Sun Princess: The Definitive Review
Written: Apr 05 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Upscale atmoshpere throughout ship, flexible dining times and locations.
Cons: Food in dining rooms is lackluster, inconsistent service levels, entertainment quality.
The Bottom Line: Sun Princess is an elegant vessel with a reserved decorative style throughout. She features acceptable dining options and average food quality, but lackluster menu choices. Entertainment is generally mediocre.
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| garykool81's Full Review: Sun Princess |
M/V SUN PRINCESS: THE DEFINITIVE REVIEW
Note: Ratings assigned as follows for services listed at end of review…
POOR – Far below expectations and not acceptable
BELOW AVERAGE – Did not meet expectations
AVERAGE – Meets expectations, but not out of the ordinary
GOOD – Exceeds expectations
EXCELLENT – Perfect in almost all regards and greatly exceeded expectations.
Photos accompanying this review can be found at:
Galley One: http://cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=3304
Gallery Two: http://cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=3305
When she debuted with Princess Cruises in 1995, Sun Princess set new standards for the cruise industry. She was the world’s largest cruise ship and featured a higher percentage of balcony staterooms per cabin than virtually the entire industry. The 77,000 ton ship was the first in a series of three “Sun Class” vessels with the Princess line, including Dawn Princess and Sea Princess.
Sun Princess has stateroom capacity for up to 1,950 guests and accommodates a working crew of some 830 men and women from around the world. The 856 foot long floating resort features a unique, aerodynamic-style exterior design rivaled in unconventional design only by the likes of Regal Princess with her dolphin-like hump.
She is also a testament to how much the ever-dynamic cruise industry has evolved in just one decade. Guests boarding Sun Princess will notice industry-norms such as the forward facing nightclub and aft Lido buffets not present. In the age of 2007, today’s largest cruise ships tower over Sun Princess with more than twice the gross tonnage of this aging liner.
THE GRAND FOYER
Stepping aboard a Princess Cruise’s ship is much like walking into the lobby of an upscale hotel such as a Hyatt or Hilton. Guests will find interior décor of the main foyer to be on-par with the rest of the Princess fleet, all of which feature quite similar atriums. While the main lobby interior is quite attractive, well-maintained and upscale, it is also disappointingly uninspired and features a style that has become rather overused in today’s hospitality industry.
Hushed tones of cream colored marbles are accented with bright brass lining the stairway handrails in this four story grand jewel of Sun Princess. At the back side of the foyer, a pair of scenic elevators transport guests between the lower and upper decks of the lobby area, the ceiling of which is topped off in a stainless steel dome framing a decorative, blooming metal flower-style ornament.
Scattered throughout the lobby are decorative palm trees, which further the feeling of walking into a premium-level hotel reception area. A sweeping, marble staircase with steps framed in subtle, green lighting moves from the base of the elevators on Plaza Deck towards a central landing in the middle of the grand foyer. Beautiful stained-glass, backlit ceilings circle over the staircase landing glowing with an amber tone. From that landing, the marble staircase then splits in two directions, each headed towards Emerald Deck.
Guests onboard Sun Princess will find the ship’s atrium area to be a hub of activity throughout the day. Contrary to some vessels where the foyer seems to be in place merely for decorative reasons, the main atrium onboard Sun Princess features a variety of shopping, dining and bars all within close proximity of the sweeping staircases flowing through the four-deck public room.
Passengers will find themselves traveling through the foyer in most cases several times per day, whether for a short drink, a stop at the ship’s pizza parlor or to listen to the nightly piano performances that take place on Plaza and Emerald Deck right in the atrium.
THE WHEELHOUSE BAR
While many of her public rooms contain the all-too-common “upscale, yet dull” theme previously mentioned, the Wheelhouse Bar found on Promenade Deck is a pleasant departure from the standard decorative motif found aboard the more than ten year old ship. Perhaps one of the more beautiful rooms in the entire fleet, the fairly large lounge contains plenty of plush, cigar-lounge type seating, a well-stocked bar and a stage for evening performances by a small band.
Rich, dark tones of wood cover nearly every wall through the room. Coupled with nautical paintings of the line’s former ships in golden-colored frames and the brass light-sconces that adorn the walls, the room makes one feel as though they are standing in the private-yacht of a billionaire. The flooring is made up of a red, green and golden patterned carpet that is quite appropriate for the nautical, yacht-like feel Princess was apparently aiming for when designing this space.
Guests walking through the main entrance to the Wheelhouse Bar will note a beautiful, authentic size steering wheel, or helm, leaning against a wall directly under one of the many aforementioned paintings.
