Shogun Live from The Sun

[Shogun]

Hi Folks,

 

Breaking news time again

 

Captain has just told us that we will be late into next two ports again.

 

Engine problems one running at 80% due to turbo cooler not working, parts being flown out to Barbados to meet us we hope.

 

 

yours Shogun

 

PS What credit do you think we should be asking for.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Shogun, thanks for the info on mopeds in Curacao. That will make it much easier for us.

 

Sorry for the continued troubles. I have no idea what the delays are worth from a compensatory standpoint. Honestly, I'm not sure there is any value that can make up for multiple late arrivals. A skipped port or single late arrival is almost a given on a cruise...several port stays limited to 6 hours or less might make me a little less tolerant. I guess it depends...I would be more willing to be late into Grenada or Isla de Margarita, and absolutely mortified if we miss a few other ports.

 

Continued good wishes, and I appreciate your updates!!!!

[emdia43]

Snowmen- you asked if they cancel cruises for mechanical reasons- just ask the passenger on NCL Majesty- their New Years Eve 7night cruise was cancelled as they all arrived in Charleston to embark.........:eek:

[cruiseapril]

Hope the situation improves in Barbados. Cruising IS an adventure.

 

Enjoy Isla Margarita. I recall some good music at the port last year.

[islandersx4]

Shogun, Given the fact that the past two ten day cruises and now yours have and are experiencing problems indicates that the likelihood of engine problems could not have been unforeseen. Compensation for the 12/10 cruise was $100. pp for a/c failure. For ours, 12/20, $100. pp for being six hours late to St. Thomas. These compensations were for on board credits only, use it or lose it. For us it covered the gratuities.

You were late to arrive at port today and indicate that you'll be late for the next two ports. Any planned excursions are now at risk. You will have to contact these vendors at your own expense. I don't think $100. pp is an equitable compensation for your delays.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[Fleetwood]

Not sure if I should be reading this thread or not as my wife and I leave for Fort lauderdale on the 8th,to board the Sun on the 9th.

Now I am hearing noro problems and possible engin problems. Darn that's not what I want to hear!

 

Keeping a close eye on this thread from here on out I guess as the update are good, and it will let me know whether or not I need to contact our Otur guides before we leave. Don't want to miss Mandoo in Grenada, or Eli in Antigua.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Fleetwood...Eli is definitely all day, and he picks up folks from hotels, so there may be a problem if Antigua gets cut short. Mandoo may be able to make adjustments...you could skip the beach and just do the waterfall and the spice factory if time is short and there are only cruise ship people on his tour.

[Shogun]

Hi folks,

 

Just got the letter all tours for IM are of for tomorrow apart from a bus tour of the island.

 

 

 

Still no reports of any illness on ship, apart from the engines being sick.

 

 

yours Shogun

[emdia43]

Shogun- what a shame!

Compensation seems like a must now.

The way I see it- on a scale of 1-10, 10 being a perfect cruise,how will you have scored this cruise by the time it's done..... if you score it a 6 then I think you're entitled to a 40% refund.

NOw all you have to do is get Princess to agree:eek:

[Shogun]

Hi Folks,

 

Another bright sunny wind day.

 

Still no reports of any illness, ship still on full bug alert.

 

See some folk think this is a disaster, sorry no way.

 

Apart from the engine problems everything else is to Princess standards.

 

Last night a maintenance appeared at my cabin to fix a tap but I had not called him but he checked the tap and said it was a bit loose so fixed it, turns out the room steaward had spotted it so called him.

 

Now there is a lot of queing on the ship but I think this down to all the new folk turning up at anytime restaurant all at 8.00pm.

 

Same with 2000 folk trying to get of ship at the same time from the one door way when there is another lower down.

 

This to date has been a good cruise, staff very good , food fine, pizza excellant, weather sunny every day with clouds sea rough, wind very strong.

 

Only problems has been the engine, and the bug alert.

 

yours Shogun

[Casshew]

Glad it is not a disaster :)

 

Happy Sailing, Shogun... have a nice day on the Sun

[GloriaF]

Thanks, Shogun!

