Sun Princess...Questions

[2Canucks]

Hi Everyone

 

I'll be sailing on the Sun Princess In Oct...Down Under. I have cruised on several Princess ships but this is my first time on the Sun Princess.

 

Has the Sun Princess been updated recently?

 

How is she different from the Crown or Star Princess ships?

 

Any ship tips you can share with me?

 

Is there a Spa pool...hot tub?

 

Anyone cruised on her recently...can you share your experience?

 

 

Thank You for any info you can share with me.

 

Pat :)

 

 

 

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[fishywood]

Sun Princess was updated a few years ago with features specific to the Australian/South Pacific market:

 

New Zealand Natural replaced the ice cream stand by the pool (no more free soft-serve).

SHARE by Curtis Stone replaced the previously free sit-down pizzeria

Kai Seafood Bar replaced the Champagne and Caviar bar (for a time it was called Kai Sushi).

The disco (on Deck 7--no Skywaker's on the Sun Class ships) has been rebranded as Legends Sports Bar.

There is now a small International Cafe on Deck 5, plus an Amuleto Cafe counter in the buffet.

 

The Sun class ships are really not comparable to the Grand class. Cabins in the same category will be noticeably smaller on Sun Princess (only exception is the four aft Mini-suites). The spa and spa pool area is aft not forward; while there is a pool and hot tubs you similarly enter by stepping downward, it is much smaller and not semi-enclosed like on the Grand class.

 

We could keep listing differences all day; perhaps someone from Down Under will come on with more. I sure hope you studied the deck plans and asked some of these questions before booking as it appears too late to change your mind now.

[2Canucks]

Sun Princess was updated a few years ago with features specific to the Australian/South Pacific market:

 

New Zealand Natural replaced the ice cream stand by the pool (no more free soft-serve).

SHARE by Curtis Stone replaced the previously free sit-down pizzeria

Kai Seafood Bar replaced the Champagne and Caviar bar (for a time it was called Kai Sushi).

The disco (on Deck 7--no Skywaker's on the Sun Class ships) has been rebranded as Legends Sports Bar.

There is now a small International Cafe on Deck 5, plus an Amuleto Cafe counter in the buffet.

 

The Sun class ships are really not comparable to the Grand class. Cabins in the same category will be noticeably smaller on Sun Princess (only exception is the four aft Mini-suites). The spa and spa pool area is aft not forward; while there is a pool and hot tubs you similarly enter by stepping downward, it is much smaller and not semi-enclosed like on the Grand class.

 

We could keep listing differences all day; perhaps someone from Down Under will come on with more. I sure hope you studied the deck plans and asked some of these questions before booking as it appears too late to change your mind now.

 

 

 

Thanks for this info.

 

I'm fine with the Sun Princess as I'll be on her for 4...B2B cruises...62 days. I just wanted a "heads up" on what some of the differences were.

 

I was unaware that the cabins were smaller but I'll make do...after all I'll be enjoying my first trip to this part of our wonderful world! :)

 

 

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[Thrak]

Balconies on that class of ship are very small and are cutout of the hull. Keith should be along sometime to post his picture of the balcony. It does a much better job of explaining.

[martin jenkins]

as per last feb twice, ship delayed for tomorrow because of norovirus, being told to board at 6pm.

[Aus Traveller]

Balconies on that class of ship are very small and are cutout of the hull. Keith should be along sometime to post his picture of the balcony. It does a much better job of explaining.

Balconies are 1.1m (44 inches) wide. The Sun is obviously smaller than the Crown and Star, but you will get the usual great Princess service. Obviously there are fewer passengers on the ship.

 

Sun Princess was last refurbished in April 2016. She has two great features - the new luxury beds and interactive TV.

 

Enjoy you cruise in the Australian region. :)

[OzKiwiJJ]

Crooners bar and lounge is the real hub of the ship in the evenings. There is seating on both sides of the atrium and a dance floor at one end - the other end has the glass walled lifts (there are no shops around the atrium on this deck). It's a great place for a pre or post dinner drink, and is also nice during the day.

 

Have a great cruise.

[polmcs]

Crooners bar and lounge is the real hub of the ship in the evenings. There is seating on both sides of the atrium and a dance floor at one end - the other end has the glass walled lifts (there are no shops around the atrium on this deck). It's a great place for a pre or post dinner drink, and is also nice during the day.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Works for us! Crooner's is our usual nightly hangout spot on most ships we've been on. :) Roll on April 2018

[OzKiwiJJ]

Works for us! Crooner's is our usual nightly hangout spot on most ships we've been on. :) Roll on April 2018

 

Crooners on the Sun class ships is the best.

 

On Golden Crooners was just a small section on one side of the atrium, with no dance floor. OK, Golden had the Explorers Bar but it just didn't have the same vibe.

[reedy8]

Crooners bar and lounge is the real hub of the ship in the evenings. There is seating on both sides of the atrium and a dance floor at one end - the other end has the glass walled lifts (there are no shops around the atrium on this deck). It's a great place for a pre or post dinner drink, and is also nice during the day.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Was the dining room open for lunch on departure day Ozkiwi?

 

Thanks

[OzKiwiJJ]

Was the dining room open for lunch on departure day Ozkiwi?

