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Princess Cruises Sun Princess
See the Best Cruises in 2022 as rated by Australians on ieatwords.com.au.
IanFar North Queensland, QLD
I won't travel with Princess Cruise lines again
We travelled from Hong kong to Sydney - and almost missed the ship because Princess cruise lines advised us, and our Travel agent, that the ship departed from the Ocean Cruise Terminal. Fortunately, we had booked a transfer from our hotel and were surprised when we found that the cruise actually departed from the new Kai Tak terminal. Great information from the Cruise line - and that standarfd of service continued. We had occasion to seek assistance from Passenger services - but all we got was cover up and blame shifting. Not one person was ...Read more
prepared to offer a concrete suggestion towards solving our dining arrangements. All tyhey did was defend company policy. Our cabin was good and the steward was terrific. the food in Regency was excellent as was the service. The food in the Horizon buffet outlet was like a mining camp kitchen. Overcooked, sometimes stale and quite often rude staff. Drinks were absolutely outrageously priced as were two of the specialty dining options. try dining in the Steakhouse - pay $35 per head and then not have access to steak on the menu unless you're prepared to pay and additional sum. Entertainment is boring - with most musicians having a four or five day repertoire - and then the cycle starts again. On a 19 night cruise the repetition became very tedious. Disembarking for a shore excursion was a nightmare when tenders were required. It took up to three hours to get people off the ship - and our tour for which we paid $130 ea was cut short and we missed out on the shopping excursion we had planned on. Overall - a very tired old ship that rewarded us with overpowering sewage smells almost every night - so bad that on one occasion we had to leave our cabin in the middle of the night and go up on the deck to get some fresh air. Thankfully we were not novice cruisers and know that other cruise lines are far superior to princess - even with its' antiquated social caste system they use to reward travellers.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
winkeySydney Surrounds, NSW
Stinks, overcrowded and bad food couldn't get worse
When we booked, the ship was scheduled to depart from Ocean terminal Hong kong, however our friends were told different, they were told Kai tak cruise terminal hong kong, so I rang princess Sydney to be told they didnt know, so I emailed my travel agent who replied with an excerpt from his enquiry from princess which assured him the ship departed from Ocean terminal....so we booked accommodation pre cruise at the ocean terminal Marco Polo hotel.... but no the ship actually docked at Kai tak ... we even checked the Princess cruise personaliser ...Read more
the evening prior to departure to confirm it was Ocean terminal.. Many passengers were caught out and were seen at the ocean terminal waiting ..... next, first night, shower drain blocked and bathroom flooded, and bedroom flooded.... safe did not work after numerous attempts to get it to work... Fail gave up, Foul smell of sewage flooded the room, from the aircon and from the outside... room was unliveable, after numerous staff attended to confirm the stink, nothing happened, complaint after complaint, to no avail, arranged meeting with hotel general manager, who agreed it was an issue and he and his staff were aware of it but ship was full and could not move us. Others on the cruise were also in same problem. We arranged another meeting for 2 days hence to see if the problem had improved. Prior to our second meeting, we knew of other passengers who had decided to disembark in Bali due to the foul smell, so they requested there passports be returned, prior to arriving at Bale, only to be told that they could not get passports until after the ship departed Bali, tried to explain that they were leaving in Bali but the conversation just went around in circles about not getting passports back till the ship departed Bali... during the second meeting with the hotel general manager, this issue was brought up as well as the ongoing foul smell, and the passenger was assured their passports would be returned to them when the ship arrived in Bali, showing ONLY an arrival Stamp and they would then be able to depart by air with out problem, but when they got their passports, they were stamped with both an arrival and departure stamp, even though they were departing the ship and staying in Bali awaiting there flight to depart.... YES they encountered problems departing Bali at Indonesian Immigration. further we were told by loud speaker on the ship that the ship would be late departing Bali due to problems with immigration issues.... left 4 hrs late. and yes our cabin still stank, so did deck 7 port side fwd, the wheelhouse bar on deck 7 copped a lot of the smell, when passengers exited to the deck in this area, the smell came right on in. We arranged an appointment with the ships doctor to discuss possible effects of this constant exposure with the sewerage smell, we were told that the fumes were not toxic, however we may experience side effect, like irritated eyes, sore throat, head aches, runny nose and even fluid on the lungs, however there was nothing the doctor could do until these symptoms arose and then she would treat them at OUR cost.. We decided to depart the ship in