 

You cruise like we do, just roll with the punches and make the best of it!

 

It's all an adventure and a lot depends on how you perceive it!:)

[cruiseapril]

Hi Shogun- Glad to hear your upbeat reports, even with some engine problems. You seem like a wise and humorous cruiser. Yea!

[Bettyboop66]

Hi everyone,

I was on the Sun for the 12/10 to 12/20 cruise. I totally agree with Shogun, things happen. I know we had problems with the air and the engines but the way I see it those things could happen anywhere at anytime. As long as they don't run out of food or liquor, or make me leave the ship I'm going to have a good time. The service on this ship was some of the best I've ever seen. If there was one thing that made my cruise a little less enjoyable than it could have been I would have to say it was the passengers complaining. The day after the air conditioning problem I had to switch chairs by the pool 2 or 3 times because of people complaining. And as you all know it's hard to find a good chair by the pool.

[EmpressofPurple]

Hi Shogun, hi Cruise Critic folk –

Live from the Sun Princess – well, composed offline and posted in just a few minutes to save on the exorbitant onboard internet charges – 50 cents a minute, or $30 per hour, vs. $3.50 per hour when we were in Curacao yesterday at a local internet café!

I love cruising and so have been enjoying myself, despite various onboard problems – Shogun has treated you to a description of the “slight mechanical problems” and the attendant port delays/shortenings that have resulted because of this. Now we are apparently waiting to see if we can cut the Customs procedure short and have the needed equipment sent to Barbados to meet the ship and be installed in time to help us keep up the pace for the rest of the voyage.

New Year’s onboard was much fun: huge balloon drop in the Atrium, everyone dressed to the nines in glittery cruise finery… I was pleased that the Captain’s cocktail party before dinner offered non-alcoholic drinks for those of us who do not imbibe, though I was very disappointed that a non-alcoholic bubbly (i.e., sparkling apple cider, ginger ale or some other such) was not offered for the midnight toast. Alas!

I had the good fortune to meet with two other of our merry band, Greg and Leanne from the frozen north (Icedog, right?) at breakfast this morning. They have had myriad complaints, and as first-time cruisers one would hope they would have a great experience. I will leave them to post the details upon their return, but briefly: their cabin was cleaned poorly (dirty socks!) – they ordered New Year’s eve corsage and boutonniere and their order was lost – observed staff rudeness to guests during casino games, etc., etc. My own are of a lesser order: damaged bags in transit from dock to room… idiocy at the purser’s desk… slow service in the dining areas…

…and of course, we are all missing our port time. (I have an off-ship tour scheduled for Barbados, and I will HAVE to pay for some online time to contact them and let them know I may have to cancel.) Also, Princess’s crowd-handling abilities are very poor: given that the entire ship had to empty at about 1 pm and return by 4:30, they should have had staff at all the stairs, elevators, etc., directing traffic. Instead, the passengers pushed and shoved their way to the single card-reader by the exit (and later the entrance) and it was a 45-minute procedure to get off and on, further reducing the amount of shore time.

On the positive side, the quality of the food and the attractive presentation has all been very good. After one day of anytime dining (we were 80th on the waitlist for traditional dining in the late seating) we got a reserved table at the late seating – in the “anytime dining”dining room! We have really nice table companions, and look forward to enjoying the amenities of a regular spot (growing familiarity with each other and the staff, our likes and dislikes known, etc.). I think one of the drawbacks of anytime dining and automatic tipping is that the staff doesn’t have an incentive to perform at a high level, and sometimes service quality declines.

Since our port stop in Curacao was so short (barely 3 ½ hours) by the time we all disembarked, my kids and I ran around to the stores in the “Discover Shopping” guide, stopped in a central plaza to have some (really bad cake-like) pizza and soda (while we took turns on the cheap internet connection), walked over to see the “floating market” (by that late hour, just one boat with some old produce) and then strolled back to the ship, picking up a few sundresses and souvenirs on the way.

