Sun Princess

[mpduquaine]

Hi fellow Cruisers-

Please help me~

I am taking my 4 children on a 10 day and have lots and lots of questions. Please help! This will be our 1st cruise with our children. They have nothing to campare it to. We will have 2 rooms, next to each other. Me and the girls in 1 and my husband and the boys inthe other :). It should be interesting! But please tell me, is this the ship for children? I do like the safety of Princess but am concerned with the pools and other activities for children... Where is the children's pool area. I do not have small children, but they love the water! They are 16, 15, 13, 11! I still have today to make a change, but have loved the idea of a 10 day and it is a great price. Please any input would be, I need help!

Thanks!@

 

Michele

[chrysalis]

the children's pool is right beside the "main" pool. Look at the deck plans on the Princess site to see what I mean. (not sure your 16 and 15 year olds would want to use the "kids pool"..or even your younger ones, for that matter.

 

Also, the Princess site will give you a ton of info about childrens activites aboard. Check it out.

 

The Sun is a great ship and the 10 day voyages are wonderful...we have done a couple of them on her.

[Whirlybird]

We took a 10 day Southern Carib itinerary over the Thanksgiving holiday on the Sun Princess. I will point out a few problems that were encountered. One problem was with the generators in the engine area. On our 2nd day out from FLL, you could see big black heavy plumes of smoke coming out of her stacks, and later the captain announced that one of the generators went out and we would have to miss our first port of call, St. Vincent. This did not affect any of the ship activities, but slowed our speed such that we just could not make the port in time. Princess gave a $50 credit per passenger for this missed port. Also, some of the thrusters were out for the entire cruise so that in about half of the ports we were required to tender into the dock rather than be tied to it.

 

Other than those two problems, I thought the main deck area around the pool was not in the best shape. One of the elevated whirlpools constantly splashed water over the side and the deck area all around this was very slick all the time. I saw two different passengers slip and fall, one was hurt badly. The crew never made an attempt to correct this problem and I felt it was a hazard for some of the passengers that were not sure on their feet.

 

Otherwise, it was a great cruise for me and my wife. The ship is generally in great condition and the food and service were generally ecellent except as I noted above.

[mpduquaine]

Whirlybird- You have me very concerned about the conditions of the ship. Does nayone know if these problems have been resolved, as I have invested a long time of savings for tis trip that I hope to be perfect ofr my family....Anyone find that the conditions have improved! Please Advise us of updates on all!

 

Thanks:)

 

Michele

[Sea and Me]

We are going on the Sun 3/8-3/18, we were on her last April. The only complaint we had is the rocking of the ship. The seas seemed very calm to us and the others we were with, however we could really feel the rock and rolling. Could this be the Captains fault??? Trying to make up time?? Its funny that in the Platter they say "Seas Calm" and then you feel the roughness of the ship. Since Whirlybird was on it in Nov. did you notice the rocking and rolling?? Who is the Captain?? Also was Glenn Radcliffe on board performing his music?? Thanks for the reply.:cool:

[mpduquaine]

How the Sun fare otherwise- Did she seem very worn out and what about the thrusters not working. I have posted the same question on the Live From the Sun thread and will let you know of any replies. Anything I need to know about the Sun that would help me with my family of 6!

[Floflegs]

We are going on the Sun 3/8-3/18, we were on her last April. The only complaint we had is the rocking of the ship. The seas seemed very calm to us and the others we were with, however we could really feel the rock and rolling. Could this be the Captains fault??? Trying to make up time?? Its funny that in the Platter they say "Seas Calm" and then you feel the roughness of the ship. Since Whirlybird was on it in Nov. did you notice the rocking and rolling?? Who is the Captain?? Also was Glenn Radcliffe on board performing his music?? Thanks for the reply.:cool:

We were on the same cruise as Whirlybird. The first couple of days there was a slight rocking but it wasn't too bad.

Captain was Marco Fortezze, an Italian. Didn't see a Glenn Radcliffe on board.

[Sea and Me]

We were on the same cruise as Whirlybird. The first couple of days there was a slight rocking but it wasn't too bad.

Captain was Marco Fortezze, an Italian. Didn't see a Glenn Radcliffe on board.

 

Thanks for your help. I guess Glenn is on another Princess ship. He was very good and entertaining. When we were on in March '05 the Captain was an English officer. Thanks again. My brother in law loves Scotland, he has traveled there many times. Enjoy your cruise!!:cool:

[Whirlybird]

Not to worry. I have been on 9 cruises and by far the most with Princess. The last 2 years we have taken a 10 day Southern Carib itinerary on the Sun Princess. It is a first rate ship and is in good condition, but my opinion is it needs to be drydocked and have mechanical refurbishment. I do not know if this has been done since my cruise ended in early December, but I doubt that it has.

 

On the Sun Princess cruise before the one I went on this last November (2005), it was reported that one of the generators went out and the ship was without power for about 8 hours. A poster on this board reported that dinner that night in the dining room was cold cuts and other fare because there was no power to cook dinner.

 

Believe me, I have never had a bad cruise, I've enjoyed every minute of every cruise I've been on and Princess is a well managed line, but I will probably not book on the Sun Princess again unless I can confirm that some major mechanical refurbishment has been done.

 

I am booked on a 9 night Pacific costal cruise in May 06 on the Island Princess.

[mpduquaine]

We are doing the Medley---

There are so mnay options for all the stops. What are the must do's! We love the sand and water fun, as we are traveling with kids!

Are there nay beaches at our stops that are close to the ports. That we can walk to and are they free.

 

Also- what is there to do is Isla Margarita? Or do we just stay aboard?

 

So many questions.....I undrestand about the dry dock issue, but is it only due to the thruster problem or is it an interior problem as well......

What are the secrets to this ship.....Lines, Dining, onboard activies and such.....Do they have an icrecream bar with or without a fee???

 

Thanks for your guidance.

 

Also- I am already booked, do you think we will still enjoy>!>!>!

 

Thanks

Michele

[Zoliss]

Ah finally being registered to post. There is a bug when you register if you remove the "V" on want to receive email from admnistrator you never receive the message to complete your registration...:confused:

 

We will be on the Sun the 26/02/06 and me too i have read some bad comment on the ship. It is scary but i really like to make my own opinion when im travelling. It will be our first cruise and certainly not the last if we like that. We had 2 choice, Sun for 10 day or the costa atlantica for 7 days. i really like 10 days i hope we have made a good choice :) .

 

P.S. Sorry for my english, pretty hard to practice it in Quebec city :cool:

[Charliesmom]

Zoliss - here is a Roll Call thread for the 26/02/2006 Sun Princess. Check on the Roll Call Boards.

 

We will be on that cruise also. Join the Cruise Critics who are planning to get together - I think the first sea day.

 

Check out the thread and get acquainted with all of the folks who are travelling with us.

 

I think a lot of the unhappiness has been caused by really rough seas. It has been unusually rough this year. Perhaps it will have smoothed out by the time we sail.

 

Roberta

[Charliesmom]

M P Duquaine,

 

There are pearls to be had very cheaply in Isla Margarita. Two years ago we were buying strands of real pearls (not perfect) for $10.00 each.

 

Roberta