I’ve been cruising for almost 10 years, and — prior to last month — had taken cruises across seven different lines. For reference, those lines are Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, MSC, Viking, Disney, and Virgin. Though I love each of those lines for different reasons, this year I was craving something new. So, I decided to book a Princess cruise.

This fall, the opportunity came to book a seven-night cruise on Princess’ newest ship Sun Princess, and I jumped on it. The best part? I booked into the line’s new inclusive concept called the Sanctuary Collection. I’ll get into more about that below. In this post, I’m going to give some of my impressions of the trip as an avid cruiser who was experiencing Princess for the first time.

It’s important to mention that Sun Princess is the first in the Sphere Class, and — in many ways — is unlike any other ship in the Princess fleet. Since my only first-hand experience of Princess is this ship, those experiences may not translate to or be available on other vessels in the fleet.

The Sanctuary Collection

Before I get into my impressions of Sun Princess, you first need an idea of exactly what I booked and what the Sanctuary Collection includes for its guests.

On top of the standard main pool deck and an aft sundeck with an infinity pool, Sanctuary Collection guests have their own Sanctuary Club sundeck. Located on deck 18 aft, this outdoor space includes its own pool and hot tubs, a full-service bar, afternoon tapas and a food delivery menu, and a plethora of daybeds, plush loungers, and other seating. The Sanctuary Club is a peaceful spot for those 16 and older away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the ship, and it was never difficult to find loungers or a daybed right in front of the pool.

Guests staying in the Sanctuary Collection also have their own private Sanctuary Restaurant, which takes up residence on the third floor of the ship’s main dining room. The staff was wonderful, remembering us despite the fact that we didn’t even get to eat there much since we had access to so many specialty restaurants. However, the food we did have at the Sanctuary Restaurant was delicious!

What does the Premier Package include?

Booking a cabin in the Sanctuary Collection also means that you automatically receive the Princess Premier package, which is an inclusive package that you’d ordinarily have to pay an extra fee ($90 per day) to receive. But in Sanctuary Collection, it’s included in the cruise fare.

This package includes the ship’s best wifi connection called MedallionNet Max for up to four devices per person, as well as daily gratuities. It also includes all premium and alcoholic drinks worth up to $20, including bottled water. Another huge perk is that the Premier Package includes nearly all specialty dining on the ship — you can book specialty restaurants whenever you want and won’t pay anything extra to enjoy them.

Other perks include a photo package, unlimited premium desserts (think over-the-top ice cream sundaes, big slices of cake, and specialty doughnuts), room service, fitness classes, and reserved seating in the theater.

If you book into the Sanctuary Collection or purchase the Premier Package on its own, just about the only things you’ll have to pay extra for are salon and spa services, access to the spa’s thermal suite, specialty experiences (such as Spellbound by Magic Castle), and souvenirs.

I highly recommend booking the Sanctuary Collection on Sun Princess — access to the private sundeck and having specialty dining and beverages included in the price of the cruise brought my vacation to another level. It’s going to make it difficult for me to go back to a regular cruise experience!

1. The stateroom was very spacious and well-designed.

I had a Sanctuary Collection mini-suite on my recent Sun Princess cruise. Select balcony cabins and mini-suites as well as all suites on the ship are part of the Sanctuary Collection. Though I had seen photos and videos of what our cabin would look like ahead of time, I was still giddy with excitement when I walked in and realized it would be my home for the week.

The mini-suite is laid out into four main areas, plus a balcony: the bathroom, the bed area, the closet/desk area, and then a sitting area with a separate TV and pull-out couch. The closet had plenty of hanging and open-shelving space, along with multiple drawers. The desk was long and didn’t feel too cramped, either.

One of my favorite things about the cabin was so many lighting elements to suit every use and time of day, including a decorative inset lighting feature above the bed. There’s also a motion sensor outside the bathroom door that triggers an under-vanity light which was SO nice when getting up in the middle of the night.

Speaking of the bathroom, that was also a highlight. The shower (which had a glass door!) was very large and almost didn’t feel like a cruise ship shower (if you know, you know). In fact, the whole bathroom was a great size with plenty of shelving and counter space.

Stateroom Gifts

A highlight of staying in the Sanctuary Collection that we weren’t fully expecting was the gifts that were left in our cabin throughout the cruise. For example, prior to our day at Princess Cays (Princess’ private beach destination in the Bahamas), they left us branded flip-flops to use during our beach day (and keep). We received other goodies too, like a Sanctuary Collection beach bag and a cute little Sanctuary Collection-branded rubber duck.