On the large window sills peering out towards the promenade surrounding Sun Princess, the line has placed quite large, detailed scale-models of their older ships dating back to the early 1900s. Each of the models includes a brass plaque detailing the history and eventual demise of the former ocean liners.
Regrettably, the Wheelhouse Bar is rarely used by large numbers of passengers and the result is a room that feels almost too large for its low lighting and wood-paneled walls that might be better off in a more intimate cigar lounge aboard the ship. Instead, the room is frequently a place of transit as guests quickly usher themselves from the main dining rooms towards the Princess Theater, adding further detriment to the potential for this beautiful room.
THE PRINCESS THEATER
At the front of Promenade Deck, guests will find themselves in the Princess Theater. Unlike the behemoth, multi-deck theaters with balcony seating on massive new-builds, the main theater aboard Sun Princess is far more traditional of what one would expect from a liner built roughly ten years ago.
Decked out in an almost all-red color scheme, the Princess Theater does feature a stadium-style seating configuration. However, the slope of the floor from the entrance of the room to the stage is rather gradual. While the stadium-style concept assists passengers in not having their view entirely blocked, a show can still easily be ruined for guests if a tall or larger fellow passenger sits directly in front of them.
Unlike the mega-theaters aboard more modern cruise ships that feature up to thousands of seats, Sun Princess’ main performance venue has just enough seating for many shows to appear “sold out.” Arriving to a scheduled evening show thirty minutes in advance became a quite common necessity if passengers desired seats next to others in their party or towards the front half of the theater.
Naturally, the smaller, and frankly more appropriate, size of the theater aboard Sun Princess also serves as a morale builder for those performing with the ship’s onboard entertainment. Rather than peering out into a half empty theater filled with balconies and cobwebs, talent onboard is treated to quite the packed house almost nightly.
As onboard most ships, the theater hosts a variety of daytime and evening activities and performances for passengers. While daytime activities such as bingo or lectures might attract smaller crowds, nighttime musical performances tend to fill the theater in many cases to capacity.
VISTA LOUNGE
Opposite of the Princess Theater at the aft section of Promenade Deck, guests will find a far quainter performance space called the Vista Lounge.
This cabaret-style theater features a softer color scheme of deep, autumn-orange colored bench-style seating mixed with soft blue-green lounge chairs. Neutral carpeting with an unobtrusive floral pattern covers the floor of the entire theater up to the wooden stage. Recessed, blue-neon lighting in the ceiling surrounds the entire seating area of the Vista Lounge. Several large, wood columns surround the back section of the cabaret lounge, topped off in a stainless steel finish where they meet the ceiling.
While the more intimate theater does feature a slopped seating layout, passengers will certainly notice the difference in premium views of the stage when comparing this lounge to her larger sibling, the Princess Theater, at the front of Sun Princess.
In most cases, passengers looking for a more subdued style of evening entertainment will find themselves at home here. Individual singers or small quartet bands replace the large-scale, Las Vegas style production shows that the majority of guests flock to in the Princess Theater.
REGENCY AND MARQUIS DINING ROOMS
Embracing Princess Cruise Line’s “Personal Choice” dining and traditional dining experiences can be difficult for a ship that was built well before the idea of mixing both flexible and fixed dining times matured within the company. That said, Sun Princess is fairly capable of supporting passengers who choose either option that the line offers via its two main formal dining venues, the Regency and Marquis Dining Rooms.
Located directly on top one another on Plaza and Emerald decks, the Regency and Marquis are situated at the aft of Sun Princess and favorably towards the lowest decks available for public space on the vessel, offering guests who may be more susceptible to motion sickness a far calmer ride at dinner.
While they may be separate dining venues, both the Marquis and Regency spots feature strikingly similar décor. As with many of the ship’s other public spaces, guests will find the dining rooms to be designed in a fashion that is upscale, yet remarkably reserved and frankly conservative for today’s cruise market. That said, the colors featured in these rooms are still bolder than those found in other sections of the liner.
Both rooms feature a mixture of two-toned seating configurations of dark, with some chairs covered in a rich, red colored fabric while others have been dressed in a light, golden shade. The dining room chairs have been finished in a deep, mahogany colored wood that provides for a more formal atmosphere.
Sun Princess’ dining rooms are both not the grand dining halls passengers commonly find aboard modern cruise ships, but the spaces are both far more unique than some of those on other aging ships. Rather than distributing the seating configuration in a boring, non-imaginative pattern, Princess has laid out a variety of tables in a winding pattern throughout both the Marquis and Regency. Across the rooms are several sections of raised seating areas, offering a visual offset from the traditional dining room that sits all at the same level.
