Sun Princess - Original

[dides]

46 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

You are missing the point of the OP.  "Just having fun" and looking for more details.  My assertion is that if you look at Lucy's video of Arvia and Ben and David's video of Iona, you'll get a pretty good sense of how Sun will be designed.  I never said that Sun would be a "sister ship" or be exactly the same.  But the videos of those other ships will provide an understanding of the changes to come, and as my last word on this, I stand by that statement.

 

I have cruised on Iona and there are some fundamental differences to Sun Princess such as the walkaround promenade deck (with the infamous direct view into mini suite balconies) .  I think all you can say is that Sun Princess is based on the same footprint as these ships but not the same skeleton and design. 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by dides

[Guest ldtr]

2 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

It looks like the Signature restricted area is the prime Aft view property where the Sanctuary is.

The Wakeview Terrace area behind the Buffet would have to be all access.   It is always nice to sit out at the wake view bar area when we cruise!   It is not specific in showing any bar, though.

The big question is how crowded will that be with it being just about the only public aft viewing area. Suspect with the Buffet located away from the upper pools that will end up being one very crowded areas.

[c-boy]

6 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

It looks like the Signature restricted area is the prime Aft view property where the Sanctuary is.

The Wakeview Terrace area behind the Buffet would have to be all access.   It is always nice to sit out at the wake view bar area when we cruise!   It is not specific in showing any bar, though.

 

 

 

"If you enjoy taking in the views from the back of the ship, you’ll love our brand-new Wake View Terrace. It has everything you could want: infinity pool, South Beach-style resort deck, entertainment day and night and (most importantly) a full bar. All guests are welcome to kick back here with their favorite drinks and favorite people"

[Guest ldtr]

1 minute ago, c-boy said:

 

 

 

"If you enjoy taking in the views from the back of the ship, you’ll love our brand-new Wake View Terrace. It has everything you could want: infinity pool, South Beach-style resort deck, entertainment day and night and (most importantly) a full bar. All guests are welcome to kick back here with their favorite drinks and favorite people"

And 1000 others

[c-boy]

2 minutes ago, ldtr said:

And 1000 others

😄 well that's likely going to happen on a cruise ship in the middle of an ocean. At least you'll know ahead of time what to expect.

[dides]

Latest pic of Sun Princess at the shipyard:

 

[dides]

The seawitch is on...

 

Photo by Raffaele Tulimieri

 

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by dides

[dides]

Sun Princess had it's technical floatout at Fincantieri on Thursday. The ceremony was attended by Monfalcone shipyard director, Cristiano Bazzara, the General Manager of the Merchant Ship division of Fincantieri, Luigi Matarazzo and the mayor Anna Cisint.  In the speeches they mention that it will be the largest ship ever built in Italy, will be the largest in the Princess fleet, the first LNG ship for Fincantieri and the 20th ship built by Fincantieri for Princess Cruises.

 

 

There is a more detailed video (mostly in Italian) from the newspaper Il Piccolo here

 

 

 

Edited March 4, 2023 by dides

[c-boy]

12 minutes ago, dides said:

Sun Princess had it's technical floatout at Fincantieri on Thursday. The ceremony was attended by Monfalcone shipyard director, Cristiano Bazzara, the General Manager of the Merchant Ship division of Fincantieri, Luigi Matarazzo and the mayor Anna Cisint.  In the speeches they mention that it will be the largest ship ever built in Italy, will be the largest in the Princess fleet, the first LNG ship for Fincantieri and the 20th ship built by Fincantieri for Princess Cruises.

 

 

 

There is a more detailed video in Italian from the newspaper Il Piccolo here

 

 

 

thank you dides. Appears things are on schedule. 👍

[dides]

On 3/4/2023 at 4:17 PM, c-boy said:

thank you dides. Appears things are on schedule. 👍

Believe there is a shipyard visit coming up in the next week so look out for some more PR....

 

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by dides

[dides]

Pictures from the PR shipyard visit today: 

Courtesy of Dave Monk (shipmonk)

 

 

 

 

 

Wheelhouse Bar

 

Reserve Restaurant

 

Wakeview Terrace

 

Part of the 9-deck high glass Spheres

 

Signature Restaurant

 

Part of the three-storey Horizons main restaurant on Sun Princess, with a staircase still to be installed

 

 

 

Al fresco at Alfredo’s - the pizzeria on Sun Princess will have an outdoor seating area with heaters

 

The Promenade Deck

 

Another view of the 9-deck glass sphere

 

Cabana Deck

Edited March 8, 2023 by dides

[dides]

More photos from the PR shipyard visit 

 

First four courtesy of Dave Monk (shipmonk)

 

Deck 8, with it's extra-high ceiling, will house Princess Cruises' largest casino 

 

More Sphere pics

 

 

Princess Live!

 

More external shots, courtesy of CruiseFever

 

 

 

 

The Piazza, courtesy of Jane Archer

 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by dides

[c-boy]

thank you dides and David Monk for taking the time. 

[dides]

This was on instagram also from today's shipyard visit (from EatSleepCruise)

 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by dides

[Geoffa30]

All looks very interesting. Cannot wait to experience what Princess has in store. Good to see a mix of new together with old favourites.

[dides]

Something new to Princess - the Landing,  an elegant embarkation and tender point on Sun Princess. New luxury tenders with a top viewing deck will take passengers ashore in some ports.

 

This is the rendering:

 

 And current build progress:

 

[Oceansaway17]

thanks for the photos.  I would love to visit a shipyard but I know they are for officials only.

