Oct 1

Oct 1 Day 09 - At Sea Crossing The Atlantic

Ship: Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess
Itinerary: 16-Night Transatlantic - Southampton to Fort Lauderdale

This morning begins with a visit to the Sun Princess Medical Center. Don’t be alarmed, this was not Covid or a broken bone. Rickee has some prescription eyedrops that have to remain frozen until they are ready for use and the Medical Center agreed to store them in their freezer for her. So, we went to pick up the eyedrops this morning.

I was a little hungry this morning at around 11:30 and, while walking on the promenade outer deck outside of The Eatery, we walked by Slice, another pizza place on Sun Princess. The pizzas looked amazing, so I could not resist a slice - actually, two slices!

I am pleased to report that the BEST pizza on Sun Princess is at Slice, NOT Alfredo’s. This pizza had the perfect crisp and chewy crust, great topping choices, delicious sauce and melted cheese.

We entered the Princess Arena (the main theater) at 12:10pm for the 1:00pm matinee performance and the theater was already 70% full! You really have to show up an hour early to get your desired seat. Fortunately, as Premier Package holders, we did have reserved seating, but even that is no guarantee that you will get a seat.

The Theater Fills Up Quickly and Is Too Small for such a large ship

The Princess Arena is a great ‘theater in the round’ design with excellent stage lighting, acoustics, and special effects, but it is simply too small for a ship as large as Sun Princess. Fortunately, Princess is delivering two evening performances as well as a matinee performance the following sea day for each production show.

Today’s show: Vellora, A Pirate’s Quest, was one of the most elaborate production shows we have ever seen on a cruise ship, notwithstanding some of the shows we have seen on Norwegian. The show combined the talents of the four vocalists on board as well as the troupe of twelve very talented dancers. Even though some of the musical numbers were recorded and lip-synced, the major numbers were performed live, albeit with recorded music tracks. The costumes and set design was a visual feast. Lighting and acoustics were excellent.

Without question, this was the best production show we have ever seen on a Princess ship. Sadly, this was the very last performance of Vellora on Sun Princess. Will it be moving to Star Princess? Who knows?

Dinner tonight is at Umai Teppenyaki.

The meal ($45 per person) includes four courses consisting of a Prelude (Edamame and Miso Soup), your choice of one Starter (see below), your choice of any two Teppan Grill Signature proteins (see below), and a choice of Dessert.

There are a few optional choices that come with an upcharge: Wagyu Sirloin Steak, a 7oz Lobster tail, or a trio of lobster, scallops and shrimp. Even with a $45 cover charge, the up charge for these items seems reasonable to expect.

I ordered the NY Strip and Chicken and Rickee order the Filet Mignon. The Miso soup was very good, and the Edamame could have been served hotter, and with more seasoning. My steak and chicken were both very good, as was the fried rice. The grilled vegetables were presented differently than any Teppenyaki we have had in the past.

The cooking presentation was a little chaotic and the room becomes very noisy when both chefs, cooking back to back, start singing different songs and encouraging everyone to join in. Some of that is expected in a Teppenyaki environment, but this one seemed louder than most. And, maybe it is my imagination, but the grill that the chef was cooking on seemed smaller than other Teppanyaki grills I have seen at other similar restaurants.

Overall, I would rate the Umai Teppenyaki a 7 out of 10. I thought the food was good, but the service from the wait staff was very slow. This restaurant definitely felt understaffed. It took a long time to get our drink orders, and to have plates cleared away for the next course.

We are scheduled to have dinner at Umai Hot Pot tomorrow night, which is conducted at six tables on either side of the Teppan grills. We only saw two tables being used, so it will be interesting to experience the Hot Pot. Rickee says she is going to wear ear plugs when we dine at Hot Pot since we will be dining in the same room with the four Teppan tables and all the high-decibel revelry that includes.

Rickee’s Review of our dinner experience: I’ve eaten at this style of restaurant on probably most ships that offer this style of meal. It is usually a loud, fun, exuberant experience with good food as part of it. I can’t say I’ve ever experienced this style of dining in such a small, crowded room. The chef of our table was literally cooking back-to-back with the considerably LOUDER chef at the next table. My Apple watch was constantly warning me about way too many decibels present.

The restaurant seemed to be seriously understaffed, to the point where the restaurant manager was actually bussing tables. It took over 30 minutes to get my wine order delivered. Then, no one ever came to clear my salad plate before they brought my soup.

Our “chef” told us it was his first time cooking, and by the end, I believed him. Usually, the person doing the cooking takes great care to keep his cooking surface neat. Not the case here. Everything I ate was underseasoned, except for the fried rice which, for me, had entirely too much garlic. nobody ever asked if I would like to have another glass of wine or refilled my water glass. Does that sound like good service to you?