Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Princess Cruises reveals more details for Florida-bound ship
With a year to go before its debut, Princess Cruises revealed more details for the biggest ship it’s ever built.
Bringing back the popular name Sun Princess, the 175,500-gross-ton, 21-deck vessel is headed for Port Everglades after a summer season sailing in the Mediterranean in 2024.
Because of the size, familiar spaces among the cruise line have a bigger footprint to work with, while the line is embracing bigger designs for the ship theater and a three-deck main dining hall.
“With the construction of any new ship, we have the incredible opportunity to design standout spaces with our guests’ preferences in mind,” said line president John Padgett in a press release. “With the new platform and size of Sun Princess, we’re uniquely able to refresh venues we know our guests love and expand upon, redesign and elevate them to the next level.”
Princess Arena is the supersized version of the Princess Theater design. The venue has an in-the-round layout with moveable seats and a 1,000-seat capacity.
The Horizons Dining Room will traverse decks 6 to 8, with each level promising a separate experiences including different levels of formality.
New designs and décor are in store for existing Princess offerings such as Alfredo’s Pizzeria, now with an open-mouth oven that will reach temperatures of 968 degrees for what is touted to be a more authentic contemporary Neapolitan pizza.
The ship will have an expanded casino with more than 200 slot machines and video poker games, a modernized Crown Grill with its own show galley so diners can watch their steaks seared in front of them, and the return of Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria with its own pasta room allowing for guests to watch it being made.
A bigger ship means more shops, and a more space for bars and lounges such as Crooner’s, the Wheelhouse Bar, International Cafe, Good Spirits and Gelateria.
The Explorer’s Lounge will be home to Princess Live! events such as games shows and trivia.
The ship remains under construction in Italy. It has a 4,314-passenger capacity based on double occupancy. The first of the line’s new Sphere class of ships, it’s the first to run on liquefied natural gas, part of parent company Carnival Corp.’s efforts to reduce emissions.
Its last ships, 2022’s Discovery Princess, 2020’s Enchanted Princess and 2019’s Sky Princess, come in at around 145,000 gross tons with about 3,660-passenger capacities.
This is the third time the cruise line has brought back the Sun Princess name, with earlier versions having sailed from 1974-1988 and 1995-2020. A sister ship to the new Sun Princess is due to the line in spring 2025.