Park 19 on the Sun Princess

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, Esprit said:

Of course you didn’t.

Did I unintentionally insult you or are you just this pleasant with everybody?

[JimmyVWine]

Two thoughts. One: Those slides look like they will be infernos in the Caribbean. 
 

Two: Princess has always provided our family the right balance of offerings for children. If a typical day is: Get off ship in Roatan at 8:30…go on “Zip Lining and Beach Day” excursion…use extra time to snorkel at West End Beach and do some shopping…get back on ship at 4:00…shower and dress for dinner…have a family dinner in the MDR…go to Crooners or Vista Lounge for entertainment, sometimes as a family or sometimes after kid meets up with new friends on board at the Club where they then go play ping pong or relax in the hot tub…head to bed…kid returns to cabin at curfew time. What more do we need?  We don’t take cruise vacations so that the ship provides our entertainment 24/7. We take cruise vacations to see the world. Princess provides that. If one expects the ship to be the 24/7 focal point for the activities and entertainment, then no. Princess is not that cruise line. But I don’t want them to be. 
 

DCL just opened its second private retreat in the Bahamas. It now offers cruises that ONLY go to Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay with  couple of sea days. If that floats your boat, go for it. Probably great for kids who want play time and not world travel. For us, that itinerary is antithetical to why we cruise. Something for everyone. DCL should not try to be Princess and vice versa. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

14 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Two thoughts. One: Those slides look like they will be infernos in the Caribbean. 
 

Two: Princess has always provided our family the right balance of offerings for children. If a typical day is: Get off ship in Roatan at 8:30…go on “Zip Lining and Beach Day” excursion…use extra time to snorkel at West End Beach and do some shopping…get back on ship at 4:00…shower and dress for dinner…have a family dinner in the MDR…go to Crooners or Vista Lounge for entertainment, sometimes as a family or sometimes after kid meets up with new friends on board at the Club where they then go play ping pong or relax in the hot tub…head to bed…kid returns to cabin at curfew time. What more do we need?  We don’t take cruise vacations so that the ship provides our entertainment 24/7. We take cruise vacations to see the world. Princess provides that. If one expects the ship to be the 24/7 focal point for the activities and entertainment, then no. Princess is not that cruise line. But I don’t want them to be. 
 

DCL just opened its second private retreat in the Bahamas. It now offers cruises that ONLY go to Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay with  couple of sea days. If that floats your boat, go for it. Probably great for kids who want play time and not world travel. For us, that itinerary is antithetical to why we cruise. Something for everyone. DCL should not try to be Princess and vice versa. 

I agree with everything you've said here, but I don't think Princess is trying to be Royal.

 

I think they're trying to do just enough to attract families like ours, while definitely not going the full on theme park route of the larger ships out there.

[edub]

I'm also confused why there is a negative tinge to this exchange. We loved our first Princess cruise and our two teen/pre-teens had a great time because they met kids their own age at the kid's club. We have already discovered that Princess can work for us - we had an awesome first cruise with them - but we still want to get what we paid for.

 

We picked this ship and cruise specifically because of Park 19. It's a European trip, so we knew there might be fewer kids than on our last cruise traveling than to Alaska, but thought the ropes courses, slides, the pickleball courts, etc would be very appealing for our kids.

 

Why is it wrong for people to complain when these features won't be available? They aren't saying their kids will now definitely have a bad time. They are saying that they paid more money for these features and aren't getting it.

 

I, too, am bothered that we have received no communication about this or offer of compensation. Same with removing Santorini, which was another factor that made us choose the cruise. Yes, I know we sign away our basic right to contest these changes, but it doesn't make us happy consumers. We had planned to be dedicated Princess cruisers, but given that they also don't have an autism program, like many other cruise lines do, I am guessing we will vote with our feet the next time we cruise. We loved the larger RCL ships with Central Park - both us and the kids. And Virgin seems like a great option when both kids turn 18 in a few years. 

 

If Princess prefers to cater to an older cohort, then having us and others like us leaving Princess because of the way they've handled Park 19 and other aspects of the Sun shouldn't bother then. Given that we will eventually age into that older cohort, however, it seems like a poor business move on their part.

