Sea Princess cruise ending 27 May 2006

[pjpilot]

My wife and I just returned. We are in our sixties; this was our 4th Princess cruise, 10 or 11 total cruises. We flew United from JFK to Heathrow, arriving Friday the 19th, having made our own flight arrangements. We took the National Express bus from Heathrow to Southampton,

about 21 Pds for both. We later learned that Princess charged $76 per person ONE WAY, i.e. $ 152 for two.

The walk through the airport to the bus station was at least a mile, maybe more from our gate. The ride was quite comfortable (we are not bus enthusiasts) and took

about an hour and half, with very little traffic at eight in the morning.

We had made reservations at the Novotel in Southampton for the night. The hotel was acceptable, but 11 pds @ for breakfast was steep. There was both a MacDonalds and a TGIFridays nearby, which we used. About a 8 pds. taxi got us to the cruise terminal. Our checked bags were wisked away to be loaded on the ship

almost before we exited the taxi. We were most impressed,

until we stepped into the terminal, where a 50 minute line

stretched in front of us before we got our boarding papers.

Once aboard we went to our balcony stateroom, which we had requested amidships, as my wife has a tender tummy.

Many of the cruise ships have elevator problems; no

different here. There were times when all 6 elevators were

on deck 14 at the same time.

We were pleased with our stateroom, an improvement

over previous cruises. There were three large closets with

plenty of hangers, and the shower was pleasantly large.

The food unfortunately has slipped significantly. Our memories of Princess food had been positive...now it was,

at best OK. Anytime Dining is pleasant. We were stalled a

half hour one evening, but otherwise was fine.

Our first stop, La Coruna, was cancelled at 3 in the morning, when the Captain decided we had had enough of

75 mile an hour winds and 40 foot seas, and reversed course from La Coruna to Bilbao.

We took our only Princess Excursion in Bilbao, usually

going ashore on our own. The Gehry Museum is a fascinating building, the tour was well done, and Bilbao is an interesting city. However, at six feet, I was not happy with the bus...more room on National Express.

Our next port was halfway up the Geronde estuary; it was not what was listed, but rather was a typical seaside beach town resort(?) full of little shops, pleasant enough.

I was sick during our visit to St. Peter Port, regretfully

because I had wished to visit.

We will take another cruise with Princess... I had signed up for a future cruise while on board, but I must admit it will be with some trepidation. We both miss the food they once had. The supervision of the staff has also slipped.

[Coral]

There seems to be a lot of negative reports on the Sea Princess lately.

 

I just recently got off the Sapphire and our service was excellent and I thought the food was pretty darn good. Nothing has slipped on that ship a bit.

 

I definitely encourage you to cruise again on Princess. Hopefully your next one will make up for this one.

[Stevesan]

There seems to be a lot of negative reports on the Sea Princess lately.

 

I just recently got off the Sapphire and our service was excellent and I thought the food was pretty darn good. Nothing has slipped on that ship a bit.

 

I definitely encourage you to cruise again on Princess. Hopefully your next one will make up for this one.

 

I'm not seeing the negative reviews. Just looked at CC's Review section, only one of the nineteen is negative and one moderate. The rest are 4 - 5 stars and loving it.

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=341

 

I haven't sailed Sea, yet, but I'm commited to defend her. We're booked to sail on Sea for two weeks next December so she'd better be good!:D

 

 

I agree about the food. It's a mistake to condemn a major cruise line based on one experience. Cuisine changes from ship to ship and year to year. There are so many variables, differences can and will occur on all cruise lines.

[Coral]

I never look at the review section of CC. I have read several posts on the Princess board about the Sea Princess - there was even a thread about the lack of reviews on the Sea Princess and several posted their opinions (and not all were positive) just within the past few days.

 

I even sailed the Sea Princess (though before she was transferred out) and that is the ship that sold me on Princess. So, obviously, I had a good experience.

[BJS]

.... We will take another cruise with Princess... I had signed up for a future cruise while on board, but I must admit it will be with some trepidation. We both miss the food they once had. The supervision of the staff has also slipped.

Sorry to hear that neither the food nor the service have improved since Oct. 2005 when we were on the Sea Princess.

[senior lady]

I think it really depends on who the head chef is.

We just got off the Coral Princess and the food on our 19 day cruise was great. We never had a bad meal. The buffet got a little boring by the end, but there are lots of other options.

