Sun Princess - Info Please

[mr walker]

Considering Sun Princess Round Australia (29N) for Mar 2017. For those of you more knowledgable about Princess and that ship, I am interested in your thoughts. We are looking at this one principally for the itinerary & the timing, & Sydney to Sydney - no flying :D.

 

We have close to 100N at sea over past 4 1/2 years, all but one (Carnival Spirit) have been on Royal Caribbean. Most have been on Rhapsody. Our favourite ship so far would be Radiance. We have also been on Voyager & have an upcoming on Explorer. We prefer the atrium type ships vs the 'main street' type. We are pretty much 'joiners-in', taking part in many of the onboard activities, and see most of the shows etc. We are in or 50's and so waterslides, climbing walls etc are not our style.

 

What do you Princess travellers think - would this cruise likely suit us in terms of demographics, activities etc. 29N first up is a big call :)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Merry Christmas & A Happy, Safe, Prosperous & Cruising 2016.

[cruiselover53]

It's a nice ship but doesn't have anywhere where you can sit and watch the ocean (which is what we enjoy) unlike P&O's Dome or Holland America's crows nest or RCL's Viking crown lounge. If that isn't an issue then you should enjoy. IMO I won't go on that class of ship again. But others will say the opposite :)

[rkmw]

we have done that cruise twice and we enjoyed both cruises

 

what i like about princess is they have plenty of dining options, the buffett opens at 5am until 11pm plus other options too so you will never be hungry, they have laundrys on every floor if you wish to do a wash plus irons in the laundrys if need be

 

i havent cruised RCI for quite a few years but they used to open the buffett at 6am and it was closed about 9pm at night, i dont know if its been changed and having no laundry so you had to pay them to do a wash

 

if you go on the Sun Princess you wont have to worry about changing your money over or the gratuities as its included in the fare

 

i dont think you will be dissapointed with princess and you can still take on your 2 bottles of wine per cabin

[Gnomey]

Mr Walker, wifey and I just did around the top on the Sun, Brisbane to Freeo and we loved it. The ship is in good order and the recently refurbished areas were great. International Cafe was open all the time with drinks and snacks and Horizon Court (buffet) had a good spread of food, if you like buffets. MDR was set time dining and we found the food and dining experience very much to our liking.

While older than Radiance I find the Sun class ships have an easy to learn, logical layout that works well. One thing I noticed was the air conditioning was either struggling with the heat, or was set to Queensland temps. The ship was generally too warm for our liking.

The staff/crew were very attentive and pleasant though one had to wave vigorously in the International Cafe to attract the waiters attention as it is a very busy area. Once the waiters got to know you I'd just say g'day as I walked in and they would come around asap! Aussie dollars and no tipping wins me every day too!

Our cruise director was Billy London a larger than life fellow who told stale old jokes (don't tell him I said that!). But he ran a good shop with so much to do you couldn't do it all. We were hoping for days when he had a hangover or something so we could slow down a bit!

Search carefully for your room as sound travels on these older ships, sometimes walking along the hallways the music downstairs can be quite loud, then two cabins later and around a corner - not a sound.

If you have any questions, ask away.

 

Steve.

[kuldalai]

SUN PRINCESS has just had a big re furbish . Nice ship Fixed Dining times Early & Late in both Main Dining Rooms. Nice Horizon Court buffet .

Not sure re specialty restaurants now as Princess did a big makeover for the Japanese market, but withdrew the ship after only one season there. Was Sterling Steak House only with surcharge nightly in an area of Horizon Court roped off from the self serve section .

 

Timing wise March is reasonable time to go. Not too hot and past the cyclone season .

 

So GO for it . Junior Suites are nice if you can get a good price .

[Aus Traveller]

We have done this cruise on a couple of different ships. We like the Sun (and all the others we have been on). Our last round Australia was on the Diamond. We noticed an older demographic and wondered whether this itinerary attracted older people because they would never be far from Australian medical services. The number of older people isn't a problem, but there will be quite a few 'wheely-walkers' around. The Sun had a major make-over a couple of years ago before her two seasons in Japan. The buffet (Horizon Court) is lovely. The ship also has the International Cafe in the atrium.

 

I am pretty sure she has anytime TV - I think it is the Dawn P that doesn't have it yet. Anytime TV is fantastic.:D Not that we watch it much, but with a couple of hundred movies, on a couple of evenings where nothing else appealed to us, we stayed in our cabin with a glass of wine and nibbles from the buffet and watched a movie.:) You can watch the port lectures or any other lectures at any time. They stay on the system for the whole cruise and you can click on and watch from the start of the talk. With a lecture or a movie, if you want to, you can 'pause' it and come back to the same spot later.

 

Princess doesn't have as many outdoor strenuous activities as RCI. That doesn't bother us. If I want to sit and watch the ocean I like to sit on the promenade deck. I can see, hear and smell the sea.:) On these ships the promenade deck goes right around the ship.

 

If you haven't been to the West and far north, this itinerary will give you a chance to experience some of it. One advantage of the Sun P is that she is small enough to go to some ports the larger ships do not. An example on your cruise is Broome - the Diamond cannot get into there.

 

I see your cruise goes to Albany. I strongly suggest you go to the Anzac Centre. The cheapest (and best in my opinion) way to get there is by a hop-on/hop-off bus that you pick up in the middle of town. That will leave you as much time as you want at the Anzac Centre. The ship's tour is much more expensive and it only gives a limited time at the centre.

