What is the Sun Princess like these days

[Sailaway John]

Who has been on the Sun Princess recently? Has she had any work done on her recently. Reason for asking is that I am planning a cruise from Perth back to Sydney and would like to have a pleasant cruise without anything leaking or rusty balconies.

 

[Calabazar]

Sun Princess was in dry dock in July this year, so hopefully she's 'come back new' (fingers crossed!)

I have just booked for New Zealand in December and am also interested to hear the view of recent cruisers as to its current condition.

[Aus Traveller]

We were on the Sun Princess not long before the dry dock. We didn't see any problems. However, I didn't check out the balconies to see if they were rusting.

[Sailaway John]

Thanks for the reply.

Can you tell me if there is an Platinum/Elite/Suite area set up for pre-dinner drinks as per the larger ships?

 

[Aus Traveller]

28 minutes ago, Sailaway John said:

Thanks for the reply.

Can you tell me if there is an Platinum/Elite/Suite area set up for pre-dinner drinks as per the larger ships?

 

No, there isn't.

[wishfulone]

The Sun Princess was a wonderful ship in early 2017. Shiny, glossy, the wonderful Crooners Bar for dancing, chatting, having a wonderful time. Sure there's a little rust on the balconies but it sails the seas doesn't it?

 

Shame about the attitude of the staff though. We sailed Sydney return and without exception the wait staff hassled us with the "You're rich, you're on a cruise" chant. Other staff were similarly offhand. We're Elite with Princess having sailed with them all over the world, but we found this attitude intolerable. Perhaps it was because Australians don't necessarily tip and they thought they were stuck on this lesser earning (due to tipping) cruise route? But before you go saying they don't earn much, think again. With cruise ship salaries they are earning much, much more than if they were in their own countries. They are comparatively wealthy and hailed as heroes when they go home.

 

We sail for destinations easily reached with the luxury of coming home to your own space every night, but we did not enjoy this cruise. Our onboard experience due to the unhappy attitude of the staff, particularly in the dining room was the worst we've ever experienced on any cruise line.

[MicCanberra]

16 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

No, there isn't.

One of the reasons why I have avoided the Sea and Sun Princess cruises.

[OzKiwiJJ]

8 minutes ago, wishfulone said:

The Sun Princess was a wonderful ship in early 2017. Shiny, glossy, the wonderful Crooners Bar for dancing, chatting, having a wonderful time. Sure there's a little rust on the balconies but it sails the seas doesn't it?

 

Shame about the attitude of the staff though. We sailed Sydney return and without exception the wait staff hassled us with the "You're rich, you're on a cruise" chant. Other staff were similarly offhand. We're Elite with Princess having sailed with them all over the world, but we found this attitude intolerable. Perhaps it was because Australians don't necessarily tip and they thought they were stuck on this lesser earning (due to tipping) cruise route? But before you go saying they don't earn much, think again. With cruise ship salaries they are earning much, much more than if they were in their own countries. They are comparatively wealthy and hailed as heroes when they go home.

 

We sail for destinations easily reached with the luxury of coming home to your own space every night, but we did not enjoy this cruise. Our onboard experience due to the unhappy attitude of the staff, particularly in the dining room was the worst we've ever experienced on any cruise line.

 

 I've never experienced that sort of attitude on any cruise ship, including Sun Princess. We've had inefficient dinner waiters once or twice but mostly the crew have been wonderful.

 

[kjets]

We just got back from a four day trip out of Freo.

Some of the carpet, particularly up by Horizon Court, was very worn.

We had trouble with our toilet not flushing for three of the four days. Last night we had to go down to the desk as our steward was unable to get an engineer to sort our problem out for over 4hrs!

Other than these things the Sun Princess is looking good.

[Aus Traveller]

59 minutes ago, wishfulone said:

The Sun Princess was a wonderful ship in early 2017. Shiny, glossy, the wonderful Crooners Bar for dancing, chatting, having a wonderful time. Sure there's a little rust on the balconies but it sails the seas doesn't it?

