What's better than food? Included food!

 "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." - Virginia Woolf

Grab some free popcorn bags set out each evening for Movies Under the Stars by the outdoor pool and settle in for this lengthy rundown.

While there are several restaurant venues on the Sun Princess that require an extra charge (unless you have a package), there is a handful of options that do not cost anything beyond the standard cruise fare. The two standard options you'll find on any Princess ship is the buffet (known on Sun Princess as The Eatery) and the Main Dining Room (MDR). While the buffet will serve food for all three meals of the day and late night snacks, the MDR will only be open for lunch on sea days. Also make sure to check the daily schedule as oftentimes breakfast hours will start and end earlier in the MDR if it's a port day. 

The Eatery on Sun Princess is unique in that it was from the start designed to be crew served only. There are some sections with grab and go items if you'd like to avoid waiting in line. Sun Princess has upped their buffet game also by arranging the options by themed stations. No theme of the day menu affecting all stations but rather tons of choices where you could sample Asian food one day and Italian food the next or decide to eat Asian food every day if you wanted. 

The MDR is split into three levels based on how you prefer to dine. The Soleil dining room on Deck 6 is more for those who enjoy the traditional dining experience. You have either an early or later set dining time every night with the same table and same wait staff. The Eclipse dining room on Deck 7 is for those cruisers who prefer the convenience of dining whenever they want within operating hours. Want to catch the later show that evening? Dine early this evening. Getting back from a long excursion the next day and want time to relax and freshen up? Dine later in the evening. You may not have the same table and same wait staff but there's no requirement to show up at a certain time every night. Lastly, on Deck 8 is the Sanctuary Restaurant which is the main dining room exclusively for those in the Sanctuary Collection cabins.

I noticed that after we were checked in at the Sanctuary Restaurant enjoying our meal, it created a reservation on my medallion app schedule.

The Sanctuary Restaurant menus on the Sun Princess differed slightly from Reserve (formerly known as Club Class) dining on older ships. Other ships offer the same exact menu as the main dining room with an addition of a dish or two that your wait staff will tell you each night. On the Sun Princess, you'll find that it's more a slight variation in various dishes plus some extras. For example, a steak will come with lobster ravioli where it'll only be the steak in the other MDRs. Also, the Princess Favorites (Always Available, Princess Classics) section always includes the prime rib trolley whereas that may only be one night out of the voyage in the other MDRs. 

Sanctuary Club Manager Marius stopped by to say hello and meet Prince S. Prince S says "Thanks for the lift!"

I enjoyed the opportunity to chat with several of the Sanctuary Collection crew during our meals. It was great to hear that Princess welcomes their feedback and ideas. I look forward to seeing the ideas go into effect like ordering more tableside trolleys so they can go back to offering tableside preparation for more than just prime rib. Another suggested idea that I found intriguing was the proposal of allowing Sanctuary Collection passengers to order specialty restaurant dishes while dining in the Sanctuary Restaurant. All specialty restaurants are currently included if you have Premier 90 which all Sanctuary Collection cabins get upgraded to for booking. However, at this time, you can only get those meals included if you dine in the specialty restaurant, not in your cabin or in the MDR.

Escargot

Hearty Baked Ricotta Stuffed Shells - you can get the pasta course in a small appetizer portion like pictured below or as your full size main entree.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Lobster - port wine reduction, velvety potato mousseline, and buttered vegetables

Another visit to the restaurant for dinner:

 Crab Cake Appetizer

Dad asked about getting a plate of fruit for his appetizer and our server had him pick exactly which fruits he wanted.

The Sanctuary Restaurant's version of Spaghetti Carbonara 

Do you like this one or the one from Sabatini's better?

The Baked Chicken from the Princess Favorites menu

Dad ordered the Prime Rib from the Princess Favorites menu. It comes to you tableside on a trolley where you can choose size of the piece cut and whatever sauce etc you want on the side.

The nice thing about opting for ice cream on Sun Princess when none of the dessert options appeal to you - it's always going to be gelato!

Our final night onboard we had to return to our favorite dining venue.

Corn and Crabmeat Tart:

Caesar Salad - appetizer size

And I couldn't let a Princess cruise end without trying the Fettucine Alfredo? Which version do you like better? With or without the cheese basket lining the bottom of the bowl?

Filet Mignon Rossini - truffle, foie gras, madeira sauce, asparagus, and fingerling potatoes

Chocolate Cake 

Gelato Baked Alaska

Breakfast in the Sanctuary Restaurant

Prince S swiped my cinnamon roll

I love when I can get a plate of fruit as an appetizer. I really liked how the Sanctuary Restaurant menu had two options on their breakfast menu - the fruit platter and the fruit bowl. I asked our waiter what the difference was, thinking it was different fruit choices or mixed with something like granola, and he said the platter is bigger pieces of fruit on a plate and the bowl is smaller cut up pieces of fruit in a bowl. 

