Sun Class Confusion

[Franknca]

I was looking at Princess' web site for a 2005 cruise and the one I'm interested in is with the Sea Princess. In one place, it says that the Sea Princess is a Sun class ship but when I look at the page where Princess lists its ships, they only show the Sun, Dawn, Island and Coral as Sun class vessels. It was my impression that the Island and Coral were a different class by themselves. The Sea is probably not listed as it is elsewhere until 2005.

 

Are the Sea, Island & Coral Princesses all Sun class ships? We have been pleased with our previous sails on the Sun, Dawn and Coral but did not like the Grand Class or the smaller ships - we mainly like the Sun size.

Frank-in-CA

[crusdiva]

Franknca,

 

The Sea IS a Sun Class ship. She left the fleet (she was sort of traded to P&O) for a couple of years and is due back in 2005. The Coral and Island are also Sun Class ships but are updated with many more "personal choice" features. The balconies on the Sun, Dawn and Sea are built into the superstructure whereas the balconies on the Coral & Island are built out and have glass railings.

Hope this helps straighten out the confusion.

 

Sharon

[Coral]

Truthfully - I think Princess web people "combined classes" to make the web page fit correctly. For the longest time, they called the one group Regal class in one area and Royal class directly below it (confusion!). I would ignore this web page. It just confuses people. Anytime they put the Regal, Tahitian and Royal class in the same class - something is strange. They seemed to group this new area (Grand, Sun and Royal (Regal?) by number of passengers as opposed to ship design.

 

The Sea, Sun and Dawn Princess ships are Sun class ships and are identical.

 

The Coral and Island Princess are sister ships and identical.

 

Hope this helps.

 

-----------------

 

The Sea and Ocean Princess (identical to Sun and Dawn Princess) were both part of the Princess fleet and then were sent off to P&O. The Sea Princess is returning to Princess.

[LARGIN]

Crusdiva and Coral have it right as usual.. You cannot go wrong with any of them..

[jennb]

The Sea is returning from P&O and is "identical" to the Sun and Dawn Princess. The Island and Coral are "identical" to each other, but they are not the same as the Sun, Dawn, & Sea (different #s of pax, size, deck layouts etc). I'm not sure why the Island and Coral are classified as Sun class ships, except perhaps based upon size, since they are similar.

 

 

 

Looks like we all posted at the same time!!!!!!!

[Coral]

The Coral and Island Princess were never considered "Sun Class" until this website appeared:

 

http://www.princess.com/ships/

 

While I can understand them grouping the Sun, Dawn, Sea, Coral and Island together (pretty similar in size), I do not understand grouping the Pacific, Regal, Royal and Tahitian Princess together in a "Regal class".

 

---------

 

Life is confusing - we can have the Grand class with Grand, Golden and Star Princess and the Diamond class with Diamond and Sapphire

 

OR

 

We can have the Grand class with Grand, Golden, Star, Diamond, Sapphire and Caribbean Princess.

 

It all depends on what part of Princess' website and marketing materials you look at.

[coiran]

We have been on the Sea, Sun, and Dawn - they are all identical with the exception of some interior decorations, paintings, etc. You can't go wrong on a Sun class ship - The island and Coral, although called Sun Class, are not identical to the others. The Ocean was the 4th of the original Sun Class ships - Im not sure where that is now - probably in the P & O fleet.

[crusdiva]

Right you are Corian...the Ocean is now with P&O and is named the Oceana - not too much of a stretch there :D The Sea has been renamed Adonia.

 

Sharon

[Globaliser]

I was on the Adonia last August, and am thinking of sailing her again as Sea Princess next June.

 

It'll be interesting to see whether Princess restore her completely back to how she was before, or whether her new role as "the Princess ship sailing UK market-friendly itineraries" will mean that some Adonia features will be kept in place. The Brit-friendly features include the long Caribbean sailings next Northern winter season, when Sea Princess has crossed back over to the Western hemisphere.

[Franknca]

Thanks to all for the comments. I thought it was a little stretch to put the Coral and Island as Sun class. That's what caused me to ask the experts. So I'll call them the Sun and Coral class ships and they are my favorite of the Princess ships. They seem to have the right balance of size that fit my needs.