Sun Princess offers a great variety of stateroom choices for any cruiser’s need or preference. Whether you’re looking for the most affordable option or a cabin with extra space — or access to the perks of the Sanctuary Collection — there’s a stateroom for everyone on this ship.

One of the unique things is that even some standard balcony staterooms and mini-suites have access to the Sanctuary Collection. Many cruise lines only include suites in their “ship within a ship” concept, so it’s quite a treat and provides a lot of flexibility to offer these perks to balcony cabins on Princess.

2. Sun Princess has wonderful food.

Going into my first Princess cruise, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when it came to the food. I’d heard wonderful things about the food on Sun Princess, but since I hadn’t even experienced the line before I wasn’t sure how it was going to match up with my taste buds. Well, I’m happy to report that dining on board surpassed my expectations.

We spent most dinners on the ship eating in various specialty restaurants. Our first evening we went to the Italian restaurant Sabatini’s, where I had what is now one of my favorite lasagnas I’ve ever eaten. The lamb chops were excellent as well. Another night at Crown Grill, I had a delicious filet mignon — which is saying something because I don’t really like steak. Even the casual Americana Diner offered an excellent fish and chips dish along with very flavorful and cheesy mac and cheese.

Over the course of the cruise, we had food from specialty restaurants, the Sanctuary Restaurant, the buffet, and in casual eateries and nearly all of it was way above what I would consider to be par for a cruise ship. I can honestly say that alongside my experience on Disney Cruise Line, Sun Princess has my favorite food on a cruise ship.

3. The atrium games were creative and fun.

When people think about the aspects of a vacation that stuck out to them, most aren’t thinking of games in the atrium. But surprisingly, the games in the Piazza on Sun Princess really stick out to me. I think Princess has done a great job curating a lineup of guest-participation games that are fun to watch whether you stick around for five minutes or for the whole show.

One of these games was called the Yes No Game Show, where the cruise director would talk with a guest and ask them questions, and if they said at any point the words “yes” or “no” or similar terms such as “yeah,” they’d be out. The goal was to reach a set number of minutes without saying yes or no, and the guest that endured the longest would be the winner. Other games pitted guests against the ship’s officers, such as “guess the musical artist” jenga and putt-putt. These were so fun to watch and a great way to pass the time.

I know that the Piazza atrium on Sun Princess is quite different from any of Princess’ other Piazzas, and I think they’ve done a great job with designing it. It’s three stories and features a circular main floor with big LED screens to one side. On the second and third decks of the Piazza there’s tiered seating which means it’s easy to not only settle in to enjoy atrium entertainment, but also easy for those who may be standing to see over the heads of the people in front of them.

4. The Ocean Medallion Technology is seamless and convenient.

Instead of using a credit card-sized key card, guests on Princess cruises have little disc-shaped pieces of tech called Medallions. Most guests either wear their Medallion around their neck on a lanyard or on their wrist in a special bracelet you can purchase from the cruise line. You can also get a Medallion clothing clip or just toss it in your pocket each day. And I have to say, compared to other cruise lines that also use wearable RFID technology like this, Princess comes out on top.

The Medallion allows you to open your cabin door, but you don’t have to hold it up to the door lock like you might think. Instead, the tech in your door senses your Medallion approaching and unlocks it — often before you even reach for the handle. The Medallion is also what guests use to sign on and off the ship in port.

The aspect of the Medallion that most impressed me was the level of service that it allowed crew members to provide to guests. For example, if I sat down at a bar or a restaurant, often the crew member who came over to serve me greeted me by name — even if I had never been to that venue before. This is because their touchscreen devices show them who’s nearby based on their Medallions, and it includes a photo so they know who’s who. This makes ordering food and drinks a breeze on board, and adds a personalized touch that just feels good as a guest.

5. The ship didn’t feel huge, but there was still lots going on.

While Sun Princess is tens of thousands of gross tons smaller than the largest cruise ship in the world, it is still within the top 25 biggest cruise ships at sea. However, the design team did a great job creating a very large ship that doesn’t actually feel as big as it is — and that’s a good thing.

