Spellbound at Sea: Exploring Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess

From whooping chefs to a mind-blowing magician, Princess Cruises’ next-generation ship is full of surprises. Sue Bryant sails the Sun Princess. 

Standing on the dock at Chania, Crete, I tried to capture a shot of the new Sun Princess. This was a struggle as, quite simply, the 4,300-passenger ship feels enormous.

Sun Princess is the first in Princess Cruises’ new Sphere Class, distinguished by what looks like a giant glass ball curving out of both sides of the ship. This creates a lovely sense of light and space in the atrium on decks 7, 8 and 9, the social hub of the ship. Sun Princess also has a large glass dome at the front, under which there’s lounging space, aerial acts, live music and an indoor-outdoor pool.

When I sailed, a few venues weren’t ready; the ship was delayed in the yard and the first cruise was cancelled, so we had to do without one of the restaurants and the colourful activity area on the upper deck. These represent a strong effort by the line to be more family-friendly; kids will love the high ropes course and I’d like to have tried the Rollglider, the first of its kind on a ship. But now everything is up and running and the summer season in the Mediterranean is well underway, I imagine Park19, as the area is called, will be hit.

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What can you expect on the Sun Princess?

So, what’s new? First, the overall vibe of the ship is less sedate than Princess regulars might expect. The Piazza is no longer a re-imagined Italian square with places for a quiet coffee or a glass of wine. It’s busy all day long with quiz shows, dance classes, games and music. I liked the buzz, but some found it noisy. The parties in the evenings were great fun, especially the Back to the 80s neon-fest, although the people trying to enjoy a romantic dinner at the posh sushi restaurant on the deck above may have felt differently.

 The Horizons dining room is absolutely beautiful: opt for fixed seating dining and bag a table at the aft end of Deck 6, in front of two decks of floor-to-ceiling glass, and you’ll be in heaven. Deck 7 is for Anytime Dining, and you can book via the Princess app or join the queue. The food was good, and I appreciated the Mediterranean touches on the menu as we sailed from Athens to Rome: tasty spinach filo pie, salade Niçoise and moussaka were all hits.

Deck 8, still part of the main dining room, is a new concept called Americana with an all-day breakfast menu, should you crave fried chicken wings and breakfast burritos for dinner, with super-fast service promised.

The buffet, called The Eatery, was not great. It’s long and thin, with not enough seating, particularly on a rainy day. Although there are some decent curries, the salad bar is, well… limp compared to the vibrant offerings on rival cruise lines. Bizarrely, there’s no self-service tea and coffee anywhere on the ship, which seems a real oversight.

There’s a far wider choice of speciality restaurants than on other Princess ships: 10, to be precise. The Crown Grill, the lovely Sabatini’s and Alfredo’s Pizzeria are all Princess staples and were as popular as ever, although you have to pay for the pizzas in Alfredo’s now (about $22). 

Umai, the Teppanyaki restaurant (about $68), was great fun, although it’s got the vibe of a rowdy hens’ night, with cheering, whooping and chanting as the jolly chefs at the centre of each table juggle eggs and knives, chop, crack jokes and dish up sizzling fried rice, teriyaki chicken and succulent miso salmon. 

The Butcher’s Block by Dario (about $68) is wasted on anybody who isn’t a serious carnivore: it’s non-stop beef, course after course. They catered admirably and imaginatively for the vegetarians among us, but even the meat-eaters looked defeated by the end. 

There’s also Makoto Ocean, the swish sushi bar, which looks beautiful and should appeal to seafood-loving Australians, and O’Malley’s, an Irish pub offering pub grub for a small fee in the evenings (about $15 for a main).

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Entertainment on the Sun Princess

New for Sun Princess is Spellbound by Magic Castle, an immersive, close-up magic experience that costs about $224pp. For this, you get a themed dinner before being ushered into a cleverly hidden, Hogwarts-like room with flickering (faux) fire, a resident “spirit”, exciting cocktails that billow dry ice, and mysterious illusions. The card tricks by magician Woody Aragón were mind-blowing – this is seriously top-level magic. It’s a high cover price but if you’re, say, a multigenerational family group, it would be a real treat.

