My short review of Sun Princess including Cabana Suites

[levonfan]

We sailed on the Sun June 1 - June 8.  

 

First the ship is very clean and looks nice.  This was our first time sailing on Princess, we have sailed on Royal Caribbean exclusively.  Comparatively speaking, I liked the layout of RC ships much better.  It was confusing trying to get from one end of the ship to the other, having to use several elevators at times.

 

The drinks were great!  I don't think we had a bad cocktail the entire time we were there.

 

Food was good at times, nothing that would blow your mind.  Did not care for the buffet area.  I liked that they served you, but the area itself is very congested and crowded.  Difficult to find a table in the morning if trying to get breakfast before an excursion.  We would try to eat in the restaurant areas in the morning for breakfast.  There were several times where the ship would post which one would be open including the time, but I heard several early risers say when they got there they were turned away because it wasn't open yet.  The one thing I wish they could improve on was late night food options.  One night I was trying to get a piece of pizza at around 10:30, completely unavailable.  The only food option at that time was at the International Cafe, which had an extremely long line, with only one person working.  

 

Didn't really care for the one show we say, it was a lady singing Queen songs, horrible.  The bands in the Piazza were really good.  The dome area is great for relaxing, but they generally throw everyone out around 3 to get the area ready for a show, disappointing.  Also my daughter was disappointed that they only had Karaoke one night and it didn't start until 11 pm.  They could have easily done more of this, which is good to get people involved.

 

The room....We had room 10530.  It was a caban suite.  It was big enough for the wife, myself and our 11 year old daughter.  She liked having the little cabana area to herself.  I did not like that the balcony area was not covered.  I thought that was only on the deck 9 cabanas. The room was always clean.  Air conditioner was ok, could have been better.  They are going to have issues when they move to the Caribbean.  The other real issue we had with the room was the NOISE!  When we would try to sleep at night 10:30 or later most nights, we would hear this banging nosie from underneath.  It was the kitchen area below us.  Sounded like someone banging pans on a stainless steel sink.  Very disappointing.

 

Kids area - horrible!  They should have had Park 19 up and running.  Since it wasn't you would think they would offer extra kid activities....nope!  My daughter did go to the kid club a few times and met a girl from California that she was able to hang out with.  As far as the activities they did not like them.  

 

The Staff - they look worn out!  The cabin steward was always very helpful and great.  Bartenders were really good.  They all looked worn out.  I don't think the ship is staffed enough and it shows.

 

I don't think I'll do a princess cruise again unless it is to Alaska.  I'm not a huge cruise fan, wife is, but I was expecting more out of a new ship.

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, levonfan said:

The other real issue we had with the room was the NOISE!  When we would try to sleep at night 10:30 or later most nights, we would hear this banging nosie from underneath.

Thanks for your thoughts.  On our upcoming cruise, we are also on Deck 10, a bit closer to mid-ship than you, but not by much.  Breaks my rule of "cabins above and below" but in order to get a Cabana Mini, you pretty much have to break the rule.  Did the noise ever subside or was it all night long?  We are likely to be out of our cabins until later in the evening, and I am wondering if this is a problem that extends up to or past midnight.

[555]

13 hours ago, levonfan said:

The dome area is great for relaxing, but they generally throw everyone out around 3 to get the area ready for a show, disappointing. 

I was under the impression that the dome area was open all the time. 😕

What time does it open to allow people to get seats for an early show?

On paper the ship is a little confusion and I'm not sure we'll like the layout or not. 

[voljeep]

don't 'shows' in the Dome require reservations??  If so, how far in advance can they be made?

Are Dome shows listed daily in the Patter?

[555]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

don't 'shows' in the Dome require reservations??  If so, how far in advance can they be made?

Are Dome shows listed daily in the Patter?

I've read that there aren't any reservations for the dome.

First come first seated.  

[Wishing on a star]

"Didn't really care for the one show we say, it was a lady singing Queen songs, horrible.  The bands in the Piazza were really good."

 

Ohhhh man,  back when the ships (party) band played all the time and really carried the cruise... I can remember Xcite bringing down the house!!!!  I don't know if they still have the chance to do this...  but just outstanding.

"Hey Jude.... don't let me down...   Na, na, na, Nah na nah na...."

Edited June 15 by Wishing on a star

[levonfan]

For your questions. The noise from below our cabin usually stopped by midnight. It was just annoying. 
 

The Dome area was really nice, good bar right by it. They usually told people they had to leave around 330-4 each time we were in there. 
 

Never saw where you could reserve seats at shows. We were supposed to have reserved seats with the Premiere package but never saw where you could do this. 
 

The other thing I forgot to mention was ordering drinks/food on app and having it delivered to you no matter where you were. I tried when we boarded and we were sitting in Piazza waiting on our room. Never got my drink although it said it was delivered. Tried again the next day when at sea. Took forever to get food and didn’t receive any of the cokes and water we requested. You are better off getting it yourself 

[voljeep]

23 minutes ago, levonfan said:

For your questions. The noise from below our cabin usually stopped by midnight. It was just annoying. 
 

The Dome area was really nice, good bar right by it. They usually told people they had to leave around 330-4 each time we were in there. 
 

Never saw where you could reserve seats at shows. We were supposed to have reserved seats with the Premiere package but never saw where you could do this. 
 

The other thing I forgot to mention was ordering drinks/food on app and having it delivered to you no matter where you were. I tried when we boarded and we were sitting in Piazza waiting on our room. Never got my drink although it said it was delivered. Tried again the next day when at sea. Took forever to get food and didn’t receive any of the cokes and water we requested. You are better off getting it yourself 

Reserved seats - in the (old Princess Theatre) now ___________, are for Production shows only, and you don't reserve them, Princess does by having designated seating for Premier package holders.  These seats are released, at some point before the show begins to anyone.