Other Sea Princess Thoughts Sailed 9/29-10/9

[catmand]

It's been a long while since I have made any contributions to the main Princess boards here, hope this is OK?

Have been reading lots of dining issues.

We did Anytime Dining about half the nights of the ten. Went between 5:30 and 7:30 with groups of 8, 6, 4, and 2, twice. Never had a wait, and in the smaller groups were escorted to the Traditional Dining Room and seated there (is this something new?)

We had a group of nine one night in Sterling which was terrific. If I had any issue it was the size of the steaks. I hate to waste food and thought the dog wouldn't appreciate a seven day old piece of meat. So, I forced myself to finish the "petite" fillet.

We also had a few dinners in Horizon Ct. and one really, really good one in the Cornish Grill.

Tendering can be a problem for sure. I was stuck on one in Catalina for over an hour. Loading 150 people and assorted mobility aids safely must be a real issue.

We didn't "do" much on this cruise, our choice. I guess we have sailed enough now so passing on the production shows and other entertainment for reading and relaxing is fine. The Princess theater on Sea is small, certainly compared to Grand Class ships. It's easy for me to say, no problem but I can understand how folks would get frustrated if shows were important to them.

On the issue of crowded elevators: yes they were, but there are three elevators in the aft area that were rarely used.

The cabin was an Ocean View, cabin and bathroom were smaller than other ships we have sailed. We had the beds split which gave us more room,. Twenty one years of marriage, the room seemed more important.

We did have an issue with MUTS. Two years ago on Star we enjoyed the showings, a lot, and I would say we are fans (nighttime, not day). I think it's ridiculous to show "kids" or "family" things that you can't see and are too loud in daylight. At night the dialog was damn near impossible to hear. I thought maybe it was us, it was not. There were much younger people yelling "turn it up" and/or leaving in frustration. I tried to talk to someone in production about balancing the sound system, no dice. Finally I filled out a card and dropped it in the box. We tried to watch four movies and left them all inside thirty minutes.

In closing, if you ever sail out of San Francisco have your cab or driver drop you off (if you can) across the Embarcadero from the piers. You can take surface streets through town and save yourself 30-45 minutes.

Sea Princess is 12 years old, my opinion, she looks good but you may need to make some compromises.

I have posted some pictures on Webshots if you are interested.

http://community.webshots.com/user/catmand100

 

or it's in my signature if you can read that. Thanks for any comments or questions, Chuck

[RickEk]

Thanks for the review!

[CruisinMinnie]

It's been a long while since I have made any contributions to the main Princess boards here, hope this is OK?

 

Have been reading lots of dining issues.

We did Anytime Dining about half the nights of the ten. Went between 5:30 and 7:30 with groups of 8, 6, 4, and 2, twice. Never had a wait, and in the smaller groups were escorted to the Traditional Dining Room and seated there (is this something new?)

 

We had a group of nine one night in Sterling which was terrific. If I had any issue it was the size of the steaks. I hate to waste food and thought the dog wouldn't appreciate a seven day old piece of meat. So, I forced myself to finish the "petite" fillet.

 

We also had a few dinners in Horizon Ct. and one really, really good one in the Cornish Grill.

 

Tendering can be a problem for sure. I was stuck on one in Catalina for over an hour. Loading 150 people and assorted mobility aids safely must be a real issue.

 

We didn't "do" much on this cruise, our choice. I guess we have sailed enough now so passing on the production shows and other entertainment for reading and relaxing is fine. The Princess theater on Sea is small, certainly compared to Grand Class ships. It's easy for me to say, no problem but I can understand how folks would get frustrated if shows were important to them.

 

On the issue of crowded elevators: yes they were, but there are three elevators in the aft area that were rarely used.

 

The cabin was an Ocean View, cabin and bathroom were smaller than other ships we have sailed. We had the beds split which gave us more room,. Twenty one years of marriage, the room seemed more important.

 

We did have an issue with MUTS. Two years ago on Star we enjoyed the showings, a lot, and I would say we are fans (nighttime, not day). I think it's ridiculous to show "kids" or "family" things that you can't see and are too loud in daylight. At night the dialog was damn near impossible to hear. I thought maybe it was us, it was not. There were much younger people yelling "turn it up" and/or leaving in frustration. I tried to talk to someone in production about balancing the sound system, no dice. Finally I filled out a card and dropped it in the box. We tried to watch four movies and left them all inside thirty minutes.

 

In closing, if you ever sail out of San Francisco have your cab or driver drop you off (if you can) across the Embarcadero from the piers. You can take surface streets through town and save yourself 30-45 minutes.

 

Sea Princess is 12 years old, my opinion, she looks good but you may need to make some compromises.

 

I have posted some pictures on Webshots if you are interested.

http://community.webshots.com/user/catmand100

 

or it's in my signature if you can read that. Thanks for any comments or questions, Chuck

 

 

Thanks Chuck for the review and pictures. :)

[mycruz]

I agree, the Cornish Cafe was a great treat! Probably the best Cesar Salad on any ship served there.

 

Thanks for the review!

[lovevacadays]

Thanks for the review and thanks for the webshot photos. My mom and I sailed on the Sea back in 1997 when she was new. It was my first Princess cruise. Lots of wonderful memories from that trip.

[srpilo]

Great class of ship, many fond memory's of the Dawn & Sun.

 

 

Great Pizza too :)

Srpilo