PRINCESS PRATTLE - Sun, Sea & Dawn queries

Starting this one off for your questions on the standard Australian Based cruiseships. There's another thread for the Diamond and Golden (summer season) and still another for the overseas ships.

Thank you :)

My first cruise is over a year away and I reckon I can post a question a week and I'll still have more!

First up, the kids' club for the 10-12 age range on Sun Princess. I know from reading reviews that it isn't the greatest whizz-bang club compared to bigger, newer ships but I'm interested to hear if it wasenough to keep others' kids happy for the majority of a cruise. And if not, what else took the fancy of kids in that age group.

If it makes any difference, part of the cruise is over school holidays.

Thank you :)

 

My first cruise is over a year away and I reckon I can post a question a week and I'll still have more!

 

First up, the kids' club for the 10-12 age range on Sun Princess. I know from reading reviews that it isn't the greatest whizz-bang club compared to bigger, newer ships but I'm interested to hear if it wasenough to keep others' kids happy for the majority of a cruise. And if not, what else took the fancy of kids in that age group.

 

If it makes any difference, part of the cruise is over school holidays.

I'm sure someone with children will help out here. Sounds like your cruise works into the Easter break, so there will be playmates for your children.

I can't specifically answer for 10-12 year olds because when we cruised my daughter was seven. We have been in lots of kids clubs and this was by far her favourite. Some of the whiz bang ones are too big and impersonal, she hated the Voyager of the Seas kids club and wasn't as fond of Celebrity Solstice's either. The older kids on the Sun all appeared to be very happy from what I glimpsed though. :)

That sounds promising, thank you!

Anyone been on Sun Princess since her refit and the addition of International Cafe and a new look Horizon Court, looking forward to seeing the changes in April on our NZ cruise.

Anyone been on Sun Princess since her refit and the addition of International Cafe and a new look Horizon Court, looking forward to seeing the changes in April on our NZ cruise.

I was on the Sun not long after her refit and I thought she looked great. I really liked the International Cafe. I have also been on Dawn and Sea. The new Horizon Court was also much better than previous and a pleasure to eat there. If I had a choice of the 3 , I'd pick the Sun :)

Anyone been on Sun Princess since her refit and the addition of International Cafe and a new look Horizon Court, looking forward to seeing the changes in April on our NZ cruise.

The new look Horizon Court is gorgeous. The International Cafe in the corner of the atrium on deck 5 is a welcome addition and doesn't take up a lot of space.

There was a Sushi restaurant on deck 7 near the nightclub, but we were told it was being taken out when the Sun returned to Australia at the end of last October. I haven't been on since then so I can't confirm if it was taken out.

The new look Horizon Court is gorgeous. The International Cafe in the corner of the atrium on deck 5 is a welcome addition and doesn't take up a lot of space.

 

There was a Sushi restaurant on deck 7 near the nightclub, but we were told it was being taken out when the Sun returned to Australia at the end of last October. I haven't been on since then so I can't confirm if it was taken out.

Any word on what they were going to do with the space the sushi bar used?

We booked the China & Japan cruise yesterday for 2016 :D Judging by the photos on the website, there doesn't appear to be much change.

Are there any or striking differences from the Sun and Dawn?

I prefer the walk-in wardrobe set-up, but we'll have to make do with the cupboards and the smaller balcony.

Any word on what they were going to do with the space the sushi bar used?

Probably change it back to what it was - a small bar and seating area beside the walk-way that goes past the nightclub.

Probably change it back to what it was - a small bar and seating area beside the walk-way that goes past the nightclub.

Thanks I was hoping for something along the lines of Aussie food.

We booked the China & Japan cruise yesterday for 2016 :D Judging by the photos on the website, there doesn't appear to be much change.

Are there any or striking differences from the Sun and Dawn?

I prefer the walk-in wardrobe set-up, but we'll have to make do with the cupboards and the smaller balcony.