 

Kimberley Coast - the first time we cruised into there we were disappointed because it was nowhere as good as going on land, but on a later cruise we somewhat changed our opinion. Seeing it from a ship is better than nothing. This is another part of the coast that we did not do on the Diamond.

 

The cruise also goes to Alotau, Milne Bay. Great history there.

[mr walker]

Thanks so much for all the replies - I really appreciate the cc community, particularly here on the Aus/NZ board.

 

Reading your posts, I think you have convinced me to do it!

 

Maybe I should just book it today & put the confirmation docs under the Christmas tree as a real surprise for DW. She was the one who actually found this cruise, but she doesn't know I have followed up on it this far:).

[Guest012]

What a wonderful surprise it will be......yeah.... just do it i say :) .....

 

We were on Sun Princess in August only for 10 nights but thoroughly enjoyed her....We were on late sitting for dinner, great menu, and our wait staff were 10 out of 10 nothing too much trouble and very entertaining many laughs were had..... The Horizon Court had a great selection of food breakfast, lunch and dinner......found all the crew to be very happy and friendly........ Plenty of sitting area's indoors and out.... have to say the specialty coffee was cheap and very moreish.... :D Wasn't quite warm enough for us to swim even if the pools looked inviting..... Shows, entertainment and activities were quite acceptable..... We had an inside cabin and it was well kept, clean and comfy..... first cruise we were upgraded from an inside to a premium ocean view with the biggest picture window i have ever seen on a ship.... quite often sat in it whilst partaking in a quite tipple just before heading out for a meal ......

 

True the onboard demographic can be a little older but thats okay with us as we are a couple of youngish oldies so no problem.....wouldn't hesitate cruising onboard her again she has come a long way since our previous one on her in 2009...great makeover :D:D She may not have a dedicated night time Elite/Platinum area but thats no problem either.....we didn't miss it....

[mattie00]

Very happy to see positive comments. We booked this cruise a few months ago and are very much looking forward to it as well as the 13-day cruise on the Dawn visiting New Zealand prior to this cruise.

[sewgood]

We were on the Sun in March for a 14 day cruise.

Yes they do have on demand TV with the movies from MUTS being on demand the next day. And lots of other movies/TV shows for free to watch when ever you want and you can stop your movie at any time and it will start playing from where you were up to next time you select that movie. Love this feature.

I loved the grapefruit, walnuts, almonds and other nuts at the buffet for breakfast. We were very plesed with the buffet.

The International cafe was a great place to have a light lunch with yummy soups and freshly toasted sandwiches and pastries. A relaxing place to sit in the atrium and enjoy the cruise.

[GUT2407]

We love Princess it just "fits"

 

But there is no way I'd do my 1st cruise with any line for a month.

 

Just my 2c.

[mr walker]

But there is no way I'd do my 1st cruise with any line for a month.

 

So are you suggesting we book a shorter cruise in the interim, just to check her out?? :D Maybe a plan:)

[rkmw]

So are you suggesting we book a shorter cruise in the interim, just to check her out?? :D Maybe a plan:)

 

 

i really dont think you have to do that when you know all about cruising, everyone has been saying you will have a good time

 

you wont get any benefits but that should be ok

[rkmw]

We love Princess it just "fits"

 

But there is no way I'd do my 1st cruise with any line for a month.

 

Just my 2c.

 

we met this couple on one of our cruises and they said their first princess cruise was a 42 day cruise to China and back

[GUT2407]

So are you suggesting we book a shorter cruise in the interim, just to check her out?? :D Maybe a plan:)

 

Well that's what I'd do, but I only need half an excuse (plus time plus money, and we all know hat two never coincide) to book another cruise.

[Thorpe]

We love Princess it just "fits"

 

 

 

But there is no way I'd do my 1st cruise with any line for a month.

 

 

 

Just my 2c.

 

 

First cruise I ever booked was 53 nights on Dawn Princess. After paying for it, I thought I should do a test run , so did a 2 night on her. Lucky I found I liked it

[Aus Traveller]

I have met several people who have booked a long cruise as their first cruise: the full world cruise, the 47 night Indian Ocean cruise and 42 night cruise to Japan. I felt they were brave or foolish, but in each case they said they were enjoying it. It was an expensive mistake if they weren't.:)

 

Here, it isn't a matter of whether the OP enjoys cruising, but merely a question about the particular ship. It all comes back to personal opinion.:)

[mr walker]

OK an update.

 

I have followed all your advices, well mostly, & even though I didn't do it as a Christmas surprise for DW, today we bit the bullet and booked the cruise:D

 

29N Around Australia (incl New Guinea port), departing Mar 7, 2017. Just over 400 days to go :eek:

 

Happy cruising!

[GUT2407]

OK an update.

 

I have followed all your advices, well mostly, & even though I didn't do it as a Christmas surprise for DW, today we bit the bullet and booked the cruise:D

 

29N Around Australia (incl New Guinea port), departing Mar 7, 2017. Just over 400 days to go :eek:

 

Happy cruising!

 

 

Cool we enjoyed our round Aus so much Mrs Gut wants to do it again (one with a few different Ports)

[OzKiwiJJ]

OK an update.

 

I have followed all your advices, well mostly, & even though I didn't do it as a Christmas surprise for DW, today we bit the bullet and booked the cruise:D

 

29N Around Australia (incl New Guinea port), departing Mar 7, 2017. Just over 400 days to go :eek:

 

Happy cruising!

 

Sounds wonderful. We did a Top End cruise on Dawn Princess last year, 17 nights, and loved it, although I thought Sun Princess was nicer overall.