Frosted glass partitions are placed between most seating areas that are in close proximity, allowing passengers added privacy during their dinner, in addition to acting as a nice decorative touch for the dining rooms.
On several curved walls throughout the Marquis and Regency, guests can admire large landscape murals that replace the usual series of paintings that adorn dining room walls.
OTHER PUBLIC ROOMS
Sun Princess passengers will find an assortment of other public spaces through the decade-old ship, ranging from the requisite scattering of bars throughout many common areas of the vessel to a quite popular pizza parlor overlooking the grand foyer. Most rooms carry the upscale, yet reserved decorating theme found in Sun Princess’ main atrium, with colors limited to hushed creams, brass, light-colored woods and neutral carpeting.
Perhaps of most significance in regards to her public spaces are two noticeable design snafus, so to speak, that set Sun Princess apart from the rest of the modern cruise industry. Passengers who have become accustomed to visiting the lido buffet at the aft of most cruise ships will notice that the eatery occupies the forward most deck space aboard this Princess ship. Likewise, the quintessential front-observation lounge found aboard almost all of today’s cruise fleet is absent entirely from Sun Princess. Instead, the vessel has only a nightclub down on her lower decks.
DINING EXPERIENCE
While positioned by the Carnival Corporation as a “premium” level cruise line, many of today’s frequent travelers have become accustomed to accepting that mass market cruise lines rarely offer anything close to true gourmet food. Preparation of meals in such fashion and procurement of high quality ingredients on such a massive scale, where in many cases upwards of 1,000 passengers are being served at a single seating, is simply not possible.
That said, the cuisine found aboard most of Sun Princess’ dining options was relatively acceptable with a few exceptions.
Cost cutting across the board on lines owned by mega-corporations is becoming more and more evident, and Princess Cruise Line is no exception. Guests traveling to the buffet will notice that beverage choices are extremely limited. Fruit punches and other juices frequently found onboard “premium” level lines several years ago have been slowly removed one by one from their position in the Lido. Today, many passengers find themselves in the buffet with the choice of only water and iced tea, among other hot selections such as coffee or English Breakfast tea.
Enjoying meals in Sun Princess’ main dining rooms provides passengers with a more upscale experience.
Meals range in quality from average to good, with a presentation style that is somewhat lacking. While many lines tend to favor a gourmet-style presentation in dinner settings, three-course meals aboard Sun Princess were generally uninspired and highly reserved in this category. In certain cases, entrées and their accompanying sides were simply laid out on plates in a manner that showed virtually no forethought whatsoever.
Entrée selections consist of typical American favorites, and passengers won’t find much risk-taking on the current Princess Cruise Line menu. Common items include various cuts of fish, beef and chicken, with an occasional offering of another poultry item.
Meats generally were of acceptable quality, but certain cuts of beef disappointed with excess fat and a rubbery, chewy texture that lacked proper tenderness for their respective cuts.
Princess’ pastry chefs, however, did not fail to impress with their quality and attention to detail. Desserts aboard Sun Princess were almost always fresh, quite delicious and presented in the standard gourmet-style passengers on today’s more upscale ships are accustomed to.
Guests choosing the “anytime dining” option, where untraditional open-seating and flexible meal times permit passengers to dine when and with whom they would like, may notice a slight decrease in service from waiters. While attentiveness and professionalism in these dining rooms are still good, they lack the personal-touch that guests become accustomed to after being served with the same wait-staff night after night.
The dress-code aboard Sun Princess was resort-casual in the dining rooms, with the exception of two formal evenings during a ten night itinerary. Most men on the more casual evenings opted for a button-up shirt with dress-slacks, with a handful sporting jackets. Women typically dressed in similar manner, occasionally opting for a more opulent gown or dress.
Still, Sun Princess employs a dining staff that is hard-working and eager-to-please in most cases. When air-conditioning onboard the entire vessel failed for several hours, resulting in temperatures exceeding 85 degrees with no circulating air, staff continued to labor intently throughout the dining room without complaining. With sweat streaming down their faces, the restaurant manager finally allowed the wait-staff to unbutton their bow-ties for a more comfortable working environment. That dedication to their profession is commendable and speaks highly of the standards Princess Cruise Line sets for their employees.
Overall, the dining experience aboard Sun Princess is rated as AVERAGE .
ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE
An area that unfortunately never fails to disappoint onboard most of today’s cruise liners is the entertainment department. With an increased emphasis on state-of-the-art theaters that rival land-based venues, cruise lines instead find themselves slowly downsizing their onboard entertainment payroll.
Singers and dancers rarely exhibit the qualities many seasoned theater-goers are comfortable with seeing. Instead, cruise lines opt to mask poor quality talent with flashy lighting and special effects, coupled with lots and lots of lip-synching to pre-recorded tracks.
