Zipline roller coaster mashup coming to new Princess Cruises ship
Princess Cruises announced its new class of ship Sun Princess headed to Florida next year will feature a unique top-deck adventure ride called a Rollglider.
Inspired by hang gliding and dubbed the Sea Breeze, the Rollglider straps cruisers into a seated harness to travel along an overhead track in what amounts to a combination of a zipline and roller coaster. The ride, though, is propelled electrically and can reach up 11 mph for a 60- to 90-second tour that is the centerpiece of ship’s Park19 space, which features nine activity spaces across decks 19, 20 and 21.
Similar to the suspended bicycle attraction SkyRide on sister cruise line Carnival’s Vista-class ships, the Sea Breeze looks to offer panoramic views on the track that does a 360-tour of the ship. A variety of the ADA accessible ride developed by European company Safety Engineering has been constructed at attractions around the globe, but not yet on a cruise ship.
“Park19 as the name suggests is a new space created for all our guests, including activities to bring together multi-generational travel families in a location with spectacular views and fun outdoor activities for all,” said line president John Padgett in a press release. “The new area was tailored based on guest feedback for more family and group activities spaces.”
The other features for the space are the two-deck Coastal Climb obstacle course that finishes with a slide; The Lookout observation deck offering the highest point for cruisers on board with 360-degree views; and The Net, which is a harnessed ropes course with bridges, balance beams and cargo nets.
For those without fear of heights, the line offers up the Infinite Horizon, which are tilted walls that lean out over the side of the ship allowing a view from Deck 19 down to Deck 9.
For those looking to relax, there’s an area for hammocks. For those who want to get wet, there’s the Splash Zone with pop jets and a water sculpture.
The final spaces are dedicated to a variety of fun including pingpong tables, shuffleboard and a sports court along with a jogging track.
Youth and teen centers on Decks 6 and 7 target younger travelers ages 6 months to 17 including Firefly Park for those up to age 7 with a dedicated play area for toddlers and babies 3 and under; Neon Grove for tweens; and The Underground for teens. These older youth spaces offer lounging, video game consoles, air hockey, foosball, skeeball and program activities.
Sun Princess is the first of the cruise line’s new Sphere class of ships, the largest in its fleet coming in at 175,500 gross tons. It’s headed for Port Everglades after a summer season sailing in the Mediterranean in 2024.
The ship remains under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy. It has a 4,314-passenger capacity based on double occupancy. It’s the first to run on liquefied natural gas, part of parent company Carnival Corp.’s efforts to reduce emissions.
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.