Sun Princess...Questions

Has anyone sailed on the Sun Princess lately?

I'm interested in booking the Round Australia cruise for Oct 8/17.

This will be my first time on this size of ship...do you feel more motion then the larger ships?

What shape is this ship in? Any concerns?

Thank You for any info you can share with me. :)

Pat

Has anyone sailed on the Sun Princess lately?

 

I'm interested in booking the Round Australia cruise for Oct 8/17.

 

This will be my first time on this size of ship...do you feel more motion then the larger ships?

 

What shape is this ship in? Any concerns?

 

Thank You for any info you can share with me. :)

 

Pat

We were on the Sun Princess in the past month. She was in dry dock in Singapore mid-April, but one of the generators was not able to be fixed (no spare parts apparently), so the speed had to be was reduced and we missed one port over the 24 days. We had smooth seas mainly, so didn't feel a lot of motion in our aft balcony. She has seen some decent renovations in the last few years...the Horizon Court (Buffet), Kai Sushi seafood, Legends Sports Bar and the Lotus Spa and Gym to mention a few all get my tick.

The mattress we had was not one of the new ones, but had a type of egg-crate top. The bedding is new ( linen and the softest pillows) . The TV is a 42" flat screen now and there is a great selection of movies, if you're into that. You do notice the odd bit of rust, after all, she is one of the older girls.

We sailed full (2000 pax) and honestly I felt it was congested. There is a lack of public lounges in my opinion, unlike the grand class ships.

The sun class ships are used for our world and other longer cruises, so they do still have appeal.

We have sailed many times on a ship of this size and no noticeable motion unless in very heavy seas. The 2000 passenger size really suits us and we have no desire to sail one of the mega-ships that are currently out there. We are looking forward to the 29-day circumnavigation cruise in March 2017. It will be our first time trying Princess so we are very much looking forward to both New Zealand and Australia cruises next year.:D

...She has seen some decent renovations in the last few years...Kai Sushi seafood...There is a lack of public lounges in my opinion...

Magnums was a great place with comfortable padded chairs and couches that stretched out all the way down the corridor from the Art Gallery to the Photo Gallery. That is gone now, replaced by the Kai Sushi restaurant which you have to pay for if you want to dine there. I think it was a big mistake because on the two cruises I have taken on the Sun since the refit I saw very few people in Kai Sushi both times.

The cabins - especially inside and outside - are significantly smaller than on the newer Princess ships.

My complaint about the Sun Princess was the lack of a true adults only pool. The one designated adults only when we sailed on the Sun was right next to the family pool. We were cruising over Christmas, so there were lots of families with young children on board. This probably isn't as much of an issue with longer cruises that aren't over holidays.

Does the Sun have the self serve laundry as well? How was the casino slot selection? :)

The cabins - especially inside and outside - are significantly smaller than on the newer Princess ships.

But the bathrooms are slightly bigger, especially the shower compartments.

My complaint about the Sun Princess was the lack of a true adults only pool. The one designated adults only when we sailed on the Sun was right next to the family pool. We were cruising over Christmas, so there were lots of families with young children on board. This probably isn't as much of an issue with longer cruises that aren't over holidays.

Not true. The Lotus Spa pool is aft and that is adults-only. It is quite small though.

Does the Sun have the self serve laundry as well? How was the casino slot selection? :)

Yes, there are laundrettes on most decks.

Can't help you on the casino question.

the wrap around promenade is a big plus. far wider than the grand class

The buffet was renovated in 2013.

Better design for food service in the buffet.

The Kai Sushi bar now serves seafood as well, but it's a shame the Magnums Bar was removed.

The brighter/ more functional Legends Sports Bar

Comments throughout CC referencing some pretty awful conditions onboard the Sun after dry dock in April this spring are unsettling to say the least.

Wondering if such things as stabilizer issues, overflowing toilets & other water leaks on certain decks, low water pressure, public toilets intermittently out of order, AC failures in cabins, sewage odors, etc etc......have been fully repaired.

Cruisers such as ourselves who've booked for 2017 will just have to anxiously wait for July/Aug reviews to be posted.

Hi can anyone tell me if the all inclusive beverage pkg is worth it. It is advertised as $14 drinks but when you go to personalizer it says $10 which cuts out most drinks. Cheers missyemily

The Kai Sushi bar now serves seafood as well, but it's a shame the Magnums Bar was removed.

 

The brighter/ more functional Legends Sports Bar

Thanks for the pics!

Hi can anyone tell me if the all inclusive beverage pkg is worth it. It is advertised as $14 drinks but when you go to personalizer it says $10 which cuts out most drinks. Cheers missyemily

Hi Miss Emily,

As this includes all your speciality coffees, water, soft drinks wine and spirits for the day, It's worth it . Cocktails and Martinis come in under the US10/AU14 per day. If you can handle drinking for over 8 days in a row, go for it. (BTW , it's not available for cruises under 8 days)

Enjoy your cruise :)

Hi can anyone tell me if the all inclusive beverage pkg is worth it. It is advertised as $14 drinks but when you go to personalizer it says $10 which cuts out most drinks. Cheers missyemily

Missyemily, the Princess personalizer just can't handle the Aussie regional differences. The maximum drink price is $14. We've been on two cruises with Princess since they brought out the drinks package and it covers everything we like to drink except for a few top of the range cognacs and single malt whiskies.

