About this Princess Ship

This cruise is aboard the Sun Princess, a Princess "Sphere Class" ship, and one of the largest ships in the Princess Cruise fleet and came into service in March of 2024. The Star Princess is a sister ship of the Sun Princess and debuts in the fall of 2025 (we have already booked a cruise on the Star Princess for 2027!). The Sphere Class ships elevate the distinctive, upscale contemporary design utilizing marble, brass, and fine wood décor and luxurious attractions found on all of the other Princess Ships in their fleet but also brings it to a new higher level of elegance. This ship has toned down the use of gold and brass and seems to offer a more subtle neutral tone to its decor.

The Sun Princess was delayed in making its inaugural launch in the spring of 2024 and had a few design hiccups during its first six months at sea. Initial reviews were mixed. However, Princess listened to its guests and made some major changes after the first six months at sea, that is something that is typically unheard of for a new ship. During its transatlantic crossing from Europe to the Caribbean in the fall of 2024 many dining venues changed locations or were eliminated or modified to better serve the guests onboard. However, there are still complaints that many entertainment venues do not have adequate seating capacity for such a large ship. To perhaps help alleviate this issue the Sun Princess is now scheduled to go into dry dock for some additional refurbishings from March 28, 2026 to April 11, 2026. There are rumors that the plan is to enhance the size of some of the entertainment venues. Unfortunately, these improvements will happen after our cruise.

The Sun Princess was initially designed with an intent to attract more families to sail on Princess Cruises by designing a "Park 19" area that was supposed to feature a rollglider, a rope obstacle course, climbing cargo nets, and other attractions for the young, or young at heart. For whatever reason, this feature never was completed and most of the items have been removed. The Skydeck Sports Court and Track now occupies this area. No one knows exactly what Princess has planned for this area in the future. Hopefully by the time we sail, this area can be transformed into something more fun and useful.

I do have to give Princess Cruises some kudos for making changes as they go to improve the cruising experience for their guests. Instead of ignoring the issues they tend to step up to the plate and attempt to make things better.

The "Sphere Class" ships are unlike any of the previous ships in the Princess Fleet. All of the other Princess ships in the fleet are of basically the same layout, with some variations of venues and sizes, so regular Princess cruisers could easily find their way around any Princess ship upon boarding because it was very familiar to them. The Sun Princess and Star Princess however, were designed from the keel up to give a whole new look, layout, and vibe to cruising. If you are a regular Princess cruiser, you may or may not like some of the new features and its layout. We have typically found that people who have cruised for many years are much more stuck in their ways and do not like change. We suspect that they also protested when sails were added to cruise ships when they were used to rowing them. We may be disappointed with the entertainment venue sizes but hope to embrace the other changes and look forward to the new vibe that this ship will offer us. 

Tips for Travellers host, Gary Bembridge, offers his positives and negatives views about the Sun Princess in the video below

For those interested in technical specifications:

The Sun Princess has a capacity of 4,300 guests (based upon double occupancy) in 2,162 staterooms, with a crew of 1,600 staff. With a gross tonnage of 177,882 Gross Tons, a length of 1,113 feet, a beam of 155 feet, it sports 21 decks, 16 of which are accessible to guests. 

There are two Finnish made Wärtsilä (model 12V46F) 12 cylinder combustion engines producing 14.400 kW (19,300 hp) and two Wärtsilä (model 14V46F) 12 cylinders combustion engines producing 16.800 kW  (22,500 hp) giving a total of 63.400 kw (83,700 hp). These engines power the ships propulsion system and the onboard generators which produce electrical power throughout the ship.

The ship's propulsion system is two ABB electric motor Azipods, producing a total of 20.5 Megawatts (56,000 hp) of propulsion power which allows the ship to cruise at a speed of 22 knots (25 mph). Each Azipod has a fixed-pitch, 6 bladed propeller with a 6 meter diameter.  The Azipods can rotate 360 degrees for maneuvering and when the ship is cruising the Azipods point towards the front of the ship instead of towards the stern, thus pulling the ship on its way compared to pushing a ship as many ship propellers do. The ship also has 4 bow thrusters on each side of the ship with variable pitch propellers to allow it to precisely navigate to and away from berthing piers. This is the first Princess ship to be dual fueled and is powered primarily by liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel technology along with marine gas oil.

The Sun Princess also utilizes an air bubble system, known as air lubrication, to reduce drag and improve operating and fuel efficiency. The system generates bubbles under the hull, which creates a cushion of air that reduces friction between the ship and the water. 

The video below gives a great full ship tour

Here is a good review of the Sun Princess which includes a lot of great photos!

Below are some of the guest service areas you may see and use while onboard the Sun Princess. They are staffed by a Princess crew that are always willing to assist you if you have any questions or concerns. Operating hours may vary.