The Fruit Platter:

The Fruit Bowl:

One of the things I didn't care for on Celebrity's breakfast menu is that if you ordered a flavor for your pancakes, i.e. bananas, then they put them inside the pancakes and that was too sweet for me. On Princess, the waiter asked me if I wanted the banana inside or outside the pancakes on the plate. And an even better touch was that they bring everyone a plate full of toppings options in small bowls so you can add as much or as little of anything you want. The small bowls help contain everything and you don't end up with everything coated in syrup.

Also in praise of the Sun Princess - I love the larger glasses of orange juice we got with breakfast this time. So much better than the little shot glasses. I think this was also the first time we were given the option of regular or fresh squeezed so we didn't have to sip from those tiny glasses full of pulp.

French toast with pork sausage and bacon:

Pancakes and french toast. You had to know the waffles are coming next. These two came with a plate of topping options to add as you wish.

If carbs aren't your thing, you can also get eggs prepared any way you wish. Here's fried over medium:

Scrambled eggs - that is not a gigantic oversized hash brown in the picture. 

While most everyone we met working in the Sanctuary Restaurant was amazing, I'd like to share a moment of concern that happened in relation to this morning's breakfast. After a short while, our server swung by to ask if I wanted ketchup. I said yes so he brought over a small dish with ketchup and a small spoon that he left with me at the table. I used the spoon to drizzle ketchup and spread it out over my eggs. The part that concerned me occurred a few minutes later. The same server must have been asked for ketchup by another table. He walks past our table near their station to get some but stops when he notices the dish he'd brought me still had some ketchup in it. He asks if I'm done with the ketchup and whisks it away to the other table when I said yes. Not only are you passing something used by another guest to someone else but if that person had an allergy to eggs, it could be a serious health issue.

Dad's go to with Princess breakfast is the bagel with lox and he enjoyed that staple several times this trip. This morning he decided to step it up and put salmon in his omelette. Then of course make up for the fish on his plate with tons of meat.

Ordered a cheese omelette with sausage. Ended up getting chicken sausage this time.

I asked our waiter to bring some pork sausage as well. Here's a comparison between the two.

Had to try the Eggs Benedict - Canadian bacon was a little stringy and tough to slice when you tried to get a little of everything in each bite.

Caught Prince S trying to sneak into the sugar bowl:

Lunch in the Sanctuary Restaurant

Calamari - too chewy. Our server Mary offered to swap it for something else but I declined. 

Shrimp Scampi - those two little half looking shrimp at the top of the plate are actually two tiny hard crostini pieces masquerading as garlic bread. It also seemed heavy on the red pepper flake or something that was making it taste extremely spicy!

Dad ordered a monte cristo sandwich for his entree but it was another casualty of "Oh did you want a picture?" as he's on the last bites.

Dad's sundae for dessert and my New York Cheesecake:

One of the best hidden gems of Princess Cruises is their International Cafe. This venue is usually open 24 hours and can be a savior when you get back from an excursion between meal services or you have a late night hankering for some nibbles. This is our favorite place to stop on the way back to our cabin for the night to get cookies and sweet treats. During the morning you can find Egg McMuffin style breakfast sandwiches, pastries, and donuts. Later in the day the offerings change to more savory options like sandwiches and salad choices. They will heat up any of the sandwiches. All of the food here is included but the coffee side comes with a fee and a side of super long line. The nearby bar seating facing the Piazza is great to watch all those doing morning Zumba while you enjoy your donut.

It was great to see the little extra touches of inclusion such as wheelchair height bar tables and a menu showcasing gluten free and sugar free options.

 

Pro tip: if the line is long for coffee at the International Cafe, go down by the Piazza to Coffee Currents. The food is also included there but is most always pastry based. Coffee drinks from both venues are covered by the Plus and Premier packages.

Lido Deck - Get those steps in walking through the Lido Deck food stands on both sides of the ship as there is a lot more to offer than the typical grill and pizza counters. Be sure to check out the outside food service next to The Eatery as they have a different pizza stand and soft serve ice cream. Kudos to the crew at this stand. They had run out of the pepperoni pizza Dad wanted and asked him to wait while they made more. Most of the time when this happens, the people who have just walked up end up grabbing the newly made pizza. Today, the crew held the new pizza back from the crowd and called Dad over to get his first along with the few others who had been waiting. 

I chose to try the Quattro Formaggio pizza. It was so soft and cheesy that it reminded me of the old Joe Corbi's cheesy bread we used to sell as a school fundraiser.

