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Name: Debbie Kirke
Email: dkirke@mlmpc.com
Age: 40
Occupation: Paralegal
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Sun
SailingDate: April 18, 1998
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 98
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 100
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 95
PrivateIsland: 99
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 100
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 98
AirSeaProgram: 85
MedicalFacilities: 100
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 28 Apr 1998
Time: 10:08:41
Remote Name: 204.144.224.24
Remote User:
Comments
D&D Kirke Ages 40 & 45
Sailed on the Sun Princess on April 18, 1998. This was my second cruise (first was on
Norwegian) and my husband's first. We went with another couple
(this was their third cruise). We had a great time and we want to go back.
Embarkation/Disembarkation - very smooth considering the amount of people and luggage they
have to contend with. We arrived at the pier around 12:30
p.m. We took a taxi because we didn't want to wait for the bus to pick us up at the hotel.
They check you in according to your deck/room. The line for our
room/deck was only 4 people long. Next thing we knew we were on the ship and in our room.
You are issued a Princess Card which you use for everything
on the ship - shopping purchases, drinks, casino chips, excursions. The card is also the
way Princess keeps track of its passengers. Every time you leave
the ship you have to insert your card and it is logged somewhere that you have left. When
you return you do the same thing and it is logged that you have
returned. Very efficient. Disembarkation was very easy. You are given a color-coded card
and leave the ship when your color is called. Going through
customs was a breeze. Finding your luggage was a bit intimidating when you first walk in
and see all those suitcases, but ours were all together in our
‘orange' area and it didn't take long at all. We checked our luggage and received our
airline boarding passes at the pier and then got on a bus for about
a 10 minute ride to the airport.
First day - We were on the Aloha Deck, Room 303. Our room had a balcony which made the
room a little smaller but it was still nice. The balcony was well
worth the extra money. We spent several mornings sitting out there in our Princess robes
having room service bring us breakfast. What a life. The
bathrooms are quite small but there is a lot of closet space. The bed was very comfortable
and we slept like babies with the gentle rocking of the boat. The
room was very clean and look like it hadn't even been used. Our luggage was brought to us
within the next two hours so we were unpacked and up by the
pool in plenty of time for the Bon Voyage party when the ship left the pier at 5 p.m. The
first dinner that night was casual dress.
The ship is beautiful. The main atrium is stunning. We walked around several of the public
areas to try and get a feel for where everything was and we
were impressed with how clean and new everything looked. We noticed throughout the cruise
that workers were constantly varnishing and painting to
keep things looking that way.
Second day - This day we anchored at the private island, Princess Cays. There was a slight
snafu with getting all of the tenders off on time, but it wasn't
that big a deal (although some people seemed to think so). We had to wait about 45 minutes
or so in the atrium lounge. Princess Cays - white sand
beaches, turquoise water and every water sport imaginable. In the afternoon it was quite
entertaining to watch (we didn't dare participate) the games
Princess crew sponsored on the beach. Beer chugging, egg tosses, tug of war. The dinner
this night was formal. We saw everything under the sun as far
as dress. Tuxedos were prevalent, but so were black suits and we even saw a few gentlemen
with no coat but that was the exception. More short dresses
than long ones for the women and even some fancy pantsuits.
Third day - This was our first day at sea.. We wandered around the ship trying to learn
where everything was. The main pool tends to get crowded on days
at sea because I think people forget there are other pools. The pool in the back never
seemed to get crowded and no one was at the bar there. The
casino was much larger than I expected and never seemed to be crowded (however I was never
in there late at night). My husband was lucky enough to
win $300+ on ‘Let it Ride' poker and we saw two people win the Royal Flush on video
poker. The Wheelhouse Bar is great. Lots of leather chairs and dark
wood. The band/dancing in the Wheelhouse in the evenings was a lot of fun. The karaoke
night in the Shooting Stars disco is also quite entertaining. The
calypso band that played by the main pool was good, but I got a little tired of them
towards the end of the cruise.
Fourth day - We were at the dock in Jamaica, no tenders. We didn't sign up for a
ship-sponsored excursion and I wish we had. We got a taxi on our own
and went to Dunn's River Falls. Immediately after getting off the ship you are confronted
by people wanting to sell you tours, get you a taxi or sell you
anything. We unfortunately were talked into taking a tour with our own taxi driver. The
next thing we knew we were heading past Dunn's River Falls to
some small town and stopped at a gas station. By that time I was getting very nervous, so
my husband asked the driver to take us back to the falls. He did
with no problem. The climb up the falls was exciting, except when I slipped & fell.
