[quote reggae]Okay...I have a serious question here....
We are RCI cruisers, and I've only been on two Princess Cruises. Our last cruise was on the Diamond Princess, and I'm wondering how the Sea Princess compares to that ship. I know it's smaller, but would it have the same features? Maybe someone who's been on both those ships would know?
One thing I did like on Princess was that they had this little surprise luncheon out on the pool deck a couple times. One was all seafood (crab legs, sushi, etc.) That was great. I'm wondering if they would do something like that on the Sea Princess too?[/quote]
Reggae,
I have not been on the Sea Princess but have been on the Dawn and Sun which are same. I have also been on the Diamond so can give you a pretty good comparison. Remember, opinions are like goats, everybody in this group appears to have one!!!! Here is a brief rundown....
The Sea is about the same length as the Diamond but about 1/3rd narrower. The Sea will have a more motion/movement when sailing because of being more narrow. The Diamond had very little motion compared to either the Sun/Dawn.
There is not as many decks on the Sea and the layout is quite different. The Diamond has two major pools, one covered (retractable roof). The Sun only has one major pool and not covered. The buffet is in the front of the ship on the Sea where the Diamond is at the stern. We prefer the Sea buffet layout to the Diamond. It just seemed more open and with a better view. If you went into the gym on the Diamond it is the same view while you eat. The Princess Theater's are the same except for the Sea's of course being smaller. The Diamond has Club Fusion where the Sea has the Vista Lounge. For shows, bingo, Captain's Circle Party, other events the Vista Lounge is far superior. It has theater style
seating and much greater capacity then Club Fusion. It doesn't have all the obstructed views like Club Fusion has because there are not as many support posts all over the room. The Vista Lounge doesn't have the modern flat screens like Club Fusion has but overall is a much better layout. On the Diamond they had the pizza area next to the grill on Lido Deck. On the Sea they only have the grill up by the large pool. The pizza is located on the top floor of the Atrium (Café Corniche). This was so much better on the Dawn/Sun to have the pizza restaurant this way because you could custom order your food. This is one of the best places to go in the daytime for lunch. The stateroom sizes could be a shock depending what you booked on the Diamond. The staterooms on the Sea are much smaller then the Diamond across the board. As an example an inside on the Sea is 135 sq. ft. compared to 168 sq. ft. on the Diamond. Space in the Sea staterooms can be a premium until you get into the upper categories. The shows in the evening are typical Princess, dance show on one end of the ship and comedy, game shows, etc. on the other. Another thing that is nice about the Sea is they can have shows in the Vista Lounge, Princess Theater and have some type of game show going on in Explorers Lounge. Princess struggles with doing much of anything in Club Fusion. The dining is the same for most Princess ships....
Overall we like these smaller (Sun Class) ships but they have their good and bad points just like the Grand Class (Diamond) ships. Probably the biggest drawback is not having an indoor pool on an Alaska sailing. You won't find too many swimming except for the kids. Hope this helps.
