Just Back from Sun Princess, Sun Class all the way!

Just back from the coastal cruise on the Sun Princess, what a fun time! in February I was on the Golden and was a bit hesitant about the Sun as I was not overly impressed with the Golden. I'll make some comparisons. On both cruises I occupied a mini suite...no comparison. On the Golden the mini suite felt like a larger standard verandah cabin, a bit institutional. On the Sun, wow, what a great cabin, two rooms, whirlpool tub, marble bath, leather furniture, just fantastic. The Sun is smaller and more classic in feel. The quality of the furnishing feels richer and of a higher quality. The Sun looked as good if not in better condition than the Golden.

The Sun cruise was three nights and many of the crew knew our names, and overall the service was great, friendly, and welcoming. On the Golden, I think because of the size of the ship, even after 7 days there were no crew highpoints except our waitress. Overall ho-hum in the service dept on the Golden.

The weather in the Pacific NW was great, 70 degrees, sunny, we were even able to layout and use the pools in Victoria! a Treat!

Overall I was highly impressed with the Sun and the Sun Class. After sailing the Ocean, Golden Regal and now the Sun, the Sun and the Sun class is my only future choice when sailing Princess (although, I am booked onthe Coral next year to see how that class is...)

PS: the food was very good!

[Coral]

Avalon -

Thanks for the review.

I agree, the minisuites are "much better" on the Sun class then the Grand class but they are also considerably more if you compare a comperable minisuite prices on a 7 day on the Sun class to a minisuite on a 7 day on the Grand class.

I can afford a minisuite on the Grand class but "the price is too high" for me to pay for a mini-suite on the Sun class. There are also considerably fewer minisuites on the Sun class then the Grand class.

I also prefer the Sun class to the Grand class. Glad you had a good cruise.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> The Sun cruise was three nights and many of the crew knew our names, and overall the service was great, friendly, and welcoming. On the Golden, I think because of the size of the ship, even after 7 days there were no crew highpoints except our waitress. Overall ho-hum in the service dept on the Golden. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I think this is one of the drawbacks of the larger ships. While the number of amenities the ship offers grows, the level of personal service you receive drops off. One of the reasons I enjoy the smaller ships.

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

[ambergj]

Was Frankie on your ship as Deputy Cruise Dir????

Sea Princess: 08/2000
RCCL Voyager of the Seas: 12/2002
Golden Princess: 07/2003

Can NEVER get ENOUGH cruisin

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;07;03;18;00;00&timezone=GMT+0000
Keep on Cruisin!

[shakespeare]

Avalon...what cabin were you in? We have an AB minisuite booked for next April and would like as much info on cabin as possible.

Thanks in advance!

Infinatics/Infinitinis To Hawaii and Beyond
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;12;5;21;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800
Sun Princess Eastern Caribbean
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Veendam Southern Caribbean
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Sailed in Cabin B429 and loved it! Lovely bathroom with marble and whirlpool tub, great living area, walk in closet. Could ask for nothing more from a mini suite.

[PenelopeCruise]

I was on this same cruise, and I was equally impressed. After just being on the Diamond two weeks ago, I felt the level of service was even better on the Sun. The staff was extremely friendly and attentive.

Sun Princess, May 04
Diamond Princess, May 04
RC Monarch, March 04
Star Princess, Sept. 03

[shakespeare]

Thanks Avalon...sounds heavenly http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Infinatics/Infinitinis To Hawaii and Beyond
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;12;5;21;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800
Sun Princess Eastern Caribbean
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Veendam Southern Caribbean
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Was Frankie on your ship as Deputy Cruise Dir???? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Princess only puts Deputy Cruise Directors on the Grand Class ships - Sun Class ships have a Senior Assistant Cruise Director but no longer have a Deputy. So Frankie is not on Sun Princess.

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

[Jacqueline]

But if you are in a balcony cabin, it is not so great. They are terribly SMALL. Esp for Alaska with all the extra gear. I agree the minis are just fabulous.

