Princess Cruises welcomed passengers aboard the largest ship ever built for the cruise line as the Sun Princess made its maiden voyage from Rome.
The 177,882–gross-ton ship has a 4,314-passenger capacity based on double occupancy. It’s the first of the line’s new Sphere class of ships, the first to run on liquefied natural gas, part of parent company Carnival Corp.’s efforts to reduce emissions.
It’s a big jump in size from the Royal-class ships including 2022’s Discovery Princess, 2020’s Enchanted Princess and 2019’s Sky Princess, which come in at around 145,000 gross tons with about 3,660-passenger capacities.
It won’t call Port Everglades home until October and begins its spate of European voyages until then with a 10-night Grand Mediterranean cruise.
“This is a historic day as our new Sun Princess sets sail on her inaugural voyage, and our guests get to experience our sensational, next-level, Love Boat firsthand,” said Princess Cruises President John Padgett in a news release. “The ship is a magnificent showcase of advanced design, technology and craftsmanship, with elevated spaces and experiences all focused on taking the Princess vacation experience to a new level.”
Two features Padgett played up are the geodesic, glass space on the top deck called The Dome, inspired by the terraces of the Greek island Santorini. It features several levels that stair-step up adjacent to a main indoor/outdoor pool feature. At night, that gets covered to become a stage for an entertainment venue with a South Beach feel that will be home to an acrobatic performance called Cirque Éloize.
Another new feature for the ship is called the Piazza, which acts as the ship’s three-story atrium, a more spherical look than most, and apropos for the Sphere class. It offers views on either side of the ship to the sea plus a central LED screen that can be moved depending on what entertainment programming is in order.
The ship’s name may seem familiar to Princess Cruises fans. This is the third iteration of Sun Princess, the name was attached to ships that sailed for the line from 1974-1988 and 1995-2020. The pilot episode of “The Love Boat” TV series was shot on board the original Sun Princess in 1977.
The new version offers up 30 food and beverage venues including a thematic magic experience called Spellbound by Magic Castle with a sponsorship from the famous Hollywood, California venue.
Other unique venues are Kai Sushi by Makoto serving Edomae-style sushi from Chef Makoto Okuwa, Love by Britto featuring works by artist Romero Britto, and The Butcher’s Block by Dario from celebrity Italian butcher Dario Cecchini.
Other venues on board include another version of line mainstay The Catch by Rudi from Chef Rudi Sodamin and a cocktail lounge from celebrity mixologist Rob Floyd.
The three-deck Horizons Dining Room has inaugural menus created with the Culinary Institute of America.
The ship offers more for younger cruisers than previous ships including a family activity zone called Park19 that runs across the ship’s three top decks. That includes an adventurous ride that’s a mashup of a zipline and hang glider called the Sea Breeze as well as a climbing structure called Coastal Climb.
Its first trip from Florida will be a five-night voyage on Oct. 14 followed by mostly alternating seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries through March 2025.
