Perky1
April 10th, 2004, 07:10 PM
Well it's all over now!!! Was it worth it???? You bet it was........
Sorry...this might be long.......
Keep in mind that this was our first cruise so all of our comparing is to our experiences in the "all inclusive" vacations we have taken in Cuba, Margarita Island and Mexico. To start off with.... there is no comparison. This cruise to us was first rate. An all inclusive vacation cannot even compare to a cruise experience. My husband came on this cruise reluctantly. He wanted his all inclusive but needless to say we put a deposit down on a future cruise.......hopefully next year!!!!!
We arrived in Fll the day before and stayed at the Marriott Marina thanks to Priceline. Got a portside room on the 10th floor so was able to see the Sun Princess sail in to take us away at 6:00am. Took the free shuttle to the pier at 10:30...doors opened at 11:00am and we were in our room by 11:25am. Had our luggage all put away before our CC meeting at 3 in the Wheelhouse bar. Toto & Pudgy were wonderful as everyone said they would be. Those who told me how lucky we were to be sailing with them were right. Stuart & Laurie, Alma and Jim and all the rest of the gang it was great to start off my having some familiar faces around the ship.
Food was wonderful, service was superb and the waiters in the Wheelhouse Bar made us feel at home immediately. Jason Benoit from Granada is an excellent bar server and remembered our names after only one meeting. If you go on the Sun before it starts for Alaska make sure you look him up. He will be done for a couple of months after that.
Princess Kays - wonderful beach day, clean and relaxing
St. Thomas - tendering went fairly smoothly we thought. Shopped a little and then went on the Kon Tiki Party Boat. It was a blast...rum punch had more rum than punch......
St. Marten - 4 x 4 Safari Jeep tour. You get a good look at the island by land. Stopped at may points of interest...including an hour stop in Marigot for shopping, Orient Beach for 1 hr and another beach. It was a fun day.
St. Vincent - We booked a private tour with Beline Tours. WOW... what a great tour. We went by speedboat...and toured half of the coastline of St. Vincent. Saw the set of movie Pirates of Carribean, swam in the black sand beach and walked to the Falls of Beline?? and swam under them. This was awsome. Cannot say enough about this tour.. It was the highlight for us as far as excursions go.
Barbados - didn't do much..shopped in Havensight and then back to the ship to realax.
Antigua - This is where we spent all our money.... we were doing so well!!!!!! Then we went to Dickenson Bay for the afternoon to swim one last time in the Carribean before coming back to fridgit Nova Scotia.
We went to the Stirling Steakhouse one night and it was very nice. It was for Pudgy's birthday and the S.house even had a birthday cake for him. If you want to have a quiet nice evening away from the hustle and bustle then I would recommend you spend the $30/couple. It is worth it.
The "pool police" were ticking people off but quite frankly I rather enjoyed their presence. Some people are just so rude and on sea days something has to be done to curb the people reserving chairs and going back to their rooms for a nap..... or something!!!
I worried about being seasick but this cruise was so smooth many of the passengers including Toto said they have never been on one this good. Weather was superb..not a drop...I mean...not a drop of rain. For 10 days straight..no rain, no wind to speak of and no heavy seas. I feel so lucky.
Debarkation..I was worried, everyone complains about it.... Started at 8:30 - we were off the ship and at the airport before 10. A breeze.... We did not have Princess transfers so we just got our luggage, went through immigration and right to the many taxi's awaiting outside. $10 for 2 people... Princess charges $10 each person for the transfer.... you have to wait until the bus is full and then you have to wait while the driver tries and tries to get all the luggage in.....
March 30, 2004 Sun Princess
Sorry...this might be long.......
Keep in mind that this was our first cruise so all of our comparing is to our experiences in the "all inclusive" vacations we have taken in Cuba, Margarita Island and Mexico. To start off with.... there is no comparison. This cruise to us was first rate. An all inclusive vacation cannot even compare to a cruise experience. My husband came on this cruise reluctantly. He wanted his all inclusive but needless to say we put a deposit down on a future cruise.......hopefully next year!!!!!
We arrived in Fll the day before and stayed at the Marriott Marina thanks to Priceline. Got a portside room on the 10th floor so was able to see the Sun Princess sail in to take us away at 6:00am. Took the free shuttle to the pier at 10:30...doors opened at 11:00am and we were in our room by 11:25am. Had our luggage all put away before our CC meeting at 3 in the Wheelhouse bar. Toto & Pudgy were wonderful as everyone said they would be. Those who told me how lucky we were to be sailing with them were right. Stuart & Laurie, Alma and Jim and all the rest of the gang it was great to start off my having some familiar faces around the ship.
Food was wonderful, service was superb and the waiters in the Wheelhouse Bar made us feel at home immediately. Jason Benoit from Granada is an excellent bar server and remembered our names after only one meeting. If you go on the Sun before it starts for Alaska make sure you look him up. He will be done for a couple of months after that.
Princess Kays - wonderful beach day, clean and relaxing
St. Thomas - tendering went fairly smoothly we thought. Shopped a little and then went on the Kon Tiki Party Boat. It was a blast...rum punch had more rum than punch......
St. Marten - 4 x 4 Safari Jeep tour. You get a good look at the island by land. Stopped at may points of interest...including an hour stop in Marigot for shopping, Orient Beach for 1 hr and another beach. It was a fun day.
St. Vincent - We booked a private tour with Beline Tours. WOW... what a great tour. We went by speedboat...and toured half of the coastline of St. Vincent. Saw the set of movie Pirates of Carribean, swam in the black sand beach and walked to the Falls of Beline?? and swam under them. This was awsome. Cannot say enough about this tour.. It was the highlight for us as far as excursions go.
Barbados - didn't do much..shopped in Havensight and then back to the ship to realax.
Antigua - This is where we spent all our money.... we were doing so well!!!!!! Then we went to Dickenson Bay for the afternoon to swim one last time in the Carribean before coming back to fridgit Nova Scotia.
We went to the Stirling Steakhouse one night and it was very nice. It was for Pudgy's birthday and the S.house even had a birthday cake for him. If you want to have a quiet nice evening away from the hustle and bustle then I would recommend you spend the $30/couple. It is worth it.
The "pool police" were ticking people off but quite frankly I rather enjoyed their presence. Some people are just so rude and on sea days something has to be done to curb the people reserving chairs and going back to their rooms for a nap..... or something!!!
I worried about being seasick but this cruise was so smooth many of the passengers including Toto said they have never been on one this good. Weather was superb..not a drop...I mean...not a drop of rain. For 10 days straight..no rain, no wind to speak of and no heavy seas. I feel so lucky.
Debarkation..I was worried, everyone complains about it.... Started at 8:30 - we were off the ship and at the airport before 10. A breeze.... We did not have Princess transfers so we just got our luggage, went through immigration and right to the many taxi's awaiting outside. $10 for 2 people... Princess charges $10 each person for the transfer.... you have to wait until the bus is full and then you have to wait while the driver tries and tries to get all the luggage in.....
March 30, 2004 Sun Princess