Frank-in-CA

[Desertbelle]

According to my TA, not from 1st hand experience, the Coral is actually built the same as a Grand class with one of the middle rows of inside cabins removed to make it thinner....therefore able to get through the Panama Canal. Otherwise the lay-out is the same.

 

I have been on the Star Princess and when I was considering the Coral for next years cruise it sure looked like the Star to me with those middle cabins missing. :)

[Coral]

Desertbelle - having sailed both Coral and Grand class - there is actually a little more to it then that. There are still some cabins in the center, it doesn't have the 3rd dining room, it doesn't have the night club (Skywalkers), etc. . From an interior stand point - the Coral is a far more beautiful ship than any Grand class ship I have been on.

 

The Coral Princess feels like a Sun class ship as far as size and number of passengers but it does have almost all the conveniences (minus the nightclub) of the Grand class but it is a new design of ship. The cabins are very similiar to the Grand class ship.

 

I bet you will love the Coral Princess! I definitely like it beter than the Grand class. Hope you have a chance to sail on the Coral :)

[Franknca]

Desertbelle - having sailed both Coral and Grand class - there is actually a little more to it then that. There are still some cabins in the center, it doesn't have the 3rd dining room, it doesn't have the night club (Skywalkers), etc. . From an interior stand point - the Coral is a far more beautiful ship than any Grand class ship I have been on.

 

The Coral Princess feels like a Sun class ship as far as size and number of passengers but it does have almost all the conveniences (minus the nightclub) of the Grand class but it is a new design of ship. The cabins are very similiar to the Grand class ship.

 

I bet you will love the Coral Princess! I definitely like it beter than the Grand class. Hope you have a chance to sail on the Coral :)

 

I'd like to agree and add to your comments. I have also sailed the Coral, Sun and Grand class ships and after my Star Princess cruise this past February, I will never sail a Grand class ship again. We are traditional, early seating diners and as such, we were relegated to the dining room with the most difficult access. Only 2 of the 4 elevators in that bank actually make it to the restaurant floor. And those same elevators also go to the 14th floor. There is no access from other parts of the ship to this floor where the restaurant is located. One has to go up and then down a flight of stairs. If one has mobilitiy problems, as my wife did on this trip, it is very difficult. Then, when they leave port at 6 PM, coinciding with early dining, there are terrible vibrations and noises for about 10 to 15 minutes until they get underway.

 

To add to the crowding factor, the first show of the evening was always full where they had to close the doors and post signs to catch the late show. This happens because all the early seating and most of the PC diners try to get to the first show. They even brought in cheap plastic seats to try and accomodate more people but that wasn't enough.

 

Skywalkers was an interesting place to visit because of its height. Not being night club people, we never went in the evening. I don't miss it on the Coral. I've never felt "crowded" on the Coral or Sun class ships except maybe for the life boat drill, but I can't say the same for the Grand class.

Frank-in-CA

[spongerob]

According to my TA, not from 1st hand experience, the Coral is actually built the same as a Grand class with one of the middle rows of inside cabins removed to make it thinner....therefore able to get through the Panama Canal. Otherwise the lay-out is the same.

The Coral and Island are built to exactly the same hull dimensions as Celebrity's Millenium class ships. In fact, they were built in the same dock at St. Nazaire. The Coral and Island are much better looking ships, IMO. For some reason, the Millenium-class ships just look unfinished.

[Pam in CA]

I agree with the others above, the Sun (and sister ships), Coral (and Island) and Grand have completely different interior layouts, dining rooms, etc. I wouldn't lump them together nor call the Coral an altered Grand-class ship. I think of the Coral or Island as a stretched Sun-class ship, i.e., bigger and roomier than the Sun-class but with the same number of passengers.

 

It really is semantics. I would consider a "class" of ship those that essentially have the same hull design but with some interior modifications. I guess Princess doesn't agree. As for the TA who said that the Coral is really a Grand-class ship, I think they're smoking something funny. There are so many differences between the two that it's got me shaking my head. My guess is that the TA hasn't been on both ships or looked at the deck plans.