We chose this ship as we heard it was a great ship to sail on and it also went to the destinations we were interested in visiting at the time that suited us to have time off work..I would definitely sail on this cruise line over and over. Embarking and Disembarking was a breeze.The staff were very helpful in this process. Our cabin was clean and was kepted clean by our room steward the whole time we were there,we also had a balcony where we would often see the dolphins jumping and swimming along side of us..I would never sail again without a balcony..The dining room staff were professional and looked after our every needs promptly..It was always a pleasure to dine..The entertainment was outstanding with standing ovation..We could swim and spa at anytime without overcrowding,,there was plenty to pick from..The gym was jam packed with all the equipment needed to keep in shape..The outdoor screen was an extra bonus whilst laying out on deck with movies to watch while being served a delicious cocktail or two..The food was plentiful and such a great variety..the deserts where a work of art..The food and drink waiters were all professional and they were so lovely..There was plenty of different dining options to pick from..Overall we had an amazing Holiday and would definately go on this cruise line again..Hopefully again next year,,started saving already.. Read Less

50th Wedding Anniversary, 2nd time on Sun Princess, last sailed around N.Z. 2015, just love the size of this ship, great staff, wonderful Theatre Shows, great entertainment, Food always great, lots of Bars, International Cafe our favourite, early morning or late evening Coffee, or Hot chocolate, just a great place to meet new found friends. Great entertainment around the ship, in the many Bar areas. Crooners and Wheelhouse are great meeting places, live entertainment, supported by the Band, Duos, Piano and Guitarist along with the Sting duets playing great Melodies around the ship. The last night Show case of Bravo was a standing Ovation of total live Production. Dinning Room each evening was a great experience, wonderful guests, from Canada and all over Australia, We we entertained extremely well, singing waiters, along with lovely food, we celebrated our Anniversary around the table, were made to feel excited, special, as others applauded, yes a very special Memory at Sea for us, thanks so much. Read Less

Despite travelling Club Class in an Owners Suite, our experience on the Sun Princess was underwhelming and fell well short of our first cruising experience on the Celebrity Century. Our disappointment commenced when we arrived at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal to see the ship covered in rust. Seems Princess are using old images in their marketing material or photoshopping the iron oxide – they were busy painting the forward hull with rollers when in port at Hobart. EMBARKATION was efficient, but disappointed we were instructed to board after 2pm. One bag went missing and contents was damaged when it eventually arrived - my complaint, which should have been quickly resolved, never was. While dated, the CAPRI SUITE was spacious and reasonably well-maintained, though the saggy lounge needs replacing, the weathered balcony furniture requires attention and being aft, the cabin was noisy with ceiling light/panels shaking. SIGNATURE DINING was a disaster with Curtis Stone’s Share being positioned in a public thoroughfare with our window table vista view to lifeboats! Never bothered with Sterling Steakhouse which was a cafeteria by day that converted to “Signature Dining” at night. And same for Kai Seafood which was generally unoccupied apart from the crew. Horizons provided a bland buffet and Terrace Grill was tasteless. The standout was Club Class Anytime Dining in the Regency Dining Room with warm/attentive service, good food/wine menu and pleasant surroundings. Our personalised balcony dinner was enjoyable, but lacked 5-star touches. The ITINERARY was excellent and we enjoyed our self-guided tour experiences at Burnie, Port Arthur and Hobart. The onboard organised excursions were very expensive, targeted at international passengers who would have done better to explore themselves or organise tours onshore. As for the ENTERTAINMENT, if you like serviette folding courses, wrinkle removal lessons or late-night karaoke, this cruise is for you. We saw two shows in the Princess Theatre which were short and mainstream. Movies under the Stars was a nice touch, but cold on deck.Other venues were very quiet at night – you could have thrown a dart in the Legends Sports Bar at night and not hit anyone! As for the ONBOARD experience, the Princess shops were expensive (as expected), photography rushed and disappointing and I find it sad that the art gallery could not showcase some Australian artists on domestic journeys. So, while we enjoyed our short break, we didn’t “come back new” and we didn’t fall in love and find our forever cruise line which is a shame, because we’d like to do lots more cruising as we embark on retirement. Princess certainly lacked the special touches we enjoyed on Celebrity such as a Club Class concierge, dinner at the Captain’s table, visit to the bridge, visit to the engine room, cooking class with the chef and real Signature Restaurants to name a few. And on DISEMBARKATION, we received a warmer welcome from the Sydney Port Authority staff at the White Bay Cruise Terminal than the Sun Princess crew who appeared to be more interested in preparing for their next guests … we won’t be one. Read Less