We were so impressed with the food that we booked a 15 day hawaii next april on the sister ship Island Princess.

 

We were on Celebrity's Mercury last Nov and the food was ok. We even sent 2 dinners back. Celebrity is supposed to be the "best". We ran into a couple of TA's on board and they commented that the "head chef" needed to be replaced.

 

But a few bad meals would never stop me from cruising:)

[OCruisers]

pjpilot .... Thanks so much for your time to tell us about your recent Sea Princess cruise!

 

You did a great job of including the things you liked as well as the things didn't! An HONEST opinion is all we ever want! THANK YOU!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Charliesmom]

PJPilot,

 

We have been on two Princess cruises this year and I found the service and food quality to be very good. The service was excellent. We were on the Sun and the Island.

 

Do you think that 40 foot waves might have had something to do with the lacks you experienced?

 

How did the ship ride those 40 foot waves?

 

Roberta

[Kerry & Danny]

I have friends who where also on the cruised from Southampton on 20th and Returned the 27th May but they were on the Legend of the Seas. They missed most of their ports because of the weather, and the passengers got a petition up and all were refunded 50% of their cruise (to be taken of course off a future cruise. Not sure how rough it was for you, but I thought it might be worth a mention, as you were on the same seas at the same time.

[spongerob]

I have friends who where also on the cruised from Southampton on 20th and Returned the 27th May but they were on the Legend of the Seas. They missed most of their ports because of the weather, and the passengers got a petition up and all were refunded 50% of their cruise (to be taken of course off a future cruise. Not sure how rough it was for you, but I thought it might be worth a mention, as you were on the same seas at the same time.

Please tell me that petition drives aren't going to become the norm every time Mother Nature interferes with someone's vacation...:( Itineraries are just like dress codes...they're guidelines.

[susancruzs]

I was very pleased with the food and dining experience on my Sea Princess cruise last Fall, 3 weeks Sept. 05, yet someone said in Oct. 05 theirs wasn't. I saw changes and improvements over my Golden Princess 2002 cruise, the food was better, presentation much better.

 

Once again the food question is always definitely a matter of opinion. I've sailed since the early 80's and no dining it isn't the same as cruises then, not on any of the cruise lines in my opinion. One has to consider the pricing issue, cruising in the 80's was more expensive then my cruises in the 90's and then of course, the 2000's brought major, major discounting.

 

I love cruising but it has changed, as has the demographics/market, just the way it is. Doesn't change my mind though, I'll keep on cruising!

[jnc411]

Hi, we were on the Sea Princess for two weeks in March 2006 , the Caribbean, and we had a wonderful time. True the food was not as good as we had had on some previous cruises, but some of that could have been because the majority of the passangers were from the UK and they have differents tastes and preferance than we Yanks, so perhaps that could be part of it. But the service was fine. We enjoyed the trip. But each person has different experiences , so I understant your comments as well. I would be interested to hear how the ship did in the 40 ft waves, etc.

Cori

[Sheilsy]

In reply to your questions...... I have never experienced 40 foot waves before either.... they produced a swell which was like being in a falling lift/elevator very scary.....moving around the ship was very difficult.. and at times practically impossible... lifts were closed, shops were closed, pictures were falling, areas of the ship were closed off, elements of the entertainment were cancelled, some passengers even took to wearing their lifejackets, all very unpleasant.

 

Fortunately our cabin was midship, which talking to other passengers was a god send as it made a significant difference (but it was still bad...)

 

The irony of all this though, was it was our first foreign holiday, our first ever cruise after 24 years of marriage!!!

 

The captain apparantly commented afterwards that after sailing for 34 years it was his worst ever sailing......However the ship coped admirably.

 

hope this was useful.

[Coral]

I have been on a ship with 20' waves and I thought that was bad. So many crew and passengers were ill. I can't imagine 40' waves.

[phabric]

pjpilot-

 

I have just booked the Sea Princess for their Scandinavia July/07 cruise. I have been two times on the Sea Princess.

 

Since the Sea Princess sails out of Southampton, did you find that the food was more British type of food. My husband would like to taste British beer, do they have it on board or is it all American beer.

 

We will be flying to Heathrow, also, was it easy to find National Express at the airport. Did you prebook your tickets or did you get them there. Would you recommend the hotel. Did you notice if they offer tours from the hotel as we might stay a couple of days pre cruise. Was there anything to do in Southampton if we stay a couple of days. Would we need to rent a car to see things. Are there alot of taxis at the dock to return you to the bus (National Express). Did you stay in London or go direct home.

