Need Recent Sun Princess reviews

[SanFranBayCruiser]

We're thinking about the Sun Princess for the holidays in 2006 - after reading some of the reviews on the Sun Princess, I have to admit I don't know who to believe. Some people rave about this ship and some trash it like it's a floating sewerage plant. Since this would be a rather expensive trip for us, as we are not only taking ourselves but both sets of parents, I'd really appreciate it if we could get honest feedback about the ship. We have sailed Princess before and, we absolutely love the December 23, 2006 itinerary so, it all boils down to the condition of the ship. If you respond please just mention your sailing date so I can get a better idea if the "smell" I keep reading about has been rendered or if it is still going on.

 

Thanks.

[chrysalis]

Although you admit that you do not know who to believe from the reviews you have read, I suspect that you can say the same for any answers given here to your question....

 

Having said that, we were on the Sun this past March and in March '04 and we love the ship. If we did not we would never have booked her again. Not once did we every encounter a "sewage" smell.

 

The Sun Class ships are our "ships of choice" and have booked the sister ship (Sea) for 14 days this coming March.

 

What more can I say?........

[Druke I]

We were on the Sun Princess, 5-04, and at that time she was in fine shape.

 

I like the Sun class very much, and their mini-suites are as large as full suites on many ships.

 

I'd like to see more ships that size being built - they are much handier for Exotics than the Grand class - which in my opinion are too damned big, as they cannot fit through the Panama Canal.

[LMCAT123]

We were on the Sun Princess in late-April of this year. No smells that we detected and we were all over the ship every day for 10 days.

 

You will no doubt get many different answers to your question about the Sun - and yes, it is hard to know who to believe. You have to realize everyone has a different way of looking at things. I think many people love to trash a place (ship, hotel, restuarant, airline, etc.) simply because it is more "fun" then saying "everything was good". Personally I get sick of listening to people say "the ship is dated" (or the hotel room was dated, etc.). I can guarantee you that these same people do not re-model their home every year to keep up with the latest trends.

 

If you have any doubts all I can say is choose another ship/line - if you go on the Sun expecting problems you probably will be able to find some (no place is without faults), but if you go with an open mind you will have a much better trip. If the itinerary is fantastic then go for it.

[Jack1963]

We are about to leave for a 10-day cruise on the Sun Princess. This will be the third December in a row on the same ship, same basic itinerary!

 

The Sun class ships (Sun, Sea, Dawn) are wonderful ships. The Grand Class ships are just not as enjoyable for us.

 

The mini-suites on the Sun are excellent---I highly recommend booking one if you can swing it.

[cherokee]

We just came off the Sun & if I could I would book another cruise with her right now. No complaints what so ever. Book the cruise. You will enjoy this size ship..

[Warbird]

Today, my wife and I just got off the Sun. No smell problem in fact I was impressed with the crews efforts to keep the ship in top shape. I've been on some other ships and have seen what appears to be water stained carpets in the hallways. I've never really understood how that happens. I don't recall seeing any water stained hallway carpets on the Sun. This ship was at full capacity and close to 1000 repeat Princess customers. They must be doing something right.

 

John

[Suzieb]

We were on the Sun from Oct 19 - 29 and here is a fast run down. Her bow thrusters are not working so she uses tugs when she docks. She had generator problems on our cruise and it has gotten worse from what I heard, but she is still sailing. the only smell I smelt was up on the Prominard (sp) deck up in the chain locker. It smelt like greese or oil. Other than that she is in fine shape and the crew is a fine crew just waiting to help or try to make you comfy. I would not hesitate to sail again real soon

[LisaH]

The Sun Princess is our favorite ship. We have been on her twice and have not smelled the sewer smell. Most recently we sailed in February of this year. I would cruise on the Sun any day.

[laraoke2]

We were just on the Sun (Thanksgiving Cruise). The bad first:

We missed St. Vincent because one of the generators was broken. All the worrying about the hurricanes, pirates, etc...the last thing we thought would be a cancellation because of the ship being broken! Oh well...they did refund everyone $50 each, so that was good. I missed the last port, Princess Cays, because the night before, I got food poisoning (not a virus) It was horrible!!! The Sun is showing alot of wear and tear. Many of the seat cushions need to be replaced and our bed was lumpy. The food in the dining room (even without the food poisoning experience) was subpar to what we've experienced with Princess in the past

 

The best about the Sun, was that the service was excellent. Great embarkation and deembarkation. Also, kudos to Gabriel , our waiter, and George our cabin steward. The shows were excellent and the tours we booked were wonderful. But we would not go on the Sun again and instead of Princess, we will probably try Celebrity or Holland America.

 

P.S. Oh, I forgot the other good news...I lost weight on this cruise! Hmm...wonder why???? Ha!

[bdjam]

Sun Princess was inaugurated in 1995 – knowing this, I think the opinions of the ship tend to be tainted. While some have had bad experiences on her, I have had nothing but good (although it’s been over 18 months since I was on board). Princess would not let a ship become a garbage scow and still try to sell it as a viable product. While some compare Sun Princess unfavorably to the Grand Class, I would choose Sun Princess over one of the bigger ships any day.

