What We Still Love – and Don’t – Onboard Princess Cruises’ Sphere Class

About a year and a half ago, TMR was among the first outlets to experience Princess Cruises’ all-new Sphere Class, with a short sailing onboard Sun Princess. At the time, we offered five spots we believed advisors’ clients would love and four we weren’t in love with.

Since that sailing, many changes have been made – first to Sun Princess and then rolled out onto this year’s Star Princess, which debuted earlier this month.

After spending four days on Star Princess following its naming in Fort Lauderdale, TMR is revisiting the spots we loved and didn’t to see if anything has changed – and to add to our list.

Spots We Loved (on Sun Princess)

1. The Dome (Still love, but problematic.)

The Dome on the Sun Class is one of its most recognizable features. The light-filled spot high atop the front of the ship is one of the most popular spots onboard the ship. On both Sun and Star Princess, the airy space offers a peaceful respite from the business of the ship’s interior (except when crew decide to show Formula One racing on the big screen inside).

While loungers fill up quickly during the day, we always found there were some tables and chairs at the back available – not quite as relaxing as a lounger, but they still offered a place to sit if we wanted to spend some time in the Dome. However, if you think your clients will want to spend quality time in The Dome, you’ll need to instruct them to show up early to snag a lounger. They fill up fast and they stay full.

It’s considerably more frustrating in the evening for passengers who want to catch a show. We showed up a full 30 minutes early and there wasn’t a single seat left. We had to stand off to a corner (so as not to block the view of those sitting). It was uncomfortable and irritating and we left about 10 minutes after the show – a 45-minute Candlelight Concert with the onboard Monzter Jam duo – began.

(The setup of the Candlelight Concert is gorgeous, fyi. Showing up just to see the space aglow is worth it.)

Princess has not implemented any type of reservation system (for either The Dome or the Arena) since Sun Princess came out, but we still maintain that it would be a less frustrating experience if passengers could pre-book. This would cut out the time wasted showing up 40 or more minutes early and could prevent passengers from seeing a show twice, thus restricting others from seeing them at all.

One other quick note: At the time that Sun Princess debuted, the cruise line had a partnership with Cirque Eloize to create four aerial shows specifically for The Dome. (We saw the first while onboard and it was spectacular.) That partnership no longer exists, so the space is not being used for this type of show.

2. Spellbound by Magic Castle (Love it more.)

When Princess first debuted its partnership with Magic Castle on Sun Princess with Spellbound by Magic Castle, the experience included an elaborate dinner and cost guests about $150 a person. That changed in August of 2025, when Princess dropped the dinner and brought the price down to $45, which includes two specialty cocktails.

With several “shows” nightly – and the lower price – more guests can now enjoy the spectacular up-close magic that is on offer. Included in the ticket price are two drinks from the specialty cocktail menu, one “mainstage” show in the small theater, and all-night access to the Spellbound Lounge (from the time of their ticket onward) where guest will find tableside sleight-of-hand artists showing off their skills.

As with before, for the best value, tell your clients to choose an early show so they can see the included performance, then head out to another venue or dinner, and then come back to enjoy more time in the Spellbound Lounge.

3. Good Spirits at Sea (Still love it.)

Not much has changed for Good Spirits at Sea. It’s still a great spot for cocktail lovers and so much better than other Good Spirits at Sea locations on non-Sun Class ships.

4. O’Malley’s (Love it more.)

The second standalone O’Malley’s in the fleet, the one on Star Princess is the biggest yet with room for 32 more people. The bar still gets full most evenings when the live Irish music gets started, but at least it’s not quite as packed as on Star Princess.

5. Cascade bar (Still love it.)

Nothing has changed between Sun Princess and Star Princess. Cascade Bar is still a lovely bar to visit in the evening. We also loved it as a work spot during the day.

6. Makoto Ocean (Others still love it.)

As someone who doesn’t eat sushi, we never tried this venue out, but had been told on Sun Princess that it was excellent. Originally called Kai Sushi by Makoto Okuwa, the eatery is now Makoto Ocean on both Sun and Star Princess (and is replacing Kai Sushi on Diamond and Sapphire Princess).  Sushi lovers on our sailing raved about it.

7. The Butcher’s Block (Mixed response.)

As someone who doesn’t eat red meat, we also turned to others for their thoughts on The Butcher’s Block when we were on Sun Princess. At the time, people raved about it, but the enthusiasm for this venue seemed a little diminished this time around.

While people liked the fact that this restaurant was moved into a dedicated space, instead of at the back of The Eatery, the amount of food that is served was widely regarded as too much. We personally witnessed large amounts of meat go to waste when, by the fourth or fifth serving of different cuts of meat, most people couldn’t eat another bite.