[Sheilsy]

Hi Phabric,

 

My wife and I have just completed our first cruise on The Sea Princess (20th-27th May 2006) and despite difficult conditions and a novovirus outbreak, we really enjoyed the experience, so much so we have also booked the Scandanavian Cruise in July 07, so hopefully we can meet and I will buy your husband the english beer he craves:)

 

In reply to your questions, I personally thought their was a good balance of both English and American cuisine on board (Although I am far from an expert of American food). Their is a fair selection of both American and British beer also onboard.

 

There is plenty of coaches from Heathow to Southampton so I do not anticipate that being a problem for you, I noticed on saturday that Taxi's are currently charging £97.00 Southampton - Heathrow and although a lot of money it may be more convienient for you. Southampton is a large city (By British Standards) and I am sure there is plenty for you to do for a couple of days, there is lovely scenery close by etc, well worth staying a couple of days. Renting a car would be a wise move, although petrol is very expensice (presently £1.00 a litre and rising), I noticed on Saturday their are a lot of Taxis at the teminal so I do not envisage that being a problem.

 

Anyway as I am based in the UK, please feel free to ask any questions and if I can help , I am more than willing.

 

Good lck and hopefully catch you In July 07 :)

[mariakitty]

Hi phabric and sheilsy! If you haven't done so already, you should join our roll call for the 7/15/06 Scandinavian Sea Princess cruise. :) Our group is growing and it should be a great cruise.

 

I heard there is Boddington's on tap, but other than that I am not sure of the beer selection. My DH is what I call a beer coniseur, so he has his fingers crossed for a nice selection. We are spoiled here in Oregon, as we have more microbreweries per capita in the world, save Germany! Maybe we can bring a few bottles to share. :)

 

Maria

[phabric]

mariakitty -

 

Our Scandinavian cruise is not until July 14,2007. Since there is only 1 cruise per year, hopefully someone from your group will write some type of review, or points of interest. The CC board in the past has help me choose excursions for our Alaska and Caribbean cruises.

[cruzzers]

We sailed the Sea Princess in late Feb. on the 14 day Caribbean Adventure and loved every minute of it. We had an inside stateroom and found it to be nice size with plenty of space to store all our clothes. We met with about 40 other CC people and had the time of our lives. In fact, we are planning the cruise again in 2008 for a reunion. If you love to cruise and are taking this for the wonderful ports, you will enjoy yourselves. We certainly did!

[Twaincruisers]

We had a wonderful time on the Sea Princess in the Caribbean in Dec, 05. Part of the fun was the mix of passengers--3/4 from UK and the opportunity to try some other types of food. Also, really enjoyed the beer--drank a lot of Stella Artois, Cafferty, Boddington, Guninness. Our itinerary added several new islands for us, in addition to returning to several we love, and our cruise was even impacted by the last hurricane of the season!

[phabric]

Sheilsy -

 

Thanks for the information and offer of help.

 

I enjoy planning our cruises. Sometimes not knowing the area, you end up in areas away from the city attractions. Coming all that way, we will be staying a few days before and after the cruise. Do you know any reasonable places to stay in London. I know everything is expensive. We think our gas is expensive, too, at $1.12 litre Canadian (=.53GBP). Today $2.10 Canadian buys you .43 GBP. What currency did you use for your cruise. Did you use your credit card and have a small amount of the countries' currency for little items off ship.

 

We should start a Roll Call and see if anybody else is cruising with us in July.

[Sheilsy]

Add Your Cruise Review

 

Phabric -

 

I cant really recommend any specific places in London (As I am in Liverpool some 300 miles north) however I would suggest you try the chains such as Travel Lodge or Premier Travel Inn, I use these often when travelling around the UK they are functional and reasonably priced, and in my experience clean.

 

In relation to Currency we obviously used the Onboard cash account (Billed thereafter to my credit card) but we took Euro's with us for use in the ports. You will need a combination of Euros and sterling.

 

Good idea to start a Roll Call :)

 

Like I said if I can help with any advice please ask.

 

Take Care

[phabric]

Sheilsy.

 

You might want to change your date on your countdown clock to show July 14/07. I started a Roll Call - Sea Princess Scandinavia July 14/07. Thanks about the names of some hotels.