 

There's nothing in this post with which you can really argue. I mean, feel free to keep the negative exchange going if you must, but I'm just giving a bunch of facts.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

5 minutes ago, edub said:

I'm also confused why there is a negative tinge to this exchange. We loved our first Princess cruise and our two teen/pre-teens had a great time because they met kids their own age at the kid's club. We have already discovered that Princess can work for us - we had an awesome first cruise with them - but we still want to get what we paid for.

 

We picked this ship and cruise specifically because of Park 19. It's a European trip, so we knew there might be fewer kids than on our last cruise traveling than to Alaska, but thought the ropes courses, slides, the pickleball courts, etc would be very appealing for our kids.

 

Why is it wrong for people to complain when these features won't be available? They aren't saying their kids will now definitely have a bad time. They are saying that they paid more money for these features and aren't getting it.

 

I, too, am bothered that we have received no communication about this or offer of compensation. Same with removing Santorini, which was another factor that made us choose the cruise. Yes, I know we sign away our basic right to contest these changes, but it doesn't make us happy consumers. We had planned to be dedicated Princess cruisers, but given that they also don't have an autism program, like many other cruise lines do, I am guessing we will vote with our feet the next time we cruise. We loved the larger RCL ships with Central Park - both us and the kids. And Virgin seems like a great option when both kids turn 18 in a few years. 

 

If Princess prefers to cater to an older cohort, then having us and others like us leaving Princess because of the way they've handled Park 19 and other aspects of the Sun shouldn't bother then. Given that we will eventually age into that older cohort, however, it seems like a poor business move on their part.

 

There's nothing in this post with which you can really argue. I mean, feel free to keep the negative exchange going if you must, but I'm just giving a bunch of facts.

 

Good points across the board...you're absolutely justified to be upset about a purchasing decision you made based on unfulfilled promises (worse, broken promises that have not been publicly acknowledged).

 

I'm honestly not even sure why folks that don't want kids on Princess are in this thread. If that's not something you want, why not just ignore this thread entirely?

 

In any case - I'm sorry that your kids won't get to enjoy Park 19. (who am I kidding? I'm sure us parents will enjoy it as well!)

 

I'm hopeful it will be open when we cruise on the Sun Princess over Thanksgiving but we don't even know for sure if the real issue is US certifications...it could be something entirely different.

[GK95]

1 hour ago, Esprit said:

I guess I’m of the baby boomer generation. Good luck to the millennials with all their money to spend.

i just hope they don’t turn into the “entitled” self centred brigade🤞

Traveling in your 30s and 40s with your family isn’t entitled. Baby Boomers did the same thing.
 

And no I’m not a Millennial but I don’t understand the idea that Princess is only for a certain group of people. Princess and the Carnival Corporation are a business. If they’re not evolving for new customers they become obsolete. The amount of people on CC who complain about them changing or trying new things gets to be a bit much. 

[vjmatty]

3 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

If I had to guess, it's because there's a profitable segment of Millennial family cruisers (like us) that have no interest in sailing on Carnival that they would like to attract. 

 

Millennial families are the highest spending demographic of vacationers and Carnival may have cornered the market on the ones who want a party, but for those of us who want a more premium experience, they don't have anything to offer.

 

They can safely pursue us with Princess knowing they still have HAL for the retirees. 

Yeah, Carnival has its limits and even though we’ve taken the kids on Carnival, MSC and NCL when they were younger, I get why it’s not for everyone. We don’t stick to one cruise brand so even with kids on board, we base more on itinerary. The MSC cruise was actually a Mediterranean sailing we took the older two on when they were 11 and 14.

 

That being said, we are taking the kids and grandkids on a 4 day sailing on the Carnival Elation this December.  They live in Jacksonville so that’s the only ship at the moment, and because it’s the grands’ first cruise, we’re trying to keep things simple without flights or long drives.  It’s a 4 day sailing which seems like a good place to start, especially with the youngest being 4 year old twins.  When they get older I’m sure my daughter will expand their horizons a bit. 

[CruiseCrabs]

1 hour ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Did I unintentionally insult you or are you just this pleasant with everybody?

Why are you so confrontational with everyone? Yikes. You need that upcoming cruise. 😀

 

Kids’ clubs have been on Princess for ages, as have family friendly activities. If the activity park is a make or break, this may not be the line for you. 

