6 hours ago, Kay S said:

That's the plan.  I still keep wondering how they are going to fill all those beds that aren't the ship-in-a-ship.  I keep waiting for the "family friendly" ads to start.  Of course, as you say, I won't be on board the ship anyway.

 

Judging by the lack of activity on the roll call board, I would say interest is tepid at best.  Usually inaugurals generate a lot more interest by now, even in the early stages.

[dreaminofcruisin]

9 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

Judging by the lack of activity on the roll call board, I would say interest is tepid at best.  Usually inaugurals generate a lot more interest by now, even in the early stages.

 

It might also generate more interest if we could see more of the planned public venues. There can only be so much speculation.....without any facts.

[vjmatty]

1 minute ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

It might also generate more interest if we could see more of the planned public venues. There can only be so much speculation.....without any facts.

 

True.... I am trying to remember the last time deck plans were presented for the first time, and I don't think they were cabins-only as they are on the Sun.

[CruizinSusan70]

3 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

It might also generate more interest if we could see more of the planned public venues. There can only be so much speculation.....without any facts.

Need to see where things are in a year when the inaugural is 5 months away.  If the hype then is non existent then all of the naysayers can smile.

[HBCcruiser]

33 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

Judging by the lack of activity on the roll call board, I would say interest is tepid at best.  Usually inaugurals generate a lot more interest by now, even in the early stages.

I plan to sail on her but not in February with that itinerary. Too cold for me. 

[LACruiser88]

2 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

I plan to sail on her but not in February with that itinerary. Too cold for me. 

After having been on several new ships shortly after they go into service, we will wait at least a year before cruising on the new Sun Princess.  This will allow them to work out the issues that all new ships have after going into service.

[FLAlaska]

3 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

I plan to sail on her but not in February with that itinerary. Too cold for me. 

I like the itinerary but it will be cold. I booked on it but that is making me thinking twice.

[HBCcruiser]

1 minute ago, FLAlaska said:

I like the itinerary but it will be cold. I booked on it but that is making me thinking twice.

Right - I like that itinerary too, but not in February. 

[vjmatty]

I'm thinking the weather won't be helping cabana mini-suite sales

[JimmyVWine]

11 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

If you don't like it, make a parallel move to HAL or X.

"X" seems to be the role model for everything that is wrong with this approach.  So how would switching to that line benefit anyone who doesn't like this new direction?  Based on conversations that I have had with others as well as posts here, the NCL model of The Haven works.  People pay to be cordoned off in a separate part of the ship.  Nothing is taken away from the other passengers. Instead, new venues were built out in brand new areas of the ship to cater to the people who want the lifestyle upgrade. Pretty brilliant, actually.  (Though I can't see why people pay a super premium to be on an NCL ship when they could book on Viking or Oceanic, but that is a different debate.)  Celebrity, on the other hand, does not place the Superior Class in a cordoned off area and instead has robbed certain areas of the ships that used to be open to all and made them private.  That would not interest me in the least and I hope that Princess isn't going to do that, but the deck plan suggests otherwise.  We'll see.

[sloopsailor]

1 hour ago, LACruiser88 said:

After having been on several new ships shortly after they go into service, we will wait at least a year before cruising on the new Sun Princess.  This will allow them to work out the issues that all new ships have after going into service.

 

We sailed on Celebrity Reflection on it's second cruise, a 14 night from Barcelona to Venice, and it was one of the best cruises I have been on. No problems at all of any kind. The ship functioned perfectly, the crew was excellent and efficient, and it still had that amazing "new ship" smell. If there were any issues, we never had any inkling about them. 

 

I think some of the issues with some ships may be due to which shipyard constructed the ship. Some may be better than others. The Reflection was built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, a ship builder that has a reputation for delivering quality products.

Edited September 20, 2022 by sloopsailor

[vjmatty]

1 minute ago, JimmyVWine said:

"X" seems to be the role model for everything that is wrong with this approach.  So how would switching to that line benefit anyone who doesn't like this new direction?  Based on conversations that I have had with others as well as posts here, the NCL model of The Haven works.  People pay to be cordoned off in a separate part of the ship.  Nothing is taken away from the other passengers. Instead, new venues were built out in brand new areas of the ship to cater to the people who want the lifestyle upgrade. Pretty brilliant, actually.  (Though I can't see why people pay a super premium to be on an NCL ship when they could book on Viking or Oceanic, but that is a different debate.)  Celebrity, on the other hand, does not place the Superior Class in a cordoned off area and instead has robbed certain areas of the ships that used to be open to all and made them private.  That would not interest me in the least and I hope that Princess isn't going to do that, but the deck plan suggests otherwise.  We'll see.

 

Unfortunately the deck plans don't really suggest much of anything.  There is no way of knowing which areas are private or public.  However, given the number of decks it is very possible they are taking the NCL Haven approach and adding the upgraded brand new areas without taking away from the other passengers.

[JimmyVWine]

4 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Unfortunately the deck plans don't really suggest much of anything.  There is no way of knowing which areas are private or public.

I seriously doubt that the private deck area reserved for the Reserve Level Cabana Cabins is going to be anywhere other than immediately outside those cabins. 

[vjmatty]

34 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I seriously doubt that the private deck area reserved for the Reserve Level Cabana Cabins is going to be anywhere other than immediately outside those cabins. 

 

True, but that looks like it will be a small section on each side of Deck 9.

