Volendam or Sun Princess Southern Caribbean

[NaplesCruiser]

We are trying to decide between two Southern Caribbean cruises:

 

11-3-06 HAL Volendam

10-31-06 Sun Princess

 

Would appreciate any feedback & recomendations.

[Roz]

Are you wanting information on the ships or the itineraries? Or both?

 

Roz

[RedmondCruiser]

We have done both cruises and I would recommend the Volendam. The itineraires look similar and Half Moon Cay is much better than Princess Cay. I prefer the layout on the R class ships. I really don't have anything negative to say about the Sun Princess - just that the Volendam would have the edge, in my opinion.

[Blue Eyes]

We've done both ships also. I would probably look at ports of call. We really like the "anytime" dining. We found that we made friends the first few days and 6 or 7 of the 10 days we ate together, in fact there were 6 of us that met up and ate together. We like to eat around 7-7:30 rather than the early or late dining time on HAL. HAL ships might have a more elegant, refined, atmosphere....Princess maybe a little younger. Our cruise on the Sun did not include a stop at Princess Cay, so nothing to compare...Either cruise I am sure would be great....

[NaplesCruiser]

Are you wanting information on the ships or the itineraries? Or both?

 

Roz

Both please!

[gizmo]

What are the itineraries ?

[Sage]

We love the Volendam, and the Officers and crew are first rate. The ambiance of the ship is wonderful, and one can honestly say, the Volendam has a happy crew which makes a big difference in one's experience IMOH.

[peaches from georgia]

What are the itineraries ?

The main difference is Aruba on the Volendam vs. Barbados and Isla Margarita on the Sun Princess (one more port on the SP, one more sea day on the Vol). And of course the private islands differ.

 

They both go to Curacao, Dominica, and St. Thomas.

 

I like both itineraries. I wish the Vol could go to Barbados and Aruba as I love both ports, but much prefer the HAL ship!

[michmike]

We're committed HAL fans, so not really impartial and have never cruised on Princess. That having been said, our last 2 cruises have been on the Volendam and we thoroughly enjoyed both of them. The most recent itinerary (jan '06) included Aruba, Curacao, Dominica, St Thomas and Half Moon Cay. That made for a nice balance of sea days and port days.

 

On HAL you'll have assigned seating which we prefer and you'll have wonderfully comfortable beds as well as cabins that are among the largest of the mass market lines.

 

If you've never tried HAL, I think the Volendam would be a good first experience. And as someone else pointed out, there is general consensus among cruisers who have been to various private islands that HMC is the best.