Darwin. The Ships general Manager offered us nickel and dime bribes, like free meals, free wine, free canaps, toiletries from the sap, bur we refused all, as this was not going to fix the issues.. the fouls smell... In the mean time in an attempt to get away from the smell, I took the opportunity to undertake some acupuncture, first appointment was at 4.30 for a 50 min session, went in a little late around 4.45 had the needles inserted and was then forgotten till 7.00 pm, yes 7.00, I tried to get attention but no one came was assured this was not going to be ongoing, so made another appointment next day, got in promptly, had needles inserted and was told that the acupuncturist had to leave me to undertake a seminar, I was extremely hesitant but agreed, yes he was back on time and in a rush as he was late for another booking. Quickly took out the needles and told me to get dressed and go, I did this and went back to the SMELLY room ... shortly after arriving back, the phone rang and the acupuncturist told me to check my buttock area as he thinks he forgot to remove some needles.. My wife took a look and found Yes, he had, so removed the remaining needle. We requested assistance to depart the ship in Darwin as i was to be a 1 day stop for the ship, so the customer services manager assured us all would be ok and he arranged for our luggage to be taken ashore. He also insisted that he would arrange for a car to collect us at the dock at 10.00 am to take us to the airport. We agreed but assisted we pay, he said, that Princess would pay as it was the least they could do for the issues we had encountered, so we disembarked at Darwin and waited on the dock from 10.00 to 11.00, no car .... so we jumped a taxi to the airport.... Got home and tried to pass on this information to Princess so they could lift their game.... well good luck. No one in Sydney cares... directed us to the US... on calling the US were told that the ream that dealt with these issues were busy, could I call back... I did, to be told the team that dealt with these issues were gone for the day. So I tried again to get some one in Sydney to listen or at least care... but NO just the company line, that no one here can help, you need to send my complaint to Princess in the US and that the reply may take 4 to 6 weeks to be addressed... Customer service at its best..... We have now cancelled our Princess cruise next year to Iceland.. and will make sure we spread the word and we will never use Carnival EVER AGAIN....Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
caineSydney, NSW
- 3 reviews
- 9 likes
Retire this ship
10 night cruise Sydney to North Queensland. Due to plumbling problems, had to use public facilities on the ship for the first four days. Rather than take responsibility for the issue, staff tried to blame us. More like a backpacker experience than an upmarket cruise. Food was excellent but nothing you dont get on Royal Caribbean. Will never cruise Princess again. 22/05...UPDATE. Have been contacted by customer liaison, very apologetic and keen to please. Have recieved a sizable discount to try another cruise with them. It takes a while, but really good customer assistance from head office. Made us feel justified with our complaint, Ill let you know how the next one goes.
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Gayle HSydney Surrounds, NSW
Fantastic all round
The trip was wonderful. The only negative for us was the prices of alcoholic drinks. The staff were incredibly efficient and friendly and more than willing to oblige with any request. Couldn't fault them. Particular praise must go to Franky Panca and Elvison Silva (drink waiters in 'Crooners' and Mauro Monteza (?) and Indra Budi (in Regency Restaurant). They were all incredible.
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Mack
- 2 reviews
Sewer smell and rust
The Sun Princess is a disgusting piece of junk. It should have been retired years ago. When we first got on, the food was obviously made from the leftovers of the previous cruise, although it did improve as the days went by. Throughout the cruise, there was a sewer smell coming through the air conditioning, which you could not escape from for the entire cruise. It was disgusting. Other passengers I spoke to complained of their toilets overflowing onto the carpet in their rooms. Frequently the public toilets were out of order. The beds sagged. T...Read more
he ship was awfully rusty and obviously not maintained (photo attached). I caught a mild tummy bug, an eye infection and an ear infection at different stages when onboard. Others had a bad flu. It was a NZ cruise and when we got back to Sydney, I heard fellow passengers saying, "What a relief to be home." The places we visited were lovely, but the ship was awful. Even though the staff were good, I'll never go Princess again. Come back new? How about Princess starts with its own ships.
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Sun Princess - only for the rich now
Travelled on Sun Princess in Jan 2018 to NZ and was happy with it and therefore travelled on the same ship in Jan 2022 to Fiji.
Big mistake. Apparently the changes to the menu occurred a month earlier. An example - cheapest bottle of wine last year was $28; this year the cheapest bottle available is $42. A massive rip-off and not something which your average cruiser can afford. This is in addition to the removal of the daily happy hour they had the year before which was a great place to meet people.
