Cruise Critic Review of the Sun Princess

[TorontoTL]

What do you guys think about the review that Cruise Critic posted today on the front page of the website regarding the Sun Princess. I was extremely surprised that it received such a low rating. They rated it only 3 stars! When I was on the Sun I don't remember issues like crowding that the writer posted. What are your thoughts?

[spongerob]

Even a "professional" review will be subject to the opinions based on the individual's unique tastes, preferences, and experience. None of those attributes are listed, so it can be difficult to put things in context. As always, your mileage may vary. The member reviews seem to be much more complimentary. Take the posted review as just one opinion among many.

[CruisinChris]

I just read the review and find it to be unfair and harsh. The ship is beautiful and I've never felt crowded. The staterooms are comfortable and perfectly adequate for two people. Despite the ship predating PC, I think it is well executed onboard the Sun and her sisters - these boards are a testament to that fact as you rarely hear complaints about Anytime dining in regard to these ships.

 

Further, it's a shame that the Public Rooms section actually reviews the staterooms, as does the Staterooms section. Perhaps they were in a big hurry to get the new "official" review up.

 

Take the whole thing - like anything else here - with a grain of salt.

[LARGIN]

I agree.. The reviewer is a bit harsh and seemed to be in a hurry to get the review posted.. As others have stated, each of us have an opinion..

[sheruns]

I actually agreed with the Reviewer's critique of the Sterling Steak House. Having read the rave reviews on this board, I was expecting a steak dinner along the line of a high-end steakhouse. We have at least 2 here in Cincinnati - one a national chain (Morton's) and one local (The Princint). I was disappointed. I could have cooked as well. I did like the creamed spinach though. We dined with another couple and we were in and out of there in about 1 1/2 hours. There was a big problem with our wines -- we had both purchased wine previously on board and had it recorked. We were almost finished with our dinner before the wine steward was able to locate our bottles.

[DesrtDrmr]

I was surprised at the opinion that there were lines everywhere, and that everything was crowded. On our Sun cruise, at Thanksgiving, it was not crowded, and the only lines I particularly remember were those in the Horizon Court at breakfast. They weren't bad. We did not eat at Sterlings as we waited too long to make a reservation, but at that time, Sterlings also included the deck overlooking the pool, and it looked lovely with candles in the evening. I do remember than our balcony was smaller than others we have had on Princess ships, but it was also cut into the side, and very well protected, and private...........we loved it!

We are booked on the Sun again, and I hope it is more like I remember it being, then the reviewer's experience.

[wrecks]

My DW and I were also disappointed in the review. The Sun was our first Princess ship so we could find no wrong with anything and our memories have only been enhanced with time. We sailed on her again for our Millenium Cruise. We sailed the Dawn, her sister, Hawaii in 2003 and have booked the Dawn again December this year.

Critics often live up to their name.

[cruiseryyc]

I found two of his comments very interesting.

 

1) He wondered how a larger person would manage in the small bathrooms. Well we manage just fine thanks, both my travel companion and myself are quite "fluffy" and we had no trouble navigating the bathroom.

 

2) Only enough storage space for a seven day cruise. Funny I've sailed the Dawn twice, once for 21 days and last May for 18 days and again had no trouble fitting all my clothing in (and that's clothing for two "fluffy" women who overpack!!!)

 

For anyone who has booked on the Sun or Dawn and after reading this review are having doubts, don't worry these are lovely ships and while they might not have all the amenities of the newer larger ships - I'd sail on them any day!!

[roohound]

I was on the Sun last year and I agree with most of the review..not saying it's a bad ship or I had a bad cruise or anything. It was fine. But it was by no means my favorite Princess ship

[nitterm]

While we had a nice cruise on the Sun last fall, after that cruise we decided that any future cruises on Princess would be on newer ships. Which is why we are booked again on the Coral in October. The Sun, in our opinion is showing its age and in need of an extensive refurbishing.:)

[spongerob]

I was surprised at the opinion that there were lines everywhere, and that everything was crowded. On our Sun cruise, at Thanksgiving, it was not crowded, and the only lines I particularly remember were those in the Horizon Court at breakfast.

 

I had the same thought. If anything, the lines are worse as the ships get larger. Aside from the smallish balcony cabin, we never felt the tiniest bit crowded on Sea Princess (sister ship) and still think that she had prettiest interiors of any ship we've been on.

[critterchick]

I thought the review was spot on, myself. especially as to the crowding – the ship carries far too many passengers for her size and configuration. When we were on the Sun in May, it was packed, and felt crowded pretty much all the time - just walking in the passageways or trying to navigate through the casino without bumping into people was a challenge. Room service could never get our order right (timing and what we asked for), the traditional dining room was pure chaos. and Sterling's provided a welcome quiet respite. The food there wasn't awesome, but it was quite good (nowhere near as good as the Precinct, which I last ate at in about 1987, glad it's still around), but the service was impeccable, and the view was amazing (you're all the way forward).

 

 

We're looking forward to the Island, same number of pax, far more space!

[Beryl]

It's been a long time since I was on the Sun but I thought she was wonderful then. I'm looking forward to seeing if I feel the same way after my February cruise or if I will only want to sail the newer, larger ships!

 

Critterchick....I'm looking forward to the Island too ;) ! It will be a great chance to compare since my Island cruise follows hot on the heels of my cruise aboard the Sun.

[CruisinChris]

I think the thing that really gets me about the review is that is not a member's review: IT IS AN "OFFICIAL" CRUISE CRITIC review. I expect cruise critic to be far more objective in their reviews of ships.