 

Love the name Sun Princess.

I am looking forward to going on the older Grand Princess for my Alaska 14 day coastal cruise.

 

[dides]

Princess have released an official Sun Princess Float Out video with more details

 

[CeCe_]

3 hours ago, dides said:

Princess have released an official Sun Princess Float Out video with more details

 

 

A Goddess is born!

[Geoffa30]

It’s interesting no one has really commented on all the pictures Dides has kindly posted. I thought they would be a lot of opinions. It’s as though only threads about negativity get people’s attention.

[rmsmith]

the pictures are great.  Nice to see the ship starting to come together and be floating now.  Looking forward to see more pictures as the interior finishing gets rolling.

[snoozecrooze]

@didesthank you for sharing with us the progress on the Sun Princess. I still remember how generous you were when you embarked on the inaugural Sky voyage in the Med (can't believe it's almost 4 years ago!) and kind of hope you can always be our ship newbuild guru in gathering intel and new pictures. 

 

For the purpose of discussion, I'll talk about a few things with the hull -

The design nerd in me has been really picky about a few things that I'm glad they have applied to the Sun. For example, the stern:

There is definitely space on the stern of at least their Royal-class ships for the proprietary font that Princess uses. This generic font used on the stern of the older ships is simply not pleasing to the eye. I'm glad they've finally done something about that.

 

And another thing, with the name of the ship near the bow:

One would assume that after they repainted the Royal and Regal and made the name larger, they'd do the same thing with the Majestic onwards. But alas, they did not and in my opinion, the placement of the names. don't even feel purposefully aligned (refer to below). I'm glad they're at least making the name larger on the Sun here.

 

(See what I mean about the name being so...well, kind of just there on the hull in terms of placement? It's not in the middle of the windows, at least? I know the Majestic/Sky/Enchanted/Discovery have the physical letters applied and it's not paint. But the nerd in me hopes they do repaint it larger like they have on Royal and Regal.)

 

[dides]

21 minutes ago, snoozecrooze said:

@didesthank you for sharing with us the progress on the Sun Princess. I still remember how generous you were when you embarked on the inaugural Sky voyage in the Med (can't believe it's almost 4 years ago!) and kind of hope you can always be our ship newbuild guru in gathering intel and new pictures.

Thank you @snoozecrooze and yes, I've done 'live from' threads on both Majestic and Sky Princess inaugurals and love discovering all their shiny new nooks and crannies - while racing around answering questions from fellow cruisecritic members if we can! It's the only time we might venture into a gym lol Hoping to repeat for Sun Princess if all goes well!

[dides]

Further details have been included in an article in Seatrade News

 

Some excerpts:

Design

...it is not an Excel-class ship, like the latest of sister brands Carnival Cruise Line, P&O Cruises and AIDA Cruises, Parker pointed out.  The Sphere class sprang from a blank sheet, he said, and it's the first design from the ground up for the Princess Medallion experience, which impacted the positioning of galleys and other behind-the-scenes elements to make it more efficient for crew to provide 'Ocean Now' service — food and beverages delivered anywhere passengers request by app.

 

Mysterious black door

Parker said there will be a black door on Deck 8 leading to a new, immersive experience but gave no further clues.

 

World Fresh Marketplace

World Fresh Marketplace will be relocated from the Lido Deck to Deck 9 with access to the promenade, and will offer additional outdoor food outlets, with more theming — details to come.

 

Princess Arena

Contemporary and versatile, the Princess Arena provides the most technologically advanced Princess theater design. By Richmond International, it has no pillars and three configurations: theater in the round, traditional proscenium style and keyhole proscenium — a 'very sophisticated space,' in Allnatt's words. Though it seats 1,050, it seems much more intimate by putting viewers around the stage. A stunning visual above the center can become part of the show, and there's a double-deck LED screen.

 

Princess Live!

On Sun Princess, Princess Live! has evolved from a studio into a lounge space with great views, Allnatt said. The stage is on the side, and there will be a special bar — more to come on that.

 

Staterooms

Altogether, more than 70% of the accommodations have balconies (and all balcony rooms have a sofa). There are 100 connecting rooms, ideal for families. No accommodations have obstructed views, and no bathrooms have shower curtains (instead, doors). Space has been optimized by doing away with walk-in closets.

 

The Dome

High on Decks 17 and 18, The Dome will be 'a new experience on a cruise,' according to its creator, Lionel Ohayon, founder & CEO, ICRAVE Design. It is inspired by views of the Greek Islands and covered in glass, making it ideal for soaking in the scenery. But The Dome is much more than a lounge. It will have a massive waterfall, an indoor-outdoor pool, and a terrace. It will be possible to deploy a stage over the pool and to project images on The Dome's surface.

 

The Landing

Deck 4 holds The Landing, where passengers will embark, whether by adjustable gangways that move with the tide or 'luxury launches' in tender ports. The Landing will provide space for security at ports that don't have it and serve as a lounge that's optimized for the tenders with a grab 'n' go drinks area and access to the midships and forward stairs/elevators.

'Instead of feeling like you're in a crew area, you're in a guest area,' Parker said. At sea, the space can be configured for other uses like meetings. The redesigned tenders will have two decks, with outdoor seating on top and air-conditioned seating below.

 

[CeCe_]

4 hours ago, Geoffa30 said:

It’s interesting no one has really commented on all the pictures Dides has kindly posted. I thought they would be a lot of opinions. It’s as though only threads about negativity get people’s attention.

 

Is it something I said?  I only meant she is gorgeous.  No negativity intended.