Jacqueline
Constellation 3/20/04
HAL Westerdam 7/30/04
Tahitian Princess August 2003
Grand Princess Western Caribbean 2003
Brilliance of the Seas Baltic 2002
Ocean Princess- Alaska 2001
Celebrity Zenith- Bermuda 2001
Grand Princess Med 2000

[santamaria]

To Avalon - was very interested in your praise of B429. We are booked in that cabin for our Alaska trip in August. Can you tell me please, does the hair dryer really work, is it in the bathroom? I assume there is no wet bar area, but is there enough comvenient space to set up a small coffer maker (near sink?). I read somewhere that the aft side of this balcony is a fixed wall, so that maybe it is more private - can you tell me what that might mean? This will be our first cruise, and I'm really excited about it!! Thanks

[srphnx]

We love the Diamond but don't feel like it is a step down to a Sun class, Avalon the Coral is considered a sun class at least on the Princess web page. I know there is a tonnage difference, perhaps she is Sun Plus. Or Grand light. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Life is at it's best when your address floats
<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>
Diamond Princess 12/04
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>
Ecstacy 09/01
<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>
Century 12/97
<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>
Century 9/96

[meyerhaus]

Avalon,

Welcome back! Did you happen to save you patters and/or menus? If so, I would love to add them to my site!

Thanks,
JON

MAKE SURE YOU GO TO MY NEW PATTERS AND MENUS SITE:
http://www.picgoo.com/uploads/patters.gif (http://www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus/)
www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus (http://www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus)

Golden Princess 7/11/04
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Big Red Boat-1993 (Amy)
Celebrity Zenith-1993 (Jon)

[Druke I]

Have to agree that the mini-suites on the Sun Princess are great.

We were in B-307 up the Left Coast, and found the room to be very spacious, compared to a mini-suite last year on the Coral Princess, D-606, which in actuality was just a slightly larger standard balcony. A world of difference - the Sun mini-suites are as large as suites on many ships.

Michael

[MCManders99]

Avalon,

What was the Sun like? I booked the sun in alaska next May and this will be my first cruise (and my honeymoon). I'm excited and nervous at the same time. If you want you can also E-mail me MCManders99@aol.com all the details. I want to know everything. I've reserved a balcony. Thanks alot

manders

[coiran]

The Sun is a great ship. We did Alaska on the SEA, a sister ship to the Sun in a balcony room - enough room for whatever you bring aboard including the kitchen sink - we did the Eastern Carib this late winter on the Sun.

NCL PRIDE OF AMERICA Oct. 2004
SUN PRINCESS 2004 Caribbean
REGAL PRINCESS 2003 Europe
GOLDEN PRINCESS 2002 Canada New England
SUN PRINCESS 2002 Panama Canal
SUN PRINCESS 2002 Mexico
DAWN PRINCESS 2001 Caribbean
DAWN PRINCESS 2001 Caribbean
SEA PRINCESS 2001 Alaska
REGAL PRINCESS 2000 Mexico
REGAL PRINCESS 1999 Panama Canal
PACIFIC PRINCESS 1999 Europe
SUN PRINCESS 1998 Caribbean
ROYAL PRINCESS 1996 Panama Canal

[mringenoldus]

We were also on the Sun Princess last week. After hearing about the terrible weather that caused the Diamond Princess problem - what a difference a week makes! We had gorgeous sunny skies and totally enjoyed the trip. What a stunning ship!

I started a review a few days ago and hit something on my keyboard that wiped it out. So here goes....

We arrived in San Francisco on Thursday and stayed at the Chancellor on Union Square. This is a terrific hotel for an inexpensive price. (Nice touches like coffee and cookies in the lobby, a rubber ducky in the bath and a pillow menu) We ate at Alioto's and toured Alcatraz.

While on Alcatraz we could see the Sun docked, I said to my husband "I think I can see our balcony" He replied "You're crazy!" Well, the joke was on him because I could clearly see our aft AA suite - it was to be a surprise for him.

Embarkation - just as fast and easy as everyone said it would be.

Ship decor - lovely biege, soft peach tones and lots of marble. If you told me it was a brand-new ship, I would have believed you.

Cabin - Even though I knew we were in the aft AA, I think I was about as wowed as my husband. It was a beautiful 2 room cabin with a huge marble bath and walk-in closet. There are six AB and six AA cabins on the ship, all aft. The view from the enormous balcony was incredible (especially as we sailed under the Golden Gate bridge) We enjoyed the suite amenities but our steward was new and some of the special extras were missed.I'm not sure how we will ever be happy in the more standard room again. However, we saw the mini suites and I thought they were outstanding also.