[Wishing on a star]

I too will wait, especially since these itineraries will be in FEB!!!!

The thing is, I am afraid that these itineraries will disappear, and will go with the more limited itineraries that Princess has been sailing.   I would be disappointed!!!  But believe that is what will happen.

Wondering if there will be a shortie to fill in a timing gap somewhere????

[Fairsky84]

1 hour ago, sloopsailor said:

 

We sailed on Celebrity Reflection on it's second cruise, a 14 night from Barcelona to Venice, and it was one of the best cruises I have been on. No problems at all of any kind. The ship functioned perfectly, the crew was excellent and efficient, and it still had that amazing "new ship" smell. If there were any issues, we never had any inkling about them. 

 

I think some of the issues with some ships may be due to which shipyard constructed the ship. Some may be better than others. The Reflection was built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, a ship builder that has a reputation for delivering quality products.

Your flawless experience on Reflection's 2nd cruise was more likely due to the fact that she was the 5th Solstice-class ship delivered to Celebrity. That meant most of the crew on Reflection already had experience on another identical ship. They were familiar with the galleys, facilities, procedures, etc. 

Where things get more challenging is when a new ship is a prototype...meaning, the first of a new class. The crew is entirely unfamiliar with the ship's features and it can cause some issues with service. Sun Princess is a prototype and I expect the first season of cruises will have some hiccups until the crew gets acclimated. 

[sloopsailor]

4 minutes ago, Fairsky84 said:

Your flawless experience on Reflection's 2nd cruise was more likely due to the fact that she was the 5th Solstice-class ship delivered to Celebrity. That meant most of the crew on Reflection already had experience on another identical ship. They were familiar with the galleys, facilities, procedures, etc. 

Where things get more challenging is when a new ship is a prototype...meaning, the first of a new class. The crew is entirely unfamiliar with the ship's features and it can cause some issues with service. Sun Princess is a prototype and I expect the first season of cruises will have some hiccups until the crew gets acclimated. 

 

Good point. I have never been on a first of it's kind ship, so that may certainly have a higher risk of problems arising. Thanks for the input. 

[dides]

3 hours ago, vjmatty said:

 

True, but that looks like it will be a small section on each side of Deck 9.

You will need to be careful which cabana you book I think.  We booked a conservatory mini-suite on deck 9 on P&O Iona which is based on the same platform. This was their version of a cabana and we found it overlooked a wide promenade deck plus was completely overlooked from above. We booked without knowing the full surroundings, paying a premium and didn't even get to look down on the sea - wasn't too happy . Felt even more sorry for those who had these mini-suites on deck 8 where passers by could look directly into their balconies! Have a quick look at this attached clip if interested.

 

 

[Sea Hag]

16 minutes ago, dides said:

You will need to be careful which cabana you book I think.  We booked a conservatory mini-suite on deck 9 on P&O Iona which is based on the same platform. This was their version of a cabana and we found it overlooked a wide promenade deck plus was completely overlooked from above. We booked without knowing the full surroundings, paying a premium and didn't even get to look down on the sea - wasn't too happy . Felt even more sorry for those who had these mini-suites on deck 8 where passers by could look directly into their balconies! Have a quick look at this attached clip if interested.

 

 

I wouldn't be too happy with that cabin. Don't mind the people looking down on my balcony, but you're way far back from the water in that one. 

[dides]

25 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

I wouldn't be too happy with that cabin. Don't mind the people looking down on my balcony, but you're way far back from the water in that one. 

And those were the only decks with those cabins so P&O categorised them as the lowest Suite class , promoted them, never let anyone on the ship during the pandemic to get photos and ta-da - the first passengers discovered no-one ever got to look down on the sea!

 

Edited September 20, 2022 by dides

[bmc alabama]

4 hours ago, Fairsky84 said:

Your flawless experience on Reflection's 2nd cruise was more likely due to the fact that she was the 5th Solstice-class ship delivered to Celebrity. That meant most of the crew on Reflection already had experience on another identical ship. They were familiar with the galleys, facilities, procedures, etc. 

Where things get more challenging is when a new ship is a prototype...meaning, the first of a new class. The crew is entirely unfamiliar with the ship's features and it can cause some issues with service. Sun Princess is a prototype and I expect the first season of cruises will have some hiccups until the crew gets acclimated. 

If you just want some more reinforcement on this, go look at all of the early reviews (and issues) for the Disney Wish from long time DCL passengers...  And it came from Meyer Werft...

[Wishing on a star]

I would't mind being a bit back from the sea, WITHOUT THOSE HIGH GLASS PANELS...  

But, it looks like that balcony is totally uncovered.   (guess the little inset cabana area is to suffice)

I wouldn't mind a partially covered balcony,  But that aspect of all other balconies looking down with no cover at all.  That would be an issue for me.  

wonder if a closer look at deck plans would show if the same uncovered balcony situation will be the same on the Sun Princess.

[Wishing on a star]

Yes, I just pulled up those new deck plans, and it looks like the room in the video is a small cabin with cabana on deck 10, maybe in the numbers in the 10-200s.  Absolutely no cover on the actual outside balcony.  they are coded in purple.

 

That might be a good heads-up for some people here!

[Wishing on a star]

About people walking right by on that deck below.  Yes, that is possible, but I believe that Princess  will make this is a restricted access private Deck for Cabana guests only.   So, not quite like an open public promenade.