Park 19 on the Sun Princess

[FLAlaska]

59 minutes ago, dns65 said:

 

They rehashed the same info as the other source.  Where is the Princess source? 

 

Not saying this is fake but why did a couple cruise blogs get this but no mention from Princess on website, social media, emails to customers and TA's with bookings, etc...  

 

-

Ive agree.I have been looking for it as well.  But that said, it wouldn't be the first time that the customer is the last to know with Princess

[Wishing on a star]

Princess has removed reference to these things at Park 19 on their Deck Plans.

THAT, my friends, I believe for now, is their public announcement. Have to CYA against any 'fraudulent promises/advertising'.  That is what I have been thinking.

Ohhhhh my.....

As mentioned, this is not the first major mistake/change-up with this ship.

We now have a ship arriving to FLL and the Caribbean in October, during school's Fall Break, with NO family/kids area, and NO open adult area.

This has taken away and destroyed the last tiny bit of any brand loyalty that I might have had for this cruise line.

 

NOTE:  I personally would be cancelling any 'family' cruise with kids.  That is the last thing that Princess wants to happen.  But, for me, the fewer kids onboard a ship like the Sun, the better.

 

How to dismantle all of this...  As mentioned, the TA will not be possible.  I would not think so.  and for safety reasons, etc... this whole area, the aft of the ship, would have to be cleared.

My question is this...  Are they going to begin this in Europe?  Wait until the ship arrives to FLL?

Could they manage to do this demo during the few days when this is an exclusive TA/VIP cruise planned, before Oct. 14?

 

 

[Leo37]

44 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

Princess has removed reference to these things at Park 19 on their Deck Plans.

THAT, my friends, I believe for now, is their public announcement. Have to CYA against any 'fraudulent promises/advertising'.  That is what I have been thinking.

Ohhhhh my.....

As mentioned, this is not the first major mistake/change-up with this ship.

We now have a ship arriving to FLL and the Caribbean in October, during school's Fall Break, with NO family/kids area, and NO open adult area.

This has taken away and destroyed the last tiny bit of any brand loyalty that I might have had for this cruise line.

 

NOTE:  I personally would be cancelling any 'family' cruise with kids.  That is the last thing that Princess wants to happen.  But, for me, the fewer kids onboard a ship like the Sun, the better.

 

How to dismantle all of this...  As mentioned, the TA will not be possible.  I would not think so.  and for safety reasons, etc... this whole area, the aft of the ship, would have to be cleared.

My question is this...  Are they going to begin this in Europe?  Wait until the ship arrives to FLL?

Could they manage to do this demo during the few days when this is an exclusive TA/VIP cruise planned, before Oct. 14?

 

 

Don't want to take this Park 19 discussion off topic, but just on the "No open adult area", the Sea View area at the front of the ship is adults (16+) only. Has a good bar, pool, two hot tubs and wide range of loungers and seats. Some areas open to sun and some cover. One of our favourite areas when we were on the Sun this past week.

[vjmatty]

14 minutes ago, Leo37 said:

Don't want to take this Park 19 discussion off topic, but just on the "No open adult area", the Sea View area at the front of the ship is adults (16+) only. Has a good bar, pool, two hot tubs and wide range of loungers and seats. Some areas open to sun and some cover. One of our favourite areas when we were on the Sun this past week.

Oh that’s good to know….thanks!

[voljeep]

1 hour ago, Wishing on a star said:

Could they manage to do this demo during the few days when this is an exclusive TA/VIP cruise planned, before Oct. 14?

Has that been confirmed as to happening?

Any chance of that opening up to us mere mortals?

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Do you guys think we'll ever know the reason WHY this fell through? 

 

This is a pretty epic failure and I'd be genuinely curious to understand what went wrong. 

[cruisingrob21]

30 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Do you guys think we'll ever know the reason WHY this fell through? 

 

This is a pretty epic failure and I'd be genuinely curious to understand what went wrong. 

First thing that comes to mind is liability, second is maintenance - and the two are somewhat related.

 

IMO, this was a half cocked idea that doesn't align with Princess.  If cruisers want that sort of activities they go to NCL, RCCL, Carnival.  I get the desire to try something new for Princess, but unfortunately this item isn't going to work out.  I recall the Sky, Enchanted, and Discovery had an experience/mystery room.  We tried it once - it broke within 5 minutes.  Not sure they even offer it anymore.  

 

Princess could go the way of HAL Pinnacle ships and put in a few pickleball courts with some amphitheater seating - then it could serve a dual purpose and have yoga, exercising classes, or stargazing in that area.