The Americana Diner - while this venue doesn't open until 11AM each day, it is a great option when you want some simple comfort food. The biggest draw is the menu option of having breakfast served all day. The only caveat of an all day breakfast - you can't order it until brunch/lunch time. This is a different menu than the MDR but is included without a package. You also don't need reservations to dine here. 

Unfortunately, our service while trying this venue was somewhat lacking. Not only for slow timing but for other frustrations. I ordered a fries based appetizer to share as well as a burger for my main not knowing that they come with fries. The waiter brought out our dishes handing Dad his burger and fries. He then handed me a plate with just the burger and chuckled as he explained that he chose to leave them off my plate because I'd ordered the other fries. When it came time to order dessert, he took Dad's order of a Mississippi Mud Pie off a nearby tray, and then walked away not even giving me the chance to request anything.

Strawberry Shortcake Milkshake - Strawberry ice cream, fresh strawberries and milk, garnished with whipped cream and meringue pieces. I saw a vlogger trying this same milkshake and her waiter explained that it was missing the garnish because they were out. Could they still be out months later? Unless you call the powdery pieces floating on the top reminiscent of strawberry Nesquik as a garnish? I tried a sip and it tasted just like strawberry flavored Nesquik with this hint of having just bitten into a ripe strawberry aftertaste. 

Prince S even tried to shoo it away

Loaded Colossal French Fries - seasoned fries, buffalo sauce, and blue cheese. Certainly a shareable appetizer/side but make sure all diners really like buffalo sauce. It needed more of the blue cheese in order to counteract the spicy buffalo sauce. Melted blue cheese or a blue cheese dipping sauce on the side would have been balanced the tastes better.

Tots & Poppers - crispy tater tots, cajun cauliflower poppers, smoky BBQ ketchup, and a herby garlic tahini dip. I tried both the tater tots and the cauliflower poppers (of which it was like 1 1/2 under those tots in the picture below). Neither tasted different other than being able to tell they were made from two different vegetables. I tasted no cajun seasoning.

The Americana Burger - 1/3 lb patty, gouda and cheddar cheeses, bacon jam, tomato aioli, and arugula on a brioche bun. It looks like they tried to grill the bun but it ended up burnt and stale tasting. Everything in between the buns tasted good though.

Room Service

Disclaimer: With the addition of the Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages, ordering via OceanNow (to be delivered wherever you are on the ship) and/or Room Service (directly from your cabin phone to your cabin) now carries a fee if you don't have either package.  The OceanNow one time charge is around $15 but ordering from your cabin phone gets a service charge around $5 each time you order. We still tipped the crew who brought our order whether it was food or drinks.

When you place an order in your Ocean Medallion Princess app, it assigns an order number, shows you where you requested it be brought, the time the order was placed, and a status bar so you can watch the progress of your order arriving. Our order arrived at our cabin about 20 minutes after placing it.

I was surprised by how limiting the app room service menu has become. There is no ability to order milk or juice. However there is that option on the paper tag for breakfast delivery. Dad wanted to get some milk to go with his chocolate cake. Several items now have an extra charge in addition to the delivery fee. Dad was really disappointed to learn that the chips and guacamole is no longer offered on the Ocean Now service. 

Loaded fries - as shown and described on the app as simply cheese sauce drizzled over crinkle cut fries. The app labels it as a vegetarian dish. What I received was a plate of fries covered in chili meat and beans and then covered in cheese sauce. 

The Classic Grilled Cheese from the Kids Menu section. This was Dad's choice so even big kids can order it. Just don't be surprised when it arrives with a small portion cut into triangles with the crusts off!

Also Dad's choice from the Kids Menu - Cheese Quesadilla. The app prompts you to pick an option to have on the side so we went a little potato chip crazy. We did not even try to finish all the chips.

Double Decker Clubhouse Sandwich (with potato chips) - this is pretty much the only club where you'll find me.

Dad's 100% Beef Hot Dog and plain fries

Traditional New York Cheesecake - pretty close to a proper NY cheesecake. I loved that there wasn't any fruit compote or syrup garnish. This kept well sitting on our cabin dining table until the next day as I was too full for dessert.

Dad's chocolate cake (sans milk to wash it down)

Premium Desserts (included with Plus (2 per day) or Premier (unlimited) Packages, otherwise $12 each) Found on the Sun Princess by visiting Coffee and Cones on Deck 17. This is also where the slices of cake that are also part of the Premium Desserts can be found.

Dad ordered The Godfather sundae that is described as having a fudge brownie, vanilla gelato, chocolate sauce, and Florentine Tuile. This is what he was given. Honestly, I think in this case Dad was happier with the mini M&M on top versus the tuile. 

Still to come - Casual Dining, is it worth the cost? And Later - Specialty Restaurants, what dishes did we try?