Today our arrival at Isla Margarita is anticipated to be 11:30 – we are pulling into port now; I see a tug, other cruise ships (the “Aida”?) – I guess we’ll just be buying pearls by the ship and then swimming in the beach by the cruise ship.

I hear that the new 2007 Princess book doesn’t even list the Sun Princess – clearly she is about to be retired or sold to another firm; not surprising, given the various problems many have noted.

I must sign off now and write down Louise’s pearl order so I can (hopefully) fulfill it on the Island… plus save a few dollars for my own pearl purchases!

Best regards to all – for those who are scheduled on upcoming Sun Princess cruises, be aware of potential problems – I’ll try to post again before the end of the cruise.

Yours,

Denise

[islandersx4]

Hi Denise, I did hear that the Sun is being sold to an Asian interest next year. Seems the time is right...enjoy your cruise.

[Druke I]

No, the Sun Princess is not being retired, nor has she been sold.

 

She is going to P&O Australia for a six months deployment, much as Pacific Princess (new) has done in the past. Some of Sun Princess's cruises while with P&O Australia are in Princess brochures and are being marketed in the US, although it apears that Princess' past passenger perks will not apply!

[debjo]

In response to Denise's posting about the SUN PRINCESS and the PRINCESS CRUISES 20007 Brochure...the ship is prominently listed in the May to September 2007 ALASKA brochure (a cruise which we have booked).

 

Debjo

[GloriaF]

Thanks, Denise, for a different viewpoint.

 

How are the production shows? We thought they were fantastic on the 11/30-12/10 Sun cruise. There were 4, such a treat! We saw Curtain Up!, C'est Magnigique, Tribute, and Piano Man. Sure hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

[coiran]

No, the Sun Princess is not being retired, nor has she been sold.

 

She is going to P&O Australia for a six months deployment, much as Pacific Princess (new) has done in the past. Some of Sun Princess's cruises while with P&O Australia are in Princess brochures and are being marketed in the US, although it apears that Princess' past passenger perks will not apply!

 

Where did this come from? We have the Sun booked for April 2008 - 31 days Sydney to SF - does this mean our elite perks will not be honored?

 

Ron

[Druke I]

No, the trans-Pacific is not impacted by being operated by P&O Australia, as that is under the Princess flag.

 

There are three cruises in the Princess brochure (one circumnavigation of Australia, and two Australia/New Zealand cruises), that in the fine print say are being operated by P&O Australia, and that on-board currency and accounts will be in Australian Dollars.

 

When I checked with Princess, I was told that Captain's Circle perks would not apply to those 3 cruises, and that I could not use a Future Cruise Credit to book. Other inquiries have had the same result.

[coiran]

I just went to the P & O site and found the Sun Princess being marketed from October 2007 through March. However, it was listed as a "Princess" cruise. The Princess cruise atlas shows the Sun Princess being deployed to P & O Australia from October 2007 through March 2008, then starting with princess again starting April 2008.

 

Ron

[Shogun]

Hi Folks,,

Captain says I am not to go on deck at night...

 

Looking over at the Aida Vita just now they were in port when we got into IM but are having to tender.

 

IM turned out to be the sunnyest and warmest day yet, locals had dancers out etc.

 

If the proof of a good ship, cruise line and crew are how they deal with problems, then Princess are doing a good job.

 

Service is slow but everyone is on cleaning duties.

 

Steward still doing an excellant job, will give details latter,

 

..... because my red nose could distract other ships.

 

 

yours Shogun

[emdia43]

I see you're still busy making lemonade out of all those cruise lemons...

but what are you putting in it?:)

(red nose!)

[spongerob]

Best regards to all – for those who are scheduled on upcoming Sun Princess cruises, be aware of potential problems – I’ll try to post again before the end of the cruise.

 

Yours,

 

Denise

Thanks for your update. Icedog sounds like someone I might have known many years ago...I admit it's a longshot, but I left a note for them on your roll call thread just in case.

 

Sun Princess will remain in the Princess fleet. She'll be doing split deployments with P&O Australia, much like Pacific Princess has done the last few years.