 

As for kids in the Sanctuary, this Gen X is not onboard.I need ONE quiet space to sun and sip in peace to relax, recharge, and enjoy my vacation. Families have every other darn pool at their disposal. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

3 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Yeah, Carnival has its limits and even though we’ve taken the kids on Carnival, MSC and NCL when they were younger, I get why it’s not for everyone. We don’t stick to one cruise brand so even with kids on board, we base more on itinerary. The MSC cruise was actually a Mediterranean sailing we took the older two on when they were 11 and 14.

 

That being said, we are taking the kids and grandkids on a 4 day sailing on the Carnival Elation this December.  They live in Jacksonville so that’s the only ship at the moment, and because it’s the grands’ first cruise, we’re trying to keep things simple without flights or long drives.  It’s a 4 day sailing which seems like a good place to start, especially with the youngest being 4 year old twins.  When they get older I’m sure my daughter will expand their horizons a bit. 

We're not brand loyal either (just look at my signature...hardly a repeat cruise line on the list), but I've been hesitant to book Carnival when there's so many great options out there (and we're not the party type).

 

With that said - I'm hoping we can give one of the newer Carnival ships a try later next year. I'm guessing we'll try to do one of the cruises a bit over 7 days so it will hopefully be a bit less of a party cruise, but I can see the allure of the shorter sailings with young grandkids!

[vjmatty]

1 hour ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I agree with everything you've said here, but I don't think Princess is trying to be Royal.

 

I think they're trying to do just enough to attract families like ours, while definitely not going the full on theme park route of the larger ships out there.

One epic fail on Princess in following this direction is making the Sanctuary for suites only, or not providing another adult area. Any cruise line that caters to children, whether it be Carnival, RCL or even DCL, has adult areas that do not cost extra.

[vjmatty]

7 minutes ago, CruiseCrabs said:

Why are you so confrontational with everyone? Yikes. You need that upcoming cruise. 😀

 

Kids’ clubs have been on Princess for ages, as have family friendly activities. If the activity park is a make or break, this may not be the line for you. 

 

As for kids in the Sanctuary, this Gen X is not onboard.I need ONE quiet space to sun and sip in peace to relax, recharge, and enjoy my vacation. Families have every other darn pool at their disposal. 

As another Gen X I agree, but you also shouldn’t have to pay for an adult area and it shouldn’t be only one section available to suites only. Don’t get me wrong I love my grandkids, but there are play areas and relaxing areas.  And it’s not even really just about kids…when I’m relaxing I don’t want loud adult activities either like contests, DJ’s and other crowd-loud events 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

4 minutes ago, CruiseCrabs said:

Why are you so confrontational with everyone? Yikes. You need that upcoming cruise. 😀

 

Kids’ clubs have been on Princess for ages, as have family friendly activities. If the activity park is a make or break, this may not be the line for you. 

 

As for kids in the Sanctuary, this Gen X is not onboard.I need ONE quiet space to sun and sip in peace to relax, recharge, and enjoy my vacation. Families have every other darn pool at their disposal. 

 

I'm sorry if that's how I come across - I'll work on that. The internet doesn't always bring out the best in us.

 

We'll be in a Sanctuary suite on the Sun Princess, but I don't have any issue with my kids not being allowed in the Sanctuary Sundeck. We rarely ever hang out at the pools or out in the sun anyways since we own a swim school (hanging out at the pool feels too much like work for my wife).

 

This will be our first sailing on Princess, but when we've sailed on Celebrity over holidays when they have 6-700 kids onboard, the kids are much better behaved than they are on cruise lines like Royal/MSC/etc. 

 

Believe it or not - even though we cruise with kids - I also don't want to have to deal with a bunch of unruly kids. Fortunately, not all kids are like that and I don't have any issue being around families that are well-behaved.

 

I would say one of the keys for Princess as they go down this path is to be more strict with things than I've read stories about them being on Carnival (essentially being unwilling to have confrontation with guests whose kids are not being controlled). 

