Very brief Sun Princess review

[alyssamma]

The good: cabin is simply amazing. We have an inside (only other time had a cabin class lower than balcony was a couple of times in MSC Yacht Club). I was worried because the dimensions are small, but this is one of the best cabins I've ever been in. Shower and bathroom are (cruise) spacious, lots of closet and other storage space, a zillion hangers, and really nice touches. For example, when you get up from bed a small night light comes on under the nightstand and in the bathroom.

 

The look of the ship is stunning. Nice colors, very pretty.

 

Staff is mostly very nice and friendly.

 

The few shows I have seen were good. Not the best, but I'd say a solid B+

 

The average: Food is hit or miss. Nothing has been bad, but tends towards average instead of great.

 

Cruise director. Eh. A little annoying to me, but ymmv. Regardless, I'd say she's in the middle of CDs I've experienced.

 

The bad: the layout is simply the worst I've ever seen. It's so bad I could never sail this ship again. Princess Live, where they have comedy and enrichment shows is completely open, so not only do you hear the crowds walking by, but you also very clearly hear whatever is going on in the central atrium part of the ship. Which leads to...

 

The Piazza. Great to look at, but three levels with limited chairs means every show they have there requires people to stand. There are about 3x as many people standing as sitting.

 

Lastly, I hate that they funnel you through the shops or casino to get to the important parts of the ship.

 

 

 

[cynbar]

Thanks for taking the time to write, we sail June 15th. Do you have any input on lines to get into the MDR for dinner? Someone posted on FB today (with pictures) about incredibly long lines about 7:30, even for those with reservations. It has us a little worried, especially since we can't make any reservations at all yet. We have absolutely no interest in the diner food available on deck 8, and that takes up a third of the MDR space. I'd love to know if those lines are the norm --- any info you have on this will be much appreciated. Standing in a long line for dinner every night is not my idea of a relaxing vacation. Really looking forward to the Sun despite the issues we keep hearing about, 2 months after launching.

[alyssamma]

5 hours ago, cynbar said:

Thanks for taking the time to write, we sail June 15th. Do you have any input on lines to get into the MDR for dinner? Someone posted on FB today (with pictures) about incredibly long lines about 7:30, even for those with reservations. It has us a little worried, especially since we can't make any reservations at all yet. We have absolutely no interest in the diner food available on deck 8, and that takes up a third of the MDR space. I'd love to know if those lines are the norm --- any info you have on this will be much appreciated. Standing in a long line for dinner every night is not my idea of a relaxing vacation. Really looking forward to the Sun despite the issues we keep hearing about, 2 months after launching.

There are 3 decks to the MDR. The first night we tried deck 6 and the lines were long. We went to deck 7 and got in relatively quickly (maybe 10min). Last night we tried Deck 8 at about 720. We waited maybe 15min total, but 10min of those were because no one was manning the station to seat people.

 

My advice is, if there is a line on one deck, just go to one of the other decks.

 

But even on our first night and deck 6, the line seemed to move quickly.

 

[alyssamma]

Oh, one other thing since it is asked so many times. I took 100 in non-refundable OBC, played blackjack for a few hands and cashed out 85 with zero problems.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

We went for our pre-dinner cocktail at 7 and there was a long line and much congestion outside the MDR on deck 7 at that time. But that was only the first couple of days. It’s because the only way to deck 6 is that elevator bank/stairs and so people were lost. After a couple of days the line seemed to evaporate. And even when there was a line, it was gone within 15 minutes. 

[cynbar]

But I thought deck 6 was for the traditional , early and late seatings? Can we just turn up there anytime and expect to be seated? Or, can we turn up there shortly before one of the 2 start times and get a table? Can any posters here chime in on whether they have tried this and how it went? I hesitate to sign up for one of the fixed seatings because we do want to try 2-3 of the specialty restaurants and maybe O'Malley's too. But we are traveling with a 9 year old who may not do well with long lines, congested waiting areas, etc. Do they still give you a beeper so you can at least walk around while waiting? We have done anytime dining with Princess before and it was never a problem, but the Sun sounds different in many ways.