Sun Princess features a lot of public areas, both indoors and outdoors, where guests can hang out, take part in activities, and enjoy entertainment. The flow of the architecture is great and things feel suitably spread out. However, if you’ve ever taken a cruise on a larger ship you probably know what I mean when I say that sometimes the cabin hallways feel like they go on forever. Surprisingly, given how large Sun Princess is, the walk to the far end of my stateroom hallway didn’t feel ridiculously long, and that feeling continued into the rest of the ship.

Like any passenger, we spent lots of time walking from place to place on board, moving through hallways and venues like the Piazza or buffet. But it never felt overwhelming like it can on some mega ships.

Though Sun Princess doesn’t feel massive, it does hold a lot of entertainment and things to do like any large cruise ship does. There was almost always something on the schedule we were interested in, whether it was live music, comedy shows, parties, or various activities. Did we do everything we had interest in? Definitely not, because one of the highlights for us was the Sanctuary Club which we spent plenty of time in throughout the week. Whether you want to do a lot or a little, you’ll find plenty of enjoyment on Sun Princess.

6. Specialty cocktails were plentiful, and they’re imaginative and unique.

The food and beverage program is very strong on Sun Princess, and that translates into the creative cocktails that are offered at the ship’s bars. It seemed like pretty much every bar we visited had its own list of special cocktails alongside classic ones and the usual wine, liquor, and beer lists. It was so much fun to go to different bars and see what they had on offer.

We noticed that Princess seems to really like including banana in several of its cocktails and we tried (and loved!) many of them. We remarked more than once that we were very impressed with the variety and creativity of the drinks on Sun Princess, and this is coming from very avid cruisers.

Cocktail menu-wise, I’d say my favorite bars were Cascades Bar, Good Spirits at Sea, and the bar in the Sanctuary Club. My favorite cocktails at each were Amazonia (Cascades), Starry Night in Oslo (Good Spirits), and the Blueberry Basil Smash (Sanctuary Club).

7. Spellbound is well worth the money.

The one experience we paid extra for on Sun Princess was Spellbound by Magic Castle. This magical, intimate experience hosts just 30 guests twice each evening. It includes dinner, cocktails, close-up magic, and a card trick show by a resident magician. The Spellbound experience takes place in multiple spaces dedicated exclusively to Spellbound, and they’re very well themed.

When we booked our cruise on Sun Princess, I immediately knew that I wanted to do Spellbound — even at the steep price of $150 per person. And after it was all over, we couldn’t stop gushing about how worth it the whole evening was.

Dinner is a set menu, and takes place in a small themed dining room off of the Sanctuary Restaurant. Guests are then escorted to the main Spellbound area — through a seemingly normal-looking door off the Piazza. This is where the magic really begins. The space is incredibly immersive and features an attention to detail that we compared with the Disney parks — particularly the Haunted Mansion attraction.

The cocktails were creative and delicious, and the magic was mind-blowing. I’ve seen several illusionists over the years, and this experience — which featured two different illusionists — featured perhaps the most impressing and confusing tricks I’ve ever seen.

For the entire rest of the cruise, we couldn’t stop talking about how good the tricks were and how much we loved the Spellbound experience. I highly recommend spending the extra money and enjoying a fun evening at Spellbound.

Right now, Spellbound is only available on Sun Princess. However, it will be included on upcoming sister ship Star Princess as well.

In Conclusion

Upon reading this article, you may be wondering if there’s anything I didn’t like about Sun Princess. To be honest, there really isn’t much — my cruise on this ship has now become one of my favorite sailings to date. I did think it was disappointing that there wasn’t much to do on the top deck since Princess canceled its Park 19 recreation and attraction area. The space is currently very under-utilized, just featuring various seating and hammocks. But this wasn’t a glaring issue — especially since you don’t really “come across” that spot unless you head there on purpose.

Another small inconvenience we noticed was that, to us, the Sanctuary Club ended its food service too early in the day at 4 pm. We would have preferred it continue for another hour or two since we were often still up on the sundeck well past that time of day prior to getting ready for dinner.

Overall I was very impressed with my stateroom, the food, the Sanctuary Collection experience, and the entertainment. Of note, I loved the live music in O’Malley’s Irish Pub. A three-person Irish band called Pint of Plain played there often in the evenings, and they were so fun and really got the crowd into the music.

With Sun Princess being my first Princess cruise, I know that it probably gives me a bit of a skewed view of the fleet as a whole. But if the basic pillars of a vacation (food, accommodation, entertainment, activities) on this ship are any indication, I’m now a solid Princess Cruises fan. I would definitely book onto Sun or her sister ship Star Princess in the future.

Comments

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