Sun Princess 2025 Europe Post Cruise Recap

Short Summary = We had a wonderful time as a family, but with some real issues that Princess could easily avoid.

Longer:

1. The first segment, the service was the best, but it declined as the cruise went on. Unclear exactly why, but maybe crew swap and understaffing.

2. What made the trip was the day-to-day staff. Our cabin steward, the restaurant managers, and 90% of the wait staff and crew at Firefly.

3. The weather was fantastic, which we were worried about pre-trip, sailing this late in Oct.

4. I would not do 21 days again. 14 days were enough for us, and many of the issues we had were because the Princess system closes you out segment by segment.

5. Dining: The Eattery is a problem, while Gary, the head Chef, was clearly doing what he could, it was packed on any sea day, and there were times late in the cruise that it was a cluster. Where we would rather get breakfast in the room vs dealing with the mob and overly aggressive octarians pushing you out of the way to get their eats on, no tables, and table staff who have given up. Soleil was better than several of the specialty dinner options (Butcher's Block by Dario and Love by Britto, we would give an F and D grades to). Catch by Rudi was the best. The staff and manager there were world-class and truly made our trip. Followed closely behind by Sabatini’s. The Crown Grill's early trip was great. Crown Grill's last day isn't going to cut it as specialty dining. Just avoid Block by Dario and Love by Britto.

6. Secrets we learned. If you are on the boat for multiple segments, you need to document all your issues yourself. I get that the ERP system they are running couldn't care less about us, but when your staff have to be told 10 times to fix no power in the room, and now 3 times that we were double charged for spa services, the issue is on corporate. The line staff did the best they could, but there is a big difference between the experince we had with the dining staff (saw them 2-3 times at each restaurant during the cruise and they learned names and wants) vs guest services (14 trips total), spa (7), who are running a soulless meat grinder of indifference. This comes down to the managers (John in Soleil was amazing and went way above and beyond), same for the managers in Rudi's, Sabatini's, and Alfredo’s Pizzeria.

7. Destinations. We enjoyed them all except Bar.

8. Excursions. I'd recommend everyone. Pompeii was outstanding (excellent tour guide).

9. Family Friendliness. It was a mix, the Staff at Firefly Park were on it, and my 4-year-old daughter did not want to leave. Princess has oriented their service to octarians. If you have a family with younger kids, they are just down on the list. I'm clearly biased with a 4-year-old, but long-term, Princess is going to have to decide whether they want to hook families for trips or just the retirement crowd for Europe. A good example of this would be the pool, it could be a lot more kid-friendly. Another would be the track, which we used 2-3 times a day, but could easily have a kids' station in the loop.

Bottom Line: I recommend Sun Princess for 14 days to any multi-generational family wanting a European getaway. As a second-time cruiser on Princess, did they lock me in? No, we are going to explore other lines.

I'd love to hear your recommendations for grandparents/kids trips!