Royal Princess Cruise Ship belts out ‘Love Boat’ theme song
Love, exciting and new! Come aboard, we’re expecting you!
USA TODAY, Storyful
I was rushing to make my dinner reservation on Princess Cruises’ new ship. But when I arrived at the restaurant, the view made me stop.
From the windows at the sushi eatery Makoto Ocean – part of a sphere-shaped structure near the middle of the vessel – I saw the sun sinking below the horizon, a reddish-orange dot on the Mediterranean Sea. The Sun Princess facilitates scenes like that by design.
“We wanted to make sure that within how we designed the (venues) and placed the furniture, we gave maximum opportunity for our guests to be able to celebrate those outward views,” Denise Saviss, Princess’ vice president of entertainment experience, told USA TODAY. “It is really, really unique to have so much glass on the ship.”
That was one of several striking features during a recent sailing (the ship is now cruising the Mediterranean before it moves to the Caribbean in October). Here are three takeaways from the first in the line’s aptly named Sphere Class.
1. The design showcases views at sea and in port
Makoto isn’t the only venue that offers that kind of view.
Other spaces inside the Sphere – which also houses lobby-slash-entertainment venue The Piazza – feature similarly sweeping vistas across decks 7, 8 and 9. I watched the light sparkle on the water while I sipped coffee one morning at International Café, and patrons dining at Alfredo’s Pizzeria can take in the scenery during their meal from many seats.
That’s also true elsewhere on the ship. At Horizons Dining Room, floor-to-ceiling windows face the ship’s wake. At the other end of the vessel, the Dome, a geodesic structure that Princess has said was inspired by the hills of Santorini, is like a massive solarium.
The space – which will also host shows including acrobatics – has multiple tiers of loungers, an indoor-outdoor pool and the Cascade Bar (which comes in handy for cooling off, as it felt a bit muggy in the Dome at one point on a sunny sea day).
The overall effect helped to bring the outside in.
2. The ship is bigger but still intimate
Sun Princess is the largest ship in the Princess fleet, and the 21-deck vessel can accommodate 4,300 guests. But that doesn’t mean everything is huge.
Given the scale of the offerings, a number of spaces on board feel notably intimate. One night, I walked to Good Spirits at Sea, a cocktail bar crafted in partnership with mixologist Rob Floyd that also hosts classes, and thought I was lost before stumbling upon it tucked around a corner on Deck 7. Inside, the 40-person venue offered a laid-back alternative to other more boisterous nightlife options.
On Deck 9, the ship’s buffet-like venue, The Eatery, gives way to narrower hallways toward the aft with backlit wood paneling and benches. At the end, they open back up to reveal specialty restaurants The Catch by Rudi and The Butcher’s Block by Dario (from Princess’ head of culinary arts, Rudi Sodamin, and in partnership with famed butcher Dario Cecchini, respectively).
Even the multi-configuration Princess Arena felt cozier than its near-1,000-guest capacity would suggest. I sat in the second-to-last row of my section for a performance by the vocal group ODY·C and was still close enough to see clearly.
3. The line leans into family-friendly activities
Part of Sun Princess’ expanded footprint has been used to broaden the line’s family offerings.
Park19, a new space on the ship’s top decks, features a variety of activities in an open-air setting. Saviss said the line worked to balance the interests of core customers and a growing family market “and make sure we’re prioritizing spaces that everybody can enjoy.”
“There are some attractions that I think naturally, at first blush, people would say, ‘Oh, it’s just for kids,’ but actually, the space is really comprehensive,” she said. “Our attractions are…
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