Sun Princess apparently got refurbished mid 2...Read more
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C. McLaughlinSydney Surrounds, NSW
- 8 reviews
Sun Princess has really gone down hill.
Jumbuck - you said it all to perfection and covered all I would have said!! We were very disappointed in our last Cruise ( left on 16th Dec. to Tasmania). We always enjoyed a few drinks at the Atrium Bar on other Cruises, but at $15 per glass of wine, we just refused to be ripped off, and just drank whatever we brought on board. Food was disgusting after the first few days, and those pesky photographers, or someone flogging some promotion everywhere you went .Entertainment was crap. Definately our last time with Princess Lines.
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StuartSydney, NSW
- 15 reviews
- 12 likes
Rain, rain & more rain.
We left Sydney in glorious sunshine at an early 3.30pm for a 13 night cruise around NZ. Boarding was easy and efficient. The overall condition of the ship was good, older but perfectly acceptable and no way near the condition some online reviews indicated. Our cabin was clean, comfortable and a little cramped. It had the typical creaky wardrobe which I managed to stop by jamming the ship service directory between the wardrobe and wall mounted fold down bed. We stopped at 6 ports and cruised around Fiordland for a day which was brilliant. It rai...Read more
ned at all ports except 2 and rained pretty much the rest of the time- no fault of the ship/cruiseline. This did not really affect our enjoyment of the cruise. We have tried 3 other cruise lines and this unfortunately was the worst for food we have tried so far. The choice of food in the Horizon buffet was very limited and the lunch and breakfast options changed little each day - this became monotonous very quickly and the food did not look appetising. There was a buffet line each side of the ship but they served the same food. The main dining room was better, but personally I found the dish selection again uninspiring with a lot of seafood dishes and not many meat options on the menu. I like seafood but my wife does not and I could see her point of view. The ships aircon seemed to make the ship warm, then cool, then warm again all the time. The shows were of a good standard, with a variety of acts. Entertainment during the day was good but not as good a Royal Caribbean, need less teeth whitening and more games. I thought the drinks prices for cocktails was high and the amount of alcohol in each drink was not generous- I tried a few and some just seemed like sweet fruit cordial. The staff were generally great and hard working. However, like other cruise lines the eastern European staff were arrogant ( especially the girl selling drinks in the Regency Dining Room) and need a couple of weeks back in charm/customer service/hospitality school, not whining about how hard she worked- we know they all work really hard. Their attitude to customer service needs to improve or they should go home. All the passengers we met had a good time, but with similar opinions and we arrived back in Sydney to glorious sunshine.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Pam
- 4 reviews
- 3 likes
- Verified customer
Not for disabled people
So where do I begin, I have MS, I'm in a wheelchair 80% of my time the other I use a walker to walk/ shuffle which is difficult. I decided to book a cruise with my daughter and me on the Sun Princess 8 nights leaving and returning to Fremantle as this was easiest for me. We were so looking forward to it- I booked thru Clean Cruising and had several conversations with them and Sun princess regarding my disability and what I required, No step, even down to the point of measuring the distance between the door frame to the bathroom to make sure my...Read more
walker would fit thru, they did advise there was a tiny hob into the shower which I have at home so was not a concern. They even talked me out of a disabled room because it was two decks lower and had no fresh air and was next to the Casino, they guaranteed the room they booked me would be suitable! So after months of waiting the day finally arrived, we boarded the ship made our way to our cabin so excited opened the door to find the room was so small I could not get past the bed to use the balcony and worst of all the bathroom had a huge STEP to get into OMG I can't use the bathroom!! So upset we take a deep breath I have to back out of the room into the hallway and find a disabled toilet as its been hours we finally find one and the toilet is normal height if not a lower toilet with a handrail WOW could not believe my eyes I had to go so I had to fall back into the toilet and getting off was so difficult not disabled friendly at all, we decided we needed to regroup and go talk about what we where going to do, the ship was not leaving for another three hours. We found the lifts, so slow I mean waiting 5mins even longer then abled body people pushing us out of the way, they could take the stairs! finally, we found the floor where they were serving lunch, grabbed a sandwich and sat down and talked about what we were going to do. I could not use the bathroom in our cabin, the disabled toilets on the whole ship are all the same, the only disabled friendly eating area was the one we were in, can it get any worse? I decided we had to leave the Sun Princess- we spoke to one of the officers, she came to our room and totally agreed it was NOT suitable and also advised the whole ship is not disabled friendly,that the same things were happening to a couple a few doors up. Distraught we left the ship and watched it sail out of the harbor whilst waiting for my son to return and pick us up. No apology from Sun Princess cruise as apparently, I agreed to the step into the bathroom- are they serious, really I would agree to a step when I can't lift my feet off the floor. they would not refund my money! Clean Cruising had to refund my money and try to get it out of Princess Cruises. At the end of the day, we are but numbers and I believe no care for peoples circumstances are taken into consideration.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Tracie OMelbourne, Victoria
Titanic's in better shape
We have cruised many times with many cruise lines from the opulent to the mediocre we are very easy going and not hard to please but even we have out limits.