 

Shame about the attitude of the staff though. We sailed Sydney return and without exception the wait staff hassled us with the "You're rich, you're on a cruise" chant. Other staff were similarly offhand. We're Elite with Princess having sailed with them all over the world, but we found this attitude intolerable. Perhaps it was because Australians don't necessarily tip and they thought they were stuck on this lesser earning (due to tipping) cruise route? But before you go saying they don't earn much, think again. With cruise ship salaries they are earning much, much more than if they were in their own countries. They are comparatively wealthy and hailed as heroes when they go home.

 

We sail for destinations easily reached with the luxury of coming home to your own space every night, but we did not enjoy this cruise. Our onboard experience due to the unhappy attitude of the staff, particularly in the dining room was the worst we've ever experienced on any cruise line.

I am stunned that you posted this comment. Did the crew actually say "You're rich, you're on a cruise?" Or what that the impression you had? If a staff member actually said that to me (or anyone else in my hearing), I would immediately report it to their supervisor.

 

We haven't experienced this attitude on any cruise ship, including the Sun Princess. Our cruising history dates back to 1983, with more  than 75 cruises. We have cruised on the Sun several times and on Princess, around 50 cruises. I mention these stats to illustrate that we have plenty of cruising experience.

 

I don't believe the staff are "stuck on this lesser earning (due to tipping) cruise route". They do not earn less than cruises on Princess in other parts of the world and they love the Aussie cruises. If they don't like it, they can request a transfer to another ship.

[wishfulone]

10 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I am stunned that you posted this comment. Did the crew actually say "You're rich, you're on a cruise?" Or what that the impression you had? If a staff member actually said that to me (or anyone else in my hearing), I would immediately report it to their supervisor.

 

We haven't experienced this attitude on any cruise ship, including the Sun Princess. Our cruising history dates back to 1983, with more  than 75 cruises. We have cruised on the Sun several times and on Princess, around 50 cruises. I mention these stats to illustrate that we have plenty of cruising experience.

 

I don't believe the staff are "stuck on this lesser earning (due to tipping) cruise route". They do not earn less than cruises on Princess in other parts of the world and they love the Aussie cruises. If they don't like it, they can request a transfer to another ship.

Did the crew actually say this: Yes. Over and over and I'm surprised with the history you're stating that you haven't heard it before on Princess. It's become the common mantra as far as we're concerned. 

 

I've edited because I forgot to respond about reporting it. Yes we did. The Maitre'd was not interested. His name should be very obvious to someone with your Princess experience.

 

Reread my statement re lesser cruise route. I was very clear and its meaning is not how you've chosen to interpret it.

Edited October 22, 2018 by wishfulone

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, wishfulone said:

Perhaps it was because Australians don't necessarily tip and they thought they were stuck on this lesser earning (due to tipping) cruise route? But before you go saying they don't earn much, think again. With cruise ship salaries they are earning much, much more than if they were in their own countries. They are comparatively wealthy and hailed as heroes when they go home. 

 

2 minutes ago, wishfulone said:

Did the crew actually say this: Yes. Over and over and I'm surprised with the history you're stating that you haven't heard it before on Princess. It's become the common mantra as far as we're concerned. 

 

Reread my statement re lesser cruise route. I was very clear and its meaning is not how you've chosen to interpret it.

I have re-read your comment. I don't think I misinterpreted it. I took it to mean that you were commenting that the crew weren't happy because they were on a cruise where they didn't earn as much as in other parts of the world. What else did you mean?

 

I am astounded that the crew would actually make the comment to you "You're rich. You're on a cruise". I know that a lot of people in countries that are not as rich as Australia have that impression, but I don't think a crew member would last long on Princess if they actually said that to a passenger.

[MicCanberra]

deleted.

Edited October 22, 2018 by MicCanberra