Sun Princess Shuffling Restaurants Just Months After Launch

Things haven’t been easy for Princess Cruises’ newest ship, the Sun Princess. First, the ship faced multiple delays during construction. When it finally set sail, much of the entertainment and whole parts of the ship weren’t ready. Then, they announced that the large family area, Park19, would actually never open. Now, only eight months after its debut, Princess Cruises is shuffling restaurants around on their newest ship before its US debut on October 14.

Thankfully, most of this shuffle is good news, better utilizing spaces to correct poor planning. “With the relocation and transformation of these popular specialty restaurants, we’re not only enhancing the ambiance but also optimizing the overall dining experience for our guests,” said Sami Kohen, vice president of food & beverage for Princess Cruises. “These new locations allow us to expand capacity while also creating more intimate and immersive culinary environments, ensuring that every meal aboard Sun Princess is truly exceptional.”

Horizons Dining Room Changes

The Sun Princess debuted with a beautiful 3-tiered dining room, called the Horizons Dining Room. The first level, Deck 6, was used for assigned time dining. The second level, Deck 7, was used for anytime dining, and the 3rd level was called the American Diner, a more casual dining option where guests could enjoy classics and more casual food fare. The American Diner concept is being broken out and moved to the back of the buffet, The Eatery.

The two lower levels will get different names to remove confusion with guests. Deck 6 will now be called the Soleil Dining Room, and Deck 7 will be the Eclipse Dining Room. Food and service will remain the same for both of those.

New Sanctuary Restaurant for Sanctuary Collection Guests

The third floor of the Horizons Dining Room will now be a new “Sanctuary Restaurant” for Sanctuary Collection guests. This elevated dining experience offers custom chef’s menus. It is available exclusively to guests staying in Sanctuary Collection cabins. On the Sun Princess, there are 80 suites, 123 mini suites, and 12 premium deluxe balcony cabins that fall into this class.

These guests also have exclusive access to “The Sanctuary Club,” a dedicated top deck area at the aft of Deck 18. This area formerly had a dedicated “Signature Sun Deck” for Signature Class cabins and a larger area called “The Sanctuary,” where guests could purchase access if they weren’t in suites. Now, it’s now it’s all been combined into one “Sanctuary Club” exclusively for guests in a Sanctuary Collection cabin. This area has the only child-free pool on the ship.

The Butcher’s Block by Dario and The Catch by Rudi Get Better Venues

The Sun Princess saw the addition of two new specialty restaurants. While early reviews spoke positively of the food, the ambiance and setup left something to be desired, according to many. For breakfast and lunch, these areas were part of the buffet. At dinner, the area would be used for specialty dining, but it couldn’t shake the feel of a buffet setup, especially with a main hallway right through the area. It didn’t provide the ambiance expected of an additional fee specialty restaurant costing $45.

The Butcher’s Block by Dario, a family-style restaurant serving premium cuts of meat, will be moving to where the Crown Grill was on Deck 7.

The Catch by Rudi, featuring seafood specialties from chef Rudi Sodamin, is moving to Deck 7, off of the Piazza, where the Signature Restaurant is currently located.

Crown Grill Takes Over Reserve Collection Restaurant

Princess Cruises’ signature steakhouse, Crown Grill, will move to where the Reserve Collection restaurant previously was located at the back of Deck 7.

Our Take: Good Changes But Another Bump in the Road for Sun Princess

For a new ship to undergo so many changes in less than a year of service is pretty unheard. In recent years, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Virgin Voyages have all launched new classes of ships and none of them had so many changes after launch. It’s clear Princess Cruises didn’t understand what they wanted to do with this new ship or how it’d be received. Most of these changes are good, but many of these issues should have been caught during the planning process.

The Sun Princess seems to have a bit of an identity crisis, and maybe the same could be said for Princess Cruises. This ship was supposed to be more family-friendly and bring in more multi-generational travelers. But now, many of the kid-focused attractions aren’t opening. The increased dining options were supposed to bring flexibility, but then guests complained they couldn’t get reservations at any of them when they were included with their Princess Premiere package.