The date suited us we are family of sixteen Embarkation was a breeze staight out of cab onto ship 15 minute tops The ship is getting tied, windows are unclean, odour smells in theatre Dining room was excellent good food but had trouble trying to get a table for sixteen or two tables of eight, got it the last night Cafe food was up good but the fish was like leather after the first day, sweet potatos were not cooked also people are not made to wash hands they put it over the doorman The bar grill food was not cooked or overcooked, Princess always have good on board entertainment they get people involved which make for a great time Tender service was very slow getting going, because of the port authority, some of our group did get off the ship because of this. Disembarkation was a piece of cake. Read Less

I’ve cruised to Tasmania three times and it’s one of my favourite destinations. I love escaping from the North Queensland heat, and a short cruise has all the fun activities and top entertainment in one week that is usually spread over a longer cruise. Port Arthur is a great stop and costs nothing to browse the convict site straight off the tender ride. Hobart is also a perfect destination if you love walking around it’s magnificent waterfront area and tasting the local seafood. If you’re on a budget then this cruise is highly recommended. The meals in the dining room rate five stars with tender steaks, jumbo prawns and lobster on the menu. I love Anytime Dining without a set time to eat and never had to wait more than a few minutes for a table. The cabin beds are super comfy with down pillows just like my bed at home. I’m always delighted with my Princess cruise to Tasmania and plan to go again next year. Read Less

My wife and I have cruised many times with Princess and have been on both the Dawn and The Sun several times so we knew what to expect. We were a little disappointed to see the rusty condition of the hull when it docked in Auckland prior to our cruise but were pleasantly surprised with the condition of the public areas once we got on board. The adults only area at the stern of the ship has been upgraded with new flooring and comfortable loungers and seating. Unfortunately this area became very popular and it was only possible to get a seat by getting there early. It was disappointing to see some passengers "claiming" their seats and then disappearing for long periods of time even though there are signs requesting people not to do this out of courtesy to others. We were on back to back cruises 6 days Sydney - Tasmania - Sydney and 10 days Sydney - North Queensland - Sydney. We enjoy this class of ship it is not too large, has a promenade deck you can walk right round, is easy to find your way around, and good areas for pools and hot tubs. We were disappointed to hear that this ship and I presume the Sea Princess are being retired and will be replaced by larger ships like the Majestic Princess. Although we do like the Golden and Diamond Princess, the Majestic class of ship appears to us to be a move in the wrong direction. While the cabins are small they are adequate for 2 people, there is plenty of storage and ours was kept very clean by our steward Ramon. The beds and pillows are so comfortable! There is a great app available on the TV showing live location and the other channels all worked well - not that we spent much time watching TV. The Captain and the cruise director were excellent - the best we have had and we have cruised a lot. They kept us informed about changes to our schedule made necessary by Cyclone Oma via a very detailed program in the ships TV channel. We found the food in the main dining room to be generally very good although there were occasions when the meat or fish was overdone and dry. We learned to ask for it less cooked than we would normally do in a restaurant and then it was about right. The selection and variety was excellent. We ate breakfast and dinner (traditional) in the main dining room and lunch in the buffet where we would put together our own salad. We went to lunch after 2:00 pm when it was easier to get a table. The variety available was huge and each day there was something different to choose from. We had vouchers to go to Share and Sterling Steak house. Share was different, interesting and tasty. We did not have a good experience in the Steak house. My wife's Steak was overcooked when it first came out, looked ok the second time but was tough and inedible. My Lobster was large but tough and needed a sauce, the Lobster in the main dining room was much better and free. We would not pay $35 a head to go to speciality restaurants when the food is fine in the main dining rooms. It was good to see hand washing being policed at the entrance to the buffet, with the majority of people complying. The Production shows were excellent. A guest soprano who joined for the Bravo show was a highlight - simply amazing and deserved the standing ovation she got at each show. The other guest performers were disappointing. Live music was very good in the bars and atrium areas. The only things we thought could be improved was the price and range of bottled wine, and the time taken to get off the ship in tender ports. Unless you were on a ship's tour it took 2 to 3 hours to get ashore. On our second cruise we did find a separate page inside the front of the drinks menu where there were a few bottles of wine at a more reasonable price. Overall we were pleasantly surprised with this cruise, and as always the majority of the fellow passengers we spoke to were interesting and helped to make the cruise a great one as were most of the crew we interacted with. It seemed to be a happy ship thanks I am sure to the Captain and his management team. Read Less

