Some questions about Sea Princess

[nellydean]

Hello,

 

I would like some advice please as to whether Sea Princess would be a good ship to sail on a fairly lengthy voyage.

 

I see that she is quite old, although underwent a refurb last year.

 

However, one of my main concerns is that the aft lifts don't appear to go down to the dining rooms, and neither do the mid ship scenic ones, only the ones at the front appear to go to all levels. With this in mind, I am wondering whether a cabin near to these lifts would be best for direct access to the dining rooms? And, if so, is it a long walk to the dining rooms (have a bit of a mobility problem) or, with it being a smaller ship, not so much of a problem?

 

Also, is there much to do in the evenings? We are not looking for wild night life, but a bit of life in the evenings would be good (we were on Queen Victoria last year and the place was dead after dinner)! And how about the days (as we will spend quite a few at sea)?

 

Finally, are these metal balconies ok? We are used to always having a completely open one and these look a bit weird in comparison, but if the view is unrestricted then that's fine.

 

Thanks.

Nelly

[fishywood]

The midship panoramic lifts link the decks with public rooms (Deck 8 down to Deck 5). They open right in front of the dining rooms on Decks 5 and 6.

 

On Sea Princess there are only two main lift shafts rather than the three on most of the rest of the Princess fleet. If your cabin is near the rear lifts you would take them down to Deck 7 then walk across to the two panoramic lifts and take them down to Decks 6 or 5. It is nowhere as inconvenient as it may seem; on the Grand-class ships I always book a room towards the aft and making such a move to get to the Piazza venues is accomplished with no thought at all by the second day of the cruise.

 

As for the metal fronted "in hull" balconies while I've never been on the Sun-class ships (twice had to cancel cruises on them during their last years in the USA) I have had similar cabins (on Queen Mary 2, coincidentally) and while the view is not great from inside the cabin I would not consider it obstructed at all from the outside. And your balcony is still usable in rough weather.

[nellydean]

Thanks for the reply. I was a bit confused about the panoramic lifts, I meant to say they don't go from deck 9 - where we are looking at a cabin - to deck 5, We sailed on the Grand Princess and didn't like the configuration, so I think a cabin near the front lifts will probably suit us best.

[ggprincess2004]

We happen to love the metal balconies. They are cut from the hull, unlike the ones on the Grand Class ships, so they are much more private. There will be entertainment in the evenings. We really like the Sun class ships, and have enjoyed our cruises on her and on the Dawn in the past. We will be on the Sea for 42 days from Feb 2019 to April 2019 and are looking forward to the cruises.

[nellydean]

Thanks for your response. We did once have a hull balcony, on the QM2, and it did keep out the cold Atlantic winds. But, since then, we've always had open balconies, which I prefer, but a metal one would not be a deal breaker, especially if the itinerary is great.

 

Enjoy your cruise :)

Edited June 12, 2018 by nellydean

[OzKiwiJJ]

I haven't been on Sea (yet) but have been on Sun twice, and Dawn (before she left the fleet). The Sun class ships are great.

 

The midships lifts cover all decks right up to the Lido deck (where the Horizon Court is) and are at one end of the Atrium on decks 5-8, the panoramic lifts are at opposite side of the Atrium and are only decks 5-8 - these are the ones that open in front of the MDRs, however it's only a short walk around the Atrium between these two sets of lifts and you don't really need to use the panoramic lifts to get to whichever MDR you are in, just use the midships lifts to go straight to the MDR deck and walk around. If you book a midships cabin you will find it very easy to get to both the MDRs and Horizon Court.

 

The Sun Class ships have the best Crooners of all - the whole of the Atrium area on deck 7. It's usually buzzing at night. The Wheelhouse Bar is also a great evening venue and, of course, there are shows in the Princess Theatre (forward) and the Vista Lounge (aft).

 

The cut out balconies are actually really good. The views are a little restricted when sitting down but the balconies are sheltered from wind and rain, and are very private. We had a balcony dinner on one once and, although it was a windy evening, we were very comfortable.

 

The other great thing about the Sun Class ships is the Promenade Deck, which goes right around the ship with no stairs like on the Grand Class ships. It''s also wide enough for lounge chairs and still leave plenty of room for walkers.

