Sun Princess review for feb 6 to 16/06-Part one

[sunflower1972]

Well we have returned home to the cold weather and snow flurries, makes last weeks adventures seem like years away:) I'm going to take the time to post an unbiased review for 2 reasons.....firstly is I believe in being fair, and secondly everyone on this board was a great help to me in planning our first cruise and I hope to help others as well now. Quick history, we are 33 and 37 and well travelled to the islands in an all inclusive setting. We were very excited to try a cruise and here are the highlights:

 

Embarkment: WOW....can you say totally PAINLESS....we arrived shortly after 11 am and were in the room shortly after noon. We received our luggage and pre ordered liqour by 2:30 I'd say. How they do this turn around is beyond me!! Railings and outdoor flooring had even been repainted....we seriously were in awe of the whole experience:) An A plus to Princess for a great, stressfree welcome!

 

Entertainment: over the 10 day peroid I'd say it ranged from good to excellent, with an A rating in total. The production shows for us were just so-so. We had an awesome lineup however for the other talent. We had SARGE for the last 2 nights.....too FUNNY!! Dan Horn the 'stand up Ventriloquist' was just great. Phil Tag did comedy for 2 nights....one was an adult show....he was very good. Garry Carson was the 'magic and comedy' guy and also did a good show. The best show for me personally was VINNIE TALARICO!! We almost didn't go, but this man can sing like an angel.....by his last song he had me in tears....a truly amazing talent and a highlight of this cruise for me......if he is on your cruise DON"T miss him.

Most of these guys were getting off at some time during our cruise so we are so thankful we were able to enjoy their talent while they were on the SUN.

 

Dining: this is where we had a few negative experiences, but over all still very good. The buffet was a nightmare. Set up very poorly, and combined with some extremely rude passengers on this cruise we ended up avoiding at all costs. If you managed to get out of the food area then there was no place to sit....2 people at a table for 6 would refuse to allow you to sit with them...resulted in alot of angry people....just easier for us to use the other dining options:)

Room service.....used for most breakfasts....enjoyed a 'lighter' start to the day. They were VERY prompt....be warned as they arrive 10 to 25 min earlier then your card requests.....we got caught a few times still sleeping even though we set an alarm 15 min prior to the request time....made for a few good laughs.

Dining room......we had 4 breakfasts in the main dining room....food was good, service so-so as orders arrived wrong each and every meal we had here.....Lunch was enjoyed twice here, first time was great, second time we did not get our full order. So not sure what the problem was here but in nutshell food was great, service not so great.

Any time Dining.....on night 4 we found a table for two with 2 great waiters named Mauro and Tomas.....the service was excellent as well as the food....A plus all the way. We had tryed the different table with other people for the first 3 nights and just did not enjoy it as much. The main reason I think was our ages.....we seemed to be extremely young as the average age was about 70 on this sailing. Not a problem for us, but one night the waiter tryed to seat us and the whole table yelled out " oh god, don't seat them with us, they are to young". Did not ruin our cruise but certainly made us uncomfortable. Before anyone asks...we are very polite, and were dressed proper for formal night....LOL. Anyhow, after that incident the table for 2 worked well for us. Enjoyed many of the entrees and I loved the cold soups they prepared! Desserts were also a real treat.

 

Cabin: we had cabin C419 and was in a perfect location. Our cabin always had adaquate supplies but about 5 days in we noticed our sheets and pillowcases were not being changed....and never where the whole 10 days. Nor was the room vaccumed from this point on. Again unsure why....I don't need these things daily, but they do need done during a 10 night cruise. Despite this we did leave the auto tipping as was, but feel the service was just average. I did not feel that the staff who did a good job should be penalized by the one's who did not.

 

OK.....so getting long......will end this and do a part 2 for day trip and summary:) Hope I'm not boring anyone....that is if your still reading....

[LisaH]

Thanks Sunflower for Part 1 (so far). The Sun is one of our favorite ships as we have been on her 3 times. I am so glad you enjoyed your cruise and appreciate the unbiased review. I am looking forward to Part 2.

 

Welcome Back...although I know you would rather be in the Wheelhouse Bar instead.

[Perky1]

Thanks for the review. First time on the Sun was our first cruise and we loved it. Had we had seas as you described I might not have been so eager to go back. For us the seas were like glass both times we have gone and are going again this year the same time so I keep my fingers crossed. Like you we encountered many "rude" passengers - 1 elderly man who raked a waiter over the coals for moving the jam because he could not find it. I felt like saying it is right there - the same palce it has been the last 4 mornings.. grrrr

 

Did you have to tender at any of these ports?? How many ships were in St. thomas when you were there?

