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Live From The Sun!

cruiserforlife

By cruiserforlife,
in Princess Cruises

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Julia’s Journey’s

Julia’s Journey’s

Posted
Posted
Crossed the Tasman earlier this year on the Diamond. My pics of the storm that prevented us from going to Fjordland are at the link below. We had force 12 winds and 30 foot seas overnight and part of a day. This wasn't as bad as our Golden Transatlantic crossing back in 2002. (Even Druke talks about that one occasionally). We also sailed around a hurricane in the Pacific on the Regal back in 97. Generally speaking I find that the big ships (Grand and Diamond class) ride the water pretty well though the movement is definitely exaggerated forward' date=' higher up, and aft. This is why in heavy water Skywalkers is often closed (especially on the Grand class). Our tablemates on the Golden crossing were forward of the forward stairs on Dolphin deck (so not too high) and found their stateroom almost unbearable. We were on the same deck back in the 600's (above the Wheelhouse) and found our room to be pretty stable (better than the horizon court where everything slid off the table when we went through a trough). (This is great fun in my opinion!)

 

Back to your question: How will the Sun ride the Tasman? If it's rough - you're going to know it. For me personally I would try for a room slightly aft of center. If you're going for a balcony (well-worth it for that trip) you'll be up a bit high for this ship.

 

The Tasman can be like glass or can be scary as heck. I'd keep checking the wave height reports at the Navy website (google wave height Navy). It forcasts out a number of days and you'll get a good sense of what you're in for. The further south you make the crossing, the more likely rough seas. You'll see what I mean when you look at the maps. Happy cruising![/quote']

 

Thanks for the info, we have a balcony and inside, C718 and C720

Hopefully it won't be too rough and scary:D :eek:

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Julia’s Journey’s

Julia’s Journey’s

Posted
Posted
Back on shore now - sorry for the delay. Basically, I was having such a good time doing nothing that I didn't get into the internet cafe too often! Glad you had a great trip.

itdjbw: Didn't make it to the spa, but they had some packages that looked fairly reasonable. You will get a flyer in the room on sailaway day.

That's all for now.

Bottom line: We loved the cruise and can't wait for the next one - we left two separate deposits for open dates!

Happy Cruising, folks!

 

The open bookings are my best, wish we could have used one on our September cruise:(

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geoherb "Live from...." Rare

geoherb

Posted
Posted

We just returned today. We had a great cruise. The singer in the atrium was Eric Stone. We enjoyed his act many nights, although we missed it some because of our late seating dinner and the other shows going on.

 

I'm not sure that anyone's reported on the nice letter from the captain giving all the passengers $100 onboard credit because of our late arrival in St. Thomas. It was a very nice gesture, and I did not hear too many passengers grumbling about missed excursions, etc. like I was expecting.

 

A woman at our table came down with the norovirus after the third night. We finally saw her yesterday. She reported that she was quarantined until Thursday. She never made it back to dinner. She said she still did not feel like eating much. The captain made an announcement on Wendesday or Thursday about the virus outbreak--that the number of cases had been high the first few days of the cruise but that new cases were down to one or two each day.

 

The food and service were excellent. (If only I could say the same thing about all the passengers.)

 

This cruise put us into the Platinum category, so next time I hope to be reporting "Live from the Sun."

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islandersx4

islandersx4

Posted
Posted

We just returned today from our ten day sailing on the Sun. Sorry we did not get to meet you GeoHerb. We did share an excursion with Becs and she said she had met you.

This was our first sailing on Princess. We enjoyed our mini suite! Nice to have so much space. The ship was never still, I think the result of rougher than usual seas and our aft location. Lots of squeaks and rattles at night.

As mentioned, our arrival in St. Thomas was quite late due to "technical problems" on board, we did recieve a $100.00 pp on board credit. We were further delayed by a coast guard ordered diversion to aid in a sea rescue. We were released from this order about an hour after it was issued. Heard through the grapevine that a transponder fell off a private plane indicating a possible crash. We were allowed off the ship after our assigned numbers were called, our numbers were 501 & 502, so we did not get off until 2 p.m., consequently our time in St. Thomas was very short.

After two nights of so so service at dinner (anytime dining, Marquis) we found Rui, an exceptional waiter, table 63. We found it difficult to make reservations for dinner. We met six others the first night and dined with them everynight thereafter. Each time we'd call we'd All get a different response. We'd just showed up and there was not a problem getting Rui. Towards the end of our cruise fewer and fewer showed up in the dining room. I asked about this and was told it was very typical.

I was not aware that there had been some noro outbreaks until the captain discussed it I have no ideas how many passengers were involved. Like GeoHerb I saw many people not acting responsibly. We washed our hands regularly. I also used disinfecting wipes in the cabin upon arrival. We also made every effort not to touch railings and used the stairs 99% of the time.