 

It could also come down to money - I'm sure all that stuff was expensive, and I'm sure it needs constant replacement parts and repairs.  I don't recall if princess was going to charge for it, but it sure seems like it was going to be a money suck for princess, even if they were charging $20 to use some of the things.  Look how many pools and spas the grand class ships had - most of the new ships have fewer pools and spas for more passengers since pools and spas cost money.

Edited July 20 by cruisingrob21

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

6 minutes ago, cruisingrob21 said:

First thing that comes to mind is liability, second is maintenance - and the two are somewhat related.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but don't you think they would have known about the costs and associated risks with this in advance?

 

I suspect it's something different they didn't anticipate (i.e. maybe the rides were louder than they thought it would be and they realized it would upset a lot of their passengers). Either that or there was a defect in the construction that they determined could not be overcome.

 

The press release also seems to blame the builder (they won't accept delivery), which I don't think they could get away with if it was related to liability or maintenance.

 

I'm guessing we'll never know for sure. 

 

 

[vjmatty]

2 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I'm not saying you're wrong, but don't you think they would have known about the costs and associated risks with this in advance?

 

I suspect it's something different they didn't anticipate (i.e. maybe the rides were louder than they thought it would be and they realized it would upset a lot of their passengers). Either that or there was a defect in the construction that they determined could not be overcome.

 

The press release also seems to blame the builder (they won't accept delivery), which I don't think they could get away with if it was related to liability or maintenance.

 

I'm guessing we'll never know for sure. 

 

 

When considering that Carnival ships have similar rope courses and other activities that are not much different from Park 19, it would seem there should have been some frame of reference for what they were getting into.  
 

The Sun has been the source of more “why” questions than any Princess ship for some time now. Between the dramatic changes in access to the  sanctuary, suite perk upcharges for premier, dining room relocations, removing reserve dining from deck 9 cabana minis, and creating new categories of cabins, all less than 6 months into their sailing schedule, no one seems to know what to expect anymore.

 

I’ve booked the Star 2025 transatlantic for next fall, but NGL I have also booked a backup sailing on the same date as I watch developments, and have a year from now until final payment to make up my mind.  If I end up making the wrong choice and the Star is delayed I’ll just have to spend two weeks in Europe 🤷🏻‍♀️

[hpeabody]

1 minute ago, vjmatty said:

I’ve booked the Star 2025 transatlantic for next fall, but NGL I have also booked a backup sailing on the same date as I watch developments, and have a year from now until final payment to make up my mind.  If I end up making the wrong choice and the Star is delayed I’ll just have to spend two weeks in Europe 🤷🏻‍♀️

I too am booked on the STAR 2025 and the week before it.  This huge mess (yes, IMO) they have created with the SUN is not giving me a warm fuzzy at all about the STAR.  I wonder if they will proceed by just leaving unfinished areas and launch the ship anyway, kinda like the SUN was?  And still seems to be very much an operating work in progress.  UGH!  I was concerned about booking STAR all along, but wanted to give it a chance.  I wonder if Princess will ever get back on track with their ship orders,  What a mess!

 

I foresee a couple cruise cancellations likely in my future.  Makes me probably never want to be on a Sun class ship.   

[SCX22]

1 hour ago, vjmatty said:

I’ve booked the Star 2025 transatlantic for next fall, but NGL I have also booked a backup sailing on the same date as I watch developments, and have a year from now until final payment to make up my mind.  If I end up making the wrong choice and the Star is delayed I’ll just have to spend two weeks in Europe 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

55 minutes ago, hpeabody said:

I too am booked on the STAR 2025 and the week before it.  This huge mess (yes, IMO) they have created with the SUN is not giving me a warm fuzzy at all about the STAR.  I wonder if they will proceed by just leaving unfinished areas and launch the ship anyway, kinda like the SUN was?  And still seems to be very much an operating work in progress.  UGH!  I was concerned about booking STAR all along, but wanted to give it a chance.  I wonder if Princess will ever get back on track with their ship orders,  What a mess!

 

It would not be a good idea for Princess to delay the Star in 2025.  It's already delayed by a few months as it is.  It has 2 Med cruises (a 10 and a 7 day) before the the Transatlantic.  If they delay the inaugural, Princess will have to sail an TA empty to reposition her to the Caribbean.  The cruising season in Europe ends at the end of October so it wouldn't make sense to keep the Star there into November and December.  TAs are very hard to get to capacity as it is; there are usually several price drops before and after final payment.  While cruises over Thanksgiving and Christmas tend to go full, cruises immediately before Thanksgiving and Christmas are hard to fill because people spending those holidays at home want to use that time to prep.