 

If they can do that - I think they can create an environment with clear expectations for families that will provide an experience that both families and retirees (and forgotten Gen X'ers!) can mutually enjoy.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

7 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

One epic fail on Princess in following this direction is making the Sanctuary for suites only, or not providing another adult area. Any cruise line that caters to children, whether it be Carnival, RCL or even DCL, has adult areas that do not cost extra.

 

It seems a bit like Princess is trying to find themselves right now, as can be witnessed by the changes to the Sanctuary (now suite only vs a paid upgrade like NCL's Vibe), but also with them changing the restaurants of a brand new Sun Princess ship before it's even fully opened all of the different areas.

 

I think we'll learn a lot about whether this was a success or not whenever the Sun Princess's sister ship is released. If it has Park 19 as well, I would call it a success. However, I think there's a 30% chance that we see the Sun Princess is a one and done with regards to attracting families. 

[vjmatty]

10 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

We're not brand loyal either (just look at my signature...hardly a repeat cruise line on the list), but I've been hesitant to book Carnival when there's so many great options out there (and we're not the party type).

 My apologies, I’ve turned off signatures (yes it’s probably hypocritical since I have one) because often I have to use the audio function on my phone or iPad, and some people’s signatures take forever for Siri to read through lol 😂 

[vjmatty]

1 minute ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

 

It seems a bit like Princess is trying to find themselves right now, as can be witnessed by the changes to the Sanctuary (now suite only vs a paid upgrade like NCL's Vibe), but also with them changing the restaurants of a brand new Sun Princess ship before it's even fully opened all of the different areas.

 

I think we'll learn a lot about whether this was a success or not whenever the Sun Princess's sister ship is released. If it has Park 19 as well, I would call it a success. However, I think there's a 30% chance that we see the Sun Princess is a one and done with regards to attracting families. 

I’m on the third sailing of the Star next year, so I’m watching for many things as well. I have a backup transatlantic booked on Odyssey OTS leaving on the same exact day just in case things fall apart before final payment. 

[Kit6]

I agree that it’s poor form to not have an adult only area including in regular cruise fare. Even though I’ve personally never used that area in previous cruises, I think it’s very important to offer a kid free space on any cruise ship for those that just want a different vibe/occasional break from having kids all about. To charge (and charge quite a lot) to have a day pass to an adult area is poor customer service. 
 

I sure hope this lack of communication from Princess is just due to new ship, new app, new website format, etc and will iron out. Wouldn’t be hard to have an auto email notification system for updates on park 19 and itinerary changes. We’ve had 2 ports change & only noticed when we received a credit on our credit card for excursion cancelations.  Yes, itineraries can change but to not let customers know about the change, especially when you also auto cancel booked excursions, is awful customer service. We’ve gotten a couple auto emails to remind us to complete online checkins (even though we already had, clearly just rolled out to every single reservation) but zero other than that. Disappointing. And can’t help but be nervous about the quality of our upcoming cruise. We’ve never had a cruise we didn’t love as a family so I’m still hopeful this will be the same, just hoping we don’t regret trying a new cruise line (new to us). 

[Esprit]

Why couldn’t Princess just install a flow rider instead of the roll glider.

I had such fantastic time learning to surf upright after lots of wipeouts on Allure OTS back in 2019.

it was such a leveller too for old gits like me competing with the kids to see who could stand up for the longest.

Edited June 23 by Esprit

[Bucket_List_Girl]

1 hour ago, vjmatty said:

One epic fail on Princess in following this direction is making the Sanctuary for suites only, or not providing another adult area. Any cruise line that caters to children, whether it be Carnival, RCL or even DCL, has adult areas that do not cost extra.

Actually, we visited sanctuary couple of days ago (on a sea day). It had barely any people there and we’re offered right away to pay $99 per person for a day pass. Or $499 for cabana. So I think it’s not concrete that’s for suite guest only. If there’s demand they’ll deny you buying a pass. In our case, we enjoyed our full day there and will be back on another sea day. 

Edited June 23 by Bucket_List_Girl

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

3 minutes ago, Bucket_List_Girl said:

Actually, we visited sanctuary couple of days ago (on a sea day). It had barely any people there and we’re offered right away to pay $99 per person for a day pass. Or $499 for cabana. So I think it’s not concrete that’s for suite guest only. If there’s demand they’ll deny you buying a pass. In our case, we enjoyed our full day there and will be back on another sea day. 