Some of the staff seems tired and depressed and given the health alert and additional precautions required, serving at the buffet, constant sanitizing, this is understandable. I was informed that they are restricted to the ship and are in a "red alert" mode, however I did see a steward in port one day :confused: , I hope they get a break soon as continued stress will negatively impact the cruise experience.

I am happy to answer any questions.

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Bobug

Bobug

Posted
Posted

....if you haven't already done so would you mind letting us all know what you did in each port. This is so neat to be able to ask questions to people who have recently been to places you are going to.

It sounds like each of you had a great cruise.

Thanks in advance for any replies :)

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snowmen

snowmen

Posted
Posted

Need someone on the Sun to keep me updated on the engine problems. First I was worried about Norovirus...then bedbugs...now the engine...did I make a mistake? Gosh...I hope they don't cancel my cruise, it is January 29. I have never been concerned before the Sun. Hope everyone onboard now is having a great time. Please keep me informed.

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cruiserforlife

cruiserforlife

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Need someone on the Sun to keep me updated on the engine problems. First I was worried about Norovirus...then bedbugs...now the engine...did I make a mistake? Gosh...I hope they don't cancel my cruise, it is January 29. I have never been concerned before the Sun. Hope everyone onboard now is having a great time. Please keep me informed.

 

"Everyting gonna be alright...!"

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Bobug

Bobug

Posted
Posted

We haven't been on the Sun since 1999....what are the specialty restaurants? Is it the steak house? Did you try it & was it worth the money? Another food question....I can't remember if the Sun had the omelette stations?

 

Thanks....

Happy Sailing...

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cruiserforlife

cruiserforlife

Posted
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Posted
We haven't been on the Sun since 1999....what are the specialty restaurants? Is it the steak house? Did you try it & was it worth the money? Another food question....I can't remember if the Sun had the omelette stations?

 

Thanks....

Happy Sailing...

 

Sterling's steakhouse is the specialty restaurant on the Sun (located in the Horizon Court),I don't believe there is another but I could be wrong.There is a omlette station in the HC as well.;)

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chrysalis

chrysalis

Posted
Posted
We haven't been on the Sun since 1999....what are the specialty restaurants? Is it the steak house? Did you try it & was it worth the money? Another food question....I can't remember if the Sun had the omelette stations?

 

Thanks....

Happy Sailing...

 

In addition to Sterling's, there is the "Verdi's" Restaurant for pizza and other Italian Foods...aways enjoyable

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  • 2 weeks later...
EmpressofPurple

EmpressofPurple

Posted
Posted

Hi Dirtgirl - greetings from the Empress! The kids and I were just on the 12/30 sailing of the Sun -- yes, they have free weights (large ones in the weight room, plus tiny ones in the classroom) -- but be forewarned, this is NOT Mariner of the seas -- there are only 8 treadmills and bikes, and 6 ellipticals and it fills up FAST. I was on a ship with an older crowd -- I was one of 3 who showed up for the 7:30 AM stretch class, one of 8 in the 8 AM aerobics and 9 AM Yoga classes -- and though the gym was usually empty when I got there, by the time I left the classroom there was a line of people waiting for the machines. Good luck! I know you are devoted to your fitness routine.

 

-Denise

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SoFloDeb

SoFloDeb

Posted
Posted

Just booked the 9/2/07 sailing out of Alaska. Was originally booked on CB but this would be our 3rd sailing and I just wasn't very excited about it. Started looking at other sailing and found this one. We are so excited, even though it means we have to fly. We are spoiled 'cause the port is less than a half hour from our home. But what the heck, we get to visit Seattle, get to cruise on a new ship (new to us), and get to see Alaska. I've been reading the previous posts on the Sun and the awesome review from the end of August. We are now totally psyched. Just trying to figure out when we should book our air and where we should stay. I've been checking out biddingfortravel and they have great pointers on how to bid for your hotel.

 

Thanks for all the great info on this ship!

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SoFloDeb

SoFloDeb

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the recommendation on the Silver Cloud Inn. We are just so excited about sailing the Sun, especially after reading 85 pages worth of post about her!

 

I'm going to check out the Silver Cloud Inn right now.

 

Thanks a bunch!

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Julia’s Journey’s

Julia’s Journey’s

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Posted

We watched the SUN pull into port while we were on the Diamond in Alaska in September and we were so excited as she is our next ship we will be on. You will have a wonderful time in Alaska, it is stunning and so different to the Caribbean!!:D

 

I booked 2 nights for us in Seattle for September on Priceline a couple of weeks ago, got the renaissance for $60 or $65 (senior moment) along with a lot of others on our sailing too:D

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