 

To the poster who feels the ship is showing her age and needs an extensive refurbishment. Please elaborate. What areas specifically require refurbishment, in your opinion? Most of the flooring, including marble, was replace during a dry dock last fall. The pools were worked on. Many areas received attention. Having sailed on her twice in the last nine months, and looking for fault following a strong of bad reviews last fall, I found the ship's interiors to be much fresher than May of 2003.

[nitterm]

The marble we saw before the entrance to the dining rooms was missing from the floor and glossed over. The rusting at weld points on the outside of the ship gave the impression of less than avergae upkeep. But thats in the past and we continue with Princess only on newer ships.

[critterchick]

Chris, I thought it was a very objective review, giving both the good and the bad. The one thing I noticed, though, was the comment "there is no concierge lounge." Well, no surprise, Princess ships don't HAVE them, unless there's a secret handshake you need to get in. But what did you find not to be objective?

[bdjam]

Like most of the other posters on this thread, I found the review to be non-representative of my experiences on Sun Princess. She’s a fine ship and although I last sailed her about a year and a half ago, she was in fine shape. I never experienced crowding on board – and frankly her passenger space ratio is higher than that of Caribbean Princess. I have sailed Sun Princess a number of times and always found the quality of the experience quite high – I’ve never experienced crowding or low quality in the dining rooms or Horizon Court. Given that Sun Princess was designed with two dining rooms, it is postulated that she was built with Anytime Dining in mind. Further, Princess doesn't skimp on maintaining their ships - that's why Royal Princess has been transferred from the fleet after over 20 years of service.

 

I did enjoy my cruise on Island Princess, and that ship is brilliant, but Sun Princess doesn’t suffer in any comparisons with Island Princess. Perhaps it’s the type of ship that you’re looking for – Sun Princess is not a mega-ship and should be judged on her own merit for what she offers. Anyone choosing Sun Princess and expecting to be sailing on a Grand Class ship is choosing the wrong ship.

[Coral]

I spent 2 weeks on the Sun Princess in May. While there were some service issues which were probably related to the fact that we had norovirus on the ship during that time and staff was stretched thin because of it - I have to say that the ship was in excellent condition. I did not notice one thing that I thought had to be fixed or replaced. The interior and exterior of the ship was in excellent condition.

[susancruzs]

I'm always amazed when people mention rust on ships. I've been on ships less than a year old with rust, sea air is brutal.

 

Going on a Sun class ship for the first time in September, I can't wait to see what I think! :-) I was on the Golden Princess and it was fine but overall I still preferred my cruises on the Royal Princess. I think I'm going to be very happy with the Sun class!

 

Susie

[spongerob]

Well, I am starting to get the impression that the REAL reason this "professional" reviewer wasn't happy is that there wasn't a Johnny Rockets. Yes, j'accuse, I sense some RCI bias on the third reading.

[TorontoTL]

Well, I am starting to get the impression that the REAL reason this "professional" reviewer wasn't happy is that there wasn't a Johnny Rockets. Yes, j'accuse, I sense some RCI bias on the third reading.

 

Rob, it's funny that you say that, because I was thinking that as I was reading the post. I think the reviewer is somewhat biased towards RCI and if one has that bias, especially if they are used to the Voyager Class ship, then the Sun wouldn't compare that well. But if one has an open mind and likes smaller ships, then I can't imagine not liking the Sun.

[spaceguy]

We were on the Sun on April. It was the "last" cruise in the Caribbean before her transit up to Alaska for the Summer season. It was a full cruise. There was crowding in the Horizon Court, in the theaters/show lounges, and at other times in various places. We found the food to be less well prepared than expected, especially based upon our Golden Princess cruise we had last Fall. The rooms are small but adequate for the 10 day cruise we were on, and we had an interior. Based upon our experience, I would say the review is appropriate and objective.

[m steve]

I read the review and it was not very far off from our feelings.

I would hae added that the meat was poor quality, the verandas were quite short, the cabins smaller than similar meals and accomidations on Celebrity for a similar price. The show rooms were quite small and the dining room ceiling too low.

When I went to the front desk to tell about the CC groups desire to help the farmers in Grenada and asked if something could be included in Chatters there was a definate lack of interest.

The Sun is one ship I would not take again.

[kendon]

Generally, I have found the CC ship reviews to be very generous and positive. In some cases I would have been more critical, especially regarding the Norwegian ships. My experience on the Dawn (sister to the Sun) was not as good as the other Princess ships I've been on in the areas of food and entertainment so I would tend to believe this review. Maybe the Sun should be reviewed again in six months, as they could have had an off week.

[calikak]

I think the review was somewhat accurate, and somewhat not. We were on the Sun in May for a coastal cruise, and I found the service to be below the normal Princess standards, especially in the dining room. Also, the ship felt more crowded than I'd been used to on other Princess ships, but I think it was because there were many 3rd and 4th berths on our sailing. There seemed to be lots of large groups of women that were travelling together (including some sort of birthday party of 10 at the table next to ours in the dining room), and I think that's partly what made it seem like the ship was overfull. We've sailed on the Dawn too, and it felt much less crowded, other than at disembarkation, when the atrium was wall-to-wall people. The inside cabin did seem smaller than on the Grand-class ships, but not that much smaller, and I felt like the bathroom was better layed out than on the Grand-class ships. Overall, I really enjoyed the ship and wouldn't hesitate to sail on a Sun-class ship again, as long as it was with different dining room staff than we had on the Sun.