Food - We had great tables using PC dining and thought the food was fine. I wish we had gotten a chance to try the Italian restraunt because the dishes we saw being served looked delicious. We had a full breakfast in the suite each morning with my husband's relatives.At sailing each evening, we had the canapes that included with the suite.The tuxedo strawberries were awesome.

Entertainment - This was a weird (but wonderful) cruise for us because we didn't do the things we typically do. One example was that we didn't see the evening shows. We ate later than usual and then headed off to the casino. We did enjoy watching the art auction and the wine tasting event. We liked one wine so well that we ordered a bottle at dinner that evening. I think the difference may have been because we didn't have the younger members of our family sailing with us this time.

Ports - In Victoria, We went to the British/National Geogrphic museum.It deserves its high standings. We took a double decker bus tour and found the neighborhoods beautiful and unique. Then we just wandered down the shopping area and came to a small street fair.

On board booking - we loved the ship so much, both we and our relative booked another trip. They will be on the Regal in April going through the Panama Canal. Since we are already on the Golden in October, we did an open booking.

Disembarkation - This was also handled very efficiently. we were allowed to wait in the Platinum lounge and were served coffee and breakfast treats.

Vancouver - we stayed a couple of extra days in the Barclay House of the West End B&B. This 100 year old house is elegant and the breakfasts were amazing. We went to the Martime Museum, Granville Island and, of course, shopping on Robson Street.

We very much enjoyed meeting Ted, Ralph (and friends), Sue and her husband Jay from the CC board. We were very disappointed that we didn't catch up with Michael and Virginia. I'm glad to hear they had a good time from Druke 1's earlier post!

If you have any other specific questions - I'd be glad to try and answer them.
Maureen

CCL Holiday 2000
CCL Elation 2001
CCL Pride 2002
CCL Ecstacy 2003
RCL AOS 2003
Sun Princess May 14 2004!!
Golden Princess 10-2004!!!

cabin B429 was great! I travelled with a friend of mine who has long hair and she is very hair dryer dmanding and found the hairdryer in the room just fine. Its on a small desk in the bedroom. There is a small fridge in the living room and its got a nice shelf over it with glasses and such. Plenty of room for any set up you may need

The balcony is long and narrow. very private, I could not see any of our neighbors unless I hung out over the side. It has two loungers and a table and two small chairs (though I wish Princess would upgrade their verandah furniture, the table and chairs were cheap!!)

[KateKathy]

Happened upon your post, and sorry this is long, but thought it might help. So here is my review from the same cruise - REVIEW OF THE SUN PRINCESS
3 DAY REPOSITIONING CRUISE
(May 14-17, 2004 – San Francisco to Vancouver)

In my never-ending quest to research every cruiseline, ship, port and experience, I embarked on something new for me – a three day repositioning cruise. First of all, I admit to having preconceived ideas about what a 3 day experience would be like, plus I did want to see the difference in a repositioning experience. I returned about a week ago from my second Princess Cruise. (I am also an alumn of Windstar, Carnival and Norwegian).

This cruise was taken with three female friends so my experience was different than cruising with my spouse or spouse & son. We spent two great days pre-cruise in San Francisco, which of course I can highly recommend. Coming from the East Coast for a 3 day cruise wouldn’t make a lot of sense without attaching a day (or two) before or some after. Either city would be a worthwhile and enjoyable place to spend time. We decided to stay where it was easy albeit touristy (The Radisson at Fisherman’s Wharf). Excellent location and you could see the ship from our hotel and could walk to Pier 35 if we hadn’t had luggage. If anyone wants more information on San Francisco, email me as I’m keeping this review strictly to the cruise experience.

EMBARKATION was amazing. In contrast to the debacle on my recent Carnival Cruise, Princess was organized, swift and friendly! My friend and I arrived about 11:20 am and were met at the curb by an official and efficient Princess rep who called a porter over within seconds who had our bag whisked off in a minute. He kindly directed us to the right entrance where we sat in chairs only to be greeted within minutes by another perky, friendly and very no-nonsense Princess rep. By 11:40 we were checked-in and by 12:15 we were having lunch on the deck overlooking the pool. Absolutely terrific for an official 12 pm embarkation time.

