Sea Princess Cruise Review

Med Cruise , 5 August 2006 - Maryanne

On Sat the 5th August 2006, I embarked on my first cruise with Princess Cruises onboard the Sea Princess. The ship itself was very impressive and completely different to what I had imagined. The Sea Princess is approx 77,000 tones and carry’s just under 2000 passengers and crew, and has a traditional yet modern feel to her.

I was allocated an Outside cabin towards the front of the ship on dolphin deck, which I found to be roomy, light, airy and very modern in décor which I hadn’t been expecting. There was an abundance of storage space, which came in handy as I seemed to have over packed, as Im sure many of us do.

Sea Princess has 15 decks, which allows her to cover a wide range of facilities for her passengers, there is something for everyone and you’ll never be short of things to do. There are 3 main pools onboard, 1 of which is in located in the adults only area at the back of the ship which has its own bar, Jacuzzi’s and Hot tub, a great experience to be enjoyed whilst the ship is sailing out of port. If swimming or Jacuzzi’s don’t tickle you fancy there is a range of other things onboard to do, from a game of bingo, in the Vista lounge, you could practice your gold Swing up on deck or take a look at some of the fantastic books in the library, or if your like myself who just likes to relax and be pampered then the Lotus Spa is the place to visit, this is located on Rivera deck and offers a wide range of treatments, and they also have there own hair salon, which is worth a visit when you are attending a formal evening . . .trust me you wont be disappointed. Sea Princess is one 3 ships in the princess fleet to have the fantastic and exclusive “Movies under the stars” experience. This is a spectacular cinema screen up on the top deck over looking the 2 main swimming pools, during the day you are provided with wireless head phones to watch the movies, and in the evenings the top deck is turned into an outdoor cinema, with cushions and blankets on the sun lounger and the best popcorn on the open sea. It’s a fantastic experience and well worth a visit.

All Princess ships cater for families and Sea Princess is no different, like adults there is something for children of all ages. They are 3 kids clubs on board, and an adult’s only free zone, where they could play till there hearts content Princess offers families a soft drink and ice cream package.

On board Sea Princess you have 3 evening meal sittings to choose from, if you choose 1st or 2nd dining you will dine in La Traviata Restaurant, which is on Emerald deck. We had chosen anytime dining, which gave us the option to dine where and when we liked. There was many options to choose from, Café Corniche on Dolphin deck was fantastic, and the best Italian pizza’s I have ever had, or you could visit the Horizon Court Restaurant on deck 15, which offers a fantastic buffet service, with fantastic views, you also have the option of formal dining in the Rigoletto Restaurant just off the main Atrium on Plaza deck, It was full silver service, but with a great atmosphere. If however you are celebrating a special occasion or just fancy treating yourself then the Steak House is the place to go, it does have a cover charge of $20pp but the food it out of this world, and made to your own individual taste.

After you evening meal, you have a great choice of entertainment from Broadway shows, comedians, and opera singers all in the Main theatre or Visa Lounge; the shows are performed twice nightly to allow guests on both sinning sittings to watch them. If you would prefer something more relaxed there they have guest singers performing in both Crooners bar and the Wheelhouse bar. In the middle of our cruise they held a Hawaiian beach party up on top deck around the pool, there was fantastic band, party games and a buffet for those who got a little peckish. The atmosphere was fantastic and it was a great chance to meet new people and try some of princess’s exclusive cocktails.

As we sailed from Southampton, we had one full day at sea before we docked at our first port of call Vigo. This gave us time to explore the ship, and settle in before exploring the beautiful city of Vigo which on first impressions is very industrial but on closer inspection is a glorious Spanish town. Our other ports of call were Lisbon, Barcelona and Cannes. A wonderful city with a fantastic atmosphere, great shops and restaurants, and although a playground for the rich and famous, it’s not over priced for shopping and eating.

All in all I had a wonderful and fantastic cruise on a glorious ship. Sea Princess is fantastic experience for all to enjoy.

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Freephone 0800 019 0053 or email Maryanne for more info