Sun Princess Showing Age, Wear and Tear

[Gr8fulDave]

I'm cruising with Princess for the first time although I have been on 4 other cruise lines. Some people seem to forget that being on vacation does not innoculate you from running into some problems. My advice is to go with the flow and don't sweat the little things. We should all be thankfull that we have the means to go on a cruise. After all, there are tens of millions of people who don't have enough food, proper shelter, medicine, etc. If your towels or linens aren't up to your standards and that is a big deal to you, then just ask for new ones and keep asking until they get it right.

While everyone has the right to voice their opinions, it seems to me that some people will always find a reason not to be happy. For all you first timers who are worried about the negative reviews, just go in with a positive attitude, anticipate that not everything will be perfect, and enjoy the sun, sea, and shopping! Life's too short to complain about every little thing, especially when you are on vacation.

[swm54]

Silly me I forgot to mention in the original post about when the ship arrived in Martinque. There was an empty 40 foot dumpster waiting. When the ship left it was full of mattresses, furniture and other things damaged when the fire sprinklers went off in 3 cabins for no reason.

[cruiserforlife]

Gr8fulDave,

Here,here!!!

[DesrtDrmr]

Hi Geo,
I dont remember much dresser space, but there were shelves in the closet, that we used as we would have used drawers. There was plenty of room for clothes for a ten day cruise for two over-packers!!! :)

[Ethel5]

[quote name='swm54']Silly me I forgot to mention in the original post about when the ship arrived in Martinque. There was an empty 40 foot dumpster waiting. When the ship left it was full of mattresses, furniture and other things damaged when the fire sprinklers went off in 3 cabins for no reason.[/QUOTE]


So what??????

Did it affect you? Obviously they were taking care of the problem and it didn't affect you in any way (or we would have heard about it sooner.)

Since you insist on finding every little thing wrong with the ship, I would suggest that you find another cruise line, or, better yet, stay home.

[Ethel5]

[quote name='DesrtDrmr']Hi Geo,
I dont remember much dresser space, but there were shelves in the closet, that we used as we would have used drawers. There was plenty of room for clothes for a ten day cruise for two over-packers!!! :)[/QUOTE]

There was plenty of closet space and 2 wire mesh drawers in the closet where the safe is along with the shelves. One closet had 2 rods for hanging shirts etc on and the other had space for long dresses etc. We over pack and had plenty of room.

[ldoc31]

[quote name='Ethel5']So what??????

Did it affect you? Obviously they were taking care of the problem and it didn't affect you in any way (or we would have heard about it sooner.)

Since you insist on finding every little thing wrong with the ship, I would suggest that you find another cruise line, or, better yet, stay home.[/QUOTE]

Perhaps you shouldn't be so hard on those who post the negatives--no cruise line is perfect and it helps those of us who are new to look at both views, then we can judge for ourselves.

[Ethel5]

[quote name='ldoc31']Perhaps you shouldn't be so hard on those who post the negatives--no cruise line is perfect and it helps those of us who are new to look at both views, then we can judge for ourselves.[/QUOTE]

I agree. No cruise line is perfect and it pays to do one's homework before traveling anywhere! However, I just read through all these posts again and the OP had not one positive thing to say about the cruise. So it does appear that the sole purpose of joining the forum was just to complain. While the OP found cracked marble and thin towels, I found a good cruise that passed by in a blink of an eye. Our friends commented on how quickly the ten days passed.

[ldoc31]

Since this is my first Princess cruise I will try to post a totally unbiased report on the Sun when we return Dec. 22.

[JUST CRUZIN]

Well keep me in the loop too.

[westerdam42]

What cabin did you stay in? I am very interested in knowing since we are booked next March on the Sun.


[quote name='swm54']Having just returned from the 10/23/04 cruise on the Sun Princess, its very obvious that the ship is in need of an overhaul or refurbishment as it nears its 10th year in service. In a sense we have been spoiled by past cruises on the Coral Princess and other newer ships. 23 cruises and counting.

Cracked marble floors and chipped tiles, severe problems with air conditioning in most parts of the ship, rust spots visible from cabin balconys, cracked mirror's in staterooms, galley oders on the 7th and 8th deck some to the point of forcing guests from their staterooms. Along with the overall condition of the ship this cruise proved that the overall quality of the food has decreased substantially in the last year in the dining room and buffet lines. Not to mention two port calls of less than 5 hours (Nassau and St. Vincent), a detour to Barbados from St. Lucia due to pier damage in St. Lucia reducing berthing space for ships, the wrong immigration forms being issued to the entire ship (Princess thought everyone was a non US citizen). If it wasnt for the totally fantastic service provided by the staff on the ship this cruise would have been a total write-off![/QUOTE]

[sailingangel]

Hi,
I was wondering which decks are 7 and 8. I am on the Caribe deck and don't know what number it is. Thanks
Julie

[bdjam]