OUR CABIN: We were on the Caribe deck in a Veranda cabin (thank you Princess for the upgrade). Our cabin was not as large as Carnival’s (small cabin and tiny veranda) but nicely done and with plenty of space even in the tiny bathroom. I always like that Princess has a little refrigerator in the cabin (not stocked with overpriced things they want to sell you) and they re-stock it with ice each day. Veranda only had a tiny patio table and chairs with no arms. Not too comfy but adequate for this voyage. Beds were very comfortable and lighting was good. I like the Princess doors that slide open rather than swing open.

SAILAWAY: WOW! I was expecting fog sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge which we did not have. BUT we had WIND! We had fierce wind that nearly blew us over. It was hard to even stand up to get pictures. It was so exciting to sail under the bridge but hard to explain why. The city is beautiful from the ship, but it was chilly so we didn’t stay out long after the bridge.

DINING: As most cruisers know, Princess has several dining options. On the Sun, there was the set seating in the Marquis Dining Room and open seating (Personal Choice) in the Regency. We were able to experience both since we met friends who were in the Marquis and then ate twice in the Regency. Food is good but not excellent. Some dishes were very good like my duck salad but desserts as a whole were not enticing (a good thing for the diet!) We tried one evening to dine at Sterling’s (the famous alternative steak restaurant on the Princess ships). Since the Sun is an “older” vessel and was not initially designed with the alternative restaurant, the ship converts one side of the Horizon Court (lido) to Sterlings. We thought it might work since they assured us it would be nice. Admittedly the view was great – the four of us had champagne at a table by the window and watched the sun-set along the Canadian coast. Lovely. But despite putting some candles on the tables you were still in the Horizon Court. No ambience. Plus, rather than attempting to transform the space by using white tablecloths, they used southwestern ones that appeared to be hand-me-downs from the Painted Desert restaurants they are converting from other ships. Also, although we knew it was a steakhouse, we expected a better choice of interesting appetizers rather than a “bloomin onion”. We nicely asked to leave, and went down to Regency and had a very nice dinner. No need on the Sun to pay the $15 extra to eat premium steak, unless you have a craving an upscale cut of steak (although I understand that Sterling’s on the other ships is great.)

Horizon Court layout was nice (front of the ship with views and not in the center of the ship with people using it as a hallway) but the food was not particularly special. Pizza regrettably is not available 24 hours by the slice (like the delicious pizza on Carnival), but must be ordered in a sit-down fashion in Verdi’s Trattoria.

By the way, many think that the three day cruises don’t have formal nights, but they do and it was fun to dress up.

ENTERTAINMENT: Being a three day cruise, the entertainment options were somewhat limited, but we really didn’t get much of a chance to see the shows. Stayed 15 minutes into the Dan Horn, Ventriloquist show, billed as “Laugh till your Face Falls off!” Sorry – no laughing, so we left.

Plenty of music options all over the ship. Mostly we danced in the Wheelhouse Bar to hits from the 60s, 70s and 80s, and then later in the Shooting Stars Disco to techno-beat.
Bars abound including the (small) Rendez-vous wine bar we never had a chance to experience in 3 days, and the drinks and service were good throughout.

LOTUS SPA: Run by Steiner’s, next to a small gym. Very little sauna and steam rooms. I had one massage by a therapist who was fine (not great) but had no music in the room. Not at all relaxing without music. Plus there were major communication problems. I had told them I had gift credit for the spa but didn’t want to use them all (it was only a 3 day cruise), and the person at the desk said I could use it toward shipboard credit. Found out late the night before debarkation that was not true, so I had to deal with the confusion between the spa and pursers desk.

EXCURSIONS/PORTS: Being a repositioning cruise we only had one port – Victoria. We were two hours late to arrive (nicely communicated by Princess) due to strong head-winds and adverse tides coming out of San Francisco (no need to tell the passengers that!) But they adjusted our departure time by two hours so we were able to get the same amount of time in port. We spent the day with friends from Vancouver so we never took an organized tour, but thoroughly enjoyed our day walking and dining on the harbour. Victoria is a beautiful port with nice shopping and restaurants plus of course gardens and the harbor among other sites. (BTW – highly recommend the Wharfside for lunch – a little expensive but amazing food and you can sit outside with the view of the harbor).

CREW/SERVICE: Excellent! Princess advertises that their staff is committed to Courtesy, Respect, Unfailing in Service Excellence (C.R.U.I.S.E) and I think they truly are. The level of service for this category of cruise line was great. Not only were they very attentive and courteous but genuinely friendly too. Our steward Greeny was great and was there within 1 ½ minutes when I needed another towel and our waiters were terrific.

