“Behind that door is going to be…well, we can’t tell you that” was one of the many new features I was able to see during a recent shipyard visit to see Sun Princess.
Sun Princess will be the next new cruise ship from Princess Cruises, and it’s currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. It will also be the biggest ship in the Princess fleet at 175,000 gross tons in size.
The cruise ship floated for the first time two weeks ago and is scheduled to enter service in early 2024. After touring three decks of this new ship under construction, here are seven things that have me the most excited about Sun Princess.
Mystery Door – I won’t keep you hanging and will get straight to this mystery door. While we don’t yet know about much this, here is what we do know. Near the Piazza (main atrium) is a door where Princess Cruises is planning something unique and new. I tried to get the cruise line to drop some hints at what will be behind it. Is is a new restaurant? Lounge? Something new to cruising?
Unfortunately, their lips were as sealed as Fort Knox, but they did tell us that they will have an announcement about it in the near future. So for now, we can let our imaginations run wild about this new space.
The Dome – Located at the top of the ship, The Dome is inspired by the terraces of Santorini and will have an indoor/outdoor pool in a comfortable, relaxed space. At night, The Dome will transform into South Beach as an entertainment venue.
I can see myself spending a lot of time in this space on a cruise. I love indoor pool areas, and having this space that will transform at night will make it extra special.
Sphere – Sun Princess is the first of two Sphere class ships. They are named this because on each side of the ship is going to a large glass sphere. The bottom half of the sphere will consist of three decks of windows for ocean views in the heart of the ship near the Piazza. This is definitely where you will find me on a sea day.
The top half will be unique balconies from the cabins above these three decks.
Dining Options – Sun Princess will have all of the Princess dining options that their cruisers love. There will be the Crown Grill, Sabitinis, International Cafe, and Alfredo’s Pizzeria. There will also be a place to sit and eat sushi that will be a standard restaurant and not part of a bar like on the Royal class ships.
The main dining room will be consist of three stories with a piece of art that passes through all three. The aft of the main dining room will have three story windows offering incredible views for dinner each night.
Princess Cruises has more dining options planned for the ship but that information will not be released for another month or two. So stay tuned!
Buffet No Longer on Top Deck – Princess will be doing what sister cruise line did with Costa Toscana and will have the buffet located down off the the main atrium. While 99% of cruise ships have the buffet on one of the top decks right off of the pool deck, that won’t be the case for Sun Princess.
Having the buffet at a lower deck will allow for more outside seating and for guests to be closer to the water.
I cruised on a ship this past summer (Costa Toscana) that had the buffet off of the main atrium and I ended up really liking it in that location.
Princess Arena – This will replace the main theatre and offer seating all around the stage. This will allow Princess to offer entertainment like they haven’t been able to offer before and different from the traditional “cruise shows” that we are used to seeing.
Piazza – The Piazza is the heart of the ship and the cruise line is bringing entertainment to this space. Just like her sister ships on Costa Cruises, there will be stadium seating here for unique shows and entertainment.
Sun Princess will be the largest cruise ship in Princess’ fleet when the ship debuts in early 2024. The vessel will spend around eight months sailing in the Mediterranean before crossing the Atlantic and offering cruises to the Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale.
View Cruises and Prices on Sun Princess
Cruise Fever will have all updates on Sun Princess when they are announced by the cruise line.
Bonus: I can’t end this article without talking about the pool area that will be at the aft part the ship near the water.
For the first time, Princess is moving their aft pool down near the water. This is always one of my favorite spots on new cruise ships.
The ocean views, views of the aft balconies, and the open deck, it’s the perfect spot for a sunny sea day.
