Any information on Sun princess

[fllady]

Hi, We are going on Sun Princess and would appreciate any information about this ship, restaurants, shows, etc. We usually go on Celebrity. Thanks.

[mringenoldus]

We sail on the Sun in May. There is a very good review right on this page. It is also our first time on the Sun but like what we hear about the size of the ship, the elegance of the decor, and the upkeep of the older vessel. Of course, the fact that we are lucky enough to have a suite this time doesn't hurt either!

I'm sure more experienced Sun posters will give you even better advice.

CCL Holiday 2000
CCL Elation 2001
CCL Pride 2002
CCL Ecstacy 2003
RCL AOS 2003
Sun Princess May 14 2004!!

[larsen]

Don't know what information you specifically want but 1st off we love the Sun! We were on her again 3/10-3/20 and it was like sailing on a new ship. We find her size (2000) to be perfect, never a crowd anywhere. She is in impeccable shape and has one of the prettiest 3 story lobbies on the sea. All her cabins include TV, safe and a refrigerator. There is more than enough storage space for two people traveling 10 days even if you over pack the way some of us do. If by chance you book a mini-suite it will blow you away. It compares to many full suites on other lines. I won't go into details, just trust me it is heaven.

As far as the dining goes if you have Anytime Dining (Personal Choice) you may eat in the Marquis Dining Room (with or without a reservation), the Horizon Court (which serves some of the same dishes as the dining rooms), Verdi's Trattoria (pizza, focaccia, pasta dishes and desserts) or the Sterling Steakhouse with a $15 cover charge and requires reservations. If you are doing traditional dining it will be in the Regency Dining room either at 1st seating at 6pm or 2nd at 815pm. Breakfast is served in the Horizon and one (forgot which one) of the traditional dining rooms. Lunch is the same. Additionally the Terrace Grill by the pool serves hambergers, hot dogs,grilled chicken and French fries.

In addition to the above you can get room service 24 hours a day. You will be given a slip to hang on your door each night for a continental style breakfast and the information book in you cabin lists sandwiches and such that can be ordered. BUT - you can actually order anything you desire and they will bring it. I've know folks who look at the diner menu, go back to their cabins and order it delivered by room service. The only thing to caution one about is you must order EVERYTHING you want. This includes butter, cream, etc. Assume nothing. The meals are delivered promptly and warm and there is no cost unless you order booze.

Princess does not do the 'midnight buffet' the way some lines do. Instead the Horizon Court turns into a Bistro from 1000pm to 400am with a good variety on the menu. Additionally every afternoon 330pm to 500pm ice cream with a variety of toppings is served in the Horizon. And, if after all of this you are still hungry the Patiserrie on Plaza deck serves Danish in the morning and cookies in the afternoon.

Entertainment is good and the evening performances will take place either in the Princess Theater or the Vista Lounge. Depending on the length of your cruise there will be at least one or two full production programs with singers and dancers, a Cabaret style program and at least two comedians. There are usually two different performances each night and they are normally repeated the next evening at different times. This allows those with traditional dining times to see them all. On one evening at 1030pm in the Vista the cruise staff will present Pub Night Madness. It is a must see for 1st time Princess cruisers. One or both of the venues will also show a 1st run movie at 1030pm. Additionally there is entertainment in the Wheel House Bar each evening and in the Atrium Lounge. On our trip the Atrium entertainer was Paul Burton and he was very good. There should be an Island Night Deck Party on the Riviera deck and if you are on a 10 day trip possibly a Country & Western Hoe Down Party.

Think I've covered all you asked but if not let me know. Just know for sure you will love the Sun! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif Barb

Crown '93,Star '94, Regal '95,
Sun '96, Crown '97, Dawn '98,
Dawn '99, Sun 2000, Dawn '01,
Grand '02, Coral '03,Star 6/28/03, Sun 3/10/04, Star 02/27/05

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=FF0000&cdt=2005;2;27;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500 Star Princess Sailing

Here's my write up of my 3/20 sailing:

Sun Princess Review (http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=887097554&m=964107501)

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> She is in impeccable shape and has one of the prettiest 3 story lobbies on the sea. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> The atrium is actually four decks high.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> On one evening at 1030pm in the Vista the cruise staff will present Pub Night Madness. It is a must see for 1st time Princess cruisers. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Depending on when you sail - the current Cruise Director - Janet Edwards - does not do Pub Night and she will be on the ship until it reaches San Francisco on May 14.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> On our trip the Atrium entertainer was Paul Burton and he was very good. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Eric Stone is currently appearing in the Atrium Lounge and will continue until the end of April.