 

What cruise are you looking at? The Round Australia and Hawaii/Tahiti cruises book out very quickly. We're doing the 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti cruise next August. It should be great. :D

Edited June 13, 2018 by OzKiwiJJ

[matadams4u]

My favorite thing about the Sea is the vista lounge. A lot of the entertainment is presented there and it is much more comfortable than the theatre.

 

 

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[skynight]

Hello,

 

I would like some advice please as to whether Sea Princess would be a good ship to sail on a fairly lengthy voyage.

 

I see that she is quite old, although underwent a refurb last year.

However, one of my main concerns is that the aft lifts don't appear to go down to the dining rooms, and neither do the mid ship scenic ones, only the ones at the front appear to go to all levels. With this in mind, I am wondering whether a cabin near to these lifts would be best for direct access to the dining rooms? And, if so, is it a long walk to the dining rooms (have a bit of a mobility problem) or, with it being a smaller ship, not so much of a problem?

Also, is there much to do in the evenings? We are not looking for wild night life, but a bit of life in the evenings would be good (we were on Queen Victoria last year and the place was dead after dinner)! And how about the days (as we will spend quite a few at sea)?

Finally, are these metal balconies ok? We are used to always having a completely open one and these look a bit weird in comparison, but if the view is unrestricted then that's fine.

 

Thanks.

Nelly

Forward lifts stop at every deck including decks 5 & 6 where the DR's are located. The Forward lifts are a short distance to the DR's and also to the Horizon Ct. buffet on deck 14. There are also Panoramic Lifts, but these only go between decks 5 and 8 and there are no balcony cabins on these decks. So I recommend you select a cabin nearer the forward lifts. The distance from the lifts to the DR's is about 125 feet. The aft lifts only go to deck 7. Thus from there you would have to walk to the mid ship Panoramic lifts to get down to the DR, about 200 to 225 feet. The aft lifts are also at the opposite end of the ship from the Horizon Ct. and the pool areas. One note, DR's are not open for lunch on port days. You will have to use a alternate dining location.

I have been on both the Sea and it's sister ship the Dawn. I did not find any issue with the balconies. The balconies have glass railings. If you look at the video on the Princess web site under deck plans you can see the railings.

From experience most activities go until 11pm or midnight. Most evenings there are normally two shows in the theater at around 8pm and 10pm. On some days times may change. There is also entertainment in the Vista Lounge which can be comics, singers, magic, etc. The Vista Lounge is also used for CD staff activities such as evening trivia games, theme parties, dance sessions. The Wheelhouse Bar should have live music until late evening. Crooner's also has a piano entertainer most evenings until late evening.

[CaptRat]

However, one of my main concerns is that the aft lifts don't appear to go down to the dining rooms, and neither do the mid ship scenic ones, only the ones at the front appear to go to all levels. With this in mind, I am wondering whether a cabin near to these lifts would be best for direct access to the dining rooms? And, if so, is it a long walk to the dining rooms (have a bit of a mobility problem) or, with it being a smaller ship, not so much of a problem?

 

Others have pretty much given the basic information about the lifts on the Sea Princess. Having disembarked from her last week after a 35 day RT from Sydney, I can add some more information.

 

The mid ship lifts are in two banks of three lifts. Oddly, each bank responds only to the call buttons pushed for that bank. Passengers quickly figure this out and press call buttons on both banks. The result is a lot of double calls on every deck and very slow lifts. A five to seven minute wait is not unusual during meal times as people are going to and from the Horizon Court on deck 14 and even longer in the mornings during port calls. It didn't help that it seemed there was a lift out of service for repair every day.

 

Even though there are only three aft lifts, the waits are much shorter there so we tended to use those most.

 

Evening entertainment was satisfactory but the at-sea daytime schedule was very repetitive. We had over 20 sea days and during the last week there were many passengers mentioning being bored. After all, how many carpet bowls, Effy "enrichment" lectures, back pain lectures, etc are required?

 

Also, although the ship has been recently refurbished, the mattresses were not replaced with the new mattresses (at least not ship wide.) We were starboard Baja deck and our friends were port Baja deck and both cabins had worn, uncomfortable mattresses. Our friend's cabin had new carpet and curtains. Ours did not.

