We had previously traveled on Dawn Princess, and had found that cruise very enjoyable. We looked forward to a pleasurable cruise on Sun Princess, which we had been told was an identical sister ship to Dawn Princess. However, the ship was identical, but the experience was not.

We signed up for "Personal Choice" dining because we had found that on Dawn Princess we could show up whenever it was convenient and dine. Sun Princess, in contrast, was "Personal Choice" in name only. Getting into the dining room was a hassle because many diners had reserved the same table for each of the ten nights at the same hour, which was usually 6 p.m. If you did not get to the dining room before 6, you could usually not get in. Finally, after going through the hassle for 4 nights, we decided that if we could not beat them, we had no choice but to join them. For the final 6 nights we also reserved the same table for 6 p.m.

The first two nights in the Atlantic was rough sailing, as was the next to last night. We found that our cabin creaked and banged. The noise sounded as if something was rolling across our ceiling. We also heard noises that sounded as if drawers were being constantly opened and shut. The noise was bad enough to keep us awake on those three nights. We checked with fellow passengers and learned that some were experiencing the same problems while others were not. We reported the noise to the "front desk," but they did little about it. Finally, they said they would send a joiner to check, but he did not arrive until a few days later, when the noise had stopped. He said he could do nothing about the problem unless he could hear the noise. They really did not seem very concerned. Read more