The climb was more difficult than I remembered from my last cruise (could
be because that was 14 years ago). After the climb we requested to go back to the ship and
not continue on with our tour. This upset the taxi driver but
he complied. After some haggling with his ‘boss' back at the pier, we ending up
paying $45 U.S. for about a 20 minute taxi ride. Most of this was our own
fault, and if I had not gotten so paranoid, the driver probably would have shown us some
nice sights. Our friends went on the ship-sponsored golf
excursion and they loved it. Jamaica was probably the prettiest island out of all our
stops, but unfortunately there is so much poverty that the people are
pretty pushy when trying to sell you something. We heard several people comment that they
were hassled while trying to do some shopping.
Fifth day - Grand Cayman. Tenders were necessary here. They used the ship's tenders as
well as some from the island. No waiting at all, just get on a
tender whenever you want. Our husbands got off the boat on the first tender around 8 a.m.
and went to get the rental car we had reserved. We spent the
day driving around the island (which doesn't take much time because it is not very big).
The island is very clean and quiet. We noticed that a lot of the
houses were painted in pastel colors. We drove to Rum Point and spent some time there.
Beautiful and relaxing with white sand beaches, lounge chairs
and hammocks. The turquoise water is unbelievable. We then drove back into Georgetown and
went to Seven Mile Beach. Seven Mile Beach is incredible,
but was really crowded that day because of all the cruise ships that were in port.
Sixth day - Cozumel. No tenders here either, you could come and go as you please. The ship
didn't leave port until 7 p.m. We went on a ship-sponsored
excursion that day and had a great time. We spent the day on a 60-foot catamaran,
snorkeling and partying. After snorkeling, they took us to a private
beach and we spent about an hour sunning, playing volleyball and drinking beer. During the
trip back, they played music and we danced and drank more
beer. After returning to the ship, we showered, changed and took a taxi into the town of
San Miguel (just a few minutes ride). We visited the Hogsbreath
Saloon and had great fajitas. After that we returned to the ship, we all needed a nap
because that night was our last formal night. I think everyone was
more dressed up for this night. Saw more formal gowns and lots of tuxedos. We had lobster
tails for dinner that night. Our waiter told us they prepare
around 4,000 lobsters - I guess everybody eats two. The dinner was great.
Seventh day - The last day was spent at sea. We were really glad to have a chance to
relax, catch our breath and pack :-( A crew from the T.V. show
Entertainment Tonight was on our ship for the last two days filming a story about the
‘real Love Boat.' That evening was a casual night. We had prime rib
and crab legs - very good.
The food - As is usual on a cruise, there was food available all the time. The Horizon
Court buffet was open until late a night. We ate breakfast there a
couple of times. Great selection, but I thought the food was just typical buffet food,
nothing really fancy. We never did have breakfast in the main dining
room, although I heard from others that it was really good. We had breakfast delivered to
our room and it was good and always just what we ordered. If
you order the night before and hang the card on your door beware. They show up about ½
earlier than the time we requested. A couple of times the
room service waiter was our alarm clock! For lunch we mainly stuck to the Terrace Grill by
the main pool (hamburgers and hot dogs) or went to the Verdi's
for pizza. The pizza was great. Apparently a lot of people thought so because sometimes
you had to wait for a table. The dinners in the main dining room
were very good but not spectacular in our opinion. Some of the fish entrees were pretty
so-so. We found that the steak and beef entrees were always
good, however. The soups and desserts were wonderful. Our waiter was Pablo. He was very
nice and attentive. Unfortunately his assistant was brand new
and barely spoke English. Pablo did the work of two the week we were there and we felt bad
for him. We waited one night almost the entire dinner for our
wine and cocktails, but the next night they were waiting for us at the table when we sat
down.
Service - As I said, our waiter Pablo was very good. Our room steward, Fernando was
excellent. You sometimes think they are hiding under your bed
because they are always there when you need them. He wears a pager and if you need
anything at all, just page him and he is right there. We always had
a full ice bucket and extra fruit for the fruit bowl in the room. He brought us extra
towels several times. He was from the Phillippines and has five children.
Activities - We had a preconceived notion that cruises might be boring. Far from it. There
are so many things to do that you can't possibly do them all. Each
night you receive the Princess Patter which lists all the activities for the next day.
Even if you never left the ship in port, you would not be bored. They had
a tour of the galley (which was very interesting), blackjack tournaments, ping pong, card
and board games, the library, a basketball court, dancing
lessons, movies and of course numerous bars which were a lot of fun.
Overall, we had a great time on our cruise and wouldn't hesitate to go with Princess
again. They are very organized and the service is incredible. It's
pretty tough when its over, because you are not waited on hand and foot at home. The Sun
Princess is a beautiful ship. Our friends rated this cruise much
higher than their Norwegian cruise.
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