[colsky]

I'm also not sure as to how deck 6 dining works. i.e. do you have to commit to one of the deck 6 sittings for the entire cruise?  Or, if one day the time that you want to dine just so happens to coincide with one of deck 6 sitting times, is it possible (or easier) to then go to 6 instead of 7?

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

Deck 6 is the old traditional dining setup.  They have one seating at 5:30 and one at 7:30.  You are booked for either early or late seating and you are at the same table every night with the same people (if you want to sit at a larger table.)  You can not just walk up and get seated.  You have to sign up for this type of dining before the cruise.  Deck 7 is for walk ups.

 

It is not a problem if you want to go to a specialty restaurant any night but it is common curtesy to tell the wait staff know the night before so they aren't waiting for you.  It just means that you have a standing reservation every night but the time is locked in.

 

There are crowds outside deck 7 between 7 and 7:30 because the line is right outside the elevators and stairs.  And people were confused about where to go the first few days.  Folks were trying to get to deck 6 and were in the line for deck 7 dinning.  After a few days they learned not to wait in the line but go to the stairs and walk down.  The first few days the line stretched down the corridor past the Wheelhouse bar.  But like I said, it went fast and the line was gone by 7:30 or 7:45.

[colsky]

Thanks, that's what I thought.  The guy above who posted "The first night we tried deck 6 and the lines were long" confused me into thinking that deck 6 dining was an option for choosing ad hoc.

[Steelers36]

18 hours ago, alyssamma said:

The Piazza. Great to look at, but three levels with limited chairs means every show they have there requires people to stand. There are about 3x as many people standing as sitting.

 

Lastly, I hate that they funnel you through the shops or casino to get to the important parts of the ship.

There has been a trend with Princess to utilize the Piazza for loud entertainment events since 2019 or so and it is very annoying IMO.  They want it to be a "happening" place instead of a place of relative calm with low-key entertainment and a place you can actually have a conversation.

 

LOL - I imagine all ships love to have guests funneled through shops and casino.  Not just Princess.

[Steelers36]

46 minutes ago, colsky said:

Thanks, that's what I thought.  The guy above who posted "The first night we tried deck 6 and the lines were long" confused me into thinking that deck 6 dining was an option for choosing ad hoc.

Except I can see them seating random guests where the regular TD guests did not show or are off to another dining option.

[alyssamma]

2 hours ago, cynbar said:

But I thought deck 6 was for the traditional , early and late seatings? Can we just turn up there anytime and expect to be seated? Or, can we turn up there shortly before one of the 2 start times and get a table? Can any posters here chime in on whether they have tried this and how it went? I hesitate to sign up for one of the fixed seatings because we do want to try 2-3 of the specialty restaurants and maybe O'Malley's too. But we are traveling with a 9 year old who may not do well with long lines, congested waiting areas, etc. Do they still give you a beeper so you can at least walk around while waiting? We have done anytime dining with Princess before and it was never a problem, but the Sun sounds different in many ways.

So ..deck 6 is listed that way, but that is the only deck that has separate lines for reservation and no reservation. It's a little confusing 

[alyssamma]

21 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Except I can see them seating random guests where the regular TD guests did not show or are off to another dining option.

Yes, you can eat on 6 without assigned dining times.

[alyssamma]

Another thing I forgot to mention...laundry is free. But there are only 2 machines on each deck so it can be crowded.

[555]

Thanks for the review and I agree that the ship layout does seem confusing. We're booked on it but unless I'm totally impressed I doubt if we'll return for a second cruise.

 

I've read that the seating in the Dome is very limited and people begin to line up hours before showtime. Do you recall what times the shows were?

 

We were totally happy with the Royal class ships and will probably stick with them in the future. 

[alyssamma]

12 minutes ago, 555 said:

Thanks for the review and I agree that the ship layout does seem confusing. We're booked on it but unless I'm totally impressed I doubt if we'll return for a second cruise.