 

We sail frequently on Princess and have sailed on ten of their ships. We had a good cruise but we put Sea Princess at the bottom of the list. We won't book her again unless it's an outstanding itinerary that meets our schedule perfectly and there are no other options available with other cruise lines.

 

JMHO

[nellydean]

I haven't been on Sea (yet) but have been on Sun twice, and Dawn (before she left the fleet). The Sun class ships are great.

 

The midships lifts cover all decks right up to the Lido deck (where the Horizon Court is) and are at one end of the Atrium on decks 5-8, the panoramic lifts are at opposite side of the Atrium and are only decks 5-8 - these are the ones that open in front of the MDRs, however it's only a short walk around the Atrium between these two sets of lifts and you don't really need to use the panoramic lifts to get to whichever MDR you are in, just use the midships lifts to go straight to the MDR deck and walk around. If you book a midships cabin you will find it very easy to get to both the MDRs and Horizon Court.

 

The Sun Class ships have the best Crooners of all - the whole of the Atrium area on deck 7. It's usually buzzing at night. The Wheelhouse Bar is also a great evening venue and, of course, there are shows in the Princess Theatre (forward) and the Vista Lounge (aft).

 

The cut out balconies are actually really good. The views are a little restricted when sitting down but the balconies are sheltered from wind and rain, and are very private. We had a balcony dinner on one once and, although it was a windy evening, we were very comfortable.

 

The other great thing about the Sun Class ships is the Promenade Deck, which goes right around the ship with no stairs like on the Grand Class ships. It''s also wide enough for lounge chairs and still leave plenty of room for walkers.

 

What cruise are you looking at? The Round Australia and Hawaii/Tahiti cruises book out very quickly. We're doing the 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti cruise next August. It should be great. :D

 

Hi OzKiwiJJ, we have booked the same cruise, I think, August 29th sailing from Sydney?

 

This is an itinerary we've wanted to do for ages but, coming from the UK, it is a very big outlay as, to do it justice, we are probably looking at an 8-10 week trip minimum, so we could stop over in Hong King/Singapore on the way there and back, and tour Tasmania and NZ at the end of it, where we have friends (already done Australia, although, any chance my husband would get to go back to Perth he'd snap up!).

 

Anyway, we took the plunge, so to speak, mainly because there was a £1 deposit promotion in the UK the other day on all Princess sailings from next year, and I wanted to secure a cabin. We've gone for a balcony on Caribe deck near the forward lifts.

 

Thanks to everyone who has commented and provided information. Much obliged.

 

Helen

[OzKiwiJJ]

That's the one, nellydean! :D See you onboard. :D

 

I've been wanting to do that cruise for a couple of years but we had other priorities. It should be a great cruise.

 

That's a good cabin location. We always choose to be near those lifts on the Sun class ships. We're in an inside cabin on Baja deck. We often choose inside cabins, then spend some of the savings on the Sanctuary - our favourite outdoors spot.

 

It's a very popular itinerary. I've heard of people that do it year after year. Amazing. I am so looking forward to seeing Hawaii and Tahiti, and all those gorgeous sea days. Plus we get two great NZ ports, Auckland (my old home town) and the Bay of Islands.

[nellydean]

That's the one, nellydean! :D See you onboard. :D

 

I've been wanting to do that cruise for a couple of years but we had other priorities. It should be a great cruise.

 

That's a good cabin location. We always choose to be near those lifts on the Sun class ships. We're in an inside cabin on Baja deck. We often choose inside cabins, then spend some of the savings on the Sanctuary - our favourite outdoors spot.

 

It's a very popular itinerary. I've heard of people that do it year after year. Amazing. I am so looking forward to seeing Hawaii and Tahiti, and all those gorgeous sea days. Plus we get two great NZ ports, Auckland (my old home town) and the Bay of Islands.

 

I've always wanted to see us sailing into the South Pacific islands of Bora Bora and Moorea, and Hawaii, so that's why we chose a balcony, plus the fact there are so many sea days. We also put down a deposit on a Baltic cruise for next May, which may be a bit ambitious, as I am due to have a knee replacement this September.