 

Thanks

 

Yes, the dining room was open for lunch on embarkation day on both cruises I've done on Sun.

[reedy8]

Yes, the dining room was open for lunch on embarkation day on both cruises I've done on Sun.

 

Thank you, I'll be on the Sea Princess, I would think it would be the same being the same class.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thank you, I'll be on the Sea Princess, I would think it would be the same being the same class.

 

Yes, I would imagine so. The only time we've found that the MDR hasn't been open was on the Golden repositioning cruise up to Hong Kong last year. There has been some discussion over whether this was a common occurrence on Golden.

[Thrak]

Sea Princess (same class of ship) used to have Cafe Corniche. Does anybody know if this class of ship still has that venue? Absolutely wonderful pizza. Sort of like Alfredo's on some of the newer builds. Hopefully it is still in existence on this class of ship. (Out first cruise was on Sea Princess. We were so horribly disappointed on our second cruise when we experienced the pizza on Lido deck on the Grand class of ships.)

[Aus Traveller]

Sea Princess (same class of ship) used to have Cafe Corniche. Does anybody know if this class of ship still has that venue? Absolutely wonderful pizza. Sort of like Alfredo's on some of the newer builds. Hopefully it is still in existence on this class of ship. (Out first cruise was on Sea Princess. We were so horribly disappointed on our second cruise when we experienced the pizza on Lido deck on the Grand class of ships.)

I believe the Sea Princess still has the pizza restaurant on deck 8. We have tried it a couple of times, but it is not my favourite. BTW, on the Sun Princess, Curtis Stone's SHARE has replaced the pizza restaurant. :(

 

While on the Sea, I suggest you try the Terrace Grill (on deck 14 overlooking the pool) for lunch. They have excellent Aussie pies & chips (fries), hotdogs (basic style) and good kebabs. Their hamburgers are too basic to even consider. Sometimes they have a special BBQ lunch up there and it is great. We have often enjoyed a Pub Lunch on other ships, but the only time we tried it on the Sea P, it was not good. We should have 'got the message' when we walked in and there were only about a dozen people there.

[wishfulone]

Sun Princess is a nice sized ship but as others have said the balconies are the small ones cut out of the hull. We think of them as nice snug little cocoons. We were on her in April and the entertainment in the Atrium and Crooners was the best we've ever experienced on a Princess ship.

 

Before we boarded and again just now she has had a serious noro outbreak and I can only say the lack of hygiene from the buffet staff in particular would have to be a major contributor. We frequently remarked on the bad food handling practices. But the best thing about noro is they have to replace all the books in the library :')

 

Wait staff were a bit familiar. Touchy and a little lacking in respect. Our room steward was possibly the best we've ever had and the room service staff were exceptional on this ship.

 

Unfortunately there's no Alfredos type cafe and it's replacement the Curtis Stone Share was almost always empty. In our opinion a dreadful waste of space and food option. On the other hand the Sterling Steakhouse had the best food on the ship.

 

The beds and linen are new and comfortable. The movie selection in cabin was top 10 releases. Some of the news channels especially Australian ones were out of action for the whole cruise. Seemed weird not to have local input available. Not sure whether you could order stuff through the telly. We're not that technical anyway.

 

Have a great cruise in Aussie waters.

[Westskip]

It has been reported on the news tonight in Australia that Sun Princess has been hit with another outbreak of Norovirus. Someone else may have more information.

[Aus Traveller]

It has been reported on the news tonight in Australia that Sun Princess has been hit with another outbreak of Norovirus. Someone else may have more information.

There have been comments on the Aust & NZ Cruisers section of this forum for a couple of days. Currently there are media reports of noro in the community in New South Wales and Queensland. It was reported that the origin of noro on the Sun Princess could have been related to those outbreaks. The virus is so easily transmitted, that there only has to be one person boarding while in the incubation stage of noro, and there will be an outbreak on board.

[Thrak]

Balconies on that class of ship are very small and are cutout of the hull. Keith should be along sometime to post his picture of the balcony. It does a much better job of explaining.

 

As Keith hasn't shown up yet with his picture of the balcony I'm linking to one of his posts that shows the picture of the little balcony. This is how the balconies are on Sun Princess and Sea Princess.

[2Canucks]

As Keith hasn't shown up yet with his picture of the balcony I'm linking to one of his posts that shows the picture of the little balcony. This is how the balconies are on Sun Princess and Sea Princess.

 

 

 

Thanks for the Balcony picture.

 

WOW...knee knocker is right! Looks like a Glorified Oceanview Cabin!

 

 

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[Aus Traveller]

As Keith hasn't shown up yet with his picture of the balcony I'm linking to one of his posts that shows the picture of the little balcony. This is how the balconies are on Sun Princess and Sea Princess.

We found the balcony usable and even had an Ultimate Balcony Dinner on it. Highly recommended.:)

[Thrak]

Thanks for the Balcony picture.

 

WOW...knee knocker is right! Looks like a Glorified Oceanview Cabin!

 

 

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If you look at a picture of Sea Princess or Sun Princess you can see that the balcony "window" opening is cut out of the hull.

 

 

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

We found the balcony usable and even had an Ultimate Balcony Dinner on it. Highly recommended.:)

 

So did we.