LIVE from Sun Princess Barcelona to Southampton September 14th-23rd

[dides]

41 minutes ago, Geoffa30 said:

Not very happy about the continuing Park 19 dismantling. We’re in a penthouse suite on the TA. Will be our first and more than likely last Princess experience given the cost. If we’re presented with the incessant sound of axle grinders whilst ‘relaxing’ in the Sanctuary for 16 days, we will be requesting significant compensation.

They have moved to the other side to remove the rail this morning with the same constant grinding noises. Will be interesting to see how they intend to dismantle the pylon structures that are left.

 

 

 

[commodoredave]

23 minutes ago, dog said:

On Facebook Sun thread a passenger posted her email offer to cancel without penalty due to Park 19 disappointment.  Many others for different dates received the offer too. Did you?  Next, the restaurant locations will be moved.

Not on the FB feed, but if the offer is still available we may well cancel. Going to speak with our TA today to see what can be done. Unfortunately we are already in England, so would need to find a reasonably priced flight back home to Canada.

Thank you for letting me know. 

[Geoffa30]

25 minutes ago, dides said:

They have moved to the other side to remove the rail this morning with the same constant grinding noises. Will be interesting to see how they intend to dismantle the pylon structures that are left.

 

 

 

If I was in charge at Princess, I would have cancelled the current cruise (sorry) and the previous Med cruise so the work could have been completed without paying passengers onboard. The launch of this ship has been somewhat of a disaster. My excitement for the TA is gradually turning to dread. No chance of us cancelling (not that the option has been offered) as the TA is a prelude to a stay in Orlando before we board the ship again for two weeks in the Caribbean.

[Geoffa30]

1 hour ago, commodoredave said:

We’re in agreement. Princess has to be aware of the negative experience the construction is causing, and should be willing to provide compensation if they want repeat business.

Happy to join you at Customer Relations once we’re on board.

[commodoredave]

22 minutes ago, Geoffa30 said:

Happy to join you at Customer Relations once we’re on board.

Will gladly do so. In the meantime, I have asked my TA if I can get a full refund. 

[dides]

The painters are out in force today Touching up the white paint on the Sun Deck in the Sanctuary and we are getting some new branding above the jogging track area:

 

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 09:59 AM by dides

[dog]

1 hour ago, commodoredave said:

Not on the FB feed, but if the offer is still available we may well cancel. Going to speak with our TA today to see what can be done. Unfortunately we are already in England, so would need to find a reasonably priced flight back home to Canada.

Thank you for letting me know. 

Lorraine Nyberg Smith posted on fb SUN thread the email I mentioned re: cancel for park 19 disappointment. Posted 1 day ago

 

i can’t copy it- maybe some else can so you can show your TA.

[commodoredave]

2 minutes ago, dog said:

Lorraine Nyberg Smith posted on fb SUN thread the email I mentioned re: cancel for park 19 disappointment. Posted 1 day ago

 

i can’t copy it- maybe some else can so you can show your TA.

Thank you. I’m confident that our TA, who works for a very large agency that specializes in cruises, will get to the bottom of what was offered and who qualifies. Plus, the fact my wife is Elite might mean something to Princess, although those days may be long gone.

[h20skibum]

1 hour ago, dog said:

Lorraine Nyberg Smith posted on fb SUN thread the email I mentioned re: cancel for park 19 disappointment. Posted 1 day ago

 

i can’t copy it- maybe some else can so you can show your TA.

This is a copy that was posted on our FB group by Vince Senatra

 

[dides]

We are in Cadiz this morning and it's all new ports for Sun Princess now, ever since she passed through the Straits of Gibraltar at around 6:30 pm last night:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 11:53 AM by dides

[LWhit]

Hi, only just got around to posting and it was great to meet @Dides at lunch in the Signature Restaurant on embarkation day.  

 

We didn't bother getting off on Palma and spent the day in the sun in the Sanctuary right at the very back by the flag so less noise from Park 19 dismantlers.  We thoroughly enjoyed the Bento boxes too.

 

1st night in Umai Teppanyaki with @SuiteSusie and friends which was fun.

 

We have only used the Signature lounge a couple of times so far and the service is excellent.

 

Drinks in Crooners have a fab view out of the window and I love the Ferrero too.  Hubby likes the Ivory which is similar to an Espresso Martini, just a little softer and is available in the Signature lounge. 