 

I've read that the seating in the Dome is very limited and people begin to line up hours before showtime. Do you recall what times the shows were?

 

We were totally happy with the Royal class ships and will probably stick with them in the future. 

So, it is a little confusing. They do the Arena (basically the theater), the Piazza (the atrium) and Live (right next to the atrium). Shows in Live are USUALLY 2x per day at 7 and 9 and in the Arena at 8 and 10. But things switch. For example, the woman last night in the arena is tonight in the Piazza. And some production shows are in the Piazza (they have things that come down from the ceiling). And they do game shows all night in both Live and the Piazza. It's actually a mess in Live because people are rushing in for one show right as the previous show ends because there is no gap.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

The other thing that I was surprised about what how many things were broken on the ship.  The very aft port side glass elevator did not operate the entire cruise (April 8-17).  There were many sinks in the public bathrooms not working.  The main sliding glass door to the main pool was broken for many days.  I realize that new ships have defects but it seemed excessive to me.

[LAS!!1414]

16 hours ago, alyssamma said:

There are 3 decks to the MDR. The first night we tried deck 6 and the lines were long. We went to deck 7 and got in relatively quickly (maybe 10min). Last night we tried Deck 8 at about 720. We waited maybe 15min total, but 10min of those were because no one was manning the station to seat people.

 

My advice is, if there is a line on one deck, just go to one of the other decks.

 

But even on our first night and deck 6, the line seemed to move quickly.

 

Did you try the Eartery ??

[alyssamma]

25 minutes ago, LAS!!1414 said:

Did you try the Eartery ??

You mean for dinner? No...but I did for lunch one day.

[LAS!!1414]

7 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

You mean for dinner? No...but I did for lunch one day.

Did you happen to notice if soup was available ???

[alyssamma]

6 minutes ago, LAS!!1414 said:

Did you happen to notice if soup was available ???

My wife said there was soup...but only one kind...and she doesn't remember the type unfortunately 

[LAS!!1414]

5 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

My wife said there was soup...but only one kind...and she doesn't remember the type unfortunately 

Thanks the info and quick reply !!!

[Retired-N-Happy]

21 hours ago, cynbar said:

Thanks for taking the time to write, we sail June 15th. Do you have any input on lines to get into the MDR for dinner? Someone posted on FB today (with pictures) about incredibly long lines about 7:30, even for those with reservations. It has us a little worried, especially since we can't make any reservations at all yet. We have absolutely no interest in the diner food available on deck 8, and that takes up a third of the MDR space. I'd love to know if those lines are the norm --- any info you have on this will be much appreciated. Standing in a long line for dinner every night is not my idea of a relaxing vacation. Really looking forward to the Sun despite the issues we keep hearing about, 2 months after launching.

I will infer that the long lines for deck 7 seating is going to be in the 645-745 heart of dining where many people like to eat.  If you choose standard on deck six or make reservations either early or late for deck seven, the long line should be avoided.  If you have to eat in the middle between 645-745 I would inquire right before final payment is due and then you can decide if it's a deal breaker or not.  

We have a permanent appointment for 540 on our upcoming 14 day Enchanted cruise.  At this time we just walk in and go right to our table.

[Retired-N-Happy]

17 hours ago, alyssamma said:

My advice is, if there is a line on one deck, just go to one of the other decks.

Don't know how this could work.  First of all, deck 8 is American Diner with it's own special menu.  Deck six consists of two seatings, currently set at 500 and 730 which could be shifted once the ship relocates to the Caribbean.  If you show up at 630 on deck six, there aren't going to seat you until 730 unless they are just blowing smoke about it being traditional seating.

Deck seven is Dine My Way, consisting of a combination of reservations as well as walk in.  If you're doing walk in, expect a wait, unless you show up before six or after eight and even then there could be a wait depending how the flow is on that day.

[Retired-N-Happy]

4 hours ago, alyssamma said:

Yes, you can eat on 6 without assigned dining times.

So in fact they are blowing smoke since deck six was supposed to be 100% traditional dining at 500 & 730.