The changes don't take place until October that will restrict the Sanctuary to people sailing in Sanctuary suites.

 

Currently you can still use the old system (buying a pass).

[LittleTinker]

2 hours ago, CruiseCrabs said:

Why are you so confrontational with everyone? Yikes. You need that upcoming cruise. 😀

 

Kids’ clubs have been on Princess for ages, as have family friendly activities. If the activity park is a make or break, this may not be the line for you. 

 

As for kids in the Sanctuary, this Gen X is not onboard.I need ONE quiet space to sun and sip in peace to relax, recharge, and enjoy my vacation. Families have every other darn pool at their disposal. 

Youll be ok.....children are not allowed in the Sanctuary area.
Families can booked the Sanctuary cabins.....but only the adults can go into the adult only bit.

[chamima]

2 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

 

It seems a bit like Princess is trying to find themselves right now, as can be witnessed by the changes to the Sanctuary (now suite only vs a paid upgrade like NCL's Vibe), but also with them changing the restaurants of a brand new Sun Princess ship before it's even fully opened all of the different areas.

 

I think we'll learn a lot about whether this was a success or not whenever the Sun Princess's sister ship is released. If it has Park 19 as well, I would call it a success. However, I think there's a 30% chance that we see the Sun Princess is a one and done with regards to attracting families. 

 

 

There seem to be SO many things on this ship that just weren't thought thru.

Putting Park 19 right above the Sanctuary makes no sense.

Not planning well enough to have Park 19 open for the first summer of sailing makes no sense.

No shade in the (adults only) Sanctuary makes no sense.

Building a restaurant (the original Reserve restaurant)  that isn't large enough for the passenger load so that not even 6 months in, they have to move, makes no sense.

Moving that restaurant (and the Suite restaurant)  to the only area to access the popular aft pool (with the only outside smoking area) makes no sense.

I just don't get it.

 

What does come to mind is the retrofit of the Island Princess and the mistakes they only realized afterwards so that the planned retrofit of the Coral never happened.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, chamima said:

 

 

There seem to be SO many things on this ship that just weren't thought thru.

Putting Park 19 right above the Sanctuary makes no sense.

Not planning well enough to have Park 19 open for the first summer of sailing makes no sense.

No shade in the (adults only) Sanctuary makes no sense.

Building a restaurant (the original Reserve restaurant)  that isn't large enough for the passenger load so that not even 6 months in, they have to move, makes no sense.

Moving that restaurant (and the Suite restaurant)  to the only area to access the popular aft pool (with the only outside smoking area) makes no sense.

I just don't get it.

 

What does come to mind is the retrofit of the Island Princess and the mistakes they only realized afterwards so that the planned retrofit of the Coral never happened.

I completely agree (as I assume just about all of us would).

 

What's the story of the Island/Coral Princess? I'm not familiar with that. 

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, Esprit said:

Why couldn’t Princess just install a flow rider instead of the roll glider.

A roll glider (if operational of course) can cycle through way more people per hour than a flow rider. 

[JimmyVWine]

4 hours ago, edub said:

I'm also confused why there is a negative tinge to this exchange.

Chalk it up to social media where the poles trample the middle. Extremism catches more “likes” and reaction. One pole believe that the failure to provide the promised offerings of Park 19 is cause to cancel the cruise and that kids will be bored to tears. The other pole questions why Park 19 exists in the first place and that it’s very presence transforms the entire Princess product into RC territory. Most people probably fall in the middle but their lack of moral outrage doesn’t play well on a chat board. Hence a battle of the poles. 
 

Princess should have done better in providing what it promised to people sailing on Sun in Europe. My family falls into that category though our cruise is still months away. But I have no expectations of having an operable Park 19 on our cruise. I’m disappointed that we won’t get to try out the shiny new toys. Am I outraged?  No. I did choose the specific itinerary that we will be on because of the very high number of Sea Days allowing us to try out the neat new features that Princess has cooked up. But Park 19 won’t be among them. So it goes. 

[kywildcatfanone]

3 hours ago, Kit6 said:

agree that it’s poor form to not have an adult only area including in regular cruise fare.

This is us. Will not be on this ship or any other without an adults only pool and lounge area