-------------------------
Sun Princess, 03/2004; Pacific Princess, 07/2003; Star Princess, 05/2003; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Sun Princess, 05/2001; Sun Princess, 04/2001; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Regal Princess, 10/1999; Sun Princess, 08/1998; Holiday, 05/1998; Westerdam, 09/1997; Regal Princess, 11/1996; Royal Odyssey, 09/1995; Starward, 11/1993

[fllady]

THANK YOU ALL for the information, now we are getting excited, but have so long to wait, but now we know it will be worth the wait.

Jeanne&Ellis http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

[LindaKE]

We loved the Sun. She is well maintained, and the crew is very friendly and helpful but not intrusive. There was never a long line. They seem to move people through quickly.

LindaKE

Sun Princess(Alaska)
Carnival Inspiration

[cruiseclues]

Jeanne&Ellis,

Here' our personal page on the Sun Princess which has lot of links to photo albums, the cruise cam link, menu link, and lots more:

http://cruiseclues.com/shipstips/sunprincess.htm

We hope it's helpful.

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Happy Cruising, Buil, http://cruiseclues.com
Sitmar, RCCL, Costa, HAL, Princess, Royal Cruise Line, Celebrity, Renaissance, Disney, MSC Lirica
"We cannot change the direction of the wind... but we can adjust our sails"

[kaiemiscott]

We also sailed on the Sun March 10th-20th. and had a very good time. However, if you have sailed mostly with Celebrity, you may be a bit disappointed with the food and the service in the dining room. It cannot compare to the Celebrity, but the food was good. The service in the Anytime Dining was very slow, but that did not present a problem to us. Met lots of nice passengers at dinner and we usually had a table of 10. That may be why we had such slow service.

According to Larsen there was ice cream in the Horizon Court each afternoon from 3:30-5:00pm. I know I heard many complaints that the ice cream was not served the last 5 days of the cruise.

As far as the Sterling Steakhouse, it was not as good as the one on the Dawn, but it was okay.

Enjoy your cruise. I am sure you will like sailing on her.

[Likes2cruise]

Just back from the 3/20 cruise on the Sun Princess. My 80-year-old mother and I had a fabulous time. The Sun is a great ship and the staff is excellent!

Sun Princess 3/04
Coral Princess 3/03
Ocean Princess 3/02
Regal Princess 2/99

[fllady]

Thanks Buil and everyone who has answered me, I really appreciate all the information, and the web sites for pictures was great. Everyone who cruises should book mark that web site.
http://cruiseclues.com
Jeanne http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

[cruiseclues]

Jeanne, you're very welcome. We are extremely pleased you feel that way about our website. Thanks for your appreciation.

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Happy Cruising, Buil, http://cruiseclues.com
Sitmar, RCCL, Costa, HAL, Princess, Royal Cruise Line, Celebrity, Renaissance, Disney, MSC Lirica
"We cannot change the direction of the wind... but we can adjust our sails"

[suziehmkr]

Deleted - this posted on wrong thread... sorry!

[m steve]

Just back from the Sun and was generally disappointed. Having read Cruise Critic for several months some info was helpful. Especially about the coffe. Luckily I brought a press pot and good coffee along and made some before bfst each am. They use some liquid formula that is weak, tastes of grain(like Postum) and is really bad. Even the head chef acknowledged it was a problem but offered no solution.
The food was average to poor and the beef beautiful but tasteless, no seasoning before cooking. I didn't go the Sterling to pay extra for more of the same. Italian buffet was good on Easter and pastry was beautiful but all tasted alike. Asian buffet was poor. Excellent ice cream available at lunch, dinner and afternoon.
Parisian show was poor in lounge but last show w/same cast was good in theatre. Perhaps the setting should always be in the big room and the lounge for movies.
Tv in room had lots of options incl. repeat for previous days Feature film in your room at night.
My cabin was smaller than Celebrity because it didn't have the sofa and table inside. Balcony avg small but storage excellent. Bath room seemed smallest of any ship. Service was excellent.
Duty free shopping very limited. The liquor selection was limited and priced high. Go to the lobby and take a brochure from AH Riiese and they will match the price and if you buy in quantity give an additional discount. Yes you can buy cartons of cigs in the shop but they won't let you take them back to the cabin. They delivered all my shore duty free on next to last night. Again Riiese sells for less-$16.95/carton.
Lots of lounge chairs but they always seemed reserved.
I didn't take any of their shore excursions which was a mistake as some of the ports were really ugly and poor shopping.
I would not choose the Sun again but plan to take the Diamond in Feb. I don't think that Princess compares to Celebrity .
A few more comments. Their flowers that you can order for the room are a terrific buy and lasts the 10 days. The deluxe hors' d from room service are fine. Embarcation was fast and efficient. Dis emb. moved very well and we were off the ship by 9:30. Customs okayed everones booze overage but be sure to go to Wheelhouse and have them ok before you leave the ship.