 

But, fingers crossed we can at least do this cruise! :)

[floridababa]

Looking at Sea Princess April 2020 Sydney to Auckland. Not sure how well the ship takes the rough seas around Australia and NZ

Anyone have any experience? Also ships leaving Sydney and /or NZ everything is charged in Australian dollars. As an American this is not very good for us.

[matadams4u]

I was on the sun in a beaufert 9 or 10 and you definitely felt the drop and the decks were sparse. Take two Bonines a day and you should be fine.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Looking at Sea Princess April 2020 Sydney to Auckland. Not sure how well the ship takes the rough seas around Australia and NZ

Anyone have any experience? Also ships leaving Sydney and /or NZ everything is charged in Australian dollars. As an American this is not very good for us.

 

Given the current exchange rate between the USD and AUD it's very, very good for Americans! Sure, the some of AUD prices are higher, but not all, and the drinks prices include the gratuities but you shouldn't end up paying any more, and will probably pay less, than you do on USD cruises.

[CaptRat]

Given the current exchange rate between the USD and AUD it's very, very good for Americans! Sure, the some of AUD prices are higher, but not all, and the drinks prices include the gratuities but you shouldn't end up paying any more, and will probably pay less, than you do on USD cruises.

 

Whether Australian based Princess cruises are a "good deal" for Americans has been a topic of discussion for some time. While we were on the Sea Princess for a Hawaii cruise last month, we ran a comparison of prices. Here's what we determined:

 

Drink prices for cocktails using liquor from the well are essentially $0.50 USD higher depending on the exchange rate. Cocktails using call liquor (Bombay Sapphire, etc.) are about $1.00 USD higher. Martinis and other higher end cocktails are about $1.25 USD higher. Beer is also about $0.50 USD Higher.

 

Bottled wine is definitely higher for anything of moderate quality. We, including our Aussie friends, opted to purchase decent wine ashore and pay the $15 AUD corkage fee as it was more cost effective.

 

We also compared booking rates. As it turned out, the AUD and USD rates were about the same for the same class cabin. BUT, and this is a big "but," an American booking on an Australian based cruise is automatically signed up for the cabin gratuity. The Aussie bookings aren't.

 

We remedied that by having the gratuities discontinued/removed and tipping our steward, waiter, jr. waiter, and some of the bar staff with cash.

 

Oh, and one more thing... shareholder and military onboard credit is in AUD not USD.

[diane.in.ny]

the matresses were not replaced with the new mattresses (at least not ship wide.) We were starboard Baja deck and our friends were port Baja deck and both cabins had worn, uncomfortable mattresses. Our friend's cabin had new carpet and curtains. Ours did not.

 

We sail frequently on Princess and have sailed on ten of their ships. We had a good cruise but we put Sea Princess at the bottom of the list. We won't book her again unless it's an outstanding itinerary that meets our schedule perfectly and there are no other options available with other cruise lines.

 

JMHO

 

Admit this information about the mattresses does not make me happy. We are sailing on the sea princess in October. Do you know if mattress toppers are available? What category were you in?

[CaptRat]

Admit this information about the mattresses does not make me happy. We are sailing on the sea princess in October. Do you know if mattress toppers are available? What category were you in?

 

We were in a category BB balcony on Baja deck starboard midship. Honestly, one of the twin mattresses that made up our queen bed was broken down enough that a mattress topper probably wouldn't help a lot. It was disappointing as we had the new mattresses on the last nine cruises prior to the Sea Princess and those mattress were great.

 

J

[diane.in.ny]

We were in a category BB balcony on Baja deck starboard midship. Honestly, one of the twin mattresses that made up our queen bed was broken down enough that a mattress topper probably wouldn't help a lot. It was disappointing as we had the new mattresses on the last nine cruises prior to the Sea Princess and those mattress were great.

 

J

 

we are in a mini-suite so hopefully if some of this ship has new mattresses and they are working from the top down, maybe we'll be lucky.

 

Appreciate the heads up and we'll be sure to check out the situation as soon as we board. And if we find that the mattresses are unsatisfactory we'll be in touch with our steward quickly. With any luck we'll get a mattress topper, or with a lot of luck, if necessary, maybe even a new mattress from some storeroom.