Sun vs. HAL (Zuiderdam)

[pklopp]

Hello - even though we are booked on the Sun for 4/17, still looking for some opinions. DH & I are in our early 50's and went on the Zuiderdam in Sept. - had a great time (especially with our cc new friends) - think DH thought it was a bit too refined for us and a little too quiet. We are not bar hoppers, however, just think he was looking for a little more nightly entertainment (perhaps to keep me away from the slots!!) We loved the bathroom - very spacious, and he is a big guy so that really appealed to him.

 

We chose the Sun for the itinerary that coincides with our 30th anniversary and DH wanted a 10 day. We know that the Sun is an older ship and even our TA is not a fan of Princess in general, but he still made the arrangements. We are pretty easy to please - like to relax, eat food that we have not cooked, sit on a balcony, sleep good at nite, decent entertainment, casino, snorkel, etc.

 

Just looking for folks that may have been on these 2 ships to offer us some comparisons - not going to post this over on HAL, because that is a devoted group of followers. We are not too bothered by wear & tear too much, but hope by the age of the Sun, it is not being held together by duct tape. I guess we would like to see a little more activity after 10:00 p.m.

 

As I said, we are already booked on the Sun, but just looking for some further observations.

Thank you.

Peggy

[LMCAT123]

We were on the Sun in April and saw no duct tape ... the ship was in super condition as a matter of fact. You said you are in your 50's .. do you think of yourself as "old", showing wear and tear and held together by duct tape ? :-) A well maintained ship is like a person who takes care of themselves - they both look good.

 

I cannot offer you a comparison of these two ships, but I do know that a vacation can be quickly spoiled if one starts comparing too much. Each ship (hotel, airline, car rental agency, condo, restuarant, etc.) is different, there is good and bad with every single travel related thing on this planet. If you go thinking the Sun is old, not as good as HAL, or whatever you will have an unpleasant time.

 

I imagine you will be unhappy with the standard cabin bathrooms on the Sun, they are small. If you are large people it will be a problem. We are both slim people, to us it was no problem.

 

With a 10 day cruise you will get an older passenger mix. We took the 10 day Sun cruise and the average was probably 50-60, however there were young couples (a few with small kids too) and very elderly people. I rather liked the age mix. I think you can have fun with anyone with the right attitude -- and if someone is not the kind you want to associate with it's easy to avoid them as well.

 

I think the itinerary is the important thing. If these are island you want to go to then great. If you don't want to see them, or could care less, then probably another cruise would better.

 

We have traveled all over, including many many land trips to Europe, there have been good and bad moments with all -- but I refuse to allow the bad moments to spoil the good ones, hence I can honestly say we have never had a bad vacation whether it was land, cruise, or car.

 

I am not sure what your TA's problem is with Princess but perhaps it is "his" problem, not yours.

 

Go and enjoy, life is too short to sit around comparing things anyway.

[Charliesmom]

I am a big fan of the Sun class ships and have been on the HAL Westerdam. I like the feel of the Sun class ships and had a wonderful time on the Westerdam. We are booked for a cruise on the Westerdam for December and for a cruise on the Sun in February.

 

You will find that the regular balcony rooms on the Sun are a LOT smaller than the balcony rooms on the Westerdam. They do not have sofas in them. Also, the bathrooms on the Sun in balcony cabins do not have tubs - they have tiny showers.

 

Since you indicated that your husband is large, I suggest you upgrade your reservation to a mini-suite. The mini-suites on the Sun class ships are like no other mini-suites. They are two rooms with a walk in closet, the bathroom has a whirlpool tub and a separate glass enclosed stall shower. The other half of the bathroom (separate) has a single sink and a toilet. The sitting room and the bedroom are separated by a curtain, so if you have any insomniacs in the family, one can get up and read without disturbing the other. They are worth the upcharge in price.

 

I can't tell you much about the night life on the Sun because we go to bed early and get up early, but there is dancing in the Wheelhouse Bar and a couple of shows every night. Plus there are sing-alongs in the Atrium which can be great fun. If you are a trivia player, you will enjoy the Sun (we liked the trivia on the Westerdam, too).

 

Hope this helps.

 

Roberta

[pklopp]

Thanks for the info, folks. I guess trying to get a comparison was not fair! Any time we are cruising it is fun! I always read the reviews, etc. for info and these boards have been terrific for our last 2 cruises! I get nervous I suppose about the unknown, but so far the unknown has turned out super. Will take into consideration, the mini suite - people raved about the shower doors on RCCL and we both found them to be a pain - drop the soap and you're in trouble! So, we prefer shower curtains - DH is just tall, not heavy, and has had some bad moments in various showers on vacations, but has always managed and came out smelling like a rose! We will miss the couch, however, because that is where we put all of our junk! What about closet and drawer space - is it adequate for all of the stuff that we bring and will not use? Under bed storage for suitcases?

 

Also, we are young at heart 50 year olds! Before we sailed on the Z, so many people talked about the duct tape throughout the ship - never saw it and it would not have mattered anyway. Don't get me wrong, we are looking foward to our sailing on the Sun - the itinerary looks terrific and that's why we chose it.

Peggy

[LMCAT123]

Closet and drawer space was more then adequate, we had places we did not even use. Under the bed was great for the luggage. The cabins are small tho (I think that suggestion about considering a mini-suite is a good one if space is really your big issue). There was no couch but there is one chair :-) Also a chair at the vanity/desk. There is sort of a shelf like area by the mini-refrigerator is and that is where we "dumped stuff" :-)

 

The bathroom is small, I am not going to kid your on that - but it is doable. The balcony only holds two chairs and a table, but that was fine for us, all we did was sit out there anyway.

 

We really enjoyed the Sun and the dining room food was pretty darn good too :-) We never eat in buffets so I won't say anything about that. Our cabin attendant, Mae (from Phillipines) was Terrific. We had Anytime Dining but soon found a "favorite waiter" and made a standing reservation at one of his tables (Lino from Portugal) for dinner. We also ate in the dining room for breakfast and most lunches.

 

I think you will have a great time - go with an open mind and simply enjoy yourselves. No matter what happens, it beats being at work !!!

[randygimp]

Been on Sea Princess and HAL "Z". Loved both, each very different. Sea younger crowd, more active nite life, Z cabins better. Food, casinos equal. Both well maintained, professional staffs/service. You win no matter which ship you choose.

[getaway101]

pklopp - We are also booked on the Sun for 4/17. Have you visited the roll call yet. We are both in our 50's and have sailed on Princess and HAL. We haven't been on the Sun but have been on the Dawn her sisiter ship. We loved it. We also loved the Maasdam. We will say however that we thought the food was better on the Princess ships. Each ship has her own specialty we find.

 

Whatever you decide.................Happy cruising.

 

PS......Visit our roll call.