It covers freshly squeezed orange juice at breakfast, all the speciality coffees and teas, all the wines by the glass, all beers, all the cocktails except for a few Love Boat specials, all after dinner liqueurs, bottled waters.

The wine selection by the glass is reasonable, especially if you like the more popular wines. They could do a bit better in this area though.

We find the drinks package is very good value for money even on port days. Juice with breakfast, a coffee, some bottled water to take ashore, a cocktail when we reboard, another before dinner, wine with dinner, and an after dinner digestive, and we're in front.

Oh, and buy the drinks package on board. It's $59. The personalizer also screws up the pricing. They do refund the difference but it's just as easy to wait until you board and avoid the hassle. It only takes a couple of minutes to buy it and you won't have a problem finding someone to sell it to you. ;)

Enjoy your cruise.

Missyemily, the Princess personalizer just can't handle the Aussie regional differences. The maximum drink price is $14. We've been on two cruises with Princess since they brought out the drinks package and it covers everything we like to drink except for a few top of the range cognacs and single malt whiskies.

 

It covers freshly squeezed orange juice at breakfast, all the speciality coffees and teas, all the wines by the glass, all beers, all the cocktails except for a few Love Boat specials, all after dinner liqueurs, bottled waters.

 

The wine selection by the glass is reasonable, especially if you like the more popular wines. They could do a bit better in this area though.

 

We find the drinks package is very good value for money even on port days. Juice with breakfast, a coffee, some bottled water to take ashore, a cocktail when we reboard, another before dinner, wine with dinner, and an after dinner digestive, and we're in front.

 

Oh, and buy the drinks package on board. It's $59. The personalizer also screws up the pricing. They do refund the difference but it's just as easy to wait until you board and avoid the hassle. It only takes a couple of minutes to buy it and you won't have a problem finding someone to sell it to you. ;)

 

Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks for the info. Is this $59 AUS? as we worked it out to be to expensive with the prices quoted on the personalizer.

Thanks for the info. Is this $59 AUS? as we worked it out to be to expensive with the prices quoted on the personalizer.

Yes, it's AU $59. The personalizer has a bug in it where it takes the AU price, thinks it's a US price and converts it to AU again. :rolleyes:

It's one of the best-priced drinks packages in our region.

If you like a cocktail or two, and wine with your meals, it's very easy to break even without overindulging - by the time you have fresh orange juice with breakfast, a couple of speciality coffees, some bottled water to take ashore, it soon adds up.

Cocktails are just under $14, beers $6-8, wines average $8 per glass, bottled water $2.50 & $5 (I think), coffees $1.75 for espresso up to $4.50 for a large latte.

Yes, it's AU $59. The personalizer has a bug in it where it takes the AU price, thinks it's a US price and converts it to AU again. :rolleyes:

 

It's one of the best-priced drinks packages in our region.

 

If you like a cocktail or two, and wine with your meals, it's very easy to break even without overindulging - by the time you have fresh orange juice with breakfast, a couple of speciality coffees, some bottled water to take ashore, it soon adds up.

 

Cocktails are just under $14, beers $6-8, wines average $8 per glass, bottled water $2.50 & $5 (I think), coffees $1.75 for espresso up to $4.50 for a large latte.

That sounds great, we are thinking of doing this when we get on board as we have a good on board credit from our T/A.

Have you been on the Sun Princess before and if so what is it like? It will be our first time on Sun Princess and we are getting mixed reviews. We have cruised before Diamond Princess, Radiance of the Seas & P&O Arcadia (out of the UK back to Australia) but only purchased a drinks package on the Radiance and if I remember correctly it was more expensive than Princess.

Thanks, Sue.

That sounds great, we are thinking of doing this when we get on board as we have a good on board credit from our T/A.

Have you been on the Sun Princess before and if so what is it like? It will be our first time on Sun Princess and we are getting mixed reviews. We have cruised before Diamond Princess, Radiance of the Seas & P&O Arcadia (out of the UK back to Australia) but only purchased a drinks package on the Radiance and if I remember correctly it was more expensive than Princess.

Thanks, Sue.

Yes, I have. She was the very first ship we cruised on, around 20 months ago. We loved her and we'll be back onboard her in 5.5 weeks.

Obviously she's smaller than Diamond so no covered pool, and the Lotus Spa adults only pool is aft. Not as many speciality restaurants.

Hopefully she will have the same Executive Chef as on our last cruise - best Princess food to date in the MDR.

You might notice some odours when walking around the Promenade Deck. I don't recall any on Sun but I did notice them on Dawn.

I would imagine any post-drydock issues have been sorted out. From what I've read occasionally things go haywire as systems are shut down while the ship is in dry dock and restarting can cause issue. Remember you will always hear complaints but those who had perfect cruises don't always comment.

When is your cruise?