How's the Sea Princess??

[CruiseAdict218]

We started talking about vacations for next year and it seems a cruise to Alaska is in the stars, lol and we like the idea of leaving from San Franisco on the Sea Princess and a 10-Day would be awesome. My question is how does the Sea Princess compare to other ships? I've only sailed on the Caribbean Princess. I do know she is smaller than the other ships. Is there alot more space or less crowed areas? Thanks

[sassyredhat]

I will let you know. Sailing in 2 days. Love the itin.

Have heard some pretty good reviews, everything being subjective. We like good food, good service, and nice cabins.

If the casino isn't drowning in smoke, and the rug rats are controlled, we're happy. :D

Our second time in Alaska, but I'm excited.

Pat

[Cruzman]

Sea Princess is a great option for those living within driving distance; living more than 2000 miles away ..., not so much. The cruise begins, and ends, with 2 full sea days; and by comparison, cabins are kinda small. Think under 150 sq ft (insides, outsides, and balcony). Standard balconies are of the "cove" type, and are 28 sq ft. We did this itinerary in 2010 and it was a positive experience, but the ship did feel crowded with more than 2000 passengers aboard (mostly Californians, as you would expect). This year, we were able to sail 14 days from Seattle (round trip) on the Amsterdam for about the same price in a much larger cabin. Oh, and there were only 1271 passengers aboard the Amsterdam. Lot's of options out there.

[billco]

I will let you know. Sailing in 2 days. Love the itin.

Have heard some pretty good reviews, everything being subjective. We like good food, good service, and nice cabins.

If the casino isn't drowning in smoke, and the rug rats are controlled, we're happy. :D

Our second time in Alaska, but I'm excited.

Pat

Just returned from an Alaskan cruise on Sea Princess. Casino and areas below it (Razzmatazz) smelled pretty bad and for some reason rug rats like to hang out in the stair wells. While Sea Princess has a lot going for it, it is still my least favorite Princess class. Just felt crowded, especially the first day or two. Anytime Dining room seems to have fewer table for two options than other Princess ships. Still very nice cruise and we love the SF option. Doing another 10 day Alaskan on Sea Princess next summer.

[CruiseAdict218]

Thanks for the responses, there are still many options to think about

[dfields1814]

I agree with most of the posts. The Sea Princess is not my first choice. There is nothing wrong with it. I just like the larger ships. The problem is that the Sea Princess is smaller. The balconies are cut into the ship so they are way smaller. I also believe the cabins are smaller as well. If they are not they certainly seem smaller. The service was fine. The food was good to excellent especially at the steak house. It has MUTS if you are into that. The casino is much smaller but we never had a problem finding a machine. I don't think there were a lot of passengers interested in gambling. If there were we would have never found an open machine. The Raz Ma Tazz was dead evey night. The Exploreres Lounges are better on the larger ships. The Princess Theater is also smaller. So if you are not into gambling or night life then these issues will not be a problem for you. On the positive side the ship is smaller which makes it better on an Alaskan cruise. I guess they can sail closer to the glaciers. We got really close to the Sawyer Glacier. The big bonus for me was it sails out of SF - no flying. If I had a choice I would sail on a larger ship. If I don't have a choice I would not hesitate to sail on the Sea Princess again.

[ofthesea]

I'm going to disagree with everyone, this ship actaully is my favorite. I think it is a wonderful cruise to go on and is filled with many activities. The food is amazing, A++++ The sea days are the best days, well they're just as good as port days but no worry of having to get back to the ship. The ship is a good size, not too big, but not too small. Of course the Sea princess has her wear and tear, but every ship does. I've been on this cruise 4 times.... i think that says enough :P

[carqueen1]

I just got off the Sea Princess on the 10 day Alaska that you are considering. This was my 10th cruise (various cruise lines) and I really enjoyed this ship. It was very relaxing, and the "extra" sea days made the trip!! The casino is very small (66 machines) the food in the MDR was excellent and I am admittedly a very picky eater. The buffet was horrible, but the fresh fruit was to die for. Spa was fantastic. The ship was very clean and there was much to do if you wanted. I would not hesitate to take it again or recommend it to someone else.

[CruiseAdict218]

I just got off the Sea Princess on the 10 day Alaska that you are considering. This was my 10th cruise (various cruise lines) and I really enjoyed this ship. It was very relaxing, and the "extra" sea days made the trip!! The casino is very small (66 machines) the food in the MDR was excellent and I am admittedly a very picky eater. The buffet was horrible, but the fresh fruit was to die for. Spa was fantastic. The ship was very clean and there was much to do if you wanted. I would not hesitate to take it again or recommend it to someone else.

 

I'm going to disagree with everyone, this ship actaully is my favorite. I think it is a wonderful cruise to go on and is filled with many activities. The food is amazing, A++++ The sea days are the best days, well they're just as good as port days but no worry of having to get back to the ship. The ship is a good size, not too big, but not too small. Of course the Sea princess has her wear and tear, but every ship does. I've been on this cruise 4 times.... i think that says enough :P

 

Thanks, and four of the same cruises does say alot lol, and just wondering on the round-trip alaska not the northbound/southbound did Princess drop Sitka?

[laura1960]

We got back from the Sea Princess last month, and had a marvelous time! Check out my review.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1462877&highlight=sea+princess

[pris993]

We did the Sea Princess, 10 days round trip out of San Francisco last year to Mexico. We generally book balcony cabins but decided since we knew the balconies are small we would book a oceanview. We got an unbelieveable good deal something like $1200 pp, so went with it.

 

We loved the oceanview. We had a good size window and the cabin seemed larger without the balcony. Service and food were very good. We would do the Sea Princess again.

 

We typically do not hang out at the pool area so we didn't find the ship crowded.

 

We cruise on the larger ships frequently, we are booked in the future on the Ruby and Star Princess ships. Our next cruise on Princess will be our 20th cruise with Princess. We cruise many lines, Princess, Celebrity, HAL and Cunard.

 

If you can get a good deal go with the Sea Princess.

[STEVENJAN]

We just got off yesterday. It was a terrific trip. We had great weather considering.

We saw lots of whales. Salmon, bears and eagles. The White Pass rail trip was fun. Tracy Arm Fjord was breath taking....view and cold!

The Sea Princess is small but we like that. It never felt crowded to me. I liked the Princess and Vista theaters. Smaller but no pillars to get in your way. We turned away a couple of times because we were late.

That's ok, we went to see Sammy Goldstein instead. He is a piano player that plays Broadway and old standards. Rat Pack singers etc.

The cabins are small but well situated. There is no wasted space if you know what I mean. I am always amazed anyway that they put all of that in a small space. They have refigerators and safes. Flat screen televisions.

The food was good in the MDR where we ate most of our meals. The staff was terrific. Friendly and playful if you like that sort of thing....we do, some don't. Anytime dining was never a problem. 1st night not so good, but the rest of the time it only took max 15 minutes to be seated. We always asked for a window seat and that took longer sometimes.

Yalcin and Alex were very accommodating. They had a string quartet from the Ukrain that was wonderful. Free ice cream cones on the Riviera deck. Small fee for ice cream concoctions.

We had an inside cabin on the Aloha deck in the back. We were 15 feet from the back deck.

It was like having our own balcony with company.

[MTJSR]

From what I saw and did during the Bon Voyage Experience on Sea Princess a few weeks ago, I would sail her in a hot minute. I love the Grand Class ships having sailed on the Grand, Golden and Sapphire but love the cozy size of the Sea Princess and the food in the main dinning room, was very good.