The differences would be the revamped Horizon Court and the International Cafe now on deck 5 in the atrium.

The Sun also had 'video on demand' in the cabins. This is fantastic. I am not one who watches movies in the cabin, but it is great to be able to click on (for instance) the Port Lecturer's talk and get it from the start. The same applies to movies. Someone checked it out and claimed there were a couple of hundred movies available and you can watch whichever one you want, right from the start each time. With this facility available, I could be tempted to watch a movie in the cabin.:)

We booked the China & Japan cruise yesterday for 2016 :D Judging by the photos on the website, there doesn't appear to be much change.

Are there any or striking differences from the Sun and Dawn?

I prefer the walk-in wardrobe set-up, but we'll have to make do with the cupboards and the smaller balcony.

Sun - had a recent fit out of the buffett area and other parts of the ship. And a much nicer looking international cafe type area. Other than that, its same same.

Thanks Sarah and austraveller. Maybe the Sea will also have a revamp like the Sun. I hear it will be in dry dock later this year.

There was a Sushi restaurant on deck 7 near the nightclub, but we were told it was being taken out when the Sun returned to Australia at the end of last October. I haven't been on since then so I can't confirm if it was taken out.

Kai Sushi was still there over Christmas. The cover charge was $20 at the time but they were changing back to charging a-la-carte pricing. It was not great. The sushi and sashimi were very poor quality, the seafood in the udon noodle soup was overcooked. The only dishes that were really nice were the crab margherita and the ahi tuna dish. It certainly wasn't worth an extra $20, let alone the prices I believe they are charging per item - $7 for three slices of sashimi for example.

Kai Sushi was still there over Christmas. The cover charge was $20 at the time but they were changing back to charging a-la-carte pricing. It was not great. The sushi and sashimi were very poor quality, the seafood in the udon noodle soup was overcooked. The only dishes that were really nice were the crab margherita and the ahi tuna dish. It certainly wasn't worth an extra $20, let alone the prices I believe they are charging per item - $7 for three slices of sashimi for example.

That's interesting. When we were on the ship in October, we were told (by someone we thought would know) the Sushi restaurant was going to be taken out when the ship reached Sydney.

We were also told that the Sun wouldn't go back to Japan this year, but I see the re-location in April is still scheduled. It looks like the person who gave us the information had the story wrong or things changed after that. :)

That's interesting. When we were on the ship in October, we were told (by someone we thought would know) the Sushi restaurant was going to be taken out when the ship reached Sydney.

 

We were also told that the Sun wouldn't go back to Japan this year, but I see the re-location in April is still scheduled. It looks like the person who gave us the information had the story wrong or things changed after that. :)

We were on the last cruise that arrived home on the 7th February, the Sushi restaurant was still there charging per item rather than a cover charge.

I made a point of checking if it was used, but the most I saw was three patrons one of them was a crew member, it used to be a place we often had a cup of coffee, when it was a café with comfortable seats.

The tables are popular for the use of laptops when the restaurant is closed, so it is not a complete waste of space.

We were on the last cruise that arrived home on the 7th February, the Sushi restaurant was still there charging per item rather than a cover charge.

Yes, our waiter said they were changing back to charging per item after the Christmas cruise. It seemed to be reasonably popular at lunch times on our cruise - I didn't notice what it was like at dinner.

If I price out what we had:

Crab Margarita (yummy) $9pp x 2 = $18

Ahi Tuna Poke (also yummy) $9pp x 2 = $18

Assorted sashimi (poor quality) - prices range from $12 to $13.75 for 5 pieces. We had five types with 2-4 pieces of each type (22 total) so say around $54 on current prices.

Assorted sushi (poor quality), about 6 pieces so around $15.

Kaisen Udon (seafood seriously overcooked) $24pp x 2 = $48

Miso soup - free and we passed on the green tea ice-cream.

It would have totalled $153 agains $40 for the two of us for a mediocre Japanese meal.