[sunflower1972]

Hi Perky....we had to tender just at Princess Cays and it went smoothly...or we thought so. Was about a 10 min wait.

 

In St Thomas we had a Holland and Carnival ship in with us. Again seemed fine. We had all Carnival folks with us on our day trip and was great fun:)

[Charliesmom]

I hope you mentioned the lackadaisical service in your comment card. They are there for a reason. On most shipping lines, they make the difference of whether or not contracts are renewed and people are promoted. People who don't do their jobs should be noted.

 

It's a tough line to take, but the shipping lines sell terrific service and they should know when their staff does not deliver.

 

Roberta

[sunflower1972]

Our comment card did indicate the areas of concern we had. We also took the time to fill in the card to reward the excellent service we received from a few staff members:)

 

I can't believe I forgot this. On Formal night we wished to have the Atrium Staircase formal picture done...with every intent to buy....I mean how often do the DH and I get dressed to the nines....LOL Anyhow....was a large line after dinner so we thought we would run to the show first then come back at pictures where to be done till 10:30.....we arrived back at 10:17 and the girl refused to take it. Said we were too late even though the sign still hung up saying till 10:30.....was likely the most upsetting thing to us on the cruise......in the end we have the pic a man took for us that we met right here on the CC roll call....thanks Chuck:) LOL Very poor service....and yes this did make the comment card, the survey and our new friend Camilla in the Shooting Star disco as well heard about it and was very upset......man....what I wouldn't do for one of Camilla's Sour Apple Daquiri's!!!!!!!!!

[Ottawa Snowbirds]

Horizon Court: All the Horizon Courts on five cruises we have been on are similar in setup. We used for breakfast everyday but one, no problem with any part of service or seating. Lunch on several days also no problem.

Linen Change: Have never seen bed linen changed on any cruise until last morning before new occupants. I am sure if you requested your steward to make the change for a reason, it would be done. Our steward Tom was excellent, robes as soon as available from laundry, foam mattress pad as requested, all other services as required and when required.

Dining Room: Ilda, the hostess, did everything to make our experience as we wanted. Rudy and Tomasz, our waiters, who we we stuck with through most of the nights, were excellent.

I can understand Sunflower's disappointment at the remarks made by fellow table mates. Just goes to show the rudeness of some of our fellow passengers on this cruise. I promised DW at the start of the cruise that I would restrain my comments on the rudeness. I have to admit I "fell off the wagon" a couple of times. We are in the sixty age bracket. It still does not give us an excuse to make any such remarks about younger cruisers. On behalf of those of us Princess Cruisers who would enjoy your company, Sunflower, I apologize for their rudeness. Please feel free to ask to join our table anytime, anywhere. By the way, we missed meeting you by a few minutes the night Chumar arranged the after dinner drink.

Entertaiment: In conversation with Gold, Platinum and Elite cruisers we met, it was generally agreed that the entertainment on this cruise rated at or near the top we had experienced. The dance company was the best we have seen in five cruises.

Great review and comments so far, keep it going. Hope you don't mind me adding my thoughts.

Steve

[sunflower1972]

Hi Steve....so glad to see your comments and glad you enjoyed the cruise. So sorry we missed meeting that evening. We really enjoyed meeting the other group and appreciate Chuck taking the time to track us down on the ship!! That was just awesome on his part!!

Thank so much for your apology Steve regarding the other cruisers, but it so not needed....I understand some folks are just what they are.....you bet if our travel plans match up again I'll look for that seat at your table....LOL And for the record we did meet some great people of all ages:)

 

I have to admit your linen change comment is somewhat shocking to me...In 10 days it is not standard to be given cleans sheets or pillow cases? Did not know that....don't get me wrong I don't need them everyday, or even close to that.....just 10 nights was pushing it:)

 

Hope all your travels are happy one's!!

[Berliner]

Hi Perky....we had to tender just at Princess Cays and it went smoothly...or we thought so. Was about a 10 min wait.

 

In St Thomas we had a Holland and Carnival ship in with us. Again seemed fine. We had all Carnival folks with us on our day trip and was great fun:)

 

good review,we're looking forward to our april cruise on the SunPrincess.

 

stay warm up there in CA