 

I will say though that given that the Sun was such a cluster, I wouldn't be surprised.  

Edited July 20 by SCX22

[Gardenbunny50]

Have not been on CC in couple weeks and almost did not open this topic.  I had been watching it and last concensus was it would be certified when back to FLL. So I thought it would be a continuation of same thought.  Much to my surprise, Princess finally made a statement.

I will be - or hope to be?? - on the Sept 23 TA back to FLL from Southampton.  I am in process of making all my pre cruise travel arrangements and flights.  IF they cancel, I hope it will soon. But their history in that category leaves much to be desired.

Considering how quickly they can do such things as recarpet an entire ship during dry dock with hundreds of workers, my hope would be they could dismantle what is necessary between Oct 9 and the VIP event,

I plan to contact my TA today and see if she has any insight.

 

[vjmatty]

56 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

 

It would not be a good idea for Princess to delay the Star in 2025.  It's already delayed by a few months as it is.  It has 2 Med cruises (a 10 and a 7 day) before the the Transatlantic.  If they delay the inaugural, Princess will have to sail an TA empty to reposition her to the Caribbean.  The cruising season in Europe ends at the end of October so it wouldn't make sense to keep the Star there into November and December.  TAs are very hard to get to capacity as it is; there are usually several price drops before and after final payment.  While cruises over Thanksgiving and Christmas tend to go full, cruises immediately before Thanksgiving and Christmas are hard to fill because people spending those holidays at home want to use that time to prep.

 

I will say though that given that the Sun was such a cluster, I wouldn't be surprised.  

Agree, I can’t see a TA being the inaugural so I’m hoping you’re right. 

[Wishing on a star]

I have seen no indication, at all, that the Seaview and/or Dome are adult only.

I have seen mentions of the kids in that small indoor/outdoor pool.

Should Princes have some open adult only area..  Yes.

Do they, at this time.  It does not seem so.

[dides]

14 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

I have seen no indication, at all, that the Seaview and/or Dome are adult only.

I have seen mentions of the kids in that small indoor/outdoor pool.

Should Princes have some open adult only area..  Yes.

Do they, at this time.  It does not seem so.

While it wasn't the case in April when we were onboard, it could be that Princess have changed the adults only policy for the Seaview Terrace - someone on the most recent cruise posted that "The whole front of the top deck, the sea view area, is signed as adults 16+, and staff are enforcing that."

[Wishing on a star]

Thank you so much Dides.   I so appreciate your keeping on top of information!  

We are all indebted to you for your efforts.

 

I will be looking forward to this if Princess continues to do this!

Maybe, just the Port or Starboard side, if they do not always do this with the entire area?

 

[Retired-N-Happy]

27 minutes ago, dides said:

While it wasn't the case in April when we were onboard, it could be that Princess have changed the adults only policy for the Seaview Terrace - someone on the most recent cruise posted that "The whole front of the top deck, the sea view area, is signed as adults 16+, and staff are enforcing that."

👍👍👍

[Iamcruzin]

On 6/20/2024 at 9:59 AM, SCX22 said:

IMO, Princess added Park 19 (or is trying to) is to entice some of the Royal Caribbean loyalists to come to Princess.  The demographic and type of cruiser is pretty stale on Princess--leaning towards old and not very active (mobility devices galore).  This was their attempt to try and attract a different crowd.

It's going to take more than a splash pad and some ropes to climb to get Royal Caribbean passengers to make the switch. You can't even compare the two. I won't sail their monster ships but the Anthem Class which is about the same size as Princess ships has way more to offer in entertainment for both Adults and Kids. I haven't sailed on Princess since 2010 and moved on to Royal and Celebrity. I will only sail Princess if the price and itinerary is better than what the other two offer. I started sailing with Princess in 1991 only sailed with them until 2010. When they stopped sailing to the Caribbean and Bermuda from NY I switched to Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.  They also match loyalty status so if a couple wants a more adult atmosphere without the kids they would more than likely sail on Celebrity where they would have the same status based on their Royal Caribbean status and vise versa. My SIL and BIL who are in their late 50's and early 60's and have never strayed from Princess claim that they still feel like the youngest on board. 