 

We eat late so it's very lively in the Piazza as we pass through before getting into the Signature Restaurant.  It's a good thing they have doors as the noise really bleeds inside the restaurant.  

 

Had a lovely day in Cadiz and just chilling on the balcony before sailaway. 

 

The casino is the busiest we've ever spent time.e in and also the smokiest too.    It's the main walkway from the Arena so gets busier when shows come out. 

 

 

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 01:26 PM by LWhit

[memoak]

4 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Will gladly do so. In the meantime, I have asked my TA if I can get a full refund. 

I think your chance of a full refund are between zero and nothing. I have been on many cruises where construction going on   Hammering and other noises are not unusual 

[commodoredave]

50 minutes ago, memoak said:

I think your chance of a full refund are between zero and nothing. I have been on many cruises where construction going on   Hammering and other noises are not unusual 

I agree. The only reason I raised it with my TA is that other posters have said that Princess has been offering full refunds for pax affected by the removal of Park 19. This is apparently referenced in the Princess FB page, which I do not subscribe to. So, if true or false, I have nothing to lose by investigating and asking for a refund.

[dog]

3 hours ago, h20skibum said:

This is a copy that was posted on our FB group by Vince Senatra

 

 

1 minute ago, commodoredave said:

I agree. The only reason I raised it with my TA is that other posters have said that Princess has been offering full refunds for pax affected by the removal of Park 19. This is apparently referenced in the Princess FB page, which I do not subscribe to. So, if true or false, I have nothing to lose by investigating and asking for a refund.

Same letter I saw yesterday. Several have gotten it.

[commodoredave]

4 minutes ago, dog said:

 

Same letter I saw yesterday. Several have gotten it.

Thanks. I have copied and sent to my TA.

- David 

[commodoredave]

Heard back from my TA. Here is the gist of what Princess told her:

- the information about cancelling the cruise because of Park 19 is incorrect and there is no option to cancel our booking with a full refund. 
- there will be no noise issues or construction during our cruise departing September 23.
- Customer Support has advised that they have noted our concerns.  
So, it may be that the unfortunate folks on the current leg are bearing the brunt of the construction noise in Park 19. If so, you have my sympathy and thanks.😊 

Edited Wednesday at 04:50 PM by commodoredave

[Geoffa30]

16 minutes ago, commodoredave said:

Heard back from my TA. Here is the gist of what Princess told her:

- the information about cancelling the cruise because of Park 19 is incorrect and there is no option to cancel our booking with a full refund. 
- there will be no noise issues or construction during our cruise departing September 23.
- Customer Support has advised that they have noted our concerns.  
So, it may be that the unfortunate folks on the current leg are bearing the brunt of the construction noise in Park 19. If so, you have my sympathy and thanks.😊 

Have taken a screenshot of this particularly for point two to support any complaints we might have if there is noise issue or construction on the TA.

[commodoredave]

14 minutes ago, Geoffa30 said:

Have taken a screenshot of this particularly for point two to support any complaints we might have if there is noise issue or construction on the TA.

Let’s touch base on the ship. I will send you our suite number this weekend.

- Dave 

[dides]

Day 5 - Seville (Cadiz)

 

Patter:

 

 

 

 

The ship docked right in the centre of Cadiz and a lot of passengers either stayed local or elected to do the nearly 2 hour drive to Seville. We saw long lines of people outside the port entrance around 10:30am - maybe for buses? The Sanctuary had 6 passengers - 2 of them were us,! 

 

As mentioned, there was painting happening on the Sun Deck earlier that morning and then later overlooking the Sanctuary in deck 19 where they started to add a big Sanctuary logo. And the dismantling work continued with the grinder to remove part of the roller track.

 

It was nice and hot but then started to get more windy so we escaped again to the Suite Lounge for some hot drinks. I hadn't slept too well (perhaps too overstimulated by the quizzes!?,) so we headed back to the room for a nap.

 

We decided not to go to the Signature Restaurant for dinner - the menu options didn't suit us   So we went down to the Promenade  on deck 9 just as we left Cadiz - it was great to catch a bit of the Love Boat Horns.

First up, we grabbed some of the rustic pizza. They had Margherita, Pepperoni, Vegetable or Four Cheese. We chose a piece of the latter two.

 

 

We didn't like this pizza as much as we did in April.

