When I booked my February 28, 2024 sailing onboard Princess Cruise Line's new ship, the Sun Princess, I was excited about cruising the Mediterranean for what I thought would be the ship's third sailing. Still in it's inaugural season but with enough time for the crew and staff to get acquainted with the ship. Well, due to issues that are unknown to me and the other 4,000+ passengers, my sailing become the first sailing of this beautiful ship!
We sailed out of Rome, Italy, and enjoyed a 10-day Grand Mediterranean cruise with port stops of Naples, Italy; Crete, Greece (was supposed to be Santorini but due to maintenance on the cable car on the island our port was changed to Crete); Kusadasi, Turkey; Athens, Greece; Sicily, Italy; Mallorca, Spain and Barcelona, Spain.
The ship design is different from the Discovery Princess and Enchanted Princess, which I have sailed on to Alaska and the Mediterranean, respectively. The spaces are well designed to give the feel of a more intimate sailing rather than the open venues (such as the Good Spirits bar, O'Malleys and Guest Services) you will find on the other ships. The cabins were luxurious and the decor was beautiful with warm colors and art work throughout the ship.
Unfortunately I cannot provide a review on their cast shows which were promoted to be quite amazing since the theater was not open and available during our sailing. All the entertainment we enjoyed was courtesy of the Piazza and Princess Live which included singers, comedians and other entertainers, but not the Spellbound by the Magic Castle show that I so much wanted to enjoy.
Park 19 which houses the first-ever family activity zone for Princess was also not available during my sailing. This is a multi-level entertainment zone within decks 19, 20 and 21 that will offer a glider around the ship and a climbing structure, among other sports and entertaining activities.
We did enjoy the Butcher's Block by Dario, a new specialty pop-up restaurant where we enjoyed beef and steak dishes in a pre-frix menu served family style. The concept is catchy and fun and we enjoyed our 2+ hour long dinner, but keep in mind you must be a meat lover to enjoy all they have to offer.
Overall we had a fabulous time. We were a group of 6 and each one of us gave this sailing a 10 out of 10. Cruising on an inaugural sailing will always have a few things that are not ready or can be improved, but where it mattered most - the food, fun and variety - Princess delivered!
The Sun Princess will be sailing out of Fort Lauderdale late in 2024 so if you can't make it to Europe to enjoy her, no worries. She will be waiting for you in Florida to sail to the Caribbean in all her splendor. I highly recommend the Princess Premier package which we all had so you can enjoy WiFi, Premium Drinks, two specialty restaurants and so much more!
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