THE SUN: Nice ship – understated but pretty.

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS:
Sorry, unable to comment on this. Not only was this a repositioning cruise so there weren’t a lot of children, but we came “single”! But we did peek into the kid’s room and the teen club. Minimal facilities. The arcade was very small and had only a few machines. I would not recommend this ship for teens.

MISC:
There were fewer photo opportunities than on a seven day sailing which was fine with us (less time searching for photos and a smaller sign and sail bill). There were no pool towels available out by the pool – just the ONE left in your stateroom that you had to bring to the pool – so if you wanted to lay on one and dry off with another – too bad! Maybe this was because they didn’t want to staff a pool person for such a short cruise but that combined with the skimpy towels in the stateroom felt stingy.

DEBARKATION:
We had an early flight so we were one of the first off the ship and again Princess did a great job. Since we did not book air through Princess, we did have to show our flight tickets to the Purser’s desk to get the proper luggage tags. But they called them on schedule and we were off promptly, and again there were plenty of smiling Princess reps along the way to direct you, even to your waiting taxi.

Recap of some positives and negatives of my Sun Princess cruise:

“ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT”:
1. Massage room with NO MUSIC
2. Spa a bit small
3. “Connection” between Spa & Ship
4. Would love pizza to be available without a sit-down experience
5. Towels - skimpy

EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS
1. Crew!
2. Staff (on board & off)
3. Crew!

I expected to come back with the recommendation that a three-day cruise is not a good idea since you spend all your time getting on and off. But Princess did such a great job, time on board felt like a longer vacation and certainly a value for the money. If you get a chance for such an experience do it!

Kate
Golden Princess 06/04
Sun Princess 5/04
Carnival Pride 03/04
Carnival Victory 06/03
Norwegian Sun 03/03
Ocean Princess 07/02
Wind Surf 07/01

[~Nereus~]

Suites might be great but insides are the smallest of any ship we've ever been on. We don't spend much time in our cabins but this cruise has very few activities for people who have been there etc... and like on board activities... organized activities on Celebrity and HAL have been much more in number....
Entertainment OK but the lousiest comedian ever... people even booed when he was announced for a second performance... but life on board still better than anywhere on shore...

[vince_g]

Maureen,

Just curious... what cabin were you in? Looking forward to being in suite B753 over Thanksgiving. The info. I saw said it is 683 s.f. including the balcony. Carnival's cat. 12 on the Conquest are only 345 s.f. and that felt huge to me! I'm starting to think I'm gonna love it!

Vince

[cruiserforlife]

Have cruised the Star,Sea, and Ocean and are looking forward to our 1/27 Sun sailing.I understand she is all spiffed up and fresh from dry dock in SF.

We are looking forward to cruising a slightly smaller ship.

[RDR]

Happy that everyone likes the Sun. It is a nice ship but to be honest in my opinion if you've been on the newer ships like the Ocean, Coral and Diamond, you will notice how much the Sun is showing it's age inside. For first time cruisers, I'm sure you'll love it. We probably will not take the Sun again as it had plumbling problems, a number of toilets did not flush, some passengers at the pursers desk were complaining that they had no hot water, rope lghts for indirect lighting is hanging down in the horizon court, etc. We still loved the cruise from San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale getting off last Wednesday, but initially there were no salt and pepper on the tables in the dining room, they would provide you indiviudally with a dinner bun, suger for your coffee came in a package, etc. Not the dining room service we had experienced before but this was because of the Norwalk virus, as it had been on the ship on its last trip from Alaska to Vancouver. They didn't want people handling things but they provided the menus that everyone handled. In any event they were trying thir best to solve the problem. As the cruise progressed they relaxed and things continued to get better. I can't think that any cruise is bad. The staff were excellent.

[tiggrbaby]

I am in B429 8/22/05 in Alaska; I think my parents are in B428 (we wanted balconies on both sides of the ship) and the rest of our group is inside in B229. I was thrilled to hear that the rooms are beautiful and the balconies are long, so we can squeeze people in the room and we can all ooh and aah at the views!

[calikak]

It is such a small world, we're going to be in B429 on the Dawn. How funny that so many of us CC folks would be in B429 on sun-class ships. Does anyone have any pictures of this particular cabin?