Our cruise to NZ was a birthday milestone celebration and we saved hard to make it happen now we wish we had have saved a bit more and gone on another ship.- What a total disappointment.
The food the first week on in the Horizon was fresh but three days before we were to disembark the quality went downhill rapidly. It tasted like leftovers revamped.
As for the daily entertainme...Read more
nt we had – 1.Paper plane competition -2.Teeth whitening -3. Bridge card game - 4. Hair straightening how to stop your hair frizzing – Yep- the excitement went on.- OMG- I was so bored I wanted to throw myself overboard. The toilets both public and cabin had non-stop problems passengers had an issue with either their toilet or their cabin including flooding. Then it was our turn to have a toilet disaster - Our toilet over flowed just before 8am having just woken up were like a deer in a headlight we were both not with it panicking trying desperately to stop the water overflowing but all to no avail, the water was cascading over the step like a waterfall .Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
BFCPerth, WA
- 6 reviews
- 10 likes
This ship would serve tourism far better as a dive wreck than a cruise liner. It is now well past it
We travelled from Singapore to Fremantle.
The air conditioner in our balcony stateroom was so noisy it made sleeping difficult. It can not be turned off and the controller was falling off the wall held only by a couple of wires.
Food was good and so were the staff / crew.
The toilet kept blocking and overflowing making the bathroom a slimy mess. Despite calling the maintenance plumber 6 times in our 13 day cruise they never fixed the toilet to resolve the issue. You would think that after the first time it was blocked and the issues this cr...Read more
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TrishHunter Region, NSW
- 11 reviews
- 1 like
The Sun Princess needs to "Come Back New" .
We booked a 13 night New Zealand cruise from Sydney in March. All processes leading up to our departure went well as did the embarkation even although it had been delayed by a few hours due to complete sanitisation of the ship due to a recent Norovirus outbreak. I had read previous reviews of the Sun Princess but felt it best to wait and judge first hand. Unfortunately the previous comments proved to be true. That the ship is very tired, badly needing a refurbishment and has nauseating smells of sewage in various areas of the ship are all true ...Read more
in our experience. The crew was fantastic in managing to work in what must be quite difficult conditions. Lifts kept breaking down, at least one of the tenders leaked badly through the windows, and others reported problems with water coming out onto the carpet of their stateroom. I submitted the online report which is emailed by Princess on our return, giving a full run down of the problems as well as the positive points. I had expected some follow up but when there was none I decided to email the customer relations department in their Head Office in Sydney. It would appear that none of the feedback has been reaching them re the sewage smell etc . I was frustrated to hear that they were glad I had brought "the plumbing issues to their attention". I have so far been unable to have the reassurance that the problems will have been fixed for future passengers. All I have been told is that the issues are passed on to the relevant department. The same problems, going by other reviews, have been evident since perhaps as far back as early last year. This is very disappointing for a major cruise line as passengers have a choice of other cruise lines in the future. Having been on the Golden Princess on our last cruise this was not the standard we were expecting on another Princess ship.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
RudiBurleigh Waters
- 6 reviews
Wonderful
Everything from checking in at the Departure point to leaving this ship was very professional in every way. Rooms were clean & the bed was so comfy. The food was amazing - so many choices & different everyday. First class entertainment too.
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ZoeAdelaide
- 7 reviews
Amazing
Best cruise line ever, food was amazing and so many choices. The bed was serious the most comfortable bed I've slept on I wish I could bring it home. 5 star treatment.
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Don’t pay a waiting list deposit!!
Went on waiting list and had to pay a $200 deposit. The money was taken from our credit card at a click of a button.
The cruise was full and we did not get on.
One week later 2 emails and 2 phone calls and still have not got our money back!!