 

Then we went over to the other side of the ship for some Signature Burgers. These were cooked to order for us

 

 

The fries were super and Chris said the burger was juicier than the same one he had on embarkation day in the Signature Restaurant.

 

By this time the wind had whipped up.so much.that I was eating my hair more than the burger! Chris had discovered Newcastle Brown  on tao so he was past caring!

i

I managed to get us inside so we could  pick up.some dessert at International Cafe.

This was our first visit this cruise and I was impressed with the wider choice - for those with a sweet tooth!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I selected a slice of Chocolate Torte and a Pasteis de Nata each. Really yummy.

 

 

 

We then legged it to Princess Live! for the 7pm Tri Bond Trivia. We went a different route however just to see how busy the corridors were outside the Cabana deck between the Piazza and the forward elevators. This area is full of staterooms and and the corridor has heavier foot traffic as well as the usual room steward cleaning carts. A lot of stopping to let folks pass.

 

We teamed up with Vinnie and Tena again for the Tri Bond - and were thankful we did because they are total champions at the cryptic thinking needed to link to the three items in each question! We were joint first and yes, were given yet more wine stoppers as prizes!

 

We stayed on for two more game shows where each side of the room was pitted against the other.

 

 

Lots of music themed questions and running around which was good fun. We escaped back to our room by 10pm for an earlier than usual night.

 

To be continued 

 

 

 

 

 

[SSAtlantic]

Was there any indication ahead of time of the timing for passing Gibraltar? 

[SotonScotty]

What else can I say but the cruise actually got worse last night. They decided to hold an open air disco until the early hours resulting in us basically demanding another stateroom to sleep in as our stateroom was only a few meters away from the band. You try sleeping through that. Basically we feel that they really don't give a toss about any guest on board. The service in the reserve is painstakingly slow due to poor management and lack of staff. Would they treat suite guests like that. Well the answer is yes. The management on this ship do not give a toss about guest satisfaction. Up until 3 days ago we were looking to book another cruise on this ship NEVER AGAIN. Princess as a cruise line on this ship don't give a toss. And anyone else who was bothered by the jackhammers tell them you want a day in The Santuary on the hours we asked and we received a free day. That is not enough to change our view of this ship. 

[Pink-belle]

7 hours ago, SSAtlantic said:

Was there any indication ahead of time of the timing for passing Gibraltar? 

Yes, but announcements have either been very sporadic, or the tannoys rubbish.  There was a 12noon ding ding announcement one day, I was in the piazza but could not work out a single word that was being said.  I did hear one 6pm Captain announcement and that mentioned timings for Gibraltar.  Then as we approached it the next day they made a ship wide announcement. 

[SotonScotty]

2 hours ago, SotonScotty said:

What else can I say but the cruise actually got worse last night. They decided to hold an open air disco until the early hours resulting in us basically demanding another stateroom to sleep in as our stateroom was only a few meters away from the band. You try sleeping through that. Basically we feel that they really don't give a toss about any guest on board. The service in the reserve is painstakingly slow due to poor management and lack of staff. Would they treat suite guests like that. Well the answer is yes. The management on this ship do not give a toss about guest satisfaction. Up until 3 days ago we were looking to book another cruise on this ship NEVER AGAIN. Princess as a cruise line on this ship don't give a toss. And anyone else who was bothered by the jackhammers tell them you want a day in The Santuary on the hours we asked and we received a free day. That is not enough to change our view of this ship. 

Just left the sanctuary as they started with the angle grinder in Park 19 again any form of sanctuary was shattered. The noise and the smell killed any hope of relaxing. All feel that the management team on this ship show no respect for the passengers in fact they show nothing but contempt due to total lack of communication of any sort. Future passengers if you get the offer to cancel and get a refund go for it. Both of us  and a lot of other passengers would happily accept.

[dog]

Can someone post a brief video of the route by the American diner to the wake view area ?  What elevators will the wake view pool/ smokers use?

 

Thanks to all on-board for posting in this thread, very helpful.

 

The new Sanctuary restaurant come Oct 14 th looks familiar- reminds me of Denny’s.

 

The Signature Collection suites are really being ripped off IMO. Sorry you’ve ended up in this situation.

[Esprit]

So has anyone on board successfully deactivated the under sink light that comes on when motion is detected at night?

The bed side table lights are easy to stop, but I had no joy with the one in the bathroom (btw we  were in a deluxe balcony cabin).