Still, clients who truly love a coma-inducing amount of meat for dinner, will enjoy the large variety of freshly-carved meats that are served up.

Located at the back of the ship on Deck 9 – in space used the rest of the day as overflow for The Eatery buffet – The Butcher’s Block is only open for dinner and, much like a Brazilian churrascaria, has a set menu of meat, lots of meat, about six servings of different cuts of meat, plus a steak tartar.

It’s the kind of meal a person might want to forgo all meals prior to. It’s also a good idea for clients not to schedule a visit to Crown Grill the day after.

There is a vegetarian and vegan menu (I tried the former), but it’s excessively tomato: stewed tomatoes, stewed veggies in a tomato sauce, a bowl of tomato sauce the waiter called tomato stew, two eggs soft-side up with tomato sauce, etc.

8. International Café (Love it.)

International Café somehow got left off our original list when Sun Princess came out, which was an oversight on our part. Located on the top level of the Sphere (Deck 9), the International Café on the Sphere Class ships is larger than on other Princess ships (more pastries and daytime treats!), with an extended seating area bathed in natural light from the Sphere. It’s quiet in the mornings, but generally maintains a lively atmosphere throughout the day, with the buzz from activities in the Atrium two decks below drifting into the space.

Spots We Didn’t Love (on Sun Princess)

1. Main Dining Room (Like it more.)

Princess Cruises experimented with its three-level dining room on Sun Princes, making the top level a casual no-reservations-required American diner-style eatery, and using the bottom and middle levels for either traditional dining or Anytime diners. (There were also two separate Sanctuary and Reserve dining rooms that didn’t have enough capacity for all of the ship’s Sanctuary and Reserve guests.)

The result was an underused top level and too-crowded lower and middle levels.

This has been fixed. The top level is now reserved for Sanctuary Collection guests, some of whom previously had to eat in the other main dining rooms previously because there wasn’t enough room in the former Sanctuary and/or Reserve dining rooms.

By moving these guests out of the lower and middle levels of the main dining room, it opened up more space for traditional diners (Deck 6’s Aurora Dining Room) and Anytime diners (Deck 7’s Celestial Dining Room).

At the same time, the Americana Diner (called the All American Dining Room when we were onboard Sun Princess), has since been moved to the back of the Eatery (where The Catch by Rudi and The Butcher’s Block used to be located).

All in all, the change to the main dining rooms has been a success. We like the cleaner division and, on our sailing at least, it seemed to cut down on what used to be longer waiting times for Anytime diners.

What we’re still not convinced by is the Americana Diner. It’s open for breakfast and lunch on some days, and breakfast and a la carte dinners on others. For breakfast, it’s pretty much overflow for the Eatery. We never made it here for lunch or dinner, but on the days it was open, and we passed by, it looked pretty empty. Those who went for dinner one night weren’t overly impressed.

Because we didn’t get to check it out for ourselves, we’re reserving judgement, but it seems to still be an underused concept that Princess hasn’t quite got right yet.

2. Piazza (Still not in love with.)

No changes were made to the Piazza or Sphere between Sun Princess and Star Princess. While the light streaming in from the Sphere’s glass windows gives the three-story atrium an abundance of natural light that is much appreciated, the seating arrangements are still lacking when it comes to watching any type of entertainment on the main floor of the Piazza. Seats on the upper two levels provide limited sight lines. On a positive note, not many activities held in the Piazza seem to draw large enough crowds to fill up all the seats on the upper two levels, so at least there’s usually somewhere to sit if you don’t mind being separated from the action.

3. The Arena (Still not in love with.)

We’ll say it again. The main theater, called The Arena, on Sphere Class ships is technologically amazing. It can be configured in three different ways, pieces of the stage can be moved up and down, and the sight lines from almost every seat are fantastic. The production quality is also among the best we’ve seen at sea. In Meridian, a derivative musical about a princess falling in love with a sailor on her way to marry a mystery prince, the staging of a ship at sea is excellent, as are the costumes.

The main problem is there just aren’t enough seats, (both shows we saw used the keyhole configuration of the theater, which provides the least amount of seating), compounded by the fact that large swaths of seating is reserved for suite guests and Princess Premium cruisers.

If your clients are not shelling out extra for the Princess Premium package, be sure to let them know they need to arrive at least 40 minutes early to get a seat.

4. Wheelhouse Bar (Still not in love with.)

Nothing has changed from Sun Princess to Star Princess. What is a popular Princess staple on other ships, offering plenty of lounge space and a stage for live entertainment, is just another hallway bar on Sun and Star Princess. A quick and easy spot to grab a pre- or post-dinner drink, but there’s not much else to do there.