[SCX22]

50 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

It's going to take more than a splash pad and some ropes to climb to get Royal Caribbean passengers to make the switch. You can't even compare the two. I won't sail their monster ships but the Anthem Class which is about the same size as Princess ships has way more to offer in entertainment for both Adults and Kids. I haven't sailed on Princess since 2010 and moved on to Royal and Celebrity. I will only sail Princess if the price and itinerary is better than what the other two offer. I started sailing with Princess in 1991 only sailed with them until 2010. When they stopped sailing to the Caribbean and Bermuda from NY I switched to Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.  They also match loyalty status so if a couple wants a more adult atmosphere without the kids they would more than likely sail on Celebrity where they would have the same status based on their Royal Caribbean status and vise versa. My SIL and BIL who are in their late 50's and early 60's and have never strayed from Princess claim that they still feel like the youngest on board. 

Princess has to try somehow.  If they do drastic changes too fast, they risk alienating the old blood cruisers who will move on to other lines.  I like prefer X myself, but Princess pricing is hard to beat and Princess offers 20 day or longer cruises that I’ve taken a liking to.

 

It’s a moot point now.  Park19 never materialized.  Just goes to show what a circus show Princess upper management is at the moment.  Between the delayed announcements of the cancellations of the first 2 inaugurals, the cabin category changes, and now this, they utterly botched the release of the Sun Princess.

[nimiq]

Princess upper management in my opinion is to blame for this fiasco. 
 

it’s takes years for a ship to come to life so you think it would be well thought before it’s cruise but the Sun Princess has failed in many areas. 
 

Park 19 shows how disconnected the upper management is with the brand.

 

#fail

 

 

[chamima]

48 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

Princess has to try somehow.  If they do drastic changes too fast, they risk alienating the old blood cruisers who will move on to other lines.  I like prefer X myself, but Princess pricing is hard to beat and Princess offers 20 day or longer cruises that I’ve taken a liking to.

 

It’s a moot point now.  Park19 never materialized.  Just goes to show what a circus show Princess upper management is at the moment.  Between the delayed announcements of the cancellations of the first 2 inaugurals, the cabin category changes, and now this, they utterly botched the release of the Sun Princess.

 

I'm afraid I have to agree that the release of the Sun has really been botched because so many things weren't thought out before she was launched.

As far a Celebrity - there are lots of things we like about that line but the one thing that brings us (well me, at least) back to Princess is that I can always find a deck chair in some out of the way quiet place. On Celebrity all of the chairs are lined up in rows with many people and there is nowhere to lay outside and quietly read a book other than our own balcony (and it seems now they are removing the lounging chairs from balconies so even that won't be possible).

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

I'm afraid I have to agree that the release of the Sun has really been botched because so many things weren't thought out before she was launched.

As far a Celebrity - there are lots of things we like about that line but the one thing that brings us (well me, at least) back to Princess is that I can always find a deck chair in some out of the way quiet place. On Celebrity all of the chairs are lined up in rows with many people and there is nowhere to lay outside and quietly read a book other than our own balcony (and it seems now they are removing the lounging chairs from balconies so even that won't be possible).

When was the last time you sailed on Celebrity?

 

That definitely has not been our experience. 

 

We are looking forward to trying the Sun Princess (our first Princess cruise, which we booked specifically because of Park 19), but I fear the smoking in the casino will be too much to enjoy it. 

 

Such a nasty habit and I'm disappointed that what's supposed to be a premium cruise line still allows this. 

[LittleTinker]

13 hours ago, Leo37 said:

Don't want to take this Park 19 discussion off topic, but just on the "No open adult area", the Sea View area at the front of the ship is adults (16+) only. Has a good bar, pool, two hot tubs and wide range of loungers and seats. Some areas open to sun and some cover. One of our favourite areas when we were on the Sun this past week.

Since when did it turn 16+ because it wasnt when i was on?

[Leo37]

13 minutes ago, LittleTinker said:

Since when did it turn 16+ because it wasnt when i was on?

I disembarked the Sun Princess yesterday. Signs on the way into the Seaview area saying "Adults 16+" on the open deck and on the doors from the domed area into the Seaview area. Clearly a change from earlier in the season and a very welcome one.

[dides]

1 hour ago, Leo37 said:

I disembarked the Sun Princess yesterday. Signs on the way into the Seaview area saying "Adults 16+" on the open deck and on the doors from the domed area into the Seaview area. Clearly a change from earlier in the season and a very welcome one.

Interested to understand how that works with the pool .which is half in the Seaview Terrace and half in the Dome. Would a kid be able to swim in the Dome part but not swim through to the Seaview part?