Princess Cruise Line is no exception to this rule. While passengers are treated to a lovely theater decorated in the traditional red color scheme, the actual quality of performances and production numbers are in many cases mediocre at best. Guests will be treated to the same Broadway-style revues they have seen on virtually every ship in the Caribbean.
While certain performers do stand out from the pack as stars with a solid professional future ahead of them, many signers and dancers onboard unfortunately lack the qualities some passengers would see in even college-level musicals and plays.
Outside of her main theater, guests may opt for an evening of soothing piano music in the main atrium or a big-band style show in the ship’s more intimate aft cabaret lounge. Both selections are of good quality and provide passengers with a great chance to depart from the standard Broadway-style productions that many have seen over and over again.
While piano entertainment tended to be good, the vocals accompanying it on this particular trip were quite poor.
Sun Princess receives a rating of AVERAGE of her onboard entertainment quality.
STATEROOM CONDITION/SERVICE
As with much of today’s cruise fleet, the service received by guests in their staterooms by cabin attendants is a highlight. Cheery, smiling personnel constantly greet passengers in the hallways, turnover rooms in minimal timeframes, and in most cases service cabins twice per day.
Several hiccups in the service department were noted onboard Sun Princess, however. While the attitude of cabin attendants was superb, the quality of work occasional seemed to suffer for whatever reason. One passenger traveling within our group resided in an inside cabin that unfortunately received sub-par service on a recurring basis. While the stateroom was indeed cleaned and towels were replaced daily, the bedding materials were left almost untouched or made-up in a quite haphazard manner.
For the first time in my traveling experience, a cabin steward actually acted taken back and shocked that my partner and I wanted our beds pushed together.
When I approached the cabin attendant during the first day of the cruise to request the favor, which had already been provided to Princess Cruise Line by our travel agent, he immediately apologized and said, “I didn’t put the beds together because I saw ‘Gary’ and ‘Ian,’ and thought ‘Ian’ was another man. I am sorry.”
After explaining that his initial interpretation was correct and that Ian was my partner, he acted rather confused saying, “Are you sure you want to push the beds together?”
I clearly stated that wanted the beds put together, yes, and that there was no mistake being made. Later that same evening, while passing our attendant in the hallway, he again went out of his way to make absolutely certain that he should push the twin beds together to form a larger bed, seemingly confused and oblivious to the issue at hand.
That said, the cabin steward following that incident was constantly friendly, cheerful and did a superb job of making up the cabin in the afternoons and evenings.
Aside from services provided, stateroom conditions and qualities are on-par with expectations of most passengers with mass-market lines. Bedding linens and mattresses are of decent quality, but certainly not near the luxury level. Linens and other stateroom surfaces were generally clean and free of serious stains.
Bathrooms, albeit small in size like most of the industry, are large enough to be functional. A toilet, small vanity area and shower are all laid together with reasonable separation so that one passenger can comfortably utilize a mirror while the other showers.
Sun Princess earns a grade of AVERAGE for its stateroom condition and service levels.
OVERALL RATING
Given the age of the ship, Sun Princess is still in quite good condition. The ship, however, is occasionally plagued by technical glitches in the engineering department that are consistent with a vessel built more than a decade ago.
On this particular itinerary, the ship experienced some rather serious engine problems that resulted in late arrivals to two ports of call and a failure of air conditioning ship-wide, which lasted for roughly six hours. With no air conditioning and a lack of circulating air, temperatures below deck quickly peaked in the high 80s.
While this created a highly uncomfortable situation for passengers, the crew onboard Sun Princess did a stealer job of doing everything within their power to keep guests comfortable and entertained during this period.
Aside from mechanical problems, the ship’s public rooms are in good condition given the age of the vessel, though, they feature rather bland décor in most cases that lacks the vibrant, rich colors found onboard many modern liners.
Food quality and presentation were slightly disappointing for a line in this niche of the industry, but still acceptable overall. Entertainment was also on-par for a ship in the premium-level of the mass-market, but felt uninspired and far too routine at times. Stateroom quality and service levels were in most cases good, but certain snafus exposed what could be a lack of adequate training or spotty quality control onboard the vessel.
Sun Princess receives an overall rating of *** (THREE STARS) or AVERAGE/MEETS EXPECTATIONS
Previous Reviews:
Norwegian Spirit ***
Oceania Regatta *****
Celebrity Millennium: ****
HAL Zuiderdam: ***
Celebrity Mercury: ****
Celebrity Galaxy: ***+
Norwegian Sea: **+
Norwegian Majesty: ***+
Carnival Holiday: **
Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
garykool81
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Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 1 member
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