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Princess Cruise Line

MS Sun Princess

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Tessa Smith
Date of Trip: February 14, 1998
# previous cruises: 1
Itinerary: Caribbean - Western

Overall the cruise was really fun. There wasn't anything that I would really complain about. I guess that's easy since I am only 17 (I was 16 at the time) and my parents took care of just about everything. I think that if people have the money then definitely do it. You should at least go on one cruise and Princess was a good way to go. In fact, the 'rents liked it so much that we are due to sail the Panama Canal on the same ship on March 9th.

The public areas were really nice. I don't remember once having to slowly work my way through a crowd, it was pretty free. The pool was awesome because I was scared they would contain salt water and there WEREN'T (phew!) so that made it all the better. Naturally I couldn't comment on the casino but...my parents sure enjoyed it. The promenade was cool because it went completely around the ship and you could jog around it early in the morning while the sun would rise. The disco was really fun to hang out in because that's where all of the kids would meet even though you were supposed to be 18 to enter.

The food was good, but the Horizon Court would be my only complaint about the entire experience. See, the ship sailed away at about 3:00 PM so we were herded on at about noon and told to eat lunch in the Horizon Court. It was really crowded because it was the only restaurant serving and everyone was hungry. Also, the rooms weren't all ready yet so some people were just hanging out in there. The food wasn't anything to celebrate and you had to pay $2.50 for a Coke. Then apparently the Horizon Court was open all night for snacks but we'd try to go in at 12:00 AM and there wouldn't be any servers there. The menu only had a few items on it and the service SUCKED! But it wasn't really a big deal because the actual dinners served in the dining room were so filling that you didn't really want to eat afterwards, anyway. Otherwise the dining was really cool and I definitely suggest the daiquiris where you're just lounging by the pool on a hot day!

The cabins were nice. My brother and I had to share one (he was 13, I was 16) so it got a little cramped at times but we just weren't used to it. The shower was just big enough for one person and I kept bumping my elbows on the sides but I'm really tall so that makes sense. No one else had any problems. There was plenty of closet space. There was like, two hanger rods and six wire-style drawers in the closet. Not to mention the four or so drawers in the desk and six in the night stand (they were full size, too!) Considering all the stuff 16 year-olds pack in, it was really good because I had empty drawers!

We (my family & their friends) attended every show. Each show would run for two nights because there was two dining rooms and you were assigned a show for a particular night. Not that you couldn't easily sneak into the other show and watch it but at least it kept the crowds WAY down. Some of the shows were like magic shows and ballet/musical/plays and others were night-clubbish comedians. They were all really good.

Well on the days at sea if you're thinking about sunning by the pool all day, think again. That is unless you're willing to wake up EXTRA early and snag a lounge chair because on those days all there is to DO is hang out at the pool, and naturally that's what everyone does. Other than that the pool is one of the great hangouts during the day and the clubs and shows at night. I don't know about babysitting. There was a beauty spa where my mom and I went to get our hair styled for the seriously formal nights and they offeree facials and the works. There was also a spa where you could get massages (if you're 18, don't ask me why!) and all kinds of weird treatments. No one in my family went there so I don't know what it was like, though. Off the ship, we stopped at Princess Cay in the Bahamas, Ocho Rios in Jamaica, Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands, and Cozumel in Mexico. Princess Cay was pretty fun except that it was somewhat cool. We went snorkeling and fed all of these fish. That was exciting.

Ocho Rios was my favorite stop (no one else in group liked it, though) because the scenery was so cool. It reminded me of Tijuana Mexico just because there are people trying to sell you things, but it doesn't smell as bad and the people are all black and instead of tons of stinky buildings everything is amazingly green, like in a jungle. We got a lot done that day. Our group climbed up Dunn's River Falls (pretty much a Jamaica Cruise pre-requisite) then hired out a guy to drive us around in a van for a few hours. We saw these weird guys that were stoned and dressed up as trees in the hills (Jack in the Bush, which I highly recommend seeing if you aren't doing anything else or didn't feel like standing in line waiting for the damn tour packages just because Jack in the Bush was tres weird) then spend the last hours sunning on the boat.

Grand Cayman was an adventure. We went to a turtle farm, a little place called Hell, Stingray City (a definite MUST DO! It's a million times cooler than Sea World will ever be) and then shopping. Cozumel was our last stop I think, and we just took it easy on that day. Mainly walking around and eating and shopping. We spent most of the day on the ship. All in all it was really fun.

Well considering that Princess Cruises is tagged as the "Love Boat" it's awfully boring for a 16 year-old. It wasn't horrible but there weren't many kids my age. Of the few, I didn't seem to blend in really well with them. They all seemed to just be on the cruise because their parents dragged them along and they really didn't care one way or another. The dress was a much more causal than we expected it to be and lots more casual than what's depicted in the Princess brochures. The people were nice. All of the staff on our cruise strangely seemed to be Italian.