The evening entertainment, too, was outstanding. The Princess Arena, which has different configurations and will host high-tech production shows, wasn’t fully ready, so my cruise featured solo acts rather than singing and dancing. I was blown away by The Voice semi-finalist Andrew Bateup; and the hilarious juggling comedian Goronwy Thom, whose show was repeated in the Piazza, had the audience crying with laughter.

 Entertainment is free, of course, but a lot of things cost extra. If you drink alcohol and use WiFi and want to avoid a jaw-dropping bill at the end of the cruise, I’d book a package. I was on Princess Premier, which costs about $120 per day and includes 15 drinks up to about $30 (who can drink that much?), tips, fast WiFi, some speciality dining, proper coffee, water in plastic bottles, a set of photos, fitness classes and unlimited $18 sundaes from Coffee & Cones by the pool. 

In the name of research, I tried one of these: The Godfather, about 2000 calories’ worth of chocolate brownie, vanilla ice cream and spray cream. I took a Pilates class, too, which, while pleasant, was absolutely not worth the about $45 I would have paid had I not bought a package. The Princess Plus deal costs a little less (about $90 per person per day) and includes considerably less, so if you want to push the boat out, as it were, Premier offers bigger savings.

The ship was sailing full on my cruise. The spring weather was cool, so the pool area never felt particularly crowded, and there were alternatives to the main pool deck. I liked the Wake View Terrace at the back of the ship, with a dreamy infinity pool and a happy vibe at sundowner time. There’s a lot of sunbathing space forward of The Dome, too, and the indoor-outdoor pool here is a pleasant spot to cool off. 

The ship also has a beautiful Sanctuary pool, with cabanas and its own menu. This is a new, all-inclusive concept that covers the Signature Collection Suites, the Mini Suites and the Premium Deluxe Balconies. The suites have their own lounge, too, a Princess first. The line is certainly heading in the direction of Celebrity Cruises, with its ship-within-a-ship Retreat concept.

Speaking of accommodation, my Deluxe Balcony cabin was a welcome haven, done out in soft shades of silver, green and stone. I had no complaints; the bed was spectacularly comfortable and the bathroom modern and spacious, with a glass shower door and fragrant Beekman 1802 bath goodies.

There are some new cabin grades worth checking out. I liked the Cabana Balcony cabins, which have an extended balcony opening onto the Cabana Deck, and a communal area for with big, squashy loungers and its own hot tubs. 

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Is the Sun Princess Right for You?

Who will like this ship? Sun Princess is an impressive effort by the line to be more contemporary and more family-friendly, and to offer greater choice. I’d say it’s heavily geared to American tastes, which is fair enough, given that the US is its main market. Do go for the entertainment and the novelties such as Spellbound. Don’t go for peace and quiet unless you want to pay for a suite. And watch out for those extras.

Favourite meal

The Catch by Rudi was my favourite, from the sizzling garlic prawns to the flaky sea bream, and light, creamy profiteroles with chocolate sauce poured on top. The tableware in here is fabulously quirky, too, from the fish-shaped green water bottles to the silver octopus bowl in which the prawn cocktail was served. 

Insider tip

Use the tech. The Ocean Medallion, which everybody has, is an impressive gadget – it opens your cabin door as you approach, for example. You really need to download and use the app to get the restaurant bookings you want and keep on top of the schedule. The tiny guest-services area is virtually hidden, tucked away on Deck 6, often with long queues, so try to manage without it.

What to expect

Do expect a lively vibe on board and a younger passenger mix; the kids’ clubs and top deck playground are impressive and the entertainment is family friendly. But brace yourself if you’re bothered by smoke. There were a lot of dedicated gamblers on my cruise and the casino, forward on Deck 8, allows smoking, which isn’t well contained.

The Verdict

Passengers: 4300

Crew: 1600

Launched: 2024

Tonnage: 175,500

Passenger decks: 16, although the deck plan suggests 17, as there is no Deck 13

Highs

Wonderful sense of light and space, great entertainment and plenty of dining choices

Lows

Extra costs and too much smoke around the casino

Verdict

Great for Gen X and millennials, with or without kids, but Princess die-hards may prefer a more conventional ship.he expedition team wo