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Princess logo "come back annoying"
from the get-go this was a terrible trip - 7 hours late leaving - boat arrived in Burnie too late for a day ashore - my cabin mate went down with the gastro but they left me in the cabin with her for two days - food was very ordinary - if you wanted a decent coffee you had to buy a $36 card - we left Hobart 3 hours early almost stranding my sister who was up the Dewent River - cost her $100 to get back to the ship in time - they gave the wrong time for leaving the boat in Sydney and then lost our bags! Not happy Jan!
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Janet
- 2 reviews
- 1 like
1st time cruise, can't wait for the next 1
We did the Brisbane to Great Barrier reef 2017.
We booked thru Figtree Travel, and it was great.
All of our expectations where meet and went beyond.
The accommodation and Amenities were great. And as for the dining on board, if was fantastic, such a range to choose from.
As soon as we got back, we booked our next cruise on the Sea Princess.
We will be cursing with the Princess line all the time, as they are brilliant.
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DianeSydney
Beyond our expectations
After booking our 13 night New Zealand cruise I read comments from many disgruntled people and thought that we may have made a terrible mistake. I now wonder if perhaps some folk may just be hard to please as we had a fantastic experience.
The embarkation process at White Bay terminal in Sydney was very efficient and we were on board within 30 minutes. The interior cabin was roomy enough for the two of us. A window would have been nice but we didn't feel claustrophobic. We did have a look at a balcony cabin which would have been wonderful...Read more
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veronica.dixAU
- 4 reviews
Wonderful cruise but lacked "Pizzazz" PNG September 2017
Embarkation from Brisbane really needs to be improved. We found it to be disorganised and nowhere near the standard of embarkation from Sydney.
Sun Princess is tired. VERY tired. A beautiful old girl that needs some serious dry dock time to correct a number of issues with wear and tear and plumbing.
Food was fabulous as usual and is to be expected from Princess. They really know how to feed their cruisers. Far above the standard you will get on just about any other cruise line.
This time we found that the service standards of the ba...Read more
r and waiting staff to be well below what we experienced on our last cruise on the Dawn Princess. Many of the staff really seemed to be just "going through the motions". At one stage I had an ice bucket dumped beside the table and the bottle of wine simply left on the table! Food service in the restaurant was acceptable but again, compared to our last cruise the staff lacked personality and didn't seem overly happy to be there. Our cabin steward was the one exception and he was absolutely amazing!Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Ross
- 6 reviews
- 2 likes
11 day cruise to PNG
My wife and I booked our first ever cruise with Sun Princess to Papua New Guinea,
I read all the reviews about a week before we sailed but we went anyway.. lol
We found EVERYTHING to be first rate.. excellent in fact !
The food was to die for, we have never eaten such wonderfully prepared and presented food in our lives.
The staff were very attentive and obliging .. nothing was a bother.
The inside cabin we booked because it was cheaper turned out to be a real surprise ..
I don't sleep well as a rule but because it had no windows we found...Read more
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Questions & Answers
Reidasked
can i purchase duty free rum before the ship reaches Fremantle
1 answer
last time I sailed on Princess they would not let me have my duty free till we landed and were getting off the ship.. You can buy it but you can't be trusted with it LOL.. Must buy their alcohol while on the ship..
Ness Lasked
Does sun princess still have happy hour?
4 answers
Hi Ness, Did you mean the Sea Princess? as this is ship we went on. If you did then no. They didn't advertise it and all of the bars we went to there was no sign of a happy hour, cheers Craig
Neither the Sun nor the Sea Princess have a happy hour anymore. Just another one of the pleasures they stopped
Thankyou I did mean sun princess shame is there a way to pay six back of beers before sailing and we’re you able to take a bottle of wine on ?
Vickyasked
We have a hold until 14/11/19 on a Sun Princess cruise departing in October.
Our booking detail has in small print 'Queen Bed Will BE Against Wallbeds NO Convert IF Uppers Use'.
What does this mean?? Anyone know who can let me know before I have to pay. Thanks
2 answers
Sorry, have no idea what that one means!! Usually you can have the double/queen bed converted into two singles if required, but don't know what "Uppers" are
It means you must use the bed as a queen and not split it into two single beds if you happen to have a third person staying in the cabin. Ie: fine to stay as a queen or have it reconfigured into two separate beds if there's just two people, but if you need to accommodate a third person in the cabin in an upper bed (pull down from wall/ceiling), then you have no choice but to leave the main bed as a queen and snuggle with your cabin mate
**Just re-read - it might actually mean the other way around. Best just to give them a call and ask
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