We went for lunch and that was a bit too much food but even a more modest meal would be way to expensive for the quality of food provided, especially for dinner. I can see why people are staying away in droves.

Yes, our waiter said they were changing back to charging per item after the Christmas cruise. It seemed to be reasonably popular at lunch times on our cruise - I didn't notice what it was like at dinner.

 

If I price out what we had:

Crab Margarita (yummy) $9pp x 2 = $18

Ahi Tuna Poke (also yummy) $9pp x 2 = $18

Assorted sashimi (poor quality) - prices range from $12 to $13.75 for 5 pieces. We had five types with 2-4 pieces of each type (22 total) so say around $54 on current prices.

Assorted sushi (poor quality), about 6 pieces so around $15.

Kaisen Udon (seafood seriously overcooked) $24pp x 2 = $48

Miso soup - free and we passed on the green tea ice-cream.

It would have totalled $153 agains $40 for the two of us for a mediocre Japanese meal.

 

We went for lunch and that was a bit too much food but even a more modest meal would be way to expensive for the quality of food provided, especially for dinner. I can see why people are staying away in droves.

That does sound expensive, especially when you have already paid for standard meals that are usually very good.

I wondered if they were hoping more might try having a single dish making the place look more inviting and some would be willing to spend more once started, I don't think it is working out that way though.

I hope you had a great Christmas cruise.:)

That does sound expensive, especially when you have already paid for standard meals that are usually very good.

I wondered if they were hoping more might try having a single dish making the place look more inviting and some would be willing to spend more once started, I don't think it is working out that way though.

I hope you had a great Christmas cruise.:)

We did, thanks. It was our first cruise and we really enjoyed ourselves. We're hooked! :D

I don't know what they are trying to do with Kai Sushi. I got the impression, from other threads here, that it didn't work very well in Japan either.

We were very impressed with the quality of the meals in the MDRs, and the variety was amazing. The Christmas pudding was one of the best I've ever tasted. If I hadn't been so stuffed I would have ordered another serve!

We tried the Sterling Steakhouse - very good food but not a nice environment. Once it got dark, so we couldn't see the view outside, it was like sitting in a boring corridor. The music was dreadful and halfway through our meal we started to hear loud clattering of plates from the kitchen behind us :eek:

We also tried the Ultimate Balcony Dinner which was wonderful. The lobster was divine.

We were also told that the Sun wouldn't go back to Japan this year, but I see the re-location in April is still scheduled. It looks like the person who gave us the information had the story wrong or things changed after that. :)

The information I was original given about the Sun Princess not going to Japan for a full season appears to be correct. My apologies that my post a couple of days ago was wrong.

I saw this one-way cruise to Japan in the brochure, but the itinerary has been changed. My brochure (that is obviously out of date) shows relocation to Japan leaving Sydney on 1st April. That has been replaced by a NZ cruise, and two cruises to New Guinea in April. The Sun leaves Sydney on 29th April for a Sydney-return cruise to Japan, the traditional Cherry Blossom cruise that has always been popular.

The Sun leaves Sydney on 29th April for a Sydney-return cruise to Japan, the traditional Cherry Blossom cruise that has always been popular.

I don't think Princess will be calling it a Cherry Blossom cruise as the blooming will be over by the time they arrive. See 2015 Cherry Blossom forecast: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html

I don't think Princess will be calling it a Cherry Blossom cruise as the blooming will be over by the time they arrive. See 2015 Cherry Blossom forecast: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html

I was going to say "The itinerary that was previously described as 'Cherry Blossom'" but I thought it was unwieldy. It sounds a bit like the singer Prince describing himself as the artist who was previously called 'Prince' (or something like that). :):)

It's been a few years since our last cruise on one of the "3 sisters". Is it true that Princess no longer host/provide the venue for M&G's?

(We're on the Sea Princess in Feb 2016)

Thanks and Cheers,

Anna