I find it difficult to believe that Princess would let a ship deteriorate so since I've been on board.

[mii]

Did you read the Sun review by CC on the main page. That can be another prospective. I was on the Sun but in 2002 and then she was in fine shape. Have not been on her since. But I have to admit I love the Sun-class along with the Coral and the Island ships better than the Grand Class.

 

Marilyn

[Douglase]

We sailed the Sun in October 2005 and had a wonderful experience. Great food along with top notch staff and customer service. The Sun is a very beautiful ship. We sailed her on a 10 day cruise and would sail her again:)

 

Amy

[Mary Ellen1]

We just got off the same cruise. My DH had food poisoning early Saturday morning, after eating at the German buffet on Friday night. Where did you eat? We brought it to the attention of the Purser's desk, and a supervisor in the Horizon Court, who both denied any knowledge of food poisoning on board. My DH was out of commission for most of Saturday, but was better by that night.

 

I was thinking of writing to Princess, because frankly I didn't believe their denial. We knew it was definitely food poisoning. He didn't have the fever & chills of a Norovirus or any other type of illness.

 

Please provide more details -- maybe this is a bigger issue than they're admitting.

 

Thanks,

Mary Ellen

[Mary Ellen1]

I agree with Laraoke2 about much of the food being sub-par. It was OK, just not as good as we expected. One exception was the lobster, which we were able to get delivered via room service. It was very good. Not rubbery, which you might expect. In general, the cold soups were wonderful & I recommend you try them. We only made it to the dining room breakfast about 3X, and the waiters at breakfast & lunch seemed to be pretty harried & short-staffed. The Pizzeria was good and we never saw it even 1/2-full, so it remains relatively undiscovered. Or maybe it's just that the demographics of our cruise meant that there weren't a lot of pizza eaters.

 

The cruise was great. The Sun is in good condition given its age. Some of the lounge chairs on the Promenade deck are broken & need to be replaced before someone really hurts themselves.

 

It was too bad we missed St. Vincent. I guess it's too complicated to substitute another port at the last minute, so we got another sea day.

 

The bed was hard, & they had put a foam mattress pad on the bed before we got there, based on a request I had faxed a couple of weeks before our cruise. But the foam was pretty thin & didn't do much. But the cabin was in great shape.

 

Don't let this recounting of minor problems put you off from the Sun. We really had a great time. With a smaller ship, there was plenty of room at Princess Cays, and many loungers and cabanas went unused. One advantage of the Sun's 10-day itinerary is that it attracts far fewer children & families. Also there was a much higher percentage of non-U.S. passengers. We experienced the same thing when we took a 9-day NCL cruise last Thanksgiving -- few children & families and lots more Europeans.

 

Mary Ellen

[Douglase]

We were just on the Sun (Thanksgiving Cruise). The bad first:

We missed St. Vincent because one of the generators was broken. All the worrying about the hurricanes, pirates, etc...the last thing we thought would be a cancellation because of the ship being broken! Oh well...they did refund everyone $50 each, so that was good. I missed the last port, Princess Cays, because the night before, I got food poisoning (not a virus) It was horrible!!! The Sun is showing alot of wear and tear. Many of the seat cushions need to be replaced and our bed was lumpy. The food in the dining room (even without the food poisoning experience) was subpar to what we've experienced with Princess in the past

 

The best about the Sun, was that the service was excellent. Great embarkation and deembarkation. Also, kudos to Gabriel , our waiter, and George our cabin steward. The shows were excellent and the tours we booked were wonderful. But we would not go on the Sun again and instead of Princess, we will probably try Celebrity or Holland America.

 

P.S. Oh, I forgot the other good news...I lost weight on this cruise! Hmm...wonder why???? Ha!

 

 

Was your cabin on the Dolphin deck? Gheorge was our cabin steward on the Dolphin deck.

[laraoke2]

No. We were on Aloha deck.

[laraoke2]

MaryEllen1

 

FYI...regarding the food poisoning...I replied on the other post

[MCManders99]

DH and I cruised the SUN this past May. It was our first cruise and yes I had high expectations since it was our honeymoon. Also, family who are frequent cruisers on another line filled my head with their experiences. Every expectation was fufilled more than I ever could think. Food was unbelievable. I gained about 10 lbs. I ate every dessert on the menu each night. Service was fabulous, room steward, waiters, other crew members. We met some crew during a honeymooners get together and they remembered us and interacted with us all the time. Whatever we asked for, we got.. Love boat dream on nights it wasn't offered. The ship was gorgeous. No sewage smells. Just lovely open alaskan air. Very Classy and not too big, just right. Even though my next cruise I am looking at a different ship, I would definately book again sometime. Don't be scared to book her. I was in the same boat as you are, hearing different opinions and not sure if I made a right choice. But I went with it with an open mind and had the best time ever.