[quote name='sailingangel']Hi,
I was wondering which decks are 7 and 8. I am on the Caribe deck and don't know what number it is. Thanks
Julie[/QUOTE][font='Comic Sans MS']7 – Promenade[/font]

[font='Comic Sans MS']8 - Dolphin[/font]

[swm54]

A postscript to my original post. First thanks to everyone who posted comments and questions. We for the most part found this sort of info gathering to be somewhat useful. After returning from the Sun Princess voyage of October 23rd we sat down and wrote a two page letter to Princess on November 3rd detailing the pluses and minuses of the cruise. After a cruise on Princess we've always made it a point to send very complimentary letters on previous cruises. This time we sent two letters and have received no response which is very unlike Princess which generally responds in two weeks. In addition to the problems with this cruise also realized that onboard credits due us for the cruise had disappeared.
So we have decided to give cruising a break for 2005 and when we do return to the cruise circuit to start booking cruises on lines like Crystal or Oceania.

[cruiserforlife]

svm54,

I recently sent Princess 2 letters based on all the negative comments I was reading about the Sun.Both were sent certified mail and the 2nd. one was sent to the attention of the President.

I received a response to my first letter and what it was was a semi-personalized "form" letter detailing the Norwalk Virus.

I have yet to receive a response regarding the second letter and with this late stage,I don't believe I will either.

I am going into our 1/28 Sun sailing with an open mind and judging from the very latest reviews,things do appear to be improving.

We have never had a problem with Princess and I do not anticipate any problems on this cruise either.I understand your wanting to move upscale,this is intriging to us as well.I still think Princess provides the absolute best value for your vacation dollar and until proven otherwise,we will continue to sail with them.

[MNMLOVELI]

Gr8fuldave - your advise is perfect, people like you are what cruising is all about. The complainers i avoid like a person with a cold several day away from my next cruise.
mnm

[teach223]

We sailed on Sun Princess in November of this year and the ship was in wonderful condition. My husband and I love Sun Princess and we didn't see any of the problems stated by the first post on this thread. We also sailed on Caribbean Princess just two days later and we did notice rust on our balcony adn several other problems we feel should not be on a ship that is only six months old. Sun Princess is well maintained and has a wonderful crew in our opinion. Funny how different people sail on the same ship and see it in an entirely different manner!

[PaperSniper4]

[QUOTE].....don't get too upset over one person's opinion.....[/QUOTE] Words by which to live. I recommend you take all the comments and reviews you read on ANYTHING, then toss out the most negative 20% and the most positive 20%. What remains is a pretty good indicator.

I remember our first cruise as a married couple. We finally had enough cash to 'splurge' on a 4 day cruise. This was about 1990 on the Carnival [i]Mardi Gras; [/i]long since retired. Our inside cabin had the toilet, shower and sink all in one area as I recall. The stateroom was done in very dark, old wood. Lighting was dim. We had two built in 'bunk type' beds; one on each side of the stateroom. Most cruisers today would simply NOT go on such a ship. Heck, it was one of my favorites. She was old, full of brass and marble (yet, lots of tarnish and cracks). We loved her for the small size, about 27 GWT (The Sun is about 3 times that 'size').

I too would like to not see cracks, wrinkles and worn areas, but since many folks on the ship tend to look that way also (:p!), maybe we ought to just accept that part of life. As long as a ship is clean and reasonably well maintained, I can get along pretty well with her.

But then again, you should believe only 60% of what I've written here.......:D

[lilylakecruzer]

What cabin did you stay in?[quote name='swm54']A postscript to my original post. First thanks to everyone who posted comments and questions. We for the most part found this sort of info gathering to be somewhat useful. After returning from the Sun Princess voyage of October 23rd we sat down and wrote a two page letter to Princess on November 3rd detailing the pluses and minuses of the cruise. After a cruise on Princess we've always made it a point to send very complimentary letters on previous cruises. This time we sent two letters and have received no response which is very unlike Princess which generally responds in two weeks. In addition to the problems with this cruise also realized that onboard credits due us for the cruise had disappeared.
So we have decided to give cruising a break for 2005 and when we do return to the cruise circuit to start booking cruises on lines like Crystal or Oceania.[/QUOTE]

[swm54]

lilylakecruzer, Aloha 615

[iluvcruzin]

[quote name='swm54']lilylakecruzer, Aloha 615[/QUOTE]
Is this supposed to be a mini-suite? I'm booked in the same category on this floor. I thought they were basic balcony cabins. I'm only mentioning this because your earlier post mentioned you had a mini-suite and paid $400 per day. I paid much less than this per day (not $80 as someone mentioned but not far off).

Thanks for sharing your story though. It can be rough when something on a cruise become's annoying and then all the other stuff just starts poping up. I've been there too before on another sailing. After a while you forget about those small inconviences and annoyances and think you may just have had a very nice time. The next cruise will make up for it.

[JudithD]

We sailed on the Sun Princess right after you (left Novermber 2nd) and didn't notice any of the things you mentioned. It was our first cruise and I guess we were just totally enjoying it so much that we weren't looking for "boo-boos".