I was apprehensive about cruising with so many people but my fears were soon put to rest.We had a brilliant time cruising around NZ. Everything ran smoothly but was disappointed at not being able to visit Napier due to weather problems. Would highly recommend Princess Cruises and will certainly cruise with them again. Anytime Dining was great meeting a variety of different people from all walks of life and several nationalities. Cruise directors and assistant cruise directors so much fun, it was pure entertainment just watching them. We did land tours in each port organised through Princess, some rather expensive but worth it. Was disappointed in the City Panorama tour of Dunedin, certainly the cheapest but basically a quick trip around the city, look at one building at the university, the railway station and a lookout. Passengers who booked a similar tour at the tourist bureau at half the price saw a lot more. Read Less

We choose these 3 cruises on Sun Princess to visit New Zealand, Tasmania, Sydney, and The Great Barrier Reef. We explored Melbourne and Sydney prior to embarkation and we visited The Blue Mountains after we disembarked. We also stopped in Sydney twice between cruises which provided additional sightseeing. The ship is not one of their newest but the Sun Princess is well maintained, The theaters, atrium and common areas are very nice. Our stateroom was clean and very nice as well. Princess never disappoints when it comes to dining, entertainment and activities. We ate too much and took advantage of everything they offered. As always the staff of Princess go above and beyond to take care of all your needs. Ports and excursions were all good. I wish Princess would write on their overviews of the excursions how much time is spent riding in the bus to get to and from the excursion. On one of our trips we spent 4 hours riding on the bus with maybe 10-15 mins at the our two stops and a 10 minute bathroom stop for all the passengers on the bus. This would not deter me from sailing with Princess over and over again. The cruises were wonderful as well as all our choices for excursions. This is a cruise you don't want to miss. Read Less

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. The ship was awfully rusty and obviously not maintained. 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 New Zealand 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. Read Less

We paid $119 each to see the Maori Performance and that same performance was offered as free entertainment on the ship the very same night titled Haka The Legend.. We voiced our concern and Princess make a generous (???) refund of $12. Please be leary of excursions offered by Princess Cruise Line. Food was average at best both in the formal dining room and at the buffet. Desserts looked very good but lacked taste--almost a lack of sugar. Very disappointed you had to pay for ice cream rather than have it offered as a buffet dessert. Specialty Steak House Restaurant food was very good. Ship needed updates as railings in both verandas and around decks need refinishing. And decks were often closed to walkers and joggers. Room steward was very friendly and did a good job of keeping room clean but he was very difficult to find when items such as ice were needed. Princess Line was very disappointing after many successful cruises on Holland American Line. Read Less